The Big L's workout log

[The Big L]

L1D3 - 2:39s with 24lbs (4/01/2011)
Pullup reps: 10 (5 pulls, 10s rest, 5 chins, nearing failure on last rep)
Pushup reps: 21 (16, rest for 10s, 5, nearing failure)
Squat reps: 21 (+6.6lbs sandbags for balance)

No big surprises here...added 7 pounds to the backpack and about 25s to the time. I felt a little exhausted today during my workout, having previously spent my lunch hour shoveling heavy, wet snow.

[The Big L]

Addendum to L1D3:

One round of max pullup/pushup bodyweight reps - 4/01/2010
Chinup reps: 17 (PR+1)
Pushup reps: 43(PR+8)

I just wanted to baseline my max bodyweight reps. I'm a little disappointed that my chinup reps are only +1 beyond my previous PR, which was almost a month and a half ago (around when I started SimpleFit). On the other hand, 17 is pretty darn close to 20, which became my de facto goal once I reached 10. I'm very happy about the 43 pushups...I should be able to reach 50 very soon.

[The Big L]

Second addendum to L1D3:

One (more) round of max pullup/pushup bodyweight reps - 4/01/2010
Pullup reps: 14
Pushup reps: 42

Decided to do one more round before bed.

[The Big L]

L1D1 - 33 rounds with 31lbs (4/04/2011)
Pullup reps: 33 (11 shoulder-width, 11 neutral grip, 11 chins)
Pushup reps: 66
Squat reps: 99 (+6.6lbs sandbags in hands for balance)

I definitely pushed myself a bit harder today than on any previous day 1, and I have a sweat-soaked t-shirt to prove it. In related news, wearing a backpack full of sand makes it a lot harder to cool down; most of the surface area of the back isn't available for evaporative cooling.

Speaking of backpacks full of sand, I'm now up to ~ 1/5 of my bodyweight in that backpack. 31 pounds might not sound like much, but it sure makes the workouts a lot more challenging. Pullups are getting pretty difficult now, though I was able to maintain good form throughout the 20 minutes. Pushups are getting tougher too, though not to the extent of the pullups yet. Squats are also getting harder, but I'm more concerned about the balance as I add more weight to my back. Right now I'm just holding 3.3lbs in each hand with my arms way out in front of me. Today was the first day where I really felt a bit unbalanced, so I'll probably have to hold 2 bags in each hand from now on. Eventually that strategy isn't going to work though, because I won't be able to hold enough weight in my hands to balance the weight in the bag. I think.

[The Big L]

L1D2 - 4:00 with 31lbs (4/06/2011)
Pullup reps: 10 (6 pulls, 4 chins)
Pushup reps: 30
Squat reps: 50 (+17lbs in hands to balance backpack)

My time creeped up a bit because I decided to unbuckle the backpack straps around my chest for pullups and squats, but buckle it for pushups (otherwise the weight shifts around too much). I wasted several seconds per round buckling and unbuckling the straps.

No pain during the workout today, but my left shoulder hurts just a bit afterward. This is becoming a recurring pattern for me. It appears that I have some low-grade injury that I keep mildly perturbing. I'm not sure if it's a good idea to take a week (or more) off, back off on the weighted backpack, do both, or just continue on since the pain is pretty mild and short-lived.

[The Big L]

L1D3 - 2:59s with 31lbs (4/08/2011)
Pullup reps: 10 (5/4/1 pulls/chins/chin)
Pushup reps: 21
Squat reps: 21 (+19 lbs in hands to balance backpack)

I didn't really go very slowly today, because I knew I'd have plenty of time. Did 5 pulls, rested for 5-10 seconds, then 4 chins, then a few seconds rest, then the last chin. Lollygagged a bit while fastening the front strap on the backpack, and then got down to business with 21 straight pushups (nearing failure). Squats were a bit of a pain today, as I had some trouble with balance. I think my form gets a little messed up with putting 31lbs in the backpack and 19lbs held in my hands, and I tend to lean my torso forward too far. I'm not up on my toes or anything, but my center of gravity just feels unstable. I might try carrying the entire weight on my shoulders (in a sandbag) or in front of my chest next time.

