VolkeFit: Franish Untimed

A) 21-15-9
Push press (125 lb)
Kipping pull-ups


B) 21-15-9
Thrusters
Ring Rows

Didn't time these.  It would have sucked if I had.  My left arm was pretty useless on the thrusters.

VolkeFit: Fa la la la la, go f--k yourself

A1. 3 sets of 5 leaning back pull-ups
A2. 3 sets of 10 banded push-ups

B. 3 sets of 10 suitcase (one-armed) deadlifts.
I used 45lbs


C. 25 goddamn minute AMRAP of:
20 calorie row
20 ball slams (30 lb)
20 burpees to plate (strict)

I did 5 rounds, plus 20 calories and 6 slams

Basement with Harlan: BurpSlam AMRAP Partner

For 12 minutes:

Partner A does 10 ball slams, and they only count if you catch the ball on the bounce.
Partner B does as many burpees as possible

Then switch

We did a total of 118 burpees.

I averaged 6 burpees per turn.

VolkeFit: I want to eat all the Greek fries

Driving to go workout and I pass by Grekos and now all I want to do is go there and eat all of their Greek fries. All of them.

— Tyler McMurchy (@TylerMcMurchy) December 15, 2015

But instead I kept driving to Steve's garage.


A) Single leg deadlifts 6x6 per leg

This was new.  I was better with one leg than the other.   I think I went up to 155lb.  My balance was messed up, so I did have to touch my other foot to the floor behind me when doing this.

B1) 3x 4@25lb

B2) Banded push-ups 3 x max effort, plus 5 more knee push-ups.
Fun!  I think I did 12 for the max efforts.


C1) DB flies - 5 sets of 7 @ 30lb
C2) Bent over DB row - 5 sets of 8 per arm @ 40

Gettin' swole, yo.


I pussed out on the AMRAP Steve had programmed after.  And I never did get any Greek fries.

VolkeFit: Two young lovers and their bearded friend

Wow, the headline for this blog post sounds like a euphemism for something.

It just refers to the fact that Hayley and Jarvis were working out in Steve's garage.



A. Squat clusters 1. 1. 1. x 3
255lbs.

Squat once, rack it, wait 10-15 seconds, squat again, rack it, wait 10-15 seconds, squat again.


B. Controlled descent back squats at 60% x 10

I used 155lb and did 10 unbroken, taking 2-3 seconds on the descent (I hope).


C. Rhiannon: 10 minutes of double unders

I did 442, a new PR.    I didn't max out on my first set.  I was trying to but failed around 35.  I still haven't broken 100 consecutive yet and want to one day.  But I decided that if I wanted to beat or even get close to my record, I had to break it up into reasonable sets.  I was aiming for 40 at a time, with the idea that I'd rest between, but average more than one set per minute. Sometimes I only did 30 or even less.  My technique got away from me at the end, as I was trying to bump up the numbers on my new PR.

VolkeFit: Manly, as kipping pull-ups go, anyway

A. 35 pull-ups for time (also record number of unbroken)

I did 28 unbroken. Finished in "a manly 1:13."


B. Every 4 minutes for 16 min, do: 

9 DB thrusters 2x35
9 box jumps
6
6
3
3

Done. 


C. Alternating deadbugs

2 sets of 40, rest as needed

In the first set, I did 30 and 10.

For the second, I did 40 straight.

Done. 

Basement: Harlan-less

Entrepreneurship took Harlan out of town today, so I decided to go it alone this morning.

3 rounds for time

25 cal row
25 Russian swings
25 cal AirDyne
25 sit-ups

I was briefly interrupted by my daughter howling from the family room that the volume wasn't loud enough on the TV.  I believe this was done in 17:00-ish.

VolkeFit: Awesomesauce to Spare

A) 4 pull-ups + 1 lean-away pull-up
Do five sets.

B) Seated DB shoulder press.
4 sets of 6.

I did with 2 x 45 lb


C)
12-24-36 calorie Assault Bike
36-24-12 ball slams (Steve's ball is 30 lb)

I completely forgot how long this took  

VolkeFit: Monday Funday

A) In 6 minutes, do 2 rounds:
12 front squats @135 lb
9 power cleans @135 lb

Rest six minutes, then do it again.

4:31
3:52

B) 12-minute AMRAP
15 KB overhead (55 lb)
10 box jumps, step down
15 cal AirDyne

4 rounds, plus 7 swings. 

Basement with Harlan: Circuit and Push-up Party

A) Four rounds:
20 cal row
20 ball slams
20 sit-ups
20 cal bike

17:00 ish


B) Push-up party

10 push-ups/minute for 10 minutes.

Done.

Basement: Rowing sprints are always a terrible idea

Harlan wanted to do rowing sprints.  Dammit.

5 x 500m row

1:39
1:41
1:41
1:43
1:53

VolkeFit: Nah, Nah, Stevie I'm good. I could do another but I probably should not

250m row
15 bell swings (55 lb)
25 burpees
15 swings
500m row
15 swings
25 burpees
250m row

Did it in 9:07.  

I later figured out that Steve forgot to write down one more set of 15 swings in there, right before the final row.   That's fine.  I still would have been sub 10 minutes.

He asked if I wanted to do it again, but I was all like...

B-Squad: In my imagination, I'm the stronger partner

A Saturday morning B-Squad WOD!

It was designed as a partner WOD, but I had no partner.  I shadowed JP and Janelle and tried to work at the same time Janelle did.  That idea sort of fell apart, as I couldn't match her pace on the squats (she was doing full sets of 10 with a bar, and I had to split mine into two sets), but I did manage to keep pace with them overall.

As a little bonus challenge to myself, I decided that I would do 60 per cent of the work for each exercise.   So figuring out the math was fun.

Teams of two:
20 front squat 135 lb (Tyler's share: 12)
20 burpees (12)
20 front squats (12)
30 bell swings @ 55 lb (18)
20 front squats (12)
40 pull-ups (24)
20 front squats (12)
50 wall ball (30)
20 front squats (12)
60 push-ups (36)
20 front squats (12)
80 sit-ups (48)

I was done in 16:45

B-Squad:

A. 3 sets of 8 strict pull-ups

B. Metcon

21-15-9:
Row for calories
Goblet squats
(resting as much time as you worked)
4:17

15-12-9
Burpees
Box jumps (24")
(resting as much time as you worked)
4:05


9-6-3
Thrusters (95 lb)
Pull-ups
1:44

VolkeFit: Stuff

A) Hammer curls.  I think I only used 25lb for four sets of six per arm.

DB arm and tricep extensions.

B) Thirty

30 HPS at 95 lb
30 cal on the rower

C) Dogs and Bugs

20 bird dogs
30 deadbugs

B-Squad: Planks for the Memories; Biking to Cindy's House

A.Planks for the memories
 3 sets:
45 seconds plank holds each of:
Left
Right
Centre

Rest 2 minutes between each set.


B. EMOM 
EMOM for 7 minutes:
5 toes to bar
4 shuttle runs


C. Biking to Cindy's House
3 rounds for time
.5 mile Air bike
3 rounds of Cindy

13:45

VolkeFit: These arms... these arms long to hold you... hold you again

But these arms can't hold you... hold you again.  Because they don't work anymore.

The hurtin's on me, yeah.


A) Weighted Chin-ups - work to a five-rep max 
Did 5x35.   Got 4x40, but my chin might not have been quite over the bar on a couple.

B) 20 Turkish Get-ups @ 25 lb

Done.  Sets of five. 

C) Metcon
3 sets:
20 calorie row
20 hand-release push-ups
10 strict pull-ups
60s front leaning rest.
Rest 2:00

4:16
4:03
4:20

Harlan's Basement: Lotsa Squats and Plenty o'Pushin'

15 minute EMOM:
15 air squats.
AMRAP push-ups in the remaining time.

17, 11,11, 9, 10, 10, 9, 9, 10, 9, 10, 9, 8, 7, 10,

Total is 142.


Of course, this was Harlan's fucking idea.   After about three rounds, I moaned at him, "You still think this is a good idea?"

But after six rounds, I settled into a nice pattern.  The trick is not trying too hard.  In Round 1, I finished the squats in something like 22 seconds.

My body was like, "Hold on, bucko! What's your rush? That leaves WAY too much time to do push-ups."

After that, the squats got done around the 30-35 second mark.

