CrossFit, Running, My Quest For Super Health Week 3
Here we go again.
Monday January 17th, 2011
Rest Day
Tuesday January 18th, 2011
Run 1200 meters at a 7 degree incline. Rest 2 minutes, repeat
I haven’t run at this high of an incline for any amount of time so I truly didn’t know how it would be but I was optimistic. The workout was a disaster. I only made in to about a half mile before I had to stop on the first interval. I also tried to run at an easy 6 and had to reduce to 5.5 towards the end. Breathing through my belly button at this point, I knew that I wouldn’t make 800 meters for the second leg. So, I made the decision to turn the workout into 3 sets and reduce it to 400 meter runs. Even this proved incredibly hard. My quads felt like they were rip out of the running pants by the end of the third run. I sincerely hope this gets easier.
Wednesday January 19th, 2011
5 sets
Run 400 meters
25 Dumbbell Swings
15 Pullups
This workout came from a Crossfit workout named Eva. In the original workout, 5 rounds, run 800 meters, 30 2 pood kettlebell swings and 30 pullups for time. No possible way I could get through that. I also don’t have a kettlebell at our gym. A 2 pood kettlebell is 70lbs. I exchanged dumbbell swings, both hands on the grip holding the dumbbell straight up and down, one weight over the other one. How, I chose 25 swings is beyond me. I was really excited about this exercise. Tim Ferriss told me in his book that it will give me ripped abs. LOL. We’ll see about that! Pullups were done on an assistance machine with 90lbs of assistance. I took almost 2 minutes in between sets to catch my breath, and between 1 and 1.5 minutes between exercises.
Workout went better in some ways than I expected but was a cardiovascular parade. I ran my runs indoors on a treadmill set to 7.5 or an 8 mile/per hour pace. These were hard but I got through them. The swings started with a 35 lb dumbbell just to get used to the exercise. My sets went 35, 45, 45, 35, skip. By the end of the 4th set the tops of my hips were on fire. I thought best to skip rather than risk injury. Pullups were hard and continue to hit me in my forearms as well as my grip. I have to be making progress.
Thursday January 20th, 2011
7×3 Front Squats
7×3 Bench Press
Tabata sit ups
Today, the weather was really crummy. Early dismissals from the local schools, cars sliding into ditches, just your every day winter joy. Against my better judgment I decided to go thinking that it could easily be worse tomorrow. The workout was really enjoyable and the gym was empty.
Front Squats are still really new to me and I’ve never felt 100% comfortable. Tonight was different. I was able to place my arms in a much higher position and the movement felt natural. I’m not saying that it was easy towards the end, but I’m confident that I can add weight now without sacrificing my form. Here are my sets:
95, 95, 115, 115, 135, 135, 155
At 135 the weight felt fairly easy still but I was finding my comfort zone. 155 took some effort but all squats were performed below parallel.
Bench press was completed on an iso-lateral bench machine. It isn’t perfect, but without a partner to spot me, it’s a nice compromise.
Sets, 104, 154, 154, 174, 174, 174, failed – dropped back to 154 for final set
I had not done sit ups in tabata style. Fun. Well, not really. I was once again amazed at how easy it seems out of the gate but by the end, I am using muscles in my toes to pull me upright. 4 minutes to joy.
Friday January 21st 2011
REST
Saturday January 22nd 2011
5 mile run.
Can’t really say many good things about the run other than I finished it. Had a hard time regulating my temperature. Face was very flushed most of the run. First 3.5 felt really out of rhythm. Felt better after that but can’t say I felt great. Should have prepared better. Too small of a breakfast, too much coffee and the possibility of too many drinks the previous evening probably didn’t help matters. I vow to do better next week.
Sunday January 23rd 2011
Dead lifts 5 x 3, rest 2 mins between sets
rest 3 mins
3 sets
Max rep pullups
15 Good mornings
Hard workout. The deadlifts still feel somewhat awkward. I suppose some of this has to do with my height. I feel like I need to engage my legs more and my back less. My form and technique are still a work in progress. Sets were 135, 225, 225, 225, 225. I also added a hanging grip test because I am starting to feel like my grip is suspiciously weak. I put the bar on a rack a few inches under my grip. I loaded the bar with 315, lifted and held the bar. As I suspected, even raising the bar the 2 or 3 inches was difficult and my grip was close to failing after a mere 10 seconds. Something I will need to work on.
Pullups and Good mornings went ok. I dropped way back on the assistance weight on the pullup station to 54lbs from 90lbs. Sets went 10, 6, 6. I finished all good mornings at 15 reps with 60lbs. I could have used more weight, but my back was already spent from deadlifts and I didn’t want to push the envelope.