Sunnyday's Training Journal

[Sunnyday]

Friday 8/12 lower body

First thing this am:
40 seated arm circles in each direction
25 elbow curls
1x60 kneeling ankle squeezes
30 supine foot circles each direction per foot
30 supine foot point/flex per foot
20 cat-and-camels at fast pace
20 McKenzie press-ups at fast pace
PRI 90/90 hip lift 3x15-sec holds/side


At gym warmup:
10 frog stretches with a few reps internal rotation to each side
20 hip side-to-side (10/side)
20 hip airplanes (10/side)
full BW squat with 30 sec hold at bottom
3 different arm crossovers (10/side per variation)

Squats:
bar x 5
95 x 5
115 x 5
135 x 3
145 x 3
155 x 3
3 x 165 x 3 one more set from last week's 2x3. First set was timid by my standard (would've red lighted myself) but the next 2 were deep and solid/aggressive like I want. Planning to smoke 4 sets next week.

Sumo deads:
(barely had time for these due to family obligations but got the minumum done for a training effect which is cool, I'll take it)
135 x 1
155 x 1
175 x 1
195 x 1
215 x 1
5 x 226 x 1 with 90 seconds between singles

Got a kiddo to an appointment and then finished the rest at home...

Stability ball hip thrust superset:
BW x 10 legs straight ss BW x 10 legs bent (3 sets)

Jane Fonda-style glute circuit (no rest between sides/exercises):
30 reps side lying clam ss 30 reps side lying abduction
30 reps single leg glute bridge ss 30 reps hip extension on elbows
30 reps single leg swing ss 30 reps fire hydrant

Stretch and foam roll

[Sunnyday]

Saturday 8/13 upper body

Kiddos stayed home with my hubby and I had UNLIMITED GYM TIME!!

A bunch of my favorite people training today and we all tore it up!

So I walk in the gym and see a friend who is training for her next show, and she's hip thrusting 205 for sets of 10 (she's my size). I get within earshot and challenge her with, "will you just man up and throw another couple of dimes on that bar!" She looks up at me as if I just double dog dared her to do it, gets that look in her eyes like f*ck yeah I'll do it. I sat there on the bench warming up as she nails 3 x 225 x 9, a PR for her and that's how she STARTED her lower body day. Well that just started a chain reaction through the whole crew of us and we all kicked it up a notch. People smoking PRs left and right, one friend invented a new bicep finisher (variation of 21s we'll call 5-ways biceps until we think of a better name). It was awesome. Had it been New Year's Day that atmosphere would have scared away every single resolutioner! Beautiful stuff.

Did all this at the gym as a warmup:
40 seated arm circles in each direction
25 elbow curls
3x20 kneeling ankle squeeze
3x20 kneeling abductor press
20 supine foot rotation in each direction per foot
20 supine point/flex per foot
20 cat-and-camels at fast pace
20 McKenzie pushups at fast pace
full BW squat with 30 sec hold at bottom
plus...
10 frog stretches with a few reps internal rotation to each side
3 different arm crossover variations(10/side per variation)
20 over & back banded stretch
20 band pull-aparts

Bench press: (each rep paused 2 sec, press to lockout, reset shoulders at top, repeat)
bar x 5
65 x 5
85 x 5
105 x 5
120 x 3
130 x 3
5 x 140 x 3 - absolutely MURDERED THESE! Each set seemed to get better, last set I totally smoked as if it was my first. My friend with the hip thrust PR was spotting me and said I had at least 2 more reps in me. Very cool. Planning to take it up to 143 next week, that is the next kilogram increment and my goal for an opener this fall. Also happens to be Sioux-z Hartwig-Gary's opener from 2014 IPF raw worlds so yeah I'm feeling like I've arrived.

