Muay Thai and Chin-Ups

Workout 30 April 2009:

Muay Thai training and conditioning, 30 minutes

Weighted chin-ups
Two sets of three reps each of:
25lb, 30lb, 35lb, 40lb, 45lb

It's been about two weeks since I last did any Muay Thai. Since it involves a lot of trunk twisting, I avoided it to spare my back. It also helped that my trainer was on vacation for about a week and a half. We worked primarily on punches, keeping them clean and tight.

I am going to start including a short strength-based workout after each Muay Thai session. Today I decided to do weighted chin-ups using dumbbells held between my ankles. I kept it somewhat light and since I was able to do it without any problems, I can definitely go up next time.

Over the next two weeks, I'm going to showcase some stretches that I've found effective both as rehab for my back and also for improving my hip mobility and flexibility which has always been a problem.

The first is for the lower back as well as the transversus abdominus and obliques. Unlike most stretches which I only do after a workout, I also do this set first thing in the morning when my back is the most stiff to get it loosened up enough.

Lower back, TA, and obliques:
1) Lying down with your back on the floor, straighten one leg while bending the knee of the other leg, and try to bring the thigh of your bent leg as close as possible to your chest. Hold it there for 10-15 seconds.

2) Cross your bent leg over your straight leg and try to touch your knee to the floor (while trying to keep both shoulders on the ground).

3) Repeat this with the other leg.

4) Now, bend both knees and bring both thighs up against your chest (keeping your back on the floor). Hold that for 10-15 seconds.

5) Put both feet on the ground but keep the knees bent. While trying to keep both shoulders on the ground, roll your legs over to one side and try to get your knees to touch the floor beside you. Hold for about 10-15 seconds and then do the same thing on the other side.

6) Repeat the same stretch, but this time begin with your feet on the floor so that your legs are bent at the knee at about a 90 degree angle.

Mark Rippetoe Quote of the Day:
"Milk is quite literally better than steroids for a novice lifter to grow on, and no supplement produces the same effect."

100 Push-Ups

Workout 28-Apr-09

100 Ring Push Ups
For time, 10 reps of each:
Archer push ups, 5 per arm
Jackknife push ups
Ring Flys
Tricep Push ups
Wide Grip Push ups
Pseudo-planche Push ups
Dive Bomber Push ups
Conventional Push ups
Single Leg Push ups, 5 per leg
Elevated Push ups

Results: 14'25, rings at 15.5" off the ground
Previous best: 16'40, rings at 15.5" off ground (1-Nov-08)

This is one of my favorite workouts done solely on a pair of rings and although it emphasizes the chest and triceps, the combination works many more muscle groups than just regular push-ups. I was definitely pleased with the two minute improvement in time. However, I should mention that I did the jackknife and ring fly push ups on my knees to help prevent hurting my back. This made these two variations easier since I had more leverage. However, I think that benefit was balanced out since being on my knees allowed me to drop deeper than if I were on my toes. That definitely made me work a lot harder to push myself back up.

For detailed descriptions and photos of each of the push-up variations, see the above linked article. It also discusses how you can scale this workout to make it easier or more difficult. The main factor is height of the rings off the ground. The higher up, the easier the workout. If you're just starting out, I'd recommend placing the rings about 24-30" off the ground.

Mark Rippetoe Quote of the Day:
In response to this question: Whenever I do dips, the second I let go of the bar it feels like a ton of pressure was just taken off my shoulders and upper pecs. Do you know what causes this and what i can do about it? Thanks.

"Perhaps you weigh 2000 lbs., in which case your perception would be remarkably accurate. Otherwise, you're probably just happy to be through with the set. The remedy would be to never let go of the bar, but that is impractical. I suppose I don't understand your question."

Rings and Squats

Workout 27 April 2009:

Three rounds for time of:
21 Ring L-pull-ups
42 Squats

Results: 13'50
Previous best: none

Today's workout was new and I designed it to emphasize the antagonist muscles of those that were heavily worked yesterday so I wouldn't become excessively sore. The overhead squats require a lot of stabilization from the anterior shoulders, traps, and triceps. Due to my relative inflexibility, my OHS tend to be quad dominant as I can't sit back far enough to recruit more of my hamstrings or glutes. The pull-ups work the posterior shoulder, lats, and biceps. I am flexible enough to maintain good form on the air squats, so I made sure to drive heavily with the hips and hamstrings. As far as time, I was aiming for under 15 minutes, so I'm pleased with the results. I flew through the air squats and was limited by muscle fatigue from the L-pull-ups.

