My Diary

NROLFA Phase 3 Workout 3A 5/4/11

NROLFA Warmup

A Turkish Get-Up 2x5@4kg

B Suitcase Deadlift and Lateral Step-up 2x5@16kg

C Cable Anti-Rotation Reverse Lunge w/Chop 2x10@Plate 8

D Jump Shrug 4X4@100

E Medicine-Ball Slam 3x5@14

F1 Bulgarian Split Squat, rear foot elevated AMAP x 6 @ 10(e)
F2 Dumbbell Plank Row AMAP x 6 @ 60

G1 Dumbbell Single-leg Deadlift with foot on weight plate AMAP x 6 @ 15
G2 Dumbbell Chest Press on Partial Bench AMAP x 6 @ 60

H Burpee/Swing Ladder 6, 20kg

Overall - No real changes, but for a higher riser in B, a different rep scheme/weight in D, a heavier ball in E, and another round added to H. G1 is my worst exercise ever - coming as it does at the end of the workout. My left leg just can't hold balance, and with both legs it feels like my ROM is nil or close to it. Will try bodyweight and see if that helps. Also, due to running out of time this morning I did the warmup and H after work.
 
NROLFA Phase 3 Workout 3B 5/9/11

NROLFA Warmup

A Alligator Drag 2 sets

B Dumbbell Offset Farmer's Walk 2x1e@80

C Two Dumbbell Offloaded Farmer's Walk 2x1e@60, 50

D Jump Squat 4x4@100

E Medicine-Ball Wall Throw 4x4@14

F1 Dumbbell Reverse Lunge with Offset Loading AMAPx6@35
F2 Dumbbell Incline Bench Press AMAPx6@50

G1 Dumbbell one-and-a-quarter Squat with heels on Plate AMAPx6@35
G2 Kneeling Lat Pulldown AMAPx6@Plate 14

H Squat/Push-up Ladder 12

Overall Actually did A at the start of the workout, which meant I did the warmup and H after work. Apart from that, B and C picked up some weight. I was especially surprised at C as it was tough to get the dumbbells up and to keep them there. Used the 4x4 protocol for D and E. F1 and F2 went slower as I had to use a different bench, since the one I regularly use was already spoken for. G1 and G2 went well enough, and I added a plate to G2. As for H, I think 12's about the limit for the foreseeable future on the ladder. But we'll see. And of course, this brings me to the midpoint of Phase 3. :)
 
NROLFA Phase 3 Workout 4A 5/11/11

No NROLFA Warmup

A Turkish Get-Up 2x5@4kg

B Suitcase Deadlift and Lateral Step-up 2x5@24kg (lower step)

C Cable Anti-Rotation Reverse Lunge w/Chop 2x10@Plate 9

D Jump Shrug 5X3@115

E Medicine-Ball Slam 5x3@11

F1 Bulgarian Split Squat, rear foot elevated AMAP x 6 @ 10(e)
F2 Dumbbell Plank Row AMAP x 6 @ 65

G1 Dumbbell Single-leg Deadlift with foot on weight plate AMAP x 6 @ 10
G2 Dumbbell Chest Press on Partial Bench AMAP x 6 @ 60

H Burpee/Swing Ladder 7, 20kg

Overall - The surprise in this workout was how well the TGUs went. So much so that I was actually able to get the metabolic work done in the same session. (No warmup though.) Still, some progress on C, D and F2. And a little drop back for G1. I didn't stand on a plate as my ROM is limited so I'd have no chance of utilizing the extra distance. A fine workout indeed.
 
