Total Body Training: Week 8 in 3 days

All Notation: Weight x Reps x Sets. Rest periods: 2 minutes on Day one and 3. 60 seconds on Day two.

I wanted to get this over with, and I don't want to work out while in New Jersey. So I committed myself to the daunting task of finishing this up in three days time. Barring Friday, where I did intervals in the morning, there will be no aerobics. Also since the weekend was here, I slept a lot more,and did a bit more. Here's how it went:

Day One (Friday night)(Supersets are paired up):

Hammer Front Pulldown (Weight is per movement arm): 35x12, 45x12, 55x12x3
DB Lateral Raises: 8x12x5

DB Shoulder Presses: 25x12, 30x12, 35x12x3
Barbell Curls: 35x12, 45x12, 60x12x3

Decline Twisting Situps: Repped Out at 18, 14, 12, 11, 10 reps
Cybex Donkey Calf Raise: 80x12, 100x12, 120x12

Sumo Deadlift: 135x12, 155x12, 175x12x3
Close Grip Pushups: Repped Out at 14, 12, 11, 10, 9 reps

A portent of things to come, I was so exhausted when it was all done. Question for myself at the end of the night was whether I would be able to pull again the next day.


Day Two(Saturday Afternoon)(Supersets are paired up):

DB Rows (Elbows Out): 25x8, 35x8, 40x8x3
DB Lateral Raises: 12x8x5

DB Bench Press: 35x8, 45x8, 55x8x3
DB Preacher Curls: 15x8, 20x8, 25x8x3

Decline Twisting Situp: Repped Out at 18, 16, 14, 11, 10 reps
Cybex Donkey Calf Raise: 100x8, 120x8, 150x8x3

Snatch Grip Deadlift: 135x8, 155x8, 185x8x3

Hammer ISO Shoulder Press: 45x8, 55x8, 65x8x3

A little easier on because it was lower reps and more dumbbell work. The Snatch Grip DL was the coupe de grace here. After this and a shower, I refueled at Chili's with an order of Southwestern Egg Rolls, a full rack of ribs, and a lot of Coca Cola. The I went to sleep late because my wife called, and The Matrix was on the TV. My back still has a pump, and squats are tomorrow. Great!?!


Day Three (Sunday Afternoon)(Supersets are paired up):

Weighed myself before I began, no shoes and no shirt: 232 lbs. about a 4 lbs drop in two weeks. I'm thrilled. I'm within striking distance of the 220s. But I'm so weak right now it's hardly a motivator. Should have gone to Starbucks. On paper, the pushups and squats will be the killer. Since my back did not feel up to the task, I did my squats on the Hammer V-Squat (Beginning resistance is 54lbs) machine.

Hammer ISO Low Row: 35x18, 45x18, 50x18x3
DB Lateral Raises: 6x18x5

Hammer V-Squat: 139x18, 159x18, 179x18x3

Pushups: Repped Out at 23, 18, 15, 13, 11 reps
BB Preacher Curls: 30x18, 35x18, 40x18x3

Decline Twisting Situp: Repped Out at 19, 17, 15, 12, 10 reps
45 Degree Hyper: Repped Out at 16, 14, 11, 10, 10 reps
Cybex Donkey Calf Raise: 80x18, 100x18, 110x18x3


So, with a whimper and a crawl, it was over. It was a good cycle. I could almost see why in his new book, Chad Waterbury takes out the last 4 weeks: it felt like cardio only worse. But I would do it again, it jacked my metabolism up. I'm back to a 225 bench, while barely benching because of all the DB, Blast Strap, and pushup work. My squat is back and with a faster launch, partly because of the GHR and all the front squats. I went from being able to do 2-3 reps on the GHR to now being able to do 8 reps. My waist is a little smaller but my back, arms, shoulders, and calves are thicker. I also have increased grip strength and more endurance. Triple Total Training is next after the break.

Workouts 06Dec12-06Dec14

Today, I am doing nothing but relaxing. With morning PT and the workouts themselves, the only thing keeping me sane is an added nap from 4:30PM to 6:30PM on most days. That and, since I want to finish TBT, I will finish it Sunday so that will be 3 workouts in a row. I don't want to workout while I'm in NJ next week.

06Dec12 (All Notation: weight x reps x sets):
Speed Intervals: 5 intervals of 2 minutes running at 7.3 MPH and 1 minute walking at 3.8 MPH. Heart rate did not hit 180+ until the last interval. That's great. I'll probably step it up on Friday.

