Wednesday, July 29, 2009

300 - Day 1

So how did I fare? The following is the break down. I will name the exercise, followed by the total number I had completed at the end of each set:

Pull-Ups - 24,25
135# Deadlift - 17,30,40,50
Push-Ups - 50
Box-Jumps - 10,25,40,50
Floor Wipers - 15, 26
Stop.

Now let me start here by saying that I COULD have continued, physically. I stopped for a few reasons. So far as the Clean and Press, I didn't have a kettlebell available - I had planned to swap it for a dumbbell. Also, I was under a time-constraint, as I happen to be lucky enough to work somewhere that has a (free) gym in our building - so I was working out on my lunch break, which was running out of time. Lastly, but probably not the least reason that I decided to stop - I was exhausted.

I'm not making excuses - the punishment I gave myself made me want to stop. My breathing was similar to what I can recall during high-school track at the end of any of my mid-distance events (400m,800m,1600m). I was sweating like I would be at the end of a 5K on a hot day. It was gruelling. I could have continued, but I was ready enough to stop that my time constraint was reason enough.

So as I mentioned in my last blog, my first step in determining my training needs is to identify my weaknesses. From my results above, I can make note of a few things:


  • My maximum sets occured in my deadlift and box jumps.
  • I obviously stopped (not even) half-way through the floor-wipers.
  • Had I finished the floor wipers at the rate I was going, it would have been 4-5 sets.

In addition to what the number above tell me, I can say that:


  • My trapezius (shoulder/neck) muscles are sore.
  • My forearms are sore, namely the flexor carpi radialis.
  • My gluteus maximus (butt) muscles are sore.
  • The very bottom of my latissimus dorsi (back - namely, lower back) are sore.
  • I can very faintly feel that my hamstrings are sore - but really only when I tighten them.

Lastly, from my own observations during the challenge I can say that:


  • My pull-up form was sloppy. I was trying to use the official CrossFit "kipping pull-up" to my advantage, which backfired. I probably could have gotten all 25 in a go doing regular no-kipping pull-ups; or if I had good form on the kipping version, I would also easily have gotten all 25. Therefore, I need to 1) find out if kipping is allowed in this particular event and 2) if it is, work on my kipping pull-up form.
  • If no kipping is allowed, I will need to work on my pull-ups - I was pretty drained after the first 25.
  • My stamina was not as good as I had expected.
  • I need more practice on the floor wipers
  • My forearms getting tired were largely responsible for my high set count in the dead-lift.


So far as my strengths go, again looking at the numbers I can say:


  • Push-ups need the least work, I got all 50 with no problem.
  • Pull-ups were my second strongest exercise.


I can also note that my abdominals are not sore, despite my poor performance in the wipers - which means that the performance here could possibly have been due to my over-all stamina at that point in the exercise. Either way, I will work on those.

The resolve
Clearly, I need a plan. I have a few muscle groups that I have named which feel I need to work. Luckily, all of them can be targeted specifically with the rowing machine - subtract perhaps the forearms.
Luckily, forearm exercises can be done right at home with dumbbell forearm curls.

I think the main concern here is that I need to start hitting the gym more - but since work is busy and I currently only make it to the gym 2-3 times a week, I clearly need to step it up. I think my best solution is to improve my at-home gym so that I am not limited to finding time while at work, which doesn't always work (like today).

Currently I have the following at home:
Jump Rope
2x 25# Dumbbell
2x 8# Dumbbell
Exercise Ball
Exercise Bands
Ab Roller
Mountain Bike

In addition, I have a bike trail nearby (3/4 mile) my house which is 6 miles round-trip. This can also be used for running.
I have a mile loop for running starting from my front door.

Here is a list of things that I think I will need:
Pull-up bar
Kettlebell, 36# (will need this for the challenge anyway)
Grip exerciser that I can use anytime at home
24" Box for jumping

I think I can focus on dead-lifts and other similar exercise for olympic style weights when I have time to hit the gym. Otherwise, I can use a combination of the above equipment to do body-weight exercises at home along with event-specific routines.

I'm going to need to up my exercise routine to 5 days a week.

My plan is currently to have tomorrow be my first day in the gym. Before I can start doing a lot at home, I'm going to need a gym make-over - luckily I have a birthday coming up on the 6th - so I think I'll treat myself to all the above named goodies.

I'm going to try to work my forearms 3-4 days a week at home, as I think that particular weakness gave me a very big disadvantage. This I can start tonight.
Also, I think I will do a bi-weekly time-trial on the 1600m (1 mile) to see how my stamina is improving.

