10.57-59 – Thinking On My Feet / Fight Gone Bad

Monday we decided to do Millenium Abs Massacre as follows:
100 of each:
Half Crunch
Full Crunch
Butt Lift (not quite to shoulder stand)
V Snap
Side Crunch
In and Out
Bicycles
Crunchy Frog
Laying Bicycle cross
Squats

Turns out, doing 100 squats in a row without much of a warmup is not the greatest idea.

Tuesday nobody showed up for bootcamp so instead of forcing my kids to endure cardio class I decided at the end of training we would do a version of the infamous Fight Gone Bad workout. Rather than stick with the 75lb (since we didnt have the weights available) I did 95lbs for the hight pull and push press. We also replaced the final rowing with chinups instead so it looked like this:

3 rounds of 5 minutes with 2 minutes rest:

Wallball Shots: 12 pound ball, 10 ft target. (Reps)
Sumo Deadlift High-Pull: 95 pounds (Reps)
Box Jump: 16″ box (Reps)
Push Press: 90 pounds (Reps)
Chinups (Reps)

I quickly realized that you really need someone to time and count for you, I kept count through the high pull and lost it on the jumps. I don’t know how anyone can count and do that much work at the same time! Wednesday was a short treadmill and chinups program for my own entertainment and now it’s time for bootcamp bodyweight which I will report on next time!

10.54-56 – The Weekend

For some reason I feel like I am running on empty lately. My weight is going nowhere and I am eating normally so I am curious as to why I feel so drained. Friday I actually squeezed in a workout and for the weekend I concentrated specifically on Olympic lifting. Sunday was a wash because we were out with friends and I was supposed to do Yoga but I played around in the pool instead.

Monday’s WOD was an interesting exercise. I wanted to see if we could do 1000 abs, it wasn’t that tough actually but ending with 100 squats was a killer. I will take a picture of the actual workout when I am back there tonight, but it was 9 types of abs work plus squats, 100 reps of each for a total of 1000 reps.

Today is cardio, the reason these entries are so short lately is because I am not working from my desk but rather at a remote location and the work is tough and relentless. I am upgrading the network and so I spend my whole day recabling racks of network drops, it’s no fun and is physically very challenging. I will be glad when it’s over and things can get back to normal.

For the record, I bought some new bumper plates and so I have been trying to increase my clean and press weight. I should be at bodyweight, but currently I am a way short of that goal. Hopefully the next couple of weeks will see me getting to bodyweight for deadlift and squat, then eventually for clean and then clean and press.

10.53 – Bootcamp Weights. Flirting With Exhaustion.

The last few days have been awful from a physical standpoint. I have spent all last week and so far this week standing in freezing network closets recabling hundreds of network drops and installing upgraded switches. It has caused me not to be able to eat at my normal times and in fact I have found myself not eating at all during the day. On Tuesday after bootcamp it caught up with me, I felt nauseated, weak and had a massive headache and I have a feeling today may not be any better. I guess we will see, but I need some serious rest I think.

Single Arm
10 Press
10 Curls
10 Front Raise
10 Side Raise
10 High Pull
10 Tricep extension

Single Arm
10 Clean
10 Swings
10 Clean and Press
10 Swings
10 Snatch
10 Swings
10 Chinups

Double Arm
20 Press
20 Curls
20 Front Raise
20 Halo
20 High Pull
10 Bent Over Tri Ext

Double Arm
10 Curl and Press
10 Clean and Press
10 Side raise high pull
10 Front Raise Row
10 Double Overhead Tri
10 Weighted burpee

REPEAT UNTIL DEATH

10.51 – Bootcamp Bodyweight Long Version

20 shoulder crunch
20 leg up crunch
10 full situp double twist
10 side crunch
10 hanging leg raise

10 pullups
10 regular pushups
10 military pushups
10 sphinx to plank step or drop
10 pushup side hold

20 shoulder crunch
20 leg up crunch
10 full situp double twist
10 side crunch
10 hanging leg raise

10 Knees at wall assisted squats (Sissy Squats)
20 Air squats
20 step back lunge front kick
20 belt kicks
20 front lunge

10 regular pushups
10 military pushups
10 sphinx to plank step or drop
10 pushup side hold
10 pullups

20 shoulder touch
20 hip touch
10 spider each side
10 knee to elbow each
10 knee to opposite elbow each

20 Air squats
20 step back lunge front kick
20 belt kicks
20 front lunge
10 assisted squats half distance (Sissy Squats)

10 pullups
20 single leg knee raise
20 super skaters
30 second chair pose
10 front kick back kick each side

