TFCC interim report

In case you were wondering, I was, how long the treatment phase is, it's 8-12 weeks ( checked to make sure). Yup, I've got to wear the brace a bit longer. What I can report up to now is that it no longer hurts to do simple things like wash my face or grasp a frying pan. On the weight bearing test, however, I am still not at 100%, more like 80%, and it's still a struggle closing the COC grip trainer on the affected side.

I haven't been sitting on my hands all this time, as you know. I'm still working out, but activities like Sambo and Karate have been discontinued, at least while the wrist is recuperating. Whether I continue with them after recovery is the big question. Don't they say doing the same thing over and over again, in my case fighting, but expecting a different outcome, not getting injured, is a mark of stupidity?

Anyway, my daily workouts over the past week have consisted of 20 tuck lever body rows on the pull-up bar followed by elevated pike push-ups. The pike push-ups are an intermediate step towards handstand push-ups (HSPU). A good base with HSPU's will help in attaining the Maltese (and flag). I've done HSPU's and handstand holds before the wrist injury. The torn TFCC requires this intermediate step. To get into the elevated pike position, I stand a leg's distance from a wall, rest my feet against the wall and assume an inverted pike. Usually I'll do 5x5, with a 10 second bent arm hold after each set. So far, so good. No wrist pain. Yesterday, I used push-up handles to increase the range of motion.

The day after Thanksgiving I did a short workout comprising burpees and tuck-lever body rows: 5x10 of each. It was one of the few times, (second?), since tearing the MCL that I did burpees. I don't know what I was afraid of. I've been doing lots of squats, cleans, swings and rowing anyway.

Burpees+Rock Ring pull-ups

8-8-11
-10x (10 burpees + 5 Rock Ring pull-ups)

It's been a while since I have done any burpees and the experience wasn't bad. I think the kb swings kept rust from forming, because I barely broke a sweat. The imploding stock market had my heart racing; burpees, not so much. The push-ups still bother my wrist. The perfect push-up handles make the burpees possible.
10,805/[238]

After the burpee challenge

So I'm feeling very liberated after dropping the 100x100 burpee challenge, like I can do anything I want.


7-10-11
-100 kb swings
-4x500m rows w/ dips in between (10 bw, 10x20 lbs, 5x30 lbs)
1:46'6, 31 spm; 1:47'9, 32 spm; 1:49'9, 31 spm; 1:46'6, 37 spm

7-11-11
-100 kb swings
-db push press (R 77lbs, 4x5; L 65 lbs. 4x5)
-weighted pull-ups (77 lbs, 3x3)
-50 burpees

Sambo class in the evening. I believe no-jacket throwing is on schedule.

10,705/[238]

rule number 1

There are certain rules to live by that will get you past all that life may throw at you. Take this one.


Whether you are living in a world infested with flesh eating undead or living on a 5th floor walk-up, a little bit of cardio will save your life. Lately, my cardio comprises burpees and related nastiness.

6-16-11
-single arm db push press (2x5x5, L 70lbs, R 75lbs)
-6x20 burpees
-10 bw pull-ups

My wife likes a tidy house. She is really keen on rule number 12.




10.295/[238]

Rilly Big Shew

This weekend New York hosts the America's Cup, an annual international knockdown karate tournament. Some of my favorite fighters will be there including Alejandro Navarro, Lechi Kurbanov, Eduardo Tanaka, not to mention Ewerton Texiera. This promises to be an exciting event.

6-14-11
-db push press, 5x5 (L, 65 lbs, R 70 lbs)
-110 burpees

I'm finding a little more stability pressing and holding the db with the left hand, but the wrist still will not accommodate cleaning the db into position.

6-15-11
-weighted chin-ups (80 lbs, 5x3)
-12x(10 burpees + 5 kneeling roll-outs)

I loaded up the dip belt again for some chinning. The first two reps of every set were virtually indistinguishable from chinning with 54 lbs on the belt. The last ones. . .

10,175/[238]

Tight hip flexors

This burpee challenge is winding up my hip flexors and lower back like banjo strings. Move closer and I'll play you a tune. It goes like this,"ow, ow, ow." Lucky for me I've got balls (lacrosse, golf, rubber band).

6-11-11
-weighted pull-ups (23 kgs, 12, 8, 8)
-13x (10 burpees + 5 kneeling roll-outs)

I eked out one more weighted pull-up than the last time. Woopty doo.