Neutral grip pullups:
3 x BW+25# x 5

Inverted rows:
3 x BW x 12 - up 2 reps from my usual

Reverse grip bent over rows:
3 x 115 x 10 - up 2 reps from my usual AND the most reps I've hit with this weight in a long, long time, and honestly my best form ever on this lift

Decline 1-arm DB rows:
3 x 50 x 8 each side

Decline DB pullovers:
3 x 50 x 8

Stretch and foam roll

Done, done, and...done.

[Sunnyday]

Monday 8/15 lower body

at home first thing this am:
40 seated arm circles in each direction
25 elbow curls
1x60 kneeling ankle squeezes
30 supine foot circles each direction per foot
30 supine foot point/flex per foot
20 cat-and-camels at fast pace
20 McKenzie press-ups at fast pace
PRI 90/90 hip lift 3x15 sec holds



Warmup at gym:
10 frog stretches with a few reps internal rotation to each side
20 hip side-to-side (10/side)
20 hip airplanes (10/side)
30 sec full body squat
3 different arm crossovers (10/side per variation)

Squats:
bar x 5
95 x 5
115 x 5
135 x 4
145 x 4
4 x 155 x 4 - Hips started out tight but got better every set

Sumo deads:
135 x 1
155 x 1
175 x 1
195 x 1
8 x 212 x 1 with 60 sec between singles.

Nordics:
3 x BW x 10

Unilateral standing calves:
5 x BW x 5/side with 5-sec hold at top (3 sets)

Ab wheel:
3 x 15

Stability ball hip thrust superset:
BW x 10 legs straight ss BW x 10 legs bent (3 sets)

Jane Fonda-style glute circuit (no rest between sides/exercises):
30 reps side lying clam ss 30 reps side lying abduction
30 reps single leg glute bridge ss 30 reps hip extension on elbows
30 reps single leg swing ss 30 reps fire hydrant

Step-ups:
1 x BW x 100/leg

[Sunnyday]

Tuesday 8/16 upper body:

First thing this am:
40 seated arm circles in each direction
25 elbow curls
1x60 kneeling ankle squeeze
30 supine foot rotation in each direction per foot
30 supine point/flex per foot
20 cat-and-camels at fast pace
20 McKenzie pushups at fast pace
PRI 90/90 hip lift 3x15-sec holds each side

Warmup at gym:
10 frog stretches with a few reps internal rotation to each side
full BW squat with 30 sec hold at bottom
3 diff arm crossovers (10/side per variation)
20 over & back banded stretch
20 band pull-aparts

Bench press: (each rep paused 2 sec, press to lockout, reset shoulders at top, repeat)
bar x 5
65 x 5
85 x 5
105 x 5
120 x 4
4 x 131 x 4 - VERY pleased with how solid these reps were today! Last week they were a little shaky

Wide grip pullups:
3 x BW+25 x 5

Overhead press:
bar x 5
65 x 5
75 x 5
3 x 85 x 5

Reverse DB fly, leaning on incline bench:
3 x 15s x 12

Leaning DB lateral raise:
3 x 20 x 15/side

Hand release pushups (new for me):
3 x 10 - love 'em, feels closest to an inverted paused bench press, keeping these!

Reference for the hand release pushups with video:
https://www.t-nation.com/training/th...pecs-and-power

[Sunnyday]

Wednesday 8/17 lower body

First thing this am:
40 seated arm circles in each direction
25 elbow curls
1x60 kneeling ankle squeezes
30 supine foot circles each direction per foot
30 supine foot point/flex per foot
20 cat-and-camels at fast pace
20 McKenzie press-ups at fast pace
PRI 90/90 hip lift 3x15-sec hold each side

At gym warmup:
10 frog stretches with a few reps internal rotation to each side
20 hip side-to-side (10/side)
20 hip airplanes (10/side)
full BW squat with 30 sec hold at bottom
3 arm crossover variations (10/side per variation)
20 kettlebell halos with 20# (10 each direction)

Squats:
bar x 5
95 x 5
115 x 5
135 x 5
2 x 145 x 5
went for a 3rd set and got a whopping 2 reps in, left rec fem started singing to me and I racked the bar.

