Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Link-a-palooza

Over two weeks since my last post. I have been in a state recently and not up to the task. I have, however, found some new stuff for you to read.
A new article by Mark Rippetoe about Crossfit that reinforces what we already know. It needs to be said again and again as new people investigate the method. These folks need to have access to this information if they are to make an informed decision. Maybe if more people walked in the door demanding that safety concerns be addressed then the CF gyms will be forced to comply. Free market and all that.
Tony Gentilcore's site is great. Be sure to visit his Resources page for links to other sites.
Aleks Salkins site had this great article on movement. Directed toward getting you to check out Primal Move, while not a bad thing it did end up sounding like a sales pitch.
Gold Medal Bodies is a good bodyweight and gymnastics site.

Now that my readership has precipitously declined I must work hard to regain  your interest. Tomorrow on this subject we will talk about content quantity versus quality.

The workouts for the next 8 weeks:
Day One:
5 rounds/Rest as needed
Trap bar Dead lifts x 5
Ring Rows x 5
Goblet Squats x 5
Single arm KB swings x 5 to 20 ea.
Ab wheel x 5 - 10
Day Two:
5 rounds/Rest as needed
Trap bar Dead lifts x 5
One arm dumb bell press x 5
Goblet Squats x 5
KB snatch x 3 - 10 ea.
Farmer Walk x 40 meters

These will be alternated each workout and I will try to get in 2 - 3 days of outdoor workouts.
so it would look something like this:
Sunday - outdoor
Monday - workout 1
Tuesday - off
Wednesday - outdoor
Thursday - workout 2
Friday - off
Saturday - Maybe a row  or some sort of fun thing.

So that's it for today.

Friday, November 15, 2013

Movement Jam.

Musicians always steal licks. They work them over and over until it becomes theirs, adding a little here, taking away a little there. We can do the same thing with movements. Learning a series of movements and then combining them into a warm up or a whole work out. We can do a jello jam where all the movements are done in slo-mo. I am working on Chip Conrad's warm up now and tweaking it as I go to address areas where I am deficient. This process allows us to continually move forward as our mobility and skills increase.
Give it a go.
Today starts the last 4 days of the 5,000 KB swing thing.

FRIDAY'S WORKOUT
5 rounds/RAN
10 KB swings
1 Press @ 85
15 KB swings
2 press @ 85
25 KB swings
3 press @ 85
It took 20:00. I have recorded a time of 19:32 and this may have been closer to that than I know because I forgot my stopwatch today and just had to use a clock with no second hand.

Monday, November 11, 2013

The Holistic Athlete

I drove out to Palm Desert last Saturday to attend a workshop at Desert Crossfit. The presentation was being given by Chip Conrad of Bodytribe Fitness.
I have been aware of Chip and his Bodytribe for a while now and have always wanted to attend one of his workshops. I went expecting amazing and got so much more.
This event was like the fitness version of My Dinner With Andre. I left with a whole new outlook. Everything around me had changed.
Chip has managed to mix a perfect cocktail, a blend of the physical and metaphysical that becomes more than the sum of the parts.
If Chip is coming to your area then you need to go see him. Just drop what you are doing. Pack a tasty lunch. Get in the car and go. You won't regret it.
Below is a clip from the bodytribe you tube page.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Civilization. Fail.

My father was a sail boater. Most of the time we would putter around calm little inland lakes but every now and then he would take us out on the ocean. Most parents today would be appalled at the idea of taking a couple of 5 and 6 year old kids out on the ocean with nothing but a life jacket between them and drowning.
My Father lived for these moments. Once we got past the harbor and break water he would start to light up. His eyes would take on an unearthly glow as though there were a fire burning inside. The rougher the water got the hotter he would burn. He would whoop like an insane person every time we dropped off a big swell or hit a wave head on. It was in these moments that I began to see, at a very early age, the effects of the prison like confinement of life in the modern age and the freedom that was offered by embracing the more primal side of one's nature. Coming back, soaked in sea water and shivering from the cold he would get progressively more compacted the closer we got to the landing spot. As he climbed off the boat you could see the crushing weight of  civilized life resettling itself on his shoulders.
I have never forgotten that lesson.

Monday, November 4, 2013

It's That Important

Last night I went to bed at 7:30 and woke up this morning at 3:30. A full 8 hours of sleep. I can not remember the last time I got an uninterrupted 8 hrs of sleep. I also dropped 5 minutes off my fastest time in the Swing/Dip workout.
Maybe there is something to this sleep thing.

SUNDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U
W/O
5 rounds/RAN
KB swings x 10
Press x 1 @ 85
KB sings x 15
Press x 2 @ 85
KB swings x 25
Press x 3 @ 85
Finished this in 19:32. 3 minutes faster than the best time to date

MONDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U
W/O
5 rounds/RAN
KB swings x 10
Dips x 2
KB swings x 15
Dips x 3
KB swings x 25
Dips x 5
Finished this in 15:52. 5 minutes faster than the best time to date.
I only rested between rounds for as long as it took to mark off the round and get a sip of water.

I think the next time I do this I will add an extra set of 25 at the end which will bring it up to 7500 total swings and then the next time I will go for the full 10,000.
I am a gradual guy.

Friday, November 1, 2013

Whine, Whine, Whine

I was going to say bitch, bitch, bitch but some folks don't like swearing. Andrew Read posted an article titled "Who Cares About Your Snatch" on the Breaking Muscle site this morning and, for trying to point out that people may not need to snatch, came in for all sorts of abuse. Mostly this abuse came from people who didn't understand the article and took it as a personal attack.
Really?
No where in the article did he say don't play sports or try to master them he merely pointed out that the real estate occupied by truly elite, olympic level athletes is very small. That you don't stand a chance at the highest level of athletic performance doesn't mean don't do it, it just means you don't stand a chance to compete at a world class level.
General Physical Preparation is just that. It is not preparation for high level athletics it is preparation for pick up games of basketball, the odd 5K run/walk, a hike or a bike ride.
You are not Elite, despite what it says on your t-shirt so get over it and quitchurbitchen'.

FRIDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U

W/O
10 x 20 KB swings on 1:00
Finished last set at 9:34

Now up to 3,000 KB swings and will be down with 5,000 in two weeks unless I get ambitious.

Thursday, October 31, 2013

It Is Alive!

On the heels of the Jim Steel article I linked to a few days ago here is a great piece by Jim Wendler.
A standout article with the last line deserving of special notice.
"And please, don't try to sell us on how hardcore you are or how dedicated to strength you are. Your lifts and your silence do more talking than your Internet chatter and bravado."
You all keep that in mind.

THURSDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U
Dropped the weight on the TGU today after watching this piece from Cressey Performance. I need to get the moves down throughout the entire exercise and not focus on weight just yet.

W/O 5 rounds/R.A.N.
10 KB swings
2 dips
15 KB swings
3 dips
25 KB swings
5 dips
Finished in 20:31 which is 2:36 faster than the last time :) sideways smiley face for that.

C/D
Indian clubs and rolling around on the floor. (Imagine the looks I get at 24 hr. fitness)
Actually no looks at all people there are uninterested in anything new or innovative. Just marching dutifully away on their treadmills and stair things and pretending like they are getting healthy.

side note: All of the trainers there have failed the test. They are incapable of moving out of their comfort zone.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Creep, Creep, Creep

My readership is creeping down. I will have to do something spectacular to draw attention to myself.
What could that be?
Dropped another 3 minutes off the Swing/Goblet Squat workout and I am pleased. You can see how pleased I am by looking at me.

W/U
Dropped the weight on the windmills and am just working on thoracic mobility and rotational stuff for my shoulders.

W/O
5 rounds/R.A.N. (rest as needed)
10 KB swings @ 24K
1 Goblet squat @ 75
15 KB swings @ 24K
2 Goblet squats @ 75
25 KB swings @ 24K
3 Goblet squats @ 75
Time: 22:45

C/D
Threw some of the Primal Move warm up stuff into the cool down

Monday, October 28, 2013

Alone

Here is a quote by James Steel from his article Alone, Alone, Alone on "Throw Up Hill."

And when I was doing these sprints, I thought of how long I had been doing these types of workouts alone, without paying some guru (no gurus or Speed and Performance centers in 1983), or some self-proclaimed expert or even having a friend train with me. Nobody wanted to go out in that time of the day, and I liked it that way anyway.

Isn't there something about doing it alone? Getting off of your ass, getting out in the woods, and just getting it done? You mean that you wouldn't do it if somebody didn't tell you that you had to do it? Insanity. You HAVE to have somebody tell you that it is time to train? Who else in life, and that is what you are training for, life itself, can you really depend on? Better to depend on yourself that someone who just brings you down, shows up late, complains about their relationships or their jobs or has it so damn tough that they just cant go hard today because they have something that is bothering them physically. Enough, its time to start, this is important to me, so I am just going to start. Uh huh, no, I am starting now!

It may seem silly to some, but I don't care. Somebody told me today that I should be careful, being alone in the woods like that, what if you sprained you ankle, what if you broke your leg, what if... I said okay because I respected the guy, but to myself I am thinking, yeah, I really don't care, I have been banged up many times before, and its no big deal, in fact I accept that it will happen eventually, because its not running on a treadmill, it's TRAINING, and there is risk involved and I am alone because I want to be and I don't want to live like you think. I have fought against thinking and living like that my whole life and I figure that as soon as you let that type of thinking creep into your head that you are done, you might as well go to the mall and follow the herd.
Getting back in those woods rejuvinated me and brought me back to a time when life was much simpler and the worries were less. Important? Yes, its important to do things like that, at least to me, because it is the essence of what training is really about; being alone, self motivated and without relying on anybody at all, getting back to the way things should be done.

