30WOD Day 30! – No Time To Reflect

stallonethumbs30 Days of WODs but so far only 23 workouts. To be  honest I feel a bit better but also a whole lot more bloated. That’s not the WODs fault but I think it’s making me too hungry to keep my diet in check.

THU SEPTEMBER 04, 2014 09042014
Deadlift (1-1-1-1-1-1)
Take 20 min to build to a 1 RM
Metcon (AMRAP – Rounds and Reps)
RX’D

12 min AMRAP

10 Deadlift @ 185#/135#
25 DU
Metcon (AMRAP – Rounds and Reps)
Foundation

12 min AMRAP

10 Deadlift @ 135#/95#
50 Single Skips

I had a slight issue with this workout so I changed it a bit and did this:

6 rounds
5 Power cleans @95
5 Power Snatch @95
60 skips (30 DU)

I had originally planned to do 12 rounds but the power snatches took a lot more out of me than I thought they would. After about 20 minutes of working like a dog I quit at 6.

Today which is actually day 30 there is no workout posted on the Ark site so I guess it’s up to me. I was thinking last night that I need to get away from the Oly lifts for a day or two and this is my chance. I think I may do some ring dips and pullups today with possibly some wallballs too.

In that vein, here is a list that I found today of 20 Crossfit workouts you can do at home…

In order from easiest to hardest (Approximately)

1) 5 Minute AMRAP  (as many reps/rounds as possible in 5 minutes)  10 air squats, 10 push ups, 10 sit ups

2) 21-15-9 of air squats and push-ups (21 reps of each then 15 reps of each then 9 of each)

3) 50 Burpees for time

4) Run half mile, 20 burpees – 3 rounds

5) 2o burpees, 20 push ups, 20 sit ups,  2o squats for 4 rounds

5) 100 Pull-ups.

6) 12 Burpees, followed by 12 pull-ups x 10 rounds.

7) Complete 5 box jumps, followed by 10 pull ups, and 15 knees to elbows as many times as you can in 20 minutes.

8) Run 1 mile with 5 burpees EMOM (5 Burpees every minute on the minute)

9) 4 rounds as fast as possible - 400M sprint  then 50 squats

10) 20 minutes – AMRAP 5 Pushups, 10 Situps, 15 Squats

11) 100 Push-ups , 100 Sit-ups, 100 Squats

12) 20 minutes AMRAP 5 Handstand push-ups, 10 Pistols (single-leg squats)

13) 50 Sit-Ups – 50 Double-Unders – 50 Sit-Ups – 50 Walking Lunges – 50 Burpees – 50 Sit-Ups

14) 50 Burpee Pull-ups for time

15) 21-15-9  Lunges (each leg) Handstand Push-ups

16) Poor Man’s Seven: 7 Handstand push-ups, 7 squats, 7 pull ups, 7 burpees, 7 push-ups, 7 sit-ups, 7 knees to elbows – 7 Rounds for time

17) Angie For time: (complete in order) 100 pullups, 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats

18) Barbara 5 Rounds, rest 3:00 between each round:  20 pull-ups,  30 push-ups,  40 sit-ups,  50 squats

19) Chelsea On the minute, every minute for 30 minutes: 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 15 squats

20)  Murph For time: 1 mile Run,  100 pull-ups,  200 push-ups,  300 Squats 1 mile run

There you have it, 20 good workouts you can do without even leaving home. Enjoy!

30WOD Day 28 – PRs, Mix Ups and Finally Hotshots 19.

MEME-One-of-the-greatest-momentsI finally did the thruster workout but if I am honest towards the end there it took a turn into front squats and presses but you do what you can, right? I took a day to see what my PR would look like for DL and cleans. I had previously cleaned 185 but the heaviest DL I ever did was a paltry 200lbs. I didn’t fare that much better however I was working up to weight and did multiple reps for my DLs. The final weights were:
DL 235 for reps
Clean 185 for reps
Power snatch 155 for reps
I am pretty sure that I can push that DL up to around 275 if I try, it’s just a case of getting all the gear together to try. Once I move the gym from the garage back to the basement I will have a lot more weight at my immediate disposal and I will try to hit 275 and then 300 by end of year. 300 is a bit intimidating but then again I used to think that about my 300lb bench too…

After the PR workout I was mixed up with where I was so I did the Hotshots 19 with a modification so that it looked like this:

6 rounds of:
30 squats
15 power cleans
7 pullups

That was not pleasant but I finished, but I have to admit it took everything I had not to stop at 4 rounds. It was a tough one. Today I am not too sore but I do have a little tightness running down the left of my back. That could easily be from coaching too… There were other workouts in there too, I think one was DLs with skipping (DUs) and pullups but I really am struggling to remember. 2 more days until the 30 days are up and then a few more days until the 30 workouts are done.

