Wall Pushups
3x50 (Progression Standard!)
Shoulders were burning by the end of this!
Knee Tucks
1x15
1x13
Progress, inch by inch. Slow progress is what I get for decades of not training abs though. Also, MY FLAMING HIP FLEXORS! I'm OK with it though, because progress is being made.
I think I can see the result of 15 or so years of training like a moron in this program: My progression through the first steps of the upper body exercises was very rapid, but the core and leg exercises are coming very slowly. But progress is coming!
Monday, March 26, 2012
Friday, March 23, 2012
Good Behavior: W2 D3
Low Bridges
2x25 (Intermediate Standard!)
Toward the end of the first set I felt my lower spinal muscles working, maybe for the first time; I don't recall that exact sensation before. Neat! These feel really really good.
Wall Headstand
2x2 min (2xProgression Standard!)
Second headstand pushed me near the limit of my endurance. This really burns up my wrists, and my head was very uncomfortable by the end. I'll move on to the next step, since I did double the progression standard, but I'll do a set of wall headstand as a warmup for sure.
2x25 (Intermediate Standard!)
Toward the end of the first set I felt my lower spinal muscles working, maybe for the first time; I don't recall that exact sensation before. Neat! These feel really really good.
Wall Headstand
2x2 min (2xProgression Standard!)
Second headstand pushed me near the limit of my endurance. This really burns up my wrists, and my head was very uncomfortable by the end. I'll move on to the next step, since I did double the progression standard, but I'll do a set of wall headstand as a warmup for sure.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Good Behavior: W2 D2
Vertical Pulls
1x50 - Oops. Progression standard calls for 3x40, not 3x50!
2x40
PROGRESSSION STANDARD.
This is indeed a very light exercise. I think the huge jump in reps from last week to this week was due to the unfamiliarity of the program. I haven't done high rep work in forever, so I think I cut myself off way early last week because of the unfamiliar burn. I feel solid enough on this one to move on though. Even through reps 30-40(50) it is easy to keep the movement slow and steady; indeed, I slowed it down even more on a few late reps just to see how it felt, and it was still easy. Bring on the horizontal pulls!
Shoulderstand Squats
1x20 - These were way too sloppy
1x7-10 (lost count
1x10 - Better, but not perfect
This is a deceptively hard exercise. I find it very difficult to keep myself straight at the start position, and extremely difficult to get back to that straight body position from the bottom of the rep. I think this might be both an issue of balance (still having a hard time staying off my neck) and of core strength (particularly the lower back and butt). I might start doing little sets of these throughout the week, GtG style, in order to get my form up to speed.
Between the pulls and trying to hold my ass up in the air, my biceps are torched :)
1x50 - Oops. Progression standard calls for 3x40, not 3x50!
2x40
PROGRESSSION STANDARD.
This is indeed a very light exercise. I think the huge jump in reps from last week to this week was due to the unfamiliarity of the program. I haven't done high rep work in forever, so I think I cut myself off way early last week because of the unfamiliar burn. I feel solid enough on this one to move on though. Even through reps 30-40(50) it is easy to keep the movement slow and steady; indeed, I slowed it down even more on a few late reps just to see how it felt, and it was still easy. Bring on the horizontal pulls!
Shoulderstand Squats
1x20 - These were way too sloppy
1x7-10 (lost count
1x10 - Better, but not perfect
This is a deceptively hard exercise. I find it very difficult to keep myself straight at the start position, and extremely difficult to get back to that straight body position from the bottom of the rep. I think this might be both an issue of balance (still having a hard time staying off my neck) and of core strength (particularly the lower back and butt). I might start doing little sets of these throughout the week, GtG style, in order to get my form up to speed.
Between the pulls and trying to hold my ass up in the air, my biceps are torched :)
Monday, March 19, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
Good Behavior: W1 D3
Low Bridges
2x20
Headstand
2 sets for about as long as I could safely stand.
Didn't time them, but this is actually a bit challenging and I'm sure I didn't hit the progression standard of two minutes. Even if I did, I'd do another week or two of these. They felt good, but my wrists were burning from the stretch and my neck feels pretty compressed. Interesting how refreshed I felt when I stood back up though.
2x20
Headstand
2 sets for about as long as I could safely stand.
