Saturday, February 23, 2013

Missed a Couple Days, Not Really Though

So I did not get to the gym Wed. or Fri. this week but it was due to having hockey games at 10:10 the night before on both days so I did get some work in. This is one thing about my gym that I would change if I could. They only have the 6:00 am workout on Mon. Wed, and Fri. so if I miss there is no way I can make it up. If they had one every morning I could have switched days this week and not missed any workouts. So I made it back in this morning for the workout and here is what we did. The warm up was a 400 meter run, in the rain no less, followed by 2 rounds:

  • 10 air squats
  • 10 jumping pull-ups
  • 10 GHD sit-ups
The workout was prescribed as follows:

  • Tabata row (for Cal)
  • Rest 1 minute
  • Tabata air squats
  • Rest 1 minute
  • Tabata pull-ups
  • Rest 1 minute
  • Tabata push-ups
  • Rest 1 minute
  • Tabata abmat sit-ups
The tabata is 8 rounds of the exercise where you do 20 seconds max effort followed by 10 seconds rest. So to start you row for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds, row for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds... continue this for 8 rounds and then there is a 1 minute rest. You then do the same with the rest of the exercises. The score is the sum of all reps performed except for the row is calories. Seems confusing but not really. The first thing I will say is that this looks on paper like you will be resting a lot, that is not at all how it feels when you are doing it. I completed this workout with a score of 372. I did 55 calories on the row, 127 reps of air squats, 52 reps of pull-ups, 66 reps of push-ups, and 72 reps of sit-ups.

We then had a cash out for the day which was:

  • 30 wall ball shots
  • 100 flutter kicks
I did the wall ball shots with a 20# ball and did them in sets of 5. I did some cool down and then cam e home and knocked out my burpees for the burpee challenge. I missed yesterday so today I had to do 29 even though today was day 15 (14 for yesterday and 15 for today). All caught up now.

Monday, February 18, 2013

Multiple WODs?

Not sure what the hell happened today, felt like we did 3 WODs. The warm up started out with 3 rounds:

  • 250 meter row
  • 15 kettlebell swings (35/26)
  • 10 burpees
Following this the workout was prescribed as follows for time:

  • 100 front squats (115/95)
  • EMOM 20 double unders or 40 single jump ropes
At first glance this seems like it might not be too bad until I realized that the 40 singles were going to take up 30 seconds of every minute. In case you are unaware EMOM is Every Minute On the Minute so you stop at the top of every minute to do the jump ropes. I finished this in 12:43 but had to scale the weight down to 95#. I started off with 115# but it became apparent real quickly that this was too much. My form broke down on the first couple and I dropped the weight to 95#. Following this we had a cash out prescribed as 20-15-10-5:

  • pull-ups
  • push-ups
So you do 4 rounds with 20 reps of each exercise the first time, 15 the next and so on. Coach Brent did time this one but the times were not posted on the web page. This was not really supposed to be timed so that is fine. My legs are screaming today and I have a hockey game tonight, should be fun.

Saturday, February 16, 2013

This is Sparta!!!

Today's warm up started with a 400 meter run followed by:

  • 20 box step ups
  • 20 GHD sit-ups
  • 20 air squats
The workout was called the 300 challenge and is supposed to be something that was done to prep the cast of 300, see this article. The workout was prescribed as follows:

  • 25 pull-ups
  • 50 deadlifts (135/95)
  • 50 push-ups
  • 50 box jumps (24/20)
  • 50 floor wipers (135/95)
  • 50 kettlebell clean and press (35/26)
  • 25 pull-ups
I performed this as prescribed. I did all the first 25 pull-ups without jumping, I was kipping. The deadlifts seemed simple on paper but as it turns out 50 is a lot, I was doing them 5 at a time by the end. Push-ups was a similar situation to the deadlift, I was doing them 5 at a time by the end. I kicked ass on the box jumps but not so much on the floor wipers. The weight for the floor wipers was a tough one for me. I had to stop about 3 times throughout and I needed help getting the weight back up off the floor each time. Coach Jay helped me with that but at one point he was busy with someone else and that probably cost me 30 seconds. The kettlebell move was hard as hell at that weight too, I did them 5 at a time on each arm. We did 50 total on that not 50 each arm. I started off real strong on the second set of pull-ups but had to jump on the last 10. I don't really know what my time was because the coach today was coach Jay and he never seems to put the times up on the web site. I do know it was above 20:00 but I think less than 25:00. This is a pretty deceiving workout, looks a lot easier on paper than it is. We finished with a 500 meter row and a bunch of stretches.