Food for your Brain.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Recked ma Rhomboids

Don't know what I did but now they hurt. If they still hurt tomorrow I will take the day off.
I put some useful links on the useful links page.

SUNDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U 3 rounds
Upped the TGU weight to 15 and the Windmill weight to 10

W/O 5 rounds/rest as needed (or RAN in future posts)
Time went up over last week as I felt a bit out of sorts.
10 KB swings
1 Press @ 85
15 KB swings
2 Press @ 85
25 KB swings
3 Press @ 85
Time 25:31
A sad face for that.

C/D
Indian clubs and Reset

Friday, October 25, 2013

What Are My Options?

Observer: Your options? Well, option A is you didn't sleep very well last night.
Me: ...and?
Observer: Option B is you didn't eat very good yesterday.
Me: Option C
Observer: You really don't want to hear option C do you?
Me: Yeah. I think I do.
Observer: You won't like it.
Me: Try me.
Observer: Your a pussy.
I got up and walked out of the room. Shame contorting my features. Tears streaming down my face cutting hot paths like lava on my cheeks.
He was right. I didn't want to hear it but I needed to hear it.

I am officially cancelling Chip's workshop today. I have not gotten anyone to sign up.
A less than stellar workout today.

W/U The usual but went with 12 lbs on the TGU's.

W/O 1 round
10 KB swings
1 pull up
15 KB swings
2 pull ups
25 KB swings
3 pull ups

My heart rate was jacked after this and I was sweating profusely and I stopped.
C/D
Indian clubs and reset.
Worked on crawling sideways and backwards today.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Open Up The Window. Let some Air Into This Room.

I think that's a clever title for this post but I don't have anything to follow it up with other than it was really hot in the gym today.
I decided to get in an extra 250 KB swings today because I didn't have to go to work.
Last night I went and worked out with a guy named Tony Cortina. He runs a place called Cortina Training.
He is a SWAT guy and a fight coach who teaches exactly the type of fighting I have been looking to learn. It is not martial arts as a sport. it is not BJJ it is just down and dirty take the fight to them and end it as quickly as possible. Here is a copy of his article in Black Belt magazine that explains the idea better than I can. Good stuff.

THURSDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U the usual

W/O
10 rounds of 25 KB swings on 1:30 @ 24K
It took 14;13
..and it was hard.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Sandbagin' Or What? (2 g's or 1?)

I dropped 6 minutes off the swing/goblet squat workout today so I have either gotten exponentially stronger or I seriously sandbagged last week. I prefer to believe that I have gotten stronger.
The clock is ticking on Chip's appearance. It will be cancelled on Friday if I don't have 13 people signed up. I now have exactly zero.
If I have to cancel I would highly recommend, if you live in So Cal that you make the trek out to Palm Desert and see Chip at Desert Crossfit on Saturday the 9th of November

WEDNESDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U 3 rounds of:
Haloes x 5 ea
Windmills x 5 ea @ 8 lbs.
Wall squats x 5
Pump stretch x 5
TGU x 1 ea @ 10
Other than the weights on the windmills and TGU this will stay the same for awhile so I am not going to write the whole thing out each day.

W/O 5 rounds of:
KB swings x 10
Goblet squat x 1 @ 75
KB swings x 15
Goblet squat x 2 @ 75
KB swings x 25
Goblet squat x 3 @ 75
Almost woossed (spelling) out on the GS today but I toughed it out because I am a tough guy.

C/D
Indian clubs and reset

Monday, October 21, 2013

Achesies and Painsies

Everything hurt today. Yesterday I left the gym and felt great all day, today I left the gym hurting. Its that old guy thang.

MONDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U 3 rounds of:
Haloes x 5 ea @25
Windmills x 5 ea @ 8
Squats x 5
Pump stretch x 5
TGU x 1 ea @ 10

W/O 5 rounds on 5:00 of:
KB swings x 10 @ 24K
Dips x 2 (going through pain free ROM with green band. I was able to get lower today)
KB swings x 15 @ 24K
Dips x 3
KB swings x 25 @ 24K
Dips x 5
Unless otherwise noted all swings are with the 24K from now on

C/D
Indian clubs

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Fun, Fun, Fun

I am loving the KB swing workouts. The Swing/Press workout took me 1:21 longer today but I upped the KB weight to 24K.
I changed the rest interval today and just did each round on 5 minutes which rewarded me for more intensity by giving me more rest.
Went up to 8 pounds on the windmill and 10 pounds on the TGU and kept my form intact so I will go up again next week.
Side note: If I don't get 13 people to sign up for Chip's workshop this week (by the 25th) I am going to have to cancel and that would be a terrible shame and a loss to the community.

SUNDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U 3 rounds of:
Haloes x 5 ea @ 25
Windmills x 5 ea @ 8
Pump stretch x 5
Squats x 5
TGU x 1 ea @ 10

W/O 5 rounds on 5 minutes:
KB swings x 10
Press x 1 @ 85
KB swings x 15
Press x 2 @ 85
KB swings x 25
Press x 3 @ 85

C/D
Indian clubs and reset

Friday, October 18, 2013

What Is Fitness?

That seems to be a question that all sorts of people are taking a crack at lately so I thought I would throw mine into the mix.
Fitness is the practical application of properly developed usable strength.
Purty damn clever no?

The inter thing is awash with great stuff today.
Here is a  part 1 of a 2 part piece on KB swings that was published on the Elite FTS site
and here is part 2. The contention seems to be that shear forces are increased the higher you go so the overhead swingers are at a much greater risk.
...and here is a piece by Ben Bruno on t-nation about squats. Appears as though if you don't have to do ass to heels squats you shouldn't. For those anatomically gifted sorts, like myself, with femurs that end around my neck I can now comfortably remove backsquats from the program and replace them with goblet squats or front squats to slightly below parallel. Never did like backsquats.

FRIDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U 3 rounds of:
halos 5 ea way
windmills 5 ea side
pump stretch 5
goblet squats 5
TGU 1 ea side

W/O
5 rounds/1:30 RI
10 KB swings
1 pull up
15 KB swings
2 pull ups
25 KB swings
3 pull ups

C/D
Indian clubs and reset

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Hardest of All

Today's workout was the most difficult of the three I have done. This is reflected in the overall time as compared to the others.

WEDNESDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U 3 rounds of:
5 ea haloes
5 ea windmills
5 pump stretch
5 squats
1ea turkish get up
I added weight to the windmills and TGU today

W/O
5 rounds/1:30+ RI
10 swings
1 goblet squat @ 75
15 swings
2 goblet squats @ 75
25 swings
3 goblet squats @ 75
The rest got longer and longer as this went on. At 31:46 this was very nearly a slog. I may have mistaken myself for someone stronger with the 75 lb goblet squat but now that I  finished with it I have to keep it in for appearance sake.

C/D 
Indian Clubs and a round of reset.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Fun With Indian Clubs

I was obsessed before but now its getting out of hand. All I can think about it Indian clubs. Is that a problem doctor?
Here are some links for club swinging.
Big Kahuna
... and here.
...and here.
The first one is actually the zen Kahuna.

TUESDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U 3 rounds of:
Haloes 5 ea
Windmills 5 ea
Pump stretch x 5
Squat x 5
Turkish Get Up x 1 ea

W/O 5 rounds/1:30 RI
KB swings x 10
Dips x 2
KB swings x 15
Dips x 3
KB swings x 25
Dips x 5
I did the dips with a green band and just explored pain free ROM. I want to build strength back into this without hurting myself. I let you know how that works out.

C/D
Indian club fun (see links)
Reset

I am only going to give the workshop with Chip one more week as I have to cover the cost of the space and Chip's travel time. The response has been less than stellar. See Coming Events page for info.

Friday, October 11, 2013

Too Much Work

I had to work too much the last week and so decided to put the KB swinging off until Sunday. (Too much work and a bit of fear)

FRIDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U
Haloes, windmills, pump stretch x 5ea. x 2

KB Swings x 10 down to 1 with
farmer walk with bell x 20yds between

Short and fun.
cooled down with indian clubs and O strength reset

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Relinquishing Control

I have finally met a few trainers that I trust and that seem to know more than I do. Having that resource I decided that after this KB swing thing I am going to have one of them program a month of workouts for me. It should be interesting.
Today I copped out and just did mobility work.

Monday, October 7, 2013

Victor On The Dark Side

I stopped by a CF gym today to see if they were still selling kettle bells. The reception I received when I walked in was about as cold as any I have encountered. Some one across the room waved and when I got closer I realized it was my old workout partner from 24 hour fitness. When I met him he was heavily into Wendler and had nothing good to say about CF and yet there he was, looking skinnier and weaker than I had ever seen him. They were doing Fran (21/15/9 thrusters and pull ups) and here he is, a man with a 175 lb. military press, a 2x bodyweight squat and capable of at least 10 dead hang pull ups, doing the thrusters with 65 pounds and thick band assisted pull ups.
I was sickened.
I asked the trainer/owner if he had seen the flyer I dropped off about Chip Conrad's upcoming appearance and he said he had but that they had no interest whatever.
CF don't like outsiders.
On a brighter note I picked up a 24K bell yesterday and so was able to do today's workout with it.

TUESDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U
5 ea of windmills ea side/haloes/pump stretch and 10 squats
W/O
5 rounds/ 1:30 RI
KB swings x 10
Dips x 1
KB swings x 15
Dips x 2
KB swings x 25
Dips x 3

Felt good. I did the dips on parallel bars and had originally thought to use a green band but abandoned that and did bottom to top press outs and lowered with assistance to keep the whole thing within a pain free range of motion. I am going to up the dip numbers next week to 2/3/5 as recommended in the original protocol. 

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Redlining the Wussometer

On any 5 round workout the wussometer starts to redline at round 3. Here is where the character is built. If you stop you are no worse than all the other wusses. If you continue you set yourself apart from the crowd.
I started the 5,000 swing protocol today (originally 10,000 but I am a wuss). I liked it. It was hard and it made me feel good after.
I had planned to use the 24K bell but the place where I buy Kettlebells wasn't open. I went with the 20K.

SUNDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U (Halo, pump stretch, windmills and squats)
5 rounds/1 - 2 minutes rest between rounds (I stuck with 1 minute for the first 3 round and then went to 2 minutes)
KB swings 10 @ 20K
Press 1 @ 85
Kb swings 15 @ 20K
Press 2 @ 85
Kb Swings 25 @ 20K
Press 3 @ 85

Cooled down with indian clubs and a round of original strength reset.

Saturday, October 5, 2013

That Bloody Lung Feeling

Today was the day I decided to do as many KB snatches as possible in 5 minutes. I was going to do it with the 16K bell but I forgot it so I went ahead and did it with the 20K.
So.... I hit 75 in 5 minutes and that's where the bloody lung feeling came in. I wanted 100 but that just wasn't going to happen.
Tomorrow I start Dan John's 10,000 KB swing in 20 days program but being old, weak and ineffectual I have decided to do 5,000 instead.
I will keep you posted.

Friday, October 4, 2013

Eyes Wide Closed

As I talk to trainers, lately, Plato's cave keeps coming to mind. They appear to be stuck, unable to move beyond the confines of their knowledge base. Many of them have the "gold standard" certs, things like NASM, ACSM and CSCS but not many of them feel the need to broaden their base. It is disturbing. I am unsettled. I no longer have the capacity, if I ever did, to keep my mouth shut. I want to help and the realization that most don't want or think they need help brings me back to Plato's cave. Drag the bastards kicking and screaming into the light.

FRIDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U (the Indian Clubs came yesterday and I am now officially obsessed)
3 rounds of:
Row 1 minute
KB snatch 5R/5L
Goblet squat x 5
I set the rower on intervals time with 1:00 on/2:00 off
ended up getting about :45 seconds of rest each round
Closed the day with the original strength reset

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Butts 'n' Brains

Sounds like a restaurant where beef rectums sauteed with onions and monkey brains still in the monkey would figure prominently on the menu.
I don't remember where I heard it but someone said, "Most people's brains don't know what their butt does for a living." As I watch folks move in the gym that statement is proven over and over again. I was teaching an older gentleman hinge patterning the other day and he just could not wrap his mind around it. I stuck with it until he got it but it took a good long time, much longer than it should.
I soldier on.

THURSDAY'S WORKOUT
20 minutes of:
Row 1 minute
KB swings 1 minute (did 20 each time and averaged 15 seconds rest)

Friday, September 27, 2013

A Banner Day on The Interwebz and The Busy Executive

Not one but two articles to peruse today. Dan John on the 10,000 KB swing program and Jim Wendler in with another challenge. More fun than humans are supposed to have.
On another front I am neither busy nor an executive but in case you are here is a workout for you:

FRIDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U
A circuit on 4:00 minutes of
Dead lift 5 x 2 @235/245/255/265/275
KB swings 5 x 30

Kind of sketchy programming pairing swings with dead lifts. But this is how baby learns.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

If Hatin' Work is Wrong I Don't Wanta Be Right

Does that make any sense at all. I have had to drive for the last four days and I am not happy. Some will say "You're such a wuss. I do that everyday all year round." and to them I say "you're a fuckin' idiot." I do not understand why anyone would subject themselves to that day after day for years. In addition to the health problems caused by excessive sitting there is the mind numbing tedium of being in an automobile.
Okay so this started out being about work and morphed into being about cars. I really don't mind work when it is at my house. So...I guess the car is the problem.

WEDNESDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U
Blind as a post and dumb as a bat.
Once again poor eyesight makes me stronger.
Picked up the 80 instead of the 75.
3 rounds of
Goblet squats  5 @ 80
KB snatch  8L/8R

and that was it.
I was tired okay?

Thursday, September 19, 2013

The Rower Has Been Drinking Not Me

My default response to substandard performance on the rower is to blame the equipment. The rowers at 24 hr. fitness are trashed and so I felt completely justified in accusing the machine of not responding. The last few intervals of today's workout I got the thing down to where I wanted it but I had to  work really hard so, of course, it was the rower's fault. Wasn't it?

THURSDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 10 x 500/1:30 RI
2:26.2/2:20.1/2:14.3/2:08.6/2:06.7/2:06.1/2:05.5/2:05.7/2:16.9/2:13.7
The last two intervals were play time:
on number 9 I did 10 hard strokes followed by 10 easy strokes
on number 10 I did a ladder of 5 hard/5 easy - 10 hard/5 easy - 15 hard/5 easy - 20 hard/5 easy

on the recovery heart rate chart I got a 3.9 which is the top end of good.
This is arrived at by taking your heart rate immediately at the end of the exertion and then again 1 minute later. You subtract the second number from the first and divide by 10 and this value puts you on the chart:
2 -2.9 Fair
3 - 3.9 Good
4 - 5.9 Excellent
6+ Outstanding

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

The Cold Has Come

It has been really hot here in SoCal for the last few weeks. Hot for me at least. Today it is overcast and cool and I like it. I would much prefer a new ice age to global warming if it was up to me.
Check out the Coming Events page and if you live in the L.A. area be sure to check this out.

WEDNESDAY'S  WORKOUT
W/U
Deadlift 3 x 3 @ 210/220/230
Circuit: 5 rounds/1:30 RI
KB Swings  20
KB Snatch   5
Suitcase Carry 40 yds @ 75 (20L/20R)

This workout felt really good and the DL's went up easy.
Perhaps I am getting stronger.

Monday, September 16, 2013

Wildness

I was thinking this morning that we all have a wild side but for most of us it cowers in a corner like a whipped dog. Its time, I think, to let the wild out. Time to open up the doors and see what's out there. Time to get wild.

MONDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U +
includes various crawls, TGU practice and just general leaping and swinging.
Row 5,000 meters with rate changes every 1,000 meters 24/22/24/26/24
This is very difficult. The most I was able to do is keep consistent for 10 strokes.
My stroke rate splits were 23/22/22/23/20
Time 24:10.7/AP 2:25/ASR 22
This is something I will keep on working

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Chip Is Coming

Chip Conrad of Bodytribe in Sacramento is coming down to show us how to have real fun. The 2 day seminar will be held on November 16th and 17th, Saturday and Sunday. There will be more info on the Coming Events page of this here blog as it becomes available.

SUNDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U + Turkish Getup practice
Front Squat 3/3/3 @ 90/95/100
Press 3/3/3 @ 70/75/80
Circuit: 5 rounds/1:30 RI
KB swing 20
Ab wheel 10
KB snatch 5R/5L

I have put some new pages on the blog and will be filling them in over the next few weeks so keep on reading.

Friday, September 13, 2013

High Grooviness

There has been a lot of good stuff showing up lately so here are some links. Dan John has a new article on T-Nation he's always worth a read. You can check it out here.
This piece by Charles Staley is well worth the time.
Rdella training has so many podcasts that you could conceivably spend weeks listening to them and they are all quality  interviews.
I just picked up a copy of The Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing by Phillip Maffetone and it is promising to be a treasure trove of info.
That should keep you occupied for awhile.

FRIDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U
Included some foam rolling in the warm up today and it felt good.
Started working Turkish Get Ups as well. I must keep those in.
Circuit: 5 rounds/1:30 RI
Goblet Squats 5 @ 70
Farmers walk 40 ft. @ 140
KB Swings 10 @ 20K
1 clean + 1 press (ea side) @ 20K
KB snatch 3L/3R @ 20K

I always feel good after workouts like these.

Monday, September 9, 2013

Off To The Races

I started rowing again on Sunday and it felt good. I now have over three hundred short, medium and long workouts that I get from Concept 2 so that should keep me busy for a while.
SUNDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U
Front Squat 5/3/2 @ 75/85/95
Press 5/3/2 @ 55/65/75
Row 6 x 4:00 with 2:00 RI
Total meters 5,296/Average pace 2:15.9/Average Stroke Rate 23
I am working with the heart rate monitor and that keeps me in check.
Circuit: 3 rounds on 1:00
Pull ups 3
Hanging leg raise 5

MONDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U
Circuit: 5 rounds/1:30 RI
KB swings 10
Push ups 10/10/8/6/4
KB snatch 3L/3/R
Ab wheel 10
I started with the 20K bell today and it felt good.

The KB progression for the next four weeks will be:
Week 1 swings x 10/Snatch x 3 ea x 5
Week 2 swings x 20/Snatch x 5 ea x 5
Week 3 swings x 30/Snatch x 8 ea x 5
Week 4 swings x 40/Snatch x 10 ea x 5
At the end of week 4 I am going to do a 100 KB snatch test with the 16 and see if I can keep it under 5 minutes.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Dream, Dream, Dream.