So far as running goes, I will focus on High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), such as 1/4 mile repeats, fartleks, or even 200m sprints. This should help drastically with the stamina.

I also want to get a rowing workout in once a week, with timed trials on the 500m and 5000m.

I would like to work on deadlifts once a week before my night-time forearm development routine (thats the fore-arm dumbbell curls), which I think will maximize those results.

I'll work on my plan for tonight and post my 3 week scheduled for tomorrow, as well as do my first workout routine, leaving today for forearm work and recovery.

I'll keep you posted.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

The Crossfit 300 Challange

Everyone loved the movie 300 right?

Us guys got to watch some of the best action footage filmed to date - whereas the ladies got some beefcakes to drool over.

Of course the guys in this movie went through some grueling physical conditioning to get the tone and definition required to give the Spartans their credit due. In fact, these guys trained (on top of 4-5 hours a day worth of fight training) between 90 minutes and 2 hours a day, 5 days a week for 4 months. This wasn't weight training or bodybuilding as you would find in most of America's gyms.

The workouts were much more along the lines of CrossFit principles - a movement that is on the rise (see www.crossfit.com). All exercies were "functional", meaning that they were composed of compound movements and (mostly) didn't require modern training machines. Instead they used body-weight exercises such as pull-ups and push-ups; more primitive tools such as the Kettlebell - an old Russian "toy" that has gained popularity lately, which resembles a cannonball with a handle on it - along with medicine balls, dumbbells, and barbells.

Out of the training that took place for these individuals came an "exercise" that is starting to become relatively well-known, especially among extreme athletes. This "exercise routine" is called the "300 Challenge" or just "300". Notice I put "exercise" in quotations intentionally. This is not because I don't classify this routine as an exercise - believe me, anyone who spends a lot of time on the bench press or in a gym will be destroyed by this "workout". Here is how it works:

25 pull-ups
50 dead-lifts (135 lbs)
50 push-ups
50 box jumps (24")
50 floor wipers (135 lbs)
50 clean & press (36 lb kettlebell)
25 pull-ups

You complete each exercise in succession, attempting to finish the repetitions for each in the fewest sets possible - and the total challenge in the least amount of time possible. At the end, you have completed 300 repetitions total.

In reality, this is not a "workout" that the actors performed, but instead a challenge that was completed toward the end of the 4 months of training or when one of the actors/stunt-men were deemed ready for it. And believe me, you need to be ready before attempting this. An article at WebMD.com cautions that exercise physiologists caution that this challenge is so intense that the break-down in muscle fibers that results can actually be toxic to your kidneys. Exercise in itself is an oxidative activity, which results in toxins in your bloodstream which get filtered through your kidneys. This challenge, to the untrained person, can be so gruelling that it will actually cause enough toxicity to be dangerous.

That being said, I performed this circuit challenge today for a benchmark, to see where I stand. I plan to do this again in 3 months and see where I stand.

Mind you, I am in pretty good physical condition. I can perform 85 push-ups (to Army standards) in under a minute. I can run 2 miles in under 14 minutes (working for that 13 minute!). I bench press about 260 pounds - just to name a few of my credentials.

Despite being in relatively good shape, I did not complete this challenge.
I wrote down what I did for each event - the number of sets that it took me to complete each exercise and my total time for the portion of the event that I completed. My next step is to analyze my results. I need to know my weaknesses and my strengths - which areas I need to work on and which I can neglect for the purposes of improving my performance in this challenge.

In order to do this, I am going to start working with the principles of CrossFit. Other than the rowing machine, I will not use exercise machines. Follow my blog as I detail what I have done for exercises over the next 3 months to obtain my goal. One of the actors from 300 (only 2 completed the challenge) finished this routine in 18:11. My goal is to get close to that.

My next blog will show my results from my benchmark trial and outline my plan. Keep in mind that any good plan should be maleable and have contingencies. It may change along the way if I think my initial planning was not optimal for reaching my goal. At the end of the 3 months, I will again perform the challenge and post my ending results. After that, I will continue this blog by showing some of my daily routines from before the challenge and then repeat the same routines afterwards (these routines are more geared toward standard current day strength training). Without focusing on events like the bench press, we will see if my 300 training has maintained my strength, stamina and endurance in those events; if it has decreased my performance; or if it enhances them.

After that, it will be time for my next challenge. See you soon!