John Davies workout log, 22 November

As noted in the first two articles of this series (parts one and two), please note these are recounts of my daily training days and not a recommendation whatsoever. These articles are purely for “entertainment” purposes and not lifestyle or training suggestions. The demands I place upon myself are extremely high for not merely sport but broader leadership concerns. Equally within my competitive athletic goals, I know I must push the reaches of my abilities and invariably there is an extremely dangerous element to my work. So please, while you review these workout logs, do not attempt to replicate. Realizing once I post this, there will be many who do try this session and given this, I strongly advise that it has taken years to develop my work threshold. Equally stated, I have an extreme commitment to a very high quality diet, supplementation program and regeneration techniques.

0500 I roll to the floor for a set of “50 / 50’s”, a strict round of fifty push-ups (split between fisted and regular) and sit-ups. Due to recent travel and flight time, my hips are extremely tight and I place greater care of performing the movement in deliberate fashion. Feet are flat on the ground with legs bent significantly less than 45° angle. Once completed, I film my daily video logs, answer emails before the morning training session in ninety minutes.

Just prior to leaving, I perform twelve continuous minutes of RED² at a quicker tempo than typical for this hour of the day and apply greater emphasis on lateral movements to target the hips. Once completed, I move to the Squat rack of four sets of six reps at 100 kg / 225lbs in less than four minutes.

0630 Begin twenty-kilometre cycle, pace is slower due to rain and heavy wind but pedal action is doing well at loosening hips. At destination, the surface has changed considerably in the late autumn with a fallen leaves and a heavier surface. Reducing the intervals to three minutes, the focus on the pace is significantly up-tempo before the alarm sounds and I climb upward. Fatigue from sprints wreaks havoc with the climbs but forces me to maintain focus in a challenging setting. After thirty-minutes, I make my way out of the enclave and begin my cycle back to my office.

After having a cold shower, supplement and a modest meal, that consists of salmon, eggplant in olive oil, broccoli and a considerable amount of mangoes, papaya and blueberries.

Workout (mid-day)

• RED²
• Hurdle Mobility Drills

Tumbling

• Handstand to Forward Roll to Stand to Jump, alternating between tuck and pike. Repeats of 5, 3 sets
• Straddle (straight leg) Forward Rolls to Stand. Repeats of 5, 3 sets

Agility Training / General Conditioning

• Ball Drills from Football / “Soccer” (complex movement patterns, that assist foot strike but require a high degree of sport skill, particularly with a weight vest) 2:24 minutes on, 30 seconds off. Repeat five sets. Pace is extremely fast set to  Aram Khachaturian’s Sabre Dance

Bounding

• A’s, 60 metres x 3 (10 strikes per metre)
• Flutter Kicks 25 metres x 4 (weight vest)
• Bounding 50 metres x 3 (weight vest)
• Reverse Bounding 50 metres x 3 (weight vest)

(the above section is intensely challenging)

• Trampoline Work: 10 minutes total run time of trampoline work, mostly single leg that emphasizes full extension.

Training performed outside on grass surface in chilly weather, typical of this time of year with howling, strong winds.

• Hang, Split Power Snatch, “dive start from box”, blindfolded (4 sets x 6 reps @ approximately 65% using a hollowed bar loaded with water that shifts)

• Pause Squats (blindfolded on 4/4 timing) 4 sets x 6 reps @65%. Fast eccentric to parallel position, hold to “down beat” then explode up and back down until repeating.

• Medicine Ball Throws, 8kg ball Scoop Backwards, followed by pike jump from box mid-shin height (first two sets) // Donkey kicks off same box (final two sets). 3 reps (4 sets) Med ball throws are done from a “dive start” where hands are off ball, eyes closed and upon “down beat”, move is executed.  Do not try this with box jump or donkey kicks.

• Russian Split Jumps (with bar) 3 sets x 3 reps (very heavy)
• Bulgarian Squats variation, (blindfolded, handcuffed). With hands knotted together with bands, place behind head and take one pace plus one foot length from box of knee depth. Upper Body must be perfectly perpendicular to ground throughout lift. Drop to bottom knee grazes floor and as ascending, raise back heel towards buttocks, taking foot off box. At standing position, return foot to box and repeat three sets of five repetitions.

• Pull-Ups 3 sets x 3 (heavy banded, with band wrapped at floor, pulling me down
• Bent Row variation (using a hollowed bar loaded with water that shifts that is quite heavy for this movement). Starting with overhead grip pull bar up to sternum, release and catch with opposite grip. Perform three sets of six repetitions, alternating start position.

Shoulder Capsule 3 circuits

• High Bar leg raises, pike, tuck, elevated side to side twists
• Bar hangs 90 seconds
• Pink (abbreviated, my approach to yoga)

Ice Bath 10-12 minutes  (waist deep ice water)

Contrast shower, back to the office.

Lunch, coffee, tea, supplementation.

Mid-day technical session downhill skateboarding, focus on wide heavy carves in my most dreaded variation, which is switching (“switch”) my lead foot to the right. This effectively juggles my entire skill and decision process and any error in training will cost dearly, than meaning a high-speed splat on ‘crete. Over forty-five minutes the session goes perfect, though a challenge from start to finish.

Pink (abbreviated)

Ice Bath 10-12 minutes, immediate supplementation.

Contrast shower, back to the office.

Dinner with supplementation

PM training

Forty-five minutes chess class and tactical drills for memory

Forty-five minutes language class

RED²

Brazilian Volleyball (thirty-minute estimate) followed by short Football / “Soccer” practice workout that uses a shortened-pitch (field) with three nets and three teams of four. The latter is basically a fifteen-plus minute sprint which will test tactical choices within a physically challenging pace.

DMC™ - full session that never gets easier

Pink

Contrast shower, small meal and supplementation. After an extremely hot bath with Epsom Salts for 30 minutes.

Roughly thirty minutes before sleep I repeat the a.m. light Squat workout and contrast shower.

As I have noted previously  in my opinion, Modern, Super Cissus and PowerFull are absolute musts for any serious athlete and stand firm on that comment.

This is what I am and this is what am I made of and its not in my claret to give up.

prepared by John Davies
photos credit: John Davies, copyright protected 2004

Disclaimer
The information provided in “John Davies Workout Log”, as well as this web-site blog is intended for informational and educational purposes only and should it be interpreted as medical advice for any condition. Always consult a qualified medical professional before beginning any nutritional program or exercise program. By reading this disclaimer, you hereby agree and understand that the information provided in this column is not medical advice and relying upon it shall be done at your sole risk.