Vegan machine never break...

[wannalift]

4/1/2012: Strength & mtn bike

Gym: Front squat (max double + rep out @ 185), long pull, weighted leg raise, snatch pull to shrug complex, side bends, weighted back hypers, metcon (pull ups, kettlebell swings, squat jumps ---> 5 rounds -----> 6:45).

Another INTENSE session. Got a nice heavy double and on my last set I repped out 185 to failure. Weighted back hypers with the bar are still brutal. Went up in weight on kettlebell swings so did reps with 7 instead of 10 on those Got a very respectable time.

Mtn bike: 1.5 hour technical ride. Another INTENSE ride. Really happy with how I rode. Pushed myself hard, took almost no breaks at all, and rode very smooth.

[wannalift]

4-2-2012: Strength

Lunch break: kneeling dumbbell OH press, bent-over flys, dumbbell tricep ext, shoulder rehab

Went up in weight or reps on all lifts.

Gym: incline dumbbell bench (heavy), glute/ham bench abs, plate walk, weighted ab pull down, WYIT shoulder raises, kettlebell tricep extension

Feel like I am getting sick so I cut my workout a little short. Still performed rather well despite not feeling 100%. No mtn biking which is a shame because there are beautiful blue skies out. No cardio either as I think I am better off resting at this point. Hoping this is a 24-hour bug as my immune system has been pretty strong this yea and I only feel mildly ill at this point.

[wannalift]

4/3/2012: Completely off. Sick.

4/4/2012: Strength

Lunch break: Weighted pull/chin ups, grip medley complex

Gym: 1-leg press (20 reps), weighted leg raise, Hungarian hang clean to RDL complex, metcon (SLDL, squat jumps, 1-arm row ---> 5 rounds -----> 7:00).

I got sick late on Sunday. Not feeling that great today, but I managed to at least get my strength session(s) in, albeit in an abbreviated form. Session was actually pretty good all things considered. 1-leg press was solid despite 3 weeks off. I actually think I was better in this session than the last one regarding that lift. Went up in weight on the SLDL and reps on the 1-arm row for the metcon. Still only 25 seconds more than last week. No cardio (other than the metcon) as whatever bug I have may be turning itself into a cold. Would have been a great day to ride

[wannalift]

4/5/2012: mtn bike

1.33 hour technical ride. Did my old base ride today as I am still getting over being sick and my legs are sore from yesterday's workout (especially my hamstrings). Didn't want to push myself too hard, but I came out of the gates flying on my warmup sprints. It caught up to me about halfway through. I was a little sloppy on some of the obstacles and my climbing was average at best. I still did some really good riding on some parts though. Hoping to go on a longer ride tomorrow and more rides over the weekend.

[wannalift]

4-6-2012: Strength, mtn bike (fail), sprints

Lunch break: kneeling dumbbell OH press, bent-over flys, dumbbell tricep ext, shoulder rehab

Went up in weight or reps on all lifts.

Gym: Bamboo bench, glute/ham bench abs, plate walk, weighted ab pull down, incline dumbbell bench (high rep), Javorek Complex (no squat jump) x 3 rounds of 2 sets ----> 9:35

Totally forgot to do snatch pulls since I didn't do them last week and only looked back at that workout, shrug. On the Javorek Complex I decided to axe the squat jumps on this day and just focus on the upper body, especially the shoulder/trap tie-in. I did back-to-back sets with 1-minute rest in between. Really hit my shoulders hard. Felt the pump afterwards.

Mtn bike: Incomplete. Was having a great ride for a very short time before I had a total blowout on my back tire. Didn't realize the tire was completely blown and put another tube in. Nope. Had to do the walk of shame back home (starting with a ~650 ft climb of course). I suppose there are worse ways to leave the park though. Luckily I was nice and warmed up to do sprints.

Sprints (on bike trainer): Lactate cycle:
- 3 x (8 seconds on, 22 seconds off x 3);
- 4 minute rest between first two sets, 5 minute rest after third set;
- 8 x (4 seconds on, 10 seconds off)

Well, I at least salvaged my cardio session. Now I gotta get up early and fix my bike tomorrow. I was totally planning on converting to tubeless during the offseason, but didn't expect to be riding so early in the year. Gotta get this done, STAT.

