Decided to do the WOD from 11/22 that I hadn't done:
As Many Rounds as Possible (AMRAP) in 20 minutes of:
25 Burpees
15 Back Squats with Bodyweight racked
A burpee, for anyone that doesn't know is basically a modified squat/push-up/jump. The progression goes as follows:
1. Start in the standing position
2. Squat down and place your hands on the ground in front of you, just in front of your feet, shoulder width apart
3. Kick your legs out behind you, dropping into the down position of the push-up
4. Simultaneously push to the up position and bring your feet to the original position explosively
5. From the squat position, launch into a jump as high as you can go (each repetition, this seems to get lower)
That's one repetition. It is an extremely brutal - and effective exercise.
So 25 before going into back squats with your bodyweight is pretty intense - more so than I anticipated.
I made room on my paper pad to record my finish times for up to 6 rounds. I was dreaming.
I warmed up with:
100m Row (3:54.7)
5 pull-ups
20 sit-ups
15 push-ups
20 squats
10 dips
15 sumo deadlift high pulls with a 30# KB
I then stretched for about the next 4 minutes while waiting for an even number to swing by on the clock - and then started my burpees.
I had to break the first set of 25 into 2 sets - 15 and 10. And then I needed to rest a few seconds before un-racking the bar for the body weight squats. This also took 2 sets to complete - 10 and then 5 more. I finished my first set3:55 - wow, if I keep this up, I could complete 4 rounds - I guess 6 is out the window right away!
I then got back into the burpees. I no longer remember how many sets this took - but I'm thinking it was 8, 7, 5, 5. I got back to the bar - this time a little less winded than after the first set of burpees, having broken them up more - but still took 2 sets to finish the squats. 9:40 on the clock. Slowing down - I'll be lucky to hit 4.
The third set was even more brutal. Now that I think about it, the number I mentioned above were for this set - no idea what I did on set 2. Anyway, this time I moved into the back squats and needed 3 sets of 5 to finish them off, glancing at the clock at 14:20.
And then I don't know what hit me. To be honest, I originally recorded 12:20 at the end of round 3 - but after careful review, I realised I must have read the clock wrong, because I know this round was slower than round 2 and 12:20 would be under 3 minutes. So I upped the estimate to 13:20, assuming I read the clock wrong - this would put round 3 at 3:40 - which again didn't sound reasonable - so I modified yet again to 14:20 - 4:40. This still put me ahead of schedule (and pace) to break 4 rounds in 20 minutes - but somehow I was only just finishing the burpees when the time ran out.
Like I said, I have no idea what happened, or where the time went. I do know that my reps on the burpees were 7-6-5-4-3 and that the rest time in between all but the last couple rounds were longer than in previous rounds - but I'm still unsure how it took me nearly 6 minutes to complete 25 burpees. I'm also a little cautious because it looks like I originally recorded 8:40 at the end of round 2 - which would have made 13:20 reasonable for round 3 - which I think would have put me just a little behind 15 minutes finishing round 4 of burpees.
Anyway - as you can see, I was too exhausted to tell if 20 minutes had passed on a clock with hands at a strange angle on the clock. I'm calling the official score 3 rounds + 25 burpees - but I'm not entirely sure I believe it. I'll try again another time to see if I have a drastic improvement - hopefully in the near future.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Kettle bell day
I only made it to the gym due to some needed coaxing from a co-worked that usually goes down at the same time - originally planning to run, I just didn't have a lot in me. So I decided to do some kettle bell work - which I had brought in to my work gym from home.
Warm-up
1000m row - 3:29.6
5 pull-ups
20 sit-ups
20 push-ups
20 squats
10 dips
What I did have in me, the 1000m row took out - for the most part - I was pretty exhausted after (not a great idea for a warm-up, I know - but I wanted to push that one!)
