Rachel Theisen; Crossfit Tuesday, Dec 6, 2011

Pullups
A1 Wide grip - 15 reps
Rest 30 seconds
A2 Supinated reg grip - 15 reps
Rest 30 seconds
A3 Pronated reg grip - 15 reps
Rest 30 seconds
Dips - 15 reps
Rest 60 seconds, repeat for total of two sets

Back and chest
Dumbbell Press - 35 lbs dumbbells 15 reps
Rest 30 seconds
Bent Over Row - 85 lbs barbell, 15 reps
Rest 30 seconds
Push Ups - 15 reps
Rest 60 seconds, repeat for total  of 4 sets

Rest 60 seconds
5 Minute Row (maintain 1:55 split or faster, 500 meters)
Rest 60 seconds

Pull Downs - 80 lbs, 15 reps
Rest 30 seconds
Seated Reverse Flys - 15 lbs dumbbells, 15 reps
Rest 30 seconds
Single Arm Cable Chest Flys - 20 lbs, 12 reps each arm
Rest 60 seconds, repeat for total of 4 sets

Rest 60 seconds
5 Minute Row (maintain 1:55 split or faster, 500 meters)
Rest 60 seconds

Semi Straight Leg Dead Lift  - 95 lbs, 15 reps
Rest 60 seconds, repeat for total of 4 sets

Power Clean with additional squat - 5 decreasing rep sets, reps 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, Increase weight 5 lbs per set,

Abdominal work to finish

Calves and Hamstrings, Dec 6, 2011

Calves
Supersets:
A1 Seated calf raises - 10 reps, 10 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps, 10 reps, 10 reps; drop sets, decrease 5 lbs  between each mini-set
A2 Standing calf raises, single leg - 10 reps, 10 reps, 10 reps alternating each leg then 30 reps to failure using both legs

B1 Single leg calf / toe presses - 10 drop sets of 10 reps alternating between each leg.

Hamstrings
A1 Lying leg curls, single leg - 4 sets, 6 reps
Rest 10 seconds
A2 Semi stiff-legged deadlifts - 4 sets, 12 reps, 3/0/1/0 tempo
Rest 2 minutes and repeat for 4 total sets

Rachel Theisen; Leg Routine Monday

Author: Rachel Theisen, figure competitor, bodybuilder












Quads
A1 Single leg press on inverted sled;  20 reps, 90 lbs
No rest, superset same leg
A2 Crossover Lunge with 25 lbs plates - 15 reps
No rest, switch Legs, repeat for total of 2 sets per leg

*The crossover lunge targets the hamstrings and glutes extra hard while teaching your body balance and coordination.

B1 Smith Machine Rear Lunges with Forward Knee Drive - 15 reps per leg
No rest
B2 Stability Ball Squats with 25 lbs dumbbells - 15 reps, full range, slow tempo
No rest, repeat for total of 2 supersets


C1 Smith Machine Wide Leg Squat - 15 reps
No rest
C2 Smith Machine Raised Heal Squat - 15 reps
Repeat for 2 supersets total

D1 Leg Extensions, toes straight, inward, outward - 30 reps each position, drop weight then repeat for 50 reps each position

Hamstrings
A1 Partner Assisted Hamstring Curl (single leg, non eccentric) - 15 reps
No rest, superset
A2 Single leg semi-stiff legged dead-lift (non-working leg in kickback extension position) - 15 reps
No rest, repeat for total of 2 sets

Calves
A1 Calf Raises, toes straight, inward, outward - 20 reps each foot position


Finish with some abdominal work

Run and Upper body, Dec 5, 2011

Cardiorespiratory endurance training
5:00 am, 4.25 mile run this morning.  Very cold this morning and too much wind.  But I pushed an ok time on the run anyway, 29:30.   Not as fast as I would like but acceptable.


