OAS: 50 reps @ 32 kg; 25r/25l
Press: 50 reps @ 24 kg; 25r/25l
Burpee/chin: 10 reps/5 reps: 5 rounds
Vup: 30 reps
Friday, February 27, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
After spending most of the day reading up on this and performing some function tests, I think that my recent bout with lower back pain is stemming from some SI joint issues. I am probably going to be taking it easy and laying off the heavy pulling for a bit. Also, I am going to contact a chirpractor tomorrow to see if I can arrange and afford a few visits.
2/26/09
Maxwell's Daily Dozen & general stretching: 30 minutes
Adv. Siu Lim Tao form: 30 minutes
Just trying to rest and relax today since I spent the night up and studing for a midterm. I almost forgot how much I enjoy the forms. I will probably be doing more of this and start working into the Chum Kiu & Biu Jee forms.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Small Victories
Taken from: http://www.straighttothebar.com/2009/02/small_victories.html
This is a guest post from the ‘World’s Strongest Librarian’ Josh Hanagarne - Small Victories. Enjoy.
Two things have shaped my thinking for this article: My philosophy of life, and my weird neurological disorder. My philosophy of life: “Don’t make anyone’s day worse, including your own” is much easier to explain than my strange case of Tourette’s Syndrome.
Ask most people what they know about TS and they most likely picture Deuce Bigalow or another film that portrays Tourette’s as that disease that makes people shout obscenities uncontrollably. But that’s Hollywood TS. Even with cases as severe as mine, this symptom is incredibly rare, less than 1% of what are already considered “extreme” cases.
Some really quick background—TS is a neurological disorder that typically either makes people move involuntarily, or make noises involuntarily. Imagine the worst you’ve ever needed to sneeze—now pretend that feeling is always there, but it’s not trying to make you sneeze, it’s…well, it varies wildly and anything goes. My symptoms might remind you of the Tasmanian Devil, which I can live with—much more respectable than Deuce Bigalow. When things are at their worst, I yell, twitch, jerk my limbs around, scratch myself, punch myself, slobber, pant…and on and on and on. My brief fantasies of military service ended when I realized that nobody would want me hiding next to them. I couldn’t ever even play hide and seek. One day four years ago I screamed so hard every 2-3 seconds that I got a hernia. I’ve also bitten through my lips and tongue more than once. A year ago I dislocated my thumb during a movie, just by wiggling it around too hard. Boo-hoo.
It sounds weird. It is weird. With all the amazing functions and limitless potential of the body and brain, there are just as many things that can get screwy along the way. And so I’ve struggled with this bizarre disorder for the last 10 years. It beat me down more than I’d like to admit. I was often unable to leave my house. I was too disruptive in public and too embarrassed. The years stretched out ahead of me in my mind, and I had little hope that I’d reach any of the goals I’d set for my life.
Then some small things changed. I want to be clear that nothing that follows is meant to be self-congratulatory. It’s just the way that things happened. My father set me in motion and in retrospect, the rest seems inevitable.
I got into lifting. No particular reason, other than my dad did it and said it might give me some “small victories”. A way to feel like I was in control. I was surprised by how quickly I came to enjoy my brief, modest workouts, and soon felt like something was wrong on days that I couldn’t lift. My numbers were nothing special and still aren’t, but it was the ritual of progress that mattered.
One thing led to another, and pretty soon I had discovered Dragon Door and the grip world. My house filled up with kettle bells. I began to spend lots of time worrying about how to strengthen my hands, of all things. And a funny thing happened…little by little, my passion for strength training took the place of the misery I’d let my disorder cause me. For ten years I had watched my body do whatever it wanted. And now, like an out-of-body experience, I saw myself putting that body through its paces during some wonderful, brutal workouts. I could suddenly look at myself and say: “You do whatever I tell you to, now shut up and get to it.”
