Pullup Test, Cleans, Hill Intervals

Early afternoon

WU: 1 mile easy on the treadmill after some light foam roller work on my back.

Max pullup test: 16

Cleans 4 X 3
Load: 140
Incline Situps 4 X 15

Another 0.5 miles on the treadmill before

(30:20) X 12
30s on, 20s off all out efforts
Incline set to 12% grade.

Evening

Basketball game with the work league at Germantown academy. I think last week I played without the ankle brace (because I forgot it) and my ankle seemed just fine. I'd like to start playing more without it but I'll leave it on for a few more weeks during games just for safety's sake. We ended up losing by three points at the end, but it was actually a good game and the team we were playing has a tendency to put up a lot of points. The game had a sloppy feel to it while playing, but looking back it was probably much better than I thought. I think I just need to learn to be more positive during the game.

Workout comments: First interval was done at 6:45 pace, second at 7:00, third at 7:30, before finally settling on 8:00 pace for the rest. It was surprisingly difficult to maintain. I was bent over gasping for air after each interval. The pullup test was what I expected. The last rep was questionable but I gave myself the benefit of the doubt. Still an improvement over the 12 pullups I did to start the cycle off. However, I think the biggest factor is mental preparation. Visualizing a goal from the beginning makes it much more attainable than going at it blindly. Conversely, if you set your goal too low, it becomes much more difficult to surpass it. I guess the only answer is too always set your goals too high. You may never reach them, but you'll always be improving.

Body: My calves were still a little sore this morning, but it quickly dissipated through the morning and during the warmup. No soreness after the workout.

Nutrition: Whey protein shake at breakfast and following the workout. Fish oil and a multivitamin in the morning. Pretty good overall.

Sleep: About 7 hours. Gotta an exam this week so the sleep will probably get shorter and shorter.

Early afternoon

Box Squats 5 X 5
Load: 195, 215, 215, 225, 235

Situps 5 X 20
*Supersets

HSPUs 4 X Max
12, 9, 7, 7

Weighted Step-Ups (30in box, #30 DBs) 4 X 10

1 mile easy jog followed by

Tabatta Hill Sprints 20s on: 10s off
Speed: 6:58 min/mile, grade=8%
Cooldown walk uphill

Workout comments: Right ring finger still pretty sore from last night so no pulling exercises today. Box squats were done using a Smith machine, which might have defeated the purpose of these. Still, they felt more difficult than normal squats having to unload and reload the legs at the bottom of each squat. HSPUs felt OK, but probably should try to dip further down on each rep. Maybe time to build a sturdier set of paralletes or even a dedicated HSPU station with pipes and 4X4 beams.



Pushups