 

30WOD Day 25 – Beastly

thrustersarecomingSometimes I look at the WOD and think, that’s 12 or 15 minutes, that’a a piece of cake. Today I got that notion slapped out of me.

I took yesterday off in prep for my 2-5 am shift with the firewall last night so I will try yesterdays workout today. However, Ark is closed Sundays which means I have to do today’s workout tomorrow and it will be a beast.

Hotshots 19 (Time)
6 Rounds for time of:
30 Squats
19 Power Cleans, 135# / 95#
7 Strict Pull-ups
400m Run

That’s all I really  have to say. I am glad I have Monday and Tuesday off work! I will report back later after I have done the Thrusters workout from yesterday.

30WOD Day 24 Actually – The Final Week

watermelonsleepySince I started this back on August 6th this will be day 24 of my 30 days of WODs.

I haven’t done 30 workouts, and I will continue until I have, the projection for that is around mid September some time but for now it is looking like I will have done 23 or 24 workouts during the 30 day “challenge”. I will review what I have learned after I have done 30 workouts I think. For now, I have learned that you never forget the workouts you hate, love or love to hate. Such is Chelsea and her twin Cindy both of which are horrid little children. It looks so simple at first, pullups pushups and squats but one round a minute and after 10 rounds you are cursing, 15 rounds you are insanely angry, 17 rounds you are almost dead but the last 2 are always somehow deceptively easy. As a measure of how “unfit” I am since the last time I was doing a lot of bodyweight stuff (you can read that as how out of cardio shape I am) I struggled to 15 rounds last night and with coaching looming and time a small factor I allowed myself to quit. I shouldn’t have, it was really only a 20 minute workout with the warmup and a few doubleunders (not together) at the start. I was shocked at the lack of energy I had. I am not sure if it’s a lack of something in my diet but for some reason I am really lagging in the energy department. It could also be because I have cut back on coffee somewhat and where I would usually be finishing my third of the day before my workouts I am now reduced to 2 in the morning and nothing after about 1pm. I should really be eating more veggies too but I can’t be arsed at the moment to examine my macros and do the whole exact balance thing. I will have some watermelon when I get home, that should fix me right up.

You know, I should have some milk before I work out since it makes me so wiggy before bed time, maybe I can use that as a pre-workout pick me up. Now I know that the pre-workout industry is a massive one and I know some people swear by pre-workout stuff but I was never into that stuff. A coffee maybe but never a protein shake or whatever these people have in their little shaker cups at the gym. I even tried some energy balls that came in a tiny pringles can (not sure if they are still around) but it just never seemed to do anything for me. I remember years ago using ephedrine too but other than keeping my up all night I am not convinced it did anything for me. I tried Hydroxycut too but it just made me shaky and angry and lethargic which is weird.

Today is basically thrusters and double unders so more skipping and more broken toe nails and scarred feet for me.

I think what I will do is 10 squats at 135 or 185 every minute for 10 minutes. That’s already 100 squats and then do 10 rounds of 15 thrusters at 95lbs with 60 skips. I promise I will do a few minutes of DU practice too…

Metcon (Weight)
Take 10min to warm up to a moderately heavy Front Squat 1 rep

then

10 min EMOM

1 Front Squat

all at the same weight
Metcon (AMRAP – Rounds and Reps)
RX’D

10 min AMRAP

15 Thrusters @ 75#/55#
30 DU
Metcon (AMRAP – Rounds and Reps)
Foundation

10 min AMRAP

15 Thrusters @ 45#/35#
60 Single Skips

30WOD Day 20 – Cardio Replacement

tumblr_mvwje8hXFr1snhr6eo1_500I realized when I tried to sub my workout yesterday that I was replacing a cardio workout with a weight workout which was not smart. So instead of my planned handstands and stuff I went back to DVD and did a Tapout XT Muay Thai workout. It’s a pretty good cardio workout and if you do it with a heavy bag instead of just on the floor it gets even harder. That was followed this morning by the good news that today’s workout has handstands…

I am somewhere between Rx and Foundation on this one, I can’t actually do HSPU but I can do chest to bar and lunges. My hip is painful again today so I may actually sub the lunges for squats since I know for a fact that lunges will aggravate the hell out of my hips.

After 2 weeks of waiting the treadmill guy finally showed up and surprise surprise we need a new motor. I could have saved them a trip but there you go. 7-10 weeks for a shipment they said. What a load of bullshit I should have said…

At gymnastics it’s the last week of summer training and I need to work on some of the warmups and conditioning that we have been doing. There is too much time being taken with stuff that’s not body shape specific and the splits that we took out a while back need to be put back at the end of the night. It’s also almost time for my little girl to go to big school, JK starts next week so things are going to be a bit busy around here!

