Brutal Workout, yet fun

[Catrin]

I've no idea why I like such workouts - but I feel so good afterwards and am rarely sore the next morning... Tonight we did the following:

Warmup: Ran or power-walked for 6 minutes (I did 50/50, I am NOT a runner)

Then we each did one set of the following. Each "set" lasted for 2 full minutes - how many can you do in 2 minutes while keeping good form? We each had a partner and 1 partner would do the exercise while the other counted, then partners would switch places. A bit of friendly competition always enters when we do it this way which is a healthy thing.

Pushups (modified or full)
Crunches (any style desired)
Squats (body/air)
TRX Rows
Box Step Ups (knee high box)
Dynamax Ball Slams
Lunges down the track (or TRX)
Kettlebell Swings
Standing Plate Presses (25 or 10 pound plates)
Jumping Jacks

It doesn't look so hard on paper...doing it is quite the workout, fun stuff! This is a free class at my gym, it is a 6 week class that is based on the Murphy (http://www.crossfit.com/mt-archive2/000881.html)

We started the 6 weeks with the Murphy (All of us actually chose the the "intermediate Murphy", with the repetitions cut in half and running only 1/2 mile to start and 1/2 mile at the end), then for six weeks we meet for two 1 hour workouts a week to do exercises meant to make it possible for us to do better at the Murphy at the last session. Not bad for a free class :)

[roo4]

I dunno, that looks plenty hard on paper to me! Nice job.

[Catrin]

Even better is that I can see the payoff. I've had to change my riding schedule so I don't tweak overuse injuries, but I am becoming leaner and can tell a difference on the bike. I could REALLY tell a difference on the mountain bike when I finally returned to it two weeks ago.

Tonight's workout might mean I don't ride to work tomorrow though - no rest day since Monday and I want to mountain bike Saturday and do a long ride and perhaps a Bosu class Sunday. Tomorrow might need to be the rest day that I should have taken yesterday...

[kiwi rider]

I have been thinking of doing Crossfit. So you really notice a big difference riding. Hmmm I am a beginner road rider. May I ask specifically what the benefits are you see from doing this re riding your bike?
Thanks

[Catrin]

This isn't "Cross Fit" (I think that is a license thing), they call it "metabolic training" at my gym which is a sports and fitness research based university facility. Disclaimers are good :) They also don't use the somewhat military approach I've heard that crossfit instructors seem to be known for.

Personally, for me, I think the benefit is from good old-fashioned circuit training that has been paying off in unexpected ways (to me). For example, when I first moved to this gym in February, one of my knees was so shot that I really thought that I wouldn't ever really be able to run again without some drastic measure. That's changed, while I don't LIKE to run, apparently I can sprint. That is kind of cool ;)

As far as bike specific improvements, my core is stronger, my upper body is stronger, and I think my glutes are getting stronger as well - all of which translate to being stronger on the bike. My legs were already quite strong. Upon returning to the mountain bike after being off it for 8 months (injury recovery) I found that I was stronger and had more endurance than I expected. I was still road riding during that time period, but not trail riding.

Cross training is important, and there are many different ways to do it :cool: I also like to do weights but it is good to mix things up.

[kiwi rider]

Thank you for your feedback. I am glad you are back on the bike!

[Catrin]

Thank you for your feedback. I am glad you are back on the bike!

I am glad it was helpful, it really has been surprising to see how much improvement this kind of workout has provided me in a rather short time period. I think our bodies benefit greatly from having a wide range in our fitness "library".

[Crankin]

I agree, Catrin. The 2 classes a week I take are very similar to what you describe. I quit going to the Tuesday class, because of the instructor's "military" demeanor (ha, don't tell my son). Yesterday, I decided to ride my bike to the gym at 5 AM, for the 5:30 AM class. I will only do this on Thursdays, not on Monday, after a weekend of riding. I was not happy when I saw the military style instructor there, subbing. But, the class was a little more cardio oriented, so it wasn't so bad.
Some of the other class members were amazed I rode my bike to the gym. I find so many people see exercise as something you only do at the gym. While this is not true for everyone there, the people who run outside/ride weren't there yesterday, for some reason. I got constant questions about how I was able to ride there!
(7 miles, which is the long way, but the way I drive involves a highway traffic circle that is deadly, though only 3.5 miles)

[Catrin]

I will ride to the gym, but not for that class, it is just too much for my legs to have an hour long class like that and then ride 14 miles home. I will if doing my own thing or if I am going to Bosu class.