I then completed the following with my 30# Kettle Bell
KB Swing:
2 handed x35
1 handed x20 right arm
1 handed x20 left arm
Clean and Press:
10 L arm
10 R arm
Swing:
Alternating catch and release x30
Windmills:
10 R
10 L
Overhead Carry:
R arm - 86 steps (4x the length of the gym)
L arm - 86 steps
It was a good workout - for my lower back anyway. Still sore from the Angie/Fran back to back on the 20th/21st - the muscles on either side of my elbow - forearm and bicep included. Now that I think about it, doing Angie the day before Fran probably didn't help my time either!
Warm-up
1000m row - 3:29.6
5 pull-ups
20 sit-ups
20 push-ups
20 squats
10 dips
What I did have in me, the 1000m row took out - for the most part - I was pretty exhausted after (not a great idea for a warm-up, I know - but I wanted to push that one!)
I then completed the following with my 30# Kettle Bell
KB Swing:
2 handed x35
1 handed x20 right arm
1 handed x20 left arm
Clean and Press:
10 L arm
10 R arm
Swing:
Alternating catch and release x30
Windmills:
10 R
10 L
Overhead Carry:
R arm - 86 steps (4x the length of the gym)
L arm - 86 steps
It was a good workout - for my lower back anyway. Still sore from the Angie/Fran back to back on the 20th/21st - the muscles on either side of my elbow - forearm and bicep included. Now that I think about it, doing Angie the day before Fran probably didn't help my time either!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Improvised PT
I was at my unit all by myself - and extremely busy with no help. I was completing an inventory turn-in, which included putting the gear into a portable pod. This pod was located at the end of a parking lot in a fenced-in area - about 100-150 yards away from my supply room. I was packing all my stuff into boxes or ruck sacks for the most part - which I ended up loading into my vehicle to transport. But there were a few items that I did not pack into boxes and only stacked in the transport module.
These items would have been wasted stacking in my vehicle, because I would have had to loaded them onto a cart to get them out of my supply cages - load them into the car, and then again unload them and load them into the pod. Instead I decided to handle them less times and pull/push my cart all the way to the cage with these items.
I did this at a high rate of speed - pulling the cart while running backwards - which resulted in a great thigh workout. On the way back, with the cart empty I either pushed the cart in front of me (glutes and hamstrings) or held it beside me in one hand as I ran. The alter resulted in a great abdominal workout as I had to work with them at full contraction while running.
That was basically my workout for the day - but I thought it was pretty good and inspired me with some ideas for relay races and etc. that I can incorporate into my unit PT.
These items would have been wasted stacking in my vehicle, because I would have had to loaded them onto a cart to get them out of my supply cages - load them into the car, and then again unload them and load them into the pod. Instead I decided to handle them less times and pull/push my cart all the way to the cage with these items.
I did this at a high rate of speed - pulling the cart while running backwards - which resulted in a great thigh workout. On the way back, with the cart empty I either pushed the cart in front of me (glutes and hamstrings) or held it beside me in one hand as I ran. The alter resulted in a great abdominal workout as I had to work with them at full contraction while running.
That was basically my workout for the day - but I thought it was pretty good and inspired me with some ideas for relay races and etc. that I can incorporate into my unit PT.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Meeting with Fran
Fran had come up in the WOD on the main site - and I was looking to improve my time. So I decided to take a whack.
The circumstances were not ideal, the gym that I was in (military gym) only had a nautilus assistance pull-up station for pull-ups. This didn't work out well - I held the assistance seat down with a dumbbell - but the positioning of all the bars and etc. only left room for a dead-hang pull - which meant no kipping.
I warmed up with:
1 mile run (9:44)
5 pull-ups
30 sit-ups
10 135# bench press
30 2x3# DB squats
10 dips
I then waited for my heart rate to come back down a bit and started in on Fran:
Three rounds, 21-15- and 9 reps, for time of:
95 pound Thruster
Pull-ups
I ended up finishing in 7:48 - slower than last time.
I'm upset - hate to make excuses, but I think it was caused by the inadequate pull-up station.
