OPEX: Should auld acquaintance be a squat?

A. Back Squat - work to a heavy single in 12 min.

I went to 310.  Yay!    Nice way to end the year!



B. 30 minute AMRAP (seriously?)
-150 cal AB
-150 double unders

Perhaps I spoke too soon.

One round plus 118 cal.    Kinda crapped the sleeping bag on this one.

"Daddy, my tummy hurts!" "You want abs, don't you?!"

Enlisted my kids for this quick ab workout, so I could feel like I did something today, other than eating every piece of chocolate that came within 10m of my mouth.

Two rounds of 30 seconds of work, 30 of rest,

-leg raises
-horizontal scissors
-vertical scissors
-bicycle crunches
-weightless Russian twists

Basement: Nick's birthday

Text conversation

Me: Happy Birthday buddy.  That will be 41 burpees
(Anyone can wish happy birthday on Facebook.  Real friends text.) 

Nick: Thanks bud
(Notice how he didn't address the burpees)

Later...

Me: In honour of your special day, I just did the 41 burpees.  For time.
(attached a screenshot of my phone's stopwatch, showing it took me a not-spectacular 2:14, accompanied by a selfie showing how wasted I was by that non-huge amount of work)

Nick: I appreciate the sacrifice you made for my sins.  I have gained 4.1 lbs and ate chicken strips with rich dipping sauces, poutine, and washed it down with a quart of vanilla shake.  I love my body right now.


Afterward, I did three sets, alternating

12 single arm, bent-over DB rows (35 lb)
10 single arm seated DB press (35 lb)

 

Basement: EMOM bag squats

15 minutes.

Minute 1-3: 5 bag squats.  Holding the bag on shoulders between sets until the third set is done.
Minute 4-6: 6 bag squats.  Holding the bag on shoulders between sets until the third set is done.
Minute 7-9: 7 bag squats.  Holding the bag on shoulders between sets until the third set is done.
Minute 10-12: 8 bag squats.  Holding the bag on shoulders between sets until the third set is done.
Minute 13-15: 9bag squats.  Holding the bag on shoulders between sets until the third set is done.

OPEX Regina

A. 12 min EMOM:

5 Overhead squats at 50% bodyweight (I used 200)

Done. 



B. Max kipping pull-ups in 3 min:

50



C. Max shoulder to overhead @ 75% BW in 3 min:
20.  I think I used 145


D. Row/Bike
5 minute at 75% aerobic
5 minute AB at 75% aerobic

80 cal row
57 cal AD

Basement with Nick:

A. 3-4 rounds of:
-four strict pull-ups
-four ring dips.


B. Partner WOD

One partner AirDynes, while the other does 21-15-9 of
-Urpees
-Mountain Climbers



One partner AirDynes, while the other does 15-12-9 of
-Sandbag squats
-push-ups


I may have mixed this up somehow.



C. ABS!

Basement: Yoga

Did the Yoga for Beginners video again with the Boy.  He took it seriously.  Even went shirtless.

Gold's: Monday Night RAWR

I snuck over to Gold's for a quick workout while the Boy was at Scouts.

While it's been nice being able to lift at Gold's over the past month, I'm not convinced I need a monthly membership.  

Gold's is perfectly nice for a globogym.  The staff is friendly, the facility is clean and nice, there is always a squat rack open, and the hours are convenient.   Still, it's not really my speed for a number of reasons:
-I can't drop weights, so I'll never try to push myself to a new PR on any Olympic lifts.
-I don't like looking at myself in a mirror as I squat.  It's weird to me to see all these dudes staring at themselves as they do bicep curls.
-I can't do a metcon there, and going there to lift means I'm not going to places where I would do more cardio-based workouts, like B-Squad or RBC.  

I'm more likely to put wife's new Health/Wellness benefit toward a squat rack and some weights for the garage, even if I could only use it 7 or 8 months out of the year until we get our garage insulated.

A. Squats - Worked up to 5 x 265.   Did at least two sets.  Maybe three.   Also did one set of 255 before that.

B. Power cleans - Did 5 sets of 5x155.

C. Messed around with some chin-ups and weighted chin-ups.  Couldn't do much though as my arms were tired from the power cleans

OPEX - C is for Chipper

VolkeFit was never the actual name of Steve's business.  He's now going by OPEX Regina, so I'm gonna call it that from now on.

A. Clean x 1 + Jerk x 3

I went up to 165. 


B1 KB reverse lunges 10/leg  x 3  - I used 25, 35, 35
B2.Ring front lean rest (basically a push-up hold)  45 seconds x 3


C. Chipper

50 cal row
25 push-ups
6 KB pull-through/side @ 30 lb
25 push-up less burpees
50 cal AB

10:56

Gold's with Nick: Squatacular!

A. Nick and I messed around with some different types of squats.  Now my legs are sore.  They're fucking awesome and strong and could crush an elephant's skull with a headscissors, but right now they're sore.

Back squats: I worked up to 5 x 255 lb

Overhead squats: 8 or 10 x 95 lb

Front squats: 5 x 185


B. Some sets of 10 x knee raises, followed by max strict pull-ups
I did like 6 pull-ups each time.  LAME.

C. ABS!

-One minute of hollow rock
-3 x 45-seconds of planks
-3 x 16 Russian twists, with a 35-lb KB

VolkeFit

A. Tempo back squats 30x0  2, 2, 2, 2.

185, 205, 225, 235.



B1. Bench Press 2, 2, 2, 2, rest 30s  (Used 135 because I'm terrible at benching and had no spotter)
B2. 5 strict pull-ups x 4,  rest 1 minute.

Done. 


C. 21-18-15-12-9:
-KB swings OH (55 lb)
-sit-ups
-double unders

7:31

Gold's: EMOMs of squat cleans and strict chin-ups

Snuck away for a late night quickie at the globogym.

A. EMOM of 10 minutes
3 squat cleans @135

Done.


B. EMOM until failure:
4 strict chin-ups

Did 8 minutes before I had to drop off the bar mid-set.  Finished that set and called it a night.

B-Squad: Tasers and Free Coffee

A. Romanian deadlifts 5-5-5-5-5

Ang said not to go too heavy "like 185."

So I worked up to 175.   Look at me, I'm almost a rebel.


B1. Seated Dumbbell Press - 3 rounds of 8
B2. Bent-over Dumbell Rows - 3 rounds of 8  (L+R)

I used 2 x 35lb for both.   Could have maybe done a bit more on the press, but the rows were tough for me because... weakness.


C. Three rounds:
-5 km AB ride - easy pace
-15 tuck crunches
-20 seconds hollow rock
-30 hang from bar

Done.

VolkeFit: Forgot what I was gonna call this one

A1. Back squats 3, 3, 3, 3
A2 Power Snatch 2, 2, 2, 2   @ 135

I think I ended up at 245 on the back squats.


B. Front squats 3, 3, 3, 3,

Ended up at 225.


C. 5 4 rounds of
5 power cleans @ 135
12 box jumps (20")
30 seconds ring front lean rest
10 cal AirBike

Golds: Do you even lift, bro?

Gold's is open late.   I decided to give this a shot.

Power cleans:

3 sets of 5x135
3 sets of 5x155
3 sets of 5x175



Squats:

5x135
5x185
5x225

Gold's with Nick: Oly Oly Oxenfree

Back at Gold's with Nick... the east location this time.


