| LASER focus | Week 2 of 12, Day 11 of 84
You got it, Mistah Zachary. Laser focus it is.
Last night I delivered as promised - some gut-busting cardio and training to pull out of the funk-streak and get back in the green action plan. I am increasing my cycles for Wednesdays by 0.1 miles per hour each week, and the cycles last night looked like this:
1-2 min warm-up @ 4.6 mph
Cycle:
1 min @ 5.6 mph
1 min @ 6.6 mph
1 min @ 7.6 mph
1 min @ 8.6 mph
(Repeat 4 times)
Burn-out:
1 min @ 9.6 mph
Then a cool-down. I was able to finish it (barely!) and was happy to wind down, drenched in sweat, after going 2 1/4 miles in 20 minutes. Not bad for chubby, bald white guy!
Then it was onto shoulders and traps ... my shoulders are my WEAK point so I really have to work on them, especially if I want to increase bench and reduce risk of injury. As a baseline for comparing at the end of this challenge, the workout looked like this:
6 reps military to front (this is standing with a clean to start it) @ 115 pounds
6 reps military to back (again, standing, and no commentary about the dangers of military to the back of the neck, please, I'm very well aware of the arguments against) @ 115 pounds
6 reps side raises @ 20 pounds
6 reps front raises @ 20 pounds
6 reps bent-over side rases @ 20 pounds
6 reps Arnold press @ 50 pounds
6 reps shrugs to front @ 205 pounds
6 reps shrugs to side using 75 lb dumbbells
6 reps shrugs to back @ 205 pounds
6 reps upright rows @ 95 lbs
So that was a wrap. Hit my post-workout shake then soaked in a salt bath for awhile listening to some nostalgic techno music from the mid-90s, slipped out to Blockbuster to rent a video and stopped by my favorite Middle Eastern restaurant to grab some protein.
Today is a great day. My cycles are odd-balled. I train with weights three times per week but have 5 distinct workouts, so I'm starting tonight what I finished Monday of last week. This lets me train REALLY intensely while giving my body quite a bit of time to recover without extending it so far that I stop making gains. Today's attempt is to squat 235 past parallel ... probably doesn't sound like a major feet granted what Superman and our own Z have been doing, but it's my modest step towards the goal of 300 by the end of this cycle.
My Philosophy on Abdominals
I see so many people adding weight or doing hundreds of abdominal exercises each week. First, having defined abs has a lot to do with genetics and low body fat and not as much to do with sit-ups as many people think. Second, as mentioned in another post, core strength is a key component of being injury free. So .. my spin, taken from the Training Encyclopedia I have hosted at my personal webpage.
Having core strength is essential to lead a fit lifestyle. There are many conflicting views regarding proper abdominal training. First, consider this: functionally, the purpose of the abdominal muscles is to stabilize the torso. This function is extremely important in all sports and for all purposes in life. There is a large percentage of the population that suffers from back pain, and this is typically due to lack of core strength. Core strength refers not just to abdominal strength. It refers to the torso in general. The abdominal muscles, along with the obliques, the pelvic girdle, the transverses, and the lower back muscles all lend their role.
Most people worry about a "six-pack" and work abdominal muscles exclusively. This can lead to a tremendous imbalance. Without having proper lower back strength, you may be setting yourself up for injury. Without working the obliques or transverses, you will end up with protruding rather than flat abdominal muscles. Without working the pelvic girdle, you lose stability.
Seeing your "six-pack" or abdominal muscles is not a function of working your abs! Some people may never perform an abdominal exercise in their life and have well-defined abdominal muscles. Why? Because "seeing" abs is related to body fat! Men must be single digits and women must be low teens body fat in order to see your abs. Therefore, it is nutrition and proper training that lends to "seeing" your abs. This does not mean you should neglect abdominal training - in fact, core strength training is essential to gain strength in all other areas. Without a strong core, you will never be able to perform heavy exercises such as the bench press, dead-lift, or squat as optimally as you should. When these exercises are performed correctly and with sufficient weight, they not only contribute greatly to muscle growth and tone, but to caloric expenditure, which in the end translates to fat loss.
