R11D3 – Inevitable Glitch

I forgot my DVDs at work.

That meant that rather than doing the Speed 1.0 with Shaun T I was forced into doing Agility X with Tony. I have to say, I don’t know what Speed 1.o is like but I can bet that Agility X is a full step above if not an entire league ahead. Agility X was everything I used to love about the Plyo workout from the original P90X. It’s fast, you are moving, jumping, squatting and lunging and it’s actually quite a fun workout if you are not trying to recover from pneumonia. About half way through I started coughing like an asthmatic Walrus so much so that my wife on her treadmill lodged a complaint… However, since I have not been too active lately when I woke up this morning my butt was screaming from all the lunges. Not only that, but I did coach 3 hours after doing Agility X which I am sure didn’t help matters much. Anyway, no loss, I did another workout, make that 3 in a row and I also managed to get the workouts in the order in which they appear in the schedule so I can now determine exactly what I will be doing.

Schedules in Order:

T25:

Alpha
Cardio
Speed 1.0
Total body circuit
Ab intervals
Lower body focus

Beta
Core cardio
Speed 2.0
Rip T circuit
Dynamic core
Upper focus

Gamma
Speed 3.0
Rip’T Up
Extreme circuit
The Pyramid
P90X3

Month 1

Total Synergistics
Agility X
X3 Yoga
The Challenge
Cardio Vascular Extreme (CVX)
The Warrior
Dynamix
Isometrix
Accelerator
Pilates X

Month 2

Eccentric Upper
Triometrics
Eccentric Lower
Incinerator
Mark Briggs Inspired MMA Workouts (MMX)

Month 3

Decelerator

R11D2 – Maybe I’m Crazy. P90X3 + T25. Plus Free Rant!

focus-t25-vs-p90x3So I managed finally to get my hands on P90X3 and instead of thinking that I would just do the thing alone I am thinking that maybe I can do a hybrid of T25 with P90X3 until I have gone through every workout in both just to see what they are like. On Monday I did T25 Cardio, the first workout in the schedule and last night I did P90X3 Total Synergistics which is also the first workout in the schedule. Just for information sake I will list the workouts below but before I do I want to get something off my chest.

It seems that Beachbody, like so many parents today has taken on themselves to cave in to the whining child that is their public and given them what they asked for… the public said they didn’t have time, when in fact what they were really saying is “I’m too lazy to do an hour every day and it’s too hard.” So with T25 and P90X3 what they have done is create a Insanity for Dummies and a P90X for Dummies. If you are basically too lazy and unmotivated to get through the workouts in P90X or P90X2 then P90X3 is for you. It’s really not about people who don’t have time because let’s be honest, I can go and do a P90X workout in 30 minutes no problem. I can’t do an insanity workout in 30 minutes but then again, they are not an hour either.

Colour me disappointed, not in Beachbody for creating supply for the demand but in the public who have whined and complained their way into forcing what was an extreme home fitness program to be proud of into a anaemic imitation of what used to be. I am sorry but there is no way I would wear a P90X3 tshirt and think I was making a statement. I still have my P90X shirt because it means something to me that I made it through. But, this is only the beginning, but based on what I felt like after Day 1 of P90X and Day 1 of Insanity, P90X3 and T25 are going to be nothing more than an excuse not to get too sweaty…

Anyway, to give it the chance it deserves, I am going to do the workouts and let you know how they are. I probably won’t go into a blow by blow of the moves involved but I will give you an idea of how hard (or not) they are.

T25 Cardio was pretty easy especially if you have ever done an insanity workout. Just the sight of Shaun T with hair makes it a little less threatening. There was one or two moments when my calves were burning but then again I have been sick and unable to workout for almost 3 weeks. Given how out of shape I am, this workout was easy and at no time were you off your feet so no pushups or burpees. It was a little entertaining, but then again, humour has never been Shaun T’s forte.

P90X3 Total Synergistics was kind of a hodge podge of a bit of everything, some squats and lunges, some pushups and plank work and even a couple of chinups. it did seem overly generalized but I suppose that’s to be expected at the start of the program. I am hoping that we will get a little more specialized as time goes on.