We worked mostly on some Olympic lifts, keeping the weights reasonable since Gold's Gym has like twenty treadmills but no bumper plates.

1. Olympic lifts 
Power cleans
Sets of five.  Did I go to 155 on this, or just keep it at 135?   Hmm... can't remember.

I finished these off with some squat cleans and jerks.


Rack jerks 
Sets of 3 - I went up to 175.


Snatch 
Fives.   Stayed at 95, since we can't drop the bar.





2. Other stuff:

-Incline dumbbell bench presses.  I used 2x40.   Nick used 2x85, I think.  Fuck.

-Tricep pull-downs.  - Nick told me to flex at the bottom.  I told him I WAS flexing, but my arms are just puny.

-Weighted pull-ups. - Chained a 25 lb plate to my waist and I tried to do 5.  Could only do four, twice.



3. ABS!!
35 seconds on, 25s rest:
-leg raises
-scissors
-bicycle crunches
-Russian twists with a 15 lb plate (I think)

Then finish it off with a one-minute plank.

Then do the same thing, still ending with a plank, but in reverse order for everything else.

It hurt.  It hurt really bad.  I guess that's how you know it's working.

VolkeFit: Tempo Back Squats and Soul-Sucking Metcon

A. Back Squats
30x0 (descend slowly, stand up normally) in two waves
3,2,1
rest
3,2,1  (225, 235, 245)


B. 7 rounds, for time:
-3 wall walks
-4 squat cleans (135 lb)
-5 strict pull-ups
-6 KB swings (60 lb
-7 calories on the air bike.

Way harder than it looks.  25:17

Gold's with Nick: Seeing how the other half works out

November is supposed to get colder so garage workouts are getting moved indoors.   Nick has a Gold's membership and I'm going to do a one-month trial so we can do our workouts there.

We went to the "Golds Gym Executive" location downtown today.

It's a very nice facility, in its own way.  Obviously, quite different from CrossFit gyms that I'm used to, but it seemed like a great place to work out if you are doing more traditional (ie non-CrossFit-style) workouts.

Given that I was out of my element there, Nick led me through a typical weightlifting workout that he would do. It was fun.  It included lifts that I've done the odd time in the past, but not all that much, and it showed in the amount of weight I could lift vs. the amount Nick was doing.  And he's a humble guy, so he was probably holding back so as to not show me up.

Because -- HOLY SHIT -- Nick is way stronger than me.  I mean, it's something anyone could tell if they looked at the two of us side-by-side, but today really hammered that home.  At one point, I looked at his arms and realized they were twice as big as mine.

I guess his lifting weights regularly for over two decades had some benefits.

The workout included:

-Bench presses (I maxed out at 155 lb x 5 reps... or was it 8?   Nick did 215.  Fucking savage).
-Bent over dumbbell rows (Tyler 70 lb x 8; Nick 100 x 8.  )
-Dumbell bench presses (Tyler 2x40lb for 10 reps; I can't remember Nick's.  It was way more)
-Dumbbell flies (Tyler using a pair of 20 lb x 10 reps for 2 sets; Nick used 40lbs.  He's Schwarzenegger, I'm Devito.)
-Lat pull-downs (I think my weight was 125 or 150.   I did sets of 10.)
-Close-grip bench press (Tyler: 115 x 10; Nick 165 or something)
-Bicep curls (I think I used 2x 20lbs here, 10 reps.)


At the end, we played around with power cleans and rack jerks. Gold's doesn't have bumper plates -- at least not at that location -- so we had to stay within a reasonable weight range so as not to drop them.

Oly lifting is something Nick hasn't done a lot of, so I gave him a bit of instruction on the technique.   It soon became clear to me that he could easily eclipse all of my personal bests if he spent a few days working on them.

I did sets of 135 x 5 for the cleans and 155 x 5 for the rack jerks.

The locker room at Gold's is very nice.   I'd hang out there if it wouldn't be weird.

VolkeFit: Stairs will be hard tomorrow

A. 12-min EMOM:
-1 power clean (135 lb)
-2 push press
-1 squat clean

Done. 


B. Using 135 lb, do 50 front squats.  Do five wall walks every break.

I'm not sure if I was supposed to do this for time, but I didn't.

In order to minimize the wall walks, I did the squats in sets of 20, 15, and 15.



C. Airbike ride at a medium pace for 10 minutes.

Done. 

VolkeFit: Stairs will be hard tomorrow

A. 12-min EMOM:
-1 power clean (135 lb)
-2 push press
-1 squat clean

Done. 


B. Using 135 lb, do 50 front squats.  Do five wall walks every break.

I'm not sure if I was supposed to do this for time, but I didn't.

In order to minimize the wall walks, I did the squats in sets of 20, 15, and 15.



C. Airbike ride at a medium pace for 10 minutes.

Done. 

Regina Boxing Club: No Regrets

A.3-Part Partner workout

1) While one partner runs, the other partner does:
-9 burpees
-9 squat thrusts
-then 6 and 6
-then 3 and 3

Once the first partner is done, the other one goes.

There is a 6 minute time cap.  When both are done, both do sit-ups for the remaining time.

My partner Fabio and I got done with more than 3 minutes left.

2) While one partner runs, the other partner does:
-12 URpees
-12 push-ups
-then 9 and 9
-then 6 and 6

Then switch.

Time cap is 7 min.  More sit-ups!

3)While one partner runs, the other does:
-15 squats
-15 mountain climbers (L+R=1)
-12 and 12
-9 and 9

Switch.

8min time cap.

Do part 1) in time remaining.

B.Time for Punching!
-3 minutes - hitting the bag in the combinations Pat calls out.
-3 minutes of trading off with a partner - one runs 2 laps and the other does 4-punch combos.
-3 minutes trading off, hitting partner's hands.  My partner for this one was an older guy who really liked to joke about doing cocaine.  At least, I think he was joking.

B-Squad: Planks for the Row-mantic evening

I'm not proud of this blogpost's title, but it's early and the coffee hasn't kicked in yet.

A. Planks 
5 rounds with back-to-back-to-back 30-second stints each of
-Front plank
-Left plank
-Right plank

1 minute rest between rounds


B. Rowing

7 rounds
-90 seconds rowing at 80 per cent (I kept it between 1:50 and 2:00 per 500m)
-60 s at 50 per cent

No rest between rounds, so you're on the rower for 17:00 straight, which not my idea of fun.

Total distance rowed: between 4200 and 4300 m


The Boy joined me at the gym tonight.  The planks were tough on him but he did great with the rowing.  He was told he only had to do 5 rounds, but he opted to do 7 instead, and rowed around 2.5 km total.   I'm very proud of him.

Basement with Nick: Tag teaming Babs

A. Warm-up:

Partner 1 does 25 ball slams
Partner 2 rides the AirDyne at a medium pace
Switch


Do this for a total of 100 slams.


B. ABS!

30 seconds each of:
-bicycle crunches
-leg raises
-horizontal scissors
-weightless Russian twists


C. Tag teaming Babs
(Babs is short for Barbara.  This is a slightly abbreviated version of the five round WOD)

4 rounds, equally dividing the work, of:
20 pull-ups
30 push-ups
40 sit-ups
50 squats

1. 3:50
2. 3:35
3. 4:01
4. 4:20

VolkeFit: That's one tough snatch

A. Five minutes working to a tough power snatch

After an extended warm-up before starting my 5 minutes of work, I got 155, but failed badly on 165 twice.


