Volume Wk3 W/O2

A great day for a workout! Sunny skies with broken clouds to offer occasional cooling.

Warm Up (5 mins)
Main (35 mins)
1. Rowing (1x500m 00:01:32)
2. Pistols (8x38kg, 8x38kg, 8x38kg, 8x38kg)
3a. Wall Walk/BackBridge (15s, 15s, 15s)
3b. Cuts (1x10s, 1x10s, 1x10s)

I warmed up outside and after the usual routine, did a few minutes of explosive jumping on to a 4ft pedestal. Then I headed indoors....the rowing was a breaker - and required a few minutes recovery before I could hit the pistols. I put another set on the pistols and reckon I can 'up' the weight to get my basic three sets. i took a full three minutes between sets. Quality is the name of the game (and this also constitutes a move away from my 'paleo' understanding/ignorance). Three minutes is a loooooooooong time on planet Asclepius, so I had to pop off a few easy chins and lock-offs to break things up.

The backbridge and cuts were quite leisurely and their spacing allowed me to do some handstands for time. Just to get the technique refined.

Volume Wk3 W/O1

So here we go. Full beans time. Short of failure, but as close as I can get to it as possible. This weeks ABC will precede a BAB workout next week. It is easy to overcook it on the elbows and shoulders with this kind of routine.

Warm Up (5 mins)
Main (40 mins)

1a. Sprinting (1x10s, 1x10s, 1x10s, 1x10s, 1x10s)
1b. Frog/Tuck Planche (5x2s, 5x2s, 5x2s)

2a. Ring Routine to Chins/RopeClimb (8, 7, 7)

3a. Cuts (1x20, 1x20, 1x20)
3b. Fingerboard (5x1, 5x1, 5x1, 5x1, 5x1)

4. Handstand Straddle (Play@LGKF for time)

I tried to crush the f**k out of the ring routine which left little in the tank for the pull-ups at the end! The routine comprises of a few moves including back lever and inverted pull up. It is finished with a body lever for time....and THEN goes to pull ups. I had to simply rest about three minutes between attempts on the rings and then split of the cuts and fingerboard work. Adapt.

Fat Cycling

Hat tip to TheGymMonkey through whose blog I was led to this paper discussing Lance Armstrong's performance before and after testicular cancer:

• We propose that his dramatic improvement in recovery between stages, the most important factor in winning multi-day stage races, is due to his unilateral orchiectomy, a procedure that results in permanent changes in serum hormones. These hormonal changes, specifically an increase in gonadotropins (and prolactin) required to maintain serum testosterone levels, alter fuel metabolism; increasing hormone sensitive lipase expression and activity, promoting increased free fatty acid (FFA) mobilization to, and utilization by, muscles, thereby decreasing the requirement to expend limiting glycogen stores before, during and after exercise.

They go on to note:

• Such hormonal changes also have been associated with ketone body production, improvements in muscle repair and haematocrit levels and may facilitate the loss of body weight, thereby increasing power to weight ratio. Taken together, these hormonal changes act to limit glycogen utilization, delay fatigue and enhance recovery thereby allowing for optimal performances on a day-to-day basis.

TheGymMonkey pulls the paper apart in a little more detail here. (And if you want to bone-up on hormone sensitive lipase then you could do worse than read this link.)

For me there does seem to be a slight irony in the fact that it is recommended we carb-up for endurance events - from the marathon to days out on the hills - it is all about carb drinks, fruit cake and the like.

But the most significant bit has to be ketoadaption - the hormonal expression of which, "act[s] to limit glycogen utilization, delay fatigue and enhance recovery thereby allowing for optimal performances on a day-to-day basis".

If you could produce an 'energy drink' with that kind of property, you'd be a rich person.

Volume Wk2 W/O3

So this is the final session of the ramp up phase. Next week and for the following six weeks, I will switch to more of an ABA, BAB split (as opposed to the current ABA, ABA - although my third workout is full body). I tweak the details on-the-fly. As always weights and reps shown below are indicative.

Section three below is completed in the evening.

