Ouch!

Been off the bike for a good while and it kind of hurts to get back on. I rode for half and hour this morning and it wasn't that easy. Tried to keep the cadence at about 90rpm. I guess I have a fair amount of work do.

TUESDAY'S WORKOUT
Bike 30 minutes
DROM
Press 3 x 5 @ 45

Circuit:
Pull ups 4/4/4/3/3
Back ext 5 x 10
Step ups 5 x 4 20" box with 60 lb DBs

Knocked some reps off the step ups from 5 x 6 to 5 x 4 because 60 lbs is heavy

What's All This I Hear About Blood ph.

I was reading the nutrition section of The Triathlete's Training Bible the other day and I came across this:
"As we age, nitrogen, an essential component of muscle protein, is given up by the body at an increasing rate, so that at some point it is being depleted faster than it can be taken in. This is due to a gradual change in kidney function that produces an acidic state in the blood. With a net loss of nitrogen, muscles cannot be maintained. Essentially, we are peeing off our muscles as we pass the half-century mark in life. This same acidic state also leeches calcium from the bones, resulting in osteoporosis for many, especially women, with advance age.
The key to reducing, or even avoiding, this situation is to lower the blood's acidity level and increase its alkalinity."
Now isn't that interesting. I will be reading up on this whole thing and trying to locate research on it. I'll keep you posted.
Damn you aging process!

SATURDAY'S WORKOUT
Bike 5 minutes
DROM
Box Squats 5 @ 45/5 @ 50/5 @ 55/5 @ 145/3 @ 165/1 @ 180.
The 180 went up real easy.
Circuit:
Pull ups 4/4/3/3/3
Plank 5 x :30 seconds
Walking lunge 5 x 40ft. with 30lb DBs

MONDAY'S WORKOUT
first week of triathlon training
Stair thing 5 minutes
DROM
Squat 5 @ 45/5 @ 50/5 @ 55
Circuit:
Push ups 5 x 11
V-ups 5 x 10
Box jumps 5 x 5 to a 24" box with one plate on it.
I am going t add a little height to the box jumps each week.
Swim:
I am going to work on drills and form a lot. Some of them are at the above link but there are a lot of them just Google Swim Drills.
W/U 200 meters easy and focused on form
3 rounds
2 x 25 drill
2 x 25 swim
5 x 50 on 1:30RI
750 meters
I had forgotten two things: one: I love swimming, two: swimming is hard.
It was a lot of fun getting back in the water.

Bloody Work.

I've made my position on work clear. It interferes with real life but it has to be done for now.

FRIDAY'S WORKOUT
Stair thing 5 minutes
DROM
Bench press 5 @ 55/5 @ 70/5 @ 80/5 @ 100/3 @ 115/1+ @ 130 (got 10)

Circuit:
Push ups 5 x 10
Reverse hyper 5 x 5
Farmer's walk 5 x 40yds with 60lb DBs

On all my lifts except for the squat I went for 10 and got it on the final set. If I pushed the squat I could get more than 3 on that set and then I would get stronger. Funny that.

You're Not Supposed to Eat It?

A friend of mine called the other day asking for info on steroids. I don't use the stuff but I gave him a couple of forums that he could look at for that type of stuff. 3 days later he shows up at my house and gives me a little packet of something called AndroGel. It looked like something you would eat and that is how I thought you used it. I didn't eat it. Someone at the gym told me it was a topical application that was absorbed through the skin. Kind of glad I didn't eat it.

TUESDAY'S WORKOUT
Stair thing 5 minutes
DROM
Press 5 @ 45 x 3/5 @ 60/3 @ 70/1+ @ 80 (got 10)
Circuit:
Pull ups 5 x 3
Back ext. 5 x 10
Step ups 5 x 6 with 55lb DBs

WEDNESDAY'S WORKOUT
Bike 5 minutes
DROM
Deadlift 5 @ 100/5 @ 125/5 @ 150/5 @ 190/3 @ 215/1+ @ 240 (got 10)
Circuit:
Dips 5 x 3
SLR 5 x 8
DB swings 5 x 15 @ 40lbs

...and that's it for now. Next week I am going to start the Tri training and give 6 days a week a go. I will swim on Monday, bike on Tuesday, run on Wednesday, swim on Thursday, bike on Friday and run on Saturday for one week and then work on coming up with a plan for the year with a little help from the Triathlete's Training Bible by Joe Friel.

