Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Fit Women are Hot

ok. so i know there are a few ladies who read my blog, some comment and some lurk. the one's who comment are friends of mine and they know my opinion on this. for everyone who doesn't here it is for what it's worth.

i know a lot of ladies who are gorgeous but think they aren't. why does this matter to me? it matters b/c i am actually a pretty caring guy and it hurts me to see people who don't love themselves who have every reason TO love themselves.

what the woman says in the beginning of this video is pretty right on. i'm letting her say it b/c she's a woman and i'm not and as such, she has far more credibility. i am just +1-ing her points. skinny, minny weakling fitness "models"= not hawt.

ladies doing ring push ups, muscle ups, swings, snatches, pull ups, dead lifts, olympic OH squats, burpess, etc = HAWT.


DO NOT BELIEVE THE HYPE! Almost no one wants your hips and clavicles bugling with hunger. don't get "skinny"... get functionally fit! Gain the skills to move and use your body- THAT is sexy.

ps: that woman doing those burpees @ 4:51 is EATING them for breakfast. talk about hitting the deck...

Ketchup

Friday-

24KG C & P ladders: 2 sets of 3 rungs, 3 sets of 2 rungs, then 3 rounds of singles

8 rounds 5 pull ups

60 alt leg raise crunches

3 rounds 4-8 second dragon flags

Sat-
OFF

Sun-
5x5 DL day @ 215lbs. Got all 5. Form better, lifts strong, recovery faster!

Mon-
Workout out w/ my friend Nia in Austin at her garage gym.
6 rounds of 30 second alternating rope work then 5R/5L 24KG snatches
then 3 rounds of 24KG C&P practice

Friday, January 22, 2010

BTW....

"I never saw a wild thing
Sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
Without ever having felt sorry for itself."

- D. H. Lawrence

swing for the fences

did my second 'swing mountain' day. used the 24KG this time. went for 400 swings in 30 min. GOT IT! did the first 90 swings straight with no rest then moved to sets of 30 and at the very end, 20. felt GREAT!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Tuesday

Did alternating presses with the 24KG. Got 2 to 2.5 per side for about 4 rounds then dropped to singles for each side for sets of 2-3 depending.
Then I worked on 24KG snatches, focusing on my grip and controlling the bell properly on the way down. Wasn't really counting reps but I would say I probably did about 60-80.

Got Convict Conditioning from DD yesterday in the mail. Read the first section of it. About to start to get into the meat of it- pretty stoked.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Weekend Wrap

Friday-

GTG w/ 24KG snatches

Saturday-
GTG w/ 24KG snatches and 5 sets of 2-rung C&P Ladders w/ the 24KG

Sunday-
GTG w/ 24KG snatches and HEAVY DEAD LIFTING DAY! YES!
Pavel's 5x5 plan @ 201lbs.

Got all of them and lifts felt great and super strong. Also my lower back is much less fatigued today than it has been last 2 previous Monday's. I am excited!

Friday, January 15, 2010

I realized...

after re-reading that article that I didn't start off the way I should have with my climbing my own mountain.

Next week when I start, I am going to start again with the 24KG and go for 300 swings, unbroken. I wont make it. I will note how many I make it through the first time without putting down the bell and then the next time try to beat it until I get to 300 unbroken swings with the 24KG. From there I will jump up to the 32KG and start cycling and adding reps/time restraints.

It's going to be a brave new world.

Top of the Mountain....

is far far away. Started my "Swing Mountain" today. Decided to do it after reading this - http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/551/?apid=sandyrkc61

I did yesterday as my benchmark day. I wanted 400 swings in 30 min with the 32KG. Instead I got 300 swings in 28 min (thats 21,600 pounds moved in 28 min).

The problem wasn't my posterior chain and it wasn't my lungs either- it was my forearms, hands, and wrists. Wow!

225 reps in my grip was SHOT. I was 225 reps in at about the 16 min mark. I could have done so much more if my grip was up to par. I dropped from sets of 25 to sets of 10, 5, and sometimes 15. The last 25 I went through in only sets of 5. My hands were SMOKED. Got to get that grip strength up. Going to do it again 2 or 3 more times then drop down to the 24KG and see what happens... excited!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

This made me laugh..

http://www.joethepeacock.com/2005/01/ok-maybe-im-not-guy-to-do-it.php

and made me so happy that not only do I not like going to gyms, I don't feel the need to go to one. I love working out by myself where I can be myself and do whatever the fuck I want to get it done. Sometimes that means screaming at the top of my lungs, talking shit to myself, slapping the side of my head, and frantically pacing back and forth in front of what ever is on the ground getting ready to get serious with it.

