The Road to Albuquerque 2013

[o1d_dude]

Nov 14, 2012

Day 26 of the 40 Day Even Easier Strength Program

Warm up
1x5x16K Goblet Squats
3x15x16K KB Swings
1x5 Half Turkish Get Ups
Bench Press
1x10x45
1x3x95
1x1x135
2x5x155-165
Snatch Grip Rack Pull
1x1x225
2x5x275-290
Back Squat
1x5x45
2x5x145-155
Waiter Walk
1x16K KB left hand up and down the driveway
1x16K KB right hand up and down the driveway
Ab Wheelies
1x5

Tomorrow is 6X1 day. I like doing singles.

[Alan H]

You know, the part of me that gets tired doing ab wheelies is my shoulders!

On another topic.....Planks. They seem pointless to me. The last thing I want to do is a static exercise. There's no question that they're hard, but I don't want to practice being strong and not moving. I want to practice being strong while I MOVE A LOT. So I never do planks. OK, back to your workout!

[o1d_dude]

Nov 15, 2012

Day 27 of the 40 Day Even Easier Strength Program

Warm up
1x5x22.5 DB Goblet Squats
3x15x16K KB Swings
1x5 Half Turkish Get Ups
Bench Press
1x10x45
1x3x95
1x1x135
6x1x165-175-185-195-200-200
Snatch Grip Rack Pull
1x1x225
6x1x295-305-315-325-335-345
Back Squat
1x5x45
6x1x155-165-175-185-195-205
Waiter Walk
1x16K KB left hand up and down the driveway
1x16K KB right hand up and down the driveway
Ab Wheelies
1x5

Good solid workout tonight.

I was very pleasantly surprised that the bench press felt easy all the way up to the 200 lb single. Keeping in mind the importance of making all the reps, I didn't add any more weight and just repeated the 200 lb for my 6th single.

The squats are working well also but only when I remember to sit back to keep my shins as vertical as possible. The difference that makes in how the weight on the barbell is perceived (light, manageable, heavy) continues to amaze me. I'd have to dig out my old lifting logs to be certain but I'm pretty sure that when I last squatted regularly I was doing sets of eight with 315. That would have been in the late 1990's when I was still in my 40's. Okay, late 40's.

Tomorrow is a tonic day with light weights and single sets of 10 on the major lifts.

[Martin Roy]

Your numbers are going up steadily so this regimen is clearly working for you. After you complete the 40-day program, what comes next? Do you start over, or move into a different approach?

[o1d_dude]

Your numbers are going up steadily so this regimen is clearly working for you. After you complete the 40-day program, what comes next? Do you start over, or move into a different approach?

Yeah, it's all about getting your 80% effort to improve. Less taxing than constantly working your max effort. We do that with the stones, too. Lotta throws but only at 80% effort.

Nov 16, 2012

Day 28 of the 40 Day Even Easier Strength Program

Warm up
1x5x22.5 DB Goblet Squats
3x15x16K KB Swings
1x5 Half Turkish Get Ups
Bench Press
1x10x45
1x10x95
Snatch Grip Rack Pull
1x10x225
Back Squat
1x5x45
1x10x95
Waiter Walk
1x16K KB back and forth in the garage due to rain
1x16K KB back and forth in the garage due to rain
Ab Wheelies
Forgot to do these but will address the oversight before bed time.
1x5 (Did them!)

The waiter walks in the garage are suboptimal. I have to duck under the lights, etc.

[Alan H]

Honestly, I think that most throwing is at about 80% effort. I know that if I go totally all-out, I flail around and my form goes to hell and the stone/weight whatever doesn't go nearly as far. If I throw at 80-85 % effort, but do it *Right* that's when I get the best distance. So in fact it makes sense to maximise your 80% effort.

