I was going to pull on Friday, but I woke up with a pretty stiff back and decided against it. Did some mobility work instead, and had a massage later in the day. I felt immeasurably better afterwards.
Saturday - Upper body
Inside-Out Warm-up
Band-assisted chins, 2x6, 1x5
Bench Press, 2x5@185
Pathetically weak, I know. This was the first time I've had more than 135 on the bar since August, though, and it felt ok. The pec is getting better, although I'm tempted to run a cycle in the 3x8-12 range to re-develop the connective tissue. We'll see how things progress.
Inverted Rows, 2x10, 1x9
Blue band pressdowns, 3x25
DB Bicep Curls, 2x8@40
Monday 3/31
Best workout in a long time; I really feel like I'm making progress with my movement quality in the lower body. Here's the workout:
M2 Warm-up
Hip activation circuit
Front Squats, 3x185, 205 and 225
I've totally re-worked my squat pattern and it feels much better. The weights aren't where they need to be, but they will come. The most important thing right now is that I'm moving in a pain-free and efficient manner. That's definitely the case.
RDL's, 6@245, 6@265
These felt good today
DB Step-ups, 3x8@50
Glute-Hams, 3x8
These are coming around as well - I need to start moving the plate in and see where I'm really at, though.
All in all, really good workouts. The diet isn't going poorly, either; I'll give an update later this week.
Stay strong
MR
Monday, March 31, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Diet Updates 3/26 and 3/27
The diet goes on, and things are going pretty well.
So far, I've lost 7.5 pounds, but I'm assumming most of that is water weight. I lost 3#'s the first day, 3#'s the second, and another 1.5# today. I'll be interested to see how this continues moving forward, as I've really been kicking up my water intake to boot.
Overall, it hasn't been too hard to stick to. The only meal that's really tough is dinner as Jess gets to eat "real" food for dinner, while I eat a salad. I've also made an executive decision and decided that at least one time per week I'm going to go out to dinner with Jess. I'll stay as close to the diet as I can (no starches, desserts, etc), but I think it's important to have at least a small degree of normalcy within my life. We're used to doing that at least once per weekend, so I think that will help with regards to long term adherence.
One final note: The only meal I really didn't like was a salad I created on day 2. It included tuna, romaine, EVOO and cheddar cheese. I think it would've been fine had I used chicken, but the tuna was not good. I have come up with some pretty tasty salad creations, so stay tuned and I'll post those at a later date.
Back to the iron work tomorrow and Saturday - deadlifts tomorrow and upper body on Saturday.
Stay strong
MR
So far, I've lost 7.5 pounds, but I'm assumming most of that is water weight. I lost 3#'s the first day, 3#'s the second, and another 1.5# today. I'll be interested to see how this continues moving forward, as I've really been kicking up my water intake to boot.
Overall, it hasn't been too hard to stick to. The only meal that's really tough is dinner as Jess gets to eat "real" food for dinner, while I eat a salad. I've also made an executive decision and decided that at least one time per week I'm going to go out to dinner with Jess. I'll stay as close to the diet as I can (no starches, desserts, etc), but I think it's important to have at least a small degree of normalcy within my life. We're used to doing that at least once per weekend, so I think that will help with regards to long term adherence.
One final note: The only meal I really didn't like was a salad I created on day 2. It included tuna, romaine, EVOO and cheddar cheese. I think it would've been fine had I used chicken, but the tuna was not good. I have come up with some pretty tasty salad creations, so stay tuned and I'll post those at a later date.
Back to the iron work tomorrow and Saturday - deadlifts tomorrow and upper body on Saturday.
Stay strong
MR
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Tuesday 3/25
Upper body day
Inside-Out Warm-up
Lat Pulldowns, 3x6 +
DB Shoulder Press, 2x8
Cable Row, 3x6 +
Push-ups, 2x10
Decline Skullcrushers, 2x8 +
Curls 4 Da Gurls, 2x6 +
Decline Reverse Crunch, 2x8
Moderate intensity cardio, 10 minutes (5 bike and 5 treadmill)
Good workout overall. I added in some cardio and tried to keep all rest periods under 90 seconds.