[Catrin]

I did ride to the gym today for an advanced Bosu class - and it kicked my behind. I am glad I went though, I wanted to get an idea of the style of the trainer as I've not been in one of his classes before. HARD, but he keeps an eye out for those who need modification. I like/need an instructor who will push me hard - but who also gets we aren't all 20-somethings...

I am here to say that Sumo Deadlifts with two kettlebells is very different on the Bosu than on the floor, especially since I've only done it with one kettlebell in the past :eek: I did it though :cool: BTW, I liked the instructor, I will take more of his classes. There is really only one there that I avoid - and only because his energy level/motivational style combined with my tendency to get into the zone and forget that I am no longer 30/not listen to my body is a bad combination.

Ride home kicked my...

[solobiker]

That workout sounds awesome!!

[Crankin]

This morning, I found out that I will never be a boxer :eek:.
Millions of punching moves with little weights, jumping jacks with little weights, lunges with one foot on the ball and weights... you get the point.
I am seriously tired from my riding in the Berkshires and now this class.
Total rest day tomorrow.

[Irulan]

:)
I have been thinking of doing Crossfit. So you really notice a big difference riding. Hmmm I am a beginner road rider. May I ask specifically what the benefits are you see from doing this re riding your bike?
Thanks

"Crossfit" is just one trademarked brand of high intensity, multidimensional physical fitness program. There's lots of good stuff out there. Most gyms offer some version of this. The thing about Crossfit is that it appears that the quality of the training really varies from super supportive to super competitive. I do pretty much the same thing, minus the super competitive focus to push for more and bigger, at my gym which is a physical therapy facility. They call it "functional fitness".

here is TE discussion on Crossfit (http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=46656&highlight=Crossfit)

Benefits - better core, better all over body strength, less prone to injury, more flexibility... and that's just for starters.

Here' what we did in Functional Fitness today
Russian single leg goblet squats
dumbell row/punch
clock lunges @5 o clock
cord squat/chops
slider mountain climbers
row/kickback
stability walkout w/knee tuck
stability ball triple thread ( pelvic lift w/knee tuck)
single leg medicine ball slams
med ball toe touches
med ball v-up with press
push up with shoulder touch (pushup, touch one hand to opposite shoulder, then reverse)
20 of everything ( that's each side, not total.:))
then 2 minutes of quadmill.
And THEN after two rounds of that, 20 each of pike, alternate leg pikes, boxer crunches, superman and one min of front and side planks. WHEW.

[Catrin]

Yep, that sounds like what they call "metabolic training" at my gym - similar kind of stuff. After a really hard workout like we had on Thursday, he moderated things quite a bit today. He doesn't do this often but it is fun. We went outside and "played games" but it was quite the workout that featured lots of different things with dynamax balls, a bit of running, pushups, etc. Back to our usual this Thursday. It was nice to be outside, especially since the big broiler in the sky will be kicking in...

[Catrin]

We were introduced to "slosh pipes" at our 6am class yesterday morning. These are simply PVC pipes that are filled with water, and of course come in different sizes/weights. We did squats, lunges, and something he called "Good Mornings" with them while holding them in our arms. The instability of the water certainly added a new dimension to those exercises.

[thekarens]

Great workout! I'm taking notes to try this out. I'm always looking for a new workout to keep things interesting and fresh. Since I started working out in January I still can't do a full pushup. I'm working on it though!

[Wahine]

I love these kinds of workouts. It is very similar to what I do in my strength and conditioning class. I consider my class a functional fitness class focused on injury prevention.

I'm taking some notes from this thread. I've gotten some new ideas from you ladies. Thanks.