Here are the workouts that I will be doing over the next few weeks, there are 30 total and so I should be able to cover them off in 45 days or so with my Oly commitments. I will try to arrange them in some sort of order but basically I will be taking the schedule and doing whatever is next, skipping what I have done.

T25 workouts (3 sections, Alpha, Beta, Gamma)

Alpha
Cardio
Total body circuit
Lower body focus
Ab intervals
Speed

Beta
Upper focus
Core cardio
Spread
Dynamic core
Rip T circuit

Gamma
Extreme circuit
Speed 3.0
The Pyramid
Rip T

P90X3 – Separated into 4 sections, Resistance, Power, Cardio, Core / Flex and Balance)

Resistance

Total Synergistics
The Challenge
Incinerator
The Warrior
Eccentric Upper
Eccentric Lower

Power

Agility X
Triometrics
Decelerator

Cardio

Cardio Vascular Extreme (CVX)
Mark Briggs Inspired MMA Workouts (MMX)
Accelerator

Core, Flex & Balance

Pilates X
X3 Yoga
Isometric
Dynamix

 

Steep Hill To Climb – R11D1 – T25 Base Round

t25Our December trip to Cuba (Royal Hicacos) was fantastic, I was able to run on the beach, work out every day and have the best fresh food to eat whenever I needed. This was a really big deal for me since after my surgery I have not run at all for fear of hurting my back. As it turns out, running didn’t really cause me any pain at all.

Coming back was tough, as a family we went into December getting sick and our trip to England was marred by a chest infection and for me, pneumonia. At least my daughter seemed to be OK although she still has the cough we have all shared all month. I did manage to work out twice in 11 days in England, and the day we got back home I did some Olympic lifting to try and get back in the swing. That put me back in the walk in clinic and served me with a bout of antibiotics. So here we are, a week into the new year and I have been unable to work out since mid December. That means an inevitable weight gain (I estimate 10lbs) and of course the disappearance of any of my previous stamina.

I have been here many times before, but I have to admit the older I get the tougher it is to take. So I face a big uphill battle to get back into shape but I am aiming at Feb 1 as my goal to be back in my daily shape which means Oly lifting with 135lbs as a minimum and the ability to run a mile (1500m) without a break at a reasonable pace. I have also just received a copy of T25 with Shaun T that I will be trying to get through in the next 3 months in the long term goal of hitting 220lbs by the summer. I think it’s about time for me to get back into a 90 day program since that has worked so well for me in the past.

So with my usual impulsive decision making I am declaring this Day 1 of Round 11, T25 base. My hope is to use the 5 workouts for T25 mixed with Oly lifts, pullups and Kettlebells to give me a shot at keeping my workout percentage over 80 for the 90 days. That would mean 72 of 90 days which should be OK. I have no exposure to T25 so I am not sure what to expect or how it will fit in with my HIIT weight workouts but I am sure we can find a way. I don’t want a total cardio setup with no room for weights, it may turn out that 3 days of T25 and 3 days of weights will suffice.

I will update every day where possible starting tomorrow with my weight which I am unsure of but I have a feeling my be just shy of 250lbs.

Coconut Macaroons – From November 2012

coconut macaroonI posted this on friendface but forgot to mention it here. I am making them again for the pot luck tomorrow at gym (I hope they turn out OK).

Recipe: http://www.elanaspantry.com/paleo-coconut-macaroons/

Paleo Coconut Macaroons – Low Sugar Dessert Cookie Recipe

Paleo Coconut Macaroons are the perfect healthy dessert for your Passover and Easter.

However I did add about 1/4 cup of whipping cream too.

 

Best and Worst of 2013? Well now we know what gets worst article of the year…

white men cant jumpIt’s not often that an article raises my ire so much that I want to leave a comment after it to explain to the idiot who wrote it how incompetent they are.

No wonder that they turned off comments for this joke of an article.

Best and Worst of 2013.

