builder26’s BodyBlog

While Im sitting here writing this. Its all good, because with my trainer and wo partner away on his honeymoon, I hit the iron by myself , just me and my ipod…and HIT A NEW PR ON Box Squats! We have been doing this higher volume bit, which means 20 reps per set.  Last monday we did 6 sets with 100k which about killed us. (Actually, the squats werent so bad, but the glute hams finished the job.)  This week I decided to up the weight and then just do one set of gh’s to failure as a reward.  Ipod blasting, I did 2 sets with 100, 2 with 105 and 2 @ 110k. WOOHOOO!!  Then I did only 20 or so glutehams and called it a night  I felt ok on the drive home , (only about 4 miles) , but about half way my back started freaking out a little, so  here I sit with an ice pack on it while I type. Cold, but happy. When loverboy gets back he will  have some catching up to do!!  heheheheheheh

I have been trying to get aquainted with CF the past couple weeks. Mostly I see how brutally difficult and over my head it is. I try and fit it in on the days I am not scheduled to regularly lift. It is very intense and maybe an alternative to traditional cardio. (Right now it is either my skip/lunge/sprint wo , see the exercise section of my bs), or another stab at the WOD.  Today  its raining, so I looked at the WOD and decided that pullups, pushups, situps, and squats was something I could handle.  Of course they dont simply prescribe these movements, but insist on Tabata intervals, with 8 sets of each. Well, I have been trying this long enough to realize that you have to adapt to the space you have , the equiment you have, and to what you are capable of.   I did 4 sets of the pull-ups , 20 reps, 16 reps, 12, and 11 to failure , and then I abandoned that one.  I did get all 8 sets of pushups, managing 20 on the first couple, then dropping to about 16 for the last 6 sets. I thought the situps would be a breeze, but I did full situps for the first two sets, then abandoned that for half-ball crunches. I quit after (5) sets.  The squats I am good at and I did all 8 sets with a 40k bb. Even this however involved only about 16 reps after the first couple sets. I was determined to finish well, so I banged out 20 reps on the last set of the squats. I am sure my 10 second rests migrated to 14 -16 seconds as well. The whole darn massacre only took about 25 minutes and I was sweating and gasping for breath at that.  My wife was in the next room doing some kind of cardio and she quit and came over to see if I needed an ambulance.

If anyone who knows reads this, is there any consistent rule on how to scale these workouts down to old man speed? I’m sure there is, but I didnt really see anything but hard core info on the website. 

BEAUTIFUL day here today!  started out cold, but the sun is warming things. Did a quick shoulders and bi/tri workout in the gym, then on to the basketball court for lunges, skips, and shuttles. I felt like Maurice Greene!  (sorry MG, if you read this, I know I didnt cover one length of the court in the time you went down and back . You are still the man. hehehe )  Hope you all have a great celebration with family and friends. May you eat a lot, and have a chance to work a little of it off.  Ola!

My running partner couldnt make it this morning. It was a bright and a little chilly (49 deg) day at the basketball court where we do our thing. Thorogood was blasting in my ipod, so I got the bug to push the routine to a new level. Lunges, skips, stretching and then….I expanded the shuttle runs to "suicides". As far as I’m concerned , two round trips equals a shuttle, which is what we had been doing. Three ladder rungs equals a suicide.  Im sure passersby think I am crazy, or at least a dork . Some of the skips look especially fruity, I would think, but this workout is working out!  It takes like 45 minutes, has a bunch of stretching included, and my old bag of bones needs to be pretty warmed up before any sprinting takes place. I did (5) of the suicides , ( this is to the foul line, mid court, and the length of the court), and I was so out of breath that I decided to break it in two with about 1/2 mile jog around the block. When I got back to the court I did the other 5. Last time I did this I was like 22 yrs old, and there were about 50 other sweaty guys doing it with me.  Kinda like swimming, the trick to it is in the transition. If you stop and re-start with a crossover step, and a little athletic talent, (yes, I had to work at it) , the whole thing is somewhat easier, or you go a little faster, take your pick.  IF distance running is not your bag, and you want to get  a little HIIT in, this is kewl. Only thing better is skating, but my son can make me look silly on the ice, and that is a whole ‘nother blog….

