Results matching “Bird”

Well, it's been a while. With the garage still functioning as a storage facility (in fact, of the 6 houses in this terrace only one person is able to park a car in their garage), I've managed to squeeze the rack into a small area at the back. Squeezed is certainly not an exaggeration - I had to cut a couple of small grooves in the roof supports (don't worry, these are tiny in comparison with the timber being used) just to fit it in. Still, it's there.

Whilst the lack of space only adds to the moody lighting and the overall dungeon feel, it doesn't help a great deal when it comes to heating the place. I don't really want to burn the place down by accidentally setting fire to the garage; particularly not whilst I'm inside it. So gloves and a coat are my current companions.

Unfortunately the lack of space means the bench is a permanent fixture within the rack; so free squats and full-range deadlifts are out for now. I guess that's good news for my bench press - at least for a while.

On to the workout itself. Unsure of just how much strength would be lost by not using the bench for a while (the last regular bench workouts were back in August) I decided to start with a quick feeler workout. I'll up the tempo a little for Thursday's session.

Bench press 2×20@20/44, 10@40/88
Bench press (close grip) 10@40/88, 8×3@60/132
Seated Half press 4×15@25/55

Things continue to cool down here (this morning's frost was still in evidence well into the afternoon) and the workouts have moved almost entirely into the house. At least until I get some heating in the garage. Gripping an icy cold bar is an acquired taste.

With mastery of the handstand pushup a long way off, I thought I'd share a couple of the steps in the progression. These are fantastic for shoulder strength, as well as recruiting a few other muscle groups that need to work together in the bench press. They're well worth doing - and certainly much, much harder than they look.

The main obstacle I had when first trying these was the fear of falling on my head. However, I can safely say that I am much more likely to bash holes in the wall with my feet than suddenly collapse under my own weight (such that it is).

There are two basic ways to get into position for what is really just an incline pushup using a very, very steep incline. The first (and most likely to make marks on the wall - bare feet recommended) is to :

Stand facing the wall, and put your hands down about 2' away from it. Bend your left leg, and straighten the right leg (or vice versa) so you look as though you're about to run 100m. Push hard with your legs and spring yourself up. If you don't push hard enough, you'll just fall back onto your feet. Too hard and you'll bounce off the wall.

The second way is to begin by facing away from the wall, with your hands a little further away from it. Gradually walk up the wall, and walk your hands closer to it. If you lose balance, just tuck your head to your chest and roll forward.

Once I get my camera fixed (I've had two cameras capable of video in the last two years, and they've both mysteriously died) I might even add a bit of video. For amusement, if nothing else.

To say the past few days have been wet and windy is a bit of an understatement. Whilst certainly nowhere near as bad as parts of the US recently, it's been enough to partially tear the aging garage door from the hinges.

I made the most of a brief sunny period this afternoon to realign the door (there's a new one on the way in any case), hang up a battery-powered lantern (rechargeable of course) and clear a bit of space for deadlifts. After a bit of a break, and given that this is the only time for months that I've done these from the floor, I was curious to see how they'd go.

Decided to use a conventional stance for all sets, and quickly worked up to 120kg. Unfortunately these didn't feel quite as simple as they should - will give them a bit of a longer run in a couple of days.

Deadlift 2×5@60/132, 2×5@80/176, 2×3@100/220, 3@120/264

As you can see, there's a long way to go.

For anyone unfamiliar with the grand design of many a british garage, think of the smallest car you can; then draw a box around it. That's all you get in a lot of cases.

Having said that, it should be a great place for a home gym setup - at least once a couple of issues have been addressed. One of these is the door (somewhat overdue for replacement); the second one is a little more crucial - a lack of power. That means no light, no heat (hey, it gets cold here) and most importantly, no music. Without resorting to a constant changing of batteries at least.

On a slightly different note - a week without an internet connection is like, well, a very long week. (actually it was only 5 days, but who's counting?)

The past few days have been hectic to say the least. After what feels like weeks without lifting, today I forced myself to set aside some time for a short workout. A few rack pulls (hopefully the accessory work will squeeze in later this evening).

With the weights following the pattern of the below-knee rack pulls I did nearly a fortnight ago, I set the pins at the bottom of the rack; which leaves the plates a few inches off the ground. As most of my things are packed away ready for the move, leaving an almost empty room, this height was quite loud enough. Good fun.

Rack pull (bottom pins) 20@20/44, 10@60/132, 8@80/176, 5@100/225, 8×3@120/264

NB : The warmup sets were all pulled sumo, with the triples using a conventional stance.

After Tuesday's tricep-hammering session they were magnificently sore for a couple of days. Exactly what I was after; in fact I enjoyed it so much, I decided to do it again.

This time I shifted things to the bench (at least to start with) which seemed to work well. Heavy triples at Tuesday's floor press 3RM.

Bench press (close grip) 2×20@20/44, 10@40/88, 5@60/132, 8×3@70/154
Lockout (close grip) 5@90/198
Skull crusher (floor) 4×8@35/77
Seated half press 4×8@50/110
Band pushdown 50@blue

I like these. Starting the squat from the pins provides a great opportunity to check out my form in the bottom position - where things are at their worst. It also makes it easy to check depth.

Whilst my form wasn't too bad for the first few sets, things started to deteriorate as I neared bodyweight. By the end I was almost doing good mornings (still, at 80kg it'd be a new PR).

Slowly, but surely.

Squat (from pins) 2×10@20/44, 10@40/88, 5@60/132, 5@70/154, 3@80/176

After yesterday's pathetic attempt at a workout, I awoke this more to find my triceps feeling unsurprisingly normal. Determined to make sure that doesn't happen again tomorrow, I hit the deck for a bit of floor pressing.

Using a close grip, I worked up to a new 3RM at 70kg; which equals around 90% of my current flat bench 1RM. The 100kg bench looms ever closer.

With the triceps nicely warmed up, it was time to hit them with some skull crushers, seated half-press and that old favourite: band pushdowns.

Floor press (CG) 20@20/44, 10@30/66, 10@40/88, 8@50/110, 5@60/132, 3@65/143, 3@70/154
Skull crusher (floor) 4×8@30/66
Seated half-press 4×8@40/88, 2×5@50/110
Band pushdown 2×50@blue

The past few days have been busy to say the least. In a little over a week I'll be moving to a new city, and joining a friend of mine in a house renovation project. Just a bit of light GPP :)

Before the rack is disassembled and shipped there's enough time for a solid workout or two. The first of those was this morning: a bit of deadlifting to get the blood flowing.

Once again they were rack pulls, sumo stance and narrow grip; starting from just below knee height. Good fun.

Rack pull (below knee) 20@20/44, 10@60/132, 8@80/176, 5@100/225, 8×3@120/264
Dimel deadlift 4×12@80/176
RDL (sumo) 4×10@80/176
V-up 4×10@bw