[The Big L]

L1D1 - 26 rounds with 39lbs (4/11/2011)
Pullup reps: 26 (6 pulls, 10 parallel grip, 10 chins)
Pushup reps: 52
Squat reps: 78 (+17lbs sandbags for balance)

Today's workout felt all wrong from the beginning. Lethargy, heavy-feeling limbs, and soreness in my shoulders and back. I'm not sure how much of this has to do with my handstand workout on Saturday, the fact that I ate very little all weekend, or the increase up to 39lbs (according to my bathroom scale) in the backpack. I just felt weak, tired, and slow during the whole workout...but I persisted to the tune of 26 rounds. Might have been 25...I always seem to start losing track once I get over 20 rounds.

Squats are getting to be a little troublesome with that much weight in the backpack. Today I held a gallon of water in each hand, and swung them forward on the descent to help with balance. Even then I was sometimes rocking back on my heels a bit if my concentration lapsed. I'm not sure what I'll do about squats when it comes time to add more weight to the backpack. It might be time to suck it up and buy a real weight vest -- especially since the shoulder strap on my backpack looks like it's starting to come apart at the seam.

[The Big L]

L1D2 - 3:33s with 39lbs (4/13/2011)
Pullup reps: 10 (4 pulls, 4 chins, 2 parallel grip)
Pushup reps: 30
Squat reps: 50 (+17lbs for balance)

I took it nice and slow today, so I was surprised to see the time come out faster than last week. Then again I did decide to just leave the backpack unbuckled this time, which definitely shaved off a few seconds per round.

Before I started I checked out my squat form in the mirror. I found that I wasn't going quite as low as I thought, so I made an effort during my workout to squat lower. I'm going to have to keep an eye on this to make sure I don't accidentally start cheating again.

Observation: 2 consecutive pullups are getting to be pretty hard with 39lbs in the backpack. It will be interesting to see how I'll manage to hit 10 on judgment day. My guess? something-something-something-1-1-1. And I'm pretty darn sure I won't be able to hit 21 consecutive pushups either. This might be a Day 3 that gives me a real challenge.

[The Big L]

L1D3 - 3:38s with 39lbs (4/15/2011)
Pullup reps: 10 (5 pulls, 10s rest, 3 chins, 10s rest, 2 chins)
Pushup reps: 21 (15 pushes, 20s rest, 6 pushes)
Squat reps: 21 (+17lbs for balance; 15 squats, 10s rest, 6 squats)

Not bad! More than enough headroom to add another pair of sandbags to the backpack next week, I think. I was especially happy to see that my max set of pullup reps is somewhere around 6 (maybe 7) with the 39lb backpack. I stopped at 5 because I wanted to leave something in the tank for the last 5. I'm not sure what my max reps for pushups with the 39lbs would be. I was getting close to it at 15 though.

I probably could have powered through and completed the squats in 1 set, but my hamstring felt a little weird (I tweaked it falling from a handstand earlier in the week), and I didn't want to risk injuring myself.

One very bright spot: I have had absolutely no pain in my left shoulder this week. I pretty much took it easy the past couple weeks and didn't do much in the way of pullups/pushups beyond my L1 SimpleFit stuff. I think my body definitely appreciated the rest.

[The Big L]

L1D1 - 24 rounds with 46lbs (4/18/2011)
Pullup reps: 24 (8 pulls, 8 parallel grip, 8 chins)
Pushup reps: 48
Squat reps: 72 (+17lbs for balance)

I don't mean to whine/brag, but a 46lb backpack on a 150lb body makes pullups ridiculously hard. I felt like most of my time during this workout was spent staring at the pullup bar, psyching myself up to do just one rep. I resorted to some light kipping in the 2nd half, mostly for the psychological boost of "ok, this will make it a little less impossible to complete one rep."

