Extreme Home Fitness From P90X to Crossfit to Russian Kettlebells – Proof that at any age you can still give it the beans and be your own hero!
They finally arrived in Canada, the New Balance Minimus zero drop barefoot running shoe. It’s just like the vibrams five fingers but without the snide comments about Gorilla feet.
Got mine on Saturday at Sportchek, they are awesome. So awesome they make you feel like you have ninja feet when you wear them.
I accidentally surprised several people today by walking past them in the hall, I guess they didn’t hear me coming.
I am ninja.
Apparently people are getting the message that fat people are not only fat, but also incompetent. I saw this coming long ago, however now with the renewed attacks on obesity some are calling the propensity for weight gain as not just a weakness or an accident, but an indicator of incompetence in your work. The example is from the Huffington Post which goes on to say that the fact that new Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is “excessively, can’t-blame-it-on-big-bones, dangerously fat” indicates that he can’t possibly be a good Mayor, after all, someone who routinely and purposefully ignores the long term consequences of their eating habits probably has the same cavalier attitude towards his job. It would appear as though they have a point, looking at what Mr. Ford has done since he came into office however we once again sail dangerously close to the rocks of the distinction between correlation and causation. Yes he’s fat, yes, he appears to exercise bad judgement at his job but the two are not necessarily related. It’s interesting to note however that being fat makes him a bigger target, both literally and figuratively. People who are significantly (let’s say severely or morbidly obese) overweight are seen as many things including lazy, messy, dirty and stupid. It makes sense then that the correlation between their weight and their competence at work would come into play at some point.
I believe that there is a psychological effect that comes with being overweight, and anyone who has ever lost 50lbs or more will surely attest to this. When you are big you often feel defeated, out of control and unable to escape the feeling of persecution, both external and internal. Losing weight gives you back that feeling of control, it empowers you and makes you feel more successful. These are all things that you would naturally want in your career also, so the parallel is there to be drawn. Just like back in the 80’s when the aerobics generation was in full swing, there will be a certain amount of backlash against the obese. It’s already gaining momentum and I think people are starting to lose patience with the obese among us and not only the cost medically that our taxes pay for but also with the general apathy that seems to go along with the condition.
I’m not going to personally weigh in on this one, I have been on both sides of the fence and I know which one I prefer. It’s hard enough to control your weight without having your professional conduct or proficiency called into question. But then again, if you can’t see the long term dangers…
Yesterday I installed my rafter mount chin up bar on the deck. It makes a huge difference having a bar that doesn’t turn or move about when you are doing your pull ups. It also has 3 different grips which means I can finally get into the switch grip chinups that I have never actually done. I’ll take pics when I can but it means I have a total of 3 sets of chin up bars and a set of gymnastics rings on my deck. It’s like a mini crossfit box out there! I proceeded to stress test it with a 34543 RKC workout with the 55lb KB including 10 swings between each set. I have to say that 10lbs doesn’t sound like much but it is a full 22% more than the the 45lb and upping your weight by 20% on anything is significant. I was surprised how tired it made me to include the swings, but I am happy I managed to make it through, and I have to say I love my newest chin up bar!
Wednesday was the first day of the fitness bootcamp I am running at the gymnastics club. I have to say that I have a new respect for Tony and Shaun T because trying to communicate and work out at the same time makes your head and lungs explode. I took the new members through a variety of stuff, a little cardio, mostly bodyweight work and gave them a general feeling of what it will be like once the program starts. We were allowed to use part of the floor in the gym for the last half hour which was great because the yoga room where we started got hot in a hurry! I think it was a success, it wasn’t so hard they won’t come back but hard enough that they know it’s going to be a challenge.
For myself, I got a pretty amazing workout trying to demo, participate and talk at the same time. Being with people pushes you harder, leading people makes you push yourself like a maniac. Thursday I opted for Chest Shoulders and Arms using the rings again for dips and Friday I was off since I am coaching 3 nights a week again now. Today I managed a Plyometric Cardio Circuit workout and my strained calf didn’t bother me at all, neither did my hip flexor so I think I can close the book on both those injuries. The plan for tomorrow is probably a P90X workout, maybe back and biceps or legs and back or I might opt to bounce forward to an RKC workout since Monday may end up being a day off due to coaching. I have to try and sort out what I can do on Monday and Friday, I suppose I could mark them both as days off, that would give me 5 of 7 as workouts which is fine given the intensity.
