Cycle 11

Day 1: Hypertrophy

As we continue down a successful workout road, everything holds consistent. It's about Christmas time, so adjustments are being made to make sure everything fits and so that we don't lose any momentum. What ever you have to do to get it done, do it!

3 sets of 12:

45 degree leg press/calf raise (450)
Pull-ups
Lateral DB raise (10)
Romanian Deadlift (155)
Leg lifts
High Pull
Push-up (50 consecutive)

Days 2 and 3: Active Recovery

30 - 40 minutes of cardio

One active recovery day involves ancillaries:

YTWL series http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xck3d8LidME
Scapular stabilization series
internal/external rotation 3 X 10
forward and backward pitching on one leg (3 X 10)
Planks (40s. on, 20s. rest)

Day 4: Dynamic - The LeBron Workout

I was in a rush, and so I went with an old faithful. However, this is a great workout.

3 sets of 12

Standing cable one-arm chest press (35)
Standing cable one-arm row (40)
Single leg squat (16 in.) (25)
Single leg Romanian deadlift (25)
Standing cable one-arm shoulder press (25)
Standing cable one-arm upright row (25)
Overhead walking lunges (20)
Planks - all four sides (40s on, 20s rest)

Day 5: Rest or Recovery

30 minutes of cardio and stretching

Day 6: Strength day

To continue our hard charge toward increasing the explosive capacity of our body, continue with the same strength workout. This cycle we are increasing weight after 4 cycles of the same weight.

3 sets of 5:

Back squat (355)

Incline Bench (225)

Deadlift (275)

Pulldown (275)

Power Clean (205)

Push Press (175)

Days 7 and 8: Active Recovery

30 - 40 minutes of cardio

One active recovery day involves ancillaries:

YTWL series http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xck3d8LidME
Scapular stabilization series
internal/external rotation 3 X 10
forward and backward pitching on one leg (3 X 10)
Planks (40s. on, 20s. rest)

Cycle 10

Day 1: Hypertrophy

My workout got held up by my travels, but I was back today with vengeance. Keep the volume up and keep the work hard.

3 sets of 12

Sumo squat (225)

Body weight row (20 reps)

Romanian Deadlift (155)

DB bench on swiss ball (70)

Upright row (95)

Condor lunges (10)

Days 2 and 3: Active Recovery

30 - 40 minutes of cardio

One active recovery day involves ancillaries:

YTWL series http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xck3d8LidME
Scapular stabilization series
internal/external rotation 3 X 10
forward and backward pitching on one leg (3 X 10)
Planks (40s. on, 20s. rest)

Day 4: Dynamic

2 sets of 15

Med ball chest press throw and catch on swiss ball (5 kg)
Overhead squat on bosu ball (5 kg)
Standing one-arm band row on bosu
Standing med ball reach throughs (5 kg)
Standing med ball push press throw and catch on bosu ball (5 kg)
Deceleration medball jump squats to box jump (5 kg)
Standing one-arm band upright row on bosu ball
Plyo jump to bosu to box to stick the landing

Day 5: Rest

Day 6: Strength (next week move up!)

3 sets of 5

Back Squat (335)

Incline Bench (215)

Deadlift (255)

Front Pulldown (270)

Power Clean (195)

Push Press (155)

Days 7 and 8: Active recovery

30 - 40 minutes of cardio

One active recovery day involves ancillaries:

YTWL series http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xck3d8LidME
Scapular stabilization series
internal/external rotation 3 X 10
forward and backward pitching on one leg (3 X 10)
Planks (40s. on, 20s. rest)

Days 7 and 8: Rest and recovery

Around the holidays it can be tough to stay on schedule with your workouts, so it's good if you can run a little bit. Most hotels will have something but if you are traveling you can't be so sure. For instance, Disney doesn't have any workout facilities in most of their resorts. But they do have each tenth of a mile marked for running. So that's what I did. It was Thanksgiving though, so not too bad to at least get in. If you live in a perfect world, we would want 30-40 minutes of cardio and ancillaries as well. For your reference, here are the ancillaries again:

YTWL series http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xck3d8LidME
Scapular stabilization series
internal/external rotation 3 X 10
forward and backward pitching on one leg (3 X 10)
Planks (40s. on, 20s. rest)

Day 6: Strength

So we continue with our painful and prideful strength workouts. Today we are increasing volume not weight. So we will step up to 3 sets of 5 and kill it!

