Nothing special to report today. I did a two-a-day with a 3 mile run on the treadmill in the morning. Then I did a massive strength workout this afternoon, due to the fact that I had several people watching me in the fitness center. Kind of awkward, but it helped me perform. Continue Reading
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All posts for the month April, 2012
Being in a shed sized metal building in the middle of nowhere North Dakota by yourself for 30 straight hours (awake) can be stressful. Especially when you’re working equations and conducting tests the entire time. I seriously did not sit down last night. I was in and out of freezing rain and chilled and wet to the bone. So, this afternoon when I finally had some down time, what did I do?
TRAIN!
I have a theory on work vs training. Everyone says training or exercise is “stress relief”, right? If you are under a lot of stress at work, you must relief all of this stress to get back to a normal state. Therefore,
Hard day at work + A hard workout = 0
Most people see it the other way around… They are blinded.
I brought out the jump rope and I had intentions of destroying an intense skipping session.
Using the sprint-in-place style:
1:00 On – as fast as possible
30 seconds rest
5x
30 seconds On – as fast as possible
15 seconds rest
5x
I typically do this workout at least once a week with not too much trouble, but today was different. The dome where the fitness center is located on site is heated to about 100 degrees – seriously. I felt like I was in a sauna and had a couple of questionable moments during rest intervals where I thought about hurling. Needless to say, it was rough, but I needed it! I finished up with:
Inverted Pullups 5 x 5
Supersetted with
One arm Pushups 5 x 10
Since work has literally been a round the clock job up here, I found time to workout from 11:45pm-12:15am two nights ago. I was tired, but not exhausted, so I decided I needed to do something. I was in desperate need of some standing rollouts- so that was of course the first thing I did.
Standing Rollouts 5 x 1
Supersetted with
Band Goodmornings 5 x 12
I still needed something else, obviously. But, I wasn’t in the mood for short, intense cardio or a run – and I was sore in many places in my upper body after my snatch max out the day before. So, I tried my hand again at the strict bar muscle up. This time, I had the camera rolling. I actually did it on a power tower to prove there is no swing or kip- otherwise you hit the chair back with your legs and the rep will fail in the transition phase.
Strict Bar Muscle Ups 8 x 1
( to develop muscle memory)
I still wasn’t satisfied at this point. I felt the need to get my heart rate up due to the fact that the volume of my workout at that point was so small. I sprung for the sorry excuse for a heavy bag and did 3 x 3:00 rounds – bare knuckle.
I am in Tioga, ND again at the same job site I’ve visited twice this already this year. The first time I was here in October there were no buildings and we had to camp, leaving me with only outdoor running and burpees as my fitness options. Last time I was here in December, temperatures were in the negatives every day with a nasty and constant wind and heavy snow. We at least had shelter in December, but not enough to train inside. So, I still ran and did burpees outside.
As the site has developed in the past few months, also has an indoor fitness center! Even though running outside would not be bad now due to the temperatures being above freezing, it was nice to walk into a room with a full set of dumbbells, treadmills, pullup and dip stations heavy bag, and several machines.
After a full day of travel and teetering on burnout as a residual result of the Burpee Two Miler, I wasn’t sure if I should even strength train this morning. My lower back has been feeling stiff for a few days, so I wanted nothing to do with standing rollouts. There was no belt to attach weight for weighted pullups, so those were scratched. My legs and IT band were sore from running yesterday and an intense rope session the day before. Do I didn’t want to do single leg squats. Most of my main strength exercise options were eliminated before the workout even began. So, I honestly thought about slacking due to my lack of options. Then I decided that slacking is for douches.
After my three hours of sleep, I dragged my stiff and groggy self into the fitness center and tried to make the best of it. Not having a workout in mind, I just started on the pullup bar. I did a couple of warmup sets and decided to try to hold a dumbbell between my knees for some weighted sets. I did one set with a 70 lb dumbbell between my knees, which was cut short due to the dumbbell slipping. With weighted sets not being possible, I tried my luck at a strict bar muscle up- a goal I have unofficially set the near future. I’ve never been able to do it without a slight swing on the bar. To my surprise, I actually got it! I then did another one a few minutes later to make sure it wasn’t a fluke. Sweet! I need to get it on tape to make it official. Then of course when I turned on the camera, I couldn’t get it. I’ll try again in 48 hours.
