[quote]ActivitiesGuy wrote:
[quote]jblues85 wrote:
Did a lot of stretching and mobility work last night at home once my son went to bed. I have always had tight hips so a lot of my stretching and mobility work is to loosen those suckers up (work a desk job). The stretching routine I use is the sample one Jim Wendler laid out in the mobility part of the 2 Day a Week Template. Don’t have a foam roller so Agile 8 isn’t an option right now.
[/quote]
A couple of disjointed thoughts for you here:
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Get a foam roller. It’s cheap and well worth it.
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I have also had tight hamstrings, hips, pretty much everything since I was young. Even now, with a regular hot-yoga practice (on-and-off for four years, but I’ve now been going 2-3 days a week for over a year), I still have tight everything. But you know what? I swear that the mobility work has improved my injury resistance, for lack of a better word. It’s definitely worth carving out some time for mobility work.
I have to go to yoga class to do it, though; I’m not disciplined enough to just stretch for a prolonged period on my own at home. The most I can ever manage is a few minutes with the foam roller before/after a workout.
I’ll be throwing up a couple of kettlebell workouts this weekend as I head to Michigan to visit my GF.[/quote]
It took me until about 3 months ago to figure out how important mobility is and everything you said I 100% agree with. I’m not ready to hit a split or anything but I can squat deep with zero issues. I have read a lot of good things about foam rollers. They are a little more expensive than I thought they would be. Considered making my own but I’m just lazy! I see all of your posts on your log about yoga and it peaks my interest even more. I always said I wanted to hit up a yoga class even if it’s just to pick up a few more stretches. They offer it at odd times at the gym and it’s never on a consistent basis. The hot yoga on the other hand freaks me out!! I sweat like a hog on a 10 degree day!
5/3/1 Full Body (Deload)
Squats: 5x5: 250
Bench Press: 5x5: 185
Decline Sit Ups: 5x10: Bodyweight
I super-setted 5 pull ups (different grips) between all of my sets today, including warm ups. Did not do them between sit ups though. I would put a 5 down in my phone each time to keep up with how many I had done. Ended up with 95. Did not total them up until I came back to work. Went back to a guy who keeps a door pull up bar in his office here at work and did 5 more so I can log 100 today! Doing the pull ups between squat sets really helped me keep my back a lot tighter. May start doing a few sets before a squat workout. I know Mr. Wendler says to do that anyway so hopefully he doesn’t check out the logs here and rips me a new one.
[quote]jblues85 wrote:
I see all of your posts on your log about yoga and it peaks my interest even more. I always said I wanted to hit up a yoga class even if it’s just to pick up a few more stretches. They offer it at odd times at the gym and it’s never on a consistent basis. The hot yoga on the other hand freaks me out!! I sweat like a hog on a 10 degree day![/quote]
Lol, I am an extremely heavy sweater, and I have always been fine. Sure, I leave about five pounds of bodily fluid on the floor around me, but I have never had any issues like severe dehydration or cramping. As long as you’re sensible and keep yourself well hydrated (this does not mean drinking 1 gallon of water 1 hour before class, but rather drinking sufficient fluids the day before and generally drinking enough on a day-to-day basis), that’s not really an issue.
I can imagine, though, that with a family (kids) to care for, carving out an extra 60-90 minutes to go to the yoga studio is not easy.
[quote]jblues85 wrote:
I super-setted 5 pull ups (different grips) between all of my sets today, including warm ups. Did not do them between sit ups though. I would put a 5 down in my phone each time to keep up with how many I had done. Ended up with 95.[/quote]
Big, big fan of this approach. Good work 
9/13/14
Track Day
5 x 50 yd Sprints
5 x Single Stair Sprints
5 x 100 meter Sprints
1/2 mile walk for cool down
The day started out very humid and somewhat cool. Worked up a sweat pretty quick in the workout but about 30 mins later the humidity went away, the sun came out, and it got really hot. The 50’s and 2 sets of stairs were done in the humidity and the rest were done in the burning sun. For the record, I hate 100m sprints. I started to ask myself towards the end, at what point does sprinting become a fast jog? Answer: after 3 100’s for me!!
9/15/14
5/3/1 Full Body
Bench Press Day (70%, 80%, 90%)
Squat: 140x5, 175x5, 210x5
Bench Press: 175x3, 200x3, 225x6 (PR)
DB Row: 85x10, 95x10, 105x10, 95x10, 85x10
Hit a nice little PR on bench press today. 225 for 6 reps is certainly not impressive for most but for me I will gladly take it. I like doing the light squats first. Served as a good warm up and got my sluggish body woken up today. Could have gone a little higher with my DB Rows but decided to go ahead and work back down and make sure technique was decent and not just throwing weights around.
