11 May 2014 - Physio Notes, Squats, Stair Climber & a "WORKOUT"

07 May 
1420 hrs

Notes from Physio:
So I managed to get my Physio back (long story, I am going to a different clinic now just to have her treat me for 3 months until I leave town)

-She needled my spinal erectors (Christmas tree low back) it felt like my left side was on fire at one point. over all it worked. Even my right shoulder blade felt better.
-need to keep my right glute working, balance on right vs left is slightly worse on right side.
-lots of plank and back extensions to re-enforce the needle work.(acupuncture)
-before the appointment I felt like my back was loading up for another pull. Post appointment it felt like tragedy avoided.
-we were very happy to be working together.
-this is also the same clinic as my shaman so big things could be happening in the future.

08 May
1310 hrs

No real fucks given. I missed my alarm and missed my actual morning trg session. I linked up with a buddy of mine and we smashed through a session. We had to be in the gym for Mandatory work PT time and neither one of us is allowed to play sports (med limitations) and besides people only get injured playing sports. Lol.
 I really made this up as I went. He simply hung along for the ride. It was designed to be a minor challenge for both of us without ruining any future trg sessions.
WORKOUT
Incline Bench
Multiple Warm Up sets
10 x 7 x 115
Chest Supported Rows 10 x 10 x 95 lbs
At one point i did a set of 30 reps to catch up. I went to get a drink and someone talked to me (about their injury, they were looking for trg ideas) so I had two sets to catch up on. I did 3 sets at once
Face Pulls 
1 x 30 x 65 lbs
4 x 26 x 65

Tricep Pushdowns (w/EFS Strap)
7 x 13 x 70 lbs ( i think)
Chest Supported Shrug
5 x 20 x 50 lbs
45 Deg Back Raise 
5 x 5 x 40 lbs

Stretch for about 30 min. Waiting to go home, we could not leave until released.

Should be noted both of us pushed hard and it was a solid session but neither one of us was sore the next day. Which is exactly what I wanted out of this.


10 May
1020 hrs

Banded Side Step 2 x 20 x EFS Light Band
Banded Front/Backward Step 2 x 20 x EFS Light Band

SSB Box Squat 
3 x 5 x Bar
1 x 5 x 150
1 x 5 x 190
1 x 5 x 230
1 x 3 x 265
1 x 3 x 300
3 x 2 x 345
This is the same session as I did last Tuesday. Hitting the reset button and doing everything I would have done last week this week now that I don't have to conserve energy for a PT Test. I mixed it up slightly by doing three doubles with 345. This is 5 lbs heavier than last week and 1 extra rep. Not much but very little bit adds up. The rest between all three sets was about 10 sec.
Db SDL 3 x 11 x 40 lbs
GHR Back Ext 
1 x 10 x Bar
1 x 10 x 65
1 x 10 x 85
3 x 10 x 105
TRX Body Saw /Plank
3 x 5 reps /25-30 sec

Field house was hotter and more humid than normal. TKD guys and gals were in the far end of the field house trg. A lot of random yelling and nonsense. Glad I had my headphones to block it out. I did have to remind one of the young martial artist youngsters that "it was a family facility, so put on a shirt."
I got a little sideways cockiness. he did comply and apologized so i left it at that. Don't look good smashing a teenager who weighs about 150 lbs. Even if he is a "fighter".

Went home and moved wood for 2 hrs into the wood shed. Then got my boat into the water. Then went for Ice Cream. Then had supper GREAT Sunday afternoon. A little tiring for my low back but not too bad.

