February 16, 2014 Conditioning

• Jump Rope: 35, 25
• Broad Jumps: 8' 1", 8' 1", 8' 1", 8' 4", 8' 6", 8' 5.5"
• Stretching: 10 minutes
• Sauna: 20 minutes (180 degrees)

Quick conditioning and then some stretching. Also roasted in the sauna.  I do that a few times per week in the winter but I never remember to post it. Same with stretching, I want to start recording it more though.  It's like with my core work, I never recorded that for years, and then only started a couple years back.  Hopefully I get diligent about it. 

February 2, 2014 Conditioning

• Jump Rope: 30, 60
• Broad Jump: 8' 4", 8' 4.5", 8' 10", 8' 6", 8' 6", 8' 5"
• Parallel Battling Ropes: 30
• Battling Ropes: 40

Quick conditioning session here, surprised I did as well on the jumps as I did.  Good stuff considering I'm probably like 218 right now. 

October 20, 2013 Conditioning

• Jump Rope: 30, 25
• Unilateral KB Swings: 28kg*15 28kg*15
• Row: 400m*1:21 NEW PR!!
• Bench Plyo Clap Pushups: 5,5,5
• Battling Rope-Rope Slam S.S.: 35-10, 35-10
• Row: 200*0:38

Good session, shins are a bit splinty still from all the jumping recently, going to lay off it for a bit.  On rowing for some reason I notice my ass muscles get sore, not sure why. My hips aren't tight or anything by the time I get to the rowing, I just get this really uncomfortable feeling in my hips, quads, and glutes when I row really fast.  Did manage to set a PR here though, so yaaay, etc. 

October 13, 2013 Conditioning

• Jump Rope: 35, 50 (2:05)
• Broad Jumps: 8' 7", 9' 0"
• Parallel Battling ropes: 20, 25
• Rowing: 500*1:57, 300*1:00, 200m*0:34 NEW PR!!

So the broad jumping is hurting my knees at this point, I've just done a ton of it lately, and the gym floor even with the turf in the 'cross training' area is still tough to land on several dozen times in the space of a week. Did some parallel battling ropes, where you move your arms out to the side and then sort of clap them together...clap dem ropes.   Finished with some rowing. Broke 100m up into a few bite sized chunks.  I honestly don't know if I can get any better than 34 seconds on the 200m.  That took every ounce I had, and I was pulling violently on every pull.  We'll see. 

October 6, 2013 Conditioning

• Jump Rope: 30, 25 (1:25)
• Broad Jumps: 8' 7", 9' 0", 8' 7", 8' 10", 8' 6", 8' 4", 8' 9", 8' 5", 8' 6.5", 8' 6", 8' 10"
• 20kg MB slams: 20, 20

23 minutes

My shins hurt.  Need to lay off the jumping for a few days. Did some ball slams, because why not? 

September 22, 2013 Conditioning

• Jump Rope: 50, 50 (1:50)
• Broad Jump: 8' 8", 9' 2" NEW PR!!, 8' 9", 8' 11", 8' 10", 8' 10", 8' 11.5", 8' 7", 8' 10", 8' 7"
• 500m Row: 1:49

23 minutes

Good session, brief jump rope then shattered my PR for broad jumps, at the gym anyway.  Highest average I've had by far.   Four months ago every one of these would have been a PR.  So that's good.  Good session overall, finished with a row.  This coming competition at the gym will feature a 1000m row for time, going to build up to 100 over next couple weeks and then hopefully start shaving time. 

September 1, 2013 Conditioning

• Jump Rope: 35, 15, 30 (2:30)
• Broad Jump: 8' 3", 8' 8", 8' 6", 8' 5", 8' 7", 8'6"
• Sled Push & Pull: 90*12 (2:20)
• Rowing: 500m*1:42 NEW PR!!

29 minutes

Broad jumps went well, jumped to sled push & pull after that, then decided to try my hand at doing a 500 of rowing. Turned out well, new PR. Although the caveat there is that I do not do 500 rows very often, I do 100s & 1000s much more often.

August 25, 2013 Conditioning

• Jump Rope (2:27): 50, 50
• Broad Jump: 8' 8.5", 8' 8", 8' 6", 9' 0"(!!), 8' 6", 8' 9"
• Sled Push & Pull: 90*20 (4:15) 90*10 (2:30)

Quick session.  Really uncorking some good broad jumps, I think I've got the form of it down pat finally.  If I hit less than about 8' 6" at this point I'm disappointed.  Going to keep working on the patterning of it, and making sure I throw my legs forward before the landing. Sled Push & Pull did a couple sets and was absolutely finished afterward.  

August 18, 2013 Conditioning

• Jump Rope: 44, 40, 28 3 minutes
• Broad Jump: 8' 4", 8' 9.5"(!!), 8' 7", 8' 7", 8' 7.5" , 8' 6.5", 8' 7.5", 8' 6", 8' 8.5"
• Rowing: 500m*1:43 (0:35 200m split)
• 1/2 tabata spin bike: 0.51 miles

31 minutes

Went great, warmed up with jump rope...uncorked some really long jumps here, just getting into a good pattern of kicking my legs forward, keeping them tucked, leaning forward, putting it all together. Feels great. Did some rowing since it's been a while, and then did a 1/2 tabata on a spin bike, want to work up to a full one. 

