Wednesday Martial Arts

I spent this evening working out at Unity Martial Arts. Seems like a good way to head towards a rest day. I always have fun, learn something and have a chance to work on my accuracy of movement. In addition, it usually helps me work out the accumulated soreness from my Crossfit workouts.

Tomorrow, I'll spend some time stretching and doing some warm up exercises to help clear the soreness.

Filthy Almost 50

Didn't feel much like a workout this evening. Rainy weather just makes me want to lay abed and be lazy. Instead, I got out and did a scaled Filthy Fifty workout. It consisted of completing the following (for time):
35 Box Jumps
35 Jumping Pull-Ups
35 Kettlebell Swings (35#)
35 Walking Lunges
35 Knee Raises
35 Push Presses (40#)
35 Super Mans
35 Burpees
35 Rope Jumps

The total time was 19:54. The burpees were the hardest. I had a little back pain during the burpees until I modified my form a bit by spreading my knees. I did the workout without much warm up, since I had to take care of my daughter. It wasn't the workout I planned, but it was a good one all the same.

Monday Report

I took it pretty easy this weekend. I had my first green stripe test at Unity Martial Arts on Saturday. Part of the test was a "stamina" portion. This focused on whether we could do a certain number of push ups, lunges and punches from rectangular stance. This wasn't too difficult, but they did it at the start of the test to kind of wear me out a bit before the knowledge portion of the test. The test was made a little more difficult because I was still feeling a little under the weather.

Sunday I decided to take things easy. I read and napped mostly. By the end of the day, I started feeling quite a bit better. I think I did the right thing.

Today, Monday, was a good workout day. I spent about 30 minutes warming up, including some work on my jump rope. Then I did a scaled version of Cindy. Did 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups and 15 squats, AMRAP in 15 minutes. Only managed to get through 9 rounds in that time frame. Tough workout. I'm glad I did it. Thought about doing the full Cindy, but I didn't think I had it in me.

Funny thing about the workout. I've had problems with my pull ups, so I expected that to be an issue. Instead, my pull-ups were fine. Instead, my push ups were what sucked! I guess it's time I worked on a new goat.

Out Sick a Bit

I've been feeling under the weather lately, and so I took a couple of days off. I decided today is the day to get back to it. So, today's workout is the "Pull Up Complex." I'll let you know how things go after I do the work tonight.

UPDATE: Well, I managed to get a DNF in my own back yard. The number of rounds involved in the workout totally dropped me, as did the extra weight for the weighted pull -ups. I went down from 35# to 20# but still couldn't complete the entire rep set. I ended up doing 5 rounds in about 35 minutes. Yuck!

It was ugly. I looked at the Brand X forum, but the workout they had posted for puppies was too easy, while the pack workout (what I originally posted) was too much. So I ended up having to scale on the fly. Sad thing is, even the last two rounds of weighted pull ups were truncated. I only managed to do about 2 reps in each set before my arms totally let go and couldn't pull me up.

The up side is, my double-unders are much better. I worked on them during the warm up. I've been watching several videos from the Crossfit Journal (a steal at $25 a year). Several have had information on how to do better double unders, with the post by Boz and Todd on July 16th really helping me out.

Nate Tried to Kick My Butt

Well, I managed to get through Nate. I had to modify it a bit more, since I couldn't even get the seated muscle ups working. Instead, I used the squat muscle up progression movement. I probably should have increased the number of reps as well, but I left it at 2.

In the 15 minutes I had for the workout, I managed to get through 12 complete rounds. I almost got 13, but got caught with 4 kettlebell swings left. Dang!

Tomorrow, Pull Ups!!!

Weekend Update and Weekly Plan

Well, the weekend went pretty well. All weekend long, the legs were feeling Friday's workout. Ouch! Saturday, there was a special Seminar at Unity Martial Arts. Shihan Duke Swain taught quite a bit about pressure points. In the morning, the focus was on self defense and how to use the pressure points to make your opponent want to stop fighting. The afternoon was on using the pressure points for healing. Both of these were great. I learned a ton of stuff. Unfortunately, I had to leave before the day was complete. The rest of the class had a chance to learn some Chi Gung breathing.

Today, I rested a bit in the morning and tried to stretch. The legs are still a little sore. Even with that, the weather was too nice not to get out and do something. So, I got in a 50 minute mountain bike ride. I ended up going by myself, but the CARP trails here in Central Arkansas are awesome! The sore legs made it a bit tough, but I just kept at it for awhile. I still had fun.

The plan for the following weeklooks like this:

Monday - Since I didn't get to do it last week, this week will start with Scalled Nate - As Many Rounds As Possible (AMRAP) 15 Minutes of 2 Seated Muscle Ups, 4 Handstand/Bridge Push-Ups, 8 35 lbs Kettlebell swing.

I've got rings setup in the back yard, as well as a weight to use for the kettlebell swing, so this will be a work from home. I'll work on the muscle up progressions from this Crossfit Kids video.