9/16/14
Conditioning Day
All Throws / Slam were done with a 15lb Medicine Ball (heaviest ball the gym has)
20 x Chest Pass
20 x Overhead Pass
20 x Push Press Throw?? (Squat down and throw straight up)
20 x Lying Chest Pass
20 x Ball Slam
20 x 24" Box Jumps
5 x 10 80lb Kettlebell Swings
2 x 20 Decline Sit-ups
2 x 10 Hanging Leg Raise
Had fun doing all of the different throws today. Worked up a decent sweat and felt like I got some good work in. As I was typing this out I didn’t realize I did this much stuff but the ball wasn’t heavy so I tried to be as explosive as possible. I am looking at purchasing a 30lb Slam Ball at some point in the near future (of course have to run that by the wife first!!!). 30lb Slams alternated with Kettlebell movements could be quite fun!!!
9/17/14
5/3/1 Full Body
Squat Day (70%, 80%, 90%)
Squat: 240x3, 275x3, 310x5
DB Bench Press 5x10 / 5xPull-Ups: 50,55,60,75,70
AB Wheel 5x10 / 5xPull-Ups: Bodyweight
Glad I hit the 310 for 5 reps just because that was the goal I set for myself today. Haven’t done dumbbell bench in a while so that felt awkward for the first few sets. Worked up differently than I wanted to for the DB Bench just because the DB’s I wanted kept getting taken. You got a douche bag leaning on the dumbbell rack doing rows with a 65lb dumbbell. I’m all for someone working hard no matter what their level of strength is (I’m not very strong) but at least be courteous to other people around you and find something else to lean on. It would’ve been fine if it was the 125 but the 65? COME ON MAN!!!
9/19/14
5/3/1 Full Body
OH Press & Deadlift Day (70%, 80%, 90%)
Squat: 140x10, 175x10, 210x10
Overhead Press 125x3, 145x3, 160x4
Deadlift: 285x3, 325x3, 365x6
DB Hammer Curls / Tricep Pushdows: 3x10
No weekend conditioning.
Decided to hit 10 reps on the squats today just for a little change of pace. Shoulders were feeling a little “jello-ey” and wasn’t too pleased with my final set of overhead presses. Deadlift performance was okay. Was planning on 8 reps on the final set but felt the bar starting to drift forward too much so I just capped it. Did some arm work at the end just because I had a little extra time to spare. Did not get to the track or kettlebells this weekend. We stayed busy all weekend and never had a good opportunity to make it out there.
9/22/14
5/3/1 Full Body
Bench Press Day (65%, 75%, 85%)
Squat: 140x10, 175x10, 210x10
Bench Press: 160x5, 185x5, 210x5, 185x5, 160x5
DB Row: 90x10, 100x10, 110x10, 100x10, 90x10
Hips were feeling tight on squats today. Eventually loosened up but glad it wasn’t a heavy day for those. Bench press felt good and so did the rows. Not too much to write about today.
9/23/14
5 minutes of goblet squat stretches.
5 rounds of:
10 x 80lb Kettlebell Swings / 5 x 55lb Goblet Squat holding 5th rep for 10 secs each time.
Another 5 minutes of stretching afterwards
Was feeling very tight today and needed to move around. Had some downtime at work and I keep my kettlebells in my office so it was a perfect time to move around a bit. Luckily this didn’t take too much time. Would hate for someone to come by my office and see me holding a goblet squat stretch in my work clothes. They would probably think I’m crapping my pants!
^Gotta say, that made me kind of chuckle. I have a shower at my office and ride my bike to work frequently (showering once I arrive), but I’ve never had the gumption to do an actual midday workout IN the office. It’s occurred to me that I could ride to work and do a bunch of pushups before showering, but I’ve never done that, either, preferring to merely stop at the gym and work out, then ride the rest of the way to work.
[quote]ActivitiesGuy wrote:
^Gotta say, that made me kind of chuckle. I have a shower at my office and ride my bike to work frequently (showering once I arrive), but I’ve never had the gumption to do an actual midday workout IN the office. It’s occurred to me that I could ride to work and do a bunch of pushups before showering, but I’ve never done that, either, preferring to merely stop at the gym and work out, then ride the rest of the way to work.[/quote]
Glad I could give you a quick little SALTS moment!! I work in what I call a very unconventional professional work place. It’s all guys here due to all of our receptionists hired over the years being a little too coo coo for cocoa puffs (some have stolen and some would curse you out on a good day). One of our guys keeps a door pull up bar and some rings in his office to do his lunchtime workout routine. The only time it gets awkward is when a client of ours walks in and sees me doing some kettlebell movements or stretches. We tell them we do this so we can better serve your engineering needs for many years to come!
9/24/14 Workout
5/3/1 Full Body
Squat Day (65%, 75%, 85%)
Squats: 225x5, 260x5, 295x5, 260x5, 225x5
DB Bench Press 5x10 / 5 Chins: 50/BW,55/BW,60/BW,65/BW,70/BW
AB Wheel 5x10 / 5 Chins: Bodyweight on both
Squats felt pretty good today. I feel like I’m starting to squat deeper than ever which is making my top set pretty hard. I have terrible body awareness!! A friend of mine tells me I am squatting too deep and need to shallow up some. He says the form looks good but if you don’t have to squat that deep then why do it. Need to shoot a video to check it out for myself. My mind was telling me to quit on the chin ups after the DB Bench Presses but I really want to stay committed to getting 50 chin ups in some form or fashion in this workout.
