Running out of ass puns

[TeaKwonDo]

Stats

Name: Knockingdog

Race: Centaur

Class: Assassin

Age: 20

Height: 5'7"

Weight: 115-ish lbs

STR: 8

DEX: 4.25

STA: 9

CON: 7.25

WIS: 6.5

CHA: 4.5

Goals

1) Keep laying the foundation of bodyweight training: 1 complete, dead-hang pullup, 10-second wall handstand, 30-second advanced frog stand, and 5-second tuck L-sit. (+4 STR) (+2 DEX) (+4 STA)

This serves as quantitative measurements of progress. Meanwhile I'll be fine-tuning my other tricks: full ROM one-arm pushups, pistols without the elevated leg touching the ground, and full ROM dragon flags. Form and focus in workouts, as always. Gearing up to get to the fun stuff, like tuck planches, 1-arm elbow levers, and head-to-handstands.

2) Improve yoga: Full front and side splits, touch feet to head in Dancer and/or Bow, complete a floor routine on half-hands.

(+1 DEX)

Been ignoring mobility/prehab work. Bad Kdog. Rest days will be focused on flexibility with as-you-will yoga practice. It doesn't have to be a block of time devoted to plugging out poses; if I get in a full half-hour one day and only 15 minutes the next, that's ok. Even 5 min in Lotus will suffice. I have yoga as a gym class on workout days, so that takes care of the rest of the week. But it has to be daily. I have too much free time and no roommate as an excuse. This is important to my mind as well as my body.

3) Support training with Leangains IF: no cheating myself out of hitting macros, so deviating from paleo is acceptable under the circumstances where not doing so would prove counterproductive to recovery. Also max out protein and green veggies on rest days, at least 180g if not closer to 200g protein. (+2 CON)

Same goal as last challenge, just fiddled with the macros a bit. If I decide to alter my training schedule after New York Comic Con, then this will be changed accordingly, but otherwise we're pretty cool where it's at.

4) Bang out the GRE and have a solid thesis outline or a chapter's worth of writing. (+1 WIS) (+1 CHA)

GRE = grad school = future. Thesis = ditto. 'Nuff said.

[ETFnerd]

i love me a good a$$ pun...

[Wolverine]

Looking forward to watching you kickASSassin again!

My advanced frog is FUGLY, that will be a priority for me as well.

[realbrickwall]

I came here to kick ass and chew bubblegum. And I'm aaaallll outta ass.

Wait.

Anyway, good luck on the GRE! But I know you won't need it, because you're going to work for it!

[Sea Level]

Looking forward to another awesome one. Splits rule!

Don't forget the Borg: "Resistance is futile. You too will be ASSimilated."

[catspaw]

3) Support training with Leangains IF: no cheating myself out of hitting macros, so deviating from paleo is acceptable under the circumstances where not doing so would prove counterproductive to recovery.

It's good to figure out where to budge when life makes things complicated. I think this sounds like a great plan.

[TeaKwonDo]

i love me a good a$$ pun...

Looking forward to watching you kickASSassin again!

I came here to kick ass and chew bubblegum. And I'm aaaallll outta ass.

Wait.

Don't forget the Borg: "Resistance is futile. You too will be ASSimilated."

You are all the reasons why NF is ASSpecially bombASStic. May this thread never again lack for ass puns.

It's good to figure out where to budge when life makes things complicated. I think this sounds like a great plan.

Admittedly it'd be nice to get clean paleo food 24/7, but a student lifestyle requires adjustments for time, money, and convenience. I'm also realizing that dairy is not just optional, but essential--I'm the opposite of you; it makes me feel pleasantly more satiated at the end of a meal, and when I go strict paleo, even with supplements my nails get brittle from the lack of calcium. Go figure, right?

[TeaKwonDo]

I know the challenge hasn't started yet, but I've still been plugging in workouts. This doesn't have to count, just recapping for accountability and noting progress.

Warmup: 5 min treadmill walk/jog.

Dynamic skills, 3 rounds:

Dips x8

BW pistols x5 each leg

1-arm pushup x5 each arm

Jump-switch lunges x20, x40 last round

Conditioning/strength, 3 rounds:

Halfway home chinups x4 Still starting from the ground, but moved the bar to the top, so my arms are only slightly bent from the beginning. Getting close!