20 shoulder touch
20 hip touch
10 spider each side
10 knee to elbow each
10 knee to opposite elbow each

10 pullups
20 single leg knee raise
20 super skaters
30 second chair pose
10 assisted squats full distance (Sissy Squats)

10 pushup step out
10 clap pushup
10 plyo pushup
10 pushup side raise leg raise
5 Worlds slowest burpee with clap

10.47-52 – Fitting In

It’s been a tough few days around here, we were away for the weekend in St Thomas Ontario visiting Thomas The Tank Engine and staying overnight in a hotel with a pool the size of a postage stamp. That said, I resolved to take my kettlebell and I did get in a KB workout on Saturday night while my wife went visiting with her girlfriends. I was so out of gas by the time Sunday night came around that I took an extra day off which I am sure I will regret at some point! Maybe, it is possible I needed the rest given that I am not scheduling rest weeks. Anyway, it was an enjoyable weekend and my workout schedule looked like this:

47 – Friday Rest
48 – Kettlebell clean and press with swings 5×5
49 – Sunday Rest
50 – Double workout including WOD Century Club (Pullups, Squats, vsnps, box jumps)
51 – Bootcamp Bodyweight (details to follow)
52 – Today, hopefully a day of rest!

10.46 – Bootcamp Cardio

I know my participants hate cardio day and to be honest so do I. That’s why I try to throw in some abs and occasionally some Yoga or something to lighten the mood. Last night was a tough one though, nobody seemed in the mood and the class was tough from start to finish. However, it’s not my job to pander to the groups feelings nor even to my own whims but rather to run the program to get us all as fit as I can. So we sucked it up and made it through…

D12 4.6.2 Cardio

2x section
20 Hit the floor
10 3 step Suicides
20 switch kicks
20 in and out abs
10 side crunch

2x section
10 Frog jumps
10 switch lunge
10 stance jacks (foot touch)
10 vsnaps
10 roll to boat

1x section
5x long jump run back – triple triple repeat
10 tuck jumps
10 river jumps
10 ski abs
10 bum lifts
10 ski abs
10 river jumps
10 tuck jumps

x1 section
10 2 line forward and back suicides
2 lengths sprint runback switch
2 lengths long jump tuck jump
20 plank jacks
10 plank jacks with in and out

x2 section
10 X Jacks
10 diamond jumps
10 wide knee tuck jumps
10 vsnaps
10 rollback hold to shoulder stand

x1 section
5x low jacks and pulse 4+8
10 burpee with half turn
20 knees up same elbow
20 knees up opposite elbow
40 happy dance
20 knees up opposite elbow
20 knees up same elbow
5 burpee with half turn
5x low jacks and pulse 4+8

x2 section (actually only did 1x)
10 archover ball situps
10 back extensions feet down
10 side crunch each side
10 back extensions feet up
10 hands down roll ins
10 heel roll ins on back
90s of shoulder burners

10.43&4 – WOD Monday and Bootcamp Weights With Balance!

Tony H bringing stability balls into the male gym rat psyche.

Monday was kind of a compromise, I asked the girls to come up with several moves and I put the numbers up. What we ended up with was a fast (sub-10 minute) workout that was appropriate given the length of training and the heat.

5-10-15-20-15-10-5
Push Ups
V Snaps
Air Squats
Double box dips

It’s 80 reps of each but for such light movements we really should have gone to 25 which would have put the total at 125 each. Even that would only have been 15 minutes. Without doing pullups, these WOD type workouts are very short, sometimes too short but like I said, given the situation, it was fine.

Tuesday bootcamp was weights and balance which meant stability ball use and dumbbells. I liked this workout, it is basic and at the same time challenging due to the balance component, especially when you alternate sides! It looked like this:

D11 4.6.1 Weights

10 Clean
10 Swings
10 Clean and Press
10 Swings
10 Snatch or clean and press
10 Swings

Sitting on Stability Balls Sets of 10 each
x2
Overhead pullover
Laying Fly face up
Sitting press
Sitting curl
Double Tricep extension
x2
Plank row
Floor laying chest fly
Low kneel shoulder press
kneeling single arm curl
football throw extension
x2
Overhead pullover alternating
face up overhead fly alternating
alternating shoulder press
alternating bicep curl
Military pushup feet on ball
x2
High Pull
Incline chest fly
Halo
Hammer double curls
Single bent over tricep extension

A Paleo Word About Nuts And Seeds

Somebody asked me the other day if quinoa was OK to eat. I said it wasn’t the best because it is a grain and grain is bad. Fact is, I deliberately over simplified that response, quinoa as most people know is not a grain but a seed however it behaves very similarly and is produced in grain plants where gluten and other contaminants are common. That led me to an interesting article about nuts and seeds that has pointed me in a new direction rather than giving up dairy. I think cutting my nuts and seeds consumption by 75% should do the trick instead. The more I read, the more I realized that my consumption is probably a little high.

