deadlift, 3mi run

great pulls today

worked up to 225x7 on the platform.

tried to start on front squats but my left knee started acting up again. yesterday for exercise lab our instructor had us strap on some heart monitors and run around the great lawn for four laps at 40% of our MHR. I was not prepared, and was wearing a very worn pair of mizunos. These are the same damn shoes that gave me knee pains in the first place.

got a three miler later on...will add more later

*side note, my weight has gone up to 175, but my waist circumference has stayed about the same.

some races, some prep, some hypertrophy

did a four miler with my friend louie today:



 by and large the run felt very good. i struggled a bit from some ankle stiff/soreness but otherwise it went as expected. louie hasn't trained his cardiovascular system nor his aerobic fitness so we took several break throughout (not that i complained)



 signed up for the Xterra 10K this december, as well as the Veterans 5K in november. just some simple, short races this fall/winter. good shizz :)




lifting later today. i'll update.

nice and easy

sorry for the break. busy busy month with the new semester. and a rough, but good, end to my summer as well.

anyway, i've signed up for the xterra 10k trail run at kualoa. its this december. and, i can't wait.

today is the first of a new run layout i have setup for december. my long runs are going to have to be done on trails if i want to get used to the terrain. i did a nice 2 mi tempo run from the end of wilder st up through the UH manoa campus and back. 22 minutes. sheesh!

my left knee has begun to act up, and the pain i used to have in my right knee is no more. strange huh? i work my gray nikes today, and i specifically remember my right knee hurting when i ran with my black mizunos. hmmmmm.

alvie and i snagged a pair of frees (nike) and ive done some short runs with them. ill slowly ease into them, seeing as they have so far been helpful with my usual plantar fasciitis.

on another note, I'VE JOINED CROSSFIT. go on with what you will, naysayers. i can say that while i dont agree with all of crossfit's ideologies, i believe that plyometric, high-intensity exercise has its place in an all-around athletic training regimen. so, now you'll hear more of that as i head into my mandatory introductory sessions, known as the elements classes. eight sessions later, and i'll have their seal of approval and a pat on the back to join as a full-time member. well, time to go.

ive got some serious anatomy and phys to study for an exam this thurs. augh.

aloha, spens






1 mile warmup, 1 mile cooldown. 2 mile tempo @ 11:15 /mile pace.

22:28

4 mi. from Makiki Park to UH Manoa

Easy run. Well, running with a partner makes routes generally easier and mentally faster. It rained on us during the run, which kept it nice and cool. Also, in addition to my left knee being sore, I felt a little funny ache in my right knee throughout the run. Oooh boy.

time: 46:01

5 mi route

had a great run today. my r. knee did feel a bit uncomfortable at first, but i guess the running eventually put it off. heres the route i did

time: 55:51

squats!!!

did squats today. they felt really easy - especially since my left knee has been acting up since last week (runner's knee maybe?). also, hiked with the club on sunday, so i wasn't really sure if id be up for it today.

also helped alvie out with her squat routine. she seems to be picking it up very well.

135 x 3
155 x 3
175 x 5

box squat
95 x 10
95 x 10
95 x 15
95 x 15

leg curls
50 x 10 single leg
50 x 15 both legs
75 x 10 both legs
50 x 10 single leg

situps
2 x 10
2 x 15

also took some extra time to really stretch everything out. so: im not sore right now. that makes me happy. :)

bench press

gettin' pumped on friday

bp
115 x 3
135 x 3
145 x 5

75 x 10
75 x 10
75 x 10
75 x 10
75 x 10

db rows
35 x 10
35 x 10
35 x 10
35 x 10
35 x 10

"confunnit"

i tried to run, i mean really now.

my hamstrings were...meh. i tried putting on some icy hot about an hour before heading to ala moana beach park, but it didnt help much. i ran about a quarter mile before calling it a day. took a nice, long 15 minutes to really stretch it out.

ill talk to alvie tonight when i pick her up and plan a run tomorrow morning.

confunnit.

deadlifts again?!

lol so with the slight break in lifting (pt test) i visited the bloch arena at pearl harbor today. its a nice gym, and it wasn't too busy when alvie and i went so i didnt have to wait for any equipment. there was a deadlift platform with olympic plates and some other powerlifter-friendly equipment here, so i was very happy and content. on to the lifts:

 

deadlift
155 x 3
175 x 3
195 x 6

RDL
95 x 3 x 10

i stopped two sets early because the muscle fatigue was already setting in. like last week, i knew i was in for a sore two days ahead.