These primitive self-help sessions led to a discipline that has crept into everything I do, and much of what I am. By day I’m a humble librarian. My profession is not known for its physical might. If you ever do think of a library, chances are you picture a little old lady shushing the taxpayers in between her bun readjustments.
But in my office you’d see a bunch of kettle bells, some sledge hammers, a mess of chest expander bands, a pinch block from Strongergrip, a bunch of metal objects at various stages of being bent, and of course, stacks and stacks of books. The Diesel Crew bending manual also has a permanent spot on my PC’s desktop.
I don’t expect my “hobby” to be the center of anyone’s universe but mine. It seems eccentric to most of my colleagues. Maybe it is as strange as they tell me. But every day I get better at something. Every day I test myself. Every day there is some small victory of my own choosing, and that is priceless. Not enough people can say that. Life doesn’t require that we test ourselves in these ways, so we require it of ourselves.
And why? Because as hard as it all is, it makes everything else easier. The most difficult thing I do every day is usually over by 7 AM. It’s hard to be nervous about much after that.
If you’re stuck, sad, or bored, DO SOMETHING. Our time here is too short. Improve what you can improve, every day. Control whatever needs to be controlled in your life to keep you progressing, positive, and happy—every day.
Thank you all for your continued inspiration and encouragement. It might sound melodramatic, but I don’t know who or where I’d be today without the endless succession of small victories we’re all stringing together.
This is a guest post from the ‘World’s Strongest Librarian’ Josh Hanagarne - Small Victories. Enjoy.
Two things have shaped my thinking for this article: My philosophy of life, and my weird neurological disorder. My philosophy of life: “Don’t make anyone’s day worse, including your own” is much easier to explain than my strange case of Tourette’s Syndrome.
Ask most people what they know about TS and they most likely picture Deuce Bigalow or another film that portrays Tourette’s as that disease that makes people shout obscenities uncontrollably. But that’s Hollywood TS. Even with cases as severe as mine, this symptom is incredibly rare, less than 1% of what are already considered “extreme” cases.
Some really quick background—TS is a neurological disorder that typically either makes people move involuntarily, or make noises involuntarily. Imagine the worst you’ve ever needed to sneeze—now pretend that feeling is always there, but it’s not trying to make you sneeze, it’s…well, it varies wildly and anything goes. My symptoms might remind you of the Tasmanian Devil, which I can live with—much more respectable than Deuce Bigalow. When things are at their worst, I yell, twitch, jerk my limbs around, scratch myself, punch myself, slobber, pant…and on and on and on. My brief fantasies of military service ended when I realized that nobody would want me hiding next to them. I couldn’t ever even play hide and seek. One day four years ago I screamed so hard every 2-3 seconds that I got a hernia. I’ve also bitten through my lips and tongue more than once. A year ago I dislocated my thumb during a movie, just by wiggling it around too hard. Boo-hoo.
It sounds weird. It is weird. With all the amazing functions and limitless potential of the body and brain, there are just as many things that can get screwy along the way. And so I’ve struggled with this bizarre disorder for the last 10 years. It beat me down more than I’d like to admit. I was often unable to leave my house. I was too disruptive in public and too embarrassed. The years stretched out ahead of me in my mind, and I had little hope that I’d reach any of the goals I’d set for my life.
Then some small things changed. I want to be clear that nothing that follows is meant to be self-congratulatory. It’s just the way that things happened. My father set me in motion and in retrospect, the rest seems inevitable.
I got into lifting. No particular reason, other than my dad did it and said it might give me some “small victories”. A way to feel like I was in control. I was surprised by how quickly I came to enjoy my brief, modest workouts, and soon felt like something was wrong on days that I couldn’t lift. My numbers were nothing special and still aren’t, but it was the ritual of progress that mattered.