3 sets of 5

Back Squat (335)

Incline Bench (215)

Deadlift (255)

Front Pulldown (270)

Power Clean (195)

Push Press (155)

Day 4: Dynamic Workout

I was traveling this weekend again, so I had to do my dynamic day in the hotel room. I did have my 35# kettlebell as a companion as well as my medicine ball, so no worries there. Popped off a quick one and called it a day. Remember, if you don't have a KB, just use a dumbell.

2 sets of 10:

One-arm clean to front squat to jerk with KB (35)
One-arm KB swings (35)
Medball pushups
Lunge to one-arm KB row (35)
Front jump squats (35)
Medball crunch to leg lift

Day 5: Cardio

30 min. of cardio or 3 mile run

Cycle 9, Day 1: Hypertrophy

Start another cycle on the right foot with some new stuff. We are going to continue to push the volume up a bit to increase our capacity, and then get after it. Also, I have some great new stuff that I will add to the ancillary days. Tell me what you think of them.

3 sets of 12
Split squats (135)
DB fly on Swiss ball (35)
Romanian Deadlift (155)
Pull-up
Overhead step-up (20)
Lateral Raise (10)

Days 2 and 3:

Active recovery days, one of which is an ancillary day.

30 minutes of cardio and one day:

YTWL series http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xck3d8LidME
Scapular stabilization series
internal/external rotation 3 X 10
forward and backward pitching on one leg (3 X 10)
Planks (40s. on, 20s. rest)

Days 6-8: Strength and recovery

Day 6 is our strength day. This week we drop the volume down and this is a "must increase" weight day. Even if it's just 10 lbs., every lift increases in weight, no matter what.

2 sets of 5

Back Squat (335)

Incline Bench (215)

Deadlift (255)

Front Pulldown (270)

Power Clean (195)

Push Press (155)

Days 6 and 7 are active recovery days. Make sure each is at least 30 minutes of cardio. I may use one day for basketball to mix it up. One day, as always, is our ancillary prehab series. I just found an awesome scap series that is to be implemented immediately as well. Add the pushup and bodyweight row to it as well!

New YTWL scap series! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xck3d8LidME

Planks 40s

Internal/external rotation 3 X 12 (on one leg, rotate)

Forward and reverse pitching on one leg

Days 4 and 5: Dynamic and Rest

Well, I had to do my dynamic workout at the beach. I know, how awful. But I took the kettlebell and the medicine ball and put together a nice workout. Fast and explosive. Day 5 is a rest day, I did play some softball, but it was a good day to take off.

Day 4

2 sets of 10

One-arm KB clean-front squat-jerk press (35)

One-leg, one-arm KB (opposite arm) Romanian deadlift (35)

Circle pushups (push up, then move sideways, feet stay still, push up...)

One-arm KB snatch-overhead squat (35)

KB lunge-one-arm KB row (35)

Leg lifts with MB to russian twist

Days 2 and 3 - Active Recovery

As always, our rest is active. We are beginning to handle more of a load, so limit rest to days you really need it. Choose one day to be strictly cardio, the other to have both cardio and the ancillary exercises. Here they are if you need them:

30 min. of cardio

Scapular stabilization series

Planks 40s

Internal/external rotation 3 X 12 (on one leg, rotate)

Forward and reverse pitching on one leg

AND

30 - 40 min. cardio

Cycle 8, Day 1: Hypertrophy

Today was not an easy one for me, as my body was still reeling from the thrasher strength workout from 3 days prior. So, I took it fairly easy while still getting the necessary parts to the workout. Volume is the same as last week, exercises changed as always.

3 sets of 12:

45 degree leg press/calf raise (360)
Front pulldown with row bar (163)
Romanian Deadlift (135)
Hammer Strength Decline Bench (180)
Lateral DB raise (10)
Bodyweight Row

**On a great note, I did hit my goal of losing 20 lbs! Actually, I went under it (212 lbs. now). I have changed my goal. I would like to hit 205 by Christmas. I am still going to try to hit my goal of under 15% BF by Christmas as well. Keep working!