Afterwards I decided to work on my sit-ups:
10 20# decline sit-ups @ 45 degrees
10 decline sit-ups @ 45 degrees
AMRAP sit-ups in 2 minutes - 71
The 71 is good - my feet were anchored, so there was a better hold than if a person was holding my feet as in the APFT - but I still didn't make 100% reps - granted I was 1 Fran and a bunch of decline sit-ups in.
All-in-all, good workout.
The circumstances were not ideal, the gym that I was in (military gym) only had a nautilus assistance pull-up station for pull-ups. This didn't work out well - I held the assistance seat down with a dumbbell - but the positioning of all the bars and etc. only left room for a dead-hang pull - which meant no kipping.
I warmed up with:
1 mile run (9:44)
5 pull-ups
30 sit-ups
10 135# bench press
30 2x3# DB squats
10 dips
I then waited for my heart rate to come back down a bit and started in on Fran:
Three rounds, 21-15- and 9 reps, for time of:
95 pound Thruster
Pull-ups
I ended up finishing in 7:48 - slower than last time.
I'm upset - hate to make excuses, but I think it was caused by the inadequate pull-up station.
Afterwards I decided to work on my sit-ups:
10 20# decline sit-ups @ 45 degrees
10 decline sit-ups @ 45 degrees
AMRAP sit-ups in 2 minutes - 71
The 71 is good - my feet were anchored, so there was a better hold than if a person was holding my feet as in the APFT - but I still didn't make 100% reps - granted I was 1 Fran and a bunch of decline sit-ups in.
All-in-all, good workout.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Revenge on Angie
So I got another go at Angie - a few days behind the main site WOD, due to the crick in my neck - but I wanted to take another whack at Angie, so I made the workout up.
I last attempted Angie on September 26th. On that day it took me 27:36 to complete:
100 pull-ups
100 push-ups
100 sit-ups
100 squats
In that order, completing each set of 100 before moving to the next exercise - taking as many sets as needed to complete the 100.
Today I used a little strategy and didn't go near failure before finishing the set. This way, I didn't go from 25 reps on the first set of pull-ups to 15 sets of 5 to finish.
So I warmed up as follows, mostly avoiding the exercises I would be performing:
1/2 mile Run: 4:28
5 pull-ups
15 30# KB Swings
10 Dips
5/side 30# KB WindMill
Here are the results, with the total count of completed reps at the end of each set:
Pull-ups - 10,20,30,40,50,60,70,79,80,87,90,95,100 - 07:10
Push-ups - 25, 50, 65, 80, 90, 100 - 11:40
Sit-Ups - 15,25,35,45,55,65,75,85,90,95,100 - 19:50
Squats - 40,60,80,100 - 22:50
I improved my time by 4:46 in a little over a month and a half - but produced a very large and ripped blister on my left hand during the pull-ups.
I last attempted Angie on September 26th. On that day it took me 27:36 to complete:
100 pull-ups
100 push-ups
100 sit-ups
100 squats
In that order, completing each set of 100 before moving to the next exercise - taking as many sets as needed to complete the 100.
Today I used a little strategy and didn't go near failure before finishing the set. This way, I didn't go from 25 reps on the first set of pull-ups to 15 sets of 5 to finish.
So I warmed up as follows, mostly avoiding the exercises I would be performing:
1/2 mile Run: 4:28
5 pull-ups
15 30# KB Swings
10 Dips
5/side 30# KB WindMill
Here are the results, with the total count of completed reps at the end of each set:
Pull-ups - 10,20,30,40,50,60,70,79,80,87,90,95,100 - 07:10
Push-ups - 25, 50, 65, 80, 90, 100 - 11:40
Sit-Ups - 15,25,35,45,55,65,75,85,90,95,100 - 19:50
Squats - 40,60,80,100 - 22:50
I improved my time by 4:46 in a little over a month and a half - but produced a very large and ripped blister on my left hand during the pull-ups.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Bench Press Max and Tabata Treadmill
So I've done 3 months of CrossFit - perhaps a month of which was self Rx'd, doing maybe 3 days with the Bench Press - but on those 3 days never going over body weight (185).