NROLFA Phase 3 Workout 4B 5/18/11

NROLFA Warmup

A Alligator Drag 2 sets

B Dumbbell Offset Farmer's Walk 2x1e@80

C Two Dumbbell Offloaded Farmer's Walk 2x1e@55, 45

D Jump Squat 5X3@120

E Medicine-Ball Wall Throw 5x3@14

F1 Dumbbell Reverse Lunge with Offset Loading AMAPx6@35
F2 Dumbbell Incline Bench Press AMAPx6@50

G1 Dumbbell one-and-a-quarter Squat with heels on Plate AMAPx6@35
G2 Kneeling Lat Pulldown AMAPx6@Plate 14

H Squat/Push-up Ladder 12

Overall First time at the gym in a week. Not a bad showing even if I couldn't put the 60/50 up in C. Not a bad return though.
 
NROLFA Phase 3 Workout 5A 5/21/11

NROLFA Warmup

A Turkish Get-Up Not Attempted

B Suitcase Deadlift and Lateral Step-up 2x5@24kg (middle step)

C Cable Anti-Rotation Reverse Lunge w/Chop 2x10@Plate 9

D Jump Shrug 5X3@115

E Medicine-Ball Slam 5x3@14

F1 Bulgarian Split Squat, rear foot elevated AMAP x 6 @ 10(e)
F2 Dumbbell Plank Row AMAP x 6 @ 65

G1 Dumbbell Single-leg Deadlift with foot on weight plate AMAP x 6 @ 10
G2 Dumbbell Chest Press on Partial Bench AMAP x 6 @ 60

H Burpee/Swing Ladder 7, 20kg

Overall - This was the slowest workout EVER. Even with skipping A (due to having fallen and smacked my knee the day before), I was in the gym for 2 hours. Granted, I didn't have to watch the clock so I didn't, but damn it seemed like time flew. Everything's pretty much the same as 4A I think, but I'm glad to have gotten this one out of the way. Hoping to finish Phase 3 this week.
 
NROLFA Phase 3 Workout 5B 5/23/11

No NROLFA Warmup

A Alligator Drag 2 sets

B Dumbbell Offset Farmer's Walk 2x1e@90

C Two Dumbbell Offloaded Farmer's Walk 2x1e@55, 45

D Jump Squat 3x5@100

E Medicine-Ball Wall Throw 3x5@14

F1 Dumbbell Reverse Lunge with Offset Loading AMAPx6@35
F2 Dumbbell Incline Bench Press AMAPx6@50

G1 Dumbbell one-and-a-quarter Squat with heels on Plate AMAPx6@35
G2 Kneeling Lat Pulldown AMAPx6@Plate 14

H Squat/Push-up Ladder 12

Overall I think I might be finally getting the hang of A meaning it's not a total disaster now. Difficult, yes but not nearly as impossible. Increased weight and distance in B and distance in C. Had to use dumbbells for D, but did ok anyhow. E was pretty good too. F had about the same number of sets I always get, but I added a set to G. H was deferred, along with the warmup for the next day.
 
Spinning 5/24/11

Finally bit the bullet and revisited spinning tonight. It was good to be back on the bike again, with the following pros and cons:

Pros
Extra activity is always good
The instructor was probably the easiest one I've ridden with, so as a reintroduction it was good.

Cons
My calves cramped up a few times - not sure why that is.
The instructor treated the bike as a treadmill in that we were standing for a good portion of the ride.

Hoping to make Thursday's class.

Prior to class though, I did the warmup and ladder I'd missed in yesterday's 5B workout.
 
NROLFA Stage 3 Workout 6A 5/26/11

No NROLFA Warmup

A Turkish Get-Up Not Attempted

B Suitcase Deadlift and Lateral Step-up 2x5@24kg (high step)

C Cable Anti-Rotation Reverse Lunge w/Chop 2x10@Plate 9

D Jump Shrug 3x5@100

E Medicine-Ball Slam 3x5@14

F1 Bulgarian Split Squat, rear foot elevated AMAP x 6 @ 10(e)
F2 Dumbbell Plank Row AMAP x 6 @ 70

G1 Dumbbell Single-leg Deadlift with foot on weight plate AMAP x 6 @ 10
G2 Dumbbell Chest Press on Partial Bench AMAP x 6 @ 60

H Burpee/Swing Ladder 8, 20kg

Overall - Well I'm finally at 6A. Not a bad workout here, even if the numbers are pretty much the same. Performance/conditioning has improved as well as strength. The dumbbells in G2 didn't feel as heavy as they did in previous weeks. I also added 5lbs to F2. Hoping to get to the Y on Saturday to finish 6B.
 