B. 9 minutes:


3 power snatch (75 lb)
3 box jumps (24")
then 6 and 6
then 9 and 9
etc.

I finished the set of 15's and got one snatch.    That wasn't a lot, really.  I was trying to keep my technique solid and deliberate on the snatches, and that seemed to sap the energy right out of me.


C. 5 minutes of AirBike for calories

63.  

Regina Boxing Club: "It frickin' hurts, Pat!"

A. Alternating with  a partner, one person runs 2 laps, while the other chips away at:
20 burpees
40 squat thrusts
80 push-ups
100 mountain climbers
80 tricep push-ups
60 squats
40 horizontal jumping jacks
20 burpees

We got it done within the time cap... not sure what that was.

This is one I could re-do with Nick in the basement one day, subbing AirDyne for running.

B. Bag work
Rounds of three -- I lost count of how many -- with three different 30 second drills, repeated once.

Some of them:
-30s freestyle bag work
-30s body shots
-30s power shots
(repeat)

One minute of:
-jab ladder up to 5, with a cross at each step
-10 plank horizontal jumping jacks
-10 jumping squats

C. Core work
30 second stints of a bunch of stuff:

-crunches
-cockroaches
-bicycle crunches
-this really hard thing that I basically couldn't do
-Russian twists (no weight)
-sit-ups

Garage with Nick: I'm down with the Get-Ups

A.  Ab-tastic!

30 seconds work, 30 seconds rest:
-Leg raises
-vertical scissors
-horizontal scissors
-bicycle crunches

Repeat.


B. Turkish Get-ups

It was a little odd for me to be demonstrating this to Nick, as my technique is an affront to the entire  Republic of Turkey.

We did 3 sets of 5 per arm, going up to 35lb.


C 75 push-up-less burpees

Took me 3:30ish.  Not super fun, but at least it was over quick.

VolkeFit: Ocelot

I was chatting with Nolan before starting my workout.  He was casually throwing up snatches in groups of three.  I didn't calculate how much was on his bar, but I noted that it was far more than I've ever come close to snatching.

Nolan: "Well, I do weigh a lot more than you."
Me: "That's because you've got so many muscles and you're so big and swole.   We're barely the same species.  You're like... a Siberian Tiger and I'm a housecat."
Nolan: "You're not a housecat.   You're more like... an ocelot."

From Wikipedia:

"The ocelot (/ˈɒsəlɒt/; Leopardus pardalis), also known as the dwarf leopard..." 


DWARF LEOPARD.


A. 5 km ride

B1 10 Banded good mornings
B2 10 push-ups and 10 KB swings

C. 21-15-9 of:
-Deadlift 155 lb
-Overhead squat 95 lb
Do 50 double unders after each round

I whipped the hell out of the back of my fingers while skipping after the set of 15's.  

I can still feel the phantom pains.

Took me 13:53

VolkeFit: Ocelot

A. 5 km ride

B1 10 Banded good mornings
B2 10 push-ups and 10 KB swings

C. 21-15-9 of:
-Deadlift 155 lb
-Overhead squat 95 lb
Do 50 double unders after each round

I whipped the hell out of the back of my fingers qhile skipping after the set of 15's.  

I can still feel the phantom pains.

Took me 13:53

B-Squad: Squats and Sprints!

A. Back Squats: 5 sets of 5 x 215

B.Five rounds of one minute of work, four minutes of rest.
During that one minute:
-5 cal Assault Air Bike
-5 push press 115
-shuttle sprints for time remaining.

I managed to do 5 lengths of the floor for each one.

Regina Boxing Club: Puddle of Ugh

A. Teaming with a partner, there were 50 reps of various exercises.  One partner chips away at those if while the other runs two laps.

B. Bag work.  

C. Ab stuff in the ring.

For some reason, I was the only one who left a significant sweat puddle in as we were doing leg raises and planks and whatnot.   I'm apparently so gross that moisture can't stand to be inside me.

Garage with Nick: North of Dewdney

A. Thunderstruck warm-up

B. ABS!
Three rounds of:
-45 second plank
-10 knee raises

C.Double-team a strict "Nicole"
 20 minutes of:
-400m run
-max strict pull-ups

My pull-up totals were 5,6,7,6,5,5

VolkeFit: Saturday sexiness

A. 10 minutes to a heavy back squat triple

255 lbs


B. 17 min AMRAP

25 cal row
25 wall ball
25 shoulder to overhead 95 lb
25 box jumps 20"

2 rounds plus 25 cal row, plus 25 wall balls. 

B-Squad: B-Squatz!

A. Back squatt 5 sets of 5:

Ang warned me not to go too heavy.  I negotiated with her and we landed at 205.


B. 7 minute AMRAP

7 deadlifts 115 lb
7 bar over burpees

7 rounds plus 8


C. 7 minute AMRAP

14 shoulder to overhead
14 box jumps 24"

3 rounds plus 11

Basement: ABS!

5 rounds of:

30 Russian Twists (25 lb)
10 Burpees
15 weighted sit-ups (25 lb)

VolkeFit: You clean up real good

A. 8 minutes to a 1RM clean (squat clean, that is)

I did 205 lb

Rest 4 minutes

B. 10 minute AMRAP:
-30 DU
-15 K2E

Four rounds plus 30 DU and 4 K2E


Rest 4 minutes


C. 8 minutes to a 1 RM clean.

195.  

Regina Boxing Club: Smackdown

A. Hungry Hippo Crabwalk medicine ball races

Real hurty on the abs.  Team 1 (Taylor, Shannon and me) rulez!


B. Body Weight Circuit.

Three sets of a 2-minute circuit, with 30 seconds each of:
-sumo squats
-star jumps (these get old really quick)
-stance-switch squat jumpy things
-star push-ups


C. Bag work

Four sets of a 2-minute circuit, with 30 seconds each of:
-freestyle combinations
-"get on the cycle"  - not steroids.   Just running in place and hitting the bag at the same time.
-power shots - work out any issues you have buried deep within your psyche.
-"back on the cycle!"

B-Squad: Family Workout Night

The Boy (9) worked out with me.  The Wife did a VolkeFit WOD.  The Girl (5) freestyled with skipping, sprints and other stuff.

A. Three sets of Close Grip Bench Press x 8

I think I did 125 lb, because I'm a delicate little flower.


B. Three sets of Bent-over single arm DB row (Is that the right name) x 8 per arm

50 lbs.  The chunky black dumbbells at B-Squad make my lifts look more impressive than they are.


C. Metcon x 2

10 each of
-jumpless burpees
-box jump overs
-wall balls
-pull-ups
-hand-release push-ups  (I may have the order wrong.)

rest same period as worked, then repeat.

Times were 1:58, 1:55.  

Garage with Nick: Heroic Brutality

"We should do some abs tomorrow again" said the text from Nick.

FINE.  LET'S DO SOME ABS.


A. 5 rounds of:
-45 second plank
-10 weighted sit-ups
-20 squat thrusts
-20 absolutely fugly bicycle crunches

Rest a bit between rounds. Not for time.  Just for pain.

Ouch. 

B. 50 burpees for time.

Took me 3:18.  

