Monday Workout At Home

We got up this morning and did the workout at home in the new home gym we set up. For a warm up we did 400 meter run followed by 3 rounds:

• 10 PVC Overhead Squats
• 10 PVC Arm Circles
• 10 Jumping Jacks

We have no PVC so we just used some bands for the PVC work. The workout was a ladder workout defined as follows:
1-10 Thrusters (95/75) Ladder with Cindy between rounds

Round 1:

• 1 Thruster
• 5 pull-ups
• 10 push-ups
• 15 air squats

Round 2:

• 2 Thrusters
• 5 pull-ups
• 10 push-ups
• 15 air squats

Continue this pattern for 10 rounds. I completed the workout in 25:30. Sarah did 6 rounds in something like 30 minutes. I did the workout with #65 and Sara used something around #30, not sure the exact weight on the bars we have. I am not sure how this compares to anyone at the gym since they changed the web site and I don't have access to results any longer. Today was the first time we used the new barbells and bumper plates. I put the #15 plates on the bar and then went to add the #10 plates and neither would fit on the bar. I decided I better try all the plates and found one of each #25, #35, and #45 that did not fit either. The bar is slightly too large for collar on some of them as you can see in the picture below.

I contacted AgainFaster customer service and they asked for pictures which I have provided and am waiting for another response. My guess is they will blame the bar, which may be true but we shall see. I am looking at getting my hands on some calipers to see if the bar or the collars are out of spec but I may end up having to fix this one myself somehow.

Saturday, First at Home Crossfit

Well, all the gear showed up yesterday and when I took a look last night at the gym web site it looked like a perfect workout for home. I had to jump on Google Earth to measure some running distances but I have a pretty good idea where a 400, 200 and 100 out distance are now. There was no warm up on the site so I came up with one on my own. We did 100 jump rope singles followed by 3 rounds:

• 10 air squats
• 10 push-ups
• 10 walking lunges

The workout was called an 800 meter run sandwich:

Run 800 meters
21-18-15-12-9-6-3

• Kettlebell swings (53/35)
• Weighted overhead abmat sit-ups (30/20)
• pull-ups

Run 800 meters

I did 35# on the kettlebell swings and started with 30# on the sit-ups but switched to 20# after the first round of 21. I also did jumping pull-ups. Sarah skipped the 21 rep round and started at 18. She did 18# kettlebell swing round one then 8# for a few rounds and then finished back up with the 18# for the last 3 rounds. She used no weight on the sit-ups and we both did jumping pull-ups. I finished in 27:56 and Sarah finished in 36:00. We finished off with a bunch of stretching. I don't know how I did compared to others at the gym because there are no times up yet. Will be interesting to know if I was pushing hard enough, felt pretty tough.

Friday Workout and Delivery (Hopefully)

Went to the gym for the 0600 class this morning and the warm up started with a 500 meter row. Following that we did 3 rounds:

• 10 Push press (45/33)
• 10 Jumping air squats
• 5 pull-ups

We then did 5 attempts at a one rep max on front squats. I did bot go real heavy on this as I wanted to make sure I was keeping good form and protecting my back. I did 75#, 105#, 125#, 145#, 155#. I may have been able to push up a little more but I am fine with that for now. The workout was then prescribed as 3 rounds for time:

• 25 Push Jerk (95/65)
• 25 Push-ups
• 400 meter run

I used 85# on the push jerk instead of 95#. This was again to protect my back. As I have mentioned before I need to be careful on any overhead move. The push-ups were brutal after all the push jerks, my wrists were screaming every time I started them. By the last round I was doing the push-ups 2 at a time. The run was almost like a break, I like having a run in the middle of the workout. I completed the workout in 20:37. Following the workout we cooled down with another 500 meter row and a bunch of stretches. I told coach Brent I was quitting my membership at the end of the month. He tried to talk me into coming back, saying they might start offering more morning classes but I already have bought equipment.

Speaking of the equipment, the freight company is supposed to deliver my shipment today. I can't wait to get everything and get it all set up. There is some rearranging I am going to need to do and maybe build some racks as well for the weights. I will post pictures when it is done.

Wednesday Workout and Gear on the Way

Went in at 0600 this morning and began with an 800 meter run followed by 2 rounds of:

• 10 pull-ups
• 10 push-ups
• 10 back extensions
• 10 PVC around the worlds

Following this warm up the workout was 4 rounds of:

• Row for calories
• GHD sit-ups
• Row for calories
• Toes-to-bar
• Row for calories
• Abmat sit-up
• Rest

Each station is performed for 1 minute in each round so you have a total time of 28 minutes in this workout. The score is the total number of reps completed, calories instead of reps for the row. I scored a 332. I scored 79, 87, 89, 77 respectively in each of the 4 rounds.The cool down was another 800 meters followed by a bunch of stretching.

