Rest Day
"Though force can protect in emergency, only justice, fairness, consideration and cooperation can finally lead men to the dawn of eternal peace."
-- Dwight D. Eisenhower
« November 2009 | Main | January 2010 »
Rest Day
"Though force can protect in emergency, only justice, fairness, consideration and cooperation can finally lead men to the dawn of eternal peace."
-- Dwight D. Eisenhower
WOD:
Turkish Getups (3 reps per side, keep going up in weight until failure):
3 reps each side @ 18#
3 reps each side @ 26#
3 reps each side @ 35#
3 reps each side @ 44#
3 reps each side @ 53#
3 reps each side @ 70#
Athletes:
Steve........ Max @ 70# (single set)
Jack.......... Max @ 70# (single set)
Steve decided that it was time to join me for some Turkish Getups. I'm not sure he knew what he was getting himself into, but he stuck with it like a trooper. Sure, it looks easy when someone else is doing it but as soon as you get that weight up above your head you realize that it's no picnic.
The rounds went fairly well until we got to the 35# KB, that's when small issues in form start to really make a difference in the movement. Not pushing off the heel, not locking the elbow, not taking the time to reposition the leading foot, all of these things can come back to bite you as the weight increases. By the time we were putting up the 53#'er it was good times. Everything had to be just right, movement smooth and controlled. The big one was just murder as any small deviation led to a good probability of dumping the weight.
Steve's got brute strength that's for sure. If he takes the time to develop his form I don't see why he wouldn't be able to TGU ~100# by summer. Next time... I think we're going to try this with a barbell.
To cool down, we did a 21 - 15 - 9 of decline ring pushups. Feel the burn baby.
WOD:
For Time: 100 Burpees
Athletes:
Jack.......... 7:35
Wow... I mean, wow. After some mat time and a little warmup to get this WOD going it was time to hit the countdown button. Peachy has been asking me to do this WOD for a while and I can't say that I was looking forward to it. Burpees, sure. Bunches of burpees, why not? One hundred burpees as fast as you possibly can, I know that a recipe for pain and suffering.
Long story short, the first twenty-five flew by in 1:50. Sweet, good time. The next eight took another 30 seconds or so. A few breaths then time to get to forty. Sweet, now what? Well apparently it was going to be sets of ten and then sets of five. Things were getting harder and each set required a short break. Once I hit seventy-five I knew I could finish, probably under 10:00. A few more sets of five found me wheezing at the ninety mark, then Steve-o yelled out that I had a shot at coming in under 8:00. Damn, only way to do that would be to get down to business, so I punched out the last then straight in a row and managed to nail a fairly decent time. The oxygen debt I had built up made my head spin. I felt like my poor little heart was about to burst. It took me 2 minutes just to be able to sit up and I couldn't walk a straight line for another 3-4 minutes. Truth be told, I'm still feeling it in my chest this morning.
What's the lesson here? Beats the hell out of me, short and intense activity obviously does give you a metabolic hit that LSD (long slow distance) work just can't measure up to. Trouble is, I can't help looking back over the WOD and wondering... is there any way I could have beaten 7:00? Damn.
WOD:
1,000m run x 3
Athletes:
Jack.......... 4:28, 4:38, 4:53, 5:08 (for good luck)
Have I ever mentioned how much I hate running? Well, I still do... but it's growing on me a little. Who knows, it might just be the holiday spirit. I do have to say that running after having done 5 x 5 squat cleans the WOD before, it kinda sucks a little. Don't get me wrong, it definitely gets the blood flowing but there's also "a little muscle stiffness" as a chubby trainer of mine used to say.
I knew I had to get the run in but my heart just wasn't in it. I'm tired of the 1,000m intervals and will have to go back and change up to the 400m x 6 again next time. Still, just to make sure I wasn't dogging it, I decided to do one more for good luck. Yeah... that last one was a killer. Apparently there wasn't too much left in the tank after all. I hustled my little heart out for the last half of the interval but it made no difference, there just wasn't a lot there. My goal? I'd like to be able to do a sub 4:00 minute interval. I don't think it's asking for a lot, but that would be hustling.
Active Rest Day
"Strong people are made by opposition, like kites that go up against the wind."
-- Frank Harris
Ok... so maybe it wasn't quite this impressive, but it sure felt like that when we were driving.
