01.21.09 Training Session

It’s January.

This may not mean much to most of you out there, but for me it means that I am extremely busy with work at the gym  and rarely have time to fit in training sessions for myself.  As such, it’s been almost a week since my last session, and I have really been feeling it (mostly in my energy levels and emotional state).

That said, back to the grind!

Today, I switched to a new EDT rotation, in preparation for next month. Some of my EDT clients will be getting similar workouts to these, so I wanted to try them out for myself. Plus, these three workouts (the other two coming soon!) will have the added bonus of not hogging equipment that is frequently in demand at peak hours, which was an unanticipated mistake in my previous program design.

Today’s session utilized the Hammer Strength plate-loaded machines, which are less popular in general than the selectorized machines:

Zone 1:
Hammer Stregth Chest Press – 185 lbs, 42 reps, volume: 7770
Hammer Strength Row – 185 lbs, 55 reps, volume: 10,175

Zone 2:
Hammer Strength Shrug – 270 lbs, 60 reps, volume: 16,200
Hammer Strength Lat Pulldown – 120 lbs, 54 reps, volume: 6480

Zone 3:
Hammer Strength Preacher Curl – 70 lbs, 29 reps, volume: 2030
Hammer Strength Tricep Dip – 120 lbs, 60 reps, volume: 7200

Total Volume Lifted: 49,855 lbs

This came very close to breaking the 50k mark as well, and while I also saw it coming, there wasn’t much I could do, as my biceps were dying, and I could barely get out a single rep towards the end.  In fact, I had two “sets” of zero.

Oh well.  I’m still impressed that I came close to the 50k mark without using my lower body at all.  The numbers can only go up from here!

01.15.09 Training Session

Today, I hit a new mark — 50k lbs lifted over the course of a 1-hour training session.  EDT is very muchly to blame.  I find that the “high score” mentality is a very motivating factor for me, because once I set a high score, I immediately want to beat it.

I realized I haven’t really described EDT here.  Allow me to remedy that.

EDT (short for Escalating Density Training) is concerned with setting personal records (PRs) and then beating them.  A typical training session is broken up into three 15-minute sections or “PR Zones”.  Each PR Zone consists of two exercises which work opposing muscle groups, so that when one group is resting, the other is working.  You can rest as much as you want during a PR Zone (i.e. you don’t have to bounce back and forth between each exercise), but the less you rest, the more reps you’ll get (to a point).  The weight you move should be challenging, around your ten-rep max.  However, you are not to perform more than 5 reps of an exercise at a time.  As you progress through a PR Zone, fatigue will set in, and what was once your 10RM may become your 5RM, or even your 3RM, 2RM, or 1RM.  Record how many reps you perform in each set, and then tally up the total number of reps at the end of the PR Zone.  Multiplying your reps by the weight lifted gives you your volume.

Thanks to the SAID principle (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands), over time your body will get stronger and your volumes will increase.

Today’s sheer brutality:

Zone 1:
Barbell Chest Press - 135 lbs, 37 reps, volume: 4995 (Previous PRs: 135/27/3645)
Chin Up – 21 reps, volume: 4200 (Previous PRs: 13/2600)

Zone 2:
Leg Press - 675 lbs, 40 reps, volume: 27,000 (Previous PRs: 315/40/19,800)
Dumbbell Shrug - 170 lbs, 40 reps, volume: 6800 (Previous PRs: 160/35/5600)

Zone 3:
Lat Pulldown - 100 lbs, 50 reps, volume: 5000 (Previous PRs: 100/41/4100)
Triceps Pushdown w/ Rope - 50 lbs, 49 reps, volume: 2450 (Previous PRs: 50/41/2050)

Total Volume Lifted: 50,445 lbs (Previous PR: 37,795)

Chin ups and pull ups are some of my worst-performing exercises, and today was no different.  My left arm started to hurt a bit towards the end of Zone 1.  It didn’t bother me too much during the shrugs in Zone 2 (though the blisters on my left palm were still a factor).  By Zone 3, I was pretty beat, but partway through I crunched some numbers and saw I could potentially hit the 50k mark.  That drove me to push through the pain and fatigue to beat that record.

Next goal: 60k.  That’s going to be a serious challenge. Hopefully I can even get 75k by the end of the year.

01.12.09 Training Session

Wore the Vibrams to work this morning.  Running around in them and being on my feet as much as I am might be a bit much, but we’ll see how I adapt to it.  They were absolutely awesome during my training session, though.  Today focused mainly on bodyweight exercises, though I did throw in some weighted excercises for the third PR Zone.