Had this been a school day I would have taken some time on the mat to shut down the nagging, spazzing rec fem, but I was on a time crunch with the kids in childcare. I had already waited a while for a rack to open up and took my time ramping up the squats to begin with. Blah.

Horizontal calf machine:
3 x 190 x 10 (up 20# from last week, woo)

The rec fem started quieting down and I was ready to try some light deads but nooooo, not nearly enough time to even get in my warmup sets to a working weight. Used the last chunk of my time to drink my post-workout shake and did some socializing and catching up with people who aren't normally training at that time. I'd say I'll just hit it again later in the week but my husband's company has their annual Hersheypark day, meaning they rent a pavilion with free flowing food and drinks just for the company and they gave us a phenomenal deal on the tickets. So that's it for lower body for the week. Yuk.


Did this at home after I got the kids settled in...


Glute bridge superset on stability ball:
10 legs straight ss 10 legs bent (3 sets)

Glute circuit (no rest between sides/exercises):
30 reps side lying clam ss 30 reps side lying abduction
30 reps single leg glute bridge ss 30 reps hip extension on elbows
30 reps single leg swing ss 30 reps fire hydrant

Finished with some stretching and foam rolling

Oh well. :-/
One more week and the kids are back in school, so I won't have a DAILY time crunch to worry about.

[Sunnyday]

Thursday 8/18 lower body

First thing this am:
40 seated arm circles in each direction
25 elbow curls
1x60 kneeling ankle squeezes
30 supine foot circles each direction per foot
30 supine foot point/flex per foot
20 cat-and-camels at fast pace
20 McKenzie press-ups at fast pace
PRI 90/90 hip lift 3x15-sec hold each side

Yes, you read that right: LOWER BODY THURSDAY right after LOWER BODY WEDNESDAY. Yesterday was basically a wash, I got 2 working sets in and an angry rec fem just wouldn't let me keep going, and nothing I was doing was getting that spasm out - at least in time to finish the workout before my time in childcare was up, so I left the gym yesterday with not even the equivalent of a champagne buzz- and I was PISSED about it! I went to bed last night thinking about training upper body and then the lightbulb went on to try the lower body training again if the left side felt up for it. Got up out of bed NO PROBLEMS, NO TIGHTNESS and just keep feeling it out through the above warmup, and still approached my at-gym warmup with an open mind. Even through the gym warmup and the ramp-up squat sets everything felt great and was moving as I would want it to. Didn't try to kill it, just get some solid movement before the big day tomorrow (see below). Even took some vid of my last working set and it looked just as good as it felt!

At gym warmup:
10 frog stretches with a few reps internal rotation to each side
20 hip side-to-side (10/side)
20 hip airplanes (10/side)
full BW squat with 30 sec hold at bottom
3 arm crossover variations (10/side per variation)

Squats:
bar x 5
95 x 5
115 x 5
135 x 5
3 x 145 x 5 - no problems hitting depth due to a screaming muscle group, I"ll take it!

Sumo deads:
135 x 1
155 x 1
175 x 1
8 x 198 x 1 with 45 seconds between singles, felt great!

My gym now has a GLUTE HAM RAISE!
Actually they've had it for more than a year, gathering dust in a locked cage on the indoor soccer field, and I'm told it's been used all of twice LOL. I found out about it and as I figured, no one was using it for the athletes, and the staff said sure they'd bring it up. LIKE PULLING TEETH for umpty-ump weeks buuut I finally got the staff to bring it upstairs for the members to use in the weight room, YAY! It's actually a "poor man's GHR" not a great one, annnd I'm still having to play with it because of my itty bitty feet and ankles that won't fit the non-adjustable pads in the back (my feet can't lock in so I keep sliding out of it, and the roller pads keep sliding off. But hey I'll take it! It beats doing nordics off the hard gym floor, chewing up my knees and busting up my ankles jamming my feet under the incline bench, and dislocating my right knee every time I twist myself out from underneath.