Back

One set of wide pronated grip pull-ups     8 reps        rest 45 seconds    
One set of supinated chin-ups                 8 reps        rest 45 seconds    
One set of narrow neutral grip pull-ups     8 reps        rest 45 seconds    

One set of wide pronated grip pull-ups     8 reps        rest 45 seconds    
One set of supinated chin-ups                 8 reps        rest 45 seconds    
One set of narrow neutral grip pull-ups     8 reps        rest 45 seconds
One set of wide pronated grip pull-ups     7 reps        rest 45 seconds    
One set of supinated chin-ups                 7 reps        rest 45 seconds    
One set of narrow neutral grip pull-ups     7 reps        rest 45 seconds    
One set of wide pronated grip pull-ups     6 reps        rest 45 seconds    
One set of supinated chin-ups                 6 reps        rest 45 seconds    
One set of narrow neutral grip pull-ups     6 reps        rest 45 seconds    
One set of wide pronated grip pull-ups     5 reps        rest 45 seconds    
One set of supinated chin-ups                 5 reps        rest 45 seconds    
One set of narrow neutral grip pull-ups     5 reps        rest 45 seconds

One set of wide pronated grip pull-ups     4 reps        rest 45 seconds    
One set of supinated chin-ups                 4 reps        rest 45 seconds    
One set of narrow neutral grip pull-ups     4 reps        rest 45 seconds
One set of wide pronated grip pull-ups     4 reps        rest 45 seconds    
One set of supinated chin-ups                 4 reps        rest 45 seconds    
One set of narrow neutral grip pull-ups     4 reps       End of exercise


126 Total pull-ups / chins in 21 minutes.

Chest

A1 Incline Bench Press - 6 reps

No rest

A2 Push-ups - 12 reps

Rest 90 seconds then repeat for 4 sets total

Abdominal

A1 Straight leg raises on vertical knee-up / ab tower, 20 reps

Rest 10 seconds

A2 Ab roller wheel extensions, 12 reps at 3-1-X-0 tempo (3 seconds on the eccentric, 1 sec hold, X = concentric portion as fast as you can manage, 0 rest at top of movement)

Rest 90 seconds repeat for 4 supersets.

B1 Elevated sit-ups with 35 lbs plate, 5 reps

No rest

B2 Trunk twists with 35 lbs plate, 25 reps

Rest 2 min, repeat for 4 sets

Rest day!

Sunday, rest day!  Reviewing my plan for this upcoming week.

Calves and Quads, Dec 3, 2011

Today's Leg Routine:

Calves
Starting out with calves again for reasons that I stated in my previous post.  Supersets again, seated calf raises and Donkey calf raises.
3 Supersets of seated calf-raises and donkey calf raises
A1 Seated calf machine raises - 12 reps, slow and controlled, especially on the eccentric portion of the movement. Then superset with donkey calf raises.
A2 Donkey calf machine raises - 40 - 50 reps, rest pause if needed to get to 50 or absolute failure.
2 minutes rest then repeat this superset for a total of three. Plenty of stretching in between each set.

B1 Toe press, individual leg - 10 reps each leg, alternate all the way to 100 reps.  This means 10 mini-sets of 10; one leg/calf resting while the other leg is working for 10 reps then switch. I maintained the same weight (without dropping) for the first 3 sets of 10-per leg before I began to drop weight in 5 lbs increments all the way to 10 sets of 10 reps per leg.  Remember never to sacrifice repetitions for weight.  The reps here are key more so than the weight itself.  After this superset was done, I assisted my workout partner through his drop sets (which took about 5 min or so) and then repeated this exercise a second time.


Quads
The following quad routine is a 6-12-25 routine.

Barbell squat - 6 reps, 225 lbs. slow and controlled, 3 seconds on the eccentric portion.
rest 10 seconds
Walking lunges - 12 reps, 110 lbs barbell (this one I did 12 steps in one direction and 12 back across the gym floor to my starting point; 12 per leg, 24 total;
rest 10 seconds
Leg extensions - 25 reps, 110 lbs, the weight here should be high enough that you're reaching muscular failure around the 25th and final rep.  It's brutal but need to stay with it till the end.
Rest 2 minutes and repeat for a total of 4 sets.

Back and Shoulders, Dec 2, 2011

Friday, another early morning run.  Meant to go 4 miles or more but a schedule change forced me to cut it short to about 2.25 miles.  7.5 minute miles. Just over 15 minutes to complete. Slower than what I wanted but not entirely unexpected now that my muscle weight is coming back up.