July 14, 2013 Conditioning

• Jump Rope: 65, 50 (2:11)
• Broad Jumps: 8' 5", 8' 8.5", 8' 5", 8' 9", 8' 7", 8' 7", 8' 9", 8' 10", 8' 7", 8'9", 8' 9", 8' 9", 8' 11", 8' 6"
• Horizontal Battling Ropes: 50, 40
• Agility Jump Cross: 3, 6
• Unilateral jump ladder (11 boxes): 2, 1, 2

32 minutes

Fun session. I tried something with broad jumps: Jump forward (obviously) but let my legs hang behind me and only throw them forward as I come to landing, it lets me really throw myself harder into the jumps and the results played out well.  Tried some horizontal battling ropes; basically just fling my arms out to the side and then snap them inward.  Here is a link to the jump ladder thing I was talking about.  I put a video of the jump across thing, from Joe Defranco's youtube. I used shorter hurdles, and put them in a cross pattern, so that at one point I had to jump backward.  

July 7, 2013 Conditioning

• Jump Rope: 50, 50, 50,45 (6:48)
• Plyo Bench Clap Pushups; 5, 6
• 31" seated plyo box jumps: 10
• plank sled drags: 70*2

23 minutes

Wanted to take it easy here, nothing too intense, felt a bit fatigued.  

June 23, 2013 Conditioning

• Jump Rope: 60, 60, 60, 60 (5:55)
• Broad Jumps: 8' 4", 8' 7", 8' 6", 8' 9.5", 8' 5.5" 8' ", 8' 7.5", 8' 8"
• Sled Push: 90*7 90*5
• PUPP: 1:00, 1:00

33 minutes

Monster session on broad jumps, was really forcing my knees up while in the air to keep myself airborne for as long as possible.  Got 7 on the sled pushes (each 'rep' is about 15 yards).  

June 16, 2013 Conditioning

• Jump Rope: 6 mins: 36, 50, 50, 45, 50 
• Broad Jumps: 8' 2", 8' 4", 8' 4", 8' 5.5", 8' 3", 8' 5.5", 8' 4", 8' 1.5", 8' 2", 8' 6"
• 31" Plyo Box Jumps: 15
• Speed Sled Push: 90*6 90*5

32 minutes

I get tired doing the jump-rope; not my legs or lungs, but my wrists & arms for some reason.  May try to start doing them faster to get through the sets more rapidly, maybe that'll work.  Broad jumping was fine, didnt have much pop after leg workout Friday, but that's how it usually is. I prefer doing the jumping at Harvard now, it's just nicer to land on sand than the hard gym floor. Did some box jumps because I haven't in a while.  Finished with sled pushing, and did quite well at it. Alright session, just kind of floated through this one. 

June 9, 2013 Conditioning

• Jump Rope: 51, 51, 60, 70, 35, 50 (7:30)
• Broad Jump: 8' 3", 8' 4", 8' 3", 8' 5", 8' 0", 8' 7", 8' 4.5", 8' 4", 8' 2.5" 8' 2.5"
• Battling Ropes: 70, 60
• Speed Sled Pushes: 90*5 90*4

32 minutes

Glutes/hams still sore from Friday's workout. Couldn't find jump rope that I like, didn't seem to make a difference though.  Almost back to feeling normal after trip. 

May 19, 2013 Conditioning

• Jump Rope: (12 minutes) 25, 30, 25, 31, 60, 32, 70, 19
• Broad Jumps: 8' 4", 8' 8", 8' 2.5", 8' 7", 8' 8", 8' 9.5", 8' 5", 8' 7", 8' 4", 8' 7.5"
• Sled Speed Pushes: 90*5 90*4
• Incline Walking: 30 minutes / 10% / 2.47 miles

31 minutes (for working, not walking)

Arms were oddly tired when jumping rope and legs felt dead from squatting Friday. Really locking in on jumping right now.  Average is going up each week.  Absolutely drained by the sled pushing. Finished with some incline walking. 

May 12, 2013 Conditioning

• Broad Jumps: 8' 2", 8' 6", 8' 5.5", 8' 9", 8' 2", 8' 10", 8' 6", 8' 6", 8' 4", 8' 8"
• Jump Rope: (8:00) 41, 55, 60, 52, 50, 65
• Battling Rope-Rope Slam Superset: 55-10 47-10
• Incline Walk: 10% / 30 minutes / 1.31 miles  
• P.U.P.P.: 1:00, 1:00

Getting really explosive on the broad jumps, even bad ones are over 8 feet now.  If I keep up at this rate I should be over 9' on my longest attempts in a few weeks. We shall see.  Was pretty tired for the jump rope, no 100 jumps this time, plus it was a different rope and I didn't like it much. As soon as I was done I found the one I like in a pile in the corner.   Adding in some incline walking over the next few weeks to speed up the cut, I'm pretty close to where I want to be, it's going great.  

