Norwegian Chipper

200 meter heavy ball throw and Chase (sand filled basketball 12kg)
100 push ups
100 dbl unders
50 knees to elbows
50 ground to overhead with a pallet
100 box jumps
50 overhead squats with a pallet
50 pull ups
200 meter walking lunge
200 meter sprint
For a time

This was one of the better workouts that I have ever done. A friend of mine wanted join me for a workout and based on similar training interests I put together this really fun wod. We decided to make this a team effort. We tackled each of the prescribed exercises together taking turns. As a team we would have to finish the prescribed number of repetitions, resting while the other is working and so forth. It was really allot of fun.
The med ball throw and chase was really us throwing my sand filled basketball as far as possible and then sprinting after it and throwing it again. Covering 200 meters total.
The ground to over head was with a wood pallet. The heavy industrial kind usually found out behind a business by the dumpster. We found plenty. We had three stacked for the box jumps and used one for the ground to overhead and the OH squats. The ground to over head was by far the hardest part. Using strict form we had to lift it upright from the ground then squat and lift it above our heads. Using strict form repeat this process to lay the pallet flat on the ground. The lunges were sort of an issue as far as fatigue setting in. Everything else was just about right.
We finished in 22:14.
I had really hoped we could have finished this in under 20.Considering how much fun this was I am definitely OK with the time. This is my first chipper and team workout. I really enjoyed both aspects and I am looking forward to more to come.
I really wish I had some photos , next time


Gym Jones - Balls

Gabe | MySpace-video

A

Dead lifting again today. Moving up in weight and down in reps. Really focusing on getting my lower back strong, Starting to see big improvements in my grip strength and leg strength. I have not been using the supine grip preferring to get my grip strong in stead. Today I did 3x15 Really focusing on strict form . Keeping a rigid lumbar spine. I have been dead lifting lots lately . I have injured my back in the Dead lift about 3 months ago and I am just trying to get stronger here.

Core class tonight

Movement prep
Hip crossover6@
Scorpion stretch
Inverted hamstring
Forward lunge w/twist

Physio ball routine
P.B. Push ups 10
Lower body lateral roll 10

Workout
50 Physio ball sit ups
tabata side plank with one knee to the chest ( 20 secs work,10 secs rest X8)
50 Physio ball sit ups


I have been really off the wagon with my diet as of lately, I have been drinking loads of alcohol and eating way too much pizza at work. The reason I think is that I have just been way to lazy to prepare food in advance. Instead going to work with out any food and then I get hungry and I am forced to eat crap. I feel like I have everything back under control. I have been eating loads of fish , salmon, lately. The last three days anyway. We have really fresh fish here in Norway. Cheap too! Tons of Veggies , Tomatoes, Zucchini , Cauliflower, Broccoli, Asparagus, onions, every pepper I can get my hands on, Brussels sprouts. They are surprisingly good when cooked in the pizza oven at my work.
Today I had a really good protein shake for breakfast. I have a bag of frozen berries from the supermarket. Black, Rasp, blue , red, all sorts of berries. Toss two cups of mixed berries in the blender with a couple scoops of chocolate protein powder and blend. Really delicious and I felt great afterwards.
For lunch I had 6 oz baked Salmon, with a steamed salad of Peas, Cauliflower, Tomatoes, Zucchini, Pretty good eating. I am full and I have a ton of energy. I really took the zone method to heart on these two meals. If you have not read about the zone diet then you need to . Brilliant way to look at food.

