Here is a summary of my current workout, etc. It's important to note that from my workout I am trying to achieve just a few simple things: agility, strength, flexibility and the ability to eat and drink as much as I like, come the weekend, without turning into a fat bastard (so that Austen still wants to get it on!) No, seriously, I eat loads. Here goes:
Breakfast: 2-5 cups of regular coffee; bowl of low sugar cereal (bran flakes, raising bran, unsweetened shredded wheat, etc) sprinkled with 1 scoop of protein powder and some sort of berry or fruit (e.g., blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, figs, banana, etc).
Mid-morning snack: 1 hard-boiled egg or low sugar granola bar or handful of nuts (usually almonds or peanuts)
Lunch: typically a sandwich on whole grain or wheat bread. Typically something like turkey breast, cheese, tomato and mustard. Fruit or vegetable. Crisps or pretzels.
Afternoon snack: coffee; one of the following: piece of fruit, handful of nuts, half of a smoothie, cottage cheese, etc.
Dinner: typically consists of a piece of lean meat (e.g., chicken, lean beef, or fish), a lot of vegetables (including salad), and a low calorie/low sodium rice-type carb, sometimes we use corn as our starch.
Post-workout: Protein shake with water
Drink plenty of water throughout the day
Workout:
Cardiovascular training: I really like to get my heart rate up and sweat. I will typically not do a standard cardio exercise, but rather I will incorporate my cardio workout into my strength training by doing supersets or doing a type of cardio between weight/strength training sets. Almost every workout I start by skipping rope for about 2-5 minutes using both leg, swapping leg, and one leg jumps. I then continue to skip rope between sets of my first strength training exercise for about 30 seconds to 2 minutes, depending on how tired I am and how heavy I am breathing. Speaking of heavy breathing, that is another metric I use for analyzing my workouts efficacy. How many times do you see guys in the gym sitting around, talking on the mobile phones, chatting up their mates or the ladies. It seems like they take 4-8 minutes rest between sets. Not me. I try not to rest more than 2 minutes between exercises and only rest 2 minutes if I cannot get on a machine or find a piece of equipment that I need. Typically, I will rest between 30 seconds to 1 minute. If I have completely caught my breath before I start my next set, then that is a signal to me that I need to change things up; make things harder or more intense.
Other various cardio that I do...
Running: I will run (if my wife forces me) for about 15-30 minutes - somewhere between 1 - 5 miles (actually I do like it)
Wind sprints 3-6 sets
Shadow boxing
Bag work/pad work w/ partner
Interval running (sprint for .20 mile, then walk for .05 mile, repeat 4-8 times or until you die!)
Stationery bike
Elliptical
To start I will do some stretching (whole body stretching) such as front bends, chest stretch, back stretch, etc. I will also incorporate some activation exercises (shoulder rotations in all directions, hip rotations, shoulder swings, etc.) as well as a few short jumps to warm up my knees (I have terrible knees from playing ice hockey my whole life).
Pick one exercise from A and combine with one exercise from B to make a superset. Do 2-3 superset of 3-5 sets of as many reps as you can do / individual exercise (does that make sense?) For example, L-seat to planche handstand to dumbbell twisting pushup.
A - Skills (2-3 per workout)
Freestanding handstand
Pike Press / Ball Pike Press Practice
Pike Press / Ball Pike Press Practice
Wall handstand hold for as long as I can
Pushup-muscle up to planche to crab (while staying off the ground repeat planche hole for 3-5 seconds to crab hold for 3-5 seconds; work to increase time in each and number of rotations between positions.
Crab to Handstand. (unable to do)
Head-Stand to Hand-Stand - and reverse
L-Seat to Planche Hand-stand
Pushup-muscle up to planche to crab (while staying off the ground repeat planche hole for 3-5 seconds to crab hold for 3-5 seconds; work to increase time in each and number of rotations between positions.
Crab to Handstand. (unable to do)
Head-Stand to Hand-Stand - and reverse
L-Seat to Planche Hand-stand
Hand-Stand Pushup (on wall rep 1 catch air, then 5 or more reps against wall)
Handstand puship (freestanding - as many as I can without falling)
Straddle to Planche Hand-stand (I have just started to do this one and it's ugly)
Straddle to Planche Hand-stand (I have just started to do this one and it's ugly)
Handstand wall walk
B - Body weight strength/power
Pushup (almost any variation of pushup will do, but I am keen on the dumbbell twist pushup lately)
Dumbbell (light) Thrust and Snatch
Box Jumps
Vertical jumps
Mountain Climbers
Star jumps/Jumping jacks
C - Suspension Training
In all honesty, I have not started this yet, but I have created a suspension trainer from rope I purchased at Home Depot. This weekend I will ask Austen to film me so I can show what my system is like and how I am using it. More to come on whether I like this or not in future posts.
