Crossfit workout for January 15th

Another day, another awesome workout. Today's workout again featured a Skills section and a Workout of the Day section along with the normal warm-up and cool down periods. I just want to mention that you should always warm up a little before doing any exercise and you should ALWAYS do some sort of cool down. A cool down brings your breathing back to normal and in most cases, stretches out those muscles that you just worked out so hard. Your muscles are nice and warm after working out which makes them easier to stretch which will prevent soreness and injury.

Todays workout:

Warm-up


10 Pipe Pass throughs - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SjunOgLHOE
10 alternating Quad Stretches
5 Pushups
10 Pipe Pass throughs
20 jumping lunges - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zLTDUFjbXA
5 Pushups
10 Pipe Pass throughs
10 Air Squats

Skills

5 sets of 3 reps of Overhead Presses with 2 minute rest in between sets. Add weight after each set so that on the 5th set, you are doing your max for the 3 reps

WOD

4 rounds for time of:

15 Front Squats - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-R-_123Zz8
15 Narrow Push ups - http://gymnasticswod.com/content/narrow-push
15 Knee Tuck Jumps - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDA3DERQKFk

Cooldown

Tabata Plank - If you never heard of Tabata before, it's any exercise that you pick where you do the exercise for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds, 20 seconds exercise, rest 10 seconds, etc for 4 minutes total. So for this one, you hold a plank for 20 seconds, rest 10, etc

How did I do

For the Overhead Presses I used 50 for set 1, 60 for set 2, 70 for set 3, 80 for set 4 and 90 for set 5

For the WOD, I used 65 pounds for the front squats. I finished all 4 rounds in 11:00 minutes even

Comments

The WOD part of the workout wore me out. My legs were on fire after 2 rounds of doing the squats and the Tuck Jumps. The cool down didn't really seem like a cool down either. It seemed like another workout to me.

Tomorrow is a rest day so I will see you all on Saturday!

Crossfit workout for January 14th, 2015

Today's workout was a little different from the last two. It still consisted of the standard warm-up and the Workout Of the Day (WOD), but they added another category called the Skill workout that you also performed today.

Here is the total workout:

Warmup

10 alternating Knee Hugs
10 Quad Stretches
10 Frankenstein kicks
10 Air Squats
10 meter Duck Walk
10 Arm Circles - forward and back
5 Downward Dog Pushups

Skill Workout

5-3-1-1-1 Hang Squat Cleans - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5oH-_vOCEU

What you are going to do here is perform 5 sets of hang squat cleans working up to the heaviest one that you can do. The first set will have 5 cleans, the second will have 3 and the last 3 sets will only have 1 rep each. Continue adding weight in between sets. The last set should be close to the heaviest clean you can do for 1 rep. Rest 3 minutes in between sets.

WOD

2 rounds of 6:00 minutes each - As Many Reps As Possible with a 3:00 minute rest in between rounds. You perform the 3 exercises listed below in order for 6 minutes, take a 3 minute break and then continue where you left off for 6 more minutes. Record how many rounds you completed.

5 Pullups
10 Thrusters - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfIc4DUeapo
15 Kettlebell (or Dumbell) Swings - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBIWpPfc6NY

Cooldown

3 Sets hanging off the pull up bar for as long as you can with a 1 minute rest in between sets. (I was really surprised how well this stretched out my upper body). It felt really good.

How did I do

For the Skill workout I did 5 reps at 50 pounds, 3 reps at 70, 1 rep at 100, 1 rep at 110 and last rep at 120.

For the WOD, I ended up doing 6 total rounds + 9 Thrusters. I used 35 pounds for the Thrusters and a 35 pound kettlebell for the swings.

Comments

Not much really to say here except that after only 3 days of doing this program, I can already feel my core getting stronger. The last 2 days especially have been pretty core intensive. I don't mind though. I want to have a strong core, and so should you. It helps in all aspects of daily activities and should be something to strive for. See you tomorrow!

The 12 Days of Christmas Workout of the Day

I realized today that I was a day off on my workout schedule that I'm following on the website. As I stated in yesterday's post, Crossfit consists of a 3 day on, 1 day off, 3 day on schedule. Yesterday was supposed to be an off day, so in reality, today was my first day. We'll just consider yesterday's workout a warm-up.

