Pull - Heavy

One arm barbell row 3x 8-10
SLDL 3x 10-12
Upright row 3x 6-8
Curl 2x 10-12

rest time between sets; 2-3mins

Tuesday's late post

Morning

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Evening

Cycle; 30 min
followed by a set of tabata sprints

* Forgot to post so just a quick log. I'm taking the day off as rest since I need to try to get to sleep because I have an EARLY and long day at work ahead of me tomorrow. I really hate the hours I work.

Also, on a quick side note, I'm really loving the cardio now I've got a HR monitor and making sure I'm staying in the right zones. Adding a set of tabata sprints after a 30 min session is a quick and easy way to add in good anaerobic conditioning as well. I still plan on doing sprints sometime in the weekend but I'm hoping to do 3-4x 30min cardio (followed with sprints) during the week and saving the weekend for other things. I will still be doing a barbell circuit once or twice a week as well. I'm really breaking things down to make sure I'm getting a good amount of time spent in the different zones. I've already been noticing a bit of difference so I'm excited to see how it continues to go. This is diff. a good base for cardio. I do hope to improve my equiptment with a schwinn airdyne or a schwinn treadmill. more on that later.

2x workout; cardio & heavy push day

Morning

2 min warmup

Cardio; 30 mins

3 min cooldown + stretching

Evening

Push day - Heavy

Bench press
CG press
Over-head press
Hack squat

3 sets on all but cg press, 6-8 reps each
2 sets of cg press, 6-8 reps

Muscle Endurance

Pre-workout; 4oz chicken, 1 cup~ pasta, green tea

Barbell circuit

Bent rows x8
Upright rows x8
Military press x8
Good morning x8
Split squat x8 (each leg)
Squat push press x8
Stiff leg Deadlift x8

6 sets; 60 sec rest between sets

Post-workout; shake (1 1/2 cup oats, 1 scoop whey)

Cardio

cycle; 30 mins

sprints; 5 x 30 sec with 30 sec rest between sprints

mobility drills
stretching

** Just an easy day, stomach is in a bit of pain and hey, its a holiday anyway haha. I liked the sprints and will be adding them at the end of 30 min cardio sessions more often and doing them by themselves some. I will start adding a set of tabatas to the end of a 30min session as well. I'm really working hard to make sure I'm getting proper training time in aerobic and anaerobic states. This is something I overlooked for a long long time but now I've fixed that issue and hoping for good improvements in my conditioning.

Plan for next week

2x heavy lifting
3x cardio 30 min doing a set of tabata or sprints afterwards
2x barbell complexes
and probably atleast another set of sprints on another day

Pull day - Heavy

Pre-workout; 4 oz smoked ham (lean), 8 oz baked potato, 1 cup steamed veggies, medium salad

12 oz coffee (after the meal)

One arm barbell row; 3x 8-10
SLDL; 3x 12
Upright row; 3x 8,8,6

Post-workout; shake (1 1/2 cup oats, 1 scoop whey)

Conditioning and Cardio

Noon

Pre-workout meal; shake (1 1/2 cup oats, 1 scoop whey) & 1 cup coffee

Dynamic stretching and mobility drills

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Bodyweight circuit

Ab/core circuit

Neck routine

Agility ladder warmup and drills

Heavy bag

5 min warmup round
3 two min rounds
2 three min rounds
1 five min round
5 min cooldown round

More agility ladder drills

Post-workout meal; shake (1 1/2 cup oats, 1 scoop whey) 1/2 cup blueberries

Evening

Pre-workout meal; 1/2 cup brown rice, 1 cup corn, 4 oz tuna, 10 multigrain crackers, 1 cup coffee

Stationary Cycle

warmup; 2 mins

30 mins

cooldown; 3 mins

Stretching

Post-workout meal; 24 oz gatorade

** My purchase of a heart rate monitor was well worth it because now I can make sure I'm putting in the correct work on different energy systems. My usual pace in the 30-45min runs/cycle was a little under the aerobic I was trying for so I was able to fix it and I really enjoyed the workout. I will be keeping a track on my heart rate as I continue to get the correct work in on my aerobic and anaerobic systems.