Didn't time them, but this is actually a bit challenging and I'm sure I didn't hit the progression standard of two minutes. Even if I did, I'd do another week or two of these. They felt good, but my wrists were burning from the stretch and my neck feels pretty compressed. Interesting how refreshed I felt when I stood back up though.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Good Behavior: W1 D2
Vertical Pulls
1x20, bathroom door
1x40, dressers
1x12, bathroom door
Dresser works the fingers a bit more, with the fingertip grip, but the bathroom door really blasts the chest and bi's and is an overall harder exercise to perform. I think I'll stick with the door, but won't sweat it if I feel like changing it up with the dressers. Hey, maybe I could use the dressers as the warmup for this move...
Shoulderstand Squats
1x8
1x10
These things are fucking hard. Had Suzi check my form, seems I may have been leaning a little too far toward my head. Still. Fucking. Hard. I am humbled.
1x20, bathroom door
1x40, dressers
1x12, bathroom door
Dresser works the fingers a bit more, with the fingertip grip, but the bathroom door really blasts the chest and bi's and is an overall harder exercise to perform. I think I'll stick with the door, but won't sweat it if I feel like changing it up with the dressers. Hey, maybe I could use the dressers as the warmup for this move...
Shoulderstand Squats
1x8
1x10
These things are fucking hard. Had Suzi check my form, seems I may have been leaning a little too far toward my head. Still. Fucking. Hard. I am humbled.
Monday, March 12, 2012
A New Beginning: Convict Conditioning
Took last week off because I strained a muscle in my lower back for the umpteenth time in my life. This was another of those times when it got so stiff and painful I thought I slipped a disc. It's still not 100%, but I think it will be by the end of this week.
This old (re)injury of mine got me thinking about how I workout. I absolutely still love kettlebells, and will continue to use them in the future, but it's time to face up to something: I need to focus on flexibility. Furthermore, I want to focus on more natural movement. KB movements are great, and they do a great job of integrating the whole body into each exercise, but I want to go a step further and really get into moving my body as it was made to move.
With all this in mind, I searched ye olde internetes for a good bodyweight only workout. One book kept coming up with stellar reviews: Convict Conditioning. So, I bought the kindle version (20 bucks cheaper than hard copy) and started reading it immediately (yesterday). The reviews are great, and the material seems solid, so I'm going to give bodyweight only training a go. I'm especially intrigued with the bridging portion of the workouts and the author's claims about its effects on spinal health.
Monday-Wednesday-Friday, Convict Conditioning "Good Behavior" program.
Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday-and as needed, Stretching
TBD, Running
Day 1:
Wall Pushups
2x25 (intermediate standard!)
Knee Tucks
2x10 (beginner standard: 1x10, intermediate standard: 2x25)
That's it?! Yep, that's it for today. Those knee tucks are brutal, btw. Even the wall pushups were harder than expected, and these are both only step 1 (each exercise has 10 steps starting at the easiest variation and ending at the hardest). I'm going to do this right: slow and steady. I have years of life ahead of me, and calisthenics done right should provide lifelong strength (according to Convict Conditioning author, and other sources); no need to rush the program.
This old (re)injury of mine got me thinking about how I workout. I absolutely still love kettlebells, and will continue to use them in the future, but it's time to face up to something: I need to focus on flexibility. Furthermore, I want to focus on more natural movement. KB movements are great, and they do a great job of integrating the whole body into each exercise, but I want to go a step further and really get into moving my body as it was made to move.
With all this in mind, I searched ye olde internetes for a good bodyweight only workout. One book kept coming up with stellar reviews: Convict Conditioning. So, I bought the kindle version (20 bucks cheaper than hard copy) and started reading it immediately (yesterday). The reviews are great, and the material seems solid, so I'm going to give bodyweight only training a go. I'm especially intrigued with the bridging portion of the workouts and the author's claims about its effects on spinal health.
Monday-Wednesday-Friday, Convict Conditioning "Good Behavior" program.
Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday-and as needed, Stretching
TBD, Running
Day 1:
Wall Pushups
2x25 (intermediate standard!)
Knee Tucks
2x10 (beginner standard: 1x10, intermediate standard: 2x25)
That's it?! Yep, that's it for today. Those knee tucks are brutal, btw. Even the wall pushups were harder than expected, and these are both only step 1 (each exercise has 10 steps starting at the easiest variation and ending at the hardest). I'm going to do this right: slow and steady. I have years of life ahead of me, and calisthenics done right should provide lifelong strength (according to Convict Conditioning author, and other sources); no need to rush the program.
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