Friday, May 30, 2014

Friday May 30th morning part 2: Freestanding Handstand Push ups and wrap up


The 8th of 8 sets of freestanding handstand push ups. I did each set on the parallets and alternated between doing singles and doubles. These felt fantastic on each set. They've come along way. And, the wrap up.

Friday May 30th morning part 1: Jumping Muscle Ups


Here's the 8th of 8 sets of Muscle Ups on the gymnastics rings performed with a tiny jump from the toes. These felt really good today.

Thursday May 29th evening wrap up


Wrapping up Thursday night's training.

Thursday May 29th evening part 9: Saxon Side Bends


The last set of Saxon side bends. Using the 70 pound Kettlebell. Felt  pretty good.

Thursday May 29th evening part 8: straddle l-sit holds


The final set of straddle l-sit holds for the night. Really being conscious of pointing the toes, straightening the legs, and staying tight throughout the whole body.

Thursday May 29th evening part 7: leg raises


Hitting those abs the good way. Here's the final set of leg raises on the dip bars. Trying to bring those legs to the face.

Thursday May 29th evening part 6: Back Lever holds


The final set f back lever holds on the gymnastics rings.

Thursday May 29th evening part 5 Body Curl


Even though I say it's a body row in the video (purely fatigue talking, lol) this is the final set of body curls on the Jungle Gym.

Thursday May 29th part 4: Front lever and scapula work


The final set of front lever holds done on the gymnastics rings immediately followed by scapula work.

Thursday May 29th evening part 3: Straddle Planche push ups


The final set of a variation on straddle planche push-ups.

Thursday May 29th evening part 2: 1-arm pull up variations and scapula


The last set of a 1-arm pull up variation followed immediately by some scapula work.

Thursday May 29th Evening part 1: Handstand Push ups


The final set of handstand push ups from last night. Using the parallets and a 20 lbs. weight vest.

Wednesday May 28 and Thursday May 29th, evening and morning wrap ups


Wrapping up Wednesday night's and Thursday morning's sessions.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Wendesday May 28th Morning practice part 6: Freestanding Handstand Push ups and wrap up


The 9th of 8 sets of freestanding handstand push ups because, once again, I didn't push record for the 8th set. So, here's the 9th set. These were really nice today. Balance was much better. Finding the balance points and being able to save the position went really well also. Alternated these, much like on the kick up handstands, between doing them on the floor and doing them on parallets. And, wrapping up the morning practice.

Wendesday May 28th Morning practice part 5: Baby Muscle ups


The 8th of 8 sets of Baby Muscle Ups on the gymnastics rings. Really working to use less and less assistance, keeping it strict with no kip or swing. Getting better and better. Soon I shall have the full strict muscle ups going, soon.

Wednesday May 28th Morning practice part 4: Headstand press up


The fifth set of headstand press ups to handstand. Working on balance and control on these. These felt really strong an stable today. Much better than earlier this week.

Wednesday May 28th Morning practice part 3: Pause Dips


The 5th of 5 sets of pause dips on the gymnastics rings. Really working for that deep bottom position, pausing for a second, then exploding out of the hole. These felt really really good today.

Wednesday May 28th Morning practice part 2: kick up handstands


The 9th set of 8 sets of     kick up handstands. I apparently forgot to press record on the8th set so I did a 9th one to get it on tape. Overall, very good handstands today. So much better than Monday's.

Wednesday May 28th Morning practice part 1: False Grip Pull ups


The 8th of 8 sets of False Grip Pull Ups on the gymnastics rings. Focusing on speed (not kipping or swinging, but speed through the pull) and pulling the body high. Felt really good today.

Tuesday May 27th Evening session part 9: Wrap up


Just wrapping up the day of training.

Tuesday May 27th Evening session part 8: Finishers: Wall Drive Sprints


You have to love finishing up the training with 10 rounds of wall drive sprints. Here's the10th set. My protocol was 30 seconds of full out sprinting, 30 seconds of rest, and repeat for 10 minutes. Always an awesome way to finish.

Tuesday May 27th Evening session part 7: Saxon Side Bends


The second day using the 70 pound kettlebell instead of the 53. This is the final set. Hit one more rep than yesterday. Felt good. I'll work on getting the bell higher as the week goes on.

Tuesday May 27th Evening session part 6: Straddle L-sit Holds


The last set of Straddle L-sit Holds. Tried holding it longer than Monday's,  but lost some of the technique. Must  point the toes, straighten the legs, and really get tight.

