Can you carry it home?

I have been reading this terrific book called The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan. This book is opening my mind up to a world that is purposeful hidden from the everyday consumer. So many issues that we are blinded from. Issues everyone should be conscious of. Mono cultures of food crops. What does organic really mean? Why is there so much corn in all the items we eat? How much fossil fuel energy does it cost us to grow crops and have crops shipped all around the world? So that we can eat asparagus and blueberries all year around. What is the difference between Industrial agriculture and local agriculture economies. How do you justify the steak house? Should we as humans be eating meat and so much of it? Would you eat that steak tonight if you knew where is was slaughtered and how it was raised? So many issues concerning the omnivore's dilemma.

In the latest chapter that I have read, the author talks about the omnivore's dilemma concerning hunter gatherer. Can you kill your own food and eat it. There is a larger debate in this chapter. The one thought that got me motivated for today's workout was about moments after the kill. Once you kill your prey you still need to get meat to your home so that you can dress the kill and get the meat ready for cooking and storing. I thought this point is perfect for the primal way of exercising. In this chapter the author has just killed a 190 lbs wild pig. He and his hunting companion have to drag and carry the thing all the way back to their starting spot. Plus hoist the thing from a sturdy oak tree branch to dress it.

I wanted to put together a fun workout that simulates this situation.

2 rounds

Push my car 100 meters

50 double under

Pull my car 100 meters

25 burpees

I attached some straps to the rear bumper of the car so I could pull it. After pushing the car 100 meters my quads were blown. this made the double unders so difficult. The pulling was not as hard as I expected it to be. I was able to get a pretty good rhythm and focus on the breathing and go. The burpees just keep getting easier and easier for me. Not sure why. I think it has to do with fear. I was so afraid of them in the beginning. Now that I have a few thousand under my belt they are not that big of a deal any longer. I did both sets unbroken. A fun workout that has some of the primal blueprint. Pushing a car for exercise is really interesting. Mostly because so many people will stop and try to help you thinking that you are having car trouble or something. I always enjoy the look on their faces when I tell them I am just training. Check the ego and go get primal.

A sneaky one, climb a rope wod #4

20 ft rope climb, 5 ascents

Push a Ford Focus 150 meters

20 ft rope climb, 4 ascents

Push a Ford Focus 125 meters

20 ft rope climb, 3 ascents

Push a Ford Focus 100 meters

20 ft rope climb, 2 ascents

Push a Ford Focus 75 meters

20 ft rope climb, 1 ascent

Push a Ford Focus 50 meters

This was one of those really sneaky workouts. The kind that sounded fun and easy in the beginning. At the end left you wasted and tired thinking what the hell happened. Two things, I really love to train outside and I really enjoy climbing the rope. Especially now that someone has taught me how to get it down easier.

My friend Mike and I cruised around looking for a place to hang the rope and push my car. I have pushed my car several times in the past as sort of a prowler simulator. I am somewhat used to this. My friend Mike however has never experienced this kind of effort before. At the same time I have never pushed my car this distance before either. As well as the most I have ever climbed my rope in a single work out session before was 7 times during the climb a rope wod #3. Now we were looking to up the stakes a little or a whole bunch actually doubling the most we have ever done before to 15 rope climbs.

I finished in 16 minutes and 51 seconds. Mike finished in 27 minutes and 39 seconds. Climbing 300 ft of rope and pushing a car 500 meters. A great effort by the both of us. For me the first five rope climbs went really fast. Pushing the car went by way too fast as well. I remember feeling pretty leveled after that first round. I moved through the next four rope climbs trying to stay consistent. The third round of rope climbs is where I bonked. That little bit of doubt creep ed into my head. I remember thinking "will I be able to do this ", " This is way harder than I expected, what was I thinking". I just wanted it to be over with and fast. I kind of went out of my head a little and just kept going trying to not focus on the pain.

In the end I felt very satisfied that I kept with it and finished the workout. That is a difficult thing to do when you have this doubt in your head telling you it is to hard. So I am satisfied there. My friend Mike was up second and let me tell you this was inspiring to watch this man struggle as I did and keep on pushing. A couple of times mike would fail on the rope climb nearly making it to the top but reaching failure so close. This is extremely difficult because you loose a ton of mental energy. He stayed focused through the pain and disappointment and finished with style. Very inspiring indeed. A great workout and a very sneaky one. I actually thought this was going to be easy. Funny!