Falling on The Sword

A professor said that about me once. I asked for a letter of recommendation and he wrote, "Michael, although brilliant, frequently falls on the sword of his own intellectual ambition." I am not sure if that was a compliment or not. I find myself oftentimes falling on the sword of my athletic ambition and I believe that is why I keep hurting myself. For god's sake man you're not young anymore. Get used to it. And to you I say never. I will never get used to it. That ends today's mini drama and here's the workout.

TUESDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
Row sprints 8 x 125 meters with 1 minute RI
:24.2/23.2/23.1/23.3/23.3/24.6/23.5/23 avg speed 1:34
These felt good a little hard at the end but I still got the fastest time on the last one.
Press 5 @ 45/5 @ 45/5 @ 45/3 @ 55/3 @ 65/3+ @ 75 (got 10)

Circuit:
Back ext. 5 x 10
Step ups 5 x 6 with 55 lb. DBs

As I Sit.

I have been staring at the screen for nearly five minutes trying to come up with one of my usual clever and pithy titles for this blog post but, alas, nothing has come to mind. The workout would have been considerably shorter if I had not spent so much time chatting.

MONDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
DROM
Squat 5 @45/5 @ 55/5 @ 75/5 @ 90/3 @ 100/3 @ 115/3+ @ 130 (got 6)

Circuit:
V-ups 5 x 10
Box jumps 5 x 5 (24")

Everything felt good today. A little crunchy sound in the neck region as I squatted but it went away when I changed my head position. No pain associated with it. I am going to be laying off push ups, dips and pull ups for the next few weeks to give all the hurt parts time to heal.
And off I go to woik.

Yet Again.

Continuing on the injury thing. Whatever I did on the dips affected my push ups on Saturday so I, wisely, cut the set short. I am getting wiser.
It is now one week out from the Beach Sprints.

SATURDAY"S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
DROM
3K row 13:20.8

Circuit:
Push ups 18/14/12
Plank hold 3 x :25 seconds
Walking lunge 3 x 40ft with 15lb DB (just went light)
See you on Monday.

What Just Happened?

Okay so about 2 weeks ago I hurt something in my side doing pull ups, go figure, so I stopped doing pull ups and started doing dips and on Monday I hurt something in my chest doing dips so as of today I stopped doing dips and went back to pull ups which are fine now. The endlessly fascinating world of an aging body.

FRIDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
DROM
Box squats 5 @ 45/5 @ 50/5 @ 55/5 @ 140/3 @ 160/1 @ 175
Bench 5 @ 55/5 @ 70/5 @ 80/5 @ 90/5 @ 100/5+ @ 115 (got 9)
Circuit
pull ups 5 x 3
Reverse hyper 5 x 5
Farmers walk 5 x 40yds with 55lb DBs
1 minute RI between sets

That's it for today.

Later on The Same Day.

My how time flies when you're having fun, or working. It is nearly 2 PM here in sunny southern California and I am just getting to this. Nothing of importance to link to today. It's been kind of quiet out in the world.

WEDNESDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
DROM
Tabata Row 92/97/95/94/95/94/94/95
Dead lift 5 @ 100/5 @ 125/5 @ 150/5 @ 165/5 @ 190/5+ @ 215 (got 9)
I am now going to stop calling this a superset and start calling it a circuit which I believe more accurately describes it.
Push ups 18/14/12/10/10
Straight Leg Raise 5 x 5 with a 5lb DB between my ankles
Swings (like a Kettlebell swing but with a weight plate) 5 x 10 @ 35

I saw a guy doing a very interesting warm up/work out (don't know which) He was doing jumping squats then running or karioke or high knees to the other end and then would do another bodyweight exercise and then go back. It looked like fun and I am going to try a few tomorrow.

Why Does That Hurt?

...and the answer is: who the hell knows. Another twinge today this time in my chest as I did dips. I am getting smarter although it is just a little at a time. I did not push through the set or finish all the sets. I just stopped and probably avoided a more serious setback. So from now on when I say or do something stupid I will refer you back to this post as evidence that I am moving forward.

TUESDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
DROM
Row Sprints 10 x 200 with 1 minute RI
:42.1/:41.8/:41.4/:41.3/:38.9/:43.2/:41.4/:40.5/:39.4/:37.4

Superset:
Dips 6/5/5
Back Ext 3 x 10
Step Ups 3 x 6 with 50lb DBs

I was happy with the row sprints and unhappy with having to cut the dips short.So the two balanced out and I did not leave happy or unhappy. I did go in later today and the gym was really crowded. I will have to not do that again.

