TBT Week 7 Workout 1

Memorial Day, as was this whole weekend, was spent being lazy and easy. Woke up at 2PM feeling super refreshed, went to hit the weights, ate probably more BBQ than I should have, then kicked back for 45 minutes before going to Ab Class and running intervals.

Bench Step Ups: BWTx18x3

Hammer ISO Row (Lat emphasis): 60x18x3 each arm

Inverted Hamstring Stretch: BWTx18x3 per leg.

Close Grip Pushups: Set of 17, 13, and 11 reps

DB Preacher Curls: 15x18x3

Hammer Calf Press: 200x18x3

DB External Rotations: 8x18x3

Intervals on a Treadmill (1.5 Degree incline): 2 intervals of 2 minutes at 8.2 MPH and 1 minute at 3.0 MPH. I did it, and this time it was only the last 20 seconds that sucked. I was afraid of the second interval but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, so my recovery was quick.

Oh, and my weight today was 219. Ka'chow!!!

Last Two Days

Thusrday:
Ab class, 75 minute walk with body armor on.

Friday:

This is how I made up for not doing the intervals on Wednesday, plus a bonus for mobility's sake:

Walked 2 laps around the field
Reverse 90/90 Stretch@4
Inverted Hamstring Stretch@4
Forward Lunge, Elbow to Instep@4
Inchworm@4
Jogged one lap around the field
Shoulder Complex
Leg Cradle@4
Glute Bridge (Marching)(Knee Extension)@6
Knee Hug@4
Drop Lunge (6@)
Side Shuffle for 30 Yards and back
Stationary Leg Swings (10 reps, front to back)
Stationary Leg Swings (10 reps, side to side)
YTWL@10
60 percent sprint 40 yards, backpedal back
Drop Squat and Stabilize@3
Squat Jump – Non Countermovement@3
Scorpions (8@)
Iron Cross (8@)
85% Sprint for 40 yards, backpedal back
Low Pogo Jumps: 3 sets of 20 seconds
High Pogo Jumps: 3 sets of 20 seconds
Full Sprint, 100 yards

Pistols: Managed to do a complete one in each set, then BWTx11x2 (descent only)

V-handle Pulldowns: 90x12x2

DB Deadlifts: 140x12x2.

Incline Bar Pushups: BWTx12x2

DB Preacher Curls: 20x12x2

Hammer Calf Press: 200x12x2

DB External Rotations: 10x12x2

Intervals on a Treadmill (1.5 Degree incline): 2 intervals of 1.5 minutes at 8.2 MPH and 1.5 minutes at 3.0 MPH. Week 6 of TBT down, 10 more to go.

TBT Week 6 Workout 2

Yesterday, I got back to my room at 5:30 PM and took a nap (skipped dinner, I was so sleepy). For 4 hours!?! As you could imagine, I couldn't go to sleep anymore after that. So after getting up, I got dressed in my PT gear (not really wanting to work out), went to the gym, took off my shoes, jumped on the scale, and headed to the office to talk to my wife for a bit.

220 lbs. If I could have taken off my clothes just to see 219, I would have. OK, maybe not!

After talking on the phone, I went to the gym at 11:30. I felt tired so I saved the intervals for today. But to make up for it, I did next week's workout: 3 sets vice 2 of everything (Notation: weight x reps x sets).

Reverse Deficit DB Lunges (Total Weight Shown): 90x8x3. I set the deficit a little higher, and got more of a workout. The weight felt heavier this way, too, so I might lighten it a tad next time for better form on all reps, not just the first 4 or 5.

Hammer ISO Rows (Lats, Elbows In, Weight per movement arm): 92.5x8x3

DB RDL (Total Weight): 160x8x3

DB Incline Laterals: 10x8x3

DB Preacher Curls: 25x8x3

DB Extensions (Tates): 25x8x3

DB External Rotations: 15x8x3

Now, I can sleep.

It Ain't Always The Heat

I thought that, maybe, it was because I hadn't walked in the body armor in about 4 days. Or, maybe, it was the increasing heat. Whatever it was, today's walk was kicking my ass. I could barely take in a full breath. Halfway through, I realized that it was neither of these things exactly. I had adjusted my vest before the walk and made it too tight, and the chest plate wouldn't let my chest expand. So I took off the IBA, layed it out, loosened the straps, and it was better than ever. Now I could breathe again. That, and it was cooler.

