Well if you notice, how i structure my workouts, usually around one of two big compounds and stuff..

For today, i loaded up my 14.5kg dumbbell, took my Spud Inc dip belt and went to the park.

Plate Halos
Scap Push Ups
Weighted chins 10×3 (70 seconds rest)
reality : 3/3/3/3/3/3/3/2/2/2=27 reps. so i + 1/2

rest 6 minutes, used 12kg dumbbell between knees.
Chins again 4/3/4/3/2/1/2/1/ = 20 reps, 1 mins rest
Bw chins 6,5.

total chin up today 61

Din’t row because my lower back is still busted. Rehab work

17.5kg dumbbell swings 60/40 = 100 reps 3 mins rest
17.5kg dumbbell swing 1 arm, 10 each.

going out now. feel like doing goblet squats, strict ones and maybe more pull ups tonight, the above was a 11am workout. see how it goes.

I still feel good and I’m confident of working out this injury , but i need to be patient. go back to my zerchers and take 20% off my 1Rm, and work on it for a month. get ready. but all these will be in 2 weeks. for now

chin ups , swings , push ups, goblets will be my bread and butter

So, I woke up yesterday morning and the bed felt too comfortable and warm – I didn’t want to get up and exercise. I was also feeling a little sore from my JGF300 Test I did the day before (my lower lats were feeling it the most, which I didn’t expect). So I grabbed an extra 30 minutes until the kids woke up and the morning chaos begun.

That was my exercise opportunity gone – I’d planned to do some dumbell work, and maybe some running.

But another opportunity did arise – approx 10 minutes between putting the kids to bed, tidying the house up, and my wife returning from work. What could I get done in 10 minutes?

Well, my favourite exercise – the humble press-up (push up in the USA) is always good for a quick upper-body & core workout.

Down to it: 3 sets of press-ups to failure, 2 minutes rest between sets. I managed 51 reps, 27 reps & 23 reps. That’s 101 press-ups in approx 7 minutes, and I felt it. Not a bad workout for the tiny amount of time I had.

So, remember, there is always time to exercise – to say there is not is just an excuse!

Beating the log book is always important, but when it was time for back today, BAM!

But first,  I rode the bike to the gym. As sore as my legs were I didn’t know how much of an adventure that might be, but it wasn’t too bad. I watched some IM videos to get me “in the mood” and I guess it worked. I felt real strong today. I don’t know if it was getting a couple of nights of decent sleep or the extra carbs I’ve consumed, or a combination of everything…but I’ll do it again next week if I can that’s for sure.

My right shoulder is still giving me trouble so I’m staying away from shoulder presses and I even substituted Skull Crushers for Dips as I was feeling a little bit of pain warming up with my body weight on the Dips.

I went back and studied more of the stickies and re-checked my rep ranges as I had begun falling out of where I should be.

Incline Hammer Press-RP

LT-105(18r) / TT-110(17r)

Cable Side Raise-SS

2 sets – 40(10r, 6r)

Skull Crushers-RP

55(23r)

Lat Pulldown with V-Bar-RP

*First time w/ V-Bar as I’m booting out Chins for now and I do regular Lat Pulldowns on another day.

160(17r)

Rack Deadlifts-SS

LT-365(6r) / TT-365(9r) – Felt easy!!!

LT-285(12r) / TT-295(20r) – I decided not to stop! I felt so good that I wanted to at least get all I could out of it as I just got into a groove. I feel like I quit more for fatigue than anything else, but I really look forward to doing these again next go-round to see if I can repeat the performance.

I did even more bike riding today and had a good amount of food so I definitely feel like it was a weekend of progress.

Good morning friends.  If you were to be asked, what would you choose between comfortable and sexy?  You can be sexy anytime you want but sometimes you don’t feel comfortable with that.  And sometime with all your best you feel sexy and comfortable the way you are.  I want to share you one article I read by David Colman. 

It is one of the driest, slyest ironies of the Peacock Revolution of the last decade. As men have turned themselves out in dandified splendor, they have all but neglected the signature aspect of the peacock’s glory.

That is, the tail.

As we know, much care and money have gone into fitted clothing and fitter bodies. But most has ended up above the waist. This has left modern man with, aside from his jeans, a stack of ill-fitting trousers that leave his backside looking like one of those mysterious blobs that wash up on beaches once a decade to baffle scientists and freak out locals.

