Friday Gym

Warm up

Medium pace short run
Internal/External Shoulder Rotations (1*15 @ 8kg)
4 way hip stretching
SMR (Foam Rolling and Hockey Balling)

Main Session

A
1. Double arm Kettlebell swings (3 * 20 @ 12kg)
2. Yoga Table (3 * 10 deep breaths)
3. Side Plank (3 * 10 deep breaths / side)

B
1. Single Leg Deadlifts (3 * 10 / leg @ 12kg *increase*)
2. Chin Ups (3 * 5)
3. Wide Leg Push up taps (3 * 10)

C
1. Skater squats (3 * 10 / leg @ 2.5kg)
2. Lateral Bound + Stick (3 * 6)
3. Single Arm Dumbell Press (3 * 10 / arm @ 7.5kg)

Warm Down

4 way hip stretching
Hamstring stretching
SMR

I am now SOOOOO READY FOR THE WEEKEND!
The Ka-Pow! AGM and end of season party is going to be epic!

Tuesday Gym

Warm up

Medium pace short run
Internal/External Shoulder Rotations (1*15 @ 8kg)
4 way hip stretching
SMR (Foam Rolling and Hockey Balling)

Main Session

A
1. Dumbell Snatch (3 * 5 / arm @ 7.5kg)
2. Yoga Bridge (3 * 10 thrusts)
3. Front Plank (3 * 10 deep breaths)

B
1. Single Leg Deadlifts (3 * 10 / leg @ 8kg)
2. Dumbell Row (3 * 10 / arm @ 7.5kg)
3. Dead bug series (3 * 5 / leg / movement)

C
1. Rear foot elevated Split squats (3 * 10 / leg @ 25kg)
2. Single Leg Plate Hop + Stick (3 * 6 / leg)
3. Half Kneeling Overhead Press (3 * 10 / arm @ 8kg)

Warm Down

4 way hip stretching
Hamstring stretching
SMR

The rest of last week

Wednesday Gym:

Warm up

Medium pace short run
Internal/External Shoulder Rotations (1*15 @ 8kg)
4 way hip stretching
SMR (Foam Rolling and Hockey Balling)

Main Session

A
1. Double arm Kettlebell swings (3 * 20 @ 12kg)
2. Yoga Table (3 * 10 deep breaths)
3. Side Plank (3 * 10 deep breaths / side)

B
1. Single Leg Deadlifts (3 * 10 / leg @ 8kg)
2. Chin Ups (3 * 5)
3. Wide Leg Push up taps (3 * 10)

C
1. Skater squats (3 * 10 / leg @ 2.5kg)
2. Lateral Bound + Stick (3 * 6)
3. Single Arm Dumbell Press (3 * 10 / arm @ 7.5kg)

Warm Down

4 way hip stretching
Hamstring stretching
SMR

Thursday Yoga:

Another session which wasn't as tough as the yoga sessions have been before, but again there were some new people there. Still had a lot of good poses with plenty of hamstring stretches and 4 way hip positions.

Friday Bear Cavalry Training:

My first Ultimate session on the road to worlds (and the first proper (read: non-indoor)) ultimate session since xEUCF. Friday evenings aren't great for me most weeks but was able to get to this session and had wanted to get into it so I had some proper disc time with the team before Winter League. They ran a nice range of drills, some focussing on game like situations and others forcing you into a difficult situation that may arise in a game but isn't common, before finishing with some 4 v 4 on a short wide field with the rules that you couldn't have a player situated in the dump position. Was a good session, but I was pretty rusty, especially with throwing.

Saturday Ka-Pow! Housewarming party at The Fortress of Lol-itude

Lolz

Monday Gym

Warm up

Medium pace short run
Internal/External Shoulder Rotations (1*15 @ 8kg)
4 way hip stretching
SMR (Foam Rolling and Hockey Balling)

Main Session

A
1. Dumbell Snatch (3 * 5 / arm @ 7.5kg)
2. Yoga Bridge (3 * 10 thrusts)
3. Front Plank (3 * 10 deep breaths)

B
1. Single Leg Deadlifts (3 * 10 / leg @ 8kg)
2. Dumbell Row (3 * 10 / arm @ 7.5kg)
3. Dead bug series (3 * 5 / leg / movement)

C
1. Rear foot elevated Split squats (3 * 10 / leg @ 25kg)
2. Single Leg Plate Hop + Stick (3 * 6 / leg)
3. Half Kneeling Overhead Press (3 * 10 / arm @ 8kg)

Warm Down

4 way hip stretching
Hamstring stretching
SMR

Seemed to get most of the exercises at the right weight last week so not too much alteration of the routine.

Thursday Yoga + Friday Gym

Yoga on Thursday was really good. There was plenty of difficult positions including shoulder stand, but with some newer faces it wasn't as tough as some previous sessions have been. Plenty of positions that were helping with internal hip rotation, but not quite so many hip stretching in the other directions... Will have to work on that.

On Friday I hit the gym again.