One thing led to another, and pretty soon I had discovered Dragon Door and the grip world. My house filled up with kettle bells. I began to spend lots of time worrying about how to strengthen my hands, of all things. And a funny thing happened…little by little, my passion for strength training took the place of the misery I’d let my disorder cause me. For ten years I had watched my body do whatever it wanted. And now, like an out-of-body experience, I saw myself putting that body through its paces during some wonderful, brutal workouts. I could suddenly look at myself and say: “You do whatever I tell you to, now shut up and get to it.”
These primitive self-help sessions led to a discipline that has crept into everything I do, and much of what I am. By day I’m a humble librarian. My profession is not known for its physical might. If you ever do think of a library, chances are you picture a little old lady shushing the taxpayers in between her bun readjustments.
But in my office you’d see a bunch of kettle bells, some sledge hammers, a mess of chest expander bands, a pinch block from Strongergrip, a bunch of metal objects at various stages of being bent, and of course, stacks and stacks of books. The Diesel Crew bending manual also has a permanent spot on my PC’s desktop.
I don’t expect my “hobby” to be the center of anyone’s universe but mine. It seems eccentric to most of my colleagues. Maybe it is as strange as they tell me. But every day I get better at something. Every day I test myself. Every day there is some small victory of my own choosing, and that is priceless. Not enough people can say that. Life doesn’t require that we test ourselves in these ways, so we require it of ourselves.
And why? Because as hard as it all is, it makes everything else easier. The most difficult thing I do every day is usually over by 7 AM. It’s hard to be nervous about much after that.
If you’re stuck, sad, or bored, DO SOMETHING. Our time here is too short. Improve what you can improve, every day. Control whatever needs to be controlled in your life to keep you progressing, positive, and happy—every day.
Thank you all for your continued inspiration and encouragement. It might sound melodramatic, but I don’t know who or where I’d be today without the endless succession of small victories we’re all stringing together.
Monday, February 23, 2009
2/23/09
AM KB Complex:
Snatch: 40 reps, 20/20 @ 32 kg;
UR Row: 40 reps, 20/20 @ 24 kg
Swings: 100 reps, 50/50 @ 24 kg;
Press: 50 reps, 25/25 @ 24 kg
Later in the day....
BW Circuit: 5 rounds
Hindu PU: 10reps
BW Squat: 10 reps
L-Seat Chins: 10 reps
I am definitely feeling more motivated this week. I am planning on increasing the volume on my workouts and doing some tweaking that I have had rolling around in my noggin. Probably going to be seeing more volume in the KB department each workout and probably going to stick with the BB day with reps of 10, though I am thinking of making it 4 sets of 10 as opposed to 3. The deadlift is going to remain at 3x5 as I feel my groove in that movement there. The KB days will also be sharing some space with some bodyweight complexes to just aide in some flexibility and joint work. The bodyweight stuff will also serve for most of my workouts while I am in Peru.
Snatch: 40 reps, 20/20 @ 32 kg;
UR Row: 40 reps, 20/20 @ 24 kg
Swings: 100 reps, 50/50 @ 24 kg;
Press: 50 reps, 25/25 @ 24 kg
Later in the day....
BW Circuit: 5 rounds
Hindu PU: 10reps
BW Squat: 10 reps
L-Seat Chins: 10 reps
I am definitely feeling more motivated this week. I am planning on increasing the volume on my workouts and doing some tweaking that I have had rolling around in my noggin. Probably going to be seeing more volume in the KB department each workout and probably going to stick with the BB day with reps of 10, though I am thinking of making it 4 sets of 10 as opposed to 3. The deadlift is going to remain at 3x5 as I feel my groove in that movement there. The KB days will also be sharing some space with some bodyweight complexes to just aide in some flexibility and joint work. The bodyweight stuff will also serve for most of my workouts while I am in Peru.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
2/20/09
Not a lot of time today so I got the 32 out for some fun.
