Earning your carbs

Good article on clean eating, paleo, and nourishment for energy system specific athletes -
Earn Your Carbs

The author, John Welbourn, is a 10 year vet of the NFL and creator of Crossfit Football.
Although many of you that know me personally know I have a love-hate with Crossfit, I really enjoy John's takes on training.

Check out his blog or Crossfit Football Homepage for more info.

That past couple days have been a little different with the training.

Yesterday I went back to one of Edmonton's top gym's Spark Sport Conditioning for a heavy lift-sprint combo. It looked like this.

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Heavy clean and Jerk

Started off with 5 reps at 185, worked up from there, and finished with a 1-1-1 at 235 with 30 seconds rest between each C&J. Not my PR....but we did some hard sprints stuck in between the lifts which kicked me in the knickers.

I'd explain it more but I don't want to give away the magic that makes Spark's programming special. We have enough cookie cutter gyms out there and crossfit-ra-ra gyms that are so lame with their programming they have to revert to stealing other coach's programs. This is because their weekend certification didn't teach them how to progress an athlete....I'm sorry....going to stop there.

Today's workout I just focused on a heavy singles for a close grip bench press.
Tried hitting the stairs after but legs were shot. Got 5 sets in and had to pull chute and get a big dinner in me to recharge.

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Close grip Bench 135x5, 155x3, 175x3, 185x2, 195x1, 205x1, 215x1, 225x1, 235x1, 245x1.
Ring rows 3x12

Conditioned with 5 sets of stairs.




Have to end off with this 'cuz it's gold! Gold, Jerry!

Boxing Coach

Support local music!

You hear people saying support local farmers, local business', etc. I am a big fan of supporting local music. Some of my fondest memories are going down to the local hall, watching some local punk bands, and hopping in the mosh pit.

This is a local Edmonton band I want you all to go see. Especially if you like some good rock-punk... even folk rifts.

Enjoy, The Old Sins!

I also love the acoustic version on Balcony TV.

Check out more from the Old Sins on their Myspace page

Taken advantage of the nice weather here in Edmonton the past week. Although it has left me with a bad goggle and farmers tan....so I got my work cut out for me.

Like most of you one of my favorite summer workouts is hitting the stairs or a good hill sprint.

You get some sun and take advantage of some nice weather, not something us northern Albertans are used to.

If you've never done this before, and it sounds like a workout you'd like to try, its simple. No matter wear you live all you need to find is a set of stairs outdoors that has 20, 30, or my favorite 200+ stairs (depending if you live in a hilly environment, sorry Sask).

Then, start conservative, and pick a number like 3 sets. Thats 3 times up and down. That's it. Add sets from week to week, play with the rest time between sets, do it as fast as possible, or make it a challenge to see how many you can do in 15 minutes.

These two are my favorites here in Edmonton.

The one above is the Glenora stairs in Edmonton's river valley and below is the Fox Dr. stairs located down by Fort Edmonton Park.

 You'll find me at one of the locations at least once a week. So come join me....cuz it really sucks running alone without someone to chase or chasing you.


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STAIRS! Fox Dr.

7 sets
5 hill sprints

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Squats 45x5, 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 275x5

Weighted Dips w #25 3x8

Conditioning


100 Dbl unders
30 sec rest
21 KBS (kettlebell swings)
12 strict wide grip pull ups
x3

Midline

Ab wheel 4x8

And you wonder why North America is struggling with an Obesity Crisis

Get a load of Taco Bell's new breakfast drink.

'Nuff said....

Nice little Saturday.

Ladies, Gents, how's the week treated you?

My week was long being on the road, stuck in hotel rooms, and not having the best access to proper nutrition. But just one good workout can wash that all away. Today was heavy squat day...probably my favorite day of the week. If you want to see how I structure my workouts look back a couple posts and it's all there.

Love this lil vid

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3RM Squat 5x45, 5x135, 5x225, 3x275, 3x315, 3x345, 3x365, 3x 385
3 RM Press 5x45 5x95, 3x115, 3x 125, 3x135, 3x145, 3x155
Chins 3x10

Rest 10 minutes

2x
1a) max reps neutral grip pulldowns
 b) max reps neutral grip DB press

2) DB rear delt flies 4x10
3) Run the Rack! (DB curls palms up) 8x45's, 8x35's, 8x25's, 8x20's
* start with the 45's and when your done your 8 reps immediately move to the next....great for a pump!

