kettlebellguy

Archive for May, 2008

Not so good today. Although I slept well when I woke up my right hip was hurting so bad that I did not go to the gym. Maybe I should have if only to stretch and walk around but this was the worse it has ever been. Not sure what is going on. I know that a week ago Tuesday I did windmills and felt a twinge. I is interesting that I am sleeping fine, it is just when I get up and try to move that I have the pain.

Hopefully this will soon pass. I still have time to make up workouts by Sunday. I may have to change everything around and make sure I am not doing anything to stress my right side.

Debbie’s sister is in the hospital and the situation is serious. There are several different health issues that we are trying to get addressed. Truly one of those situations where you just don’t have any idea of what is going to happen next. We talked about this and decided that we just need to go day to day and not spend so much time trying to foresee the future.

Lots of pain in my right hip this morning. Worked hard on stretching and activation prior to starting my circuit. I have really been analyzing my pain and I think that I have been assigning the term “back pain” to what may really be hip pain. Today there is a clear difference between my left and right sides.

Here is the workout for this monring.

Core Circuit – same as workout 1
Circuit – Repeat for 5 total sets with 1 minute rest between sets
Kettlebell Lateral Lunge 28kg – 25 reps each leg
Rope Bicep Curls 160 – 10 reps
Rope Tricep Pushdowns 160 – 10 reps

Monday’s Workout:

Core Circuit – Repeat 3 times with no rest, 15 – 20 lb – 12 each x 4 SH Flyes.
Circuit – Repeat for 6 total sets with 1:20 minute rest between sets
Bulgarian Split Squat (rear foot up on bench)
32kg – 12 reps each leg

Worked Shoulder Flyes into the circuit and followed up with my face pulls and elbow exerciese, 30 minute cardio and stretching.

It was a good workout.

For Tuesday we did another class style workout which was killer. Dave went to a lot of work to put a lot of detail into the workout for me, really pushing on some of the weight.

I was thinking that I was having back pain but came to the conclusion this morning that it is really hip pain in both hips. I still say it is from last Tuesday when I did heavy Windmills. It’s not enough to keep me from doing anything, just enough to make swings and squats really labor intensive. I feel like I should be able to do more.

Here is the Tuesday Class Style Workout

Tuesday – CLASS STYLE

Activation
Stiff Leg Deadlift Reach
Egyptians
Alternating Belly Slaps
8kg KB Lunge & Chop
Pink Panther Hip Open

Walks
Lateral Band with 20kg KB Behind Head – 2 x
24 kg Rack – 2x
16kg 2 KB Alternating Waiter Press – 2 x

Lift Practice
Figure 8’s – 24kg (2 sets x 15ea)
20kg Triceps Extensions (2 sets x12)
2 Hand Swing Jumps 24 kg – (2 times length of floor)
8kg TGU/Floor Press (2×5 ea)

EDT
10 minutes
Swing, Snatch, Clean, Rack Squat – 20 kg (5 reps each side = 1 set)
(Completed 4 @ 20KG and 4 @ 16KG. These were really hard and my hips were screaming. The hips kept me from doing more)
2 minute rest

5 minutes
Pushups/Renegade Rows – 20 kg (5 reps each side = 1 set)
(Completed 6 @ at 20KG. Not a good performance)

Core
16kg McGill Crunches
16kg Sideups
Planks

This took me 60 minutes of moving. I really like the variety but my hip/back pain is holding me back. Anything requiring active movement of my hips is causing me to have to us a lot of extra effort. This has happened before and will go away, it’s just such a pain in the ass and makes me fell that I an not performing to potential.

Following this 60 minute workout I did my shoulder flyes, face pulls and elbow exercises and 20 minutes cardio and some good stretching, expecially for my hips.

Overall a good workout. If my hips had not been hurting it would have been great.

I seem to be back under control as far as eating. I had really been off track. I have to be ready for my trip to Hot Springs so that means keeping my mouth shut and remembering I can’t out train a bad diet.

I elected to do my class style workout tomorrow afternoon so no workout today.

Had my evaluation with the surgeon. A non-event. I have a Diastasis Recti, not a hernia.

Diastasis recti is a separation between the left and right side of the rectus abdominis muscle, which covers the front surface of the belly area.

No big deal. Nothing to do. My guts are not going to suddenly spurt out of my belly.

Not real hot on the fact this is common in newborns and pregnant women however, I did find some reference to this condition in adult males.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:
Diastasis recti is a common and normal condition in newborns. It is seen most frequently in premature and African American infants.

In pregnant women, increased tension on the abdominal wall may lead to diastasis recti. Multiple births or repeated pregnancies increase the risk.

Women who are 12 or more weeks pregnant should avoid aggressive abdominal exercises, which may worsen the condition.

Symptoms:
A diastasis recti looks like a ridge, which runs down the middle of the belly area. It stretches from the bottom of the breastbone to the belly button, and increases with muscle straining.

In infants, the condition is most easily seen when the baby tries to sit up. It may not be seen when the child lies on the back and is relaxed. When the infant is relaxed, you can often feel the edges of the rectus muscles.