They say that the only way to train for doing heavy lifts is to do heavy lifts. Today - or yesterday, rather - I decided to put that theory to the test. Before this 3 month stint, I had a 1 rep max of 260 - but this was doing bench press 1-2 times a week - and usually going at least as heavy as 225 for a couple reps. So now, doing no more than 185 - and otherwise doing nothing more than push-ups so far as that particular pushing motion goes for 3 months - how would I fare?
I warmed up with:
1/2 mile run @ 1% incline: 4:41
10 Pull-ups30 sit-ups
20 push-ups
20 squats
10 dips
And then some stretching. I then moved into the bench press - starting low to do some more warm-up.
135# - 8 reps
185# - 4 reps
Right here, I can say that it felt like a not-so-good day. As I said, my neck is still bothering me - and though I have done 21 (or was it 13?) reps of my bodyweight in the past (recently), these 4 felt kind of difficult. To be honest, I was a little worried - but really, even if I didn't go very heavy today, I would know that it was because I was feeling "off" and that I could try again in a week or so for a better test.
That said, I moved on to my 1 rep weights, starting with 225. 225 felt pretty good, so I made another appreciable jump to 245. Again, no problems - it went up a little slow, but easy enough that I knew I could do more. I again cut my weight jump in half and went to 255 - with no spotter, using a free weight. This went up, but very slowly. I probably could have gotten that extra 5 pounds for 260 - which again is my best EVER and I think I've only ever done it once. So I would say that without a doubt, I have lost no strength in the bench press as a result of taking 3 months of to switch to CrossFit - with no specific training.
However, I would say that I feel confident that I could modify my training, still keeping true to crossfit - and make much more rapid gains than before to break 300 in the near future.
Will that be my next 300 quest? CrossFit my way to a 300# bench? We'll see.
So after my bench press I moved into a tabata treadmill run - 12% incline at 30 seconds below my 5K pace (which should be about 21 minutes - a 7 minute mile) putting my pace at 7:30/mile - or 8MPH.
In the past I have been overzealous on the tabata treadmill run - and also failed at the 7:30 pace for the tabata's older brother - 30 seconds work followed by 20 seconds rest, instead of 20 seconds work with 10 seconds rest.
So I was determined to make my pace all the way through.
I hit the quick start button and cranked the incline to 12% and then started speeding the track up until I hit my pace. I waited for the 1 minute mark and jumped on. After 2 repetitions, I was still feeling pretty good - until the end of the rest period, when I realised how quickly I had to jump back on. But I did anyway, telling myself I was 1/4 of the way done.
After 4, my lungs were already burning. It's amazing how quickly this routine hits you. During my 6th repetition, my legs were telling me to stop - but I didn't listen. I worried my legs might give out during the 7th rep - but I made it through. During my 10 seconds rest, I told myself I only have to hold on for 20 more seconds.
And that's what I did. 8 rounds at a 7:30 pace! That's smoking. I hit my goal - and I'll be happy to move forward - though I'll still use the same speed for at least the next few sessions.
They say that the only way to train for doing heavy lifts is to do heavy lifts. Today - or yesterday, rather - I decided to put that theory to the test. Before this 3 month stint, I had a 1 rep max of 260 - but this was doing bench press 1-2 times a week - and usually going at least as heavy as 225 for a couple reps. So now, doing no more than 185 - and otherwise doing nothing more than push-ups so far as that particular pushing motion goes for 3 months - how would I fare?
I warmed up with:
1/2 mile run @ 1% incline: 4:41
10 Pull-ups30 sit-ups
20 push-ups
20 squats
10 dips
And then some stretching. I then moved into the bench press - starting low to do some more warm-up.
135# - 8 reps
185# - 4 reps
Right here, I can say that it felt like a not-so-good day. As I said, my neck is still bothering me - and though I have done 21 (or was it 13?) reps of my bodyweight in the past (recently), these 4 felt kind of difficult. To be honest, I was a little worried - but really, even if I didn't go very heavy today, I would know that it was because I was feeling "off" and that I could try again in a week or so for a better test.