Okay Then.

The rowing thing is done. The Beach Sprints were on Saturday and I got 3rd in my age group with a time of 7:26.8 which tied my PR. Maybe after the triathlon season I will get back on the rower and see if I can do better next year.
The first race I plan on doing is the Redondo Beach Triathlon, the sprint distance which is 1/2 mile swim, 6 mile bike and 2 mile run. I tried on my wetsuit last night and it appears that I have put on a few inches since I bought it which is now nearly 15 years ago. Imagine that.

MONDAY'S WORKOUT
Bike 5 minutes
DROM
Squat 5 @ 45/5 @ 50/5 @ 55/5 @ 110/3 @ 125/1+ @ 140 (got 3)
The 140 went up pretty easy which gives me hope for my squat.

Circuit:
Push ups 5 x 10
V-ups 5 x 10
Box jumps 5 x 5 to 24"
Everything felt good and strong today. There must be a problem. My chest seems to have healed so I can do push ups again which makes my happy :).

Race Day

Yesterday was a day off and I didn't even roll out or stretch. A wash of a day. Tomorrow is the Beach Sprints and then I can get off the damned rower and onto this years sport which is triathlon. My plan is to do 2 sprint races and 2 Olympic distance races (money willing)

FRIDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
Row 3 minutes with :30 second accelerations and :30 seconds off
DROM
Bench 5 @ 55/5 @ 70/5 @ 80/3 @ 95/3 @ 110/3+ @ 120 (got 10)

Circuit:
Plank hold 5 x :30 seconds
Walking lunge with weight overhead 5 x 40ft. with 25 lb. DB

Short and sweet. I must now prepare for my race.

For Those In The Know.

I realized today, after talking with a crossfitter yesterday, that even if a person has been doing CF for a week they all of a sudden "know" that everything else is substandard. If you attempt to talk to these people they will point out, exercise science, years of experience and massive amounts of research not withstanding, that everything else is wrong. I know this is true because I was one of them. I abandoned everything I knew about periodization because Glassman said it was witchcraft. I abandoned everything I knew about injury prevention and structural stability because the production of power trumped safety in every instance. I believed I was invincible because of CF and that I was better than all the other athletes. I believed, for a short while, that CF was different and that it would indeed produce a superior athlete and superior people. Then I saw a crack in the belief. I began to notice that everyone that I worked out with was chronically injured, sore and generally substandard in their outside pursuits. I asked, "If we are supposed to be the fittest people in the world why do most of us crawl out of bed in the morning like we're 90 years old." No one answered. I continued to question the veracity of the CF model and became more and more a persona non grata. I was shunned. I could not get anyone to talk about this and so I left CF. If you would like to peruse 1,159+ pages of what's wrong with CF go here. Warning this is not a safe place for the faint of heart.
And that ends today's ramble.

WEDNESDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 5 minutes
Row Sprints 4 x 250 with 2 minute RI
:46 1:32 pace/:48.9 1:37.2 pace/:49.9 1:39.8 pace/:46.7 1:33.4 pace
DROM
Deadlift 5 @ 100/5 @ 125/5 @ 150/3 @ 175/3 @ 200/3+ @ 225 (got 7)

Circuit:
SLR 5 x 7
Weight Swings 5 x 15 @ 35lbs

Maybe no one but me and thousands of others care but as crossfit becomes more mainstream and the snake oil salesmen weave their tales more people are going to be injured. It is a responsibility to share this info. I will be posting links to other critiques of CF in the near future.