On to today's workout. They named this workout the 12 days of Christmas, but trust me, this was nothing at all like Christmas. There were 12 total exercises. After performing the first movement, you went back to number 1 and then added the next movement each round. For example, the exercises start with 1 Power Snatch, then round 2 is 1 Power Snatch + 2 Overhead Squats, then round 3 is 1 Power Snatch + 2 Overhead Squats + 3 Sumo Deadlift High Pulls, etc..  The workout is over when the 12 Hang Squat Cleans are completed.  BRUTAL!!

Warmup

10 alternating Knee Hugs
10 alternating Quad Stretches
10 Air Squats
10 Duck Walks
10 Sec Butt Kicks
10 Sec High Knees
10 Sec Butt Kicks
10 Sec High Knees
10 Sec Butt Kicks
10 Sec High Knees

Workout

The exercises were:

1 Power Snatch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhF0cbRjxRo
2 Overhead Squats - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3VMBdEBB7c
3 Sumo Deadlift High Pulls - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yElE1E_Mco
4 Push Presses - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0gEsMc1JZ4
5 Burpees - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_Dq_NCzj8M
6 V sit ups - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wlw2Cyon-Ks
7 Push ups
8 Pull ups
9 Abmat Situps - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=um44AMM2JgE (You can use a towel behind your back)
10 Thrusters - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfIc4DUeapo
11 Deadlifts - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=op9kVnSso6Q
12 Hang Power Clean - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzQJB9XHd5c

I performed the recommended starting weight of 35 pounds on the bar for all exercises requiring weight.

Cooldown

I did some stretching of my shoulders and core

How did I do

I finished the workout in 29:55

Comments

I learned today why a lot of people don't like Cross fit. When you're doing so many exercises, and mostly ones that you have never done before, your form is terrible which might cause injuries. I found myself slowing down a lot just to keep my form in check. I found overall that if I took my time, it was an excellent overall workout. I also was able to complete all the pull ups today without leaving the bar, unlike yesterday. I also should've realized when I looked at this workout how core intensive it is. My core is going to be screaming tomorrow.

That's it for today. We'll see what tomorrow's workout throws at me.

My Crossfit journey begins

Today, January 12th, 2015, I start a new fitness journey. I have completed several rounds of P90X, Insanity and Body Beast and have at least started P90X2 and P90X3 which I really didn't care for. I have also started T25, which I believe is a good program, but not what I'm after right now.

So today, I decided to join the thousands of others out there who have jumped on the Crossfit bandwagon. For those of you who haven't heard of Crossfit, its defined as this:

With constantly varied, high-intensity functional movements, CrossFit is a training philosophy that coaches people of all shapes and sizes to improve their physical well-being and cardiovascular fitness in a hardcore yet accepting and encouraging environment.

What it pretty much comes down to, and I'm sure there will be people that complain about my simplicity of it, is you are given a Workout Of the Day and you perform it to the best of your ability. Some days it's based on strength training, other days cardio and still others, a combination of the two. It can also be based on time or quantity. For instance, they may give you 5 exercises and you perform them in order and see how many rounds you can complete in 20 minutes. Or, something like perform 75 squats and write down how long it took you to complete. Crossfit is three days on, one day off, and then three more days on for a total of 6 days per week.

There are several websites out there that promote Crossfit. The big one of course is Crossfit.com. I looked at that, and honestly, it intimidated me. So I found another site that better suited my workout style. Look around the internet. There are plenty of websites out there that have Crossfit workouts.

I plan on written an entry in this blog after every workout to help track my progress and hopefully motivate some people to at least take a peek at Crossfit and see if it maybe for them.

With that being said, I present to you, today's Workout of The Day (WOD). I have included links to websites that demonstrate the exercises.

Warmup

Karoke - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOze-7t_-J0
Frankenstein Kicks - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJRArItvXE4
Bear Walk - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmFZaK8VfS4
Crab Walk - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9RDjHth_aY
10 Pushups
Inch Worm - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFJG4GW5JJk
10 Air Squats - http://gymnasticswod.com/content/squat

Workout

As many rounds as possible in 12:00 minutes of:

10 Air Squats - http://gymnasticswod.com/content/squat
10 Pullups -
10 Jump Squats - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gijGpRSA9FI
10 Pullups
10 Burpees - http://gymnasticswod.com/content/burpee

Cooldown

3 rounds of 5 very slow air squats

How did I do

I ended up doing 3 complete rounds and making through the 10 Jump Squats of the 4th round before my time was up

Comments

The pullups really slowed me down. I have always struggled with pullups and adding them in between other exercises in a timed fashion burned me out. I had to come off the bar several times in the second and third rounds before finishing the sets. I think this will be one of the benefits to Crossfit though. My body will get used to doing exercises such as this and I will get into very good physical condition.


