New Strength Program

March 17, 2014

Continued to feel better. I definitely seem to be over whatever flu-like horror had me down last week, just blowing all the remains out of my nose endlessly.

New strength program started today. I'll be assisting at a combined StrongFirst SFG 1/ SFG 2 Certification in Chicago next month and will have to retest all my basic kettlebell lifts before the cert. So this program will revisit and fine-tune the StrongFirst lifts and tighten up my technique in anticipation of the testing.

Training:

Strength Training:

StrongFirst Mobility Drills

Kettlebell Swings: 5 x 10 left and right with 36 kg kettlebell

Double Kettlebell Complex: (Clean, Squat, Press x 2/Clean, Squat, Press x 3/Clean, Squat, Press x 5) x 5 with 16 kg kettlebells

Ab Work: Ab Wheel, 2 x 10

Skill Training:

Partner Bag Drills: work :30/ shadow box :30 x 30 minutes

Lots of classes Monday, and fighters preparing for upcoming fights, so I worked pretty hard, too.

Had a great food treat today: a piece of a birthday Raw Banana Cream Pie from Rawsome Treats. It was unbelievably good.

Meanwhile, Forest is getting down with his own raw diet. His is carnivorous, of course: chicken gizzard, beef liver, salmon belly and skin, lamb shanks, beef marrow bones, and his all-time favorite, beef kidney:

March 18, 2014 

Tuesday is a bodyweight day in the new program, but with an eye toward programming as if it is loaded. In other words, it's no longer a feel-good, semi-recovery day, but another day with progressions.

Strength Training:

StrongFirst Mobility Drills
Turkish Get Ups: 2 x 5 left and right with 24 kg kettlebell
Pull Ups: to chest on 4 count up and down -- 5,4,3,2,1
alternating with:
Pistols: 5,4,3,2,1 left and right
then:
One Arm One Leg Push Ups: 5,4,3,2,1 left and right
alternating with:
Handstand kick ups: 5,4,3,2,1
Ab Work: 50 sit ups with alternating elbow strike on the decline bench

Skill Training:

Bag Work: 5 rounds
Shadow: 5 rounds

March 19, 2014

Strength Training:

StrongFirst Mobility Drills
Kettlebell Swing: 10 x 10 with 36 kg bell, switching hands on each set.
Double Kettlebell Complex: (Clean, 2 x Squat, Press/Clean, 3 x Squat, Press/Clean, 5 x Squat, Press) x 5 with 18 kg bells
Ab Work: Ab Wheel, 2 x 10

Skill Training:

Light Sparring: 6 rounds (4 min round, 30 sec break)
Bag Work: 3 rounds

After several classes and clients I left in the afternoon so I could attend the Science Fair at my son's school, where he was a finalist. He did a great job on his project and was very excited to be selected so I definitely wanted to be there. And he took home 3rd place in his grade:)

March 20, 2014:

Strength Training:

Turkish Get Ups: 5 left and 5 right with a 24 kg kettlebell
Pull Ups: 3 x 5
Pistols: 3 x 5 left and right
One Arm One Leg Push Ups: 3 x 5 left and right

Skill Training:

Bag Work: :30/:30 work and shadowbox for 30 minutes
Clinch Work: 3 rounds

Tried to do a home-version of the raw veg lasagna from Pure/One Lucky Duck. It turned out really well! Even my son agreed. Instead of sun-dried tomatoes I used tomato sauce with a binder filling from crushed walnuts and black beans in place of the nut cheese they use (haven't tried to make any of those yet). The rest was pretty similar. Overall, a very tasty 1st try.

March 21, 2014:

Strength Training:
StrongFirst Mobility Drills
Swing: two handed, 10 x 10 with 40 kg kettlebell
Double Kettlebell Complex: (Clean x 2, Squat, Press/Clean x 3, Squat, Press/Clean x 5, Squat, Press) x 5 with 20 kg bells


Skill Training:
Pad Work: 5 rounds
Light Sparring: 45 minutes

Felt like spring out, which is awesome. Did some clean up outside the house: sweeping, turning on the hoses from inside so I could wash the walkways of winter grit and grime. Another nice walk for Forest, and we picked the boy up at the bus stop after school.