Needless to say, I was beat after this workout. Yet I was also very curious to see what a bodyweight pullup would feel like after all those weighted pullups. I mustered the mental fortitude to do a bodyweight set of chinups to near failure. FIFTEEN -- just two shy of my well-rested PR! I felt light as a feather...it was amazing. I also added a near-failure set of pushups and managed 30.

Day 2 doesn't scare me this week, but I'm already getting shivers thinking about judgment day.

[The Big L]

L1D2 - 3:40s with 46lbs (4/20/2011)
Pullup reps: 10 (6 pulls, 4 chins)
Pushup reps: 30
Squat reps: 50 (+17lbs for balance)

Same old, same old. My knees started to feel a little sore in the last round of squat reps, but they feel fine now.

I added in a set of max-rep bodyweight pullups and pushups afterward:

Pullup reps: 14
Pushup reps: 35

[The Big L]

L1D3 - 3:27s with 46lbs (4/22/2011)
Pullup reps: 10 (4 pulls, rest, 3 chins, rest, 3 parallel grip)
Pushup reps: 21 (17 pushes, rest, 4 pushes)
Squat reps: 21 (+17lbs for balance)

I think I probably could have eked out 1 or maybe 2 more pullups in my first attempt. But then again I just barely squeezed out the final rep with the parallel grip, so it's probably good that I stopped when I did. I guess I don't have anything to complain about, since I beat judgment day > 10s faster than last week.

[The Big L]

Skipped last week because I had a cold that lingered into the middle of the week. Thought I'd give it a shot with the 53lb backpack yesterday, but I wasn't ready for it. I had some abdominal cramping and had to stop after 2 1/2 minutes to use the bathroom. I decided to start back up again afterward, but only made it through 10 rounds, which took about 7 1/2 minutes. I just barely completed a pullup rep in that round, and my body was giving me plenty of signs that it just wasn't ready yet. So I cut it short.

Later in the day I decided to do a couple max-rep sets of pullups and pushups, just to ease myself back into the flow. With the 53lb backpack I did chinup sets of 3 and 4, and pushup sets of 14 and 15. I don't think I'm going to be banging out 20+ rounds with that 53lb backpack until I can get up to at least 5 reps in a set of pullups. I think I'll train the heavy weight pullups for a week or two before jumping back into SimpleFit.

[The Big L]

I decided to try Pavel's Fighter Pullup program to improve my weighted pullups before getting back into SimpleFit. I didn't want to get in over my head, so I started at the "3 rep max" level with the 53lb backpack. Each round of the program lasts five days, with a day rest before starting the next round. I started at day 2 of the first round...

Pavel's Fighter Pullups, 3RM week, day 2, 53lb backpack (5/4/2011)
Set 1: 3 chinups, 1 minute rest
Set 2: 2 pullups, 1 minute rest
Set 3: 1 chinup, 1 minute rest
Set 4: 1 pullup, 1 minute rest
Set 5: 1 neutral grip pullup

If I stick with the program I should be up to around 10 reps with the 53lb backpack in less than two months. I'm not sure if I like the idea of going 5 days at a time without rest though, especially with more than a third of my bodyweight strapped to my back. I'm a little concerned about how the connective tissues will hold up, so I might add in more rest days. I'll play it by ear.

[The Big L]

Pavel's Fighter Pullups, 3RM week, day 3, 53lb backpack (5/5/2011)
Set 1: 3 pullups, 1 minute rest
Set 2: 2 chinups, 1 minute rest
Set 3: 2 pullups, 1 minute rest
Set 4: 1 chinup

A few hours after this I was doing some modified hanging L-sits, and I experienced shooting pain on the insides of my elbows. I took a day off, and tomorrow I'm going to do some bodyweight work to see if there's any discomfort. If so, I'm going to back off the 53lbs and work a lighter weight up to 10 reps. If not, I'll cautiously try for day 4 either tomorrow or Sunday and see how I feel after that. I don't need no stinkin' golfer's elbow.