SG's Musings

This is from a post by a fellow Aussie member of the Precision Nutrition forums - Jeremy aka Jezza001. A lot of great workout ideas !

Here’s a bunch of different things i do for cardio. Some ihave made up, some i have gotten elsewhere and some i have posted before but i hope it helps and you can use some of them.

· 15 burpees
· 15 Pushups
· 15 Hand Walkouts
· 30 sec active recovery

Repeat 3-5 more times

Cool down and stretch

· 50 burpees (jump laterally over small medicine ball or foam roller between each burpee)
– fast as possible. These are full burpees with the jump.

Cool Down and Stretch

-15 Prisoner Squats
-15 Pushups
-15 Bulgarian Split Squats Each Side
-15 Mountain Climbers

Repeat 3-5 more times

Cool Down and Stretch

15 burpees
15 prisoner squats
15 Good Mornings
15 Cross Knee Drives from pushup position

Repeat 3-5 more times

Cool Down and Stretch

Tabata Protocol:
20sec work/sprinting followed by 10sec rest repeated 8 times for a total of 4 mins

Some good ideas: burpees, prisoner squats, jump lunges, step ups, spider man climbs, squat jumps, overhead medicine ball slams, squat presses, overhead squats, skipping, running, cycling, cross trainer, rowing machine.

10 squats
10 T pushups
10 body rows
10 lunges

Repeat 3-5 more times

Cool Down and Stretch

15 One leg Deadlifts
15 Star Jumps
15 Spiderman Climbs
60 sec Planks

Repeat 3-5 more times

Cool Down and Stretch

60sec Single Leg Hip Bridge each side
15 Burpees
15 Bench Dips
60sec Side Planks each side

Repeat 3-5 more times

Cool Down and Stretch

——————————————————————
Complex A 5×5
Row
Clean
Front squat
Military press
Back squat
Good mornings
——————————————————————
Complex B 5×5
Deadlift
Clean-grip high pull
Clean-grip snatch
Back squat
Good mornings
Row
——————————————————————
Complex C 5×5
Hang snatch
Overhead squat
Back squat
Good mornings
Row
Deadlift
——————————————————————
Complex D 5×5
Upright row
Clean-grip snatch
Back squat
Behind the neck press
Good mornings
Row
——————————————————————
Complex E 5×5
Power clean
Military press
Back squat
Good mornings
Behind the neck press
Front squat
——————————————————————
Complex F 5×5
Overhead squat
Back squat
Good morning
Front squat
Rows
Deadlift
——————————————————————
Complex G 5×5
Romanian Deadlift
Hang Clean + Front Squat + Push Press (combo lift — perform one rep of each in series)
Reverse Lunge (alternate legs)
——————————————————————
Complex H 5×5
High Pull (onto toes)
Squat Clean (clean the bar from the hang and then drop into a full squat on the catch)
Military Press (strict)
Jump Lunges (switch legs)
——————————————————————
Complex I 5×5
Jump Squat
Squat
Squat and hold for 10s
Military Press
Push Press
Squat and Press
——————————————————————
Bloody Barbell Complex (repeat 4 times)
Overhead squat for 10 reps
Hang clean for 10 reps
Standing military press for 10 reps
Bentover row for 10 reps
Lunge for 10 reps on each leg
Romanian deadlift for 20 reps
Front squat for 10 reps
Standing calf raise (barbell across upper back) for 30 reps
——————————————————————
Bloody Dumbbell Complex (repeat 4 times)
Standing hammer curl for 5 reps
Standing alternating shoulder press for 10 reps with each arm
Forward lunge for 10 reps with each leg
Bentover alternating row for 10 reps with each arm
Reverse lunge with overhead press (palms facing each other) for 10 reps with each leg
Romanian deadlift for 20 reps
Standing calf raise (arms hanging at sides) for 30 reps
——————————————————————
10 burpees, varying method
10 prisoner squats
10 lunge-jumps, alternating
20 bent-over reverse flies
10 second front plank, 10 second (left) side plank, 10 second (right) side plank
rest for 1 minute, repeat 10x
——————————————————————

