Week 2, Workout 6 - Seven week deadlift cycle

I was up late from work last night, so I'm feeling a bit on the weak and tired side today.  Opted to do the following swings:

32kg, two-handed:
1x10
1x20
1x10
1x20
1x10
1x20
1x10

I was planning on doing this workout with the 40kg, but just wasn't feeling it today.  Quality comes first, mi amigos.

This is the end of Week Two!  I think Week Four is when it's going to start getting really interesting...

Have a great weekend, folks. :)

Week 2, Workout 5 - Seven week deadlift cycle

Deadlifts!

I just looooove them...

225 lbs, 2x5 with 5 minutes of rest between sets.

The weight felt good; relatively easy, honestly.  I did feel a little bit of a pinchy sensation in my right hip flexor during a few pulls though, which I felt on a couple of reps last week.  I'll do some focused stretching and mobility work on my hips in the next week and see if it doesn't resolve the issue.  Might also have Doug watch my next DL workout to see if I'm doing something funky with my form that I'm not feeling...

It's a ridiculously GLORIOUS day out - time to go enjoy it. :)

EDIT: So Dougie and I ended up rock climbing... honestly, probably not the most intelligent thing to do on a deadlift day.

Did a first ascent on a new 5.10 route; did a second ascent on a V3; and then LABORED my way up a 5.12.  I felt cooked before I started it, and it was not a pretty ascent, although I did make it... Definitely going to need to go back and work it again until its smooth - and not on a deadlift day.

Week 2, Workout 4 - Seven week deadlift cycle

Today was a Swing/Snatch day; I opted to do some heavy swings, in the following scheme:

40kg:
(sets/reps)
3x10
2x15
4x10

I took adequate time between each set to ensure this was more of an explosive, strength-based workout versus a cardio one.  The weight started to feel a little heavy towards the end, but I was consistently swinging to about chest level.

Looking forward to deadlifts on Wednesday.

Workout 3 - Seven week deadlift cycle

Today was another easy day that entailed low reps and low sets of a relatively low weight:

215 lbs, 2x5 (sets/reps), 5 minutes of rest between the sets.

Gotta enjoy this while it's easy, right? (Well honestly, I'm looking forward to when the weight starts to feel heavy...)

Sumo stance is starting to feel more and more comfortable... excellent. :j

Workout 2 of the Deadlift cycle

Yesterday was an off day, so I went rock climbing with Doug and my siblings.  Warmed up with a V2+ boulder problem, and then successfully ascended three routes I'd never attempted before: a 5.10 and two 5.11.  The 5.10 and one of the 5.11s were situated in a chimney setup, and the third 5.11 was allll slopers... which I hate.  I mean, I REALLY hate slopers.  Give me crimp holds any day... slopers are buggers.  All of the routes had a lot of manteling, and as a result, my triceps and delts are quite sore today.  Tasty!

Today was Swing/Snatch day for the deadlift protocol, which went something like this:

32kg two-handed swings:
2x10
2x15
5x10

Done.

More climbing tomorrow in the cards, m'thinks... stay tuned. :)

The bar and me.

I've recently decided I want to start actively working towards my goal of deadlifting 400 pounds.

The goal has been there for a long while now - the instant I deadlifted 300 pounds, actually.  Because, c'mon... it's just one hundred more pounds, right? ;)

I also have my SFG Level II certification to prepare for in September... having considered this though, and having taken the programming Pavel's latest cycle into account, I think the deadlift protocol will transfer over to my Level II skills quite nicely.

And so, I deadlifted today.

Today was 3 sets of 5 reps of 205 pounds, with 5 minutes rest between sets.  It felt easy - which is a good start. I'll be executing the lifts with a sumo-stance... some Russian man seems to think I'm bettered suited to it...

Oh, I'm looking quite forward to that quiet, sacred space that forms when there's nothing but the bar, my focus, and me...

Stepping into 2012 - hi, blog!

Training recently has felt very, very good - I can't begin to say how excited that makes me feel! It feels more like play than work, and I've missed that feeling.

I've been on the Paleo Diet since last Tuesday - a week as of today. I've really felt a notable difference with the absence of gluten and, I hate to admit, dairy... I love me my cheeses, milk and ice cream. :( I never realized how often I felt bloated until I got rid of these two food groups. I think, regardless of what diet one follows, it's a good idea for anyone to experiment with how their body responds to certain types of food - it may surprise you.

Tonight's workout was without much rest, and fairly heavy. Everything was completed within 45 minutes.

Warm up:
-2x20 32kg swings
-Single-bell rack walk, 24kg, 1x1 R/L 100 feet

Smack down:
-Turkish get ups: 16kg, 1x3 R/L
-2x20 32kg swings
-Single-bell bottom-up rack walk, 16kg, 1x1 R/L 100 feet
-2x5 16kg Boot-strap squats
-2x5 R/L 70 pound D-ball lifts-to-shoulder
-Single-bell bear crawl, 24kg, 2x30 feet
-Bear crawl to plank to push 100 pound D-ball (Horizontal Press), alternating hands each push, 2x30 feet
-2x5 20kg pull-over sit ups
-2x15 R/L 16kg Russian twists
-Walking hot-potato, 20kg for 100 feet

-3 R/L RKC Hip Flexor Stretch
-Pigeon pose R/L
-Downward dog to cobra

Done! And home to some delicious grilled chicken (don't tell Pavel...) and brussel sprouts.