4) Core complex x2 with 1 minute rest between sets

• sprinters sit ups x 20
• v sits x10
• hip ups x 20
• pike sit ups x10

5) Finisher- Body weight complex x 3 with 1 minute rests between sets. Rest as little as possible during the complex

• mountain climbers x 30
• push ups x 20
• groiners x 10
• burpees x5

I'm probably going to change up the style of workouts soon enough. I've had a lot of time to think and am going to sit down and hammer out some goals and a training focus. It will be more along the sort of a block periodization for the next 8-10 months to a year.
Right now it will focus on a lean out phase, bulk/hypertrophy phase, strength cycle, and a conditioning phase....You'll be well aware of my programs as this blog evolves.

Stay strong my friends.

Another gem by Charles Poliquin.

For the full article and more great tips check out his website, Charles Poliquin

Tip 355: Do Sprints for Better Health and Performance: Lose Fat but Don’t Lose Muscle

5/24/2012 8:04 AM  

Do sprints to be healthier and lose fat without losing muscle. A new study shows that an effective short-sprint workout can be done in half the time required for an endurance running program, and it produces better results.

The new study in the Journal of Applied Physiology compared the effects of a 7-week short-sprint training program and an endurance program on various health markers and performance in a mile time trial. Participants were all recreational runners with equal health status. The sprint interval program took less than half the training time of the endurance running protocol, which consisted of three 8-km runs a week. The sprint program included 3 to 5 sets of short sprints (10, 20, or 30 seconds in length) at maximal speed.

Results showed that the short-sprint group increased maximal oxygen uptake by 5 percent, reduced systolic blood pressure by 5 mmHg, and lowered LDL cholesterol  by a clinically significant amount, whereas the endurance training group had no changes in any of these markers. In addition, the short-sprint group improved performance in a mile time trial by 6 percent whereas the endurance group had no change.

Researchers also measured markers of muscle adaptations to determine whether the programs produced  an environment that was anabolic to build muscle, or catabolic to degrade muscle. The sprint program led to muscle protein synthesis, indicating that the high-intensity sprints caused an anabolic stimulus that will prevent loss of muscle tissue, which is particularly important if you want to lose fat but don’t want to lose hard earned muscle at the same time. In contrast, the endurance group produced muscle protein breakdown, indicating that muscle and lean tissue is being catabolized as a result of the endurance training.

Sprints are your best bet if you want to be healthier, be leaner, and improve performance. They go well with a strength training program since both call on the anaerobic energy system to produce a better body composition. Sprint training also produces adaptations that improve performance for activities that call on the aerobic energy systems, such as distance running, cycling, rowing, swimming, or soccer. Read more about the benefit of training the anaerobic energy system in Do Sprint Intervals to Lose Fat Fast and Be Lean for Summer.

 

Reference

Bangsbo, J., Gunnarsson, T. The 10-20-30 Training Concept Improves Performance and Health Profile in Moderately Trained Runners. Journal of Applied Physiology. 2012. Published Ahead of Print. 

Back in town. Gotta hit the bar.

Just got back from a 28 hour job in south east Alberta and I'm only booked in for 12 hours rest....so I had to get a quick workout in before heading back on the rails.

Like I said in my previous post: I squat, push, and pull in every workout. 2 easy squat days and a heavy one at the end of the week. In every workout I focus on one heavy exercise (squat, deadlift or power clean, press, and bench press). Today was working up to a 3RM bench press.
* I always squat first to prime the CNS. I feel better mentally and physically after hitting some squats.

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Squat 5x45, 5x135, 5x185, 5x225, 5x275

3 RM Bench 5x45, 5x135, 5x155, 3x185, 3x195, 3x205, 3x215

Kroc rows 4x10 @ 100 (each arm)

About 30 minutes later I went and hit up a globo gym just to get some more upper body in.

1) 3x8 DB incline bench press @ 80
2a) 4x8 Rope push down @90
  b) 4x8 DB rows @125
3a) BB Shrugs 3x8 @465
  b) Rear delt fly 3x8 (pinkies up)
Conditioning
5 minutes of "Cindy" (5 strict pull ups, 10 HR push ups, 15 air squats) 8 rounds

10 minutes of mobility
100 Band pull aparts

* the a) b) workout is a superset going from one to the other with little to no rest and the resting 1 minute between sets

Until next time, Stay strong!