10.19-10.21 – Greasing The Groove

 

 

10.19 – Off
10.20 – FOY Yoga with Tony (Too sore for anything else)
10.21 – RKC 34543 with 55lb and pullups

The great news is that by the time I have finished Tuesday’s bootcamp I will be up at exactly 70% participation for this session. I am also trying to get my pullups back into shape since at the moment I am having trouble stringing 10 together during my workouts.

I am scouring mobilityWOD to try and get some more information on stretching and manipulating the joints and surfaces to get some progress in the bridge / splits and shoulder mobility of my girls. The field of stretching and mobility is not glamorous and is often overlooked but I am trying to find good resources for increasing mobility and flexibility beyond what 90% of sites will tell you. Most of them act like PNF is the latest development in stretching or that blindly stretching more will give more results. Since we are talking about high level athletes here, it’s tough to find much reference material, even going through gymnastics sites hasn’t really provided much information. So if you have any to pass along, it would be more than welcome.

I am also realizing that for the first time in a while I have a small window of “me” training rather than each day having to worry about bootcamp or resting after said event. For now once I am done Thursday I can feel free to exercise on Friday knowing that I have days to recoup until WOD Monday and Bootcamp again on Tuesday. I am hoping this will get me into a groove of satisfying my own strength and mobility needs (read Olympic lifting and Yoga) and help me to fight off what is apparently a roughly 3% fat gain over the last few months.

The exciting news is that my scale should arrive tomorrow. It is partly a Fathers Day gift for me, partly a Mothers Day gift for Nicole (since we get a food scale free and she says ours is toast) and partly a more accurate way to determine my body composition. I will tell you what I think once I get my hands (and feet) on it.

10.18 – Bootcamp Bodyweights (Hot Day Part 2)

234@19%

It was another boiler in Toronto today, 40+ with the humidity and so I knew the workout was going to be tough. Not only that, but in teaching bootcamp I have learned that the smaller the class, the harder you have to work to get the right results. Since it was exams and hot I ended up with only 1 participant and the workout, with perfect form, was a killer! The toughest part I found was doing the 5-10-15 sets at the start. In fact, it was 60 of each movement in about a 15 minute time frame, that would make a decent WOD by itself!! I haven’t checked my Firstbeat Athlete yet but I know for large parts of the class my HR was way over 160 and for me that is pretty intense.

Here is what we did, and I was glad that I didn’t have to coach 2 hours afterwards, I was wiped out!

D4 4.2.2 Bodyweight (HOT DAY PART 2)

5-10-15
Regular Pushup
Air Squats
Military Pushup
Pistol knee raise
Pullups

5-10-15
Ultra wide pushup
Back lunge front kick
Plange Pushup
Super skaters
Pullups

With Partner
10 Squat ball pass
10 Back to back lean twist pass
10 Wall sit side to side pass
10 Full situp ball pass (Throw not pass)
10 Pullups

10 One hand on ball pushup
10 Side to side one hand on ball pushup
20 Single hand ball touch
10 Double hand ball touch
10 Pullups
10 Double hand ball touch
20 Single hand ball touch
10 Side to side one hand on ball pushup
10 One hand on ball pushup

With Partner
10 Squat ball pass
10 Back to back lean twist pass
10 Horse stance ball throw
10 Full situp ball pass (Throw not pass)
10 Pullups

10 Overhead squat
10 Wall ball
10 Overhead tricep wall throw
10 Between Knees hold, double elbow sit up
10 Overhead tricep wall throw
10 Wall ball
10 Hug squat

10.16 Bootcamp Day 3 – Abs and Cardio

It’s going to be a hot one tonight so I think a little more abs and a little less cardio may be in order, we can always run each other into the ground next week!

Here’s the plan:

D3 4.2.1 Abs / Cardio (HOT DAY)

20 Pulse crunch
20 In and Out
20 straight leg toe touch alternate
20 Crunchy Frog
20 Side Crunch each side
5 burpee
5 burpee with 4 run
5 burpee with 4 run and 4 in and out
20 plank jacks
10 plank jacks with in and out

20 standing Knee raise
20 standing leg raise
20 swing kicks
10 vsnaps
10 roll to boat
5 burpee
5 burpee with 4 run
5 burpee with 4 run and 4 in and out
20 plank jacks
10 plank jacks with in and out

Plank hold 30s
20 Plank knee to elbow
10 Plank knee to elbow with kick back
40 dog raise

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

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

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

x2 section
10 in and out
10 crunchy frog
10 ARX bicycle (forwards and backwards)
10 full sit up
10 side crunch
20 side to side flutter (on your back) 3 position
20 russian twists
10 rollback hold to shoulder stand

10.15 – Monday WOD at Gym

Mondays are going to be tricky. I wanted to do some strength training with the girls but their reluctance and their notion that they will turn into men if they use olympic bars is something I have to tackle. Last night was the first night I introduced the new stretching and flexibility portion of the evening. For the record, it goes like this:

