sunday 12/30/12 strength day + tommorrows plan

todays workout

front squat -                  6 sets x 3 reps(increase weight)
back squat -                  1 set 20 reps with heaviest front
                                        squat weight
pullups -                        5sets x 5 reps
arm dips -                      1 x 20, 1 x 12 - immediate pushups
                                         to failure
hack machine squats      1 x 20  - immediate leg extensions
                                         to failure
db clean and press         6 x 3reps(increase wt) immediate
                                         machine  shoulder press 1 x20


monday

10 rounds of following:
  1 minute jump rope 
  3reps handstand pushups

           rest 15 min

  1 hr spin class

todays training friday 12/28/12

kind of a whatever day


morning
superset pushups/kipping pullups - 5 supersets of 80% efforts
decline trunk curls
step ups - 50 alt reps with 60 lbs cable resistance
assisted single leg squats - hang from lat pull bar with 70lbs resistance and descend on one leg
cable row - 120 lbs x 30 reps
machine shoulder press 60 lbs x 30 reps

      as i said, just a get to the gym and move around day


afternoon - stairmaster 20 minutes for 97 floors


                                            DIET THOUGHTS


diet note: bought raw chia seeds to mix in with morning protein drink........if i dont like it i'll smear them on my bald dome and be a chia pet

a.m. drink post workout- half banana, cup of mixed frozen fruit, two tblsp greek yogurt, tblsp of walnuts, scoop of whey protein, tsp chia, dose of liquid multi vitamin, 6oz water

supplements - 1 CoQ10 capsule, 2 fish oil capsules 

i guess i am on what would be considered the anti-paleo diet - not by design; just luck

paleo: no grains                       walt: oats, quinoa, rice, wheat, AND CHIA!!!

paleo: no dairy                         walt: milk, whey, yogurt, cottage cheese

paleo: meat, meat, meat           walt: no meat

i guess i'm never gonna be a caveman

thursday 12/27/12 strenghth/skill workout

strength
   bb front squat    5x5(increase wt each set)
   strict pullups     6x6
   bb bench press  5x5(increase wt each set)

skills
  practise single leg squats and handstand pushups

workouts for wed 12/26/12

morning - metabolic/skills

5 rounds of:
          1 minute of 20" box jumps / 30 seconds of  db clean and press

 Description: do as many box jumps as possible in one minute and then do as many clean and presses with dumbells of your choice in 30 seconds  - repeat 5 rounds without rest

                                                   rest 10 minutes

skills: 15minutes of jump rope - work on double unders(2 loops per hop)


                                                

afternoon - endurance:
               3 x 1 mile run on 5 minute rest ( or 3 x 8 minute runs)  do this at 70% perceived effort

strength/spin class

strength

bench press - 135lbs x10 reps,  170lbs  to failure, then immediately pushups to failure
pullups - 3 sets to failure on 1 minute rest
arm dips - 1 set to failure
db bench row -  1 set 70 x 20 each arm
db standing push press -  55 x 6, 40 x 10
barbell narrow grip high pull - 80 x 15 (cheat form)

15 min rest

1 hr spin class

12/23/12 cardio

this was a quick, low impact cardio workout - still having neck/upper back issues that make running and bike riding painful - the bike riding is painful due to the forward lean on my road bikes -  so here goes:

stairmaster(escalator type) - 20 minutes at following one minute speed level changes - 6,7,8,7,6,7,8,7,6,7,8,7,6,7,8,7,6,7,8,7