WOD:
Suqat Clean / Deadlift: 5 x 5
Athletes:
Tomski (Deadlift)..... 95, 95, 95, 115, 135
Jack (Squat Clean).... 135, 135, 140, 145, 145
Even before last night's dinner had settled we knew it was time to get a WOD in. Tomski decided to drop in for a few days from Chicago and he took the opportunity to catch a workout at the local JackFit affiliate. He has been doing Stiff Legged Deadlifts for a while but has never had anyone show him how to properly do traditional deadlifts. Today was going to be his lucky day.
The workout started with a 45 minute warmup and technical session. Tomski has a very solid strength base and some metabolic conditioning, but he hails from a much more traditional "bodybuilding" style background. This means that there are some imbalances apparent and a lack of flexibility which manifests itself as limited mobility. No, it's not tragic and a little work could easily fix these issues. He learned proper squat technique, the OHS, and standing shoulder press (this whole seated shoulder press is for the injured or confused). His real interest though, lay in the deadlift.
He picked the movement up quite rapidly and it was obvious that he had the strength to easily move the weight. Form stayed true throughout the entire workout and only required minimal coaching. He knew to keep the shoulders back already and never rounded his back. This kid could start moving some weight if he sticks with it. To finish things up, a half round of interval Vipers. Can't beat it with a stick.
WOD:
Shoulder Press: 5 x 5
Athletes:
Jack.......... 95, 95, 100, 100, 100
Right, now I don't know what most people do on Xmas eve, but I was going to get a workout in before that big dinner and make sure that feast was put to some good use. So, right after work my ass waltzed right into the gym to find that it had finally warmed up and the sun was beaming in at the perfect angle to get that nice halo effect.
A little warmup work to get the blood flowing and it was time to press the iron (and rubber I suppose). Things were going well and I decided to add a few pounds to the press. Even though I wasn't feeling particularly strong the weight went up without a hitch. Hm... note to self, try adding weight more often.
There was quite a bit of gas left in the tank so a 3 x 15 ring row was thrown into the mix. Steve hung out and chatted between sets and he showed me a nice modification to the ring row to get and extra hit to the posterior deltoid. In fact, I'm going to have to try it.
What a great way to start a long holiday weekend. Can't wait till tomorrow.
Rest Day
"An individual dies ... when, instead of taking risks and hurling himself toward being, he cowers within, and takes refuge there."
-- E.M. Cioran
WOD:
Deadlift: 5 x 5
Athletes:
Camilo....... 145, 145, 145, 145, 165
Jack.......... 185, 225, 225, 225, 245
It was a little cold but Camilo and I buckled down for a little over an hour of mat time. A nice warmup of throat punching, kidney kicking and eye gouging tends to get the blood flowing. Good times, good times.
Afterward we were already a little spent, but talking Camilo into some deadlifts has never been a problem. He's getting stronger every time he does this workout so whatever he's doing at boot-camp prep is probably working for him. That said, if we could get him deadlifting over 300# by the time he leaves in August, I think we'd have a monster on our hands.
WOD:
21 - 15 - 9 of:
- Ring Pull Ups
- Ring Dips
Athletes:
Jack........ 8:19
Ok, first the good news, thanks to the patented JackFit© warmup I managed to take over 2 minutes off my previous best time for this WOD. Now the bad news, it still sucks and I still feel like I'm dogging it. I know there are a few monsters out there that might be able to do this straight through but I couldn't even come close. Even doing 21 ring pull ups wasn't going to happen. Just like last time, by the end of the WOD it was back to singles and doubles. Still, taking that kind of time off the WOD is a pretty decent improvement. I'll take it.
That's right everyone, now thanks to the availability of the patented new JackFit© workout you too can cut minutes off your ring pull up and ring dip times. You can too can get ripped arms, buff shoulders and a shredded mid-section. All you have to do is show the f#%k up and leave everything you've got on the gym floor, wheezing and begging for more, on a daily basis. Then just eat your Wheaties® and keep coming back for more.
Seriously though, this was not easy, but it sure as hell was fun. Afterward I decided to do 3 x 200m sprints uphill and that might have been taking it one step too far. After finishing the last sprint and walking back I had to lay down on the mats for a few minutes and wait for the room to stop spinning. Once I recovered from the self induced stroke, it was time to get up and get some chocolate milk (probably the best post-workout drink you can have, seriously). Hell, at least there's no hangover.