You Got Up When?

2:30 AM this morning and that is early even for me but I went to bed at 7 PM so I guess its enough. This allowed me to get to the gym at 4:15 (I need 2 hrs from when I get up before I become functional.)

MONDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
DROM
Squat 5 @ 60/5 @ 75/5 @ 80/5 @ 95/5 @ 110/5+ @ 125 (got 9)
Press 5 @ 45/5 @ 45/5 @ 45/5 @ 50/5 @ 60/5+ @ 70 (got 9)

Superset (I think I will stop using CF terms for these things. It was a superset before it was a triplet.)
Push ups 18/14/12/10/10
V-ups 5 x 10
Box jumps 5 x 5 to 24" box
1:30 RI

Seemed short today so I got in 45 minutes of foam rolling and stretching

Not Getting It.

There was a rebuttal to the article I posted yesterday critiquing crossfit. It was posted on the crossfit message board. It was a typical rant by a person with less than adequate information. The CFers tend to whine and cry whenever anyone points out the obvious failings in their model. They almost universally fall back on slamming other athletes pointing out that they are so much stronger than the specialists. What they always miss is that the other athletes just don't care. A triathlete is trying to be a good triathlete not a mediocre generalist.
...and that is the end of today's rant.

SATURDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
DROM
Row 2K 7:33.3 not a horrible time but still 7 seconds off my best. I am comfortable with the idea of PR in the race. Which is a departure from how I felt at the beginning of the program.

The following was done as a superset with a 1:30 RI
Push ups 16/14/10/10/10
Plank hold 5 x :20 seconds
Walking lunge with a 25lb plate overhead 5 x 40ft

Tomorrow I rest and shop for groceries and watch Cowboys and Aliens which just came from netflix.

There is No There There.

Read another good critique of crossfit yesterday. More and more people are realizing that this program is not sustainable, produces more that its share of injuries and does not help athletes with specific goals. They just don't seem to get that other than crossfitters competing against other crossfitters in a crossfit competition there are no outstanding athletes coming out of this model. The smart money is getting out and the whores who cash in on the brand are going to go down in flames when the whole thing unravels. End of today's rant.

FRIDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
DROM
Squat 5 @ 55/5 @ 65/5 @ 75
Bench press 5 @ 55/5 @ 65/5 @ 75

Superset:
Dips 5 x 4
Reverse Hyper 5 x 5
Farmers walk 5 x 40yds with 55lb DBs

The Beach Sprints are coming up in 2 weeks. After that I will start training for the 2012 sport which is triathlon.
I am thinking in terms of doing two shorter sprint races for practice and 2 Olympic distance events. The Olympic distance is a 1.5k swim, a 40k bike and a 10k run. Ought to be fun.

I'm Here. I'm Not Here.

In 'n' out again today. Slept okay. Did the row right after the w/u row and it didn't work out too well.

WEDNESDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
DROM
Tabata Row 940 meters 12 off of last time
Deadlift 5 @ 95/4 @ 120/5 @ 145

Push Ups 16/14/10/10/10
SLR 5 x 8
Barbell Row 5 x 5 @ 120

The push ups, SLR and Barbell row were done as a superset with 2 minutes rest between sets. I like these little triplets at the end of the workout.
Worked a little on Turkish Get Ups today.

Whodathunkit?

The second night of good sleep and the second day of good workouts. I'm convinced. Took pull ups off the menu for a while because the pain in my side is still there. I will be substituting dips for the next few weeks.

TUESDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
Row Sprints 10 x 200 meters/1 minute RI
:42.2/:41.7?:41.8/:41.8/:41.7/:41.2/:40.9/:41.2/:41/:37.7
Felt strong on all of these.
Dips 5 x 4
Back ext. 5 x 10
Step ups 5 x 6 with 45lb DBs to a 20" box

That's all for today. See you tomorrow.

In Seclusion.

