4/30/08

On the track:
3x600m startin a new effort at the top of 5 minutes. Each effort was about 2:05

I am going to back off on the next 3 day minicycle. I will run a 1 mile "time trial" on Friday, GTG and some grip work on Saturday, and perhaps do some light sprinting with full recovery on Sunday. I am thinking 3x400m with about 4 minutes between efforts.

GTG all day with 6 pull-ups and 29 push-ups

4/29/08

Weighted pull-ups:
5x3 all with 50 pounds

Janda sit-ups:
5x3

Press:
3x3 all with 5 pounds (no laughing)

Pistol:
3 singles per leg

I also tested my vertical jump just to see where I am. I easily maxed out the Vertec (24") on my first try, so I'm all set there.

GTG with sets of 19 push-ups

4/28/08

Sit-ups and swings:
15 sit-ups at the top of each minute for 4 minutes
1 minute rest
20 swings (24kg) at the top of each minute for 4 minutes

3.34 mile run in 26:39

This was 1:10 slower than last time, but I am not worried about it because I caught all three of the lights that can really slow me down on this route during the out portion. The return trip I didn't catch the lights and was almost a full 2 minutes faster. This indicates that my pace was significantly faster than my watch showed.

All day I have been greasing the groove with 24 push-ups and 6 pull-ups.

4/26/08

Lots of calisthenics today. Have been greasing the groove with 28 push-ups and 6 pull-ups, and also did a version of 5 minute abs.

5 min abs
-Sit-ups (30)
-4 count flutter kick (26)
-V-up (16)
-Plank hold
-Sit-ups (15)

Track workout:
-8x200m
These were run starting each effort at the top of a 2:30 countdown timer. Times were 33-35 seconds.

After coming home I did more GTG and another 3 sets of 15 sit-ups.

4/25/08

Shoulder was a bit sore from yesterday. It was definitely my own fault. I read some articles on bending and got so carried away I decided to bend a little. Dumb idea. Anyway, no pressing today. I will probably wait a week before doing it again. Also, the dip belt I've been using for my weighted pull-ups got broken. I don't trust my pull-up bar at home with much weight, so instead of doing 7 heavy singles as I'd planned I just did some light triples. Tried DL again just for the hell of it, but that's a no go too.
Franklin, you asked which PFT I am training for. It is actually with one of the local police departments here in my hometown. The standards are pretty easy, but I want to do well on it because I'm pretty competitive by nature and because it certainly can't hurt my chances in the hiring process to smoke the standards.

Weighted pull-ups:
3x3 at 35

Two hand plate pinch DL:
5-5
55-50

CoC Trainer:
3x3

I also did a set of 10 swings with the 32kg after every set of the other exercises.

Edit: Take note of Annie's new workout blog linked to your right! She has again agreed to be my victim, and I will be prescribing workouts with a goal of increasing her work capacity to the point where she can perform CrossFit workouts as prescribed.

4/24/08

After several minutes of push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups and general screwing around, I ran the 2.5 mile route that I last ran on 4/16/08. My time was 17:58, compared to 19:41 last time. Anything under 18:18 would have been a negative split, as I ran the first 1.25 miles in 9:09. Today's average was 7:12 per mile, compared to 7:54 on the 16th. Progress is good.

Also, tried overhead pressing. I pressed a pair of 15# dumbbells for a set of 10, and 10# for a set of 5. I will start doing DB presses in a PTP format from now on. I will not get heavy enough to interfere with my push-ups since I am starting so light, and of course I will back off if I get sore.

4/22/08

Warm-up:
Face the wall squats, halos and dislocates

Workout:
Squats/32kg swings
100/25
75/50
50/75
25/75*

28:08

*was supposed to be 100, but shoulder started feeling a bit tender, so I pulled the plug

4/21/08

Weighted pull-ups:
5-3-2
45-55-70

21-15-9 rep rds of
Sit-ups
Push-ups
24" box jump

5:01

Colin, that is a great point about the resume enhancing benefits of hosting a TSC. You have made me even more tempted to have a go at it. Training is going really well lately. Funny how having a limiting factor like my shoulder actually improves my training in some ways by forcing me to pare my workouts down to essentials. Definitely a lesson here that I need to apply to my training even when healthy. I am keeping that in mind as I think about my training plan for after the PFT.

Edit: If you want to see what I looked like as a 17 year old Cross Country runner, check out my wife's blog. It is newly linked off to your right. You will have to scroll down a post or two to find it.

4/20/08

5.37k run
25:29

Same run as on 4/12/08, but much faster. Today's effort was about 1 minute faster per mile, and over 3 minutes faster over all.