One of my new favorite exercises is a version of side plank but instead of supporting yourself with your bottom leg, you support yourself with the top leg on a bench and the bottom leg is held up off the ground but under the bench. (htthttp://www.lynosport.co.za/the-bunkie-test/bunkie5/p://) I keep the bench under a bent knee rather than a straight leg to make it a bit easier and much more knee friendly.

[Crankin]

Wahine, what do you think of a class that has people running (sprints or up to 2-4 minutes) holding hand weights?
When I was a fitness instructor, this would have been a huge no-no. What's the point? I can keep up with the real runners, but I use lighter weights than what she is telling us (2 lbs. vs. 5). I am so tempted to drop the weights next time. Thankfully, she's subbing for the regular person and i make a point not to take her regular classes.

[Irulan]

Here's one of our workouts, just for grins.

[Wahine]

Wahine, what do you think of a class that has people running (sprints or up to 2-4 minutes) holding hand weights?
When I was a fitness instructor, this would have been a huge no-no. What's the point? I can keep up with the real runners, but I use lighter weights than what she is telling us (2 lbs. vs. 5). I am so tempted to drop the weights next time. Thankfully, she's subbing for the regular person and i make a point not to take her regular classes.

I'm generally not a fan of holding weights while running. Running with extra weight can be helpful, but it's best if the weight is on the torso in the form of a vest. Holding hand weights, or having weights on the ankles puts the weight on the end of a long lever arm which increases torque forces at the joints quite a lot. But keep in mind that I'm kinda old school.

[Catrin]

I'm generally not a fan of holding weights while running. Running with extra weight can be helpful, but it's best if the weight is on the torso in the form of a vest. Holding hand weights, or having weights on the ankles puts the weight on the end of a long lever arm which increases torque forces at the joints quite a lot. But keep in mind that I'm kinda old school.

I had wondered about this when Crankin posted it. Even to a non-professional this just doesn't sound like a good idea. Sometimes we do "Farmer Carry" around the track (walking laps with kettlebells in our hands) in class and they are very clear that no running is allowed.

Irulan, that looks like fun :)

[Crankin]

I'm kind of old school, too. I keep thinking joint issues, too much stress in the wrong places, as well as the 1-2 regulars who are barely fit enough to do this amount of running. It's 5:30 in the morning and I don't need extra stress on my 58 year old joints. Not that I have any problems here, but I really think it might open you up to some.
I guess that training I got in 1986 really did teach me something.

[Veronica]

I've done some running with a weight vest and some pulling of a sled with weights. That's a lotta fun! :D You think you're running, but you're barely moving.

I've also done some walking on the treadmill set to an incline holding kettlebells. Not something you do by yourself. :D

Veronica

[Wahine]

I've done some running with a weight vest and some pulling of a sled with weights. That's a lotta fun! :D You think you're running, but you're barely moving.


Done this way is really cool, especially pulling a sled. We do sets where we partner up and run with those really burly giant elastic bands around the pelvis where one partner resists but both are headed in the same direction or even with both partners running "forwards" but in opposite directions so really they end up running on the spot. It's great for when we're stuck inside.

[Catrin]

Interesting you mention the sled. I know the group training class I just joined uses those, sort of dreading/looking forward to when I first do that :eek: :cool: He doesn't start off with people running with the sleds of course - first you get to pull empty, then loaded sleds down the sprint lane using this harness thing that drags the sled behind you.

I am really challenged in the pull-up department, but he had me doing, basically, a pull up from a prone position on the TRX (a really flat row) where my head was under the anchor point and I started with my head just about a foot or so off the ground - if that far. I really didn't think I could do it - but I did it more easily than I thought possible :cool:

Wahine, that sounds fun!

[Wahine]

I am really challenged in the pull-up department, but he had me doing, basically, a pull up from a prone position on the TRX (a really flat row) where my head was under the anchor point and I started with my head just about a foot or so off the ground - if that far. I really didn't think I could do it - but I did it more easily than I thought possible :cool:

Wahine, that sounds fun!

