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