Day 1 of the diet is in the record books; 20 days to go! I took some "Before" pics last night, but those won't be revealed until there are some solid "After" pics to go with them ;)
Stay strong
MR
Inside-Out Warm-up
Lat Pulldowns, 3x6 +
DB Shoulder Press, 2x8
Cable Row, 3x6 +
Push-ups, 2x10
Decline Skullcrushers, 2x8 +
Curls 4 Da Gurls, 2x6 +
Decline Reverse Crunch, 2x8
Moderate intensity cardio, 10 minutes (5 bike and 5 treadmill)
Good workout overall. I added in some cardio and tried to keep all rest periods under 90 seconds.
Day 1 of the diet is in the record books; 20 days to go! I took some "Before" pics last night, but those won't be revealed until there are some solid "After" pics to go with them ;)
Stay strong
MR
Monday, March 24, 2008
Thursday - 3/21 and Monday 3/24
Two good workouts; here goes.
Friday 3/21 - Upper/lower mix
I had a business meeting on Saturday morning with Bill Hartman and Pat Rigsby so I had to combine these two workouts. Here's what I did:
Sumo speed pulls, 5x1@315, 1@365
Good speed overall; technique improved as the session went on.
Inverted Rows, 3x10 superset with
DB Lunges, 3x8
Flat Bench, 2x10 superset with
Supine Ball Leg Curl, 2x10
Ab Wheel Rollouts, 3x8
I trained with my MMA guy today, so the rest periods weren't quite like I would like. Overall, a good session though.
Monday 3/24 - Squat lower body
Today was my best lower body training session in quite some time. The hips are moving the way I want, now I just need to get the upper body on par as well so I can back squat the way I'd like.
Front squat to 12" box, 3x3
Front squat w/o box, 1x3
I'm squatting below parallel with a nice arch and no compensatory movement at the lumbar spine. This is the first time in quite a while I've been able to do this. I'm going to switch up now and do all my front squatting without a box, as I got a lot better left quad recruitment on that final set.
RDL's, 2x6
DB Step-ups, 3x8
I've been playing around with my propulsion point on this as I outlined in my Bulletproof Knees manual, and I've found I need to drive through the mid/forefoot on the left leg and through the heel on the right. I think my hips are starting to square up nicely and the leg development is becoming more balanced.
Glute-Hams, 3x8
Total session time was around an hour.
I also started the diet today; so far, so good. I'll keep everyone posted on that as we go ;)
Stay strong
MR
Friday 3/21 - Upper/lower mix
I had a business meeting on Saturday morning with Bill Hartman and Pat Rigsby so I had to combine these two workouts. Here's what I did:
Sumo speed pulls, 5x1@315, 1@365
Good speed overall; technique improved as the session went on.
Inverted Rows, 3x10 superset with
DB Lunges, 3x8
Flat Bench, 2x10 superset with
Supine Ball Leg Curl, 2x10
Ab Wheel Rollouts, 3x8
I trained with my MMA guy today, so the rest periods weren't quite like I would like. Overall, a good session though.
Monday 3/24 - Squat lower body
Today was my best lower body training session in quite some time. The hips are moving the way I want, now I just need to get the upper body on par as well so I can back squat the way I'd like.
Front squat to 12" box, 3x3
Front squat w/o box, 1x3
I'm squatting below parallel with a nice arch and no compensatory movement at the lumbar spine. This is the first time in quite a while I've been able to do this. I'm going to switch up now and do all my front squatting without a box, as I got a lot better left quad recruitment on that final set.
RDL's, 2x6
DB Step-ups, 3x8
I've been playing around with my propulsion point on this as I outlined in my Bulletproof Knees manual, and I've found I need to drive through the mid/forefoot on the left leg and through the heel on the right. I think my hips are starting to square up nicely and the leg development is becoming more balanced.
Glute-Hams, 3x8
Total session time was around an hour.
