Tag: bootcamp2

R9D51/2 – Bootcamp 2.11.2 Bodyweight and RKC At Work

Bootcamp this week was odd from my perspective, for workload reasons I had shortened the workout and although I had a nagging feeling it would be too short I left it as it was. Turns out my instinct was correct and we had to double up some of the parts to make sure the kids had enough to do 😉 That said, it was a good bodyweight workout using the boxes and trying to encourage not using knees for pushups. It also marked the return of pullups, something that I think we should not skip any more… I had a good RKC workout on Friday and then some smaller undocumented activities all weekend but no official workout.

I also wanted to nail down a couple of dates while I am at it. I went completely paleo at the start of October 2010. I started standing at my desk around June of 2011 and I hit my current comfortable weight of 230lbs once in May of 2011 and then again (after some summer slippage) in September of 2011 and have been there ever since. So in fact it hasn’t even been a year yet that I have been in this “new body”. I really need to search for some more “before” photos. Even though the famous yellow shirt photo makes me physically sick to see, I have others…

I am sick of repeating that I need to do more days in a week, so I am trying reverse psychology this week.

Here is what bootcamp looked like.

Easy…

10 air squats
20 walking lunge
10 squat jump
20 squat belt kicks
10 pullups

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

10 in and out
10 crunchy frog
10 v snaps
20 russian twists
10 full situp
10 bar leg lifts
10 full situp
20 russian twists
10 v snaps
10 crunchy frog
10 in and out

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

10 air squats
20 walking lunge
10 squat jump
20 squat belt kicks
10 pullups

Harder…

10 air squats half bounce
20 Mary Katherines with knee touch
10 squat tuck jump
20 front kick back kick
10 pullups

10 clap pushups
10 side tri rise
10 plyo pushup
10 pushup side hold with foot touch
10 pullups

10 in and out arms up
10 crunchy row
10 boat to roll hold
10 side crunch
10 situp double twist
10 bar rainbows or leg lifts

Tired?…

10 box dips
10 military pushup
10 diamond pushup
10 shoulder pushups
10 hindu pushups
10 wide leg pushback

Bonus…

shoulder burn – front clap, overhead clap 10 – 1

R9D50 – Bootcamp 2.11.1 Maybe I’m Imagining Things (3 things)

So part way during the bootcamp class I became aware that I was struggling a little more than I think I should be. In my exhausted state I figured it was because of my lax approach the last few weeks (I only managed 3 workouts last week) and that my conditioning was starting to suffer. Then I realized that in my hurry I had grabbed a can of Red Bull on my way out of the house and what I was feeling was the rush of adrenaline and caffeine from the (sugar free) energy drink. Now I am not a big fan of energy drinks other than to keep you alert while driving. I have a tendency to zone out a little when we go on long car trips so I often will consume a Red Bull or 5 hour energy before to make sure I’m up for the mind-numbing trip. But when it comes to exercising I have long believed that the stimulation that you get from energy drinks is not doing you any good. So I decided to look into it.

I found a few things that give balanced reviews of not only the drink themselves but also the idea behind the marketing and so on, but since it was the specific health aspect I was interested in I read on to discover that what I was feeling was probably a caffeine overload. Since most energy drinks contain caffeine and also Guaranine (which has an active ingredient of… you guessed it, caffeine) then the amount of caffeine you are taking in during a very short time can be upwards of 3 cup equivalents. In short, after reading up on the subject I found a startling conclusion that was reached by almost everyone who has studied the effects of these kinds of drinks:

  •  Energy drinks should not be consumed before or during exercise or manual labor.
  • Energy drinks are not a substitute for water or sports drinks for hydration.
  • Monitor your kids. Children or adolescents should not consume energy drinks.
  • Do not mix energy drinks with alcohol. Period.
  • Do not drink energy drinks if you have hypertension, have an underlying medical condition, or are taking any kind of prescription medication.
  • Do not drink energy drinks if you’re pregnant.
  • Do not exceed the recommended daily allowance (usually one can per day).
  • Know the signs of too much caffeine (jitters, restlessness, fidgeting, anxiety, excitement, insomnia, flushing of the face, increased urination, gastrointestinal disturbance, muscle twitching, a rambling flow of thought and speech, irritability, irregular or rapid heart beat)

