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!!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
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!
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!
Friday, March 19, 2010
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.
This weekend, my airsoft team is hosting a fun event. Should be a good time.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
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
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
Monday, March 15, 2010
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.
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.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
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.
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.
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