Minute Drill! (Morning):

Equipment:
Yoga mat

Set:
Burpees - 30s
Mountain climbers - 30s
Jumping jacks - 30s
Burpees - 30s
Split jumps - 30s
Push ups - 30s
Rest - 60s

4 sets

Isometrics (Evening):

Equipment:
Resistance band

Set:
Wall press - Start 5s - Mid 5s - Peak 5s
Leg curl - Start 5s - Mid 5s
Bent over row - Start 5s - Mid 5s - Peak 5s
Deadlift - Start 5s - Mid 5s - Peak 5s

5 sets

Minute drills are never easy... Today was fun though , they're much more rewarding when you get used to them . Following the usual hyperventilation afterward, I recovered more quickly than I used to. This is the first time I've ever done sets of 30s before, I think I coped quite well.

Just found out about this recently and after reading it I think it's worth sharing, some very sensible advice here:

http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/7habits.htm

I wish I'd found this before I wasted my time with the T-Dawg diet, it would have saved me a lot of hassle. I can't handle low-carb but I think I can manage to take the advice from the article.

I had curry a while before my workout, BIG mistake. My stomach couldn't take it so my routine was cut short:

Explosive Strength:

Equipment:
Yoga mat
Resistance band

Set:
Knee tucks - 5
Ankle hop - 10
Clap push-ups - 10
Explosive high band pull - 10
Lunge jumps - 10

4 sets

1 minute jump rope finisher

I can handle exhaustion, I can't handle curry in my stomach when I'm working out. I'm never eating curry on a workout day ever again.

April 17 2008

100 Burpee Challenge (Morning):

Equipment:
Yoga mat

Do 100 burpees as quickly as possible. (My time was 12 minutes 58 seconds)

1 minute jump rope finisher

Isometrics (Evening):

Equipment:
Resistance band
Step/Bench

Set:
Neck - Front 5s - Back 5s - Left 5s - Right 5s
Triceps extension - Start 5s - Mid 5s - Peak 5s
Band chest press - Start 5s - Mid 5s - Peak 5s
Hamstring curl - Start 5s - Mid 5s

5 sets

Well this is my second try at the 100 burpee challenge and my time is worse than my first try when I used to weigh 10kg heavier. Guess that's what I get for taking such a long break in my training. I'm sure my time will improve by the time I finish my training plan though.

Funny thing is, unlike a lot of the other conditioning routines, this one doesn't leave me sore. It hurts like hell while I'm doing it but shortly after I'm right-as-rain.

The good news is that I'm able to do the challenge in much the same time as I used to, and I've only been training around 3 weeks compared to the 6 weeks it took me to get to this point previously.

April 18 2008

Max Strength:

Equipment:
Resistance band
Yoga mat

Set:
Divebombers - 8
Assisted pistols - 5 a side
Pike press - 12
Band good mornings - 15
Band high pull - 20

3 sets

Jump rope finisher - 2 sets of 1 minute

Core:

Equipment:
Ab-wheel
Bench
Dumbbell (8kg)

Set:
Kneeling ab-wheel rollouts - 8
Russian twist - 20
Plank - time

3 sets

Divebombers are something else altogether... Pistols are as challenging as ever, mostly because of limited ROM in my ankles. I'm working with Magnificent Mobility to remedy the problem now. Definitely a good workout, much more challenging than my previous max strength workouts. I'll be working one armed pushups soon, hopefully the divebombers help to that end.

Next workout is possibly the toughest in my plan, the Deck of Cards routine from Never Gymless. I'm going to need some time to recover after today's workout though...

April 22 2008

Isometrics (Morning):

Equipment:
Bench/step
Resistance band

Set:
Leg press - Start 5s - Mid 5s - Peak 5s
Leg curl - Start 5s - Mid 5s
Overhead press - Start 5s - Mid 5s - Peak 5s
Bent over row - Start 5s - Mid 5s - Peak 5s

5 sets

Deck of Cards:

Equipment:
Yoga mat

Work through a shuffled deck of cards.
Do a set of burpees for each red card.
Do a set of pushups for each black card.

The number of reps is determined by the card value. Face cards = 10, aces = 11.

Work through each card in the deck with minimal rest. The routine contains a sum total of 190 burpees and 190 pushups.

This is about 3 times more difficult than it sounds.

I'm surprised to note that I actually feel really good about finishing it.

Well I'm recovering faster than I thought I would. Deck of cards is possibly the toughest routine in my plan. I credit Magnificent Mobility and SMR, as well as my training up to this point for that.

April 25 2008

Explosive Strength:

Equipment:
Resistance band
Yoga mat
Home made sand bag (20 kg)

Set:
Plyometric pushups - 10
Ankle hops - 10
One leg knee tucks - 5 a side
Fast band high pull - 15
Sand bag shouldering - 10

4 sets

Core:

Equipment:
Ab-wheel
Resistance band

Set:
Partial standing ab-wheel roll-outs - 5
Plank - time
Band side bends - 8 a side

3 sets

Partial standing ab-wheel roll-outs rock! They're much more challenging than kneeling rollouts. Also, sandbag shouldering is more fun than I thought it would be.

Next week is my back-off week; so it's back to the beginner's training plan. Well, not as much fun but I welcome the chance for some R&R.

April 27 2008

Isometrics (Morning):

Equipment:
Wall
Towel
Step/Bench

Set:
Wall press - Start 5s - Mid 5s - Peak 5s
Neck - Front 5s - Back 5s - Left 5s - Right 5s
Leg curl - Start 5s - Mid 5s
Towel pull (Horizontal) - Start 5s - Mid 5s - Peak 5s

5 sets

Back-Off Tabatas (Evening):

Equipment:
Jump rope
Yoga mat

Set:
Tabata jump rope
Tabata burpees
Tabata jump rope

1 set

Easy as pie. Only 12 minutes for my main workout... Feels like I should have gone for longer but it is a back-off week so I'm cutting down the lengths of my workouts while keeping the intensity. Still doesn't feel right though...

April 28 2008

Back-off Max Strength:

Equipment:
Resistance band
Yoga mat

Set:
Push-ups - 20
Band high pull - 8
Bodyweight squats - 25
Hamstring curl - 10 a side
Pike press - 8

3 sets

Core:

Set:
Crunches - 10
LHS - 20
Plank - time

3 sets