Tuesday - "Pull Up Complex" -
Ten rounds for time of:
3 Weighted Pull-ups, 35 pounds
5 Strict Pull-ups
7 Kipping Pull-up
I love this workout. I don't know why, since it usually wrecks me for awhile. I guess I like it because it is so hard. This is scaled to Pack level on the Brand X forum. Didn't want to go puppy, since it didn't look as challenging.

Wednesday - Unity Martial Arts Focus Class - This week's class is on being a "Good Uke". The Uke is the person standing in to help someone practice or demonstrate a technique. Should be informative and helpful.

Thursday - Rest Day - By this day, I'm sure I'll need to take a break. Afterall, the seminar may not have been too physiccally challenging (more mental learning was needed), but Sunday's ride was a good workout.

Friday - Thrusters 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 - Well, I guess I get to go heavy today. I'll have to be in the gym pretty early to get this before I go swim with the family.

Saturday - Scaled Nancy - 5 rounds for time of: 400 meter run then 25-35 pound Overhead squat, 15 reps. Another workout from home today. This may change, since I may or may not be testing at Unity Martial Arts. Depends on the wife's schedule.

Sunday - If the weather holds, I'd like to get in a good bike ride. Preferrably, it would be a mountain bike ride, since I need to improve my bike handling skills. If not, a good road ride would be cool. If I get rained out, I may just head to the pool and do some lap swimming. Sounds boring, but if you get into it, you can lose yourself in the swim.

One More Time

I took a rest day yesterday. I guess the main Crossfit web site is correct in assuming you need at least 1 day off for every three days on. I noticed I started to get pretty sore and a little stiff. I guess I just need to listen to my body and get more rest.

Instead of working out, I ran errands. You know, run to Wally World for supplies, stop by "Buy N Large" for food. That sort of thing. Normally, when I have a workout planned, I feel like the rest of the evening is a little rushed. You know, you have to get home and get into the flow of your pre-workout/workout/post workout routine. Instead, I simply "lollygagged" around the store. I found a couple of items I would normally have passed if I was in "quick shop mode."

So today, the planned workout (again) is the "Squat, Sit" workout. Shouldn't be a problem this time. I'll update tonight after I lift.

UPDATE: Well, I got the workout in this evening. It was a short one, but a scorcher. Doing the front squats at 95# was the hard part. I tried to break them up a bit to keep from getting gassed at the beginning of the workout. I had to do normal situps, since my gym does not have a GHD. I managed to crank through the workout in 7:33.

During the workout, I was managing the weight well. I seemingly had more issues with my cardio than the weight. That is, right up until I stopped. As I tried to walk down the stairs of my gym after the workout, my legs started complaining. I think I had it scaled just right.

Yesterday's Workout and Today's Plan

Yesterday was a great workout. I managed to press 115#, which is a new PR for me. Previously it was about 110#. Of course the push press and push jerk were close, but not quite as much. Seems when you add reps, the weight goes down... yeah, go figure. This morning, my hips and legs were actually a little sore from the workout. Seems I did things right.

This evening, the plan is to head back to the gym for the "Squat, Sit" workout. Should be an interesting workout.

Updated: I've decided to head back to Unity Martial Arts for an Aikido focus class. Because Unity teaches Coung Nhu, there is always so much to learn. I think I might have to start adjusting my schedule so I'm in there every Wednesday evening.

Tired, But Happy

Tired because I managed to finish the Scaled Badger workout in 24:55. Once again, the pull ups seem to be my sticking point. One thing that made them difficult was my sweat. I mean, my fingertips started to get pruney! My shorts looked like I had been swimming, not running around the block. But I stuck it out and finished. I think the scaling for this was just about right. It was tough enough to leave me gasping, yet not quite so hard to drive me to complete failure.

One reason I'm really happy, though, is my Rogue Rings finally came in! These things are AWESOME! I spent some of my warm up messing around with them, including dips, scaled muscle ups and push ups. Wow! The rings definitely add a new dimension to the exercises. Now I just need some chalk.

P.S. - You know you're a Red Neck Crossfitter when part of your warm up involves applying mosquito repellent. Have fun y'all.

Weekly Plan and Today's Workout

Well, the plan for the week looks like this:

Monday - Scaled Badger - 3 rounds - 40lbs Squat Clean, 20 reps, 20 Pull-ups, run 400 yrds.

This workout I will probably do from the house. I'll use my dumbbells and the 400 route I have mapped from my house. I expect more blisters from the pull-ups.

Tuesday - "Shoulder Complex" - Press 5x1, Push Press 5x3, Push Jerk 5x5

Definitely back in the gym for this. I'll warm up and go heavy on the lifts.

Wednesday - "Squat-Sit" - Front Squat 95lbs, Sit Ups (21, 15, 9, 3)

I'll need to take a towel to the gym for this and set up one of the stations as my workout area. Should get some interesting looks. I'll tweak the weight if it seems too light. I may adjust it to 115-135lbs.

Thursday - Modified Nate - AMRAP 15 Minutes of 2 Seated Muscle Ups, 4 Handstand/Bridge Push-Ups, 8 35 lbs Kettlebell swing

I should have my rings in (Yay Rogue Fitness!!), so I'll work on the muscle up progressions from this Crossfit Kids video. This workout should hurt, since it's As Many Rounds As Possible.