I’m watching The Only Way Is Essex on my Patriot Box. All I can say is wow, sometimes I am so glad I left England when I did. It’s like Jersey Shore for Britain but somehow more painful and, if possible, less substantial…
I said last week that I had picked up some new equipment, having tried and loved the rings it was time to check out the new kettlebell.
Anyone who tells you that 10lbs isn’t much weight should try moving from a 45lb to a 55lb kettlebell. It didn’t feel like much at first and I was only scheduled to do 34543 ladders, not even 55555 but still by the middle of the last 4 ladder I was struggling to get the bell overhead. Not only that, the handle is less smooth than my 45 and so my hands feel like they are getting shredded, even though they are not. However, I struggled through the workout, however opted to skip the swings between each set just in case, I did manage to bust out the 70lb for swings at the end though. It went like this:
With 55lb KB
3 rungs with chinups
4 rungs with chinups
5 rungs with chinups
4 rungs with chinups
3 rungs with chinups
5 swings with 45lb KB
5 swings with 55lb KB
5 swings with 70lb KB
10 swings with 45lb KB
10 swings with 55lb KB
10 swings with 70lb KB
15 swings with 45lb KB
15 swings with 55lb KB
15 swings with 70lb KB
I have to admit I am a little nervous about tomorrow. I am leading a bodyweight workout class at the gym where I coach, and it’s not that I am concerned about the content, or even that we will be in a studio type room not a gym, but rather I am afraid I might break someone. I guess I am used to coaching gymnasts or young athletes for the most part, and when I am not working them hard I am pushing myself as hard as I can. I am just not accustomed to taking it easy on people. Hopefully that is what they signed up for. I have to say I do hear people often say that they wish they could go on shows like Last Ten Pounds Bootcamp or Shedding For The Wedding so they could have Tommy Europe whip them into shape. Well if that is the case, then they should get what they are asking for. However, I don’t think many people are aware of the effort it takes to keep up a regimen like that. I also think that they may be unaware of the reaction they will have when someone tries to stop them from quitting when they want to. Anyone over the age of 12 in this world seems to think that they have a right to disregard the rules, whatever they may be, if they want to. Even most personal trainers in globo gyms won’t push you hard for fear that you just won’t come back. But that’s not helping anyone. A huge part of a successful lifestyle is discipline, and that means following the rules. Not only the rules for diet and schedule, but also the rules for effort level, number of reps and determination. I will have a fine line to walk tomorrow between getting the most work out of these people and discouraging them. I just hope to have enough motivation in my welcome speech to see them through. It is only once a week after all, and you can do anything for an hour once a week, right?
I do get asked often, sometimes by my kids at gym, other times by people who discover that I have lost 60lbs how I did it. Once I explain it is the paleo approach to eating they most often have one question… What about my sweet tooth? For me, it was best to wean off my sweet tooth with plenty of fruit at the start. I found that eating lots of fruits gave me plenty of satisfaction sweet wise and was still keeping me off the grains. As time went on, I ate less fruit and more vegetables to keep my fruit intake down to about 5 or 6 pieces a day. To some, that may seem excessive, but at my size, things are a little different. I found I was able to lose lots of weight and keep it off while waiting for my body to get over the years of insulin abuse I had put it through. Nowadays I am still eating 5 or 6 pieces of fruit a day but I also have berries, mix in lots of veggies with my meat and drink a ton of water. I am still craving free and although I have had challenges with portion size it usually comes down to the fact that I am low on veggie or fruit volume and too high on protein volume. Adding a couple of fruit snacks during the day usually puts me right back on track.
Paleo can be tough to start out, but I think for me the key was lots of fruit and enjoying the ability to eat bacon and eggs for breakfast every day and not feel guilty. In fact, I have probably had bacon and eggs for breakfast 80% of the time over the past year and I love it!
My only warnings on the paleo diet are this:
1. Watch the nuts. There are MASSIVE amounts of calories in nuts. Make sure you measure and know exactly what you are eating. You can scarf 1000 calories of nuts in 2 big handfuls.
2. Beware of drinking calories, they usually aren’t worth it. Just like condiments, they can be full of hidden sugars.
3. In the beginning, drink as much water as humanly possible, the extra protein requires more water to assist in digestion, besides, water is the best thing you can do for your body.
