Lol's New HST Log

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Oh, I tried a dip on the rings with my legs out straight horizontally and managed only one rep! Joy! </div>

I imagine that is tough as all hell. Props to the rings!
 
07/07/08

BW: 208 - Exactly a pound less than a week ago! Waist now 34.5&quot;. I can do my belt up another notch now.

Quad: re ring dips, well, I think it is a combo still. It's a bit like holding a pec-dec closed whilst dipping. So it's like a peak contraction for pecs the whole time.

I had another go at kipping pull-ups last night (still with straps) and managed 3 sets of 20,22,22 reps. I am definitely getting more accustomed to the movement but there is still a lot more improvement to be made. My back was fried after that; I only managed 7 regular bw pull-ups after a few minutes rest! This morning, my shoulder joints are pretty uncomfortable. They are still getting used to the beating these kipping pull-ups are giving them along with the dislocates. Shoulder flexibility is improving and I seem to be getting less impingement at night even if I sleep with my arms above my head. haven't tried OHS in a while so not sure if there's any improvement there yet.

As well as an amazing Wimbledon men's singles final the Crossfit Games were also this weekend. Some of the folks who took part (actually most) are incredible athletes. What I want to know is how well any 210lb+ guys fared?

Got an extra rep for 2 x 4 x 242 for bench the other night compared to the previous session so that was good but still short of my pre-cutting effort. Squats @ 308lb still hard though.
 
Nice job on the weight loss LOL. It's always a nice feeling when you have to add a notch to the belt. Crossfit looks pretty interesting. I'd have to agree after checking out their website and their WOD's that they must be incredible athletes. I think I'm going to get my kids into that, they have been bugging me alot about wanting to &quot;workout&quot;. What a wonderful thing!
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(Lol @ Jul. 07 2008,5:12)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">an amazing Wimbledon men's singles</div>
that was an unbelievable match!

nice work w/ 208. I'm sure that 205 will be a milestone?
 
Mon 07/07/08

Hey BAX, you and me too re the kids (in my case it's just the one). I am so relieved that my lad is now keen to do some training. A little while ago he didn't seem interested at all but I think the hormones are starting to kick in and then what can a boy do?!  
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 Crossfit is great for kids as it's also more fun for them. At a young age, functional strength, flexibility, power, etc are all going to be really useful in their daily lives. Hopefully, it'll help my little chap get into some good habits which will continue on into later life.

I've got him started on burpees, chins, push-ups (he wants to learn to kip) and some other body weight stuff. Handstands are coming next (I used to love walking around on my hands as a kid) along with deadlifts (taken nice and steady). I'm hoping I can get him to learn the Oly lifts too but that may require a bit of expert help. He really likes messing around with the rings so you might find your kids like them too. I wish I'd got some years ago.

Hey Fear, 205 will be good but 195 will be better!
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It seems such a frustratingly long process this blubber shedding but I'd like to get in this kind of shape:

Games08SpealCJ_th.jpg


That Crossfit workout I mentioned ie:

Five rounds for time of:
5 Deadlifts:  275 lbs for males,
10 Burpees

was completed by several competitors in under 3 mins! The guy in the pic only weighs 135 yet he managed the workout in 2:41. He was deadlifting 2 x bodyweight for that workout. I think he's about 5'6&quot; which gives him a slight mechanical advantage but still, that's an awesome achievement. The fastest time by any competitor was, I think, 2:33!  
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As far as my training goes, I did ok in my front squats last night; for sets of 10 reps, I worked through 60, 70, 80, 2 x 90 and 10 x 100kg (220lb). That's not quite up to my PR but it's only 5lb away so I think I might still be able to get 10 x 102.5kg (225lb) or just possibly 10 x 105kg (231lb) while cutting. We'll see...
 
<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Hey Fear, 205 will be good but 195 will be better!
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It seems such a frustratingly long process this blubber shedding but I'd like to get in this kind of shape:</div>

Two things: 1) Congrats on the fat loss, 2) Do not be frustrated by a long process for being lean is a life goal and it is something that cannot be achieved overnight. This is coming from the man whose Road to 10% has almost hit the 9 month mark!

