Busy busy busy

Been training! Just haven't been blogging.

Recent lifts that were good..

The new routine has me doing core before lifting, which has made a difference in how I feel/perform lifting, pre-fatigue... lol

These are jjust some highlights of this week:

Leg day - squats 215X20, 21, 18, 12, 13

Chest day Bench 215X1, 2, 1

Back&Deads - deads off the floor 225X20, 12 315X3, 3 285X3

Still working towards March 31st goal... cardio has increased, sticking to eating plan..

BACK DAY

and why am I always the sweatiest person in the gym? lol

Warm-up 2 sets 10 reps reverse grip/10 reps wide grip pull downs

Reverse grip pull downs working sets 110X8, 120X8, 120X8

BB deadlifts warm ups 135x10 working sets 225X10, 275x10, 300x5, 300x5 (best since shoulder injury :) )

T-bar row - (BB in corner, using v-handle) Weight is what is added to bar (not sure if you add the bar in on these) 45x12, 70x10, 90x8, 115x6

Straight arm press downs 90x10, 110x10, 120x10

10 minutes of core work : planks, superman, crunches, windmills, side planks, reverse crunches, bicycles, double crunches

Good workout!

My neck still gets tight when we do anything involving my shoulder (which is pretty much any upper body) but its a lot less than it was. I am hoping to have lots of nice, beefy back muscle when I lean out :)

Chest & Triceps, Shoulders & Biceps

Last Thursday was a day off from lifting, we are on a 2 on/1 off schedule. I have been getting up every morning, taking some pre-cardio supps, walking the dog 20-25 minutes and then doing 20 minutes of elliptical.

Friday we did chest and triceps, I was really happy with the workout. my shoulder is finally feeling stronger, my bench is coming back up, flyes are still uncomfortable so I did decline cable crossovers instead (like most muscular pose, kind of).

Friday 10/07/11

warm-up stretches and arm crossovers.

100 reps reverse crunches

Flat BB Bench (after warm-ups) 95X12, 115X10, 135X8, 155X6, 175X4 best since injury :)

Incline DB Press 45'sX6, 50'sX6, 50'sX6

Decline cable crossovers 20X8, 30x8, 30x8

DB pullovers 3 sets 40x8

Close grip bench 75x12, 95x10, 115x8, 120x7

Superset :
Triceps rope push down 110x6, 110x6, 100x6
Bench dips 3 sets 6 (shoulder not sure about these...)

Saturday was slated for Strongman events but we slept in ;(

Sunday REST

Monday 10/10/11

Shoulders & Biceps

DB Military Press warm-up with 15's, 2 sets
25'sX12, 30'sx10, 30'sx8, 30'sx8 (stayed with 30's because shoulder was feeling uncomfortable)

Db lateral raise after warm-up 3 sets of 15'sx8

Brian's partial ROM laterals 3 sets 20'sx8

Rear delt flyes after warm up 3 sets 20'sx8

Ez bar curls (wt is what we added to bar bc we couldnt agree what the bar weighs, it felt light for a curl bar) 30X12, 40X10, 50X8, 50X8
Incline DB curls 3 sets of 15'sX8

Ran out of time so we skipped preacher curls, but biceps felt pretty well worked.

ok...hiatus over.. let's do this thing! (warning..long ass post)

I have been training, just never sure what is really blog worthy. moved back to MN in July and have been kind of struggling to get my groove back since.

Finances and my nagging shoulder issue led to the decision that America's Strongest Woman won't happen for me this year. Its okay, I will take a year to improve my overhead and my athleticism and blow it up next year ;)

I have a new goal..and I am of two minds about blogging it, but I think I will. I am of two minds for a few reasons:

• It isn't strongman related (but I think I will get stronger during the process and maybe even end up a more competitive middleweight)
• I have begun this process so many times and not followed through that the people close to me will roll their eyes and say "sure you are"
• It is a really big goal for me and involves more self belief than I think I have sometimes. 2 years ago I had unlimited amounts of self belief and what felt like the heart of a champion...a lot of events broke me down and somewhere I got lost.

The decision to create this goal comes from being tired of being unhappy with my physique and feeling like there was a "could've" there that I didn't explore far enough.

I have a lot of plus factors going into this goal:

• the support of an amazing man, Adam :)
• the environment at Underground Gym (full of champion mentality)
• a calm sense of knowing that i know how to do this and i am finally ready to apply that knowledge and follow through
• 10-15 new pounds of muscle added through a year and a half of strongman training :)

so..whats the goal?

March 31st, 2012 sub 7% bodyfat and women's heavyweight 1st place at the Gopher.

I will still include strongman training in my routine :) but I will be doing a lot more isolation work than I have in a while and a lot more cardio and actually sticking to an eating plan (stop rolling your eyes).

So...I know its a lot to ask, but to build momentum and keep momentum going, I need people to cheer and prod and push along the way. I promise myself, and you that I will not let us down this time :)

I will be honest in my blogging and ask that you not make fun of what I feel are light weights as I readjust. My shoulder has really brought down my numbers ;( maybe i will even post my stats and measurements...idk. that may be too brave even for me...