More kitchen adventures: made cauliflower "rice." It's easy to do and while it doesn't really taste like rice, it has a similar texture and is quite tasty. I mixed it with kimchi, scallions and peppers for "fried rice." Pretty good!

March 22, 2014:

Strength Training:

StrongFirst Mobility Drills
Kettllebell Complex Ladder: Snatch/Windmill, 10x10 left and right with16 kg, 18 kg, 20 kg, 22 kg and 24 kg bell. Total of 100 Snatches/Windmills.
Ab Work: Hanging Leg Raise, 1 x 10; Windshield Wiper, 1 x 10; Front lever, 1 x 10

Skill Training:
Bag Work: :30/:30 work and shadowbox, for 30 minutes
Skip Rope: 10 minutes

March 23, 2014

Trail run!

Lots of reading and napping, and doing pull ups and push ups with my son. A very nice Sunday:)

Time to Back Off a Bit

March 10, 2014

So I'm coming to the end of my current strength training cycle and decided to go for a deadlift PR today. It did not go as planned; in fact, I had trouble pulling the weight I've been working with for even a single -- a clear indicator that I've overdone it and not had adequate recovery. So, time for a little deloading microcycle and then try it again.

Strength Training:

StrongFirst Mobility Drills
Swing: 10 x 10 single arm swings with 36 kg bell
Deadift: 1 x 1 with 135 lbs; 1 x 1 with 225 lbs; 1 x 1 with 275 lbs (my normal 2 x 5 weight, and it was HARD); attempt with 315 lbs at 150 lbs body weight. Fail. Did consolation set of 1 x 5 with 225 lbs
Double Kettlebell Bench Press: 2 x 5 with 28 kg bells
Ab Work: 2 x 10 with vAb Wheel

Skill Training:

partner drills, 5 rounds
clinch and knee work, 4 rounds

Food today was outstanding.  A banana, pineapple, spinach, kale, strawberry, Sun Warrior Raw Protein smoothie for breakfast. Homemade rice roll wraps with kimchi, scallions and sprouted quinoa inside, with a spicy ginger dipping sauce for lunch. And an amazing spinach, quinoa, acorn squash, hazelnut and cranberry salad from Brinkley's on Broome. Topped it all off with the sweetest Bosc pear.

Classes were extremely well-attended again. Spring is definitely in the air, and everyone has that drive back:)

March 11, 2014

By the time I got home last night (almost 10 pm) I realized why I was so weak on  my lifts yesterday: I'm sick. A drag, but on the other hand, makes me feel better about failing on the max lift attempt. I'm still going to dial it back for a week -- especially as I'm under the weather  and a bit weak and shaky, anyway.

Training:

Strength Training:

StrongFirst Mobility Drills

Turkish Get Up: 5 left, 5 right, alternating each time. I dropped the weight back to the 24 kg kettlebell.

Zercher Squats: 2 x 5 with 135 lb barbell (dropped it 10 pounds)

Double Kettlebell Rows: 2 x 5 with 36 kg kettle bells.

Ab Work: 1 x 10, Hanging leg Raise; 1 x 10, Windshield Wipers; 1 x 5, Front Levers

Skill Training:

skip rope, 10 minutes

shadowboxing, 10 minutes

partner technique drills, 15 minutes

light sparring, 15 minutes

Taught students pretty much straight through the morning and afternoon. Really feeling beat so went to bed immediately after getting home and having two bowls of miso soup. Slept straight through, a solid 8 hours. I don't get that very often, and it helped a lot.

March 12, 2014

Woke up feeling much better. Throat is still a wreck, but no fever and feel much stronger. Still stayed on the light side with training intensity today. It was also an early day, as I had to leave before my evening classes  to see my son sing at a choral concert.

Training:

Strength Training:

StrongFirst Mobility Drills

Kettlebell Complex: Snatch and Windmill, with Swing on hand change. 100, switching as needed, dropped weight to 20 kg kettlebell.

