Weights/Cardio: 02/27/08

I have lost my rhythm after taking some odd days off and I came in not wanting go heavy cause my back is sore from playing ball without stretching so I settled on a squat tabata.

squat tabata: 20 secs of exercise, 10 secs of rest w/ 45 lb plate clutched to chest
(+/- 1) 14, 15, 16, 14 (dropped the plate), 15, 16, 15, 15.

pull up tabata:
I then went and tried a modified tabata with pull ups, but it was more like do 6 wait 20 secs do 6 more. I got 3 sets through and then I started hopping into them and did 2 more sets for 5 total.

Front squats: After this I felt lost so I wandered around to the racks and did some front squats
5 @ 185
5 @ 205
2 @ 225

bulgarian split squats: I finished with 3 0f 10 @ body weight of bulgarian split squats

The tabata killed me even though I didn't realize it at the time. Hopefully I can get in some cardio tonight. I haven't done fartleks in a while.

Practice: 02/25/08

My back is sore from playing basketball without stretching enough. How old am I?

warm ups
agility work: did a fun one with tapiocas into releases, did a bad one working on cutting with the outside leg
cardio: brutal backpedal suicide and ended with a lame sprint to stations (squat jumps knee to chest, mountain climbers, burpees) that ended up being impossible.

Weights: 02/24/08

Finally back to the gym, but stuck to power/high impact stuff so I wouldn't be to sore for NU practice tomorrow.
A1 hanging cleans:
4 @ 135
4 @ 155
4 @ 165
2 @ 170
2 @ 175
0 @ 180: I just couldn't see myself getting the weight up to my chest and didn't feel like falling over in the middle of the gym.
2 @ 175

A2 rack pulls: my main objective here was getting the weight up. I feel like I hadn't been attacking this and as my deadlifts are getting up there the pulls should follow.
4 @ 225
4 @ 275
4 @ 295
4 @ 315
1 @ 325: Went for the 2nd rep and thought better of it. Never really got in a good pulling rhythm as I kept feeling like the weight was draggin me forward.

A3: alternating bench jumps
(3) 0 @ 10

monday: practice
tue: gym/rest
wed: rest/gym
thurs: cardio

Basketball: 02/23/08

Took it to the courts on Saturday morning. I don't remember dribbling the ball off my foot or any other appendage, which is part of my checklist for success after a day of ball.

Sled and Stairs wi/ Siegs: 02/19/08

From Siegs:

Took Fausty up on his offer to do "cardio" at his place in Chelsea. Great view up there of the city - I had never been to that part of town before.

We started off with stairs, doing 2 sets of 3 times up a flight of stairs probably equivalent or slightly longer than the Harvard ones. I felt pretty good doing these. Finished up the last flight with a sprint to the stop sign, maybe 30 yards or so.

Then we rocked the "sled". Faust talked in an earlier post about the tire he rigged up at Home Depot. We took turns running with it trailing behind us through a very muddy field. Must admit, it is a bad ass workout, and you can feel the burn in your quads. We probably ran 20-30 yards 4 times a piece and then a few more times backwards. We finished up going backwards for 20-30 followed immediately by sprinting back forwards.

2/17/08: Weights

A1: pull ups
(3) 6 X 20

B1: DB swings
(3) 8 @ 45

A2: one armed DB press
(3) 8 @ 55

B2: supported chest row
(2) 8 @ 55
(1) 8 @ 65

A3: t pushups
(3) 8 @ 15

B3: paloff press
(3) 8 @ 65

Weights: 02/16/08

Deads:
4 @ 135
4 @ 185
4 @ 225
4 @ 255
4 @ 265
4 @ 275, touchdown. And I don't feel like my back is broken today.

jump squat clusters: do 2 take 5 secs, do 2 more until you get to 8 = 1 set
(3) 8 @ 135

one legged squats: I did it on the raised platform with a swiss ball to use as a box squat, which ended up making them to easy.
(3) 8 @ 45

203 yesterday, but after some beers last night and some E. Boston pastries I'm worried to get back on the scale today.

Practice: 02/15/08

Agility: 2 box variations and then a back pedal, release out on an angle deep, cut under, backpedal, release on a thrown disc.

cardio:
(3 laps) 3 person piggy back relay: A carries B 20 yards with C running along side, A drops B, B picks up C for 20 yards while A runs along side, B drops C, C picks up A for 20 yards with B along side, when they reach the next marker everyone sprints back to the beginning and starts over.

(2 laps) 15 yards two foot bounding, 15 yards lunge jumps, 15 yard sprint, 10 pushups, 15 yard sprint, 10 situps, 15 yard sprint, 10 squat hops knee to chest.

And there was gonna be one more, but the we ran out of time. I hope i get to do it next time.

Stairs: 02/14/08

Back on the stairs to work some poundage off right before a faValentines Day dinner.

Warm up lap around the block.
Warm up set of 3, right into a hard set of three, right into alternating jog/hard for 6, rest.
3 hard ones with a minute in between each one.

Today: NU practice
Sat: Lower
Sun: Upper
Mon: off
Tue: Cardio
Wed: Total Body
Thur: off
Fri: Practice

I hope work doesn't f to much with this schedule and that I can get my sled up to par in time for TUE cardio.

Power/Strength Cardio

Went for the power/strength cardio route tonight.

hanging jerk to overhead squat: neat exercise, but Im not sure I will do it again. I can get more power out of a hanging clean, but being in squat position with 115 overhead is interesting.
5 @ 95
5 @ 115
5 @ 115
5 @ 115
3 @ 115

8 knee to chest+6 pull ups+(8) 40 lb floor press= 1 rep
2 sets of 3 reps

30 second intervals
bench toe taps>step ups>side plank>side plank>burpees> mountain climbers>front plank

and that just about killed me.

weight: 206
target weight by March 1st: 200 (I haven't lost a pound in two weeks!)

