Another Workout Wednesday is coming at ya; let's go to it.
Today I'm gonna share with you one of my all-time favorite fight scenes, bar none. This comes from The Protector. I don't need to bore you with what it's about, because really, who goes to see an action film for the plot? You go to watch people kick ass and take names!
These fight scene combines some great forms of martial arts, including Tony Jaa's own Muay Thai and one of my personal favorite style, Capoiera. There's also Bagua and some Wushu for those of you that know them. And of course, there's some good old-fashioned wrestling.
Now the coolest thing about this fight scene is that it's all real. That means no stunt doubles, no wires, no CGI. What you're seeing they're actually doing. After watching this scene, you know that nothing beats the real thing.
Check it out.
Well I decided to work out at home today (in the rain, of all things), since all I needed was a couple of kettlebells; a place to do pull ups; my handy TRX; and my own body. Here was my beast today: Negative Pull Up: 5 sets of 10
Circuit (30 seconds for each exercise; 1 min rest) x5: 2-Handed Kettlebell Swing Right-Handed Kettlebell Swing Left-Handed Kettlebell Swing Hand-2-Hand Kettlebell Swing ***Octagon Pushup: 2 sets ***Jump Tuck: 3 sets of 15 ***TRX One-Legged Squat with Crossing Balance Lunge: 3 sets of 10/leg ***TRX Atomic Pushup: 3 sets of 10 Dead Clean and Press: 3 sets of 20/side; 35 pound kettlebell ***Overhead Squat: 5 sets of 6; 20 pound kettlebell
Circuit (30 seconds each exercise; 30 seconds rest after each circuit) x4 Squat Thrust ***Sprinter's Lunge Jumping Jacks
Thoughts: Negative Pull Up: Ow...after the first couple of sets, it starts to burn. Think a regular pull up, only you have to let yourself come back down to the ground as slowly as you can (I generally do a 4-5 count). Painful, painful, painful; but there's a method to the magic. You see, lowering slowly is called an eccentric exercise. When resisting gravity, your muscles are about 120% stronger, and are better able to resist weight; thus you will become stronger. Kettlebell Circuit: Take the 2-handed kettlebell swing:
Yeah, I'm a swinger ;-)
Do that motion for 30 seconds. Then without stopping, swing the kettlebell with your right hand. After 30 seconds, swing the kettlebell with your left hand. Swing for 30 seconds. Finally, swing the kettlebell, alternating hands, for 30 seconds. Then you may rest. Feel the burn yet?
Octagon Pushup: It's back for another round! Back by popular demand. Feels so good!
Don't forget to breathe!
Jump Tuck: Nothing really to say about this; jump up and tuck your knees to your chest. Go fast!
TRX One-Legged Squat with Crossing Balance Lunge: Check this bad boy out (and yes, I threw in some jumps):
Check out those arms!
TRX Atomic Pushup: Lovely little move, only I increased the repetitions. 3 sets of 10 this time (minus the weight vest).
Here's a video of me doing them with the weight vest:
With an extra 20 lbs!
Dead Clean and Press: Doing 10 is getting easy. Doing 15 starts to hurt. Doing 20 brings about amounts of pain never before experienced. In a good way, mind you.
Overhead Squat: A visit from yesterday. This seemed easier; more of a ROM (range of motion) exercise. Much better than from yesterday.
Circuit:
Squat Thrust: Take the first part of the burpee, and you've got the squat thrust. Your hands never leave the ground. A lovely little exercise to get the heart rate up.
Sprinter's Lunge: God how I love these things. I tried to up the speed a bit. For those of you that need a refresher on what the sprinter's lunge is, check it out...
Rock Hard Core!
Jumping Jacks: Nice way to end off the set. It felt a little easy; I'll be sure to do more next time.
That's all for now, I gotta get to bed for work. Until tomorrow!
I'm a huge fan of Albert Einstein. Not just because he had lots of the gray matter; but because he challenged what was regarded as "normal." Plus, the man did have some very interesting things to say. One of my all-time favorite quotes is from him. It is simply this:
"Try not to be a man of success, but a man of value."
I think that that's a wonderful quote. Here's my interpretation of that statement:
Do not try to be successful for individual or selfish reasons, because that is a shallow goal, and will ultimately reap shallow rewards. Instead, strive to be a good friend; an attentive lover; a shoulder to cry on. Because the best rewards in life you can't put a price on.
Until the next time.
