Fun of a different kind!

[Catrin]

Our workout this morning, after the warmup, started with bear crawls, crab crawls, and seal drag... The first two are hard enough - but that last one was just plain awful in a strange fun sort of way. (seal drag = lying full length on the floor with feet on sliders. Drag body for prescribed distance with no help from legs) This was the first time for the seal drag and, considering my upper body strength, there is little surprise that I did very poorly at it. I did, however, do it :cool:

[Crankin]

I have done those and I hate them. My gym is so cheap, we use paper plates!

[Catrin]

I have done those and I hate them. My gym is so cheap, we use paper plates!

In the long run the paper plates are more expensive. My gym uses furniture sliders that they purchased at a big box store (don't know which one) quite inexpensively. Perhaps you could make the suggestion? There doesn't need to be that many sets of them.

[OakLeaf]

On a hard floor like most gyms have, you can use sweat towels. If it's carpeted, frisbees.

[Crankin]

The instructors have tried... they reuse the paper plates until they fall apart.
Not too many of the instructors use them, needless to say.

[OakLeaf]

I just grab a stack of sweat towels out of the cardio machine area, if they haven't stocked the group fitness studio with enough to use as sliders. :p

[Catrin]

This morning we did the following as part of our group training:

Frog jumps
med-ball clean and toss
kettlebell swings

First round is 21 times for each activity. For each following round decrease the reps by 3, the final round is 3 reps.

Fun! I was the last one to finish but that no longer troubles me as much as it once did. The two strongest women got to do their final 3 med-ball clean and toss with 50 pound med-balls - I wasn't one of them fortunately. They did it though :)

[Crankin]

Good luck to them.
My class was so hard this morning, I seriously questioned my sanity. One woman's college aged daughter came with her. I give her credit; she did pretty well, as opposed to other "guests" to this class.
I've never done so many frog jumps and mountain climbers in my life.

[Sky King]

Frog Jumps sound like something I would have to skip. In our current cross fit rotation there are 3 exercises I can't do as they are to hard on the knee, so I substitute with mountain climbers, by the end of the workout I am questioning my sanity. This is the last week though and then onto something new, which is why I am having so much fun, I love changing it up

[Catrin]

Frog Jumps sound like something I would have to skip. In our current cross fit rotation there are 3 exercises I can't do as they are to hard on the knee, so I substitute with mountain climbers, by the end of the workout I am questioning my sanity. This is the last week though and then onto something new, which is why I am having so much fun, I love changing it up

Yes, that is part of the fun, everything changes so often! We did a different version of mountain climbers today - one partner is in a traditional forearm-plank position, the other partner does 20 mountain climbers with hands on the plank-partners shoulders/upper back. That actually felt pretty good!

[Catrin]

Good luck to them.
My class was so hard this morning, I seriously questioned my sanity. One woman's college aged daughter came with her. I give her credit; she did pretty well, as opposed to other "guests" to this class.
I've never done so many frog jumps and mountain climbers in my life.

It sounds like our trainers were on the same wave-length! Perhaps this is their way of helping us prepare for the holiday break? My body will get a full week's break - though I've some simple body weight things that I will do over the holiday week. I also have a fitness game our trainer gave us for when we are watching football. It really should only be during one quarter - if this thing happens then do that sort of thing.

[Catrin]

This morning, after an extensive warm-up that featured the Bosu, we did the following metabolic acceleration work:

Ten rounds: each round starts with 20 kettlebell swings (200 swings in all, I used a ~40 lb KB)

The following exercises then descend by one each round, starting with 10 for each (10 down to 1):

kettlebell goblet squats
pullups (or TRX racked rows)
BOSU platform pushups

(then back to 20 kettlebell swings and so forth)

We then did a monster rope finisher - fun!

[ridebikeme]

Sounds like a great challenge Catrin! Glad to hear that your classes are going well!!

[Catrin]

Sounds like a great challenge Catrin! Glad to hear that your classes are going well!!

Now I just wish I could ride outside, but that will come :) I am just really resistant right now to even the idea of riding inside...but I am going to make myself try a Les Mills RPM class at 6am tomorrow since my normal training schedule is a bit different this week. I AM thankful that my shoulder problem appears to only impact over-the head lifting, and for that I am thankful!

[ridebikeme]

Sounds like you have a great idea of what you NEED to do!! Being off the bike will simply make you appreciate it more AND all of your work in the gym will help you on the bike!!

Keep up the good work and great outlook!

[Catrin]

Sounds like you have a great idea of what you NEED to do!! Being off the bike will simply make you appreciate it more AND all of your work in the gym will help you on the bike!!