That said, I moved on to my 1 rep weights, starting with 225. 225 felt pretty good, so I made another appreciable jump to 245. Again, no problems - it went up a little slow, but easy enough that I knew I could do more. I again cut my weight jump in half and went to 255 - with no spotter, using a free weight. This went up, but very slowly. I probably could have gotten that extra 5 pounds for 260 - which again is my best EVER and I think I've only ever done it once. So I would say that without a doubt, I have lost no strength in the bench press as a result of taking 3 months of to switch to CrossFit - with no specific training.
However, I would say that I feel confident that I could modify my training, still keeping true to crossfit - and make much more rapid gains than before to break 300 in the near future.
Will that be my next 300 quest? CrossFit my way to a 300# bench? We'll see.
So after my bench press I moved into a tabata treadmill run - 12% incline at 30 seconds below my 5K pace (which should be about 21 minutes - a 7 minute mile) putting my pace at 7:30/mile - or 8MPH.
In the past I have been overzealous on the tabata treadmill run - and also failed at the 7:30 pace for the tabata's older brother - 30 seconds work followed by 20 seconds rest, instead of 20 seconds work with 10 seconds rest.
So I was determined to make my pace all the way through.
I hit the quick start button and cranked the incline to 12% and then started speeding the track up until I hit my pace. I waited for the 1 minute mark and jumped on. After 2 repetitions, I was still feeling pretty good - until the end of the rest period, when I realised how quickly I had to jump back on. But I did anyway, telling myself I was 1/4 of the way done.
After 4, my lungs were already burning. It's amazing how quickly this routine hits you. During my 6th repetition, my legs were telling me to stop - but I didn't listen. I worried my legs might give out during the 7th rep - but I made it through. During my 10 seconds rest, I told myself I only have to hold on for 20 more seconds.
And that's what I did. 8 rounds at a 7:30 pace! That's smoking. I hit my goal - and I'll be happy to move forward - though I'll still use the same speed for at least the next few sessions.
Clean and Push Press
I actually did this one a week ago now, but hadn't posted it. In fact, I have a few make-up days to get on here.
This was done on 11/12 - the main site WOD was 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 clean and jerk. I haven't done the jerk before, and didn't feel comfortable with steel plates/no bumper plate and unsupervised - so I swapped for Clean and Push Press. I stopped doing push press after failure, but continued doing cleans up to 7 sets of 1 rep.
I warmed up with:
1000m row - 3:39
10 overhead squats - 45#
10 pull-ups
115# clean and press x 5
I then moved into the exercise. My previous PR on clean was 175 and 165 on the push press.
I started out nice and light - 135.
I took, including swapping the weights around 2 minutes rest between attempts. I did 155 next pretty easily and moved to 185. This went up, but it was a good struggle - PR by 10# and 20# for clean and push press respectively.
I then moved to 195 - clean was no problem - but when I got to the push press, I didn't quite make a full lockout before I felt a severe discomfort, somewhere between a pop and a pinch in my left shoulder. A week later, this is still causing my neck to be stiff - not exactly sure what happened, but it didn't feel good.
So after that, I opted to just do cleans (yeah, yeah - I maybe should have stopped). I pulled off 205 fairly easily, so I thought - getting nice and low with the full squat. Afterwards, I got a little over-zealous and attempted 220. This didn't make it to the rack position after 2 attempts. The first attempt barely got beyond a dead lift position before I brought it back down - it didn't feel like it was going up, so I stopped and went back down.
I probably should have given my self some rest, but instead, just adjusted my footing and grip and went back in for another go. This time I almost got it all the way through, but just couldn't get under it.
I dropped the weight to 210 and tried again - again maybe a little too quick - and I failed again.
So my PR for clean stands at 205 and my push press at 185. Good improvement!
This was done on 11/12 - the main site WOD was 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 clean and jerk. I haven't done the jerk before, and didn't feel comfortable with steel plates/no bumper plate and unsupervised - so I swapped for Clean and Push Press. I stopped doing push press after failure, but continued doing cleans up to 7 sets of 1 rep.