4. Learn what you can about Paleo. People will challenge you, vegetarians will become openly hostile and your family may throw words like “Atkins” and “Low Carb” at you in an attempt to dissuade you. Just remember, eat like a predator, not prey. If it has one ingredient, eat it.
Mark’s Daily Apple sweet snacks
I decided that since a few of us needed some supplies that I would take a run to the fitness store with the best pricing, which around here at least is Fitness Avenue and pick up some stuff. For myself I decided on a rafter mount chin up bar for the laundry room so that during the bleak Canadian winter I can still crank out appropriate chin ups. Unfortunately, the door mounted bar isn’t cutting it any more. I also opted for a 55lb kettlebell at around 1.09 a lb and a set of gymnastics rings. I went for the rings primarily since I wanted to do 2 things, ring dips and muscle ups. I am not sure I will ever get to the point of being able to do muscle ups, I don’t think I have the flexibility in my shoulders and a little too much bulk. But at the very least I have an extra variety of pull ups and ring dip capability.
So this week was a real mix of stuff I hadn’t planned and things I made up on the spot. What with the crossfit trip, an injured calf, a strained hip flexor and ribfest in Aurora on Sunday the week was all over the place. However I am happy to report that I only skipped one day and that was very well earned. Friday was the off day, mostly to help recover my sore shoulders, on Saturday I did a 5K run/walk to try and test out my calf which went well. I have not done any cardio workouts since I strained my calf and I am really feeling it! Sunday I felt I had neglected my chest and triceps so I did a short workout with pushups and ring dips. It was 8 sets of each, with 4 kinds of pushups involved. I loved the ring dips, they are far more difficult than dips on my homemade dip station given that you need to squeeze the rings into your body as you dip. I am looking forward to getting back into some cardio this week, and getting back on track with the plan. I also have to try out my new larger kettlebell and see how much harder that is.
By the way, Ribs Royale in Aurora do a wicked full rack.
I did a light leg workout with the kids at gym, it was supposed to be a rest but that’s OK. I am glad I did because yesterday my wife surprised me with a trip to an actual Crossfit Box to do one of the WODs.
It looked easy enough.
Strength Workout:
4×5 strict presswith chest to bar pullups
4×5 push press with chest to bar pullups
Metcon:
30-20-10 for time
Overhead kettlebell swing
Dumbbell push press
Walking lunges with bumper plate overhead
Looks were deceiving. It was a killer workout. I made it through the 30 set without a lot of problem other than my heart rate being frighteningly high (107bpm) but by the time I did the push press with dumbbells the second time for 20 I had to stop part way through in order to get enough energy to finish. Then when I tried to keep my arms straight with the bumper plate overhead for some reason my arms wouldn’t go straight.
The third round, although it was only 1o was the worst. My arms were fried, my shoulders were gone and I felt a strain in my hip flexor that was becoming more and more painful. I made all 10 kb swings and 9 db press. The last one I had to repeat 3 times. The final walk was sheer agony but I made it through in a pedestrian 11:30.
I admit, it was a rude awakening to the reality of crossfit as compared to my “interpretations” of crossfit that I do at home.
It was, in a word, awesome.
Then…. When I thought the night couldn’t get any better, I was sent by my wonderful wife to the Healthy Butcher in Toronto for a sausage making class. Now I love sausage and I would like nothing better than to make my own but I never imagined I would get the chance.
Last night, I did. I made sausage with fennel, white wine, dijon mustard, cheddar, caramelized onions, allspice and a 75/25 pork beef mix with a coarse grind. I have to say it was amazing, not just the sausage itself but meeting with about 12 others who also were keen sausagistas and learning a new skill in the process. It was a brilliant evening and I even ended up with a bag of sausages!
Big RKC day on Round 8 Day 1 (Monday), and I have to say I am not about to lose my love of kettlebells any time soon. What an awesome workout it is!
Day 2, Tuesday, was scheduled to be P90X Chest and Back and for a little added extra I decided once again to do the workout with my Mir Weighted Vest. So I loaded up 20lbs and set about the workout. Now 20lbs doesn’t seem like a lot, especially since I have lost 60lbs over the last year however once you strap it to your back and start working you would be amazed at how much it impacts your ability.