Days 5 - 8: The catch up

I was in Alabama all weekend teaching lessons so I didn't get a chance to update anything. I also had a make a minor modification to the workout due to a lack of a gym on Saturday, so I had to move that to Sunday. Thanks to Dusti to get me in a gym period. So I will list off the last few days. The next cycle will start tomorrow if the Hurricane doesn't blow me away, I think I will be alright though. Here is the workout, have fun.

Day 5: Active Recovery

30 min. of cardio (I made it shorter but ran 3 miles)

Day 6: Strength (this is the workout I moved, but you don't have to)

4 sets of 5 (increase in volume, be warned this gets tough. Same weight as last cycle)

Back squat (315)

Incline Bench (205)

Deadlift (225)

Pulldown (262.5)

Power Clean (185)

Push Press (135)

Day 7: Rest

Day off, and you deserve it.

Day 8: Active Recovery

30 min. of cardio

Scapular stabilization series

Planks 40s

Internal/external rotation 3 X 12 (on one leg, rotate)

Forward and reverse pitching on one leg

Day 4: Dynamic Workout

Today we are going to revisit the LeBron workout. This is a technical workout so weight stays light. Focus on maintaining core stability and balance during each lift. We are also increasing the volume a bit as well. Enjoy...

3 sets of 12

Standing cable one-arm chest press (35)
Standing cable one-arm row (40)
Single leg squat (16 in.) (25)
Single leg Romanian deadlift (25)
Standing cable one-arm shoulder press (25)
Standing cable one-arm upright row (25)
Overhead walking lunges (20)
Planks - all four sides (40s on, 20s rest)

Days 2 and 3 - Active Recovery

As always, more good times with active recovery. we are going to start increasing the recovery and have less rest. Prepare for one rest day per cycle.

Day 2:

40 min. cardio

Scapular stabilization series

Planks 40s

Internal/external rotation 3 X 12 (on one leg, rotate)

Forward and reverse pitching on one leg

Day 3:

30 min. cardio

Cycle 7, Day 1: Hypertrophy

At this point we are almost 60 days into the preseason workout and the intensity must step up. We are going to increase all of the volume and the weight intensity. By the time we hit 90 days and 120 days we are going to shift training toward explosion and sport specificity. But for now, let's keep doing work.

Hypertrophy: 3 sets of 12

One-arm DB shoulder press (40)
Alternating step-ups (fast)
DB Romanian Deadlift (75)
Push ups (slow)
High Pull (145)
Leg Lifts with plate
45 degree leg press (360)
Cable Row (160)

Days 5-8

Sorry about being so behind. I had a great weekend of halloween mishaps. Luckily, the workouts stayed consistent. Here is a breakdown of the last 4 days.

Day 5: 30 min. cardio

Day 6: Strength day 3 sets of 5

Back squat (315)

Incline Bench (205)

Deadlift (225)

Pulldown (262.5)

Power Clean (185)

Push Press (135)

Day 7: Rest

Day 8: Active recovery

30 min. recovery

Scapular stabilization series

Planks 30s

Internal/external rotation 2 X 15

Day 4: Dynamic workout

Today is a volume dynamic day. Another fun one... the 10's workout. We are going to go on the bosu ball again, and I have incorporated the swiss ball as well. Have fun with it!

4 sets of 10, bar hits the rack only after all exercises are finished. Use light weight. I am at 55 lbs.

Bent over row (on bosu)

Romanian Deadlift (on bosu)

Reverse curl (on bosu)

Shoulder press (on bosu)

Back Squat (on bosu)

Bench press on swiss ball

Side lunge on floor

Deadlift (on bosu)

Upright row (on bosu)

Front squat (on bosu)

Calf raise, bar on back (on bosu)

Close grip bench on swiss ball

Ball crunch X 30

(rest)

Do Work!

Days 2 and 3 - Recovery and Rest

Day 2 this week will be dedicated to active recovery. The core workout from last week was more than enough to create the soreness so even though day 3 is a rest day, that's where we will do our ancillaries. Speaking of, soon we will be adding more to that list but I will update you on that as we go. Until then get ready for a good dynamic day and we will go from there.

Cycle 6, Day 1: Hypertrophy

Back on the horse again, ready for another big cycle. We are still trying to increase some volume to our hypertrophy, but we are also still trying to diversify it as well. Make sure you are keeping a record so that when we repeat exercises we can continue to move up in weight as we go. Although this week we do have a couple new exercises to our current program. A lot of volume so keep it going!

