Strength Circuit (Sat)

(2 minutes rest between each set)

• Pull Ups: 3 x 2 sets
• Calf Raises (dumb bell and bucket): 10 x 3 sets
• Decline Push Ups: 10 x 3 sets
• Chin Ups: 3 (just for the hell of it!)
• Core…
  • Sit Ups: 10 (5 sec hold)
  • Plank: 1:30

Strength Circuit (Sun Morning/Afternoon)

• Forearms…
  • Dumb Bell Wrist Curl: 10 x 3 sets
  • Wrist Roller: 2 x 3 sets
  • Wrist Twists (sledge): 8 x 3 sets
• 1-Legged Squat (to table): 5 x 3 sets
• Chin Ups: 3 x 3 sets
• Wide Grip Pull Ups: 1

Core Workout (Sun Evening)

• Core Workout…
  • Sit Ups: 10 x 3 sets (3 sec hold)
  • Hanging Leg Raises: 5 x 3 sets (3 sec hold)
  • Side Bends (Sand Bucket): 10 x 3 sets
• Core Circuit…
  • Side Plank (Right): 30 secs
  • Side Plank (Left): 30 secs
  • Plank: 1 min
  • …2 min rest…
  • Side Plank (Right): 30 secs
  • Side Plank (Left): 30 secs
  • Plank: 30 secs

Conditioning Circuit (Sun Evening)

• 15 Burpees
• 3 x 3 minute rounds of the All Round Fighting Audio.
• 15 Burpees
• 20 Chinnies

In case you haven’t noticed I’m also following a new programme.  I was going to leave it until after the lay off but thoguht I’d dive right in and get started.  I will make my strength day and plyo day more relaxed though.

Core

• Elevated Crunches: 3 sets of 10 (holding for 3 up, then 3 down)
• Dumb Bell Clean: 3 sets of 10
• Dumb Bell Side Bends: 3 sets of 10
• Band Twists: 2 sets of 10 reps either side

Forearms

• Wrist Twists with Sledge: 10 + 6 + 6 reps.  (moved hand out each set to increase difficulty)
• Wrist Dumb Bell Curl: 10 + 5 reps ( was a lot harder than I expected – maybe I burnt myself out on the twists?)

Rested for about 30mins then…

• Wrist Roller: 2 + 2 reps

The Circuit

I did this around 2hrs later after my dinner had digested because I normally end up feeling sick as a parrot after every ICT.  Last thng I needed was salmon chunks in my nose!  This time I decided to do a full 30mins of Bas Rutten All Round Fighting audio.  It had punches, knees, sprawling, etc.  All in 2 minute rounds with 1 minute rests.

After the full 30 mins I decided I wasn’t tired enough and so did an intense 5 minute freestyle circuit of:

• Jumping Squats: 30 secs
• Sledge Hammer Slamming: 30 secs
• Push Ups: 30 secs
• Sledge Hammer Slamming: 30 secs
• Jumping Squats: 30 secs
• Push Ups: 30 secs
• Mountain Climbers: 30 secs
• Sledge Hammer Slamming: 30 secs
• Sit Ups: 30 secs
• Push Ups: 30 secs

Training Hard

I dunno why but I love hammering the forearms with everything I can.  It really makes you feel like you’ve worked out when you can’t type or write after wards.

So as you’d expect I’ve collected quite an array of different forearm exercises:

• Wrist Roller (AKA: Forearm Killer): I won’t bother explaining this all over again as you can see mine here.
• Wrist Twists: Can be done with a sledge hammer or a dumb bell with weight only on one side.  You grip the shaft and twist.  Great for rotational strength in the wrists.
• Grippers: These are just your normal grip workers you can get form just about anywhere.  Its worth doing reps and holding for time.
• Knuckle and Finger Push Ups: As well as working the usual chest, shoulders and triceps these variations are great for your forearms and grip strength.
• Wrist Dumb Bell Curls: You need to support your arm on a bench and have you hand hanging off the edge.  Then using a dumb bell or plate curl it up and down working your wrist and forearm.
• Punching: Preferably a bag and not people.  This trains you for high impact and makes your entire arm solid and well supported.

Good forearm strength is also good for staving off RSI – which is good news for office workers at computers all day.