Ab Work: inverted (with gravity boots) pikes, 1 x 10 and crunches, 1 x 10

Skill Work:

ShadowBoxing: 2 rounds

Partner Bag intervals: :30/:30 for 10 rounds

Music by Black Sabbath, Slayer, Megadeth, Metallica.

I took one of our classes today, too. If I had the time in my schedule I'd take a class at Five Points daily. First off, because our instructors are all excellent and the classes are, as well. Secondly, because it let's me see if any of them have something I might want to use in one of my classes, or if one of them could use a suggestion as to how to deliver the material better. Anyway, I had time for the 8 am class today, taught by Emily Bearden, one of the fighters/coaches who has been with us the longest and also happens to be a 2x World Champion. The class was outstanding: very clear directions, a focussed technique and hard work. Plus I got to work with another one of our fighters, John Kraljevich. A good morning of pad work for me (4 x 4 min round/ :30 sec rest), along with shadowboxing and calisthenics.

Finished with my private students today and taught the noon muay this class...then off early to take my son to his choral concert. Singing is something he just started doing this year -- an instrument or chorus is required at his middle school. He really seems to enjoy it and it's much more academic than I would have expected. The kids learn the scales of course, but also to read and write music, different musical styles, some history, etc. And the concert was great, even if it's not really the sort of thing I'd expect to enjoy.

getting ready to sing

March 13, 2014

Slept poorly and woke up still under the weather. Stuffy nose and sneezing, but no fever and felt relatively strong. Still took it easy, though.

Training:

Strength Training:

StrongFirst Mobility Drills

Swings: 5 x 10 left/ 5 x 10 right with 36 kg kettlebell

Deadlift: 2 x 5 with 255 barbell

Kettlebell Floor Press: 2 x 5 left and right with 28 kg kettlebell

Skill Training:

Skip rope, 10 minutes

Bag Work: 15 minutes, moderate intensity, no rest

Home in the afternoon on Thursdays and had a great time putting a book case together with my son to accommodate his expanding library:)

Didn't do much other than that, as this annoying cold refuses to move on. Lots of reading and sleeping, which seems to be what I need.

March 14, 2014

Sweat through multiple shirts/sheets last night. My body is really trying to kick this bug. Today I finally smartened up and got serious about cooperating in that endeavor. Started the day with the perfect smoothie to fight a cold: pineapple, beet, celery, ginger, jalapeño pepper with a scoop of Sun Warrior Ormus Greens for good measure. I could practically feel it burning the mucus out of my chest:)

Training:

Took it VERY easy today with both load and volume. Pretty much just practicing.

Strength Training:

Strong First Mobility Drills
Turkish Get Ups: 1 x 5 left and right with 24 kg kettlebell
Zercher Squats: 2 x 5 with 155 lb barbell
Double Kettlebell Rows: 2 x 5 with 32 kg kettle bells
Ab Work: Ab Wheel, 2 x 10

That's it. No bag work, no shadow, no skipping, no sparring, no pad work. No fun. But I've got a long weekend ahead -- fighters on a card in southern New Jersey -- and I've got to get over being ill.

Trained my early morning clients then cleared the rest of the day to head home and sleep. Stopped by Juice Press on the way and loaded up on ammunition. All selections with ginger, turmeric, oil of oregano. Time to get over this bug, already.

I was in bed by 1 pm!

March 15, 2014

Slept through from yesterday until 5 am this morning. Woke up still stuffy but feeling much better. In to Five Points early to open and train before classes begin.

Training:

Strength Training:

One Arm One Leg Push Up: 3 x 5, left and right with small plyo band to assist
Pistols: 3 x 5 , left and right
Pull Ups: 3 x 5, 4 count up and down, pulling to chest
Ab Work: Hanging Leg Raise, 1 x 10; Windshield Wipers, 1 x 10; Front Levers, 1 x 5

Skill Training:

Bag Work: :30 second drills for 30 minutes

Good classes, then off to Voohees NJ for Strikers Cup 11. The Five Points Fight Team had two fighters on the card, and I worked the corner. Good showing by both guys. Lots of last-minute changes on the line-up, but the Five Points team stayed focussed and on-point.