TBT Week 6 Workout 1

Ab Class - 30 Minutes

Bench Step Up: BWTx18x2

45 Degree Hyper: BWTx10x4

Inverted Hamstring Stretch: BWTx18x2

One Armed Neutral DB Press: 25x18x2

DB Preacher Curls: 15x18x2

Hammer Calf Press: 175x18x2

DB External Rotations: 8x18x2

Intervals on a Treadmill (1.5 Degree incline): 2 intervals of 1.5 minutes at 8.2 MPH and 1.5 minutes at 3.0 MPH. Actually, the first interval was 1 minute and 45 seconds. This was the week I was gonna try 2 minutes fast and one minute slow, but the first interval put the kibosh on those plans. It was too difficult. Maybe next week, or I'll try to hit the mark on at least one of the intervals.

I weighed in at a hair under 224 on Sunday. The waist is getting smaller, the legs are getting leaner but harder, and I'm getting stronger in all my lifts, so about the only fine tuning besides keeping an eye on my diet is maybe making sure I'm not doing too much. After all, I won't be in Africa forever, so what I do here I must be able to do at home.

The Past 3 Days

Thursday:
1 hour of walking in my body armor and Ab Class.

Friday:
Day off. Just felt like taking one. . . . usually, it's Sunday.

Today, I made up for Friday but cut out walking in my body armor.
30-minutes on the elliptical trainer at level 10.

Ab Class.

Pistols: Managed to do a complete one in each set, then BWTx11x2 (descent only)

V-handle Pulldowns: 90x12x2

Split Good Mornings: 115x12x2. One set for each leg.

Incline Bar Pushups: BWTx12x2

DB Preacher Curls: 20x12x2

Hammer Calf Press: 200x12x2

DB External Rotations: 10x12x2

Intervals on a Treadmill (1.5 Degree incline): 2 intervals of 1.5 minutes at 8.2 MPH and 1.5 minutes at 3.0 MPH.

Week 5 done, 11 more to go.

TBT Week 5 Workout 2

Straight after dinner:

Dynamic Warm-up Phase (@ means reps each side):
Walked 3 laps around the field
Reverse 90/90 Stretch
Quad Stretch
Combination Hamstring/Calf Stretch
Forward Lunge, Elbow to Instep
Leg Cradle
Jumping Jacks
Seal Jumping Jacks
Jog One Lap Around the Field
Shoulder Complex
Inchworm
Glute Bridge (Marching)
Front Skips 100 yards
Backpedal to starting position
Drop Lunge (6@)
Sideways Running: 20 yards down and back
Stationary Leg Swings (10 reps, front to back)
Stationary Leg Swings (10 reps, side to side)
60% Sprint (arm& posture focus)(20 yards down and back)
Squat Jumps (10)
75% Build Up Sprint (Knee Drive)(20 Yards Down and back)

Ground Based Mobility:
Scorpions (8@)
Iron Cross (8@)
Inverted Hamstring (8@)
Rollovers into V-Sits (10)
Birddogs (10@)
Fire Hydrant Circles (10@, forward and backward)
Mountain Climbers (10@)

Showed up at the gym, sweaty and pumped. Took off my shoes, jumped on the scale and weighed in at 225 lbs. I think my dietary changes plus the addition of the intervals have pushed me past my plateau. Notation: Weight x Reps x Sets

Reverse Deficit DB Lunges (Total Weight Shown): 90x8x2

Hammer ISO Rows (Lats, Elbows In, Weight per movement arm): Worked up to 115x3, then did 90x8x2

DB RDL (Total Weight): 150x8x2

DB Incline Laterals: 10x8x2

DB Preacher Curls: 25x8x2

DB Extensions (Tates): 25x8x2

DB External Rotations: 15x8x2

Intervals on a Treadmill (1.5 Degree incline): 2 intervals of 1.5 minutes at 8.2 MPH and 1.5 minutes at 3.0 MPH. Yes, I still had enough left for those - - - that's why I cut one or two sprints from the warmup. Weight upon leaving the gym was 223 lbs. Yes, I drank a few bottles of water to put it back - - - but it was nice to see.