I also started the diet today; so far, so good. I'll keep everyone posted on that as we go ;)
Stay strong
MR
Thursday, March 20, 2008
3/19 and 3/20 - Off
I'm taking these two days off. Tomorrow will be my 2nd leg training day (I hope to train w/one of my MMA clients), and then again Saturday morning with my boy Justin.
Yesterday, I did some stretching and today I'll get in some Z and foam rolling.
I also got all the diet information from Mike Roussell last night, so I'll be starting in on the diet Monday morning. Should be interesting, to say the least ;)
Stay strong
MR
Yesterday, I did some stretching and today I'll get in some Z and foam rolling.
I also got all the diet information from Mike Roussell last night, so I'll be starting in on the diet Monday morning. Should be interesting, to say the least ;)
Stay strong
MR
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Tuesday - 3/18
Upper body day
Inside-Out Warm-up
Lat Pulldowns, 3x5 - superset with
DB Shoulder Press, 2x8
Not feeling too bad here. I still feel the pec a bit with almost any press, but I increased the weight today and it felt pretty good.
Neutral Grip Cable Row, 3x5 - superset with
Push-ups, 2x8
Again, continuing to feel better here. I need to have Bill or someone watch my scaps on the push-ups and see how the serratus is coming around.
Skullcrushers, 2x8
Curls, 2x8
Decline reverse crunch, 2x6
Half-kneeling cable push, 2x8
DB Fly EQI, 60 sec.
ISO Prone Y, ~40 sec.
Overall, a pretty good workout. Work capacity still sucks but it will take a few weeks to get it back. The cold is still lingering a bit, but I think even that is getting better.
Stay strong
MR
PS Last night I got some low-load, long duration stretches in. They included:
Hip Rotators
Pecs
Knee extension
Inside-Out Warm-up
Lat Pulldowns, 3x5 - superset with
DB Shoulder Press, 2x8
Not feeling too bad here. I still feel the pec a bit with almost any press, but I increased the weight today and it felt pretty good.
Neutral Grip Cable Row, 3x5 - superset with
Push-ups, 2x8
Again, continuing to feel better here. I need to have Bill or someone watch my scaps on the push-ups and see how the serratus is coming around.
Skullcrushers, 2x8
Curls, 2x8
Decline reverse crunch, 2x6
Half-kneeling cable push, 2x8
DB Fly EQI, 60 sec.
ISO Prone Y, ~40 sec.
Overall, a pretty good workout. Work capacity still sucks but it will take a few weeks to get it back. The cold is still lingering a bit, but I think even that is getting better.
Stay strong
MR
PS Last night I got some low-load, long duration stretches in. They included:
Hip Rotators
Pecs
Knee extension
Monday, March 17, 2008
Monday - 3/17
Good workout overall. I still haven't licked this mutant cold of mine, so the total volume is pretty low. As I start to come around, though, look for that to go up.
Magnificent Mobility warm-up
Intrinsic Hip Circuit (bridging, psoas holds, external rotation work, etc.)
Front Squats to 13" box, 2x3
RDL's, 2x6
Glute-Ham Raise, 2x6
Step-ups, 2x8
For those of you unaware, I have some lingering crepitation in the left knee. The odd thing is, the crepitation is medial, while the surgery was on the lateral side. Therefore, I've really been working hard on getting full extension/hyperextension back. So far, the crepitation has decreased and quad activation/recruitment has increased, so I think I'm on the right track here. Time will tell...
Stay strong
MR
Magnificent Mobility warm-up
Intrinsic Hip Circuit (bridging, psoas holds, external rotation work, etc.)
Front Squats to 13" box, 2x3
RDL's, 2x6
Glute-Ham Raise, 2x6
Step-ups, 2x8
For those of you unaware, I have some lingering crepitation in the left knee. The odd thing is, the crepitation is medial, while the surgery was on the lateral side. Therefore, I've really been working hard on getting full extension/hyperextension back. So far, the crepitation has decreased and quad activation/recruitment has increased, so I think I'm on the right track here. Time will tell...