James Peay v. Angel Rodrigues (TSMMA)

James debut was against a bigger, more experienced opponent but he showed consummate skill and great poise. While Rodrigues concentrated on only throwing boxing bombs, James landed a full arsenal of muay thai techniques, especially landing hard low kicks and punishing knees. The judges saw it as Rodrigues by decision, but we are definitely looking forward to many more exciting performances from James Peay.

Carl Gaeta v. Danny Ramirez (TSMMA)

Carl made his debut on a Strikers’ Cup against a bigger, hard punching opponent from TSMMA and returned to this show in the same situation — but as the main event. Carl negated his opponent’s boxing style by patiently walking him down and setting up punch/kick combinations, leading in to devastating knee strikes. At the bell, it was Carl by unanimous decision.

Then the two hour drive back home to NYC and sleep!

March 16, 2014:

Woke up feeling surprisingly good, especially considering the little sleep I managed to grab. Guess I finally kicked the illness I'd had, thanks to some solid sleep on Friday night and Juice Press juices packed with ginger, oil of oregano and peppers!

Forest woke me early -- before the sun was up. Not sure how he keeps track of the days, but he always seems to know when it's Sunday. So it was off the woods for an early morning trail run:)

Took it pretty easy the rest of the day. I had no desire to relapse. So a lot of reading and lounging around. The high point of the day was when my son made pizza for his lunch. The dough is a whole-grain mix from Trader Joe's. He ladled on some tomato sauce and he added some provolone cheese to top it off. Good fun for him,  and easy to do and even had an extra for school lunch today.

Cosmos with Neil DeGrasse Tyson to close an awesome and relaxing day.

Early Day...

and that means extra Forest time:) And I got to pick my son up at the bus stop after school, too! Heard all about his day, which always makes me smile.

March 6, 2014:

Training:

Strength Training:

StrongFirst Mobility Drills

Kettlebell Swings: 10 x 10,  50 left/50 right with 36 kg bell. Another weight increase and felt very solid.

Deadlifts: 2 x 5 with 275 lb barbell

Double Kettlebell Bench Press: 2 x 5 with 28 kg kettlebells.

Ab Work: 1 x 10, Hanging leg Raise; 1 x 10 Windshield Wiper; 1 x 5 Front Lever

Skill Training:

Bag Work, 35 minutes: :30 hard on the bag/:30 shadowbox.  Each work interval on the bag I concentrated on a different technique or combination, building to a complete arsenal by the end. I also switched up to southpaw on the shadowboxing. I occasionally throw this in (when I'm holding pads, as well) for two reasons: first, the ability to strike with all limbs from both stances is a useful tool in the ring; second, it gives my body a break and encourages some compensatory development (in a good way) of the non-dominant side.

Awesome food today: sprouted quinoa and spinach patties, and a great salad with  kale, radish, olives, watercress, tomato and balsamic vinegar. Finished the day off with some raw almond butter on a frozen banana:)

March 7, 2014:

Training:

Strength Training:

StrongFirst Mobility Drills
Turrkish Get Ups: 1 x 5 left/right with 32 kg kettlebell
Zercher Squats: 2 x 5 with 145 lb barbell
Double Kettlebell Rows: 2 x 5 with 36 kg bells
Ab Work: Ab Wheel, 2 x 10

Skill Training:

Sparring, 5 x 4 min rounds (:30 rest)
Partner bag drills, 30 minutes
Primal Move PFE to cool down

March 8, 2014:

It's Saturday, and it feels like spring. Yes, it's still a little chilly but the sun was up when I went in to open Five Points and that hasn't happened in months.

