Formosa Fitness

I want to get a better gasp of my programming for class so I'm going to do 20-30 minute circuits for a while. Had fun with this one today:

5 pullups

5L/5R KB snatches 16kg

5 burpees

100 rope jumps

30:00 got 13 and 1/2 cycles

yesterday

10 KB box squats double 24kg

run around the block fast pace

30:00 10 cycles

I gave this to a client today (without weights) and then decided to try it myself:

walking lunges w/30lbs. dumbells -- 12

box squats w/30lbs. dumbells -- 20

step ups on short box 1:00

20:00

I made 8 reps of the circuit.

Doing lunges with weights really hammers home the idea of having stability in the knee. You need to get the pattern as correct as possible with body weight first but them switch to weighted lunges to hammer out issues with form. What happens is the weight really forces you to push off the front leg and make that front knee stable. Try it out.

My gym isn't just that, it's the lab where I work on myself. So I'm part mad scientist, part monster. Haha. This is why I believe that trainers should be in shape themselves. We should be testing material out on ourselves, thinking, and growing in the gym right along with clients.

A lot of programs look good on paper but actually doing them shows how they often need to be tweaked. If you don't do them, how could you recommend them to clients? When I recommend something to clients it's because I've done it personally and I know it works. Clients can be confident that they're getting a safe and effective program that I can tweak to suit their needs. And there are a ton of programs out there. Pick smart!

So I've been doing the escalating density training (EDT) lately. Here's what I did yesterday:

workout 1

Remedial warmup (more on this later)

L-sits 10x:06

Tucks 10x:06

EDT 15:00 double 24kg KB military presses and double rows -- 60 reps each accomplished

Abs: superset 5 reverse crunches/5 crunches x3

workout2

20:00 jump rope

I was bummed after the EDT session because I knew I didn't have it in me to do a second session of pullups and pushups. And then when I calculated my numbers and compared them to the first time I did EDT, the numbers hadn't changed a bit (60). So I felt pretty depressed for a few minutes.

Then I went back and checked my notes: the first EDT session was 20:00, this one was 15:00!!! I did the same number of reps in 25% less time. Definite improvement.

So in the "lab," EDT is working very well. Go experiment and enjoy.

workout1

EDT 15:00 2x24kg KB press/row 5L/5R: 7 sets

I crapped out at the 10:00 mark. Just didn't have it in me after being sick for two days. Dropped down to:

Kb clean and press 1x24kg 3L/3R: 6 sets

So this is something that doing kettlebells can teach you: change something other than the weight. When i did weightlifting, I'd just drop down in weight if I couldn't perform the exercise. With kettlebells, you can change the exercise or another parameter. Of course you could do that with regular weights too, but most people IME simply drop the weight. Instead, I just switched immediately into single 24 clean and press and kept rolling.

EDT 15:00 pullups/pushups 5/5: 9 sets 4/5: 9 sets total: 81 pullups,  90 pushups

Pullups felt great today! Waaay stronger than every before. I think the EDT is paying off! I did drop down to sets of 4 instead of 5 but I was mostly able to maintain form throughout. I think this might be working. Stay tuned.

Workout 2

20:00 jump rope, 10:00 bike

Wow. This was tough:

EDT 2x24kg KB squats and swings 20:00

I got 16 sets and this taxed my cardio a bit. I had to really catch my breath between sets.

The swings were interesting since I've never swung that much weight before and I'm a short guy. I had to make the swings short so the combined weight of the bells (48kg) didn't swing me off my little lepruchan feet.

Afterward:

superset leg thrusts and reverse crunches 10/5 x3

0:05 break between thrusts and crunches, 0:10 between sets. Come down as slow as possible on the crunches.

This has become my abs workout lately and I'm loving it. Just takes a few minutes and works like crazy. Try it out.

Workout 2

30:00 on bike program 3 level 10=400cal burned

Lower body focus yesterday

workout1

wall squats: 11, 12, 14, 20

box pistols: 20, 20, 20, 40, 20

KB swings 28kg: 30, 30, 30, 20

Squats 2x20kg: 4x20

KB clean 20kg: 100

reverse crunches: 3x15

crunches: 2x10

workout2

ran for 30 minutes

The wall squats were something that Steve Cotter really emphasized at the IKFF cert and boy do I need to do them. He had a whole progression of them but the first one is still hard for me.

I have no idea where the pistols came from today. I've been working on the box version of them but balance and flexibility have always been an issue. Today they were there in droves. Just WOW! I think the wall squats really primed my body to do the pistols. I'll keep that sequence for sure.

The squats were tough today but I ground them out.  For the running, i said damn the number of laps and just ran as I pleased. Very refreshing and no pressure.

I want to start talking a bit about my own training. I'm a little worried about this, though. I'm afraid that people won't understand.

As a trainer, I design programs for other people and often I have done them myself, sometimes for quite a while. I don't like recommending programs I haven't done and am not intimately familiar with. But just because I've done those kinds of workouts doesn't mean I'm doing them right now or that I do them non-stop and do nothing else.

Also as a trainer, my responsibilities are greater. I have to be competent in a wider range of training modalities than your average fitness enthusiast in order to train people as I think they should be trained. For me, intimate knowledge of kettlebells, body weight, and endurance programming are essential to what I do. And it takes me lots of time to build skills in those areas. So I have to spend quite a bit more time than the average guy testing out what works and what doesn't.

So just because I recommend a specific client do a 20:00 workout with 10lbs. dummbells doesn't mean that's what I do everyday. :)

Here's what I did yesterday:

workout 1

L-sits: 10x 0:06

Tucks: 10x 0:06

Dips: 10, 10, 10

Pullups: 10, 7, 7

KB Clean and Press 20kg: Alt. 12, 14, 14

Double Kb rows 2x20kg: 12, 12, 12

KB chest press 24kg: 10/10x3

workout 2

20:00 jump rope no rest

I do two workouts a day because I maximize EPOC that way. EPOC= excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. Basically your body continues to burn calories after a serious workout and the maximum benefit from EPOC comes from doing two sessions a day. So I'm maximizing my calorie burn. Also breaking it up helps me control the lactic acid a bit better. Long, intense workouts generate more lactic acid than my body can handle. As the process continues, my uric acid levels go up -- not good for a gout guy like me. Two sessions a day keeps that under control. 

One important note about workout #2. Steve Cotter told us during the IKFF cert that doing reps can really limit your abilities. What happens is that you get this number in your head and then once you start getting to that number, your body starts backing off. You actually are limiting what your body can do.

I've noticed this in my rope jumping -- an exercise I like very much. I usually rope jump as active rest or a warmup and I do sets of 200 continuous jumps. But I noticed that even after 6 straight months, those 200 jumps were about all I could do continuously and that didn't make sense to me.

So yesterday, I just set a timer for 20:00 and sure enough, I did it all the way through. I didn't count reps but just kept going. Counting reps had really limited my ability. So going for time took the brakes off. Try it out for yourself.