Friday - Rest Day - I'll try to convince the wife to go to the pool after work. Should be a great way to relax and recoup before the weekend.

Saturday - Unity Martial Arts Seminar - Shihan Duke Swain

Should be a fun learning experience. We'll see how well I hold up to the work we do. If I feel okay in the evening, I might sneak in the "Pull Up Complex" (10 Rounds of 3 weighted pull up 35#, 5 strict pull-ups, 7 Kipping Pull-ups).

I'll try to post info about each day's workout as I go.

Airsoft Day

Today was a fun day. I felt pretty good because I took yesterday off from working out. I spent about 4 hours playing airsoft. This involves getting kitted up with about 20 pounds of gear and running around in the woods playing army. It's a lot of fun, even if the temperature was around 95F. We had a small group of dedicated people out, even with the heat. We ended up playing about 4 hours. Fun day.

Since I've been home, I've managed to down almost a whole gallon of Gatorade. Wow!

A Scaled Version of Randy

I did a scaled version of Randy this evening from the Crossfit main site. I scaled it according to the Brand X forum levels linked to from the main site. Instead of trying to stick with the "Pack" weight and reps, a level which totally destroyed me on Monday, I went down to the "Puppy" level. Humbling. I did scale the weight up a little, to 45lbs instead of 35lbs.

I managed to finish all 35 power snatches in about 7 minutes. Not once did I set the bar down. It's probably not surprising that one place I felt the workout was in my forearms and hands. Of course my traps were also working pretty hard.

As I left, I kept thinking, "I could have increased the weight a little, or maybe increased the reps." I kept thinking along these lines until I tried to pick up my keys and get out of the car at home. Funny, but I had a hard time working my hands and my shoulders are a bit sore. Maybe I did the right level. As a friend reminded me, "You don't want to be sore for a week from one workout, just a couple of days."

Guess I can keep at it. I still plan to move up to the "Pack" weights and reps soon.

More Martial Arts

Typically, I work out at Unity Martial Arts during lunch on Monday and Wednesdays. However, they had a cool 'focus class' tonight on Snake and Crane Boxing. I just had to go! One advantage of doing martial arts tonight is I get to stretch out some sore muscles from yesterday and Monday.

The class was pretty fun and I learned some interesting moves. I really like Cuong Nhu. It's a blending of several different martial arts styles, so you can find something that works for you. I think the style is more soft than hard, which is good since most of the time when you're dealing with folks you really don't want to have to hurt them.

Tough Cardio/Biking Day

Did a hard ride this afternoon after work. The prescribed Crossfit WOD was a 10k, so I figured I had to ride for at least an hour.

I managed to ride a little over an hour (1:06) and averaged out at 16.6mph. Of course, it helped that I jumped in with a group for the second half of my ride. I felt really strong and not only sat in a bit, but jumped out and pushed the pace a couple of times.

Tomorrow is RANDY!

I Suck, But I'm Getting Better

Dude! I sucked today. I tried to do a scaled down version of Eva by scaling the weight for the kettlebell swing. I should have scaled the pull ups as well. I only managed to get two rounds done when my hands just tore up! Seems vacation removed my pull up callouses.

Even just the two rounds I managed to finish took almost 30 minutes (25:07 to be exact). Major suckitude... Guess I'll just need to keep scaling and keep dreaming of being a fire-breather.

On a positive note, I felt okay running and the kettlebell swings went well.

"Always look on the bright side of life..."
Monty Python

Sore, But Pushing On!

Can you believe I'm STILL sore? Seems like the vacation workout, teamed up with the Crossfit Total a couple of days ago has my legs in some sort of semi-permanent state.

Last night's martial arts at Unity wasn't much better. While doing hand techniques wasn't so bad, any kind of kick or strong power move from the legs was a challenge.

Today is Eva from the main Crossfit site. Hopefully the legs will have recovered a bit more. The tough part of the workout for the legs will be the Kettlebell swings. Running won't be so bad and the pull ups are fun (in a masochistic, "you know it's going to hurt" kind of way). We'll see what my time turns out to be.

Got back from vacation recently and decided to jump back in to the WODs from the main Crossfit Web site. I'm going to run a day or two behind the main site as well. After all, I need that anticipation and fear to get me motivated.

Last night I did a Crossfit Total. Here's how it turned out.

Press - 110 - Best press for me yet. I felt good throughout.

Squat - 180 - A bit off from my best effort. I had sore hamstrings that bugged me.

Dead - 265 - An okay effort. I wanted more, but again the hamstrings bothered me.

Total = 555

My hamstrings bothered me becuase I did a few Crossfit type workouts on my vacation. So, what workout killed the hammies? Sprints... in the sand.

I measured out a course (about 100 yards) and did 10 sprints. Ouch!! Then, part of the reason I was still sore was the return drive. Nine hours in a car without stretching sore muscles really doesn't help. However, I know I can do better next time.

Tonight will most likely be a martial arts class instead of a Crossfit WOD. Normally I have my class at lunch, but had scheduling issues today. Tomorrow should be fun, though. What could be more fun than running, kettlebells and pull ups? =D