B-Squad: Sweat Bros

A partner workout with the Boy at B-Squad

For this one, you do, 60 seconds of work, then  60s rest.  (While you work, your partner rests)

3 rounds of
KB swings 55 lb (I did 34, 29, 24)
rest
Hand-release push-ups (29, 24, 20)
rest
Box jump overs 20" (24, 22, 24)
rest
Burpees (18, 18, 14)
rest
Sit-ups (35, 29, 31)

VolkeFit: Thrilling Thursday

A.Seated box jumps
10 reps, three sets

B. EMOM for 10 minutes
odd: 5 burpees
even: 10 KB swings (60 lb)


C. For time (15 min time cap):
50 cal row
25 burpee box jump overs (20") - These kill my soul.
15 back squats @ 185 lb

I did the squats in sets of 8 and 7.  

Time was 8:26

Garage with Nick: Leg Day

Nick messed up his shoulder.

For time:

50 air squats
40 sit-ups
30 mountain climbers (L+R= 1)
20 lunges
10 box jumps

We both did t5his in around 4 minutes
.

We followed that up with planking 30s on/30s off for 10 minutes.

B-Squad: Life lessons

"Son, when a pretty lady asks if you want to do yoga with her, you always say yes."

"DAD!! I'M ONLY NINE!!"

"Yeah, but I could get hit by a bus tomorrow and I would have died never having told you that."

-Actual conversation with my son today at B-Squad.

Another Saturday B-Squad grinder:

10 rounds of:

-10 pull-ups
-10 wall ball shots (no full squat and the ball doesn't have to reach the 10-foot line)  I didn't realize this until after the 3rd round, when I had already done 3 sets of full wall balls. Learning that was the best news ever.)
-10 knee raises  (could have done T2B but would have torn my hands to shit and disabled my shoulder.  I don't know if anyone else who did the WOD did ten full rounds of T2B but if there were, they are more badass than me.)
-10m broad jump.

The pull-ups were the toughest part of this.  Everything else was okay.  22:24


The Boy did a five-round version replacing the pull-ups with 5 ring rows and the knee raises with sit-ups.

He followed that up with rowing and skipping.

Regina Boxing Club: Friday Fun-Pain

A. In seven minutes, do 21-15-9 of:
-Squat jumps
-Squat thrusts
-Push-ups

Skip for time remaining.  I was, surprisingly to me, the third one done in the small noon-hour group.  (Arrogantly, I expected to be first.)   I tried to count my skips.  I think I got to 240.


B. In seven minutes, do 201-15-9 of:
-Jumping lunges
-Horizontal jumping jacks
-Plank walk-up

Skip for time remaining.  This time there was less time remaining, maybe a minute.   I was really fast on the plank-walk-ups but slow on the other stuff.  Still, I was the second one to get to the skips this time, but my skipping was way worse this time as I was spent.   I may have got to 100 skips.


Then there was the bag work.   I like to punch stuff.  

This was plenty enough work for me to justify coming home and spending my EDO afternoon on the couch playing Grand Theft Auto 4.

VolkeFit: E2MO2M and Clean/Push Press/Ring Push-Up

A. Every two minutes for 5 rounds:
10 knee-to-elbows
3 power snatches @ 95 lb

Done.

B. For time, 12-9-6-3 of
Hang power clean @ 115 lb
Push press @ 115 lb
Ring push-ups

6:58.  Probably should have been faster.

Garage with Nick: I get so Emom-tional, baby

With a (surprisingly) slight hangover from a wedding the night before, I headed to Nick's garage with some toys.

EMOM #1

16 minutes - alternating every minute:
1. 10 sandbag squats
2. 8 burpees


EMOM#2

14 minutes - alternating every minute:
1. 15 Russian KB swings (53 lb)
2.  10 box jumps (24")


For whatever reason, I felt terrific after this workout and it eliminated the last bits of my hangover.   YEAH EXERCISE!!!

Sundays have fast become my favourite workout of the week.  I get to hang out with Nick, who is an all-around great dude.   It's fun coming up with new workouts to introduce to him.  And the time is perfect.   On Sunday mornings I wouldn't be accomplishing anything anyway, so I don't have a feeling like I'm stealing time from my kids or my real world responsibilities which can be the case with a workout on a weekday evening.  

Starting the day off with a workout always improves my outlook for the rest of the day.  I wish I could get my act together enough to do it during the week, but that ain't gonna happen as long as I have to work and get my kids to school in the morning.

Regina Boxing Club: Roll the Dice, Pay the Price

Coach Pat was going to Vegas the next day, so we did a 20 minute workout with exercises determined by the roll of a couple of oversized dice.

Here were some of the exercises (I may not remember all of them, although some were assigned to more than one number.)

-5 "urpees" (push-up-less burpees)
-3 laps around the gym (a nice reprieve)
-15 mountain climbers (L+R=1.  These were on a "7" so we got a lot of them)
-10 push-ups
-10 star jumps
-5 horizontal jumping jack/squat thrusts
-15 squat thrusts


Following that, we did some bag work, and a little post workout video study with Coach George revealed that I had no idea what I was doing when it came to throwing a left hook.

We finished off with some truly hellish core work.  Goddamn planks.

Basement: 10 x 500m row

I was going to let off some steam by doing a squatty/pull-uppy/ball-slammy garage workout right after getting home from work, but circumstances prevented it.   

It worked out for the best.  I had some wrestling PVR'd and doing the row allowed me to watch some of it.  I might have gone for 15 rounds, but my darling Wife had made me a delicious shaved beef sandwich and I had held off supper until that point.  

For the first nine rounds, I kept it casual, around the 2:05-2:15/500m pace.   

For the tenth round, I went all out and got a 1:43 time.   That wasn't bad, considering the damper was set to 6, not 9, and I probably went a bit fast out of the gate.  

VolkeFit

Warm-up
Row 40 cal at 65%
25 box jumps
15 squats of 155 lb

Untimed.  There was a bit of rest between each thing.

Main event
For time (15 minute time cap):
200 double unders
50 single arm DB snatch (45 lb)
200 double unders

13:08

Garage with Nick: Tag Teaming "Cindy"

We warmed up by playing catch with the 20-lb slamball, throwing it wall ball-like (starting with a full-squat, exploding up with a two-handed toss) over the pull-up bar.

Then it was time to introduce Nick to "Cindy." He had read about her on the internet, so he was aware of her nasty reputation.

He seemed somewhat reassured when I told him we would be tag-teaming.  Cindy is easier to handle when you take turns with a partner.

For 20 minutes, we alternated rounds of:

-5 pull-ups
-10 push-ups
-15 air squats

In the 20 minutes, we got 18* rounds, plus 2 pull-ups.



*We think.  At some point, we stopped keeping track.

B-Squad: Dying Pigeon

On the way to the gym, we saw a pigeon that was writhing around on the ground and was clearly going to die.    I chose not to see that as a bad omen for what the workout would be like.


6 rounds:
-250m run (three times around the gym
-20 bell swings (55 lb)
-10m broad jump
-10m backward sled drag (45 lb)
-20 jumping squats

It took me 22:45.  This was surprisingly tough.

Basement: YouTube Yoga

This is the one I did.  

There were actually a couple of poses that were challenging enough that I took a brief break during them.

Regina Boxing Club: Eye of the Tyler

Probably the worst title for a blog post ever.

First time doing a workout at the Regina Boxing Club, other than a "Parents Night" thing a while back.

This was HARD.

Warmed up by running around the gym, doing high knees, buttkickers, side to sides and stuff.

Then it was time for the Circuit.

This was savage.

