Results matching “Bird”

That was interesting. Just prior to sleep I was debating whether to set the alarm for 3 or 4.5 hours (allowing for recovery from yesterday's Zerchers). I opted for 3, but woke naturally a little over 4.5 hours later. I suspect the alarm went off, I stopped it quickly and simply went back to sleep.

This incident was enough to pursade me to try the 3/4.5 hour approach (3 hours by default, 4.5 hours following workout days). Either way, it's a lot less sleep than the 'normal' 8 hours - without any noticeable loss of quality - so I'm happy with that.

Following nap

Tonight the nap was split as I was out during the usual period. I had a chance to take a brief 20 minute nap early, and a 30 minute one later; these seemed to do the job fine. I certainly don't feel any worse for having altered things slightly.

This flexibility bodes well for future alterations (although there aren't any new ones that spring to mind just yet), and means that working late/going out etc shouldn't be a problem.

Sound advice. Trainer Eric Patterson takes a look at the effectiveness of boxing conditioning work. It's certainly more fun than the usual array of steady-state cardio.

Overslept yet again. This took the usual form of waking to the alarm, switching it off and waking again (naturally) 90 minutes later. It looks as though I'll have to increase the length of the main sleep period sooner than I hoped yesterday - perhaps to 4.5 hours on nights following weight-training (currently 4 days per week).

An interesting note on this morning's 'extra' sleep : I could clearly remember dreams immediately following the second waking. I suspect these were in the third (and final) 90 minutes - they certainly felt 'fresh' - and it goes a long way to confirming the idea that even short bursts of sleep contain all the usual stages. Although it's nearly impossible to gauge muscular recovery from a few nights' slumber, this is a very positive sign.

Following nap

That was refreshing. I left the nap until 20:00, and found myself in zombie mode once again just before it started (equivalent to about 01:00 prior to the experiment); to make sure I fell asleep quickly and deeply. Both things happened - and I realised just now much benefit you can get from 90 minutes.

Overslept again. This time only by one cycle, but I am starting to wonder whether it would be useful to add another 90 or 180 minutes to the total sleep each week - probably by extending the main sleep on Sundays. As I'm possibly still in the adaptation phase (I still rely on the alarm to wake me up) I'll give it another week or two before making any tweaks like that.

Following nap

Although I left the nap until 20:30 (by which time I was beginning to shift into zombie mode), I found it a little difficult to fall asleep. My head was filled with thoughts not of what I would do tomorrow, but what I would do in 90 minutes' time. Once I did fall asleep however (probably by around 21:15), I slept deeply. The alarm sounded frustratingly soon.

If the standard plank doesn't seem to be quite enough for you, consider the 'Super plank'; demonstrated here [.flv, 13.4mb] by Punch Gym's Anthony DiLuglio. It certainly makes a change.

To perform the super plank, begin in a standard push-up position. Get down onto your forearms (ala normal plank - as pictured), return to the push-up position and walk your hands up toward your feet (getting as close as possible). Reverse the movement, rinse and repeat.

Back on track. I only allowed 15 minutes to fall asleep last night, and woke up feeling well rested after the scheduled 3 hours' sleep. Eating still feels like the thing to do, and as the longest period I'm asleep is only 3 hours I don't feel as though I'm ever missing a meal. The rapidly-becoming-norm is to have a protein shake upon rising, followed by the usual breakfast about half an hour later.

Following nap

Wow. That was the heaviest nap so far - usually when the alarm goes off after 90 minutes I'm pretty close to waking anyway, and it doesn't come as much of a surprise. This evening, however, it was more a case of 'Where am I? What's that strange noise?'. So it seems that a nap can include some deep sleep (I've had my doubts in the past).