CrossFit Villians: A Grab-bag of Pre-Halloween Pain

Warm-Up
15-10-5 of:
Calorie Row
Bell swing

Strength
A1) 5x8 of Tempo front squat (5-sec descent) - topped out at 155 lb
A2)5x10 bent-over DB fly (20 lb DBs)
Rest 60s

B1) 4x6 deficit deadlifts (standing on 25-lb plates) - went up to 225 lb
B2) 1 min ME sit-ups - averaged 25 SU per minute
Rest 60s


Three of the four movements in this, I've never done before. Holy shit, does trying to stretch out the descent of a front squat into 5 seconds make you sweat.  The problem is my Marvin the Martian-like legs.  It's a short distance.  Travelling it in 5 seconds takes a lot of effort.


Conditioning
11min AMRAP

1 thruster (95lb)
1 pull-up
2 thrusters
2 pull-ups
3 thrusters
3 pull-ups...

10 rounds, plus 11 thrusters and 6 pull-ups

I was hating life surprisingly early in this WOD.  Like, round 3.

VolkeFit: Dirty Dozen

12 sets:

• Row 100m 
• 5 Russian bell swings (60 lb)
• 3 burpees
• 10 calories Assault bike 

Rest 2 min after each set.  Rest 5 min after the 6th set (I forgot to do this, and did it after the 7th)

1:02
:55
:57
1:02
1:03
1:03
1:10
1:10
1:03
:57
1:00
:58


Steve said he thought about making this a 20-set workout.  If he had, that would make me thinking about setting his car on fire.

Basement with Harlan, then it's fun to play at the YMCA

Three rounds:

250m row
15 push-ups
15 sit-ups

10:17


Later, the Boy and I went to the YMCA for some basketball with his Grandpa and Uncle Dan (who is 8 feet tall with skills.Needless to say, he married into our family of average height and below-average athleticism.)

After I finished flailing, missing, cheating and generally just losing, I wandered over to the weight area.

3 x 5 squats (225 lb) felt really hard for what should be a warm-up weight.

3 x 5 squat cleans (155 lb).

Basement: Ride Wit Me

First, this:  

I had a dilemma. Solved it with WWTRD. "What would @therock do?"

A video posted by Tyler McMurchy (@tylermcmurchy) on Oct 20, 2015 at 6:11pm PDT

Before that, I was trying to figure out if I should do a bike-based WOD or one with rowing.  I was leaning toward rowing, since I had biked last night at Steve's.

Then this song came on Songza:

Oh, Nelly, is there any problem you can't solve?

15 minute AMRAP

1 km AirDyne (it might be miles... I have to check the settings on my bike)
20 ball slams

I did four rounds even.

VolkeFit: Better is always possible

Since this was an election day WOD, the post title is a tribute to our new PM.

A. Work to a heavy 8 RM split squat per leg

I used a pair of 35 lb dumbells.

B. 3 rounds:
20 DB push press (2 x 30 lb)
10 weighted sit-ups (20 lb)
20 Russian bell swings (60 lb)
10 weighted sit-ups

I think this took me around 7:30ish.


C. Assault bike - 2 km for time
2:55

B-Squad: Not very manly

Five rounds for time:

10 manmakers (2x35lb)
10 walking dumbell lunges
50 double unders

30:43

B-Squad:There are 200 goddamn push-ups in this friggin' workout

On a 40-minute running clock, every 10 minutes

500m row
400m run
50 push-ups  (What. The. Fuck.)


Done.  Resentfully.

VolkeFit: Thankless

I guess this was how the fitness gods (or in this case, Steve) wanted me to atone for my Thanksgiving supper of 7-11 nachos.

2 rounds:
2 km Assault bike
25 KB snatches - left arm  (45 lb)
50 deadbugs
25 KB snatches - right arm
25 burpees to bar
3 km Assault bike

Rest 10 min between rounds.

15:33, 15:19

Basement with Harlan

Harlan's back is betraying him again, so I had him do a bike-only WOD.

Meanwhile, I did five rounds:

5 pull-ups
10 push-ups
15 sit-ups
20 squats

10 minutes or so.  (There was a stopwatch issue)


Immediately after, I rowed 100 calories for time.

5:34 

Basement: Half-Assing

I did 8 minutes of rowing, a 5-minute bike ride, then another 4 minutes of rowing.  I think.  

VolkeFit: Hang Power Cleans and Burpees

15-12-9
Hang power cleans (115)
Strict burpees

4:34

rest 10 minutes

12-10-8
Hang power cleans (135)
Strict burpees

4:40

B-Squad: Too many Ms in the AMRAP

30-minute AMRAP:

20 wall balls
15 Russian bell swings
10 box jumps (24")
5 squat cleans (115)

6 rounds +20+15+10+5

VolkeFit: Bells, Burpees, Biking, Bears, Beets, Battlestar Galactica.

A. For Time:
30-25-20-10
Russian bell swings
Push-up-less burpees

Steve may have meant to put a round of 15 in there, but forgot.  I sure as hell wasn't gonna point it out to him.

6:50

Rest 5-7 minutes.  I think I only took 5, because I'm so completely badass.


B. Bike

Four rounds of:
AirDyne five minutes @80%
Rest three minutes

I kept the watts above 250 for the most part.

1. 3.06 km
2. 3.24 km
3. 3.10 km
4. 3.20 km (I pushed really hard at the end, so went above 80%

CrossFit Villians: Hot lunch date with a barbell

A. EMOM
1. 3 hang power clean (starting at 60%; I used 135 and went up to 155)
2. 10 burpee box jumps 24"


B. Strength
Alternating:
8x4 Back squats (I used 205)
5x12 GHD sit-ups



C.  9:00 AMRAP

15 calorie row
10 power snatch (95 lb)
5 overhead squats

3 rounds plus 5 calories. 

B-Squad: Split Jerks and Death Valley

A. Take 15 min to build to a split jerk single

I just noticed in the picture of the white board that I took that we were actually supposed to build to a split jerk double.  Oops.

I think I went up to 195.

 B. "Death Valley" (that's my name for it)

50 wall ball
40 sit-ups
30 KB swings (55 lb)
20 pull-ups
10 burpee box jumps (20")

rest 60s

10 burpee box jumps
20 pull-ups
30 swings
40 sit-ups
50 wall ball

16:57

VolkeFit: Fran? Aw, f--k.

A. Powell raises

B. Push-ups 12x3
    Groiners 8 per leg x3

C. Good mornings 8x3
     BB squats 12x3


D. Fran
21-15-9 of 95 lb thrusters and pull-ups

Oh.  Hey, Fran.  It's... it's been a while.  How ya been?  Still crazy and hurtful?  Yeah, thought so.

Me? I've been okay.  Yeah, still working out fairly regularly.  I don't really see the other girls all that much anymore.  Helen, once in a while.  Rhiannon, on New Year's.  I avoid Cindy ever since she fucked up my leg.

Alright... let's do this.

5:27.  

Garage WOD: EMOM

Avec mon gros ami, Harlan.

A. 12 minute EMOM

1. 30s Push-ups   22, 16, 13, 12
2. 30s Goblet squats (55 lb)   17, 17, 12, 12
3. 30s Pull-ups  14, 18, 13, 6


B. 9 minute EMOM
1. 30s Box jumps 14, 14, 11
2. 30s Ball slams 20, 17, 17
3. 30s Burpees 9, 10, 11

VolkeFit: Alright

A. KB lunges - Three sets of 20 (alternating legs, holding 2 x 35 lb)

B. Push-up hold 2 x 60s 

C. 20 minute EMOM

1. 30 seconds of wall balls - 15, 14, 15, 15

2. 30 seconds of KB high pulls (45 lb) - 18, 21, 22, 19

3. 30 seconds of box jumps - 15, 17, 18, 14,

4. 30 seconds of AirDyne (cal) - 10 (joined in progress), 19, 22, 17 

5. 5 deadlifts - 135 lb. - done, done, done and done. 

B-Squad: Freedom Day

I had the day off work.  Both kids were in school.  It was glorious.


A. Overhead squats 5-5-5-5-5

I ended up with 155, which is a little lower than I would have figured.


B. Rowing/Push-ups.

In three minutes:

Row 400m, and do as many push-ups as possible in the remaining time.

Rest three minutes, then repeat two more times.

I did 39, 35 amd 31 push-ups.

B-Squad: Deadlift/Press/Lunge and AirDyne/Bell Swing/HSPU

A. Three sets of 

6 Deadlift (205 lb), rest 45s
8 Single arm dumbbell press per arm (35 lb), rest 45s
20 reverse lunges, alternating legs (2 x 35 lb), rest 45s



B. Three rounds, for time: 

20 cal Airdyne
20 bell swings (Russian) of 70 or 55lb
10 handstand push-ups

9:05

VolkeFit: High on Life

"When cocaine wants to get high, it does Tyler."