My plans: suspension chest flies/presses combined with swing over rows or reverse lateral raises
Suspended dips
Suspended chin/pull ups
Iron Cross!
I don't work body parts anymore. I try, as wrong as it probably is, to hit a little of everything on just about every workout. So choose the ones you like here, but always choose one that you have a hard time at. If you only do exercises you are good at, strong at, etc you will never progress. I like to challenge myself to do new exercises in order to shock my body. (Note: some exercises are cross listed because the exercise likely hits more than one body part).
1 -Legs
-Deadlift
-Straight legged deadlift
-Calf Raises (usually on the side of a machine)
-Calf Raises (usually on the side of a machine)
-Dyno calf raises = calf raises were you generate so much power under your legs that you actually launch yourself into the air a couple of inches
-Overhead Barbell squats
-Clean and Jerk
-Clean and Snatch
-1-legged (no weight) squats on core training stability device
-Pistols
2 -Abdominals and Core strength
-L-seat
-Hanging L-seat with pull-ups or chin-ups
-V-ups
-Plank
-Swiss ball plank (arms on ball)
-Swiss ball plank (legs on ball)
-Swiss ball plank (arms and legs on ball)
-Pike ups (lay stomach down, legs hanging in suspension trainer, arms on core stability device - pike up so your body is an upside down V, hold for 2 seconds, release slowly (breathe), no fewer than 12)
-Leg Raises (6 inches drill)
-Leg Raises (6 inches drill)
-Side bends (weighted or partially inverted)
-Wall Balls (grab a medicine ball and a wall. Stand about 2-4 feet from the wall with your shoulder facing the wall. hold the medicine ball out in front of you and twist away from the wall. return the twist back toward the wall resulting in the propelling of the ball into the wall. catch the ball when it bounces off the wall and repeat, then switch sides)
-Hanging L Pull/chin ups (hang, raise your legs and hold, not do as many pull/chin ups you can do without dropping your legs)Other various core exercises - back raises, standard crunches, twisting sit ups, etc
3 -Back
-Chin Ups (weighted 20-30k, aiming for 1/2 my body weight)
-Wide Grip Pullups (weighted 10-20k, aiming for 1/2 my body weight)
-Towel Pullups (unweighted)
-One-hand chin ups (holding other forearm for stability/grip)
-One-hand pull ups (holding other forearm for stability/grip)
-Dyno chin/pull ups (see this link)
-Dyno chin/pull ups (see this link)
-Hanging L Pull/chin ups (hang, raise your legs and hold, not do as many pull/chin ups you can do without dropping your legs)
-Occasionally I will do bent over rows (alternating over and under hand grip)
4 -Chest
-Pushup Dynos (either the standard clap push up, wide to close grip, or simply dyno pushup with elevated legs; moving toward dyno push up with legs suspended in suspension rope trainer)
-Planche Shoulder Pushups
-Wide Ball Pushups
4 -Chest
-Pushup Dynos (either the standard clap push up, wide to close grip, or simply dyno pushup with elevated legs; moving toward dyno push up with legs suspended in suspension rope trainer)
-Planche Shoulder Pushups
-Wide Ball Pushups
-One-arm pushups (be careful not to hurt shoulder)
-Standard bench press (at least 3 sets of 6 reps at 100k, or more)
5 -Shoulders
-Barbell Upright Row
-Hand-Stand Push-ups (first rep=catch air, then as many reps as I can do; also working on wall walk handstand push up)
-Hand-Stand Push-ups (one handed, aided with the other hand on a medicine ball)
-Shoulder Rotations
-Cable Shoulder Rotations
-Lat Raises (front, back, or side)
5 -Shoulders
-Barbell Upright Row
-Hand-Stand Push-ups (first rep=catch air, then as many reps as I can do; also working on wall walk handstand push up)
-Hand-Stand Push-ups (one handed, aided with the other hand on a medicine ball)
-Shoulder Rotations
-Cable Shoulder Rotations
-Lat Raises (front, back, or side)
-Clean and Jerk
-Clean and Snatch
-Overhead squats
-Dips (weighted 30-50k)
6 - Arms
If your arms are not blown away by the stuff above then I would recommend the following which should not only target your bis and tris but also aid your stability and balance
-1-legged biceps curl
-1-legged bent over biceps curl or triceps extension
-1-legged overhead triceps extension
-Swiss ball dumbbell skull crushers
-One arm regular and reverse grip triceps pushdowns (superset the two grips, killer)
-Standing biceps curl while holding one leg straight out in front of you
OK, now get ready to hear some chuckles and snickers. Your average body builder, gym going mate does not do half of these exercise and does not see the worth. Just tonight I was doing the crab to planche and a few guys playing basketball looked at me like I had 4 heads. I later saw them trying (and failing) to do the same move. The exercises listed here do not require much - a room with walls (wall balls, wall handstands, etc), a jump rope, two arms and two legs (and that's debatable), determination and a sense of humility. That being said, I have overcome my embarrassment and shyness about this training regime and feel better than ever. At the end of the day this is a really fun way to train; you have goals - to hit a new move (see A) and most of them are really tough. I like the challenge and I like the feeling of being able to do things with my body that were previously insurmountable. I also notice that by training in this way my traditional lifting strength has not waned, and in fact appears to have increased a bit.