I also want you to let me know when I get too uppity, lol. I have this weird complex about being overly braggy or proud and feel like I need a reality check... but at the same time I think a certain amount of grandiosity and larger-than-life ego is necessary in a goal like this. a fine line, indeed.

That said.... here was the first two workouts of this new regime (shoulder day will change, we just threw that one together before I set the new routine)



Tuesday Oct 4th

Shoulders & Triceps wtxreps

Overhead db press, neutral grip, standing 15x15, 25x12, 30x10, 35x8, 40x6, 45x6

DB lateral raise 10x15, 10x15, 10x12, 10x12 (really wishing we had 12.5, lateral movement really weak from injury)

DB Limited ROM lateral (thanks Brian) 3 sets of 15#x12

DB rear delt flye 8x15, 10x15, 15x12, 15x12

BB Lockouts in rack (standing) 95x12, 95x12, 115x6

triceps overhead DB Ext single arm 10x15, 10x15, 15x12, 20x10, 25x6 barely

triceps pressdown w rope 100x12, 80x15, 70x15...sad lil dead arms


Wednesday (lifting arms overhead challenging :) ) 10/05

Legs

Warm up - crossover stretch, inchworm forward and back for 10reps
100 reps ball crunches

Back Squats w/u 95x12, 135x12, 185x10, 205x8, 225x6, 245x6

Leg press (first day doing legs in vibrams..felt weird) we guess the sled weighs 70, so i add that into the weight. 470X10, 560x10, 650x10, 650x10

Leg extension (these really suck for me right now, I think my knees aren't tracking right, hopefully they will improve, right now any significant weight hurts like hell, so i am keeping it light) 3 sets 60x12

Superset : standing leg curls 35x10 and walking lunges 25X10, 3 sets each

Superset: Seated calf raises 50x10, 75x10, 100x10 and standing body weight calf raises 3 sets 25

sore baby! but in good ways - my knees feel ok, a little tight but not painful and my glutes,hams and quads are pleasantly sore/full, my calves..sad sore lol. going to do some light cardio today and lots of stretching/foam rolling.

One of my hopes during all this isolation work is that i rehab some nagging issues and become even more functional for strongman :)

Event Training! Finally!

Saturday morning we put on our stretchy pants for the first time (for me) since June 4th! we did 3 passes light farmer's walk, log overhead and tire :)

My shoulder felt/feels pretty good, it doesn't like the switch from pull to press on log, but everything else felt pretty good.

I am considering a competition on my birthday, August 6th, just for fun but I am not sure shoulder is ready yet and they will only ad a women's division if 3 women register this week. Decisions decisions.

Sunday was full rest, Today was just light recovery cardio (dog park!).

Tomorrow we resume our regular workout routines!

Last week of split training!

Monday we worked upper push. Single db press on the ball, overhead db presses, incline log presses. Some tricep work. We pushed it a little harder and my shoulder hurt afterwards but not bad the next day.

Tuesday we did Leg Press and Deads. I think deads bothered my shoulder more than anything so far.

Wednesday we did heavier upper pull. standing rope row, medium grip pulldown, db rows. Shoulder felt it during but not after. My trap from shoulder to upper neck is kinda spazzy though. ;( wishing I was in WA, where my favorite chiropractor is!

Thursday we did interval cardio - 30 sec db swing, 30 sec rest, 30 sec box jumps, 30 sec rest for about 20 minutes total.

Today we are resting, Adam is feeling a little under the weather. Tomorrow we are putting on our stretchy pants and doing EVENT training! :) I have missed it!:)

Wow! long time no post!

Packing, moving and unpacking was our workout for a few weeks! Last week on Monday I did an upper body push workout, conditioning reps, incuding incline bench w db's, overhead press with the log (yay!!!! a log I can press more than once at my new gym!!!!! http://trainunderground.com/ ) , wednesday we did legs, including heavy ;eg press, back squats, stiff leg deads and bulgarian split squats,and Thursday I did light rotator cuff and then a light pull workout to see how my shoulder would react. So far it has been a little sore post workot but no worse the following days.

Today I pushed it a little harder, we did Single arm db presses , and incline log presses, I pushed it up to 95lbs and felt it a bit in my shoulder, its like it doesn't want to track right, it is sore now but the real eval will be how it is tomorrow. We also did db overhead push presses, which doesn't seem to bother it too much, and triceps rope press downs, during which my triceps kept spasming..lol.

I am trying to be smart and patient but I am getting anxious about losing strength/time to train for nationals.

Next week I intend to get back on my regular lifting schedule, with upper and lower push/pull and event training. I think this weekend we will train some events. We still need to pour stones, we realized we dont have a tire to set the mold in or a hose to clean up the cement after..lol. Moving is such fun.

We are also ready to get rid of this excess bodyfat now!!!!! I want to reveal all this new Strongwoman muscle I have built! so..dietary changes are in effect :) more protein, more good fat, more fibrous veggies and no more beer :)

This week...

Have been doing varying time/type of cardio every morning.

this morning I did a total body workout (with exception of my right arm):

I cycled through selectorized equipment, 3 sets , increasing wt each set,using just my left arm:

leg ext
chest pres
leg curl
lat pull
squat
shoulder press
seated row

then went to the wt room and did:

single leg deadlift
left arm db squat to press

tried doing box jumps but there is no way to not move my right arm/shoulder ;(

it was a good workout, though. And i have been wearing my sling again and shoulder is feeling better, even with reducing my ibuprofen (none today).