This is a version of the triceps kickback that I first performed a couple of years ago, and subsequently managed to overlook. Whilst reading Bruce Lee's The Art of Expressing the Human Body recently I noticed the same exercise (pp116-117) described by Lee as :

From a standing position, with the barbell held behind you so that it touches the back of your thighs, keep your arms stiff and raise the barbell upward, at the same time inclining the torso forward until it reaches a position parallel to the floor. Raise the bar just as far as it will go, and then give a little extra lift at the end to fully contract the inner [medial] head of the triceps.

I like this exercise for a few reasons.

• It doesn't encourage cheating - unlike its dumbbell cousin.
• Leaning forward helps to ensure a good range of motion.
• Whilst it certainly hits the medial head, this is far from an isolation exercise - you'll feel it in your shoulders (particularly posterior delts) in no small measure. NB: if you've already got less-than-perfectly-healthy shoulders, think twice before trying this.

Definitely worth keeping in the arsenal.

I kept things fairly light this week as it coincided with the adaptation phase of the biphasic sleeping test. Still, the volume is gradually climbing.

Thursday
Chin-up 10@bw
Chin-up10@bw/Bent row 10@40/88 superset 4
Push-ups 10@bw

Friday
Hindu squat (sumo) 50@bw
Squat 10@20/44, 10@40/88
Calf raise 2×10@bw
Step-ups 10@bw

Saturday
Left wrist in pain following Hack Squats. I suspect they simply revealed - rather than caused - it.

Hack squat 2×20@40/88, 2×20@60/132
Chin-up / Pull-up (medium grip) / Pull-up (wide grip) superset 5,5,5 and 5,5,5

Sunday
Wrist still in pain from yesterday. Tried a couple of things then decided to stop before it got any worse.

Bent row 10@60 / Chin-up 10@bw superset 1,1
Shrug 20@60

Monday

Ahh, rack pulls. These didn't seem to bother the wrist at all.

Hanging knee raise 4×20@bw
Rack pull (4 holes showing - about knee height) 2×10@60/132, 2×10@80/176, 2×5@100/225, 2×5@120/280, 2×3@140/315
Shrug 5@140

Tuesday
The magic 50 again (this time with evenly-sized sets). Rest breaks dictated by heartrate rather than time.

Chin-up 10,10,10,10,10 @bw

Wednesday
If 'Floor press lockouts' sound like a strange combination, remember that I haven't got a bench at the moment. It's the floor or nothing.

Push-up 2×20@bw
Floor press lockout 2×20@20/44, 2×10@40/88, 2×10@60/132, 2×5@80/176, 2×5@100/225
Triceps raise 2×10@20/44

Oops - a bit of oversleeping last night. I'm not overly concerned as it was only an extra 3 hours (making 6 hours total) and I woke up naturally between the last few cycles (90 minutes each). Quite possibly a natural part of the adaptation phase.

Something I noticed last night was that I've been eating more often; if only because I tend to eat when either cold or tired. The late meals (between napping and the main sleep) are probably too high in carbs, but things like toast + blueberry jam call to me at that sort of time. These are followed by a simple protein shake just prior to the main sleep (and occasionally another one upon rising).

Following nap

Any fears I had this morning about being unable to sleep (after oversleeping last night) proved unfounded - I fell asleep within minutes and was quite unaware of time passing until the alarm went off 90 minutes later. I'd decided to move the nap back a bit to a 19:45 start; I think I'll keep this start time flexible (to allow for daily changes in tiredness) and leave the main sleep around 02:30 - 05:30.

Virgil Aponte demonstrates [streaming *] a move that slots neatly into the one-armed push-up progression : band-supported one-armed push-ups. After trying these out this afternoon (using a slightly different method to hang the band), I can safely say it'll take a bit of experimentation to find the perfect band/height combination. The Iron Woody green band (as pictured) feels about right for me at the moment.


Something to keep in mind is that the band only remains in place (around the shoulder) with the hand held behind the back - I initially tried a few standard push-ups with the majority of weight being supported by the non-band arm (just to estimate which band to use), and the band kept slipping. Doing them with the hand behind the back was fine.

• .flv file can be downloaded via KeepVid.