Training:

Strength Training:
Bodyweight Day!
One Arm One Leg Push Ups: assisted with small plyo band for reps. 3 x 5 left and right
Pistols: 3 x5 left and right
Pulls Ups: 3 x 5 on 4 count up and down
Ab Work: Hanging Leg Raise, 1 x 10; Windshield Wipers, 1 x 10; Front Levers, 1 x 5

Skill Training:
Partner Drills on the Bag: work a technique 30 seconds, shadowbox 30 seconds for 30 minutes

Classes were great today, well-attended and everyone training very hard. I really enjoy seeing my son getting better in class, too:)

Stopped by a great restaurant in the Gramercy park area on the way home. Pure Food and Wine and One Lucky Duck (the take-out incarnation) serve outstanding and innovative raw cuisine. I picked up  the "lasagna" for my son. He LOVED it. 

March 9, 2014:

Sundays rule. Especially when it's nearly spring. Took Forest to the woods bright and early, trail run and playing around on obstacles for an hour. And it's actually possible to run again -- the snow and ice is mostly gone.

Lazy afternoon. My son went to a friend's birthday party, so I did a lot of reading and napping. I really needed a rest day like this one:) When I picked up the kid I realized -- again -- how quickly he's growing up.

Xmas Comes Early

I'm finding that eating raw isn't all that difficult...if you plan properly and have the right tools. This morning I got a bag load of implements that make it just that much easier. I've written previously about my student Passa, her husband Ed and their innovative and imaginative product designs. Ed does an entire line of really amazing and useful kitchen implements at prepara.com, and Passa brought a goody bag for me. These are some of the coolest time- and labor-saving tools you can have for any kitchen:

 citrus juicer (with a dedicated lid for storage)

 salad chopper (cut your produce right in your bowl)

 tri-blade peeler (3 blades to peel and julienne hard or soft fruits and veggies)

 chop savor (cut, save and store fruits and veg)

oil mister (mist cold-pressed oils and balsamic vinegar)

The chopper and peeler make meals like this one (spinach, watercress, beets, radish, tomatoes, olives, hemp seeds) a snap:

Training so far this week:

Mon, March 3:

Strength Training:

Strong First Mobility Drills

Kettlebell Swings: 5 x 10 left and right with 32 kg kettlebell

Deadlift: 2 x 5 with 275 lb barbell, an increase in working rep weight and still at 150 lb bodyweight

Double Kettlebell Bench Press: 2 x 5 with 28 kg bells. This is definitely my weakest lift, just need to keep at it.

Ab Work: Hanging Leg Raises, 1 x 10; Windshield Wipers, 1x 10; Front Levers, 1 x 5

Skill Training:

Primal Move Warm Up

Bag Work: :30 hard on bag / :30 shadow boxing for 40 minutes

Tues, March 4:

Strength Training:

Strong First Mobility Drills

Turkish Get Ups: 2 left/2 right with 24 kg kettlebell; 2 left/2 right with 28 kg kettlebll; 1 left/1 right with 32 kg kettlebell

Double Kettlebell Rows: 2 x 5 with 32 kgkettlebells

Zercher Squats: 2 x5 with 140 lb barbell

Skill Training:

Indian Clubs to Warm Up

Partner Drills and Light Sparring, 40 minutes

Wednesday, March 5:

Strength Training:
StrongFirst Mobility Drills
Kettlebell Complex: Swing, Snatch, Windmill x 100 with 22 kg kettlebell
Ab Work: 50 decline sit ups with elbow strike at the top

Skill Training:
Pad Work: 5 x 4 min rounds, :30 rest
Primal Move 15 minutes

It's been a great week of training at Five Points: motivated students, lots of folks in class, students in all day and into the evening, fights coming up.  The only down side was the sudden passing of a long-time Five Points employee and friend, Lance Turnbow. But this awesome memorial video by another friend -- and long-time Five Point's student -- John Kraljevich helped bring a smile back even with the sadness.

Keeping It Raw

Thursday, 27 Feb:

Couldn't take the treadmill this morning, so did my little warm up run outside. I didn't actually "warm up" but it did get me loosened up and the blood flowing!