Tuesday May 27th Evening session part 5: Leg Raises


Final set of leg raises on the dip station (working as parallel bars). These felt really good. Legs are getting higher up, closer to a tight v. Love it.

Tuesday May 27th Evening session part 4: 1-leg Hamstring Bridge


The final set of 1-leg hamstring bridges for the evening. I love this movement. Such a great one for really finishing off the backs of the legs. Felt strong and good.

Tuesday May 27th Evening session part 3: Straight Arm Snatch Pulls


Final set of Straight Arm Snatch Pulls for the evening. Really working on speed and explosion. These felt easy, light and fast. Just the way they should.

Tuesday May 27th Evening session part 2: Zercher Squats


Here's the final set of Zerche squats for the evening. Hit 500 pounds really strong, felt like I could have easily done more. These were awesome tonight.

Tuesday May 27th Evening session part 1: Vertical Jumps


The final set of vertical jumps for the day. Really focusing on jumping higher each time. Felt good.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Tuesday May 27th Morning wrap up


Wrapping up Tuesday Morning:

Monday May 26th Evening session part 10: wrap up


Wrapping up Monday's practice and training day.

Monday May 26th Evening session part 9: Saxon Side Bends


Here's the 2nd of 2 sets of Saxon Side Bends. Decided to move up from the 53 pound kettlebell to the 70 pound kettlebell. Cut the reps from 5 per side to 3 per side. Felt pretty strong for the first time at this weight.

Monday May 26th Evening session part 8: Straddle L-sit holds


The second of two sets of these. Sorry about the spread eagle pose, lol. These felt nice and strong.

Monday May 26th Evening session part 7: Leg Raises


Here's the 2nd of 2 sets of Leg Raises on the dipping station (make shift parallel bars) trying to bring the legs as close to the face as possible on every rep. These felt strong.

Monday May 26th Evening session part 6: Back Levers


The 3rd of 3 sets of back lever holds. Technique is getting much better, strength is getting much better, these felt really good today.

Monday May 26th Evening session part 5: Body Curls


The 3rd of 3 sets of body curls done on the Jungle Gym. These felt awesome. Love them.

Monday May 26th Evening session part 4: Front Lever Negatives to Scapula work



Here's the 3rd of 3 sets of Front Lever Negatives to Scapula depression and retraction holds. Loved these. They felt really strong, really controlled, and the technique is getting better.

Monday May 26th Evening session part 3: L-sit to L-planche


Another first for me. Here's the 3rd of 3 sets of L-sit holds to L-planche holds. These are really fun. I really enjoyed them and felt pretty strong in them.

Monday May 26th Evening session part 2: 1-arm pull up top support hold to negative to scapula depression and retraction


Wow this one's a mouthful to say. Here's the 3rd of 3 sets of a top position hold in the 1-arm pull up top position, to a 1--arm pull-up negative to a 1-arm scapula depression and retraction hold. First time for doing this and all three sets went really well.

Monday May 26th Evening session part 1: Handstand to Planche


Here's the 3rd of 3 sets of handstand to Planche. This is the first time I've personally used this exercise, but I love it. First two sets really weren't that great. But set three was pretty good. My hips were still a little high, but not bad.

Monday May 26th morning practice part 6: freestanding handstand push ups and wrap up


Here's the 5th of 5 sets of freestanding handstand push ups. Theses were really rough today. I couldn't find my balance on either the floor or the parallets. These kind of sucked. Oh well, Wednesday will be better. Also, a wrap up of the morning's practice.

Monday May 26th morning practice part 5: baby muscle ups


Here's the 5th of 5 sets of baby muscle ups on the gymnastics rings. I took away my assistance blocks and was just using my toes on the ground for assistance. They felt alright. I had some good sets and some bad sets.

Monday May 26th morning practice part 4: Headstand press ups to handstand


Here's the 6th of 6 sets of headstand press ups to handstand. Keeping these as singles as well in order to really find the balance points and make sure that the technique is good. These were pretty nice today.

Monday May 26th morning practice part 3: Pause Dips


The 6th set of 6 sets of Pause Dips on the gymnastics rings. Looking for good depth at the bottom, starting the transition into the muscle up, good stability and strength pressing to the top and a good solid top position. These felt really nice.

Monday May 26th morning practice part 2: kick up handstands


Continuing on through a rough practice. Here's the 8th set of 8 sets of kick up handstands. I've been alternating between the floor and the parallets. These were rough today. I couldn't seem to find my balance at all.