11 May

Stair Climber w/Weighted Vest
20 Min /105 Flights /235 Cal
With the cardio /weight room being warm and extra stuffy I knew this would be interesting. Not to mention I had a solid session followed by 2 hrs of moving wood.
Break down went like this:
1 min x Lvl 10
4 min x Lvl 11 (20sec) - Lvl 10 (40 sec)
5 min x Lvl 12 (20sec) - Lvl 10 (40sec)
9 min x Lvl 14 (30sec) - Lvl 10 (1min)
1 min x Lvl 16 (20sec) -Lvl 10 (10sec) -Lvl 14(20sec) *finished on a high note

So rather than jump to Lvl 16 this week I increased my work time by 10 sec while maintaining the 2:1 ratio of rest:work. (in other words my rest increased to match the increase in work time)
I had planned on doing a Heavy Prowler session but the field house is closed for the next few days. which means a lot of plans will now be altered.
After the Stair Climber I continued to smash myself. This was another gut check session. I do enjoy them but realize I cannot do them all the time.

Following exercises done with minimal rest.  Goal was 50 reps in as few sets as possible. Oh and I was still wearing the Weight Vest.
Kirk Shrug 
1 x 30 x 135
1 x 20 x 135
Plate Raise
1 x 20 x 25 lbs
2 x 15 x 25 lbs
Oly Bar Curl
2 x 20 x Bar
1 x 10 x Bar
Rear Delt Lateral
1 x 35 x 15 lbs
1 x 15 x 15 lbs
Face Pull (Rope)
1 x 30 x 60 lbs
1 x 20 x 60 lbs
OH Tricep Ext (Machine /Rope)
1 x 40 x 70 lbs
1 x 10 x 70 bs

Lastly Just to burn everything down
Push Ups 5 x 5 x Weight Vest

I did try to do Pull Ups but I got about half way up on 1 rep and it was not to be. My Body was cooked. I will note though that my upper back (shoulder) did not hurt. That is a bonus.
I like this layout of Exercises post Stair Climber. I will add in a few more exercises and then push for 100 reps total.

Pro Tip:
If you put all your weights and equipment away it has been proven by science to give you an annual 5% gain in lean tissue. So why don't you put your shit away when you are finished?
(Note: I made that up but you should still put your shit away)

Keep Moving Forward, KEEP Getting Strong(er)

05 /07 May 2015 -Squats, recovery and FORCE Test 2015

05 May
0620 hrs

Banded Side Step 2 x 15 x EFS Mini Band
Banded Front Step 2 x 15 x EFS Mini Band
SSB Box Squat (1" High)
2 x 10 x Bar
1 x 5 x 140
1 x 5 x 190
1 x 5 x 230
1 x 3 x 265
1 x 3 x 300
1 x 5 x 340

Smooth session today. Just simple work done. 340 did feel too heavy. Managing Energy levels in preparation for Thursday. Don't want to wake up with something off for test day. I want to see if I have improved from last year and have a solid test day.

GHR Back Ext 3 x 11 x 115
KB Banded Shrug (3 Bounce Up /2 Bounce Down) 2 x 13 x 53 lbs (EFS light Band)


06 May 
0600 hrs

I came and lax balled my tight shoulder blade /Upper Back. Stretched on the Oly bar in the Squat cage. Generally I just tried to find and work out any kinks i could find. I had my PT test the following day and did not want to do anything stupid the day before. The test i felt good about and figured it would be easy to get through but with my miracle hip every day is different. Decided to play things a little safe.

07 May

FORCE Test Last year's test (8 July 2014) & a link to 2013 in that article
My events got mixed up from the previous two times I have completed the test. It is meant to be random. Overall I am happy. A few things I did better than last year on and even set a few PR's overall.

First Event:
Sled Drags: 14 Sec
Not My best time (13 Sec). Improvement from last year (15 sec)
 I did ask when everyone was done and the stuff was being put away if I could try it again unofficially. I hit my PR time so this has left me thinking in order to improve I will need to find some extra foot speed and maybe do a few Backwards sled drags with a heavier weight. So perhaps a Dynamic Effort and Max Effort mixed into my training in the future. This is more of a personal goal. I know I can get down to 10 sec.

80 M Shuttle Run: 40 Sec
Not my best time (36 sec). I did struggle off the floor because of my hip, not making excuses but I did notice it. Perhaps dropping a little body weight will cut some time off. This is a huge improvement from last year (46 sec). So I am happy with it.