Nutrition

I follow the same nutrition plan I put together a couple years ago, but over time I've made adjustments and fixed some things I had wrong. I don't follow fad diets and don't believe in the low carb crap. I'm an athlete and eat like one. I don't have much time now so I'm just kinda jotting things down, but I plan on writing some large articles in the future about nutrition.
My diet is roughly a 60/20/20 ratio (carb/pro/fat) which is a high carb diet. When you workout constantly you need carbs for energy. Ton of carbs. The majority of my carbs come from oatmeal, whole grain pasta and brown rice. I'm not scared to get a little sugar in my diet and often use gatorade post cardio workouts and while I'm at work as well. At my meals I will add in veggies and fruits to make up some of the shortcomings of grains though. I basically use carbs as my foundation for diet and the bulk of my calories since I usually take in quite a bit due to the high amount of calories I burn daily. The majority of my protein comes from whey powder and the complex carbs as well. My meat intake is usually 4 oz a day or none at all. The meat is usually canned tuna or chicken breasts. I try to stay away from farm raised anything. That's a whole other discussion though. Farm raised meats are terrible for you, I try to pick from wild, organic and free-range, etc. I eat no milk or dairy products for the most part but do eat eggs from time to time which are really good for you. My fats come from healthy fat sources which are fatty fish, nuts, olive oil, etc. I usually consume the most fat of my diet at the end of the night to give my body fuel while I sleep. Timing and planning of meals and ratios are very important!

I drink 1-3 cups of green tea daily and usually have 1-2 cups of coffee as well. Otherwise I stick to water and drink plenty of it.

Anyway, that's the basics for now, I will write more on nutrition at later times.

!!!My Routine, types of cardio and more!!!

The current routine I'm following looks like this.. but nothing is set in stone. I change around things depending on goals at the time, and a lot of it depends on shifts I work and my days off.

Monday; Lifting - Heavy Push
Tuesday; Conditioning
Wednesday; Conditioning
Thursday; Lifting - Heavy Pull
Friday; Conditioning
Saturday; Rest or Active rest
Sunday; Conditioning

Heavy lifting; 2x a week
My heavy lifting is split into a push/pull routine. I've spent a couple years now lifting and started off doing the bodybuilder thing to gain mass. Now that I'm training more sport specific I have moved away from that and am doing a heavy compound routine. I have trimmed and trimmed things down to the basics and what I feel keeps me well balanced muscle wise. I am still constantly working on gaining weight so I usually keep my weights 8-12 for the most part. I have recently dropped to the lower end of the 8-12 part though and am liking it so far and do drop to 6 reps often. In the future when I'm not looking to gain any mass I will be dropping reps to the 4-6 range constantly.

Conditioning means a variety of things. So heres a run down of the typical things I do a week

Cardio (Aerobic); 3x a week
Typically I do two morning sessions and I usually do 30mins in the mornings due to time. One long evening session I try to keep over 30mins, often 45mins to 1 hour. 70-80% max heart rate

Cardio (Anaerobic); 1-2x a week
Circuits, complexes/circuits, Tabata, sprints, bag work, etc. 80-90% max heart rate

Muscle Endurance; 1-2x a week
Circuits, barbell complexes/circuits, bodyweight circuits, etc.

Some of the cardio types overlap of course, thats just a general layout. A lot of circuits and similar workouts tax all energy systems and works together.

Skill work; as often as possible
Currently I focus in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Boxing. When I'm off work or when I get off in time and there is classes or my training partners are free, I will train. I also put in a lot of work on the heavy bag and now agility ladder as well. This is the area I would like to focus on in the near future but my work schedule stops me from doing as much as I want.

