Sunday Workout

Felt good today, but the weather didn't cooperate for any outside fun - so this workout was all in the dungeon...

V-bar

96 X 5 each hand
131 X 3 each hand
166 X 1 each hand
191 X 1 right/fail left
211 X 1 right
216 X 1 right

Double Overhand DL (no hook)

135 X 10
205 X 6
275 X 3
295 X 3
315 X 3

Reps until failure on 32.5 York blob

Hand to hand tosses with 30lb block until failure

Tonight's mini workout

Saturday is normally a day off of sorts - but the kids are out and my wife is at work so I felt like I should be doing something constructive...

Started out bending

5 pieces of CRS 3/16 X 7 all barehand
About a dozen 1/4 X 6 GR2 in very light wrapping

Push ups

2 X 25
2 X 20
1 X Max (33 - felt good)

Hindu Squats

3 X 35

About 10 minutes of playing with the kettlebell - mostly BUP's and some hand to hand flips

Tonight's workout

Started out with a little bending - nothing really to speak of, just some 3/16 X 6 for volume to keep my form in check. Then I moved onto some kettlebell work:

BUP's Alternating hands for

5 X 10 right
4 X 10 left
1 X 8 left

Flat tosses (where the bell doesn't flip) from hand to hand. It's like a swing that you throw to the opposite hand:

1 X 40
1 X 30
1 X 30

Vulcan Gripper (parallel or 20mm set)

Level 3 X 5 each hand
Level 4 X 5 each hand
Level 5 X 5 each hand
Level 6 X 3 each hand
Level 7 X 1 each hand

Grippers

Had a frustrating day at work and to blow off some steam I figured I'd work the torsion grippers just a little bit...

BBSA

5 X 10 (with grind on each rep) each hand

Choked HG300

5 reps right

5 assisted reps left

Wasn't a ton of work and it didn't take long, but it did help me feel better.

Today's Push-Ups and Bells

I started off today with a little shoulder pre-hab and some dislocations to try and stay limber - then it was on to the push-ups...

1 set of 20
1 set of 25
2 sets of 15
1 set to failure (32 - felt good, but I took a brief pause in the upright position after #27)

Kettlebells...

I didn't do much "free form" or spontaneous juggling really, but I drilled the basics for about twenty minutes. I did two hand flips, alternating one hand flips, same-hand flips and back to two hand flips before I finished up with a few sets of BUP's. Since the weather in my neck of the woods has broken, I'm really into getting outside to play a bit and the juggling gives me a perfect excuse to do so - it also gives me a good excues to clean up the backyard, which has proven to keep my wife happy.

Guest Piece on Straight to the Bar

Scott over at Straight to the Bar asked if I would be interested in doing a guest article - and being that Straight to the Bar is one of my absolute favorite sites on the web - I jumped at the chance.

Unusual Goals

Check out my piece, and while you're over there, take a look around and check out all the awesome information his website has to offer!

Yesterday's workout

Did some more V-bar work, starting at 90lbs for reps and working up to a good clean rep with 211 on the right, then a shaky attempt at 221. Pulled 186 pretty solid on the left and barely budged 191.

After the V-bar I did some block weight overhand tosses then went outside for some kettlebell work. A few sets of BUP's and swings led to a bit of juggling, so I broke the video camera out for the last tosses...

Last night - Push Ups

Began Week three of the One Hundred Push Ups workout last night...

As prescribed
1 set of 14
1 set of 18
2 sets of 14
1 set to failure (hit thirty with little trouble, everything felt good)

As a capper to the push up festivities I did 2 sets of 10 BUP's with my 16k bell and played around for about ten minutes with my Vulcan hand gripper - warming up at level three and working up to level seven, the hands are starting to feel MUCH better!

My video on Straight to the Bar!!!

I had a pleasant surprise while surfing the web yesterday - I stumbled across one of my videos from over the weekend on one of my favorite strength and fitness websites - Scott Bird's Straight to the Bar. Here's the video that was featured...



If you have any interest in feats of strength, powerlifting, body building or really anything related to the worlds of strength or fitness pay Straight to the Bar a visit.

The Weekend

Saturday I finished week two of the 100 push ups workout completing the prescription and finishing up with a max set of 27 (again)

Sunday's workout was a good one. Worked on the 1" V-bar starting very light for reps and up to 211 (my previous max) on the right and 181 on the left.

I finished the workout with some more ketllebell "juggling" - about twenty minutes and at the end tried this...

Today's workout

Man, I should really listen to myself more often. I said a few days ago that I was going to lay off bending and tearing for a week or so after this weekend - Well I guess I decided to give myself a big send-off.

Last night I ripped five decks (admittedly trying to get a good video of quartering before my little lay-off - mission failed. I ripped all of the decks cleanly, but couldn't get a clean quarter) and my stock from FBBC came in - I worked on a grade 5 for a little while, eventually getting it going, but no where near finished, then I worked on and off on a #0 Diamond classic in vain for about ten minutes.