Friday, February 15, 2013

Friday Workout - Increased Weight

Warm up started with a 200 meter run and then there was 2 rounds of the following:

  • 10 PVC arm circles
  • 10 kettlebell pass through
  • 5 burpee bar touch
Two of these, kettlebell pass through and burpee bar touch, were new to me. I looked them up last night but did not find a whole lot of information.The things I found online for the kettlebell pass through all said kettlebell pass through lunge or something similar and I was unsure if this was the same move. After the demo by coach Brent I found out it is the same and you can see it in this video. We did it with a walking lunge is the only difference. The burpee bar touch was nothing more than a burpee but on the jump you reach up and touch a pull-up bar or something else elevated above your head. I don't get why we need this one since I am always jumping on the burpees anyway but I did it. The workout today was prescribed as a 20 AMRAP:

  • 10 push press (115/75)
  • 10 kettlebell swings (53/35)
  • 10 box jumps (24/20)
I did not do the 115# weight but I was able to complete the entire workout with 95# on the bar which is an improvement for me on the push press. I typically have been doing the push press with 75# of if I do start a workout with 95# on that exercise I have to drop to 75# at some point shortly after the start. By the end I was doing the push presses 2-3 at a time with a very brief rest but still I got through it. I also used 35# instead of 53# on the kettlebell swings as usual. I completed 8 rounds exactly in the allotted 20 minutes which I thought was pretty good, average 2:30 per round or one rep every 5 seconds. I was close at the end and had to push real hard in the last 20 seconds to knock out the final 10 box jumps but I got there. We then did a "core cachsout" which consisted of the following:

  • 90 seconds V-Up
  • 30 seconds rest
  • 90 seconds weighted abmat sit-up (20/10)
  • 30 seconds rest
  • 90 seconds GHD sit-ups
This sucked!!! We ended with the usual cool down type stuff, 500 meter row and a bunch of stretches. I also knocked out my 7 burpees for the burpee challenge after the core cashout and before the cool down. I think I was a bit tired becase I smashed my face into the ground on the first burpee, no damage though.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

No Gym Today

I had a 10:10 pm hockey game last night so no gym for me today. Still doing the burpee challenge though. There was an update from the gym on their Facebook page yesterday that reads:
For anyone doing the 116 Day Burpee Challenge... The official ruling on burpees in a WOD is in: THEY DON'T COUNT. Any burpees done in a WOD can NOT go towards your count for the day. 
This comes directly from the organizer so we are going to honor it. He is right. Consider the work outside the WOD as extra work, hence "CHALLENGE." Do it. :)
He wrote: 
Q: I already know the answer but... Can we re-address the common opinion that burpees within a WOD count for that day?
A: Only if we change the name from 116 Royal Burpee CHALLENGE to 116 Royal Burpee Super Fun Festival and Sing-Along.

Monday, February 11, 2013

7 Minute AMRAP

Today the warm up started with a 500 meter row then 3 rounds of:

We then did some strength work which was 6 single rep power cleans for a one rep max. I did 95#, 115#, 125#, 135#(F), 135#, 145#(F). The F indicates a failed attempt.Following that we did a 7 minute AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) of:

  • 7 thrusters (95/65)
  • 7 toes-to-bar
I did 4 full rounds and made it through the thrusters and 1 toes-to-bar on the 5th round. I did scale the weight on the thrusters. I started with 95# but dropped to 75# pretty quickly during the first round. I also did 6 burpees at the end to catch up on the 116 day burpee challenge. The rules are do one burpee on day one and add one burpee each day after that. Here is a video showing how to do the burpees. Further rules are:

  • You may complete each days burpees all at once or break them up over the course of the day.
  • If you miss a day you must make up all the missed burpees the following day.
  • If you don't start on day one you can buy in at any point by doing all the missed days burpees on your first day (This is why I did 6 today on day 3).
  • Any burpees you complete during your regular workout may be counted toward your daily count if you wish.
I got home and told the family about this one and they are all going to join in as well. Everyone did their 6 this morning to catch up. I hope we don't miss day 115.

