LOVE THIS STRETCH!

I really just wanted to share this bit of info with you guys because as it has helped me, I think it will benefit you as well. Aside from stealing hugs and kisses from my beautiful niece and hanging out with the fam, this has been one of my most exciting and most lucrative things to do lately.  My body has thanked me big time.

I have been getting in anywhere between two and four extra stretching/recovery/regeneration sessions in per week at home with a heavy band, a lacrosse ball, a pvc pipe and a sweet wooden floor that allows for above average gliding skills during the SMR (self-myofascial release).

I cannot believe how healthy my joints, muscles and body feels after the last 3 weeks of these extra rejuvenation session.

I am thinking of filming some of these home office/training lab feel good sessions so be on the look out for some training footage of some serious damage control and heavy duty foam rolling without the foam.

The fun part about these sessions at home lately is I have been able to spend some quality time without interruption on a specific muscles and get the lax ball in there and than follow that up with a static stretch for that particular muscle group.  Many times I get sidetracked at when doing certain exercises at the gym.  Usually when I am squatting, benching or deadlifting people tend to let me be however when I am lounging on a foam roller or lacrosse ball I can get sidetracked by messages, questions, etc. So doing this type of workout at home for me is ideal because it has allowed the peace and quiet I am looking for in this type of recovery workout.  Some may actually benefit by coming to the gym to do this type of workout because that will give them the most peace and quiet and if that’s so than get you butt in and STRETCH!

The other thing I think that has been really effective and helpful during these at home stretch sessions is the choice of music I have been listening to.  This is not to say that it has not been a mixture however I have been stretching and foam rolling to music that feels relaxing and soulful at the time I start my home workout.  Sometimes it’s heavy music, some days its reggae, but most always it is something in my collection of tunes that has given me some really good experiences over the years and I can feel in my soul on that day.  This type of music selection has helped tremendously in relaxing and healing some muscle issues that I have been having.  Music is key and I think if you try this home workout you will feel exactly like I do which is refreshed and this feeling is priceless for many of us with such busy, hectic lives.

Lastly I think by adding in these home recovery sessions I have been able to spend more quality time playing and rolling around with my baby boys Harley & Titan. It is pretty neat being able to roll around and stretch while the boys are licking my face, wrestling each other, bullying me around.  They have really enjoyed having me down on the floor where they are like one of them.

Here is just a quick of the top of my head list of the exercises I do during these at home recovery sessions:

• Lax Ball SMR on calves, glutes, ITBand, hip flexors, hamstrings at certain spots, bottom of feet and anywhere that hurts
• Leg Swings both forward/backward and side to side
• Green Band 2 Way Hamstring Stretch
• 90/90 Hip Stretch on Floor
• 3 position Hip Flexor Stretch with Quad Stretch
• Side Lying Rib Pulls
• REPEAT Lax Ball SMR on rhomboids, lower/upper traps, rotators, delts, triceps, anywhere that hurts
• Green Band Shoulder Dislocators
• Standing No Money w/ Band
• YTWL’s
• Green Band Traction Stretches on each chest, shoulder and lat.
  

  THIS REALLY HURTS!

I have also included the following exercises if I felt good and need a good sweat and workout:

• Band Pull Aparts
• Single Leg Bridges
• Passive & Active Leg Lowering
• Scapular Pushups
• Close grip Pushups
• TRX Y-Raises
• TRX Rows
• One Arm KB Row (with various elbow positions)
• KB Swings
• KB Windmills
• Turkish Get Ups
• 1/2 Turkish Get Ups
• All Types of Planks

So if you are feeling beat up and run down than back off some heavy sessions and add in some regeneration sessions and you will feel WAY BETTER!

If you are not sure what some or any of these exercises above are than just post a comment or shoot us an email letting us know and I will be sure to put some fresh educational videos up for you guys.

There are two strength coaches out there that talk about something that is called irradiation or radiant tension. Pavel Tsatsouline has been talking about irradiation for many years and the boys from the Diesel Crew, Jedd and Smitty have been the leading authority on grip strength for years.  I remember years ago first discovering them and watching there garage videos thinking these guys were nuts but they were on to something that is invaluable to anyone looking to get in great shape.  Your grip strength is a extremely important component to a solid program.  Jedd talks about radiant tension which in simple terms means utilizing your grip strength and musculature to create tension throughout your arm and into your shoulder making the entire area a stronger unit working as one.  While you are sitting there reading this do me a favor and squeeze your fist as hard as you can for 30 seconds.  When you do this you will feel your entire arm up into your shoulder get tense.  This tension is what can save your shoulder.