Monday May 26th morning practice part 1: False Grip Pull ups on Gymnastic Rings


Kind of a crappy morning practice so far. Here's the 8th of 8 sets of False Grip pull ups done on the gymnastic rings. Felt alright. Working on pulling up high and controlled and working into the muscle up transition. They were alright.

Friday May 22nd morning session part 2: freestanding handstand push up


Here's the 8th of 8 sets of freestanding handstand push ups. Keeping it at 1 rep to try to make sure that the balance and form is really good. Felt nice.

Friday May 22nd Morning Session part 1: Baby Muscle Ups


Here's the 8th of 8 sets of baby muscle ups on the gymnastics rings. Feeling good and strong.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Wednesday May 21st morning practice part 6: freestanding handstand push ups and wrap up


Here's the 8th of 8 weird sets of freestanding handstand push ups. The balance seems to keep eluding me. Working low reps just to nail the balance point. Set 1 nailed 2, set 2-4, nailed 1-2, set 5-6 nailed 1, set 7 completely blew it, and set 8 hit about 1 1/2. Weird day for balance on these. And the wrap up.

Wednesday May 21st morning practice part 5: Baby Mucsle Ups


Finished today's practice by doing a super set of baby muscle ups and freestanding handstand push ups. Here's the 8th of 8 sets of baby muscle ups on the gymnastics rings. These are feeling crazy good. Using less and less assistance and feeling strong. So close to strict muscle ups!

Wednesday May 21st morning practice part 4: Headstand press up to handstand


Here's the 5th of 5 sets of headstand press up to handstand. Keeping the reps low and really working on nailing that balance point. These felt pretty darn awesome today.

Wednesday May 21st moning practice part 3: Pause Dips


Here I did a super set of pause dips on the gymnastics rings and headstand press ups. Here's the 5th of    5 sets of the pause dips. Felt awesome. Good stability in the bottom position and good strength coming out of it.

Wendesday May 21st morning practice part 2: Kick up Handstands


Here's the 8th of 8sets of kick up handstands. Alternated between doing these on the floor and the paralletes. These felt really balanced. I could really feel how to adjust the body in order to find the balance point again. Great sets.

Wenesday May 21st Morning Practice Part 1: False Grip Pull Ups


This morning's practice started off incredible. 8 sets of false grip pull ups done for speed in a super set with 8 sets of kick up handstands. The pull ups were strong today. The first 6 sets I almost pulled straight into a muscle up. Here's the 8th of 8 sets.

Tuesday May 20th evening session wrap up


Wrapping up Tuesday's training and practice.

Monday, May 19, 2014

Not bad for someone that doesn't necessarily train for physique development.


I'm not a huge fan of shirtless selfies, but not bad for someone that doesn't necessarily train for physique development.

Monday May 19th morning practice part 6: Freestanding Handstand Push ups and wrap up


Here's the 5th and final set of freestanding handstand push ups done on the parallettes. Still focusing on single reps in order to really nail down the balance. The strength is completely there, now it's just getting the balance rock solid. Felt good. And the wrap up.

Monday May 19th morning sesion part 5: Baby Muscle Ups


The 5th and final set of Baby Muscle Ups. Using less and less assistance, these are feeling better. Strong and solid.     Confident in the strict muscle up coming soon.

Monday May 19th morning practice part 4: Headstand Press to Handstand


Here's the 6th of 6 sets of Headstand Press to Handstand. Focusing on balance and control. These are getting much better. I nailed 5 of 6 of them.

Monday May 19th morning session part 3: Pause Dips


Here's the 6th of 6 sets of Pause Dips on the gymnastics rings. Focusing on really getting deep and pausing at the bottom of the movement. Felt really strong and solid here.

Monday May 16th morning practice part 2: Kick Up Handstands


Here's the 8th of 8 sets of Kick Up Handstands. Alternated between on the floor and on the parralletes. These felt really solid and balanced today.

Monday May 19th morning practice part 1: False Grip Pull ups


The first practice of the week. The 8th set of 8 sets for false grip pull ups on the gymnastic rings. Performed them slowly with control and pulling high being the name of today's game. These felt really good and strong today.

Friday May 16th evening wrap up


Wrapping up the Friday morning practice and evening training sessions

Friday May 16th evening session part 5: Finshers: Wall Drive Sprints


You have to love finishing up the session with a good set of sprints. Here's the 10th of 10 rounds of Wall Drive Sprints performed with a 30:30 protocol. 30 seconds sprint, 30 seconds rest, 30 seconds sprint, etc.