15 goddamn rounds:

15 bell swings (45 lb)
10 goblet squats
5 push-ups
3 pull-ups

33:50

B-Squad: Floor Press and Holy Shit, that's a lot of T2B

A. Floor Press 5-5-5-5-5

Basically, these are like bench press, with no bench.  I'm sure I've done them before... maybe once.  But I didn't look up what I did.

Turns out, these mofos are hard.   145 was as high as I was getting and it wasn't pretty.


B. Metcon

5 4 rounds of:

10 ring dips
20 toes to bar
30 double unders

Nolan originally conceived this as a 5-rounder.  I noted that doing 100 T2B was a terrible idea, remembering how 51 of those fuckers tore the shit out of Rankin's hands

Nolan, being a kind and compassionate soul, reduced the number of rounds to 4 (that's 80 T2B for you math geniuses out there who aren't reading this blog... who am I kidding?)

Took me 13:55.  I might have been able to shave a bit of time off that, but I was also trying to encourage my son, who was powering through a WOD of his own.  I'm so damn proud of that kid.  I hope he knows that.

B-Squad: Front squats x5 and Metcon

Front Squats x 5 

I ended up at 195.


Metcon

800m run
1 minute rest
50 hand release push-ups
1 minute rest
1000m row
1minute rest
200m farmer's carry (using 2 x 55 lb kettlebells)


15:29

VolkeFit: 10 Minutes of Airbike

A. 20 bell swings (55lb), rest one minute between

B. 3 x 20 lunges - Holding a 30lb dumbell in one hand for 10, then switching for another 10.

C Strict pull-ups - four sets of 8.

Those were the appetizers.  Here's the main course:

D. Max calories on the Assault bike in 10 minutes

154 calories
6.6 km
64 rpm average.

CrossFit Villians: Probably gonna regret this

Warm-up: 
400m run
10 ring rows
10 sit ups
10 bell swings (50 lb)
200m run

Strength/Skill
A) 5 x 3 overhead squat  - Finished at 175

B1) 4 x 15 GHD sit-ups, rest 60s
B2) 4 x 50m sprint, rest 60s


Conditioning
100 calorie row
50 pull-ups
25 deadlifts (245 lb!!)
25 pull-ups
100 double unders.

 23:55

There was a lot of down-time in this WOD as I tried to will myself to wrap my hands around the pull-up bar or the barbell.

I probably should have done something else or scaled this back.  I got through it, and managed not to tear my sissy hands, but felt it in my arms for days afterward.

I may be an experienced CrossFitter, but I'm also a 39-year-old guy who doesn't come from an elite athletic background, and probably doesn't train consistently enough to keep up with the young dudes who don't even bother bringing a shirt to the gym.   This workout was a valuable reminder of that.  

B-Squad: Manmakers make me their bitch

A. Push it real good

Push press x 2
Push jerk x3

Seven rounds, increasing with each round.  Don't put down the bar.

I ended up with 165.  Probably could have gone a bit higher but it was getting late.


B. Metcon

For time, four rounds of:

6 manmakers (using 2x35lb)
9 L-sit dumbbell press
12 burpees.

For the first two rounds, I neglected to do the push-up part of the manmakers.  I made up for it in one big group.

Finished the WOD in 13:31.

VolkeFit: I just got Litt up

A. 15 minute EMOM

1. 5 strict pull-ups
2. 6 dips on those plastic things
3. 30 seconds of AirDyne at 90%

Done


B. 10 minute AMRAP

Assault bike - 10 calories
5 back squats (115 lb)
20 double unders
5 push-ups

I did 6 rounds, plus 10 calories

B-Squad: EMOM and Metcon

A. 12-minute EMOM

• Odd minutes: 5 deadhang pull-ups
• Even minutes: 8 seated DB presses (2x35)

Done. 


B. Metcon
21-18-15-12-9-6-3 of

• Bell swings (55lb)
• Box jumps (24")

7:59

Living room WOD: 10 push-ups per minutes x 20 minutes

Uh, yeah.  Pretty much what it says up there.

I did 5 push-ups every 30 seconds.

VolkeFit: Nasty, Brutish and Short

Five rounds:

In 50 seconds,
-5 hang cleans (115 lb)
-5 burpees
-Max AirDyne calories

Resting between: 4:40, 4:20, 4:00, 3:40

I think my cal totals were something like 16, 27, 21, 19 and 17.

Basement: AMRAP

15 minute AMRAP wih Harlan.  It was a little crowded in the workout room but we made it work. 

20 cal row

20 push-ups

20 calorie AirDyne

20 sit-ups

3 rounds plus 20 push-ups and 20 AD cal.  

Afterward, we did some half-hearted planks.  

CrossFit Villains: Hot time in the city

A while back, CrossFit Villains offered a Groupon deal for 10-punch pass.   Being both a cheap bastard and someone who enjoys trying different CrossFit gyms, I decided to go for it.

I was acutally quite excited all day at the prospect of trying a new gym.  I told my wife "It's like a blind date!"   She thought that was weird.

The gym is owned and run by a friendly young dude named Brendon.   It's quite spacious and the class was not overcrowded, which I like.  There was a laid back vibe (including a friendly weiner dog), which I tried not to disrupt with my usual "WHOOOO!! LET'S EXERCISE!!" lunacy.  The half-dozen other athletes there were all a fair bit younger than me.

You certainly get a lot of bang for your buck at Villains.  CFV offers three different levels of WOD to choose from on a daily basis, and a variety of suggested warm-ups so you can customize what you're doing to your liking.  Every workout has separate strength and conditioning components.

Here's what I did:

Warm-up:
21 pull-ups
15 hang cleans (45lb)
9 burpees
30 double unders.

Strength WOD
5 x 5 push press, medium weight, fast.
I did this with 135lb and tried to string them together quickly.  Challenging and sweaty.

Then four rounds of:
 200m sprint, rest 60s
15 side bends (I used 35lb kettlebell), rest 60s

I tried to keep my speed up during the sprints, despite the oppressive heat.  CFV sprints take place in a large parking lot about 100m across, so there is a bit of slowing up when you reach one end and turn around.   I did not mind that, especially when it was 28 degrees.

Conditioning WOD
100 double unders
400m run
15 thrusters (95lb)
50 double unders
400m run
15 thrusters
100 double unders

Did I mention it was 28 degrees?   Yeah.  Those 400m runs were pretty slow, and the double unders sucked the life out of me.

It took me 15:12, rx'd.   Some 19 year old kid at the gym did it in under 10 minutes earlier that day.  I want a transfusion of his blood, but I'm pretty new at the gym so I'm going to wait a while to ask for it.

All in all, that was a pretty hardcore evening workout for me.   I'm looking forward to my next visit.

VolkeFit: Snatchy snatch snatch

A. Power Snatch to a Heavy Single

After a couple of fails, I managed an ugly 155.   Not my best ever, but close, and I've not worked consistently on lifts at all so that's not bad.   I remember the days I had a psychological barrier at 140.

B. 12 Minute AMRAP

25 hang snatches (75lbs)
25 wall ball

I did 2 rounds, plus 25 WB and 18 snatch.

Garage: Flippin', jumpin', pullin' and burpin'

Saturday WOD with Harlan.

4 rounds (alternating)
10 tire flips (I've obtained a truck tire, not a tractor tire)
20 box jumps (24")
10 pull-ups
5 burpees

Here were my times:
2:54
2:52
2:45 (Harlan's yelling helped here, but I wanted to puke after this one.)
2:50 (So glad to be done.  Wanted to puke. Couldn't.  PUKEFAIL.)

VolkeFit: Mostly better

Vacation chest cold = nine days and no working out.

A. Dumbell walks 20 feet- one Dumbell over my head, the other in my hand.  Then switch.  4 rounds of this.

B. Good mornings x 8 (with the bar, so there's an extra 45lbs on it)

C. 50 box jumps, up and over.  2:22

D. Two rounds every two minutes:

 8 AirDyne calories
5 push-ups

I did 12 rounds and probably could have done significantly more, but I was tired and my lung reminded me that I wasn't all better yet.

Harlan's house: Tabata madness

Tabata Sit-ups: 87 (ranging from 13 to 9)

Tabata Push-ups: 74 (ranging from 12 to 6; that's bad)

Tabata squats: 135 (ranging from 19 to 14)

Handstand holds: 45s, 56s, 46s

Max deadhangs: 10, 10, 8

B-Squad: Pendlay rows and sprints

A. Five sets: 

5 Pendlay rows (I used 135lb) 

60 seconds in a ring push-up plank position

The latter was harder than the former. 

B. EMOM 12m sprints

First minute: 1 sprint

Second minute: 2 sprints

Third minute: 3 sprints

And so on, until you can't complete the required number of sprints in that minute.  