Events tomorrow, guess I will see if I can participate... :)

Legs...again ;)

Conditioning reps (2 sets of 20, except hack squat did 2 sets 15)

leg ext
leg curl
leg press
hack squat
bulgarian split squat

we did 40 minutes cardio in the morning.

My shoulder is crabby from trying to move it too much yesterday :( had Gib adjust it and work on the trigger points again.. he thinks I am looking at anywhere between 3 and 6 weeks recovery..if I stop trying to push it..

Frustrating because I don't know what will aggravate it until I try..like ab work yesterday, working from lower ab movement was ok, but curling upper body caused some kind of nerve compression that sent pain shooting down my arm...

Patience is not my strong suit..and I have so much to take care of in the next two weeks, grrrr.

I have been trying really hard not to get in a funk and not to spread my crabby mood on facebook or here, but I am feeling a bit overwhelmed and discouraged.

Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming...

Waiting out injury...

My shoulder is jacked.. but gradually feeling better. I just have to really be patient and not go back to working it too soon.

On friday I did legs on machines, since I was told I can't even do bb squats because I would have to hold/stabilize the bar. :(

So.I did leg ext, leg curl, leg press, abductors, adductors, glute kickback, back extension and cardio. (the cool kids did a pressing medley)

Saturday we pulled Mike's truck and then I walked a little over a mile while the cool kids did atlas stones over the bar.

Sunday I packed boxes and rested.

This morning I did cardio before my clients and then abs/low back between clients. I also stretched my shoulder and moved it through some range of motion... just to see how it felt. I also didn't wear my sling today..

Tomorrow more exciting machine leg exercises.. but at least I am moving and doing something :)

Washington's Strongest Apple 2011

The weather was perfect - sunny, high 70's, enough breeze to keep you cool.

Grant put on a great competition again ;)

My main goal at this year's competition was to beat my previous performance at Strongest Apple, especially on the farmer's walk and yoke walk.

Strongest apple 2010 was my first Strongman Competition. I had never touched a yoke, farmer's walk implements or keg. I had just learned the previous month to clean & press and I had practiced flipping a tire a little lighter than the event wt.

I went into this competition with a shoulder injury, only Adam, Mike and my chiropractor, Gib, really knew how bad it was (I told KVW about it the night before..). I was in a lot of pain the week leading up to the competition. All we can figure is I pulled/injured something (most likely subscap) and everything else in my rotator cuff and my lat on my right side spasmed and overcompensated. Its really gnarly and more painful than anything I have had in a long time. Lots of ice and ibuprofen for the days leading up to the event, Vicodin in hopes of sleeping..anyhow..that is my "excuse" for feeling like I kind of phoned it in on kegs and sled.

I did beat my previous farmer's walk. I made it 80 feet with 2 drops, picked it a 3rd and 4th time to try and get around the cone but couldn't do it. We have a 2 drop rule in training, to save your back for the rest of the day..but everyone was yelling to get around the turn..couldn't do it.

I am pleased with my distance. 153 lbs per hand for 80 feet, better than I have done in training for distance with that weight. And much improved from my first competition at apple last year :)

The yoke was 585lbs. I made it further than I have in training with that wt. ;) I didn't get my official distance, but I think 40ft...

The Events in order:

Farmer's walk - worst for first :) but it was good

Keg load/sled drag - I loaded the kegs alright (150 and 180) but couldn't get the sled going. The act of picking up the kegs seems to piss off my shoulder.

Deficit Deadlift - I did well, got 15 reps with 231lbs. we hadnt trained quite deep enough, but I am pleased with 15.

Yoke walk, as I said above, I was pleased. this yoke was heavier than the weight we did at nationals last year, which seemed easy at the time. I think my poor sleep due to shoulder discomfort probably affected everything but I was happy with it.

Keg Load to platform. 150, 180, 200, 220 I got the 150 easy, I carried the 180 and my shoulder was done. I did better last year on keg load, but can't remember if our kegs were lighter.

It was a great group of competitors. Everyone is so supportive, especially Kristyn :) and everyone had a great show, even the guy who smashed his fingers on the first keg load (ouch).

Adam did great , this was his first competition.

Lisa really kicked ass ;) she really made a good comeback to strongman competition, she gave Kristyn a good run for 1st.

And Mike did awesome, as usual. I am always impressed watching Mike and thankful and proud to be part of his training group. I will miss Mike and Lisa terribly when we move.

So, that's as much as I want to type with my shoulder still aching. I go for deep tissue and maybe acupuncture tomorrow, hopefully will be healed up and training in no time. I can still do some leg work in a few days :)

Beat that!

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Update....

Wednesday 4/27

cardio 20 minutes and pilates

Thursday 4/28

cardio 40 minutes

Friday 4/29

Gym/events

Deficit Deads
115X5, 158X5, 178x5, 238X20 whew.

Farmer's Walk

160 per handX80 feet I need to learn to go harder on farmer's. I think I puss out mentally. My goal is to be as hardass on farmer's as Amy Wattles ;) she is my farmer's walk hero.