The point that was made over and over was the distinction between “energy drinks” and “sports drinks” such as Gatorade, Powerade etc. Although for some people the distinction is not clear, sports drinks are designed for SPORTS and to be consumed during or after sports or both. Energy drinks, as far as I can tell are designed to place your body into an alert, high performing state which can emulate intense exercise. Having and energy drink and exercising is like pouring gasoline on a barbecue, it’s just not a good idea and the intensity of the result may cause heart attack, stroke, seizures and yes, definitely death. They must be thinking of Angel Wings when they say “Red Bull give you wings…”. I guess I will be taking my old standby water bottle from now on!

The second thing is sleep. I am guilty of not getting enough sleep and although I have been operating on 5 hours a night for many m any years I can’t deny that I feel better after 7 or 8 IF I CAN DO IT! Most often I can’t, my body just wants out after 5 hours. I ran into a good infographic today which tell sof the health risks of getting what I would call chronic lack of sleep:

Lack of Sleep Infographic
As for bootcamp, it was intense and enjoyable, and a repeat of a class from a few weeks back. I like it because it has plenty of backwards running, something that increases agility, focus and works the legs in a new and painful way! We also welcomed back a visitor to the class and like I have said on previous occasions I love having new victims to torture especially if they try to make both classes in a week. The second class is almost always a new height in pain and suffering for them. But kudos to her for coming back and partying with us a second (and hopefully third) time!

D21 – 2.11.1 Cardio and abs

2x section
20 Hit The Floor
10 2 line Suicides
20 switch kicks
20 in and out abs

2x section
4x 8Jump rope with 4jump half turn
10x 8 sprint 4 switch lunge
10 stance jacks (foot touch)
10 vsnaps

2x section
5x long jump run back – single double triple repeat
20 side to side hopjump with squat foot touch
10 2 line forward and back suicides with pancake
10 ski abs

2x section
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

1x section
2 foot tap circles
4x 1 foot tap circles with med ball carry 3 lengths
4x 20 foot taps, 5 burpee holding ball
each line ball place and return (place ball on line return to wall)
10 full situp with med ball
10 side crunch each side

 

R9D48 – Bootcamp 2.10.2 Weights Plus More Distractions

Yes I am as old as dirt. I’m happy that I don’t look it. Try to keep up!

Last night was weights Bootcamp, I had set up a couple of Olympic bars with 35’s in the hope that I could encourage some of the class to try some heavier lifting but I think it may have been over reaching a little. Next time we will try with some 10’s and not bite off more than they can chew! It was a bit of an odd class, we didn’t do pullups since we have done a lot of that lately and also no abs since we fried them on Monday so it was a little bit of legs and then some heavy arm and shoulder work.

Tonight I am off to Burlington Gymnastics to learn how to set up the ProScore system and that probably means no workout. For tomorrow we have a wedding during the day and then I am off to Burlington again to stay overnight to be ready for the Burlington Meet on Sunday where I will be learning how to work the ProScore system during the competition. It’s a busy weekend so workout time will be at a premium. However…. I am in a hotel Saturday evening which means a decent gym area hopefully, or I can do RKC in my room which I am a big fan of doing while on the road. I need to rack up a minimum of 3 workouts before Sunday night and so maybe taking P90X2 and my laptop to the hotel is a good idea. If I can work out at work today that would be a bonus, not sure how tight my time will be today but that would put me ahead of the curve a little. I am not sure if you can tell but I have some heavy guilt from the easy workout schedule I have been on the last 2 weeks. I am not where I want to be with the P90X2 workouts and even though the success of the bootcamp workouts is good, it’s not really enough to keep my Firstbeat Athlete Coach off my butt.

