Another Day's Evening Run

I didn't make it to my martial arts class tonight. Instead, I had to stay home with an unruly child. Sad, really, because I had a great workout planned for everyone. I did call it in to the dojo, since everyone has done similar movements before. I wonder how many actually stayed for the workout?

For myself, instead of working out with a group of people, I ended up working out by myself. And when you're tired, it can be hard trying to motivate yourself. I did manage to gin myself up to do the WOD. The plan was:

21-15-10 of
Kettlebell Swings
Push ups

I finished the workout in 3:58, using a 35lb dumbbell. I think I need to go heavier next time.

Cool thing, though. During tonight's warm up I managed to string together 27 double-unders! Awesome!!

Beginning the Paleo Challenge and Getting Back to Working Out

Last week was a good rest week. I just felt really run down. I'm glad I rested up a bit for this weekend. We spent almost 5 hours working out. Shihan Swain is an incredible teacher. His knowledge is incredible!


After the workouts on Saturday, I took it easy on Sunday. We have a new dog, so I took her and one of our other dogs on some easy, short training runs. She's still a puppy, so she's learning. I think she'll do pretty well when she gets into the swing of things at the house.

Monday was also the first day of my Paleo challenge! Several guys at work have decided to give the diet a try. I also wanted to see what would happen if I went totally paleo. I expect to lose a little weight, which is not really what I'm after. However, I also expect to see some performance gains. This includes better endurance and more strength.

Right now, my weight is 196lbs. That's a little lower than I would like. To measure performance, I did a 'benchmark' WOD:

AMRAP in 10 minutes -

10 Push Ups
10 Sit Ups
10 Air Squats

I managed to get 7 rounds (+7 push ups) in the 10 minute time frame. I think I can do better next time. Theoretically, I can get almost 20 rounds (30 seconds for each round). We'll see what happens, though, and how much I really improve.

While doing the challenge, I will continue to train normally. This means my normal M-T-W, F-Sat workouts. I may add an additional weight workout Tuesday morning as a way to increase my overall strength and maintain weight. We'll have to see, though.

I planned to get up on time this morning and try the new time, but was sabotaged by the new dog causing a ruckus last night. I was up probably three different times because of her shenanigans. Guess we just need her to settle in first.

Also, if you have any recommendations for Paleo recipes, leave a comment.

Taking Some Time Off

I've been using this week as on "Off Week" to recoup a little energy and get ready for the next quarter. Seems like a good time to do it. I still showed up to teach my fitness classes, but have otherwise laid off of activities. Maybe a little too much, since I feel a tight from all of the sitting around.

I ended up feeling really run down Monday and missed work. It's funny how, when you're tired, sleeping until noon can really help. I guess I should be happy that I didn't feel any worse. Also, I bounced back pretty quickly and am ready to rock and roll again.

Tonight at Unity Martial Arts, we have a preview of this weekend's grappling class. This should be a great time. I always appreciate when Shihan Swain comes to town. He has an incredible amount of experience and is an incredible teacher. Of course, the only reason he's there is because of his relationship with my normal Teacher, Sensei Tanner Critz.

Yeah, I'm loving the martial arts stuff!

If It's Friday, I Must be Lifting Weights!

Had a pretty good weight lifting session this morning. I worked on front squats, power cleans and presses. It's amazing how just these three exercises can really work you over.

This weekend, my airsoft team is hosting a fun event. Should be a good time.

Two Quick Workouts, But Plenty Tough

Yesterday (Tuesday) was a pretty long day, but a good one. Long because I had to take my child to her martial arts class at Unity Martial Arts before I went to my class. I finished up the evening with with my martial arts class and workout.

For our class, we spent a good 20 minutes just 'warming up,' including jumping jacks, arm swings, and hip and knee rotations. We then worked the rest of the time on a "show" kata called the Sakura kata. The kata has a lot of new moves for me, moves I haven't practiced that often. My class was led by a guest instructor, Sensei Gerry Goradeski from Jacksonville, FL. We made it though the first few moves, but it took quite a bit of time. I'm glad we took our time, though. It made it easier for me to learn the moves.