I finished 13 with a few seconds to spare.  I made sure to go slow enough to not finish in the 14th minute.  Not that I had a choice.    

13 rounds + 10 sprints (I think)

VolkeFit: Daddy, would you like some sausage?

I arrived at Steve's house, greeted by the delicious smell of freshly cooked sausage.  I swear he does this just to fuck with me.  Not because I work out around suppertime.

20 rounds:
1 minute Assault Bike 58-60 rpm.
3 knees to elbows
5 wall balls.

I didn't really rest during, though some transitions were slower than others.

I grabbed a sausage (NOT a euphemism) on my way out.

Basement: Earn it, fatass

Untimed, but not too slow:
Ride 10 minutes
50 ball slams
40 squats
30 sit-ups
20 push-ups
10 chin-ups or pull-ups.

Basement: Rowing, Riding, Fight Replaying

I designed this one basically so Harlan could watch the UFC fights he missed from the previous weekend.

Three rounds of

• Row 1000m
• Ride 1000m 
• Rest a couple of minutes

Here are my times: 

Round 1 - 3:53 row, 3:03 ride

Round 2 - 3:47, 3:04

Round 3 - 3:49, 3:17

B-Squad: Turns out I still have sissy hands

A. Deadlift: 5-5-5-5-5

I warmed up with 135, 185 and 225.

I did the 5 sets with 245. 


B. 18 minute EMOM

First minute: 30s farmers carry (I used two 55lb kettlebells)
Second minute: 30s handstand hold
Third minute: 30s hang from bar

Done. 

Holy crap, did I hate life during this one.   Especially during the bar-hangs.   In the last round, the pain on my hands was so great I had to drop off the bar after 25 seconds.  I finished the final five seconds before the minute was done, but that was still pretty bad.

VolkeFit: Cure for what ails me

I was feeling pretty crappy when I arrived at Steve's gym.  Headachey and just otherwise off.  I was wondering if I was going to puke and thinking I might have to take the following day off.  

A. Kettlebell overhead squats (four sets of 6-8)

I tried with 30lbs and I couldn't balance or confidently get low enough.  Steve had me do a few stretches and that seemed to help.  but this was still hard.  I did two sets at 30 and two at 35.


B. Three rounds:
20 wall ball
20 burpees (strict)
10 deadlifts 185lb

This is when I started feeling better, at least I didn't feel sick anymore.

11:24


C. Three minutes, max calories, on the AirDyne

81.

Garage: Greasy

Three rounds for time:

75 double unders
10 burpee pull-ups

11:42.

Basement: Basic AMRAP

10 minute AMRAP

3 deadhang pull-ups
5 push-ups
10 sit-ups
15 air squats

10 rounds + 3 PLU + 5 PU + 7 SU

Basement: 20 min AirDyne

20 minutes of AirDyne - reasonable pace, picked it up at the end.
282 calories

Cooldown:
3 sets of 5 pull-ups, holding a 20 lb slamball between my knees.

Douglas Park: Tennis, anyone?

Harlan and I went to the Douglas Park tennis courts for our weekly workout.  ^

It is a large, enclosed complex with 5 concrete courts side by side.


A. Warm-up - Slamball toss burpees

We stood about 10 feet apart and tossed the 20lb slam ball back and forth.  Every time we did a throw, we dropped to the ground to do a burpee.


B. WOD - Five rounds of lines

Starting at the midpoint line of court #1, we run to the midline of court #2, then back to court #1, to court #3 and back, then finally to court #4 and back.

We then rested long enough to catch our breath and do it again.

My times:
42 seconds (I paused briefly as I got confused about what court I was supposed to be on)
39 seconds
39 seconds
38 seconds
38 seconds


Bonus: Sprint from outer edge of court #1 to the outer edge of court #5 and back.

It took me 24 seconds.


C. Max push-ups

I forgot we were going to do this.  I probably would have skipped the bonus sprint if I had remembered.

I was tired and could only manage 20.

Basement: BOSU so crazy

A. Five rounds for time: 

10 BOSU squats

10 BOSU push-ups

10 BOSU sit-ups

10 bell swings

8:16

B. 10-minute Row

3.17 km 

149 calories

Basement: Row, Push, Sit

7 rounds for time:

250m row
15 push-ups
15 sit-ups

15:03

VolkeFit: Relieving Jarvis of the Burden of Potential Fatherhood

Jarvis:  "I think I'm going to have you do the burpee/bike complex."

Tyler: "I think I'm going to kick you in the balls."


A. Bike/Burpee
Rest 1:1

8 minutes
-4 km Air Assault
-As many burpees as possible in time remaining.    (I did 24)

Rest

7 minutes:
-3 km Air Assault
-Burpees!    (I did 32) 

Rest

5 minutes
-2 km Air Assault
-Burpees!  (I did 28)



B. Weighted Chin-ups 5-4-3-2-1

I did sets of five up to 30lbs and then increased weight and decreased reps.

35x4
40x3
45x2
60x1

Garage: Garage Gone Bad

I originally envisioned this as a Fight Gone Bad style WOD with one minute breaks.  But it was already kind of hot out and beforehand I had a pain in my side that I thought was maybe appendicitis (it wasn't) so I thought it was best for Harlan and I to alternate, which meant longer rest breaks: 

Three rounds each, taking turns: 

One minute ball slams

One minute burpee pull-ups

One minute Bosu squats

One minute single skips

Here's how I did in the three rounds: 

Slams   33, 35, 36

Burpulls 8, 9, 10

BOSU  18, 22, 26

Skips   119, 113, 110

Basement: Are we there yet?

10 minutes of rowing
Rest two minutes or so
10 minute AirDyne

Row: 2537m
Ride: 3060m 

The row was a pretty decent pace, right around 2:00 per 500m.  I didn't push myself all that hard on the ride.

VolkeFit: Trying not to insult Turkey

A: Five Minutes of Turkish Get-Ups (25lb)

I did 26.

B: Metcon: 
45 sec of 81+ RPM on the AirDyne
15 bell swings (OH) 55 lb
25 burpees (strict)
15 bell swings
45 sec AirDyne 81+RPM

Rest

Repeat.

4:35 and 4:18 were my times. 

Basement: Father and Son WOD

Work is shared:

50 burpees (alternating)
50 weighted squats (me with the 80lb Boy across my shoulders)
50 sit-ups
25 pull-ups (I did most of them)
25 push-ups (I did 5 of them)

Our time was around 11:00.

Basement: "Who's Your Daddy?"

A Father's Day WOD to try to shed my Dadbod.

Three rounds:
500m row
20 Russian bell swings (55lb)
10 ring dips

11:00-ish.

Okay.  Where are Daddy's pancakes? 

Friday Doubleheader: Basement and Garage with Harlan

A day off which allowed me to get a little sweaty in both the morning and afternoon.


Morning: Basement Biking 

10 minutes of moderate AirDyne = 151 calories
Followed by 30 sit-ups and 30 ball slams



Garage WOD with Harlan

A.  5 rounds over-the-bar slamball catch: 20 throws, wallball style
Resting about 30 seconds in between.

20 throws shared was not too much so we did 30 in the final round.


B. 4 rounds of

15 push-ups
5 toes to bar
400m run or 75 double unders

I did the run version for three of the four rounds.  The DU version was HARD, yo.

My time for the run version was 2:45, 2:46, and 2:40.  Due to a stopwatch issue, I don't have a time for the second round, which I did DUs.  But it would have been way longer.  I can't do DUs very well in my garage.  

B-Squad: Run, Thrust, Push, Lunge

A. Every 6 minutes for 30 minutes

• Run 400 m (five laps around what was the pool)
• 10 DB thrusters (I used a pair of 35lb)
• 15 push-ups
• 20 walking lunges with dumbbells.

My round times were:
3:24
3:27
3:32
3:39
4:03


B. Three rounds of:

• 10 supine ring rows
• 60 second rest
• 60 second plank in the push-up position
• 60 second rest

I didn't understand the sequence at the start (I thought we were supposed to do the two exercises separately) so I got more rest than 60 seconds a couple of times.

Basement: 50 ball slams

I wasn't doing this for time, just to blow off some steam.  It helped a little.  There is something cathartic about hurling a 20lb ball at the floor as hard as you can and making a "THUD" that can be heard throughout the house.

I did it largely uninterrupted.  If I had to guess, it took between two and three minutes.

VolkeFit: I know I can

Some stuff I've never done before:

A. Landmine Thrusters - 3 sets of 6-8, increasing in weight

I went up to 135lb.


