CrossFit, Running, My Quest For Super Health Week 5
Alright then. Let’s get into it. Workouts for the week of Monday, January 31st – February 6th, 2011. Please leave comments and let me know if you have any questions.
This week I am implementing different warm ups. Short and simple, 15 reps of each in sequence: sit ups, air squats, push ups, pullups, and dips.I broke down and subscribed to the CrossFit Journal this week and have been pouring through the articles. The Journal is $25.00 for unlimited access for a year. Pretty amazing deal. I firmly believe that it will prevent me from getting hurt as well. This week, I also discovered that we have one of the most well known CrossFit gyms in the US. Rogue Columbus is home to Graham Holmberg, winner of the CrossFit games 2010. Might have to drag myself over the Gahanna and give the gym a look.
Lastly, I got around to measuring myself so I could better evaluate my progress. I thought this was necessary because my weight has not changed more than 2 lbs either way in over a year. Here are my details.
Shoulders 51, Chest 41, Upper Arms 14, Waist (Measured at belly button) 35, Thighs 23, Calves 17.
Monday
Rest
Tuesday
Run
4min on, 3min off
2min on, 30sec off
1min on, 3min off
2min on, 30 sec off
4min on. Done!
As usual harder than I expected. Ran all runs at 7.5 on a treadmill. Coming back up was harder than going down the ladder but I was happy with my results. Really thought by the time I got to the second 2 min run that I would have to reduce speed, but I made it through the run.
Wednesday
Excited for this workout since I put it together. Probably not the wisest thing I could have done, but here it is nonetheless.
As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes
Front Squats at 50% body weight x 10
Row 500 meters
Dips x 10
Front squats were done with 115lbs and dips I used 24lbs of assistance weight. Looking back on it, I should have just gone for it without any assistance weight. I might have had to take breaks, but I could have completed.
My results were 3 complete rounds, with squats and 400 meters rowed before time expired.
Thursday
Run
2 rounds
400m, rest 2 min
800m, rest 2 min
1 mile, rest 2 min
Run was OK, but it is so hard to feel any kind of pace. I ran the runs at 8.5, 9 and 9.5 minutes per mile. Was still quite sore from my my workout on Wednesday. Looking forward to a rest day.
Friday
Rest
Saturday
Run, 7 miles
I ran at about a 9:15 minute per mile pace. This is the first time I discovered that the treadmills turn off after an hour at our gym. Quite a wake up call. Felt good to go this distance, It is my longest run to date. I also was happy with my pace. I am realizing more and more that a faster pace may actually be easier than a slow pace. Now, I’m not saying that you can crank up the treadmill and run at any pace, but for me I am finding a sweet spot.
Sunday
Push Press 2 reps every minute for 10 minutes
15 Burpees
Rest 5 minutes
2 rounds no rest
1 min Sit ups
1 min Hollow Rocks
Push press went very well. I completed all reps with 135lbs which is fairly heavy for me. Now about the burpees, the original WOD suggested 30 burpees and I pretty much knew that I wouldn’t be able to complete that many so I reduced it to 15. Sadly, I had to stop after 7 because I was wheezing so hard I thought I would pass out. Definitely, need more work on this simple exercise. Next came the series of sit ups and hollow rocks. I also had not done hollow rocks before and thought that it might be hard. Yes, indeed. Brutal. I don’t have enough core strength to hold my feet and arms in the air. In the end, I settled for just contracting my core with my arms slightly raised for the 1 minute period.