I went by my new and improved gym this evening to swim some laps. I haven't swum (swimmed? swam?) on a regular basis since my freshman year of college, and I'm really looking forward to the chance to swim at least once or twice a week. In my opinion, it's the best "cardio" option out there.
But it's HARD! I'm not in as good shape as I was back in high school when I was swimming 20 laps a day. I barely made it to 8 laps. (to clarify my terminology: 1 lap = there and back, or 2 lengths)
I was aiming to do 1 lap each of breaststroke, sidestroke and crawl for 3 rounds. I got 2 full rounds, then had to stop about 3/4 of the way through my last length of crawl. My arms just couldn't pull any more. I'm a bit disappointed, but I have a starting point: next time, I'll aim for the full 3 rounds!
For a former lifeguard and swim instructor, it's humbling to realize how far I've fallen from my aquatic glory days...
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Monday, January 14, 2008
Training 1-14-08
Today I tried out a new gym. Since I had to move a couple of weeks ago, my old gym is now about 30 minutes away and I need to find a gym closer to my new place.
When I walked into this gym, I was disappointed. The first floor was all ellipticals and treadmills, and was open to the second floor. The second floor had more treadmills and a tiny little weight area containing a bunch of Hammer Strength machines, dumbbells up to 60 lbs and two Smith Machines. I was wholly unimpressed. I banged out an improvised workout, and walked towards the door, planning never to return.
On my way out, just to be sure, I asked one of the trainers if there was another weight area in the gym. To my surprise, he said that there was a third and fourth floor to the gym. He showed me the way up, and my faith in humanity was restored: the fourth floor contained two Squat Racks and two Power Racks. So I've found my new gym. Hooray!
Unfortunately, I worked out before I discovered the good stuff on the fourth floor. Here's what I did:
Press
5 x 5 x 135
Dumbbell Lunge
5 x 5 x 120
One-arm Dumbbell Row
5 x 60
6 x 60
7 x 60
8 x 60
9 x 60
One-arm Dumbbell Snatch
5 x 40
5 x 50
3 x 5 x 60
I'm glad I haven't regressed on Press, and was mad that I had to do the rest of the stuff instead of my planned Squats, Power Cleans and Barbell Rows. I'll get back to the good stuff on Wednesday morning.
Oh, and the first floor has an indoor pool. Lucas gets to swim laps again!
When I walked into this gym, I was disappointed. The first floor was all ellipticals and treadmills, and was open to the second floor. The second floor had more treadmills and a tiny little weight area containing a bunch of Hammer Strength machines, dumbbells up to 60 lbs and two Smith Machines. I was wholly unimpressed. I banged out an improvised workout, and walked towards the door, planning never to return.
On my way out, just to be sure, I asked one of the trainers if there was another weight area in the gym. To my surprise, he said that there was a third and fourth floor to the gym. He showed me the way up, and my faith in humanity was restored: the fourth floor contained two Squat Racks and two Power Racks. So I've found my new gym. Hooray!
Unfortunately, I worked out before I discovered the good stuff on the fourth floor. Here's what I did:
Press
5 x 5 x 135
Dumbbell Lunge
5 x 5 x 120
One-arm Dumbbell Row
5 x 60
6 x 60
7 x 60
8 x 60
9 x 60
One-arm Dumbbell Snatch
5 x 40
5 x 50
3 x 5 x 60
I'm glad I haven't regressed on Press, and was mad that I had to do the rest of the stuff instead of my planned Squats, Power Cleans and Barbell Rows. I'll get back to the good stuff on Wednesday morning.
Oh, and the first floor has an indoor pool. Lucas gets to swim laps again!
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Back
I've been away for a while. I just went through the busiest week of my life. I've been doing 2 things and only 2 things for the past week: working and sleeping. The week's been an odd mix of exciting, frustrating, fun, scary, infuriating, exhausting, titillating, draining, confusing and looooooooooong. But it's done, and my life should return to normal fairly quickly.
That means I'll be heading back to the gym to continue working towards my strength training goals. I'll also be emailing and calling all the friends and family members I've been ignoring for the past week. (my bad, guys!) And I'll be following up on one intriguing but slightly scary opportunity and one not that intriguing but safer opportunity. But for right now, I'm going to sleep for about 12 hours. 'Night!