B. Single Arm Kettlebell Rows.

Looking back now, I think I misunderstood what was on the chalkboard.  I believe only did 4 reps per arm, with four sets.   I might have been supposed to do 8.

I ended up with the 28kg KB.  


C. Three minutes of handstand holds

This was spread out over four handstands.


D. For time:
1km AirDyne
15 strict pull-ups
700m AD
10 Chest-to-Bar kipping pull-ups
500m AD
5 burpee CTB pull-ups

7:19.

Park - Running like a large, angry German is chasing you

Another Saturday morning with Harlan.

Warm-up: Play catch with the slam ball.  I took one in the throat, so that sucked.  It was my fault, though.

A. 10 rounds, resting between:

5 push-ups
40 yard sprint

I started out at 11.45 seconds.  I think my highest was 12.06, but I managed to get in the 10.4 range for the last few.  My best was 10.22.


B. One set of max unbroken sit-ups (feet anchored by Harlan)

I did 83.  Should have brought the Vaseline.

B-Squad: Strict Press and Push Press/Burpees over Bar

The Boy and I hit B-Squad.

A. Strict Press (aka Shoulder Press)

AngDesj told him this is how champions rest between sets.

Five sets of 4-6 reps.

95x6
105x6
115x6
125x5
135x3


B. Every 90 seconds for 15 minutes, do:
5 push press (95lbs)
10 burpees over bar

The work took me just over a minute most of the time.  At the start, I thought this was going to be easy, but it got quite greasy by the end.  Good workout.

The Boy did a version of this with just 10 lbs of push-press, but he did it for 10 minutes with no rest.  It was tough on him, but he didn't give up.  Very proud of that kid.

Basement: EMOM Push-ups, Sit-ups and Squats

Before going to bed last night, I ate a huge wedge of DQ ice cream cake because that's something I would do.  When I woke up this morning, I hauled my gluttonous ass down to the basement.

Every minute on the minute for 10 minutes:

5 push-ups
10 sit-ups
15 squats.


Done.  I would finish the work in about 40 seconds, which gave me some rest.

Basement - AMRAP Burpees, Sit-ups, Ball Slams

AMRAP 10 minutes

• 10 burpees
• 10 sit-ups
• 10 ball slams

7 rounds, plus 10 burpees and 8 sit-ups

VolkeFit - Walk like an Egyptian if that Egyptian was a farmer

A. Back squats 3 x 5

I was told to moderate my pace and concentrate on keeping my core engaged throughout.  I don't have great body awareness, so when I thought I was doing it well, I wasn't and vice versa.

I used 185.


B. Hang Power Snatch 4 x 5

Start at 95 and increase

I did, but could only get 3 x 125.


C. Not for time, three rounds of:

5 good mornings with the bar
30m farmer's walk carrying two 55lb kettlebells


D. 8 minute AMRAP

Box step-ups, carrying two 30lb dumbells.

I stopped every 10 reps to preserve my grip.  Plus, it got hard.

I did 93.

Garage: Harlan and I tag-team "Helen"

Warm-up: 

Slamball catch.  We threw it back and forth.  Next time, we'll do it over the pull-up bar, wallball-style.


WOD:

"Tag-Teaming Helen"

We alternate rounds of "Helen" until each of us has completed three.   One partner rests while the other is working

400m run (around my block)
21 bell swings - 55lb (Harlan subbed push-ups so as not to re-fuck up his back)
12 pull-ups

This worked out better for me, as I got to rest longer, so my rounds were pretty consistent.

3:14
3:15
3:16


Dessert: 

180 double unders, in sets of 30, resting as needed.


Second dessert

After Harlan left, I hopped on my rarely-used bike and rode around the city for a little over an hour.   I rode down to the University and back.   My ass was kind of hurty after.

VolkeFit: Lunatic Fringe

Three rounds of:

45 seconds of AirDyne, keeping pedal RPMs at 80+
15 bell swings (70lb, overhead)
25 burpees
15 bell swings (70lb, overhead
45 sedonds of AirDyne, keeping pedal RPMs at 70+

Rest 12 minutes between rounds.

Times were 4:45, 4:51, and 4:56

Basement (Harlan's, actually): Old school AMRAP

Another Saturday WOD with Harlan.  This time it was his turn to host and come up with the WOD.  We were going to do something outside, but it was freaking cold out there.

Here's what we did:

20 minute AMRAP

5 push-ups
10 sit-ups
15 air squats

I did 21 rounds, plus 5 PU and 10 SU. 

My legs are still feeling those 315 squats, let me tell you.

Basement: Evening Quickie

I was originally going to do double the work on this one, but time ran short and I had to cut everything down.

For time:

500m row
500m ride
25 sit-ups
25 push-ups
15 bell swings
15 ball slams
15 burpees

7:30

Basement: KISS - Keep it Simple, Sweatyfuck

It's only Wednesday, I've worked out more times in the past five days than I have for the rest of the month.  I have been having a bit of success lately sneaking in a quick metcon in between various domestic obligations, but I've probably just jinxed myself by saying that.

Earlier in the evening, I did a few sets of air squats while barbecuing.

I also did a couple sets of deadhang pull-ups on my pull-up bar in the garage (12 and 10. Not my best ever, but decent enough.)

Later on, the kids had just started a bath, and my wife hinted that she wanted a bit of time to herself, I seized the chance to sneak in a Basement workout.

When thinking about what I was going to do, there were the following considerations:

• Workout needs to be quick... ideally sub-15 minutes
• I've used the AirDyne a fair bit lately, and was worried my rower was getting jealous.
• I've used my slam ball quite a bit, too.  I find it cathartic when something is bothering me.
• I generally don't combine bell swings and rowing, as I feel like there's a little too much overlap in the "extending hips and pulling" motions.  The workout needs some sort of pushy motion.
• My stomach is starting to hang over my belt a bit more than I'd like.   (Okay, yes, it's ALWAYS been like that, but a bit moreso as of late.) 

So I came up with a simple workout that addressed those needs.  Plus it was simple and not at any station for particularly long, so I was able to cycle through it quickly.

Five rounds, for time:

250m row
15 push-ups
15 sit-ups

Total time was 10:34.

Each round was between 1:48 and 2:17, and that includes time in and out of the rower, and unlocking my phone so I could hit the "lap" button on my phone's stopwatch.

Basement: Ride and Slam

I wanted to sneak in a workout before taking my kid to soccer practice.  I included ball slams because I was ticked off about something and I thought it would be a good release. (It was something that I didn't really have any business being ticked off about, which I was aware of and only further served to irritate me.)  

Three rounds for time:

1 km AirDyne
20 ball slams

11:50

VolkeFit: Deadlifts and Metcon

A. Deadlifts - Work up to a heavy single

Started at 185x5 and worked up to 275x1.



B. For time: 

20 calories Assault bike
20 power snatch with 75lbs
20 bell swings (Russian) with 55lbs
20 calories Assault bike

4:18

I was terrible with the snatch.

Rested until the clock read 12:00 then did it again with half the reps

10 calories Assault bike
10 power snatch with 75lbs
10 bell swings (Russian) with 55lbs
10 calories Assault bike

2;06

Basement: Saturdays with Harlan

Harlan and I are starting to do Saturday morning WODs together. 

Warm-up - 400m row

WOD: 

Five rounds: 

350m bike

15 burpees

15 ball slams

5 deadhang pull-ups or chin-ups

rest 1 minute between each round.  

Basement: Bike, Bosu sit-ups, Bell swings

Three rounds, I didn't time it:

500m bike ride
20 Bosu sit-ups
20 Bell swings (it turns out I CAN do these overhead)


Finished with a 1000m row, under 3:50.

B-Squad: Saturday morning grind

10 rounds of:

100m run (four lengths of the pool)
10 pull-ups
100m run
10 burpees

Took me 25:40


The Boy did

10 rounds of:

50m run
5 ring rows
50m run
5 burpees

17:06

VolkeFit: Awesomeness is less contagious than Lyme Disease

50 wall balls
1km Assault bike
30 box jumps 20"
1km bike
20 dumbbell push presses (25lbs)
1km bike
10 deadhang pull-ups

10:32

Rested a bit.

25 wall balls
500m bike
15 box jumps
500m bike
10 push presses
500m bike
5 DHPLU

6:04

B-Squad: Getting worse at muscle-ups, somehow

I tried a bunch of muscle-ups.  I only got one.  Gawd.


24-Minute EMOM

Every four minutes:
400m row
10 box jump overs (24")
10 Russian bell swings (70 lb)

Done.

I had about 60-80 seconds of rest time.

VolkeFit: The Hotness of Helen Mirren

Front Squats

Work to a heavy triple. 

