Design.
Movement.
Words.
So I haven’t been entirely slacking off with exercise, I just haven’t been putting it in my records here. So rather than post the backlog of my workouts over the last couple of weeks in SF I’m just skipping forward to today.
Warmup
Boxing w/Punching Bag - 2 min on, 30 sec off x 5
Main
Rowing - 2 min, 30 sec off x 10
Finale
Deadlift 5x5 @ 225lb.
Another intense set of Kettlebell and bodyweight exercises. Divided into three sections, the first a power/strength section, then a lower intensity double set of bodyweight, then a tough kettlebell circuit.
a) Strength for Time: 4 sets of 4 reps, timed at 3m11s
b) Bodyweight+: 2 sets of 12 reps
c) Circuit: 3 sets, 30s per exercise, no break between exercises, 90s rest between sets. All performed with a 16kg Kettlebel
I should have fully counted my reps per exercise but I didn’t although I was usually hitting from 10-15 reps per exercise with one exception, my first set of snatches on the left where I rocked out 18 snatches and realized that I’d burn out way too fast at that pace.
Circuits are such an intense mental experience; the first one is the kickoff where you start throwing down hard, the second one is where you start questioning why you’re doing this and the third was where I bucked up and pushed through my walls.
I’m really digging the 30s/30s on-off intervals that Yusuf Clack suggested and putting them into my workout more often. They’re a nice way to keep rotating between either exercises in a circuit fashion.
Warmup: Yoga, Sun Salutations
It’s good to get yoga back into my routine, I definitely feel that without it I’d break, a mix of strengthening, lengthening and stretch.
Main: 3xAMRAP at 30s on, 30s off
Overall decent: pistols on my right side are weaker than my left have to focus on keeping foot in line with knee more; haven’t worked with weighted pullups much so this was a fun twist, hopefully I see gains to make my muscle-ups easier; still weak on the ring dips, should maybe add weight and work on strength gain here in 5x3 sets.
Statics: 30s on, 30s off
Figured I’d throw a few static holds in at the very end just to see. I really focused on engaging my shoulder girdle and back and hollowing my front. It seemed to make a decent amount of difference especially on the front lever; I should really focus on using those muscles more and visualizing them instead of focusing on my hands pressing into the rings.
I spent the last week or so planning and designing a basic workout & diet plan for a good friend of mine who wanted to start training regularly for strength and conditioning. While doing this research I realized I don’t have a plan or schedule for my training, mostly I choose off the cuff what I feel like doing that day, even though I have a general idea of my weekly workouts. Perhaps it’s something to change into the future, currently I don’t hold many goals other than get stronger, be more agile and controlled on and off the rings, keep to it 3-4 times per week. Something to consider.
In the research I picked out a few routines from MyMadMethods.com for him to use in his progression and figured I would give one a try for the day. I chose this one: Strength & Power workout for MMA Fighters #1. I’ve been working on mostly conditioning lately, minus the rough ring series 5x3 day, so a strength workout sounded like a good idea.
Warmup: 30s each, two sets
Main: 1-2 min breaks between sets & exercises
There’s supposed to be a whole circuit portion of the workout after this but I ran out of time to meet some friends at this point and packed it in. Regardless it was a stellar workout although I could use a matched pair of KB for doubles and maybe a 30kg for real power focused movement.
Hopped back up on the rings for a 5x3 of Ring Series 1 (Muscle Up -> Hang -> Back Lever -> Hang -> Front Lever -> Hang -> Finish) and I struggled a bit with the grip and forearm pump from such long sequences on the rings but overall I think it was good to get back up there. I tired out quickly here so I called it a short workout.
Warmup:
Main:
Cooldown:
Posting the last few days of workouts. Figured I’d give a few interval sets a go with the kettlebells.
2-Handed Swing @ 24kg: 30s on, 30s off; 18/18/16
1-Handed Swing ES @ 24kg: 30s on, 30s off (no break from 2-handed swing); 18/18
Snatch ES @ 16kg: 30s on, 30s off; 10/10/10
Snatch ES @ 24kg: 30s on, 30s off; 8/8
Renegade Row @ 16kg: 8/8
More kettlebell games on my own. Really think these things are going to make such a huge difference when I feel like braving the cold weather to get back up on the rings.
Warmup: All performed for 30s each twice through with a 16kg bell.
Workout: For time, sets of 21 reps, 15 reps, and 9 reps. Results: 21 reps: 7m46s; 15 reps, 7m26s; 9 reps, 3m06s; Total: 18m21s
Overall happy with this even though I was not performing at stellar levels. My ability to push through the mental barrier to keep going has fallen with my lack of regular training over the last month thus I was taking a lot of short breaks until the last set where I pushed through and cut my time down drastically.
Finale: Max Hindu Pushups in 60s, for fun.
I got a set of Kettlebells from Ader in the mail today after ordering them from Amazon and I really wanted to give them a quick go even though I’ve been on holiday in Australia for three weeks.
Warmup: 2 intervals, 30 sec each
Workout: 10 intervals, 2 min per interval, 8 reps per side. 30 second rest.
This workout was on top of eight miles bike riding and two hours of Parkour training in City Park which made for quite the full day.
Warmup
False Grip Pullups: 8 reps
The other day I felt a breakthrough in my false grip and it has made all the difference as I work towards a proper unassisted muscle-up.
Dips: 8 reps
Handstand Pushup: 8 reps
Rather than just doing handstand pushups on the ground, I laid out two cinder blocks about a foot and a half from each other and did my handstand pushups on them for a larger range of motion. Definitely made them that much more challenging.
Statics
Back Lever: 22 cnt, 10 cnt
My longest back lever hold so far.
Front Lever: 12 cnt, 10 cnt
L-Hang: 10 cnt, 6 cnt
I decided to add the hang to my statics for a change instead of the L-Sit. Pushing forward into the hands as I hang from them and maintaining the L position I think will be a good addition to other piked exercises later on.
Planche: 15 cnt, 10 cnt
Probably my best planche hold yet in an advanced tuck position on the rings.
Dynamics
I decided to add a semi-crossfit style workout back into my repertoire for the day as I’ve been focusing almost entirely on gymnastic and ring training lately.
Lawnmowers: 16 reps
Narrow Rows: 10 reps
Doing a set of rows with both hands on one ring instead definitely shook things up a bit.
Narrow Rows: 8 reps
Same as the former but instead of gripping the bottom of the ring I gripped the sides of it to work on grip strength.
Strap Hang: 6 cnt
Got bored and decided it’d be fun to do a little more grip exercise hanging from the strap for my rings instead of the rings themselves. Sort of like a rope climb.
Pistols: 5 reps right, 5 reps left
A set of pistols while holding a stone weighing about 12lbs out in front of me. Felt more balanced on the pistols with the counterweight of the stone although the extra weight was noticed in the press back up.
Pull Press: 6 cnt right, 6 cnt left, 8 cnt right, 8 cnt left
More experimenting with the rings. Had the two rings set about 32 inches different in height and was pressing down with one arm and pulling up with the other. Switched sides and then repeated the whole thing. An interesting isometric working two both pulling and pressing at the same time. Felt great with the contrabody tension across the back.
A bit of a late post on this workout after a week in San Francisco training dance and Thanksgiving sidetracking.
Warmup on Rings
Ring Series 1 3 reps
Dip -> L-Sit -> Dip -> Planche: 3 reps
Pullup -> Inv. Hang -> Skin the Cat -> Inv. Hang -> Pike Down: 3 reps
