Blog will begin again in January 2015. Thank you very much for those who have clicked & followed along. In the mean time, please take a look at my older posts and follow on Instagram…if thats your kinda thing.
#unitedbymotion
Strength Training with Blonyx – 3 Month Wrap Up
PR City! (population: This Guy!)
My three month strength training phase with Blonyx’s Creative + HMB has come to an end. So without further ado, here are the results:
Squat: Previous 1RM: 265lbs
New 1RM: 280lbs
Press: Previous 1RM: 135lbs
New 1RM: 150lbs
Deadlift: Previous 1RM: 405lbs
New 1Rm: 425lbs
I saw measurable growth in all three foundational movements that I tested and trained over the course of the three month window. While I am not thrilled with my overall numbers, I kept my expectations in check and am happy with the growth thus far. I attribute some of the growth to an increase in my overall volume over the last three months but I am also confident in saying that using Blonyx during this last phase allowed my body to keep up with the increased demands. Very rarely did a feel sore, lethargic or operate at a reduced strength capacity as a result of any previous training session.
As I have mentioned in past updates, new PRs continued in areas that I was not necessarily focusing my training on, at least specifically speaking. Even more encouraging was that I maintained or exceeded my own expectations on metabolic training days. Usually when training focus shifts from metabolic to strength, you are left with small deficiencies in the fomer Basically the ol’ robbing Peter to pay Paul dealio.
Additional PRs:
Push Press: Previous 1RM: 175lbs
New 1RM: 195lbs
Snatch (squat…of course): Previous 1RM: 165lbs
New 1RM: 180lbs
2000m Row: Previous best: 7:06
New PR: 6:57
Filthy 50 WOD: Previous best: 29:30ish (dating back to Jan ’14)
New PR: 23:56
Summary:
After reflecting back on the past three months I can say that I am pretty happy with Blonyx. I did see measurable gains in my lifts, my metcons did not suffer and I did not experience an overabundance of muscle soreness or energy depletion that could be expected when increasing training volume. For the regular Joe athlete like myself I would recommend this supplement. I hope that I could give insight for the weekend warrior type athlete who had doubts about supplementation because the primary sources of information they receive are from high level or professional athletes. Sometimes we just need a bit of advice from the perspective of someone just like us. If you want to catch up on how this whole process went for me, look back to this blog https://wordpress.com/read/post/id/43104339/580/ to get started.
As always, thanks for reading!
Strength Training with Blonyx – Month 2 Update
Update!!!…. I can now lift cars over my head. Actually any vehicle that would typically have an engine, see picture below.
I most recently finished month two of my Wendler strength training program that is coinciding with the use of Blonyx’s HMB+. To catch you up on things, the three lifts that I have been performing are the squat, press and deadlift. Rather than add the typical auxiliary work that is to be expected with the program, I have used my box’s regularly scheduled programming. I have found that the movements being programed typically hit all my needs. If there is a shortage of exercises (or they are in excess) of what I require, I have made alterations to the programmed WOD.
Month 2:
Just as I noticed in the first month https://fitforfire.wordpress.com/2014/05/02/strength-training-with-blonyx-1-month-update/, all of the reps of final working sets in month two have gone up. Keeping in mind that month two is at a higher weight than month one and also more than the first Wendler cycle I did back in Nov-Jan, results are encouraging. I have added additional strength training once a week that mimics some of the three foundational movements I have been performing without compromising my ability to perform the main movements. A typical week has had me perform the squat, press and deadlift while also incorporating push press/jerks, front/overhead squats and snatch. Volume per week has also been sporadic at best as I typically perform all prescribed workouts at my box that may have movements that mimic that are in my own training.
Blonyx Benefits:
If I was to give only one piece of feedback about using Blonyx thus far, it would pertain to my perceived ability to do more work with less recovery. To give you a better idea of what I am working with, here is a bit of an explanation….
A typical schedule for me runs in eight day increments based off of my four on, four off schedule. Here is what a week could look like whilst taking out all committments/obligations and variables like extra shifts, injuries, ect.
– 10hr shift days: I will typically do one of the foundational lifts programmed with Wendler, mobility and auxiliary gynmastic work.
