[Reloaded]

OK, for shits and giggles I did some deadlifts at work today. My day off but fuck, Monday's are quiet and I really want to start lifting and it's a shame to have all this shiny stuff at work collect dust.

So I flipped through a book to get some proper form techniques. Having never done them before and have low back issues as a teen I wanted to make sure I was in the clear on form.

I loaded up an Olympic bar (just hauling those things around makes me feel like a badass) and loaded 2x 25s on it. I was able to crank out 5+ reps. I did that a few times and slapped on 2 more 25s. Now I started to feel the pull more. My boss tried to clean and press the 145 lbs but he couldn't lock it out. I wanted to see where my limit was so I put on 2 more 25s. Now with the bar sitting just under 200 lbs pow, I know what a deadlift feels like!

I was able to do 5 reps but it got hard at the end. I'm going to do deadlifts and squats using the power-rack when the shop is dead on my rest days... I'm at the point where I can sneak some more exercise in.

[Reloaded]

Sep 23/08

Morn: Endure. strength -

• 10 min totals
• push-ups - 104
• full squats - 192
• roman crunches - 100
• ~35 min total

HR: max 156, ave. 120

Wanted to sub turkish get-ups instead of roman crunches but (surprise) I tweaked my right knee yet again. Tomorrow I hope I can get in with my chiro friend for a treatment, maybe some ultrasound to get the healing process turbo-charged. I finished however with 2 turkish get-ups w/ 20 lbs to see how my knee was at the end of the workout, felt fine... bloody weird.

D: n
R: no (over)

Sep 24/08

Even: Cardio -

• interval running on treadmill
• ~ 35 min total
• K mod. zone 12:12 min

HR: max 168, ave. 141

Was weird running on the treadmill, I was able to go easy on 11 km/hr which is the machine max... I doubt it was 11 mph as I would be flying. Had to crank the incline to 6 to get challenging towards the end. I did tweak my knee again a bit, my chiro friend is gonna see me on Friday morning so I'm stoked about that. I'm digging this new cardio scheme, probably going to do it for next 3 weeks as well and then throw in a week of the old style cardio (LSD stuff) for some recovery as per Eric Wong's suggestion.

D: y
R: n (over)

[Reloaded]

Sep 26/08

Even: MMA - 1 hr

OK, so I fucked up. Thought the class started at 8:30, wrong... 7:30, lol. Got some heavy bag work in and then rolled with Master Chu during the open mat... I could easily pick him up but his technique is so smooth, I have a lot to learn from that man.

Good news is my chiro friend confirmed my suspicions, I have a strain of my MCL on my right knee. He did some ultrasound and massage, felt awesome. I need to get an ultrasound machine sometime in the future, those things are solid gold. Me being an idiot however I decided to see how high I could jump over some new hurdles we got in the shop. At 30" I tweaked my knee whipping my legs well over the bar... I'm so dumb. Luckily I rested and massaged it a bit and it was fine during MMA tonight.

D: n
R: y

[Reloaded]

Smashed my pinky yesterday at the shop, got it caught between 50 lbs of plates and snap... surprised I didn't break it.

Needless to say it'll be a challenge to lift weights over the next few days while it heals... I'll probably do LSD work, use the Jungle Gym for some lower body stuff.

[Reloaded]

Sep 30/08

Even: Max. strength -

• 5x5, 1 min rest
• #1 - lat. pull-downs (80-110x2 lbs); single leg press (150-190 lbs)
• #2 - skullcrushers [6 reps] (20-60 lbs); db. squats (80x3,90,100 lbs)
• #3 - seated rows (80-120 lbs); ankle raises [10 reps] (100 lbs)
• mini core - 10 lbs saxon side-bends x10; bw. alt. supermans x10 - 4 sets
• ~ 30 min total

HR: max 170, ave. 139

Tried the 5x5 to build up my numbers, seem to have improved in every area except lat. pull-downs... 120 lbs still evades me.

Did some barbell squats at the shop Sunday, felt my limit at 185 lbs due to my form... going to use that as my basis moving forward on my squat numbers. Need to pick up Starting Strength by Rippetoe to get my form down for some of these exercises.

D: y
R: n (over)

[Reloaded]

Haven't worked out the past few days, my mind has been on other issues and I can't get pumped to go to the gym or get outside. Going to take the rest of the week off to chill and start again Monday with explosive strength.

[Reloaded]

Oct 07/08

Morn: Explo. strength -

• 5 min rowing warm & cool
• modified Magic 50
• ATG squats with 20 lbs
• double db. swings 10/10 lbs
• burpees with 20 lbs shoulder press
• ~ 27 min total

HR: ?

Aft: deadlifts 5x5
160 - 200 lbs x5

Even: Abs -
Ab Ripper X

Back with a kind of vengeance. Couple of smallish workouts strung together. Was really hurting this morning with the Magic 50, had to double my recovery time for the last 2 sets AND sit down (which I usually never do).

Felt good with the deadlifts, I think I can go a little beyond 200 lbs but probably not by much right now.

I might get laughed at but I got a copy of P90X... so many people come to the shop that I needed to see what the fuss is about. While I won't go so far as doing all the routines, the Ab Ripper X dvd is a good under 20 min ab routine. Pretty much a lot of pilates-inspired moves... I'll probably use it to double up some days when I feel I can handle it. The nutrition guide is pretty clever, I'm about to do the fat burning phase for a couple of weeks... I'm just worried that all the extra protein is going to make me shit my pants.

D: y
R: n (over)

[Reloaded]

Oct 8/08

Even: Cardio -
interval swimming - 1 lap, 30 seconds rest, ~ 20 min

D: n
R: n (over)

[Reloaded]

Oct 10/08

Morn: Yoga - ~ 40 min

My low back was really seized up this morning from a ton of lifting at the shop yesterday so I popped in the P90X Yoga dvd. Friggin' thing is 1 hr and 30 mins long! I only did 40 minutes before I tapped out... really great dvd. So far I'm impressed with the quality of Tony Horton and his ab and yoga dvds... they help fit the bill when I need another workout or need to stretch out my stiff corpse.

D: ?
R: n (over)