Pogo's Training

G'day all,

I was going to continue to log my progress in a spreadsheet as I've always done, but I figured it'd be easier to do so here; besides, this way I can "put it all out there".

I'd been largely sedentary for the better part of a decade while doing the family thing and working myself into the ground; but turned it around after discovering Pavel's PttP and whatever that bodyweight publication of his was, the name of which escapes me. From there I found Crossfit and went kinda nuts for a few years, with an obsession for fitness, bordering on orthorexia.

I guess I kinda got burnt out on it, as I gave it all away again for a while, before starting back up with Wendler's 5/3/1 up until last week. I've got my (barbell) strength back up to an almost semi-acceptable level again, but I've been missing gymnastics (I started an adult class a while back, before hurting my back while tumbling after a day of heavy deadlifts).

Anyway... I started the WODs this week, which I'll be following as best I can, substituting squats and the occasional deadlift for leg days.

I'm starting my FSP warmups at half volume, because I'm finding that even at such a low volume, it's a bit of a workout at my currently weakened state of being.

My ego has taken a beating already with how much I've had to dial back my expectations, but I've embraced it with a view to the benefits of patient development.

Stats:

Age: 41

Height: 173cm / 5'8"

Weight: Not sure, but I've always been about 65kg / 143lbs

Progress to follow...

Monday, 25th October 2010

warmup:

* skipping

* stretch band splits and shoulder mobilisation

* 3 x wall bridge walks

* 1 x 10 x wrist pushups (from knees)

alt: straddle L / FL

alt: PL / rev pushup

alt: L / BL

all for 6 x 5s (only doing half volume for now); L, straddle L, PL all on parallettes; L's straight/horizontal; FL, PL, BL all tucked

WOD:

squats

5 x 45kg

3 x 55kg

5 x 72.5kg

5 x 82.5kg

6 x 95kg

Tuesday, 26th October 2010

warmup:

ditto

WOD:

ok; this really kicked my arse. more than I expected.

1 x 5 cast wall walks

1 x 5 pike HeS box press

1 x 10 straddle HeS box press

5 x (2 x box HSPU / 6 x HS wall run * / 2 x neg HSPU / 6 x HS wall run)

* my HS wall run was more of a "hand briefly leaves the ground before crashing back to the ground in a vain attempt to maintain structural integrity - I've since realised that I was supposed to be doing this facing the wall... going to practise perhaps GtG style

Thursday, 28th October 2010

warmup:

ditto; feels like it's getting a little easier already, kinda. I expect that the first few weeks will make me pretty uncomfortable as I adapt to the long forgotten strain of gymnastic training.

WOD:

deadlift

5 x 50kg

3 x 62.5kg

5 x 82.5kg

5 x 95kg

6 x 107.5kg

2 x 30s pike stretch

Friday, 29th October 2010

warmup:

ditto

WOD:

3 sets of MU, XR L-sit, press shoulder stand (legs bent due to space), forward roll to hanging L-sit, Crank (tuck), Reverse Crank (tuck)

I skipped the forward roll to 2nd shoulder stand; didn't feel comfortable up there my first time with this sequence and without much clearance there wasn't a lot of room to play with.

5x15 seconds FL (tuck)

5x15 seconds XR Support Hold (rings turned out)

5x10 seconds German Hang

Had to reduce the time in the german hang; my shoulder (lack of) flexibility leaves a lot to be desired.

Finish the workout with 2x10 Wall Extensions.

Eek!! I'd never tried the wall extensions before! Made me quite sore... and really exposed my lack of shoulder flexibility. I think I'm going to add in some wall extensions and german hangs into my daily warmup, because I really need to get my shoulders sorted.

Monday, 1st November 2010

warmup:

ditto

WOD:

3 rounds:

15s XR L-sit -> 5 x jump assisted/1/3 MU

15s BL -> 6 x archups

15s FL -> 6 x circular HLL

5 x bridge wall walks

I attempted this last night, but was feeling nauseous, and being upside down and all over the place wasn't helping any; so I stopped after the 1st section of the 1st round.

Feeling better this morning, so I ran through it as above. I can a MU or few, but with reps like that, I went for jump assisted, hold, then lower slowly.

