Results matching “Bird”

Thanks John.

I enjoy rotating my exercise selection regularly - it keeps things moving, the body adapting and prevents workouts from getting boring. Today I was reminded (reading John's blog) of an exercise that I had first seen over a year ago, considered interesting and promptly forgotten.

Welcome the Cuban Press. As with the Zottman Curl, the Cuban press is limited (in terms of the weight you can hoist) by one small part of the lift - the rotation.

According to a number of sites around the web, as well as photos in trashy fitness magazines, a lot of people seem to think the rotation part makes up the entire exercise. Unfortunately (or fortunately, for anyone with a slightly masochistic nature) that's only one part of three.

I've noticed lately that my workouts are getting slightly shorter - though certainly not lighter. This gradual increase in intensity seems to be taking precedence over volume, and that feels about right for this time of year. Especially coming into the various Edinburgh festivals.

Whilst the shoulders still haven't become used to a regular battering, at least the pain now feels just like any other muscle soreness. Particularly good in the middle of a set, and the weights are climbing accordingly.

I'm even tempted to set a regular date for repeating the structural balance test that captured so much attention a while back.

Pull-up (wide grip) 2×5@bw
Bench press (45 deg incline, close-grip) 8×3@40/88
Standing L-flye 4×5@5/11
Seated half press 4×8@40/88, 2×8@50/110
Neider press (2 plates) 4×10@10/22

Yesterday's scheduled squat workout never felt right. After a few sets of light depth-checking I decided to leave it until today.

The squats today still didn't feel right (couldn't get into a comfortable rhythm at all) so I elected to switch to a bit of deadlifting instead. Nothing like a bit of rack pulling to get the blood pumping.

With my stance now reasonably wide, I reduced my grip width a little; bringing both hands well into the smooth area of the bar. Whilst this made the movement a little easier overall, grip was certainly a concern - particularly for the last couple of sets.

Rack pull (above knee) 8×3@140/308
Dimel deadlift 4×12@60/132
RDL (sumo, explosive) 4×10@60/132
assorted ab work

NB : I suspect Brent Mikesell's current deadlift challenge (405×20) is safe for a few weeks at least (from me, anyway).

With my shoulders and triceps both vying for the crown of 'weakest body part', I decided to give them both a bit of a hit with close-grip incline bench presses. These were done at 45 degrees with a grip width of 14", just to make sure they felt the full effect.

As the picture shows, they did (it's at a poor angle, but this is as far as 60kg got).

Bench press (close-grip, 45 deg) 20@20/44, 10@30/66, 5@40/88, 5@50/110, 0@60/132
Standing L-Flye (slotted between bench sets) 4×5@5/11
Seated Half press 4×12@30/66
Tricep extension (band) 50@blue

This morning I woke up thinking about the deadlift (don't worry, this happens quite often). Following Chris' recent grip widening, I decided to begin today's workout with Snatch-grip Deadlifts.

After working up to a 5RM I decided I'd better leave something in the tank for the rest of the workout, but after RDLs and abs I was ready for a break.

Deadlift (snatch-grip) 10@20/44, 5@40/88, 5@60/132, 5@80/176, 5@100/220
RDL 4×6@100/220
Assorted ab work

NB : these were actually very low rack pulls, as they were done off low pins (didn't have time to drag out the usual boards which protect the floor for deadlifts).

Today's workout followed last week's shoulders/triceps routine, with a subtle change: the substitution of volume for weight. At least as far as the shoulders were concerned. Hopefully that will mean I can get the recovery time back in line with everything else (it ended up pushing everything back a day last time).

The incline bench presses which followed moved up to 30 degrees (the bench has settings for 15, 30 and 45 deg) and the shoulders reacted accordingly. As much as I hate doing it, I reduced the weight in order to get through the sets.

Handstand push-ups are a long, long way away.

Shoulder press 4×12@25/55
Bradford press 4×6@25/55
Front plate raise 2×10@10/22
Incline bench press (30 deg) 3@50/110, 7×3@40/88
Seated half press 4×12@25/55
Dip 2×10@bw
Tricep pushdown (band) 50@blue

If the Jesse Marunde video that Chris linked to recently whet your appetite for Strongman lifts, there are a few videos at Diesel Crew that should keep you going.

Whilst looking around for information on 'bottom-up' squatting, I also noticed this video of Bud Jeffries doing 1,000 lb raw. Warning : he gets just a tad excited.

Last week's above parallel box squats convinced me to check my depth on the regular, box-free variety. In order to do these I set the pins such that I'd have to just touch them each time I went deep enough. After a few sets of these I realised that it just isn't something I usually do.

Not wishing to become a quarter-squatter, I churned out several sets with the bar starting on the pins. A wider stance certainly helped here - as wide as the rack allows (112cm/44"). Whilst they weren't quite as deep as I'd like, they certainly felt much better than in previous sessions.

Squat several sets to check depth, then 8×3@60/132
Arched back GM 4×5@40/88

Superset:
Waiter's bow 4×10@15/33
Hanging knee raise 4×10@bw

Now it's time to work on sitting back a bit.

Music certainly makes a difference in workouts (as anyone who's ever tried lifting weights to a bit of Britney Spears would know - don't ask). My brother has always had a heavier taste in music - the stuff I now work out to is the stuff he's listened to/performed for years - and his latest recommendation was Chimaira. Perfect.

With my shoulders, triceps and lower back all still in recovery mode yesterday I put off this week's ME BENCH session until today. Despite the delts still complaining about last week's battering I worked up to a fairly solid 5RM just shy of my current 1RM. Sliding an extra couple of plates on the bar is not looking too distant.

A bit of upper back work finished things off (it was just a brief lunchtime session); including shrugs which are now just below my deadlift max.

Gorilla chin 4×8@bw
Bench press 20@20/44, 10@40/88, 5@50/110, 5@60/132, 5@65/143, 5@70/154, 5@75/165
Bent row 4×8@60/132
Shrug 20@60/132, 10@100/220, 10@120/264, 5@140/308

This is definitely one to try out when no-one's looking - especially if your balance is anything like mine. As the name suggests, this is a normal two-handed deadlift, with the only difference being that only one foot is in contact with the ground at any time. And no, resting the other foot on top of the first is not allowed.