I had a dream last night that I was going to jail. There was no way around it. I had a little while to get my affairs in order and then off I went. When I got up this morning I still felt the dread and then I checked my e-mail. There was a note there from a guy that I was working on a book project with saying, "This isn't working and we should go our separate ways." The dread lifted immediately. I felt relief and deleted all the notes and chapters I had been working on. Free at last, free at last.
WEDNESDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U
Circuit: 5 rounds/1:30 RI
KB swings 40
Inverted rows 5
Ab wheel 10

So yesterday I hit 5 rounds of 20 snatches with the 16K and today I hit 5 rounds of 40 swings with the 16K so that means I drop the numbers and start with the 20K. 

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

I Am Here.

Not there or there but here. Now that we have that out of the way lets get on it with shall we. Not much of anything in the wide, wonderful interwebz lately. Nobody dissing CF. Nobody saying anything of  world shaking import. So....
I am on a week off from lifting. Doing KB circuits etc and playing in the park. I went to the playground the other day. The structure had a climbing wall, a cargo net, monkey bars, ringlike things and a twisting ladder. Wouldn't it be wonderful if they would build an adult size thing like that. Maybe I will have to suggest it and see if anyone bites.

TUESDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U (original strength)
Circuit: 5 rounds/1:30 RI
KB  snatch  10R/10L (100 total. time to up the weight and drop the reps)
Push ups 10/8/6/4/2
Farmer walk 50ft @ 160 (happy with this. I tried body weight but didn't get very far)
... and then off to the park for another round of reset

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Squeal Like a Pig

...or grunt like a hedgehog taking it up the poop shoot. Some guy with 3 plates on each side of the leg press and doing pathetic little knee bends was kicking up quite a  ruckus in the back of the gym, and the front of the gym, and the locker room. You could hear him in the parking lot for god's sake. It didn't seem to phase him that everyone was looking at him and laughing. I guess attention for any reason is better than no attention at all. People will be nudging their friends and pointing him out for days to come. He will hear giggles as he walks by. He has become, like that awful Hilton woman and the hideous Kardashian person, famous for being a mindless, grunting idiot.

THURSDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U
I added in 5 hindu push ups and 10 hindu squats
Goblet squat 3 x 5 @ 65
1 clean + 4 press x 3 @ 16K
Circuit: 3 rounds/1:30 RI
KB snatch 8L/8R
Push ups 9
Hanging straight leg raise 5 

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Good Little Sheep

Mark Rippetoe has done it again. This time on the subject of high-rep olympic lifts; The Fallacy of High Rep Olympic Lifts. Any CF'ers reading this. Get out now before its too late.
...and while we're talking about crossfitters. I read on one of their facebook pages about someone who because of their dedication and hard work was able to lose 96 pounds. OOOH, AAAH. That's great! The only issue is it took him 12 months which comes to about 2 lbs. a week which has been the widely recommended amount of weight for sustainable loss since long before CF was a glimmer in any one's eye.
You could also avoid all the work and draconian diet practices and just cut out a bagel a day to achieve the same results. I guess as long as they keep trotting out things like this I will keep hating them. Why can't they just shut up and exercise like good little sheep.

TUESDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U
Dead lift 6 x 1 225/235/245/255/265/275
All the lifts went up easy
Circuit 3 rounds/ 1:30 RI
KB swing 35
Pull ups 2
Ab wheel 8
The circuit felt good today and I think I am going to stick to 3 rounds for a while.
Any one in the Inland Empire east of LA (you know who you are) that is over 50 and interested in training I am going to be starting a class in about a month. So shoot me an e-mail. campmac15@gmail.com.


Sunday, August 25, 2013

Correctives as Exercise Program

I've been watching the trainers again and it appears as though someone has led them to believe that a series of corrective exercises constitutes a viable program. They appear to have no clue. Where are these people getting their information? Who is feeding them this crap? I would imagine it's same folks who shove bullshit and misinformation down the crossfitters throats. Pseudo experts masquerading as loud mouthed, overbearing gurus backed up by fake science. Another case of the blind leading the ignorant.

TODAY'S WORKOUT
W/U It is now the reset from Original Strength and about 10 exercises from Flexible Steel
Front Squat 6 x 1   (95/105/110/115/120/125)
Still not great numbers but the 125 went up pretty easy and it is 5 lbs over my previous max
Press 6 x 1 (90/95/100/100/100/100)
Weak sauce but I forgot that I pressed yesterday because my schedule was off by a day
Circuit: 3 rounds with 1:30 RI
Cut the rounds back to 2 or 3 this week from 5 because my delicate system is still recovering from going out of town for a week.
KB snatch 8L/8R
Pushups  9
Floor wipers 10 @ 115

...and out. I'll try to be more consistent about writing.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Another Revision

Okay so I thought I had my ADD beaten, I guess not. So here is yet another program revision. Going to 3 days a week to allow more recovery time and to open up some space for climbing trees and crawling around the park.For more on crawling see Tim Anderson's site Becoming Bulletproof. I am dumping the bench press because it caused some shoulder issues and dumping the back squat until I can find a really good coach to help me with it.
So here is the skinny or in my case not quite so skinny as I would hope.
MONDAY
W/U
Front Squat 2 x 5
Press 2 x 5
Circuit: 5 rounds with 1:30 RI
KB Swings
Pull Ups
Ab Wheel

WEDNESDAY
W/U
Dead Lift 2 x 5
Circuit: 5 rounds with 1:30 RI
KB Snatch
Push Ups
Farmer Walk alternated with Floor Wipers

FRIDAY
W/U
Front Squat or Goblet Squat
Press 2 x 5
Circuit: 5 rounds with 1:30 RI
KB swings
Pull ups
Ab Wheel

Snatches and swings alternate every time so the week after this I will do two snatch workouts and one swing workout.
And that is the workout for now. I will keep at it until I get bored  and then change it again.

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Why We Need to Man Up

Ross Enamait had this posted on his site. Everyone needs to read this and quit whining about how I don't have this or can't afford that. These people are the real deal. Strong, capable people have been built, for years, in less than ideal circumstances. So quichurbitchin' and get to work.
In other somewhat related news was this recent piece about vitamins and supplements.
Bottom line; work with what you have and eat as much good food as you can get your hands on.
I am starting an eight week strength practice cycle.
During the course of this I am just going to work on form adding weight when it seems appropriate. The focus, however, will be on getting everything right in the lifts.
The schedule is going to be;
Day One - Squats and Bench Press
Day Two - Dead Lifts and Military Press
Day Three - Off
Rinse and repeat.

Monday, July 22, 2013

Books. In Case Technology is Temporary

E-books, Kindle books, Downloadable books and every other iteration of electronic reading material has one fatal flaw; it depends, for its existence, on technology. Having all your reading material on these devices renders that material useless if the technology crashes.
Don't say you weren't warned.
I am considering adding a page on this blog which will have links to all my published works for your entertainment.
Been out and about lately and do not have the technology to post remotely.

MONDAY'S WORKOUT
Regular warmup plus the primal move warmup which I have added in for fun.
Press 2 x 5 @ 75
Dead lift 2 x 5 @ 225
Kettle Bell swings 2 x 45
Ab wheel 1 x 10
Pull ups 1/2/3/4 with :60 seconds rest
Row 3,500 meters

I shall now go to the blackboard and write "I will try to be a better blogger" 100 times.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

The Sword of Righteousness

To become a Registered Dietitian one must complete a 4 year degree in nutrition then a one year program as an intern and then complete 75 credit hours of continuing education every 5 years to maintain the licence. That's a lot of work and study. Enter the crossfit "coach" clutching his or her 1 or 2 day cert in one hand and the sword of righteousness in the other hacking through all the bullshit espoused by the mainstream community secure in the knowledge that this cert makes them an expert capable of dispensing the "latest" in cf approved nutritional advice. Do you see the problem with the cf model?
Science has no place in their arena. Education has no place in their arena and the one size fits all program is shoveled down the throats of the gullible and mis-informed.
End of today's rant.
...and here for your amusement is Rippetoe Goes Off  and as if that were not enough here is Rippetoe Throws Down.

WEDNESDAY'S WORKOUT
A light day
Press 2 x 5 @ 75
Dead lift 2 x 5 @ 135 ( still rehabbing the back)
The above were done a a superset with 60 seconds rest between sets
KB swings 1 x 35
Ab wheel 1 x 8
Pull ups 5 x 2 with 60 seconds rest

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Tweaking My Girdle

I let the support structure go at the top of a dead lift and lowered the bar and tweaked my back and girdle. That will teach me to lose focus. Or maybe not.
Switched the structure a little today and put 2 pull ups between each set instead of doing them as a stand alone set and it worked out nicely.

THURSDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U 3 rounds
2 pull ups
Press 2 x 5 @ 85
2 pull ups
Dead Lift 2 x 5 @ 235
2 pull ups
Kettle bell swings 1 x 35
2 pull ups
Ab wheel 1 x 8
2 pull ups

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Recovery

I came across a formula for determining your recovery heart rate. Recovery heart rate is as good an indicator   of aerobic fitness as any.
This is how it goes:
Spend about 5 minutes getting your heart rate up.
Rest one minute
Check your HR again
Subtract the second number from the first and divide by 10
The result is your fitness level base on the following chart
2 - 2.9 Fair
3 - 3.9 Good
4 - 5.9 Excellent
6+ Outstanding

Ex:
Exercise rate 130
After 1 minute 100
130 -100 = 30/10 = 3
so you are good
Give this a go next time you are on the track or stairmaster.