“Men have been terrified of wearing pants that are too tight,” said Daniel Peres, the editor of Details, “so we err on the side of big, blowsy pants.”

Similarly, men seeking to improve their bodies by lifting weights have focused on those upper-body parts—pecs, lats, biceps, abs—that create a more powerful view from the front. (A similar ploy, it’s worth noting, is widespread in the animal kingdom, from cobras to gorillas, where it is known as “broadside display.”) Backside display hasn’t gotten a single squat lift.

At least, not until now. There are unmistakable signs that men are becoming less reluctant to build up their haunches and wear pants cut to flatter, not flatten, them. Trainers have noticed. So have designers, who are cutting pants that are not fashionista-tight or teenager-baggy, but as Goldilocks would say, had she hit puberty, just right. One new clothing company has been bold enough to make a trimly sexy fit the key to its brand identity.

That’s right. I have made a decision that the entire month of July, all posts will be in regards to the TRX Suspension Training System and the amazing tool that it is.

All posts will go over the TRX and developing power, strength, agility, and flexibility. The TRX is the ultimate fitness tool that can be used anywhere. If you aren’t using one, take the month of July and learn all you can, purchase one and get fit!

Wednesday’s Workout

Warm-up

• 10 min of Joint Mobility exercises & Dynamic Stretching
• 8 min of  kicking, punching, jumping lunges & side lunges

Workout

Superset #1

• 1 Arm Kneeling Pulldowns – 41x tempo – 220 x 10/10/10/10/10/6/5/4,  supersetted with
• Bulgarian Squat – Siff style (on toes) – BW + 45 – 41x tempo – 8 sets of 10 reps

no rest between sets – 1 min rest between superset 1 & 2

Superset #2

• 1 Arm DB Overhead Press – 41x tempo – 5 sets of 5 reps @ 75 lbs, supersetted with
• Glute Ham Raise – 41x tempo – 5 sets of 8 reps @ BW

No rest between sets

30 sec rest between superset 2 & 3

Superset #3

• 2 Arm Cable Tricep Pushdowns – 91x tempo – 3 sets of 15 reps @ 150 lbs,  supersetted with
• 2 Arm Cable Slide Reverse Grip Curls – 91x tempo – 3 sets of 10 reps @ 150 lbs

No rest between sets

30 sec rest between superset 3 & 4

Superset #4

• Standing Straight Arm Pulldown – dynamic movement  – 135-225 lbs weight increasing – 7 sets of 8 reps, supersetted with
• Pullthroughs – 7 sets of 8 reps – 135-225 lbs weight increasing – tempo 41x
• Reverse Lunge – BW – 7 sets of 15 reps per leg

No rest between sets

120 sec rest between superset 4 & 5

Superset #5

• Seated DB Press – Tempo 41x – DBs increasing weight 30s – 100s – 8 sets of 5 reps,  supersetted with
• DB Concentration Curls – 45lbs – 8 sets of 7 reps

No rest between sets

15 min of stretching

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Monday’s Workout

Warm-up

• 10 min of Joint Mobility exercises & Dynamic Stretching
• including kicking, punching & Turkish Get-Ups

Workout

Superset #1

• 1 Arm Standing Cable Row – 81x tempo – 90 x 8, 105 x 8, 120 x 8, 135 x 8, 150 x 8, 165 x 5, supersetted with
• Stab. Ball Terminal Leg Extension – 151 tempo – 6 sets of 10 reps

no rest between sets – 1 min rest between superset 1 & 2

Superset #2

• Cybex Leg Press/Squat Hybrid Machine – 911 tempo – 5 sets of 10 reps @ 540 lbs, supersetted with
• Incline DB Fly – 91x tempo – 5 sets of 8 reps @ 45 lbs

No rest between sets

30 sec rest between superset 2 & 3

Superset #3

• 2 Arm Cable Tricep Pushdowns – 91x tempo – 3 sets of 15 reps @ 150 lbs,  supersetted with
• 2 Arm Cable Slide Reverse Grip Curls – 91x tempo – 3 sets of 10 reps @ 150 lbs

No rest between sets

30 sec rest between superset 3 & 4

Superset #4

• Dragon Flags – BW – tempo 91x – BW x 8/5/5/5/5/3, supersetted with
• Vacuums – 6 sets of 5 reps – tempo 191

No rest between sets

Vacuum - Frank Zane

Flexibility/Mobility Training

• 15 minutes of static & pnf stretching
  

Notes:

Slow negatives suck

This was an awesome workout. I did 16 sets per body part yesterday. The nutrition is working, my body and mind are starting to adjust, it’s all falling into place. Thanks again to Chris for the spot on the preacher curls. Stay tuned for progress photo, weight and measurements on Friday. 

