More on Back to Basics Training

Yesterday I posted about taking my fitness routine back to the basics. I quickly got a few requests for details about exactly what sort of workouts I've been doing. Well, as James Bond once observed, the first rule of mass media is "Give the people what they want." So here's a snapshot of what I've been doing for the past couple of months training-wise... 

Monday, Wednesday, Friday

I have a red neck, but I'm not a redneck.

Kettlebell Turkish Get-Ups: I was using a 20kg 'bell and doing about a dozen reps each side. A few weeks ago I moved up to the 53kg and have cut my reps down to three or four each side. I do single reps of TGUs, and do an easy set of Push-Ups in between reps. I'll do a TGU on my left, a few Push-Ups, a TGU on the right, a few more Push-Ups, and so on. By the way, doing Push-Ups and TGUs together makes my abs want to jump out of my body and run and hide.

After TGU's and Push-Ups, I move on to Pull-Ups and Push-Ups. For the Pull-Ups, I vary my grip on each set. My favorite grips are neutral grip (palms facing each other) and mix-matched grip (one palm facing me, one palm facing away from me). I seldom do more than 5 reps in a set. I usually do at least 50 Pull-Ups total, and do about a quarter of those wearing a 20lb. weight vest.  

As seen on TV!

For Push-Ups, I aim for 100 total. I keep the number of reps per set around 7 to 10. As with Pull-Ups, I vary what type of Push-Ups I do. Mostly I do standard Push-Ups, but I also throw in Diamond Push-Ups, Hindu Push-Ups, and Push-Ups using the surprisingly effective Perfect Push-Up handles.

If I'm doing Goblet Squats, I do them on TGU day. I use a 44kg kettlebell and keep the numbers of sets and reps a bit low, because my legs have already gotten a workout from the TGUs. Plus, Goblet Squats are biomechanically a bit tricky for some one who is 6'3" with an inseam of about 36".

Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday

An arty Swing photo.

I do a Kettlebell Swing/Push-Up routine inspired by something I saw from coach Dan John. It's simple. Do 10 (or 15 or 20) Swings followed by 10 Push-Ups. Repeat the same number of Swings, but do 9 Push-Ups. Work your way down to just one Push-Up. Keep rests periods as short as possible. Right now I'm doing sets of 20 Swings with a 53kg 'bell, for a total of 200 Swings and 55 Push-Ups. When I'm done, I do 45 more Push-Ups to bring the total up to 100. (And no, I have not found that doing 100 Push-Ups a day six days a week leads to overtraining.)

After finishing my Push-Ups, I usually do a short core routine based on Dr. Stuart McGill's Big 3 Core Exercises.

I always start my workouts with a few minutes of meditation and some dynamic stretching. I always conclude with about 10 minutes of yoga based on the Eischens yoga sequence I learned at Monkey Bar Gym.