Friday May 16th evening session part 4: Tight Arch Rocks


The 5th of 5 sets of this wonderful gymnastics exercise. Performed these as a super set with the Saxon Side Bends. Feeling really strong and solid.

Friday May 16th evening sessions part 3: Saxon Side Bends


These are feeling really solid and ready to move up in weight. Here's the 5th of 5 sets of the Saxon Side Bend.

Friday May 16th evening session part 2: 1-leg Hamstring Bridge.


Here's the fifth of five sets of 1-leg Hamstring bridges. Love this movement, what a great one for the backs of the legs. Felt strong and good.

Friday May 16th Evening session part 1: Zercher Pulls


Alright, week four of four for this particular evening cycle, which means next week is a de-loading and back off week. Here's the final set of Zercher Pulls for the cycle (set 5 of 5). Hit 455 pretty easily and felt like I could have pulled 20 or so more pounds.

Friday, May 16, 2014

Friday May 16th morning practice part 2: Baby Muscle Ups


Here's the 8th and final set of baby muscle ups on the gymnastics rings. These felt strong and easy. Even with me taking away more of the assistance. I like it.

Friday May 16th morning pracice part 1: Freestanding Handstand Push Ups


The 8th and final set of Freestanding Handstand Push-ups. The strength is easily there, still shaky on the balance though. Still has a ways to go.

Thursday May 15th evening wrap up


Wrapping up and summarizing Thursday's practice and training.

Thursday May 15th evening session part 7: V-sit holds


The final set of V-sit holds done on the dip station's parallel bars. Feeling better and higher each time.

Thursday May 15th evening session part 6: V-ups


The last set of v-ups during our tri set of barbell concentration curls, v-ups and v-sit holds.

Thursday May 15th evening session part 5: Barbell concentration curls


The final set of barbell concentration curls for the night. Felt good.

Thursday May 15th evening session part 4: Tucked Planche


Here's the final set of tucked planche on the paralletes. Hips are still a little higher than the shoulders, but strength and balance are feeling good.

Thursday May 15th evenin session part 3: Front Lever


Out in the garage on the gymnastic rings working the final set of front lever holds. Going for 1-leg front levers tonight. This is the final set. Feeling good and strong. Not quite to a perfect one leg lever yet, but getting closer and closer.

Thursday May 15th evening session part 2: Pike Press to Handstand


The fifth and last set of pike press to handstand. These went really nicely across the board. Strength and balance felt really nice, less and less use of the legs. I like these.

Thursday May 15th evening session part 1: 1-arm Pull-ups


Doing a super set of 1-arm pull up variations with Pike press handstands. Here's the 5th and final set of the pull-ups. Not quite as high on the right side as I'd like, but not bad either.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Wednesday May 14th morning part 5: Baby Muscle Ups and where's the freestanding handstand push up video.


Here's the final set of 8 sets of Baby Muscle ups. Again, focused on speed with this one. It felt really nice. The transition is coming beautifully.

I tried videoing the 8th set of freestanding handstand push ups and a wrap up, but the camera batteries died :(. Overall, these went nice. 5 really good sets, 3 shakey sets. Getting better all the time though.

Wednesday May 14th morning part 4: Handstand Push up Negatives.


Here's the 5th set of 5 of freestanding handstand push up negatives. These wee really nice today, found the balance pretty easily.

Wednsday May 13th morning part 3: Pause Dips


The rings were treating my nicely today :). Pause dips for speed felt awesome. Strength, check. Flexibility, check. Stability, check.

Wednesday May 14th morning part 2: Kick up Handstands


Here's the 8th of 8 set of kick up handstands. These felt really nice and I ended up nailing 39 of 40 of them. Back to basics always works.

Wednesday May 14th morning part 1: False Grip Pull-ups


This morning's practice is already going much better than Mondays. Working the speed portion and height of the false grip pull-up. Here's set number 8 of 8.

Tuesday May 13th evening session wrap up


Wrapping up the training day.

Tuesday May 13th evening session part 6: finishers: Wall Drive Sprints


Hitting the sprints hard. 10 sets of 30 seconds on 30 seconds off. Here's set number 10. Felt really good, good 4th week of this particular training day.

Tuesday May 13th evening session part 5: Brdging


The final set of gymnastics bridging for the night. Still not where I want it to be, but getting much better.

Tuesday May 13th evening session part 4: Saxon Side Bends


The last super set of the night, working Saxon side bends along with bridging. Here's the final set of the side bends. Using a 53 pound kettlebell, felt good.