I warmed up with:
1000m row - 3:39
10 overhead squats - 45#
10 pull-ups
115# clean and press x 5
I then moved into the exercise. My previous PR on clean was 175 and 165 on the push press.
I started out nice and light - 135.
I took, including swapping the weights around 2 minutes rest between attempts. I did 155 next pretty easily and moved to 185. This went up, but it was a good struggle - PR by 10# and 20# for clean and push press respectively.
I then moved to 195 - clean was no problem - but when I got to the push press, I didn't quite make a full lockout before I felt a severe discomfort, somewhere between a pop and a pinch in my left shoulder. A week later, this is still causing my neck to be stiff - not exactly sure what happened, but it didn't feel good.
So after that, I opted to just do cleans (yeah, yeah - I maybe should have stopped). I pulled off 205 fairly easily, so I thought - getting nice and low with the full squat. Afterwards, I got a little over-zealous and attempted 220. This didn't make it to the rack position after 2 attempts. The first attempt barely got beyond a dead lift position before I brought it back down - it didn't feel like it was going up, so I stopped and went back down.
I probably should have given my self some rest, but instead, just adjusted my footing and grip and went back in for another go. This time I almost got it all the way through, but just couldn't get under it.
I dropped the weight to 210 and tried again - again maybe a little too quick - and I failed again.
So my PR for clean stands at 205 and my push press at 185. Good improvement!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
300 Results
Here is my result post for the 300 challenge:
After 3 months of training, at the beginning of which I failed to complete the 300 challenge - flunking out after 24 minutes or so, only half way through the floor wipers. Also, I'll mention that when I first attempted this routine, I used a standard bench for your bench press - thinking this was about 24". However, when I built my 24" jumping box, I realized it was no-where near 24" - perhaps 18-20" at best - so I was doing a lot less jumping than I ended up doing in the finale.
So anyway, here are my results - total reps; exercise; # completed for each set; finish time:
25 Pull-ups - 25 - 00:38
50 Deadlifts (135#) - 30, 20 - 03:20
50 push-ups - 50 - 04:18
50 Box Jumps (24") - 20, 15, 15 - 09:40
50 Floor Wipers (135#) - 20, 15, 15 - 18:00
50 KB Clean and Press (30#) - 50 - 21:35
25 Pull-Ups - 10, 5, 5, 5 - 23:55
So after finishing the floor wipers, which was my longest event (08:20), I took an additional 05:55 to finish the entire challenge. Last time around I quit out less than half-way through the floor wipers. This means that last time around I would have had at LEAST another 6 minutes to add on to my time - bringing my total over half an hour - and I would venture to say I would have added at least another 4-5 minutes on top of that, since that should be about how long the remaining floor wipers took me.
So we are looking at an estimated 10-11 minute improvement - or about a 33% improvement in stamina and strength endurance over a period of only 90 days.
You can also see results just by comparing the number of sets it took to complete each exercise - the original results:
Pull-Ups - 24,25
135# Deadlift - 17,30,40,50
Push-Ups - 50
Box-Jumps - 10,25,40,50
Floor Wipers - 15, 26
Stop.
My 1st pull-up and deadlift sets were cut in half. In fact, if you look at the deaflift, my first two sets got me to 30 reps in my original attempt - which is where I stopped on my first set for the second go.
The box jumps were only a 25% improvement in sets - but then again, the jump was 4-6 inches higher!
The floor wipers, I was only just over half done after 2 sets - dropping from 15 to 11 reps - this time around, I was done after 3 sets - completing no less than 15 reps per set.
I am extremely happy with my results. Granted, I think I will continue to work and perhaps try this again down the road - but getting down to it, this routine was no harder than some of the every day routines I complete with CrossFit.