You can practice this type of pull-up at home using a table (http://youtu.be/FKYbggwP_lw).

I also like doing a self assisted pull up using a therapy ball underneath me. You still have to do most of the work yourself because the therapy ball is wiggly. You have to be really careful that you don't rely on the therapy ball to stay up or you'll hurt yourself. You have to use it just for a little support. It's easier and safer if you have a way to hold the therapy ball in place.

[Catrin]

Thanks, I will try it! This takes practice, for sure. I think I will try it without the therapy ball for now. At my gym they have things you can put the ball in that stabilizes it - but if I am practicing there I will just use the TRX and if I happen to lose my grip I am only a foot or so from a rubber mat.

They also have these really big robust band thingies that they use for assisted pull-ups. I've been told it would probably work for me but with my ankle flexibility problem I am afraid to trust myself to what is basically a really large rubber band...sort of kind of.

[Irulan]

For the longest time, I had the goal of a no-assist pull up. I got very close, but the reality is I have a torn labrum in my right shoulder and a no-assist pull up is just not something I should do. I do a ton of other shoulder work. In fact, I think it's my work out that has kept my shoulder stable for several years now. I've come close to re injuring ( subluxation on the Grand Canyon) but because the entire shoulder girdle is so strong now, it's prevented potentially bad things from happening so far.

There's lots of other things I can do instead... horizontal pulls, full pushups, a very wide array of other things, so I just accept it.

[Catrin]

Shoulder/biceps are my weak point. I've been working out pretty heavily for 3 full years now and that part of my body hasn't come along near as far as my core and lower body. There has been progress, but not what I would like to see. However I will take what I can get, and the new approach at my current gym appears to be getting my body's attention.

I still can't do more than 5 full pushups though, and those are pretty bad. This is becoming embarrassing since I can do 100 modified pushups in sets of 20-30 (just last night as part of a challenge that included 50 pull-ups, 100 pushups and 150 squats - started and ended with a .5 mile run). I did TRX rows in place of the pull-ups since I can't do unassisted pull-ups just yet.

[Irulan]

These functional fitness classes to me seem to be the best all over workout I've ever had. And since its changing all the time muscle boredom doesn't set in.

Here's a good one - anyone ever done these?
Stability Ball Pushup to Pike? (http://youtu.be/SYBC05-cu7o)

OMG, these are one of the hardest things I have ever done. I did knock off ten of them. I thought I was going to die, and there's no way I could get to my toes like the guy on the video does.

[Irulan]

Cartrin, try bumping up your weights and working to failure.

[Catrin]

Cartrin, try bumping up your weights and working to failure.

I've started working with a new trainer in a small group training environment who told me he is really going to target that part of my body (after a very thorough and unusual fitness assessment). I've already seen some improvement since starting the metabolic/functional fitness style of training a few months back. We are going to redo the assessment in September and shooting for being able to chest press x amount weight by then - goals are good :) The group training uses the same functional/metabolic style of training, though his classes are more challenging than those I've been taking. I can do them though, and without soreness the next day.

That exercise you linked to looks brutal...errrr...awesome! Another goal to try once I get better at full pushups ;)

[kiwi rider]

WOW...sounds like a great workout! Good for you!

[Irulan]

I can do them though, and without soreness the next day.




Now, maybe I am wrong but- I thought that working to failure and a little muscle soreness was food for you, in terms of making gains in strength. Is this wrong? (Wahine?). From what I've seen, if you don't push some you don't make many gains. So the thought is, if you aren't getting sore ever in your upper body, are you doing enough work to make the gains you'd like to see? If I'm wrong here someone set me straight. I come from a long ago body building background, and that's what I remember. (Cory Everson era)

[Catrin]

Now, maybe I am wrong but- I thought that working to failure and a little muscle soreness was food for you, in terms of making gains in strength. Is this wrong? (Wahine?). From what I've seen, if you don't push some you don't make many gains. So the thought is, if you aren't getting sore ever in your upper body, are you doing enough work to make the gains you'd like to see? If I'm wrong here someone set me straight. I come from a long ago body building background, and that's what I remember. (Cory Everson era)

good question, interesting to see if Wahine weighs in. I work in my sessions until my arms won't do it anymore - so I am reaching that point. My new trainer said the general lack of.soreness is a good sign that I am hydrating properly. Now, that being said, my deltoids were sore this morning - our "fun' workout yesterday was wild, fun, but just plain wild!

