Training overhaul

Going pretty minimalistic again with my training and feeling better than ever.

Firstly, a couple of hours of fasted hiking (or occasionally mountain-biking) every morning have leaned me right out. I'm still weighing about 83 kg but need a belt on 32" jeans. Probably as lean as I've been since my 20s.
Having knocked the beer on the head and limited myself to a couple of wines and whiskeys most evenings, I find the bit of flab I was carrying has just dropped off.

Strength work is simple: Monday and Friday I do Good Mornings(more as a warm-up), Deadlifts and OHPs and on Wednesdays I do Dumbbell snatches. In addition, I grease the groove with L-sit chins and 1 arm/1 leg press-ups when ever I can be arsed.

Enjoyable recreational cycling, climbing, kayaking etc happens a couple of times a week, and I KB swing, rack squat, high pull and clean and press as part of a complex a couple of times a week (15 mins total with a 20kg KB).

Thinking of chucking in some Burpees races soon; oh aye, a couple of times a week I add some sprints at the end of my hiking session with the mutts, so all in all I'm feeling pretty good.

Most of the previously mentioned goals are looking far too easy so I might have to reevaluate them a bit, to test myself a wee bit more.

 

Not got much time for my training these days as work is taking over my life a bit but I always make sure that I get at least three 15-30 min sessions in a week.

Today for example I simply did dumbbell clean and presses with a 35 kg db. I was already warmed up after walking the dogs so just did a couple of mins lifting my wife's little 12 kg db before diving into a nice 10 reps x 3 sets of super-smooth clean and presses.

Tomorrow I will do some single deadlifts, probably 180 kg x 5 singles and then I'll try to do some heavy db snatches at the weekend. These are my favourite exercise at the moment, ticking a lot of boxes for my time-strapped self.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1irxTyZPLXQ&feature=related[/ame]

As stated above, I am greasing the groove with l-sit chins and pull-ups, 1 arm/1 leg pressups and i throw in some dips on my gymnastic rings every time I walk past 'em, too).

One session of hill sprints a week (added to my distance-running past; until the age of about 28 I was a running freak, sometimes covering 10 miles in the morning and the same again in the evening, daft **** that i wasatsch) means I can always put a few 6 min. miles together on the track so I'm currently just maintaining my strength and conditioning until this busy work period passes...then I can get to increasing my lifts and maybe bringing my 3 mile time down as well. Pretty difficult combining the 2 but at least it's a challenge to aim for.

ETA That's not me in the vid, I just used it to show what I think is some awesome, explosive lifting that most of us can probably benefit from i.e. simple DB work without hiring an olympic lifting coach.

 

Feeling great and smashed my PBs for DL, DB snatch and clean and presses while dropping a few pounds in bodyweight, and with no discernible decrease in conditioning (if anything my sprinting has improved too, although I just play it by ear, nothing too scientificaltastic, no heart-rate monitor, watch, nothing).

Also, got my first "superclean" 1 arm chin:happyat a bodyweight of about 81 kg and doing controlled muscle-ups for fun. Oh aye, there's a hiking route I take which includes a 200 metre stretch that's virtually scrambling and I normally have to take a breather but yesterday I flew up it.

Smashing PBs at soon-to-be 40 and I'm a happy dude:good

Interestingly this has all happened since drastically decreasing what I'm shovelling down my gob:huh

 

Getting into the gymnastic rings stuff-absolutely ****ing brutal!

Takes care of almost everything-athleticism, strength, endurance...controlling your own bodyweight in disadvantaged positions is exhausting and gives a wicked workout but can maybe be a bit taxing on the joints, ligaments etc until you get used to it.

Once a week I make sure that i get some brute strength work in: 190 kg single deadlifts and some heavy clean and presses (DB 48kg). Also, I've duct-taped some discs onto my 20 kg KB (they're so ****ing pricey, I'm not buying anymore)for doing some complexes.

Most importantly, 9 hours of lazycunting sleep has meant that I recover without a problem and has undoubtedly aided massively in fat loss. Never paid much attention to rest in the past, tbh and I think this was a massive mistake.

Plus, daily mountain biking as always...usually 45 minutes to give the mutts a good run out

 

Been concentrating on gymnastic work, complemented with squats, deadlifts and db snatches.

I can now do 5 x 5 full range of motion handstand press ups (with hands elevated on chairs) and very solid 1 arm chins and pull ups. Also, straddle front lever (not the tidiest, but I'm chuffed with them) and pull ups with 60 kg added.

Conditioning is excellent. I started my training log about 18 months ago with the burpee challenge of doing 10 at the beginning of each minute and resting for the remainder of the minute, for as long as possible. Well, seeing as I turn 40 tomorrow I thought it'd be a good challenge to get 40 mins worth in, and that's exactly what I did for a total of 400 burpees.

More or less without fail I'm up at 6 am and out the door on my bike to give the dogs a run out, usually for an hour.

 

It's been a few months without updating my log. At the moment I'm just GTG'ing with chins/pull-ups and rings dips. Sometimes bodyweight, sometimes with a 24 kg kettlebell attached. A few times a day I'll do a couple of muscle-ups.

Twice a week I'm deadlifting and overhead pressing.

Basically doing ****-allbut somehow I'm in the best shape I've been in for ages. This has coincided with a return to a lot of long, steady work as opposed to the shorter, more intense **** I've been doing for years. Lots of recreational, enjoyable stuff like cycling, kayaking, jogging etc (along with IF'ing), has ensured that this old **** finds himself weighing under 78 kgs for the first time in years and with visible abs despite not particularly aiming for them

Just aiming to keep ticking over like this with an occasional track session to see if I can get a sub-60 second 400 metres (I'm a daft **** who likes to set myself random tasks)

 

just discovered oh squats and cleans.****ing brilliant things, both of them.the former sorts out all kinds of inflexibility issues and, alongside rdl's, are indispensible for me now.

ran a sub 60 second 400m on my second attempt. not bad for an old ****.

GTG has got me 25 deadhang pullups and 50 rings dips

 

Changing up my training these days as barbell work doesn't appeal in the least. Concentrating more on various kettlebell drills and my mobility and flexibility are improving as a consequence. Dropped down to 75 kg from 83 when I started the blog and I think I've settled in at around 12 % body fat, painlessly.

Also, I haven't got much time for training as we've got a few different things going on, including setting up a warm-weather training facility that will be taking up all my time; hence the kb work killing lots of birds (strength, endurance, mobility principally) with one stone while I dedicate myself to other things. Clean and jerks, for example, with 32 kg 'bells is a killer 10 minute workout and ticks a lot of boxes for me in next to no time