KB and abdominal drill intervals:
10x30 second rds where every other round is an ab drill and every other round is a KB drill (16kg KB throughout)
-sit-ups
-swings
-flutter kicks
-swings with release at top
-sit-ups
-swings with release at top of every other rep
-flutter kicks
-figure 8 to hold
-sit-ups
-tactical lunge

All day I greased the groove with 22 push-ups and 6 pull-ups.

Light stretching in evening.

4/18/08

10x100m on the track.
Starting each effort at the top of a 60 second countdown timer.

Impossible to time these accurately, so I just ran hard and didn't worry about it. Surprisingly good "cardio" workout. I may work some KB stuff this evening, but this has to have been a great workout to increase work capacity.

Something else interesting and non training-related is that we experienced a small but very noticeable earthquake this morning just after I woke up.

4/17/08

Weighted pull-ups:
5x2
25-35-45-55-65

Um, that's it actually. Pretty light today.

Edit: I couldn't let it stand at such a light workload. I tried some deadlifts again today when I did the pull-ups, and they still cause a little discomfort. Swings, however, leave me feeling fine, so today I moved up to the 24kg.

10 rds of
-Close the CoC Trainer, 3 reps L/R
-24kg swing, 10 reps

Didn't keep time, but worked up a pretty good sweat and felt good to swing something a little heavier than the 1 pood. Don't get me wrong, it's a cute little kettlebell, but I like my bigger ones better.

4/16/08

Modified 5 minute abs:
-Flutter kicks
-Sit-ups
-Flutter kicks
-Sit-ups
-Plank hold

Additional set of 12 GHD sit-ups later in the day, as well as a one minute test after my run in which I got 31 reps.

Run:
10 minutes out, 9:41 back for a total 2.5 mile course. (Slightly better than an 8 minute mile pace, so not outstanding by any stretch.) Will run the same course again in 8 days, ideally in less than 19:41.

In the evening I did the following brief workout:
5 rds of
16kg KB swing, 25 reps
10 squats

Didn't time it, but moved at a steady fast pace throughout. I would be surprised if it took much over 5 minutes to complete.

PTP cycling with light weights for Franklin

Franklin, you asked about my making gains in the deadlift by training with mostly light weights in a PTP format. First of all, in adapting any of these comments to your own training, there is some context to keep in mind. When I began training the PTP deadlifts I already had some history with the lift and had a max of 365. Also, I have consistently trained power cleans, KB swings, weighted pistols and squats on the same days as my deadlifts. This is not a “Party Approved” method and may indeed prove too stressful on many people’s backs, but it has worked well for me.
An example of a deadlifting cycle might look something like what follows. If you REALLY care about knowing exact weights that I have used then my training is all in my blog, but I think this fictional example may be sufficient to answer your question. The cycle below would be based on a max of 400 pounds.

Day 1: 275x5, 250x5 (starting about 68% of 1RM)
Day 2: 280x5, 255x5
Day 3: 285x5, 260x5
… (etc. 5 pound jumps for several days)
Day 7: 305x5, 270x5
Day 8: 315x5, 285x5
Day 9: 325x5, 295x5 (feels heavy, but good)
Day 10: 335x5, 305x5 (feels heavy. I estimate I have one more good day and I want to wrap this cycle up)
Day 11: 375x3, 315x5 (That felt heavy as hell. Tomorrow off.)
Day 12: 285x5, 260x5

OR at day 10 I might have realized that that was as heavy as I want to go, and this is where having some training history and a willingness to be flexible would kick in.

Day 10: 335x5, 305x5 (I got it, but don’t feel good about going up next time)
Day 11: 310x5, 280x5
Day 12: 315x5, 280x5
Day 13: 325x5, 295x5
Day 14: 335x5, 305x5 (much better this time, go for it next session)
Day 15: 375x3, 315x5
Day 16: 315x5, 275x5

Training frequency on the deadlifts would be anywhere from 3-6 days a week for me, with other exercises about once or twice a week each. (See previous posts for examples of my programming.)

Hope this helps. The reason for the bigger jumps near the end of the cycle is because once the weights start to feel heavy I don’t like to hang out in that range for too long. By using big jumps I can cut the length of the cycle and spend the majority of my time lifting lighter weights. Obviously as Pavel has said you have to lift heavy weights sometimes, but too much work in the 80-95% range leaves me drained. Practice with weights in the 65-80% range allows me to get form dialed in with weights that are heavy enough to enforce good form but light enough to allow me to deadlift and train my assistance lifts every day without feeling drained.

4/14/08

5x400m on the track
1. 1:16
2. 1:14
3. 1:19
4. 1:30 (deliberately took it easy after performance dropped on #3)
5. 1:14

Was completely wiped, so 5 minute abs became 3 minute abs. I know it's pathetic, but I felt like I had been put through the wringer.