I am still trying to figure out what my ideal total body day looks like. If I am getting three days of cardio I can afford for this to be all about power, but what does that look like? All olympic lifts? More cross fit stuff? I am thinking a combination of body weight and weighted explosive exercises. Start with power cleans move onto 15 sec intervals with step ups and toe taps and planks, and then finish with burpees or something.

sled: 02/11/08

My sled is done. I am kinda proud of it and I will have pictures later. Again I attached some straps to a tire that I am pulling. I tried to use a 60 lb bag of concrete, but I couldn't get it snug so it ripped when after being dragged around for a while. If I could put a 2 x 2 of plywood underneath it would work to keep the sand bag from dragging, but then I have to worry about the front edge of the plywood catching when I drag it. My objective was not to spend more than $20 on it, but I might have to splurge and buy some 45 lb plates.

Fartlek: 02/10/08

28 degrees. Wintery Mix. Perfect fartlek weather.

I made this sweet mix that changes songs every 30 seconds. This gives me the advantage of listening to slow, medium, fast music and not having to mess around with the shitty watch I have. Unfortunately the software I use to make the mix comes in 20 minute demo form so I haven't really gotten the songs I want on, but I made a great call with my last fast song to send me flying. I'm using a nice little loop near the veterans hospital. I'm sure they are pumped to see someone flying around outside late at night. It's about three minutes a loop with a fast downhill and longer uphill. Pretty good.

(2) 6:00 fartlek 1.6 miles

Tomorrow I want to finish my homemade sled. I found a tire on the street back in December and I thought it would make a good sled. I cut out the top to make more of a cup out of it. Now I have two u-screws with big A bolts on the end so it doesnt come through the rubber. Two carabiners will connect the tire to some 200 lb strength truck tie down rope that I will hold to pull the tire and the 60 lb bag of concrete Im gonna put in it.

Upper: 02/08/08

This workout made me feel pretty weak. After each set and how hard the last rep would be, I thought there must be more weight than there actually was. My pulls ups are weak shit. If there are any numbers I want to increase this year it is pullups with weight. I think I should set a goal of (3) 5 @ 15 for the end of March.

incline bench:
5 @ 165
4 @ 175
5 @ 165
5 @ 165

chest supported row:
8 @ 65
8 @ 65
8 @ 75
8 @ 75

pull ups:
(3) 5

DB 1 armed push press:
(3) 5 @ 55

Sunday: Cardio
Monday: Cardio
Tue: Total Body
Wed: Off
Thurs: Cardio
Sat: Lower
Sun: Upper

Weights: 02/07/08

Front squat: The weight bearing down on your collar bones and threatening to crush your adams apple makes these feel harder than they really are. I felt really strong.
(1) 5 @ 185
(3) 5 @ 205


Rack pulls: I should be doing much more weight than this, but it is a great way to lift a lot of weight explosively. Even girls do it!
5 @ 225
5 @ 255
5 @ 265

reverse DB lunges from deficit: These are for everyone and they are amazing. Stand on a raised platform like your standard aerobics step. Take a bigger than normal backwards step off it and lower till knee hits ground and then explode up with the leg thats still on the step.
(3) 8 @ 30

Fartlek: 02/06/08

I'm back!

I find much more personal value in this than any team blog. I will continue to post my updates there, but they will be weekly instead of daily.

I wanted to do (3) 6 minute fartleks at 30 seconds change in pace. I pulled off a sweet move when I started resetting the countdown for 15 secs instead of 30. You think I would have realized pretty quickly. Nope. Not until my 3rd go at it. Which means I did
(2) 3 min fartlek @ 15 secs
(1) 6 min fartlek @ 30 secs

Pretty shitty, but not a bad start to the flat ground cardio season. When I finished my 2nd 3 minuter I coudn't understand why I felt so good.

Thurs: lower
Fri: upper
Sat: off
Sun: pulling or stairs
Mon: lower

Links: 02/04/08

Mullen sent me this the other day after we talked about whether or not you needed to lift heavy to get in ultimate shape. I like the workouts and the text is interesting if you are into that tyoe of stuff. One thing to remember is that depth jumps and other plyos are made for short term gains. They shock the muscle into contracting quicker. It is not something you want to do year round because you will lose the shock value and your muscles should not be put under that kind of stress for more than a couple months at a time. Two, two month cycles a year: one preseason and one right before the series should suffice.

Continuing on targeted heavy lifting this article also has some great suggestions for an ultimate player who wants to be getting the most out of a lifting session. It is lifting intensive for the majority of us, but if you could even fit in one or two of those lifting days a week you would be better for it.

The deadlift is a great exercise and easier than some of the power exercises mentioned in the previous article. Check out Eric Cressey's May-June deadlifting series for how to do it, how not to do it, and for variations.

Upper Body: 02/01/08

A1: flat bench
(2) 5 @ 185
(1) 5 @ 205...If Jeff can do his body weight, I felt like I had to saddle up and do mine

B1: chest supported row
(3) 8 @ 55

A2: pull ups (dude next to me was huge and doing 5 @ 45 lbs which got me thinking about this and how impossible that shit looks)
5 @ 25
5 @ 20
5 @ 0 (knew I would get 0 if I tried to do some weight)

B2: DB shoulder press
(3) 8 @ 40

A3: prone trap raises
(3) 8 @ 10

B3: bent over DB row
(3) 8 @ 55