Results matching “Bird”

Seiza me - Test articles

SeizaWith my less-than-perfect squat form in mind this week, on came the gradually increasing sessions of stretching, calf work and attempts at re-learning Seiza.

Friday
I've decided to shift Friday's training focus slightly to relearning the squat. This includes copious amounts of static stretching (primarily shins and quads), calf work and quad work. Not to mention a bit of light squatting.

Hindu squat (sumo, slow) 50@bw
Various quad stretches
Calf-raises (bodyweight only)
Seiza (off/on for 5 min periods)
Step-up (various heights, bodyweight only)
Light squatting

and repeat...

Saturday
Well, the intention was certainly good. I'd planned on trying out the Inman Mile (a mile-long walk whilst carrying your bodyweight) - and readied a couple of 40kg dumbells. The yard includes a 10m uninterrupted stretch of lawn; all looked good. Until a few laps later, that is - that's all it took for my hands to tell me that my grip wasn't going to last anywhere near a mile.

A few impromptu sets of Farmers Walks it was then.

Sunday
I shamefully admit that time got the better of me. After fattening up the chinning bar there was only time for a brief session :

Chin-up/bent row superset 3× 5@bw + 10@40/88

Monday
The early signs of a cold appeared, but certainly not enough to cancel the workout. Especially on a day when rack pulls were on the agenda.

Hindu squat 2×25@bw
Hanging knee raise 2×20@bw
Rack pull (3 holes - below knee, double overhand, sumo) 2×15@60/132, 2×10@100/225, 3@140/315 (grip still feeling the impact of Saturday's Farmers Walks), 10@100/225
Waiters bow 2×20@10/22
Shrug 2×10@100/225, 2×5@120/264

Wednesday
Still carrying a frustrating - though not particularly severe - cold, I decided to keep today's session reasonably brief. It looked something like this :

Chin-up 10,10,10 @bw
Floor press / floor press (close grip) - supersetted 10@40/88, 5@60/132
Dip 10,10,10 @bw

Taping the barThe chin-up bar that forms part of the rack - as much as I love it - was just too thin. At a diameter of around 2.5cm/1", it was one of the thinnest bars I use.

Fattening it up a little was a relatively simple (and cheap) process, involving nothing more complex than a length of pipe insulation (just rubber tubing), some super glue and a little cloth tape. If you've never used the tape, think of duct tape with fibres embedded to strengthen it a bit.

Now that's a bodyweight squatWatch this [.wmv, 22.8mb] before your next workout.

Josh Hewitt interview - Test articles

Josh HewittThe Diesel Crew's interview collection keeps on getting bigger, this time with a chat [.mp3, 7.11mb] to Toronto trainer and amateur strongman Josh Hewitt.

The Repetition Method - Test articles

Dumbbell benchFollowing last week's look at the Dynamic Method - particularly for the bench press - Jim Wendler looks at the Repetition Method and the importance of cycling both techniques into your training.

Thumb curls - Test articles

Thumb curlsIf you're anything like me, grip training seldom works the thumbs heavily. Try a few of these.

Uechi-Ryu Karate video - Test articles

Jar holding demonstrationRif points to a great video demonstrating a bit of Uechi-Ryu Karate (part II). The jar holds themselves are amazing.

Simple vs Easy - Test articles

David WhitleyDavid Whitley takes a brief look [.pdf, 243kb] at 'cellular memory', and the permanent benefit of enduring a staggeringly brutal workout.

I like the sound of the Inman mile - walking a mile whilst carrying a weight equivalent to your bodyweight. Tomorrow's going to be a long, long day.

Explosivelyfit - Test articles

Danny O'DellThe Explosivelyfit blog contains the regular writings of Washington fitness coach Danny O'Dell. For more of his articles head over to the main Explosivelyfit site.

3 polesThis week began awkwardly, with the shoulders somewhat tired following the impromptu weighted chin-up test. The chin-ups themselves were fine, but a less-than-perfect rep in the subsequent overhead press work gave me some immediate - and negative - feedback. Fortunately the presses were being done kneeling in a power rack (the rack isn't tall enough to do them standing), and there wasn't too much weight on the bar. Just enough to make a suitably alerting noise.

Friday
DE SQ/DL. The squat is not exactly my favourite exercise, and I'll switch to deadlifts more than happily. On Friday, however, I decided to test the shoulders (squatting always seems to be a good shoulder-pain indicator); quickly discovering that they weren't too bad at all.

My depth, however, was another story.

Sunday
DE Bench. Started with a few thumbless pull-ups off the back of the rack, which was nice and slippery. Moved over to the chinning bar proper for some hand-over-hand stuff (from memory there's a bit of this on one of the Sonnon videos Jim pointed to recently), before falling to the floor for some presses. Good fun.

Pull-ups (thumbless, back of rack) 3
Hand-over-hand work on chinning bar
Bench press 2×10@40/88
Bench press (close grip) 2×10@40/88, 9×3@60/132
Band pressdowns - blue and green, high reps

Monday
ME SQ/DL. Back to the rack pulls, this time one hole lower than last week (about knee height). Used a sumo stance and double overhand grip for all but the last couple of sets (switched to conventional stance, alternate grip). Worked up to a single at 160kg, which is still well short of previous levels, but much stronger than pulls of the last fortnight.

Hindu squat (sumo stance, heels remaining on ground - slow) 50@bw
Hanging knee raise 4×20@bw
Rack pull (knee height) 2×15@60/132, 2×10@100/225, 2×5@120/264, 2×3@140/315, 1@160/352

Wednesday
ME Bench. With the funniest thing I've heard all week being the insult 'imaginary lat syndrome' (not directed at me, I hasten to add) I decided to return to the bent row/chin-up supersets. This time it was 5 bodyweight chins, immediately followed by a set of 10 bent rows at 40kg (felt too light at first, but was quite enough after a few sets with very short breaks. Only 3 rounds this time - I suspect including a couple of sets of chins in the warm-up wasn't the wisest move.

Bench press (close grip) 2×10@40/88, 2×10@60/132
Chin-up/bent row superset (only 10-15sec break between supersets) 3× 5@bw/10@40/88
Anconeus sidekick - light weights only, just trying them
Band pressdowns - blue and green, high reps

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