In other news, my shipment of gear from againfaster.com is on it's way. as I mentioned we bought a couple of bars from play it again sports  but I ordered the rest of the gear from this site. I ordered a 260# bumber plate set, an abmat, 35# kettlebell, 18# kettlebell, 20# slamball, 15# slamball, and 10# slamball. I already have most other things we will need to do the workouts and I will do some substitutions as needed for things like rope ascent. The gear is supposed to be delivered tomorrow and according to tracking it left Atlanta at 6:33 this morning (14 pieces @ 390#), I can't wait. Once we get the gym all set back up and ready to go I will post pictures and an equipment list.

Not missing, just busy

I have not posted much here in a while. I have been missing gym days most of the time over the last couple weeks due to lot's of hockey and work travel. The hockey does not bother me too much because I am still doing something active but the work travel... Sometimes on travel I can get a workout in depending on when meetings are and such but other times between meetings and "dinner's" with sponsor's it can be tough to get one in. This last week I was in NC and I did get a 2.5 mile run in on Wednesday. I ran at a 8:15 pace, not too shabby but I can do better. On Saturday we went to my son's school for a 1 mile fun run and they were also having a 5K. I was planning to just do the fun run with the kids but when we got there I was told I could do both for the same price so I figured what the hell. The 5K was first and I ran it in 23:19 which works out to about a 7:45 pace. Again, this is not too shabby for a guy who really does pretty much no running. My gym will put a run in a workout every couple months but when they do it is usually 1 mile. I think I have done a 3 mile run at the gym once since I started there.

I went back in to the gym this morning for the workout and the warm up was 3 rounds:

• 100 meter sprint
• 10 medicine ball burpees (16/12)
• 20 plate hug squats (25/15)
• 30 flutter kicks

The workout was prescribed as follows:

• 500 meter row
• 10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 3 - 2 - 1
• burpees
• overhead squats (95/65)
• wall ball shots (20/14)
• 400 meter run

So you do the row and then 10 rounds of the 3 exercises in a descending ladder and then finish with a run. I put 75# on the bar to start with but pretty quickly dropped it to 65#. This is one of those tough on your back exercises that I like to be real careful on. Anything where you are putting weight up over your head tends to be a red flag for people with back issues. Not that I can't do them, I just need to adjust the weight and pay very close attention to a tight core and what it is feeling like as I go through. I finished this in 23:09.

In other news, I have informed the gym that this month is my last month of membership. With all the hockey and travel as well as some other things that have come up I could no longer justify the $135 a month cost. My gym only has the 0600 class on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday so if I miss one because of a hockey game the night before it is very difficulty to make it up. I usually am not home from work in tome to make the evening classes. I understand why they do it, there are usually only 3-4 of us there at 0600 so I can't blame them but it just is not working well for me. This weekend my wife and I went to a play it again and bought a couple of Olympic bars and I am planning on ordering some bumper plates, kettlebells, slam balls, and ab mat as well. I figure I can use the slam balls for wall balls as well and this should be enough to get us going at home with most things needed for most workouts. She is going to start doing them with me and I will just do the WOD the gym posts. For now I will start with the gym I have been going to so I can make sure I am pushing myself enough. I know the folks there and they post their times so I will have a point of comparison to know if I am slacking off or not. Eventually I may try to switch it up and try some programming from some other places. It will be fun to work out with the wife again, although she is not much of a motivator and is certainly not going to push me at all. Still, she could use the weight work and plyo to help with impending osteoporosis that runs in the family so it is all good. I will just have to be sure to push myself and keep good records so I can compete with myself when workouts repeat.

Monday Workout

Warm up started with 400 meter run followed by 3 rounds:

• 5 pull-ups
• 10 jumping alternating lunges
• 20 jump rope singles

We then did strength work of 5 attempts at a one rep max on a strict push press. Strict here means no lower body movement just a push up from the chest to overhead with arms locked out. I did 75#, 85#, 95#, 105#, and 105#. I could possibly have pushed it and gone heavier but I am still a little off in the back and after more reading on overhead weight bearing exercises I am going to take it pretty slow with these and probably get a belt for them soon.

The workout was a 20 minute AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) of:

• 5 push jerks (115/85)
• 10 lateral jumps (over the barbell)
• 15 air squats
• 20 double unders (60 singles but not Rx)

I did the workout with 95#, again I am not trying to push too hard with the overhead stuff at this point. I also did the single unders not the doubles, maybe one of these days I will try them. I did 8 full rounds and made it up through 33 single unders on the 9th round in the allotted 20 minute time. I was pretty happy about that.

This week is going to be another tough one for getting to the gym at 0600. I have hockey on Tuesday night and am going to a Washington Capitals game on Thursday night. Some of us on the Frederick Force military hockey team have been offered a suite for the Thursday game for military appreciation night. They are going to show us on the big screen and let us meet some people apparently. If you get it on TV they may show something there as well so keep your eyes open for us. We also have a tournament this coming weekend with that team so games ever day (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) so no gym then either. This is becoming an expensive membership for the amount of time I have to miss. Stay tuned for updates on that.