February 29, 2012

Pull Ups

So, I did 4 in a row tonight. FOUR!  Then a set of 3, then 2, then 2, then 1, then 5 reverses.  I could feel some strength building and actual muscle fibers working. yes yes yes yes.

If you are working on pull-ups, here is a link to some good advice:
http://stronglifts.com/10-ways-to-get-stronger-at-pull-ups-fast/

Pretty much, you need to do them all the time, and when you are so sick of them you might vomit, do a few more.  Do NOT get discouraged.  The strength WILL build as long as you stay consistent with your practice.

Train well and keep your nose planted firmly to the grindstone.

Dag

February 25, 2012

52 Cards on the table

Holy mother of Jehovah.

I wrote a small bit on Fitocracy about the playing card work out Husband and I did last week.

Get a deck of cards.
SHUFFLE the cards (husband, I am looking at you).
Assign an exercise to each suit.
Start flipping the cards.
Your reps are determined by the number on the card.  King, Queen, and Jack are 10, Aces are 11.

We did it again tonight after 2nd watch.  Hearts were push-ups,  Diamonds were sit-ups, Spades were pull-ups, and Clubs were squats.  The math comes out to 95 reps of each exercise.  And now Husband is talking about going through the deck twice.  TWICE.  Because...once is too....easy?  The man is deranged.  Whatever.  I'll do it.  Tonight he teased me that one of these days he was going to plant the deck with more suit cards that were assigned to pull-ups.  He got all evil and laughing and devious..."Yeah!  I'll do that one of these days!  hahahahaha!!"

Tonight the push-ups continued their surge forward, as did sit-ups.  And then there's Maude. The Pull-up.  I am keeping at it.  I have thrown myself into this new venture full force.  Husband reminded me that one month ago, I could do one pull-up, barely two, and yesterday I knocked out three solid.  In any event a fun workout all around.  Tomorrow is rest day.

Train well all!

Dag

February 24, 2012

Back on the mat!

Thank the good lord!  Back on the mat!  Back on the mat.   ahhhhhh...

My left calf made sure to remind that it was in fact, still fussy, but I had a good class.  Fabio showed a very cool choke that starts from the guard.  Set up your opponent for a scissor sweep.  (for the sake of description, say you are sweeping to your left) After you have moved into a position to execute the scissor, change your grip on your opponent's sleeve from your left hand to your right hand.  Use the momentum you started for the scissor and your right bent knee and your right hand to move your opponent to their left.  Climb up slightly around your opponent's back.  Wrap your left around your opponent's neck, over their shoulder and grab their right collar deep.  Shoot your right arm through your opponent's right arm,  and behind their head.  Nighty night!  My friend BJJ Mommy is petite and absolutely loved this move, as it relies so beautifully on the magic of momentum.

The cool thing about this move is it opens up options with the back.  If you are unable to sink the choke, you have at least moved to a strong position to enable a move to an even stronger  position.

From the SWAT preparation department, I am surging ahead nicely in push-ups.  I moved up to sets of 27 this week, and Sunday I will move up again to 30 reps.  30!  I am so thankful I can feel the strength building in my arms.  My first sets a few weeks ago were accomplished through shear tenacity, which is perfectly fine, but unadulterated strength is a welcome addition to my musculature.

This is especially happy because I apparently need that tenacity to deal with my bitchy new BFF, aka, The Pull-Up.  I'll tell you, improvement in this exercise moves at it's own pace.  This is not unique to me.  I have spoken to a few colleagues regarding pull-ups, and they have confirmed this is a slow progression that requires one to attack the challenge constantly.  My BJJ classmate Anthony is a personal trainer and told me the same thing.  You are lifting body weight against gravity, and building that strength just takes time.

Last night I added some weight training to my pull-up regimen.  In addition to the counterbalance machine work on Tuesday nights, and resistance bands on Friday nights, on Thursday nights I will start doing unassisted pull-ups to exhaustion, with reps on the lat pull down and the seated row.  I did three pull-ups in a row last night (yeah!), so my goal is to knock out four solid unassisted within two weeks.  And I mean good, rock and roll, pull-ups.