I'm going to stay the routine. My last APFT was under what I had hoped and expected - especially on the run - so I will work on getting my run and sit-ups up to 100%. Once I have done that, I will do what I need to improve, or at the very least maintain - but I won't focus on them. That means more cardio (or really, anaerobic endurance and running) routines in the near future - probably whenever I don't have all required equipment available to perform the WOD.
After 3 months of training, at the beginning of which I failed to complete the 300 challenge - flunking out after 24 minutes or so, only half way through the floor wipers. Also, I'll mention that when I first attempted this routine, I used a standard bench for your bench press - thinking this was about 24". However, when I built my 24" jumping box, I realized it was no-where near 24" - perhaps 18-20" at best - so I was doing a lot less jumping than I ended up doing in the finale.
So anyway, here are my results - total reps; exercise; # completed for each set; finish time:
25 Pull-ups - 25 - 00:38
50 Deadlifts (135#) - 30, 20 - 03:20
50 push-ups - 50 - 04:18
50 Box Jumps (24") - 20, 15, 15 - 09:40
50 Floor Wipers (135#) - 20, 15, 15 - 18:00
50 KB Clean and Press (30#) - 50 - 21:35
25 Pull-Ups - 10, 5, 5, 5 - 23:55
So after finishing the floor wipers, which was my longest event (08:20), I took an additional 05:55 to finish the entire challenge. Last time around I quit out less than half-way through the floor wipers. This means that last time around I would have had at LEAST another 6 minutes to add on to my time - bringing my total over half an hour - and I would venture to say I would have added at least another 4-5 minutes on top of that, since that should be about how long the remaining floor wipers took me.
So we are looking at an estimated 10-11 minute improvement - or about a 33% improvement in stamina and strength endurance over a period of only 90 days.
You can also see results just by comparing the number of sets it took to complete each exercise - the original results:
Pull-Ups - 24,25
135# Deadlift - 17,30,40,50
Push-Ups - 50
Box-Jumps - 10,25,40,50
Floor Wipers - 15, 26
Stop.
My 1st pull-up and deadlift sets were cut in half. In fact, if you look at the deaflift, my first two sets got me to 30 reps in my original attempt - which is where I stopped on my first set for the second go.
The box jumps were only a 25% improvement in sets - but then again, the jump was 4-6 inches higher!
The floor wipers, I was only just over half done after 2 sets - dropping from 15 to 11 reps - this time around, I was done after 3 sets - completing no less than 15 reps per set.
I am extremely happy with my results. Granted, I think I will continue to work and perhaps try this again down the road - but getting down to it, this routine was no harder than some of the every day routines I complete with CrossFit.
I'm going to stay the routine. My last APFT was under what I had hoped and expected - especially on the run - so I will work on getting my run and sit-ups up to 100%. Once I have done that, I will do what I need to improve, or at the very least maintain - but I won't focus on them. That means more cardio (or really, anaerobic endurance and running) routines in the near future - probably whenever I don't have all required equipment available to perform the WOD.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
My revenge for Cindy
Today I get to do a comparison post! My first Cindy can be found at Day 28 of the 300 Challenge, 8/25/2009.
Today I took my revenge on Cindy after 2 and a half months or so of CrossFit. As expected, I saw an improvement.
First time around, I completed 18 Full Rounds + 5 pull-ups + 8 push-ups in 20 minutes.
This time, I noticed a marked difference in my stamina - I was getting more out of the way more quickly and feeling less tired. I also was having no problem doing all reps for each exercise without any rest.
My results: 20 rounds + 5 pull-ups.
I posted last time that I did Cindy that 1 set per minute was a good goal - and CrossFit has helped me to achieve that goal - so I am happy with that. Next time I expect to do better - perhaps I can eventually reach 25 rounds? I'll probably try Chelsea before then - the same as Cindy, except you never pre-load your sets - do 1 set on the minute, every minute until you can no longer complete the set within the minute - up to 30 minutes. This would allow me to still hit the 20 in 20 that I got today, but keep going and try to keep the same pace for 10 more rounds - which would certainly help with stamina - then I can start working on speed.