So I decided to actually start taking care of myself by doing what I call "wellness work." Basically, this is the time where I get to do a daily ritual that allows me to get my body, mind and spirit ready for the day. I haven't been doing it lately and I really should. Fine time to do it, my 4th week in; but better late than never, right?
I won't go into specifics of what I did, but I believe that everyone should have some kind of daily ritual that does two things:
1.) Wakes up your body and gets it moving
2.) Allows your mind to better function throughout the day
That can be anything, from yoga to prayer, but just make sure that it takes no more than about 30 minutes. My own routine is about 25 minutes, and I'm fine with that amount (I don't sleep very much, so that might be part of the reason).
It's Monday, and you know what that means: stat time! Same rules apply:
Neck Measurement: 16.25”
Shoulders at their widest point: 48.5"
Chest: 40.5"
Waist 3 inches above your bellybutton: 31”
Waist at your belly button: 31.5" -0.25 inches
Waist 3 inches below your belly button: 34" -0.25 inches
Hips at their widest point: 38.5”
Thigh 9 inches above the top of your kneecap: 23" - 0.50 inches
Thigh 6 inches above the top of your kneecap: 20.25"-0.25 inches
Thigh 3 inches above the top of your kneecap: 18.25"
Calf at its widest point: 16"
Bicep (flexed) measure the widest point: 15"
Forearm (flexed) at its widest point: 13"
Weight: 161.3 lbs -0.7 lbs
Body Fat Percentage: 4.4% +0.28%
Flattering shot, no?
Thoughts on the Stats:
I'm really surprised that my body fat didn't go up more, after my two stints with food poisoning this week and just generally having to take it easy. Just goes to show that my body can deal with stress. The slight weight loss I'm not too surprised Without any further ado, let's check out the workout, in which speed is the name of the game; minimal rest while focusing on good form: ***Pull Up: 5 sets of 5; minimal rest ***TRX Hip Press: 3 sets of 12 ***Pushup: 15/14/13/12/11/10/9/8/7/6/5/4/3/2/1; minimal rest ***TRX Suspended Lunge: 5 sets of 40 seconds on/20 seconds rest Floor Wiper: 4 sets of 15 @ 135 pounds; minimal rest ***Overhead Squat: 2 sets of 12/side; 35 pound kettlebell
Circuit (30 seconds each exercise; 30 seconds rest after each circuit): ***Low Plank ***Weight Shoulder (Alt. Sides) @ 45 pounds Ab Rollout
Thoughts: Pull Up: Ya know, I thought this was gonna be relatively easy. Apparently I was mistaken. After all of the pull ups I did yesterday, I thought to myself "what's a couple dozen more?" Well by the 5th set I was really hurting. But I did accomplish my goal, which was to go with minimal rest. TRX Hip Press: Devilishly easy looking exercise. It's wonderful, and boy does it kill your glutes.
Ahh, how relaxing...
Pushups: Yeah baby! Flew through these bad boys! Started to hurt around 11, but that's what made them so good!
TRX Suspended Lunge: Ah man, this exercise was starting to throw me for a loop. I was losing my balance towards the end, but instead I focused on form. Seemed to help.
Think this balance is tough?
Try this balance!
Floor Wipers: Ooof, going for speed and holding it up there. It started to burn during the 3rd set, and the 4th set really hurt. Felt really good though. Check out the video:
Great exercise!
Overhead Squat: This is a new exercise. You hold your weight (in my case a kettlebell) over your head with one arm, and perform a squat. What I didn't count on was how engaged my obliques were. It felt really good!
You put your right arm out...
Get down!
Circuit:
Low Plank: I used to do these all the time in swimming; they were my bread and butter, so these weren't a huge issue.
Core Power!
Weight Shoulder: Great exercise. The only thing: watch where the weight goes. I accidentally dinged my twig and berries...that felt amazing...
Anyways, here's the video of the weight shoulder:
Power!
Ab Rollout: After doing the weight shoulder, this exercise proved to be a bit of a pain; but it was so worth it.
And of course, I have to do extra stuff!
Extras: 6x30 Pushups 6x30/side Bicycle Crunches 6x7 Pull Ups
Ab Work: (Spartan Leg Raise x7, Hanging Knee Raise x5) x2 (Spartan Leg Raise x1, Clockwork Leg Raise x4, Spartan Leg Raise x1, Hanging Knee Raise x5) x1 (Twisting Knee Raise x4, Hanging Knee Raise x5) x2
That's all for today; tune in tomorrow for more mayhem :)
Hey there guys, new M and M coming at ya!
