I missed Monday's session due to poor recovery. In general, my focus on sleeping and eating well over the last week has been lacking. I need to fix it and have started acting on the problem.
In the meantime, I did hit today's session, albeit with reduced volume:
Kettlebell Snatches: 5/5 x 16k, 20k, 24k, 28k, 28k
Front Squats: 5 x 45, 45, 65, 85, 105, 105lbs
Overhead Press: 5 x 65lbs; 4 x 85, 85lbs; 3 x85lbs
Overhead Levers (8lb sledge): 5/5 x 12", 15", 18", 18"
Static Front Levers (6lb sledge): 10s x 12", 15", 15", 15"
Block Weight Deadlifts: 5/5 x 25, 27.5, 30, 30lbs
Not my best training session, but at least I got something in. Hopefully I am much better rested and fed on Saturday. Body weight was 161 this morning, so my weight is trending down. A diet of frosted mini wheats and frozen pizzas does that, I suppose.
I had a very pleasant job interview yesterday. It is possible I may have overcomplicated the search process. We'll see if I am called back for a second interview. |
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| Posted by Scott Styles at | | | |
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My Wife - "What were you doing out there, it's been like two hours???"
Me - "I dunno, I just lift till I get tired. It always takes that long..."
I guess my workouts stretch longer than the planned hour. I have fun though! Here's what I did:
Warm Up
Change the garage light bulb (that's been out since winter)
Strength
Deadlift w/ Band for Form - 5 x 50k, 70k, 90k, 90k, 90k
Turkish Get Up - 1/1 x 16k, 20k, 24k, 28k (PR), 60lbs
Split Squat - 5/5 x 12k , 16k, 16k, 16k
Renegade Row (11" Foot Elevation) - 5/5 x 16k, 16k, 16k 16k
Conditioning w/ 16k Kettlebells - 1 minute work, 20 seconds rest, done twice
1. Walk with weights Overhead
2. Farmers Walk
3. Rack Walk
4. Farmers Walk
Grip
Pinch Barbell - 5 x Empty, 50lbs, 75lbs, 75lbs, 75lbs
2" Vertical Bar - 1/1 x 71, 96, 121, 131, 121, 121, 121, 131, 131
Notes
1. I've seen multiple videos of women doing turkish get ups with the 32k or 40k kettlebell, I couldn't stand the though of my PR still being only the 24k kettlebell, so today I finally got the 28k. I am very happy about that. I attribute the PR to motivation, as well as the recent stability focus of my training.
2. Deadlifts and split squats are both rising quickly. The weak muscles in my right hip are getting slaughtered every workout, and it is paying off in a big way. I tried elevating my front foot on the split squats, but I lack a good platform for it. A case of bottled water does not work, btw.
3. I upped the platform height on my renegade rows. It makes a big difference in the difficulty of the exercise. I had to widen my foot placement to compensate and will bring it back in over the next few workouts.
4. Grip was hard after all those farmers walks. I got it done though. V-bar is a fickle beast.
Today I reserved my hotel and train ticket for the grip contest. All I have to do now is show up! |
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| Posted by Scott Styles at | | | |
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Last night I failed to get enough sleep. This morning after mobility work and stretching, I went out to eat instead of lifting. By the time I trained, I was exhausted. I opted to focus on stability and got video:
Click for Video of My Exercises
Strength
Deadlifts - 5 x 50k, 70k, 80k, 80k, 80k
Renegade Rows - 6/6 x 16k, 16k, 16k, 16k
Split Squats - 5/5 x BW, 12k, 16k, 16k
Overhead Press - 5 x 45, 65, 85lbs; 4 x 85; 3 x 85
Grip
Pinch Barbell - 5 x Empty, 50, 70, 75lbs; 6 x 75lbs
Overhead Lever with 8lbs - 5/5 @ 15", 18", 21"
Static Front Lever with 6lbs - 1/1 @ 15", 17"; Righty @ 20" (fail Lefty)