                                                  5 min rest

concept II rower - 5 min effort at 80 -90% perceived effort


        

strength day

front squat   - 5 sets x 5 reps(increase weight)
bench press - 5 sets x 3 reps, drop 20% of heavy set and max rep
pullups         - 4sets x 8 reps
db box steps - 3 sets x 30,20,14 reps (alt leg each rep)
db push press- 3 sets x 8 reps (increase weight)

sick and injured

well...... for the last three weeks i've had a strained neck/shoulder that keeps me awake - going to cracktobackter tomorrow - he's really good, but i use him sparingly -  have decided to abandon crossfit - it's a great modality, but i find the randomness a little to uh random - the program tends to incorporate shoulders to a degree that i cannot tolorate(okay crossfitters, im a pussy) - also it tends to turn into a chinese firedrill(okay everyone else, i'm politically incorrect) in the quest for a good whiteboard - i have taken away some good things; great things actually - jumping, gymnastic moves, jump rope, and the careful addition of metabolic lifting workouts - here is what i did today:

5 rounds:
   5 pullups
   15 pushups
   12 smith squats

then

3 rounds:
  5 bb pushpress
  15 hanging leglifts


then
  50 benchsteps with  15lb dbs

training update and thoughts

took time off from crossfit today - good training method, but can be a little tough on lower back and shoulders if you're not careful - instead i went to gym and worked on single leg training skills  and overhead squat skills- then an easy twenty minutes on stair climber

the more i read about - and practise -  the single leg approach to training the more i am convinced that the major benefits of back squats and leg presses are that they make you proficient at those two activities; and that they do not correlate well to functional movement in sport

if you are a good leg presser and squatter and doubt this - try to do a full free standing single leg squat with both arms extended forward and the free leg held in front - you will notice issues with: flexibility, balance, strength, range of motion and coordination......... check these factors again and alarm bells should be going off

i am slowly arriving at the conclusion, that while commonly accepted strength bulding regimens have value in building an athletes ability to produce force,  these routines are wanting in their ability to improve functional athletic strength as indicated in the above listed parameters...... just a thought

what now?

two of the most interesting books i am currently studying are "advanced functional training" by boyle and "the big book of endurance training and racing" by maffetone.  the problem is that they have arrived at diametrically opposite conclusions regarding sports training....... boyle concludes that aerobic base training is useless and possibly detrimental; creating slow athletes  - maffetone treats anerobic training like poison,to the point of denouncing any strength training for endurance training...... boyle is a disciple of interval training to develope endurance, while maffetone is strictly low to mid-range heart rate .........maffetone avoids stretching to increase flexiblity - boyle is an advocate, with much of his range of motion improvement resulting from functional movements vs static stretching  - at this point i feel each is a bit too strident in advocating their positions; although as an older athlete i recognize boyles identification of  'overuse, reduction of power and mobility' that can occur through LSD(long slow distance) systems......i have recently joined  crossfit, which is strongly aligned with boyles ideas and have also added TRX suspension training.......the trick will be how to segue my triathlon training into all this.......my current thinking is that i will cut back on distances for bike and run, while increasing intensty through inserting intervals.....swimming will be strictly intervals of no longer than 150yds with an eye towards increasing cruising speed   - in the past i seem to always complete the swim phase of a 70.3 triathlon in 38 - 42 min no matter how much swimming ive done - so im going strictly with boyle on this one as a mini experiment........bored yet - ok - i'm done

i'm back

kinda gave up on the blog thing for two reasons - 1) stopped personal training      2) wasnt feeling chatty about hernia repairs, finding out about a myriad of cardiac issues  3) i can't count


well, i signed up for the show low half ironman a few months before the race to force myself to get back in action - it had been almost a full year since my last race.  three weeks before race date - sept 8th - i knew i was in trouble.  usually it goes kinda like this - train, eat well, sleep, recover, repeat - and you slowly get stronger and faster.... well it wasnt working - every training session seem the same or worse than the previous.  i attributed this to getting older, the a-fib, and not being completely healed from the hernia repairs. thankfully during the final three weeks i started to feel generally stronger if not too much faster.  as race date approached i resigned myself to completeing the swim and bike legs and call it a day.  during the race i was still committed to this plan, however, upon completing the bike i felt ok and trundled off  on a run/walk for the first 6.5 mile loop. about one mile from the end of the loop i came upon a guy in his thirties who seemed to be suffering as much as i was......well, we formed a pathetic alliance and shuffled through the second loop for my slowest half ironman