Warm Up (5 mins)
Main (35 mins)
1a. Deadlift (3x88kg, 3x101kg 3x113kg)
1b. HSPU/Press/Snatch (12x14kg, 12x14kg, 12x14kg)
2a. Ice Cream Maker Lever (8, 8, 8)
2b. One Arm Chins (12x27kg, 12x27kg, 12x27kg)

3a. Planche Press Ups (8, 8, 8)
3b. Splits (2x10s, 2x10s, 2x10s)
3c. Fingerboard (5x1, 5x1, 5x1, 5x1, 5x1)

Volume Wk2 W/O2

So the following is still a deloaded phase of 90-95%.

Warm Up (5 mins)
Main (35 mins)
1. Rowing 1x500m 00:01:30
2. Pistols (8x36kg, 8x36kg, 8x36kg)
3a. Wall Walk/BackBridge (2, 2, 2)
3b. Cuts (1x20s, 1x20s, 1x20s)

The rowing was pretty aggressive on a resistance of 10. I could get it under 00:01:30 with a bit of a push in the last 200m. I can see myself undertaking another O'Neill Test soon.

I had to adjust the support weight and offset with dumbells to achieve the target load. I made sure of 3 minutes rest between pistols (another compromise against my earlier 'paleo' leanings - still there is no paleo guide).

I finished with some handstand work outdoors. I have taken to straddle-handstand as I can hold this for some time - even with tired arms.

Cracking stuff and ready to give it berries next week. Heck, even Friday's workout should be a good one if I feel this psyched for it.

Volume Wk2 W/O1

A big high pressure has settled over the UK. It is nice to be out in the sunshine - although in the shade it is cold. If only my garage had a sunroof!

Warm Up (5 mins)
Main (40 mins)

1a. Sprinting (1x15s, 1x15s, 1x15s)
1b. Frog/Tuck Planche (5x2s, 5x2s, 5x2s)
2a. Ring Routine to Chins/RopeClimb (9, 9, 9)
2b. Cuts (2x10, 2x10, 2x10)
2c. Fingerboard (5x1, 5x1, 5x1, 5x1, 5x1)
3. Handstand Straddle (Play@LGKF for time)

I am still in a deloaded/ramping up phase. I intend to push a little harder than last week, but not give it 'all the cookies' until next week. I went bouldering yesterday and tried to limit exertion to fingery stuff - again at a deloaded intensity.

Today I threw in some tucks to the planches. Sometimes I set the planche up just right and feel I can hold it there for a lot longer than two seconds. But I must stick to my intensity map. Next week I will 'unleash' and see what I can produce. It is nice to feel that I am straining at the leash - just got to make sure my enthusiasm does not spill in to injury.

So far so good.

Am I Normal?

A quick 'heads up'. Tomorrow night the ever-entertaining Radio Four will feature an item on aging. The program is called Am I Normal? The excerpts I have heard so far suggest this will be a facinating program:

• Am I normal for my age? Vivienne Parry examines our perceptions and the realities of what happens to us as we get older. She unpicks the differences between ageing and disease and asks if there is such a thing as normal ageing.
  
  It happens to us all; nothing can hold back the tide of time. The natural process of ageing not only affects our appearance and how our bodies respond to general wear and tear, but also how we succumb to and are affected by illness. Yet it seems, no one ages in the same way. Middle age for some of us doesn't end until we're well into our 70s, whereas some people feel old before their time.
  
  The programme asks what will happen to us when we age normally? And indeed is there such a thing as a normal ageing process? Genes, lifestyle choices, environment and even social class all play a part.
  
  How we are ageing is changing too. We are living longer and dying quicker. Professor of geriatric medicine Raymond Tallis says that, 'Despite the fact that we're living longer, the period of chronic illness or disability before death is shrinking.' Advances in modern medicine have postponed many diseases of old age to such an extent that we live longer, healthier lives before succumbing when we are really old and frail and therefore die relatively quickly.
  
  But not everyone is still running marathons at 75 or constantly feels 15 years younger than their actual age. And the phrase 'you're only as old as you feel' can be pretty depressing to some people. So what is normal for a certain age? How can we measure it? And does it really matter?

The comment about the period of 'chronic illness or disability before death is shrinking' caught my because I would not have thought this would be the case.