Today’s pain and torture:

Zone 1:
Push Up – 75 reps, volume: 15,000*
Pull Up – 26 reps, volume: 5200

Zone 2:
Pistol (Left) - 50 reps, volume: 10,000
Pistol (Right) - 50 reps, volume: 10,000

Zone 3:
Free Motion Shoulder Extension- 40 lbs, 48 reps, volume: 1920
Sagittal Dumbbell Raise - 40 lbs, 54 reps, volume: 2160

Total Volume Lifted: 44,280 lbs*

* In a push up, you’re not really pushing your entire bodyweight, but it’s hard to gauge exactly how much you are pushing.  Obviously, a traditional horizontal push up moves less bodyweight than a handstand push up.  If we estimate that I was pushing 50% of my bodyweight, the numbers become 7500 for the push up volume, and 36,780 for the total volume of the session.

The Vibrams really showed their stuff during the pistols.  During this tricky maneuver, you really need to have a good solid grip on the ground, so going barefoot, or wearing a minimal shoe is extremely useful.  The Vibrams fit the bill perfectly.  I wasn’t coming down quite as low as the guy in the linked video, but still close.  Certainly lower than I have in the past, for a larger number of reps.

During my training session, people started noticing my feet, even though I’d been wearing the shoes all day.  Most of the comments were positive, or at least inquisitive.  the only person really weirded out by them was the woman who works the front desk.  My boss was amused by them “So, you got yourself a pair too?  Neat!”, so I think it’s safe to assume they’re okay to wear while on the clock (unless one of his higher-ups comes in and says “no”).  Though the employee handbook does say “The Personal Training staff must wear athletic shoes when in the club.”  The shoes are specifically designed for athletic activities, so unless someone can redefine “shoe” to exclude these, I think I’m okay.

Vibram Update

Today was my first full day of wearing the Vibrams.  They definitely take some getting used to, but not as much as I thought.  There are a few issues, but nothing too terribly bad.

First up, as previously stated, is the angle of my toes versus the angle of the shoes’ toes.  My pinky toes barely make it into their places, nor do the toes next to them.  On a slightly related note, my big toes are longer than the toes on the shoe, so the part in between the toes doesn’t come back as far as I’d like.  Finally, my left foot is about 1.5 sizes smaller than my right, but that hasn’t been much of an issue.  I may end up getting another pair in a different size to balance out the feet perfectly, but I don’t feel like that’s an immediate concern.

As for how they handled in real life, I was pretty pleased. The best way I can describe the sensation is “the world is my living room”.  I tend to wander around the house in my socks, and that’s pretty much the sensation that these shoes instill.  Sorry Vibram, but despite your claims, it doesn’t feel like I’m barefoot.  However, it is a really cool feeling nonetheless.

This afternoon, I took the dog out for a jog, and it was quite the experience.  Okay, maybe not quite like that, but still very cool.  Jogging on asphalt was the first time I felt like I was actually barefoot, as opposed to the feeling described previously.  I definitely noticed a difference in my running mechanics.  I was more conscious of landing on my heel, rolling forward onto the ball of my foot, and springing forward into the next stride.  After a few paces, my feet landed more surely, and I noticed my ankle complex was doing more to stabilize me than in conventional shoes.  Very cool indeed.  This should translate to weight training quite nicely.

Later, I wore them to the grocery store.  This was pretty uneventful, except for the stares (and a couple of giggles) from a few teenagers.  Nothing I haven’t dealt with hundreds of times in my years wearing kilts, so whatever.

Tomorrow comes the big test – are they work-appropriate?

…We’ll find out.

Shenanigans Complete!

As was foretold, I met up with Rafe at the gym today for macho shenanigans.

Today’s mission: determine our ten-rep max (10RM) for various exercises to help make our EDT workouts more effective.

On the agenda: barbell chest press, Smith squat, barbell deadlift, Hammer Strength leg press.

The results:

• barbell chest press: 135
• Smith squat: 335
• barbell deadlift: 225
• Hammer Strength leg press: 675

The chest press didn’t surprise me.  It’s what I pressed the other day, and seemed appropriate without a spotter.  I’m glad to see that I was spot-on with it, and didn’t need to increase the weight …yet.

The Smith squat was a bit of an eye opener.  The other day, I’d done 225 with relative ease, so I knew I could do more, but wasn’t sure just how much.  Adding 110 pounds to my squats was more than I’d expected, but I’m glad to see that I can do it.