9,855/[238]

ballet

So Saturday evening the whole family went out to see Amercan Ballet Theatre's production of Giselle. We are not balletomanes, even though we saw the opening gala the week before, but we did enjoy the performance, mostly. My youngest would have preferred to play games on her iTouch, oh well, perhaps when she's older.

What I found fascinating was the athleticism of the dancers, especially when they jump, or should I say sautè. As you may know, I've been trying to keep to a 100x100 burpee challenge. There's nothing graceful about my jumping. In the high reps, they should not even be called jumps-more like hops. These dancers were catching major air, huge leaps, like springbok evading a lion. They did it all gracefully and without the chest heaving and wheezing that usually accompanies my burpees.

5-28-11
-24 bw pull-ups
-10x10 burpees
I tested the pull-ups and came up short. I guess I was a little tired from the day prior.


5-29-11
-10x(10 burpees + 2x5x5 single arm c&p)

With this, I used a single 65 lbs db and alternated arms after every set of burpees. My left wrist is still wobbly, making the press a little sketchy at the top.

8,915/[238]

rollin, rollin, rollin

I wasn't devastated by yesterday's workout. That's a good thing. Just to avoid meltdown, I dialed the intensity back a bit today. I'm still dripping with sweat though.

5-27-11
-11x (10 burpees +10 kneeling ab wheel roll-outs)

Kneeling roll-outs aren't nearly as difficult as standing progressions. All the same, 110 roll-outs is a lot. I hope I don't regret this one.

8,715, [238]

A man's gotta know his limitations

Last Monday's 200 burpee extravaganza was the gift that kept on giving. It wasn't until today, Thursday, that I could even attempt another burpee. Despite the fatigue, I was able to make last night's Sambo class, where we worked on a mash-up of the Judo throws harai goshi and osoto makikomi. Basically you wrap the arm as in osoto makikomi and use your hip as in harai goshi. Unfortunately, I don't know the name of this technique in Russian.

We also worked on tumbling: basic forward rolls; back rolls; back roll to a hand-stand and kip. I felt pretty good throughout the class- no residual signs of fatigue. This gave me the confidence to contemplate burpees again.

5-26-11
-31 bw pull-ups (pr?)
-6x2x10 secs, one-handed, bent arm hangs
-10x(10 burpees + 3 db C&P)*

It was the pull-ups that let me know that my energy levels had come back to almost normal today. I kipped on the last rep, so I'm not sure I can count it as a pr, but call it a sloppy 31. On the bent arm hangs, I felt a little ambitious, so I spiced the isometric with a little concentric. I didn't time the burpees, but it felt no longer than previous attempts.

As Clint Eastwood's Harry Callahan said in Magnum Force , "a man's gotta know his limitations." 200 burpees? just shoot me.

8,605/[238]

* Some folks have criticized this routine as more of a conditioning than strength routine, like skipping rope. Meh, make the db's progressively heavier and you'll be conditioned and strong.

slow is fast

I was feeling a little wrecked from yesterday's workout, so the plan today was not to time the workout; remove the stress factor and just go easy. Nah.

5-17-11
-10 x (10 burpees+ 5 db cleans) 13'45
-50 burpees
-sledgehammer swipes and levers

Yeah, I said I wouldn't time it, but the stop watch was right there so I figured I'd go easy and just check the time at the end. I guess I wasn't so wrecked, because I improved on the last burpee/clean complex.

Easy day tomorrow, I promise.

7,955/[238]

Rather than work on increasing one-handed chin-up reps, I thought I'd focus on hangs. First I warmed-up with pull-ups, then the actual bent-arm hangs. I'm looking for pain in the wrist or elbow-if there is any, I'll back off from the OACU progressions and go back to weighted chin-ups.

-pull-ups (26)
-6x2x10sec, one-handed, bent-arm hang
-10 x (10 burpees + 5 single arm, db pp)
-50 burpees

7,805/[238]

It's not so bad. . .

So I went off track a little bit on the 100 burpees a day plan. Friday was an easy 10 x10 without the clock. Saturday, I slept in, which kinda screwed things up-only put in 50 burpees. Sunday, I knocked out 125 before I put the kettle on. Today looked like this:
5-9-11
-100 burpees and 30 db C&P (16'12) + 25 burpees

I shaved off 14 seconds on this routine, took a breather and knocked off another 25 burpees in order to bet back on track. Whew. It was nice to have a half day on Saturday. Not timing the burpees eliminates a huge psychological burden. It helped me recover and allowed me to put in a good time today.