Many times when performing exercises we think about specific muscles however we do not think about using them as one unit to create a stronger unit of muscles.  When doing a military press we think of pressing with our shoulders and triceps yet we forget that we are or at least should be grounding our heels to the floor, contracting our glutes and core and flexing our lats to stabilize the weight at our start and finish position.  We should be thinking of using the body together as a unit and allowing muscles to help each other in achieving the lift.

When we take about creating tension in our grip we are creating tension in our entire arm and shoulder which in turn enhances strength of the shoulder.  Now we should always strive to have mobility in the shoulder joint however when performing exercises such as a overhead press or anything that has to do with the shoulder joint we must learn how to create tension and stabilize it to keep it safe and out of harms way.  The bottoms up kettlebell exercises below will do just that.

Below you will find some really basic exercises that you can turn into some invaluable tools to increase your grip strength, shoulder strength along with the exercises working the heck out of your core and teaching you how to engage your lat muscles during a overhead press.  This last one is really something that many don’t realize but is a tremendous tool to increase your overhead pressing strength.  If you learn how to engage your lat to pull the weight down from overhead you will find your strength skyrocket.  It is basically all about creating that tension throughout your body and learning how to make your muscles work like a unit of one.

Check out the video below and leave me a comment letting me know what you think……..if you have any questions pertaining to the exercises let me know.

Warm-Up
Foam Rolling: Entire Body
Dynamic Warm-Ups: Walking Knee Hugs, Squat to Stand, Leg Swings (fwd/bwd & Side2side), Glute Bridges, GHR

Main Lift
Deadlift – 365 x 5, 405 x 3, 455 x 4, 495 x 1, 535 miss

2nd Movment
Super Yoke – 1 Plate x 50yds, 2 plates x 50yds, 3 plates x 50yds, 4 plates x 50yds
Zercher Carry – 2 plates x 50yds

Work Set
GHR – BW x a bunch x 4
Wide Pull-ups – BW x 8 X 4

Conditioning
Prowler Sprints – 1 plate x 50yds x 4

Here is a video clip of the workout, let me know what you think

Click here to view the embedded video.

My workout went like this:

Military Press – 135×5, 150×3, 170×7

Work Set #1
Log Press – 100x10x3, 110x10x2 (BEEN LOVING THE LOG PRESS)

Fat Grip Pullups – Bodyweight x 8 x 5

Work Set #2

DB Shrugs - 75 x 15 x 4
Rolling DB Ext – 40 x 12 x 4
Bent Over DB Laterals – 30 x 15 x 4

Lately I have not been doing to much conditioning aside from the prowler twice a week.  Friday I will be deadlifting and we just got some new equipment in so I may just have to break in the yoke and have a couple carries.

Perform a KB clean & press followed by a chin up and see how many sets you can get in 15 minutes.
Rest for 3 minutes and then perform a 1 arm snatch with a descending ladder of 10 reps each arm followed by 8 reps, 6 reps, 4 reps, and finally 2 reps.

This will give you a great workout in minimal time, which is what most people lack. Enjoy!

POST YOUR FAVORITE QUICKIE WORKOUT IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Monday 4/12/10
1a. Incline DB Bench: 65x10x2, 75x10x2
1b. Bulgarian Split Squat: BWx15ea, 15x15ea, 15x12eax2

2a. CG Pulldowns: 105×15, 120x15x2, 120×10
2b. DB Forward Reaching Lunge w/ Side Lateral Raise: 15x12eax2, 20x12eax2

3a. Seated DB Alternating Shoulder Press: 25x12ea,30x12eax2,35x12ea
3b. Spidermans: BWx10 eax4

4a. Standing Barbell Curls: 55x15x4
4b. Elevated Push-ups b/t 2 Med Balls: BWx20,20,15,15

5a. Triceps Pressdown: 95x15x4
5b. MB Vertical Chop: 7kgx15x4

6a. Reverse Hyperextensions: 120x12x4
6b. Standing Chest Press w/ Bands: Yellow x 20×4