Elbow lever leg lifts x5-8 Needed a progression on the 1-leg straight bridges. First time trying these out, not quite sure about form, but felt pretty good. Working towards a greater ROM ala this guy:

Negative tuck dragon flag x7 The last set was only partially tucked. My baby dragons are learning to fly!

Static skill, 3 rounds:

Frog ~5s --> Advanced frog ~3-5s

Horse ~50s

Tuck L-sit ~1s

Full back bridge ~10-30s Big change here, could be dangerous for my lower back, but the potential benefits outweigh the risks. Will stop if it proves damaging, however.

Tuck back lever ~10s

Finger plank ~50s

1-leg side planks ~100s

Reverse plank ~100s

Total: 51:00 min.

[Wolverine]

I know the challenge hasn't started yet, but I've still been plugging in workouts. This doesn't have to count, just recapping for accountability and noting progress.

F*ing overachievers...

[Sea Level]

Elbow lever leg lifts x5-8 Needed a progression on the 1-leg straight bridges. First time trying these out, not quite sure about form, but felt pretty good. Working towards a greater ROM ala this guy:

Oh, this is fantASStic. Thanks for posting this; I think this will be perfect for my elbow lever goal.

[TeaKwonDo]

F*ing overachievers...

<-- Stereotypical Capricorn, sue me. =P

Oh, this is fantASStic. Thanks for posting this; I think this will be perfect for my elbow lever goal.

You're welcome! Share the trick love. =)

[drsloomis]

Big ASStrology shout-out to my fellow capricorn! Glad to see you bringing it again!

[Ocelot]

I can see you'll be a mine of information for my new bodyweight exercise goal. I have no idea what most of the things you talk about even look like!! You're certainly a more advanced Centaur Assassin than I am. (We have leangains IFing in common now too btw!)

Loving your nice concise yet high-reaching goals... can't wait to see you knock(ingdog) them all out.

[TeaKwonDo]

I can see you'll be a mine of information for my new bodyweight exercise goal. I have no idea what most of the things you talk about even look like!! You're certainly a more advanced Centaur Assassin than I am. (We have leangains IFing in common now too btw!)

Loving your nice concise yet high-reaching goals... can't wait to see you knock(ingdog) them all out.

They're mostly beginner-level progressions, so it'd be mad cool if they found their way into your try-new-things goal. =)

Centaur-five!

[TeaKwonDo]

This morning's workout recap:

Warmup: 5 min treadmill walk/jog.

Dynamic skills, 3 rounds:

Dips x8

BW pistols x5 each leg

1-arm pushup x5 each arm

Jump-switch lunges x20, x40 last round Absolute. Murder.

Conditioning/strength, 3 rounds:

Halfway home chinups x4

Elbow lever leg lifts x5-8 Really messy on these, forearms hitting fatigue before I can complete a good set. The idea is to do smooth, controlled, consecutive lifts with full ROM. So once they hit that stage, they'll be a fantastic exercise, but at the moment I get to flop around like a beached sea lion. Ark ark ark!

Negative tuck dragon flag x7 Reducing the tuck little by little. It would be awesome to do full dragons by the challenge's end.

Static skill, 3 rounds:

Frog ~5s --> Advanced frog ~5s A little sloppier than usual on these, but not for lack of effort. As my form improves on the other tricks, they take more out of me by the time I get to the static circuit.

Horse ~50s

Tuck L-sit ~1.5s Incremental progress, feeling more stable in the position even if my hold time is still minimal.

Full back bridge ~20-40s Gotta make sure I've got the form right, otherwise knock on wood, so far so good.

Tuck back lever ~10s

Finger plank ~80s A huge jump from when I started these last week. That extra hand stamina is gonna come in handy later--this weekend's homework involves translating the Tell-Tale Heart into French, and I prefer writing it out over typing.

1-leg side planks ~100s

Reverse plank ~100s

Total: 53:03 min.