20 minutes:

10 squats
20 alternate v-sits (l/r = 2)
30 mountain climbers (l/r = 1)
40 skips

10 burpees
20 sit-ups
30 lunges (l/r = 2)
40 skips

10 push-ups
20 bicycle crunches (l/r = 1)
30 horizontal jumping jacks
40 skips

Repeat as needed.

I got through this thing 2 times, I think, and got to the burpees on the third way through it. 

Then it was time for some interval bag work.  That was fun, but hard.  Maybe more hard than fun, really.  Starting with 1-2 and working up to four-punch combinations.  During this segment, Coach Pat Fiacco pulled people off one-by-one to hit pads.

I am really bad at hitting pads.

We finished off with some goddamn planks.  Holy shit, I'm bad at planks.  Or at least I was tonight because I was wrecked from all the work I'd already done.

On a side note, I've been making a conscious effort to drink a LOT more water recently.   Most of it came pouring out of me (as sweat) during this workout.

Basement: Tyler tries yoga... and is pretty bad at it

I've had this feeling in the back of my mind for some time that I should do yoga.

For starters, I'm about as flexible as an inanimate carbon rod.

Plus, I know I should be trying new things more often.   And maybe yoga would help me calm the hell down or achieve inner peace or make me a better person somehow.  

But with going to B-Squad and Fitness by Design (aka VolkeFit) and also starting going once a week to boxing fitness classes at the Regina Boxing Club (wife had a punchcard with nine visits left she can't use, and Son already attends kids classes there, so it made sense for me to try it)  and regular Sunday garage workouts with Nick, that doesn't leave a lot of time (or money) to go to a yoga studio.  

Enter YouTube.   Specifically,  YouTube yoga queen Adriene.  

I searched "Yoga for Beginners," and that's how I found her.  She's got a ton of videos online, some specifically targeted for beginners.  

I picked this one and was off to the races.  

She, uh, seems nice.  She's pretty laid back (I guess you probably can't be too intense if you teach yoga) and has a very conversational teaching style, but she doesn't take it too seriously and is even a little goofy at times.  I like her.  I probably mentioned that one too many times to my Wife who is now accusing me of crushing on her.   

As far as me actually doing the yoga, it was a pretty basic routine, from what I understand.  Not that it was easy for me.   It's not necessarily easy following someone along on a TV.  Adriene would do a pose and I'd do it, but then I'd want to look to see if I was getting it right (I wasn't), which naturally takes me out of the pose.  

Fortunately, Adriene doesn't judge me and there are no other students around to make me feel self-conscious about how terrible I am at this stuff. 

I'm sure I would benefit from a real live instructor correcting my form, but that's a sacrifice I'm prepared to make for the convenience and lack of shame doing yoga by YouTube provides.  

I'm going to try to do this on a semi-regular basis. 

Basement: Monday Night RAW Rows

10 x 500m rows, resting one minute in between.  Medium pace.

I kept them between 1:55 and 2:15/500m.   I was going a little quick in the earlier ones, probably more out of habit than anything.

I'm going to work up to doing 20 x 500m, but I need to have an hour to kill.

Garage with Nick: Helen and EMOM

My longtime friend Nick took me up on my invitation to do weekly Sunday morning workouts.
 
Like me, he's a dad of young kids and getting to the gym consistently can be a challenge.  Sunday mornings seems like a good time to sneak in a workout without being too disruptive to all the other demands on our time.

Nick isn't a newbie to fitness, by any means.  He's lifted weights (off and on, I think) as long as I've known him and has run marathons in the past.  As an athlete, he's definitely a cut above me.  When we played Frisbee, he was always way faster.*   When we were teenagers, if we ever wrestled, he'd ragdoll my overweight body around with shocking ease.  (I preferred to tap out his scrawnier brother, Jim.)

Nick hasn't done a ton of CrossFit-style stuff, though, so I thought this would be a nice change of pace for him.

For his first outing, I introduced him to a classic CrossFit WOD:

A. "Helen"
3 rounds, for time:
-400m run (or, in our case, around my block which may be a bit farther)
-21 bell swings (I used my 28kg KB, and let Nick use my 24kg)
12 pull-ups  (Nick had yet to be introduced to the wonderful cheat code known as kipping, so he did 6 deadhang pull-ups, instead)

This took me 15:30, which is considerably slower than my best ever Helen time.  Like, 5-6 minutes slower.   It was probably the slightly heavier kettlebell.  Yeah.  That's it.

This was rough, but I guess that's the point.


B. 12-minute EMOM, in alternating minutes:
1. 20 double unders (Nick did 30 seconds of single skips, which is actually harder)
2. 10 sandbag squats.

We got through this.  Next time we could up the work a bit more, but it was a good start.

And Nick texted me to tell me he was pretty sore the next day.  So was I.



*(and more skilled and more handsome and with better hair) 

VolkeFit: BurpThrust and SkipRow

A."BurpThrust"
Every 2 minutes for 10 rounds:
-3 burpees
-3 trhusters (115 lb)


B. "SkipRow"

50 cal row
50 double unders
40 cal row
75 DU
30 cal row
100 DU
20 cal row
125 DU
10 cal row

20:20

Basement: Row, Row, Row Some More

10 x 500m rows (medium pace, one minute rest between rounds)

This was inspired by a Saturday workout I heard about (but did not actually do) at B-Squad.

The B-Squad WOD involved 20 freaking rounds of 500m row, which to me, sounds like something that would be a featured attraction in the Third Circle of Hell (with your special hostess, Jillian Michaels!)

I was informed that, no, it wasn't that bad, and the idea behind the WOD was not to row at a sprinty pace, but more of a 2:10/500m kind of thing, with a minute in between.

My rower has been largely gathering dust in the fitness room, because on the occasions that I actually take the initiative to do a home workout, I can always find something that I'd rather do than row.

But, I also had some wrestling PVR'd and my rower faces the TV, so that made me decide to do an abbreviated version of the workout.

As it turns out, I was able to do the 10 rounds of 500m fairly easily.  I probably could have done the 20 rounds, but I thought my wife needed help getting the kids to bed.  

VolkeFit: Bike, Lift, Row

Five rounds:

1000m bike
5 press 115
5 push press 115 lb
5 push jerk 115 lb
250m row

Rest between rounds for a time equal to the time worked.

Each round took me about 4:20-4:30

B-Squad: AngDesj hates my legs and wants to hurt them

Yeah, this was a grinder.

21-15-9 of:

Thrusters (135 lb)
Push-ups
Front squats (135 lb)
Strict chin-ups
Wall balls
Burpees


The first two rounds took me almost exactly 17:00 each.  The last one (the one with the least amount of work, mind you) took just over 18.

42:19

B-Squad -TGU Thursday

Warm-up: 10 minutes of airbike


A. 3 sets of 7 Turkish get-ups per arm, rest as needed.

My infected toe and the volume made these a little hard, so I definitely rested as needed.

I used 25 lb for the first two sets and 35 for the last one.


B.  5 sets:
2 wall walks
10 toes to bar
5 strict dips

Done.

VolkeFit: Squats. Then some stuff. Then more squats.

A) Tempo Sqats - Work to a heavy single
Control the descent, about three seconds long.