Rest Day

Train like a legend

I live in a small ski town in Norway . There is but one place to train with weights and their hours of operations do not always work well with my schedule. There are times like today when I can not go to the gym to train and so I must look for other ways to get in a workout. I am lucky enough to live in a mountain town or on a mountain I should say. So I have plenty of steep hills to run. I much prefer to run shorter distances as fast as possible rather than just go out for a run for 5 or 10k.
About five years ago I came across an article about weight loss. I can not remember many specifics of the article I can only remember the parts that impressed me the most. The focus of the article was how to burn fat , loose weight. The title was the button that nobody uses or something like that. The feature of the article was Jerry Rice. Jerry Rice is a house hold name in the United States. An amazing athlete most famous for his accomplishments in the sport of football . A record setting, championship winning legend. The article boasted about Jerry's training in the off season. He had a trail that he liked to run that was 2.5 miles up hill. There were references to team mates who would attempt to run with him or at least keep up with him on the run and would end up vomiting. So they say if you want to look like an amazing athlete then train like one.
The button that nobody uses was the incline button on the treadmill. I have seen plenty of people running on a treadmill in the gym going full tilt boogie. But the incline is at zero. The benefits are far greater to crank up the incline and see how fast you can run then. I have tried it plenty of times and the results are always the same . A very intense training session. See " Cleans in a Corner " my first post. Not everyone is blessed to live on a mountain or the sunny hills of the bay area in California. But most everyone has access to a treadmill. I am not one to advocate the use of a treadmill but you have to do what you have to do.
In my situation I can just pop out my door and run up the hill. I have an immediate 450 meter incline at my disposal. Which is just perfect for me. The temperature is not always ideal , but you know how they say. There is no such thing as bad weather you are just not dressed properly. So I strapped on my mössa and braved the cold. The workout was 5 X 450 meter hill sprints. As I have mentioned before we have had some amazing warm weather here in Trysil lately so the workout today , very exhausting but amazing none the less. The temp was around -5 C.
For the run I managed to keep my times around 1 min 30 secs. The last one was 1min 41 though. This hill has a very steep incline in the beginning and goes to a soft incline to another steep but consistent incline to really steep at the last 30 meters or so . Strategically I tried to start out around 70% and end at 110%. This worked well for me to have enough juice to get to the top at a good pace. The first three felt great , the last two kicked my ass. My legs were toast. My rest periods were pretty much rest as needed. This hill is covered in ice so I had to take my time getting down . I did fall once. ;-) so I took my time getting to the bottom . This took me about 5 mins to get down. When I reached the bottom I immediately started to sprint back up the hill. I felt great during the workout, and I felt great energy after the workout. These kind of medium distance sprint workouts always give me a ton of energy after. If you have not tried it yet , you should.

Training outside

Spring has arrived here in Trysil Norway. We have had plenty of sun and warm temperatures lately. By warm I mean in the 30's When you are used to sub zero temps. All of a sudden 30 degrees is warm. I am really excited to train outside. I prefer to train outside as much as possible. I have been really fortunate in the past to have been a member of such clubs that would let me drag weight outside so I could train in the fresh air and warm sun. I much prefer it to being inside.

Today I wanted to work on Muscle ups and since the only place I have to hang my rings is outside this was a perfect opportunity.
Today's WOD
Amrap 20 min
10 Muscle ups
200 meter sand bag sprint w/ 25 kgs

I ended up with 4 rounds plus 5 muscle ups.

The run was ok. Legs felt strong. I had plenty of wind. The sand bag was actually just a bag that I put my weighted vest (10kg) in and my sand filled basketball (13kg) and my nalgene water bottle. Maybe not quite 25 kgs but close. My times were around 50 secs consistently. The coarse was slightly down hill on the way out and slightly up hill on the way back . This slight incline made the runs a bit harder , but the sun was in my face for the return portion so I hardly noticed.
The muscle ups were the real kicker here. The first 10 went real fast. After that I could only do one at a time until I reached the prescribed number. I had several miss attempts that made me think twice about attempting again with out enough rest. This was enough to slow me down considerable. Either way I am happy. This was a fun workout , not to difficult , not to intense and I got to be outside in the sun for a half hour. Great day.

