little yellow kettlebell

You may have been wondering where I have been, that maybe I had given up.  Nope.  Still here.

One of my recent distractions has been a 16 kgs kettlebell, which I bought from http://store.worldkettlebellclub.com/categories/Kettlebells/VF-ProGrade/

Yeah, it's pricey, but I figure it'll be great preparation in case I get interested in kb competitions.   That was the plan when I got the 24kgs competition bell, but that was way too heavy to learn technique.  With this light bell, technique improved exponentially.

7-13-12
-tuck planche holds (6x10 secs)
-HSPU (3x12, 3x12 sec bent arm holds)
-weighted off-set chin-ups (3x8, 16 kgs)
-weighted bent-arm hang (30 sec)
-db hang power cleans (2x6x5, 2x60 lbs)
-kb snatches (2x30, 16 kgs)

It was probably not smart to do the snatches last.  They are the most technical of the exercises and I too pooped to do 100 of them.

achey traps and progress on the tuck planche

Greetings faithful readers.  Sorry for the dearth of posts, I've been distracted by life's little events.  Anywho, a reader asked how my wrist injury had healed and whether the Wristwidget had helped.  Well, I've regained a lot of the lost function in the injured wrist, so I believe the Wristwidget did good.  However, it's my impression that my wrist will always be the weak link, always prone to re-injury.  Lots of tape or some sort of brace will be forever in my future.

I have been able to hold a tuck planche for a few more seconds now;  20 versus 10 at a shot.  That's a positive development.  With the longer tuck planche holds, my shoulders have been taking a beating.  I decided to make it a shoulder mobility day.

Sledge hammer pendulum swings-  Grasp a sledge hammer by the handle and let it hangover the shoulder and behind your back.  Your elbow points straight upwards.  Now sway from side to side.  The sledge hammer head will oscillate.

Sledge hammer casts and swings- I took these from Indian Club exercises.  Look them up.

Sledge hammer trap fixer- Take your sledge hammer and sling it over your shoulder.  Allow the handle to see-saw over the tight spots in your upper trapezius.  My wife wears out her thumbs trying to massage my traps.  The sledge hammer handle works with no effort.

Today's workout:
-HSPU (3x10+10 sec bent arm hand stand holds)
-weighted chin-ups (5, 6, 5; 24 kgs)
-weighted bent arm hangs (3x10 secs, 24 kgs)
-advanced tuck, front lever bodyrows (3x20)

more db squat cleans

Yes, I am back. . . not that I had ever left.  It's just that I have been working on the db squat cleans, HSPU and advanced tuck front lever rows with very limited progress.  Just to refresh your memory, the HSPU and the advanced tuck, front lever body rows are laying the ground work for the one armed pull-up and human flag.  The db squat cleans are for general strength and conditioning.

When I reported here last, I was doing sets with 100 lbs.  I have since added a little weight to the db's (104).  Just 2 days ago I completed 50 reps, resting one minute for every minute of work.  I averaged 5 reps per set.  Today, I tried to go for 6 reps per set and burnt out at 24 reps.  Any more and I would have strained a muscle, I'm sure.  It was tremendously difficult to get my breathing under control during the rest periods.  Oh man.  I think I'll build a bigger base of work capacity at 5 reps per set.

5-3-12

-advanced tuck, front lever rows (3x20)

-HSPU (3x10, 3x10 sec bent arm handstand hold)

-db squat cleans (4x6, 104 lbs)

Torn TFCC follow-up

You may recall my first post on my torn TFCC injury back in November of 2011. Well, it has been more than a few weeks and I am happy to report that there has been some improvement. Some improvement is better than none. When pressed, my orthopedist wouldn't guarantee 100% return of function so I don't regret the conservative approach I've taken.

When I say "some" improvement, I mean I can do simple tasks like washing my face without my wrist complaining. On the bathroom scale test, I can support the same amount of body-weight with the right hand as well as the left with a little discomfort. And today, I did 30 handstand pushups without having the wrist wrapped in yards of tape. Improvements to be sure. I have also lost a little range of motion. Then there's the fear that if my wrist undergoes another impact trauma my wrist will explode like a glass jar full of marbles hitting the floor. Karate, Sambo and Judo? Hmmn, I don't know. How many chances do I get to bounce back?

3-12-12
-advanced tuck, front lever body rows (20)
-Bent arm grip transitions (3x10)
-HSPU (3x10)+(3x10) sec bent arm holds)
-kb swings, 2x100x24 kgs

Kicking with the Bulgarian Bag

You may recall mention of the Bulgarian training bag in my tool kit. This baby comprises 40 lbs of pea gravel wrapped up in a truck tire inner tube. It's the Vienna sausage from hell. Spin the bag around for ten minutes and you'll see. Today's workout utilized the bag in a less strenuous manner.

3-9-12
-advance tuck front lever rows (20)
-Bent arm grip transitions (4x10)
-10 HSPU (10 sec bent arm hold), 5 HSPU (10 sec), 5 HSPU (10 sec)
-straight arm isometrics on the Akro Wheels (4x30 secs)
-low stance foot work, 10 mins w/ 40lbs Bulgarian bag
-10 mins jumping hiza w/ Bulgarian bag

The curve in the bag conforms nicely to the neck and shoulders; perfect for today's exercises. For the first 10 minutes of BB work, I hoisted the bag to my shoulders and got into a wrestler's crouch. From there I walked in triangular patterns, all the time keeping the knees bent. Music would have complemented this exercise well. Alas, I had none. The next 10 minutes with the bag was spent throwing jumping knee kicks.