Since Sensei Gerry wanted to go out to eat with some of the dojo members after class, we did a very short workout, with our favorite movement... burpees! And to keep things short, but intense, we did Tabata intervals. The goal is to do as many reps as possible in the time alloted. Your score is the minimum number of reps you complete in any round. I managed to get a score of 5. Sadly, it was tough to even get that score.

Today was a rough day, even after yesterday. Monday, Sensei Tanner had us working our kicking stances and moving through the kicks in katas. This proved to be quite a load on the old legs. They were still sore this morning, even with yesterday's workout to wash some of the lactic acid out. I almost didn't work out, but dragging myself to the dojo in the morning helped get me motivated.

This morning's WOD was another short one. Since I had sore legs, I wanted something that included more arm movements. I ended Up doing sumo dead lift high pulls and push presses. Both have some leg/hip action, but also include a lot of work for the arms. Since I only had the dumb bells at the dojo, I was limited to 25#. Still, this seemed enough to get worn down with.

The WOD was:
21-15-9 of
Sumo Dead Lift High Pull
Push Press

Exercise Doesn't Have to Make You Feel Bad

Had a great weekend and a good workout this morning. Saturday, I did an indoor bike ride of around 45 minutes. Not really a hard workout, but it was instructive. Doing the LSD (Long, Slow Distance) page left me feeling stiff in the legs and back. Not exactly the best feeling.

 Sunday was a lot more fun. I spent time mostly hanging out and playing with my daughter. We played chase (ever try to follow a little 7 year old through the trees? Not easy.) and jumped rope. The jump roping was fun, since I was able to work on double unders while I played. We did the normal "Cinderella, dressed in yella" rhyme while I did basic singles. Then, when it came time to doctor counting, I started doing double unders. I never got over 15, but I did feel a lot more comfortable doing consecutive double unders.

Today was a pretty nice day as well. This mornings workout was Tabata intervals of:

Kettlebell Swings (25#)
Sit Ups
Jump Rope (# revolutions)

I put a lot of effort into the workout, but it seemed to go by pretty quickly. I've done some Tabata interval workouts that seemed to take forever, so having one fly by was a nice change.

After the WOD, we worked on double unders a bit more, since they're the movement of the month. I've found there are a couple of tricks to double unders. One is learning wrist speed. Without the ability to move the rope, you can't jump over it. The second was how high to jump. I focused some time on each of these aspects and was again able to string together several double unders again. I'm definitely feeling better about my double unders now than I did at the beginning of the month.

Update:
The work out at Unity Martial Arts today was pretty tough on the legs. We worked on stances and kicks today. By the time I finished the workout, my legs were burning. Two workouts a day are pretty tough sometimes, even when one is a martial arts workout.

We worked on our back stances quite a bit. In addition, we worked on the transitions for our kicks. This is tough because you're standing on one leg and using that leg to push yourself forward into your next stance, all the while trying to stay low and keep your balance.Not easy at all.

Rest Day and Weight Lifting

Thursday was a good rest day. I did some stretching, but other than that I took it easy. It definitely gave me plenty of energy yesterday. I wasn't able to work out in the morning because of the rain. So, instead I had to wait for the evening.

It definitely had me bouncing around the office, not having worked out in the morning. It was kind of fun, really. I didn't feel sore or tired, even at the end of the day. Friday evening, I did my weight lifting workout, after a good warm up of course.

WOD:

Front Squat - 5x5
95, 115, 120, 120, 125

Clean and Press - 5x5
65, 75, 85, 95, 95

Dead Lift - 5x5
135, 155, 175, 195, 215

During the workout, I worked on my hook grip. It made the cleans and dead lifts easier to do, and even made my pull ups easier.

Today should be an interesting day. I'll try to work on more endurance stuff, probably an indoor bike ride. =D

Update:
Well, the only thing I really did today was an indoor bike ride. I set up the trainer and kept a pretty easy pace as I rode. I watched a TV show as I rode as well. I tried to change my pace a bit, but not too heavy. At the end of the "ride" I felt a little stiff, especially in the hips and knees.  Should be interesting to see how this shakes down over the rest of the weekend. 