Next up were deadlifts.  My left hand was still pretty torn up from the other day’s 1-arm snatches, so I’m pretty sure I can do more.  Not much though, since the biggest factor in my lack of weight was my grip.  My legs and back could handle much more weight than 225, I’m sure.  My grip on the other hand could not.  I could take the eay way out and use some wrist straps or lifting gloves, but I’m pretty solid in my old-school “if you can’t lift it on your own, you can’t lift it at all” mentality, so I’ll just work on my grip strength to improve my deadlifts.

Finally was the Hammer Strength leg press.  When I did my first EDT session last week, I pressed 315 pounds with ease.  I mean barely-breaking-a-sweat ease.  So, we started by slapping on an additional 45-pound plate to each side to make it 405.  Still easy.  Okay, time for more!  495? Cake.  585?  Doable.  675?  Okay, there’s ten reps.  Let’s try 765!  Four reps.  675 it is.

I’m still curious what my 1RM is on that, but that’s a flavor of insanity best reserved for another day.

I’ll let Rafe post his own 10RMs rather than outing him here.  The man’s a beast, and can more than hold his own.  He’s definitely got me beat on upper body strength, but I think I’ve got the edge on the lower.

After the gym, we headed over to Bill Jackson’s sporting goods where I picked up a pair of Vibram Five Fingers KSOs (pictured right).  I’m a big fan of training barefoot, or with as little sole as possible to increase my connection to the surface I’m standing on, not to mention my stability and as a result, strength.  At the gym, going barefoot isn’t an option, so I tended to train in my trusty Chuck Taylors.  I haven’t yet trained in the Vibrams, but I’ve been wearing them for the past 3 hours or so, and they’re pretty comfortable.  I’m pleasantly surprised, as my left foot tends to run about 1-1.5 sizes smaller than my right, but this doesn’t seem to be a problem, despite the shoes’ design.  The only major issue, really, is that my toes angle back from the big toe at a slightly sharper angle than how the shoes are designed.  Honestly though, it’s not that bad, and I’ll probably get used to ‘em in a couple of days.  I’ll be bringing them to work on Monday.  Rafe’s were definitely a conversation piece at the club today, so we’ll see if these are “acceptable footwear” for while I’m working with clients (during my own workouts, it won’t be a problem at all).

Stay tuned for more!

Impending Shenanigans

Hitting the weights with Rafe tomorrow after my 10am client.

Hilarity and/or world domination will ensue.

Updates to come.

01.08.09 Training Session

Since the start of the year, I’ve been incorporating concepts from Charles Staley’s Escalating Density Training (EDT for short) into my training sessions as well as those of a select few clients who are crazy enough to go along with it.

To quote Mr. Staley:

Imagine a training system where each training session has a time limit and a concise objective. A system where each session is a competition with yourself, a game that fires up your competitive juices (even if you didn’t know you had any). A system that produces measurable improvements every time you go to the gym. A system that finds and exploits the “sweet spot” between cardio and weight training.

With its roots in time management principles, EDT’s simplicity is disarming. There are no pre-determined number of reps, sets or rest periods. Instead, your goal is to amass as many total repetitions as possible in each 15 minute “PR Zone” (PR standing for “personal record”).

In other words: it’s incredibly simplified, intense, and a total bitch.

I love it.

Today’s session:

Zone 1:
Free Motion Pushup – 50 reps, volume: 10,000
Free Motion Row on Bosu – 90 lbs, 45 reps, volume: 4050

Zone 2:
Left-Arm Kettlebell Snatch – 24kg, 50 reps, volume: 2640
Right-Arm Kettlebell Snatch – 24kg, 50 reps, volume: 2640

Zone 3:
Standing 2-Arm Dumbbell Bicep Curl – 60 lbs, 29 reps, volume: 1740
Smith Squat – 225 lbs, 45 reps, volume: 10,125

Total Volume Lifted: 31,195 lbs

I was pretty beat by Zone 3, and my arms were shot. I got one set of five reps with the dumbbell curls, then eight sets of three. With only 30 pounds in each hand, I was feeling pretty wussed-out. Also, I’d developed a nice set of blisters on my palms during Zone 2 (the one under my left pinky even burst towards the end of the zone). Ah well. I can only go up from here. After all, EDT is all about beating previously-recorded records.

As Stan the Man is fond of saying – Excelsior!

A New Beginning…

With LiveJournal seemingly on its way out, it looks like a fine time to set myself up with a “real” blog.

In this space, you’ll see me wax barely-poetic on such things as work, fitness, exercise, and training.  Additionally, I’ll likely be posting about music, gaming, and anything else that really strikes my fancy, though I may set up a different blog as a more personal one and leave this one for the day job.  We’ll see.