you do get used to hook grip after a week or so and soon you wont even think about it. straps can be dangerous if you miss the lift as you’re tied to the bar really.
you’d never know - someday you could become a great lifter. The greeks have always been strong. Like my absolute hero/idol : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVB_rQFSsEg
Isn’t he amazing?? I love that guy myself…
I’ll give the hook grips one more shot.
35min warm up outside (wore 6 layers today!!, waist down two spandex and pants, two pairs of gloves, and two hats, hahaha… years from now I might wonder why I did all this… or I might still understand )
Jogging/loosening up arms/ butt kicking
Stretching
Drills: 2x 55m A skips
2x 55m high knees
1x 55m scissor kicks
3x 65m strides
Hills:
(conditions today: colder than last time I did hills, no sun, slight tailwind)
3 x (5 x 40m) , Rests: 2:15-2:30min/rep, 6-7min/set
I timed these again:
- 6.37, 6.44, 6.41, 6.38, 6.31
- 6.34, 6.34, 6.37, 6.38, 6.40
- 6.37, 6.15, 6.22, 6.35, 6.28
Proceeded to the gym for:
Deadlift shrugs: 1 x 5 : 145 lbs
Deadlifts: 3 x 5 : 165, 175, 185 lbs
SLDL: 3 x 5 : 155, 165, 175 lbs
Back Extensions: 3 x 12: w/ 10 lbs weight
Stretching and abs in between and after (with thorough stretching at the end)
Contrast shower >> the fact that I am starting to appreciate these is worrying me it’s not me… 
Went to the movies and saw The Pursuit of Happyness. Very very VERY good, go and see it!
Also got in the mail a book I ordered: Running Risks, by Angella Issajenko, I am very excited!! 
Last night it snowed, all day today it was raining ice And you can only imagine what the 45min shovelling felt like (we were pretty much shovelling snow blocks) … especially after doing deadlifts and SLDL yesterday (kind of tight!), butttt it was fun!! (I’m not a dork, I promise :rolleyes: ) even had the chance to shower my dad in snow… he he
Hopefully it will be the last shovelling of the year (hope dies last).
No classes today due to harsh weather, attampted to do work >> failed, so I decided to read for fun all day, took a random nap … oh and I was pretty much snacking all morning till noon shovelled, read more, then some business:
20min warm up on the EFX machine (at home)
stretching
3x ( 30sec A skips - 30sec high knees - 30sec B skips), all in place, in the basement
Tempo:
10x ( 100 high-knee-jump-ropes), with abs before, in between and after each rep, with and w/out a 10lb med ball (my dad assisted me for some of these, how kind of him! > btw he claims that the med ball has cement inside… )
Lazy stretching at the end.
Hmmm tomorrow might be a difficult day, not only will it be cold and windy with occasional fluries, but I have to reshovel my hill again 
Should be fun!
(((can’t wait till a full year in Greece… )))
AHHHHH… :mad: I’m stealing Saturday’s off-day for today…
It’s freezing out there… according to forecast, it feels like 6degrees Fahrenheit. (that’s around -12 Celsius).
I went to my hill to shovel it, it was hARD, my back was uncomfortable, I finally shoveled 40meters after a HOUR, and by that time my toes were so cold - I’m not a fan of frostbites - that I just said “the heck with this” and went home. It was soo windy anyway… I almost decided to simply flip flop days and do tempo (similar to yesterday) today and then hills tomorrow, but I just decided to sit down and eat something instead, because I am SARVING… and my back hurts and I dont’ want to do anything but read a book I need to finish for a class.
Besides, it’s supposed to get a bit warmer the next few days.
ahhh… :mad: (yes, I’m frustrated). And hungry.
So today’s workout: an hour of shoveling, and don’t expect more.
And I’m not shoveling a hill EVER again. :mad:
Longggg training day today. Let me start with weather conditions:
COLD! Are you surprized? :rolleyes:
Windy too.
Warm up: all on solid snow (no sinking in, which was kind of nice! although a tiny bit dangerous with sliding, but no accidents! :roll: )
Whole warm up took 40 freakin minutes!
Jogging
Jogging and stretching
Stretching
3x 55m A skips
3x 55m butt kicks
3x 55m high knees
2x 55m scissor kicks
100 abs
4x 66m strides
Hills: (nice and shoveled from yesterday): > slight head wind
3x (5x40m)
I started timing the first set (6.53, 6.44, 6.41, 6.55, 6.44)
was only taking 2min rests/set (instead of 3) > too cold
Second set I missed the stop watch twice, then I put it aside and just ran these (I was taking shorter rests too :o )
Gym:
Quick Stretch
Deadlift: 4 x 5: 135, 155, 165, 175, 185 lbs
Lat Pull Downs: 2 x 10: 90, 95 lbs
Hang Clean Shrug: 1 x 5: 95 lbs
Hang Cleans: 3 x 3: 95, 105, 110 lbs
Squats: 3 x 4: (WU: 6x135), 165, 185, 205 lbs
Front DB Press: 3 x 8: 60, 70, 70 lbs
Reverse Hypers: 3 x 12: body weight
Bench: 3 x 8: 85, 95, 105 lbs
Bent Rows: 2 x 6: 75, 80 lbs
Abs and stretching in between and after, plus thorough stretching after.