Train on or get out the way of the Revolution!
Posts
2 comments:
Excellent post, very interesting indeed.
I have a few questions if that’s ok.
Firstly, I noticed you do the Olympic lifts; do you find these essential parts of a training routine?
How long do you normally spend in the gym per session?
Do you find the core strength Swiss ball exercises any good and is it something you thing needs to be included?
I really liked what you wrote at the end, about not giving a crap what people think. As you said, I really like the idea that I can now do something that was previously impossible. Humility is the key, and without this you will never progress in this style of training. I thought I was strong, until I tried to do a handstand push-up. If I wanted to train my ego, there is no way I would go into the gym and attempt a Pike Press because the simple fact is...It made me realise I was a total weakling... Now, I watch the gym bunny’s bicep curling and think it’s such a shame; they are never going to get anywhere! But, the plus side is, it makes me feel good about myself!
I really feel that my eyes have been opened with regards to training, and achieving real strength over the last six months. Glass half empty = just wish I have discovered it sooner… Glass half full = at least I have discovered it.
Ste, we need to educate the duped masses, forget the bicep curl machine and do a handstand for god’s sake!
Dan thanks.
As for the olympic lifts you mean deadlift and the cleans, right. I do find these are essential parts of my training and try to do at least one, sometimes 2 of those exercises every workout. They tend to build total body strength, power, and core stability and strength.
As for the Swiss ball exercises, I really do find them good and important. They look terribly gay, but using the Swiss ball forces you to maintain core stability. Ask Phil at EFC. The EFC training crew got me started on it and to be honest I was skeptical at first, but once I saw my lifts increase in weight, number of reps, etc I was sold. I think it's important to mix it up. For my core I mix up a standard Swiss ball routine (something like Ian McKee's (at EFC) Monday night Core class), L-seat variations, and hanging leg exercises. I just started the wall balls and explosive core exercises and I really like those as well. I am really sore this morning, but that's probably a good thing, right? The major theme of my workout is strength, agility and POWER. Eventually I hope to get back into the martial arts and so power and speed are important to me.
I am glad you liked the end part. I wrote that, then took it out, then put it in and so on, finally deciding to leave it in. Sometimes I get really shy, nervous and uncomfortable that people or groups of guys (unfortunately never females!) are starting at me. I know what they are thinking: What the fuck is that dude doing? They are probably also thinking: What a tool, he is trying to do what he saw in the olympics. Generally I don't give a shit about what people think, but in Gold's Gym where the average guy resembles a young Arnold Schwarzenegger, well you can get a complex about how you look and what you do. At the end of the day, I always mentally ask myself: Could they do this? The answer is most likely NO.
I love you glass half full/empty analysis. I too an really glad that I discovered it and truly owe you a lot for introducing me to the techniques. I am having a blast doing it and feel like I am getting stronger.
Lastly, I agree whole-heartedly about education the masses. Unfortunately we will never convert the tried and true biceps curlers b/c let's be honest they probably do that to look good to women and not be strong of athletic. I was there once and that mentality is hard to break. EFC trainer Lee broke me by introducing me to 1-legged curls, Swiss ball, etc. He showed me how the exercised were backed up by scientific data and I was not into training when I first. I guess I am old (34) and am bored with the traditional routines. In terms of actually training the masses, I saw a smaller dude watching me do one-handed pull ups the other day. It was clear he was admiring my strength (not trying to be cocky, but it's true and he is pretty small). I have also seen him watching me do the handstand pushups, etc. I introduced myself last night and might talk to him about joining the movement. I am, as I might have mentioned before, still really interested in training to become a personal trainer on a part-time basis. I think it would be really fun to make what I have re-learned to love doing (working out) into a little money.
Thanks for such a supportive post!
Post a Comment