IT just sounds nasty…."SQUATS" …Does this sound like something your mother would want you to do? What are the other uses of this yucko sounding word? Short, fat and "squat".  You dont know "squat"….I dont have "squat"… As an exercise though, it does have its merits, and after getting better and better at it  you come to associate it with a good thing.  Really, you do. For one thing, you can move more poundage with this than almost any other exercise (except maybe dead lifts , which sounds waaaaay cooler.)  It fires some huge muscles, which releases all kinds of great endorphins and makes your metabolism hum.  And….(the best part) I did my workout today with 150k ..WOOOOOHOOOOO!!!!!!!  And the hamstring injury I got last summer must’ve healed pretty well, because even though you can see a heckuva divot in my left leg, there is no pain or even little clutching on that side when its under stress.  Keeps getting better and better…

Ok, so we need to do more HIIT to burn the wicked fat monster…so what should we do? Survey says…..sprints!  Actually, I am a little more runner like than trainer man,(if you can believe that),  so this isnt as bad as it sounds. He put together this whole prgression of lunges, skips, quick-foot ladder, and then the evil shuttles….definitely gets the heart rate where it needs to go. Whole thing takes an hour or so. Might even compel me to post another picture in a couple weeks…heheheheh I have to hustle off just now to youngest hockey game…go Jr Stingrays..

Wow…there is something about a comeback, and winning in the bottom of the 9th that really inspires.  It struck me this morning after watching the Red sox highlites for the 18th time on ESPN at the gym this morning how we are so quick to apply these sports situations to everyday life. Keep focused, dont get down, dont quit , and anything is possible.  Who’d have thought that down 3 -1 in the series and down 7-0 in the game with only 3 at bats to go that this could still happen. (My wife went to the bedroom to watch Grey’s Anatomy and I was channel flipping myself. )  I had drifted off and missed the 3 run shot by big Papi, but I saw the Crisp at bat and the heroics by (our own) JD Drew. How about that JD Drew? Having lived his whole career under the "never lived up to his potential " label, he rips a 2 run homer in the 8th and then the walk - off  double to win in the bottom of the ninth. Man…the world is  back on its rightful axis today…..If they can do that, I can certainly make some progress on my business plan, and drag my group through the flat housing market. Just keep focused, dont get down, and dont quit. And save your strength for the bottom of the 9th. ….WOOOHOOOO!!!!!

Ok, I was a litte sore from the rain run yesterday, so I decided that lifting was the better option. Shoulder work is kinda missing from my split this go around, so overhead press and shrugs it is….lift heavy or go home they say.  60k presses and 275lb shrugs (on Smith machine) …an hour later my arms are hanging at my sides and threatening to fall off….will be sore tommorrow ..in a good way   Deads tommorrow should not be affected. Great news is..my back is gettingbetter and better all the time…can arthritis be reversed?? I do feel the tightness sometimes, but wow, it is so so so much less.  I have been threatening to go back to the Olympic lifts, which I think are so impressive, and I think I could be effective at with a little more flexibility…anyway, thanks for reading this ramble…happysunday.

Ok, I was a litte sore from the rain run yesterday, so I decided that lifting was the better option. Shoulder work is kinda missing from my split this go around, so overhead press and shrugs it is….lift heavy or go home they say.  60k presses and 275lb shrugs (on Smith machine) …an hour later my arms are hanging at my sides and threatening to fall off….will be sore tommorrow ..in a good way   Deads tommorrow should not be affected. Great news is..my back is gettingbetter and better all the time…can arthritis be reversed?? I do feel the tightness sometimes, but wow, it is so so so much less.  I have been threatening to go back to the Olympic lifts, which I think are so impressive, and I think I could be effective at with a little more flexibility…anyway, thanks for reading this ramble…happysunday.

Ok, I was a litte sore from the rain run yesterday, so I decided that lifting was the better option. Shoulder work is kinda missing from my split this go around, so overhead press and shrugs it is….lift heavy or go home they say.  60k presses and 275lb shrugs (on Smith machine) …an hour later my arms are hanging at my sides and threatening to fall off….will be sore tommorrow ..in a good way   Deads tommorrow should not be affected. Great news is..my back is gettingbetter and better all the time…can arthritis be reversed?? I do feel the tightness sometimes, but wow, it is so so so much less.  I have been threatening to go back to the Olympic lifts, which I think are so impressive, and I think I could be effective at with a little more flexibility…anyway, thanks for reading this ramble…happysunday.