That means I'll be heading back to the gym to continue working towards my strength training goals. I'll also be emailing and calling all the friends and family members I've been ignoring for the past week. (my bad, guys!) And I'll be following up on one intriguing but slightly scary opportunity and one not that intriguing but safer opportunity. But for right now, I'm going to sleep for about 12 hours. 'Night!
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Training 1-5-08
I'm a bad little Strength Training gnome. I didn't get to the gym today. I have excuses ready -- we always do when we miss a workout -- but I know they're just excuses. In reality, I could have made time to lift.
I'll be incredibly busy over the next 8 days. I'll easily average 12+ hours a day at work (including weekends), I have to move into a new house and I have about 9 hours' worth of extracurricular work that I want to get done by Monday. Excuses will abound. But I NEED to get into the gym and lift at least twice during that time. No excuses -- make it happen!
That being said, I did actually get in a bit of a workout today. The gym was closed by the time I got around to it, but I whipped out my trusty dumbbells and got to work:
One-arm dumbbell snatch
10 x 10 x 30 per side
If you don't know what a dumbbell snatch is, you can view a video here. The woman in the video starts each rep from a hang. I like to go lower and touch the dumbbell to the floor on every rep.
I did 10 reps with one arm, then immediately did 10 with the other, and that was one set. I took just enough rest to catch my breath between sets. It was a good, quick workout that should help build shoulder and abdominal strength to help my Presses and Squats.
I'll be incredibly busy over the next 8 days. I'll easily average 12+ hours a day at work (including weekends), I have to move into a new house and I have about 9 hours' worth of extracurricular work that I want to get done by Monday. Excuses will abound. But I NEED to get into the gym and lift at least twice during that time. No excuses -- make it happen!
That being said, I did actually get in a bit of a workout today. The gym was closed by the time I got around to it, but I whipped out my trusty dumbbells and got to work:
One-arm dumbbell snatch
10 x 10 x 30 per side
If you don't know what a dumbbell snatch is, you can view a video here. The woman in the video starts each rep from a hang. I like to go lower and touch the dumbbell to the floor on every rep.
I did 10 reps with one arm, then immediately did 10 with the other, and that was one set. I took just enough rest to catch my breath between sets. It was a good, quick workout that should help build shoulder and abdominal strength to help my Presses and Squats.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Trapezius pain from... bowling?
I lift heavy weights 3 times a week. I'm the guy that my friends think to call when it's time to move a couch or TV or washing machine. But I got my ass kicked yesterday by a 16 pound ball. Let me explain:I'm in a bowling league with my roommates and a few friends. Token Asian Roommate, who's on my team, (Our team name is "Guns and Wiggles," in case you need more proof that my friends and I are huge dorks.) has a solid understanding of bowling technique, and acts as our team coach.
Last Sunday, Token Asian Roommate and I modified my mechanics to make me a better bowler in the long run. In the short run, this means my score will suffer as I adjust and get rid of my bad habits. Apparently, it also means that my right trapezius muscle (the muscle that connects your shoulder and your neck) will hurt like the dickens after I bowl. Something about the new movement involves this muscle in such a way that it doesn't hurt or even feel fatigued while I'm bowling, but the next day I can hardly lift my head off of the pillow.
This is a weird, and humbling, reminder to me of what happens when you ask your unprepared muscles to do new things.
Here's another example: Just before Christmas, I showed three friends a simple dumbbell workout that they could use to get in better shape. We used light weights and only worked out for about 30 minutes. I thought it was a relatively easy introduction to weight training that they could build on over time.
The next day, however, each of them was incredibly sore. They were creaking around like old people because their muscles, unused to the exercises we'd done, were recovering from quite a shock.
In both of these examples, jumping into a new activity or working a new movement pattern without taking the time to build up to it led to lots of soreness. In a weird way, I'm glad that I now have the experience of my poor overworked trapezius muscle tightening up and annoying me throughout the day -- it's a little reminder of how much soreness I used to endure back when I was first lifting weights and it helps me remember to take it easy when working with people who have little or no previous lifting experience.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Goals for 2008
I've lifted weights since my Freshman year in high school, and I've always enjoyed it. But since I got serious about strength training about three months ago, I've been having more fun than ever in the gym. Instead of lifting just because I like it, I'm lifting with a plan and a purpose.