Close Grip Pulldown w/V-Handle: 70x8, 85x8, 105x8x3

Hammer Pullover: 65x8, 80x8, 100x8x3

DB Lateral Raises: 6x18x3, 8x12x3

Seated Row: 70x8, 85x8, 105x8x3

Hammer ISO Low Row: 45x8, 55x8, 65x8x3

Decline Twisting Situps: 3 sets of 14 reps
Leg Lowering: 3 sets of 3
Birddogs: 3 sets of 20 seconds each
45 degree Hyper: 3 sets of 14
20 minutes on the elliptical as a cooldown. This took so long, and some of the movements do nothing for me. Considering that I deadlift twice a week, I'll move the Hammer low row to day 3 and only do the abs and laterals on the off day. That, and burnout is creeping up on me.

06Dec13 (All Notation: weight x reps x sets):
Since Monday's morning run was stopped due to rain, we all paid for it today with a longer run. The weather was colder, too. When I was done, it looked like steam was coming out of my wet clothes.

TBT Week 7 Workout 3:

Pushups: Repped Out at 22, 16, 12 reps.

12" Box Squat: 100x18, 125x18x3. The original goal was 135x18x3. 125 brought me down to earth. I performed 14 reps on my first set, took a 10 second breather at the top, then did the other four. Second set: 12 reps, rest 5 seconds, 3 reps, rest 5 seconds, 3 reps. Last set, 10 reps, then 4 reps, then 3 reps, then 1. Slept like a baby . . . . . had a hard time getting up this morning.

Preacher Curl: 30x18, 35x18, 40x18x3.

Hammer ISO Low Row: 35x18, 45x18, 50x18x3.

45 degree Hyper: Repped Out at 16, 14, 12, 10 reps.

Cybex 45 degree Donkey Calf Raise: 80x18, 100x18, 110x18x3.

Total Body Training: Week 7 Workout 2

Ran with the group this morning and got rained on while doing it. No worries, it was actually warm today. The cold snap is gone for now.

Evening Workout (All Notation: weight x reps x sets):

DB Bench Press: 35x8, 45x8, 55x8x3

DB Rows (Elbows Out): 25x8, 35x8, 40x8x3

Bulgarian Split Squat: 10x8, 20x8, 30x8x3

Hammer ISO Shoulder Press: 45x8, 55x8, 65x8x3

DB Preacher Curls: Worked up to a 25 lbs 8RM, then a 30 lbs 5RM, then did a set of 25x8.

Snatch Grip DL: Was going to test an RM but decided for future workouts to just play it safe and take a guess at a 1RM. I guessed 265 and calculated from there: 145x8, 165x8, 195x8x3.

Just Aerobics

45 minutes on the elliptical. Went to Barnes and Noble and bought The New Rules of Lifting; so far a great read. I might try that Metabolic Overload for a few of my aerobic days to lean out quicker. Ate sushi and hibachi fillet mignon chunks for lunch, and a big coffee and cookie at the bookstore. Not exactly bringing balance to the Force, but I had to have it and it was DELICIOUS!!!

Extra Back Work

Speed Intervals: 5 intervals of 2 minutes running at 7.3 MPH and 1 minute walking at 3.8 MPH

Close Grip Pulldown w/V-Handle: 55x18, 70x18, 75x18
Hammer Pullover: 50x18, 60x18, 70x18
LifeFitness Lateral Raise: 50x18, 60x18, 70x18
Seated Row: 55x18, 70x18, 75x18
Hammer ISO Low Row: 35x18, 45x18, 50x18
Decline Twisting Situps: 3 sets of 14 reps
Leg Lowering: 3 sets of 3
Birddogs: 3 sets of 20 seconds each
45 degree Hyper: 3 sets of 14

20 minutes on the elliptical as a cooldown.

Ouch!!!

After Wednesday's test on Squat and yesterday's test on Sumo DL, today I felt edgy and burned out. So no weights today. Heck, I didn't want to run with the group this morning but you know how the military is. How's that for motivation?!?

I did 30 minutes on the elliptical in the evening, and went to bed early. Thank god for the weekend!!!

Total Body Training: Week 7 Workout 1

All Notation: weight x reps x sets. Got up at the ungodly hour of 5:45AM to do 45 minutes on the elliptical machine and enjoy the free continental breakfast before reporting to work at 7:30AM.