Warm up

Medium pace short run
Internal/External Shoulder Rotations (1*15 @ 8kg)
4 way hip stretching
SMR (Foam Rolling and Hockey Balling)

Main Session

A
1. Double arm Kettlebell swings (3 * 20 @ 12kg)
2. Yoga Table (3 * 10 deep breaths)
3. Side Plank (3 * 10 deep breaths / side)

B
1. Single Leg Deadlifts (3 * 10 / leg @ 8kg)
2. Chin Ups (3 * 5)
3. Wide Leg Push up taps (3 * 10)

C
1. Skater squats (3 * 10 / leg @ 2kg)
2. Lateral Bound + Stick (3 * 6)
3. Single Arm Dumbell Press (3 * 10 / arm @ 5kg)

Warm Down

4 way hip stretching
Hamstring stretching
SMR

Again, as it was the first go at Session 2 I was aiming to get the weights worked out, before starting it in earnest next week.

That's 3 days on heading into a weekend off. Next week I go into the first proper week of pre-preseason mode. Should look like:
(Cycling every day)
Monday: Gym
Tuesday: Off or Field fitness
Wednesday: Gym
Thursday: Yoga
Friday: Training
Saturday: Off
Sunday: Off or Field fitness

Wednesday Gym

For the first time in over two months (excluding the Tim Morril session) I went to the gym.
It's not that I haven't enjoyed the "offseason", it's given me a chance to heal injuries and relax, but I've also felt noticeably weaker and more unfit, and I hated it. And being back in the gym felt really good!
The session was built in the Tim Morrill sessions, and is part of a 2 day/3 week programme (though I'm going to extend it to 4 weeks as I use this first week to figure out starting weights and get the excercise tekkers right).

Warm up

Medium pace short run
Internal/External Shoulder Rotations (1*15 @ 8kg)
4 way hip stretching
SMR (Foam Rolling and Hockey Balling)

Main Session

A
1. Dumbell Snatch (3 * 5 / arm @ 7.5kg)
2. Yoga Bridge (3 * 10 thrusts)
3. Front Plank (3 * 10 deep breaths)

B
1. Single Leg Deadlifts (3 * 10 / leg @ 8kg)
2. Dumbell Row (3 * 10 / arm @ 7.5kg)
3. Dead bug series (3 * 5 / leg / movement)

C
1. Rear foot elevated Split squats (3 * 10 / leg @ 30kg)
2. Single Leg Plate Hop + Stick (3 * 6 / leg)
3. Half Kneeling Overhead Press (3 * 10 / arm @ 8kg)

Warm Down

4 way hip stretching
Hamstring stretching
SMR

The pre-preseason has begun!

Morrill Performance Fitness sessions

Over last weekend, I attended two Ultimate related fitness sessions hosted by Tim Morrill of Morrill Performance. The two sessions were structured like involved classes where Tim would teach us about the foundations and theory behind what fitness Ultimate players should be doing and why. The first session I attended was around Strength and Power and was held in a gym.

The beginning was an explanation of common problems with the makeup of an Ultimate player including asymmetry caused by throwing/pivoting and the need to not only produce force but absorb it also with a note that injuries happen on deceleration a lot more than acceleration, as well as what a typical regime should look like.

The rest of the session was surrounding the categories of exercises which should be included in gym sessions and example exercises to do with demonstrations of them and time to practice them to ensure we were getting the form right. This also included a 3 minute kettle-bell swing-a-thon by all participants which certainly caused a few tight hamstrings.

We also had time to build our own gym routine at the end, with a plan which included exercises from all the categories in an easy to follow structure.

I really found this session very helpful. Not only did I learn a lot about the theories behind why certain exercises are useful and got help planning a comprehensive gym routine which I will be using going forward, but I also used it to figure out which parts were directly related to areas of deficiency in my personal fitness.

The second session I attended was around Speed and Agility and was held on an artificial turf field. This session was similar in structure to the strength and power with the start dedicated to teaching the theory, before moving onto specific exercises and drills which would help build up Ultimate fitness and could be used as a training/tournament warm up.

The first part was discussing Self Myofascial Release. I already owned a hockey ball and a muscle massaging stick (and I’m buying a foam roller soon) and I knew the benefits of using these, but Tim showed us specific points where it would be useful to release and some of these I hadn’t known about before and so it was useful to go over these.

4 way Hip stretching was a big part of this session (as was as Glute Activation) and we were also shown plenty of ways to do this.

His warmup routine had a lot of similarities with the one’s Pedro has been running with Ka-Pow! this year so during that part I felt pretty comfortable, but there were some additional parts which I think we will be incorporating into our warmups for next year. We also ran ladder drills and agility drills which included serpentines, shuttles and 10 cut drills.

In some ways it was a shame that these sessions were scheduled during the offseason as I felt pretty tired and unfit completing these drills, but it was also highly advantageous to know what I should be taking into my own fitness going forward.

I had been intending to start my offseason fitness program this week with my program being influenced by these sessions, but I managed to catch some sort of bug which had been going around the office, and so I have been unable to go to the gym or yoga this week.

Speaking of Yoga, it was good to hear Tim talking about Yoga principles, positions and movements throughout both sessions as it validated my decision to take it up and use it as an additional session to include in my fitness program, both in the past and going forward.

Offseason fitness starts next week!