Core

• Ab Roller – 5 x 2 sets
• Sit Ups – 10 x 2 sets
• Back Extensions – 10 x 2 sets
• Plank – 1:20

Forearms

• Wrist Roller – 3 + 2 + 1
• Wrist Dips* – 10 x 2 sets

Iai Jutsu

Being a Wednesday it was my usual Iaijutsu and I got to practice a couple of new katas.  I can feel my reishiki and first kata coming together really nicely now.  I can’t wait to graduate up to a proper steel iai (Japanese sword) because I’m still using a bokuto (wooden sword) at the moment.  In a few weeks though I hope to get my hands on the real thing!

* This is a new exercise I’ve started to use.  Not sure of its proper name but I’ll do a post on it at some point.

Although I’ve started to notice something with these workouts.  Althoguh I put the main exercises in I don’t bother with the ‘messing about’.  So this time I’ll just give a section on the messing about to show the extra bits I do when ‘fidgeting’.

Main Core

• Sit Ups: 10 x 2 sets (hold for 5secs during up then hold 5 secs during down)
• Dumb Bell Side Bends: 12 reps x 3 sets
• Band Rotations: 12 reps x 2 sets

Main Forearms

• Wrist Roller: 3 + 2
• 1:30 of Iaijutsu.

Messing about…

• Band Resisted Punches: About 20 each arm.
• Chinnies: 10
• V-Ups: 3
• Chin Ups: 2

Nothing major and not part of the main workout but I thought its worth highlighting – I dunno why.

Oh actually.

People who regularly exercise are known to fidget more generally.  So physical activity perpetuates itself in a way.

You can read more about that here: Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis.

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.

My version of skipping involved me making a two-footed jump over the rope followed by a small two-footed hop for no reason.  So every rope turn involved two jumps.  So often ended up looking like my legs were a bour and my arms were hardly moving.

But after watching the DVD I now realise the basic rope skip is one foot after the other hopping.  That took me 25yrs to learn.  So anyway – after some practice I decided to do an EIT/ICT workout using skipping instead of running.  Here it is:

• Skipping: 30 secs
• Burpees: 30 secs
• Star Jumps: 30 secs
• Shadow Boxing: 30 secs

Repeat 5 times without rest.

That should have taken 10 minutes but I somehow got to 11:30 so either I missed or added something along the way!

I had a minor pull in my ankle from ju jutsu the previous day which made my jumps a bit painful but I fought through it as this will be my final EIT/ICT before the rest split so I wanted it to count.

My average heart rate during this workout was 169bpm – which for me is pretty high and its pushing the boundary for my lactic threshold.

Also did a quick forearm workout later on:

• Wrist Roller: 3 sets of 2 reps.
• Wrist Twist with Sledge: 12 + 10 + 6 (moved hand down shaft to make it harder – hence the reduced reps)

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

The basic premise is simple but the exercise is an absolute killer.  You need a bar/dowel/stick a piece of rope or belt and a weight.  Whether its a dumb bell weight or a hammer.

Here’s a picture of mine:

Using my old white belt to attach the bar to weight (hammer)

Now the idea is to roll the weight up by rolling the rope round the bar.  You do this by twisting the bar one way which winds it up.  To do this your forearms are used.

It’s important to keep this out at arms length at shoulder height.  So not only is it working your forearms but it’ll get your shoulders too.

On my first go I managed sets of: 2 + 1 + 1/2 before my arms froze.

I’m hoping to better that given time though.

** UPDATE: Since found out this is called a wrist roller.  I prefer my name though!