Sit-ups are my ego boost exercise.  Ab strength builds fast.  I have been out running commission for two weeks, but Sunday afternoon I am planning a short easy jaunt to get that engine fired.  The calf will just have to deal with it.

Train well!
Dag


February 08, 2012

Eskrima links.


February 07, 2012

Ramblings

Well my left calf is still laid up but definitely on the mend.  No BJJ tonight.  On the upside, I did my push-ups this morning and they are finally getting easier!  I am up to 3 sets of 20 and my final reps no longer feel like utter misery, the way my last few reps felt two weeks ago, when I was only performing 10 and 12 at a time.

I can feel the strength building in my arms so when I push the last ones, there is actual, honest-to-goodness, muscle fibers firing off and doing the work.  Does this make any sense?  I am still working hard, but the work is more enjoyable because I have more efficient tools to complete the task.  Adrenalin is lovely tool, but when you are building strength in weak areas, true ability to complete an action is refreshing after two weeks of relying on guts and stubbornness.

Bonus, years ago I used to work out to Tamilee Webb's Buns of Steel.  There, I said it, so what.  (what?  stop laughing).  This morning I realized those exercises will come in handy this week for caloric burnage whilst waiting for my calf to restore it's luster.

Train well, and don't get injured.

Dag

(ps- my husband just read this and exclaimed "You DIDN'T! You should NOT put this information on a public website!)  lol
  

February 05, 2012

Sucker in dirt post

So.  Off I went on a speed work out today at a track.  Slow, easy two lap warm up.  Stretch, recover.  Four 100 yard sprints.  Stretch, recover.  One 400 at what felt like a good clip.  Totally was not a good enough clip.  Like, there was no clip involved.  There was however, a gallon of molasses involved.  I was not fast enough.  At all.  I need to be under 85 seconds.  I was at 110 seconds.  And my heart was pounding.  WTF?????

Decided to bust out some 200's instead.  On the second 200 my left calf seized up and I went tumbling to the ground.  Lovely.  Just @#$%^&ing  lovely.  Now I am here on the couch eating part of the Caesar salad I was going to take to my squad's game party, my leg is elevated with ice and it !@#$%ing hurts like a mother!@#$% to walk.  hrumph. 

February 04, 2012

The Details

I only rolled twice this week, but had good classes. On Tuesday we worked on take downs and did several short rounds, so everyone suffered a good whipping.

Alex taught class on Thursday and reviewed an arm lock detail (from the guard) worth a share. If you have your opponent in your guard, place your foot on their hip (for whichever side you choose), but be sure to lock your knee behind your opponent's shoulder. If they try to posture up, close the guard again and use your legs to break it, then place your foot on their hip again and close the knee behind the shoulder. Use your other leg to "slice" your opponent's torso down, which is infinitely easier if you successfully lock the knee behind their shoulder. Squeeze your legs together to solidify this position just before inflicting the arm lock.

The SWAT training is going slow, but going well. I have such a long way to go before I reach the peak condition required for the physical test. I remind myself daily, heck hourly, I am building a house, very carefully, one brick at a time. I can do this. I WILL do this. I HAVE to do this.

Sunday morning I will be up to 3 sets of 20 push-ups and I will be doing speed work at the track. The improvement in pull-up strength is...constipatingly slow. I can feel the improvement, I mean, I can do 2 solid on my own, but then I get to that 3rd one and the muscles quit. This "quit" can be discouraging, but I have to remember, there was a day when I could not do half of one. When I reach 3 sets of 30 push-ups, I am going to change my Tabata work outs and start working for numbers against the clock.

I also still have work to do in the running and sit up department, but I know I will improve quickly and reliably in those tasks. It's that pesky arm strength...but I know I can do this, I mean heck, people who are blind and missing limbs compete WELL as elite athletes at an international level. So when I look at my fully furnished self, I think, yeah you had BETTER do this. No excuses.

Train well,

Dag