The whole bootcamp thing looked like this:

D20 2.10.2 Weights (Need 2 olympic bars with 35s plus 2 45s plus boxes with foot rests)

With DBs

20 squats
20 lunge walk
20 weighted MKs
10 weighted long jump
Farmers Walk or Deadlift (10 or 2 lines)

Farmers Walk or Deadlift (10 or 2 lines)
10 weighted long jump
20 weighted MKs
20 lunge walk
20 squats

No weight

20 super skater per
20 1 leg squat knee raise
20 MK
20 air squat

With DBs

15 Double curl
15 weighted box dips
10 alt curl each
15 weighted box dips
15 double hammer curl
15 weighted box dips

15 strict press
15 side raise
15 high pull

15 high pull
15 front raise
15 strict press

15 Double curl
15 weighted box dips
10 alt curl each
15 weighted box dips
15 double hammer curl
15 weighted box dips

15 strict press
15 side raise
15 high pull
15 front raise
15 strict press

COMBOS

15 DB thruster
15 double db curl and press
10 front side high pull

15 DB thruster
15 hammer curl inward press
20 halo with single db

 

R9D47 – Bootcamp 2.10.1 Bodyweight

Balance and coordination day at bootcamp. Something that takes a lot longer than strength to develop. The shortcomings were on full display with the use of the stability ball being a real challenge for all concerned. The good news is that they were persistent and I hope will reap the rewards soon enough.

Bootcamp 2.10.1 Bodyweight

10 regular pushups with shoulder touch
10 military pushups with hip touch
10 sphinx to plank step or drop
10 pushup side raise
10 pullups

20 in and out row
10 roll to boat hold 3 count
20 bicycle with leg extension
20 side knee touch per side
10 pullups

10 SB pushup boing
10 SB Burpee lift ball
10 SB Plank to sphinx
10 per SB elbow plank side raise

Feet on SB

10 regular pushups with shoulder touch
10 military pushups with hip touch
10 sphinx to plank step or drop
10 pushup side raise
10 pullups

20 Crunchy Frog
20 vsnap
20 laying triple bicycles
20 full situps

Arms on SB 20 360’s
Arms on SB plank to sphinx
10x feet on SB walk out and back
2x feet on SB 360 walkaround
20x laying hamstring pull

BONUS ROUND!!

10 military pushup
10 diamond pushup
10 Hindu Pushup
30s crane

R9D45 Bootcamp 2.9.2 – Cardio. Plus Tony H Ditches Veganism For A Sensible Diet (Paleo)

So an interesting article caught my eye this morning, Tony Horton claiming that “Yes, I was a vegan for years — and I felt great doing it. But the problem was that I couldn’t keep weight on, eating just veggies, fruit, beans, and nuts, so I had to rethink my strategy. I still eat tons of veggies, but I’m now a free-range chicken, wild salmon and other healthy fish-eating type of guy, too. I’ve also cut back on my grains, having discovered that the less gluten I eat, the better it is for my body and brain chemistry.”

It appears that the Paleo diet is already becoming an accepted mainstream methodology in the fitness community, Tony goes on to mention that the P90X2 diet is basically a paleo approach which leaves us early adopters with that not so special feeling. I don’t really care to be honest, I have managed to get to where I want to be with my weight for the first time in my life so Paleo has worked it’s magic for me. I just would encourage everyone to give it a try, it’s really coming of age as the best way to control weight and sickness by modifying your intake.

Bootcamp on Wednesday was great, we had another visitor, a sister of one of my kids and so it was great to let the group show off what they can do. I am hoping it was tough enough for them and for her! I also was back at the gym on Thursday night to help coach the provincial kids for another 4 hours so it’s been a busy couple of days.

As for the cardio day, it looked like this:

D18 2.9.2 Cardio with blocks

2x section
20 block plank run
10 block burpee
20 block plank run
10 block pushup jacks
20 block plank run

4-8-12-16
jacks
mary katherine switch
knees up
heels up

2x section
10 step up and back
10 step up and over run around
10 block jumps
10 block jumps up and over run around
10 clear jumps run around

2x section
10 side to side step up and over tap
10 side jump up and down far side
10 grapevine up and back increasing speed
10 grapevine round the world

1x section
10 lenghtways step up step down run back
10 lenghtways jump up jump down run back
10 4 box jumps, jump up and over run back
10 4 box jumps with 4 jacks jump up and over run back

foot tap around the block each way
20 jacks
10 burpee hands on block
24 foot tap, 24 jacks, 12 burpee
12 foot tap, 12 jacks, 8 burpee
6 foot tap, 6 jacks, 4 burpee
12 foot tap, 12 jacks, 8 burpee
24 foot tap, 24 jacks, 12 burpee

4-8-12-16-12-8-4
jacks
mary katherine switch
knees up
heels up

R9D44 – Birthday Bootcamp 2.9.1 Weights

What better way to celebrate your birthday than with a tough workout? And of course, no cake for me! I did however receive a very nice apple with two candles in it from one of my class which was a really nice gesture.