Long story short - the part of my hands from the base of my thumb to the middle of my palm are destroyed, both hands raw and sore -so in effect this is forcing me to take a 1-2 week break (much needed)

Today I did my push ups...
1 set of 14
1 set of 16
2 sets of 12
1 set to failure (27 - tough)

Kettlebells...
2 x 20 snatches (2 sets each hand)
2 X 10 BUPs (each hand)
2 X 25 swings (each hand)
about ten - fifteen minutes of juggling

I'm beat - good workout

Certification becomes official!

I submitted a video for certification on the 1" V-bar with Fat Bastard Barbell a few weeks back and learned today that it was approved - 211lbs. Now my name sits upon a list with many of the greatest grip athletes training today. It's truly an honor - Thank you John Beatty.

Push Ups, Kettlebells and Soreness

Sundays regular workout wasn't anything too special. the family was still sick so I spent my time outside of the dungeon again - lots of plate curls wrist curls and hammer curls...

Monday I went on a marathon bending session working on my explosiveness and from through more grade 2's and I tore a total of six decks of cards (including one vertical that I got the worlds darkest video of)

This morning my hands and wrists, and left shoulder were SORE - I think I might take a few days off of bending and tearing while they heal up

Today's Push Ups - Week two, day one (performed on perfect push-up handles)

2 sets of 14
2 sets of 10
1 set to failure (27, but extenuating circumstances made it more difficult than it probably should have been)

I also took my kettlebell outside for a few minutes to play, which led to a few sets of bottoms up presses and a very mild self intro to kettlebell "juggling" - I recently re-watched John Brookefield's video of the "Tower of Terror", thus the inspiration for throwing around a heavy ball of iron with a handle - word of caution - this practice is quite a bit more difficult than it looks!

Push Ups, Push Ups, Push Ups

Today was day three on my journey to 100 push ups. Here's how it went...

1 set of 11
1 set of 15
2 sets of 9
1 set to failure - got to 26 today before I started to feel tight, past the quarter mark!

Did some shoulder dislocations - despite trying to keep up on the stretching, my left shoulder seems to be lagging behind my right in flexibility and subsequently (I think) getting sore after bending sessions. It doesn't feel like an injury necessarily, just working out some kinks as I familiarize myself with newer movements every day.

First Quartering

Tonight I hit another first (for me) in the worlds of strength feats, unfortunately I didn't have my video camera at the ready, but here's a picture of the quartered deck of plastic coated poker cards.





I'm all out of decks at the moment, but I'll try to get some more this weekend and get a video of quartering a deck!

Yesterday's workout +another video from the 3rd

With me as the exception, the whole family is sick - so I didn't go down into the dungeon for last nights workout, I brought some small stuff upstairs to play with so I would be readily available if needed.

plate curls - 3 X 8 with a 9k plate
wrist curls - 3 X 15 with 50lb dumbbell (each hand)
Vulcan Hand gripper - about twenty minutes of work, warming up from reps at level 3 to negatives on level 12

Was far different from my usual Thursday night workout, but the forearms did get a good pump!

Here's the other video shot on 3/3 - a bare hand bend of a 1/4 X 6 grade 2 bolt...

Video from Tuesday 3/3

I was feeling a little spontaneous on Tuesday night and decided to try to video a couple strength feats that I've been working on lately and was pleasantly surprised by how I seem to be progressing. Here's a video of me tearing a deck of cards, that when compared to my previous videoed attempt from two weeks ago is done a whole heck of a lot quicker...

This morning's workout - the road to 100

Today marked day 2 of the 100 pushups workout - I performed as prescribed:

1 set 0f 10
1 set of 12
2 sets of 8
1 set max - hit 24 before I started to get tight in the shoulders

Even though I was a bit sore going in, the pushups felt good for the most part.

Capped of this mini workout with some stretching - mostly shoulder dislocations to increase my flexibility for bending.

Last night I got two good videos - one of a quick tear of a deck of cards and the other a bare handed bend - I'll try to get the videos up in the next day or two as time permits.

Yesterday's Workout

Yesterday I worked some light finger lifts for volume - staying in the 125lb range for multiples. I also worked a lot of hand grippers and block weights, a few sets of deadlifts (fast singles with 375) and one nice set of twenty rep front squats. This is the first time that I've done front squats in a long while so I fully expect my quads to be giving me trouble today.

This morning I also started the "one hundred pushups program" with this reasoning - I do a lot of unconventional movements: bending, one hand and one finger lifts, blockweights, etc. I figure that you can't get much more conventional that the push up, and working my way up to one hundred consecutive reps through the weeks on this program will also help out on the conditioning side as I don't do much more than single reps (other than the twenty rep squats.)

It's important to implement variation into your routines for good overall body development and since I don't particularly focus on conditioning, chest or triceps exercises I though one hundred rep pushups would fill in some of the void in my regimen - and it only take a matter of a few minutes three days a week so it won't conflict with anything else I'm doing.

As per the schedule I performed:
1 set of 10
1 set of 12
2 sets of 7
1 set to failure (I did twenty one, probably could have gotten a few more, but I was really feeling it in my back after yesterdays workout and I didn't want to overdue it on the first day) - We'll see what happens!