Metcon (AMRAP – Rounds and Reps)
RX’D

16 min AMRAP

5 HSPU
10 C2B Pull-ups
20 Walking Lunges
Metcon (AMRAP – Rounds and Reps)
Foundation

16 min AMRAP

5 Push-ups
10 Pull-ups
20 Walking Lunges

30WOD Day19 – Got Sleep, Got Gas

clean body weightI think it’s the milk again but I have been strangely boated the last few days without much of a change in my diet. I don’t usually drink a ton of milk but recently I have been indulging and I think I may not be tolerating it as well as I once did. I shall buy some lacteeze and see if that helps, or maybe I will just cut the milk for now and see what happens.

Yesterday was a welcome return for cleans and I enjoyed the workout. I didn’t do exactly what I was supposed to but instead did some clean practice to start and then did:

10 rounds

3 Power cleans @135
6 pushups
9 Squats

I thought about trying to get to 15 sets at the start but believe me half way through I was sucking air pretty hard. This getting back into cardio shape is tough! I am really starting to wonder about the wisdom of trying to regain some of my mass this summer, not only had it made me heavier and less able cardio wise but it has also added bulk where I didn’t really need it, on my shoulders and traps. It seemed like a good idea at the time and for an ex powerlifter / bodybuilder TYPE, it’s a hard thing to let go.

Today is something I am not going to be able to tolerate I think. It’s more KB swings and fairly long runs that I am simply not ready for at this point. Historically I have had issues with my shins and even now I get huge shin pain if I am not extremely careful with my running. Given that I will not have a lot of time for today I think I will lean towards a clean free complement of lifts and pullups. Something like this:

Deadlift
Squat
Strict Press

With a sprinkling of

Handstands
Pullups

So, maybe something like 5 rounds of:

10 deadlifts
5 pullups
3 handstands
10 Squat
5 pullups
3 handstands
10 Press
5 pullups
3 handstands

 

30WOD Day 19 – I Need Sleep

dontlikecrossfitBut the good news is that it’s cleans today!!

The Chief (AMRAP – Rounds)
Max rounds in 3 minutes of:
3 Power Cleans, 135#
6 Push-ups
9 Squats
Rest 1-minute.
Repeat for a total of 5 cycles

I really need to get more sleep, I think that drinking milk at night is causing me to sleep badly, I may have to switch to milk at dinner and water later.

I had to take yesterday off, I just didn’t have time and also my back (presumably from the KB swings) was very sore and I didn’t want to aggravate it.

But YAY for power cleans!!!

 

30WOD Day 18 – Skipping Days and Workouts

Double-Under-FunnyI seem to have got a bit mixed up with my days again but not to worry the two things I know for sure are that online yesterday was a day off so I did bench and Friday I was short on time before coaching so I took a rest day. On Thursday I wanted to do a little cardio workout, I wasn’t feeling great so I did a short DU practice and skipping workout with some pullups. On Friday I was off like I said but Saturday I had a chance to do the workout I was supposed to do on Thursday and it was a beast.

5 pullups every minute for 10 minutes.

5 rounds of:
20 KB swings with 55lb
80 skips
9 pullups

I have to admit it was a lot harder than I thought , mostly because of the pullups at the start. By the time it came to doing the 9 for each round I was out of pullup gas… I did manage to make it through but it was not the quickest workout ever.

Sunday I went online to find that Sundays the Ark is closed so no workout. I immediately gravitated to my wheelhouse and decided I would do a bench day:

50 x 135
40 x 185
30 x 225
20 x 275

This was not as easy as I remember however I was able to handle the weight, albeit with strenuous effort. 140 reps doesn’t sound like much but once you get past 200lbs there is a lot of work that goes into that bar. Every time I do bench I feel hugely inadequate about my deadlifts. I would think that I should at least be able to match my bench with my DL but then I remember having 2 back surgeries and surprisingly that doesn’t make me feel any better at all…

By the way, my feet hurt like hell and I have found that I hate, and I mean HATE skipping practice.

And then there is today, another running WOD of which I am SOOOOOO fond….

Metcon (No Measure)
5 Rounds

30 sec Hollow Body Hold
30 sec rest
If you fall short of the 30 sec hold then rest the remainder of the 30 sec and then the full 30 sec as well
Metcon (Time)
7 RFT

400m run
12 T2B
There will be a 21 min time cap

30WOD Day 14 – DIY and Fitness. Build your gym.

garage chinup mark 2I felt like there were too many power snatches. I guess because it is a fairly new move for me I was a little disenchanted by having to to them twice in 4 days. Then again, I really need the practice apparently.