Diastasis recti is commonly seen in women who have multiple pregnancies, because the muscles have been stretched many times. Extra skin and soft tissue in the front of the abdominal wall may be the only signs of this condition in early pregnancy. In the later part of pregnancy, the top of the pregnant uterus is often seen bulging out of the abdominal wall. An outline of parts of the unborn baby may be seen in some severe cases.

Signs and tests:
The doctor can diagnose this condition by performing a physical exam.

You cannot out train a bad diet.

I was up three times last night. What is going on? I increased my Flomax and have to go more. Other than those interruptions I was able to get a bit of sleep and was at the gym at 5:45A.

Worked hard this morning. After the circuit I did my shoulder and elbow work followed by stretching.

Core Circuit – same as workout 1
Circuit – Repeat for 5 total sets with 1 minute rest between sets
Kettlebell Figure 8’s 28kg – 15 each
Assisted Wide Grip Pullups #14 – 11 reps

Tomorrow I will do another class style workout.

You cannot out train a bad diet.

Restless night of sleep. Back acting up. At gym at 5:30A.

Core workout

Circuit – Repeat for 5 total sets with 1 minute rest between sets
Kettlebell Lateral Lunge 28kg – 25 reps each leg
Kettlebell Renegade Rows 28kg – 12 reps each side (alternate sides each set)

Worked my Shoulder Flyes into the circuit and followed up with my elbow exercises and face pulls and stretching.

This morning I started to do a CLASS STYLE workout. Dave took the classes Jim had been doing and further defined them for me. It was a lot more fun than just doing a circuit of a couple of exercises. Also, I did this in the fitness room where I had plenty of room to move around and do walks. Only one person came into the room for the entire time I was there so it’s like a private gym with everything I need.

TUESDAY – CLASS STYLE

Activation
Stiff Leg Deadlift Reach X5 each
Egyptians X3
Alternating Belly Slaps X20
Med Ball Lunge & Twist X5 each
Pink Panther Hip Open X5 each

Walks
Lateral Band with KB Behind Head (16KG)
2 KB Alternating Press (16KG and 20KG)
Rack (2 20 KG)
Farmer (2 20KG)

Lift Practice
Sling Shots (2 sets x 10ea) 20KG
Triceps Extensions with Towel (2 sets x10) 16KG
*Snatch/Windmill (2 sets x 5 ea) (16KG)
2 Hand Swing Jumps (2 times length of floor) 20KG
TGU/Floor Press (2×5 ea) 16KG

EDT
10 minutes
Clean, Squat, Press – 5 reps each side = 1 set (16KG)

2 minute rest

5 minutes
Swing/Snatch – 5 reps each side = 1 set (16KG)

Core
McGill Crunches (16KG)
Sideups (16KG)
Planks

Also did my shoulder flyes and elbow exercises and stretching.

I used a 16KG for my windmills which was a big mistake. That started my back hurting that really impacted my workout. I pushed through the EDT however, I did not do as good as I could have. With the back hurting it really drained my energy.

*I have learned my lesson. I simply cannot do windmills with weight, at least at this point. It’s not worth the problems it causes.

You cannot out-train a bad diet.

The focus is on diet right now.

Good workout this morning with the following activities:

Core Workout

Circuit – Repeat for 6 total sets with 1:20 minute rest between sets
Bulgarian Split Squat (rear foot up on bench) 32kg – 12 reps each leg
Functional Trainer Squat to Row (Set at bottom position)
(Holding handles and standing back as if you were going to row, Squat down and hold at bottom position, Row, and return to Standing position)
60 lbs – 10 reps

Did my elbow exercises and shoulder flyes and some good stretching. No cardio this morning.

Weighed in at 253. No comment necessary here. I will be be back to 225 by the morning of 6/29/08. That’s 28 pounds.

Tomorrow monring rather than doing circuits I will be doing a 1 person class, for myself.

I am ready for a new start. During my talk with Dave this weekend he said “You can’t out-train a bad diet”. For some reason those words have hit me in the face. I simply must get a handle on my eating and it starts now.

We are changing up all my workouts, going to two really heavy workouts and three focused more on form and control rather than volume. I have to get in shape for my trip to Hot Springs on the 29th June. I have to show all these young guys what a in shape 55 year old looks like.

Holding this mornings workout for tomorrow afternoon.

Had my 6 mo check with the Doc this morning. Had already had my blood and pee work done, along with a Chest X-Ray. Had an EKG done at the office this morning.

Here are the results. No problems found. I am really pleased with the results. I work really hard to get good results like this.

Total Cholesterol = 195
LDL = 114
HDL = 43
Triglycerides = 189
Fasting Blood Sugar = 88
PSA (Prostate-Specific Ag, Serum) 0.9
BP 120/70
Heart Rate 74

We did determine that I will up my Flomax from 4 mg to 8 mg daily and see how that helps my “having to go” problem.

I pointed out to the Doc my new friend, a suspected ventral hernia running downard from the bottom of my ribcage to just above my belly button. I don’t even know when this started I just noticed it one day when doing my ab workout. There is no pain or discomfort. The Doc is sending me to a surgeon for evaluation, however, his first thought is that they may do nothing at all, at least at this point. That visit to the surgeon is next Friday. I am really hoping we can just ignore this. That is how I like to handle most things.