275 lb 


B) 3 sets at a steady pace not for time:
8 ring dips
30 double unders

Done


C) Alternating
10-8-6-4-2 Front squat (175 lb)
5-4-3-2-1 ring pull-ups

7:13

Basement: EMOM

20-minute EMOM

Minute 1: 12 ball slams
Minute 2: 12 sit-ups.

Did this with the Boy.  

We capped it by doing a race to 20 burpees.  I gave him a six burpee headstart.  I finished 5 burpees behind him.

VolkeFit*: SQUATZ and Metcon

A. Squat waves 3-2-1 x 3

It would take too long to explain this.  My last set was:
3 x 255lb
2 x 265lb
1 x 275lb


B. For time, 7 rounds of
15 cal on the AirBike
5 hang power clean 115 lb
5 push press 115 lb
30 double unders

19:37

*Steve has now adopted the name "Fitness By Design" for his training business.

B-Squad: Ride, Snatch, T2B

A. Ride 10km on the AirBike

16:40-ish

B. 7 minute AMRAP:
14 Alternating DB snatch (I used 35lb)
14 Toes to Bar

3 rounds + 4 snatches

Garage: Burpull Sprints

Five rounds of 10 burpee pull-ups, resting one minute in between.

Round 1 1:01
Round 2 1:00
Round 3 1:00
Round 4 1:03
Round 5 1:19

Those one-minute rests seemed to get shorter and shorter.

Garage: Pull! Thrust!

Adapted from part of a VolkeFit workout I missed.

EMOM for 20 minutes
5 pull-ups (I did kipping)
5 sandbag thrusters (80lb, I think)


It was a hot day in the garage and, well, you know...

Garage: Dirty squats and pull-ups

For time:

15 sandbag squats
15 pull-ups
12 sandbag squats
12 pull-ups
9 sandbag squats
9 pull-ups

3:58

I was gonna do a DU/KB swing WOD after, but after one round, my lower back started sending warning signals.  So I went inside and did an AirDyne bike ride while watching UFC Embedded (about 6 minutes).  

VolkeFit: Pitter patter, let's get back atter

First WOD since getting back from vacation.

A. Work to a Heavy Squat (single)

Got 285 lb.

Failed on 305.  I probably rushed through these too much.



B. 17 min AMRAP
5 deadlifts 135lb
10 push-ups
15 AirDyne calories


10 rounds + 5 DL + 10 PU + 9. 

CrossFit Kelowna: Death by AMRAP

While on vacation, I finally got around to doing some actual exercise, with a visit to Kelowna CrossFit.

I did it, following a day in the sun which later gave me a hellacious sunburn because I'm an idiot who has never heard of sunscreen.

Yeah, that's not a colour humans should be. 

I also didn't eat all that well that day.

But, mostly, I just haven't been working out that much recently, so the workout kicked my ass to the point where the owner/coach (a nice dude who's name I can't remember) repeatedly asked me if I signed the waiver.


5 minute AMRAP
5 power cleans (95 lb)
5 thrusters

7 minute rest

10 minute AMRAP
3 deadlifts (225 lb)  - rx'd was 275 but fuck that.
1 round of Cindy

5 minute rest

7 minute AMRAP
7 burpees over bar
7 hang power snatch


I didn't record my individual results for each round, but my total was 249 reps, which is pretty goddamn terrible.

Garage: Squeeze in a quick one

I had a brief window to get in a workout.

Four rounds:
5 pull-ups
10 T-BAG squats (approx 80lb)
50 double unders

9:02


Later in the day, I went and moved a bunch of lumber for my father-in-law's new fence.  I didn't time it or weigh it, but it was at least an hour's worth of work.

VolkeFit: Squeeze that ass!

17 minute AMRAP
50 calorie row
50 wallballs
50 kettlebell swings (overhead) 45lb
50 box jumps

It was a hot day and I am an old man.

One full round, plus 50 cal row.  

Garage: Skipping sprints

The Boy and I took turns skipping.

He would do 50 single skips, then I would do 50 double unders.

We did four rounds each, then my daughter and her friends tried to get in on the action, so it kind of dissolved.

I did a few more big sets of DUs,   I tried to break 100 consecutively, but only got up to 60-something or 80-something.

VolkeFit: Squat your clean, Jerk! *Burp*

10 squat clean and jerks 95lb

15 burpees 

8 squat clean and jerks 115lb

15 burpees

6 squat clean and jerks 125lb

15 burpees

4 squat clean and jerks 135lb

15 burpees

2 squat clean and jerks 145lb

15 burpees

15:44

Basement: Nyet, Comrade

15-minute EMOM

6 Russian Twists (12 kg)
10 Russian KB Swings (24 kg)

Basement VolkeFit WOD

Steve prescribed this WOD back on his off-day June 3, but I did something else.   I wanted to do it at some point.

A. Row 1km, then do 50 push-ups

Took me 6:53


B. Ride the AirDyne at 95% for 24 seconds x 5 - rest as needed between.

HOLY SHIT THIS SUCKED BALLS.

Actual text exchange with Steve:

T: "It will take me a while to forgive you.  Those fucking AD sprints."

S: "I'm doing this for you because I care.  Was it that bad?"

T: "The only problem is the stairs in my house."

S: "Have the kids bring you food and water and stay downstairs."


Yeah, right.  If I let them see me in that condition, it would have meant years of therapy.

Garage: EMOM with Dad!

Family workout time!  Time to earn those Slurpees and fight back against my chubby genetics, kids!

12 minute EMOM:
1.Burpees (Dad does 12, Son 10, Daughter 5)
2.Squats (Dad 10 w/80lb sandbag, Son 10 w/ 10 lg sandbladder, Daughter 10)

VolkeFit: Back at it

A. From rack: 1 press + 3 push press with a five-second pause overhead

 130 lb



B. Dumbell snatch
12/arm x 3, build as you go.

ended with 40 lb


C. 2 x 10 minute AMRAPs:

AirBike 15 cal
5 push-ups
10 mountain climbers
30 sec heavy farmer hold (2x 35 lb)

rest 3 minutes

Row 250m
30 sec. handstand hold
10 step-ups
10 Russian twists (25 lb)

(I could be wrong on the weights used in both of these... if so, I'm low by 5-10lbs)

First: 5 rounds + 11 cal
Second: 5 rounds + 3 seconds

Garage:

I tried skipping on my new mat, but it puffed up and fucked up my rhythm.

Four rounds:
10 T-BAG squats
10 knee raises

5:23

Cooled off with a light jog through the park.

Garage: THE T-BAG!

Wife got me a sandbag for Christmas.  It's looks like a duffel bag, but it's got bags inside that you fill with sand, making it adjustable in weight.  When it's completely full, it's awkward/heavy as fuck. I love it.

For the purposes of this blog, I'm calling it the T-BAG.  All caps only.  If you try spelling it without the all caps, you are dead to me.  DEAD.

10 minute EMOM

3 T-BAG clean and jerks
5 knee raises  (bring those knees to your chest, if you're not gonna go to your elbows)

This was actually hard.  I almost didn't finish by the last two minutes.  And I didn't have T-BAG completely full, as I had to take out two of the bladders.  I'm gonna guess it was under 100lbs.

Basement: Pull-ups/Chin-ups and Non-Level Push-ups and Russian Twists

Because there was something I wanted to watch on TV.


A. 14 or 15 minutes (I forget) EMO
Minute 1: Three Deadhang pull-ups
Minute 2: Three Deadhang chin-ups

Done.