Training:

Strength Training:

Kettlebell Swings: 100 swings (5 x 10 left and right) with 28 kg bell
Deadlift: 2 x 5 with 245 lb barbell
Double Kettlebell Bench Press: 2 x 5 with 28 kg kettlebells
Ab Work: Decline sit ups with elbow strike at the top, 1 x 50 alternating left and right

Skill Training:

Warm Up: crawling and tumbling forwards and backwards, 5 minutes
Shadowboxing, 5 minutes
Bag Work: 5 x 5 minute rounds with :30 rest
StrongFirst Mobility Drills

A great smoothie for breakfast after training: almond milk, apple, spinach, kale, banana, blueberries, ginger and Sun Warrior Raw Protein Powder.

Home in the afternoon, got to spend some time with Forest and my son. Walking Forest was cold but relaxing as always. Being home early let me see my son in the afternoon and help with some homework. Nice:)

Starting to experiment a little with making some raw entrees. Dinner was pretty nice: hommos, avocado and ghost peppers rolled in romaine leaves and a bean salad of chick peas, parsley, tomatoes, red onion and jalapeño peppers. Pretty tasty.

Friday, 28 Feb:

Training:

Strength Training:

Turkish Get Up: 1 left/1 right with 28 kg kettlebell. I "ratcheted" the movement -- at each step of the lift that is a transition to a new movement, I return to the beginning, then up one movement, then back, etc. It makes it a lift of 6 increasing segments, and takes about 3 minutes to complete per side.

Double Kettlebell Rows: 2 x 5 with 32 kg kettlebells

Zercher Squats: 2 x 5 with 145 lb barbell

Ab Work: Hanging Leg Raise, 1 x 10; Windshield Wipers, 1 x 10; Front Levers, 1 x 5

Skill Training:

Light sparring:

Muay Thai, 5 x 4 min rounds (:30 rest)

Boxing, 5 x 4 min rounds (:30 rest)

Taught a few students, did some paperwork, then home to walk Forest. That and helping the boy with some homework makes for pretty nice day.

Saturday,  1 March:

Best smoothie ever for breakfast this morning: banana, blueberries, pineapple, avocado, jalapeño pepper, spinach, SunWarrior Raw Protein and Ormus Greens, chia seeds. Try it!

Training:

Strength Training:

One Arm One Leg Push Ups: assisted for reps, but moved to smaller plyo band today. ladders of 5,4,3,2,1 left and right.

Pistols: ladders of 5,4,3,2,1 left and right

Pull Ups: ladder of 5,4,3,2,1 on slow 4 count up and down

Ab Work: Hanging Leg Raise, 1 x 10; Windshield Wipers, 1 x 10; Front Levers, 1 x 5

Skill Training:
shadowboxing, 6 minutes
padwork, 15 minutes no rest


Very busy classes today, and everyone working really hard. It makes me happy. That and the fact that my son is in class and getting very good:)

Food for the rest of the day was raw: almonds, walnuts, cashews and dried fruit for snacks. Main meal of the day was hommos with spinach, radish, celery, jalapeño and ghost peppers, and kimchi on the side. Awesome.

Sunday,  2 March:

Ah, Sundays. Off to the woods with Forest. There were enough days above freezing with snow in the last week that we're able to leave the main bridal paths and head back into the smaller trails. It's icy going, but there's lots to climb over, around and under. Good fun for both of us.

Had a great breakfast when we got back: sliced apples, bananas, orange, grapefruit bowl and sprouted quinoa and spinach patties -- topped off with sriracha sauce.

Spent most of the morning helping my son put all the pieces of his science project together on the display board. He did a great job on the experiment, writing it up and putting everything together. Then we did some training, all bodyweight which is perfect for kids: pull ups, push ups, hindu squats, some crawling around. Fun.

A bit of sadness as in the afternoon I attended a memorial for a long-time employee and good friend, Lance Turnbow. Lance was a talented artist and a loving father to two sons. He also struggled with some personal demons that caught up with him, passing away suddenly at a far too young 48. Take care of yourself physically, mentally and emotionally and embrace the friends and family you have -- or it will all be gone before you realize it.