Pull Up Bar Circuit (band assisted)

• Pull Ups: 2
• Chin Ups: 3
• Pull Ups: 2
• Chin Ups: 3

Rest 60 seconds…

• Pull Ups: 3
• Chin Ups: 1

Did that lot first thing in the morning.  Late afternoon I did…

Forearms

• Wrist Roller: 3 sets of 2 reps.
• Wrist Twists: 2 sets of 10.
• Rest 15 mins.
• Wrist Curls: 3 sets of 7

Core

Decided against a circuit this time as I was in the middle of a conversation online so sent responses between sets!

• Crunches: 2 sets of 10 (holding for 2 secs on incline and then decline too)
• Back Extensions: 2 sets of 10 (I hate these!!)

1:15 of Ju Jutsu

• Warm Up
• 3 variants of Kote Gash.
• 4 variants of Sangaku.
• Kosh and grappling technique (don’t know the name but you throw their hand behind them and twist round to the ground.  Knee in neck then thumb-lock).

Bas Rutten Workout

• Did 3 x 2min rounds of the All Round Fighting audio as a warm up.
• Then 15mins of the All Round Workout 2.

This has been a marathon day with workouts throughout but I now feel relaxed and nicely tired.  One of the great thing I like about working out is the relaxation and that warm glow after wards.  Mmmmmm – natures opiates.

Forearms

• Forearm Killer: 1 + 3 + 2 reps
• Wrist Twist: 10reps x 3 sets

Core (3 circuits)

• Crunches: 10 slow and controlled
• Flag (kinda): This was hard and not entirely well executed but it certainly worked my abs.
• Plank: 60 secs

Other than that I reckon my arms and legs DO need to take it easy.  After the 30mins two days ago I’m still pretty sore.

Today I dropped the core work because I’d wrecked my neck and back during ju jutsu.  I was doing morote gari and trying to use my neck to do the throw instead of scooping the legs.

Instead forearms:

• Forearm Killer: 2 + 2 + 1.5 (getting better already!)
• Wrist Twists: 5 reps x 3 sets (one of my new favourites)

These forearm exercises seem to be having very rapid results and they’re my new favourites so I reckon I’ll up these to 3 per split from their current one.

And Iso:

• Jab and cross at short, mid long range: 3 sets each.

Day 10 is Saturday and to catch up on my strength training I’ll do my EIT in the late-morning or afternoon then do maximal strength in the evening for my legs and triceps.

Me Post Workout

Well we’re onto the fifth day of training.  I don’t know if its just in my head but I do feel better in some respects.  I’m not complaining either way!

Explosive Strength

• Squat Jump: 8 reps
• Single Clap Half-Pushups*: 6 reps
• One-legged Ankle Hops: 20 reps
• Push Jerk: 5 reps

I’m doing this circuit 4 times.

* I had to do half-pushups (where you put your knees to the floor) simply because I couldn’t explode high enough to do a clap with a normal push up position.  A half-pushup is a good one to do until I get better methinks.

One thing I noticed with the ankle hops is that as my legs tired the effort started to move into the quads from the calf.  It took some re-adjusting to get my calf to take the full brunt of the exercise.

Core

This is my third in the 6-day split and we’re back to the first one I did which goes like this:

• Crunches: 10 (hold for 5 secs)
• Lying Hip Swings: 20 reps
• Plank: 30 secs (35 on second set)

I’ve started to notice a difference in my core already.  It feels a lot more….’solid’ – for want of a better word.  I can feel it move and shift with more force.  I don’t know if this is all in my head but this is the hardest workout regime I’ve dedicated to my core (pathetic I know!) so maybe I’m getting the newbie-accelerated benifit of it.

— UPDATE —

Forearm

I couldn’t help sneaking in a forearm killer later on.

3 sets and I did better than last time too with the reps being:

2 + 2 + 1.5

• Standard pull ups (band assisted): 2 reps x 4 sets
• Hamstring curls: 20 reps x 3 sets
• One-leg dumbell calf raises: 10 reps x 3 sets (I reckon this is gonna help balance to as I was hopping and falling over lots! )
• Forearm weighted bar: 2 + 1 + 1/2 reps