3 minute abs:
-flutter kicks
-sit-ups
-plank

Got 15 sit-ups.

Stretched out.

All day I have been greasing the groove with 25 push-ups and 5 pull-ups when possible. I have done about 6 sets so far.

4/13/08

Colin, your guesses on the PFT were very close. The events are: 300m run, 2400m run, vertical jump, push-ups with no time limit and sit-ups in one minute. The standards are pretty laughable. I think the 2.4k has to be done in just under 17 minutes, while the push-ups and sit-ups are both below 30 reps. Vertical jump is 16 inches. The 300m run is like 71 seconds. Obviously I could probably hit the standards without even training at all, and I've done very well in the past by just doing my CrossFit type stuff, but this time I want to see how well I can do with a few weeks of specific training.

Today I tried deadlifting 135 and it hurt, so that's still a no go.

Good morning:
3x5 with 135

Weighted pull-ups:
3x5 with 20

KB swings:
3x20 with 16kg

CoC grippers:
Trainer- 3x3 L/R
#1- 1L/2R

4/12/08

I'm sorry for my extended absence Colin. I had an absolutely crazy week at work and was feeling sorry for myself because of my shoulder, so I didn't train at all and ignored this blog. Today I am back with a plan for my PFT training, which as of a few minutes ago is off to a pretty good start.

Here is the plan:
Day 1: Longer run (a touch over 3 miles) and 5 minute abs. GTG with push-ups and pull-ups when a bar is available. Stretch.
Day 2: Weighted pull-ups and DL or good mornings if I am not up to deadlifting. Kettlebell work and light pressing as I am able. GTG same as day 1. Stretch.
Day 3: Speed work on the track and 5 minute abs. GTG same as day 1. Stretch.
Day 4: Off. Optional 1 mile run and stretching.
Day 5: 20 minute run. (On the first of these I will turn around at the 10 minute mark adn strive for a negative split on the return trip. On the 20 minute runs that follow I will use the same turnaround point and try to see how fast I can complete the same distance.) 5 minute abs. GTG same as day 1.
Day 6: Same as day 2.
Day 7: Same as day 3.
Day 8: Same as day 4.

I will go through this 8 day cycle 4 times before the PFT and will have about a 3 day taper.

Today's run was about 5.37 km according to runthere.com
I completed it in 28:53, which is not fast at all.

5 minute abs consists of 1 minute of each of the following exercises.
-Flutter kicks
-V-ups
-Rowers (hard to describe)
-Sit-ups
-Planks (static hold on elbows and toes)

I will just try to keep moving on the first 3. I would like to get the sit-ups up to 29 (the standard for the test) but today I got just 14. The plank I held for the full minute.

4/6/08

3 rounds of:
10 pull-ups
20 sit-ups
20 push-ups

Need to back off the push-ups. My shoulder is pretty tender.

4/5/08

Push-ups:
4x20

DH pull-ups:
3x10

GHD sit-ups:
3x15

Ran 8x200m on the track, starting a new effort every 2:30. These were all consistent at about :35, so I was getting about 1:55 recovery between efforts.

4/4/08

Back squat:
15-12-9
165-175-185

Weighted pull-ups:
3x5
30-15-15

Weighted sit-ups:
3x5
25 across

4/03/08

Colin, I am sorry to report that your comment came too late. I had already killed the dog. Let this be a lesson to all reading this blog- if you mess with my old copies of Hardstyle Magazine I will take you in the back yard and hit you with a shovel and then bury you amidst the daffodils. Just kidding, of course. The dog is fine and probably at home doing mischief as we speak.

Pull-ups:
5x5

Push-ups:
5x10

Box Jumps:
2x10

GHD Sit-ups:
3x10

Run 1 mile on the track:
6:52 easy/medium pace

I know I said I would hold off on the push-ups, but yesterday I found out there is a police PFT on May 17, so I cranked out a couple sets of 15 and 20 to see how it felt. It didn't bother me, so I am slowly adding them back in. I also did a couple sets of 20 this morning. Not that I guess it matters now though, since I found out I have to work on the 17th and I can't really get out of it. Too bad, because I was really excited at the prospect of trying again for a law enforcement job.

4/02/08

Back squat:
165x5, 145,5

Weighted pull-up:
27.5x5, 12.5x5

Exercise bike:
15 minutes of :30 hard 1:00 easy

4/1/08

Back squat:
155x5, 140x5

Shoulder was a little tender after yesterday's pull-ups, so I skipped them today. I will try again tomorrow to see how it feels, and if it is tender again I will lay off of them for at least a week.