Tuesday May 13th evening session part 3: Pistols


Here's the final set of pistols for the night. The leg was feeling really good so I went down deeper with the movement. Felt strong and secure, so I'll continue to pistol deeper.

Tuesday May 13th evening session part 2: Front Squats


Body was feeling good, quad is feeling healed. Still played it conservatively with this one and kept it to 325 pounds. Got nice and deep with it though. Here's the final set.

Tuesday May 13evening session part 1: Power Snatch


The final set of power snatches from the hang. Not bad, but the form wasn't that great. Still managed to snatch it without pressing it, but spread the feet too far.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Monday May 12th evening session part 8: wrap up of the day


Finished up the training for the day. Wrapping it up. Tonight felt awesome, much better than this morning.

Monday May 12th evening practice part 7: Back Levers on the Gymnastic Rings


Here's the last set of back levers on the gymnastics rings. kept it at a single leg lever tonight, felt good. You know you're squeezing tight when you make yourself cough at the end of the set, lol.

Monday May 12th evening session part 6: V-sit Holds


Here's the 5th and final set of v-sit holds on the dip station. Sorry about the pasty white legs, in the last v-sit video my pants blended into the background so I thought I'd see if I could see the move better this way. My beautiful bride told me I should just strip down for the move.

Monday May 12th evening session part 5: Hanging Leg Raises


Our final pat of the training was a tri set of hanging leg raises, v-sit holds, and back levers. Here's the 5th and last set of hanging leg raises. Felt pretty strong and easy.

Monday May 12th evening session part 4: Front Lever Body Rows


Here's the 5th and final set of Front Tucked Lever Body Rows performed on the Gymnastic Rings. It's true, everything is harder on the rings. They felt awesome though.

Monday May 12th evening session part 3: weghted body flies


Our second super set tonight featured weighted body flies on the Jungle Gym and Front Lever body rows on the gymnastics rings. Here's the 5th and final set of the flies.

Monday May 12th evening session part 2: weighted l-sit pull ups on the rings


Feeling strong tonight and making up for the morning session. Here's the 5th of 5 sets of weighted l-sit pull ups done on the rings.

Monday May 12 evening session part 1: weighted handstand push-ups


Started out tonight with a super set of weighted handstand push-ups and weighted gymnastic rings l-sit pull-ups. Here's the 5th of 5 sets of facing the wall weighted handstand push ups.

Monday, May 12, 2014

Monday May 12 morning practice part 8: Kick up Handstand and wrap up


Decided to go back to the basics and get my handstand balance back. Finished up with 5 sets of kick ups to handstands. They were much better. Nailed 24 of 25 of them. Here's the 5th of 5 sets and the wrap up of the practice session.

Monday May 12th morning practice part 7: Baby Muscle ups


Loving the baby muscle up. A great training tool to work up to strict muscle ups. I lowered my assistance so I needed to work harder on the movement. It's feeling good. End of practice was much better than the beginning. Here's set 5 of 5.

Monday May 12 morning practice part 6: headstand press to handstand


Here's the 6th of 6 sets o headstand press to handstand. The strength is there, they feel     very easy.     Just needs to get the balance at the top all squared away. Not bad.

Monday May 12th moning practice part 5: Pause dips


Up on the gymnastics rings for the 6th of 6 sets of pause dips. These are feeling really nice. The flexibility and strength are all feeling there for the transition. These were good.

Monday May 12th morning practice part 4: 2nd attmept at the handstand push ups


After failing to get 1 freestanding handstand push up I took another shot at it. Here's attempt number 2 at the 8th set of 8 sets.

Monday May 12th morning practice part 3: handstand push-ups


My handstand were really terrible today. Couldn't find my balance to save my life. Here's the first attempt at set 8 of 8 for freestanding handstand push-ups. Not good at all, :(

Monday May 12th morning practice part 2: false grip pull ups


Here's the 8th of 8 sets of false grip pull ups from today. Not the best practice session ever, lol. Kind of sucked it up.

Monday May 12 morning practice part 1: Introduction to the day


Alright, here's the introduction to the morning session.

Saturday May 10th evening session part 4: Read delt fly and wrap up



Alright, here's the 3rd of 3 sets of rear delt flies with the 70 pound kettlebell and the wrap up of Saturday's training sessions.

Saturday May 10th evening session part 3: Power Lateral Raises


Working my Bud Jefferies inspired lifts. Here's the 3rd of 3 sets of power lateral raises with a 70 pound kettlebell.