B. Five rounds, not for time but no lollygagging:

10 push-ups - alternating with one hand on the slam ball
20 Russian twists with 20 lb slam ball

Done.

VokeFit: Powered by Guilt and Self-Loathing

A. Back Squat to a heavy single

Got up to 315, a new PR.  

Whoa.  Didn't see THAT coming.  I hadn't really squatted all that regularly in a long time, so I tended to top out in the high 200's whenever I did do it.    But after 285 went up without much problem, I decided to try for 305.  That went up, too,  but I had to swear at it.   I briefly thought THAT was a PR, but then I checked this blog and find out I've done 310 back in 2012.    So I put 315 on the bar.   

It went down.   After a pause, a lot more swearing and straining, I managed to stand up.  

New PR:  315. 

Good times. 

B) EMOM 15 minutes: 
1- 10 Double DB OH lunges 
2- 3-5 pull ups 
3- 30 seconds AD at 85%

Done. 

C) EMOM 15 minutes: 
1 - 30 second HS hold 
2 - 6 DB PS/arm 
3- 15 air squats

Done

VolkeFit: Forgot the Vaseline

A. Clean to a tough single

205


B. 8 minute AMRAP
10 weighted sit-ups
10 DB Push Press

8 rounds plus 6 sit-ups

I forgot to Vaseline my butt crack for this one.  Mild chafing resulted.



C. 14 minute AMRAP
Row 250m
12 box jumps
25 DU's

5 rounds plus 250m

Basement: 15 minute AD ride because Harlan made me

I was single dadding it tonight and tried to get Harlan to come over for a post-supper workout.

He couldn't make it, but told me that I should do it anyway, at least 15 minutes.

I had a really long Sunday and was THISCLOSE to not doing a damn thing.  But once the kids were in bed, I threw on some shorts and made my way downstairs.

I did 15 medium-pace minutes, good for 196 calories, while watching a so-so comedian on Netflix.  

I then went upstairs and ate it all back.

VolkeFit: Yeah, but I ate pizza three days straight

A. Power cleans and hang cleans

6 sets of 1 power clean and 3 hang cleans
Do one set every 2 minutes.

My first two used 115.  The remaining four were 135. 


B. For time, three rounds of:
18 alternating DB power cleans
-12 burpees
-6 pull-ups

We eliminated the power cleans because I did them in the first part of the WOD.  (They were substituted in for presses and push-presses on account of the pain in my neck.)

I also decided to do this for time, when it wasn't originally programmed that way.

3:50.

C. For time, 15-12-9 of:
-AirDyne calories
-16 Russian swings, 60lb
-Rowing calories

5:10

Basement: In association with DONGLOVER

I wanted to workout, but not hurt my neck, so I thought an extended AirDyne ride was in order. 

I figured I'd do 30 minutes at a reasonable pace, while watching Netflix, which was good for 373 calories

The entertainment was a Netflix comedy special called "Weirdo" featuring comedian/actor/rapper Donald Glover.   

When you watch that show, the opening credits say: "In association with DONGLOVER."   

Hey, it's his name.   His name is DONGLOVER. 

Garage: Pain in the Neck

A. Four rounds of 15 burpulls.

Timed individually, resting 4 minutes between.

1.1:24
2.1:25
3.1:32
4.1:45


B. 3 rounds of 100 skips and 10 push-press (2x35)

Timed individually, resting 3 minutes between.

1. 1:32
2. 1:09
3. 1:15

I was gonna do four rounds, but experienced a really bad pain in my neck during the push-press.   Shit.

Garage: Harlan's bright idea

20 minute AMRAP:

100 skips, 10 burpees

8 rounds, plus 59 skips.  

VolkeFit: I like big squats and I cannot lie

A Back Squats

Build to a heavy triple

275.  I'll take it.


B1. DB bench press  6-8  x 4, rest 1 minute
B2. Push-ups  12-15 x 4, rest 1 minute


This was hard.  I used 45lb, started out doing 8 presses and 15 push-ups, but finished at 6 and 12, with breaks on the push-ups.  Pretty sad.


C. 50 calories AirDyne, 30 alternating DB power snatches, 50 calories AD.

Done.

VolkeFit: You know squat

A) 5,4,3 x 2

Ended at 235


B) Single Arm Dumbbell Powell Raise
8 per arm, rest 1 minute between arms.

Surprisingly tough.  I used 15 lb.


C) Alternating deadbugs

40 x 4; rest 1 minute.


D) For Time:
10 dumbbell Turkish get-ups @ 30lb (5 per arm)
1 minute max army crawlers
5 wall walks
1 minute of max push-ups
1 minute of max AirDyne calories.

Ugh.

VolkeFit: 60-second spurts of inadequacy

1 minute max push press at 95lb
Rest 1 min
1 minute max burpees
Res 1 min
1 minute max AD (cal)
Rest 6 minutes
x3


Push Press: 39, 37, 20
Burpees:  18, 14, 13
AirDyne:39, 31, 26

Boxing - Parents' night

The Boy is taking a boxing class, and they offered parents the chance to come and learn about what what they are teaching the kids.  Me and about a half-dozen other parents took advantage of it.

Here's what we did:

Light jog, high knees, butt kickers

Sit-ups and two punches (holding little dumbbells) for 60 seconds (two of them)

Push-up plankhold, then push-ups.

Then it was a bunch of work on jabbing and right cross.  My footwork sucks.

Living room: Monday Night Squat

Was gonna do push-ups, but my arm hurt for some reason.

Did 15 squats per minute for 20 minutes, instead.   300 squats.

B-Squad: Keep on keepin' on

2 rounds:

• 5 minute row
• 2:30 walk
• 5 minute ride
• 2:30 walk
• 5 minute box step-ups (20")
• 2:30 walk

Nice little 45:00 of continuous work.   I could adapt this for my basement or garage. 

Done.

I didn't really track my results.  On the row, I wanted to make sure I got 1,250m each times.

VolkeFit: Hey

A. Metcon 
4 sets:
10 DB Power snatches/arm (40lb)
10 box jumps (20")
Ride 250m
(It says rest 2 minutes between, but I missed that)

Done.


B. Lift
Clean (Squat Clean)
1 rep of 155every 75s

Lovely.

I seriously need to get my garage insulated so I can get a barbell and some bumper plates.


C. Metcon
3 sets for time:
15 Russian swings
8 Push-up-less burpees
15 calories AirDyne

4:55

Basement: Monday Night Row

I rarely take advantage of the fact that I have a TV in my fitness room.

Honestly, there aren't many exercises I can do that allow for watching TV anyway.  But my rower is facing the TV.

WWE Monday Night RAW was on, and it gave me an idea

My initial plan was to watch wrestling and do a nice leisurely 30 minute row.

Yeah, I basically decided to do that because I wanted to use the title "Monday Night Row."   I am precisely that much of a geek.  

By the way, 30 minutes of rowing is longer than I've ever rowed consecutively.  There's a reason for that.  I kind of fucking hate rowing. 

Before I started, I negotiated with myself down to a single 20 minute row.

As I was doing it, I was getting tired and my arms were hurting.  So I called an audible and decided to do a 10 minute row, and two 5min afterward.

In 10 minutes, I was JUST short of 2,500m. 

5 minute row #1: 1,266m 

5 minute row #2: 1,308m

Since I hate rowing and like wrestling, I may do rowing WODs regularly on Mondays.  