In other news, it's fall! My favorite season! And New England does fall very well. (Pumpkinhead beer, anyone?) Got crazy pumpkin cravings all over the place, so I picked up a lovely pumpkin rooibus tea this weekend. At some point I gotta try Catspaw's hot pepper/pumpkin puree goodness, but haven't found pure canned pumpkin yet. =(

Daily yoga hasn't actually been a huge change. I do a few poses post-workout to cool down, plus there's the gym class a couple hours later, so that takes care of 3 days a week. Rest days, I string together a bunch of poses in the morning (working up a pretty good sequence, building onto it bit by bit) that lasts around 15 min. So even if I didn't do anything else, I'm still covered. But this regular practice doesn't include trick work, so that's where the change is--integrating headstand/handstand/Lotus/splits/all that fun jazz.

However, my lower back is starting to complain the way it used to back in sophomore year, when its issues began. What was I doing in sophomore year? Lots of treadmill and long PWO stretching sessions, with yoga that I didn't really know how to do but it felt so good that I thought I was doing the right thing. At the moment I'm introducing a lot of new things into my routines, so some back complaining may just be part of the bargain. That's the risk you run doing yoga by yourself, yet what choice do I have if I want to progress? If it continues or gets worse, I really don't know what I'll do. Holding off on wearing heels since that seems to aggravate it. (Which mildly sucks because I just got some wicked cute fall boots!)

[realbrickwall]

Some yoga poses are especially good for curing back pain if you do them frequently over an extended period. 1 2 3

Good luck with it. Back pain sucks!

[Wolverine]

Careful with that back!!! Once you f* it up it's f*ed for ever. <--- Said by the dude with the hot pack currently on his back.

[TeaKwonDo]

Careful with that back!!! Once you f* it up it's f*ed for ever. <--- Said by the dude with the hot pack currently on his back.

Two years too late, unfortunately. Part of the reason I work out is to keep it in check--seems that the weaker the muscles are, the greater the discomfort.

[TeaKwonDo]

Progress pic day. I compiled all my pics from the last challenge and today's new ones are at the bottom.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]5493[/ATTACH]

Maybe it's the new lighting in my dorm, but... =)

[Waldo]

Oh, this is fantASStic. Thanks for posting this; I think this will be perfect for my elbow lever goal.

Yeah that video was awesome. Really helpful for finding the path to the 1 arm elbow lever. Not working on it yet, but going in the "someday" mental filing cabinet for sure.

A tip on the back bridge (wheel I'm assuming?) - the intesity of it on the back is highly dependant on your foot placement and shoulder mobility. You want to open up your shoulders as much as possible. If you have poor upper spine and shoulder mobility, the intensity of the bend will be greatly increased in the lower back. Likewise the further away your feet are, the lower the intesity is in the lower back.

For example:

She has exceptional shoulder mobility. If she were to straighten her neck you'd see that her upper arms a fair bit beyond 180 degrees.

Her shoulder mobility isn't nearly as good. Not terrible, but her upper arms aren't open 180 degrees.

If you compare the two photos in the lower back, you can see that there is a much sharper angle in the bottom picture than the upper. When it comes to bridges like this, shoulder mobility makes a huge difference when it comes to the lower back.

[Wolverine]

Maybe it's the new lighting in my dorm, but... =)

How about we give credit where credit is due instead???

Yeah that video was awesome. Really helpful for finding the path to the 1 arm elbow lever. Not working on it yet, but going in the "someday" mental filing cabinet for sure.

A tip on the back bridge (wheel I'm assuming?) - the intesity of it on the back is highly dependant on your foot placement and shoulder mobility. You want to open up your shoulders as much as possible. If you have poor upper spine and shoulder mobility, the intensity of the bend will be greatly increased in the lower back. Likewise the further away your feet are, the lower the intesity is in the lower back.

For example:

She has exceptional shoulder mobility. If she were to straighten her neck you'd see that her upper arms a fair bit beyond 180 degrees.

Her shoulder mobility isn't nearly as good. Not terrible, but her upper arms aren't open 180 degrees.

If you compare the two photos in the lower back, you can see that there is a much sharper angle in the bottom picture than the upper. When it comes to bridges like this, shoulder mobility makes a huge difference when it comes to the lower back.

That is a fantastic explanation!!! The bridge is a goal and I've been having trouble with it because of the lower back thing. I'll take a look at my form...