5 laps running / skipping / heels up / knees up / 5 corner sprints
5 minutes foam rolling (We have found foam rolling to be a great help in preventing overall soreness and fixing large muscle knots)
5 laps running during which: 10 burpees / 10 pushups / 10 squats / 10 chinups

Stretching:

15 wall sliders
15 floor sliders (on floor beam)
10x Slot machine pull each arm (stand with shoulder and elbow against wall, palm away from wall. Face along the wall, use away arm to pull wall arm down)
10 min ball work (lacrosse ball to loosen upper back)
5 weighted pullovers
5 skin cat hold 15s
5 bridge / elevated bridge 15s
5 wall walk to bridge

Splits cycle:
Kneeling quad stretch x5 hold 10 (go to elbows down if possible)
Right, left, middle 10s each
Right, left, middle 30s each
Right, left, middle 60s each

Scorpion back stretch (assisted)
Back manipulation / inversion table / individual back stretch

Now I am not saying that I am the greatest source of information on flexibility but from what I have read recently, without getting into the kid of heavy manipulations required for mobilityWOD type stretching I think this will serve our purpose well for now. I am sure we will find some shortfalls, and of course there are other mobility items we do for each event as we warm up since I have, or am in the process of, revamping all of our warmups for each event.

Once it was time for our conditioning, we attempted a little thruster work, but the kids have a hard time keeping the bar balanced and close to the body, it’s pretty amazing actually to see just how many different ways there are to do something wrong when you come from a place of zero knowledge and zero preconception. Then it was time for a little metcon work so we chose Half Barbara for 5 rounds for time. I don’t have the exact numbers but it was all over in a matter of under 10 minutes.

Half Barbara:

5 rounds for time:
10 Chinups
15 Pushups
20 Situps
25 Squats

10.12-14 The Two Extremes

I think due to my preference to take the day after bootcamp as a rest day I am going to have to take Wednesday and Friday as rest days. Unfortunately that means I will be working out Saturday – Tuesday without a break. It sounds brutal but unless I can get over my hangup about the day after Bootcamp that will have to do. After bootcamp weights on Thursday I took Friday off and changed RKC Friday into RKC Saturday instead. The only problem with that is my 45lb KB is at work, so if I don’t do RKC at work then I have to do it at home with my 55lb KB. In the spirit of pushing myself, this is what I did:

3×3 Clean and Press with 55lb
9 chinups
3×3 Clean and Press with 55lb
9 chinups
4×3 Clean and Press with 55lb
12 chinups
4×3 Clean and Press with 55lb
12 chinups
3×3 Clean and Press with 70lb
9 chinups

I have to admit I was shocked at how hard it was to use the 55lb being only 10lbs heavier. Then again I almost crushed my head and tore my arm off using the 70lb which I have never actually used with any regularity, I suppose that is the next part of my RKC goal setting, making sure that I can lift that bad boy with regularity and ease after all, it’s the standard by which Russian Men are judged.

Sunday rolled around and knowing that I was going to have a 4 day stint including a WOD day and a bootcamp day I was in the mood for a little flexibility work. I have started the summer training at gymnastics by introducing a stretching and flexibility schedule and it has highlighted my own shortcomings with glaring clarity. So with that in mind I set about my first Yoga workout in several months, a quick search indicates that it was January 2012 when I last participated in a Yoga class and it sure felt that way last night. I remember being comfortable with yoga, being able to do most of the stretching, even able to balance in many of the poses but last night showed serious flaws in my training. I am glad that I will be doing more flexibility with the girls, I think it will give us all a chance to improve what we have but regardless I think I need to add Yoga back into my schedule at least every other week.

Maybe I can make Sunday my yoga day! I have P90X yoga, Fountain of Youth Yoga from Tony Horton 1 on 1 and of course X2 Yoga to choose from.

I hate to admit it, but I kind of miss yoga…

 

 

10.10-11 – Rest Plus Bootcamp Weights

 

The rest day was a welcome break. I realize just how out of shape I am compared to when I was up at 70% participation, it’s amazing how a little bit of slacking off can make you feel like a lazy ass. Bootcamp day 2 was weights and heavy on the arms and shoulders since I was feeling a little lightweight in that area. The workout was good, but having a limited amount of dumbbells means that the participants aren’t quite getting the workout I want. I wish we had a bunch of 15lb dbs to use, it would really bridge the gap to the next level.

