Well let’s just say the meeting didn’t go all that well.  With only three thirty second holds (two of which I was barely able to accomplish), I have to say this was much harder than expected.  I had no problem pressing the bar, and could hold it up for a few seconds with minimal difficulty, but THEN the water started really moving around in that 10 foot long pipe and it was all trying to keep it from tipping from there on out. 

After my workout I can honestly say, I trained muscles I didn’t even know existed in my core.  Especially some muscles back by my kidneys that are really sore.  OUCH!  I am looking forward to seeing how much I can improve by this Sunday (the next time I plan on picking up the slosh pipe).

Allow me to introduce you to my little big friend.  This is my new workout toy (and the first of several I plan on making in different shapes and sizes).  I will call it a hydro-bar.  The design is simple: PVC pipe + water = hydro bar.  Allow me to guide you through the process…

The process is simpe enough…

(1) cap off one end of the PVC pipe with plenty of glue and some caulk…

(2) fill PVC pipe with water…

(3) cap off other end of PVC pipe with plenty of glue and some caulk.

This particular pipe in 10 feet long and 4 inches in diameter.  It is about 85% filled with water.  I would estimate it weights between 125 and 150 lbs (or at least it feels that way thanks to the water sloshing around inside).  I took it for a test drive and should have some pics up i a couple days of some exercises that involve the hydro bar.

BTW, if you are thinking of making your own, here are the details on cost.  4″ PVC pipe runs about 9 bucks for 10 feet (it was the only size they sold at my local Home Depot), the caps run about 7 bucks a piece, and the piece in the middle (which I had to buy because I couldn’t fit a 10 foot pipe in my car) cost about 2 bucks.  Total cost, about $24.  I was able to use a Home Depot gift certificate to pay for most of it.

You haven’t really worked out until you’ve put together an exercise routine that has made you curse the day you were born, beg for mercy, and fear that a heart attack was imminent.  That pretty much describes what I did yesterday.  At some point two days ago I thought, “basic H.I.T. isn’t enough, I need a little something more.”  So, I thought, what if I eliminated the rest breaks and performed 3 rounds of 5-6 minutes of activity with NO rest during each round.    The idea struck me as a good one as I sat in my computer chair- I would later regret this whole line of thought.

So what was the workout?  Well, it looks simple enough on paper until you try to run through, balls to the wall style, with no rest in between.

• Sledge Hammer Drills (one minute each side)
• Tire Flips (one minute)
• Squat Jump onto huge tire (30 seconds)
• Push-ups (30 seconds)
• Squat Jumps (sans tire) (3o seconds)
• Step-ups with hands on huge tire (1 minute)
• Sandbag Press (about 85-90lbs) (1 minute)

After I completed the first round I knew that I would either puke or have a heart attack soon enough.  So I kept the intensity up the next round but added in 30 second rests between exercises and cut out the squat jumps onto the tire (as my tired legs were making them dangerous).  I did a final round with 30 seconds all out periods of activity with 60 seconds rest in between.  I am hoping to build up to doing all three rounds with only 3 minutes rest between rounds.  That might take a while though.

Oh, did I mention I did interval runs that morning?  Six thirty-second all-out sprints with 120 second rest in between each sprint.  The whole thing took about 25 minutes.

What will the next training session look like?  Who knows.  I have some speed and agility stuff I want to throw in.  So it could look very different.

The last week has witnessed an intriguing phenomenon.  As all of you who know me already know, I am quite O.C.D. about recording details and information.  So as I looked over the numbers this morning, something hit me.  Six of the last seven days I’ve either remained the same weight OR gained weight (between .2 and .6 lbs).  However, when I started my waist measured a gargantuan 38 inches.  As of this morning it measures about 36 and 3/4 inches.

Once again demonstrating the basic rule that you can’t let the scale rule your life or dictate how you should feel about your fitness and nutrition plan.