Most of all in that little rant, I really liked this one-
"2. Don't laugh at the fat guy / girl. They're there just like you are, they're working just as hard as you are. In almost every way possible, they're 10x the athlete you are - not only did they show up to the gym to get better, they did it amidst snickering and comments from assholes like you - and that takes more guts than you'll EVER have."

So true.

Amped

I got excited yesterday reading comments on my blog and watching videos on ZEE's blog. I got home and did my pressing day and said FUCK IT and used the 24KG and I have made some progress since I got over the H1N1 Flu.
When I got over the flu I couldn't press that bell once on my left side and the right side was shaky. Yesterday I did 3 ladders w/ 3 rungs each and they were all strong lifts. WHAT WHAT!
Did pull ups to go with it then alternated ab/core drills with 5R/5L sets of snatches. Strong day.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Weekend Recap

Friday I got in my snatches w/ the 24KG and that was it. Was super short on time. 6 sets of 5 per side for a total of 60 snatches.

Saturday I was exhausted from job #2- didn't get off until almost 6AM so dead lifting was moved to Sunday.

Sunday I picked up heavy stuff. It was time for Pavel's 5x5 program. Since I got all 5x5 last week, I added 10lbs this week so it was 192lbs on the ground. I stepped up, got serious and banged those bastards out- all 5 sets of 5 with 5 min breaks between. Waiting the 5 min and resting between sets was easier this time. It was about as hard as last week. I could feel it and it took effort but I definitely had something left in the tank at the end.

The crazy thing about dead lifting is how it just wrecks your WHOLE BODY. I was feeling it almost everywhere when I was finished. The other insane part is I can SEE changes in my composition after only TWO WEEKS! And not just in my thighs and hips, in my friggin biceps of all places. Noticed it this morning while I was getting dressed. I was putting on my shirt for work and did a double take. Since I don't do curls, my biceps aren't very defined. All muscle I have there is from bell work and pull ups/chin ups. But this morning they were noticeably more shaped and bigger. I thought to myself- WTF?!

Today I have to get in my snatches for the day and single pressing ladders. My lower back is still pretty zapped from the DL's Sunday so I will be taking it slow. I took yesterday off entirely and only did some light stretching. Also, the quest to eat more is going decently well. It's gonna be a battle in the long run but I have been achieving that goal for the last 3 days.

Friday, January 8, 2010

the deal

anyone who has read this for a while (cant imagine why you would) knows that my pressing abilities lack and the 24KG is my nemeses for presses and high rep snatches. that being said- i have a new pressing routine i talked with some friends about yesterday. C&P ladders will move up to 2 days a week, one day a week with single bells and one day a week with two bells. 20KG's.

on top of that. this october i will be in FL for the RKC. i am terrified. its 10 months away but i have no idea how i am going to get ready for the snatch test. that 24KG mocks me. i am starting this month by doing 3-5 sets of 5 per side a day. after one month of that, i will start a more structured building program.

i will go to the RKC in october and i will succeed there. it might not be pretty, but i will do it.

just how to get there....?

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Do your swings...

this article was seriously awesome. very inspiring. it made me decide to make my own "mountain" to climb.

http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/551/?apid=sandyrkc61

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Cold

FUCK! It is freezing- literally. That is rare in Houston. It is supposed to snow- AGAIN- this week. Snow twice in less than a month certainly doesn't happen here. Yesterday was firehouse-fun day so it had to be done outside. Ouch.

It was so cold I thought my lungs would break into pieces. They didn't and I got the following done...

4 rounds 30 sec on/30 sec off alternating hose work
4 rounds 3R/3L 24KG renegade rows
4 rounds 30 sec on/30 sec off full body hose work
(both ends up and down at same time in a motion like a med-ball slam- these btw- are AWFUL)
4 rounds 3R/3L 24KG renegade rows
3 sets of 7-10 sec dragon flags

DONE.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

this week

i have been lax in keeping this up.

did a day of pressing ladders, 4 ladders 4 rungs each using 20KG

also did a psh up day

then did first day of Pavel's dead lifting program.
5x5 w/ 5 min rest between sets. every time you can complete 5x5, you add 10 pounds the next time. etc etc. i started yesterday with 181 pounds. got it for 5x5. so next week looks like I;m gonna be at 191 pounds. All i can say is that today I am FUCKING SORE. EVERYWHERE.
I love it. Tomorrow will be the hose and some core work via renegade rows and dragon flags.