02/05 Burpee Pullups

02/05 Burpee Pullups

For time:

100 burpee pullups

source: crossfit.com
time: around 14:31
works: whole body
difficulty: 9
my effort: 9

These are killers. I was happy to get 100 done in 14:31. My goal is sub- 10:00 someday. Someday, a long time from now. Ha.

02/04 - Round Up

02/04 Round Up

For time:

21-18-15-12 reps of:

135-lb bench press
95-lb push press
pullups


source: I made it up
time: around 20:00
works: chest, shoulders, core, back
difficulty: 6
my effort: 8

Today's crossfit.com workout called for heavy weight snatch balances. Frankly, I'm not quote limber enough in my achilles yet - nor are my shoulders stable enough - to feel comfortable tossing weight like this over my head. I'm working up to it. So I substituted a quick workout that's kind of a round up of most of my major upper-body movements.

Not much to explain here. Obviously, there is no resting between sets, so as to maximize the cardio aspect of the workout and train the muscles to work when fatigued.

02/02 - Skinned Shins

02/02 Skinned Shins

For time:

65-lb Goblet Squat, 30 reps
42" Box Jump, 30 reps
135-lb hang clean, 30 reps
65-lb Goblet Squat, 15 reps
42" Box Jump, 15 reps
135-lb hang clean, 15 reps


source: I made it up
time: around 25:00
works: legs, traps, back, core, endurance
difficulty: 8
my effort: 8

I made today's workout up, after deciding to skip crossfit's 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 overhead squat day. I'm still working in to the point where I feel comfortable (and flexible) enough to hoist a couple hundred pounds over my head and squat. I need better shoulder stability. Ergo, I subsituted a different workout.

I chose goblet squats because I wanted to try them out in the context of a workout. I think these are a great "beginning" squat, in that doing them for a while will help you develop your form in other squats - including overhead. I should have gone for a lot more than 65lbs, but live and learn. Try these if you're trying to work into good squatting form.

The box jumps are a fun way to work in some cardio and explosiveness. I chose a 42" box - the tallest available. I like the challenge of trying to propel myself that high off the ground after squatting. Beware, though. Missing a box jump that high has dire consequences for your shins (see photo).

Finally, I worked in a hang clean. This was a good clean-up exercise for the core, power and shoulders. A good way to round out the set.

These took me longer than I thought. I was originally going to shoot for 30-20-10 but had to shorten to 30-15, as I had to go to work.

Enjoy!

02/01 Thrusters & Pullups

02/01 Thrusters & Pullups

135 pound Thruster, 15 reps
35 pound weighted Pull-up, 15 reps
95 pound Thruster, 21 reps
20 pound weighted Pull-up, 21 reps
65 pound Thruster, 36 reps
36 Pull-ups


source: a crossfit workout
time: 13:21
works: legs, shoulders, back, core, endurance
difficulty: 9
my effort: 8

Today was the first day in my new AM workout routine. We moved last weekend, and my home is no longer 1/4 mile from the gym. Working out in the evening thus means that I do not get to see my son. Since exercise is about 4th or 5th on my list of life priorities (coming behind family, work, intellectual and spiritual pursuits, not in that order), it got moved to the morning. I've never been a big fan of morning workouts; it takes me a while to get loose and limber. Today was a rough day to start in the AM, but I pushed through.

The 135-lb thruster is a pretty heavy weight for me to rep 15, so I setted it into chunks. Maybe it was the fact that it was the first set of the day, but I felt a little creaky. The other two sets went much more smoothly, though I admit I was feeling the deadlifts from yesterday a little bit.

The pullups were not a problem. I've always liked weighted pullups, and did the first two sets as strict dead-hang. The last set (unweighted) I did as kipping pullups, so as to integrate the power movement (the hip-snap) into the exercise. I've started to adopt the philosophy that weighted pullups are for strength and should be dead-hang, and non-weighted are for power, and should be kipping. Try it out.

One thing I did note: I was a lot more hungry throughout the day.This proves the point that for those wanting to lose weight (of which I am not one), intense or prolonged exercise is often the wrong way to go. Non-conventional thinking, I know. But research has shown that exercise can actually be a contributing factor in weight gain for the average person...and it's not muscle. More on this in a future post.