Saturday May 10 evening session part 2: Bent Press


Decided that during this cycle I'd play with getting my technique back on the Bent Press, one of my favorite old time movements. Here's the 3rd of 3 sets of the bent press with the 53 pound kettlebell.

Saturday May 10 evening session part 1: Clubbell Play


Here's getting ready for the Saturday, May 10 evening session. Started out with 20 minutes of continuous clubbell movements. Here's a quick summary.

Friday May 9th eveing session wrap-up


Here's a quick wrap up of Friday's two training sessions.

Friday May 9th Evening session part 5: Finishers, Wall Drive Sprints


Alright, once again the finisher of the evening was wall drive sprints, here's set 10 of 10 following a 30 seconds on 30 seconds off protocol.

Friday May 9th evening session part 4: Tight Arch Rocks


Here's a great one for hitting the lower back, butt, hamstrings, calves, mid back, upper back and tying the entire backside of the body together. This is the 5th of 5 sets of Tight Arch Rocks.

Friday May 9th evening session part 3: Saxon Side bends


The5th of 5 super sets of Saxon Side Bends and Tight Arch Rocks. Felt awesome!

Friday May 9th Evening session part 2: 1-leg Hamstring Bridge


Love this movement, great for the hammies. Like a yoga bridge, but your knees are together, feet are close to straight, all the pull is in the back of the legs. Here's the 5th of 5 sets.  

Friday May 9 Evening Strength and Conditioning Part 1: Zercher Pulls


The Final set of Zercher pulls. Kept it a little light in order to make sure that my quad has healed. Hit 415 pretty easily. Felt strong.

Friday, May 9, 2014

Friday May 9th Morning Skills Practice Part 3: Freestanding Handstand Push ups


Here's the 8th of 8 sets of freestanding handstand push-ups. These were sucking today so I dropped off of the paralletes and moved to the floor for the last 2 sets. Still not the best, but not bad. A little disappointed thought. Oh well, they'll be better next week. Also, the morning practice session wrap up.

Friday May 9th Morning Skills Practice Part 2: Muscle-ups


Here's the 8th of 8 sets of baby Muscle ups. Working on using less assistance, moving slowly to make sure the transition is feeling good and the technique is getting there. All 8 sets felt pretty good. Seeing good improvements since the beginning of the week.

Friday May 9 Morning skills practice part 1



Getting ready for a good skills practice this morning. Working the main movements (the strict muscle-up and the free standing handstand push-up) hard, but taking it easy on the assistance movements.

Thursday May 8th Evening Strength and Conditioning Part 7: V-sit Holds



The 5th set of 5 and the final set of the night! The end of our tri set of bent over barbell curls, v-up, and v-sit holds. Here's the v-sit hold for time on the dip station (as a substitute for parallel bars). Went pretty well. Not quite to where I want it yet, but getting closer.

Thursday May 8th Evening Strength and Conditioning Part 6: V-ups


Here's the 5th of 5 sets of V-ups. We did triceps without really any rest of bent over barbell curls, v-ups, and v-sit holds. This one went pretty darn well.

Thursday May 8th Evening Strength and Conditioning Part 5: Bent Over Barbell Curls


For the finish of the training tonight we performed a tri set of bent over barbell curls, v-ups, and v-sit holds. This is the 5th of 5 sets of the bent over barbell curls. I decided to try the jump up to 205 pounds. It was too much. It ended up being more of a hybrid cross of a bent over curl and a bent over row. Biceps still got hit hard, but I'll drop back down to 185 to make sure the form's much better.

Thursday May 8th Evening Strength and Conditioing Part 4: Planche Holds


This is the 5th of 5 sets of planche holds for time. I started out last week with trying straddle planch holds, but my hips were way too high. brought it back to tucked planch holds this week. hips are still a little high, but not bad.

Thursday May 8th Evening Strength and Conditioning Part 3: Front Levers


Our second superset of the night was Front Levers and Planche Holds, both for time. I started out the first lever as a straddle lever, then did the other 4 sets as 1-leg levers. Here's the 5th and final set, and, not bad.

Thursday May 8th Evening Strength and Conditioning Part 2: Pike Press Handstands


Here's the 5th of 5 sets of Pike Press ups to handstands. Did these in a super set with 1-arm pull up variations. They felt good and balanced. Quick shout out to my favorite tv show, "Leverage," which happens to be playing in the background.