I then decided to do some random sets of single arm dumbbell bench with 80 lbs. I did 4 x 6 each arm with some crappy isometric pulls in between sets. After this, I felt as if I had done nothing, which is not a good feeling after a training session.
What else could I do? Ah ha! Snatches! I haven’t done them since before the Burpee Two Miler due to my rotator cuff being so tender.
I figured I would do a few light sets and see how I felt. After all, a goal of mine for this year is to be able to Snatch a 100 lb dumbbell with each arm. 70, 80, and 90 lbs felt easy and smooth. I was shocked. They have a 100 lb dumbbell, so I decided to go for it. And, in case I actually achieved this goal, I had the camera rolling. After a crappy first half of a work and already feeling stiff, I was floored when the 100 lb dumbbell came up easy! Cross that goal off the list!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7KhuJoAcyY&feature=youtube_gdata_player
I’m laying at home sick today with a fever, aches, chills, and fatigue. This morning when I woke up, I felt as if I had been in a knock-down drag-out fight. I figured it was normal considering I was indeed in a fight yesterday.
Davage and I sparred for the first time in about six weeks. During that six weeks, I have been without my primary boxing tool -the double end bag. My double end bags have a life expectancy of about six months before I pop the bladder and need a new one. Turns out that during our six weeks away from sparring, I was in the market for a new bladder. Since the bladder is only $4, I was being lazy and waiting for titleboxing.com to run a deal for free shipping. That day finally came yesterday.
For boxing, there is simply nothing better to sharpen your skills, outside of real fighting, than the double end bag. It works your conditioning, speed, timing, accuracy, and most importantly head movement and reflexes. If these skills aren’t put to use often, they’ll be lost. Needless to say, I had some nerves going into yesterday’s sparring with my experienced 6’4″ sparring partner.
We went for five exhilarating rounds and had several good exchanges, a busted nose, and Davage taking off his shoes to fight barefoot due to “balance issues”.
We were both rusty after only six weeks off. My cardio and leg conditioning were both there, but I wasn’t used to throwing snappy punches or slipping anymore. I kept thinking, “I need my double end bag again!”. As a result, I am feeling like a beaten man today. Yes, I am achy from the virus and fever. But, my neck, core, shoulders, and lower back wouldn’t be nearly as bad if I would have kept my regular dose of the double end bag. Hurry up and get here, new bladder!
This is classic. Especially since we use it often. Enjoy.
Many people find it difficult to train while on a family vacation. The absence of their comfortable gym and typical routine often leaves them with the illusion that they have no options. No treadmill, bench press, or curl bar usually means no training. No working out coupled with the awful eating that is synonymous with vacations equals the beginning of the end for most.
How can you avoid falling into this trap?
Build on a foundation where locations and large equipment are not the cornerstones. You can’t take LA Fitness or their lat pull down machine with you.
Bodyweight training has many obvious benefits other than the fact that you need no equipment. But not having to pack anything is a huge factor when packing for a vacation. I did plan to do other exercises besides bodyweight, so I packed a few small items in my bag:
- Jump Rope ( for interval training )
- Ab Wheel ( standing rollouts )
- Elastic Bands ( good mornings, rows, etc )
These things take up hardly any room in the bag and are extremely versatile tools for putting workouts together. Here’s what we did today:
Standing Rollouts 5 x 2
Supersetted with Band Goodmornings 5 x 12
Towel Pullups 5 x 10
Supersetted with Pushups 5 x 20
This was an excellent full body workout. Options for tomorrow include: burpees, running, or mountain biking. Plan ahead before your next family vacation, pack appropriate minimal equipment, and don’t make excuses to slack off. Do this, and getting back to your regular program will be much easier when you get home!