I have recently bought a heart rate monitor and an agility ladder to add to my equipt. I'm always excited to add another tool to my conditioning and feel the agility ladder will help a ton. I plan on using it as warmups to heavy bag work, and will be doing its own routines as well, really working a good sweat and putting in some great work on it. But most of all, I'm really excited to have a heart rate monitor now. I've been wanting one for awhile but just haven't got around to it. Now I can make sure I'm where I need to be when doing my cardio, and will be starting to use it this week. Theres still a few things on my list thats small but I'm really wanting to start putting some $$ back for a schwinn Airdyne and a good amount of Zebra mats for training.

Push day - Heavy

Bench press; 3x 8,8,6
Military press; 3x 10,10,8
Hack squat; 3x 8,8,6

** Trying leaving arm work out for a week and possibly keeping it that way for awhile. I may do some heavy arm work on a day with free time or so. I'm just really working on upping weight in the compound exercises at the moment. Possibly adding deadlifts back soon as well. In the future my heavy days will be 5-6 reps for strength but for now I'm trying to keep it close to 8 and above. I'm working on cutting excess weight for about 5 more lbs then I'll slowly up my calories again, I def. need to keep bulking up for the weight class I want to be in. Nothing is in stone and I'm kinda rushed for time so I'm writing as fast as possible - but I am looking to skip over the light days for now on and replace them with conditioning (body weight or weight circuits) that will do a lot more for me than just the simple 15-20 rep light scheme. I don't feel that was helping much at all when I could be doing barbell circuits/complexes that will really up my cardio/endurance. The only problem is some of the same muscles will be hit twice days back to back, but we'll see. I think It will be fine and I won't have a problem with over training.

Conditioning

Pre-workout nutrition; 1 cup white rice, veggies, 4 oz tuna, glass of green tea

Barbell circuit

Bent rows x8
Upright rows x8
Military press x8
Good morning x8
Split squat x8 (each leg)
Squat push press x8
Stiff leg Deadlift x8

6 sets, 60 sec rest between sets

Boxing

Agility ladder drills

Heavy bag

2 five min rounds skill work
3 three min rounds freestyle/conditioning work

Post-workout nutrition; 16 oz gatorade followed 20 mins later with a shake (1 1/2 cup oats, 1 scoop whey)

Conditioning

Cycle

5 mins

Circuit 1

Jumping lunge
Mountain climber
Bicycle crunch
Jumping squat
Plyometric push up
Burpee

Circuit 2

Crunch
Crunch (variation, legs up clapping each calf)
Reverse crunch
Leg lift (variation, raise to clap behind each leg)
Side crunch (30 sec each side)
Heel touch

* Both circuits are the same format. Each exercise done for 1 min, with a 1 min rest after the circuit is finished.

Heavy bag

5 three minute rounds freestyle with high intensity

Grappling and Sparring

Noon

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu GI / Rolling

Striking / Sparring with take downs

Evening

Shoulder dislocation (RC)

Laying plate neck raise superset Laying plate reverse neck raise

Reverse diagonal neck bridge

Glute raise (weighted)

Heavy bag; 15 mins focused on skill work

Cycle; 30 mins

Stretching, lots of stretching

* Evening was grappling specific work for the most part. I don't keep count of the reps for the most part on the exercises but I do 2-3 sets of them. A lot of supersetting to keep things moving along quickly. For the neck I feel keeping track of the sets/reps isn't very important to me, I'm just making sure I'm putting in some work to keep my neck healthy and strong. Of course it helps on last ditch efforts in pulling out of some chokes in BJJ as well and helps protecting against shots in boxing. Glute raises really helps in grappling and mimics a lot of moves, also helps build explosiveness and endurance. Shoulder dislocations are for the rotator cuffs and I usually just do a couple sets till a good burn in the shoulders. I really need to start doing the dislocations more often than what I do. My shoulders are def. a problem area for me so I need to make sure I keep them as healthy as possible. In the future I'm going to start doing a lot of these type exercises as warmups for lifting days. Also, I did skip over my light pull day to give my muscles a little bit of a rest and tomorrow will probably be a rest day or just cardio if anything.

