Taking the Next Step

3 sets:
20 dive bomber pushups
15 rows
45 second rest

lat pull downs at 10 to failure
press downs at 8 to failure

As luck would have it a guy that started working here is a hard core crossfitter.  I already got him to evaluate me doing an air squat.  I constantly find myself wanting to ask him stuff but we have to get work done so I can't do that.  I do try to catch him out in the hall from time to time and bounce ideas off him.  I heard that we are getting a shower put in here as well.  That opens up the possibility of doing some kind of workout at lunch which is great.  I feel like my training is about to evolve again.  I am going to get that pull up bar in the back yard and I plan to get myself an olympic bar with some bumper plates soon.

I just stumbled onto this guy John Newman on youtube.  Check it out.

Sore

3 sets of:

30 hands of the deck pushups
15 rows

curls to failure
press downs to failure


I've been doing this workout 3 times a week for about 2-3 weeks now.  It's starting to get a little old.  I need to figure out a way to spice this up.

I am really sore today.  I started out the week sore.  It got a little better on Wednesday but I think that 400 workout amped it back up.  I think I might have to grab two rest days this weekend to fully recover.

Run Day

The 400's
4 sets of:
400 meter run
50 air squats

time 13:07

This workout is really hard, but I always look forward to it.  I haven't been able to break 13 minutes.  That being said, I don't do a lot of sprinting.  Actually this is the only workout I do that involves running fast.  One of my personal goals is to run 3 miles in 18 minutes.  This would be a perfect score in the Marine Corps PFT.  The last time I ran a 3 mile fast was on a treadmill and I did it in about 21:30.  I want to do a workout that involves running a sub 7 minute mile multiple times.  Basically a mile repeat workout.  Zoe has started to venture out of the garage when I do this running workout so now I have to lock her in the house when I do it.  I saw a police patrol car doing a slow lap around the neighborhood this morning.  Michelle saw some cop cars around yesterday as well.  I wonder what the situation is with that.

I like Water

3 sets:

20 4 count bicycle crunches
20 ab rollers
30 reverse crunches
10 side raises
10 front raises

This was yesterday's workout.  I was feeling really sore so I went with an easier routine.  This one is really easy to do and doesn't tax the major muscle groups much.

It might seem like I know a lot about fitness or staying in shape.  I suppose I'm more in shape than the average person who spends 8-12 hours a day at a desk.  However, I don't for a second claim to be some kind of expert on  fitness or more importantly technique.  What I mean by that is that there is a proper form to doing any kind of movement.  Anything from pushups to crunches to air squats has a proper technique.  Although, I don't think I'm miles off the mark.  I am sure if I went to a real crossfit gym I would get corrected.  That being said, there is one thing I'm pretty sure I'm doing right.  That is hydration.  This is something I didn't take seriously in high school.  In the Marines they used to force us to drink water repeatedly on hot days.  Now I drink something like 10 glasses of water every day at work.  It means I'm going to the bathroom a lot but I know for sure I am hydrated.  I know I'm not supposed to be peeing completely clear.  I typically shoot for a light yellow coloration and keep it that way throughout the day.  I even drink 2 big glasses of water right before going to bed.  This is important since I workout early in the morning. 

Pickles

3 sets:

30 hands of the deck pushups with feet elevated about 6 inches
15 rows at weight of 12

curls to failure
press downs to failure

I used a brick to elevate my legs just slightly today for the pushups.  Seemed like it added about 10% more difficulty which is what I was looking for.  The one thing I don't think I've ever talked about is my warm up.  You always have to warm up.  I think warming up is like flossing.  Nobody does it until they have a problem and learn you really do have to do it.  I can still remember the time I got a piece of steak caught in between two of my back molars.  It got wedged into the gum line and irritated or infected the area.  That was probably the worst pain I've ever felt.  Mainly because it would not stop.  I was taking 2 Tylenol ever 4 hours on the button.  Anyways, warm up:

walk 5 minutes at a brisk pace
get off the treadmill and do some leg swinging movements to get the hip joint loosened up.
run 2 miles

on particularly hard days I don't run 2 miles I either run only 1 mile or do a 100-50-50-100-50-50-100 jump rope thing.  That's 100 both legs, 50 on one leg, etc.

I had an incredibly active/productive Sunday.  We made a ton of cookies for my coworkers.  I did this because somebody else in my office has been doing it and I don't want her to be the only one making goodies.  Of course this backfired today when I brought them in and she already had a tray of cookies on the table.  She gave me a dirty look and said "I got Mondays" and walked away.  Whatever, the cookies were great.  I also weedwacked and mowed the lawn, did another workout, washed my car, did some freelance work, did a 30 minute Zumba video with Michelle, went bike riding with the kiddoes for about 20 minutes, and joined in the clothes putting away party.  By the time about 9pm rolled around I was totaled.  Today, I am legitimately sore.  I think tomorrow might be an easy day.