Why Sandstorms Can Be A Great Thing

I was at a meeting while this thing was brewing in Djibouti. When I came out at about 5:15 PM it looked strangely foggy, then I figured it had been a sandstorm - - - my roommate later confirmed this. So my 80 minute walk with the body armor on found me looking like a bandit with my mouth and nose covered but with the sun blocked, the temperature was a lot cooler.

TBT: Week 5

Started dropping the 1-2 Gatorades a day thing. My weight is plateaued at 226 and this I'm sure is not helping. I drink more than enough water and I'm pretty sure I get enough salt from the food. Don't need more carbohydrates.

Did Ab Class for 30 minutes. Considering it's a lot of repetitions/static/twisting work, my abs are still adjusting to the workload. But I'm not sore in the hip flexors, so the adjusting plus after-workout stretching and mobility work is helping too.

Step Ups: 2x18@BWT

45-degree Hyper: 4x10@BWT. 10 is about the most reps I could do with this.

One Leg RDL: 2x18@BWT. In actuality, it's an inverse hamstring stretch as seen in the Core Performance book.

One Arm Neutral DB Press: 2x18@25 lbs

DB Preacher Curls: 2x18@15

Hammer Calf Press: 2x18@165 lbs

DB External Rotations: 2x18@8 lbs

Intervals on a Treadmill (1.5 Degree incline): 2 intervals of 1.5 minutes at 8.2 MPH and 1.5 minutes at 3.0 MPH. To gradually improve my endurance as well as to push the fat loss along, I am cutting 30 seconds a week from the walking and adding it to my running. Hard but doable, and at only 2 intervals it doesn't leave me for dead. After the 4th week, I'll add an interval and start anew at 1 minute running.

Mobility work and static stretching finished me up.

Last 2 Days

Thursday, I did the Ab Class here on base. So for 30 minutes, I let someone torture me into turning my abs to mush - - - it was like boot camp all over again! Didn't get to do the vest walking because I had last minute stuff at work I had to do and didn't leave at 5PM like I normally do.

Friday:

Woke up at 9:30, slathered on the sunscreen, put on my boonie hat and walked on mostly gravel for 75 minutes with my vest on. With nothing in my gut, this walk was taking it out of me. On the way down, I checked the thermometer and the temperature (humidity and all accounted for) read 121.8 degrees. I'm sure that was taking it out of me, too. You know how they tell people to have at least 8 glasses of water a day? That's just about how much water I drink when I walk.

In the evening, I joined one of my co-workers for a step aerobics class. Yeah, yeah - - - laugh all you want!!! Only 4 people showed up, including the instructor. No, I don't have video!!!! But I'll admit, as uncoordinated as I was in the beginning, it was 30+ minutes well spent. I got my heart rate up and broke a solid sweat. A perfect warmup for my light weight day. So, week 4 is done and there's 12 more to go.

Step Ups (Bench): 3x15@BWT

Hammert ISO Rows (Lats): 3x15@65 lbs each arm

DB RDL: 3x15@100 (50 in each hand)

Pushups: 3x15@BWT (done at a gradual cadence)

DB Preacher Curls: 3x15@15

Hammer Calf Press: 3x15@165

Intervals on a Treadmill (1.5 Degree incline): 2 intervals of 1 minute at 8.2 MPH and 2 minutes at 3.0 MPH.

Ende Neu

BTW, I'm the guy on the left. This was taken at U.S. Navy Individual Augmentee Combat Training (NIACT) at Fort Jackson, South Carolina in February.

I got the blog title from an album from one of my favorite bands, Einsturzende Neubauten. It means "ending new."

I'm currently on a trial separation from my wife, and I'm thousands of miles away from just about everything and everyone I know. It doesn't matter if we told each other that the playing field is even until I get back and we decide where to go from there. My life is pretty much a mess. Except for work, because in the military, in this place, I had better have my head together. And in the gym, where I always focus my energies on the task ahead: a number, a weight, a sign that the last rep is at least one last push away.

I think on Monday's workout, I pushed too hard. Then I walked in the vest for about an hour and 15 minutes on Tuesday in blistering heat. Then add the other stresses. I felt really edgy and drained. I kept trying to find excuses to just not work out.

I have a mission in all of this. I may just give the December 9th Virtual Meet a shot and get my thousand pound total. The other goal is to do so at 206 lbs: I'm about twenty pounds away from that.