GHRs:
3 x BW x 10

Ab wheel:
3 x 15

Glute bridge superset on stability ball:
10 legs straight ss 10 legs bent (3 sets)

Glute circuit (no rest between sides/exercises):
30 reps side lying clam ss 30 reps side lying abduction
30 reps single leg glute bridge ss 30 reps hip extension on elbows
30 reps single leg swing ss 30 reps fire hydrant

I'm pleased as punch I got this much done, so I didn't try to push it by doing step-ups as a finisher. I"ll be doing enough walking tomorrow.

Finished with some stretching and foam rolling

So, yeah, I have to take the day off from training on Friday because my hubby's company has their annual HersheyPark day. Translation: we get a phenomenal deal on tickets for the whole fam of 5 AND WE GET FREE FOOD AND DRINKS ALL DAY UNDER A PAVILION! With my arthritis the rides are pretty much out of the question, same goes for my arthritic husband, so we get to walk/limp around the park and watch the kids go nuts. Some things you just have to do for your kids, no matter how physically painful it might be. The free food will make up for it a little. It's not exactly clean food but it's food, and at least there's shade and free cold bottled water.

[Sunnyday]

Saturday 8/20 upper body

Another Saturday of Sunny tearing it up and scaring away the other members LOL!


Did all this at the gym as a warmup:
40 seated arm circles in each direction
25 elbow curls
1x60 kneeling ankle squeeze
30 supine foot rotation in each direction per foot
30 supine point/flex per foot
20 cat-and-camels at fast pace
20 McKenzie pushups at fast pace
full BW squat with 30 sec hold at bottom
plus...
10 frog stretches with a few reps internal rotation to each side
3 different arm crossover variations(10/side per variation)
20 over & back banded stretch
20 band pull-aparts

I wasn't sure how training was going to go today after spending all day yesterday at HersheyPark, logging over 13,000 steps, standing in line in the hot sun, and eating whatever I could get that appeared to be clean with all meals completely off from my regular timing. Pleasantly surprised at how this session went.

Bench press: (each rep paused, press to lockout, reset shoulders at top, repeat)
bar x 5
65 x 5
85 x 5
105 x 5
125 x 3
135 x 3
3 x 143 x 3 - PR for triples!! smoked these, felt awesome! #momstrong

Neutral grip pullups:
3 x BW+25# x 5

Inverted rows:
3 x BW x 12 - up 2 reps from my usual

Reverse grip bent over rows:
3 x 115 x 10

Decline 1-arm DB rows:
3 x 50 x 10 each side

Stretch and foam roll

[Sunnyday]

Monday 8/21 lower body

at home first thing this am:
40 seated arm circles in each direction
25 elbow curls
1x60 kneeling ankle squeezes
30 supine foot circles each direction per foot
30 supine foot point/flex per foot
PRI 90/90 ip lift 3x15-sec holds/side
20 cat-and-camels at fast pace
20 McKenzie press-ups at fast pace
full BW squat with 30 sec hold at bottom

Warmup at gym:
10 frog stretches with a few reps internal rotation to each side
20 hip side-to-side (10/side)
20 hip airplanes (10/side)
3 different arm crossovers (10/side per variation)

Squats:
bar x 5
95 x 5
115 x 5
135 x 4
145 x 4
4 x 155 x 4 - wasn't exactly easy but I got the work done....patted myself on the back for not backing down on these and hitting legit competition depth every rep/set, and for keeping my back tight at the bottom and not letting my knees cave inward.

Sumo deads:
135 x 1
155 x 1
175 x 1
195 x 1
8 x 212 x 1 - with 60 sec between singles. Shot a video at the end, which was humbling. Shows me I have some work ahead of me.

Had to leave and take my 16-y.o. to her natural dad's and then finish the rest of my training at home. I will be sooooo glad once these kids are back in school and I don't have all these interruptions!