I've been trying to both ride and do the special Sunday workout, but something must give. Will have to stick to the weekday sessions and just go to the weekend version when the weather is bad.

[Wahine]

Soreness in moderation is a good thing. :rolleyes:;)

Seriously, a little muscle soreness is good. It means you've taken the tissue a little beyond it's current capacity and that is a good way to stimulate growth. You're body will still respond to exercise even if you are not sore, but it might be a bit slower. If your muscles are so sore that you can barely move the next day, the longer recovery required to get over that workout might outweigh the benefits of pushing that hard. So what you want is a soreness that is kind of like a friendly reminder that you did something hard but not so sore that you have to change the way you move or your activity level.

That's the rule of thumb for power muscles, those are your big muscles that are prime movers like your delts, pecs, lats, glutes, quads, hams, calves.

Postural muscles are a different story. That includes the deep muscles of your core. If your deep core muscles get that same type of soreness, good for you. But if not, don't worry about whether or not you're working them enough, you'll still get good gains with consistent work. Those muscles are meant to function at a submaximal level and that's how they are wired to your nervous system. It's very hard to work them at a level that will cause delayed onset muscle soreness because of that hard wiring and it's not really necessary. In fact, if you try to do hard ballistic movements to work them that hard, your body will automatically switch to cheating with the prime movers because that's their job and you might not work those core muscles as much as you would think.

[Irulan]

Thank you. You still want ideas for your classes? I wrote up the "Wheel of Death" workout that we do once in a while, for another forum.. I will see if I can find it and copy it here.

Another one I like is when we do Quadmill stations. It works best with about 8 people. One station is the Quadmill "caller" and then we have 7 other stations with various things from bosu work to stability work to weight matrices....two minutes on each station.

We do "Hold Down the Fort" when we can use the indoor soccer field. There is stationary exercise paired with a cardio move on the field. You have a partner, and you do one while they do the other, down the list of paired exercises.
Bridges/ run down and back
Push ups/ skipping
Dumbbell matrix/frog hops (long jumps)
Med ball v,ups/box push
And so on.

[Wahine]

Ooooooo, that all sounds great. I love getting new ideas from other trainers. I hate doing the same o'. I love the idea of partnering up and having one partner do cardio while the other does a strengthening exercise.

I love the names of the workouts. When I have a group of 5 we often do variations on "The Star of Power", where we are positioned in a cricle and do various exercises combined with passing a med ball in a star pattern - crunches and squats mostly. We do 2 med balls at a time and I love it because everyone is so focused on throwing and catching that they forget about how hard the squats or crunches are.

I would definitely like to see "The Wheel of Death" workout.

[Catrin]

Soreness in moderation is a good thing. :rolleyes:;)

Seriously, a little muscle soreness is good. It means you've taken the tissue a little beyond it's current capacity and that is a good way to stimulate growth... So what you want is a soreness that is kind of like a friendly reminder that you did something hard but not so sore that you have to change the way you move or your activity level.

That's the rule of thumb for power muscles, those are your big muscles that are prime movers like your delts, pecs, lats, glutes, quads, hams, calves.

Postural muscles are a different story. That includes the deep muscles of your core. If your deep core muscles get that same type of soreness, good for you. But if not, don't worry about whether or not you're working them enough, you'll still get good gains with consistent work......

This makes a lot of sense, thank you. I've a strong lower body, and figure if I can do an almost 5 minute plank that my core has to be pretty strong as well, but strengthening my upper body has been quite the challenge, as mentioned earlier. The two group trainers I work with have quite different styles, so my body should find it difficult to adapt to the differences between them. My deltoids and triceps were sore yesterday, and a little this morning, so something seems to be working :)

I divide my two weekly group training sessions between them - and the new one emails out a "WOW - workout of the week" for us to do on our own. As the few I've seen so far appears to focus on some intense cardio/lower body work I just might skip this during the height of riding season - or just do it every other week, we shall see. I tend to push myself too hard as it is, especially in mid/late summer.