Archups should have been weighted; will know for next time.

HLL rather embarassingly kicked my arse; was doing them weighted less than a year ago, but this morning I was struggling to lift above an L by the 3rd round.

I'm rather new to this forum as well.

I'll follow your log, seems interesting to see how far you'll get.

good luck.

Cheers mate. I just read the comments in your log regarding those of us who're no longer as young as we once were, taking on BtGB style training, with respect to progress and injury.

I don't think that there's any doubt that at 41, I'm not going to make the same kind of progress as I would have if I'd started at 18; that said, I am already a lot stronger than I was in my younger days and probably more agile too.

I think then major key is adequate recovery; while it's important for everyone engaging in seriously hard training, it's even more so as one ages. I know I eat well; my achilles heal with respect to recovery is sleep. I don't sleep enough and what I get is not of a high enough quality.

I'll also be paying as much attention as I can to adequate pre-hab and (mostly active) stretching. I'm not particularly flexible. I need a lot of work with my pike and straddle; when I progress to straddle levers etc, my current straddle won't help me much with leverage. My shoulders are also horribly tight; I can't currently do a back bridge with my arms extended.

Anyway, it's all good fun; I really enjoy gymnastic training, although this morning, my shoulders are REALLY feeling the pain of last night's PPP!!

Tuesday, 2nd November 2010

warmup:

ditto

WOD:

4 rounds:

3 x wall HSPU, nose to ground

5 x parallette PPP, flat body, legs raised on chair

5 x XR Dips

10s hanging L-sit

Forgot the wrist pushups; made the L-sits part of the 4 rounds as I can't do L-sit walks right now.

I am REALLY feeling the PPP this morning (WOD last night). They were quite a strain on the front of my shoulders at the time, but now I'm wishing I didn't have to move them for a while. Very glad it's Wednesday, because I need a day off!!

Thursday, 4th November 2010

warmup:

ditto, but I forgot the leg/shoulder mobilisation until after the FSPs.

WOD:

back squats:

5 x 45kg

3 x 55kg

3 x 77.5kg

3 x 90kg

4 x 100kg

2 x 10 x archups

2 x 10 x wall extensions

Friday, 5th November 2010

warmup:

ditto, sans wrist pushups

WOD:

1 x 6 / 1 x 4 cast wall walks

1 x 5 pike box press HeS

1 x 10 straddle box press HeS

30s/20s/20s/15s/20s/30s XR strap HS

wall runs 10 taps/10/10/10/20

2 x 10 wrist pushups from knees

the FSPs in the warmup are getting a little easier; still only at half volume (30s in total), but I'm going to add to that each block.

cast wall walks much easier than last week; same with the press HeS; balance and familiarity mostly I think.

I decided to give the XR HS a go. it freaked me out a bit... I had done them in the past, but the initial kickup was still kinda scary. I absolutely fried my calves; was getting cramps in calves and feet from trying so frantically to grip the straps. was much easier in the latter rounds when I relaxed a bit; could concentrate more on pushing through the shoulders, keeping my core tight etc.

stopped at 6 rounds and did a few rounds of wall runs to finish.

the wrist pushups were nasty after all that time in HS!!

Monday, 8th November 2010

warmup:

ditto - forgot to add the straight arm IC elbow prep series to my SSC

WOD:

4 rounds:

10 x towel pullups - actually became 6/4, 5/3/2, 3/2, 3/2

3 x tuck front pulls

5 x tuck TOPs pulls

towel pullups suck, so I'm leaving the towel hanging from the rafter out the back, with the promise that every time I pass under it I have pull a couple.

the front pulls were REALLY hard; I was determined to keep my arms straight, but even with a tuck, it was rough. the TOPs pulls were easier, but I fatigued really quickly; each set were 3 easy, next harder, final really hard.

overall, was pleased that I got through it, even with reduced reps and no shuttle runs. I've been struggling with sinus issues (always have a degree of such, but much worse lately) and spent most of the last few days somewhere between discomfort and pain, but at least I got something done.