Saturday events 4/30

Yoke 4 passes, final pass 480X80 feet, awesome.

Sled pull

progressive weight, finished with 6 platesX80 feet, this is when the strap broke, i fell backwards, smashed my fingers..iced them and then finished with a new strap.

Sunday Rest.

Monday 5/2

Intent to lift..Incredibly stiff and sore from heavy yoke/falling. opted for cardio and stretching instead. 40 minutes cardio.

Tuesday 5/3

Upper Pull Power/Lower Push condition

Still stiff and sore but the show must go on... we superset again because we were short on time.

One Arm DB Row with band attached to bench
17.5&red bandX5X5

Leg Press
260X20X2

High pulley row
57.5X5, 62.5x5x4

Front Squat with dual pulley bar
80X20X2

Smith pull-ups (down under pull ups)
5X5

Walking Lunges
20/legX2

finished with 10 minutes interval cardio alternating plate swings and burpees.


Wednesday

stupid busy day, no workout

Thursday 40 minutes stepper cardio

Friday 5/6

gym/events

Power

rack deads w axle
warm-ups 135x10, 215X10

285X5x2, 308x3x3

Shuttle run with DB (heaviest DB club has :( )

115X20 ft X5

Farmer's Deads
160/handx3x5

we tried a new pre-workout supp for this workout, it was really good, really strong workout. :)

Saturday - we are doing yoke, sled, tires - will post later.

Update

4/20 last wednesday :p 20 min cardio, 20minutes pilates reformer work for flexibility.

4/21 40 minutes recovery cardio (recumbent bike) foam rolling

4/22 Friday - gym/events

Deficit deadlifts
240x5x5

Yoke
250x80ft
430x80ft
470x80ft

4/23 Events outside (hurray for sunshine!)

Sled pull for speed..didn't track weights, pulled as heavy as we could without slowing down throughout the distance.

Stones 174x2x5

tacky is my mental crutch :( I couldn't pick the stone up without any tacky, Mike put just dots on my fingertips and I picked it. Ridiculous. One of these weekends I am going to pick that stone without any tacky. grrrrr.

4/24 rest :) Ostara..

we ate all day :)

Homemade potato pancakes (potatoes, eggs, tiny bit of flour, onion, seasonings)
topeed with homemade applesauce and sour cream :) side of thick cut turkeybacon. mmm

made chicken tenderloin Thai sate on the grill, with peanut sauce and black rice for lunch...

Made baba ghanouj ( a garlicky eggplant dip, mmm, eggplants grilled for smoky flavor) and homemade pita bread....

roasted a turkey..which we were too full to eat, lol, so we cut it up and stripped all the meat of it into tupperware for meals throughout the week. yum.

Monday 4/25

Upper Pull Power/Lower Push Conditioning

we were pressed for time so (here is where I get in trouble with Mike...) we superset upper and lower... we did 2 sets upper, one set lower then last set of the upper exercise throughout the work out...

One arm db row, with band attached to bench near floor

15lbs&red bandX5X5

superset with

Leg press
250x20, 250x20

Pulldown with purple band attached to top of squat rack
5 sets of 5

superset with

db front squats (holding big dumbbell in front of body..kinda like stone..maybe?)
80X20, 85X20

Split squats with red band around working foot and shoulder

2 sets 10 per leg

standing cable row
42.5x5, 57.5x5x4

We followed up with 15 minutes plate swing intervals - swing 10, rest 40 sec, swing 10, etc.


Tuesday 4/26

at 5am I did 15 min step motion on precor, random intervals (just killing time)

at 6:30 we worked out:

Lower Pull Strength/Upper Push conditioning

single arm suitcase deadlift with lateral step to box
50x12x4 harder than expected...

BB SLDL 155x10x3

Seated ham curls

90X12, 100x12, 110x10

Stability push-ups
bar level 14 X25, level 15 X20

Incline db presses
35'sX20x2

single arm overhead presses

20X20 ( I over reached or was more worn out than I thought, so I did 10, switched hands, did 10, switched hands, and repeated for total of 20 each side)

15x20x1

Tomorrow we will stretch/do some cardio, Thursday some cardio/foam roll, etc and friday is gym/events again :)

bloggity bloggity blog

Last Thursday (4/14) was long slow recovery cardio. 40 endless minutes on a recumbent bike. Then foam rolling/stretching.

Friday 4/15 we were supposed to do deads and sled but it was raining,so we just did deficit deads.

After warm-ups I did 5 sets of 3 with 240lbs

Saturday we had better weather so we did a progressive sled pull:

sled+45lb plate, 50 feet, then run back 50 feet, grab plate, load onto sled, pull 50 feet..run back..

so it was a cumulative 400 ft
45X50', 90X50', 135x50', 180x50', 225x50', 270x50', 315x50', 360x50'
and 400 ft carrying 45lb plates. lol

then we did farmers walk, 160 per hand 80ftx2

Sunday off :)

Monday 4/18

Lower pull conditioning/Upper push power

deficit deads 135X20, 145X20

clean & press 130x3x5
db press on ball 40'sX5, 45'sX5, 50'sx5

triceps extension behind head w/bar 30X5X3

this was an exhausted workout. My new goal this week is to get better rest and better nutrition before my workouts.