So I dragged myself into the gym, because I don't need more delays. And for me, it's also the one place where I can focus on just one thing. Everything else stays at the door.

My legs and glutes were sore all over (the lunge max and heavy DB deads on Monday saw to that), so I was trying to dodge doing the Pistols (Descent only). So I did the Hammer ISO High Rows for 4 sets of 85 first, instead of that. The 4 sets of 8 of pistols were a grind but once it was over, the rest was Ok. I was almost too leasurely about the workout, but that was fine because I was really relaxed and content. After that:

DB Shoulder Presses (Weights is per dumbbell): 4x8@45 lbs

GHR: 30 reps (sets of 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 reps)

DB Preacher Curls: 4x8@25 lbs

DB Extensions (Tates): 4x8@25 lbs

Intervals on a Treadmill (1.5 Degree incline): 2 intervals of 1 minute at 8.2 MPH and 2 minutes at 3.0 MPH.

I'm not gonna turn this into a personal blog but I just had to put it out there. Because while I'm not always gung ho going into a gym, it's always important for reasons that go beyond pure numbers or strength. And that keeps my head screwed on straight!

It Has Arrived!!!

The heat I have been getting told about has finally arrived. Holy shit, it's like taking a deep breath of nothing. Right now (11:28PM, 08MAY05) it is about 81 degrees, with a heat factor that makes it fell like 95.

Weight yesterday morning, shorts and shirt with no shoes: 226. A day off and some more food always does the trick.

Early yesterday afternoon, I did the dynamic warmup and mobility and change of direction drills. I did about 2/3 of it and had to stop, because I felt the lactic acid burn in my chest, I couldn't catch my breath no matter how long I waited. It was so sticky! So I got into the shade, drank 4 bottles of water, and hit the showers. Probably didn't help that I was doing this on the Astroturf on the soccer field, which radiates about 20 more degrees than the surrounding temperature.

Today, since it was even worse, I took the dynamic warmup indoors and shortened it, no sprints. Better idea. Since I hadn't done weights in a week, I was gonna make my last heavy day of this eight week cycle special. Then, afterwards, I started to do the interval stuff on the treadmill a la Afterburn.

DB Deficit Reverse Lunges (weight is each dumbbell): 25x5, 35x5, 45x5, 55x5, 60x1

V-Handle Pulldowns: 75x5, 90x5, 105x5, 120x5, 135x2

DB Deadlifts (weight is each dumbbell): 60x5, 70x5, 80x5, 95x5, 100x3

Incline DB Bench (weight is each dumbbell): 35x5, 45x5, 55x5, 65x5, 75x0

DB Preacher Curls: 15x5, 20x5, 25x5, 30x5, 35x1

Hammer Calf Presses: 200x5, 220x5, 240x5, 260x5, 290x5

Intervals on a Treadmill (1.5 Degree incline): 2 intervals of 1 minute at 8.0 MPH and 2 minutes at 3.0 MPH. I'm doing 4 weeks of this just to get prepped. No rush.

230 No More

This week, I haven't lifted much. Maybe the stress from personal issues zapped my motivation a bit. But since I didn't want to catch up by lifting 4 days in a row, I at least walked with my body armor for an hour plus everyday since Wednesday. Today, I went to the gym in the morning and with just the tee-shirt and uniform pants on, I finally dipped below 230 lbs.

Mind you, I've done this before. This is the first time doing so without resorting to a sauna, or not eating the day before or over-aerobicizing. For me, it's a great sign. Between the weighted vest walking and the weightlifting, I still seem to be maintaining muscle but my waist is starting to get smaller. Now, I just need to schedule out everything. The long energy systems work at the beginning of the weight lifting workouts didn't kill my workouts, but it didn't leave much for recovery.

The only thing I lifted after Monday was a cold 1RM pull of 220 total pounds in the dumbbell deadlift (2 DBs of 110 lbs each) . That's 80 total lbs more than I did on April 13th. Part of that increase was learning the skill, the other was adaptation, the other was the one leg work. I have 13 weeks before this phase is over and I can begin WSFSB III. But it doesn't take a genius to figure out what my goal at the end will be. One is 220 lbs bodyweight. The other? The biggest dumbbells in the gym are 140 lbs, and I'll wear the body armor to get the rest;)