Sparring went great today. I haven't sparred in quite awhile actually but did great as I helped prepare one of my main training partners for his upcoming fight. I finally put some stuff I've been working on to use and was able to pull them off, very happy with that. But I'll leave that as that because I don't like getting too specific about the skill work I do if I even mention them at all. :)

Push - HEAVY

DB incline press; 3x 8
CG press; 3x 8-10
DB shoulder press 3x 10-12
Hack squat 3x 6-8

**Switched some dumbbell work into the routine tonight to refresh things a bit and hit the muscles a little differently. Done heavy weight in all of them, moving up slightly in my hack squats a well. My body is feeling pretty wore down at the moment, I've kept a good pace of great workouts lately although I missed one update, I think it was saturday I forgot to post, but it was just a lot of drills, bodyweight stuff and a nice 30 min run. Tomorrow will be BJJ and boxing along with 30min or so on the cycle. Nothing is set in stone of course though. If tomorrow is a good day of 2x workout again, I'll be resting wednesday more than likely. I gotta remember to start stretching more!! My flexibility is awesome naturally, but I gotta make sure I don't lose it!

Sunday 2x Conditioning

Noon

Core workout

6 exercises, each 1 min length no rest

Weight Plate Circuit

Overhead Squat x 8
Swings x 8
Bentover Row x 8
Reverse Lunge and Twist x 8 total
Diagonal Chops x 8 each side

5x
90 sec rest periods

Evening

Tabata cycle

Warm-up; 5 mins, Cool-down 5 mins

Tabata 5 mins
rest
Tabata 5 mins
rest
Tabata 5 mins

1 min rest periods

** was really planning on adding in some rounds of boxing on the heavy bag after the tabata workout but took the chance to have a little free time lol. today was my circuit day, it went well and my diet was spot on.

Push / Light & Core/neck work

Push day - LIGHT

Bench press 3x 20
Military press 3x 20
Front squat 3x 20

After each exercise, one set of 20 (10 each side) reverse diagonal neck bridges
total of 3 sets

Core

Around the worlds x 30 (15 each side)
Diagonal chops x 30 (15 each side)
DB swings x 40

Weighted crunches x 25
DB one arm snatches 2x 5-8
Weighted crunches x 25

Bicycle crunches x 50


** Time just seems to run out during the week. Should've probably done a 30-45 min cardio session but I will try in the morning instead. This workout was just scattered, wasn't much of a plan going into it and it shows. IDK if I improved anything at all or just wasted my time.. I have got to make more of a routine when it comes to core work thats for sure. I plan on moving back to weight circuits soon and possibly leaving behind the 'light' days.

Pull day

Pull day - HEAVY


Bent over row; 3 x 10-12
Upright row; 3x 8-10
Curl; 3x 8-10

** Not a good workout at all. Couldn't get a good grip on the higher weight in the bent over rows. Felt my form was sloppy in the uprights as well. My focus wasn't there and my head was just elsewhere tonight. It happens sometimes. Off late from work and have to go in tomorrow is part of the reason. I hate my hours at work more and more and I'll have to probably take a job change in the near future that will allow more time for training. My eyes are open..

But back to the actual workout, I've been using the same push/pull for a little while now and feel its time to change things up a bit, even if its just brief or whatever. I feel the workout I do is awesome and basic but full so I don't really know what to change up at the moment, but I will be researching some things out over the next few days and will decide at the beginning of next week.

Dropping calories even lower, probably going to be at 3200 which is the lowest I've been at in a long time. Looking to cut 5 more lbs, will stay at that weight for awhile then slowly bulk up again through time to fight, and will do a mini cut right before that time.