Sand Bag Lift (30 lifts) : 1 min 2 sec
This is a PR Time for me. You really hit a wall around 21 reps and have to push to maintain your speed on the last 9 reps or so. The guy in front of me was in no rush at all. It drove me insane watching him. I can't squat down to grab the sandbags so this was a lot of arm /low back. But everything held up

Intermittent Carry (40 m Carry /40 m Run x 5 rounds): 3 min 56 sec
2 sec off my best time on this event. I will take it. This is the easiest this has felt in all the times I have done it. My Agility to sprint 20 m out and back sucks. Overall though I was recovering on the loaded carries.

Overall it felt like my Conditioning was better than ever. I cruised through the test and the mandatory 5 min rest periods between events felt far too long.

This was also the first time I have done it with people in my age bracket. So many people have simply given up on themselves it is sad to see. I am used to doing it with the 20 something crowd and having them challenge and push me.

It did prove to me the adjustments I have made since last year have paid off. This is not a difficult test at all to pass. I just want to make it as easy on myself as possible.

Keep Moving Forward, Keep Getting Strong(er)

04 May 2015 - Change of Pace, starting the week with the Prowler and Trap work.

30 April
0620 hrs

AirDyne 
Warm Up: 2 Min /Rpm 50
20 Min /Rpm 57-60 /5.3 Km
I was definitely tire or having an off day. I struggled to stay at 60 Rpm instead of the usual 60-64 Rpm I normally roll at. Going to have an off day. I pushed through and covered an extra 2 min to reach 20 min. From here on out the plan is to stay 20 min for a month and push the pace harder. After a Month I will look at splitting the Tempo session into 2 x 12 min blocks and working back up to 20 min again.
TRX Rollouts 3 x 10 x Bodyweight

1 May
0610 hrs

|Banded KB Swings (1 min Rest) 4 x 50 reps x 35 lbs KB & Mini EFS Band
After last week the idea was to back things off slightly. I pushed the pace faster than I normally would with the 50-53 lbs KB. Felt really good. Recovery of 1 min was spot on but I could tell my body was still a little tired. I think it really was a lack of calories.
GHR 3 x 11 x Mini EFS Band
Banded Face Pulls 2 x 50 x Mini EFS Band
Made a point over the weekend to bump my calories up, sleep in, and relax a little. Yard work on Sunday as active rest. Bought a new Wheel Barrow!Exciting I Know!

4 May
0615 hrs

Made the decision today to completely break from my normal routine. Felt good to work through some abnormal movements just for a change of pace without tossing my whole program out the window.

I am sure I don't look like this at all when I am pushing the Prowler. 

Log Press
1 x 5 x Log (45 Lbs -All bars are 45 lbs, this is loadable so I count it as a Bar)
1 x 5 x 65
1 x 3 x 85
1 x 3 x 95
5 x 3 x 105
2 x 15 x Log

First time using this in an actually lifting session. I rigged it up on the foam boxes so it was at sternum height. This allowed me to not risk my back picking it from the floor but still having to roll it up. My tightness and stability were off but all the reps were strict. It also seemed to not irritate my right shoulder. Hand width is wider than i normally press with. Handles are thicker. It served its purpose today of messing around with something different.

drooling, snarling and feeling my heart nearly burst during Prowler work today. 

Ugly Power Cleans
2 x 5 x 135
1 x 5 x 155
3 x 5 x 175
Again messing around. My "power clean" technique is more of a mutant upright row. My traps are sore as I type this. I sort of use the intentional terrible technique to simply build upper back and trap thickness.
Prowler
10 x 20 m x 90 lbs x 30 sec
The 30 sec rest made this intense. I did not burn out my legs but it was a solid Prowler session
Head Harness 4 x 17 x 44 lbs
Completed Before, during and after the Prowler work.

So Thursday I have my annual PT test. I feel pretty good and prepped for it. I will squat tomorrow and then light to medium sled drags on Wednesday for recovery. My body is in a solid place right now so although a few of the events on the PT test may serve to irritate my hip they are short duration so I will gut it and grind them out.

Keep Moving Forward, Keep Getting Strong(er)