Press: 50 reps @ 32 kg; 25/25 til completion
Swing: 100 reps @ 32 kg; 50/50
Rock Ring Chin: 30 reps @ bw
Press: 50 reps @ 32 kg; 25/25 til completion
Swing: 100 reps @ 32 kg; 50/50
Rock Ring Chin: 30 reps @ bw
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
2/17/09
OAJ: 2 min @ 24 kg; 15 rpm
OAC: 2 min @ 24 kg; 15 rpm
OACJ: 2 min @ 24 kg; 10 rpm
Ttl: 1920 kg
Burpee: 3x15
Wgt Chin: 3x8x20 lbs
Feeling kinda lazy these last few days so i am gonna hit up the KB stuff kinda hard for the rest of this week, excepting tomorrow which is BB day.
OAC: 2 min @ 24 kg; 15 rpm
OACJ: 2 min @ 24 kg; 10 rpm
Ttl: 1920 kg
Burpee: 3x15
Wgt Chin: 3x8x20 lbs
Feeling kinda lazy these last few days so i am gonna hit up the KB stuff kinda hard for the rest of this week, excepting tomorrow which is BB day.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
2/11/09
Conv Dead: 3x5x250 lbs
CG Bench: 3x5x185 lbs
FS: 3x5x165 lbs
Wght Chins: 3x5x40 lbs
All of this felt super fucking easy despite the fact that there was about 1-1 1/2 min between east set and each exercise. I just felt strong in the gym today and I am glad. There is no pain in my shoulder or lower back for once. Backing off was the best thing I could have done for myself.
CG Bench: 3x5x185 lbs
FS: 3x5x165 lbs
Wght Chins: 3x5x40 lbs
All of this felt super fucking easy despite the fact that there was about 1-1 1/2 min between east set and each exercise. I just felt strong in the gym today and I am glad. There is no pain in my shoulder or lower back for once. Backing off was the best thing I could have done for myself.
_________________
Monday, February 9, 2009
2/9/09
Fixie Ride: 15 miles @ 17 mph avg
KB Snatch: 5 mins @16 kg; 20 rpm 1 hand switch
KB Press: 5/5/24 kg
JM: 5 mins
I honestly feel a huge difference in both my lower back and my shoulder. These presses felt fucking great.
KB Snatch: 5 mins @16 kg; 20 rpm 1 hand switch
KB Press: 5/5/24 kg
JM: 5 mins
I honestly feel a huge difference in both my lower back and my shoulder. These presses felt fucking great.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
2/6/09 & 2/7/09
Yesterday:
Jerk: 100 reps @ 2x16 kg
Chins: 30 reps @ bw
Today:
Press: 3/3/32 kg
CoC 1: Descending set of 6
JM: 5 mins
Jerk: 100 reps @ 2x16 kg
Chins: 30 reps @ bw
Today:
Press: 3/3/32 kg
CoC 1: Descending set of 6
JM: 5 mins
Thursday, February 5, 2009
2/5/09
Active recovery day:
Swings: 200 reps @ 16 kg; 20-30 rpm
JM: 5 mins
I also up'd my GTG number for chins to 8 reps rather than 5. So far so good. I have a feeling that I can knock out 30 reps without letting go of the bar now but I am gonna hold off a bit before I do a rep check.
Swings: 200 reps @ 16 kg; 20-30 rpm
JM: 5 mins
I also up'd my GTG number for chins to 8 reps rather than 5. So far so good. I have a feeling that I can knock out 30 reps without letting go of the bar now but I am gonna hold off a bit before I do a rep check.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
2/4/09
CG Bench: 3/10/160 lbs
Conv Dead: 3/5/245 lbs
FS: 3/5/160 lbs
Bar work cooldown: 3 sets of 1 mins on the bar doing stuff ranging from static holds to skin the cat.
Conv Dead: 3/5/245 lbs
FS: 3/5/160 lbs
Bar work cooldown: 3 sets of 1 mins on the bar doing stuff ranging from static holds to skin the cat.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
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