Complexes

Here are the 3 different complexes. Do one set of each exercise, and then rest before repeating all the exercises the prescribed number of times.

Bodyweight Complex
Horizontal Pullup or Bentover Row
Jump Squat
Plyo Pushup
Split Jump
Burpee

DB Complex
DB curl - lunge - Press (bicep curl, forward lunge, press the dbs up)
DB RDL
DB alternating row
DB Jump Squat
DB Pushup + row

BB Complex

High Pull
Push Press
Good morning
Alternating Lunge
Ab Roller

Schedule for week of 2/25

Workouts are up on the google spreadsheets. Cardio for this week:

Basic:
Ankle Hops
Squats
Bicycles
Forward Lunges

Advanced:
Tuck Jumps
Canoes
Squat Jumps
Crunches

As usual, do the cardio 3 times a week, you can do the intervals above, or the complexes I've posted before (I'll put them in a separate post and link to it on the right). For the complexes, do 8 reps of the exercises for 3 sets, resting 90 seconds between sets. The complexes are a bit confusing, you do 8 reps of each exercise, with no rest in between, then after the you do each all the exercises, you rest 90 seconds before going on to the next set. Does that make sense?

More Form

I found an article that discusses deadlift form. Many of the things discussed can be applied to other lifts as well. One important thing is that as we are lifting as a group, watch each other to insure that our form is correct. If your form is off, lower the weight. I tweaked my back a bit (doing the "unloading" workout) so maybe that's why I'm more sensitive to it right now. So, go check out the article, look at the videos of the correct way and common mistakes, then watch your training partner as they lift and stop them if they're doing it wrong.

Schedule for week of 2/18

Schedule is on the google spreadsheet. Don't forget to keep working on the form exercises I posted.

Cardio:
Basic-
Bent Over Rows
crunches
Run in place (knees up)
Canoes

Advanced(mon)-
1 leg squats
bicycles
Split Squat Jumps
Jackknife pushups

Bodyweight Complex (thu) (2 sets of 8 reps for each exercise. 90 sec rest between sets)
Horizontal Pullup or Bentover Row
Jump Squat
Plyo Pushup
Split Jump
Burpee

DB Complex (sat) (2 sets of 8 reps for each exercise. 90 sec rest between sets.)
DB curl - lunge - Press (bicep curl, forward lunge, press the dbs up)
DB RDL
DB alternating row
DB Jump Squat
DB Pushup + row

Proper Form

I found an 'exercise' that we can all do to work on our form for deadlifts, squats, etc. It is important that we have this form correct, so that as we add weight, we are not endangering our lower back or knees. I am going to try and do the following exercise 10 times a day.

Stick DL
Standing normal take a stick (broom stick etc… ) and hold it behind your back – place one hand (palm towards you) holding the stick in the curve of your neck and place the other hand (palm away) holding the stick in the curve of your lower back – the stick should touch the back of your head – your thoracic spine (curve of your spine where your ribs are) – and your sacrum (in between your cheeks – yes – those cheeks) – This will provide a guide to ensure perfect spinal alignment and the stick should touch these three points at all times – if it does not – stop and begin again.

To perform the stick DL with two legs – place yourself in the position described above, feet about hip width apart and pre-bend your knees to about 20 degrees - begin to sit back into your hips by sticking your butt out– the stick will guide you. Do not worry about depth at first – we want you to perfect the hip hinge and spinal alignment. When you cannot maintain contact with the stick and three points – return to the top – repeat for the desired reps.

I find that my hamstring tightness is what limits my depth on this exercise. Find what limits you and work on that. Try to find out how deep you can go in the squat, and use that limit when lifting. Any lower and you will put your lower back at risk. You can also do this with one leg like the one leg RDL.

Swimsuit Season

Kat mentioned that Rella said something about swimsuit season coming up and it got me thinking. I know some of the ladies are concerned more with losing weight and looking lean than they are with becoming stronger/more powerful. Before agreeing to create workouts for Kat, Rella, and Candace, I wanted to make sure the workout I was already doing would be appropriate for their goals as well. What I discovered is that while this workout can add plenty of muscle, it is also effective at reducing fat and creating lean bodies. The creator of the workout program posted this picture as an attempt to motivate women to try his program.