Be Careful What You Wish For

You know the old saying, "Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it." Well, I should have remembered that. Yesterday, I was talked about doing more Met-Con and less weight lifting. I really felt that needed to change.

So today, I programmed more weight and fewer reps. Unfortunately, this didn't equate to a shorter workout. =D I included a modified version of a movement dubbed a "Man Maker" on some forums. The movement uses two dumbbells. For this workout, you start in a push up position with your hands on the dumbbells. You do a push up, then lift each dumbbell in succession. You then jump your legs forward, similar to the same movement from burpees. Once your legs are under you, you clean the dumbbells, stand and do a press. That's one rep. I used a little heavier weight than I would normally recommend, although it went pretty well.

The WOD was:
For time, 15-12-9 reps of
Man Makers (20# dumbbells)
Supported Sit-ups

I managed to finish everything in 12:40. Ouch! Towards the end of the WOD, I had to break the sit ups into sets of threes and struggled through sets of 1's and 2's for the Man Makers. Definitely a hard workout that I'll program again. I've even thought about programming the full 'double push up' version of the Man Maker, and simply have everyone do a certain number for time.

During the afternoon Cuong Nhu workout, we did katas with our eyes closed. This is an interesting experience, but I simply tried to maintain my balance and follow my body through the movements. Afterward, we worked on Pinan 3. This is a new kata for me, one that I've only worked on maybe twice before. It was pretty cool, trying out the new moves. At first, I didn't feel too comfortable with the moves. Towards the end of class, though, things started to come together. I always feel like I learn a lot of new stuff whenever I come to class.

Tonight is going to be mostly errands and housework. I plan to take it easy and try to relax with the family a bit.

And the Beat Goes On

I did more Met-Con this evening. It's pretty tough to come up with something else when we really don't have much equipment. I worked in some strength work, though, with kettle-bell swings.

The workout was:
AMRAP in 10 Minutes
12 Kettle-bell Swings (25#)
Shuttle Runs
10 Sit-Ups

I managed to get almost 9 rounds completed. I only needed 8 more sit-ups and a short trot back to the start line.

I scaled the workout for others, though. They used less weight and fewer reps for the kettle-bell swings. Of course, everyone still seemed to get a good workout. It's all about high "relative" intensity.

Right Back at It

I had a pretty good workout this morning. The work out I had planned included mostly met con work, with some weighted movements. As usual, I felt a little sleepy. Right up until I did the warm up.

For the workout, I did:

7 Rounds of:
10 Kettlebell Swings (25#)
Shuttle Run
10 Decline Push Ups

We then worked on double unders for a bit. I think all the jump rope work I've done so far has really made a difference. My single unders are getting better, I'm able to do crossovers pretty easily and able to do alternating double unders for awhile. I just need to keep working on it.

I ended up skipping my Karate class, though. I didn't drive to work and stayed in during the evening to hang with the family. It made things pretty restful, actually. It's surprising how much energy I have when I only work out once during the day.

A Long Day and a Rest Day

Saturday was a good day, although it was fairly long. Exercise wise, I did quite a bit, but at a low intensity pretty much all day. It started with almost 2 hours of martial arts. We worked mostly on push hands for the class.

I like push hands. It's a way to work on combat skills without the possible injuries of hard style sparring. I'm usually pretty good at it, too. We did several skill building exercises and  worked up to more freestyle push hands. I finished out the martial arts portion of the day with some push hands form work. Not exactly my finest hour, but I'm getting there.

After martial arts, I did an extra short Crossfit workout. I did 10-7-5 of reverse rows and dips, all on the rings. The work was pretty tough. I definitely need to work on my dips, though. I had a hard time with the dips, but managed to get through it.

Finally, I went on a bike ride for a date. The ride lasted a little over an hour, which was fine with me. I felt pretty good on the ride, although I need to get my "butt" callouses back.

On Sunday, I did normal rest-day activities. This included watching movies, walking the dogs and basically taking it easy. I made sure to stretch a bit, though to keep from being stiff and sore. I'll be all ready for Monday morning's workout.