3 sets of 12

Bulgarian squat with DB (20)
One-arm DB row (75)
Romanian Deadlift with DB (70)
Decline DB fly (35)
Lateral to front raise (10)
DB Shrug (85)

Days 7 and 8: Rest and recovery

As always we end the cycle with rest and recovery. I took day 5 off, and so I will be doing 2 days of active recovery. Also, one of these days should involve our ancillary exercises. As a reminder, here are those exercises:

Scapular stabilization series 2 x 15

internal/external shoulder rotation 2 x 12

Forward and reverse cable pitching on left leg 2 x 12

Planks 2 x 30s. 15s rest

Day 5 and 6 - Rest and Strength

Day 5 you will need to rest if you did the dynamic workout on day 4. Simply put, the amount of core stability that you used there is enough to really fatigue your muscles for a couple days, and day 6 is a strength day, so you will need everything you have. I, personally, did my workout this morning and was still sore from day 4, so take your time.

Day 5 strength is a step up day in weight. Remember that progressive overload is essential, even if you don't feel like it. Believe me it works, so when you step under that squat bar, your body is ready for the challenge of an extra 20 lbs. If you really struggled the last cycle, you can stay at the same weight, but don't make a habit of it. And next step up day it has to change. In fact, I moved up my lat pulldown today after not doing so last step up day.

Here is the workout:

2 sets of 5

Back squat (315)

Incline Bench Press (205)

Deadlift (225)

Front Pulldown (262.5)

Power Clean (185)

Push Press (135)

Get stronger today!

Day 4: Dynamic workout

Todays workout is light weight and technical. Not an easy one but its one of those challengers. Here it is. I have also put adjustments in case you do not have a Bosu ball. Have fun.

2 sets of 15:

• One-arm chest press throws on a swiss ball with a medball (literally throw and catch the ball in the chest press position)
• Bosu squats with rotations with a medball (while in the squat position, rotate to both sides then stand up) if you don't have a bosu do one leg at a time, but only 10 reps per leg
• Standing shoulder press throws on a bosu or one leg with a medball (literally throw and catch the ball in the shoulder press position)
• Medball standing reach throughs (pick up the medball, reach it overhead, set it down, go all the way back up, then reach through and grab the medball again)
• Standing, one-arm resistance band row on bosu or one leg
• Single leg hops with medball (carry it like a football, switch arms each set)
• Standing, one-arm resistance band upright row on bosu or one leg

Eventually I will do vids for these messed up exercises. Email me with questions at acesgoldsoftball@yahoo.com.

Days 2 and 3: Recovery

After hypertrophy always comes recovery. I chose active recovery and a big cardio day because it was beautiful outside. 3 miles running and mountain biking for a couple of hours. Tomorrow is either rest or I may also do a light cardio day with the ansillaries. Remember what they are:

Scapular stabilization series 2 x 15

internal/external shoulder rotation 2 x 12

Forward and reverse cable pitching on left leg 2 x 12

Planks 2 x 30s. 15s rest

Do work!

Cycle 5, Day 1: Hypertrophy

Let's get this done today. Short and sweet. This is it:

3 sets of 12

Overhead Squat (95)

Medball pushups (12 each arm)

Sumo Deadlift (135)

Pull-ups

Step-ups (20 lb. DB)

High Pull (115)

Hanging Leg lifts

Lateral raise (10)

Days 7 and 8: Rest and recovery

These two days have one active recovery and one rest day. Remember that you grow when you rest. So spend one of these days resting completely. The other day let's do active recovery, 20 min. of cardio.

Day 5 and 6 - Active Recovery and Strength

Yesterday was a good day for cardio, I decided. So, I did my own little quadrathalon:

10 min. Bike
10 min. Rowing Machine
10 min. Run
10 min. Swim

Good stuff and it really doesn't feel like you are working all that hard. Except for dying on the swim.