army fitness standards

took a PT test today so here are the results:

pushups: 55
situps: 45
2 mile run: 19:01

the pushups and situps are done in 2 minutes, and the two mile run passing time for my age group is something around 16:35. i passed on the pushups easy, but reached muscle failure way too early on the situps. i wasnt tired, sore, or anything like that. just complete cns breakdown where my abdominals werent firing. i was shocked.

the one thing i forgot to do with all the training ive been doing this past month is to do a diagnostic test by myself to see where i was. only then could i have picked out my current weaknesses and focused on them. oh well, lesson learned.

so with great amounts of weight loss also comes a price of losing some amount of strength and at times endurance as well. with all being said and done, im actually still very happy with where i'm at right now. i can feel myself improving and getting stronger, faster, and bigger with every training session i complete.

i know im not where i was last year, but getting there is just as fun, if not more, than i remember last. cant wait to look back at these numbers a month from now and compare the improvements.

6 Things You Aren't Doing

Six Things You Aren’t Doing

By Gregory Robins

  

No one person is the same, and no one client I’ve worked with has taken the same approach to reach his goals. Why? Many of my clients’ goals are similar—muscle gain, fat loss, strength gains, or some elusive combination of all these things. However, we always have a different mold to start from, which causes the need for a program tailored to that individual. In addition, different bodies react differently to varying training protocols, just as different bodies react differently to varying diet changes. Developing the body you want is an uphill battle for most of us. We have to learn to listen to our bodies and tweak our diet and training to adjust to what we feel and see. No program I write for a client is set in stone, and oftentimes, we switch approaches to see what their body responds to best. There is plenty of science that tells us what theoretically works “best.” Without a doubt, these studies are a great place to start when choosing an intelligent plan, but you will have to make adjustments and try many different approaches to find the perfect combination for you. With that said, some constants always remain. There are certain principles in the gym and the kitchen that must be adhered to.

Most importantly, these principles should always stay at the forefront of your approach, even through all the smoke and mirrors, shiny supplements, and magazine spreads guaranteeing three inches on your arms in two weeks or whatever other bull you might encounter. There aren’t any shortages of magic pills, revolutionary workouts, and fitness experts out there, but there does seem to be a shortage of common sense. On that note, let’s take a look at what you aren’t doing that’s holding you back from that 5.2 lbs of muscle your new protein powder said you would add.

 

 

You aren’t consistent.
Consistency is the key. You must be consistent, do the right things, and do them day in and day out. You can’t make a change in your body until you keep this as your number one priority. We have all heard that quote, “Ninety percent of life is showing up…” or something along those lines. You get the point. Training hard and eating well for three weeks before your vacation doesn’t get you anywhere. Hammering a daily elliptical session and eating chicken and celery all week before your first date with Julie you met online doesn’t get you any closer to lasting fat loss. Before you even take into account your goals, you need to be prepared to make a consistent effort toward them.

You aren’t working hard enough.
Mental intensity is everything in the gym. Sometimes how hard you lift gets you further than what you’re lifting. You could have a program and diet plan put in your hand that is perfectly tuned for you to transform your body, but without any intensity, the guy next to you, who is winging it and working harder than anyone in the gym, will always make better gains. Always. You have to go to the gym and work your tail off. If you don’t sweat when you lift, if you’ve never grunted (without trying), if you’ve never hit rep 15 of 30 on a set of squats and wondered how in the hell you were going to finish the next 15 reps, you aren’t bringing enough. Scrap your two-hour visits to the gym and get in and out in 45 minutes to an hour. Work your ass off the whole time. Sorry if you have to stop talking football with your friends, chatting up any female within ten yards of you, and flexing repeatedly in the mirrors. Get the picture?

Your nutrition isn’t close to good.
Enough said.

You aren’t sticking to an approach, protocol, idea, and program. Whatever you want to call it, you don’t have any defined goals.
Look around the gym floor and you will see ten different ideologies being put into practice at any given time. Moreover, you will see one guy following four of them in the same workout. Don’t get me wrong—I’m an advocate of using what works and scrapping what doesn’t, and for each person, that has proven to be different. However, some techniques just can’t usefully be combined. Furthermore, no technique will work when you use it for two weeks and then toss it for the latest idea you read about that morning just to switch again in two weeks when the new FLEX comes out with their newest super program. If you want to try a full body/AB split, go for it—for all 12 weeks of programming. By the same token, if you choose the full body/AB split for fat loss reasons, stop adding in the triple drop sets you heard were great for adding serious size to your arms. If you continually bounce around, the only thing you can be sure of is that you will surely never get any solid results.

This all plays into goal setting. Pick a goal. Pick a reasonable timeframe in which to reach that goal. Pick an intelligent approach/plan to get you there. Work harder than anyone else at achieving it.