I recommend a standard core strength routine that fits itself to almost everyone. The reason this fits most people is due to various levels. You begin with the first level and work your way forward. Most people will not get past the first few levels for several months. It can take a trained athlete months and possibly years to reach the final level, depending on their existing core strength. The following table is a "key" to each level:
| Level | Exercise 1 | Exercise 2 | Exercise 3 | Exercise 4 | Exercise 5 |
| I | Crunch | Crunch | Crunch |
| II | Crunch | Crunch | Hanging knee raise |
| III | Crunch | Hanging knee raise | Hanging knee raise |
| IV | Crunch | Hanging knee raise | Hanging knee raise | Parallel leg raise |
| V | Crunch | Hanging knee raise | Parallel leg raise | Parallel leg raise |
| VI | Crunch | Hanging knee raise | Parallel leg raise | Parallel leg raise | Full leg raise |
| VII | Crunch | Hanging knee raise | Parallel leg raise | Full leg raise | Inverted scissors |
The instructions are simple. Begin with level I. Attempt to perform 15 repetitions for each set. You rest exactly 1 minute between sets. For level I, you attempt 3 sets of 15 floor crunches. If you succeed in completing the entire level, then you advance to the next level. Only when you can successfully complete 15 continuous reps of each exercise prescribed do you advance to the next level. This may seem simple. In practice, however, it is very difficult.
Here are a few guidelines for performing these exercises:
- Practice pulling your stomach in and keeping it in. Imagine pulling your belly button through your lower back. This will be referred to as a "vacuum". This is very important, because it engages the transversus muscle, a muscle underneath your abdominal muscle. Without engaging this muscle, which is responsible for pulling your stomach flat, your abs will begin to protrude!
- Learn what a Kegel is. In simple terms, this is the contraction you make when squeezing your insides or stopping the flow or urine. While it is commonly known amongst women who have given birth to children, men can actually perform this exercise as well. When you clench your insides, you stabilize your pelvic girdle, which holds all of your organs. This will stabilize your center of balance.
- Maintain the vacuum and Kegel throughout the duration of every set! If you cannot hold both for the entire time, make sure you "reset" or start a new vacuum and Kegel with every rep (i.e. if you lose one or the other during rep 5, reset them at the beginning of rep 6 and keep going). This will keep you from swinging - if you start swinging, these contractions are weakening!
- You can easily perform these exercises hanging from a pull-up door frame attachment instead of using the ab straps - this will actually improve your grip strength. If you find that you have trouble holding on, i.e. your wrists fail before your abdominal muscles do, then you might consider investing in a pair of wrist-wraps to help you maintain your grip. These are very inexpensive.
You may have seen individuals performing hanging abdominal work. They were swinging wildly and possibly had someone holding their back still. This is incorrect form and is mainly working the hip flexors. If you follow the simple steps outlined above, your torso will remain still and vertical; the only movement will be from your abdominal muscles. You will curl up, bringing your pelvis towards your sternum, and hold this. The tempo for all exercises is 211 (one second to contract upwards, 1 second pause, then 2 seconds to return to the start position.
The first picture is the start position. It is the same for all exercises. When you start doing the full leg raises, you might start hanging with your hands rather than the abdominal straps, depending on which is easier.
This second is the end position for a knee raise. Simply curl your pelvis upward, keeping your legs bent. Exhale before contracting then inhale as you return to the start position.
The third is the end position for the parallel leg raise. It is similar to the knee raise, except that you keep your legs fairly straight (not locked, but only slightly bent).
The fourth is the end position for the full leg raise. You bring your legs all the way over your head. Remember, however, that you still must lower in a controlled fashion, taking two full seconds to return to the start position. If you find yourself "falling" then count that set as over with and attempt more reps the next workout.
The final picture is inverted or vertical scissors. To perform the vertical scissors, you must start with a full leg raise. You stay at the inverted position. You start with your legs together then spread them wide, as illustrated. You then close your legs to complete the rep. Do not return to the hanging position until all of your reps are completed. Your abdominal muscles will stay continually contracted to stabilize your body in the inverted position as you perform the reps.
