At Last, a Not Ridiculous Looking Minimalist / Barefoot Sneaker

I've griped in a prior post about liking minimalist shoes for what they do for the feet but not so much for the styles available, especially in the sneaker category.

Here is the SOM (Sense of Motion) sneaker.  Some clown shoe-ish-ness happening, but mostly they have a rather punk, Chuck Taylor look.  Exactly what I was looking for.  Pretty expensive ($135ish now, I paid $150) but worth it for me.  They feel great and are about as heavy as a piece of paper.

True Pyramid - Push Ups, Pull Drop Set, Squat Drop Set

Push Ups:
1
1 1
1 1 1
1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1   (10)
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1   (15)
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1   (18)
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1   (20)
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1   (<--  23 This was my previous total, Nov. 2016)
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1   (25!)
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1   (28!!!  That's 130 MORE REPS!!!)


Pull:  Drop Set
Ring pull up - 10, assisted ring pull up - 6, body weight row - 5, easy row - 6 = 27 Reps

Squat:  Drop Set
Alternating assisted pistol squat - 6, alternating lunge -  4, squat - 10 = 20 Reps

Today: Sore in Six (Core), Bodybuilder (Push), GTG (Pull and Legs)

Core:  Sore in 6 - 1 minute of traditional sit ups, lying flat on the ground, followed by 30 second plank, 20 second rest, then 1 minute of leg lifts, 30 second plank, 20 second rest, 1 minute of crunch, 45 seconds of plank.

Push:  Bodybuilder (Traditional Pyramid) - push up - 26, ring push up - 16, feet on 1st step push up - 15, 2nd step push up - 12, ring dip - 9, pike push up - 7, weight ring dip (30 lb) - 6, archer push up - 5, diamond push up - 12, close grip push up against bench - 15, tricep extension - 18, 12, 12, 12 (very little rest)

Pull:  GTG (Grease the Groove) - 1 arm row, singles

Legs:  GTG - 1 leg squat variations, singles

Calves:  Sore in Six - walk on tippy toes 1 minute followed by calf raise - 30 seconds, rest, repeat

Escalating Density Training - Push Up, Row, Squat, Knee Raise - Implementing the Programs

15 minutes each of two sessions

Push Up & Row:  174 total reps, largely in sets of 12 and 10.  This is considerably higher than my last total and I feel I need to increase the difficulty either by using weight or higher reps each set.  Maybe sets of 20 to start or feet elevated.  Or both.

Squat and Knee Raise:  157 reps in sets of largely 10 reps, some 12 and one 15.  This also substantially beat my last score.

Thoughts and plans:  I need to dial up the intensity and dial down the volume and frequency.  These easy exercises are boring even though it's challenging to do so many of them in such a short period of time.  Stay with the harder exercises.  As much as I like the concept of whole body every day, I probably won't continue to make gains with it and I will probably continue aches and pains and joint issues.

Consider a split of push, pull, legs and do Grease the Groove on the "rest" day and combine it with New Exercises.  Consider GTG/New Exercises/Work On Skills for the non-worked body part on a day. Consider picking the favorite "programs" and do each for a week.  So, EDT for a week, Sore in Six for a week, 5 x 5 for a week, etc.  Consider dialing EDT down to 12 minutes rather than 15 so it's twice "sore in six".  Consider dropping Pump because it's similar to EDT and Sore in Six.  Consider 5 x 5 being weighted dips, chins and squats / deadlift.  Come closer to failure.  Get better at measuring strength and as strength increases, continue to decrease volume and frequency.

Maybe cycle through the programs with a push/pull/legs split on days, each program for a week, then go to upper / lower and then whole body and then cycle back again.