Here’s what happened.

15 Double Curls
15 Double Press
15 weighted Dips
15 Sumo high pull
10 chin ups

10 Squat curls
10 Squat press
10 weighted dips
10 squat sumo high pull
10 chin ups

no weight
20 in and out
20 bicycles
20 full situp
20 russian twist

15 Double Curls
15 Double Press
15 weighted Dips
15 Sumo high pull
10 chin ups

with plate
20 in and out
20 bicycles
10 full situp
20 russian twist

20 air squats
10 each proposal squat
10 each lunge front no step
20 each weighted calf raise
10 pullups

20 plate air squats
10 each plate proposal squat
10 plate each lunge front no step
20 plate each weighted calf raise
10 pullups

10 Laying chest plate press
10 Laying chest plate pullover 2 way
10 Shoulder fly front to overhead
10 Shoulder fly front with high pull
10 halo

no weight
10 in and out
10 bicycles
10 crunchy frog
10 boat roll back

R9D41-3 – Bootcamp 2.8.2 Bodyweight And The Week That Wasn’t

I had big plans to exercise every day last week but as it worked out with Valentines and other interruptions it was actually a disappointing week. After bootcamp on Wednesday I ended up taking Thursday off, doing an RKC workout on Friday and then yesterday doing P90X Kenpo for a laugh. I am sure my Firstbeat Athlete coach will have my intensity below the acceptable line for the week which means I have to work extra hard starting on Monday which is also Family Day and my Birthday. The bodyweight workout was almost another carbon copy because like I have already said once, we are hitting our stride with workouts that we are all enjoying trying to master. So the bodyweight bootcamp for this week was not full of surprises, just hard work. In contrast my RKC workout was something I haven’t done in a while and it was refreshing to get that work done, and by the same token, doing Kenpo for the first time in weeks or maybe even months was great. I know I loved Kenpo then during the P90X program I started to loathe it but for a day when you want a light cardio workout and want it to go by quickly then Kenpo is ideal. Almost every time I think I want to have a light day I will go with Kenpo, I mean I am not going to go with any kind of yoga am I?!

Here, just for reference is the workout.

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

10 air squats reg
10 lunge no step
10 1 leg squat knee raise
10 air squats half bounce
10 pullups

20 in and out row
20 roll to boat hold
20 bicycle with leg extension
20 arms up in and out
20 pullups

10 pushup
10 clap pushup
10 plyo pushup
10 pushup side raise toe touch
10 pullups

ONTO BOXES AGAINST WALL

10 dips legs bent
10 dips legs straight
10 dips one leg raised
10 leg lifts

10 dips legs bent
10 dips legs straight
10 dips one leg raised
10 leg lifts

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

20 Crunchy Frog
20 superman banana with vsnap
20 laying triple bicycles
20 full situps

10 walk in to hip raise
10 shoulder hip raise
10 shoulder hold hip raise leg up
10 hip raise alternating arm reach
10 hip raise single shoulder to foot touch

R9D39/40 – X2 Shoulders + Arms Plus Bootcamp 2.8.1 (Cardio)

This was my second time doing the shoulders and arms workout and I have to admit I am disappointed that the arms workout doesn’t include any dips. For myself, I find dips to be second only to close grip bench for building massive tricep strength. The fixation that Tony has with tricep extensions is annoying for me. So I usually replace the ineffective tricep extensions with dips on my home made dip station which wobbles like crazy and in doing so creates all sorts of minor muscle fatigue that you just can’t beat. I think it cost me about $20 to build and I love it! Other than the frustration with the triceps and the fact that this workout is basically P90X shoulders and arms standing on one leg, I quite enjoy it.