When you have completed the entire workout, you should consider your lower back. One of the best exercises to perform for lower back is a "hyperextension". This can be done with a hyperextension machine or a Swiss workout ball. You lie on your stomach with your hips supported. Your torso hangs down, inverted, with your legs parallel to the ground. You then bend at the waist and raise your torso until your entire body is parallel. You can perform 3 sets of 15 reps of this exercise then begin adding weight as needed. To add weight, either use wrist weights or hold a plate behind your head.
The reverse hyperextension (torso, instead of legs, supported) and good morning are other good examples. I try to balance both ... in other words, if I do 4 sets of abdominal exercises, then I also do 4 sets of direct lower back work. Remember to start very light and I highly recommend, for ALL of these exercises, the help of a trainer or other experienced person. Even with the abdominal work, improper form can result in back injury!
This is Jeremy, signing out!
posted by Jeremy on 4/10/2003 3:24:07 PM | | BLAH BLAH 4 yellows make 2 REDS ... grrrr .... | Week 2 of 12, Day 10 of 84
So I was STARVING and dug into the CHIPS which wouldn't have scored me a yellow for today, noway, those are healthy BAKED chips and I was fine. But I deal in portions and when I go outside the portion box, then I'm out of the plan. So ... what snagged me before? Them darn pretzels sitting there while I was making TEA ... innocent TEA of all things ... and then I just did the grab and of course the rest was history. BLAH! BLAH I SAY! Okay, so I'm going to make it up in my workout tonight ... take out my anger on the iron ... and then it's green from there on out. I'm so sure I'm gonna kick $%@#$%$ in my workout that I went ahead an colored today YELLOW at least for the workout part.
Love yáll ... don't get too mad and no need for pointers, tips, or little words of encouragement ... as I told Zach over dinner the other night, when I'm in the zone, I'm in the zone and don't falter. This stupid stomach bug messed with my equilibrium but the rest is all in the mind (hey baby, it's mind over matter ... if you don't mind, it don't matter). But it DOES matter so it's time to take this mind and bend some STEEL GRRRRRR I'm talking SMALLVILLE power going on here like MAD SUPERPOWERS in the HOUSE say it I ain't lyin' WORD gonna make ya SWEAT gonna make the iron bleed tears coz we got nothing but some PAIN fo you. I'm gonna smack it down like Papa Smurf and get silly like a bowl of green jello in a field full of heifers. I think I'm gonna attach some clothespins to my love handles while I train just to show the fat cells whose boss .... TAKE THE PAIN FOOLS COZ IT'S ALL YOU GOT YOU'RE GOIN DOWNNNNNN .... that's right ... as my favorite saying goes, I've probably said it before, and I don't take credit for it ...
THAT'S NOT SWEAT. IT'S FAT CELLS CRYING!!!!!! WAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
Okay I'm fired up. More later.
-J
posted by Jeremy on 4/9/2003 4:26:17 PM | | Whew ... out the yellow | Week 2 of 12, Day 10 of 84 cont...
Okay, so yesterday deteriorated to yellow. Again, not necessarily a willpower funk ... although some of that did come into play ... but mainly because I spent half the morning with SEVERE stomach pain as a final "murmur" of my malady ... this caused me to shift around nutrition other than what was planned, hence the color of cowards graces yesterday.