Thursday May 8th Evening Strength and Conditioning Part 1: 1-arm Pull-up Variations



Alright, tonight's session started out with a super set of 1-arm pull-up variations and pike presses to handstands. Here's the 5th of 5 sets of 1-arm pull-ups. Getting better every time.

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Thursday May 8th Morning Qi Gung


Good Morning Everyone!! Getting ready for the early morning Qi Gong Session. Deep breathing, relaxation, marrow washing, ne gung, all that type of awesomeness is on the plan for this morning.

Wednesday May 7th Evening Recovery Session


A little bit on my recovery training utilizing such things as PVC Rolling, Dynamic Stretching, Loaded stretching, PNF Stretching, Mobility work and such.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Wednesday May 7th Morning Skills Practice Part 7: Kick up Handstands and wrap up


Alright, I decided to try my kick up Handstands on the paralletes for today. I'm so used to only doing kick ups on the floor and using press ups on the paralletses that I found it's an area I have to work on, lol. This is the 8th of 8 sets and the final part of the morning session. It went well. And overall, the  entire session was very nice.

Wednesday May 7th Morning Skills Practice Part 6: Baby Muscle Ups


Loving the Baby Muscle-ups, a great way to get the form down for the strict muscle up. This is the 8th of 8 sets. Working strictly on technique, but still adding a little speed while keeping it strict. Felt awesome.

Wednesday May 7th Morning Skills Practice Part 5: Shoulder Stand


The 5th of 5 sets of shoulder stands. I hit 3 sets on the ground and 2 sets on the parallets, they felt really strong and balanced. Working these to get used to the bottom of the freestanding handstand push up.

Wednesday May 7th Morning Skills practice part 4: Pause Dips


Here's the 5th of 5 sets of Pause Dips on the gymnastic rings. Focusing on getting a low position at the bottom to get ready for the muscle up transition. Felt good.

Wednesday May 7th, Morning Skills Practice Part 3: Freestanding Handstand Push-ups


Here I'm working on the freestanding Handstand Push-ups on the paralletes. The strength is there, so I'm mainly working on the balance and form. Here's the 8th of 8 sets of singles. I went for the double but lost the balance, lol.

Wednesday, May 7 Morning Skills Practice Part 2: False Grip Pull-ups


Here's the 8th of 8 sets of false grip pull-ups done on the gymnastic rings. Using strict form, but adding a little speed and power and pulling as high up as possible. Not looking for the exertion but getting comfortable with the false grip, pulling that high and getting ready for the muscle up transition.

Wednesday, May 7th Morning Skills Practice Part 1


After an awesome evening of training last night I'm getting ready for a wonderful skills practice this morning.

May 6th Evening Strength and Conditioning Part 7: Wrap Up



Finishing up the Evening training session with a wrap up of the day.

May 6th Evening Strength And Conditioning Part 6: Wall Drive Sprints


Doing a nice little sprint finisher at the end of the session. Using Wall Drive Sprints for 10 rounds of 30:30. In other words, sprinting as hard as I can for 30 seconds, resting for 30 seconds, sprinting for 30 seconds and so on until 10 rounds are up. Here's the 10th and final round.

May 6th Evening Strength and Conditioning Part 5: Bridging


Gymnastics' Bridge Time. I chose the gymnastics' bridge simply because I'm not as strong at it as I am at my wrestlers' bridge. Here's the 5th of 5 sets (used in a super set with Saxon Side Bends). Still has a long way to go, but getting better.

May 6th Evening Strength and Conditioning Part 4: Saxon Side Bends


Time to fry the obliques. This is the 5th of  5 sets of Saxon Side Bends (performed as a super set with Gymnastic Bridging). Felt Strong.    Hit all the sets with the 53 pound Kettlebell.

May 6th Evening Strength and Conditioning Part 3: Pistols



This is the 5th of 5 sets of Pistols for the night. Keeping in mind my quad pull on the right side I started each set on the right side and didn't go as deep. Only went down until the quad started to protest. Then I tried matching that depth with the left leg (the left wanted to go down further though, lol). Overall, pretty nice.

May 6 Evening Strength And Conditioning Part 2



The second movement of the night was barbell Front Squats. Again, making sure not to aggravate the injury I played it a little safe. I kept the weight a little lighter (315 pounds) and I kept the movement a little higher (squatting to parallel rather than butt to ground). It felt good. Here's the 4th of 4 sets of triples.