Wahine, we have done something like your Star of Power, and at one time he had three dynamax balls in motion :eek: :) It was torture and fun at the same time! This Sunday we were doing things like partner foam rolling/stretching, a pushup series, bear crawls and a rather lengthy shoulder series with kettlebells. It was upper body "fun day".

[Irulan]

The Wheel of Death.
It's set up in a circle, with 8 spokes. You go out a spoke, do the station, come back in and do an ab station and then go back out the next spoke. The spokes are ladders, low hurdles, and rings. The outer stations were split jumps/squat jumps; bosu squat matrices, plate matrix (upper body stuff with a plate) box step up and step downs, push up matrix, stability ball stuff, bear crawls, and a medicine ball slam set. The ab/core stations on the inside of the circle were supermans, single leg pikes, side hip bridge touches left and right, push up to bridges, boxes crunches and v-sit crunches. After about three times around you really start feeling it.

[Wahine]

The Wheel of Death.
It's set up in a circle, with 8 spokes. You go out a spoke, do the station, come back in and do an ab station and then go back out the next spoke. The spokes are ladders, low hurdles, and rings. The outer stations were split jumps/squat jumps; bosu squat matrices, plate matrix (upper body stuff with a plate) box step up and step downs, push up matrix, stability ball stuff, bear crawls, and a medicine ball slam set. The ab/core stations on the inside of the circle were supermans, single leg pikes, side hip bridge touches left and right, push up to bridges, boxes crunches and v-sit crunches. After about three times around you really start feeling it.


Love it! I have class tonight and I think I will plan for a wheel of death.

[Catrin]

Our group instructor sends us a WOW (workout of the week) once a week for us to do on our own. There is a large whiteboard where we record whatever metric he's asked us to track and there is sometimes a little friendly competition amongst us.

Here is an example of this week's WOW - they typically do seem to focus on cardio and lower body...I don't always do the WOW as it is the height of the riding season but our current heat wave means I've not been able to ride near as much as I should be. Obviously I will need a strong dynamic warmup before starting step 1...I will do this tonight between work and a party I am attending.

----------------------------------------------------------
Step #1:
Rowing Intervals for Max Distance x2 Rounds


Step #2:
Complete in as few rounds as possible of:
100 Body Weight Back Squats

*On the minute – rack the BB and complete 5 Air Squats*
*Record total distance for step #1 and total time for step #2*
--------------------------------------------------------------

Having never done a back squat, ever, means I need a substitution :) If I can maintain proper connection with the back pad on the Freemotion squat machine for that many reps then I will do the squats on the machine.

Oh yes, we did something in group training yesterday that I've not done before (though much of the content in this new group is new to me). We combined a rubber strap thingie that went around our waist with a rope our partner held behind us. Then we started to run while our partner tried to pull us back....at the end we each did 8 burpees then switched positions for the return trip. We did this for 8 minutes...doesn't sound so hard when I read it...

added: The 100 body weight squats were much easier than expected. I was able to use the machine rather than another alternative that wouldn't have been as good.

[Catrin]

Today's "Funday" workout revolved around a theme - the regional Fireman Combat Competition is next weekend and our trainer has helped to train firemen/women and has two brothers who are firemen. He decided to base the workout around the challenges they face in this competition to give us a tiny idea of what they have to do.

After a quite effective and lengthy warmup, we had two segments of various partner exercises at different stations. He tried to partner us up with someone the same basic size (especially for the final exercise). Each team spent 3 minutes at each station and each partner rests while the other did the exercise..

