After a few unusually (but pleasingly) busy weeks it seems like an appropriate time to switch back to a weekly workout summary, plus sporadic posts as other things appear. Unfortunately that means that the magical 500th blog post may be some time in coming, but there you have it.
For starters, here’s a look at the past week.
It’s in there somewhere
With the house renovations now in full swing, I’ve moved a lot more stuff into the garage so there’s enough room to do them. Unfortunately this makes getting to the rack somewhat awkward, but it’s in there somewhere. If you’ve ever wondered just how small a garage gym can get, here’s your answer.
This has meant two things. Firstly, everything that involves the iron also involves the rack. There simply isn’t room for anything else. Deadlifts are back to extremely low rack pulls (off the bottom pins), and all squats are box squats using the bench (slightly above parallel).
Secondly, as it’s a frustrating climb around the outside of the rack just to put plates on the bar, many workouts have been of the bodyweight variety. This never feels like a ‘second best’ option; as long as there’s a bit of iron being thrown around as well. More like a combined cardio/strength workout, or a GPP session.
From next week I’ll note exact sets/reps for the bodyweight stuff, but it’s pretty similar to the routine I did some time ago whilst travelling.
Return to a mixed diet
Publicly giving up/restarting coffee drinking is only part of a much larger dietary change – removal of everything from my ‘banned’ list. I tend to avoid things that are obviously unhealthy anyway, and removing the restrictions simply means I’m not tempted to have something despite knowing I shouldn’t. It doesn’t mean I’m turning into Dave Tate.
Reading
If you’re looking for a couple of articles to keep you going over the weekend, try these.
Core Training for Smart Folks
Mike Robertson
Activate the abs and glutes with an interesting range of lower body exercises.
Understanding Supplemental Exercises: The Deadlift
Mike Robertson
A superb look at identifying weak points in your deadlift, and picking the appropriate supplemental exercises to correct them.
Now, time to wade through those boxes again… deadlifts await.