Today, as always, is a strength day. Same lifts, stepping up sets to add volume:

3 sets of 5 with full recovery for:

Back squat (295)

Incline Bench Press (195)

Deadlift (205)

Front Pulldown (255)

Power Clean (155)

Push Press (115)

Tomorrow will be active recovery and some ancillary stuff before a good weekend. Hope you all are great. Remember to email me with any comments or questions: aphfastpitch@hotmail.com

Day 4: Dynamic Workout

After the two rest days we are back to working out. Today is a pretty taxing workout, but I think you will like it. Every exercise is done 5 times with no rest until the entire mega set is done. Alternate the mega sets and do 3 of each set. The two Mega sets include:

Standing:
Romanian Deadlift
Bent over row
High Pull
Hang Clean
Front squat
Push Press
Back squat
Snatch
Deadlift
Bent over row

Ground:
Floor wipers
Bench
Leg Lifts w/ bar
Close grip bench
Pullover w/ bar

Cycle 4, Day 1: Hypertrophy

New cycle, always starts with hypertrophy. Just an easy one, but we are increasing the number of sets, again setting up for more volume later on.

3 sets of 12

45 degree leg press with calf raises (360)

Seated row (150)

Single leg curl (60)

Upright row (70)

Cable crossover (70)

Lateral cable shoulder extension (30)

Next two days are active recovery and rest. Blog you tomorrow.

Days 7 and 8: Rest and recovery

Both of these days at the end of the cycle are meant for rest and recovery. At least one of them is should be an active recovery, the other a rest or cardio day. The Active recovery day should go as follows:

30 min. Cardio (I did 10 bike, 10 run, 10 row)

Scapular stabilization series 2 x 15

internal/external shoulder rotation 2 x 12

Forward and reverse cable pitching on left leg 2 x 12

Planks 2 x 30s. 15s rest

Other day:

20 min. cardio (I swam)

Day 5 and 6 - Rest and Strength

Day 5: Rest day

Take your time in the early days of getting back going. You can do active rest with some cardio, but you are well off to hold off.

Day 6: Strength Day

Just like the last 2 cycles, we are using the same exercises but this time we increase weight. It shouldn't be tough at this point, but we will also step down in sets, just to make sure we are ready. If you are struggling with a certain weight, wait until the next weight increase until you step up again. Be sure to warm up each exercise before each new exercise. This will be a good habit to get into when we really get up in the load increases.

2 sets of 5 with full recovery

Back squat (295)

Incline Bench Press (195)

Deadlift (205)

Front Pulldown (255)

Power Clean (155)

Push Press (115)

Day 4: Dynamic workout

We are back to our dynamic workout. I really like the LeBron workout that I gave my homegirl Stacy Birk the other day and that is what I am going to give you today. This workout is a workout that LeBron does himself, only he splits it into 2 days. We won't. Have fun with it, let me know what you think.

2 sets of 10: Light weight

standing one-arm cable chest press (cable set just below chest level)
standing one-arm cable row

Standing one-arm, one-leg shoulder press (cable set on the ground)
Standing one-arm, one-leg upright row
***rotate legs on each set (first set all on left leg, second set all on right)

One-legged squats (no weight) with 12 in. drop
One-legged swiss ball leg curls (tough to do, take your time)

Condor Lunges (walking lunge with 5 lb. dumbells, each time you stand up you do a lateral fly on one leg)
Planks (20s on, 10 off, all 4 sides)

Days 2 and 3: Recovery

We take our two days of recovery after hypertrophy, one day involves our prehab and ancillaries and the other day is straight rest or just some light cardio. This cycle I did workout both days. Here's what I came up with:

Day 2:

20 min cardio (cross-train)

glute-ham situps 2 X 15

internal/external rotations 2 X 15

Day 3:

Rest or

20 min. cardio (I gave myself a treat and snuck into Doak Campbell Stadium and ran the bleachers. Totally awesome, but I died)

Tomorrow is a dynamic day. Hit you with that later.

Cycle 3, Day 1: Hypertrophy

Back to our hypertrophy phase. Gonna mix this up a little, introduce some fun new exercises.

2 sets of 15 reps (light weight)

Sumo squat (135)

DB chest fly on swiss ball (35)

Deadlift (135)

Seated Row (150)

Overhead lunge (25) (10 steps each leg)

floor wipers (25)

Lateral raise (10)

High pull (95)

Bowling night for me! should be fun. Make sure you always have fun, everything is better that way.

Day 8: Rest

Day 8, if you are following along, is always a rest day. I am going to do some active recovery with 20 min. of cardio and a stretch. I got the hanging boots out and hung upside down for a while. Felt awesome. New cycle tomorrow!