That's it for my 1st day of Crossfit training! I will continue to write each day with the workout and how I did. If you start to follow these workouts, please be sure to comment on your times and if you have any questions.

Thanks

Mark

Why work out?

If I asked a group of people in a gym why they were working out I would get a variety of answers that all focus on looking better. Statements such as, I want bigger arms, I want smaller legs, or I want a six pack. Not to many people would say they want to lower their cholesterol or they want to lessen their chances of getting diabetes.

In today's society, we are all so focused on looks. We see athletes, actors, and models in magazines and on television and believe we will never look like that, so why try? The truth is, it's hard work to look like that. But the truth also is that they are paid to be in that kind of shape and they have time to work out 3-4 hours a day, unlike the normal person.

Even though we may never have that six pack or those 21 inch biceps, exercise does help us to be healthy in ways other than looking good. With 20-30 minutes a day of light to moderate exercise, we can:

• Lower our risk of heart disease
• Lower our cholesterol
• Lower our chance of diabetes
• Improve our flexibility
• Lower the risk of some forms of cancer
• Increase weight loss
• Improve our mood
• Boost our energy
• Promote better sleep
• Lower high blood pressure

Sure, 20-30 minutes a day of exercise will not give you the body of a Greek God, but it will increase your chances of living longer and will increase your quality of life. So get going! What are you waiting for? Go for a walk or a bike ride. Go play catch with your kid in the yard. Get up off the couch, away from the television and get moving!

What it takes to lose 10 pounds

Everyone knows what it takes to lose weight. You must exercise and eat healthier. You lose weight when you burn more calories than you take in. It sounds simple. And in fact it is. I want to talk today about what it takes to lose 10 pounds.

One pound of weight is equal to 3,500 calories. If you want to lose 10 pounds, you must create a deficit of 35,000 calories (3500 X 10). The healthy way to do this is to lose 1-2 pounds per week. So in my example of trying to lose 10 pounds, your goal would be to do this in 5-10 weeks.

So let's say you make a goal of losing 1 pound per week for the next 10 weeks to get to your 10 pound weight loss goal. To lose 1 pound a week, you need to have a deficit of 3,500 calories. 3,500 divided by 7 days a week equals 500 calories a day. If you have a deficit of 500 calories a day for 7 days, you will lose 1 pound in that week.

So what do I mean by a deficit? Let's say you normally eat 2500 calories per day to keep your body weight steady. In order to lose that 1 pound for that week, you would need to either eat 2000 calories per day or burn an extra 500 calories per day through exercise. That would create a 500 calorie deficit.

The best way to go about this is to do a combination of exercise and eating less. For instance, only eat 2200 calories and then do some form of exercise that burns 200 calories. That would get you to the 500 calorie deficit also.

I mentioned in my last blog a online tool that helps track the food you eat and the calories you consume. That website is Myfitnesspal.com. The website is free to use and it will help you in your goal to lose weight.  I highly recommend it as a food journal and to help you create and track the calorie deficit that you need to succeed to meet your weight loss goal.

Good luck!!

Fitness Website

Hi,

I just wanted to talk today about a very good fitness website that will help you stay on track with your fitness goals. The website is Myfitnesspal.com. The website is free to join and use.

On the website, you can enter your weight loss goals and it will calculate your nuitritional needs based on those goals. It tells you how many calories you should eat, how many carbs, how much protein, etc to be able to lose 1-2 pounds per week which is the healthy way to lose weight.

It also has a huge food database where you can keep track of the food you eat every day and it compares it to your goals to show how you are doing for the day.

There is also a section to add your workouts. This is helpful because it will take your workouts into consideration when calculating calories. For example, if the website tells me that I should be eating 2400 calories a day to lose 1-2 per week, but I burn 600 calories in my workout for that day, I can still eat 3000 calories for that day since I am at the 2400 overall.

Take a peek at Myfitnesspal.com. I really do think it would be beneficial to your weight loss goals.