Nordics:
3 x BW x 10

Unilateral standing calves:
5 x BW x 5/side with 5-sec hold at top (3 sets)

Ab wheel:
3 x 15

Stability ball hip thrust superset:
BW x 10 legs straight ss BW x 10 legs bent (3 sets)

Glute circuit (no rest between sides/exercises):
30 reps side lying clam ss 30 reps side lying abduction
30 reps single leg glute bridge ss 30 reps hip extension on elbows
30 reps single leg swing ss 30 reps fire hydrant

[Sunnyday]

Tuesday 8/23 upper body:

First thing this am:
40 seated arm circles in each direction
25 elbow curls
1x60 kneeling ankle squeeze
30 supine foot rotation in each direction per foot
30 supine point/flex per foot
20 cat-and-camels at fast pace
20 McKenzie pushups at fast pace
PRI 90/90 hip lift 3x15-sec holds each side

Warmup at gym:
10 frog stretches with a few reps internal rotation to each side
full BW squat with 30 sec hold at bottom
3 diff arm crossovers (10/side per variation)
20 over & back banded stretch
20 band pull-aparts

Bench press: (each rep paused, press to lockout, reset shoulders at top, repeat)
bar x 5
65 x 5
85 x 5
105 x 5
125 x 4
4 x 134 x 4 - heaviest 4x4 to date, WOOT! #momstrong

Wide grip pullups:
3 x BW+25 x 5

Overhead press:
bar x 5
3 x 65 x 5 with shorter rest periods than usua

Reverse DB fly, leaning on incline bench:
3 x 15s x 15 - up 3 reps/set from previous weeks

Leaning DB lateral raise:
3 x 20 x 15/side

Hand release pushups:
3 x 10

[Sunnyday]

Wednesday 8/24 lower body

at home first thing this am:
40 seated arm circles in each direction
25 elbow curls
1x60 kneeling ankle squeezes
30 supine foot circles each direction per foot
30 supine foot point/flex per foot
PRI 90/90 ip lift 3x15-sec holds/side
20 cat-and-camels at fast pace
20 McKenzie press-ups at fast pace
full BW squat with 30 sec hold at bottom

Warmup at gym:
10 frog stretches with a few reps internal rotation to each side
20 hip side-to-side (10/side)
20 hip airplanes (10/side)
3 different arm crossovers (10/side per variation)

Squats:
bar x 5
95 x 5
115 x 5
got that far and the hip and low back were still fighting me, with a psoas spasm just waiting to happen. Unloaded the bar and proceeded to try some light deads but even 135 was rough. Did some very light stretching followed by some la-de-da half reps (translation, head just not in it) of glute-ham raises on the gym's "new" toy and puttered around until my time was up in childcare.

Tuesday and Wednesday were rough on the home front with the start of school. I'm more organized this year (down to the purging of closets WOW) but it's as if you had told my 7-.y.o. that Santa really exists AND she's going to meet him in person on the first day of school. My poor anxiety-stricken rescue poodle was a confused, stressed-out mess with all the excitement. The poodle and I will be in a much better place in 3 weeks once the kids settle into their new school schedule. :-/

[Sunnyday]

Thursdday 8/25 upper body

First thing this am:
40 seated arm circles in each direction
25 elbow curls
1x60 kneeling ankle squeeze
30 supine foot rotation in each direction per foot
30 supine point/flex per foot
20 cat-and-camels at fast pace
20 McKenzie pushups at fast pace
PRI 90/90 hip lift 3x15-sec hold each side
full BW squat with 30 sec hold at bottom

Well I'm not sure who cheered louder at the sight of the school bus coming up the street this morning, the kids or the parents LOL! My anxious poodle will be calming down a bit every day and by this time next month Sunny's whole household will be in a much better place.

I arrived at the gym to a giddy gym bud, david4ts, who greeted me with "You're welcome." Mmmmmk...he proceeds to welcome me into his own personal gym for a workout today. I had to laugh. As I looked around the place was absolutely empty and we were literally the only two people in the weight area!