[wannalift]

4/8/2012: Strength & mtn bike

Gym: Front squat (max triple + rep out @ 185), long pull, weighted leg raise, HHP to RDL complex, side bends, weighted back hypers, broad jumps, metcon (pull ups, kettlebell swings, squat jumps ---> 5 rounds -----> 6:35).

Pretty solid session except for the front squats. Wasn't feeling that strong going in, and I messed up my heavy front squats. Got the same number of reps as last week @ 185. Meh. Added an extra kettlebell swing each round and still shaved off 10 seconds from last week. Right after the gym I drove to the trails.

Mtn bike: 1.25 hour technical ride. Didn't ride for that long, but it was a rather intense all-mountain ride. I knew I wouldn't be able to last too long after just coming from the gym. Rode with a rather good rider who pushed the pace the whole way. Good enough.

[wannalift]

4-9-2012: Strength & spinning

Lunch break: kneeling dumbbell OH press, bent-over flys, dumbbell tricep ext, shoulder rehab

Went up in weight or reps on all lifts.

Gym: incline dumbbell bench (heavy), glute/ham bench abs, plate walk, weighted ab pull down, bamboo bench, WYIT shoulder raises, kettlebell tricep extension

My boring day at the gym. Just mindless upper body stuff. Lots of ab work too.


Spinning: 40-minute aerobic spin. Raining today so no trail riding. For the best as my legs are pretty much cooked today. Just spun at a moderate pace while watching mtn bike videos - the ultimate tease. Felt good just to get my legs moving and break a sweat.

[wannalift]

4/10/2012: Completely off.

4/11/2012: Strength & Sprints

Lunch break: Weighted pull/chin ups, shrug rows, grip medley complex

Gym: Hungarian hang clean to RDL complex, 1-leg press (20 reps), weighted leg raise, side bends, metcon (SLDL, squat jumps, 1-arm row ---> 5 rounds -----> 7:55).

Got a ton of bar speed and snap on the HHP. Probably could have snatched the weight if I wanted to. Added some extra reps on the RDLs as well. After the last RDL rep on each set, it felt like I pulled my groin when I took the first step forward to re-rack the weight. Strange. My hips must have been super tight. Anyway, my legs were trashed after the 1-leg press, but I went ahead with the metcon. Went up in weight on the SLDL and up a rep on the 1-arm row. Thought I was doing well, but I ended up 55-seconds slower than last week. Not sure exactly what happened, but my legs really were feeling the hurt throughout.

Sprints (on bike trainer): Lactate cycle 2:
- 4 x 3 x (8 seconds on, 22 seconds off);
- 4 minute rest between sets.

These are just always difficult. Got stronger as the sets went on though. Glad I opted for an extra round rather than the normal finisher I do here.

[wannalift]

4/12/2012: 0.75 hr spinning

Probably could have ridden the trails today, but I have a ton of things to do and on top of that I need a new chain so no go. Just did some moderate spinning on the trainer and broke a good sweat. Big news is that I am making a couple of nice upgrades to my cycling:

1. Garmin edge 500 GPS with speed/cadence sensors. HRM too.
2. Gravity dropper adjustable seat post.

There is really no excuse for me going this long without recording and analyzing my training. I bought 2 speed/cadence sensors so I can use the unit for my bike trainer as well to measure my sprint progress (still going for 2,000 watts at some point in the future). Really excited about this. I'm sure having the instant feedback will make me train harder and yield better gains.

The adjustable seat post has also been on the back of my mind forever. It just makes sense as it has 3" of travel and 3 positions (Up, 1" down, down). I will mostly use the 1" down position to ride in, but the 1" up will be great for climbs and the down position will help me with downhill, obstacles, drops & (small) jumps. These two upgrades will instantly take me up to a higher level and hopefully several higher levels by the end of the season.

[wannalift]

4-13-2012: Strength

Lunch break: kneeling dumbbell OH press, bent-over flys, dumbbell tricep ext, shoulder rehab

Went up in weight or reps on all lifts.