Of course, now that I've put it in writing, I'll probably never use my rower again.

Basement Gone Bad with Harlan

Like a Fight Gone Bad but with longer breaks because we took turns.  Logistics, don'tcha know?

Alternating 5 minute rounds (Three each)

1. Row for calories
2. Russian KB swings (I used the 53lb)
3. Burpees
4.Soulkilling Weighted squats (2x35)
5.Ball slams

My results for each of the three rounds:

1. 22, 19, 18
2. 36, 34, 27
3. 13, 8, 10
4. 18, 15, 16
5. 29, 30, 22

Basement: EMOMs

Warm-up: "Thunderstruck"


A. 10 min EMOM:
10 DB Thrusters (2 x 25lb)


B. 10 min EMOM:
12 slams

VolkeFit: AMRAP Battle

A) Front Squat (tempo)
8 reps, 6 reps, 4 reps, 2 reps.

Ended up at 185lb x2

B) EMOM for 12 min

Odd: Hang Power Clean x 5 (135lb)
Even: Handstand Push-ups x5.  You better believe I kipped that shit

Done

C) AMRAP AMRAP AMRAP because FML

8min AMRAP:
-Row 100m
-12 weighted step-ups (2x25)
6 rounds plus 20m

Rest 2 minutes

8min AMRAP:
-Airbike 10 cal
-12 air squats
-6 Knees to elbows
4 rounds, plus 10 cal, plus 3 squats

Rest 3 minues

8min AMRAP
-12 lunges
-6 hand-release push-ups
-12 slams (30lb ball)
6 rounds plus 5 lunges

Basement: 15 minute EMOM

15-minute EMOM

5 burpees

10 DB push press (2x 35lb)

Done.  It was harder than I thought. 

Basement: 30-minute AirDyne

425 calories.

Lactic intolerance

Eight rounds:
5 hang power cleans (115lb)
7 burpees
9 cal air bike
Rest 2:30

1. 1:32
2. 1:13
3. 1:12
4. 1:14
5. 1:07
6. 1:17
7. 1:09
8. 1:01

Living room: EMOM push-ups

10 push-ups EMOM for 15 minutes.

Basement: Ride and Thrust like a Renegade

A. Five rounds:

-300m AirDyne
-10 Renegade Rows 2x25lb
-10 Thrusters

8:42


B. 1000m row (Twice)

3:50-ish each.

VolkeFit: Excelling in Mediocrity

A. Barbell good mornings

3 sets of 10.


B. Deadlift to a heavy single.

I think I went to 300.


C. Row and Swing

Row 1K and 25 kettlebell swings
Rest 3 minutes and do it again.


D. Are you sure you've worked out before?

21-15-9 of:
Kipping pull-ups
Push-ups
Slam ball cals

Took me around 13:00

B-Squad: 50 minutes of Funnishness

Five rounds of:

• Two minutes of rowing
• Two minutes of biking
• Two minutes of box step-ups (20'')
• Two minutes of shuttle runs
• Two minutes of walking (this was my favourite)

My goal was to just keep going at a medium pace.

The Boy joined me for this one.  He did one minute on, one minute off for each exercise.

Basement: 20 minute AirDyne

300 calories exactly.

VolkeFit: Yeast Mode

A. Barbell good mornings
12 x 3

B. Three rounds (not for time):
5 deadhang pull-ups
30 alternating roller deadbugs
10 hammer curls (2x 25lb)  - I was supposed to do this into a press, but didn't realize.

 C. EMOM for 30 minutes:
1. 10 burpees
2. 10 Russian kettlebell swings (55lb)
3  Row 12 calories

D. Ride 1,200 metres at 85%

Basement: Ride and Row

A.  200 calories on the AirDyne
15:30-ish

B. 100 calory row
5:20

Basement: EMOM with the Boy

EMOM for 15 minutes:

5 burpees and 10 ball slams

VolkeFit: Pros and cons of becoming a cyborg

A) Push -ups
Four rounds of 12.

Done.


B) Glute bridge hold (4 seconds) + 5 sit-ups

Done.  Sexily.


Looking back, I now realize I was supposed to alternate these two things.  A1 and A2 style.



C) EMOM 12 min
Even: 5 strict pull-ups
Odd: 20 alternating foam roller dead bugs

The strict pull-ups were quite hard on my left arm which still seems to be suffering from some sort of nerve issue.  I should get it checked out.  Or maybe just get one of those sweet prosthetics from LexCorp

D) Go Time!

27-21-18-12 of: 

Calories rowed

Dumbbell thrusters 2x40

14:30.  Thrusters suck the life out of me and make me question my very existence.  

B-Squad: Unlucky Sevens

Day off noontime workout at B-Squad.

A) Single leg DB Split squat
3 sets of 8 per leg, resting 30 seconds between legs and 2 min between sets.

I think I used either 2x25 or 2x35lb kettlebells.


B) For time, using 115lb barbell, do 7 rounds of:
7 deadlift
7 hang clean
7 front squat
7 shoulder to overhead.

17:54

Basement with the Boy: Slamin' and swingin'

The Boy likes EMOMs, so when I can convince him to put down the iPad and join me, that's what we do.  (Reps and weight reflect my work.  His was less)

A. 14 minute EMOM
Alternating:
15 Ball slams (20lb)
15 Russian bell swings (63lb/28kg)


B. Partner Burpee Pet Rock
Partners alternate sets of five burpees, until we get to 50.  Resting partner holds a kettlebell.

Took us 3:38

VolkeFit: The thing I did before eating a bunch of Taco Time

A.  14 minute EMOM: 
First minute - 6 DB snatches per arm
Second minute - 12 calorie row

The snatches took just over 20 seconds each minute.  The rows took between 30 and 40.


B. 50 renegade rows (30lb)

I did them in sets of 30 and 20.


C. TRX pike push-ups

Steve got a new toy.

4 sets of 7.

Done.


Afterward, I met my family in the food court of Southland Mall, and demolished a taco salad and Mexi-Fries because I am an insatiable glutton-monster whose appetite is only matched by my ability to sabotage any progress I make in life.

Basement: Rowing, Dipping, Swinging and Slamming

Five rounds for time:
250m row
5 ring dips
15 kettlebell swings (Russian)
20 ball slams

14:26

Basement with Harlan:

EMOM for 15 minutes

7 sit-ups
7 push-ups
8 lunges

Then, max sit-ups for time.

I did 60.

VolkeFit: Squatter's rights

A) Back Squats 1.1.1 x 3 @ 260 lb

Done.  I like squatting.


B) Back Squats 10 @ 155 lb 

This was relatively easy after the heavy ones earlier.  I felt like I had a big weight off my shoulders.


C) Row, Swing, Dip, Pull-up 
Five sets:
300m row
10 Russian KB swings (60 lb)
10 dips
5 kipping pull-ups

16:38

Basement with the Boy: EMOM stuff

A) EMOM for 12 minutes

• 5 burpees
• 8 Russian swings (I used 55 lb, he used 10 lb) 

B) EMOM for 10 minutes

• 6 bird dogs (he did 4)
• 8 sit-ups (he did 6) 

C) Alternating squats

I did five, then he did five, until we got to 100

EMOM swings

Using the new, 28kg kettlebell, I did 10 swings on the minute for 15 minutes

Basement: RideSwingSit

10 rounds:

• 10 cal AirDyne
• 10 Russian bell swings 
• 5 sit-ups