Tuesday 4/19

went to bed last night at 7:30 :)

Upper Pull Conditioning/ Lower Push Strength

Assisted pull-ups 130x25, 120x25

band face pull redx25x2

bicep curls up the rack, non-stop
7.5'sx5, 10'sx5, 12.5'sx5, 15'sx5, 17.5'sx5, 20'sx5, 22.5'sx5, 25'sx5

bicep curls down the rack
25'sx5, 22.5'sx6, 20'sx7, 17.5'sx8, 15'sx9, 12.5'sx10, 10'sx11, 7.5'sx12, 5'sx13

umm, that was fun, lol.

Leg press
warm-up 360x12
560x12, 610x12, 650x12

box squats
225x12, 235x10, 245x8, 250x8

smith split squats
90x8, 90x8

legs done! stretched and foam rolled. Good workout, amazing what sleep and food will do for you :)

Wednesday

My morning schedule was crazy, so I didn't get to eat after my 6:30 am shake/banana/almonds... I got done with work at 11, drank my pre-workout supp and got to bizniss..sort of. lol Kind of a light day.

Skipped the dynamic warm-up today to make my workout shorter, to get to food faster!

Started working on the deficit deadlift today...eh.

Lower body pull conditioning

Deficit deadlift w/axle (on step, which after i did them I measured..4". half an inch higher than I needed...)

warm-up 103X20
153X20X2

hip band extension (feet and back elevated) purple band 20X2

Upper body press strength

standing overhead press with axle (weak day on this :( )
105X8 bars set at 6...really hard so I lowered the bars so I could do it more from the position it would be after a clean.
105X9, 9, 10

Incline DB press
50'sX12, 55X10, 55X5 (arms just finished)

skullcrushers w DBs on stability ball 20'sX12, 25'sX6 really sucky

my lack of food really hampered this workout, I still pushed really hard and I am going to be sore, but it would have been nice to see some higher numbers on the overhead press.

I was home sick with stomach issues Monday/Tuesday, so I guess I expected to be a little weak today.

Friday will be better :)

Saturday Event Training

Farmers walk for speed -

4x120lbs per hand , not sure on distance.

Stone - lap and then extend repeatedly

174lbsx1 and 6 extensions

174X1 and 8 extensions

Wednesday through Friday

Tuesday we rested.... I have been extremely tired this week, I don't know why.

Wednesday:

Dynamic Warm-up

Upper Push condition/Lower Pull Power

Dual pulley unstable push-up/knee tuck 2 sets 20

Cable flyes on ball 2 sets 20X10lbs/side

triceps overhead rope extension
20lbsX25, 30lbsX20

Axle Deadlifts from floor
215X3, 4X235X3

Glute/ham drop (feet anchored, plank from knees, lower to floor and pull backup with glutes/hams) 3X10

hamstring lying med ball toss
3x15

Cardio - 15minutes intervals alternating 10 plate swing, 45 seconds rest, 7 burpees, 45 sec rest and 10 minutes alking.

Thursday - 40 min cardio (20 stepper/20 treadmill, knee not happy) stretch/foam roll and my glutes/hams were sore! the explosive power workouts always feel so patsy but always make me sore, lol.

Friday

Gym/event

Axle cleans 4 set of 8 increasing wt each set approximately 105, 110, 115, 120

Tire flip - conditioning

medium tire 20 flips

big tire 5 , med tire 15

big tire 8 (PR :D ), med tire 12

I hates the big tire...lol

Down 4 lbs since Monday..but have been extremely tired all week, just a lot of stress and schedule adjustment since my 4:30am client has returned..

Monday - all fired up :)

10 weeks to Strongest Apple ;)

I did 30 minutes steady state cardio this morning before work. (5am)

Workout started at 11am

dynamic warmup (getting easier)

Upper Body Pull Power/Lower Body Push Strength

Dual Pulley Bar High Pull (semi squat position)

65X3, 86X3, 95X3, 95X3, 115X3

did stability ball planks in between first 3 sets, 45 seconds a set

did side planks between next three sets of exercises, 30 sec a side

single arm pulley low row (like a one arm dumb bell row, standing) 42.5X5x5

155lb (approx) log bentover row/hip pop 5 sets of 3

Zercher squats, sit at bottom, with axle

95X12, 135X10, 135X10

Leg Press

360X12, 450X12, 540X12

split squat, back foot on bench, knee to floor

8, 12

Really good power today, the log pull/pop was really strong, the zercher squats felt like my arms being tired/sweaty kind of limited the weight I could do. the leg press was a surprise, lots of power for all reps.

During my workout today, a guy I have seen working out a few times lately came up and complimented my hair cut, then asked how I liked the wrist wraps I was using (APT blue stripes) and gave me a really nice pair of new APT wraps! What a boost :) I don't know who he is or why I rate but a sure is nice :D

Thursday....