FRONT LAT PULLDOWNS

1st set: 15o lbs, 10 reps

2nd set: 165 lbs, 8 reps

3rd set: 170 lbs, 8 reps

4th set: 18o lbs, 8 reps

REAR LAT PULLDOWNS

1st set: 12o lbs, 6 reps

2nd set: 130 lbs, 6 reps

3rd set: 135 lbs, 6 reps

4th set: 15o lbs, 8 reps

SEATED ROWS

1st set: 12o lbs, 6 reps

2nd set: 140 lbs, 6 reps

3rd set: 150 lbs, 6 reps

4th set: 16o lbs, 8 reps

ONE-ARM ROWS

1st set: 65 lbs, 6 reps

2nd set: 70 lbs, 6 reps

3rd set: 75 lbs, 6 reps

4th set: 105 lbs, 6 reps

ALTERNATING ONE-ARM DUMBELL CURLS

1st set: 40 lbs, 6 reps

2nd set: 40 lbs, 6 reps

3rd set: 50 lbs, 6 reps

4th set: 5o lbs, 6 reps

HAMMER CURLS

1st set: 25 lbs, 6 reps

2nd set: 30 lbs, 6 reps

3rd set: 40 lbs, 6 reps

4th set: 40 lbs, 6 reps

STRAIGHT BAR CURLS

1st set: 75 lbs, 6 reps

2nd set: 85 lbs, 6 reps

3rd set: 95 lbs, 6 reps

4th set: 95 lbs, 6 reps

PREACHER CURLS

1st set: 55 lbs, 6 reps

2nd set: 60 lbs, 6 reps

3rd set: 65 lbs, 6 reps

4th set: 65 lbs, 6 reps

Resistance Training Day

Warm-up

• 5 min of Joint Mobility exercises & Dynamic Stretching

Workout

Superset #1

• 10 minutes of heavy bag work – fists, knees, feet & elbows
  

No rest between techniques…sweat pouring off me like Niagara Falls

60 sec rest between superset 1 & 2 as I moved from the heavy bag room to the weight room

Superset #2

• Push-Ups – various grips – Bodyweight – 10 sets of 10 reps, supersetted with
• BW Row on Smith Machine – Bodyweight – 10 sets of 10 reps, supersetted with
• Swing Snatch – 35 lb plate – 10 sets of 10 reps

No rest between sets

30 sec rest between superset 2 & 3

Superset #3

• Straight Arm Pushdowns – Dynamic movement – lots of core involvement – 8 sets of 20 reps, weight pyramiding from 145 – 260 lbs., (last 3 sets 19, 16, 14 reps) supersetted with
• Jumping / Shuffling Split Lunges – 8 sets of 40 reps, Bodyweight

No rest between sets

60 sec rest between superset 3 & 4

Superset #4

• Cybex Incline Chest Press – 10 sets of 20 – 13 reps – weight increasing from 145 – 300 lbs, supersetted with
• Bulgarian Split Squat – 10 sets of 7 reps, Bodyweight,

Flexibility/Mobility Training

• no time to stretch…oops, gonna pay for that
  

Notes:

Short on time today. 35 minute workout. No rest between sets. No rest between supersets. Exhausted at the end of 35 minutes. Jogged to the gym and jogged/stumbled home from the gym

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Resistance Training Day

Warm-up

• 10 min of Joint Mobility exercises & Dynamic Stretching

Workout

Superset #1

• Rollouts – 10 sets of 10 reps, supersetted with
• alternating sets of Bodyweight Squats & Bodyweight Reverse Lunges – 10 sets of 20 reps

No rest between sets – Total reps – 100 rollouts & 200 reps squats/lunges

3 min rest between superset 1 & 2

Superset #2

• Pull-Ups – various grips – Bodyweight – 5 sets of 5 reps, supersetted with
• 1 Arm DB Press – 75 lbs – 5 sets of 3 reps, supersetted with
• Jumping Lunges – Bodyweight – 5 sets of 20 reps