I tried one arm negatives from the chin-up bar. The dominant arm is nearly there. The other still needs work.

Push & Pull

So I skipped lunch for the past week. I'm not on a diet, just a little pre-occupied. Usually, I get cranky when I miss a meal. I haven't heard any complaints. Anyway, today I had lunch with a buddy of mine who popped into town from the 'burbs. We met at Katz's Deli downtown, and had identical orders: Dr. Brown's Cream Soda; pastrami on rye; pickles; fries. I figure, if you're breaking a fast (not that skipping lunch for a week is so onerous), you could do worse than pastrami from Katz's. The pastrami was moist and lean, but not too lean. The fries, eh, you won't miss anything by leaving it off the order.

3-7-12
-advanced tuck , front lever rows (20)
-Bent Arm Grip Transitions (4x10)
-12 HSPU (10 sec bent arm hold), 5 HSPU (10 sec hold), 5 HSPU (10 sec hold)
-DB front squats 25

3-6-12
-DB front squats 4x25x100lbs
-straight arm holds on the Akro Wheels (4x30 secs)

Unrecorded workouts comprised HSPU's and ACU progressions. Been ignoring the conditioning; the skipped lunches are probably to blame.

Shoulder Pain

Yesterday morning I felt a little twinge of pain in my shoulder. It was as if a tendon got hung-up or was tracking incorrectly. There was no pain if I kept my arm still, but if I moved it a certain way it clicked and felt as if my arm would pop out of the shoulder socket. Your shoulder shouldn't hurt when you're just windmilling your arms- no load, just your arm tracing gentle arcs in the air. Argh.

Anyway, I'd thought about how the pull-ups, HSPU and push presses are probably stressing out all those little muscles in the shoulder. I broke out a small rubber ball, placed it between a wall and my deltoids, and rolled. The medial and anterior aspect of the deltoids seemed to be where the hotspots were. After about 5 minutes of rolling, I gave my arms a spin and presto, no clicking, sticking or pain.

1-27-12
-10 mins shoulder mobility with the sledgehammer
-10 mins skipping rope

1-26-12
-28 tuck front lever body rows
-2x3x2 assisted OACU (doubles with 1 finger assist), 2x3x10 sec assisted one arm isos
-HSPU 4x(8+10 sec bent arm hold)
-100 kb swings
-100 goblet squats
-10 min skipping rope

1-25-12
-10 mins rope skipping
-ab kneeling (eccentric) to standing (concentric) roll-outs, 2x10

OACU is so close

All righty then. The One Armed Chin-Up (OACU) is so close, one finger away. I'd spent so much time with weighted chin-up progressions that eventually I found the 100 or so pounds dangling off the dip belt unwieldy. I also feared damaging the door frame from which I hung the chin-up bars. With the switch to off-set, bodyweight only chin-ups and now assisted, one arm isometrics, I am nearly there. Two days ago I pulled a single one-armed chin-up with the assistance of one finger of the free hand, and held on for 10 seconds of bent-arm isometrics. Today, three sets of of the same on each hand followed by 2x3x5 one armed chin-ups (with three finger assist).

12-7-11
-24 tuck lever body row
-20 HSPU (no pike!) + 30 sec bent arm hold
-2x3x(1+ 10 sec hold) assisted OACU
-50 burpees
-pseudo Maltese hold 2x25 secs

I've stalled a little bit on the Maltese progressions. The OACU and handstands distracted me from doing the straight arm isometrics I think are essential to the Maltese. Once I get the OACU suitable for YouTube, the Maltese will have my undivided attention.

A word on the tuck lever rows-intense. I didn't think the tuck lever body row worked my abs so much until I tried tuck planches afterwards. Tuck lever rows followed by tuck planches is a recipe for severe abdominal cramping. The first time I got the cramps, I got one goose-egg shaped knot in my gut. Yesterday, after 23 tuck lever rows, the tuck planches set-off a half dozen goose-egg shaped knots in my gut that doubled me over.

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.

hell hath no fury

like a Concept 2 rowing ergometer scorned. It has been such a while since I used my rower, that a nice fat layer of dust formed on top of it. What a perfect time to use the erg for a finisher.

Today's workout comprised:
-wall supported handstands (2'13")
-HSPU (5x3)
-25.25 kg weighted pull-ups (10x4)
-Tabata row

Not so much progress on the handstand, however I did start incorporating HSPU in the routine. Watching Crossfit ladies bang-out HSPU's shamed me into it. Also, watching this guy perform bodyweight exercises with more than 20 years on me really has me sparked-up about improving my list of bodyweight party tricks.


Back to my workout, the weighted pull-ups are becoming easier, first time hitting 10 sets. Admittedly, the last 2 sets were less than ideal. The row was as painful as I remembered. I really shouldn't leave it out of the rotation too long.