[o1d_dude]

Nov 19, 2012

Day 29 of the 40 Day Even Easier Strength Program

Warm up
1x5x22.5 DB Goblet Squats
3x15x16K KB Swings
1x5 Half Turkish Get Ups
Bench Press
1x10x45
1x3x95
1x1x135
2x5x160-162.5 (misload)
Snatch Grip Rack Pull
1x1x225
2x5x280-290
Back Squat
1x5x45
1x1x95
2x5x155
Waiter Walk
1x16K KB left hand up and down the driveway
1x16K KB right hand up and down the driveway
Ab Wheelies
1x5

The misload was kind of interesting in a way. I neglected to add a 2.5lb plate to the left side but didn't notice until I was stripping the barbell after completing the set. You'd think the imbalance would be noticeable but it wasn't. This must be the principle behind "microloading" or adding a pair of 1.25 lb plates every workout. The theory is that the you won't notice a 2.5 lb increase on the barbell. My old Long Island buddy Dr. Ken L has a pair of railroad wheels that weigh a zillion pounds...ok, 1485 lbs. The joke ran "No problem, we'll just add a couple of micro-plates and lift it."

Here's Matt Vincent and Jim Dart doing a double deadlift of the famous wheels.



Following up that motivation video clip and looking ahead at tomorrow...

All workout days ending in zero (10, 20, 30, 40) are test days with a 5-3-2 rep scheme where I will see if/how I've gotten stronger. Tomorrow will be day 30 and I have a few ambitious goals. Nothing like the train wheels but something on that order.

PS. I forgot to mention that the famous Dr. Ken Railroad Wheels are now on display in the Ironsport Gym owned and operated by Steve Pulcinella, another Highland Games athlete.

[o1d_dude]

Nov 20, 2012

Day 30 of the 40 Day Even Easier Strength Program

Warm up
1x5x22.5 DB Goblet Squats
3x15x16K KB Swings
1x5 Half Turkish Get Ups
Bench Press
1x10x45
1x3x95
1x2x135
1x5x165
1x3x185
1x2x195
Snatch Grip Rack Pull
1x1x225
1x5x295
1x3x335
1x2x365
Back Squat
1x5x45
1x2x95
1x5x155
1x3x185
1x2x225
Waiter Walk
1x16K KB left hand up and down the driveway
1x16K KB right hand up and down the driveway
Ab Wheelies
1x5

Today was a good test day and I'm feeling it now. Probably going on "the endless shopping spree" with Mrs. OD didn't help but sometimes real life just is that way.

My target lift was a 365 lbs double in the rack pull which I made. It went up but it didn't feel as light as I'd hoped. To put this into perspective, four years ago I was pulling 365 lbs off the floor and I pulled 505 lbs from the rack. Conventional pull, not snatch grip.

Click this to see the 505 Rack Pull

Click this link to see the deadlifts from the floor and others

Funny watching those videos four years later. I see that my grip width in the deads is just barely outside the rings while nowadays I am all the way out to the end of the knurling. In the bench I'm stalling out with 185 lbs for three and in the chins, I'm barely able to elevate. My bent rows are pathetic. I can now get my chin up to the bar. Looks like I have progressed after all. Who knew?

[Alan H]

THat 505 pull..you didn't even look like you were working hard!!! LOL...nice pull.

[o1d_dude]

Nov 23, 2012

Day 31 of the 40 Day Even Easier Strength Program

Warm up
1x5x22.5 DB Goblet Squats
3x15x16K KB Swings
1x5 Half Turkish Get Ups
Bench Press
1x10x45
1x3x95
1x2x135
2x5x160-165
Snatch Grip Rack Pull
1x1x225
2x5x295-305
Back Squat
1x5x45
1x2x95
2x5x155
Waiter Walk
1x16K KB left hand up and down the driveway
1x16K KB right hand up and down the driveway
Ab Wheelies
1x5

My shoulder inflexibility is holding me back in the squat but I need to be patient. Every time I squat I get better. My long forearms require me to take a wider grip on the barbell to prevent carrying the barbell on my hands. I'm running out of room in the squat rack!

My skwat mantra: Sit back, drive knees out, butt up first.

1. Sitting back to squat keeps the shins more vertical and the knees don't drift way out in front of the feet. In other words, the knee angle is "open" and the hammies are stretched.
2. Driving the knees out recruits the hip and groin muscles in addition to the quads and hams.
3. Coming up butt first keeps the hamstrings involved in rising up out of the hole. See #1 and #2.

Use all of the muscles in your legs and hips, not just the quads.