Evening Workout:

Hammer ISO Front Pulldown (Weight per movement arm): 40x12, 50x12, 60x12x3

DB Shoulder Press: 25x12, 30x12, 35x12x3

DB Lateral Step Ups: 10x12, 15x12, 20x12x3

Close Grip Pushups (Arms Tucked): Repped out to 14, 14, 13 reps

Sumo DL: 135x12, 155x12, 175x12, 195x9, 225x6, 245x4, 265x2, 285x1. Started out trying to test out my 12RM. After 3 minutes of catching my breath after set 4, I went for the 1RM.

Barbell Curls: 35x12, 45x12, 55x12x3

Cybex Seated Calf: 40x12, 50x12, 60x12x3

All in all, a great workout that left me fiending for some sleep:)

Testing in Tennessee

Spent my Tuesday sleeping off jet lag and 3 days of little sleep. Today, I ran 1.5 miles in the morning with the unit I'm working for, and I went to the gym to see what they had and maybe test it. A lot of old Hammer machines (Great), some Lifefitness machines (not so great, save for the side lateral), and the free weights were enough. Surprisingly, they had a wide assortment of bars, some boards up to a 3-board, a step up box. Then I beamed when I saw a 12" box constructed out of 1 inch thick boards almost like Jenga. So I tested out on the back movements (at least 5-10 lbs stronger than I was a month ago), DB Bench Press of 70 lbs each arm, and a 245 double on 12" Box Squat. I've gained pretty good on this program, and all the GHR and squat rep work has made for a stronger squat out of the bottom. It's all in the exercise choices.

Now I'm beat, time for more sleep.

Total Body Training: Week 6 Workout 3

On to Week 7. Not a moment too soon, either. I at least wanted to do this before my trip to Tennessee next week. Don't know what equipment I will have to work with there.

Arched Back GMs: 115x12, 135x12, 150x12x2
Squats: 135x12, 155x12, 170x12x2.
Pullups (Green Band): 4 sets of 8. I cannot break 8 reps with these yet.
Bar Pushups (Feet Elevated): 4 sets of 12.
GHR (Purple Band): 4 sets of 12
Barbell Curls: 75x5, 85x3, 90x1 (5 lbs PR), 60x8x3

Total Body Training: Week 6 Workout 2

All notation: weight x reps x sets. Antogonist supersets for week 6. Rest was 60 seconds between sets.

Conventional Deadlift: 145x8, 175x8, 205x8x2. Better than last week's effort. Both faster and easier.

GHR (Monster Mini Band): BWTx8x4. Last time, I needed a light band to do these, so I'm happy.

Barbell Upright Rows: 30x8, 40x8, 50x8x2. Much prefer these with dumbbells, I could feel why the barbell version gets a bad rap. Not that hurt too much but it didn't feel totally right.

Barbell Incline Bench Press: 85x8, 115x8, 145x8x2.

Skullcrushers: 30x8, 40x8, 50x8x2

Incline DB Curls: 15x8, 20x8, 25x8x2

Total Body Training: Week 6 Workout 1

All notation: weight x reps x sets. Antogonist supersets for week 6. Rest was 120 seconds between sets.

Squats: 115x18x2. Better than last week and still just as hard. After this, I'm not looking forward to weeks 7 & 8: First day is 3 sets of 18!!!

GHR (Green/Black Bands): BWTx18x2. Used to need a green and purple band to do 15 reps, so this is an improvement for me.

DB Rows (elbows out): tested to a 55 lbs 1RM, then did 25x18x2. Did not have access to the Hammer ISO Row here at home, so this did the trick.

Pushups: Repped out at 22 and 18 reps. Done at a medium pace.

Lateral Step Ups: BWTx18x2. Truly beating the dead horse.

Barbell 21s: 50x21x2

Single Leg Calf Raises: BWTx7x5

Ok, NO BACKBLOGGING!!!

God, I haven't blogged in a while and so much built up that it's almost discouraging. I have to get better about this. It's been busy, in between training myself and my wife. So I'm gonna summarize short and sweet, then start tomorrow with my first workout of Total Body Training week 6. And I'll get back to seeing what everyone else is doing.

When I started in October, I was up to 245 lbs because of a lot of inactivity partially due to a broken rib. I am now down to 236 lbs but more solid. Last week, week 5 got away from sets of 5, 8, and 15 reps and introduced sets of 18, 8, and 12 reps. 18 rep sets of squats were pure torture but it broke my weight plateau of 238.

