Friday, January 16, 2009

Crazy Cold Bench Press & Hot Squat Workout


Wild couple of days since I got back from Orlando...as you know, it's been crazy cold all over...and that made for a slow ride back from Toronto to Stratford on Thursday. I went to pick up my puppy and bring him back to the city from Grandma's place.


While I was there, we hit the dog park for a walk. Unlike most people, I don't mind the cold, mostly because I love seeing how much fun Bally the Dog has in the snow. He could live out there in foot high snow. Sometimes when we go for walks he just stops, lies down, and starts eating snow. Happy as can be.


After the dog walk, I hit the Stratford YMCA for a workout.


1) Bench Press


2A) DB Chest Press
2B) BB Row


3A) DB Incline
3B) Underhand Inverted Row
3C) Cable External Rotations


Then we drove all the way back to Toronto (way too much driving in just one day!). Then last night at 10pm, POOF!, there goes the power. And without power, you have no heat.


So I bundled up, crawled into bed, and pulled Bally the Dog over me like an extra blanket, and managed to make it through the night. But when I woke up, it was 11 degrees Celcius (51 degrees F), IN MY BEDROOM!


Fortunately the power came back on for me at 7am, and things are back to normal. I know it sounds crazy to anyone that we Canadians would choose to live in this climate, but I like it. I like having 4 seasons (although if it were up to that lil' stinker, Bally the Dog, we'd just have one - Winter all the time!).


I also did a squat workout today because I can't do a regular workout tomorrow, since I have the Turbulence Training seminar to do in Mississauga...it's going to be a blast!


So here's what I did today...


1) Power Clean


2) Squat


3A) Front Squat
3B) Face Pull


4A) Back Extension
4B) Hanging Knee Raise


After my workout, I had a tall hot chocolate from Starbucks (with whipped cream). And I drank it outside in the freezing cold, so that it would cool down faster and so I could basically chug it.


Good times!


New 4-week workout program starts next week,


Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS


Click here for your new workout

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great post Craig. It is true that a dog is a Man's best friend.

I love that you don't whinge about the snow. I wish I was living in Canada now as I am not a fan of the heat. But I wouldn't want to whine LOL.
Australia is truly God's country.

Mark Raynsford PT said...

Hope you weren't feeding Bally fruit, before using him as a blanket?! ;-)
http://www.markraynsfordpersonaltraining.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Craig, As a new trainer I can't tell you how much i appreciate your videos. I use your techniques regularly and wanted get your opinion on the rest time needed between weight training a particular muscle. I am not talking about time needed between bodyweight workouts but the rest time needed for proper rest between more traditional weight lifting. People have asked me this and I realize I don't have a very good answer. Thanks for all your work. You area huge help.
Chris

Craig Ballantyne, CTT, Certified Turbulence Trainer said...

Thanks for the feedback Mark and Tim!

Tim, yep, I like winter. But I also like Australia!

Chris, rest time depends on the workout. Complex question to answer. Thanks for the feedback on the videos!

Anonymous said...

Craig, any books/articles you can recommend to learn about proper recovery time???

Anonymous said...

Craig, I have to agree with Chris about all the terrific information you put out there between You Tube and your blog. Great stuff all around. I also like the latest workout with the 'required hot chocolate' as a recovery drink! Nice! Thanks again!

Fred