CrossFit, Running, My Quest For Super Health Week 2
Monday, January 10th, 2011
Took off to the gym as soon as my wife got home from work. I really hate working out right as most people are getting off work, but a treadmill workout isn’t too bad. Luckily the gym has plenty to go around.
Another interval run. 6 x 400m with 2 minutes rest.
This is definitely one of those runs where I wish I could have run on a track. The treadmill forces you into a pace which is fine, but I’ve noticed my speeds vary widely outside on the road compared to what I see in the gym. I set the treadmill at 7.5 for the first interval thinking that I could warm up at that pace and increase my pace slightly for the rest of the runs. Unfortunately, I never got past this speed. On each interval, my pulse incrementally went up until my pulse was in the mid 170 range at the end of the last run.
Pulse at the end of each interval. 160, 166, 169, 172, 174, 175
Tuesday January 11th, 2011
3 rounds for time
run 400m
15 overhead squats
15 pullups
Yeah, that shouldn’t be a problem. Ugg. I was excited to try the overhead squats since I hadn’t tried them before today. In overhead squats you simply hold the bar above your head and squat rather than resting it on your shoulders. I figured that it might be hard so I just started with an empty bar. It’s only 45lbs, it shouldn’t be a problem right? I couldn’t even do one. I had done back and front squats but overhead squats felt like I was tearing my back side to side. I ended up doing front squats with just the bar. I probably could have done a lot more weight but considering that this was a speed workout, I stayed light. The pullups I did on an assisted pullup / dip machine. I had to use a ridiculous amount of weight to support me, somewhere around 70lbs. This movement also proved awkward because of my height. I hit bottom before fully extending my arms so I have to keep my legs partially bent during the movements. I completed all of the runs at 7.2 on the treadmill. Nothing too speedy.
Wednesday, January 12th, 2011
5 x 3 Deadlifts with 2 minute rest between sets
rest 3 minutes
2 rounds
15 situps
15 pushups
I started with 135 lbs for deadlifts and then increased weight since I hadn’t done any deadlifts inquite some time. Weights, were 135,185, 225, 225, 225. Felt good but my grip is weak at 225lbs. The situp and pushup rounds went smoothly as well. I would love to try the Crossfit Glute Ham Developer situps but I don’t have a GHD machine and I really don’t feel strong enough yet. I will probably try a modification of sitting across a bench and loop my feet under the bar of the Smith Machine or something else heavy at an appropriate height. Pushups were hard towards the end but no huge struggles. The situps I did on a traditional situp board and propped the end up on a cardio step to elevate it.
Thursday, January 13th, 2011
REST day!
Lots of pain today. All the way through my traps and around the back of my arms. Not sure which exercises hit this but I know it isn’t comfortable. Trouble raising my arms above my head. Probably a combination of Deadlifts from a wide grip, pullups (which I’m terrible at) and pushups. I love this stuff!
Friday, January 14th, 2011
Running!!! 45 minutes at a zero incline. Felt really good. Longest time I have managed to run on a treadmill without stopping. Didn’t try to set any speed records, just wanted to last the duration without stopping. Knees were starting to ache by the end of the run. Knees ached considerably more during the evening but the pain pretty well subsided by morning.
Saturday, January 15th, 2011
Fran
Three rounds 21, 15, 9 of
Thrusters
Pullups
First workout that made me truly feel like I was going to hurl. The original workout called for 95lb thrusters which I thought I could do. I thought that it might be a good idea to start with just the bar considering the reps. I never added weight. It demolished me. The pullups were on an assisted pullup / dip machine using 90lbs of assistance. By the second round, I only made it to 11 reps. Truly brutal.
Sunday, January 16th, 2011
20 minutes, as many rounds as possible
250 meters on rowing machine
10 pushups
Well, as always, things go wrong. Took off to the gym around 9:00 to get in a workout before leaving town for the afternoon. Got to the gym and the display on the single rowing machine that they have is broken. It doesn’t surprise me. I haven’t ever seen another person use the rower in all of the years I have been going to this gym. However, it’s still frustrating to have the equipment broken. So, here is the deal, I decided that I would row for 2 minutes, then pushups. I have no idea how close that puts me to 250 meters, but that was today’s workout. The original workout had 25 pushups which I was confident that I could not do repeatedly. In the end, I probably shot too low. 15 would have been feasible, maybe more. In the end, I managed 8 sets. Not too bad. I stretched and went home. Rest day is around the corner.