My changes to this program reflect my goal of a better PRT in April, since I was medically waived from the fall one and I want to impress the Navy. I've done nothing but pushup variations instead of benches, and lots of Blast Strap ones When I started back up in October, my bench had dropped to 205: it's back up to 225 but with more control. My squat is 275 and climbing, but I now have more depth and faster liftoff from the bottom. The program has two single joint movements every workout that are supposed to address the weakest bodyparts so I do a bicep movement and GHRs for those days, using various band combinations to allow me to hit all the rep ranges. Now I can do 6 reps on the GHR with no bands instead of 3 (Still no Kris, 20 something more reps before I can give him a go) and with all the front squats, that's what has probably helped my squat. All the dumbbell work and chinning has had an unplanned training effect on my grip: I can now do a 275 deadlift double overhand.

On the running front, I pulled a calf on week three of my running program and was almost ready to bag it when I read on a Navy running program used for people preparing for the SEALS that week 3 is for biking or swimming because a large number of BUD/S trainees injured themselves running in the third week. That kept me in it. So I walked the rest of that week, and started up again with no problem. I also changed my goal: I will work up to a 20 minute goal only but will train for 30 minutes next PRT. Last week was 4 circuits of 2 minutes running and 1 minute walking at 7.3 MPH (8 minutes running volume)and that was tough but the third day was good. This week is 6 circuits of 1.5 minutes running and 1 minute walking (9 minutes running volume) Since the run time dropped, I increased the speed to 7.5 MPH. I expect when I do next week's 5 circuits of 2 minutes running and 1 minute walking at 7.3 MPH, it will take less out of me because of that.

I have not done the elliptical on off days as planned. Instead, I have used those two days on the weekdays at lunchtime to do abs for 30 minutes. I'm still getting leaner, but now my midsection is getting stronger. I will start using the elliptical next week when I get home, starting at level one.

My wife recently had her checkup and her blood sugar is holding steady at normal, as is her blood pressure, and she's still progressing downward weight wise. She was able to do a 15 inch box squat with 115 for 8 reps last week, 185 for 3 sets of 5 on trap bar deadlifts, 35 lbs dumbell incline benches for 3 sets of 5. My goals for the near future for her is her first set of wheels for the bench (135 lbs) and 2 sets of wheels (225 lbs) for regular squat. I'm not telling her that, though: it's a surprise;)

BTW, I'm missing the Prilepin and Westside workouts but I think when their turn comes I will be better at it. This has been a good change.

My Running Program for April 2007 PRT

The following program is the one I'm currently following in preparation for the April 2007 Navy Physical Readiness Test (PRT). It is a combination of two 10-week beginners programs from Runners World, one designed to get you to 20 minutes of continuous running and one for 30 minutes. A program like this was what I used to drop my 1.5 mile running time from 15:22 (10/2005) to 12:54 (06/2006). Because of how that went, I changed things up a lot. Thanks to Kris at Tsampa.org for hosting the file. I have also included a race calculator from Santa Clarita Runners club to assist.

http://powervault.tsampa.org/caraballo/programs/28week_running_program.xls

http://www.scrunners.org/calculator.php?hrs=0&min=11&sec=23&distance=1.5&units=1&Submit=Calculate

A few explanations are in order, to explain my rationale for this programs structure. There are 3 running days on this program, vice 4. The other 2 or 3 days are spent on the elliptical and could even be walking days but it must be at least 30 minutes. Last time, I tried 4 days of running while I was lifting and ended up with banged up knees. 3 days did the job for me. Since I was doing intervals to build up my run time, I found that I need at least two sessions where I was doing 30 minutes of continuous work so that my steady distance running wouldn't suffer. The elliptical work filled the bill: it gets harder as the weeks go but tapers off towards the end, and it took the shock out of training. I'm training at running speeds between 7.3 and 6.9 MPH, but mostly at 7.3 MPH. I'm gunning for a Good-High on the run, so I need to hit a 12:23 time and the 7.3 MPH is a bit below that. I always run the first half below 6:40 (last run I ran it in 6:32) without stopping, so I calculated my low end speed off of that. I will run 7.3 MPH at all times until fatigue forces me to switch (so far, it hasn't), and then I'll adjust as I see fit. When I ran like this before, I was able to run longer before I had to walk.