Segment 1:

A. Carrying 20 pound dynamax ball or 30 lb medicine ball on the shoulder, walk up 5 flights of stairs, skipping steps was allowed, must hold rail with the other hand. At the top switch to other shoulder, no skipping steps on the way down. At bottom switch partners.
B: Farmers Carry with 1 kettlebell down a cone course. Switch hand/arm on way back.
C: Beat up tire on the ground (standing on tire) with hammer, choice of 12 or 8 pound hammer. This is great stress relief!
D: Kettlebell single arm standing row (unsure what to call this) from ground to shoulder - touch ground and switch hands quickly before pulling up again - this is to simulate the part of the challenge where they must pull a rope tied around a heavy object to the top of a tower.

Rest :)

Segment 2:

A. Beat up on tire again, this time tire is up against the wall simulating beating a door in.
B. Farmers Carry with two 40 lb kettlebells down another cone course.
C. Monster rope with a 30 lb plate tied to one end. Take other end of rope and run with it a certain distance and return. Amazing what it felt like when the slack was taken up :eek: (that was only 50 lbs combined, firemen have much, much more)
D: Partner places heels on valslides, wrap arms around partner from behind and drag partner 50 meters. Switch and repeat.

This workout was very good, and also thought provoking to consider the level of effort that our firemen and women must reach in order to maintain the appropriate level of fitness to do whatever they must do. We just got the tiniest of tastes, can't imagine doing what they must do with a 70 lb pack plus breathing artificial air.

[Catrin]

Our trainer sends us a "WOW" (workout of the week) that he assigns us to do on our own. I am out of the office today so am headed to the gym shortly to tackle the WOW for the week. It certainly gives my legs something different to do! Still can't ride as my bike hasn't been to the shop yet (later today).

Set a running clock, 4 minutes for each round:

Round 1: 300 M Row, then with remaining time, perform as many reps as possible of Double Unders (I will do singles)

Rest 2 minutes

Round 2: 300 M Row, then with remaining time, perform as many reps as possible of ABMAT Sit-ups,

Rest 2 minutes

Round 3: 300 M Row, then with remaining time, perform as many reps as possible of Box Jumps

Rest 2 minutes

Round 4: 300 M Row, then with remaining time, perform as many reps as possible of Front Squat (I will do less than the recommended weight as I've form issues with weighted front squats - for some reason I want to lean backwards which means I've a real problem getting the rest of my form right? Working on this)

It's going to be a blast! Of course this needs a good dynamic warmup.

[Catrin]

We had a "laborous" Labor Day workout yesterday, 21 people showed up for it! After an intense warmup we broke into three groups and spent 10 minutes at 3 different stations. Two of the stations were a combination of three exercises, the first was an AMRAP - (as many rounds as possible).

The first station consisted of 200 meters of rowing, 10 burpees, and 20 frog jumps.

The second station was deadlifts and pushups. 10 rounds in 10 minutes that went like this:

Round 1: 2 deadlifts, 2 pushups - rest for remainder of minute
Round 2: 4 deadlfts, 4 pushups, rest
Round 3: 6 deadlifts...etc - add 2 for each round, the final round was 20 deadlifts and 20 pushups.

The deadlifts/pushups must be completed within that minute. If/when you reach the point where you can't do it all within that minute - then you cut whichever round you are on in half and just do that number for the remainder of the rounds. I got to 12 deadlifts/pushups and missed the minute cutoff by 1 pushup - which meant that I got to do 6 deadlifts/pushups for the remainder of the rounds. It was a fun challenge!

The 3rd station featured 100 meters of walking lunges, jog back, then a descending number of pullups (or full range of motion TRX rows) and a sit-up variant. Only 3 rounds, this wasn't an AMRAP. We did get a decent rest between the second and third station.

Great workout, though my hammies are a bit sore today. I figured out that I did 66 deadlifts in those 10 minutes @95 lbs :eek: :cool: No wonder my hamstrings are a bit sore today! They are the only part of my body that actually ever gets sore - I might get fatigued but rarely actually sore.

I am finding that all of this hard work, as fun as it really is, is translating to more strength on the bike and my old over-use injuries are become much harder to tweak. My group trainer promised this would happen - he knows his stuff! I've had to give up one day of riding a week to make certain I don't over-do things, but it has been worth it & I think I am becoming more physically more well rounded.