Monday brought more pain in the form of Cardio Bootcamp. I had taken Sunday off knowing that I will be working out probably 5 or 6 days this week and so I was ready to fire on all cylinders when Monday evening rolled around. I had added and modified the workout a little and had planned for this to be the toughest bootcamp so far. When I think back to how we started I am so proud of the participants in my group. We came from a small room doing 21 movements to working out on a full floor with Olympic weights and stability balls and medicine balls and cranking out 52 movements in the same hour long class. This was by far the toughest cardio workout we have done, and it looked like this:

Bootcamp 2.8.1 – Cardio

2x section
10 SB burpee lift ball
20 SB plank run
10 SB pushup boing
20 SB elbow plank run
10 SB plank jacks

2x section
20 hit the floor
10 Suicides
16 log jump 4x one direction
20 in and out abs

2x section
8x burpee with jump half half
16 log jump 8x one direction
5 horse stance jacks with pulse (4+8)
10 vsnaps

2x section
3 suicide lines with run back (1,2,3)
3 suicide lines with run back with pancake
3 suicide lines with run back with pancake tuck jump
10 ski abs to finish

2x section
10 frog jumps
10 frog jump half
10 tuck jump
10 tuck jump half
20 plank jacks
10 plank jacks with in and out

Bonus leg burners

10 squats
8 squat 2 tuck
6 squat 4 tuck
4 squat 6 tuck
2 squat 8 tuck
10 tuck jumps

R9D27 – Bootcamp 2.5.1 Cardio

<— That’s how a cardio workout should end, not stepping off the treadmill with your magazine and your bottle of water with a slight glow to your face…

Today’s bootcamp was gruelling. Sometimes I think of things that sound like fun without really realizing just how difficlut it is goin got be especially when combined with the rest of the workout. I realized after 3 of the sections today that this was a killer workout. It’s exactly what I want and what I want for them but man it was tough. I have also come to realize that the movements that exist in P90X2 are in version 2 for a reason, because they are tough. Seeing my group struggle to complete stability ball work is a real eye opener, and I realize now that you need an enormous amount of strength or coordination or both to make the stability ball workouts work for you. Fortunately I can simplify it for them but I am amazed at how hard they found the balance portion at the end of the night.

D8 – 2.5.1 Cardio and abs

Bike warmup 30×5 with 10 rest or row 1000m

2x section
20 alt toe touch suicide
10 Suicides
20 switch kicks
20 in and out abs

2x section
4x 8Jump rope with 4jump half turn
10x 8 sprint 4 switch lunge
10 stance jacks (foot touch)
10 vsnaps

2x section
5x long jump run back – single double triple repeat
20 side to side hopjump with squat foot touch
10 2 line forward and back suicides with pancake
10 ski abs

2x section
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

1x section
10 SB burpee
10 SB run around
10 SB pushup boing
10 SB face around
10 SB sphinx to plank rollup
10 SB Mountain climber
10 SB Shoulder hamstring roll in

R9D23 – Bootcamp 2.4.1 – Bodyweight With Pullups (Monsters…)

The workout was followed by some degree of disappointment by a couple of my kids. They claimed it was not hard enough regardless of the fact that last week they felt the same but it took them 4 days to get their legs to work properly following our leg workout. I guess we will see on Wednesday how they feel about it. Maybe they are monsters in the gym, maybe…

The workout looked like this, since it was bodyweight day.

Legs x20x2
air squat
back lunge front kick
Squat side reach
Hip flexor burners – knee, extend, pulse

Absx20x2
in and out
rowing frog
rollback hold
side to side scissor
hanging leg raise

torsox10x2
pushups
plank right foot left hand
wide leg prone fall to push back
pullups or rack pullup

legs 10x
warrior 3 to lunge
warrior 3 to squat
warrior 3 to knee touch
hanging leg raise

torso
plank 360 spin x 4
pushup side balance leg raise x 10
crown shoulder press x10
elbow, plank, shoulder touch, clap and back x10

As is the norm at this point, the pullups took an inordinate amount of time, keeping the class on track is tough, but necessary to develop true strength through the back and upper torso. I am a staunch believer in chin ups as the holy grail of upper back strength.