Back to work

This last week off was fantastic for me physically and mentally. I really enjoyed getting out side nearly everyday, skiing with friends. Skiing with the sun rise was a fantastic experience that I will never forget and hope to try again soon. We even went night skiing which was as equally mentally refreshing as the early ski. I have about 6 weeks left for the season here in Norway and this last week was great for me to get refreshed mentally and physically.
Winter is over here in Norway. Spring is upon us and with it plenty of sun, warm temperatures and lots of celebrating, drinking loads of alcohol. I did manage to drink more than what I should have. For some , you may only get one chance to work and be festive in another country such as Norway. I don't want any opportunity to slip away from me.

To get back into things I wanted to start kind of light. So I went with Dead lifts.

3X 25 of strict, strong dead lifts. Focusing on strict form maintaining a rigid lumbar spine.

Cash out
5 rounds for a time of:
30 double unders
15 clapping push ups

I finished in 6:29
The double unders were easy but proved to be not enough rest between the push ups. I completed every set of the double unders unbroken, easily under 20 secs. The Clapping push ups were the real issue here. I managed to do 15 in the first and second sets. Though I quickly reached failure in the second set and had to chip away at the count four or five at a time in the last three sets. I tried to push myself pretty hard but I may have rested a little too long in the last three sets of clapping push ups. I was not sure how fast I could have finished this work out in the beginning. Looking back now I think I could definitely finish in under 6 minutes.

Thursday night Core Class:
Movement prep:
Hip Crossover 6@
Forward lunge w/twist 6@
Inchworm 6

Physio ball routine:
Physio ball push up 10
Physio ball glute bridge march 5@
Repeat twice more

W.O.D.

Physio ball Sit ups
Physio ball Leg raises 15-12-9
Physio ball Exchange

Side lying leg raises 9-12-15

Perform 15 of each of the P.B. exercises . 15 P.B. Sit ups( hold the ball in your hands above your head and sit up), 15 P.B. leg raises( Hold the ball between your feet and raise your legs to vertical), 15 Exchanges( pass the ball from feet to hands) . Then 9 @ side lying leg raises. 12 of each of the P.B. exercises and 12 @ side lying leg raises. 9 of each of the P.B. exercises and 15@ side lying leg raises.

Rest a couple minutes

Isometric group push up x 30 secs. Getting better at this as a class.


I am excited about this next week. I have a few pretty cool workouts planned for this week. Since the weather is so nice I want to take advantage of this and train outside as much as possible. I even have a few people who have made plans to train with me. That is great I really hate working out by my self all the time. I am pretty happy right now. Life is good.