Tuesday 4/13/10
1a. DB Squat w/Shrug: 40x15x4
1b. 1 Arm Push-up w/ Arm Roll-out: BWx8eax4

2a. Bent Over BB Row: 140x12x4
2b. Seated Alternating DB Side Laterals: 25x12eax4

3a. DB Standing 1 Arm Overhead Press: 40x10eax4
3b. High2Lo Cable Chops: 50x12eax4

4a. Chest Supported Seated Rows (Elbows Out): 30x15x4
4b. Alternating Forward DB Lunge: 20×15,15,12,12ea

5a. Seated DB Alternating Curls: 35x10x4
5b. CG Push-ups off MB: BWx15x4

6a. Alternating Hand to Toe Touch from Plank: BWx12eax4
6b. DB Alternating Upright Rows: 35x12eax4

Surprisingly not that sore from mondays workout with the new plan.  I actually feel refreshed and am working up really good sweat so I feel good about that.

Wednesday 4/14/10
1a. One Arm DB Snatch: 40x8x2, 50x8x2
1b. DB Concentration Curls: 2x10eax2, 30x10eax2

2a. Flat DB Bench Press: 65×8,75×8,90x6x2
2b. DB Lateral Reaching Lunge w/ Fwd Push: 25x10eax4

3a. Seated DB Shoulder Press: 25×12,35×12, 45x12x2
3b. Reverse Lunge from a 4″box: BWx15eax4

4a. Conventional Deadlifts: 135×10, 185x10x3
4b. Triceps Pushdown w/band: Purplex20,15,15,15

5a. Alternating DB Clean & Press: 25x10eax4
5b. Push-ups off 2 Swiss Balls: BWx10x4

6a. Low2High Chops w/band: Double Yellowx12eax4
6b. Skater Lunges: BWx10eax4

Thursday 4/15/10

Off Day…….Just a long walk with Harley and Jules near the ocean today is about all I have planned.

Friday 4/16/10
1a.Barbell Hack Squat: 135x15x4
1b.Elevated Push-Ups on Swiss Ball: BWx20x4

2a.CG Chins:BWx10,8,8,8
2b.Elevated Push-Ups on 2 Swiss Balls: Bwx10x4

3a. Dips: BWx12,12,15,15
3b. Horizontal Chops w/ Band: Dbl Yellowx12eax4

4a. Cable Preacher Curls over Swiss Ball: 75x10x4
4b. KB Skulls: 12kgx12,16kgx12x3

5a. Cable Crossovers: 45x15x4
5b. TRX Inverted Row: BWx15x4

6a. Db Posterior Reaching Lunge w/ Press:20x8eax4
6b. Bicycle Abs: BWx15eax4

I am finishing my workouts within a 60 minute time period which is good for this week.  I would like to push that for the following week to 50 minutes to push my heart-rate up a bit higher.  So far I feel real good with my workouts and depending how I feel I am thinking of sprinting the prowler later tonight since I will be unable to train tomorrow.  Two of our girls are competing in a figure competition so it will be a long day and I will not be able to get a workout in.

Feel free to post any question you may have about the workouts below

This week I start a new phase of training which is much more metabolic as opposed to more strength based.  I have switched from a 2 day upper body and 2 day lower body split to a full body routine.  I have been feeling the need for a change in my workouts for a few reasons.  First reason is to create more oxygen debt in my workout.  I want to add more conditioning into my training and performing full body workouts will do the trick. Second is that I have been feeling beat up from the long term powerlifting program and  I feel the need to add more unilateral work into my routine.  Unilateral work will do two things for me.  It will help me correct any imbalances I have going on in my hips, core, and shoulders and it will also will increase the amount of time under tension my body will get.  Instead of doing 10 reps of squats which will take anywhere from 20-60 seconds,  I will do lunges which will double that amount of time since I have to do both sides.  This requires more work from the body metabolically and will cause a better environment to burn fat during my workouts.

I will be performing a rotation with my full body workouts which will look something like this:

Week 1: 5 Full Body Workouts in 7 Days
Week 2: 4 Full Body Workouts in 7 Days
Week 3: 3 Full Body Workouts in 7 Days
Repeat 3 times

This will give me a 9 week plan which will bring me about 3 weeks from my wedding.  I will add sprint training into this phase as the weeks go on.

