Workouts

Friday’s workout

Posted by abraham.williams@gmail.com on in Health, Workouts

It was a great day in San Francisco on Friday, 9/14/07. As it had been a while since I’ve used my climbing rope (3 weeks!) and done abdominal work (about 1 week), I went for L-climbs. L-climbs are hands only with legs in the pike position. It is also called a pike climb. In addition, I went for full body with a clean and press w/ a 44lb (20kg) kettle bell. It looked this this:

3 rounds:

  • 5 clean and press (right and left side each)
  • 2 L-climbs up 11 feet from sitting position (fast up, slow down)

This took about 10 minutes. It was only 2 exercises, but it was a kicker. There’s no need to spend hours in the gym!

I finished off with a 1 hour walk with the dog for my “cardio”.

Walk, walk, walk.

Posted by abraham.williams@gmail.com on in Health, Workouts

I see many folks who are confused about what to do for exercise. There’s so much info about doing strength training and it’s benefits. There are all kinds of sports and many things for people to do. However, probably one of the best things any one person can do to get healthy or maintain their health is walk. That’s right, just walk.

If you don’t exercise at all, start walking. Walk for 3o min a day, every day. You will feel great and you will lose weight.

There’s no need to bother with going to a gym, just walk before or after lunch. Or, you can walk early in the morning or later in the evening. If you have legs, you don’t need a gym membership. You’ve got all you need.

Get walking. I’ve seen the results in my wife who has recently starting walking. Prior to this she ran about 2 times a week for about 40 minutes. While she enjoyed the running, her body stayed the same. However, after 2 weeks of walking regularly, she has definitely lost weight.

For me, I do no cardio to speak of. I walk 3o min to an hour every day in addition to my 3 to 4 sessions of evolutionary fitness movements. I’m down to 10% body fat now.

Same workouts over and over = repetitive stress

Posted by abraham.williams@gmail.com on in Workouts

I was talking with a friend who described his workout to me. He goes to the gym three times a week. He told me he does about 12 exercises. This is his routine:

  • 3×10 Bench press
  • 3×10 Flys
  • 3×10 Incline or decline bench press
  • 3×10 Curls
  • 3×10 Hammer Curls
  • 3×10 Concentration Curls
  • 3×10 Tricep Rope extensions
  • 3×10 Tricep Kickback
  • 3×10 Overhead tricep extension

I said, you do this 3 times a week? He said, “Yes.” I asked if he has back pain. He says, “Yes.” I told him, “Dude, you are only working your chest and your arms and you are overworking them. You are doing the same exercises over and over. Do you know what repetitive stress is?” He says, “No.” He is doing 9 sets on his chest three times a week! It’s the same for the arms. As bizarre as this sounds, I know it’s common. (I even did it before I knew better.)

It took a great deal of explanation to illustrate that the medial rotators (chest and biceps) have antagonistic partners (a.k.a all the upper back muscles). These are the lateral rotators and they are being put on a constant stretch by the tight chest muscles, which means they are being weakened. When I pointed out his medial rotation and protraction of his scapula, I think he almost got it.

Since I know he is going for size and looks, I tried to sway him by recommending he work on his back and legs where he’ll gain the most size. I don’t think he was interested. I tried the symmetry angle as well…no dice. I talked about giving the muscles enough time to recover. If they are overworked, they will only become inflamed. Also, I explained his method likely only produce cortisol and not growth hormone which means he’s actually defeating his entire purpose.

Nonetheless, he is continuing his chest and arms workout. He also goes heavy most every time and 1 rep max is just about every week. It’s only a matter of time before he’s injured.

Variable Workouts

Posted by abraham.williams@gmail.com on in Health, Workouts

Since I have been following a varied exercise program, I have developed a system to ensure that I cover the planes of the body, cover push/pull, cover phosphagen system, cover oxidative system, etc.

I have a large repertoire of exercises. They run the gamut of angles and philosophies. For example, I’ve got kettle bell movements, yoga movements, Pilates, body weight calisthenics, gymnastics, parkour movements, free weights, medicine balls, tree climbing…the list goes on. Because I want to ensure that I don’t develop repetitive injuries, I choose different exercises from this repertoire every week. I watch which exercises should be phased out for a couple of weeks if my shoulders feel overworked or if my arms are overworked or if my glutes are under worked. You get the picture?

So far this has worked well. No injuries to speak of and I feel as though I’m in shape for any sporting movements. I especially like doing what I call Peaks and Valleys. This is where I start with say 5 reps of an intense exercise, decrease by 1 rep for each set until I reach 1 and then I increase 1 rep for each subsequent set. I often do this where I have 3 to 4 exercises in a circuit. I do this without planned breaks in the session; however, if I am winded, I rest. For example, I’ll do 5 reps of pull ups, 5 reps of handstand push ups, 5 reps of dips, and 5 1 legged squats. Then, I’ll do 4 of reps of each exercise, then 3, and so on until I’m at 1 rep. This is going from Peak to Valley. Once I’m at 1 rep, I then move on to another peak. Note: 1 legged squats really get the heart pumping!

Here’s an example of last week’s progression:

  • Sunday: Rested
  • Monday: Tread water for 10 min, Peaks and valleys using 5 reps as starting peak with the following exercises: Handstand push ups, burpees, kong vaults, horizontal pull ups, front flips into the pool. Total time: 25 min
  • Tuesday: Rested
  • Wednesday: Rested
  • Thursday: Front planks, side planks, back bridge, 3×20 of Hindu push ups, Hindu squats, pull ups. Total time: 15 min
  • Friday: Rested
  • Saturday: 3 sets of 5 minutes of chasing tennis ball bounced off garage while barefoot, alternated with tree climbs and a few laps in the pool. Total time 25 min.
  • Sunday: Alternating hand placement push ups, 2×12 1 legged squats, Pilate’s toe touches, Pilate’s 100s. Total time 15 min.

I should note that this routine was totally modified for being away from my kettle bells and having a swimming pool nearby. I don’t normally have a pool. I also normally take a long walk, but I’m in a place with chiggers.