The Dow Dominion

November 3 Upper body A1. "T" push-up @ 211     1. 8     2. 6 A2. Inverted Row @ 211     1. 11     2. 6 B1. Door pull-ups @ 222     1. 7     2. 3     3. 3     4. 3 B2. Dips @ 211     1. 8     2. 5 C1. Decline push-ups @ 111     1. 12     2. 12 C2. Pike push-ups @ 222     1. 4     2. 4     3. 3 C3. Bicycle crunches @ 111     1. 15     2. 15 November 2, 2011 Lower body A1. Bulgarian split-squat @ 333     1. 14     2. 12 A2. Hip-thigh extension @ 333     1. 4     2. 4 B1. Partial co-contraction lunge @ 333     1. 6     2. 5 B2. Step-up @ 201     1. 17     2. 17 C1. Partial squat @ 333     1. 8     2. 5 C2. Single leg RDL @ 333     1. 7     2. 6 D. Single leg calf raise @ 111     1. 12     2. 10

October 26 Lower body A1. Bulgarian split-squat @ 333     1. 13     2. 11 A2. Hip-thigh extension @ 333     1. 3     2. 3 B1. Partial co-contraction lunge @ 333     1. 5     2. 5 B2. Step-up @ 201     1. 17     2. 16 C1. Partial squat @ 333     1. 7     2. 5 C2. Single leg RDL @ 333     1. 7     2. 5 C3. Calf raises @ 111     1. 12     2. 12 October 27 Upper body A1. T-push up @ 211     1. 8     2. 5 A2. Inverted row @ 211     1. 10     2. 6 B1. Door pull ups @ 222     1. 6     2. 3     3. 2     4. 3 B2. Dips @ 211     1. 7     2. 4 C1. Decline push up @ 111     1. 12     2. 11 C2. Pike push up @ 222     1. 3     2. 3     3. 3 D. Bicycle crunch     1. 15     2. 15

Lower Body A1. Bulgarian split-squat @ 333     1. 11     2. 10 A2. Hip-thigh extension @ 333     1. 5     2. 4 B1. Partial co-contraction lunge @ 333     1. 6     2. 5 B2. Step-up @ 201     1. 16     2. 16 C1. Single leg partial squat @ 333     1. 8     2. 6 C2. Single leg RDL @ 333     1. 8     2. 6 D1. "Pistol" squat @ 303     1. 4     2. 3 D2. Single leg calf raises @ 333     1. 8     2. 6

Pull-ups (and chin-ups) are probably the most well-known and practiced exercises for the back muscles, and for good reason.  Few people can even perform 10 pull-ups with good form and without additional weight, and only an elite few perform pull-ups with a 25 to 45 pound plate around their waist.  Pull-ups work out pretty much every muscle in the upper back, and they work it out hard. However, many people don't have access to a gym where pull-up bars are everywhere.  Furthermore, some people feel it is a rip-off to purchase what is essentially a $25 rounded piece of steel to do pull-ups in a door frame.  Playgrounds often have a variety of bars to do pull-ups on, but not everyone lives close to a playground, and not everyone wants to do their tough workout with a bunch of little rascals running around. Today, I'm going to show you a method of doing pull-ups without any extra equipment that you can do right inside your house, for free. First, find a sturdy door in your hou

Upper body A1. "T" push-up @ 211     1. 8     2. 6 A2. Inverted row @ 211     1. 9     2. 8 B1. Door pull-up @ 222     1. 5     2. 4     3. 2     4. 2 B2. Dips @ 211     1. 6     2. 4 B3. Decline push-up @ 232     1. 5     2. 4 C1. Pike push-up @ 222     1. 3     2. 3 C2. Bicycle crunch @ 111     1. 15     2. 15