My Sprint Training will consist of a few different variations.  They will be performed on the beach, up hills, and with the prowler as my body gets capable of handling more work.  I will also do sprints in the form of yards.  The 2 sprint workouts I like are 6x40yd sprints followed by 4x20yd on one day and the other day will consist of 4-8x100yd sprints.  I will vary the rest interval but for the first day it will be kept to 2-4 minutes between each sprint and around 8 minutes between the 100yd sprints.

My calories are pretty steady at 2250 with a 40-30-30 split.  This has been working well for me since I have been back from my vacation.  So I will keep my calories the same as I increase my workouts during the next few weeks.  I will adjust according to my results.

Stay Tuned for Updated Photos as well as my Training Log!

Mike

So what I get out of the clean up week is a average daily intake of calories that I am eating.  I started using fitday again which I haven’t done in years.  So after logging my food into fitday last week I came up with my daily caloric intake.  My average caloric intake was 2600 calories on average for 5 days of logging. With that number my first step is to maintain that amount of food for 1-2 weeks.  I do not want to drop my calories from the start because I want to give my metabolism a chance to get adjusted to maintaining a set number of calories for a small period of time before I create a deficit.  This caloric average can actually be maintain for 6-10 weeks before creating deficits from it.

At this point my goal for the next 2 weeks is to log 2600 calories EVERYDAY and keep my workouts exactly as is which I will get to later or in another blog.  I will follow this for 2 weeks in which point I will make a small adjustment to either my caloric intake or my exercise volume.  Notice I said I will make a change to one OR the other and not both.  This is key to determining what method actually works best at that time for you.  If I decrease my calories and add more exercise all at the same time I will never truly know what is causing the change in my physique.  So in two weeks I will make an adjustment to my plan.  For now the goal at hand is to get my workouts in 4 times per week with intensity,  and break my daily caloric intake down into how much is needed in each meal in regards to protein, carbs and fats and stay on a steady path for 2 weeks.

Tip of the Day: Remember to make yourself small attainable goals in order to not overwhelm yourself with the bigger picture.  I will prepare each days meals and have my workouts written out for the week in order to stay focused.

I will be trying out various ways to log for you to see what way I like showing you what I am eating:

Protein:
1. 9 Egg Whites, 1 Whole Egg
2. 5 oz. Chx Breast
3. 5 oz. Chx Breast
4. 40 grams in Full Strength
5. 5 oz. Chx Breast
6. 4 oz. Steak

Carbs:
1. 1 cup Oats
2. 2 Slices Rye, Apple
3. 6 oz. Sweet Potato/Broccoli
4. 25 Grams in Full Strength
5. 6 oz. Sweet Potato/Broccoli
6. None

Fat:
1. 1 Yolk
2. None
3. Fish Oils
4. 5 grams in Full Strength
5. Fish Oil
6. Peanut Butter

Total Calories: 2580 (278P, 207C, 69C)

Felt hungry throughout the day and I am happy about that.  This week i am basically getting a estimated average calorie intake from what I eat in the first four days and that will be my base caloric intake which i will manipulate accordingly as the weeks go on.

Meal 1:
9 whites (31.5P)
1 whole egg (6P, 4F)
1 cup Oats (10P,54C,6F)

Meal 2:
6oz. Chx Breast (39P,6C,3F)
2 slices Rye (6P,35C,0F)
Banana (26C)
2 Slices Tomato

Squat Workout
Week 1- 70%,80%,90%

1. Free Squat – 45×10, 135×5, 135×3, 185×3, 225×3, 280×3, 320×3, 360×4
(Based off 400)

2a. Barbell Step-Up
4 sets of 8-10 reps
2b. Bent Over DB Rows
4 sets of 8-10 reps

3a. Reverse Hypers
3 sets of 10-12 reps
3b. Turkish Get Up
3 sets of 6ea side

That’s it for today.  I have a bunch of things to get done and needed to put time into other things today.

Meal 3 – Post-Workout:
5oz. Chx Breast
1 cup Brown Rice (
1/2 cup Broccoli

Meal 4:
Full Strength MRP (40P,25C,5F)

Meal 5:
2 Scoops Whey (50P, 8C,6F)
2 TBSP Almond Butter (5P,7C,19F)

Meal 6:
4oz. Steak (34P,7F)
Asparagus

Daily Total: (285P, 202C, 78F) Calories = 2650