I usually do not care about which muscle groups each workout uses and you'll see that I often have two or three days in a row of working the same muscle groups. Today however, I was quite sore from yesterday's workout, so to avoid injury, I thought specifically about which muscle groups I should and should not use.

Mark Rippetoe Quote of the Day:
In reference to a bicyclist who seemed to be saying that riding was similar to squats since they both made your legs hurt:
"Yes they both hurt, but so do burning your hand and burying your bulldog. The differences are actually quite significant."

Nancy

Workout 26 April 2009:

"Nancy"
Five rounds for time of:
400 meter run
Overhead squat, 15 reps, 62lbs

Results: 21'26
Previous best: 17'45, 60lb OHS (6 May 08)

I'm not happy with today's time since it was about 3.5 minutes slower than last time. The runs went reasonably well, but I struggled through the overhead squats. The first three rounds were especially slow and I had to break the 15 reps into several sets. I couldn't hold the bar in the proper vertical plane due to shoulder inflexibility which made the lifts much more difficult than usual. In the fourth and fifth round, I was able to bang out all 15 reps in one set. By that point, there was too much time to make up to come close to by previous best.

The biggest problem today was shoulder inflexibility. This has always been a hang up for me, but as a result of my back injury almost two months ago, I've done very few overhead lifts, meaning I was extra inflexible today. On top of my usual warm up, I did extra shoulder work that definitely helped, but couldn't quite bring me to where I needed to be for today's workout. By round four, I had "forced" my shoulders into the proper position and I was able to do the OHS from that point forward much more easily.

Mark Rippetoe Quote of the Day:
"Muscles don’t get leaner, you do."

K-Star on Overhead Squats:
"I know you can lay down in a machine and leg press an elephant, but can you overhead squat your own bodyweight? Fifty percent of your bodyweight? A lot of lip service is given to "core strength" these days with lots o' fancy balls and half balls out there. But, if you cannot maintain your midline stability, that is, keep your spine stable in a variety of functional positions, you don't have "core strength." The overhead squat is the king of core exercises, or queen if...you prefer. The difference between what you can front squat and what you can overhead squat is a direct measurement of your true core strength."

Front Squats

Workout 24 April 2009:

Front squat, five sets of three reps

Results: 115, 115, 135, 135, 135lbs

I am not including a previous best because I was not working to set a PR. My back is getting much better, so I didn't want to risk injury by going heavy. Instead, I focused on form. I went full depth (A2A, ass to ankles), squatted slowly, stopped at the bottom instead of using rebound, and focused on driving up with the hamstrings and hips.

Mark Rippetoe Quote of the Day:
"If you want to look like a bodybuilder, that's fine with me. That is a matter for you to discuss with your God and your psychologist. But even a bodybuilder is a novice strength trainee until he's an intermediate. The fastest way to gain muscular bodyweight, the supposed goal of a bodybuilder, is with a linear progression on the basic barbell exercises. And 5s are the way this progression works best."

Sprints

Workout 23 April 2009:

Four rounds, each for time of:
800m run

Results: 3'00 / 3'04 / 3'23 / 3'20
Previous best: 4'27 / 3'52 / 3'56 / 3'50 (15 Jan 09)

Although these times are significantly faster than my previous best, it does not accurately reflect an overall improvement in fitness. The last time I did this workout, I did it on a two-lane, 50m wooden track that was occupied by a woman who was not familiar with sharing. As a result, I was in the outside lane for a good portion of the run, meaning those times on 15 Jan were representative of a distance greater than 800m. Today's runs were a legitimate 800m on an unoccupied, NCAA track. I also rested 5-7 minutes between efforts compared to 3-4 minutes on the last attempt. I'm curious to see what improvements I can make next time by repeating today's conditions.

Mark Rippetoe Quote of the Day:
When a guy (Alex) asked what to do about his balls hurting after squats:

"Alex, buddy, you're on your own here. Unless we get some other input. My balls haven't hurt since 1973, when I learned how to finish what I started."

