Sunday Sept. 30/12

Make-up, Repeat or Recover Day!

Tis Sunday and if I was a bettin' man I would hope to bet that everyone is crushin' their own program on the days away from work too and you're that type of person then Sunday typically ends up being a recovery day......

Now, if that is not your gig and you are just following along with blog workouts (or using them to supplement your program) then here's the scoop.

Find a past workout that you missed and give it a whirl, or a past workout that you did and repeat it- note your improvements!  This one should be an easy one to find right there in your workout log book, iPhone app etc......

WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T HAVE A WORKOUT LOG??

Probably the single most important part of my gym kit is my log book.  Every workout I do is directly impacted by its pages of past workouts.  Every personal record I have achieved in the last couple years (especially the last 20 or so weeks) I think I can attribute to the fact that I logged where I was, what I did, and my journey to get to where I am now.  Pretty sweet, after about 20 weeks of focused training I am the strongest I have ever been in all of the core lifts (squat, deadlift, bench press, shoulder press).

On second thought, don't get a log going.  Having a tool to keep you focused on your program, track your daily increases in fitness and document your journey to your Wild Ass Goals (WAGs) is highly over-rated.....

Thursday Sept. 27/12

A. Squat 3 sets of 5 reps, or Deadlift 1 set of 5 reps (add 5# to last time)

B. Shoulder Press 3 sets of 5 reps (add 2.5 to 5# to last time)

C. Set a timer for 4:00, start series at beginning of 4:00 period and rest for whatever time remains (if it takes you 60s to complete the list of movements you get to rest for 3 mins).
- *Sled Drag Forward 50-75' with 45# plate on it (add 25-45# per round)
- Sled Drag Backward 50-75' with same wt
- **10-15 Sledge hammer on big tire fast
- rest remainder of time

*The key here is that you will increase load for each round, speed should remain constant at a strong medium pace- no sprinting (dragging hoseline with intent).  Once you are unable to add more wt on sled and complete both drags then it is time to call it quits.

**with this overhead chopping motion try to focus on keeping pelvis stable and neutral at all times- think of abs as being straight the whole time and force coming from the bend in your hips not in th crunch of your abs.  Might read a bit confusing but trying to focus on abs as stabilizers of spine under load instead of generating force with flexing your trunk.  No matter what the # of reps you get, once you are not able to hold the stability of your trunk the set is over.  DO NOT continue with set if not holding stability.  Do same # of reps for each round until unable to keep same # and then call it quits.

D. want to do extra?  work on either:
- efficiency of running tower/stairs
- picking up dummie for drags with good back mechanics
- tying knots while tired
- practicing hasty harnesses

Get a good stretch at some point during day- if there is a break between workout and stretch period be sure to warm up a bit first!  Check out the previous post for some good quad/hamstring stretches.

After he presses he does the type of sledge work for today..... what a beast.

Saturday Sept. 22/12

A. Squats- 3 sets of 5 reps/ or Deadlifts- 1 set of 5 reps- for either add 5-10# to last time.... what do you mean you don't know what you had on there last time?  Start writing down your workouts!

B.  3x
-Bench Press- 5 reps - add 5# to last time
-Lower Ab Coordination- as many reps as you can hold spine to floor (this is the one I showed you- lift one leg, crush your hand and then lower the leg keeping hand squished... repeat alternating sides until unable to keep pressure)
Rest 1-3mins

C. 5x heavy and fast
- 30s One Hand Farmer walk (weak hand); 30s active rest
- 30s One Hand Farmer Walk (strong Hand); 30s active rest
**Keep posture perfect here, no excessive leaning to the side.  THis might mean that you need to lessen wt. to accomodate upright torso/posture- you can always go faster if it feels easy!

D.  Got time?  Play around with dragging the sled, running stairs etc.  Just remember, we are not trying to crush ourselves but make ourselves better!  This means that this can be taxing work but once you notice a decline in performance you best be calling it quits for the day!

Some good stretches to finish off the day:

Quad Stretch.... too awesome!  Be careful and try to straighten hip in every position (clench butt cheek).


Hamstring Stretches- keep low back off floor in nuetral alignment the whole time.  Remember do with straight knee and bent knee to get more benefit.

Wed Sept. 19/12

A. Squat; 3 sets of 5 reps- add 5# to last time!  If no rack available take wt from the floor and get to your shoulders- 3 sets of 10-15 reps at most you can get up safely.  Can sub for deadlift 1 set of 5 reps if needed (add 5-10# to last time!)

B. Strength circuit:
set up a station for each of these types of movements, work for 60s at each one.... 60s rest between each one X 2-3 rounds.  Intensity/effort level in the 7-8/10 range.

- Object Carry- moderately heavy and far- example- farmer carry, fireman carry, bear hug walk, zercher walk...
- Stationary upper body pull- example hand over hand sled pulls
- forward drag- example sled drag over shoulder, sled chest press,
- core conditioning- example- sledge hammer, alternating KB swings, partner med-ball toss (not situps)
- light and fast- example- stairs, jog, row...