Monday, July 1, 2013

Here He is Again

I'm back. I think posting on Monday is a good idea that way I have time to absorb and process things that I have come across during the week and give you a report.
That said. I have nothing to report. Been a quiet week all around.
Monday's Workout
W/U 1 round of:
5 halos each way
5 goblet squats
5 windmills ea side
5 pump stretches
W/O
2 x 5 press @ 75
2 x 5 Dead lift @ 200
2 x 30 KB swings
1 x 7 Ab wheel
1 x 5 pull ups with 80 lbs assist
1 x 9 pull ups with 95 lbs assist
It is kind of embarrassing to have to use the gravitron but my pull up strength has declined precipitously and I have to work on getting it back. Gaining weight doesn't help.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Your Cheatin' Heart.

Some one asked me if I would ever get over dissing crossfit. I asked him if they had ever been cheated on and lied to. He said yes. Then I asked him if he would ever get over it. He said no and I walked away.
The unbelievable arrogance of these people as they "discover" something and then berate everyone else for not knowing it. This attitude first began to bother me when the cf/paleo group "discovered" Dr. Weston Price. Aren't we special since we now embrace a book that was written in the 1930's. Really? It was the same when Mike Burgener invented olympic lifting and Jeff Martone invented Kettle Bells and Kelly Starrett invented physical therapy. I wish to take nothing away from the three men mentioned above as they are valid coaches and teachers it is their sheeplike followers that I have the beef with.
On a cf gym facebook page the other day was an article on squatting below parallel. The caption they had put above it was"Isn't it great when the rest of the world discovers what we have know for years." For years? The first cf workout was posted in 2003 or something like that. Not quite an impressive pedigree just yet.
The world needs to be reminded of these things and they need to be reminded over and over and over again. With about 5 - 15 certs every weekend, with thousands of new people coming into cf every month they will not get the real story and they will get substandard training and they will get hurt.
Our job, should we decide to accept it, is to make sure that folks have access to the truth about cf and can make informed choices not just based on cf's one sided bullshit.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Looking Good Naked

That seems to be the way a lot of gyms and trainers are attracting clients these days. My preference is to build strong, capable humans. A by product of being strong and capable is looking good. Being strong and capable is not, however, a by product of looking good.
People have told me that they a fine with just looking good and they always ask isn't that okay and, quite frankly, no it is not. Being strong and capable could save your life, looking good will not. It is not okay and if you ever tell me that you are okay with just looking good then I will dismiss you as a low brow, mindless tool. I am a bit ornery that way.

W/U
3 rounds of:
5 halos ea. way
5 windmills each side
5 goblet squats
5 pump stretch
W/O
Dead lift 2 x 5 @ 200
Press 2 x 5 @ 75
Pull ups 2 x 5
Kettle bell swings 2 x 25
Back ext. 2 x 10
Incline March 15:00/10 degree incline/3.1 mph

Monday, June 17, 2013

Alias Stole My Brain

I discovered the show Alias last week. 6 seasons, 22 episodes per season and I was gone. All spare time has been devoted to watching this show. I am on season 4 episode 7 now so the blog posts will be sketchy until I get through it all.
Working on a Dan John 40 day program.
The warmup is:
3 rounds of:
Halos 5 each way
Goblet squats x 5
Windmills 5 each side
Pump Stretch
THEN
Deadlift 2 x 5
Press 2 x 5
Kettle bell swings 20 - 40
Pull Ups 2 x 5
Ab wheel 5 alternating with Back extension 2 x 10

It has been a long time since I did pull ups and all pulling strength has vanished so I am on the gravitron until I can get back into a groove.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Vanishing Point

I reached it last week and that is where I have been. I am doing two weeks of Pavel's Program Minimum which is:
W/U 5 minutes of:
10 Halos
10 Wall squats
10 Pump stretch
That is the same each day.
Then:
Day 1 12 minutes of 20 KB swings with 1 minute of something to keep your heart rate up in between
Day 2 5 minutes of Turkish Get ups

That is repeated on days 3 and 4
I do Sunday and Monday take Tuesday off and then do Wednesday and Thursday.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Another Short One

Just the workout today. Nothing new to report except that I am going to start training a football player tomorrow which should be fun. He has been doing body building type stuff but what he really needs is to get strong.

WEDNESDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U series 3 rounds
Dead lift 5 x 2 @ 255
Hanging leg raises 3 x 7

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

I Been Sick

Just coming down off a cold etc. I really do hate to be sick. Scaled Sunday back to just one round of everything.

SUNDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U series
Goblet Squat 1 x 5
Ab wheel 1 x 5

MONDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U series (3 rounds)
Press 5 x 2 @ 100
Back Ext. 3 x 10

...and away I go.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Dabblers

There is a woman at 24 hr. fitness that wants me to teach her Olympic lifts. Her boyfriend told her that they were too dangerous and that she should not do them. I informed her today that, properly taught, the Olympic lifts were statistically safer than badminton and that she might want to mention that to her boyfriend the next time she talked to him and to avoid badminton at all costs. He is a dabbler. He accidentally managed to get in good shape and now he believes that he is qualified to give advice. Precious hates the dabblers he does.

THURSDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U series
Dead lift 3 x 3 @ 245
hanging Leg Raises 3 x 5

And in other news 24 now has a trap bar. i only need to talk them into getting a safety squat bar and a Versa-Climber and I'll be a happy camper.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Good Morning Upland

Rained all day yesterday. It was quite lovely. I began to watch the Copper series and it grew on me and before I knew it 6 hours had passed. I still have 4 episodes to watch to complete the 1st season.
Here is a piece by Paul Chek on intelligent stretching.
I have read some interesting stuff lately on flexors and extensors. Apparently as people age the flexors get tight and the extensors get weak and this accounts for the hunched over look you see in many older people. A relatively easy fix so get to it.

TUESDAY'S WORKOUT
3 rounds of:
Halos x 5 ea way
BS squats x 10
KB Swings x 5 ea
Windmills x 5 ea
Pump stretch x 10
Tactical Frog x 10
Press 3 @ 95
Back ext x 10

I like doing this in a circuit. Plenty of rest between exercises and rounds.

Monday, May 6, 2013

Where Have I Been?

Good question. I have gone to find myself. If I return before I get back please keep me here. How confusing is that?
Didn't work out enough last week and missed a few so I decided to repeat week 2 of the cycle.

MONDAY'S WORKOUT
3 Rounds of:
Halo x 5 ea. way
Bootstrapper Squats x 10
Windmill x 5 ea side (doing 10 pounds now still a little hard on the left side but I can't continue to wuss out because it's a little hard)
Pump stretch x 10
Tactical Frog x 10

Goblet Squat 9 x 9 @ 26
Ab wheel 3 x 5

I have some new stuff to share but will hold off until tomorrow so I can find and organize.

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Old and New

Just a note: everything old is not necessarily good and everything new is not necessarily better. Keep that in mind.

TUESDAY'S WORKOUT
I did the whole workout in a circuit fashion today and I liked how it flowed.
3 rounds of:
Halos x 5 ea way
Windmill x 5 ea side @10 lbs. (finally started to push this one up in weight)
Bootstrapper Squats x 10
Pump stretch x 10
Tactical Frog x 10
Under bar batwing holds x 10 seconds
KB swings x 10 ea side
Press 3 @ 95
Back Extension x 10

I took plenty of rest and did some Super Joints movements between exercises and rounds.

Monday, April 29, 2013

Jesus, The Paleo Diet and You.

Just as Jesus, were he to return today, would not recognize the religions started in his name so would our Paleolithic ancestors not recognize the diet started in their name. The paleo diet in its modern incarnation depends heavily on beef. Cows did not come to America until the 1400's so our paleo friends could not have eaten them.  Indigenous diets have and always will depend on availability. the natives of my area might look at the modern paleo diet and wonder where are the white throated woodrats, where is the bear and elk and deer and acorns and lizards and snakes. You paleo people need to relax a little quit making restaurant workers miserable by asking for gluten free everything, quit pretending you know everything about nutrition because you went to a one day seminar, eat a pizza and some ice cream every week and quit being so damn religious about your little diet thing.

MONDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U (changed a little as I added in a 10 second beneath the bar batwing hold and 10 KB swings with each hand at the end)

W/O
Goblet Squats 3 x 3 @ 45
Ab wheel 3 x 5

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Bullshit, No Bullshit, Bullshit, No Bullshit......

Read an  older article on training bullshit and I found it to be interesting enough to want to share with you. You can find it here.
I got an e-mail from  CF gym the other day that saw an old post I had put up on the crossfit message board. I went to chat with them to see if they would be interested in un-fucking their CF gym and they are possibly interested. We'll see how that plays out.

WEDNESDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U series
I added in some of Pavel's Super Joints exercises between sets. I like the way it feels.

Press 5 @ 90/3 @ 95/2 @ 100

Back Ext. 3 x 10

W/U 20 minutes/Press Sets 15 minutes/Back Ext 10 minutes
Out of the gym in 45 minutes
I do like short workouts. Leaves time to chat if I feel like it.

Monday, April 22, 2013

...And Away We Go

Back to lifting. I am going to be sticking to Goblet Squats for another couple of cycles and then go to Back Squats again and see what happens.

MONDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U Series
3 Rounds of:
10 Halos (5 ea way)
10 Bootstrapper Squats
10 Windmills (5 ea side)
10 Pump stretch
Tactical Frog 10 Forward and Back
This will be known as the W/U series from now on to save me some typing.
Goblet Squats 8 x 8 @ 30
Ab Wheel 3 x 5

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Sleep My Pretties

A good article on T-Nation about sleep here.

SATURDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U
10 minutes of;
Halos x 10
Bootstrapper Squats x 10
Pump Stretch x 10
W/O
5 minutes of:
Turkish Get Ups

In and out quick.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

On and On and On Dear Prudence

All quiet on the western front. Haven't come across any good articles to share today. The CF hater sites are played out so there is nothing fun to report. It did occur to me yesterday that the purpose of reporting on the madness and injuries in CF is not so much to bring it down but to make sure that there is a reference source for people who are considering joining the cult. As more people get involved there needs to be more, not less, places where they can go to find out the truth. A great quote by, I believe, Upton Sinclair says "It is hard to get a man to understand when his job depends on his not understanding." Pretty much sums up most of the CF trainers I know.

THURSDAY'S WORKOUT
10 minutes of:
Halos x 10
Pump stretch x 10
Bootstrapper squats x 10
12 minutes of:
20 swings
jump rope x 1 minute
20 swings
push ups x 1 minute
20 swings
step ups x 1 minute
20 swings
cross walk x 1 minute

I checked my heart rate on the minute for 4 minutes after the work out and it was:
132/104/96/83

I am not sure of the exact percentages but recovery rate is a good indicator of fitness level so I may invest in a HR monitor to keep closer track of this.



Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Fun Stuff Right Here in River City

Mark Rippetoe has a new piece on T-Nation and you can read it here. The Prince of Posture, one Mr. Angelo Poli of Whole Body Fitness has some new articles up on Huffington Post and you can read them here. I had something important to say today but rather than write it down I went to work out and now it is gone.
TUESDAY'S WORKOUT
W/U
10 minutes of:
Halos x 10 (5 each way)
Wall Squats x 10
Pumps x 10
W/O
5 minutes of:
Turkish Get Up (alt. L than R)

...and I'm out.
I will be going back to lifting next week. So the schedule for right now is:
Week 1 - 5/3/2 on the lifts
Week 2 - 3 x 3
Week 3 - 5 x 2
Week 4 - Program Minimum
Week 5 - Program Minimum

Rinse and repeat. I will start rowing again in October.

Monday, April 15, 2013

CFE, UST and PM

Can you guess where we are going with this. First here is an article on what is wrong with crossfit endurance. He opens the article by saying "Not terribly long ago, I stopped dating a girl because she did crossfit." You can imagine that he wouldn't have anything good to say about CF after that.
And here is an article on Unstable Surface Training. Any trainers reading this blog, if you  have bought into the UST model, might want to do a little research on the protocol and then change your programming.
And now on to Program Minimum. A while ago I read an article that I think was by Jim Wendler where he said he was tired of answering questions about what people could add to the 5/3/1 program. He stated that they could add anything they wanted but then it would no longer be 5/3/1.
I thought about that this morning as I considered adding something to the PM model.
MONDAY'S WORKOUT
Warm up
10 minutes of:
10 halos
10 wall squats
10 pumps
Work out
12 minutes of:
20 Swings
Cross knee to elbow 1 minute
20 swings
Lunge 1 minute
20 swings
Russian Twist 1 minute
20 swings
Hindu push up 1 minute.

Monday, April 8, 2013

Slouching Toward Freedom

Sorry about last week it was no post radio. Work arose and I had to take it as I plan to be out of debt by the end of this year and then I will be able to re-assess the situation.
For the next two weeks I will be doing Pavel's Program Minimum. Here is a link to the program.

MONDAY'S WORKOUT
10 minutes of:
10 Wall Squats
10 Halos
10 Pumps
THEN
12 minutes of:
20 Swings
Mtn. climbers 1 min.
20 swings
Hindu push ups 1 min.
20 swings
Step ups 1 min.
20 swings
Lunge 1 min.

I may change the exercises that I use between the swings.

Saturday, March 30, 2013

In and Out Again

Alright you slug, make it quick.

SATURDAY'S WORKOUT
FS/KB Circuit/Turkish get ups
Goblet Squat 5 x 5 @ 16 k
these are getting a lot better
Ab wheel (bottom to top) 3 x 5

..and away goes the slug.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Now About That Diet.

A great (overused adjective) article on diet a few days ago from T Nation. Just a note to any CF gyms out there who might need some help with keeping your clients safe and getting them strong I do programming for a nominal fee. You can contact me at campmac15@gmail.com.

THURSDAY'S WORKOUT
2 rounds of
FS/KB circuit 5 ea/KB swings 10 ea
Deadlift 3 x 3 @ 255
Floor wipers 3 x 10 @ 95
Been a while since I did these and my wrist has been giving me problems so I stayed light.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Sequester Program

Worked out with my friend Kwasi this morning. He is an old school power lifter. I told him about my sequester program and it goes like this. Play sports in high school, graduate from high school, spend the next 20 years safely sequestered on a bar stool, start working out again when you are around 35 to 40. The reason it works is because you didn't hurt yourself, kind of like being sealed in tupperware for 20 years. You start back in fresh and uninjured.

WEDNESDAY'S WORKOUT
FS/KB circuit/Turkish get up
Press 3 x 3 @ 95
Back Ext. 3 x 10

...and out feeling fresh, like daisy.

Monday, March 25, 2013

Riff on FMS

That's Functional Movement Screen. Gray Cook came up with it. I was obsessed with it for a while mostly because I liked Gray Cook's turkish get up tutorial. but then I found a thread on the Starting Strength forums and someone made this comment. "This industry is about creating opportunities to generate revenue, not producing results. The relevance of this product/system is not that it allegedly identifies movement irregularities, but that it has associated remedies that people are all eager to pay for because it's science. the whole system merely provides the appearance of knowledge and competency for people who do not understand that most irregularities can be fixed with the right cues and strengthening, nor do they care." I believe it was posted by a guy named Limie Josh.
Trainers will come up with all sorts of convoluted balancing exercises and strange tricks to convince the potential client that they are weak, inflexible and lack balance. Then they can offer to cure those ills with X number of training sessions. sounds like snake oil. As was pointed out in the thread you could get all the information you needed about a client by watching them walk across the room, watching them pick something up off the floor, watching them squat and watching them sit down and stand up. This week, I guess, is going to be "Bash a Trainer" week kind of like wack a mole.

MONDAY'S WORKOUT                                                                                                                           3 rounds of                                                                                                                                                  Flexible Steel/KB circuit (6 ea)/Plank :30/ KB Swings 10 ea

Goblet Squats 5 x 10 @ 12k                                                                                                                          Kind of pathetic but I really suck at squats and hope this goblet squat thing 2 x a week will help.
Did planks instead of the ab wheel today because I am still sore from Saturday.


  

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Bosu, Rubber Balls and Bullshit

Every time I see a trainer have one of their clients do "functional training" by doing 1/4 squats on a bosu  or some weird balancing act on a big rubber ball I throw up a little in my mouth. I have never seen someone balance on a rubber ball to get a heavy box off the shelf at the supermarket. I have never seen anyone stand on a bosu and do 1/4 squats or tiny little dumb bell curls. It just doesn't happen. The first thing I think when I see a trainer do these things is "what a tool." So get it together. I think it was Dan John who said the foundation of any fitness regimen should be: pick up heavy stuff, carry it across the room and put it on a shelf. Dead Lifts, Farmer's walks and Presses will get you about as functional as you'll ever need to be.

SATURDAY'S WORKOUT
FS (flexible steel)/KB circuit 5 ea @ 12k/TGU 1 ea side @ 12k/Ab wheel starting at full ext. and coming up and going back down slow and controlled.

Goblet Squats 5 x 5 @ 16k
getting much better at controlling the down portion and exploding up. Another couple of months on this and then back to back squats.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

A Few Notes on Diet

Should I eat Zone? Should I eat Atkins? Should I eat Paleo? Should I eat South Beach? Should I eat like a powerliter? Should I eat like a runner? Should you just STFU? Here are my diet recommendations: cut out all processed grain products, eat quality protein and plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, cut out all sugar, have some fish oil each day, have some apple cider vinegar in a cup of water 3 times a day and drink about 10 glasses of water each day. if you are hungry eat more if you feel full eat less. If you want to lose weight exercise more and eat less if you want to add mass eat a bunch and lift heavy. On Sunday eat whatever you want.
So there you have it. I have saved you hours of worry and hundreds of dollars. You're welcome.

THURSDAY'S WORKOUT
3 rounds
Flexible Steel/KB circuit/KB swings 10 ea single arm
Deadlift 2 x 5 @ 245

...and I'm outta here.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

You Are All Going To Die!

Lenny Bruce used to open his show with that. It scared the hell out of people but it was true; its not if its when. There is a Brazilian study that uses your ability to sit down and stand up as a predictor of mortality. So if you are a trainer this is the first test you should administer to your clients and if they score low get more money up front.

WEDNESDAY'S WORKOUT
2 rounds of:
DROM
KB circuit
Plank

then
3 rounds of  10 ea. single hand KB swings
Press 5/3/2 @ 90/95/100

...then stretch and go home. :60 minutes or 1 hour.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Sport or Spectacle

I was in a restaurant on Friday night talking with some people about whether or not crossfit has succeeded in branding itself a sport. They were of the opinion that it had. This was based on crossfitters saying it is a sport and competitions being televised. My counter was that they have not so much created a sport as they have created a spectacle. Just because its on ESPN doesn't mean its a sport, just because a bunch of people say its a sport doesn't mean its a sport. If they had some standards, some non subjective scoring method and some legitimacy in the field of athletics then maybe we could call it a sport but until then its just a spectacle. Like looking in the rear view mirror of your car and seeing the little car go out of control, start spinning just as the truck enters the freeway and you know something bad is going to happen and you can't stop looking.