You aren’t focused on recovery.
The day you realize that muscle is built while you aren’t at the gym is the day you start making some serious changes. Figuring out what volume of work your body responds to best can be a process. In general, most of us can handle quite a lot. There are the groups of people with fears of overtraining. I could make some harsh comments about this, especially when I think back on the physiques of these individuals, but I’ll refrain. Then there are the groups of people hitting the gym as hard as they can. They leave blood, sweat, and tears on the floor, and after some initial progress, are again and again coming up empty handed. In both cases, it isn’t the training that’s the issue. It’s the lack of any thought toward their recovery. Those who fear overtraining? The truth is it’s easier to not recover than it is to overtrain. Those who seem to put endless effort in? You aren’t recovering from the workload. You either need to do more on the recovery end or less on the training volume end. As you strive for bigger and better gains, both sides of that equation should be elevated. So what aids in recovery? Sleep, rest, food, nutrition, stretching, and soft tissue work. Those are all good places to start. Breaking muscle down isn’t that terribly challenging. Doing the proper things outside the gym can oftentimes be a bit tougher and require a little more devotion. Your workouts may last a total of seven or eight hours during the week, but eating well and sleeping enough demand your constant attention. If you want great results, you must focus on your recovery.

You aren’t focused on progression nor do you keep track of it.

I’ve alluded to this on numerous occasions. Progression is right up there with work ethic in the iron game. If you want to strip down the process of changing your body, what you’re really doing is giving the body a reason to adapt or change. I’ve seen it put a hundred different ways, but if you aren’t approaching each workout with the idea of trying to do a little more than the last time, you’re missing the point and giving your body no reason to adapt. Athletes are often concerned with increasing strength. A bodybuilder might play with volume and intensity. Joe Shmo, who needs to cut 20 lbs, might be focused on getting his workout done thirty seconds faster than last time. Either way, they’re all progressing. Oh and news flash—if you aren’t writing anything down, how are you focusing on your progression? Get a notebook and a pencil. A stopwatch is helpful, too. As you can see, many of these principles go hand in hand. They are the foundation of a solid approach to changing your body. Don’t lose sight of the basics and you won’t settle for crappy results.

 

Article posted can be found here. All credit to the author(s).

easy run

didnt run yesterday, hammies and groin were too sore/tight. not benching today either. had a run after picking alvie up from work.

3 miles, about 40 minutes.

cut through a condominium park area where the red line is.

big squat mondays

had a nice hard day at the gym. box squats killing me.

squat
135 x3
155 x 3
175 x 5

box squats
95 x 5 x 10

leg curls
30 x 10, 10
15 x 15, 15

two miler

easy run. 20 minutes everything

military press

60 x 5
70 x 5
80 x 7

45 x 3 x 10
chins 15

5.5 mi ~ 1:16:01

wow what a run! my wife came back from a month long trip for some classes and she knocked out this 5 miler with me, in style. we took a route that brought us from makiki through the kapahulu/kapiolani area, through moiilili, and back to makiki park. great finish :)

satellite view of our route

street map version

squat session

so while everyones out celebrating national chest day, i hit the squat racks this afternoon. the sets felt great, and i skipped the leg curls after my groin started tightening up.

bench press

135 x 5
145 x 5
165 x 7

95 x 5 x 10

speed work

six repetitions, one way. meh, felt slow, draggish. i also did a two-miler this am with my wife's baby brother.

all to myself

i remember now why i used to like lifting in the evenings, and even better, on the weekends. i just cannot iterate enough how much i enjoy having the gym all to myself. i mean, in the end, training is really where i step into my own realm, where i get to know myself by testing my limits, by mentally and emotionally challenging myself and stepping out of my comfort zones.

so today was no exception. i had to exercise some restraint in sticking loyal with my training program. knocking out reps of 135 went by smooth, no trouble at all. i did start a little cold, so i may feel the tightness tomorrow. otherwise, and good early evening of training.

95 x 5
125 x 5
135 x 7

95 x 3 x 8
75 x 2 x 6

dumbell rows, single
30 x 15,15,10,10 ea arm.

run around UH campus

took off an hour before sundown from makiki park. you know i gotta say, the metcalf st hill up to the UH campus is a helluva hill man. fricken ey. someday i'll be able to go up that hill at race pace. until then, its the truffle shuffle.

about 3 miles, done in just under 50 minutes. walked here and there and really took my time with this one.