Realizations on Rest Days

For some reason, I felt tight, tired and sluggish most of the day yesterday. I was even a little sore from Wednesday's morning workout. This might be because I didn't do ANYTHING yesterday. No stretching, no morning warm up, no Cuong Nhu stances or katas; nothing. I think I need to change that for my next rest day. I probably need to at least do my normal warm up.

This morning, I rolled out of bed and did a weight workout. Funny thing, I'm used to working out in the the pitch black of early morning. Well today, the sun actually started to peek over the horizon and light the area. This meant I could actually see while lifting. A nice bonus.

After a good warm up and the Burgener Warm Up (which is getting easier with the full olympic bar, by the way), I did 3x5 of Front Squat, Press and Power Cleans. Because I still do not have a rack, I have to clean everything from the ground to start. Of course, it helps develop my clean, but I feel it cheats something from the front squats and keeps me from doing heavy back squats.

I felt pretty strong in my exercises. I made sure to work on active shoulders during the press and keeping my elbows high during the front squat. On the power cleans, I kept thinking about getting lower, getting under the weight. Although I didn't go into a full squat clean, I did want to focus on good technique.

My weights for the exercise sets are below:

Front Squat 95, 115, 125
Press 75, 85, 90
Power Cleans 75, 85, 105

Now, next time I do the exercises, I need to increase my weights.

On a totally unrelated subject, I think I've come up with a solution for the chin up bar at the dojo. Right now, we don't have any permanent bar. I've brought my rings in a couple of times, but I want some way to do real pull ups.

Jon from AgainFaster.com offers a cool pull up bar that can hang from the middle support beam in the dojo. The cool thing about the bar is we can take it down when the fitness classes are not in session. I can see getting 3-4 bars and placing them along the beam as needed. The challenge is, they are $100 each. I better start saving.

Morning Weight Workout

Today, I tried something a little different for the workout. We have dumbbells at the Dojo, so it's a pretty easy matter now to work in lighter weight workouts. So, this morning's WOD was a weighted workout. Between my medicine ball and the dumbbells, I think I came up with something interesting.

Today's WOD is:

21-15-9 of

'Kettlebell' Swings (#25)
Ball Slams

The workout was a good one, short but sweet. I finished up in 6:24. I wanted something short so I could focus on double unders for the movement part of the class.

Take a look at this demonstration of Double Unders and jump rope technique.



Jumping rope takes quite a bit of coordination, agility and aerobic conditioning. Today during class, I managed to get 11 alternating double unders with single unders. The goal is to string together as many double unders as I can in 2 minutes. We'll see how well I can do by the end of the month.

More Met-Con Workouts

Tonight was a good night at Unity Martial Arts. We have a "Focus Class" on Tuesday evenings, where we work on material outside of 'normal' belt progression material. Tonight we worked on sparring. Sparring in itself can be a tough workout. Sensei Tanner made it a little harder by having us concentrate on kicks. This meant we wore out our legs during the sparring exercises.

For our workout, I concentrated on metabolic conditioning again. Our WOD was:

As Many Rounds As Possible In 7 Minutes of:
Shuttle Runs
10 Burpees

I only managed to finish 5 Rounds and a shuttle run before the 7 minutes was up. My legs were burning, especially during the burpees. I almost used the shuttle runs as recovery efforts for the burpees.

A Jump Rope, a Stop Watch and Some Intensity

For today's workout, the stuff in the title is all we needed, and we really didn't need the jump rope. I usually include some jump rope in the warm up, simply because it's so universal in what it covers. Coordination, aerobic capacity, plyometric movement; all of this stuff is included in the basic jump rope. Add in some cross-overs and double-unders and you're set.

After the warm up, we did today's equipment free WOD :

For Time:
15 Squats, Push Ups, Sit Ups
20 Squats, Push Ups, Sit Ups
25 Squats, Push Ups, Sit Ups
30 Squats, Push Ups, Sit Ups

I managed to finish in about 13:38. The workout started off seemingly too easy. However, the final exercises were much slower. I ended up having to break up the final exercises into groups and 10 and, sometimes, 5.

Wow. It should be interesting to see the improvement when we do this workout again.