So to keep that sense of purpose and give myself something to plan towards, I'm establishing some strength training goals for 2008. Some will be easier to achieve than others, but my aim is to achieve all of them by December 31, 2008.
The first goals are in the form of single-rep maximum effort lifts, in pounds:
Squat: 405
Deadlift: 500
Press: 200
Bench Press: 315
I'm also aiming to increase some bodyweight skills. These goals are in consecutive repetitions without rest:
Pullups: 25
Pushups: 50
Handstand Pushups: 10 freestanding
Right now I'm focusing on my Squat and Press goals. I want to be able to get those by the spring, and then I'll focus more on my Deadlift and Bench Press goals. I believe that the pullup and pushup goals will come naturally as a product of my current training program. I need to practice handstands at least once or twice a week to progress towards my handstand pushup goal.
If I manage to hit all of these marks before the end of the year, then I'll just come back and set higher goals.
Happy new year to everyone, and I wish you success in achieving all of your goals for 2008!
So to keep that sense of purpose and give myself something to plan towards, I'm establishing some strength training goals for 2008. Some will be easier to achieve than others, but my aim is to achieve all of them by December 31, 2008.
The first goals are in the form of single-rep maximum effort lifts, in pounds:
Squat: 405
Deadlift: 500
Press: 200
Bench Press: 315
I'm also aiming to increase some bodyweight skills. These goals are in consecutive repetitions without rest:
Pullups: 25
Pushups: 50
Handstand Pushups: 10 freestanding
Right now I'm focusing on my Squat and Press goals. I want to be able to get those by the spring, and then I'll focus more on my Deadlift and Bench Press goals. I believe that the pullup and pushup goals will come naturally as a product of my current training program. I need to practice handstands at least once or twice a week to progress towards my handstand pushup goal.
If I manage to hit all of these marks before the end of the year, then I'll just come back and set higher goals.
Happy new year to everyone, and I wish you success in achieving all of your goals for 2008!
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Training 1-1-08
Happy New Year! I'll post my goals for 2008 later tonight or tomorrow morning.
Week 6, Day 1
Squat
5 x 5 x 255
Press
4 x 5 x 135
4 x 135
Power Clean
5 x 3 x 140
Bent Over Row
5 x 5 x 165
Good Morning
5 x 135
6 x 135
7 x 135
Today's Squats felt slightly easier than last time, which is good. I think I need to work on my back and abdominal strength in order to keep my form strong as the weight increases.
Press is still frustrating. Form didn't feel quite as solid as last time, though that could have been because the weight increased. If I end up stalling at 135 or 140 again, I'll switch to a timed total tonnage program for Press.
I didn't rack as cleanly as I would've liked on every rep of Power Clean, but they were mostly solid. 145 next time.
Rows felt a little funny, like I couldn't quite get the form exactly how I want it. Could be because I haven't done them in a while.
The Good Mornings are a step towards addressing back strength for Squats. I'll do a back or abdominal exercise at the end of my workout whenever possible to help build that strength.
Week 6, Day 1
Squat
5 x 5 x 255
Press
4 x 5 x 135
4 x 135
Power Clean
5 x 3 x 140
Bent Over Row
5 x 5 x 165
Good Morning
5 x 135
6 x 135
7 x 135
Today's Squats felt slightly easier than last time, which is good. I think I need to work on my back and abdominal strength in order to keep my form strong as the weight increases.
Press is still frustrating. Form didn't feel quite as solid as last time, though that could have been because the weight increased. If I end up stalling at 135 or 140 again, I'll switch to a timed total tonnage program for Press.
I didn't rack as cleanly as I would've liked on every rep of Power Clean, but they were mostly solid. 145 next time.
Rows felt a little funny, like I couldn't quite get the form exactly how I want it. Could be because I haven't done them in a while.
The Good Mornings are a step towards addressing back strength for Squats. I'll do a back or abdominal exercise at the end of my workout whenever possible to help build that strength.
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