No rest between sets

3 min rest between superset 2 & 3

Superset #3

• 1 Arm Kneeling Pulldowns – 8 sets of 5 reps, weight pyramiding from 145 – 250, supersetted with
• Glute Ham Raises – 8 sets of 5 reps, Bodyweight

No rest between sets

3 min rest between superset 3 & 4

Superset #4

• Standing Cable Crunch – 7 sets of 3 reps @ 135 lbs, supersetted with
• Bulgarian Split Squat – 7 sets of 7 reps, Bodyweight, supersetted with
• Standing Cable Row – 2 hand – focus on scap retraction not biceps – 7 sets of 7 reps @ 225 lbs

No rest between sets

3 min rest between superset 4 & 5

Superset #5

• Cybes Shoulder Press – 5 sets of 5 reps @ 205 lbs, supersetted with
• DB Concentration Curl – Hammer grip – 5 sets of 5 reps @ 50 lbs

No rest between sets

Flexibility/Mobility Training

• 15 min of stretching

Many powerful karateka have trouble keeping their butts tucked when they extend their arms. The same people often have trouble making large movements from their shoulders instead of their elbows. In many cases the cause of this is simply that from all of the effort they have made to connect their arms to their bodies they have developed overly tight lats. Here are a couple of relatively easy and painless stretches that may help.

Keep in mind that karate people tend to have tight hip flexors from kicking and poor stretching habits and this can also cause or contribute to “shelf butt” .  Look for an upcoming post on stretching the hip floexors.

But rather on your ability, on a few little, but fairly crucial factors: Timing, Grace and Musicality.

Timing:  To be able to step out on beat 1.  One clue in the song is, when the singer begins singing and it’s always on the 1st beat of the bar.

Grace:  To be able to execute the move smoothly and gracefully and make the follow feel as though she’s floating on air. Let’s call it Physicality

Musicality:  Thirdly, to understand the different sections of a song i.e. when the different instruments begin to express themselves and the feel of the song changes. Some call it Musicality or expressing your body to music.

Lastly, we need to learn to relax and enjoy that moment with that particular partner.

One of the irksome statements I come across, whenever I venture into a new club/class where I am an unknown is, when the lady I’ve asked to dance says something similar to, “how long have you been dancing?”.  Then when we get on to the floor and this lady exhibits that peculiarity known as “Spaghetti Arm Syndrome”, a particular chronic condition among some women who have been dancing badly for a indescribable period of time.

These dear creatures  need a crash course on holding a good frame (that’s got to be a good topic for  a future date) and the best place I can think of is Alchemy Dance Company and in the recommending vein, a good reference for salsa terminology I’ve come across is onlinesalsa.

Firmness and flexibility or a loose arm: You decide.
Dancing should be just fun as the two dancing posted earlier or tight choreography as Flawless the dance group from London.

Latissimus Dorsi to give the correct name for that muscle and normally shortened to “Lats”

It is such an absolute disaster, when you dance with a woman who has “Spaghetti arms” and not many teachers are addressing this as a crucial area. A little more emphasis would assist everyone to have better posture, enjoy being able to dance for longer periods of time and crucially without getting their shoulders involved, which only results in muscular fatigue.

Alchemy Dance as instructed by Marchant and Davina is the only dance class I’ve attended that stresses the importance of the “LATS” as a muscle group relevant to salsa dancing (FYI, practically any type of dancing or even good posture).

Engaging the “Lats” causes the the underarm area to expand, lifting the ribcage and sternum. This action has the dual role of giving “firmness of frame” to the upper torso but also inversely and almost contradictingly, increased flexibilty for rotation of the upper arms.

Img Source

Widest and most powerful muscle of the back. It is a large, flat, triangular muscle covering the lower back. It arises from the lower half of the vertebral column and iliac crest (hipbone) and tapers to a rounded tendon inserted at (attached to) the front of the upper part of the humerus (upper-arm bone).

The action of the latissimus dorsi draws the upper arm downward and backward and rotates it inward, as exemplified in the downstroke in swimming the crawl. In climbing it joins with the abdominal and pectoral muscles to pull the trunk upward. The two latissimus dorsi muscles also assist in forced respiration by raising the lower ribs.

Source: Britannica

So if you really want to know to “How to engage those Lats”, one way, would be to attend an event where Marchant and Davina will teach, as in MamboCity 5 Star salsa Congress 1-4 may 2009.