Pull-ups and Dips

Workout 22 April 2009:

Ten rounds for time of:
10 Pull-ups
10 Ring dips

Results: 18'15
Previous best: none

This is a new workout, so I have nothing for comparison. I went in expecting to finish in under 15 minutes, but the dips just destroyed me today. I was only able to do the full 10 dips in a row for three rounds before I needed to break them up into sets. I didn't anticipate quite how difficult this workout was going to be. Can't wait to do it again.

Ring dips require more assistance from the lats for stabilization than regular bar dips. Since your lats are the prime movers in pull-ups, the combination of these two exercises back to back lead to fatigue very quickly.

If you don't have rings, substitute 20 regular bar dips for each of the sets of 10 ring dips.

Mark Rippetoe Quote of the Day:
"Any idiot can get on a treadmill and watch TV and then take great pride in the fact they've exercised."

Karen

Workout 20 April 2009:

"Karen"
Time for 150 wallball shots, 15lb ball

Results: 8'45
Previous best: 10'23 (25 Aug 08)

This is a very deceptive workout. It doesn't take much time and seems pretty easy, but if you go at it with high intensity, your lungs, legs, and arms are all screaming by the end. Don't even try to walk for about five minutes! Despite the decreased number and intensity of workouts for the past month, I'm happy with the improvement in time compared to last year. A good part of that is increased upper body strength as well as incorporating more hamstring and hip drive into the movement.

To do a wallball shot, hold a weighted medicine ball (scale the weight to your ability level) at chest level, then drop into a front squat. Drive yourself upward (stand up) and throw the ball against a wall, aiming for a spot about eight feet off the ground. Then catch the ball and repeat.

Mark Rippetoe Quote of the Day:
"One of the most basic of those rules is that, with the exception of the occasional lottery winner, you pretty much get out of an effort what you put into it. We’re all quite familiar with this reality, although we are often willing to believe people who tell us otherwise, about exercise and about life. The sooner everybody, both halves of the population, accepts the fact that effective exercise is more like training for athletics and less like lying around on the floor, more about performance and less about appearance, the sooner it will be understood that women really don’t need their own figure salon."

Rehab Lifts

Workout 19 April 2009:

Back Squat four sets of three reps, 95lbs
Deadlift three sets of three reps, 95lbs

My entire upper body is sore from my most recent two workouts, so I decided to do some light lower body lifting. Since I was going so light, I made sure my form was as perfect as possible, and the speed of the lifts was as slow as possible. In a few days, I'll probably repeat this rehab workout and add 20-30lbs.

Mark Rippetoe Quote of the Day:
"The Olympic Snatch is gymnastics with a bar."

Pull-Ups

Workout 18 April 2009:

10 round for time of:
3 Weighted pull-ups, 25lb dumbbell held in ankles
7 Kipping pull-ups

Results: 16'50
Previous best: 21'55 (2 Feb 09)

I'm very happy with today's workout since it was a nearly 25% improvement from last time. Just like last time, I started out doing the weighted pull-ups with a standard pull-up grip (pronated, or palms away) but switched to a chin-up grip (supinated, palms facing in) in round four. The kipping pull-ups were all done with the standard grip and without any added weight. If I had not done pull-ups in yesterday's workout, I probably would have added a few strict pull-ups per round as I mentioned I would last time. Next time I will definitely add two or three strict pull-ups per round.

In addition to my regular warm-up, I did a one-mile warm up and a one-mile cool down on a recumbent bike.

Mark Rippetoe Quote of the Day:
"I strongly advise against intentionally farting while moving heavy weights. Sometimes, especially under those circumstances, farts have a solid center."

Lynne

Workout 17 April 2009:

"Lynne"
Five rounds for maximum reps of:
Body weight bench press
Pull-ups

Results: 49 bench press at 150lbs, 55 pull-ups (strict)
Previous best: 50 bench press at 140lbs*, 49 pull-ups (strict) (22 Nov 08)

I alternate between two versions of this workout. As done today, I do strict pull-ups. The other version uses kipping pull-ups. Today's workout went very well and I'm happy with a rather substantial improvement in both movements. Back in November, I was about the same body weight as I am today (just a pound or two lighter) but only benched 140lbs as a result of my barbell and 45lb weights being a combined 10lbs lighter than they should be. Now that I have my new bar and plates, I benched a true 150lbs, and I did only one less rep compared to last time. I'm also happy with my 10% improvement in pull-ups.