I also discovered that I have a lot of pickles, and that pickles do in fact expire.  Although I'm not sure how considering they are in a jar of vinegar.

CJ Spillproof

4 sets:
30 off the deck pushups
15 rows at 12 (it's the number on the plate, I don't know how much weight it actually is)
curls to failure
press downs to failure
20 dumbbell push presses with low weight

Added a set today.  This used to be a 3 set workout.  I've been feeling like it's been getting too easy so I through that in.  I could only make it to 25 pushups on that 4th set.  I think I want to go back to 3 sets but with a harder push up.  One push up that I can not do at all is clapping pushups.  I don't know if it's a coordination thing or what but I just can't do it.  Maybe I'm too fat......:(

Today I am going to tell you something about myself that nobody knows.  Absolutely nobody.  It's nothing earth shattering like that I am spying for the Chinese or something.  No not spying just making visual effects for.  Did you hear that NSA bots?  I just make pretty pictures, no spying.  Move along.  Ok so my big reveal is..........that I like to pronounce people's names wrong or come up with nicknames for them.  I especially do this for athletes in fantasy football.  Here are a few of my favorites:

CJ Spiller = CJ Spillproof
Doug Martin = Dougy Martlin or Dougy Martles
Tom Brady = Tommy B or Tommy Brosef
Arron Rodgers = A Rodg
Adrian Peterson = still Adrian Peterson but I always say it with my best Harry Caray impression.
Mark Sanchez = Mark Sanchez
MJD = MJDizzle
If I can't come up with something I can always just add the word "scribbles" on the end of anybody's name.
Julio Jonescribbles
Lamar Millscribbles

ok so I'm sure I'm not the only one who does this.  Here's the thing I think makes me unique when it comes to this.  I find it absolutely hilarious whenever I say one of their names.  It's like my own personal private joke that never stops being funny.  This seems stupid doesn't it.  I agree.  When I write it out like this it's actually kind of embarrassing.  Now you see why I haven't come clean about this dark secret.   Happy Friday everybody!

Not Injured

Hard Day Workout

3 sets
13 diver bombers
20 burpees
50 air squats

no rest


This is a tough workout but not as hard on the legs as some other ones.  Still doing all those air squats will let you know if you are injured or not.  I did them no problem.  Even bested my old PR on this workout by 10 seconds:  11:25.

The director for the project I'm working on right now came in to the office today.  He hung out at my desk while he helped me place trees in a scene we were working on.  It's always nice to get direct input like that.  Takes a lot of the guess work out.  Weird thing was I was sweating profusely the entire time.  I could feel drips going down my back the whole time.  I wasn't nervous at all.  I think maybe it was having multiple people standing really close to me for that long.  Maybe it was just hotter in my immediate area.




The kids started school this week.  It's great to be back on a schedule were I am forced to get up earlier.  Also nice to actually see my family in the morning for a change.

Injured or Stronger?

3 sets of
30 hands off the deck pushups
15 rows at weight of 12

followed by curls to failure and press downs to failure

This is the same workout I've been doing for the last few weeks every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  The way I am judging my progress is by how far I can get in the last set before I have to stop or slow down.  Right now I can get to the 3rd set around 27 reps before I have to slow down.  I might have to start mixing this workout up with different more difficult pushups like dive bombers.

My legs still feel really weird.  I'm not sure if I'm sore from a workout or injured.  I can do every kind of stretch I can think of and it doesn't seem to make anything hurt.  I just feel really stiff.  I plan on doing another leg workout tomorrow I'll be sure to pay attention if my legs start protesting too much.  Nothing throws a wrench in training gains like an injury.  The whole reason I spend almost 20 minutes warming up is to avoid injury.  Heck I warm up to warm up.

Not Sure What Happened There

Sunday:
100 hang clean to squat thruster
every 60 seconds do 5 burpees

This weekend I made a few dumb decisions.  Saturday was fairly relaxing.  However for some reason I didn't feel like eating that much.  It's not that I was trying to starve myself.  I just didn't feel like eating.  So my entire day's diet consisted of a bowl of chili for lunch and a bowl of clam chowder for dinner.  I'm not much of a calorie counter but I'd bet I didn't clear much more than 1000 calories all day.  Why did I do that?  I don't know, but it was a bad decision.  Not going to do that again.  It may have been because I didn't do any exercise that day.  On Sunday I woke up and tried to do the above workout which sounds simple on paper but is really hard when done correctly.  It's a lot harder if you practically starve yourself the day before like I did.  This leads me into my second dumb decision of the weekend.  I decided to do this workout right before my fantasy football draft.  When I say right before I mean about 20 minutes before.  This should have been plenty of time if I had eaten a reasonable amount of food the day before.  Instead I made a little over half way through the workout gasping for breath then running up to log in to my fantasy football draft with about 60 seconds to spare.  All while dripping sweat all over my desk.  It was pretty gross.  Well, I guess there are dumber things one could do.  Live and learn.