Tuesday, 9th November 2010

warmup:

ditto, but I stopped a couple rounds short with the L-sit/PL

WOD:

3 rounds:

MU -> L support -> press to shoulder stand -> forward roll to hanging L -> tuck crank -> reverse tuck crank

5 rounds:

15s tuck FL

15s XR strap HS, RTO

15s tuck BL

felt about the same with the ring strength series; I really struggle with spatial awareness, when I'm not upright, so I complete lose it on the forward roll... false grips gone and I drop more than roll.

XR strap HS felt much better than they did last week with the HS WOD. pressing a bit more, kicking a bit less into it; much more stable. still supporting with legs on the straps more than I'd like, but no trouble turning the rings out.

wall extensions continue to expose my woeful shoulder mobility; HAVE to remember to keep doing them in my warmup and/or cooldown.

Thursday, 11th November 2010

warmup:

ditto

WOD:

3 rounds:

1 inverted hang to BL -> 5 tuck yewkis

1 L-sit to tuck PL -> 5 tuck PL dips

1 inverted hang to FL, 5 body levers

5 x bridge wall walks

yewkis were all over the place in the first round; very unfamiliar movement despite practising it a couple times prior to the WOD. much better in the latter rounds.

PL dips were very shallow crappy ROM; did them on the parallettes on floor, so I didn't have a lot of room to play with.

body levers were curled up, but straight body down.

only 5 wall walks, as this WOD really wiped me out. I am REEEEEEEALLY tired even now a 1/2 hr later.

was going to throw in some ring HS for my elbows, but just too tired.

Friday, 12th November 2010

warmup:

ditto, but with abbreviate PL/L/FL FSPs; elbows were feeling it from some pretty intense WODs this week.

WOD:

back squats

5x45kg

3x55kg

5x82.5kg

3x95kg

1x105kg

2x10 archups

4x15s XR strap HS

2x10 wall extensions

squats did NOT feel strong; I'll back off next squat day (still doing 5-3-1-esque squats for leg days), and try one more cycle at increased weight. was disappointed to get only 1 rep in at 105kg, but my core was shattered from the core-centric WOD on thursday.

focussed on pulling with my hamstrings in the archups; certainly felt like it worked afterwards.

threw in the ring HS at the end to start my dedicated elbow prep.

Monday, 15th November 2010

I missed my workout last night; got home late from work (stupid late calling clients), cooked dinner and just had nothing left. been struggling with getting enough sleep for a long, long time, but it's really been catching up with me lately.

anyway; I got at least some kinda workout in this morning instead, and will attempt to continue on track this arvo.

warmup:

ditto. but no bridge wall walks; keep forgetting to put these in the warmup and my bridge/shoulders really need them. bad pogo...

WOD:

deadlift:

5x50kg

3x62.5kg

3x87.5kg

3x100kg

3x112.5kg

deadlifts felt REALLY heavy today. partly attributable to it being in the morning, I suppose, but... I can definitely feel like I'm losing lower body strength. this could be partly due to not doing straight ahead 5/3/1 with high volume assistance sets (I was seeing slow, but consistent progress); but I think it's also due to the fact that I'm losing weight. I don't gain muscle easily and I don't like the feeling when I eat what I consider too much so I will never gain much. but I've been pretty strict with the quality of my food lately and while I'm not losing muscle, I'm definitely losing fat; for whatever reason, I can lift more when I've got a little bit more padding!!

was going to try to fit in some assistance leg work and some XR strap HS, but I ran out of time before having to head off for work (stupid making me come in early in the morning so that I can finish fixing their late calling problems clients).

Tuesday, 16th November 2010

warmup:

abbreviated; only 4 rounds of each FSP, instead of 6, due to this morning's workout.

WOD:

6/4 cast wall walks.

1 x 5 pike box press HeS

1 x 10 straddle box press HeS

10 mins wall walk

did the cast wall walks in same rep scheme as last time; felt about the same... tough!

box press HeS felt harder than last time, I think.

wall walks... damn... really tough. I did 10 mins in total expired time, but I only wall walked for about 4-5 mins of that; that was well enough for my current level of strength.

Thursday, 18th November 2010

warmup:

ditto

WOD:

4 rounds:

1x10 clap pushups

10s XR L-sit

30s XR dips

2 x 10 wrist pushups

well... that was humbling. in the first round, I attempted slightly swinging dips on the rings... wish I'd tried somewhat less of a swing. but either way, it didn't last long.