So why the rapid loss of over an inch in about a week?  I attribute it to the interval runs, 2 H.I.T. training sessions, and 2 old school resistance training workouts.  Yesterday’s H.I.T. workout follows below.  Now be warned, I don’t follow an entirely conventional H.I.T. routine since I allow myself a bit more rest between exercises.  Also I like to vary my activity and rest times on each exercise; as you can see from the chart below.

Well I am off to finish my last bit of work on the backyard (planting a blackberry bush).  See you tomorrow.

I’m adding this exercise to Tuesday’s workout- which I am repeating today. Wish me luck since this workout nearly killed me three days ago.

The last two days have involved some fairly intense but simple exercise routines.  To be honest they are only intense because I allowed myself to get out of shape.  Yesterday I had the house all to myself, so I cranked up the Itunes and fit in an indoor workout for a change.

1. Heavy Bag Dead lift/Squat: 12, 10
2. Wide Grip Push-up: 20, 20
3. Alternating Bulgarian Dead lift: 12 each side, 11 each side
4. Diamond Push-up: 15, 15
5. Towel Pike: 10, 8.  These are simple, just watch the video.  All you do is replace the swiss ball with an old towel under the balls of your feet.                                                                                  
6. Alternating Push-up: 12, 10
7. Side Planks: 2 reps on each side at 20 seconds each, 1 rep on each side at 30 seconds each. 

Yesterdays nutrition totals were:

• Calories: 1680
• Fat: 92g (25g saturated)
• Carbs: 71g (28g fiber, 8g sugars)
• Protein: 155g

 And today….I enjoyed a 30 minute walk with my wife to start the day and in between thunderstorms hit the pavement for an interval run.   I managed to do intervals of:

• 5 minute warm-up walk
• 2 minute jog
• 30 second sprint at 90-100% effort with 120 seconds rest (3 cycles).
• 15 second sprint at 90-100% effort with 60 seconds rest (6 cycles).
• 2 minute jog cool-down
• 5 minute walk cool-down

No complaints.  No pain beyond the normal wear and tear of a 30 year old body- and not even much of that.  Tomorrow won’t be easy as it starts off with some H.I.T. work.  But I am up for it.  I think I will try out this exercise:

May 25th:  This was my first day of getting back to physical training, and my last day of undisciplined eating.  The day started with a 30 minute workout but closed with a triple scoop waffle cone.

Resistance Training: performed as a circuit (one set of each exercise all the way through and then repeat).

1. Squats with Tire Press. A basic squat with one side of the tire resting in the palms of the hands. At the top of the movement press the tire hard enough to push it about a foot or more, then let it fall back into the palms of the hands and return to the basic squat position. 2 sets of 12 reps.

2. Push-ups (Wide Hands). 2 sets of 17 and 15 reps.

3. One legged Bulgarian dead lifts with twist. Same as a Bulgarian dead lift but with a twist at the bottom toward a stationary object on the same side as the planted foot. 2 sets of 11 and 10 reps.

4. Diamond Push-ups. 2 sets of 15 and 12 reps.

5. Jump Squats. 2 sets of 12 reps.

6. Shuffle Push-ups. 2 sets of 10 reps.

7. Turkish Get-ups. 2 sets of 4 reps. Performed slowly.

8. Bear Crawls. 2 sets of 30 and 40 seconds.

I also took some starting measurements.  My weight is up to 186.6lbs (although a more muscular 186.6 pounds than I was two years ago).  In addition I broke out the measuring tape

• Shoulders: 50″
• Chest: 41″
• Waist: 38″
• Hips: 40″
• Calves: Both 15.25″
• Upper Arm: Both 15.25″
• Forearms: Both 13″

My goal is to add a modest inch or so to my chest and shoulders and about half an inch to my arms and legs in the next 60 days.

May 26th: The day started with a relaxing moderately paced 33 minute walk with my wife.  I also found the time for a H.I.T. session that left me barely able to walk or stand upright.

By the third set of jump squats I really wanted to call it quits.  I felt like I could barely stand much less launch from a deep squat into the air.  But I soldiered on through the last set which saw me do only about 8 jump squats in 20 seconds.