3-4 min warm-up
· 1 min sled drags
· 20 sec active recovery
· 1 min overhead medicine ball slams (throw MB at ground from overhead)
· 20 sec active recovery
· 10 swiss ball jackknifes
· 10 push ups (keep feet on swiss ball if possible)
· 30 sec active recovery
Repeat 3-5 more times

3-5 min cool-down

——————————————————————
3-4 min warm-up (your choice)
· 15 burpees
· 15 MB Pushups
· 15 MB Crunches
· 30 sec active recovery

Repeat 3-5 more times

Finish up with some sled dragging/sprints if you want

3-5 min cool-down

——————————————————————

3-4 minute warm-up (your choice)
· 50 burpees (jump laterally over small medicine ball or foam roller between each burpee) – fast as possible. These are full burpees with the jump.

· If you get to 50 burpees and more time is desired, do overhead walking lunges and skips with interval rests until time has elapsed.
3-5 minute cool-down

——————————————————————
3-4 min warm-up (your choice)

30/30
30 seconds work, followed by 30 seconds rest, repeat next exercise. I
· Rower
· DB or KB swings (15-40 lbs – trial and error)
· One leg hops (jump on 1 leg as high as possible, if not possible do 2 legs)
· Russian Twist
· Sit up and reach with medicine ball
· Mountain climbers
· Skipping (on track or any open space)
Repeat 2-4 times

3-5 min cool-down

——————————————————————

3-4 min warm-up (your choice)
· 30 sec jumping jacks
· 30 sec bear crawls
· 30 sec active recovery
· 30 sec jump rope
· 30 sec explosive push ups
· 30 sec active recovery
· 60 sec Sled Drags
· 30 sec active recovery
Repeat 3-5 times

3-5 minute cool-down

A1) Sledgehammer Swing x 20 (10 L/10 R)
rest: none
A2) Push-Ups x 10
rest: none
A3) Alternating Lunge x 20 (10 l/10 R)
rest: 60-sec
A1-A3 are a circuit. Repeat 10 times.
——————————————————————
1A) Sandbag clean and push press, 1×10
1B) Sandbag bent-over row, 1×10
1C) Shoulder get-up, 1×5 (each side)
1D) Sandbag shoulder squat, 1×10 (each side)
1E) Sandbag carry, 1×50 yards
——————————————————————
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30 Good Mornings (with empty 45lb bar)
21 Atomic Situps
21 Pushups
30 Good Mornings
18 Atomic Situps
18 Pushups
30 Good Mornings
15 Atomic Situps
15 Pushups
30 Good Mornings
12 Atomic Situps
12 Pushups
30 Good Mornings
9 Atomic Situps
9 Pushups
30 Good Mornings
6 Atomic Situps
6 Pushups
30 Good Mornings
3 Atomic Situps
3 Pushups
——————————————————————\
Anti-Rodent Routines
Beginner
First pass (of dumbbell): 10 one-arm dumbbell swings with each arm
Second pass: 50 sit-ups
Third pass: 10 one-arm clean and jerks with each arm
Fourth pass: 50 bodyweight squats
Intermediate
First pass: 20 dumbbell snatches with each arm
Second pass: 100 bodyweight squats
Third pass: 15 clean and push presses with each arm
Fourth pass: 50 sit-ups
Advanced
First pass: 10 one-arm dumbbell swings with each arm
Second pass: 50 sit-ups
Third pass: 10 one-arm clean and jerks with each arm
Fourth pass: 50 pushups
Fifth pass: 20 dumbbell snatches with each arm
Sixth pass: 100 bodyweight squats
Seventh pass: 15 clean and push presses with each arm
Eighth pass: 50 sit-ups

Heavy Bag/Dumbbell Combo
Beginner
One minute heavy bag round
10 one-arm dumbbell snatches with each arm
One minute heavy bag round
50 sit-ups
One minute heavy bag round
10 dumbbell swings
One minute heavy bag round
50 bodyweight squats

Intermediate
Same as above, only extend the heavy bag rounds to two minutes.

Advanced
Same as above, only extend the heavy bag rounds to three minutes. You can also add reps to the other exercises.