Anyway, for more info on PUFA, Omega 3 and 6 and all the other fabulous info about nuts and seeds, read on…

Are Nuts And Seeds Healthy?

10.40/2 – Weekend Review (O-Lift Special)

10.40 – Rest
10.41 – 100 Clean and Press with 115lbs
10.42 – 100 Squat with 115lbs

I can’t shake my past. Whenever I force myself to do some lighter weight rep intense timed workouts like I did this weekend I can’t help but feel cheated. I know the days of 400lb squats are behind me but its frustrating to be doing the workouts that I love but with weights I hate. Fortunately I have my daughter and wife to think of who would not benefit from my requiring extra back surgeries or anything worse. I guess I just have to learn to love lighter weights. That said, I think that bodyweight is a satisfactory max, which means I still have some room to grow since I can’t remember the last time I cleaned 230lbs. Once I get my hands on some more bumper plates I should be good. Just a couple of 45’s and I will be up to 205 which is a respectable working weight for C&P at least from my perspective. I have opted to go for barbell rather than kettlebell clean and press the last couple of weeks which means I will probably have to squeeze in a RKC workout this week. Even though I enjoy the barbell work, the KB swings are a major developmental movement when it comes to back strength. My form has been good with the barbell work too and I think I owe a lot of that to good KB work.

As far as the sets go, for the C&P I did 1-10-1 and for the squats just 10 sets of 10. It’s WOD day at the gym tonight so I have to get to grips with another Crossfit workout, that makes 3 in 3 days and no yoga this week. Maybe I will try and squeeze in FOY tomorrow.

In other news we went swimming with my daughter yesterday which was fun, she is finally getting used to the water and even dunked her head a couple of times! We also attended a birthday party for one of her friends on Saturday which was really nice, it was a good relaxing weekend and that’s what I really needed. As far as my body report goes, my desire to push below 232lbs isn’t really going anywhere. I make a couple of lbs here and there but seem to put it right back. My left shin splint is hurting at the moment and I still have residual pain from when I strained my achilles a few weeks ago at the gym. I think if I am going to push below 230 I think I need a significant change, maybe getting rid of dairy for  few weeks might do it. I’ll have to think about that one.

10.39 – Bootcamp Bodyweight With ISO Sprinkles

10.29 was a day off.
10.30 I decided I would take the participants outside for some running. Since I didn’t have shoes I went barefoot which, in retrospect, wasn’t the smartest thing I have ever done. It was 34 degrees outside with a humidex in the high 30s, but what the hell, there was some shade!

D10 4.5.2 Bodyweight ISO with Blocks

4 shuttle runs – 80m each
10 wall pushups
5 20m Hill runs
10 Jumping jacks
4 bear walk up hill and back
10 jumping jacks
5 20m hill runs
jog back 200m to gym

10 air squats on med ball each leg
10 lunge no step holding med ball
10 1 leg squat knee raise with med ball
10 air squats half bounce foot on mb each leg
60s deep squat hold
10 pullups

20 in and out row
10 roll to boat hold
20 bicycle each
20 arms up in and out
10 leg lifts

10 regular pushups arm on med ball each arm
10 military pushups both hands on med ball
10 double hand touch on med ball
10 pushup side raise hold for 5
10 pullups

10 dips legs straight on med ball
10 hop dips legs straight on med ball
10 dips one leg raised on med ball
10 leg lifts

10 squat opposite elbow to knee
10 rear lunge knee to opp elbow
10 1 leg squat hops
10 air squat half bounce
30s horse stance hold x4

regular pushups 10 decline 10 incline
military pushups 10 decline 10 incline
sphinx to plank step or drop 10 decline 10 incline
pushup side raise 10 decline 10 incline
10 pullups

crunchy frog on 4 count
triple bicycles
laying scissors 3 position
10 rollback hold to shoulder

Bonus Killer

5 pushups hold low hold high 5 counts
4 military pushup hold low and high 5
3 side plank each side hold 10s
3 30s hip raise hold
1 60s sphinx hold