A quick note: Thought about what goals I want to achieve. I’ve been wanting to get my squat to 400, bench to 300, and deadlift to 500. That has been my goal for a while now as far as lifting. As far as diet, I have kind of been on auto-pilot. I haven’t fully committed to either cutting weight or trying to “bulk”. I read something that Reed wrote in a forum that hit home with me. He said that what good is getting a 600lb squat when you weight a fat 300lbs and give out of breath walking a few feet (something to that affect anyway). Need to get some clear cut goals pretty soon! Was leaning towards the bulking part but not being too aggressive with it. Maybe adding 300-500 calories and seeing how things progress.
9/25/14
Conditioning Day
20 x 24" Box Jumps
20 x 15lb Wall Balls
20 x 15lb Slams
5 x 20 80lb Kettlebell Swings
5 x 10 Decline Sit Ups
Could have probably done just the KB Swings and that would have been good enough. Was staring long and hard at the 30" box for jumps but came to realize that this white man still can’t jump and wasn’t worth the risk! Maybe someday I will quit wussing out and go for it! I was corrected on calling them push press throws and was told these were called wall balls in the Crossfit community. I have no strong opinion on Crossfit and also have never gone to a “box” for a workout. Don’t want to form an opinion on something I have never tried before.
9/26/14
5/3/1 Full Body
Overhead Press / Deadlift Day (65%, 75%, 85%)
Squat: 140x5, 175x5, 210x5
Overhead Press: 120x5, 135x5, 150x5
Deadlift: 265x5, 305x5, 345x10
9/27/14
45 minute walk with family (early)
Track Time
5 x 50yd Sprints
5 x 100m Sprints
5 x Single Stair Sprints
Overhead press felt a little funky on Friday. 150 for 5 reps felt a hell of a lot heavier than it should have, even for 5 reps. Felt rushed due to working late and had to meet some friends for lunch. Didn’t take any rest periods except the time it took to add the weight. Saturday’s track time was fairly productive. All of my sprints were ran into the wind which made me feel a lot slower than I already am. Hamstrings and glutes felt a little sore and tight during the sprint session as well. Of course they loosened up AFTER I finished everything up!
9/29/14
5/3/1 Full Body
Bench Press Day (75%, 85%, 95%)
Squat: 140x5, 175x5, 210x5
Bench Press: 185x5, 210x3, 235x4 (PR)
BB Rows: 135x10, 155x10, 175x10, 175x10, 175x10
Squats felt a little wobbly for some reason today. Whole body felt very tight today. I was happy with the 4 reps with 235 on bench. Tried to squeeze out the 5th rep but couldn’t quite lock it out. Was only a few inches away from lockout! Tried barbell rows today since I have not done them in a long time. Felt pretty good. Did these set in the rack about mid-shin Pendlay style. I have done them from the floor and they do not feel natural at all. Damn you long legs!!
9/30/14
Kettlebell Circuit (Modified Deep 6)
55lb Kettlebell
5 Rounds of:
1-Arm Swings 5L/5R
Snatch 5L/5R
Clean & Press 5L/5R
Rack Position Lunge 5L/5R
Mountain Climbers 10L/10R
The Deep 6 workout put way too much strain on my shoulders especially with the get down at the end. I did each arm after the other instead of 1 arm all the way through and then switch. Used lunges instead of the front squat for a change, and mountain climbs instead of the get down to keep my shoulders from being pissed off at me tomorrow. It was a nice day outside to get a good ol’ kettlebell workout in!
9/30/14
Kettlebell Circuit (Modified Deep 6)
55lb Kettlebell
5 Rounds of:
1-Arm Swings 5L/5R
Snatch 5L/5R
Clean & Press 5L/5R
Rack Position Lunge 5L/5R
Mountain Climbers 10L/10R
The Deep 6 workout put way too much strain on my shoulders especially with the get down at the end. I did each arm after the other instead of 1 arm all the way through and then switch. Used lunges instead of the front squat for a change, and mountain climbs instead of the get down to keep my shoulders from being pissed off at me tomorrow. It was a nice day outside to get a good ol’ kettlebell workout in!
10/1/14
5/3/1 Full Body
Squat Day (75%, 85%, 95%)
Squat: 260x5, 295x5, 330x5 (PR)
Bench Press 5x10 / 5 Chins: 135 / BW
Decline Sit-Ups 5x10 / 5 Chins: BW on both
Exceeded my own expectations with squatting today. Wouldn’t been ecstatic with 3 reps with 330 but squeezed out 5 reps today!! Squat form felt spot on. Went with barbell bench press instead of dumbbells just because I was feeling lazy and didn’t want to get the dumbbells in position each time. My chin-up performance is getting a little better each time as well.