When doing Lynne, rest as long as needed between exercises. I usually complete this workout in about 30 minutes.

Mark Rippetoe Quote of the Day:
"You must wear socks or workout pants on the Dead Lifts. We don't want your DNA on the barbell."

Back Squat

Workout 14 April 2009:

Back Squat, five sets of three reps

Results: 185-195-205-215-225lbs
Previous best: 215-225-235-245-255lbs (21 Mar 08)

My back felt pretty good going into today's workout, so I decided to go moderately heavy. The squats felt heavy since it's been so long since I've done any respectable weight, but they went without a problem.

Unfortunately, as I was picking up a one pound box of oatmeal later in the day, I managed to throw my back out again. I'm not sure how much more recovery I just bought myself. I threw lots of ice, NSAIDs, and some poor attempts at self-massage at it right away, so we'll see what kind of shape I'm in tomorrow.

Mark Rippetoe Quote of the Day:
"Baby mammals drink milk, and you sir, are a baby mammal."

Double Unders and Sit Ups

Workout 13 April 2009:

Time for 50-40-30-20-10 rep rounds of:
Double unders
Sit Ups (Abmat)

Results: 14'40
Previous best: 13'40 (3 Jan 09)

The one minute increase in workout time compared my previous best is due to two reasons. First, I didn't go full intensity on the sit ups to make sure I didn't hurt my back. Fortunately, I'm almost to the point where I should be able to do body weight exercises at full intensity. Second, I did Abmat sit ups instead of USAF style like last time. USAF sit ups have a smaller range of motion than those done on an Abmat. Because of this, today's sit ups took longer to do, and were a bit more difficult, so I fatigued faster and needed to take more breaks. The double unders went about as well as last time. I was able to string up to about 15 in a row several times.

Mark Rippetoe Quote of the Day:
In response to a question about eating raw eggs:

"Let's stop a second to consider where eggs come from: they emerge from a chicken's feathery, unkempt, unpampered ass."

Tricep Burn

Workout 11 April 2009

Time for 21-15-9 reps of:
Handstand push-ups
Ring dips
Push-ups

Results: 27'30
Previous best: 25'45, modified (switched out HSPU for 85lb push jerks during 15 and 9 rep rounds; 5-Nov-07)

I've done this workout several times in the past, but have never been able to complete it without making significant modifications (push jerks at 85lb are much easier than HSPU). My goal today was to complete the workout without any modification no matter how long it took. I didn't care if the workout took an hour to complete, I WAS going to finish. I was thrilled when I finished only about two minutes slower than my previous best time on the modified workout. About half-way through the HSPUs during the 9-rep round, I had a massive adrenaline / endorphin rush and blazed through the rest of the round in only about two minutes. Screw drugs, this is cheaper and better for you.

If you want to try this workout, do as many HSPUs as possible and then switch to 45-65lb shoulder press or 65-95lb push jerks. If you don't have rings, do twice as many regular bar dips.

Mark Rippetoe Quote of the Day:
In regards to fitness advice:
"You are right to be wary. There is much bullshit. Be wary of me too, because I may be wrong. Make up your own mind after you evaluate all the evidence and the logic."

Pull-Dip-Sit

Workout 10 April 2009:

Rounds in 30 minutes of:
Five ring pull-ups
Five ring dips
15 sit-ups

Results: 16 rounds
Previous best: none

My back is essentially back to normal, so today marks the return of one of my "typical" workouts. I did scale the intensity just a bit, especially with all the sit-ups to make sure I didn't reinjure my back. With a perfectly healthy back, I probably could have done 20 rounds. I did the sit-ups on my Abmat. As I've mentioned before, although it makes sit-ups more comfortable, they also become harder to do because of the increased range of motion.

Mark Rippetoe Quote of the Day:
"Testosterone levels peak in our mid-twenties, hold relatively steady for another decade, and then begin to fall like women’s clothes at the kinds of parties we don’t get invited to anymore."