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Still Doing Squats

I skipped the gym on Saturday because my legs were still screaming and the workout involved lunges and running and all manner of nasty leg work which I thought would not do them any good. I decided to give them a day and went to the gym this morning instead. My legs were feeling much better this morning although still a little sore. The warm up started with a 500 meter row followed by 3 rounds:

  • 10 push-ups
  • 10 PVC arm circles
  • 10 abmat sit-ups
We then moved on to some strength training which was 10 sets of 2 bench presses. I did 135#, 145#, 155#, 155#, 160# (with a spot on the second), 160#, 160#, 160#, 165# (spot on the second), 165# (spot on the second). I felt pretty good about those numbers. Following this the metcon WOD was a 10 minute AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible):

  • 30 kettlebell swings (53/35)
  • 30 air squats
I did the swings with a 35# bell as usual. I completed 4 rounds +6 swings in the 10 minute window. I followed this up with a 500 meter row and a bunch of stretches, I concentrated on my legs. Feeling pretty good after this one.

Friday, February 8, 2013

Friday!!!

Last night my legs were still sore as shit from all the damn squats on Wed. I looked at the workout for today and about shit my pants. The warm up was a 200 meter row followed by 2 rounds:

  • 10 PVC arm circles while holding at the bottom of a squat
  • 5 tuck jumps
The workout was then prescribed as a 10 round power clean ladder (115/85) with "Cindy) in between each round (5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 15 air squats). So the progression goes like this:

  • Round 1: 1 power clean, 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 15 air squats
  • Round 2: 2 power clean, 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 15 air squats
  • Round 3: 3 power clean, 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 15 air squats
  • Round 4: 4 power clean, 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 15 air squats
You continue all the way to round 10. I put the 115# weight on and got to work. I made it through the first 8 rounds with that weight but half way through round 9 I felt my form getting real bad and dropped the weight to 95# for the rest. I did all the pull-ups without jumping, I did kip but I did all of them as prescribed. The air squats were a killer. I completed this is in 36:25. There was then a cash out that was 2 minutes to do as many abmat sit-ups as you can, I did 49. My legs still hurt.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Lots of Squats

I walked into the gym about 5 minutes before 0600 this morning and there were 3 people I have never seen before there and none of the 0600 regulars. eventually Jackie and Elissa showed up so there were 6 of us for the workout along with coach Brent. The warm up was one round:

  • 30 jumping jacks
  • 20 hug the twinkie
  • 10 strict toes to bar
I had never done a hug the twinkie so I looked it up last night and found this video, coach Brent also demonstrated for us. We then did 10 minutes of skill/strength work which was 10 tire flips with a partner. You flip the tire to your partner who then flipped it back. Coach Brent went over the elements of the move and we concentrated on the form he described. I ended up doing the heaviest tire by the end, amazing how much more you can do when your form is right. The workout today was a "Sean" named for Army Staff Sergeant Sean M. Flannery. You can find some more information on him here. The workout is 10 rounds for time:

  • 11 chest to bar pull-ups
  • 22 front squats (75/55)
I did the squats with the prescribed weight but the pull-ups I ended up doing jumping after the first round, pretty typical for me. I also took a hit on range of motion for the pull-ups on the last couple rounds. I was not getting my chest to touch the bar, I was getting the height but the forward movement to actually touch was short so I was coming up just shy. This is a brutal workout that feels like it is never going to end. The number of front squats is just crazy. By the end I was doing 10/8/4 instead of 22 straight through and it was still killing my legs. I was not taking very long breaks but I was putting the bar down. If you don't include the 3 people that did not do all 10 rounds I finished first this morning. Completed in 37:00.

Monday, February 4, 2013

Crazy

Last week I was busier than a one legged man in an ass kicking contest at work and was unable to get in to the gym. This morning I was just a lazy ass because I was up last night watching the super bowl. Will rejoin our regularly scheduled program already in progress Wed. morning.