Develop your mindset

Developing your mindset is as equally important as your physical training. Psychological development plays is an integral part in our training. How you mentally approach training will define your performance and achievement. What is your reason for showing up, fighting through and pressing on? Or do you just try to finish absentmindedly going through the motions.
Yesterday at the gym I noticed a novice weight lifter performing the dead lift. The name Dead lift implies the nature of the lift. Lifting weight from a dead stop. The dead lift when performed correctly can prove most valuable for improving strength and power in the legs, hips , shoulder, and hands. I watched in horror as this young man rushed through this important exercise incorporating the "bounce" technique when the weight hit the ground. Virtually eliminating the very reason to perform this necessary compound exercise. My question is why, why would you take the time to do the dead lift and then ignore the consequences for poor technique and the rewards for performing this lift with the correct measure. Why rush through your training at all. In my opinion you are heading down a road leading nowhere. I suppose you could say that something is better than nothing at all. Yes I suppose this is true. Running on a treadmill at the same speed and zero incline for 30 mins is better than sitting on the couch doing nothing at all. I feel however this is just misinformation. Having the right information and the right frame of mind will magnify your outcome in every facet of life.
Having the right frame of mind starts with your reasons why. What do you hope to accomplish. What are your goals.
Decide what you want .
Formulate a plan.
Do it.
In other words Dream it , Plan it , Do it. I have lived by this wisdom for the better part of a decade and it has paid enormously in every facet of my life.
So lets start with the goal. You say you want to get ripped, loose 10 lbs. That is your goal , what are you going to do about it. Well I am going to formulate a plan. I can start with nutrition. I am going to eat healthy food, lean meats, seafood, poultry, fruit, vegetables, berries , nuts and seeds. Stay away from starches and sugars. Do It! If this is my plan then it doesn't make sense to drink red bull to get psyched up to go to the gym. The only thing you should be drinking is water, maybe a little green tea or coffee on occasion. Eating healthy or eating what we are supposed to eat is a life style. It is a life long process. Not short term. I am not going to get ripped and then one year later go back to eating pizza, potato chips and drinking soda. I am going to continue to grow and educate myself about food.
The same goes for Training. Suppose your goal is to get stronger. I have a plan , I am going to lift heavy weights and eat right and I am going to get real strong. Then do not forget about the warm up. If you do not have time to warm up you do not have time to train. Spending a good twenty minutes in the gym going through a good dynamic warm up , focusing on good technique and getting the central nervous system primed and ready to go will help you achieve this goal. Ignoring it will send you limping to the sidelines with an injury that could take weeks or months to heel. Can not get stronger nursing a bad back or a pulled hamstring. Lets not forget rest and recovery. Are you sure you are getting enough sleep to ensure that your body is recovering. Are you certain that you are not pushing yourself too hard. Over training can be as bad as not training.
What about when you are in the middle of your competition what ever it is, or the most grueling work out you have ever committed to doing. Every cell in your body is screaming at you to stop, do less, slow down, give in and be more comfortable. There is this fight in you that keeps urging you on through the pain and discomfort, Why? You keep fighting.Why? You keep fighting. It starts in the mind.
How about having the ambition and the drive to just go to the gym. Why! Your why should resonate deep with in you . Your why should take over and pump through your veins, Let it drive you, power you. Let it take you to the very best that you are capable of.
Take the time to figure out what you want to achieve. Write it down. Just like writing your food intake down for a day. It is very surprising what you will not put in your mouth if you have to write it down. Formulate a plan. Write it down. Most of the time this is something that can not be done over night. Write something down. Step away for a day or two or a week even. Come back to it and finish it . Let your mind do the work. Dream it , Plan it , Do it.
Take it one step further and tell someone about it. Do not be embarrassed or ashamed no matter how silly if feels. You will be surprised at how much support you can generate from the people around you. You will be amazed at how much harder you will fight just knowing that someone else is aware of your goals. They will know if you are slacking or if you are kicking ass.

Dream it, Plan it, Do it

Active Rest Day

I spent four hours this morning on the slopes. I feel great. Today was an amazing day. Skiing with the sun in my face for hours. I never wanted to stop. Total rejuvenation.

Core class tonight

Movement Prep:
Hip Cross over
Calf Stretch
Hand walk
Forward lunge/ forearm to instep

Super set:
Swiss ball push ups
Swiss ball lateral roll

10@X2

Super set:
Overhead lunges
Lying figure 8's
Glute Bridge March

10@X2

Isometric Group Push up Hold for 30 secs.

Today's food
I cant say that I had a really good day as far as nutrition goes. Breakfast was fast and convenient considering I wanted to be skiing before 9 am. So I went with a bowl of oatmeal (1/4 cup) , 1 cup of raspberries,blue and black berries and a little peanut butter. I washed this down with a little chocolate protein powder and water, about 25 g of protein.
My friend and I skied until 11:30 . At this point I was starving and stuck on the mountain in Norway my only options were hamburgers or hot dogs. I decided to go with the hot dog, a double actually. Double the meat not the bread. Not a preferred snack or meal but I needed food and that was all there was to it. We skied for a few more hours and then called it a day. I had a quick snack at the house. A few macadamia nuts , a couple apples and some Delhi meat. For a late lunch or early dinner I suppose you can call it, I ate out. i had a nice moose steak with potatoes and carrots with a cream sauce. The meat was amazing, the potatoes were no doubt full of butter and well lets just say that cream sauce is probably not good either. But I cleaned the plate anyway. Tasted so good I went for dessert and had a nice chocolate something or other for dessert. Dessert is something I usually will avoid. Total breakdown today I suppose. I really don't feel bad for it either. Tomorrow is a new day. Tonight however my wonderful girlfriend has brought home some ribs and potatoes. I will enjoy this dinner.
Planning on going skiing tomorrow again. Looking forward to it.