Stay strong
MR
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Saturday - 3/15
Upper body day today. Still feeling the effects of the head cold, so training is slow to get back up to speed. Not a bad day overall, though.
Inside-Out Warm-up
Prehab
Y and T - 10 each
Push-ups, 3x10 - No pec pain whatsoever and serratus is firing much better. Things are getting back to normal here...
Neutral Grip Chins, 3x5 - Working on full scap depression at mid-point. I'd be good for a lot more reps if it wasn't for that last 3-4 inches!
Bent-Over Face Pulls, 3x10 - These are getting easier; I need to find a way to load more weight.
Street pump superset
Blue Band Pressdowns, 3x20
DB Hammer Curls, 2x8
As I said, nothing too interesting today. Hopefully I'll be close to 100% by Monday.
Stay strong
MR
Inside-Out Warm-up
Prehab
Y and T - 10 each
Push-ups, 3x10 - No pec pain whatsoever and serratus is firing much better. Things are getting back to normal here...
Neutral Grip Chins, 3x5 - Working on full scap depression at mid-point. I'd be good for a lot more reps if it wasn't for that last 3-4 inches!
Bent-Over Face Pulls, 3x10 - These are getting easier; I need to find a way to load more weight.
Street pump superset
Blue Band Pressdowns, 3x20
DB Hammer Curls, 2x8
As I said, nothing too interesting today. Hopefully I'll be close to 100% by Monday.
Stay strong
MR
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
The Training Blog is up and running!
As many of you already know I've been hard at work trying to revamp my website in the recent months. In that same time period I've also started working for myself full time, gone to Australia and Nashville, and contracted the nastiest cold of my entire life!
Needless to say, training has been a little sporadic, and this blog should help keep me motivated.
Without any further ado, here are some of my short term training goals:
- Keep improving my movement quality.
I've been working really hard to re-train my squat and deadlift motor patterns, and both are starting to feel quite good. The stiffness in my lumbar spine is coming around, while the stiffness in the hips is decreasing every so slightly. I need to have that healthy balance if I want to squat and move the way that I know I can. Loosening up the pecs/lats is the next big project so that I can back squat properly.
- Lean out
There's a high likelihood that I'll be working with Mike Roussell in the near future. Quite simply, I have enough on plate without worrying about my diet - so I'm going to bring Mike on to take care of that for me for a while. He's done some great things with Bill and I'm really looking forward to this.
- Get as healthy as possible
A pec strain a few months ago set my upper body training back a bit. As well, I'm working on getting those last few degrees of knee extension back so that the knees are moving symmetrically. This has been an ongoing process but overall I feel like I'm moving as well as I ever have in a lot of regards.
My goal is to update this blog a few times per week - it may be more, it may be less. Regardless, I hope you all can take something away from it.
Stay strong
MR
Needless to say, training has been a little sporadic, and this blog should help keep me motivated.
Without any further ado, here are some of my short term training goals:
- Keep improving my movement quality.
I've been working really hard to re-train my squat and deadlift motor patterns, and both are starting to feel quite good. The stiffness in my lumbar spine is coming around, while the stiffness in the hips is decreasing every so slightly. I need to have that healthy balance if I want to squat and move the way that I know I can. Loosening up the pecs/lats is the next big project so that I can back squat properly.
- Lean out
There's a high likelihood that I'll be working with Mike Roussell in the near future. Quite simply, I have enough on plate without worrying about my diet - so I'm going to bring Mike on to take care of that for me for a while. He's done some great things with Bill and I'm really looking forward to this.
- Get as healthy as possible
A pec strain a few months ago set my upper body training back a bit. As well, I'm working on getting those last few degrees of knee extension back so that the knees are moving symmetrically. This has been an ongoing process but overall I feel like I'm moving as well as I ever have in a lot of regards.
My goal is to update this blog a few times per week - it may be more, it may be less. Regardless, I hope you all can take something away from it.
Stay strong
MR
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