[realbrickwall]

Progress pic day. I compiled all my pics from the last challenge and today's new ones are at the bottom.

Maybe it's the new lighting in my dorm, but... =)

Am I starting to see some abs there? I think I am!

[TeaKwonDo]

Yeah that video was awesome. Really helpful for finding the path to the 1 arm elbow lever. Not working on it yet, but going in the "someday" mental filing cabinet for sure.

A tip on the back bridge (wheel I'm assuming?) - the intesity of it on the back is highly dependant on your foot placement and shoulder mobility. You want to open up your shoulders as much as possible. If you have poor upper spine and shoulder mobility, the intensity of the bend will be greatly increased in the lower back. Likewise the further away your feet are, the lower the intesity is in the lower back.

For example:

She has exceptional shoulder mobility. If she were to straighten her neck you'd see that her upper arms a fair bit beyond 180 degrees.

Her shoulder mobility isn't nearly as good. Not terrible, but her upper arms aren't open 180 degrees.

If you compare the two photos in the lower back, you can see that there is a much sharper angle in the bottom picture than the upper. When it comes to bridges like this, shoulder mobility makes a huge difference when it comes to the lower back.

Waldo to the rescue again! You have a real knack for coming up with the exact info I've been looking for, but didn't know where to find it. The tip helped a lot this morning. Also Lotus/Cow-face works wonders for shoulder/hip mobility on off-days.

How about we give credit where credit is due instead???

Am I starting to see some abs there? I think I am!

Haha, thanks guys! Still knocking on wood here, but I like where this is going. Didn't think I'd see abs in time for NYCC, so fingers crossed for the next couple weeks! The funniest part is that I'm eating piles more than I did at home, especially on workout days, and yet it seems like my gains are going through the roof. Maybe I wasn't getting enough calories before?

[TeaKwonDo]

Recap!

Warmup: 5 min treadmill walk/jog.

Dynamic skills, 3 rounds:

Dips x8

BW pistols x5 each leg

1-arm pushup x5 each arm Mildly better. The side plank work transfers a lot, since oblique strength is a must.

Jump-switch lunges x20, x40 last round aka How To Failure Your Legs: The Musical.

Conditioning/strength, 3 rounds:

Halfway home chinups x4 So. Effing. Close.

Elbow lever leg lifts x8-10 Less seal-y. Ark!

Negative tuck dragon flag x7

Static skill, 3 rounds:

Frog ~5s --> Advanced frog ~5s

Horse ~50s

Tuck L-sit ~1.5s Form sharpened overnight, we're getting into decent-ish tucks now.

Full back bridge ~10-20s Didn't have much stamina for these and didn't want to push it. Still working out form kinks.

Tuck back lever ~10s Another 'click' moment. My skin-the-cats have gone from 'get-inverted-by-whatever-means-possible' to a respectably controlled movement.

Finger plank ~60s

1-leg side planks ~100s

Reverse plank ~60s Totally wrecked by now, hence the less-stellar score than usual.

Total: 52:41 min.

[TeaKwonDo]

Recap!

Warmup: 5 min treadmill walk/jog.

Dynamic skills, 3 rounds:

Dips x8

BW pistols x5 each leg

1-arm pushup x5 each arm Mildly better. The side plank work transfers a lot, since oblique strength is a must.

Jump-switch lunges x20, x40 last round aka How To Failure Your Legs: The Musical.

Conditioning/strength, 3 rounds:

Halfway home chinups x4 So. Effing. Close.

Elbow lever leg lifts x8-10 Less seal-y. Ark!

Negative tuck dragon flag x7

Static skill, 3 rounds:

Frog ~5s --> Advanced frog ~5s

Horse ~50s

Tuck L-sit ~1.5s Form sharpened overnight, we're getting into decent-ish tucks now.

Full back bridge ~10-20s Didn't have much stamina for these and didn't want to push it. Still working out form kinks.

Tuck back lever ~10s Another 'click' moment. My skin-the-cats have gone from 'get-inverted-by-whatever-means-possible' to a respectably controlled movement.

Finger plank ~60s

1-leg side planks ~100s

Reverse plank ~60s Totally wrecked by now, hence the less-stellar score than usual.

Total: 52:41 min.