Social Distancing (Part II)

Training and Working In The Midst of Corona

Been keeping busy with work and Zoom meetings, a little training, and making videos for students, athletes, and fun.
I am fortunate to have equipment at home that suit my needs. I've hit a few PRs over the past 6 weeks or so, including two lifetime personal records that are (for me) brag-worthy:
*1000 16kg Kettlebells Snatches (in one set). Done at 10 reps per minute, switching hands every minute. It took 100 minutes. Despite frequent re-chalking (of the off hand, while holding the bell overhead), I still developed blisters about 70 minutes in.
*Squat 135lb x 200. Using a manta-ray. Pace was slow (4 reps per minute for the first 40 minutes, faster the last five minutes). It took about 45 minutes.

Heart rate cardiovascular drift is evident in the set with a hard spike at the end when I picked up the pace because I wanted to be done with it.

The videos I've made for the athletes I work(ed) with start with the assumption that they have a micro-band. At the start of the 'stay-at-home', we made sure that the bands were distributed to the team. To be honest, I'm not sure if the kiddos are using them. I hope they are staying in shape.
As with a lot of exercise equipment during this pandemic, it is tough to find companies that aren't sold out of bands right now. If you're looking for bands, here are a few suppliers that, hopefully, will have them in stock:
Elitefts
Woody Fitness
Dick Hartzell's Jump Stretch





Hope you are all well and able to get a few squat sessions in.

YouTube Channel: Squat Rx

Social Distancing

Monday, March 16, 2020

I hope this post finds everyone well. At my house, we've been taking the dog for walks and home cooking a lot more than normal. Otherwise, we're doing our best to hunker down and ride this thing out. Strange times for us all.

Training-wise, very little has changed. Going to the gym is not an option, which means I can't use some pieces of equipment I like, but squatting is still going smoothly. I've been doing higher rep work now for at least a year and have made 135lb x 200 a goal for 2020. So far, 135lb x 140 in 35 minutes is my best effort as far as both total time and total reps in a single set.

Generally, my training "approach" is to squat once or twice a week. In squat workouts, I generally do one higher rep set with 135lbs x 50-100 reps lasting 10-30 minutes, and follow this with shorter, faster sets of 10-30 reps.

For example, on Monday, March 9th, I did the following squat workout with a Manta-Ray:

• bar x 20
• 135lb x 75 (15 minutes, 4-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-6-5 by minute)
• 2 minutes rest
• 135 x 18 (2 minutes, 8-1-8-1 by 30 seconds)
• 2 minutes rest
• 135 x 19 (2 minutes, 10-1-7-1 by 30 seconds)
• 2 minutes rest
• 135 x 18 (2 minutes, 8-1-8-1 by 30 seconds)

On my non-squat days when working out at home (which is all the time now), I generally do one of the following:

• Kettlebell Snatch (16kg kettlebell, 30-60 minutes, 10-15 reps/minute, switching hands every minute, no setting down the bell)
• 100 Total Push-Ups (in sets of 20-40)
• 15 minutes total of 45 Degree Hyperextensions, Pull-Ups, and Push-Ups (usually getting 250-300 reps total)
• YAT Pulls with a micro band (2-3 sets of 50/50/50)
• Standing Single Leg Hip Abductions/Adductions (2-4 sets of 25/25 per leg)
• Axle Deadlifts (primarily sets of 135lb x 10-15 and 185lb x 10, sometimes working up to 205-225lb for a double or triple)
• Twist Yo' Wrist 

When I go to the 'big gym' (which is rare), I do glute-ham raises, hip abductor machine, hip adductor machine, bench press, and occasionally dumbbell rows and bent over dumbbell laterals. I enjoy 20-30 minutes of the sauna there when I have time.

I'll post an update to the blog when I've successfully completed 135 x 200 (hopefully next week). Until then, stay safe and good squatting,

Boris