Good news, though. As the day wore on, I felt better and recharged, and by the time I got home, was nearly 100%! So I finished off a Luna bar (I know, they're for women, but give me a break ... just cutting the calories out of a Cliff bar doesn't suddenly give it Venus polarity and nix the Mars connection!) and threw together a big pot of lentil stew -
1 cup lentils
1/2 cup wild black rice
3 medium carrots, diced thin
1 onion, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1 potato, chopped
2 tsp cumin
2 Tbsp parsley flakes
2 dried chili peppers
5 cups water
Oooh yah tossed them in and brought that cauldron to a boil, then reduced to a simmer. Through on a European Trance (techno) CD that I purchased in Maastricht, Netherlands many years back and since the family is a state away, was able to turn the dial to a new domain. The bass had the walls shaking and the windows straining against the frame but the sound was delivered crisp and pure and the vibrations pulsed through my body like ripples. I have a huge open space between our breakfast area and kitchen so I slid over to the smooth hardwood and began raving like a lunatic (no, I wasn't acting like a raving lunatic, I was raving LIKE a lunatic). I just danced and danced and danced and danced .... did I mention, I LOVE to dance?! Ah, some of those who've met me during lift events know that ... I close my eyes, I detach my brain and reconnect all of my nerve endings to the frequency of vibrations in the room, and then get FUNKY ah-yah.
Once the pot was done I turned off the burner and dropped the lid on to keep it warm (30 minutes I let it simmer for, but this is in a high quality pot - most pots take 45 - 60 minutes). Ran downstairs, knocked off a few sets of wide grip pull-ups. Hit 150 pounds for my narrow-grip venture and the same was a success for bent-over rows, so I sauntered up to 85 and knocked out some standing curls. Hammered at 45 pounds and did two sets of incline dumbbell curls with external rotation (neutral at the bottom, palms up at the top) at 40.
HOOAH! What a workout! What a pump! Would've snapped a few digital piccies but the cam is with me lady down in the Land of Flowers.
Downed my post workout shake of water, ice, avocado, banana, and raw sugar fame, then watched another segment in a DVD documentary I had purchased that covers all of the wars that America fought in during the 20th century. Last night was the Korean war.
Then, house to myself, family out of town, what did I do? Did I don my gear and slip out into the inky darkness of night, to prowl the local bars and taverns or burst into the dance clubs with vigor and vim? Did I trot on over to the movie theater and watch a flick I might not see with my wife or couldn't bring my kids to? What did I do?
LOL it wasn't even dark yet but I cleaned the litter box, fed the birds, and dove into bed. I'm getting some SLEEP this week! Was out like a log by 9:00pm and so begins my next day.
Hope all is well with everyone. Today is GREEN and tomorrow is GREEN and the rest of the week will be GREEN GREEN GREEN!
Jeremy
posted by Jeremy on 4/9/2003 7:32:05 AM | | Yellow yesterday but green today! | Week 2 of 12, Day 9 of 84
Yellow yesterday, only because I was recovering from my stomach bug, so no chance to get the full range of solid meals I had planned (I had to drink liquids for part of the day). However, I feel 100% now and intend to make up my missed workout from yesterday, so it should be green from now on!
Again, this is going to be a brief check-in. I missed a day of work so now it's time to play catch-up!
Take care!
posted by Jeremy on 4/8/2003 6:57:32 AM | | No GREEN today for me?! | Week 1 of 12, Day 7 of 84
Hah! Not my fault. I just had to post. Woke up this morning feeling like I had a hangover, which is odd because I met with Zach and his incredibly sweet fiance' Maria last night, and we ate very healthy meals. I drove my family to the airport and came back, was in bed for several hours, and felt nauseous the entire time. Checked my pulse and it was over 90 beats per minute (my resting heart rate is usually aroudn 48) and the room was spinning. I called in and they told me to have someone drive me to the after hours care office. Got there, had the bloodwork, and was given a nice piece of paper declaring me the proud owner of a stomach virus. They said nothing solid for 24 hours, gave me some medication, and said it will take 2 - 4 days to kick it.
So, it's gonna be a yellow today because I had only one meal and probably red tomorrow and the day after, but only because I'm stuck to liquids and no exercise while I recover. I want the calendar to reflect my progress against what I PLANNED so just because a doctor prescribed fluids doesn't mean I'm taking a green day today, but just wanted to share it's one of those "it happens" scenarios.
I had a GREAT evening with Zach and his future bride. I'd love to into more detail but I'm very nauesous right now, so I'm signing out until I feel better.
Keep it real!
Jeremy
posted by Jeremy on 4/6/2003 7:19:06 PM |
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