On the first page, if you can make it past Water yoga and water Zumba as the best without spitting out your morning coffee in disgust you can make it to the biggest joke of page 1 and that is VEGANISM is one of the best trends of 2013. Now I am not shy about bashing vegans because they simply need some sense beating into their poor frail little bodies, but for someone to actually claim it as a BEST trend of the year is irresponsible.Veganism and vegetarianism are not sustainable as lifestyles. The proof is out there, and the denial of the human as an omnivore is as ridiculous as being surprised when your cat brings home the occasional mouse. It’s in our nature! But wait. It gets better, if you can tolerate the bullshit long enough to get to the worst list things go impossibly downhill and the obvious fact that this “journalist” has done zero research to support any of her claims becomes painfully clear.

The Whole 30 diet, going gluten free (for any reason) and too intense workouts (a shot at Crossfit I assume, just vague enough to avoid rampant criticism from the community) are listed as the worst. Now, the last one, TOO intense I get that, TOO lazy and TOO stupid are also not great, and in fact most things that are TOO something are going to reflect badly. I can only assume she was grasping at straws at this point. Her “expert” tells us that sacrificing form for intensity is not good” well I guess sacrificing research for opinion is OK? Nice one.

She claims that the Whole 30 and Paleo lifestyles are strict and unsustainable. Odd then that she should claim that Veganism whose definition excludes entire food groups is OK. No meat, dairy, fish, eggs make for a wonderfully diverse and enjoyable lifestyle. Make sure you eat your beans so you can pretend you are getting all the amino acids you need to build muscle tissue. There is a reason that Vegans are, and I quote, “THINNER” than other groups, their bodies are simply eating them from the inside out and as they waste away they appear thinner. As a matter of fact, as muscle tissue wastes away the individual actually gets FATTER while appearing THINNER. Arm wrestle the next vegan you meet and you will get my point.

It’s not that her whole article is crap, just the important parts. She does have some pieces correct like her disdain for hot classes and vibration machines, but as the quote from one of the great sports movies of all time says “the sun even shines on a dog’s ass some days”. Today is her day.

Treating Myself (well deserved)

AFTD225I have been out of the gym for several years now. I do home workouts, I improvise my own equipment and make do with anything I can to help me stay fit. Now with the Black Friday sales, it’s time to treat myself and get a couple of essential things for the house. One is a proper dumbbell rack, I have been using some OSB boards on my dip station to hold my dbs and it’s really not that safe. I also spent some money during the summer on a heavy bag which I used quite a lot in conjunction with Tapout XT and P90X Kenpo X. So I am finally getting a bag stand for it that will enable me to move my MMA workouts indoors for the winter. Also, my wife has been complaining about our treadmill being too loud. We looked at a decent one during the summer but it was just too expensive, and lo and behold on the Fitness Depot site today I find it’s HALF PRICE!!! our current treadmill is about 5 years old and it is very unhappy whenever I step on it. If I try to go slower than 3.5 miles an hour it judders and struggles no matter how well lubricated it or I am. So hopefully the new one which is rated up to 350lbs will be better. I figure if you have a treadmill for 5+ years and use it every week (which we probably have for at least 3 of those  years) then getting a new one every once in a while is justified, especially at half price!

Add to that some on sale knobby rollers and smaller items and you have Christmas early at our house. Besides, what is a better Christmas gift than investing in your health?

Merry Black Friday everyone…

Last Wednesday I did my short bootcamp workout as outlined last post, Thursday is my daughter’s swimming class and has become a day of rest around here. Friday  I did Olympic lifts again and on Saturday I spent a long time setting up the heavy bag holder and the dumbbell stand and then did a 30 minute heavy bag workout which is basically the same as the Mui Thai workout from Tapout XT. Lots of different striking, knees elbows etc. Sunday I did a Millennium workout which is 100 of 10 moves for 1000 rep total. Sounds easy but it’s a pain.
Front Kicks
Pushups
Squats
Crunches
Military pushups
V Snaps
Front lungesV Shoulder pushups
side crunch
Pop squats

It was a nightmare, seriously.