Today I wanted to share a video that is a personal favorite of mine, shown to be several months ago. As many of you many know, I'm into parkour and free running. These are rapidly growing sports that capitalize on ease of movement. Because of the recent popularity, there have been an ever-growing amount of teams all over the US and the Uk (and those are just the ones that I know of).
Below, I have one such team that has taken it to the next level. Team Tempest decided to create a space dedicated solely to the arts of parkour and free running. So they founded Tempest Freerunning Academy, and to my knowledge it's the only gym of its kind in the country, maybe the world.
So check it out. And if you like what you see, check out their website here.
In the meantime, check out their promotional video. And while you're watching, remember this: if you want something, f*cking go for it!
Here was my workout for my Sunday Funday: Density Pull Up: 6 pull ups on the minute for 20 minutes Density Dead Lift: 5 dead lifts on the minute for 20 minutes @ 150 pounds ***Triangle Pushup: 2 sets of 15 ***Jump Squat: 5 sets of 15 Renegade Row: 3 sets of 20 alternating arms @ 35 pound dumbbells. Dead Clean: 5 sets of 10/side @ 55 pounds Push Press: 5 sets of 10/side @ 55 pounds ***TRX Axe Chop: 6 sets of 40 seconds on/20 seconds rest ***Car Lift: 2 sets of 10
Thoughts: Density Pull Up: I was really focusing on form for this one. I've been getting really tired towards the end and I decided enough was enough, and to nail down the form. Throughout the pull ups, I started getting into my own head, and really focusing on making each rep beautiful and precise. Dead Lifts: Same focus: form, form, form. I really was focusing, and boy did it show. I was really sweating after the first 5 sets. Triangle Pushups: I really don't get how people don't like these things. They're so much fun! I added on another set just because I felt like I didn't do enough. Jump Squat: Oh jump squats, how you hurt me so. I was really focusing on form, and I found that I was really getting into my head; that the more I focused, the easier it became. Renegade Row: These babies hurt so good! Wanna see a video? I know you do!
Lovely little beast!
Dead Clean and Push Presses: I hated these. I mean, I hated them. These work my shoulders (which I don't like to work on anyways), and they were heavy weights (which I dislike using even less). I really got into my head on this one, and just focused on form and breathing, not speed. Afterwards, I felt this sense of zen, of absolute concentration. It was wonderful.
TRX Axe Chop: I haven't done this one in a while, so it took me a bit to get back into it. But you know what? I liked this a lot better. I got to push myself pretty hard on this one.
Car Lift: Nothing much to talk about here, except that it hurt towards the end.
Here's a video of my thoughts about this week, including Zen and nutrition:
***Barbell Floor Press: 6 sets of 3; 60 pound dumbbells
***TRX Incline Press: 3 sets of 10
Double Windmill: 3 sets of 8 each side; 20 pound dumbbell in top hand; 35 pound dumbbell in bottom hand.
Thoughts:
High Pull: I'm always a fan of the high pull; it puts a bit of a variation on the standard kettlebell swing. It's starting to get a bit easier as well. Here's a video of me doing the high pull.
Gimme that!
Kettlebell Swing: This exercise is also getting easier. I have to admit though, keeping your butt engaged the whole time can get challenging. Here's a video of the swing:
Swing batter, swing!
Decline Pushup: I added a couple more reps per set just because, well, I felt like it. The pushups are getting so much easier, I feel like I can rattle them off no problem.
Split Jump: I love the split jump because not only does it get all the gunk out of my system, but it develops great functional leg strength.
Leg Thrust: This seems to be a bit of a pain, but the pain is so worth it. My abs felt the power afterwards, but during it...the pain!
Barbell Floor Press: This reminded me of the floor wiper I did a couple of days ago. It really hurt, but I knew that it was going to benefit me. I'm feeling more and more comfortable with lifting heavy weights. Hopefully I'll be able to accomplish (one of) my goals of being able to bench 185 pounds 5 times. A man can dream can't he?
TRX Incline Press: Man, this exercise hurts after the floor press, but it feels really nice on my shoulders. This was another exercise that really benefitted them, and I find any excuse to do them.
Arms straight...
Arms bent!
Double Windmill: Ok, I'll admit, I probably jumped the gun on this exercise so I decided to try this again. In a word: no. I don't get this exercise, and if someone could help me with it, I would be forever in your debt. But for now, I'm scrapping this exercise for me. It doesn't seem to benefit me in any significant way, so why use it? I'll come up with another exercise for this replacement (I'll actually do it this time).
