Archive for December, 2008

• Chopping Wood for a Christmas Fire - 1000-1030

Notes: Happy Christmahannakwanzika!

• Morning Hatha Yoga - 0815-0855
  • Neck Mobilities
  • Kriya Cycle
    • Classic Uddiyanabandha - 5 x :10
    • Agni Sara - 3 x 15 pumps
    • Nauli - Once in each direction
  • Folding Mountain Vinyasa
  • Chair Hold
  • Folding Chair Vinyasa
  • Standing Forward Bend Hold
  • Triangle Sequence
    • Upright Triangle
    • Left Triangle
    • Left Revolving Triangle
    • Wide-Legged Forward Bend
    • Right Triangle
    • Right Revolving Triangle
    • Wide-Legged Forward Bend
  • Praying Dog Vinyasa
  • Down Dog Hold
  • Headstand Hold - 3:00
  • Neck Compensations
  • Wheel Hold
  • Savasana
  • Kapalabhati - 3 rounds of about 1:00
• Afternoon Metabolic Conditioning - 1225 - 1310
  • 10 Knee Skinners
  • Wall Squat Hold - 2:00
  • 25 Clubbell Pendulums with 15 lbs CB’s
  • Heismans for 2:00
  • 15 Clubbell Shoulder Casts with 15 lbs CB’s
  • 50 Squat Kicks
  • 10 Shoulderstand Kickbacks on parallettes
  • 15 Clubbell Swipes with 15 lbs CB’s
  • Leg Loops for 2:00
  • Copensatory Hatha Yoga
    • Praying Dog Vinyasa
    • Diving Dolphin Flow
    • Spider Monkey Flow
    • Cat-Cow Vinyasa
    • Tumbleweed Flow
    • Supine Twists
    • Dead Bug
    • Savasana

  Notes: Awesome afternoon practice! Fun and challenging. Didn’t repeat a single exercise and definitely kicked my ass going into the Christmas food binge. And yes, I do plan on splurging over the weekend! Overall RP-TED - 7.5-9, 7-8.5, 1-2.5

• Morning Hatha Yoga - 0610-0635
  • Neck Mobilities
  • Kriya Cycle
  • Classic Uddiyanabandha - 5 x :05
  • Agni Sara - 3 x 15 pumps
  • Nauli - Once in each direction
  • Folding Mountain Vinyasa
  • Chair Hold
  • Folding Chair Vinyasa
  • Standing Forward Bend Hold
  • Triangle Sequence
  • Upright Triangle
  • Left Triangle
  • Left Revolving Triangle
  • Wide-Legged Forward Bend
  • Right Triangle
  • Right Revolving Triangle
  • Wide-Legged Forward Bend
  • Praying Dog Vinyasa
  • Down Dog Hold
  • Headstand Hold - 3:00
  • Neck Compensations
  • Wheel Hold
  • Savasana

Notes: Not as sore in the thighs as I thought I would be from squats yesterday. Good thing I took it easy a bit! Upped my headstand hold from 2:30 yesterday to 3:00 today. I like the idea to getting to a 5:00 headstand hold every morning before this cycle is over.

• Morning Hatha Yoga - 0615-0640
  • Neck Mobilities
  • Kriya Cycle
  • Classic Uddiyanabandha - 5 x :05
  • Agni Sara - 3 x 15 pumps
  • Nauli - Once in each direction
  • Folding Mountain Vinyasa
  • Chair Hold
  • Folding Chair Vinyasa
  • Standing Forward Bend Hold
  • Triangle Sequence
  • Upright Triangle
  • Wide-Legged Forward Bend
  • Left Triangle
  • Left Revolving Triangle
  • Wide-Legged Forward Bend
  • Right Triangle
  • Right Revolving Triangle
  • Praying Dog Vinyasa
  • Down Dog Hold
  • Headstand Hold - 2:30
  • Neck Compensations
  • Wheel Hold
  • Savasana
• Afternoon Workout - 1645-1730
  • DJM Warmup
  • Chest Cycle x 1
  • Incline Bench Press - 7 reps with 45-pound DB’s
  • Bench Press - 7 reps with 45-pound DB’s
  • Decline Bench Press - 7 reps with 45-pound DB’s
  • Bodyweight Dips - 1 set to failure (8 reps)
  • Barbell Squats - 3 x 5 at 145 lbs
  • Chinups - 3 x 5
  • Bodyweight Rows - 2 x 8
  • Interval Running - 20:00
  • Compensatory Cooldown

Notes: Great morning yoga practice! Took it a little easy in the workout session. It has been a while since I’ve hit the weight room. Squats were particularly hard. I’m thinkin’ I’m gonna feel it in my hamstrings tomorrow, for sure.

photo credit: Egan Snow

Okay, I’ve got just over a month to finish typesetting the book and to prepare physically for my photo shoot. Seems like a good excuse for a new training cycle to me!

Cycle Dates: Roughly December 22, 2008 thru January 19, 2009

Cycle Goals: Improve physique by losing about 10 pounds of fat while adding a couple pounds of muscle.

Specifics: Current weight is somewhere around 180, bodyfat about 16%. I’d like to get my weight down to 175 with bodyfat of 10-12% for the photo shoot. This means losing about 10 pounds of fat and picking up a few pounds of muscle.

To do this, I’m going to use an adapted Brickhouse Bodymind training cycle similar to the ones you’ll find in the book. This will give ya’ll an idea of what to expect from the book. The main difference is that I’ll be using free-weights on the resistance training days instead of the bodyweight exercises found in the book. It will be a five-days-a-week adaptation instead of the four-day rounds as in Scott Sonnon’s 4×7 paradigm. It will hit all three components of his Circular Strength Training system (external resistance, internal resistance, and joint mobility).

Nutrition will also be important. I’ll be utilizing intermittent fasting and eating “real foods” whenever possible, just like I describe in the book.

Ya’ll follow along if you like by clicking the tag “Book Photography Prep Cycle” in the a.d.s. tag cloud above, or by subscribing to the rss feed here. By following along, you’ll get a good idea of the full Brickhouse Bodymind physical flow program in my book. Let’s see if I can walk the walk and use it to reach my own goals!