MONDAY'S WORKOUT
2 rounds
DROM
KB circuit
Ab wheel 1 x 5 (I started these in the fully extended position and rolled back to the kneeling position sort of a negative. I wanted to get a sense of being fully extended and the type of bracing that is necessary to pull back to kneeling)
Goblet Squats 5 x 8 @ 12K
(starting at the bottom and exploding up, working on speed out of the bottom and flexibility)

...and then i stretched and went home about an hour.  

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

...or Strongish.

I never seem to get strong as fast as people that I hear about. Either I am just kind of weak sauce or they are lying. I prefer to believe the latter.

WEDNESDAY'S WORKOUT
3 rounds of:
KB circuit
DROM
Turkish Get up x 1 ea

Press 5/3/2 @ 90

...und, das ist alles.

Monday, March 11, 2013

Duff-Nuts and Deviations

It has been several years since I have had a donut and yesterday seemed the perfect time to break that dry spell. One jelly donut please. It was as delicious as I remember them being. I am so glad that I don't belong to some draconian, fascist group of health nazis that insist on changing my life and keeping me accountable.
The donut, like the cherry cheese danish are necessary parts of life. To deny yourself these is to be only  half-alive.
The simpler the better on the workouts.
MONDAY'S WORKOUT
I did the Flexible Steel exercises at home.
One round of:
10 halos/5 windmills ea side/10 bootstrapper squats
Dead lift 5/3/2 @ 235
2 more rounds of the above KB circuit
back ext. 3 x 10

I figure in about six months I should have everything I need to do all my workouts at home and that will make my happy.

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Those Darn Scientists and Athletes


World and Olympic champion weightlifter Tommy Kono said,
"There is a "diminishing return" for an excessive amount of work. When your workload gets to the point of fatigue, all the previous good lifts performed beforehand will be erased by sloppily performed or imperfect lifts..."
Elite power lifting coach Konstantin Rogozhnikov said:
"The mistake of many athletes (and coaches, my comment) is they do not know how to stop in time. It always seems to them that they are not doing enough and they ought to do more....More does not mean better."
(both of the above quotes were taken from Easy Strength by Dan John and Pavel)
What do those clowns know? The genius of crossfit will put them in their place. Here is workout 13.1
There is already 12 unconfirmed reports of injuries including labrum tears, blown out disks, hamstring pulls and one guy dropped a bar on his teeth.
Crossfit has this science thing licked and they know best. Here is a link to a video showing how things are done.
solid performance.
(...and once again, just in case, this is facetious)
SATURDAY'S WORKOUT
A new warm up:
leg swings Forward, back, side to side 10 each way
arm circles double and single front and back
10 halos/ 5 ea windmills/10 bootstrapper squats
10 ab wheel roll outs
fire hydrants
wrist circles

10 halos/ 5 ea windmills/10 bootstrapper squats
10 ab wheel roll outs

tactical frog series

10 halos/ 5 ea windmills/10 bootstrapper squats
10 ab wheel roll outs
5 single hand swings and 5 snatches ea 
The above is going to be the warm up for awhile as I am trying to get a program together that I can do without the dubious honor of belonging to LA Fitness.
Bench Press 5/3/2 @ 140

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Revisting

Riffing on Monday's post about the sister in law that wants to become a trainer. It seems as though folks have somehow gotten it into their heads that just because you work out you can become a trainer. Kind of like saying because you have driven a car for a few years you think you can become a race driver. My area is over run with boot camps and little gyms that are headed by people who were told by their friends that they were really good and should become a trainer. Like people telling you are really funny so you should become a comedian. There seems to be a disconnect between being kind of good at something and putting in the work to be truly outstanding.
Being truly outstanding is a lifetime pursuit, a constant search for more knowledge and experience and investing the time and effort to really know your subject matter.
I would see this all the time in CF gyms; someone would post some decent times in the benchmark workouts and they would get kind of strong, they would go to a week end certification and the next thing you know the newly minted "coach" is on the floor teaching a class. It takes years to develop the critical eye you need to teach someone to move properly. It certainly takes a lot more than just being good at exercise.
In closing, don't let me catch you doing that shit or I will call you on it.
And here is a link to my article How To Injury Proof Your Crossfit Gym.

WEDNESDAY'S WORKOUT
Ellip 5 minutes
DROM
Did Dan John's warm up there are 2 videos one is the warm up with goblet squats and the other is doing the Bootstrapper squat which is what I substituted for the goblet squats.
2 rounds of:
10 halos ea way
5 windmills ea side
10 bootstrapper squats
Press 5/3/2 @ 85/90/95
Back Ext 3 x 10

Monday, March 4, 2013

It's Not Much of a Blog

...but I'm sort of attached to it.
Went with a further simplification today. I was in and out of the gym in 1/2 of an hour. I felt good. I am going to try to get in the DeFranco Agile 8 and Simple 6 every day for a month and see how I feel. Knowing, though, of my predilection for grand plans and precipitous falls we'll see how that plays out.
My sister-in-law came over yesterday and said she tried CF last week. I proceeded to try and talk her down. She wasn't all that impressed with it so that is good. She does, however, want to become a trainer because she has been working out for two years and she figures she pretty much has it wired. She's friendly enough, good with people so despite her complete lack of experience she will probably be fabulously successful. What are ya goin' to do?

MONDAY'S WORKOUT
Ellip for 5 minutes
DROM
5 halos/3 goblet squats/1 TGU each side and 5 wall touches
Deadlift 5/3/2 @ 225
Farmer's walk out and back with 2 65 lb dumb bells

I did the above as a circuit with rest between.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Please Hold

I have been sick again. It started right after the workout I did last Monday and is only just now going away.
I did the 55 workout which, in this incarnation, was 1 goblet squat/10 push ups/2 goblet squats/9 push ups  down to 10 goblet squats and 1 push up.
It was fun. Tried some get ups but my shoulder opted out so I stopped.
I have an article up on the Breaking Muscle site called How To Injury Proof Your Crossfit Gym
It's a fun read so get on it.

Monday, February 25, 2013

Taking A Few Weeks Off

I am going to be taking a few weeks off from lifting and just do Kettle bell stuff.

MONDAY'S WORKOUT
Elliptical 5 minutes
DROM
Inclued 10 Halos R/10 Wall touch/10 Halos L/10 Wall touch and 5 Bootstrapper squats
3 rounds of:
1 Turkish get up L/1 Turkish get up R
5 goblet squats @ 25
10 touch the with with 25
10 ab wheel roll outs
Farmers walk @ 70 out L/back R

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Off, Off Broadway

Bad day today. everything felt hard. The bench was pathetic, the pull ups were pathetic etc. etc.
I am toying with the idea of longer more in-depth posts that would examine various aspects of training in more detail. What do you think?
I am going to start a new schedule that will work as follows: M on/T off/W on/Th off/F on/Sa off/Su on then M and T off and then start the pattern again on W.

THURSDAY'S WORKOUT
Elliptical 5 minutes
DROM
Bench 2 @ 160/3 @ 155/4 @ 150 (missed 5)
DB curls 3 x 10 @ 25
Tricep press down 3 x 10 @ 30
DB Snatch 3 x 5 ea @ 45
Pull ups 3 x 4
Hanging leg raises 3 x 10


Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Fun With TGU

I seem to be getting better at Turkish get ups and I can do the same weight with both hands. Yay for me.

TUESDAY'S WORKOUT
Elliptical 5 minutes
DROM
Press 5 @ 80/3 @ 90/2 @100
Single leg Leg press 3 x 10 each with just the sled
Circuit:
3 rounds
TGU 2L/2R @ 20
Back ext 12
Push ups 16

Finished up with farmer walks
Down with L @ 60
Back with R @ 60
Not sure how far maybe about 40 yards

Monday, February 18, 2013

Dirty, Dirty, Dirty

I went to a different LA Fitness today and what a mess it was. There were about 4 sets of dumb bells on the rack the rest were scattered around, the weight plates were everywhere and the place was just generally in disarray. I'll not go back anytime soon.

MONDAY'S WORKOUT
Elliptical 5 minutes
DROM (including goblet squats now in the warm up)
Dead lift  5 @ 275/5 @ 247.5
DB lock out press 3 x 10 each arm @ 20/15/15
Circuit: 3 rounds
KB snatch 10 ea  @ 35                  rest :45
Pull ups 4 with 5 second negative   rest :45
Ab wheel 10                                  rest :60

Then I jumped on the Jacob's Ladder I did 2 minutes and was trashed. Obviously something I want to work on but I just wanted to try it. Since it is hard there is never anyone on it.

Friday, February 15, 2013

Isn't That The Funniest Thing

I was at my new  gym, LA Fitness, this morning and I heard someone say, "That sounds heavy." I looked over. There was a guy making the effort face and grunting like a pig doing curls with about a 40 lb. bar. You could hear him all over the gym and it certainly did sound heavy. I laughed so hard I nearly cried or maybe I was just crying because it was so pathetic. I shall now climb down off of my holier than thou horse and get on with things.
Squat day today was play day. I set  the spotter arms low enough that I could set the bar on them and then set up a low bench (reebok steppers) and did the squats from a dead start at the bottom.Fix the bottom fix the squat. It was small F fun.
FRIDAY'S WORKOUT
Elliptical 5 minutes
DROM
Squat (bottom to bottom) 3 @ 45/3 @ 50/3 @ 55/3 @ 60/2 @ 65
Circuit: 3 rounds
Turkish get up 1R/1L @ 15   :45 RI
Push ups 14                          :45 RI
Floor wipers 10 @ 135         :60 RI

Did 5 each one arm presses @ 20 (I did not grunt or make faces although I should have)
5 batwings @ 10 Holding at the top for 10 seconds.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Paring Down

I decided to cut out the row for awhile to see if it will make my elbows feels better. Today's workout is the new program for a while.
Book recommendation: Check out The Purposeful Primitive by Marty Gallagher. A great read.