I went up to 205 lb.  I did two sets of three on that. 

Clean Complex

Deadlift

Two hang power cleans

Squat clean

I went to 155 lb. 

Metcon 

21-15-9

Russian bell swings (70 lb) 

Assault bike calories

Burpees to bar

Assault bike calories

In the round of 15s, I went directly from the swings to the burpees, so I ended up doing 30 calories in one shot.  

 It took me 14:19 and I felt slugglish throughout, especially during the burpees.  

B-Squad: Putting the emo in EMOM; 28 MU to go

Warm-up

Muscle-ups!  I did two, so I guess the clock is ticking on my second 30. In other good news, I failed fewer times before getting them.  

Workout

EMOM: 

30 double unders

8 burpees

15 bell swings (55 lb) 

VolkeFit: Hangry Tyler

A. Back Squats

4 x 225 lb
6 x 205 lb
8 x 185 lb
10 x 165 lb
12 x 135 lb

Done.  

"Hangry" = Hungry + Angry.    I was both during this.  


B. 150 Double Unders

Took me 2:41.  Disappointing.


C. Three Minutes of Burpees (Strict)

I did 49.  I think that's okay.  

Basement: "Flawless Victory"

Warm-up:

Playing my son in "Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe"

I did this to him:

WOD: "Flawless Victory"

4 rounds of:
20 Soviet Bell Swings
20 Sit-ups
500m Bike Ride

11:28

B-Squad: TGUs, Burpees, Push Press, Half-Rhiannon and MU #30

Before I did anything, I was determined to get the final two muscle-ups I needed.   I got them, and made Nolan snap a picture.

Obviously, I intend to do my next 30 muscle-ups in fewer than 709 days.  

With that out of the way, I did B-Squad's Wednesday WOD 

A. Three rounds of: 

• 2 Turkish Get-Ups per side  (used a 35 lb kettlebell)
• 8 Oblique... stretches (I think?) per side (used a 55lb kettlbell)

B. 6 minutes EMOM

• 8 push press (95 lb) - I did them unbroken
• 8 burpees - I did them strict

C. 5 minutes of Double Unders

224.  That's a little disappointing.  But, hey, it doesn't really matter.  Yesterday will always be about this: 

My nose looks weird from this angle, hey?  Otherwise, a cool picture.

Basement: Back to Basics

Every time I take off my shirt, it's clear I need to do more sit-ups.

10 rounds of:

10 calories rowed
10 push-ups
10 sit-ups

13:11  

If I was to do this again, I might switch it to five rounds of 20.   I suspect the time would be longer, even if there was less time transitioning on and off the rower, as muscles would fatigue more quickly

VolkeFit: The Blood of My Enemies*

A. Pull-ups 

Five sets of
3 strict pull-ups
5 kipping

Done.


B. Thrusters and Bike

30 Thrusters (115lb)
Every time you stop, do 12 calories on the Assault bike.

In order to minimize my time on this, I had to not waste a lot of time by having a bunch of bike rides.   My goal was to only have two bike rides, but I wasn't sure what kind of output I could sustain with 115 lbs.  If it had been 95 lbs, I'm pretty sure I could do this in two sets (one bike ride).

When starting the WOD, I did 15 thrusters at the start.  I hopped on the bike, but kept my pace reasonable.   I didn't want to go balls out and shave a few seconds off my ride, only to be too messed up to do a good number of thrusters.  While that might result in more exercise, it's all about the time on the clock.

The ride took me around a minute, then it was back to the bar.

I did 10 thrusters.  With 5 left, I was pretty confident I could finish the WOD with my last set.
Again, I kept the ride at a medium pace.

Then I hopped off the bike and finished the five remaining thrusters.

4:23.


C. Plank

Three 20-second plank holds, in the push-up position.  20 second breaks in between.



*Today's blog post headline refers to a whimsical discussion with Jarvis involving goblet squats, and then just goblets, and things that one might put in goblets.  I'm not a psychopath, swearsies. 

Basement: BikeSwingDipPull

For time, four rounds of:
250m bike
15 bell swings
10 ring dips
10 ring rows (I hate ring rows)

8:50.

Basement WOD #2: ROW-man Reigns-Lesnar

I wouldn't normally do a second workout in a day, but after eating lunch at I Love Sushi and spending a good part of the afternoon of EDO being inactive, I told the Boy that he and I needed to work out.

He did a metcon of rowing, burpees, sit-ups and push-press.  He was faster in the third round than he was in the first two, and I told him that he made me very proud with how hard he worked. He had a big smile on his face after that.  I love that little dude.

Afterward, I decided to row 2 km and re-watch the main event from WrestleMania 31 featuring Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns on the new used TV in our workout room.

Seeing those two beat the shit out of each other in what was nominally a fake wrestling match helped me ignore the fact that I don't like rowing medium and long distances.

9:43.

Basement WOD #1: 20 minutes AirDyne (with breaks)

I did this one early Friday morning, but I can't actually remember exactly what I did here.  I think it was ride for 3 minutes, rest for 1.  It could be ride for 2:30 and rest for 30 seconds.

Shit.  I should have written this down right after doing it.

Anyway, it was good for just over 200 calories.

B-Squad: RowSwingSquatRun and Muscle-up #28

Warm-up

Ten rounds of:

• AirDyne  for 30 seconds
• Rest for 30 seconds.

WOD

For time:
1000m row
60 bell swings, shoulder height (55 lb)
30 goblet squats
5 laps around the gym

10:03



"For dessert, might I suggest the muscle-ups, sir?"

Afterwards I was just hanging out when some of the kids in the teens class were swinging on the rings.  For shits and giggles, I attempted a muscle up.  I expected to fail, and I did.  I tried another one and failed again, but felt I was a little closer.  So I tried again and failed. And again.   But each time, it seemed like I was a little closer.   Nolan gave me some advice and I tried to really concentrate on the "headbutt" portion, which is something I've always known about but never really done.

After about six or seven failures, I finally got one.  It was my first since October.  God, that's lame.  

I need to do two more in the next three weeks to reach 30 within two years of getting my first one... which is pretty sad.  It might be time to move the rings out to the garage again.

VolkeFit: "Get the f--k up there!"

A. Bench Press - Work up to a tough single

I did 190, which is both a 15lb PR and the first time I've ever bench pressed my bodyweight.  (Previous PR was 175 for one rep, and I haven't gotten down to 175 bodyweight in a couple of years.)

Even though it's a pretty small number, considering that I'm an adult male who's been sporadically lifting weights for several years now, I was very happy with this.  It's more of a jump than I would have expected, with the lack of focus I've put on bench pressing.   To put it in perspective, I first did 170 for one rep in 2010 and I got up to 175 in 2014.

It sort of leads to a conundrum.  I'd like to get that number north of 200lbs, and it's obviously attainable if I was to put the work in.  But given the fact that I don't own (or plan to buy) a bench or any weights, that limits the time to when I could work on a bench press (or other lifts, for that matter) to when I'm at Steve's or B-Squad, which could potentially take away from the other CrossFit-esque stuff I like doing.


B. Sit-up Tabata

Ouch.  

12
12
12
11
11
10
11
11


C. Metcon

5 sets
25 box jumps (20'')
25 calories AirDyne
10 kipping pull-ups

16:45

B-Squad: This will hurt tomorrow

"Warm-up" - 7 minutes of Sorta Cindy

5 push-ups
10 sit-ups
15 squats

I think I did 9 rounds + 5 + 4


Plankage

Three rounds of:

Plank on the left side for 30 sec
Plank in the centre for 30 sec
Plank on the right side for 30 sec
Rest 60 seconds
Russian twists for 30 seconds, using 20lb wall ball
Rest 60 seconds


Biking with burpees

20 minutes on the Assault bike
Every minute, do three burpees

I traveled 5.9km

VolkeFit: 15.5ishness

Warm-up 1 - Push presses (5)

5-5-5-5

I ended up at 155


Warm-up 2 - Back squats (3)

3-3-3-3-3

I ended up at 185.


15.5 but with biking

27-21-15-9

Thrusters (95lb)
AirDyne calories

9:59.  And I felt that shit in my legs for three days.

Basement: By Land and By Sea

Three rounds, for time:

500m row
1000m AirDyne

16:04

Basement: Belated Birthday WOD - 39s

I turned 39 on Tuesday.  We had a family dinner at my parents', and the next day Tracey and I took a quick trip to Saskatoon for a concert. So I've managed to avoid exercise, while eating and drinking copious amounts, until today. 