I thought today would be a day of rest..or just cardio..so I was a little cranky when I got the text saying "upper push strength/lower pull conditioning 40 minutes cardio" Then I had an aawesome workout, lots of power and redemption for my shitty overhead lockouts in MPLS. lol

I did the lifting, but it was way past time to eat when I finished, so I skipped the cardio. next week I will not be skipping any cardio :)

Dynamic warmup.

Upper Push Strength

Standing dual pulley chest press
60X12, 70X12, 90X12

seated overhead lockout
95x12, 115X12, 135X10, 140X6 :)

Incline db presses
45'sX12, 50'sX12, 55'sX8 strong

triceps rope pressdown, dual pulley station
3 sets 40X10

Lower Pull Condition

Seated hamstring curl
65X20, 65X25

Band stiffleg deadlift

redX20, redX25


very pleased with upper body today ;)

Hey! Stop by and feed my fish! :)

Click and feed my koi for me :)

Tuesday/Wednesday

Tuesday was Lower Push Power/ Upper Pull Conditioning

Started with the dynamic warm up, which is getting easier..I think.

Leg Press, explosive reps

360X5, 450X3, 500X3, 540X3, 590X3

Squats - powering up from bottom, feet leaving floor..almost jump squats but not immediately descending again after landing.

5 sets of 3 with 225lbs

box jumps

medium box 10 jumps, then set up small, medium, and next size up (about midthigh height for me) and jumped small, med, large five times through. Before i did the tallest the first time I asked Adam if I had done that height before and he says "yes"...then after I did it he says "well, now you have" lol. so..box PR or whatever, I am pleased with it :)

Dual Pulley Face Pulls
20x20x2

Dual Pulley bentover row
60X20X2

dual pulley biceps curls
30X20X2

Interval cardio after was 15 minutes of :

15 sec 20 lb plate swings, 45 sec rest, 15 sec burpees, 45 sec rest, etc

and 15 minutes recumbent bike intervals 2 up and 2 down.

ran out of time and had to teach Gravity Class....

Wednesday - Recovery cardio, stretching, foam rolling

20 minutes elliptical, 10 minutes upright bike, 10 minutes rowing machine (totally adhd)

felt a little less wiped out today, but sore from Monday and Tuesday!

I am traveling to Vancouver this weekend for my friend Tarna's first Bodybuilding show! I am so stoked for her, she is going to take the overall :) I am also stoked because Lacy Okey lives there and I can catch a workout with her on Saturday!!!!! Woot!

My focus next week will be on cleaning up my nutrition and getting my supplements all in order again. I want to really change my body composition in the next few months :D

Training but not blogging

I get busy and I get tired..but I have been training hard.

Competed in Jay Hagadorn's Championship Series on March 5th. 3rd out of 3 heavy weights.. still need to get a lot stronger but was pleased with my performance compared to previous events. Did extremely well in axle deadlift and hit a personal best in the atlas stone over the bar.

Training goals now:
Bigger, faster stronger ;)

The best thing to come out of the last competition is that Mike Kromer, my coach/friend/tormentor, finally saw me compete and decided that I should stay heavy weight ;) up until now he wanted to drop my weight down to compete as middle weight. So now my goal is to get a little leaner (vanity and mobility) and gain some mass. I am allowed to get as lean as I want as long as I keep my weight at 190lbs :p

Back to the grind.

I train 4 days a week, usually 2-3 days push/pull and 1-2 days event specific training.

My next competition is Washington's Strongest Apple, June 4th. There I aim to qualify for Nationals again...

There is a lot of stress right now, I am planning my move back to Minnesota to be with my daughter. I will train hard up until the Apple, get ready to move, move end of June..and begin training again July. the gym in Minnesota doesn't have much strongman equipment yet, but I will help amend that, bringing my stone mold and will start acquiring equipment asap when I get there. There are some great Strongmen around the area, hopefully I can get them to let me tag a long a bit in training.

Today was Upper/Push/Conditioning & Lower/Pull/Strength. I have added in a dynamic warm up to get my hips and knees more flexible and to help build athleticism.

Dynamic warm up includes:
torso rotation, walking crossover stretches, squat stretches, walking side lunges, walking curtsy lunges, backwards inchworms, front/back and lateral hops, stiff leg skipping, shuffling and butt-kick jogging... "my warm up is your workout" lol. Its getting less taxing ;p

Workout

Incline db presses
25'sX20, 30'sX20

TRX strap push-ups/unstable bar push-ups
7/8, 7/13

TRX strap triceps extensions
10/10

Axle Clean and press 3 sets
105X10

Stifflegged deadlift w Axle
188X10, 10, 8 no idea why these were so friggin hard, I blame stones on saturday. lol

Lying hamstring curls
90X12, 85X10

toasted. I didn't sleep well last (insert two more lame excuses here), whatever, just not a fan-fucking-tastic workout, but I did it. maybe once the warm-up is routine, I will have more power for the workout, and maybe I shouldn't forget my pre-workout supps...

:D

Monday/Tuesday

Monday - cardio to loosen up:

20 minutes random program, 20 minutes steady program...

Tuesday - feeling quite froshed still from Sunday, did a quick lower body push conditioning workout between client appointments:

Playing with the new equipment :)

Life Fitness cable cage -

squat to press with bar - 25, 20, 15

front squats with vest - playing with these, trying to figure best attachment point and how to get depth..ended up standing on step, but feet too narrow..and the whole endeavor made my back all tight (Sunday wreaked more havoc than I thought, and I had very little sleep last night).