I closed out the day with some grip strength training.  Using a basic hand grip and resistance bands (they look like rubber bands) I performed three sets of two basic exercises, alternating between the two.  First, a compression exercise with 15 reps and a one second hold, then an extension exercise for the same number of reps and the same hold time.  The next two sets were a repeat of the first two except that the number of reps declined as the hold time increased.  So sets 3 and 4 involved only 10 reps but 5 seconds holds, and sets 5 and 6 involved only 3 reps but 15 second holds.  When I finished it was hard to hold the pen and record these numbers.  Translation, job well done.

This was also the first day I returned to recording my food intake.

If you can’t read the above, my totals for the day were 1510 calories, 50.5g of fat (12.5 saturated), 114g of carbs (26g fiber), 179g protein.

All-in-all the last two days went quite well.  Also, I am looking forward to today’s resistance training and light run.  See you all tomorrow.

Anyone can punch one of these things, but where is the fun in that? Well, okay, that can be fun.  But isn’t it more fun to take something intended for one purpose and think up a dozen other good uses for it?  If you’re me, then the answer is an emphatic yes.

Allow me to introduce my heavy bag.  I picked it up from the local used sporting goods store for $35.  At 100 pounds that works out to 35 cents per pound.  Not a bad investment.  Here are three exercises that involve nothing more than you and a heavy bag of your choice.

Heavy Bag Squat.  Stand the heavy bag on its end, and squat down with the bag between your legs.  Wrap your arms around the bag- a standard bear hug will do.  I like to start on the balls of my feet and drive my heels into the ground as I propel my body and the bag upward.  Head position is up to you.  I like to bury my chin in the bag so I can keep it tight against my chest and hips.  In addition, this helps me keep my hips tucked in and my torso straight.

At the top of the movement I keep my body straight with my hips aligned evenly with my torso.  Also, feel free to reposition the bag in this position in order to get a lower grip on the bag.  That will allow you to take your squat deeper, if you so choose.   Also, if you want to add a twist to this, you can turn it into a good morning/dead lift combination by dropping the hips and bending at the knees; letting the bag swing down and between your legs.  Then just snap your hips forward like you would in a dead lift.

Squat and Toss.  Same starting position as the first exercise.  This time once I get to the top position of the squat I reposition my hands from the classic bear hug position down to the bottom of the bag (letting the bag rest on my shoulder and chest.  From here I bend slightly at the knees and use my hands to propel the bag up and forward (see pictures below).  When I do it correctly the bag does at least one 360 spin in the air.

Shoulder and Slam.      Shoulder the heavy bag.  This is usually easiest to do by doing the same squat position shown earlier and lifting the bag onto your shoulder slowly.  I like to let the bag rest a little more toward the back (as you see in the picture).  I keep my hands on either side of the bag (with one hand toward the bottom of the bag and on top of the bag and the other hand further back and underneath), legs slightly bent.  Usually I perform a squat with the bag on my shoulder and at the top of the movement I contract my abs pulling my torso forward and at the same time  use the forward hand to push down on the bag while the other hand presses up and forward.  I make sure to alternate shoulders with each repetition.

(*Note, my back is a bit out of position in the second picture.  I deal with a back problem that causes my lower spine to curve in too much.  So you might want to ignore the things you see my back do in these pictures.)

There you go, three simple exercises performed with a piece of equipment that will cost you $35 or less.  Enjoy.

Coming Up: A piece of workout equipment that costs as little as $35 that can help you build strength.  I am of course referring to the heavy bag.  Stay tuned for more (with pictures)…

Sounds like an epic adventure, and it probably will be.  Hopefully, before this summer is over, I will have dropped 25 pounds (ten that have resisted my best efforts and fifteen that crept back on) and read over 350 books.  Thanks to budget cuts for state employees (which both my wife and I were effected by) I will also have to pick up some sort of side job.  Let the fun begin.