39 calories - AirDyne
39 bell swings (shoulder-height) - 55lbs
39 sit-ups
39 ball slams
39 birthday burpees

10:32-ish

Basement: 10 Minute AirDyne

178 calories
3.45 km

B-Squad: Rowing, Farmer's Walks and working out with the kids

A.  Rowing and Farmer's Walk
Five rounds of:

500m row (2:00 - 2:20 pace)
Farmer's walks, length of the gym and back (2x55lb KB)
Rest time = work time

My pace on the rows was a little faster than recommended.  It was generally in the 1:50-2:00 range per 500m.

If I really wanted to reduce my times,  I suppose I could have gone a little faster on the walk... though then it would have been a farmer's jog.  I could have also saved a few seconds by moving the rower closer to the kettlebells, rather than being in the middle of the gym.

2:36
2:35
2:32
2:29
2:29


B. Metcon: Burpee Box Jumps, Push-ups and Squats

My son, 7, has joined the B-Squad kids' workouts.  He's very enthusiastic about going to B-Squad on Thursdays.

The rest of the kids are members of a swim team.

They were very welcoming to him and were quite patient, even though he's a few years younger than their youngest member and tends to talk loudly and non-stop.   So were coaches Nolan (last week) and AngDesj, but that's not surprising since they are great people and they've known my son for years.

While I was doing the Rowing and Farmer's Walk WOD, the kids were doing deadlifts.  I have to say that seeing my boy lifting actual weights made me proud.

They also had a metcon:

Three rounds of:
10 Burpee box jumps (I used a 24")
10 Push-ups
10 Squats

I think this took me a little less than 5:00.

VolkeFit: Pussy Magnet

A. Deadlifts 5-5-4-4-2
(Increase the weight for each set, resting about a minute between sets)
185, 205, 225, 245, 255.

It felt good to pick some moderately heavy weight off the ground.

B. Double Unders

2 minutes of DUs
2 minutes of rest
2 minutes of DUs
2 minutes of rest
2 minutes of DUs

I did 140, 130, and 100 for a total of 370, within a 10-minute period, with only 6 minutes of actual working time.  That would have been my 2nd best ever Rhiannon score.  Love my Rx rope!   Also, the lesson here is that it can be smart to strategically rest during this WOD.

I think it was between rounds 2 and 3 that I was sitting on Steve's steps, and his cat gave me a little nudge on my back with one of his claws... probably wondering if I felt as gross and sweaty as I looked (the answer to that question is always yes.)   I didn't expect it, so I jumped up like a spaz.


C. Swing, Burp, Jump

Three rounds of
30 seconds of bell swings (55lb)
30 seconds of burpees (strict)
30 seconds of box jumps (20")
2:30 rest

Round 1: 15, 7, 15
Round 2. 18, 8, 14
Round 3: 17, 8, 14

After the first round, I realized that I was pacing myself for a longer workout, which wasn't necessary for such a short period of time.  The next two rounds I was able to get a slightly higher output.


Following the workout, I was standing Steve's foyer, when his cat briefly attempted to climb me like a tree by jumping up to my chest and hooking its front claws in my shirt. I guess I'm just a pussy magnet.  The wrong kind.

Then I went home and drank two Guinness because St. Patrick's Day.

Basement: Row Dip Pull Slam

Three rounds of:

500m row
4 ring dips
4 chin-ups
20 ball slams

Transitions between stations were slowed somewhat by my adorable daughter. 

The chin-ups started out deadhang, but I kipped in the third round. 

11:24 I think?

Basement: 10 minutes of AirDyne

170 calories

B-Squad: This torture has 22 minutes

Three rounds of

One minute wall ball  30-25-23
30 seconds rest
One minute box jumps (20") 27-24-dunno
30s rest
One minute burpees 18-17-15
30s rest
One minute sit-ups  34-31-29
30s rest
One minute single skips 125-131-120
30s rest

VolkeFit: "We're sorry about Ben Mulroney"

A. 7-minute AMRAP

300m Assault Air Bike

5 x 135lb power cleans

5 rounds even. 

B. For time, three rounds of; 

25 wall balls

20 burpees 

15 deadlifts (155lb) 

14:54 

C. 7-minute AMRAP

500m Assault Air Bike

12 push press (65lb) 

5 rounds, plus 200m. 

 

Basement: 20 minutes of rowing

302 calories.  I believe that's a PR. 
6.44km

Living Room: Pizza Penance - 20 x 5 pushups

I ate an extra piece of pizza tonight and was wearing a T-shirt that is probably too small so I looked extra doughy, so I snuck this in before bedtime

Every Minute on the Minute: 10 Pushups

I do 5 push-ups every 30 seconds.  I've done harder versions of this before, but it was close to bed time and I wasn't THAT motivated.  Still, the push-ups were getting pretty difficult toward the end.

VolkeFit: Thrusting Toes to Bar

Workout 

Every two minutes, for 20 minutes (or 10 rounds):

3 thrusters (starting at 75 lb, increasing by 5 lb each round)
5 toes to bar

This was fun.  Steve said he'd probably start me at 95 lb on the thrusters next time, which I think would get significantly more challenging toward the end.

My T2B were inconsistent, but some rounds were pretty decent.



Cooldown

10 minutes on the Assault air bike, alternating between 30 seconds of fairly hard pedaling and 30 seconds at a slower pace.

I could do that at home as a standalone workout.

Basement: 2/3 of Mutant Helen

"Mutant Helen"

Three rounds okay maybe two rounds: 

500m row

21 bell swings (55lb)

6 deadhang pull-ups/chin-ups

After two rounds, I figured a third one might mess up my arms a bit.  

7:30. 

Basement: Memo from my legs - "This isn't helping."

I was a little stiff after yesterday's activities at B-Squad.  (I'm not going to hyperlink.  Just scroll down a bit.  C'mon, don't be so lazy.)

I thought I'd hop on the AirDyne for a bit just to loosen up as I watched some cagefighting on our shitty old TV.  I ended up pedaling semi hard during the five-minute rounds, then resting during the breaks in action.

I didn't record it, but I did at least five rounds (25minutes) worth of pedaling.

Then I spent the rest of the weekend hobbling around

B-Squad: Squats and other terrible things I did to my legs

A. Back Squats 3-3-3

Yay!  They do squats on Fridays at B-Squad.  It's been a while since I've done a weighted squat.

That was readily apparent when I struggled with the 255 triples.   I feel like it shouldn't have been quite so hard.


B. Metcon

Five rounds of
30 seconds of Wall balls
30 seconds rest
30 seconds box jumps (24'')
30 seconds rest
30 seconds burpees
30 seconds rest
30 seconds of sit-ups
30 seconds rest
30 seconds single skips.

(Rest an extra two minutes between Rounds 3 and 4)

This was a good, tough workout.  The emphasis on the rest really allowed me to keep a consistent pace during the working portions.

Wallballs    16, 16, 13, 14,  14
Box Jumps 13, 14, 13,  13,  13
Burpees      11, 12,  9,   10,  10
Situps         19, 21, 20,  17,  18
Skips          69, 68, 65,  70,  75  

Total =        635

VolkeFit: Danger Zone

Warm-Up

2 x 10 inverted sit-ups "like Top Gun."

Like Top Gun?  That makes me feel like I'm on a highway ... to... the... DANGER ZONE

Workout

5 rounds of:
25 box jumps (20")
25 AirDyne calories
15 pull-ups

Resting as long as the previous round took.

3:22
2:48
2:48
3:30
3:12

Basement: "Morning Quickie" with the Wife

This was less fun than it sounds.  Because this was actually a rowing workout and not... y'know... what you were probably thinking.

Tracey and I woke up a bit late, but she was still determined to get some exercise in. She knows what she wants, that's for sure.  She hopped on the AirDyne while I went to town on the rower.

We didn't have a lot of time so I decided to do a couple of semi-fast 500m sprints with about a minute rest in between.

1:48
1:45

It was mildly satisfying and over quickly.  Afterwards, she commented that I made a lot of noise, with all my weird grunting, and it kind of weirded her out.

So there were some parallels, I guess.

Basement: 10 Minutes of Rowing

My beautiful wife has determined that she will be getting up several times a week to hit the AirDyne first thing in the morning before work.  I'm inspired, so I thought I would use the rower as she is doing that.

The idea occurred to me Wednesday afternoon after her first go on Wednesday morning.  Even though she wasn't going to get up until Friday, I thought I'd give it a shot today.   My alarm went off at 6am.  I stumbled downstairs in shorts and shoes, (no shirt, no socks = no problem at home) and hopped on the rower.  

10 minutes of rowing = 2570m  

That is... not great, really.

But the number is kind of beside the point.  I felt pretty good about myself after doing it.  It actually was beneficial to my morning routine, compared to me hitting the snooze button for 40 minutes.