Tuesday I was off work and I installed the new chinup bar (Fitness Avenue on sale $14) in the garage as seen on the left. It’s a major upgrade from the existing one, and of course I overlooked one critical piece, it’s right above where I do my Oly lifts so the first time I did an overhead press I banged it with the bar. Not a problem though, I just have to move forward a little with the barbell. It’s solid as a rock and I don’t need a step ladder to get to it like the last one. So on Tuesday I christened it with a pullups and deadlifts workout that was not particularly hard:

10 rounds
5 Chinup
10 DL
10 DU

On Wednesday I was short on time due to coaching but still I managed to pull out Randy, a 75 power snatch for time workout. I then made the mistake of going on the Crossfit Ark site and seeing other times. I was slightly surprised that I was probably double what some of the others were, but then again I think that is what makes Crossfit boxes so successful, you are there in a group to push and help each other. It’s an intangible that makes a big difference. For the record with resting I made the 75 power snatches at 75# in just over 14 minutes. The fastest guy at Ark was 6 minutes… As an aside if I was to try 75 cleans I bet I would be able to almost match that time, but being that my snatching is a very new skill I maybe should not be so hard on myself.

Thankfully when I looked at the workout for today there were no snatches in sight. But also no cleans or presses or pushups.

Looks like I will be doing 5 chins every minute for 10 minutes then 70lb swings, 80 skips (since my DUs suck still) and 9 pullups since muscle ups are still on the list of things to learn.

Strict Chin-up (1-1-1-1-1)
Take 10 min to build to a 1RM weighted Chin-up

If you do not have 1 Chin-up perform 1 negative chin-up every min on the min for 10 min
Metcon (Time)
RX’D

5 RFT

20 KB Swings @ 32kg/24kg
40 DU
3 MU
Metcon (Time)
Foundation

5 RFT

20 KB Swings @ 24kg/16kg
80 single skips
9 Pull-ups

How do I feel? Well, a little fitter I suppose. I was complaining for quite a while there about missing HIIT and the “fitness” that it brings so I am happy to report that even with the break for the wedding that I am starting to return to a feeling of ability and fitness. Not quite the mobility that I felt while doing bootcamp, but getting there. It’s been 2 weeks of 30WOD, hopefully by the end I will have regained that agile feeling too…

Unrelated – Bell Canada Sucks.

This is the actual conversation I had with the “Chatbot” today.

You: I have my 2 recent payments showing as returned payment on my bill

Pauline: Hi, Simon!

You: its supposed to be prepaid on visa, why has it been billed then returned?

You: Now my bill is $1100 which I obviously can’t pay

Pauline: My sincerest apologies about that, Simon. Allow me to check it for you.

Pauline: May I please have the email address associated with the account for validation?

You: p90x@iamcanadian.org

Pauline: Perfect! Thank you!

Pauline: As I can see here, the status of the payments is “backout”. My higher support advised that you’ll need to contact your bank and since the account is already delinquent, you’ll need to contact our Account Receivables Team via 1-800-477-9205 and make payment arrangements.

You: you can’t tell me what backout means or why your company returned the payment????

You: What’s the point in having my phone number if nobody calls me to tell me the payment didn’t go through???

You: You provide my phone, no phone call, you provide my internet but no email. That is just ridiculous.

You: August One Bill $1,109.55 Please pay by August 26, 2014 Info Payment received CR $500.55

You: I will be cancelling my services as soon as this is cleard up you are the worst company I have ever dealt with.

Pauline: I am currently reviewing the account, may I know if you changed the credit card expiry recently or changed it to a new credit card?

You: It was changed online in June and the details are correct because I just made a payment. This is just a joke.

Pauline: As I can see here, there are some calls made from our collections team.

You: ZERO Messags on my home phone. Zero calls to my cell phone, ZERO emails. That’s what I call not trying hard enough.

Pauline: My sincerest apologies if you feel that way, I can see here that there are some notes from our collections team, it seems that the problem started when you updated the credit card information. Our system still recognizes the old credit card information, but moving forward, if the credit card information is correct, there wouldn’t be any problem.

You: It won’t matter, I have had it, I’m getting rid of the services this kind of thng happens way too much.

You: Thanks for nothing. Put that on the account…

Pauline: My sincerest apologies, Simon. I will leave a note on the account.

Pauline: Thank you for chatting with me. Please feel free to chat with us anytime. We are open 24/7. Is there anything else that I can help you?

You: Give me the phone number for Rogers…

Pauline: My apologies, we don’t have the phone number for Rogers.