May 8, 2013 Conditioning

• Jump Rope: (8:20) 14, 40, 101 NEW PR!! 55, 50 - gassed on last 2 sets
• Broad Jump: 8' 6", 8' 5", 8' 6.5", 8' 4", 8' 5", 8' 5.5"
• Sled Push (For Speed): 90*5 90*4 90*3 90*3 90*4
• Wide-Stance Anti-Rotational Chops: 70*10 50*10
• Side-Plank: 0:30

43 minutes

It was pouring outside on and off so I couldn't go to the track, which is ok, I went hard on this session.  Started with jump rope first, got 101 before I ran out of breath, and then did some broad jumps, my numbers didn't suffer for having done jump rope first.  It's funny, when you work out a lot or train hard at anything you always wonder how much fatigue exercise XYZ will have on what follows. But what you find is if you concentrate on the follow-up exercises usually the impact is so minimal. Just another way this stuff is so much about fortitude, dedication, and mental toughness.  Since this was  a conditioning session I did speed pushes with the sled, left my lungs feeling like molten magma.  Had to take over a minute off between each set.  Jumped to core stuff after that and called it a day.  

May 5, 2013 Conditioning

• Broad Jumps: 7' 9", 7' 11", 8' 5.5", 8' 3", 8' 5", 8' 3", 8' 1", 8' 2", 8' 3", 8' 5"
• Jump Rope (11 minutes): 13, 77, 80 NEW PR!!, 50-gassed, 81 NEW PR!!
• 31" Plyo Box Jumps: 10
• Sled Pushes: 115*4

Posterior chain is sore/fatigued all the way from my ankles to my traps after that Friday workout. Still managed to hit 8' 5.5" on broad jumps, really zeroing in on them lately.  Did some jump rope after, amazing how good of a cardiovascular hit that doing it takes on me.  Wish I could do it more, may start working it in on Mondays perhaps.  Wanted to do some box jumps, was pretty beat though so I just did 10. Finished with sled pushes and then fell face first on the turf for a couple minutes to recover. 

April 28, 2013 Conditioning

• Broad Jumps: 8' 1", 8' 4", 8' 5", 8' 4", 8' 6", 8' 1", 8' 0", 8' 1", 8' 2", 8' 5", 8' 4"
• Jump Rope: 7:30: 17, 29, 55, 68 NEW PR!!, 29, 36
• Sled Pushes: 115*4 115*2 115*2

 32 minutes

On the broad jumps I'm definitely getting better about making sure I have some good height, and also putting my feet forward at the end.  Too often they would drag behind me, and where I would set them down was behind my body.  Also as far as height/forward thrust goes you have to balance it out.  You don't want to waste too much of your energy propelling yourself upward, but you need enough height so that you have enough time to bring your feet forward as you descend.  Did some jump rope, got a new PR.  Again, just totally gassed after, shins start to splint up a tad on the last couple sets.  Did some sled pushes for speed.  My quads completely locked up and gave out on them, which is good.  I keep my ass low and push through my posterior chain, but my quads really take the brunt of it, at least during the session, afterward everything is evenly sore. 

April 21, 2013 Conditioning

• Broad Jumps: 8' 4", 8'5", 8' 6.5", 8' 4.5", 8' 5", 8' 10", 8' 3", 8' 4.5", 8' 3.5", 8' 8", 8' 8"
• Plyo Bench Clap Pushups: 6, 6
• Jump Rope: 8 minutes, 37, 24, 46, 52, 60, 60
• 10 lbs. Plate Transfer Planks: 4*2

Well last week was not supposed to be an off-week for my legs completely, but since some assholes bombed my city, and then put the city on lockdown my gym was closed Friday. It's ok, my lower back & hips were getting tired anyway, I actually feel much fresher.  Plus I still sprinted.  I was curious how jumps would go.   Well, they went well. Very well.  I feel like I'm zeroing in on form on them, really exploding forward.  I could still stand to do it more forcefully, but it's definitely getting better. Plus most importantly to this session, I don't let my feet trail behind me.  I threw them forward as I landed which resulted in the longer jumps, previously my body would almost always be 'ahead' of my feet, costing me several inches off the jumps.   

Jump rope is coming along great, I found a rope I really like there.  Now that I'm doing longer sets I can start recording them, since there will be fewer overall.  On the 46, 52, 60, and 60 I actually did not stop because I messed up, I was just gassed.  I also get shin-splints on the last few sets, I need to land softer.   Finished with some plate transfer planks, which also went great.  They are REALLY taxing for some reason, I think because your arm is crossing the median line of your body.  Here's a video of Lee Boyce doing them.  Check out his site here and his articles on T-Nation here.  A great deal of my core work, as well stretching/diagnostic stuff that I don't record on this blog are from him.