EvRev's Journal page 5

[EvRevFit]

Today was CC #2 day.

Wall Pulls - 1x10
Shoulderstand Squats - 1x10
Headstand - 30 seconds
Wrestler's Bridge (assisted) - 1x5
Front Bridge (assisted) - 1x5
Clutch Flag (diagonal straight leg) - 3x5 sec hold per side

I'm doing the headstands freestanding to get used to balancing inverted again so I can also start working on finally getting a freestanding handstand. I also won't be doing the neck work on headstand days anymore. I just happened to miss it on Tuesday when I did the rest of my CC #1 workout. I'm starting a little further up in progressions for the clutch flag since it's a strength I've gained instead of lost since I stopped working on them a couple months ago.

I'm also making a change to the hanging leg raise progressions. Not of consequence yet, but my HLR's are are already fairly strong...so I'm going to work on doing them one-handed!

[EvRevFit]

Tonight:

Barrel Press (55 gal drum w/ ~10 gal water...haven't weighed it yet) - 5x3
Sledgehammer Gama Casts - 2x10 l,r @16lbs; 2x10 l,r @28lbs
Hurricane Ball Slams - 2x10
Sledgehammer Alternating Cleans - 2x10
Sledge Levers - various holds and handle lengths
Two Hands Pinch Deadlift - ~90lbs (made a contraption to add more weight) - 5x1 plus hold for time
Kettlebell Farmer's Walk - 2x as far as possible @24kg
Sand Bag Catches - Until fingers were pretty much useless

Focusing more on grip strength and odd object stuff. I'll be throwing some isometrics in soon as well. Some of these movements were easy...more skill work than anything. Sledge cleans especially...I need to get used to the movement before I try to go for more reps or higher weights...otherwise I will cause serious damage to the side of my ankle. Good night though! I feel accomplished in my barrel lifting especially! I'll be adding a bit more water and weighing the thing next Friday!

[EvRevFit]

I'm officially going on a two-week media fast, in order to begin sharpening my spirit and vanquishing some inner demons. I wrote a blog article about it.

I'll see you all in two weeks, and I will provide an overview of everything that I've accomplished during that time!

[WarlordBlade]

Good luck! I think I'd have a hard time with that.

[EvRevFit]

I'm back! With a bunch of stuff to tell you! First, the media fast opened my eyes to a LOT. More than I have room to share here (or patience to type twice). I'll be writing an article hopefully later this afternoon if I have time. Which leads to the second thing: I'm back in school! Going for Massage Therapy now. Then, next summer, I'll go to the Institute of Conscious Bodywork and get certified in NeuroMuscular Reprogramming. I'm very close to becoming epically awesome.

In other news, I'm just a few days away from leaving the oppressive corporate-owned gym I've been working at for the past six months. I feel the most free and creative when I'm on my own, so I'll be giving independent training a shot.

Lastly, I'm switching my training focus back to Convict Conditioning. I'm going to stick with the progressions this time! I'm doing 4 days a week, same setup as the 2 days I've been doing...just more days so I get through the progressions a little faster (it becomes just as much skill practice at that frequency). Kettlebell swings will move to Saturday so I can have a rest day between CC days. Should work fairly well!

[EvRevFit]

Yesterday was CC #1. Since I'm focusing heavily on the Convict Conditioning progressions, I'm switching up the order of my training days. Here's the new layout (examples don't necessarily reflect what step I'm on, just the basic movements):

Monday - CC#1 (pushes, leg raises, bridges, neck work)
Tuesday - CC#2 (pulls, squats, handstand pushups, grip work)
Wednesday - REST
Thursday - CC#1 (progressed)
Friday - CC#2 (progressed)
Saturday - Either high-volume kettlebell swings or sprints...I'll probably switch off.
Everyday - L-sit and clutch flag GTG

So yesterday's was:
Wall Pushups - 2x25 (fingertip)
Seated Tuck - 2x25
Short Bridge - 2x25
Assisted Wrestler's Bridge - 1x10
Assisted Front Bridge - 1x10

Today:
Vertical Pulls - 2x25
Shoulderstand Squats - 2x25
Headstand - 2x1.5 min (freestanding)

I hate shoulderstand squats. I don't know why. I'm also having a hard time not jumping ahead in progressions...especially with the squats. I projected my progressions (not just steps...all the way down to sets and reps), and it should take me about a year to reach the Master Steps on most exercises. It may very well take me another year to reach the Master Step for the one-arm handstand pushup, but then again it's a beast of an exercise and my shoulders are my weak link.

I'm not officially adding the CC grip work just yet. I need to actually have a pull-up bar at my disposal (coming soon, once I get to the hardware store and build my own). I also haven't added the l-sit GTG yet. I need to take the time to test my l-sit so I can base my daily sets on where I am and my goal based on that.

I'll probably do more stuff later.

[EvRevFit]

A couple days late, but here's my report on my Two-Week Media Fast!

Today:
Wall Pushup - 3x25
Knee Tuck - 3x25
Short Bridge* - 3x25
Assisted Wrestler's Bridge - 1x15
Assisted Front Bridge - 1x15

*Quick note on the Short Bridge: I've found that doing hip bridges of any kind with the palms up is a lot more beneficial than palms-down. The reason is based on how muscles act on a joint. Palms-up activates the middle fibers of the trapezius, which is a primary postural muscle for the shoulder girdle. Palms-down turns off the traps and activates more posterior deltoid (nothing wrong with that, but most of us spend the day hunched over a computer so any postural helps is generally appreciated).

[EvRevFit]

Aaaand the steady diet of calisthenics continues! GTG on the clutch flag and L-sit are going great, and I'm almost ready to progress the flag. Otherwise I'm slowly losing my mind trying to take it slowly...I just need to remind myself what happened when I tried to rush through the progressions last time, and that it's totally worth it to actually be able to DO the things I want to be able to do.

Anywho, today's been another CC day:

Vertical Pull - 3x25
Shoulderstand Squats - 3x25
Headstand (Free-standing) - 3x1.5 min

Oh, and yesterday I played with kettlebell isometric crushes and heavy neck bridge pullovers. Fun stuff.

Next mission: master the Bent Press!

[EvRevFit]

Yesterday:
Wall Pushup (Fingertip) - 3x30
Knee Tuck - 3x30
Short Bridge - 3x30
Wrestler's Bridge (assisted) - 2x15
Front Bridge (assisted) - 2x15

Today:
Vertical Pull - 3x30
Shoulderstand Squat - 3x30
Headstand - 3x2min (that was most uncomfortable)

I'll be adding yoga to my daily practices, along with some basic Parkour and movement drills (i.e., Quadrupedal Movement, rolls, dives, vaults, climbs, etc.).

[EvRevFit]

Yoga today! Did 30 minutes. I forgot how tough this can be after not doing it for a while! I'm going to ease into it, but in a couple weeks I want to make it a daily practice (except Sundays...I don't do anything on Sundays). In a year I want to be pretty far along on Convict Conditioning and proficient at yoga. In two years I plan to have mastered all of the Master Step movements for multiple consecutive reps from both CC1 and CC2 (at the point CC3 will have been out for quite a while, so that'll be my focus then), and have a relative mastery of the more difficult yoga sequences. During that time I also plan on continuing my high-volume kettlebell work, and I plan on being capable of staggering numbers at that point. We'll see how it works out, and of course I'll be chronicling all of it here!