Jump Rope/Dumbbell Cocktail
Beginner
One minute of rope jumping
10 on-arm dumbbell snatches with each arm
One minute of rope jumping
10 one-arm dumbbell clean and push presses
One minute of rope jumping
10 one-arm dumbbell swings
One minute of rope jumping
10 dumbbell squats

Intermediate
Same as above, only with two minute rounds of rope jumping.

Advanced
Same as above, only with three minute rounds of rope jumping.

Call received from Optus (my mobile phone telco) this afternoon

Optus: “Hello, this is Optus customer service calling to check if you are happy with your service. Am I speaking with xx ?”

me: “Hi, yes you are”

Optus: “Can I confirm the number I dialled is xx ?”

me: “Yes that’s right”

Optus: “And your address is xx ?”

me: “Yes that’s right”

Optus: “Now can I please get your date of birth ?”

me: “Um, hang on a minute, you called me. Why do you need that ?”

Optus: “Just to verify who I am talking to. Ok I understand you’re not comfortable divulging personal information. How about an account number. Do you have your Optus account number available ?”

me: “Not on hand right now. But as I said, you called me so why do you need all this stuff ? Let me just say that yes I am happy with the Optus service and haven’t had any problems. Is that ok ?”

Optus: “Oh, ok, thank you.” followed by a little bit of advice about being able to set up “my account” access on the website (which I have already done, thanks anyway Optus).

A guy called Geoff Neupert http://kettlebellsecrets.com/ is running a teleseminar series at present featuring a lot of top kettlebell instructors. Like most of these teleseminar series it costs a bomb to purchase the recordings - too much for me to consider doing so. But the calls are available to listen to for free for 24hrs or so after the call takes place. And with the right software to record stuff you are listening to off the web (very readily available) easy to create a copy of the call to keep for later reference.

I just listened to the 2nd call in the series, featuring Andrea Du Cane. Some very good stuff in there, definitely worth a listen. As I write this, it is still online and will be for another 24 hours or so. Replay link here

Worth getting yourself on the email list for the rest of the calls too - do so here. There’s several messages sent out each week about the calls (bit of overkill in my opinion) and you need to put up with some chatter about what Geoff did at the weekend etc but worth it for the training info you will get.

While playing around on my keyboard last night decided that this piece (which I hadn’t previously liked very much) worked really well at a slow slow tempo in the blow tenor voice. Conjures up images of a smoky dark jazz bar late at night … The piece still needs a bit of practice but you get the idea

As I mentioned in the previous post, my yahoo email is blocked at work.   So getting this iphone has been a wonderful thing. As I’ve just posted on facebook

I love my new iphone ! Now if I’d posted that Mon or Tue it would have been completely materialistic but if it hadn’t been for the iphone I would have missed out on a treat on Wed ! A friend emailed me and offered me a ticket to a gig on Wed night as she couldn’t make it. Work won’t let us read yahoo email so I only got the msg in time ’cause I got it on my phone !

The gig was a classical ensemble from Melbourne called Sunwrae. The promo information about the gig:

SUNWRAE ENSEMBLE

“Hoorah! The amazing Sunwrae Ensemble (www.sunwrae.com) is coming to Sydney.
This unique ensemble showcases some of Australia’s finest musicians that
command the piano, vibraphone, string quartet, harp, clarinets, alto flute,
lap-steel guitar, double bass, drum-set and percussion
(www.myspace.com/sunwrae). Dynamic, engaging and visually stimulating, Sunwrae
stylishly captivate audiences, performing instrumental music by Artistic
Director Rae Howell, textured with persuasive rhythms and spectacular
improvisation! They have a new album AUTUMN NEVER FALL. FBI have some double
passes to giveaway to their Basement Gig on May 13th. Yay!”

And yes, it was as fab as that makes it sound. The music is basically classical but definitely non traditional. The show started off with part of the ensemble (basically the piano and strings) playing a piece from their new album. Then the rest of the crew joined them and some percussion and the harp added to the mix. The pianist swapped to the vibraphone for some pieces which again changed the style. Later on in the set a regular drum set was used.

What appealed to me most about the gig was just watching the musicians giving of themselves by playing their instruments with feeling and the realisation that that is what is important when playing. Music really is food for the soul. My keyboard practice has lapsed a little in the last couple of weeks and that gig has inspired me. I had a little dabble last night really trying to feel the pieces and express myself when playing and it was great.