I finished the first set with sporadic single dips. all other rounds were 1-2 full range dips, degrading very quickly into negatives.

Friday, 19th November 2010

warmup:

ditto

WOD:

3 rounds:

1 x MU

3 x L-sit -> tuck shoulder stand

3 x dip

3 x tuck tick tock

4 sets:

15s tuck FL

15s XR strap HS

15s german hang

2 x 10 wall extensions

dips in the ring strength series started out RTO, 2nd set not so much, 3rd set was only 2 weak reps.

statics felt good and strong (for me), but I was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable in the shoulders and left elbow, so I stopped a round short.

Monday, 22nd November 2010

warmup:

ditto

WOD:

3 sets:

1 x inverted hang to flat tuck BL + 5 Tempo tuck Reverse Yewkis

1 x L-sit to PL + 5 Tempo XR Dips, RTO

1 x inverted hang to flat tuck FL + 5 Tempo tuck Front Pulls

10 x Bridge Wall Walks

2 x 10 x wall extensions

Tuesday, 23rd November 2010

warmup:

ditto

WOD:

4 rounds:

5 Hopping Pull-ups sans Toe Touch

10 ½ tuck FL Pulls

5 towel pullups

2 x 30s XR strap HS

severely scaled, but this still absolutely fried me; lats are still on fire. I hate towel pullups... really, really HATE. and I haven't been GtG'ing them like I told myself I would... ahhh well, it is what it is.

Thursday, 25th November 2010

warmup:

ditto

WOD:

no WOD posted, so I guessed legs.

squats:

5 x 47.5kg

3 x 57.5kg

5 x 75kg

5 x 87.5kg

2 x 100kg

damn!! 2...?!?! this was supposed to be a 5 x day (doing 5/3/1) and while I am reaching my limits of this linear progression cycle, I did 5 reps at that weight in the previous 3 rep day.

not happy; I have obviously lost a whole lot of leg strength since dropping 5/3/1 for a gymnastics/weights combo. this is likely due to the fact that I'm not getting the volume of leg training that I was previously; I'm only squatting when we have a leg day, deadlift on either a 2nd leg day in the same week or in close proximity to a previous leg day. I'd also dropped the assistance exercises, which for me on leg days were more of the same, but less weight/higher reps.

anyway, I finished the travesty that was last night's squatting with:

squat:

1 x 20 x 70kg

archups:

2 x 10 with 5s hold at end of each set

I think I need to work in some more volume somewhere/somehow; just not quite sure yet how to do it.

Friday, 26th November 2010

warmup:

ditto

WOD:

6/4 cast wall walk

5 x pike box press HeS

10 x straddle box press HeS

walking HSPU ladders - 3 1/3 rounds:

2 x box HeS -> 6 steps wall walk

2 x negative HeS -> 6 steps wall walk

2 x HeS -> 6 steps wall walk

finished with an extra HeS round to take it up to 10.

5 x bridge wall walks

2 x 10 wrist pushups

2 x 10 wall extensions

cast wall walks are getting easier each time; probably could have done more than 6 in the first set, but figured I'd take it a bit easy.

almost don't need the box with the straddle box press HeS.

Will post more this evening, but I'm backing off training this week. I have a few niggly aches and pains; and I know I'm not sleeping sufficiently to fully recover from a constant SSC-FSP/WOD schedule.

Will mostly concentrate on mobility work and some gentle stretching for the week; and I'll be doing more of the same on a regular basis once I resume regular programming next week.

I've already started a morning regime of some mobility movements, predominantly for shoulders and hips. But I'll fine tune that based on further reading and how I feel day to day.

Monday, 29th November 2010 - Friday, 3rd December 2010

All this week has been and will be flexibility and mobility. This is primarily consisting of:

Ido's band series for shoulders

Wrist plank support leans

Bridge wall walks

Weighted pike/straddle stretching

Hip extensions

I've thrown in static stretching when/where I've felt like it, which has admittedly been "not enough". :oops:

Apart from that, I've just been keeping active in the afternoons after work by throwing frisbee or playing cricket with my boys.