Back

One set of wide pronated grip pull-ups     8 reps        rest 45 seconds    
One set of supinated chin-ups                 7 reps        rest 45 seconds    
One set of narrow neutral grip pull-ups     6 reps        rest 45 seconds    

One set of wide pronated grip pull-ups     8 reps        rest 45 seconds    
One set of supinated chin-ups                 7 reps        rest 45 seconds    
One set of narrow neutral grip pull-ups     6 reps        rest 45 seconds
One set of wide pronated grip pull-ups     6 reps        rest 45 seconds    
One set of supinated chin-ups                 6 reps        rest 45 seconds    
One set of narrow neutral grip pull-ups     6 reps        rest 45 seconds    
One set of wide pronated grip pull-ups     5 reps        rest 45 seconds    
One set of supinated chin-ups                 5 reps        rest 45 seconds    
One set of narrow neutral grip pull-ups     5 reps        rest 45 seconds    
One set of wide pronated grip pull-ups     5 reps        rest 45 seconds    
One set of supinated chin-ups                 4 reps        rest 45 seconds    
One set of narrow neutral grip pull-ups     4 reps        rest 45 seconds

One set of wide pronated grip pull-ups     4 reps        rest 45 seconds    
One set of supinated chin-ups                 4 reps        rest 45 seconds    
One set of narrow neutral grip pull-ups     4 reps        End of exercise

Total of 100 pull-ups completed in just under 20 minutes. * Neutral grip means semi-supinated (palms facing each other).

Deltoids

Exercise 1 - 6-12-25 Routine; **

A1  6 reps, delt machine flys

Rest 10 seconds

A2  12 reps, military presses

Rest 10 seconds

A3  25 reps, delt machine reverse flys (rear delts)

Rest 2 minutes, repeat for 4 total multi-sets

Exercise 2

B1  Military press, 8 reps with 3/1/1 tempo

No rest

B2  Reverse flys, 12 reps with 1/1/2/1 tempo

Rest 90 seconds, repeat for 3 total super-sets

**On all exercises, use a weight that corresponds to the number of reps indicated.

Regards,
J

Calves and Hams, Dec 1, 2011

Thursday's Leg Routine:

Thursday, Day two of my leg routine. Today is calves and hams. Like I said before, I split quads and hams because I work each of them way too hard and too long to do both the same day.  Calves I do both days however.  A high-volume day, followed by a low volume day 48 to 72 hours later (my definition of low volume may not be everyone else's definition of low volume by the way).

Calves
Calf / toe presses on Hammer Strength Uni-Lateral Leg Press machine, second iteration. This is two extended drop-sets, again with a plate arrangement that would allow me to drop-set the weight quickly and easily as needed, in increments of 5 or 10 lbs depending on how strong or fatigued I felt during the exercise. 

A1 Toe press, individual leg - 10 reps each leg, alternate all the way to 100 reps.  This means 10 mini-sets of 10; 10 reps, one leg/calf resting while the other leg is working then switch and 10 reps on the other calf. Drop weight in 5 lbs increments all the way to 10 sets of 10 reps each leg.  Again, remember not to sacrifice repetitions for weight.  The repetitions and good form are key here more so than the extra 5 lbs each mini-set.  After this drop-set was done, I assisted my workout partner through his drop sets (which took about 5 min or so) and then repeated this exercise a second time.


Hamstrings 
6-12-25 routine.
Leg curls on Hammer Strength free weight leg biceps machine, (I'm not trying to advocate for Hammer Strength, it's just what was available in the gym I was using in the Middle East at the time). 
6 reps, leg curls (weight should be such that this is a 6 Rep Max or nearly so)
Rest 10 seconds
12 reps, Semi-stiff legged dead-lifts (weight should be such that this is a 12 Rep Max or nearly so)
Rest 10 seconds
25 reps, reverse hyper-extensions (bodyweight so far has been sufficient)
Rest 2 minutes and repeat for a total of four multi-sets.


The information I post here is to document my progress in one central location for my own benefit and the benefit of others who may be interested in progressive techniques and routines. If you can use the info great.  If not thanks for visiting anyway.


Regards,
J