Total Physique Online

OK, this workout took place on a Sunday, and I am just now (Monday) posting it. I had a busy day and the training took place outside, away from my Apple LT. So, I made the promise to enter the workout today, Monday morning.

Combat Cables

• One-Leg Donkey Calf Raises: 9cd x 10, 10, 15sec Static Hold - SH (Calves sore today, so this movement, wherever I can duplicate it, is a winner.)
• One-Leg Step-Ups: 6c x 10, 10 (I really felt this when I did them, but my legs are far from sore. Perhaps DOMS will set in as the day progresses. Otherwise, it seems like a good exercise. More difficult than mere one-leg squats I might add.)
• Archer Pulls: 3cd x 15, 15, 15 (This shocked me. Four days ago I could not manage one pull. I had to settle for a static hold for 3 sets. Did I actually make a strength gain of this magnitude? Maybe I will attack 4 cables, doubled over for the next session and do a static pull with that.)
• Chest Expander: 3c x 20, 12 (OK, getting stronger. Felt this a bit in right shoulder, but this is to be expected. More on this later.)
• Upright Row: 5c x 8, 8 (sloppy as shit, if I don’t mind saying so myself. Grrr. I can do better. Need to devise a better way of holding the handle. Three fingers is just too cumbersome and uncomfortable)
• Wrist Curls: 3cd x 15, 15 (Superb. For those of you using Ironmind cables, let’s talk a second. There are several ways to do wrist curls with these cables. One way is to do these from a seated position, using doubled over cables to shorten them, with your lower arm resting on your thigh and knee. One handle is in your hand, and the other handle is secured to the floor by your foot. This method is good, but if you are shorter than, say, 5′8″ tall, your lower leg will be too short to give you an adequate pre-stretch and you will find yourself feeling the brunt of the load at the top of the rep, and almost none towards the bottom of the rep because the cables will go slack. What you need to do if you are on the shorter side like me is this:

  Sit on your haunches. In other words, rather than sit on a workout bench, simply secure the handle under your foot, grab the other handle, squat down so that your thigh bone is beyond parallel to the floor. This will give your upper thigh a downward sloping arc. With your forearm resting on your downward sloping thigh and knee, your wrist will be in a pre-stretch from the word go. Your forearm flexor muscles will be tensed up for 100% of the range of motion. Trust me, you will feel like a blow torch is being held on your forearms as you progress throughout the set. DAMN what a contraction!)

• Reverse Wrist Curl: 2c x 15-20 x 2 (I do these in an odd fashion. Not only do I want to hit the extender muscles of the top side of the forearm, but I also want to hit the teeny muscles in the wrist which are most vulnerable in a painful wrist lock such as the one found in Aikido. Have a look at Kote Gaeshi To work these muscles, I only use 2 cables. I grab the handles, expand them as you would in a chest expander, and from the arms extended position, I simply allow my wrists to rotate inward slowly as possible. When I feel a good stretch, I extend my writs back out. I feel this in the wrists a lot.
• Side Chest Pressout: 2c x 20 x 2 (Once again, this is where my right shoulder is at its weakest and most vulnerable. Something tells me this is how I quite possibly injured it many months ago. It stands to reason this is how I am going to get it strong as hell again, with heavens help of course)
• Push-ups: 2c x 10, 8 (Solid reps, major contraction)
• Tricep Pressout: 2c x 20, 15, 15 (nothing remarkable here, accept for the fact that my right shoulder joint was getting tired.
• Pushdown: 2c x 20 x 2
• Regular Curls and Reverse Curls combine: 2c x 10(6), 15(4) (biceps are very sore today.)

Observations:

On a scale of 1-10 this session was an 8. I want to get closer to a ten, where I feel I have challenged my fears of failure more thoroughly.

I may hit shoulders today. We shall see how I feel. I am very congested.

I miss my dumbbells something fierce, but I will enjoy band training for a brief respite.

PS: I am considering going with EliteFts Bands if they will loan me a set. The Ironmind cables have some advantages, but they have a HUGE disadvantage in that the constant changing of cables is a huge pain in the ass. It is time consuming and eventually the ends of the nylon straps start to fray, so that fastening the handles becomes difficult. If I could test the EliteFTS cables, and if I liked the setup, I would post a review and recommend them over the Ironmind. For now, I can only recommend Fabled Cables as the way to go.

I think band training is a wonderful adjunct to traditional strength training, either in combination with it or as a strength medium unto itself.