Usually I can crank out about 50 pushups each round, but with the extra I struggled to get 30. Not only that, but I found that my performance really started to go downhill during round 2 of the workout. I am so used to it now that I hit the same numbers both times through, which is partly why I wanted to do the extra weight. This time however, I remember doing the decline pushups which is usually an easy 30/30 for me but this time I only managed to crank out about 12 on the second round. It was a little humbling, but at the same time completely awesome!
I am starting round 8 with some difficult times ahead, and it’s going to be a challenge getting everything squeezed in while protecting myself from injuries, past and future. I am probably coaching 3 days a week again, and if not, certainly coaching 2 and leading a fitness class on the 3rd. Couple that with the baby, of course, a niggling calf injury, and a desire to once again get my weight moving in a negative direction and you have a recipe that will require a great deal of attention to get right.
I’m not about to compromise though.
I found this round to be as entertaining as you can really make home fitness. There is a lot of variety, a great deal of flexibility and the ability to navigate away from certain workouts and exercises should you need to. However, since I scheduled on a day to day basis and was consistently unable to make Monday and Wednesday’s KB workouts I was a little frustrated. I have 2 options to combat this. I can set a total number of workouts for the round and just do each one on every available day, never skipping a workout. That way I can guarantee I will do every workout I have on the rotation. Second, I can schedule 5 workouts for a week and pick and choose which ones go where. This option is a little more flexible but also less likely to produce predictable results. The problem with choices is that everyone, myself included will go for the easy way out 9 times out of 10. At least having a set schedule but no set time I will guarantee that I know what I will be doing ahead of time.
I think for me that is key.
Also, I wanted to stop with the round numbers but I am not sure what else to do so for now, R8 it is!
Since I don’t need to take it slow for the first month, I can jump in with 34543 and 55555 on the RKC without a problem. The rest I think I am going to do on a daily basis rather than schedule them for week days.
So here is the plan for the first 28 workouts which I will try to execute within 35 days.
1-34543 C&P plus 5 TGU plus 123 C&P+Snatch
2-Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X
3-55555 C&P
4-Plyometric Cardio Circuit
5-Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X
6-Pure Cardio
7 FOY Yoga With Tony
8-34543 C&P plus 5 TGU plus 123 C&P+Snatch
9-Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X
10-55555 C&P
11-Vertical Plyo
12-Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X
13-Pure Cardio
14-FOY Yoga With Tony
15-34543 C&P plus 5 TGU plus 123 C&P+Snatch
16-Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X
17-55555 C&P
18-Plyometric Cardio Circuit
19-Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X
20-Pure Cardio
21-FOY Yoga With Tony
22-34543 C&P plus 5 TGU plus 123 C&P+Snatch
23-Core Synergistics
24-55555 C&P
25-Cardio Recovery
26-Core Synergistics
27-Core, Cardio and Balance
28-Yoga X
My encounter with Cindy last week left me extremely sore in the quads. I am not sure why it was so bad, but Friday and Saturday I was in agony most likely because I chose to do full squats for Cindy instead of only going to 90 degrees. I was severely compromised during my Olympic Lifting practice and due to the pain rather than doing any max weight, I chose to concentrate on form and get my mechanics back on track.
Olympic Lifts:
3 sets of 10 each, unloaded bar.
Deadlift
Clean
Power Clean
Clean and Press
Jerk
Clean and Jerk
Squat
Push Press
Saturday we attended a wedding, but that timing was good since by that time I was unable to walk without looking like I had a metal coat hanger for a spine and hips made from glass. For Sunday, the official last day of Round 7 I caved and did Yoga with the P90X gang. I admit I did skip some of the savasanas at the start but it was an hour of yoga that I was grateful for.
Monday rolled around and knowing that I am at the very least starting with the same round again I knew it was RKC time. I may change the format a little, but for the first week I knew it would be the same as last time.
R9D1 – My RKC mini workout:
Ladders of 3,4,5,4,3 with pullups
For those who are unfamiliar, a description of the ladder system is here.
I did 20 swings between each set (some head height, some overhead) and at the end decided to add something extra.
1 clean and press left
1 clean and press right
1 snatch right
1 snatch left
1 pullup
2 clean and press left
2 clean and press right
2 snatch right
2 snatch left
2 pullup
3 clean and press left
3 clean and press right
3 snatch right
3 snatch left
3 pullup