I did 3 sets varying attachment points and set up....

then I went and did 2 sets of single leg leg press...then it was time to train clients again.

having a club full of new equipment is like having a new playground! ;) since Thursday all I have done is figure out new ways to make clients work harder with new equipment :)

Crabby but turned it out!

Tired, was stupid, stayed up late doing stupid things..lol...

We were supposed to do stones and farmers walk today but Mike canceled due to cold.. so gym work instead...

Rack deadlifts with axle, no straps from 18"
w/u 125
w/u 215
working set
308X6 hands were hurting, couldn't get comfortable with grip...

308X11 - spent 10 seconds messing with grip , then reps were good, got 11 in remainder of minute.

308X5..callus/blister burst open, slimed the bar, threw me off.. walked away and tried to regroup, got 2 more reps but was just done.

dumb bell overhead presses, nuetral grip (working on log press) 30'sX8, 45'sX8, 47.5'sx8

dumb bell hold

85's for 59 seconds
95's for 28 seconds (we don't have 90's in the new set of db's, weird)
95's for 23 seconds..grip just shot.

finished up with intervals for 20 minutes on precor in stair step motion.

wow. wiped out. making meals for the week ;)

The rest of the week...

Thursday..I did part of my Team's Biggest Loser last Chance Workout - kickboxing,jumping jacks, etc..shoot. My brain left the building, i can't remember my workouts ...Maybe I will go dig out my notebook..lol

Friday I rested, did 20 minutes low intensity cardio...

Saturday!!! Event Training

Power stairs simulation.. with T handle

100 lbs walking

200 lbs 8 or 9 times a few passes

245lbs 8 times

300 just picked it up and swung it out a little, no walking.

Worked on log again with the 155lb log, still trying to roll it up and not clean it..I am sure this will improve...

Then I hiked about 2/3s of the way up Badger Mt and ran back down. (Was there for Biggest Loser Team challenge and was cold/bored waiting to time people at bottom, so decided to go up, met up with one of my first team members coming back down and ran down with him). I really liked badger, i think I might make it a goal to walk/jog or do sprints up it once a week and run back down.

Push/Strength :)

so..lacking guidance today but had a decent chunk of time between clients..soo..

Warmed up with clean and press -

one set with 20lb dumbbells

and then barbell clean and press 3 sets 8 reps with 95 pounds.

Box Squats - these felt good!

185X12
205X10
225X10
235X8

box jumps
smallest box x10
med box 2X10

Incline DB Press
35'sx12
45'sX12
50'sx8

Flat Bench (I think I was just fried by now, because this is usually light for me and it was enough that I decided to stay with it)

3 sets 95X10

Overhead DB Press - again..I think just used up available energy because these sucked.

25'sX8, 20'sX10, 15'sx15

I did alternating single reps and then finished with both when singles got difficult last few reps.


It was a good workout :)

Tomorrow off from lifting, some cardio and maybe some abs.

Monday - pull! conditioning

Barbell Bent Over Row 2X20 95lbs

Hammer Strength Hi Pull/Row 2X20 70lbs per hand

Standing Wide Grip Cable Row 2X20 70lbs

Supinating Bicep DB Curls
10 reps with 20's and 10 reps with 12.5lbs (arms were fried by this point)
20 reps with 15's

I jammed through this workout between clients and then did 18 minutes intervals on the stepper, gradually bringing level up to 9 and then back down... before it was time to shower and get back to work!

Saturday Event Training

Rack deads - 18"..axle..no straps

warm ups 135/225....

working weight 308X10, 308X10

Started learning log technique - log about 155lbs. learning to pull it in and roll it up..need to work on hip drive through (just like with stones and everything else..lol) but I was pleasantly surprised at how I did, even pressed it once ;)

Sunday : spinal erectors reallllly sore, lol. foam rolled and stretched!

Pushing for Power...and cleans...

Workouts feel so good! Today was all about explosive power...push movements and cleans.

Incline Bench Press 115X3 5 sets

Incline DB Press 40'sX3, 45'sX3, 47.5X3, 3, 3

Seated Military Press 95X3 5 sets

Overhead rope tricep ext 100X3 5 sts

Cleans w axle 100lbsX 3 5 sets

3 reps still feels a little silly but I always feel it the next day..and I have learned to generate power without slamming my joints :)

Tomorrow I will start learning log :) :)

Legs ,,medium..lol

had a good workout this morning :)

Box squats 5X5 200, 205, 210, 215, 220 felt really good. can't wait to go full strength again :)

100lb plate carry 5X40ft

Jump squats 5X3 at 95lbs

Fun :)

stretched a lot after...feeling good.

Yoke and yoke... :)

Mike had the day off , so I got to do event stuff two days in a row! Treat!

We did yoke sprints after warming up - about 50 feet as fast as controllable with about..300lbs. I really need to write stuff down..I think we did 3 sets of down, rest 45 sec, and back.

Then we did yoke overhead presses, about 4-5 sets of 2. The yoke being unstable made it very different than regular overhead presses.. kinda sucky but I have come to learn that the more something sucks, the stronger it probably makes me in the end. lol.