The one other thing you will notice is that total run volume per session is included for each week. When I began training last time, the workouts were torture: the first week was 10 minutes of total running in 2 minute shots, and I was not in shape for either. It took me a long time to be able to run longer than 3 minutes, and it took even longer to improve that. Before beginning this program, walk for two weeks (I did more than that, thanks to a broken rib). Running volume for the 1st week is 6 minutes (since I can usually maintain good speed for a little longer than that without fail) and slowly builds up from there. The reason for the length of this program is that there is a more gradual buildup of run volume. After peaking at 20 minutes in Week 16, you get a short reprieve: the volume stays close to 20 minutes for 3 weeks but you're back to intervals vice one long run. The week before last, 29 minutes total run volume, is almost like running the course twice.

I am posting this as opposed to writing what I do each day for aerobics. But mainly I do this to show a progression and a plan. In most Navy PT that I have seen, people just run with no real purpose other than to last 1.5 miles or do the bare minimum, or with no rhyme or reason or quantifiable goal. This is my attempt. I will tweak it as I go and hopefully it will get better. As for why I'm not running continuously until the events, I don't need to except when I peak. I pound myself enough with the iron, too, and most sports don't require 3 miles of continuous running constantly. Now, if running a 5/10K, that would be different. Lastly, for weight loss, this works better for me because of the intensity.

BTW, I am on Week 3, 8 minutes total run volume per session. And I'm doing fine.

Backblogging

I'm trying to keep up but it's been tough. Not only have I been training but I have to manage around training my wife, too. We don't train on the same days: on her workout days I always make sure all the weights are ready and planned out, and that a full dinner is prepared so that after she's done working out, she doesn't have to wait to eat. She is ready to wrap up week 2 of Chad Waterbury's Total Body Training and so far, I think she is ready to surpass her old goals. We also got her down under 240 lbs, and her blood sugar profile has improved a lot. Yesterday's workout for her, BTW, looked like this

Antagonistic Pairings (Weight x reps x sets):
Flat Bench Press: 85x5x3
Dumbbell Rows (Elbows Out): 30x5x3
15" SSB Box Squat: 130x5x3.
Romanian Deadlift: 115x5x3
Lying Tricep Extensions: 35x5x3
DB Hammer Curls: 25x3, 25x4, 25x3

I will try to be more current. Try.

TBT Week 1 Workout 2

Lunchtime Run:
LifeFitness Treadmill, 1.0 Incline: 6 intervals of 1 minute walking at 3.8 MPH and 1 minute running at 7.3 MPH

Evening (The rest periods were 90 seconds between sets.)
Incline DB Bench Press: 45x8x3
DB Upright Rows: 15x8x3
15" Front Box Squat: 125x8x3
Arched Back Good Mornings (Wide Stance): 145x8x3
Assisted GHR (Green Bands): BWTx8x3
Hammer Curls: 25x8x3

Lunchtime Aerobics

LifeFitness Elliptical, Level 1 Hill: 30 Minutes

Lunchtime Run

LifeFitness Treadmill, 1.0 Incline: 6 intervals of 1 minute walking at 3.8 MPH and 1 minute running at 7.3 MPH

Lunchtime Aerobics

LifeFitness Elliptical, Level 1 Hill: 30 Minutes

TBT Week 1 Workout 1

Lunchtime Run:
LifeFitness Treadmill, 1.0 Incline: 6 intervals of 1 minute walking at 3.8 MPH and 1 minute running at 7.3 MPH. Tough, but not bad.

Evening (Now that I have an idea of weights to use, I just started over):
Blast Strap Pushups: BWTx5x3.
DB Rows (Elbows Out): 40x5x3
15" SSB Box Squat: Worked up to a 225 5Rm and a 235 4Rm.
Sumo DL: 215x5x3.
Assisted Dips (Purple Band): BWTx5x3
Barbell Curls: 60x5x3

TBT Week 1 Workout 2

Past three Lunches: 30 Minutes of Walking.

Evening (The rest periods were 90 seconds between sets.)
Incline DB Bench Press: Worked up to a 45 lbs 8RM
DB Upright Rows: Worked up to a 20 lbs 8RM
13" Box Front Squat: Worked up to 105 lbs 8RM, 125 lbs 5RM
Arched Back Good Mornings (Wide Stance): Worked up to a 135 lbs 8RM, 155 lbs 5RM.
BB Bicep Curls: Worked up to a 55 lbs 8RM
Band-Assisted Dips: Green Band x 15, Purple Bandx8, Monster-Mini x 3, Purple Band x 8

This workout left me tired, but I am starting to adjust. After all this time of low rep heavy work, the high reps are draining.

Next week, the running begins. I'll post something on that later.