Tag Archives: barbell

Last Week’s Workouts and “The Bear” Complex with Baby

This is the week! The week our baby turns 1 year old! On Saturday, the 15th, we’re having a small birthday party at our home and then we’re leaving her with G-Ma as we head to a friend’s wedding. Is that wrong of us? Nahhhh.

Last week’s workouts were a repeat of the previous week, just adding weight to most exercises in classic progressive overload fashion. I would normally continue in this pattern for the week ahead, but might need to improvise as we prepare for the big day.

Here’s what I have for last week….

Note: All workouts are in a fasted state. I have a homemade pre-workout mix of beta-alanine, bcaa’s, creatine, and pure caffeine powder and then I’m ready to go within 20 – 30 minutes!

Monday – 11/03

– Back Squat: 4 x 8 x 220lbs

– Straight Leg Dead Lift: 4 x 8 x 210lbs

– Dumbbell Lunges: 3 x 11/side x 45lb/side

Superset w/ Glute-Ham Raise: 3 x 12

– Double Kettlebell Swings: 3 x 31 x 25lb/arm

– 31 1-leg squats and Push-ups

Tuesday – 11/04

– Bench Press: 4 x 8 x 165lbs

Superset w/ Strict Chin-ups: 4 x 7

– Dumbbell Hang Clean & Press: 4 x 11 x 30lb/arm

– 1-arm Dumbbell Rows: 3 x 13 x 45lb

Superset w/ Bodyweight Dips: 3 x 13

– Man-maker Push-ups w/ 30lb Dumbbells: 3 x 11

– Dumbbell Twisting Bicep Curls: 3 x 12 x 20lb

Superset w/ Standing Triceps Dumbbell Kickback: 3 x 10 x 20lb

– 31 1-leg squats and Push-ups

Wednesday – 11/05

– 4 Tabata Rounds: 1. Bike, 2. Burpees, 3. 15lb Ball Slam, 4. Bike

– 31 1-leg squats and Push-ups + run/walk 2.3 miles

Thursday – 11/06

– Front Squat: 4 x 8 x 175lbs

– Dead Lift: 3 x 8 x 235lbs

– Clean: 5 x 5 x 125lbs

– 31 Bulgarian Split Squats w/ 20lb Dumbbells/arm and 31 Push-ups

– Walk/Run with Avery and Abby (our Golden

Friday – 11/06

– Overhead Press: 4 x 8 x 110lbs

– Barbell Bent Row: 4 x 8 x 135lbs

Superset w/ Dumbbell Incline Press: 4 x 11 x 45lb/arm

– Dumbbell Hang Clean & Press: 5 x 6 x 45lb/arm

– 4 Rounds: Close-grip Bench – 10 x 135lbs, Wide-grip Pull ups x 6, Kettlebell Windmill w/ 25lb/side x 10/side, Bike ~30 seconds

– 31 1-leg squats and Push-ups

Saturday – 11/08

– Walk 3+ miles with Kelley while wearing Avery on my back. She had a good nap….

Avery Sleeping in Onya on Daddy's Back

– Quick conditioning workout of countdown/up:

->31, 25, 20….10, 5: Double 25lb Kettlebell Swings

->5, 10, 15…..25, 31: Push-ups

– 31 1-leg squats, burpees, and bodyweight squats

Sunday – 11/09

– Work on rearranging garage to make room for Avery’s play pen gate setup.

– 30 minute cardio/strength routine of 30s on and 30s off with different exercises

– 31 1-leg squats and Push-ups

I need to get Avery’s gate setup since she’s close to walking and I don’t expect she’ll have patience to sit in her jumper once this milestone is achieved.

DSC_0295

Hmm, or maybe she’s already lost her patience. What do you think?

When she starts making these faces, it’s either nap time, a poopy diaper, or just plain bored. For the last one, when not finished working out or never having a chance to star, I have a solution…..combine playtime with your workout!

To me, barbell work is king when it comes to strength training, but as parents and really all time-strapped people know, we don’t always have time for or access to a barbell. And if you did, just what, with maybe 10 minutes of time to yourself, would you do anyway?

The answer is a complex where you complete multiple exercise back to back without stopping to rest. A classic example of this is called “The Bear” Complex where you perform a power clean, front squat, push press, back squat, and push press without setting the bar down to make 1 rep. It’s an awesome workout that, when done for 5 rounds of 7 reps at a challenging weight, is a quick, effective routine.

But when there’s no barbell or time to use one, grab the nearest baby/kid/toddler/teenager (preferably your own), and make them the barbell. Here’s a video I put together to show you how.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb9EU4eyKlg&w=420&h=315]

Avery enjoys the moves and hopefully your kids will too. You get to bond with your child through “playtime” while fitting in a full body exercise to boot. Not bad! Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Now it’s time to prepare for a fast approaching birthday; Going Mom has off Thursday and Friday to make sure things are setup right since I’m not the best in that area. Have a great week!

Do you have any favorite workouts you’d like to share?

Any tips on how to manage a first birthday party? We have the beer, what else is needed? 🙂