Got home more than three hours later. Mom called and thought I had died :roll:
Contrast Showerrr
Ahhh… psssouuuu (((that was a sneeze)))
I completely messed up my immune system today, by going outside to run at 2:30pm on an almost completely empty stomach (don’t ask ).
Got to my field, the snow was nice and compact, so I could jog without sinking (only occasionally I did):
Jogged for about 15minutes, stretched, etc.
Since some parts of the field were rather icy, I didn’t want to do my tempo on my trainers and slide and fall on something, so I put my spikes on and did:
12 x 150m runs, with 60m walking in between. (>total 1800m)
Then did about 100 abs
Ummm…that was hardd… 
First of all because I DID sink in (about two inches) with every stride (more pressure when running rather than jogging, plus the spikes)
I had wind to deal with
And it pretty much felt like running efforts in slow motion (due to the slight sinking).
Oh well, I almost died (hardest tempo yet).
Then, semi-inspired by Angella Issajenko’s training entries (from reading her book Running Risks), I also did:
3 x [50m A skips into 20m acceleration, into some abs] light jogs back
2 x [50m butt kicks into 20m acceleration, into some abs] light jogs back
2 x [50m high knees into 20m acceleration] light jogs back
ummmm… lazy stretch at the end…
Now getting ready to go to a Greek dance, so my tempo day will continue with traditional dancing in circles for the next 3 hours of my life :rolleyes: oh boy.
Stef, I’m gonna have to re-mail you and Anike the harness…for some reason it has to be re-packaged??? i dunno…Amer Express makes things soo much more difficult than they have to be… :mad:
And another day of cold weather!
Actually before I went out, I looked at the thermometer, and I was so excited to see the mark at 0 degrees Celsius!! Normally it’s under.
But today was sooo windy, that it felt colder than what the numbers were showing.
Warm up (total 40minutes):
-15min jogging (I actually like jogging on compacted snow, in the cold, how about that…)
-stretching
-60m A skips, jog back, to 10 push ups, 30 abs
-60m high knees, jog back, to 10 push ups, 40 abs
-60m “hurdler’s drill” (right leg fast), skip back (you know, those girly skips)
-60m “hurdler’s drill” (left leg fast), skip back
-60m “hurdler’s drill” (alternating legs fast), walk back
Hills:
3 x (4 x 40m), in spikes, with cold head wind that got harder each set (quite annoying)
- 6.53, ? , 6.31, 6.44
- ? , ? , 6.61, 6.55
- 6.78, 6.69, 6.44, 6.41
(note: where there’s a "?’, I missed the stop botton > it’s hard to time with gloves on…)
Weights:
quick stretch
Hang clean: 3 x 3
Squats: 3 x 8
Rev. Hypers: 3 x 10: with 8 lbs weight between my feet
Seated Rows: 2 x 8
(abs and stretching in between ex’s)
8 min EFX cool down
thorough stretching
Contrast shower
P.S. Fish day… Mmmmmm!!!
Tempo day today in the gym:
-Warm up 20min EFX machine (fast and easy)
quick stretch
100 abs with and without med ball (see!! I did some before…)
- Treadmill. I was bored so I tried to do something different.
2min warm up at 6mph
(fast): 4min at 8mph
(slow): 2min at 5.5mph
(fast): 3.5min at 8.5mph
(slow): 2.5min at 5.5mph
(fast): 3min at 9mph
(slow): 3min at 5.5mph
(fast): 2.5min at 9.5mph
5min cool down
(what do you think ?)
150 abs with and w/out med ball
- Bike:
3min warm up (easy)
6 x 1min fast ones (with higher resistance), 30sec rest/reps
3min easy
3 x 30sec faster ones (with even higher resistance), 1min rest/reps
about 100 more abs, w/ and w/out med ball
quick stretch
Weights:
Bent Rows: 3 x 6 : 85lbs all three
Lat pulldowns: 3 x 6: 100, 105, 110lbs
Seated front press: 2 x 8: 50, 60lbs
Bench press: 3 x 8: 95, 100, 105lbs
1 x 7: 110lbs (couldn’t do the last rep, God bless my spotter!)
(stretching in between)