Only disappointing thing for me - there was an animation film being shown in the background during one of the pieces which was an advertised feature of the gig. It was the first piece of the second half of the gig and I had moved over slightly so had a better view of the piano playing. Well I was so engrossed in watching the musicians, both the pianist and the lead violinist that I completely missed the animation ! It was only when I noticed credits rolling up on the screen that I realised that had happened. Damn shame !

And another funny story about the gig now. Background - It was a lovely atmosphere in a pretty small place and between playing the musos just hung around at the bar with the audience. I had been admiring the piano playing in the first half so during the break went up and talked to the pianist who was an absolutely gorgeous woman. Just expressed how much I was enjoying the show and her playing and that she was inspiring me as I’d just started playing the keyboard and just up to 1/8th notes !

Once second set started and I looked at the CD which my friend won too, and I picked up on her behalf, I realised that not only was the woman - Rae Howell - a superb pianist (and vibraphonist), she is the director of the ensemble and composes all of the music. So a little embarrassed that I didn’t realise that when talking to her !

Links for more info about the ensemble:

Sunwrae website
Sunwrae Myspace page (has good bit of music available to listen too)

Yes, I love toys. A little time left on my 24 month mobile phone contract with 3 but patience is not a virtue of mine - didn’t want to wait till that was up. Really wanting some free (as in uncensored) internet access during the day as from work am unable to see my yahoo mail, the Josh Hillis Coaching site and a couple of other sites I like to use. When I finally got an ipod (only last year believe it or not, because the disks weren’t big enough for me until the 160GB came out) it proved to be the best purchase ever. Absolutely in love with it. And have been admiring work colleagues’ iphones for quite some time now.

I visited the glass Apple store in the city on Saturday and played with the iphones there. Being a foodie, what sold it to me there and then - the All Recipes DinnerSpinner App (App = application, in iphone speak)

It is so cool. Select type of dish you are making, the main ingredient and time available, and voila a selection of recipes offered up. I tried “Main Dish”, “Chicken”, “Slow Cooker” and got 21 recipes back, including one which I’m going to try this week - a baked whole chicken very simple, with paprika, salt and pepper. And it is free. (Most apps cost a few dollars)

Big decision which network provider to go with. Choice of Telstra, Vodafone and Optus (3 don’t have iphone available). From all accounts Telstra’s network the best and Optus the worst (haha). But we had to weigh that up against cost. After spending a couple hours trying to put my own together, I found a link to this, very useful spreadsheet on the Whirlpool site. Also a lot of useful discussions about iphones and telco plans. General aside, it’s a great site to visit for information about broadband internet if you’re in Australia.

Conclusion - Optus and their $49 cap won out despite apparent network quality. And I ended up signing myself up for 24 months as figured with the amount of calls I make and internet data I’d use would have to pay $40-50 a month anyhow so might as well get the phone subsidised instead of forking out $900 or so. Telstra would have been nice but I also could very well be getting monthly phone bills of $150-200.

2 days later - it is a wonderful thing. I’m in love with it too. Wifi internet works great both at home and at Optus Wifi hotspots - found one in North Sydney by accident yesterday. Sitting at bus stop on Pacific Hwy near Walker St, my phone picked up an unblocked Wifi network from the Harbourview Hotel. Checked later and this is an Optus hotspot. And the Optus coverage has been fine so far too.

Have started using a few apps, will review and talk more about the phone in subsequent posts.

The FILEX fitness expo was held in Sydney over the weekend. Not much that excited me this year. I had actually thought beforehand of having a look at any adjustable dumbbells on display there as a nice addition to my collection of equipment for home training but none to be found. Found something arguably even better though at the Australian Kettlebells stand.

Check this out:

Whole kettlebell

Unscrewing base w. allen key

Base off, all weights inside

One weight removed

Top half of kb

An adjustable kettlebell. Weight ranges from 11.8kg (just bell - actually you can even use just the top half for some exercises which is 6.8kg) to just under 40kg with all of the weight plates inside.