Anyway, I found the results for 300 - I'll post those in a few under a new post.
Today I took my revenge on Cindy after 2 and a half months or so of CrossFit. As expected, I saw an improvement.
First time around, I completed 18 Full Rounds + 5 pull-ups + 8 push-ups in 20 minutes.
This time, I noticed a marked difference in my stamina - I was getting more out of the way more quickly and feeling less tired. I also was having no problem doing all reps for each exercise without any rest.
My results: 20 rounds + 5 pull-ups.
I posted last time that I did Cindy that 1 set per minute was a good goal - and CrossFit has helped me to achieve that goal - so I am happy with that. Next time I expect to do better - perhaps I can eventually reach 25 rounds? I'll probably try Chelsea before then - the same as Cindy, except you never pre-load your sets - do 1 set on the minute, every minute until you can no longer complete the set within the minute - up to 30 minutes. This would allow me to still hit the 20 in 20 that I got today, but keep going and try to keep the same pace for 10 more rounds - which would certainly help with stamina - then I can start working on speed.
Anyway, I found the results for 300 - I'll post those in a few under a new post.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Run Day
I have my results from the 300 challenge - I just have to find them so I can post them. In the mean-time, I'll go ahead and post today's workout.
Self Rx'd today - I did 3 intervals on the treadmill at 12, 11 and 10 MPH respectively holding the pace for as long as possible (distance/time).
Results:
12MPH - .5 mile - 2:32
11MPH - .39 mile - 2:14
10MPH - .36 mile - 2:15
Times of course included acceleration. Total: 1.25 mi in 7:01.
Rest time was just until my heart rate dropped down to the same rate it was after my warm-up (approx. 140).
This was a good workout and IMHO seemed to be just about as daunting and effective as a tabata run.
Before this, I warmed-up with:
1/2 mile run - 4:54
10 pull-ups
30 sit-ups
25 push-ups
20 squats
10 dips
As I got my results from my recent PT test, I am going to be doing a lot of CFE style runs until I can get my 2 mile run time below 13 minutes - preferably 12:30 or so, so that I'm safe on a bad day. I'll also be ensuring that I continue to include high rep sit-ups in my warm-up. I may even start putting a set of sit ups at the beginning and end of my warm-up, e.g.:
25 SU, 10 Pull-Up, 20 squats, 20 push-ups, 25 SU, 10 Dips
This way I end up with more sit-ups total and don't do any sets that are particularly stressful. Other than that, I'm going to basically keep with the CrossFit WODs. In fact, I'll likely make up Friday's:
Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:
65 pound Power snatch, 12 reps
10 Push-ups
And today's Cindy
Self Rx'd today - I did 3 intervals on the treadmill at 12, 11 and 10 MPH respectively holding the pace for as long as possible (distance/time).
Results:
12MPH - .5 mile - 2:32
11MPH - .39 mile - 2:14
10MPH - .36 mile - 2:15
Times of course included acceleration. Total: 1.25 mi in 7:01.
Rest time was just until my heart rate dropped down to the same rate it was after my warm-up (approx. 140).
This was a good workout and IMHO seemed to be just about as daunting and effective as a tabata run.
Before this, I warmed-up with:
1/2 mile run - 4:54
10 pull-ups
30 sit-ups
25 push-ups
20 squats
10 dips
As I got my results from my recent PT test, I am going to be doing a lot of CFE style runs until I can get my 2 mile run time below 13 minutes - preferably 12:30 or so, so that I'm safe on a bad day. I'll also be ensuring that I continue to include high rep sit-ups in my warm-up. I may even start putting a set of sit ups at the beginning and end of my warm-up, e.g.:
25 SU, 10 Pull-Up, 20 squats, 20 push-ups, 25 SU, 10 Dips
This way I end up with more sit-ups total and don't do any sets that are particularly stressful. Other than that, I'm going to basically keep with the CrossFit WODs. In fact, I'll likely make up Friday's:
Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:
65 pound Power snatch, 12 reps
10 Push-ups
And today's Cindy
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