So how can the workout both add muscle, and not add muscle. The secret is in the diet. I realized this because I have added all the weight I really want to (mostly muscle thankfully). At this point, I would still like to work on explosiveness, but instead of adding more muscle, I would like to reduce fat. If you are taking in more calories than you burn, you will gain weight. If you are doing this workout program, you will gain mostly muscle. If you aren't working out, you'll gain mostly fat. To lose fat and not gain muscle, you must restrict your calories so that you are taking in less than you are burning.

You can still get stronger and increase explosiveness (though less than if you were adding muscle) and you get to lose fat. The primary concern should be reducing calories. It would be better if you eliminated calories from carbs, but I know this is difficult. You really don't want to reduce your protein intake (it should be about 1 gram per lb of bodyweight). You'll need to figure out how many calories you're burning each day. There are tons of calorie calculators, here's one I found on google (I get 2,500 calories a day). This will tell you how many calories you need to maintain your current weight. To help you keep track of what you eat, there is a website Kat and I have used before called The Daily Plate. It was my favorite diet tracking website. It will also calculate your caloric need, and help you figure out what to do to lose X lbs per week, etc.

Sorry if this post seems disjointed, I wrote it at work while doing other stuff. If you have any questions, post them.

Schedule for week of 2/11

No one is unloading this week, but there are a couple changes. The schedules are up on the google spreadsheets. When doing the core/rotational exercises (the last two on the schedule each day), do them together. So do the rotational execises (ie canoes) then immediately do the bridge/plank for 30-45 seconds. Rest 30 seconds then do the rotational again.

Cardio:

Basic-
Sumo Squats
Crunches
RDL (w/weight 5-10 lbs)
Windshield Wipers

Advanced-
Burpees
Pushups
Sumo Squats
Crunches

The guys are doing a different cardio thing this week. Do the above advanced interval once this week (I'll be doing it Monday at practice). On Saturday, after our workout at the gym we will do a dumbbell complex (listed below). One other day this week (I'll do it Thursday), do a bodyweight complex (listed below).

DB Complex (2 sets of 8 reps for each exercise. 90 sec rest between sets.)
DB curl - lunge - Press (bicep curl, forward lunge, press the dbs up)
DB RDL
DB alternating row
DB Jump Squat
DB Pushup + row

Bodyweight Complex (2 sets of 8 reps for each exercise. 90 sec rest between sets)
Horizontal Pullup or Bentover Row
Jump Squat
Plyo Pushup
Split Jump
Burpee

Unloading workout for the guys

The unloading workout is going to take a little explaining, so I'm making a separate post.

• Do the db warmup complex before the workout.
• Do a set of deadlifts, rest about 30 seconds, then do 5 depth jumps followed by 5 minutes of rest.
• For the weight on the deadlift, it should be 85-90% of your 1RM. I'm going to start out with 245lbs.
  
• None of the sets should be to failure.
• For the Push Press and Power Clean, you'll rest 5 minutes between sets.
• BB Holds - load up as much weight as you think you can hold, and hold it for as long as possible. Rest 2 minutes between sets and do 4 sets.

I think that should answer most of the questions. If not, let me know.

Schedule for week of 2/4

The 2 day a week schedule is up now, and the 3 day schedule will be up soon. For the ladies, your workout is basically the same. Some new exercises, if you have any questions, let me know. For the guys, we're doing our unloading week so it'll be something different. I found a sprint weight training program that we're going to do this week. It's 3 days, preferably back to back (though I can't due to schedule, I'll do T/W/F or S as normal). There are only a few exercises, nothing crazy, 2-3 sets of 2-3 reps, with lots of rest. Guys will only do 1 cardio session this week.

Cardio:

Basic:
Jumping Jacks
Squats
Crunches
Bentover Row or pushups

Advanced:
Burpees (for all 8)

Grip

For next week's 'unloading' I want to do some grip work. Mainly this means building forearm strength. I think what's holding me back from doing more weight in the lower body exercises is they my hands get tired from holding up the weight. The only exercise I know of (currently) that we can easily do at the gym with the equipment we have is wrist curls (and reverse wrist curls). I'll look for some more. Obviously this won't be the whole workout, but we should be able to add it in easily enough.

For those who don't know, every 4-6 weeks we will have an 'unloading' week, where we do a different workout. Unloading does not mean that we will not workout (though we may workout one less day), it just means we're doing something different to keep our muscles guessing.