Not quick to adjust weights. You need to remove base of bell with supplied allen key, remove nut inside bell and add/remove weights as necessary. So if doing a timed or circuit workout you really will have to use the same weight for the whole workout. But for more traditional weight training style programs where you have a bit of rest between sets, you’d have time to change the weight. Greatest benefit is as your strength improves you can add weight for subsequent workouts. The obvious downside to regular kettlebells is having to buy a new one if you get stronger.

I am yet to try it for a workout - plan is my 3rd workout this week which is a circuit just requiring kettlebell and/or dumbbells and a swiss ball. So will have more comment after that. But first impression is that it seems like a nice product and worthwhile investment.

Do need to post some comment about accompanying service/information for the product which unfortunately is not so good. Did get shown quickly how to change weight etc at the stand when I bought the bell which was great. However the bell doesn’t come with any written instructions which I think it should have. Just brief notes re. any dos or don’ts and any maintenance requirements. The guy who demoed things advised the weights should be loaded in a particular order and that is the sort of thing I’d definitely like to see accompanying instructions for. I’m also wondering about things like whether the post inside needs regreasing every so often.

Of more concern, I was quite lucky that I had the guys there undo the bell and take some weights out there and then. (That was the only way I was going to be able to carry 40kg home ! Some of the weights went in my backpack, rest stayed in the bell which I carried). The nut inside the bell was screwed on quite tightly - too tight for anyone to undo by hand. There is no spanner supplied with the bell for this nut - idea is it should only be tight enough to remove by hand. But if I hadn’t had it undone at the show, I would not have been able to undo it at home - would have required emergency shopping trip for a spanner.

Updated comments after having tried using the bell for workouts - for my set up which is just a backup option to the gym it’s fine. But if you’re primarily working out at home a lot easier to actually have a set of kbs of varying weights. Changing weights on this one pretty awkward and it is worse if wanting to use 16-20kg as it takes a lot longer to screw on 1 or 2 plates as opposed to more for heavier loads. Looks to be some pretty well-priced standard kbs on ebay, in all honesty, a better option. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Pitch Black are a band from NZ bit hard to categorise but lets say a dub/electronica/dance combo. Definitely one of my favourites, if you are into any of those genres worth checking out. This post was initially just going to be advertising a free download track from their upcoming remix album that has been made available on amplifier.co.nz

Pitch Black free track download from Amplifier

However I then had a look at their website and have found lots more cool stuff. There’s a lot more tracks up there for download for a start. Home page of site here, you can go to downloads section to check out more tracks.

Piece de resistance for me though, a link to a youtube video. This is a little segment showing some of the equipment they use and a little bit about what they do playing live. If you’re into music and geeky technology stuff, it’s a fascinating little insight.

The results of the latest Turbulence Training challenge have been announced - up here http://www.transformationcontest.com/. I want to offer up special congrats to the entrants I voted for.

First up, of the guys, 2nd place Andy. Andy has become a good cyber-friend of mine through our shared interest in fitness. Incredibly inspiring. He works long hours and has a young family (3 children) and sets the alarm for 4am (!) to get in his workouts. He’s one of the most (if not the most) supportive members on the Turbulence Training forums - always posting encouraging comments for the other members. His blog here (also in fitness links to the side)

And the grrls - first place, an Aussie - Robyn. Amazing and she has also just given up smoking so that’s even more of an achievement.

General note - if you click through to these links about Turbulence Training and the contests and what not it would appear to be a purely fat loss type of programme like Body for Life or whatever. Certainly the marketing is all that way ’cause that’s where the $$ are. But I personally think it is a lot better than that. Not only is it good for fat loss but top notch for all round fitness as well - strength and athletic conditioning. Best of course, some of the most time efficient workouts out there. Recommended unreservedly.

“Yoga Online” who a while back made available a high quality full length yoga dvd video, free (!) have just put up more videos on YouTube.    I highly recommend having a look at these latest ones plus downloading the earlier one.  Very nice, beginner level, yoga to follow along with at home.  And it’s from NZ so there’s lovely kiwi accents as well

Original video looks to be still available here

New videos definitely available here on Youtube. And apparently will be available for download from the site soon.