**I have started making my rounds looking at technique for the lifts and talking about how to keep your workouts safe in the wt room.  If I haven't go to you yet you will see me very soon.  With this in mind, if you have questions about how to do any lifts (squat/deadlift etc) or are uncomfortable with your technique then forgoe squats with wt or many reps- think of it as skill work and we will hammer through the finer points when I get to you!

Friday Sept. 14/12

Training:
A. Squat- 3 sets of 5 reps (add 5# to last time), or Deadlift- Build to a heavy set of 5 reps (add 5# to last time)

B. 3 sets:
- 5 Shoulder Press (use same wt for all 3 sets, add 2.5-5# to last time)
- 10 One Arm DB Rows per arm

C. Alternate between each of these for 30s on, 30s off.  Stop when distances covered start to decrease and use a wt. that feel not too bad to start- effort level in the 8-9/10 range.  Shoot for 10 rounds.

Sled Drag- 45-135#
Farmer Carry- Foam pails or greater

Tuesday Sept. 11/12

Make-Up, Repeat or recovery day!

Here's the deal, you should be well on your way to recovery from tower day yesterday and so dependign on your level of fatigue/involvement with the work of yesterday you need to be a big boy (or girl) and decide what you need most.
Options:
- Pick a workout you missed in the last little while and give it a whirl
- Pick a workout you liked and re-do it, see if you have improved or at least stayed the same as far as your abilities go
- Take a recovery day- not an excuse to not be in the gym!  Get in there, warm up thoroughly and then spend a good chunk of time getting limbered up stretching, foam rolling or practicing techinique of any movements you are working on- great day to hammer the technique of your squat!!

If these work they are from mobilitywod.com, too awesome for your flexiness!


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Thursday Sept. 6/12

Strength work done in workout gear and conditioning is ideally done with full PPE on, air optional.

A. Squat or Deadlift; 3 sets of 5 reps- add 5lbs to last time (yes I know we do either squats or deads every workout... you'll get stronger and possibly put some hair on your chest because of it!)

B. Bench Press; 3 sets of 5- add 2.5 to 5lbs to last time

C. 3x
Hand over Hand Sled pull- 10m heavy
*90s heavy stair climb or sled drag
90s rest

D. 3x
50' Sled chest press- heavy
90s one arm farmer carry- Switch hands at 45s, do weaker side first!
90s rest

*If doing stair climb full PPE and throw the standpipe pack on, no need to run just keep moving at a decent pace for whole 90s- try to end up at bottom of stairs.
If doing sled drags then wt. should be such that you can keep it moveing for the whole 90s, you can always speed up or add wt. if needed!  Ideally you will also be carrying the hose-pack too so don't get too crazy with sled weight.

Monday Sept. 3/12

Little OT workout anyone??

A. Squat- 3 sets of 5 reps (add 5-10# to last time), or Deadlift if in 89st- work up to a heavy set of 5 (add 5-10# to last time)

B. 3-6x- With full PPE on, air optional.
10 Bent Over BB Rows
100' Sled Drag Forward
100' Farmer Carry- minimum foam pails (50' out and back so you end up at sled)
100' Sled Drag Backward
20 Sledge Hammer on Tire- alternating hands

Set your weights and pace such that you are able to complete this within 40-60s.  The idea here is that you will be resting for 2-5x the time it took you to work, so line up and only one person working at a time.  If you are resting you can be encouraging your partner!

Today we are workin our Anaerobic-Lactic system- this tends to be a dominant energy system in our profession as we have a lot of hard work intervals mixed in with down time or less work periods- think about when you pull up on scene:
- Pull line and tools, rest while waiting for line to be charged and get ready to enter
- hump hose through hallway, rest while partner does search.... repeat.
- Pull ceiling and move furniture for a few mins, take a breather when needed

The deal here is that we are TRAINING the system while working out today.  So that means that we will work for 40-60s of hard effort then rest for 1:20-5:00 depending on your time and recovery needs.

Tactics:
- While doing this aim to be finished in 40s (this may not be possible but if you are above 60s the loads or distances are too much for you for today)
- Time yourself EVERY TIME, this is important!
- Note when you decline in performance (>10%)- lets say you are 45s each set and consistent, then on one you are 47s (+2s) and then the next you are 51s (+5s/10% from original time) THAT WAS YOUR LAST REP/SET!

We are trying to train, not test our system.  Stopping at this point of decline indicates that your body has taken enough of a stimulus to promote change.  To keep going from here is a request to overtrain or get possibly injured ( maybe not in the workout but possibly later on) because your ability to repair/heal/supercompensate will be hampered or overly taxed.

Remember: "Every rep has a cost, but every rep does not have a benefit."