Just Monkeying Around...

As far as I know, the Dynamic Strength and Conditioning Gym is now just the second gym in the country, and possibly the world, to have a set of Monkey Bars.. The other being at the Monkey Bar Gymnasium in Madison, WI... This is a heavy duty set of monkey bars, 14 feet long and supported by 8 1/2 foot 4x8 hemlock beams that were each bolted into the floor with brackets fastened by 5/8 x 5" lag bolts. Want to guess what my weekend workouts consisted of? How about ratcheting in 56 5" lag bolts into 6" of wood floor for starters. Thankfully, the mill has wicked thick floors with 5 or 6 different layers of different kinds of boards. These monkey bars will be there till the end of time. And I know we'll be enjoying them at the gym for a long time to come.

Had a great workout yesterday.. Worked out with the DSC gym rat Marc. We went through a great power-building session based on a 5x5 format which is 5 sets of 5 reps. Typically, if you're going to go with lower reps, you load up on the resistance or make it a really difficult exercise. In yesterday's sessions we did the following:

5x5

Handstand Press

Ring Dips

Weighted Pistols (5 each side per set)

Ring Pullups

Power Pushups

I did the weighted pistols holding a 12kg kettlebell which is just under 20% of my bodyweight.. Next time I'm going to go with the 16kg.. The power pushup is a pushup that uses one of Jon Hinds inventions, which is called "The Power Pushup" (go figure).. I have a few of these at the gym so ask me about it next time you're in and you can try it out. I had it setup with 6 cables which adds 120 pounds of resistance.. The ring dips are a great exercise that requires a great deal of core strength.. Any exercise that's done on the rings really adds a new dimension and forces you to use every muscle in your body.

We followed the 5x5 workout with one set of Turkish Getups, 5 on each side done with a 24kg kettlebell.. Nice cooldown :)  Excellent workout!

All the best,

kevin