– 14hr night shift days: I typically sleep in on these days to prepare for the shift. Workouts in the afternoon for 2-3hrs will consist of strength training and the regularly programmed WOD.
– Days off: First day off has me follow roughly the same routine as night shift days as I recoup sleep from night shifts. The other three days I will add another workout in. For these three days it would not be uncommon to see a strength training workout, prescribed WOD and then a gymnastic/bodyweight based workout or a skills workout (varying intensities depending on rx’s WOD)
The reasoning behind the schedule explanation is that I wanted to show what volume of work I am performing. This schedule has been pretty typical since January. What I have found since supplementing with Blonyx is my body’s ability to perform at or near its highest level (not “a high level”, just my own personal level…mediocre and loving it!) on a more regular basis. I can go from a strength training session of push presses, into a WOD with OHS or a ground to overhead movement and then into a skills based workout like handstand walks without feeling debilitated the next day….most of the time. I have truly noticed better recovery results since starting to use the product, which has coincided with an increase in training volume. Had I continued with my four WODs a week programming from last year, with little supplemental work, I do not think I would have challenged/stressed myself enough to notice the difference that supplementation makes. My only rule of thumb is to listen to my body and scale up or down accordingly.
Final Thoughts:
One of the biggest reminders that I will throw out there is that I do all of this training for me. In other words, I am not trying to be a supremely awesome Crossfit athlete on course to make Regionals or the Games. I was drawn to this style of working out because it best suits my needs as a firefighter. What I am trying to do, which is not very measurable until I am in the latter half of my career, is prepare my body for doing the same work at the same level of efficiency up until the day I retire (and remain fit into my retirement because we are prone to dieing young). If I become “good at Crossfit” as a result, so be it. Crossfit was initially designed for protective services members as a way to train “functionally.” So I suppose that my “Crossfit Games” is a 30 year competition whereby finishing 1st means that I retired in great health, staved off cancer, do not suffer from congestive heart failure and I am able to keep up to my kids (who have better moved out by then!)
Thanks for reading the update, retests go in July.
Uphill Battle
Although the workouts have been going well over the last few months, the blog has not been keeping up. So in order to get more people to read this, and to say thanks to those who are already following this little start up I shall commit to at least one blog a week (this sounds small but I will be out of the country all of Sept).
After competing this past weekend at a Crossfit competition in Vancouver, I felt the need to get right back at it rather than give myself too much rest. The Sunday rest day consisted of this little workout…
100M Row – 25 GHD Situps
200M Row – 20 GHD Situps
300M Row – 15 GHD Situps
400M Row – 10 GHD Situps
500M Row – 05 GHD Situps
Total time was 10:32
Today’s workout:
The Grouse Grind (for time). For more information on the worst hike in BC, follow this link http://www.grousemountain.com/grousegrind.
Today was a let down, finished in 44:02, roughly 3 min off my best time and 5 min off my goal. So in order to discipline my legs for letting me down, I did what any sane person would do after the Grind….went to the gym.
Here is the workout:
Axle Bar loaded with 25#s per side, which is roughly 75# total.
10 x 25M Lunges with the Axle in front rack position. Upon the completion of each 25M, do 10 Shoulder to Overhead Press. Each round minus 1 rep of shoulder to Overhead and 30 sec break.
Ex.
25M Lunge w/ Axel @ 75# – 10 Shoulder to OH
30 Sec Break
25M Lunge w/ Axel @ 75# – 9 Shoulder to OH
30 Sec Break
25M Lunge w/ Axel @ 75# – 8 Shoulder to OH
30 Sec Break
ect, ect,
Total Time to complete was 19ish minutes (sorry, forgot by the time I got home)
Finished with a 10min flush on the Airdyne, some foam rolling and practiced tech on handstand walk.
Thanks for following and reading. Feel free to send questions or comments!
Let’s get this back up & running!
I’m back and this time its for real….stayed tuned for the next post. Send me tips on how to make it all better. In the meantime, read the old posts! Thanks!
Also! I am now a representative for Str/ke MVMNT shoes and apparel so if you’re interested, click the link and take a look. Msg me for 10% off their awesome products! They are known for their shoes and are a great way to stand out from the Nano crowd.
FitForFire 