May 6, Evening Strength and Conditioning Part 1: Power Snatches



Alright, it's lower body time now as I move to the evening S&C part of my day. Started out with barbell power snatches from the hang for 4 sets of singles. Took it easy on these to not aggravate my quadriceps injury on my right leg. First 3 sets were good. Played it safe on the 4th set, but didn't have my normal leg explosiveness so it turned into more of a Muscle Snatch or Snatch Press. Here it is.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

May 6th Morning Skills Practice: Qi Gong Day!!


Getting Ready for a little morning Qi Gong. Going to work breathing, relaxation, recovery, awakening the qi, string the qi, bone marrow washing, etc. Feeling awesome and ready to rock and roll!!

May 5th Evening Strength and Conditioning Part 8: Evening Wrap Up


A quick wrap up of the day's training and practice.

May 5th Evening Strength and Conditioning Part 7: Back Levers


The 5th of 5 sets of Back Levers held for time on the Rings. And, my crappiest set, lol! Tri-setted with Hanging Leg Raises and V-sit Holds.

May 5th Evening Strength and Conditioning Part 6: Parallel Bar V-sit Holds


The 5th of 5 sets of Parallel Bar (on the dip station) V-sit Holds for time. Tri-setted with Hanging Leg Raises and Back Levers.

May 5th Evening Strength and Conditioning Part 5: Hanging Leg Raises


Here's the5th of 5 sets of straight leg (touching the bar) Hanging Leg Raises. These are performed in a Tri-set with Parallel Bar V-sits and Rings Back Levers. Again using minimal rest time

May 5th Evening Strenth and Conditioning Part 4: Body Row in Tucked Front Lever Position


This is the 5th of 5 sets of Body Rows on the High Bar in a Tucked Front Lever Position. These are trained in a super set with Body Flies on the Jungle Gym.

May 5th Evening Strength and Conditiioning Part 3: Body Flies


Moving on to the next superset. Here's the 5th of 5 sets of Body Flies performed on the Jungle Gym using a 20 pound weight vest. Super-setted with Body Rows, using minimal rest between the movements.

May 5th Evening Strength and Conditioning Part 2: Rings L-sit Pull-ups


The 5th of 5 sets of L-sit Pull-ups on the Rings. Super-setted with Handstand Push-ups on the Parallettes.

May 5th Evening Strength and Conditioning Part 1: Handstand Push-ups on Parallettes.


Here's the 5th of 5 sets of Handstand Push-ups on the Parallettes. Performed these in a super set wih Rings L-sit Pull-ups with very minimal rest in between sets.

May 5th Morning Skills Practice Part 6: the Wrap Up


Wrapping up the skills practice session for the Morning.

May 5th Morning Skills Practice Part 5: Kick up Handstands


Going back to handstand 101 I wanted to make sure that my kick up to the handstand is rock solid. For this I'm hitting 5 sets of 5 kick ups (making sure not to count the one's that aren't on balance). Trying to keep the handstand rock solid.

May 5th Morning Skills Practice Part 4: Baby Muscle Ups


Of course, in order to master the strict muscle-up I'd better have the form down pat. I'm starting out with Baby Muscle-Ups (performed with a leg assistance on a chair) to help with getting the form down.

May 5th Mornin Skills Practice Part 3: Shoulder stands


The bottom position of the freestanding handstand push-up is the shoulder stand. I figured I'd better work these hard to make sure that I have the balance and stability in this position. Today was 5 sets of 5-10 second holds.

May 5th Morning Skills Part 2: Pause Dips



In order to work into the strict muscle up after the transition I want to make sure that my shoulders have the flexibility and stability in the bottom of the transition so I'm working 6 sets of 4 reps of Pause dips (pausing for a few counts at the lowest point that I can go before pressing back up).

May 5th, 2014 Morning Skills Practice Part 1: False Grip Pull-ups


The first part of my strict muscle up training lies in getting used to performing movements on the rings utilizing the false grip. For this day I hit 8 sets of 3 reps to get used to the false grip, pulling my body really high to get set for the transition and getting comfortable in the top position.

May 5th, 2014: Morning Skills Practice Introduction


Welcome to my new training blog. You can find my other blogs at:

www.brettsalphacrew.blogspot.com  for fitness

www.brettsguitarworld.blogspot.com for music

and from there you can link up to my blogs about personal protection and martial arts as well.

The goal of this blog is to take you through my own training journey. I'm starting this particular one out with the morning skills practice as I've set new goals for achieving repetitions of the strict muscle-up and freestanding handstand push-ups. This particular video is a good introduction to the morning skills practice. I hope that you enjoy my journey.

Yours in strength and health,
Brett