Day 7 - Active recovery

Today is an active recovery day. Between 20 and 30 minutes of cardio is appropriate. Also, we are going to do:

scapular stabilization series 2 X 10
one-legged shoulder ab/ad duction 2 X 10 (50)
internal/external shoulder rotation 2 X 10 (30)
Woodchoppers 2 X 10 at 45 degree angles (all 4 directions) 2 X 10 (50)

I apologize for not having vids up yet. I am working on a project at home this weekend and I will get it to you. Holla!

Day 5 and 6: Rest and Strength

Day 5: Rest day

Take your time in the early days of getting back going. You can do active rest with some cardio, but you are well off to hold off. I was sore, so I was resting.

Day 6: Strength Day

If this one looks like the last one, then you are not only perceptive but right on. The only change we have made is to add a set. We want to extend our workload and be able to handle longer days. Use the exact same weight as last week. Here it is...

3 sets of 5 with full recovery

Back squat (275)

Incline Bench Press (185)

Deadlift (185)

Front Pulldown (255)

Power Clean (135)

Push Press (95)

Days 3 and 4: Rest and Dynamic

Day 3 should be a rest day. In fact, if you are following this protocol specifically, it would be best to take it off completely. Active recovery is acceptable, but it needs to stay at a minimum. Nothing big.

Day 4 is our dynamic day. I will be using a kettlebell for this workout, but for the most part it can be adapted to a dumbbell as well. I will have to post the Dynamic pitching core workout for you, as no one really has that anywhere, but you will need some extra equipment (Bands, eye hooks) but if you have access to a Free Motion machine, it can be done there. Light weight is appropriate.

Workout: 2 sets of 10

Dynamic Pitching core workout 1 set of 10
Clean to front squat to push press with KB (35)
One-legged Romanian Deadlift with KB in opposite hand (35)
Lunge with a one-arm row in lunge position with KB (35)
Incline Pushup

A couple people asked me about P90X, a heavily marketed workout program promoting overall fitness using at home weights, etc. P90X is designed for overall fitness and it does come with a nutrition plan, video, etc. It is a good program, but is definitely designed for general fitness. The drawback is that it isn't specified to anything, particularly athletes. It is not going to hurt anything, and in fact, it's a tough workout. However, since it doesn't specifically target weight loss, softball related exercises, and power activities, it will not do a great job of preparing anyone for a season. Just like anything, it is better than doing nothing. But, it will not be as good a workout as our for softball. Don't be afraid to add it into our program on hyper days if you like. Variety is the spice of life. Check you later.

Cycle 2, Day 1 and 2: Pain Management

So we have a nice mixture for success, and we also found a nice mixture for pain. Yesterday, my day off, I checked out a new crossfit gym in Tallahassee. I was put through the ringer! Here was my workout:

200m sprint

1 min. rest

Max. pushups 1 min.

1 min. rest

Max pull-ups 1 min.

1 min. rest

Max sit-ups 1 min.

1 min. rest

Max air squats 1 min.

1 min. rest

200m sprint

Then I played flag football...short-handed. Fair to say that after a big strength day on Sunday, I am toast today. But exercise is about adaptation. So I am adapting my regime a little bit. Today was active recovery: 20 min. on the bike.

Tomorrow, back on the horse. Here is the workout for tomorrow:

5 minute warm-up

2 sets of 12:

Bulgarian squats with DB (25)

One-arm DB push press (35)

One-leg romanian deadlift with DB (35)

Pushups on medball (one arm at a time, 12 each side)

Step-ups with DB (20)

Light hang clean (95)

Glute-ham sit ups

Long stretch

Good luck. Keep up with the nutrition too!

Day 8: Rest

If you have done 7 straight days of workouts....rest. Rest is as important as the workout, because the body only grows when it's resting. So tomorrow I am not officially training, although I am checking out the new crossfit gym in town and I have a flag football game. However.... sometimes insanity isn't a crazy idea.

Day 6 and 7: Stength and Rest

So, for some reason, yesterday, I woke up and my wrist was killing me. No idea why, but it was very stiff this morning as well. So I am going to write two workouts today. Ideally, we would do a strength day today and then an active recovery tomorrow. However, I am going to have to switch my own workout for my wrist.