Gym: Inc dumbbell bench (high rep) glute/ham bench abs, plate walk, snatch pull shrug complex, weighted ab pull down, Javorek Complex (no squat jump) x 3 rounds of 2 sets ----> 8:55

Went up in reps and shaved off 40 seconds on the Javorek Complex. Not bad.

[wannalift]

4/15/2012: Strength

Gym: Front squat (max quad + rep out @ 185), long pull, weighted leg raise, jump shrug, weighted back hypers, metcon (pull ups, kettlebell swings, squat jumps ---> 5 rounds -----> 6:05).

Solid gym session. Had some doubts on the front squat, but battled through to get the 4th rep. Added a rep on the rep out set. Shaved off 30 seconds from the metcon despite adding a rep to the kettlebell swings. Very nice.

Got my cycling computer yesterday and set it up. Did some sprints, but turned out I was much slower than I previously estimated. According to the power curves I'm using, less than 1,400 watts on my 6-second avg max. Looks like I have a lot more work to do there.

[wannalift]

4-9-2012: Strength & mtn bike

Lunch break: kneeling dumbbell OH press, bent-over flys, dumbbell tricep ext, shoulder rehab

Went up in weight or reps on all lifts.

Gym: incline dumbbell bench (heavy), glute/ham bench abs, plate walk, weighted ab pull down, bamboo bench, WYIT shoulder raises, kettlebell tricep extension

Did well on all of my lifts.

Mtn bike: 1.5-hour technical ride. First ride with the new adjustable seat post and GPS unit. Lower back was killing me by the end of the ride (higher angle?). Had some trouble with the new GPS unit (turned the timer off accidentally, elevation delay on some climbs, starting and ending elevation were off by 44 ft, etc.), but here is my ride: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/168902537

[wannalift]

4/17/2012: Completely off.

4/18/2012: Strength & Sprints

Lunch break: Weighted pull/chin ups, shrug rows, grip medley complex

Gym: Front squat (max 8-rep), Hungarian hang clean (no RDL), 1-leg press (20 reps), weighted leg raise, metcon (RDL, squat jumps, 1-arm row) ---> (5/10/10) x 5 rounds -----> 7:10.

Birthday workout = intense leg session! Went back to front squatting 2x week. I just don't feel right with only 1 day. No RDL after HHC since I am doing those on the metcon (and since they are also painful). Forced my way through the 1-leg press, very tough. Switched to RDL on the metcon. I think I like it better that way. Got a very respectable time. Not much rest at all.

Sprints (on bike trainer): Lactate cycle 2:
- 4 x 3 x (8 seconds on, 22 seconds off);
- 4 minute rest between sets.

Got some decent speed on some of the sprints despite the high volume. Getting better at these.

[wannalift]

4/19/2012: Mtn Bike

1.25-hr technical ride. Very sloppy. I was wearing my new shoes and the cleats are back 1/2-1" further from the toes than normal. I think this could be good in the long run, but lots of growing pains for now. Trouble getting clipped in, pedal strikes, different stroke, etc. I did do pretty well on the climbs. Got another freaking flat early on so I had to cut my ride short. Also rode with a heart monitor for the first time so that was pretty neat. Here is the ride: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/169771869

[wannalift]

4-13-2012: Strength & Mtn Bike

Lunch break: kneeling dumbbell OH press, bent-over flys, dumbbell tricep ext, shoulder rehab

Went up in weight or reps on all lifts.

Gym: Inc dumbbell bench (high rep) glute/ham bench abs, plate walk, snatch pull shrug complex, weighted ab pull down, Javorek Complex (no squat jump) x 3 rounds of 2 sets ----> 9:30?

Added some reps to the Javorek Complex. Forgot my cell phone so I had to use the clock on the wall for a timer. Quite worked over by the end.

1.33 hour technical ride. May be the best I have ever ridden. I just had a lot of power in my legs and rode hard the entire time. Something was awry with my GPS since it says I rested for 10 minutes? I only stopped briefly a couple times to make room for other riders and walkers. The distance seems a little off too. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/170028171