Tabata Bike Sprints

Workout 8 April 2009:

Three rounds of Tabata bike sprints, resting two minutes between each round

Results: 3.1 miles at resistance level 2
Previous best: 2.6 miles at resistance level low, 2 Tabata rounds (26 Sep 08)

As my recent Muay Thai training has showed, my conditioning deteriorated a bit over the past month due to my back not allowing me to do my usual workouts at my usual intensity. Today's workout allowed me to go high intensity with little concern for aggravating my back. If I kept the same pace as I did about 6 months ago, I should have biked 3.9 miles. I wasn't able to go as far mainly due to decreased conditioning, but also since I increased the resistance on my mountain bike stand trainer by two levels.

A Tabata sprint consists of 8 rounds of 20 seconds maximum effort then 10 seconds rest. Therefore, each Tabata round lasts 4 minutes total. This is a type of interval training that is very effective at improving anaerobic and aerobic conditioning.

Mark Rippetoe Quote of the Day:
"Only people willing to work to the point of discomfort on a regular basis using effective means to produce that discomfort will actually look like they have been other-than-comfortable most of the time. You can thank the muscle magazines for these persistent misconceptions, along with the natural tendency of all normal humans to seek reasons to avoid hard physical exertion."

HSPU and Rehab Squats

Workout 7 April 2009:

Complete five sets of five reps of:
Back squat, 135lb
Handstand push-ups on parallettes

Results: all reps completed
Previous best: none

Today's workout is again a mix of legitimate strength work and some light work to get my back used to its previous strength and flexibility.

I wanted to do some heavy shoulder work, but a strict shoulder press puts a little more stress on the lower back than I'd like at this point. Handstand push-ups essentially work the same muscles through a similar range of motion at body weight. I did the push-ups on parallettes in order to add a few extra inches (my parallettes are about a foot off the floor) to the range of motion beyond that available if I were to just keep my hands on the floor.

The back squats were at "rehab" weight. To add at least a little extra stress, I did the squats very slowly and paused at the bottom to engage the hamstrings and glutes more.

Mark Rippetoe Quote of the Day:
During a barbell training seminar, while Rip is pressing the sacrum of a trainee before the back squat, a participant asks "Why does this tactile cue work so well?"

Rip's reply:
"Because I'm assuming Colin is not used to having a 53-year-old man slap him on the ass."

Muay Thai and Rehab

Workout 6 April 2009:

Muay Thai training, 30 minutes

"Rehab"
Weighted Chin-ups, four sets of five reps
Set 1: 20lbs
Set 2: 22.5lbs
Set 3: 25lbs
Set 4: 30lbs
Back Squat, five sets of five reps at 95lbs
Deadlift, three sets of five reps at 95lbs

I continued to work on cleaning up my punches as well as making some adjustments in my right body kick. The kick is coming along well and I am kicking significantly higher than I was a few weeks ago. Most of this is due to foam rolling and myofascial release resulting in better flexibility.

The "rehab" workout served two purposes. The chin-ups were legitimate strength training, although the weight is still a bit light. The back squats and deadlifts were kept extremely light to see how well my back would tolerate these movements. Everything was done without any significant pain, so after four long weeks, I think it's finally time to start slowing increasing the weight and intensity of my workouts.

I also discovered an amazing (i.e. very painful yet effective) stretch for my anterior shoulders and lats. Check out Kelly's post over at San Francisco CrossFit.

Mark Rippetoe Quote of the Day:
In response to the following question: "A guy in my gym told me that his friend did the gallon of milk a day diet...and ended up losing all his hair. He claimed that the doctors told his friend it was because of all the milk he was drinking. Do you know if there is any truth to this?"

Rip's answer: "Hmm, the only adverse effects I actually know about the GOMAD is the fact that it makes your dick shorter, but I never considered it important enough to mention. I'll have to add the baldness warning to the list immediately, because THAT'S not something to be taken lightly."

Muay Thai

Workout 3 April 2009:

Muay Thai training, 30 minutes

The intensity of today's session was kept at a moderate level since I'm still not 100% healed. The main focus was to continue to refine my straight punches, keeping them long and compact.

I also did a light chin-up workout for some strength work.

Three sets of five reps of weighted chin-ups:
Set 1: 15lbs
Set 2: 20lbs
Set 3: 25lbs

This is far below my maximum for weighted chin-ups, but I didn't want to do anything too stressful after 30 minutes kickboxing.

Mark Rippetoe Quote of the Day:
Talking about kettlebells, snatches, shoulder position, and the Russian:

"I am a child of the Cold War. I don't like them."