THURSDAY'S WORKOUT
Elliptical 5 minutes
DROM + some squat practice
Bench press 5 @ 160/5 @ 145
Circuit:
3 rounds
KB swings 15 @ 45         rest :45
Pull ups 4                          rest :45
Back ext. 10                     rest :60

...and out.
Well under an hour.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Another Day in Paradise

I live in Southern California and it is going to be in the 70s today. My garden loves it and I am rather fond of it too. I almost feel bad for living here when others are enduring the harsh winters. Come on out and visit.

TUESDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
DROM
Circuit:
Row 1K  time 4:04.8/Avg. pace 2:02.4/avg SR 21
3 rounds :45 RI between exercises/:60 seconds between rounds
Turkish get up 1L/1R @ 15 (working on form and balance left to  right)
Push ups 14
Ab wheel 10
Row 1 K time 3:57.2/avg pace 1:58.6/avg SR 21

Felt good.

Monday, February 11, 2013

Fundamental Philosophical Difference

I have been working at a CrossFit gym the last few weeks to see if I could get past my differences with the model. It appears as though I can not. The way it is implemented is wrong and what they are teaching is wrong. I like these people but I just can't stomach the CF stuff.
Spent an hour with Mike Visscher RKC last week and worked on cleaning up my form on the Turkish get up and the KB snatch, a great session. If I can afford it I am going to try to get down there twice a month to keep things on track and come up with a training plan to get me through StrongFirst level 1 cert in about a year.

MONDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
DROM
Dead lift 5 @ 265/5 @ 240
Press 4 @ 100/10 @ 65
I think I started the press at way too much weight and I am now falling behind at the beginning of cycle 5.

4 rounds
Row 200 meters :45 seconds rest
KB snatch 15 @ 35 :45 seconds rest
Pull ups 4/4/3/3 :45 seconds rest
Hanging leg raise 12 :60 seconds rest

The pull ups were 2 rounds of 4 and 2 rounds of 3
Row splits were :46.6/:45.7/:44.5/:41.9

Felt good overall but the press sure is weak sauce.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Physically Ill

I was made nauseous by the very thought of going in to 24 hour fitness today but I went anyway. It lived up to my worst nightmares.

TUESDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
DROM
Circuit:
3 rounds with :45 rest between exercises and :60 rest between rounds
Turkish get ups 1L/1/R
Push ups 12
Ab wheel 10

My left side is considerably weaker than my right and my wrist is giving me problems.
Finished up with some structure stuff external and internal shoulder work on the cable gizmo, calf raises and one arm barbell curls.

Monday, February 4, 2013

The Days Slip By.

...and before I know it you have been 2 or 3 days without my wit and wisdom. Poor you.

SATURDAY'S WORKOUT
abbreviated
Row 5 minutes
DROM
Squat 5 @ 125/5 @ 112.5
100 KB snatches for time @ 26.4
4:24
keeping it under 5 was the goal.

MONDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
DROM
Dead lift 5 @ 255/5 @ 230
Press 5 @ 97.5/5 @ 87.5
Circuit:
Set the rower at 200 on with 5 minute RI.
3 rounds
row 200/:45 rest
KB swings 10 @ 55/:45 rest
Pull ups 4/:45 rest
Hanging leg raises 10
rest 60 seconds and start next round
I did 3 pull ups on the 2nd and 3rd rounds

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

All Mucked Up

My schedule is wacked this week because of stupid work so I'm doing T/W and then F/SA.

TUESDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
DROM
Dead lift 5 @ 245/5 @ 220
(really liking the Power To The People or PTTP in future references)
4 rounds
Row 200 with 2 minute RI
in rest period do
Kb snatch 7 @ 35
Pushups 10

Ended up with about :45 seconds rest each round
The row splits were :47.5/:45.7/:46.8/:43.5
Avg Pace 1:54.6/Avg SR 27

WEDNESDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
DROM
Press 5 @ 95/5 @ 85
3 Rounds of
Row 250
KB swings 15 @ 44
Pull ups 3
Ab wheel 7
:60 seconds rest between rounds

Felt good on all of this but forgot to get my row splits. The average pace was around 1:50 to 1:55.

Friday, January 25, 2013

On And On.

Still feeling a little sick so the workout was short today. I cut out the row at the end and took a little extra rest on the circuit.

FRIDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
DROM
Squat   5 @ 120/5 @ 107.5
Circuit: 4 rounds
Turkish get up 1 (alt. L/R)
Push ups  10
Floor wipers 10 @ 115

and out.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Abbreviate This

Very short today. I had to go to 24 hr fitness today because the other gym doesn't have a bench yet and I am still feeling a little sick. So here it is...

THURSDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
DROM
Bench press  5 @ 145/5 @ 130
Circuit:  4 rounds/:60 RI between rounds
KB snatch 7 @ 35 (alt. R/L)
Pull ups 2
Back ext 7

And that was it. Left the long row for another day.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

OOOOH He's Here Again

Back again. Starting a new diet program to get rid of the old man fat that is showing up. I found a local market that makes really tasty lunches and dinners 6 days a week and they only cost $6.00 each. Having to make stuff myself is usually a deal breaker so this will go a long way toward keeping on a path.

MONDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
DROM
Dead lift 5 @ 235/5 @ 210
Circuit:
4 rounds/:60 rest between rounds
KB Snatch 7 @ 35
Pull ups 2
Hanging leg raises 9
Row 2K time 8:24.4/avg pace 2:05.3/SR 21
:43 ahead of last week the pace was :11 better and the stroke rate was the same

TUESDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
DROM
Press 5 @ 92.5/5 @ 85
Circuit:
3 rounds with :60 RI
KB swings 15 @ 44
Push ups 10
Ab wheel 6
Row 10 x 200/1:30 RI
:42/:40.3/:41/:41/:40.6/:40.3/:40.6/:41.1/:39.1/:37.6
Avg pace 1:40.9/SR 27
This was an 11 second improvement on the pace and the SR was down from 28 to 27.

I am either getting exponentially stronger on the row or (the more likely option) I seriously sandbagged last week.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Slouching Toward Refinement

It has taken a while for me to integrate KB work, body weight stuff, weights and rowing but I think I am getting close to a workable solution. I tried an aspect of self limiting exercise techniques today on the rower and I liked the results. I made it a point to take deep relaxed breaths through my nose as I rowed, then I would push the intensity up until I felt that I would have to start gulping air through my mouth and at that point I pulled back, recovered and then pushed it up again.I stayed relaxed and comfortable through the workout and felt good coming off the rower. I shall continue to use this and report back on the results. This breathing technique is described in the book Body, Mind and Sport by John Douillard.

THURSDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
DROM
Press 5 @ 90/5 @ 80
(I think I started a little high on this one)

3 rounds of:
Swings 1 x 15 @ 45
Ab wheel rollouts 1 x 5
Inverted Row 1 x 5
:60 seconds rest between rounds

Row 2,000 meters
Time 12:08.9/Avg pace 3:02/Avg SR 20
The goal over time is to gradually lower the pace and overall time and to maintain the same relaxed feeling and heart rate.


Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Two Days In

Okay so here's the plan. M/T one lift each day + a long row on M and sprints on T + short KB workout.
TH/F one lift each day + long row on TH on sprints on F + short KB workout. SA long row.
That ought to keep me busy. I am basing the lifts on Pavel's Power to the People protocol which is: start with a weight that you could do for 10 and do a set of 5 then take 90% of that and do a second set of five add 2.5 to 10 pounds each workout and do it for a total of 8 workouts per exercise take a week off and start another cycle. Ought to be fun.

MONDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
DROM
Dead lift 5 @ 225/5 @ 205

3 rounds with :45 seconds rest between exercises and :60 seconds rest between rounds
Explosive push up 1 x 5
KB military press 1 x 5 @ 26
Dbl KB swing outside of legs 1 x 12 @ 35
Pull ups (green band) 1 x 7
Hanging leg raise 1 x 8

Row 2,000 meters
15 hard/10 easy
9:07.1/ avg pace 2:16.7/avg SR 21

TUESDAY'S WORKOUT
Elliptical 5 minutes
DROM
Bench 5 @ 140/5 @ 125
3 rounds with :60 seconds rest after each round
Swings 15 @ 35
Farmer walk (one arm) 40 yds @ 60

Row 10 x 200 with 1:30 RI
:45.7/:46.3/:45/:44.6/:44.3/:44.1/:43.9/:43.8/:41.6/:45.7
avg pace 1:51.3/avg SR 28

I tried to do the last one sub 40 but the stupid rower at 24 hour fitness broke on me. 

Saturday, January 12, 2013

I Do Love Kettle Bells

...they are so much fun.

SATURDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
DROM

4 rounds
Row 250 meters
5 each arm lockout press @ 26lbs
1 Turkish Get Up (alt L/R) 12 lbs
10 Swings 44 lbs

I set the rower up for intervals distance with 3:30 RI
during the rest I did the KB work
ended up averaging about 1:15 rest per round

Row Avg pace 1:55.9/SR 24
:57.8/:58.7/:57.2/:54.3
total 1,000 meters

I liked this model with the rows and KB work and think I will stick with it for a while. (yeah right. where have you heard that before)