Warmup at gym:
10 frog stretches with a few reps internal rotation to each side
3 diff arm crossovers (10/side per variation)
20 over & back banded stretch
20 band pull-aparts

Bench press: (each rep paused, press to lockout, reset shoulders at top, repeat)
bar x 5
65 x 5
85 x 5
105 x 5
120 x 5
5 x 125 x 5 - my heaviest 5x5 to date WITH VIDEO so it counts LOL

Chins:
3 x BW+25 x 5

Pinwheel curls:
3 x 20s x 12 - up 2 reps/set from my previous

V-bar pressdown:
3 x 50 x 10

Spider curls (oh how I've missed these! Felt great to walk up to an EMPTY preacher bench and not have to skip over them):
bar x 10
3 x 45 x 10

Dips:
3 x BW x 12

Zottman curls (another I've been skipping due to time constraints and lack of available DBs WOO HOO):
3 x 15s x 10 - with 30 sec rest periods

Felt awesome leaving the gym with a bench PR and a wicked arm pump!

[Sunnyday]

Friday 8/26 lower body

I got some horrific news this morning just as I was getting the kids ready for school. Because I want to be there for those involved in the strongest and most stable way possible, my goal was to take these lemons and use them to make lemonade, and not panic. And so I did...took my stress out on a loaded barbell to set the tone for what will likely be a very rocky weekend.

Had to do my whole warmup/mobility routine at the gym today, but no worries in that regard since I no longer have the kids in tow.
40 seated arm circles in each direction
25 elbow curls
1x60 kneeling ankle squeezes
30 supine foot circles each direction per foot
30 supine foot point/flex per foot
PRI 90/90 ip lift 3x15-sec holds/side
20 cat-and-camels at fast pace
20 McKenzie press-ups at fast pace
full BW squat with 30 sec hold at bottom
10 frog stretches with a few reps internal rotation to each side
20 hip side-to-side (10/side)
20 hip airplanes (10/side)
3 different arm crossovers (10/side per variation)

Squats:
bar x 5
95 x 5
115 x 5
135 x 5
145 x 3
155 x 3
165 x 3 - low back started getting jumpy so rather than push through and not be able to complete a full workout I opted to stop there and move on, and glad I made that call.

Sumo deads:
135 x 1
155 x 1
175 x 1
195 x 1
215 x 1 - back was feeling OK since I don't have to get as low a for squats so I kept going
226 x 1 - felt easy and went for the PR
6 x 232 x 1 - PR for just the first single, then decided to do it 5 more times wtih 1.5-2 min rest periods which was awesome! Bar speed was pretty consistent until the 6th with felt a little slow so I stopped there. Way to go Sunny, using the stress to smoke a deadllift PR!
^^My heaviest pull to date, BTW!

Stuff on the home front needed my attention so I finished the rest of training at home.

Nordics:
3 x BW x 10

Unilateral standing calves:
5 x BW x 5/side with 5-sec hold at top (3 sets)

Ab wheel:
3 x 15

Stability ball hip thrust superset:
BW x 10 legs straight ss BW x 10 legs bent (3 sets)

Glute circuit (no rest between sides/exercises):
30 reps side lying clam ss 30 reps side lying abduction
30 reps single leg glute bridge ss 30 reps hip extension on elbows
30 reps single leg swing ss 30 reps fire hydrant

[Mac]

Congrats on the new PR. Last time I tried that when I was pissed, it didn't end well.

[Sunnyday]

Congrats on the new PR. Last time I tried that when I was pissed, it didn't end well.

Thanks, Mac! That was 2.1xBW, which is cool. Never thought I'd even get 4 plates off the floor so everything from here on up is gravy.

I use those pissed moments to my advantage. In the vid I took you can hear me yelling at the bar to let it know who's boss LOL.

[Sunnyday]

keep up the great work

Thanks, COG! And thanks for stopping by!