Update and detail on my “bootcamp” days

20131104_174003Friday I did a short bootcamp with the kids, if only to get them to do 45 seconds on non stop work. It was a bit of a farce but at least I had my CIT to keep an eye on them.
Saturday I busted out the Kettlebells and did a shoulder workout, so not a lot of swings but sets of:
High pulls
Front raise
Strict press – From unrotated position
Rack press – from rack position

Sunday I was planning to do something but time got the best of me and I decided to take the day off. That motivated me to do a heavier Olympic lift workout on Monday with 7 sets of each deadlifts and clean with deadlift alternating. I am working up to 135 still but it’s looking good for this week. At least I know I can go up to 200 for deadlift without much effort so that’s one thing. Tuesday I did Body Beast Bulk Chest which I am really enjoying. So much that I might actually dive in and do the whole thing with Oly lifting as a sub for back days.

What exactly is a “short bootcamp” that I keep referring to? Well, it’s a 20-30 minute workout that is bodyweight oriented and comprised of legs, abs, chest, arms and shoulders.

Here’s an example of what it would look like on a typical day:

Sets of 10, each section is non stop.

Pushups
Military
vsnaps
squats
front lunge

step out pushup
diamond pushup
power crunch
Pop squats
back lunge front kick

frog jump
clapping pushup
V pushup (shoulders)
bicycle switch
roll to boat hold

2-4-6-8-10-8-6-4-2 (50 reps)

pushup
squat
vsnap
lunge switch (MK)
military

 

 

 

 

Super 7 It Was…

Original Lucky 7 from Body Beast:

Push Up + Clean + Squat:
Deadlift + Bent-Over Row:
Skull Crusher + Press + Crunch:
Curl + Military Press + EZ Squat:
Delt Raise + Reverse Lunge:
Lat Oblique Twist:
Upright Row + Calf Raise:

Super 7 for the kids:

Pushup – shoulder touch – vsnap
Squat – MK Switch – front lunge
Military – squat – pullup
Frog jump- squat thrust – hop out pushup
(with weights bars – 14 and 24lb)
curl + reverse press
high pull + front raise
back squat + press

Tuesday I took off to rest for the upcoming few days I knew I would be working out. Wednesday I participated with the girls at gym doing some of the Super 7 workout above. On Thursday I was very short on time but I did another heavier Olympic workout involving Deadlifts and Cleans something like this:

DL – 5 5 10 10 10 10 5
Clean – 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

Today I am hoping to do some cardio bootcamp stuff at gym but I guess we will see, I am trying to have weekends as heavy Oly lift and kettlebell or bench days so maybe a lighter weight free night tonight will put me in a better position to get back to the 135lb cleans again. If my back holds up, I am hooping to get back to a 200lb deadlift and 175lb clean by the New Year. If I can get back to a bodyweight deadlift, bench and shoulder press with a reasonable clean I will be  happy. Not so sure I can get back to a 235lb shoulder press but I guess we will see.

Lucky 7. Make That Super 7.

Lucky-7Body Beast is creeping into my life. I did the Lucky 7 workout a couple of days ago and yesterday I took off but I really wanted to do a BB shoulder workout.

Lucky 7 was actually pretty good. I did it without really knowing what I was in for except I needed a quick whole body thing.

Here is the workout, I apologize I stole this from somewhere but I have posted it whole so that the original owner can claim right and credit. I am going to make a similar workout for the gymnasts tonight since my assistant who has a concussion probably won’t be participating, it will be Super 7 since that’s our local lottery name around these parts.

Push Up + Clean + Squat:

For this sequence, you’ll use the EZ bar with plates.  You may need to adjust your weight after you see how much weight you can handle.  to begin, set the EZ bar on the floor.  You’ll do a push up above the bar: first with one arm in front (other arm behind), then the other.  Right away, you’ll grab your EZ bar, stand up, and do a “clean lift” up to your shoulders; then holding it in that position, you’ll perform a squat.