3.3 mi - 56:26

ive been really sore since doing the deadlifts so i really took some time back at the park to stretch out. i really wish i had a foam roller now. oh well, looks like i know what i need to invest in next. :)

ready. pull!

deadlift

135x5
165x5
185x7

135 5x10

30 situps

nothing spectacular. lifts felt great, no problems.

some thoughts, and a look at things to come

i don't worship the guy (though he'd be well deserving), but Jim Wendler is someone who really knows his sh*t. seriously, his mentality and approach to training is no nonsense, to the point, realistic, and practical. common sense is in there too, and thats the kind of trainer id aspire to be someday. the trendy, weird, and downright dangerous mentality of certain training styles like:

- instability training i.e. squats on a bosu ball. i mean, really?
- training w/o a supportive eating habit (the folks who starve themselves before AND after training)
- "olympic" lifters who learned technique from coach youtube

is something id like to avoid.

anyway, heres the blueprint for the remainder of july and august. four weeks. a short cycle. an approach so simple it would probably drive some people mad.

based on the 5/3/1 program written by wendler

this has put on 20lbs on all lifts when i was deployed. of course, i had nothing better to do and my conditioning suffered because of my over-dedication. still, its worked for me before and itll work for me again.

k im done. bye

4.7 miles in 55:23

Great run today!


My goal was time: run at least 40 minutes. Keep heart rate above 60% MHR, which I did. Little did I know I was racking up some good mileage as well. Overall, the entire route felt really good. A little buzz afterwards too.

4.7 mi - 55:23

5/3/1 new cycle, first day

military press.

the neighboring rack had a personal trainer and his client/ex-gf (?) arguing and bickering throughout my workout. hmmm the intricacies of training and love.

anyway, im starting "too light," as wendler would say. lifting truly should be a lifetime pursuit, otherwise getting strong "now" or "tomorrow" would be too stressful for most people.

military press
55 x 5
65 x 5
75 x 7 (arms starting to tremble /: )

45 x 5 x 10
five sets, ten reps. i'm going to write it like that from now on. anywho, im following the "boring but big"  template of 5/3/1.
chin ups: x 10 (i suck horribly on chin ups. today these were kipping chins)

otherwise, i feel good!

Some jogging and a bit of lifting

Ran Kakaako and ala moana beach park areas, 45 min keeping my HR above 150.


Got back to the dungeon, knocked out a few sets on the bench with 135. Just trying to get a feel for things after a long hiatus with some familial obligations. Final thoughts: I know I lost some strength, but I'm also not surprised. Nothing like the feel of getting back into the groove.

Heart rates and such...

According to the American Heart Association, my maximum heart rate should be 220 - my age.

220 - 23 = 197 bpm

Aerobic Zone (Endurance Training) --- 70 - 80% of maximum heart rate: 137.9 - 157.6 bpm


The aerobic zone will improve your cardiovascular and respiratory system AND increase the size and strength of your heart. This is the preferred zone if you are training for an endurance event. More calories are burned with 50% from fat.


Anaerobic Zone (Performance Training) --- 80 - 90% of maximum heart rate: 137.9 - 177.3


Benefits of this zone include an improved VO2 maximum (the highest amount of oxygen one can consume during exercise) and thus an improved cardiorespiratory system, and a higher lactate tolerance ability, which means your endurance will improve and you'll be able to fight fatigue better. This is a high intensity zone burning more calories, 15 % from fat.



A heart rate monitor simply monitors the rate of your heart and provides feedback. Although they are not always precise, they generally work well enough to give you an approximation of your heart rate as you exercise. By using a heart rate monitor you can ascertain a exercise level that will optimize the burning of fat and you will improve your metabolism.
If you are beginning an exercise regimen over exercising and raising your heart level too high can be counterproductive. You can exert yourself beyond an aerobic workout. When your heart exceeds 85% you are in an anaerobic zone. This is when your body burns less fat and more carbohydrates. In the process you produce lactic acids. A heart rate monitor assists you in staying in the preferably aerobic zone.

source: http://www.ellipticaltrainers.com/info/heart_monitor.htm

national chest day & a jog in the park

ran ala moana beach park, the 2 mi. route.
i felt lighter - thats a definite seeing as i somehow someway lost 10lbs since this past monday when i weighed myself [i hope thats not muscle tissue loss :( ] despite my newfound featheriness i still moved slow. im still very happy to have gotten a run in this week. on to speed work next week in my prep for an upcoming pt test.

bench
45x15
45x15
135x5
155x5 (wth! it feels heavy!)
185x3 failed on fourth rep
155x2 failed on third rep
135x8 felt muuuuch nicer after above two sets

dipsx20
chinsx20
superset'd above two

dumbbell presses
25x15
25x15

so three weeks out of the gym (thank you annual training) and my performance suffers. still, i DID do better than i expected. but you can tell when youve been set back (guys who've trained for years you can appreciate de-conditioning) oh well. at least i'm back at it again >:)