7,255/[238]

5-3-11
-100 burpees (8'26)
-chin-ups (80 lbs, 3x3+4 sec holds; 23 bw)
-dips (bw 20, 20 lbs 2x10)

I was hoping for a sub 8 min time, but my legs were feeling sluggish from the get go.

5-4-11
-10 burpees and 3 db clean & push-press
x10

I did this in 16'46, almost the same time as a similar workout (50 burpees, 25 db c&pp, 50 burpees). The difference is the set rep scheme and the addition of 5 reps of db c&pp.

As a point of reference I took my resting hearts rate (53 bpm) and bp (108/59). I wonder if there will be any change as a result of the 100 burpees a day plan I embarked on.

6,755/[238]

mojo

I'm starting to feel almost like my old self, at least my old self from a month or two ago. My wrist is still weak-doing a proper push-up strains the tricep of the other arm, but I was able to talk myself through 100 burpees and 50 pull-ups.

5-2-11
-100 burpees and 50 pull-ups (9'32"13)
-sledgehammer swipes and swings

Not a record time on the burpee/pull-up routine, but I finished it. I feared that I had lost the mental fortitude to see it through, maybe I just misplaced it.

6,555/[238]

You Look Maavelous

After just two days, my double weave Fuji judo gi arrived from Judogis.com. Russ, the proprietor, helped me make the selection. I'm 5'9" and 160, the dogi is a Fuji size 4. I threw the jacket in the washing machine with hot water and then into the drier. The fit is just about right. One hot wash and this dogi looks maavelous.

A double weave judo gi is not an article of clothing. It's an engineered piece of training equipment. All the seams are heavily reinforced. Stress points have a second layer of fabric. Grabbing the lapel feels like filling your hand with a steam-ship's bow-line. It wears like a suit of armor. A heavy weight karate dogi is as delicate as a dress shirt in comparison.

3-21-11
-db snatches (65 lbs, 40,8'57)
-weighted chin-ups (70 lbs, 6x5)

3-22-11
-100 burpees and 50 pull-ups (9'16"44)

3-23-11
-db c & push press (65 lbs, 3x6, 12'47)

So I'm working with a heavier db (65 lbs). Snatching is much easier than cleaning and push pressing this weight at the moment. Looks like 65 will be the default number for a while. The 100 burpee time with pull-ups improved markedly. I wasn't expecting that.

6,205/[238]

Single-arm db clean and press

Let's be clear, what I'm talking about is a single-arm, db clean and push-press. Why the clarification? Because such specificity is so unwieldy. The P in C&P, for me is always a push press. I'm more interested in explosive movement than brute strength. In my mind, it's about efficiency, like adding a turbocharger to your car's engine instead of more cubic inches to the cylinders. As it translates to the fight game, it reinforces the coordination required to throw powerful strikes.

3-6-11
-single-arm db clean and press (5x5, 60 lbs)

Is it necessary to mention that single arm exercises are repeated so that both sides perform the same amount of work?

I think 60 lbs. is the limit I can safely work with. Frankly, stabilizing 2, 60's overhead worries me. A barbell is a different story. Anyway, I'll be parking it here for a while as I build strength and confidence. This workout took more than the usual 10 minutes.

3-7-11
-100 burpees+50 pull-ups (9'42)

My split was a little slower than before (4'38 vs 4'10), but my time for the hundred improved by 16 seconds. I think I can shave a couple more seconds more by not stumbling around after each set of pull-ups, in other words more efficient transitions.
6,055/[238]

better than nothing

The plan, yesterday, was to do 100 burpees and 50 pull-ups. I don't know if I was incubating a bug or if my pacing was off and I started too fast but I stopped half way.

3-3-11
-50 burpees and 25 pull-ups (4'10)
-weighted bent-arm hangs (70 lbs, 3x20 secs)

Maybe it's a bug. I could barely get out of bed this morning.

3-4-11
-db snatch (60,lbs, 40 reps, 11'38)

Still feeling run down, but since I was up. . .

5,955/[238]

10 minutes of suckage

I feel as if I've been slacking the past few days, so it's time to crack the whip!

2-23-11

-VB100 + 50 chin-ups (9'55)

Well, I improved by 3/100 of a second. That's practically a rounding error. At least I didn't slow down, but still. I guess the mega dose of V(itamin) B(urpee), 100 reps, needs smaller doses of VB50 throughout the week.

5,805/[238]