Anyway, here is what we did:

D2 – 4.1.2 Weights

x10x2
Double Curls
Double Press
High pull
DB Thruster
Chin ups or turnarounds

x10x2
Alt curls
Alt press
Front and Back Rolling Shrugs
Squat
Chin ups or hand turns

x10x1
DB good mornings
Sitting shoulder press
dips no weight
dip hops
dips leg up each side

x10x1
Shoulder raise side
Shoulder raise front
Shoulder raise side to front
Shoulder raise front with row
Halo

10×2
Sitting shoulder press
Weighted dips both weights
Weighted dips one weight
weighted dips no weight
Pullups

x10x1
Double Curls
Alt Curls
Outward curls
Hammer Curls
French Curls

Abs – 10 with DB, 20 free

in and out
bicycles
full situp
russian twist

 

10.9 – Bootcamp 4 Kickoff

Today was day 1 of Bootcamp 4. We welcomed the return of two of our previous participants but did lose one to the lure of summer fun. The first class was always designed to be a slow introduction and with 2 new people and my girls back in the mix it was almost like  a new group. Therefore, the first 3 workouts will be pretty basic. Here is what we did, a full body bodyweight workout for the masses!

D1 – 4.1.1 Bodyweight

x2
10 regular pushups
10 military pushups
10 sphinx to plank step or drop
10 pushup side hold
10 pullups

x2
20 shoulder crunch
20 leg up crunch
10 full situp double twist
10 side crunch
10 hanging leg raise

x2
20 Air squats
20 step back lunge front kick
20 belt kicks
20 front lunge
10 pullups

x2
20 shoulder touch
20 hip touch
10 spider each side
10 knee to elbow each
10 knee to opposite elbow each

x2
20 single leg knee raise
20 super skaters
30 second chair pose
20 side lunge
10 pullups

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

 

10.6-8 – Summer Training Is Here!

234@20 – Monday
233@18 – Tuesday

10.6 – Off
10.7 – Insanity Plyo Cardio
10.8 – Monday WOD

I am still struggling to get over this stomach thing, but so far I am sticking with the new schedule. That said, today is the start of Summer Training for the kids at gym where my days switch from Mon Wed Fri to Mon Tue Thur. That means after the workout we did last night (WOD Monday) I now have a bootcamp class to look forward to today (Bootcamp 4, Bodyweight).

For the first week of the new 10Dot schedule I managed 4 of 7 days which is not great but above my R9 average, after Bootcamp tonight I will be up at 67% aiming for 70% by the weekend.

As a side note, for my workout of choice this week I did Plyometric Cardio, I guess I must have been missing Shaun T a little, but it didn’t take long to get over that. It was a beast of a workout, you really do forget how difficult it is to work out for 30 seconds at a time 4 times back to back. Even at my bootcamp, the intervals aren’t 30 seconds, that would be too much for the regular participant to bear. It did make me think about upping the rep count though!!

Monday’s WOD was a short Chelsea. Since it was day 1 of summer training I decided a shorter workout was in order so we did this;

15 rounds for time

5 pullups
10 pushups
15 squats

We were all pretty close, I ended in 15 minutes, the girls around 16 although I have a sneaking suspicion they skipped a round at the end! I am currently working on some mobility work to try to advance the flexibility of the shoulders and spine for my girls and to work in some flexibility work into the scheudule for the summer. It’s tough to try to fit everything in especially with an hour fitness class taking a large chunk of 2 of my days. But I think this year it is going to be critical that we try and find a way to keep the flexibility and mobility work in the mix.

10.4/5 – Wrench In The Works

10.4 – Rest (sick)
10.5 – RKC at work (scheduled as WOD at gym)

234.4
21.1%

I am not sure what it was, but the last couple of days my stomach hasn’t been right. For that reason I took the day after Bootcamp as a rest day and then in preparation for not being able to do conditioning at gym I did my RKC at work. Turns out it was a good call, the kids didn’t show for class so I was given the night off.

My RKC at work was basic

5C&P per arm x3
20 swings
5C&P per arm x3
20 swings
5 snatch per arm x2
20 swings
5C&P per arm x3
5C&P per arm x3

It’s usually over in about 30 minutes and it is the perfect portable workout.

I’m trying to recover from the mysterious bloating and cramping I am feeling, hoping it’s just a mild stomach bug.

 

10.3 – Bootcamp Final Day (Cardio)

Weight – 234.4
% Fat – 21.1%
Lean Mass – 185
Fat Mass – 50

I find my fat % varied wildly from 16-26 on this scae, I am hoping a monthly average may take care of the difference and give me a better idea. Either that or get a hydration scale which is reputedly better.

For the last Bootcamp for this session we did Cardio, regardless of the degree of hatred everyone has for it…

D22 3.12.2 Cardio and Abs

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

2x section
5x long jump run back – single double triple repeat
10 tuck jumps
10 river jumps
10 ski abs
10 bum lifts

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

x1 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

x2 section (actually only did 1x)
10 in and out
10 crunchy frog
10 ARX bicycle (forwards and backwards)
10 full sit up
10 side crunch
20 side to side flutter (on your back) 3 position
10 russian twists
10 rollback hold to shoulder stand