Thursday, November 18, 2010

30 Burpee-Pull up-Toes to bar

30 Burpee-Pull up-Toes to bar for a time:

I came across this quick wod sometime ago on Ricky Frausto's Strength Development Inc. website. Ricky is the owner of Crossfit Omaha and has several sites that I visit regularly for information on nutrition @ Nutrisimple or strength training advice and or inspiration and competition on the Crossfit Omaha main site. I thought this one looked really fun and simple and I figured I could bust this out just about anywhere.
I had plans to go climbing in Eldorado State Park so I figured I would get a nice fast work out in this morning. I just jogged a few blocks up the road to a park that has a few swing sets. I figured I would use the top of the swing set for my pull ups. I could just barely jump and hold on to the top of the set. The ground was also wet so when I did the burpee and then jumped up grabbed the bar It felt really insecure and I couldn't really get any momentum. This one factor made this wod just that much harder. Which was for the better. Everything else was pretty easy. I finished in just under 8 mins. I think 30 reps might have been too little however since I was planning on getting worked over climbing in Eldorado SP this was just what I wanted this morning. In the future I might try to do 100 of these for a time. Overall this was my first time performing a burpee pull up combo and I liked throwing in the toes to bar. Fun, Fast and Effective.
Here is a quick video of a bad ass doing 100 burpee pull ups. Imagine throwing in the toes to bar. Sick, Bluh!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

The Flat Irons


The Flat Irons are these monolithic rock formations that tower over the city of Boulder Colorado in Chautauqau State Park. They are the back drop of the city and loom over your head no matter where you are at. The park has so many trails that you can hike or jog on skirting the base of these enormous pinnacles.
Today I decided to run the Flatirons trail. From my apt it is about 3/4 mile up hill to the park. Then easily another 3/4 mile up a steep hill to a sub vista over looking the park and the front range. I made it to the top of this vista in 16 minutes and 34 sec. This was a very steep and continuous run. Legs, calf's and lungs were burning after five minutes. After reaching this vista the trail can go up higher to the base of the flatirons and on to another vista where one can see Denver 37 miles away or meander on down through the park back to the start. I was really tired at this point so I decided to take the trail down and through the park and back to my apt. Finishing in 30 min 57 secs. The trails had snow on them in some places and were not to bad to run on so I am optimistic that I should be able to run this trail a few more times this winter. Hopefully getting my time down and improving my over all work capacity. Such a beautiful park to run in.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Boulder Colorado



After spending 9 weeks on the road visiting friends and climbing in 5 different states I have finally landed in Boulder Colorado. I had an amazing fall traveling and climbing. Now I feel it is time to get back to a routine and I am psyched.
Yesterday the sun was out and we had nice temperatures in the low 40's. Though it felt like the 50's. When I went outside I had an idea of what I wanted to do for a workout so I just had a look around the neighborhood for some useful objects. I found a pillar of some sorts that weighed about 65 lbs. I also found a cinder block that I wanted to use for KB swings. I busted out my rings and put this together.
5 rounds of
5 over head squats
10 ring dips
sprint 150 meters
rest 1 min
Tabata KB swings with cinder block
rest 1 min
5 rounds of
5 over head squats
10 ring dips
sprint 150 meters

I finished in 27 min 35 sec. A great workout and a great day to be outside. I was really tired after this one. The Over head squats were kind of a challenge because of the odd shape of this pillar. The pillar was round about 15 inches in diameter on one side and 10 on the other. This made it a little off balance and difficult to hold in your hands above your head. I had to really concentrate as to not drop it on my head.
The ring dips were just ok. I seemed to be tired the whole way through but still managed them unbroken. The sprints were pretty good. About 75 meters from my rings was the end of the street. So I sprinted to the end and back. The best part was it was down hill to the end and up hill coming back up. So I had 75 meter hill sprint that left me gasping for air before starting the over head squats again.
The tabata cinder block swings were fun and a little challenging. Hardest part was holding on to the block. I had gloves on which helped but my forearms were getting a serious workout from me trying to hold on to this block. I managed 9 every round except the last. I only managed 8 in the last round.
I finished the last five rounds in 10 min 37 secs. Tried to push my self hard. Just wanted to get it over with. This was a good one . Should be plenty sore tomorrow.

Monday, August 2, 2010

21-15-9

21-15-9 for a time of:
Box jumps
knees to elbows
double unders
sit ups

I finished in 7 mins and 1 sec. The major issue here were the knees to elbows. My friend and I were doing this workout in my front yard. We were using a little kids swing set to do the knees to elbows. The bar was a fatty making it that much harder to hold on to. As well the bar was only a few feet off the ground so you had to keep your legs bent behind you the whole time making it impossible to get any momentum. So i suppose you could say that these were strict knees to elbows.
For the box jumps we used a retaining wall that was about 3o inches high. The box jumps were never an issue. The double unders and sit ups all went smooth and unbroken as well. The first set of 21 on the knees to elbow I completed unbroken. The second set for 15 I broke at nine. The grip was going and my abs were tired as hell. The set of 9 all went unbroken.
By doing this outside in my yard using a few things like the swing set, instead of a pull up bar in the gym made this that much harder. Same thing with the box jumps. Could have gone to the gym and set up a bench or a box to 20 inches , instead all we had was the retaining wall and it was just high to be really hard and slow you down. Plus exercising outside is the best way to start the day.

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.

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Turkish Get Ups


Today I wanted to stay with the heavy lifting. I wanted to do some heavy Turkish Get Ups. I have not done these for awhile. Turkish get ups are a phenomenal full body exercise for developing strength, power, flexibility and coordination through the whole body. I set the clock at 15 minutes to work up to a heavy set of 1 on my weakest side. I decided to use the barbell for this exercise. I finished with 105 lbs. I maybe could have done 115 but I wasn't really going for a full max effort, just a heavy set.
I was a little sore from the weighted pull ups yesterday but that was about it. My legs handled the rest OK. After a pretty good warm up. The TGU's felt fine.
After:
2 rounds for a time
run 400 meters
12 kettle bell swings 70 lbs.
I finished in 5 min 21 secs. Using a dumbbell for the Kettle bell swings. I don't have access to that heavy of a kettle bell. I wasn't sure where I would finish with this wod. I just wanted to finish under 7 minutes. The swings were not really an issue but the running was. Expect to see loads more running in the future.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Short, Fast, and Heavy


3 rounds for a time of:
3 squat clean thrusters 185 pounds
4 weighted pull-ups 55 pounds b/w the legs
100 meters buddy carry ( Fireman style)

I finished in 6 min 51 secs. I really wanted to do something that was short, fast , intense and Heavy. All of this was pretty heavy for me. The squat cleans being the heaviest. Thinking about this workout now I think I have exposed a weakness in my training. That would have to be core strength. During the squat clean thrusters I would pull forward in the squat clean making it that much harder to come out of the squat and get the weight over head. With a stronger core I would be able to keep good allowing me to be able to do these no problem.
During the Fireman carry I recruited a kid from the gym who weighed about as much as I do about 190 pounds. With in the first 25 meters I would slump forward in the core making it harder to breath and carry this kid the full 100 meters. I will definitely make this a focus of mine to improve my core strength so that I can go again stronger and faster. On the positive side I did finish every round unbroken. That has sort of become a new theme of mine UNBROKEN! That is the chant I have in my head when faced with these difficult tasks. Keep going! Keep Pushing! UNBROKEN!