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">That Crossfit workout I mentioned ie:

Five rounds for time of:
5 Deadlifts: 275 lbs for males,
10 Burpees</div>

I like the workout, but not the quickness of it. 5 x 5 of heavy deadlifts is a lot under normal conditions. Now, you take away the rest and replace it will some cardio/calisthenics. I would be worried about my heart under such circumstances.

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">At a young age, functional strength, flexibility, power, etc are all going to be really useful in their daily lives. Hopefully, it'll help my little chap get into some good habits which will continue on into later life.</div>

I know what you mean when you talk about functional strength. The deadlift, squat and row are essential to helping your body be limber and strong to move and carry objects.
 
<div>
(colby2152 @ Jul. 08 2008,2:16)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">One more thing... you need to update your signature!
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Oh yeah, cheers!

Re the Crossfit deadlift workout: it's not what you would do without having done cardio and strength training. Of course, I always have to try stuff like this just to see how I get on. 15 consecutive reps with 350 nearly finished me off but it was 'easier' than this lighter deadlift workout because my cardio fitness sucks right now.
 
Tues 08/07/08

Shoulders feeling pretty beaten up from kipping pull-ups. Hmmm, what to do?

100 bw dips for time.

Time: 4min 59sec

Managed it in just under 5 minutes which I think is pretty rubbish considering I did the first 40 in one go. Room for improvement me thinks.

Anyway, after that I had to have a few minutes to recover and then I did... some more dips!

Dips: 2 x 20 x bw+44lb

I would have gone for a heavier set or two but I think my shoulders have had enough for tonight.

Went to the chin bar, jumped up, grabbed hold, did one pull-up and decided to call it quits. My forearm is still being a pain and my shoulders are shot. I hope a good night's rest will help.

Deads tomorrow.
 
15 consecutive reps w/ 350 is outstanding! I did 10 today and had a hard time.

great work w/ front squats &amp; dips too. holding onto your strength whilst cutting has to be hard. good job man. I'm sure your boy is inspired by his father's performance.
 
Thurs 10/07/08

Did some squat clean and jerks yesterday to test my old arm again. Also did some snatches and then managed 10 x OHS with 88lb. Right index finger and thumb went buzzy for a while but much better than last time. By this morning they were fine again. Last time they took over a week to go back to normal. The shoulder dislocates seem to be helping.

In my continuing and rather pathetic attempts at Crossfit style workouts I had another go at five rounds of 5 x 275lb Deadlift + 10 x Burpees for time. This time I loaded the bar with the correct load.

As I can't possibly complete all the rounds without a break I decided to do two rounds, take a short break, two more rounds, take another short break and then the fifth and final round. I decided to time each section and then total it up for an idea of what I might manage if I was much fitter. I also decided to pace myself rather than go flat out.

Here's how it went down:

Rounds 1 &amp; 2: 01min 50sec
Rounds 3 &amp; 4: 01min 40sec - pushed a bit harder for these.
Round 5: Didn't press the stopwatch's start button properly! Doh!
Round 6: 44sec

Total time for 5 rounds 04:14 (not including rest time)

Pity about my timing mess up but it meant I had to do another round so that's OK. Had around 3 mins rest between rounds 2&amp;3, 4&amp;5 and a bit less between 5&amp;6. What I'll do is make a better note of my rest time and then gradually reduce it until I can make it all the way through without a break. I think that's some way off.

Interestingly, if I had been able to keep up that pace all the way through I would have finished around 73rd out of a field of 197 competitors. Fastest time to finish was 02:33 (insane!) and the slowest finisher was 10:15 (looks like I could get at least that with some more training). About 10 competitors didn't finish in the 12:00 mins max time allowable. The first eighteen competitors did it in 3 mins or less.

And now I'm going to have a large banana, two eggs and three scoops of whey all blended with a pint of deliciously cold whole milk (whatever TR thinks!
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).
 