NROLFA Phase 3 Workout 6B 6/1/11

No NROLFA Warmup

A Alligator Drag 2 sets

B Dumbbell Offset Farmer's Walk 2x1e@95

C Two Dumbbell Offloaded Farmer's Walk 2x1e@55, 45

D Jump Squat 3x5@100

E Medicine-Ball Wall Throw 3x5@8

F1 Dumbbell Reverse Lunge with Offset Loading AMAPx6@35
F2 Dumbbell Incline Bench Press AMAPx6@50

G1 Dumbbell one-and-a-quarter Squat with heels on Plate AMAPx6@35
G2 Kneeling Lat Pulldown AMAPx6@Plate 15

H Squat/Push-up Ladder 12

Overall I'm not sure how or why, but on my first Alligator Drag, I finally did one exactly right, and can totally understand now how the exercise was named. Lou's right - it really is a great core exercise, but it took me a while to figure it out. Popped on another 5lbs for B, using the heaviest dumbbell at the Y (ours go from 1-95lbs). C was tough today - for some reason my arms just did not want to hold the weights overhead. D went pretty well, and E I backed off to an 8lb ball per one of the threads in the training section. The F superset went quite well, even if I started to lose my mojo toward the end. That's nothing however to the near bonk I suffered in the G superset. I started out strong but by the time I got to the last couple of sets, I was dying. Kept H the same to keep honest - I could list 15 but I probably would've needed a lot more rest to accomplish it. 12 still needed rest, but not so much as to invalidate the results. All this said, this is my last Phase 3 workout (I only did 6 workouts each for A and B in each of the three phases), and therefore my final NROLFA workout. I'll most likely start another run through the book, but a part of me would really like to find something else.
 
NROL Break-In Workout A1 6/20/11

NROLFA Warmup

A Squats 2x15@135
B1 Static Lunge 2x15@10e
B2 2 Point Dumbbell Row w/Elbow Out 1x15@35, 1x15@40
C1 Pushups 2x15
C2 Swiss Ball Ab Rollout - 1x15@75cm, 1x15@65cm

Kettlebell Ladder 8, 20kg

Overall - Got back to the gym and went old school, going back to the original New Rules of Lifting Break-In program with a couple of modifications. The first is the addition of the NROLFA warmup, and the second is switching out the Swiss-Ball Crunches with Swiss Ball Ab Rollouts, and the third is including a metabolic portion a la NROLFA. A and B1 were the toughest part of the workout for me today, probably because I guessed pretty well with the starting weights. B2 needs more weight - probably more like 50? C1 I was surprised I did 15 reps for both sets, so that was a good time, and C2 I'll need to research a bit to see if I was doing it right, and if I was, to find what the next level in the progression is. All in all while some exercises (like A and B1) were really tough to do, it was great to be back in the gym. I'd missed it. But I have to say it was also nice not having to rush around to try to get everything done too.
 
NROL Break-In Workout B1 6/22/11

NROLFA warmup

A Deadlift 2x15@165
B1 Step Up 2x15@BW
B2 Dumbbell 1-arm Shoulder Press w/Lean 2x15@40
C1 Close Grip Lat Pulldown 1x15@105, 1x15@120
C2 Leg Raise 2x15

Burpee Ladder 6

Overall - I was dreading the deadlifts because my legs are still stiff from Monday's and I had no idea what weight to use. Turns out I was pretty much spot on. B I went with no weights except bodyweight which made the exercise difficult enough as it was. As always, where bodyweight isn't an issue the exercises felt much easier, and I even got in a burpee ladder for metabolics too.
 
Still around just not posting workouts as I'm working with a trainer who's asked they not be posted.
 
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