being dull-witted, i have entered the half iron distance race in lake havasu on november 10 - goal: do a little bit better

heading back to tucson tomorrow and will train for eight straight days until i leave for syracuse ny -have a bike at my dads and a kayak and river for substitute  swim training(it works!) - several good running venues also - then back to tucson for three more hard weeks - only a one week left

update

10 days until cardiologist appt - training at low aerobic level - working on strength training - did a 7 mile run with lynne yeaterday amd doing a 30 mile ride in about an hour - have been doing research on nutritional factors affecting a-fib and four items appear in virtually all articles and studies - co-q10, taurine, potassium and magnesium - have started supplementation at about 1/3 the dosages recommended just to be on the cautious side - also fish oil caps, vit c - have put off any plans for racing this summer- aiming towards new hits series half iron in lake havausu or dueces wild in the fall - have almost forgotton about getting hernia repaired - will have to wait until a-fib issuue resolved

blog test

having trouble posting blogs

training log

back from show low





no running last week - being cautious before cardiologist appoint on 25th - swam four times and did circuit weight training 3 times - walked avery day about 3 - 4 miles - basically this adds up to me getting slowly out of shape - have had a constant ache down the right side of my neck extending to my shoulder blade - this may be related to a-fib from what i have read - weight is up to 198 - about 13 over race weight - with reduced activity, i will have to tighten up diet - tomorrow:





morning


overhead squat - 3x12


hammer incline bench - 3x8


hanging leg lift - 3x20


pullups -3x 7


leg extention - 3x 12


dumbell press - 3x8


alternate reverse lunge - 1x50


dumbell curl 1 - 2x 10


pushups - 1xmax





afternoon


30 mile ez bike

workout

today: swam 35 minutes working on glide - around 1600 yds

tomorrow's circuit

5 rounds:

bb squat x 15 reps
underhand grip lat pulls x 10 reps
incline db press x 8 reps
1 min rest

workout program

recieved a call from the nurse who prepped me - she gave me a chance to vent a little - she said she was a little surprised how fast the decision was made ( about a minute) and said she would make sure info from my cardio appointment gets to my surgeon - as a side thought: by the time they got to me, they were running about an hour and a half behind schedule - at any rate, i still want the same surgeon if possible - today i am doing an easy weight circuit, light weight, low aerobic range :

3 rounds of each group:

10 overhead bar squat/10 lat pulldown
30step ups/ 15 pushups
8 db press/ 15 bent leg raise
15calve raise/ 8db curl

afternoon will be a 4 mile walk

pissed off

well, Pam took me in to the hospital for my hernia repair yesterday and it was a total mess - after filling out paperwork getting prepped and doped up, i was informed that basically too unhealthy to be treated - the heart monitor was showing what appears to be atrial fribullation or whatever it is - next step is a trip to the cardiologist jan 25th - until then i have to take it easy - i am still absorbing the fact that i was watching people getting wheeled into surgery that couldnt walk across the room under their own power, but i was considered to much of a risk for a simple hernia repair - hell, the previous day i swam a mile and rode my bike 30 miles.......

getting ready for last swim before being slit open like a fish(irony) - may even do a spin class in a desperate last attempt to forestall my impending physical decline - at 'bucks on cortero watching a running club suck down coffee before their run - they all look like they're packing less than 2lbs per 1nch of height - in other words 'fast' - i won't know my surgery time for friday until i call at 2pm today - will advise of results, unless in coma

well - friday i go in for my hernia surgery - this will definitely test my patience - dr says 4 to 6 weeks of recovery - i am usually not to good at this, but i will attempt to document my recovery - my goal is to do the 'tour of the tucson mountains' 76 mile ride in the last week of april - this will give me 7 - 8 weeks of training - during my recovery i plan on learning more about training, nutrition and recovery, with an eye on eliminating garbage miles and calories