I admit it.  I fell off the wagon for a while. Now I've got to "catch up" to my workout performance for nearly a month ago.  I am planning to dedicate four days per week to workout schedule. I also admit I made a slight modification to the program once more.  Instead of single-leg deadlifts for the last exercise of the lower body workouts (refer  here to see the original program), I have replace it with single leg calf raises.  My rationale behind this is that single leg RDL's (also in the program) work my posterior chain much better, and there is no direct calf work in the program.  I also started using a very sturdy chair for single leg partial squats because I can gain a greater ROM (range of motion) than using the step stair in my back yard.... my rep numbers in that exercise reflect that change. Without further ado, here is the workout for today: Lower body A1: Bulgarian split-squat @ 333     1. 14     2. 11 A2. Hip-thigh extension @ 333     1. 5

Today, I thought I would post links to some articles I have particularly useful for the mobility/flexibility aspect of my training.  These articles took a bit of searching to find, but were well worth the trouble since each article has a good explanation of all the exercises/stretches and what they do, without a lot of vague information and anecdotal commentary.  Here they are: Looking for a Catch-All Mobility Drill? Look no further - This is my favorite of all the articles thus far.  Short, sweet, to-the-point, and written by well respected sports rehabilitation specialist Eric Cressey.  This mobility drill is easy to learn and perform, and requires no equipment.  It's great before doing a lower-body workout, but I think it feels so good in general that I would recommend it to people who don't even exercise. The Stretching Roundtable, part II - Although there isn't much in this article as far as exercises go (and my hatred for Chris Shugart ), I think most of the i

Lower Body A1. Bulgarian split-squat @ 333     1. 11     2. 9 A2. Hip-thigh extension @ 333     1. 6     2. 4 B1. Partial co-contraction lunge @ 333     1. 6     2. 5 B2. Step-up @ 201     1. 16     2. 16 C1. Partial squat @ 333     1. 12     2. 10 C2. Single-leg RDL @ 333     1. 6     2. 7 D1. Single-leg squat @ 303     1. 4     2. 3 D2. Single-leg deadlift @ 303     1. 6     2. 6 Comments: Good workout, nothing out of the ordinary today.  I tried to focus on keeping the chest up and shoulders retracted for these exercises.  Other than that, not much to report.

As I mentioned in the previous post, I am working on a basic body weight program that will prepare me for the next phase of my training, which will be weight lifting.  The exact program I am using is called " Your Body is a Barbell " by Alwyn Cosgrove.  I follow most of the outlined program, with a few exceptions: 1. Prone jackknife - I don't see any other way to do this exercise without a bosu ball, so I have instead replaced it with decline push ups. 2. Reverse crunch - Personally, I don't care for this exercise and so I have replaced it with bicycle crunches (a.k.a. elbow-to-knee crunches). 3. Chin ups - I would love to do chin ups, but unfortunately there is nothing sturdy enough to hold my weight around my house.  I substituted door pull ups for this one, as it works virtually the same muscles (except for the substantial  decrease in bicep activation). The "T" Push Up Other than that, this program is solid.  The goal is to hit 15 reps or mo

My name is Nate, and I have been a fitness enthusiast since 2005.  I love the idea of pushing the human body to its limits because of its amazing adaptability.  The human body can perform some awe-inspiring feats when trained to do so, and also recover and repair itself with amazing efficiency.  And, in this age of information, we can use scientific data to "push the envelope" even further. Ever since I was a young teenager, I have been interested in improving my physique AND my athletic performance (even though I don't really care for competitive sports).  During the beginning of my "training," most of my exercising would consist of long-distance jogging aimed to reduce the fat around my waist.  At the time, the internet was just coming out of its infancy, and article headlines for various fitness magazines which I turned to for information touted steady-state cardio for fat loss, weight lifting for muscle-building, and virtually nothing on nutrition. So I

Welcome. This post is the debut of my new blog, ND Fitness and Workouts.  My main objective for this blog is to track my progress towards any fitness-related goals I am working on.  Along the way, I plan to post various bits and pieces of information that I have found useful on my "journey."  Such information will include nutritional practices, exercise demonstrations, fitness dogma debunking and possibly supplement reviews.  Additionally, I will occasionally add my own commentary or articles should I feel the need. I thank you for reading my blog, and I hope you'll find something interesting or useful during your visit. -ND