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(Lol @ Jul. 10 2008,8:31)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">And now I'm going to have a large banana, two eggs and three scoops of whey all blended with a pint of deliciously cold whole milk (whatever TR thinks!
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And a bit of choccy...!
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Fri 11/07/08

Hey TR, I didn't have any choccy last night but I did tonight (80% Peruvian cacao) along with a wonderful glass of single malt. Mmmm.

Had another crack at the Deadlift/Burpee workout tonight with no rest between rounds. Decided to do the deads quickly each round and then try pacing the burpees to allow me to catch my breath a bit.

Four rounds of: 5 x 275lb deads and 10 x burpees for time.

Time taken: 5m 34s.


I held off on a fifth round. I could have forced myself to do it but decided that I had pushed it far enough. It took me about 10 minutes to feel normal again afterwards. Anyway, much better than my last few attempts. My goal is now to get 5 rounds in less than 7 mins. I'll have to try for that next week. If my heart holds out I should get it.

Tomorrow I must do some heavier stuff, probably squats and bench.
 
Sat 12/07/08

Bench: warm-ups and then 3 x 5 x 100kg (220lb), 1 x 4 x 110kg (242lb)

Work got in the way today but I did manage to do a few bits: some 'heavyish' bench and some pull-ups. Definitely still feeling tired from yesterday's effort.

Kipping Pull-ups: 1 x 25, 1 x 30 (PR)

I wanted to have another go at kipping pull-ups as my shoulders were feeling a lot better. 25 reps for my first set was my best effort to date and then, for the second set, I managed 30 reps! Pretty whacked after that but I was pleased I got that many. I think 50 reps is a way off but 40 reps has to be my next goal now.

Must do some squats tomorrow.
 
Sun 13/07/08

Squats: worked up to 3 x 5 x 140kg (308lb)

Ring dips and Ring Ab Stretches

Not great squatting but at least I managed them. No way could I have managed 10 reps. The warm-up sets felt pretty hard and after 5 reps with 130kg I almost psyched myself out of adding the extra 10kg. That's one drawback to training alone; a partner can egg you on when you want to stop. Still, it's always good to be resolved to give something your best shot, no matter how you fare, and the personal satisfaction when you get the job done.

Shoulder joints are all crapped out after yesterdays bench and pull-ups and all the dislocates I've been doing each night, so no presses today. Lats are nicely sore, more so than my pecs. Dare I say it, but after yesterday's abuse my right forearm doesn't seem quite as bad as I expected it to be today. I still daren't curl a heavy bar with a supinated grip but that's not a problem anyway.

Just for a bit of fun (and I can't recommend anyone else doing this) I decided to use the rings to hold myself in an inverted position (legs straight and feet resting against straps) for as long as possible (I'm trying to get my head used to the increase in blood pressure again so I can get back into handstands and teach my lad how to do them). It's a bit like hanging from a bar but it's much more comfortable on your shoulders. Of course, you have to ensure that you lower yourself down before your grip gives out or it's lights out!  
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Nice forearm and head pump from that! (The red face effect diminishes over time as your body adapts to the pressure change. It must toughen the walls of the capillaries or something.) I have some foam cushions that I'll put underneath next time, just in case.

Although I've done a fair bit of grip strength work over the past year, I have neglected grip stamina work. I'm going to need it if I am to improve my kipping pull-ups; holding on to the bar with all the swaying and sudden changes in loading is really tough going.
 
<div>
(Lol @ Jul. 13 2008,12:48)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Just for a bit of fun (and I can't recommend anyone else doing this) I decided to use the rings to hold myself in an inverted position (legs straight and feet resting against straps) for as long as possible (I'm trying to get my head used to the increase in blood pressure again so I can get back into handstands and teach my lad how to do them). It's a bit like hanging from a bar but it's much more comfortable on your shoulders. Of course, you have to ensure that you lower yourself down before your grip gives out or it's lights out! </div>
That used to be one of my favorite things to do with rings (many years ago). Then you do a sort of somersault to get down.

I don't know that I'd try that at my age...!
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Hey Lol,

I have been thinking about getting rings myself. Seems both you and I have taken an interest in the Crossfit stuff. I would love to see you make some videos showing how you set them up and use those rings.
 
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