Notes
1. Conditioning work was dropped due to the lack of sleep.
2. Despite my lack of energy, all lifts felt stronger than last time.
3. I will train again on Saturday. It makes more sense given the contest date.
4. I will try elevating my lower foot on the split squats next time.
5. I planned to do another set of levers, but my left wrist started hurting. |
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| Posted by Scott Styles at | | | |
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Today's workout was pushed to the afternoon. This week looks like it will be a heavy one for consulting work, which will impact my training times and rest. Here is what I did:
Strength
Kettlebell Snatch: 5/5 x 16k, 20k, 24k; 8/8 x 24k, 24k
Front Squat: 5 x 45lbs, 65, 85, 85, 85
Power Clean: 5 x 50k, 50k, 50k; 1 x 55k, 60k, 60k, 60k
Overhead Press: 5 x 45lbs, 65, 75, 75, 75
Conditioning - 1 minute work, 20 seconds rest, done twice
Alternating Lunges, 12k Overhead Lefty
Alternating Lunges, 12k Overhead Righty
Push Up Stability on Medicine Ball
Side Bridges (alternate sides at 30s)
Grip
Grippers: 5/5 x T, 1/1 x #1 No Set, 5/5 x #1, BBSA, BBSA (righty) / #1 (lefty)
Block Weights: 5/5 x 25lbs, 27.5lbs, 27.5, 27.5
Notes
1. Kettlebell snatches have lost a lot ground from being sick, but are slowly building up.
2. I can feel the previously unused muscles in my right hip firing during front squats. I am not pushing the weight up in order to hang on to that feeling.
3. Power cleans felt good, I still need to learn to do them with proper form.
4. Overhead Press was better than last workout, still waaay down
5. Conditioning work was hard, due to the warm, sunny weather today. I trained in shorts.
6. My left hand is much weaker than the right on grippers. I usually make the reps small to compensate, but it made sense to drop down to the #1 today.
7. I switched from the pinch barbell with a wide grip to block weights. Two handed wide pinching felt like it was going to strain my thumbs, and there are block weights in the medley at the grip contest.
Overall a decent workout. It stretched longer than I expected, but sessions like this on a beautiful spring day are one of the primary benefits of not working full time. I am very happy with my garage gym! |
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| Posted by Scott Styles at | | | |
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Yesterday I decided to push my workout off a day. I felt exhausted and did not think training was smart. Fortunately, last night I got a full 8 hours of sleep and woke up this morning feeling excellent. My training session reflected this:
Warm Up
Walk dog around block (he's back...)
Soft tissue work
Mobility work
Full Body
Deadlifts (band pulling right knee in): 5 x 50k, 70k, 80k, 80k, 80k
Renegade Rows (feet elevated): 6/6 x 16k, 16k, 16k, 16k
Split Squats: 5/5 x BW, 12k, 12k, 12k
Overhead Barbell Press: 5 x 45, 65; 3x85; 4x75, 75
Conditioning Circuit - 60 seconds work plus 20 seconds rest per set, done twice
Rack Walk with 16k's
Farmers Walk with 16k's
Walk with 12k overhead lefty
Walk with 12k overhead righty
Grip
Pinch Barbell: 5 x Empty, 50, 70, 70, 70
2" V-bar: 1/1 x 71, 96, 121, 121, 121, 121, 121, 131
Workout Summary
Overall my session went great. The soft tissue and mobility work really helped to activate my weak right hip during the deadlifts and split squats. I intentionally held back on the weight and focused on my form. I think this will pay off in a big way.
Renegade rows felt good as usual. I am surprised how much I have lost on the barbell overhead press. I thought single arm pressing coupled with my stability work would keep it moving up. I was wrong.
I've moved my conditioning work over to time based sets. I really think this is the best way for me to go about things. I am looking for 8 minutes of conditioning work per session. Light weights become very humbling over time.
Grip training is on track for June's contest. I am interested to see where 2" V-bar will end up with 6 more weekly training sessions. With 1" V-bar, I need to train it almost daily to see real progress. I think 2" may be more forgiving.