Day 6: Strength (2 sets X 5 reps @ 80%, 3 min. rest)

Squat (225)

Incline Bench (185)

Deadlift (185)

Lat Pulldown (250)

Power Clean (135)

Push Press (95)

Day 7: Recovery

20 min. of cardio (you pick)

Scapular stabalization 2 X 10

One-leg one-arm cable crossover and cable fly 2 X 10

Hanging Leg raises 2 X 15

Do work!

Day 5: Recovery

Today is another rest day, with active recovery. We are going to do some cardio and some ansillary stuff as well. I, personally, cannot figure out why, but my wrist hurts bad, so I am going to stick to the planks only.

30 minutes on Bike

5 minutes of running

Planks 2 sets all four sides, 30s on 15s off

Have fun. Tomorrow I am checking out a new crossfit gym in town. Wish me luck.

Day 4: Dynamic workout

A dynamic workout focuses on light lifts that require extreme attention to balance and core stability. Early on, these workouts are going to involve more high intensity, high rep, low weight, NO rest workouts. It should be fun. Today, we are doing the 10's workout that a friend showed me. Enjoy!

All exercises, 2 sets of 10. No rest between exercises. This workout should flow through quickly. Rest in between sets. If you are advanced, we will do this on a Bosu Ball, flipped over. Ask someone if you are confused as to what that is.

(With a barbell, I am doing 55 lbs.)

Squat

Bent over row

Reverse curl

Push Press

Romanian Deadlift

Side lunge (bosu ball flipped)

Bench press on bosu

Upright row

Front squat

Overhead tricep extension

Calf raise

Deadlift

Crunch

Ps. I got the baseline results on my body composition. 21% body fat at 222 lbs. Therefore, I am setting a pre-Christmas goal of 15% and maybe by season I can get to 10%. In honor of that awful number, I cheated and ran for 5 minutes before I did my 20 minutes of elliptical. Enjoy yourself!

Day #3 - Recovery

Today is a recovery day, which means that we will step away from doing resistance work all together. However, active recovery will be the name of our game over the next few months.

**Understand this, if you are just starting your workouts, passive recovery will be the way to go here, or you will work yourself into the ground, or worse yet, an injury if you aren't smart. So take the day off.

If you have been active to this point, or are just a glutton for punishment, we are going to do a short cardio workout. 20 min. on an eliptical along with stretching afterward. If you are in really good shape, go further.

Also, today I am getting body composition tested for my baseline. You should all do the same soon. at the beginning of each off-season, it is important to get a weight and body comp. baseline so that you can make a goal. I am scared, but I need to know so I can make a goal for Orlando.

Have fun!

Day #2 - Cardio

At this point in the off-season, taking off that bad exterior and replacing it with good, solid, lean muscle is the primary goal. Therefore, there will be a big cardio component. Also, on these days we will do what I like to call ancillary exercises. These are exercises that help prevent injury and promote softball performance. Some may also call this prehab. We also want to work out our core. In softball, the core is mostly stabilizing for all the moving parts. So we are going to work it in that fashion as much as possible.

• 30 min. on bike
• Scapular stabilization series (pushup, bodyweight row, dip, pull-up without bending the elbows) 1 X 15
• internal/external shoulder rotation on one leg
• Planks 2 X 20 s. on each side, 10 s. rest between

*I will try to either find videos or make my own for the scap series

Day #1 - Hypertrophy

We are going to follow an 8 day cycle. Throw out your traditional calenders because proper conditioning does not always have a perfect 7 days to work. Day 1 in the 8-day cycle is always hypertrophy. We will do 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps with 1 to 1:30 rest. I will put the weight that I am doing for you as a reference/point of competition.

Today 2 sets of 12 reps with 1:30 rest

5 minute warm-up on bike
Front squat (135) and Bent over row (70) Superset
Deadlift (135) and DB bench on swiss ball (60) Superset
Snatch (95) and Floor wipers (95) Superset
Stretching cool-down

Keep it simple! less than 45 min. and you are out. Also, I do supersets to save time. You may find that handy if you have to work, etc. If you are unsure what a certain exercise is, check out the vids on www.crossfit.com. Or you can also go to http://www.wesleyan.edu/athletics/strength/videos for more exercise vids.

Introduction

Hey everyone,

This blog will be set up so that everyone can see the proper way to get in great softball shape. Any critiques, comments, suggestions, and words in general are welcome. I am going to post the softball workout of the day, along with some other things that might help you out. I hope it goes well. Speaking of, you may already be a day behind! So do work!