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2009/12/16: Back on the rings, medicine ball core work

Thu, 12/17/2009 - 01:24 — johnny

Hopped back on the rings yesterday afternoon after a few weeks off. It's been a little cold, so hanging the rings outside hasn't been happening. At some point, my Floridian senses take over and tell me that freezing temperatures and stiff winds are not good for an outdoor rings workout.

  • wide supports: 3 x 15s

  • iso hold false grip pull ups: 2 rounds

  • archer dips: 2 x 4-6 reps

Freak warm December day = Outdoor Leg Workout

Mon, 12/14/2009 - 09:33 — johnny

It had been unseasonable warm through November here in PA, then it turned cold. But we still had one last warm-ish day in December. We broke out the weight vests and took advantage of the cinder blocks and tires outside for an outdoor leg workout:

  • Lunges:
    • 20 x bodyweight

    • 20 x 20lb vest

    • 20 x vest+cinder block

    • 20 x vest+2 cinder blocks

  • Side lunges: 2 x 20 x vest

  • Tire Pushes: 2 rounds pushing 40 yds (or failure)

The next big thing

Sun, 11/01/2009 - 13:36 — johnny
Flipping through Shape magazine (it's my wife's, honestly), I came across the page with the latest fitness fads which included some yoga hybrid workouts.  I'm usually pretty leery of fads.  By the time an idea is mainstream popular, they're usually more marketing than substance.  The resurgence of yoga is a good example.  Sure, yoga is great for you, but its sheer popularity means that a lot of people are trying to milk the popularity cow.  You get a lot of unqualified people with serious misunderstandings teaching classes just to meet the demand.  You

Random notes

Sun, 10/11/2009 - 19:48 — johnny
  • Deadlifted 205 lbs again.  It's been a while since I went past 185 lbs since I've been working on my technique.  Technique felt pretty clean this time around, but my grip is still weak.  My grip failed long before everything else.
  • On that note, I watch other people do deadlifts in the gym.  I cringe at the sight of many rounded backs.  It must be good to be young and not feel any pain from poor lifting form.
  • You'd think that college athletes would all be fantastically fit and strong.  You'd be wrong in that thought.  I've never

Tai Cheese: A Case Study

Fri, 09/18/2009 - 00:30 — johnny

What do tai chi and dairy farming have to do with each other? Normally nothing, but in the case of Rob Taverner, tai chi helps keep him and his dairy cows happy. I applaud Rob Taverner for his organic dairy farming and his dabbling with tai chi to soothe his cows. I however can't say that his movements (as far as I can tell from the still photo) adhere to tai chi principles.

The Cornucopia

Sun, 08/30/2009 - 10:00 — johnny
My apartment complex actually forbids growing vegetables on the premises. It's actually explicitly specified in the rent contract. It makes me a little sad to not be able to garden here, but I did bend the rules a bit by growing basil (ha, take that evil apartment management! it's an herb, not a vegetable.). But who needs a vegetable garden anyhow? Especially when you've got friends willing to share their bounty.

Rocking the Relaxation

Fri, 08/28/2009 - 10:37 — johnny
"Relax!"  It's a phrase you're bound to hear if you study an internal martial art, especially any of the tai chi variants.  But what exactly does it mean to relax?  According to the dictionary definitions,

relax (verb) is
  1. to make less tense, rigid, or firm; make lax
  2. to diminish the force of
  3. to slacken or abate, as effort, attention, etc.
  4. to reduce or stop work, effort, application, etc., especially for the sake of rest and recreation.


None of those definitions


Training Gear Update: ladder, rope, belt, hammer, oh my

Wed, 08/26/2009 - 23:06 — johnny
It's been a while since I've made any notes about my training gear. In fact, the last time I've discussed training gear was my post on my cheesy pull up bar solution. So, here is my long overdue training gear post.

Buddy Lee Aero Speed jump rope

Whale Watching

Sat, 08/08/2009 - 20:28 — johnny

We went whale watching in Boston today. Apparently, off the coast of MA is prime whale feeding grounds. There are lots of whales off the coast feeding off the rich schools of fish. We were really blessed today with two humpback whales the revisited our boat several times during the whale watching tour. Unfortunately I was too slow with the camera to get the really cool footage of the juvenile whale flipping its tail right next to the boat. I did still manage to get some cool footage:

New killer exercises

Fri, 07/24/2009 - 16:30 — johnny

I've added two new exercises to my repertoire. They were much harder than I originally anticipated. I guess everything looks easy. The reality was that the exercises were far from easy.

Offset barbell side bends (or lateral flexion as this vid calls it):

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