Job Search Summary
I can rack up a few good progress notes for this week's job search. I did the following:
- Renewed my CPR certification
- Put an offer in on a car
- Bought a printer / scanner
- Created my skills and values lists
- Identified the jobs most closely matched to my skill set
- Found resumes matching my skill set that make me want to hire the author
- Determined my printed resume is vastly flawed and created an outline for fixing it
I have been struggling with making the search a full time effort. I knew my resume had problems, but was not sure why. Now that I have a better idea of what to do with it, I think things will move better. |
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| Posted by Scott Styles at | | | |
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Today I made a point to shift my session back into the morning. I was tired, but it went ok:
Warm Up - Exercise Bike, 10/10 Swings x 12k, 16k
Snatches - 5/5 x 16k, 20k, 24k, 24k, 24k
Front Squats - 5 x 45, 65, 85lbs, 3 x 105lbs
Kettlebell Push Ups - 8, 8, 5
Power Cleans - 5 x 50k, 50k, 50k
Conditioning - Walk w/ 20k KB overhead, Lunges w/ 12k KB overhead, Rack walk + Farmers w/ 20k KB's
Pinch Barbell (wide) - 5 x Empty, 20lbs, 40lbs, 40lbs, 40lbs
Overhead Levers - 5/5 x 8lbs @ 15", 18", 18"
Static Front Lever - 1/1 x 6lbs @ 15", 18", 17"
I am still recovering from being sick. It really cut into my strength and conditioning levels. I need to switch the conditioning work over to timed sets and get away from reps entirely on them. I will use my gym boss for this.
I have decided to spend less time reading and thinking. I need to focus on action. |
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| Posted by Scott Styles at | | | |
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Yesterday evening was the final night of my Sunday bowling league. Much to my surprise, the last place team gets a real cash prize. I left the bowling alley $75 richer, but did not get home until 11pm. That coupled with an early morning CPR recertification left me very tired for this afternoon's workout. The grip contest date does not change though, so I went for it:
Warm Up: 10 Two Arm Swings x 12k, 10/10 One Arm Swings x 12k, 16k
One Arm Press: 5/5 x 16k, 4/4 x 20k, 3/3 x 20k, 4/4 x 20k
Deadlift with Band on Knee: 5 x 50k, 70k; 3 x 90k, 90k
Split Squats: 5/5 x BW, 12k, 12k, 12k
One Arm Row: 5/5 x 16k, 8/8 x 16k, 16k
2 Minute Circuits: Med Ball Squats, Side Bridges, Med Ball Throws, Med Ball Planks
Grippers: 1/1 x T No Set, #1 No Set; 5/5 x #1, #1, #1
Pinch Barbell: 5 x 50lbs, 70lbs
My strength was way off today. I have been coughing all day and felt crummy. I took it easy as a result. Hopefully I will feel better on Wednesday. Tomorrow I will take it easy. Items of note include:
1. My lower back felt interesting on the deadlifts, so I kept my reps low on the final sets.
2. Splits squats are challenging, I have no idea what a good weight is. More than I use I am sure.
3. I focused on screwing my shoulder into the socket on the rows, it did not feel great
4. The conditioning circuits are my attempt at incorporating the stability and mobility focused activity Cosgrove did with us at the fitness conference. I really have no idea what the exact names are of the exercises I was doing. I need to learn the terms for it at some point. For now, it is enough to say they tired me.
5. My grip strength was down today. I think the "Med Ball Planks" did it. What I actually did was go from a push up position on the floor, to one on the med ball, to one on the floor. In addition to shoulder girdle stability, it challenged my hands. |
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| Posted by Scott Styles at | | | |
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Saturday I ran 2.5 miles to get some donuts. Then I walked home. Donuts rock.
Sunday I swept out the garage and started looking at how I can arrange things to fit a car. It is almost certain my next job will not be within walking distance. As much as I hate to sacrifice the space in my gym, it may be required.