Out of touch. Out of sight, out of mind. Been gone for a few days. Hope you didn't forget me. This work thing has got to go.
FRIDAY'S WORKOUT

Row 5 minutes
DROM
Squat 5 @ 45/5 @ 55/5 @ 65/3 @ 135/2 @ 155/1 @ 175 These were done to a box and only to parallel. Getting used to having more weight on my back
Bench Press 5 @ 55/5 @ 65/5 @ 80/5 @ 100/3 @ 115/1+ @ 130 (got 10)
Tabata Row 91/94/95/95/91/94/94/94
Pull Ups 3 x 3 @ BW/1 @ 30/1 @ 35 and something weird happened. A pain of unknown origin in my side prevented me from continuing.

SATURDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
DROM
Row 2900 meters/12:52.9
100 off/100 on/100 off/200 on/100 off/300 on/100 off/400 on/100 off/400 on/100 off/300 on/100 off/200 on/100 off/100 on
A little ladder thing it was fun.
Push Ups 16/12/10/10/8 these were done with a :15 second plank hold at the end of each set with 2 minutes rest between sets

MONDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
DROM
Squat - 5 @ 55/5 @ 65/5 @ 80 These were done to a small box and stopping to reset and solidify my back position at the bottom
Press - 5 @ 30/5 @ 40/5 @ 45
Push Ups 16/14/10/10/10
V-ups 5 x 10
Good Morning 5 x 5 @ 75

Everything on Monday felt great. I am assuming it is because I got a really good nights sleep. And now I go to work. Au travail, au travail, au travail aujord hui.

Off and Away

As much as I hate to deprive you of my wit and wisdom I must do just that. Work has reared it's ugly head.

WEDNESDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
DROM
Front squat 5 @ 45/5 @ 50/5 @ 55/5 @ 70/3 @ 80/1+ @ 90 (got 6)
Deadlift 5 @ 95/5 @ 120/5 @ 145/5 @ 180/3 @ 205/1+ @ 230 (got 6)

Push ups 16/12/10/10/8
Straight leg raise 5 x 7
Barbell row 5 x 5 @ 115
The above were done as a superset.

Short and Sweet

...or not so sweet but short anyways. Work again.

TUESDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
DROM
Row sprints 5 x 500 with 2 minute RI
1:44.5/1:48.4/1:48.9/1:47.3/1:48.3
avg pace 1:47.4 avg SR 28
Pull ups 5 x 3
Back ext 5 x 10
Step ups 5 x 10 with 40lb DBs

See you tomorrow.

Man Chatter

It appears as though I am finally mastering the art of man chatter. Make no mistake this is an art. There are those who appear born to it and others, like myself, who have to work at it. I have never been good at chatter of any sort and man chatter has always, until recently, eluded me. I have embarked on an observational tour and there is no better place to observe the man and his chatter than in their natural habitat, the gym. I am offered, each day, many opportunities to both observe and participate allowing me to put into practice what I have seen. I'll let you know how this turns out.
In other news I found an article on a push up, lunge, pull up program called, interestingly enough, the Waterbury PLP Give it a read, Give it a try. It looks fun.

SATURDAY,S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
DROM
Squat 5 @ 55/5 @ 65/5 @ 80
Bench 5 @ 55/5 @ 65/5 @ 80/3 @ 95/3 @ 110/3+ @ 120 (got 10)
Push ups 14/12/10/8/8
Reverse Hyper 5 x 5
80 ft Farmer walk with 50lb DBs
The above 3 exercises were done as a superset.

MONDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
DROM
Squat 5 @ 55/5 @ 65/5 @ 80/5 @ 100/3 @ 115/1+ @ 130 (got 3)
Press 5 @ 30/5 @ 40/5 @ 45/5 @ 55/3 @ 65/1+ @ 70 (got 10)

Push-up 16/12/10/10/8
V-up 5 x 10
Good morning 5 x 5 @ 70
The above were done as a superset on 3 minutes

Am I Boring You?

Readership drops to an all time low. Have I become boring or repetitive? Probably. Stay tuned as there is a info packed post on the way and if you believe that, well I don't know what to say.
At the land of the lost (24 Hr. Fitness) this morning all the new recruits were wandering aimlessly around wondering which machine to try next. No plan, no focus and worst of all no help. I have decided that I will not help unless someone asks because if I approach them the reaction is usually either listening tolerantly or outright hostility and in either event they just go back to doing what they were doing before.
Crossfit hit ESPN hard this last weekend and I saw several CF sort of things going on today. Most appalling were the power cleans or more properly termed reverse curls with a press.
When the student is ready the teacher will be there. I like that saying.

FRIDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
DROM
Weighted sit ups 3 x 5 @ 20
Weighted pull ups 3 x 3 @ BW/1 @ 27.5/1 @ 32.5/1 @ 37.5
Row 2K 7:43/1:55 avg pace/28 avg SR
The row was just play today with sprints of 100 and 200 meters thrown in. Playing with the race as I have to decide on some sort of strategy

Early to Bed and Early to Rise

Contrary to the popular saying it does not, in and of itself, make you healthy, wealthy and wise. It just sort of fucks with you.
Went early to the gym today because of work. Going early is okay its just the work thing that makes a mess of it.

THURSDAY'S WORKOUT
Stair thing 5 minutes
Row 5 minutes
DROM
Front squat 5 @ 45/5 @ 50/5 @ 55/3 @ 65/3 @ 75/3+ @ 85 (got 6)
Deadlift 5 @ 95/5 @ 120/5 @ 145/3 @ 170/3 @ 190/3+ @ 215 (got 6)
Back ext 3 x 10 +10lbs
Barbell row 3 x 5 @ 125
Push ups 14/12/10/8/8

Just two minutes ago I had something clever and pithy to say but it went to the place of lost thoughts never to be seen again.

And Now On to Tuesday

Can you say that to Tuesday. Sounds like stuttering. A quickie today what I did and then off to work.
MONDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
Row sprints 5 x 500 with 2:30 RI
1:45.3/1:45/1:47.9/1:50.5/1:49.7 I would like to get all of these at or below 1:45
DROM
SLR 3 x 10
Push ups 14/12/10/8/8
Step ups 5 x 10 with 30 lb DB
the above 2 were done as a superset.

TUESDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
DROM
V-ups 3 x 10
Squat 5 @ 55/5 @ 65/5 @ 80/3 @ 95/3 @ 110/3+ @ 120 (got 6)
Press 5 @ 30/5 @ 40/5 @ 45/3 @ 55/3 @ 60/3+ @ 70 (got 10)
Pull up speed day 10 x 3 @ 110lb of assistance on :45 seconds
Good morning 3 x 10 @ 70
Stair thing 3 minutes at level 8 2 minutes at level 6
And away we go.

If You Build it They Will Come

It appears as though my readership has dropped off a bit. I am going to assume that it is because I have not been posting regularly and because I have not posted any interesting links. I had thought that my witty repartee would be interesting enough but it appears not.
A dichotomy: Although I do follow a Paleo diet most of the time and I believe it helps I have noticed that it is, as are all things currently or formerly associated with crossfit a one size fits all approach. The dichotomy that I noticed is the assertion, by the paleo folks, that we have not evolved to the point where our bodies can handle the rigors of the modern diet at the same time they embrace barefoot running evidently under the impression that our anatomy has evolved sufficiently to allow us to run barefoot on modern surfaces such as concrete. An amusing aside; there is an ad for barefoot running shoes and that is PFF. For a definition of PFF please e-mail me and I will explain. Most of you, however, are pretty smart (or you wouldn't be reading this blog) and can probably figure it out.
There you have it. Tons of fun in one post. Hopefully enough fun to boost my readership back up to its former level.
THURSDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
DROM
Back extension 3 x10
Front squat 5 @ 45/5 @ 50/5 @ 55/5 @ 60/5 @ 70/5+ @ 80 (got 10)
Dead lift 5 @ 95/5 @ 120/5 @ 145/5 @ 155/5 @ 180/5+ @ 205 (got 10)
Push ups 12/10/10/8/6
Barbell row 3 x 5 @ 120

FRIDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
DROM
Reverse hyper 3 x 10
Longish row 3,000 meters 12:01.1 avg pace 2:00.5 stroke rate 26
Push ups 12/10/10/8/6

SATURDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
Stair thing 5 minutes
DROM
Weighted sit ups 3 x 10 with 17.5 lb DB
Squat 5 @ 55/5 @ 65/5 @ 80/5 @ 90/5 @ 100/5 @ 115 (went easy on this squat day on the last set)
Bench press 5 @ 55/5 @ 65/5 @ 80/5 @ 90/5 @ 100/5+ @ 115 (got 10)
Weighted pull ups 3 x 3 @ BW/1 @ +25/1 @ +30/1 @ +35
Tabata row 100/98/96/98/95/96/97/96

And that's it for today. Happy New Year to all.