2x workout log- BJJ, Cardio, Conditioning

"May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't."-General George Patton

Noon

Warm-up; Mobility drills, stretching; 15 mins

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu GI; 1 hour 15 min

Cool-down; Mobility drills, stretching; 15 mins

Evening

Neck/Glute/Rotator Cuff

Isometric neck exercises, each side, forward and back

Laying neck raises x 15 superset Laying reverse neck raises x 15 2x

Weighted glute raise x 502x

Shoulder dislocation until a good burnx2

Pull - Light

Bent over row; 5x 20
SLDL; 5x 20
Upright row; 5x 20

Cardio

Cycle; 45 mins (over 10 miles)

Cool-down stretching

Push - Heavy Day

Bench press 3x 6-8
CG press 3x 10-12
Military press 3x 8-10
Hack squat 3x 8-10

Tabata Cycle and Core

Tabata on the Cycle
(20 on; 10 off)

5 mins tabata
5 min rest
5 mins tabata
4 min rest
5 min tabata
3 min rest

Core

Ab roll out 3x 10

Crunch x25 superset Bicycle crunch x25
3x

** Although this was a good little workout, I wanted to do much more, and add in my neck strength and glute raises. But... thanks to getting off late from work again, time didn't allow. It's pretty late now and I gotta be up early, so I did what I could.

Morning

15 mins; stationary cycle - jog
10 mins; BJJ mobility drills
5 mins; stretching, bear crawls, reverse bear crawls, jumping jacks

Afternoon

Cycle; 45 min moderate/fast

Heavy bag

Olympic drills; 3x 30 sec with 1 min rest periods

4 min round with 16 oz gloves power work
1 min rest
4 min round with 4 oz gloves skill work

Stretching, lots of stretching..

* Time to move things along in my conditioning. First time at 45 mins on the cycle instead of 30 and I added in the olympic bag drills in. Just testing things out and I like things so far. I will be working hard to find time around work to lengthen my conditioning workouts. All month I will be focusing on improving my overrall cardio and endurance as I get ready to start focusing on MMA skill work and classes on a regular basis starting in the new year.

Supplements

I've been wanting to write more posts than just training logs, like my thoughts on nutrition and training tips, etc. I might even break down my current routine, to show how I carefully planned everything in it.

My main thing in working out, is to study as much as possible on as many subjects as possible and then take what works best for me and trim the rest away. Then I keep doing that till I have a routine made. There is no reason to be doing a bunch of stuff half assed because you don't want to be doing it, or it doesn't even help your goals.

Supplements are the same. I haven't tried a lot but the few I did give a run - was just a waste of money for the most part. The smartest people (and experienced) will be the first to tell you that solid healthy meals beat all supplements and that is true. But there are a few that everyone and expecially atheletes should take a look into, no matter how good their diet is.

The ONLY three I use and recommend;

Multivitamin

GNC Megaman is my #1 choice when it comes to my multi. It isn't expensive and has the high daily values needed for an active lifestyle.

With a good diet you can get by with a vitamin like Centrum though. I work at a retail store thats a surplus type of store, so sometimes we get a bunch of centrum bottles in and I can get them for just a few bucks a piece if that. Multis like centrum have much lower dosages of the vitamins/minerals but if you are getting a good healthy diet with good variety, theres no need to worry. It will still cover any holes in the diet to prevent any defiency which is the main reason to take a multi. I usually take the Centrum performance instead of the regular ones, but it doesn't matter. As my workouts and lifting, etc, as time goes on, I trim more and more away haha.

Fish oil

I love fish oil! Omega 3s are great. My joints arent the best and this is the only stuff I found that helps. It isn't a miracle cure or anything, but I noticed a difference so I will always take it. I tried everything under the sun, gluco/msm/chon, etc and none of them helped me. Of course, everyone is different, and some people really love those - but for me, its omega 3s. Omega 3 has a long range of good things it does for you besides that as well. I take around 1.5+ grams daily when it comes to it. I might try a high # like 8grams in the future as I hear some people have great luck by doing that - but others notice no difference. I usually have 3 or 4 brands sitting on my desk, nice expensive name brands and huge bottles of generic. Just keep an eye on the levels of actual omega 3s (epa/dha) and not the actual fish oil part they sometimes advertise.

