Max effort hill sprints

A couple of weeks ago I went on a beautiful hike. My friend and I hiked to the top of Bear peak. Along the way I noticed this large hill with a steep trail going towards the summit. My friend and I talked about coming back and running up that steep trail for a workout. Today I set out to do just that. This steep hill is about a half mile from the trail head. So I spent that half mile getting warmed up with shorter sprints and drills. I had on plenty of clothes so my core temperature was up and I was ready to go when I got to the start of the steep trail.

3 x max effort sprints up a steep hill. When I say steep I mean really steep. Like you sometimes have to use your hands to help you along. After a warm up lap I knew I was not going to be able to run to the top of this thing. So I figured I would just go full tilt boogie until I had to stop. That is what I did. 3 full effort sprints until I hit failure. My efforts got me close to the summit but not quite. I would end up in just about the same spot each time. between 1 min 10 secs sprinting and 1 min 14 secs. I wanted to throw up every time. Even though I couldn't run to the top I would still walk or crawl my way to the top. My legs were like Jello after this.

I cooled down for a bit on the walk back to the trail head with some light stretching. As I returned to the trail head I was starting to feel better.

I added a little progression ladder at the trail head. 10 air squats + 1 to 10 of handstand push ups. So 10 squats 1 hspu, 10 squats 2 hspu, 10 squats 3 hspu's and so on until I got to ten. I found a couple of stones to use to help make the handstand push ups elevated. I used a tree for balance. This lasted about 12 minutes. I was totally wrecked after this workout. Ready for food and football.

Tabata this

Tabata- 20 secs work with 10 secs rest X 8

Pull ups 44

Toes to bar 40

Push ups 94

Air squats 130

Studies have shown that when athletes perform tabata intervals, they increase both aerobic (endurance) and anaerobic (short bursts of energy) capacities more than any other type of cardio. Tabata intervals can be used as a fat burning method and can also improve performance in most aerobic and anaerobic sports.

One tabata interval is only going to last four minutes. Trust me, it is going to be the longest four minutes of your life. When you try this, pick a couple of exercises and use lighter weight or body weight only.

Remember, in order to get the best results you have to push yourself. Go for the highest reps possible in 20 secs and then rest for ten. When the 10 sec rest is up get right back to work and have fun. Helps to have some sort of timer handy.

Cindy round 2

"Cindy"

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of

5 pull ups

10 push ups

15 squats

A crossfit benchmark workout. The first time I did this wod was about one year ago and I finished with 24 rounds. A very challenging workout mentally and physically.

This time around I was shooting for 28 rounds. I finished with 26 and 2 push ups. An enormous effort. Not a huge jump up but I will take it. I know for sure I was very sore going into this workout from the two previous workouts. I tried to spend about 20 minutes going through a thorough warm up. This didn't really help much. Starting out I was moving really slow in the squats. I think allot has to do with my diet and my sleeping habits. I need to make a few adjustments for sure. From the 10 to the 15 th round I was moving pretty slow and taking time between each round. After 15 I started moving pretty fast. The last couple rounds were an enormous mental challenge. Overall I am happy with the slightest improvement.

I am looking forward to the next couple days. Going climbing.