ÄGG

Eggs or (Ägg in swedish) are a nutrient dense super food. An excellent source for protein, vitamins and minerals. Valuable for growth, development, brain function, building muscle and repairing damaged tissue. An Egg has between 5 and 7 grams of protein. About 3 in the white and 3 in the yolk or yellow. The yolk provides 15 important vitamins( A, B12) and minerals but also provides a significant amount of fat and cholesterol.
The Fat in an egg is mostly unsaturated fats, a most efficient raw material source for energy supplying more than twice the energy than carbohydrates. Unsaturated fats also play an important role in slowing down the entry rate of carbohydrates into the blood stream just like Fiber. This is a crucial role for preventing to much sugar in the blood stream which will promote insulin production which in return forces the body to go into store mode and essentially stores all the left over sugar in your body in the adipose(fat) tissues. Not a good thing. Unsaturated fats are also responsible for the release of beneficial hormones from the stomach that tells the brain you are full and satisfied so you should stop eating.
I know that we have all heard about cholesterol and how bad it is for you. With out getting into to much of a rant about good and bad cholesterol. I just want to say that humans need cholesterol to survive. I am sure that is the main reason why the body produces so much of the stuff on its own. And like everything else in nature to much of anything is bad news. It is all about balance and harmony. So yes there is quite allot of dietary cholesterol in an egg yolk. Which is why I will only allow myself two whole eggs . This keeps me right at the RDA for dietary cholesterol while still getting a significant amount of the other important nutrients from the yolk. I know that the egg white is virtually all protein, vitamins and minerals with zero fat or cholesterol, so I will eat 4 egg whites and 2 whole eggs about 4 or 5 times in a week. Why not just eat the whites? Like any other food with out fat , it just doesn't taste as good.
My favorite time to eat eggs, as I am sure it is with the rest of the world is in the morning for breakfast. Easily my favorite meal of the day. It is so easy to chop any vegetable and fry it a min or two and then add some eggs cook for a little while and eat. The recipe can change every day with the vegetable choice. The choices are endless.

Rest Week

I have been training for 7 weeks now. I am going to take this next week off . Rest and recovery is the name of the game. I will spend this next week going skiing as much as possible, just being outdoors and enjoying this new sport. I am planning on a deep muscle massage on Thursday. I am pretty excited about that.
I feel really good, I have tons of energy. In large part to my diet. I have been eating really well. Measuring your food is not that much fun. Like I said before it is an acquired skill. I have been practicing measuring my food since I first read "The Zone" in July of 09. The practice and dedication has paid off. Now having measured out two cups of broccoli or 1 cup of zucchini almost everyday for the last 8 months I am fairly accurate with the eye ball method of measurement. So now I can cook and prep a meal as fast as before, when portions were not an issue. I keep the portions of meat to about the size and shape of the palm of my hand. That is a pretty accurate method. Overall I am enjoying the process of trying new recipes for new foods , such as Brussels sprouts and artichokes and educating myself on the nutrition content of various new foods as well. Educating yourself is the key.
Through out the week I will continue to post my daily food intake. By writing what I eat down almost every day I am surprisingly being more strict with my diet. I think anyone should try it. Keep a food journal for a day or three or a week maybe. You will be surprised what you will not put in your mouth if you have to write it down , especially if you have to show it to someone.

Breakfast :: 6 eggs ( 2 whole, 4 white) 1/2 avocado with 2 oranges.
Lunch:: 6 oz of Baked Chicken Breast with 1 cup of Brussels sprouts and 2 cups of Broccoli
Snack :: Sashimi ( Salmon about 6 oz) with a pear an apple and half an avocado
Dinner:: 6 oz baked chicken 1 apple 1 tortilla hand full of black olives