Whey protein

I use this with my shakes I make for breakfast and post work outs. Quick protein and its great for you. Makes oat shakes taste good too :). I use 1 scoop each shake I make. Depending on if I'm bulking or cutting it can be from 1-3 shakes daily.


and...

Mass Shake
recipe

This is my shake that I drink for breakfast every morning, after weight lifting, and for quick calories anytime - expecially during a bulk.

I use a magic bullet blender and the quantities of things fit just perfect, all the way up on everything.

1 1/2 cup oats grinded to dust

1 scoop whey protein

Mix with water (using a magic bullet, I just fill whats left - to the top)

Blend and enjoy. It doens't taste bad, but it's thick haha. Occasionally I will also add in a teaspoon of olive oil for the healthy fats and extra calories if needed. Peanut butter can be added to if you want.

Great fuel for the day, lots of whole grain carbs and a good 1-2 protein to carb ratio. Unlike mass shakes you buy at the store, it won't leave you starving in an hour either. This is just like it would be as an actual meal. Oats don't lose anything from being grinded unlike some other grains.

Well, its pretty late and I was just killing time but I need to crash now - peace.

Push day - Light & Heavy bag workout

Bench press 5x 20
Shoulder press 5x 20
Front squat 5x 20

30 sec rest between sets, 1 min rest between exercises

Heavy bag 5 three min rounds - all combos / freestyle

1 min rest between rounds

Pull - Heavy

Pre-workout meal; 3/4 cup (before cooked) brown rice, 4 oz chicken

Warm-up; 5 mins on the cycle, then 1 set light weight each exercise (besides curls)

Bent over row 3x 10-12
SLDL 3x 10
Upright row 3x 8-10
Curl 3x 10-12

--------------

Core work..

Weighted crunches x 25
Diagonal chops x 15 (each side)

Weighted crunches x 25
Dumbbell swings x 25

Bicycle crunches x 50

Post-workout meal; shake (1 1/2 cup oats, 1 scoop whey)

----------------

Didn't get much sleep last night, soooo wore out after work. I put as much as I could into it though and it got it out of the way. Been kinda a shitty week, and still angry I missed Monday's heavy push day. So far the cardio plan is going well for me though. I plan on sticking with it on pretty much the same days week after week, but I will adjust acording to time/work. Basically the majority will be done on a stationary cycle due to convience. Only difference is sometimes on the 30 min part, I'll do outside running. Anwyay, I will do 3 cardio a week (just talking standard base cardio, not including any muscle endurance,bagwork, actual training, circuits,etc). The first one will be a 30 min run/jog at the start of the week. Then during the middle I will do a 20 min HIIT, and then finish at the end of the week or weekend with a 15min tabata session. I'm really looking forward to see how this does, and although its not set in stone by anymeans to what I'll do every single week, some weeks I'll do extra, others who knows. This is just the base of my cardio work, I'll build and add upon it as needed. I still need to up my core work to atleast two good core routines weekly and keep my neck exercises grouped with them probably to save time.

Light pull workout, BJJ, Cardio

Noon

Pre-workout; shake (1 1/2 cup oats, 1 scoop whey)

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu GI class

Post-workout; gatorade 32 oz
30mins later; 3 oz pasta (wholegrain w/ added flax) & 1/2 cup sauce

Evening

Pre-workout; chicken stir fry (1 cup roughly), vegetable eggroll

Light Pull workout

Bent over row; 5x 20
SLDL; 5x 20
Upright row; 5x 20

Neck bridges 3 x 10
Reverse neck bridges 3 x 10
* both done laying over a bench with a weight plate on my head for added resistance

Cycle

30 min jog/run

Post-workout; shake (1 1/2 cup oats, 1 scoop whey)