We'll see how long I can keep this up.  Getting up, I mean.

Apparently my wife wants to watch "The Young and the Restless" on PVR as she exercises in the morning.   I prefer the "Rap Anthems" playlist from Songza.

This morning, it featured this modern classic from Beyonce's husband:

VolkeFit: I'm About To

21-18-15-12-9

Bell swings (overhead) - 70lbs
Calories - Assault bike
Wall balls
Calories - Assault bike

23:51

During the Workout, "Jump" by two-hit wonder kiddie rap group Kriss Kross came on.  Their other hit was "Warm It Up," so between excercise-induced wheezing, I told Steve and Ryan the following exchange between my wife and I:


Tracey :"Okay, for the kids' lunch tomorrow, take this soup, put it in a pot, and warm it up..." 
Me: "I'm about to." 
Tracey: *glares* "I said warm it up..." 
Me: "Cuz that's what I was born to do."

B-Squad: You can't spell "rowing" without OW

A. Rowing sprints

Row 500m three times, resting as needed in between.

God, this was bad.

Part of the reason was that I felt that I should be able to set a new 500m PR.  I own a rower, which I do now use on a fairly regular basis (which is an improvement over its dust-collecting first year in my house), but I never really do hard-ass 500m sprints on their own.  I've never challenged myself to make a new PR.

So I went completely  balls-out on the first round.  At the start, I was doing short, hard strokes  About halfway through, I was exhausted and switched to longer pulls, sacrificing explosion and a bit of speed for sustainability.  I took LONG rests between each round, laying on the floor trying to work up the nerve to get back on the rower and wondering why I don't just do Jazzercise or hot yoga or something. 

Round 1 1:34 PR (I didn't set the rower for a countdown from 500m, so this is via Nolan's eyeball).  My previous best was 1:37.7.  

Round 2 1:38

Round 3 142.3


That was all that was programmed for the day, but I had eaten what was -- even for me -- a ridiculous amount of candy and donuts at work.  Prior to rowing, I told Nolan I could actually feel myself getting fatter as I was talking to him. 

I felt I should atone for that.   Nolan suggested another little bit of fun.

B. DUs and PPs

For time:
100 double unders and 10 push press (95lbs)
80 and 8
60 and 6
40 and 4
20 and 2.

Took me 10:23.    I was still a little baked from the rowing so this went as well as could be expected..  When I first started the DUs, I only did 5 in a row.  Thankfully, I was able to string together some bigger sets after that.  I did most of the DUs in sets of 30s and 20s.  I may have done the 40 unbroken. 

VolkeFit: "Hotter and Shittier"

I could provide some context for the title, but it's funnier if I don't.  Besides, the only other person who reads this blog anymore is Steve Volke, and he gets the reference.

A. "Knees to Elbows? Aw geez. Hell no."

10 rounds:
8 calories AirDyne
6 knees to elbows
8 calories AirDyne
rest one minute, talk about "The Bachelor."

The ten rounds of work and 9 minutes of rest took me around 23 minutes.

My God, that two on one date to the Badlands when Chris dumped BOTH Ashley I. and Kelsey was AMAZING.


B. Thrusters and Burpees AMRAP

4-minute AMRAP:
6 thrusters (75lb)
6 burpees over bar.

Basement: "Volke Hates Me"

Steve sent me this workout a couple weeks ago as something I could do on my own on a night I was stuck at home and couldn't come to his garage for a workout.

Instead of taking some initiative and working out, I ended up playing video games and eating chocolate.

But I finally got around to trying the WOD he came up with:

1000m row
100 KB swings (shoulder height, 55lbs)
75 calories on the AirDyne
50 burpees
25 deadhangs
1000m row

28:20ish

B-Squad: Potpurri

First workout in nearly two weeks.

A. Every minute on the minute:

• 5 burpees
• 5 air squats

No problem.


B. AMRAP in 5 minutes:

• 6 walking lunges
• 6 shuttle runs (length of the pool) 

My legs sure enjoyed that.    5 rounds, plus 6 lunges and 2 runs

C. Sit-ups

Do 50

Rest for time equal to the work

Do another 50

First 50: 1:42

Second 50: 2:20ish. 

Basement: EMOM 5 Push-ups and 3 Deadhangs

Every minute for 25 minutes, do 5 push-ups and 3 deadhang pull-ups (or chin-ups)

Done.  I did them all unbroken, meaning I didn't drop off the bar during any sets, though I may have paused a bit at the bottom.  I probably did chin-ups about 6 times out of the 25. 

I was fairly sweaty by the end. 

This won't, however, make up for all the chocolate I ate at work today.  It was enough to choke a hippo, should that hippo somehow find itself working in a government office building in Regina, Saskatchewan. 


"The boss said I needed to come in on the weekend to finish those reports.  So I gored him."

 

 

Basement: Bike-Swing-Push-Up

Three rounds, not for time, but no lollygagging:

20 calories AirDyne
20 bell swings (shoulder height, due to my low ceiling*)
20 push-ups

*When I say "low ceiling" I mean my actual ceiling in my basement, not my limited potential in CrossFit or in life.  Although you could be forgiven for assuming either of those.

VolkeFit: "Oh my f--k... my legs!"

A. AMRAP - Biking and Box Jumps

12 minute AMRAP
500m Assault Air Bike
10 box jumps (20")

The quote in the headline comes from what I yelled out after attempting a jump after the first 500m on the bike.

Five rounds, plus approx 450m.


B. Squat cleans ladder

8-minute time cap

15 x 95lb
15 x 115lb
15 x 135lb
15 x 155lb
As many DUs as possible with time remaining.

I could have left my speed rope in my bag.  I only got five done in the 155lb.  My back was pretty stiff afterward, but I spent some time on top of a lacrosse ball afterward and it helped.

Basement: Rowing and Swings

Despite attempting to keep a food log, I've been demonstrating remarkably little self-restraint.  

Tracey was working out at Steve's, so I thought I'd do a little basement WOD. 

1000m row
20 shoulder height bell-swings (with the brand new kettlebell that my hot wife got me for Christmas)
1000m row

My right bicep started feeling weird during the swings, so I opted not to do another set at the end as I planned. 

B-Squad: Helen

Nice to be back at B-Squad.

Warm-up
A 1000m row. 


WOD:"Helen"

Three rounds of:
400m run (five laps around the pool)
21 bell swings (55 lb)
12 pull-ups

10:46.  Way slower than my fastest time, but the runs have to be slower, given the venue.  But even if it were apples to apples, I probably wouldn't have broken 10:00. 

VolkeFit - "The Silhouette of Brian Mulroney"

A. Every minute on the minute for 10 minutes, alternate between:

10 sit-ups and 7 push-up-less burpees
5 bench presses (135lbs)

I have no confidence in my bench press.  Seriously, I wasn't even sure if I could do five sets of five reps at this weight.  urns out my bench presses don't quite suck as much as I thought they did.  I mean, don't get me wrong.  They still suck for a guy my age, size and who claims to work out.   Just not quite as much as I thought.  


B. "The Silhouette of Brian Mulroney*"

10 wall balls
80 double unders
20 wall balls
60 double unders
30 wall balls
40 double unders

11:45

*I gave it this name because at one point following the wallballs, I was bent over (shirtless) and noticed that there was a shadow on the wall beside me that reminded me of our former Prime Minister.  It was caused by my love handle spilling over the waistband of my shorts to create a chin like an editorial cartoonist might draw.

CFR - Hero WOD "Hansen"

Five rounds for time:

30 bell swings (55lbs)
20 burpees
15 sit-ups

Rest one minute between rounds

Final time was 21:37.  

Round times were: 2:32, 2:49, 3:50, 4:19 and 4:07

Living room WOD: 10 push-ups a minute for 16 minutes

Hey, things went so well yesterday, why not again?

Done.

Living room WOD: 10 push-ups a minute for 15 minutes

Done.   I split it up so I did five push-ups starting every 30 seconds.

Easy at the start, hard at the end.

VolkeFit: Front Squats and Clean, DUs, Sit-Ups

A. Front Squats 

Three reps, pausing three seconds between.

165, 175, 185, 195, 205.



B. Metcon

Five sets:

• 5 power cleans of 135
• 35 double unders
• 15 sit-ups

Rest two minutes.


1. 1:04
2. 1:04
3. 1:04
4. :58
5. 1:06

VolkeFit: Bike, KB, Burpees, Deadhangs

Six rounds:

600m air bike
15 bell swings
10 burpees
5 deadhang pull-ups

Rest 60 seconds between rounds.

Each round took about 3 minutes.