Monday I have a CPR certification in the morning and will lift in the afternoon. This is the last item before I can renew my ACSM HFI cert. I am not sure what I will do with it, but at the very least I can put a line on my resume that tells prospective employers I am healthy and self motivated. |
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| Posted by Scott Styles at | | | |
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There are 8 weeks until Michigan Grip Champs 6, starting this Saturday. This is how I will prepare.
Training Plan
Full body workouts 3 times per week, with a specialization on pinch strength. Each of the 23 scheduled sessions will consist of one exercise from each of the following groups:
1. Squat / Lunge - Back Squat, Front Squat, Split Squat, Lunge, Pistol Practice
2. Lower Body Pull - Deadlift, Romanian Deadlift, Kettlebell Snatch, Kettlebell Swing
3. Upper Body Pull - Renegade Row, Barbell Clean, One Arm Row
4. Upper Body Push - One Arm Press, Kettlebell Push Up, T Push Up, Barbell Push Press
5. Pinch Barbell - Narrow or Wide
6. Grip Exercise 2 - Grippers Monday, Levering Wednesday, 2" Vertical Bar Friday
7. Conditioning - Weighted Walks, Turkish Get Up, Side Bridge Series, Lunge Matrix, Juggling
The first 4 weeks my grip work will focus on sets of 5, the last 3.5 weeks it will focus on sets of 3. My other exercises will focus on sets of 5, with special attention paid to developing lower body stability and knocking goals off my relatively strong list.
My primary training goal is to lift the Euro pinch device at the grip contest, which represents a 10lb pinch PR. I expect to tie my prior PRs on no-set grippers (HG200) and levering (8lbs). The next step up on grippers is the HG250, which is close to a #2 and out of reach. I may be able to exceed an 8lb lever. On 2" V-bar I'll chase 150lbs.
Training Milestones
1. Saturday, 5/24 - Test day at the end of Week 4
2. Monday, 6/16 - Last grip training session (workout 22)
3. Wednesday, 6/18 - Last training session (workout 23)
4. Saturday, 6/21 - Grip Contest
Non-Training Factors
My training commitments outside of they gym will be intentionally limited. I am going to eat 2500 calories with 110 grams of protein per day, Monday through Saturday. Sunday is an off day. I expect to bring my bodyweight down to 155lbs. Cardio will be random and consist of walks, bike rides, DDR, and possibly some running.
My primary goal outside of the gym is to leave as much time as possible for initiating my job search. I have a good understanding of the work I am looking for (technical project management, hire me now). I have two milestones planned:
1. Saturday 5/24 - Career search strategy and documentation ready for review with network.
2. Friday, 6/20 - Search advice from network incorporated, actively scheduling interviews.
Following the Contest
Over the next 8 weeks I will watch for my next training goal. The obvious one is October's grip contest in southern IL. However, late June is a great time to start some serious running. Summer mornings in the forest preserve are pleasant, and running focuses my entire day. The state of my job search will strongly impact the next goal. |
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| Posted by Scott Styles at | | | |
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Michigan Grip Champs 6 is in 8 weeks, on June 21st. Today I set my training plan and performed a baseline workout. The day went as follows:
Warm Up
Bike 5 miles to mall at moderate pace
Hit up Starbucks for tea and a donut, read job hunting book
Hit up Go Roma for lunch, create training plan for grip contest
Bike 7 miles home, into strong headwind (27-35mph)
Grip Work
Grippers - No Set: Work up to #1 Lefty, BBSA Righty
Pinch Barbell (weight of plates): 1 x 50, 70, 80, 90, 100lbs
Sledge Lever to Nose on Platform: 1/1 x 6lbs, 8lbs@15", 8lbs@20", 8lbs@24"
2" Vertical Bar: 1/1 x 70, 76, 121, 136lbs
Movement Testing
Deadlifts with band pulling right knee in: 5 x 50k, 70k, 90k
Split Squats: 8/8xBW, 5/5 x 12k, 12k
BW Squats with band pulling torso forward: 5, 5
I am happy with this baseline. It will be interesting to see the results I get over 8 weeks. |
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| Posted by Scott Styles at | | | |
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