You’ll do this sequence in a pyramid set: 7 rounds.  So what that means is the first time, you’ll do one rep of each move: the second time, you’ll do two reps each move; third time, three reps… etc.  You’ll keep going without a break until you get to seven reps each move.  That’s a lot of reps!!!

Deadlift + Bent-Over Row:

Staying with your EZ bar, you’ll keep your legs straight, and perform a deadlift by lowering the weight down towards the floor while keeping your arms and back straight.  Right away, you’ll bend at your waist (keeping your back straight), and perform bent-over rows by pulling your elbows towards the ceiling.  Same pyramid as before: one rep each the first time, two the second, three the third… all the way to seven!

Skull Crusher + Press + Crunch:

Laying on the floor, you’ll press your EZ bar above your head.  Keeping your elbows straight up into the air, you’ll slowly lower the bar towards your forehead, then raise it back up.  Next, you’ll do a press with the bar.  Finally, you’ll hold the weight in the air, and perfom a crunch.  And you know the drill: seven rounds, building up to seven reps!

Curl + Military Press + EZ Squat:

Using the EZ bar, you’ll stand and perform a curl to work your biceps.  Without lowering the weight, you’ll immediately do a press with the weight above your head.  THEN, keeping the weight at your shoulders, you’ll do a squat.  Build up to seven!!!

Delt Raise + Reverse Lunge:

As Sagi prepares for this move, he makes a big deal about lowering the amount of weight you’re using on your EZ bar.  I would listen to him if I were you :)  This move is NO JOKE.  Get ready!

Keeping your arms straight, you’ll raise the bar up straight in front of you, keeping your palms facing up.  Next, you’ll perform a reverse lunge, alternating legs.  As you increase the reps for the pyramid, you’ll do all of the reps with one leg, before switching to the other.  THIS IS TOUGH.  Make sure you pick a weight that you can finish with!

Lat Oblique Twist:

You’ll keep using your EZ bar for this move; however, you’ll remove one weight, so that you only have a weight on one side.  You’ll then stand the bar up on an end, keeping the side with the weight up in the air.  You’ll stand with the bar vertical in front of you, the end with no weight on the floor.  You’ll then lunge and hold to one side, hold it for a few seconds, then to the other side.  As you increase up the pyramid, you’ll just hold it longer; you’ll only do 7 total reps on each side.

Upright Row + Calf Raise:

Put both weights back on your EZ Bar, and hold the bar in front of you.  You’ll perform an upright row by gripping the bar in the middle, then bringing it up to your chin, keeping your elbows high.  Holding the bar by your chin, you’ll then perform calf raises.  Build that pyramid!!

Leaning Towards Body Beast and Longevity Revealed

costcoxmasI did another Body Beast workout last night, the Chest Build workout. It was pretty short, not that brutal and I managed to work in my bench to make sure I had heavy enough weight for the presses. I am not a huge fan of the guy who runs the workouts but as of now I don’t throw up in my mouth every time I see him any more, so there’s that.

After Millennium Bronze on Thursday I took Friday off so that my weekend workouts would be effective and also because at the end of training on Friday I was just too tired to attempt the Millenium Silver I had outlined for the kids. For the record, they got to round 5 in 25 minutes. It’s tough.

Saturday I spent a lot of the day cleaning up the house and the garage again getting ready for Christmas. Nothing exercise worthy so I did an Olympic lift session that involved DL, clean and high pulls going from 75lbs up to 115lbs in preparation to move up to 135 for my DL and clean again. I would like to workout with 155 or 165lbs for both DL and clean regularly, and then up the DL to 225 for heavy days. Sunday I went to Costco and bought a Christmas tree that has lights that can do all sorts of funky stuff so we took time to decorate that and then I did the Body beast Chest workout. Tonight is gymnastics, and I think I will run a bootcamp for 30 minutes to get a bit of cardio into them (and me).

Here as some food for thought is an interesting article on the whole “people live longer nowadays” thing. Seems like we all remember Grandparents who were tough old warriors, fact is, they were all like that, mostly due to their food and activity.

http://www.weedemandreap.com/2013/10/long-ancestors-live-eating-bacon-lard-whole-milk.html