Really happy to be able to work out!

And Mike said today we will plan on doing Jay's Event in March :) so..this week more specific training for those events.. which are...:

Max Log LW Women use 10” log
HW Women Use Slater 12” Natural Log
Master, LW and HW Men use 12” Steel Log
Wessel's Rules on the log. Three attempts. First available opening weight for the ladies (or dudes) is 110lbs. Ten lb incremental jumps.

Sandbag Carry and Load Medley 5 sandbags loaded over bar after 20' carry 75 second time limit. …
52” Bar LW Women 5x120 HW Women 5x160

Axle Deadlift for Reps 60 Second Time Limit 18" Pick Height, Wait for Down Signal, No Bouncing of The Bar No Straps LW Women 255lbs HW Women 305lbs

Suitcase Farmers Carry For Max Distance Walk 40' touch line turn and go. LW Women 150lbs HW Women 190lbs

Powerstairs 3 stairs each implement LW Women 170lbs x 170lbs x 170lbs HW Women 200lbs, 230lbs, 230lbs

Atlas Stones For Max Over Bar 48"
Atlas Stones For Max Over Bar 48" Wessels Rule 3 attempts and your out NO TACKY! (Stones will already have a consistent coat of tack on them.) Stick-um spray okay, no chalk Opening weight is 110lbs increases of approx 30lbs. Stones go up to 500lbs.

I have my work cut out for me for the next..8 weeks? ;) whoo hoo!

STONES and carbohydrates :D

Awesome morning!!!!!

Yesterday my boyfriend and I made the decision to kick this low-cal, not being allowed to train BS diet thing to the curb...we figured 29 days of starvation was ENOUGH!

So...sushi for dinner :) a bottle of wine :) and for breakfast this morning before training - oatmeal with dried cherries and a little smart balance and sugar free syrup. YUMMMMY. too lazy to make eggs , so I had a shake ;) but it was heaven. My energy has been through the roof all day, I am smiling and moving at 2xnormal speed, lol.

This morning I had my best stone training ever :D

174lb stone, over the bar for 3 sets of 3 :D this is big for me. I have only ever gotten it over the bar once before. I just started stone training..had picked one up once before nationals *embarrassing* but we hatched our 174lb stone a week before nationals..and Mike's smallest stone is 240..so. Anyhow - now that I am more confident, I am sure I will make good progress.

We plan to make a 200lb stone this week. ;)

Tomorrow we are doing two more events , most likely farmers walk and tire or yoke.

Just finished pizza for lunch :0 tomorrow I go onto clean eating, moderate carbs ;) still plan on leaning out and getting down to middle weight, just not through the drastic measures anymore!

Happy Happy Joy Joy

Legs..light

Squats - 3 sets of 3 with 2oo if you can't work heavy...work depth ;)

Seated calf raise 2 sets 20

Band walk, lateral (oh my glutes) 2 sets 20 each way

Nice little workout...

Event stuff this weekend ;)

Tuesday - Pressing

Did Overhead Presses 5 sets of 3, not maximal weight..100X3, 105X3, 110X3, 115X3, 120X3

Felt good, strong, good on lockout.

Incline bench 5 sets of 2, not max wt 135X2 all sets...

Can't wait to get really working out again...

Light legs tonight..3X3 squats at 90%, some band stuff and calf raises. sigh. Better than NO workout...but chomping at the bit watching a friend train for her first bodybuilding show...

New Recipe Blog

Check out my new blog devoted to recipes and fitness/health/nutrition tips!

http://harddogfitness.blogspot.com/

Yoke..

yesterday i was allowed to pick one of the events the guys were doing and join in. I had my choice of farmer's walk, yoke or tire flip.. I had spent the morning doing body composition on 70 Biggest loser contestants..so my left hand was pretty fried from using the calipers.. so I chose yoke.

We did fairly light - our yoke plus 180, so close to 300lbs. I worked on speed and did 3 runs down and back. Felt good to move!

We need to re-mark the street so we can train specific distances, our old marks washed away...

Weight is dropping... depressed by not working out as much.. hoping this week I will be allowed to train ;)

Sigh

Dropping weight..down 12 lbs real wt, 20lbs if you include the inflated scale weight after the 3 days of calorie loading..

My workouts got taken away for a while..sucks ass.

I think in a few days I will be "allowed" to train again..just waiting it out................

Bored and a little depressed, but its good to see some definition coming back, so its a mixed bag...

Last workout of the year!

Still reduced workload..so it felt kind of like a warm-up...but it was good to pull and move..

Deadlifts straight bar 5 sets X3 reps 75% 1RM

Incline Bench Press 5 sets X3 reps 75% 1RM

forgot my ipod..hate that, it means every old guy in the gym needs to comment on how much weight I am using..and then some guy insisted on helping me take the plates off when I was done..lol. I think if I can lift them all together, i can put them away one at a time without injury....

We went to a couple New Year's Eve parties.. had a whopping two drinks and a few appetizers..banging headache today, lol. Stuff really knocks you on your ass when you don't do it anymore!

I am feeling incredibly motivated today for the coming year. :)

Happy New Year!