Keep up the good work and great outlook!

Thanks for the encouragement. I do think all of the gym work to focus on different imbalances will really help with the bike once the weather allows me to start riding again. It isn't like I race, or ride the kind of distances some of the women do here. My goals have become more modest than they once were, to become strong and agile, and to be able to ride when and how I want without worrying about this or that injury. The very aggressive goals I once set never worked out due to one over-use injury or another - which meant I was reaching too far for my fitness level at that time. I am probably the most fit in my life right now, but those imbalances need a bit more work and I don't want to forget about endurance. The endurance required in the metabolic work I've been doing is of a different nature than that required by the bike.

[Crankin]

I am so sore. I didn't go to the gym for 2 weeks. When I went to class yesterday, it was the evil instructor, who is going to be there all week, as the other one is traveling on business. Yesterday was "strength" day,so at least I knew which weights to use. With her, I can't use anything bigger than 5 lbs. and the lightest bar, because there are so many repetitions. Even my abs are hurting, and that rarely happens.

[Catrin]

DOMS isn't a bad thing in itself :) Are you feeling better today? Perhaps your regular instructor will be back next week, hopefully. For "strength" days she goes with a gazillion reps which, of course, forces you to use lower weights?

[Crankin]

Yes, when she is there, I use smaller weights. I had her again today, but there was a little more cardio, although some involved way too many mountain climbers.
I have to now shower, etc. at the gym on Thursdays as I have a client at 8:30, about 25 miles away. I haven't done this in 5 years.

[Catrin]

4 minutes, just 4 minutes at the end of an hour-long workout.

20 seconds frog jumps
20 seconds air squats
20 seconds holding deep squat
back to the top, no breaks, no stopping (or we get to do another full round).

JUST 4 minutes <cue evil music in the background>

:)

So thankful I can still do all of my weird gym stuff outside of front squats, overhead presses & push presses - so what that pumping up my bike tires hurts my shoulder (which makes no sense but there you go)...

[Catrin]

This time I can't blame my trainer, I liked the following workout so much when we did it in group training two weeks ago that I inflicted it upon myself this afternoon:

Dynamic warm-up & some core work then:

one round of the following - 2-3 minute rest between them
(stopping as needed during each round, focusing on making each rep count)

leg presses for 6 minutes (83 reps)
lat pulls for 6 minutes (100 reps)
Single deadlifts for 6 minutes (75 reps)

Not a very long workout - but it didn't need to be ;)

[Catrin]

This morning my trainer occupied me for about 7 minutes with the following:

Pushed a "dog sled" with 50 pounds of plates for 50 yards
Pull another sled with same weight with a monster rope for 50 yards
10 overhead slams with 20 pound dynamax ball
Jog back to the starting line and do 10 tire flips

I did that as quickly as I could (with a short break in between sets), trying to beat my first time. I didn't succeed at that...but it was still fun!

[Crankin]

Went back to boot camp today, for the first time in 2.5 weeks. We did lovely intervals (6, I think) of 10 box jumps, 50 jacks, 10 box jumps, 50 high knees run in place, 10 burpees, 50 kick your butt run in place.
My cheap gym got kettle balls when I was gone.... that was lovely, too. Actually, the class was good, and I was so happy it wasn't the evil one for my first day back.

[Catrin]

Sounds like fun Crankin! I love kettlebells myself, especially since I can't do over-head lifting right now. Yesterday I was able to do KB swings with the 53 pound kettlebell for the first time - 4 sets of 30 seconds each :) Yesterday also featured alligator crawls (feet on sliders, pulling body forward with elbows with no help from legs - ugh)

[Irulan]

Try "gators" with a 5# plate sometime....

I worked in,or rather successfully attempted plyopushups yesterday into my pushnup sets yesterday (clap push-ups) I did 5 in a row, three times, within sets of 10. That felt awesome.

[Catrin]

Try "gators" with a 5# plate sometime....

I worked in,or rather successfully attempted plyopushups yesterday into my pushnup sets yesterday (clap push-ups) I did 5 in a row, three times, within sets of 10. That felt awesome.

Where is the plate, on the back or pushing it? plyopushups are fun, if hard. Wish my shoulder would allow that right now...

[Irulan]

You drag the plate with your feet!

[Catrin]

You drag the plate with your feet!

I thought of everything but that :) I will have to give that a shot....

[Catrin]

For this week's 'Sunday Funday' workout, Tony decided to honor the NFL Combine that is currently in session. Our workout this morning focused on agility and explosiveness. We did a wide variety of things that included box jumping, broad jumping, cone drills and sprinting after we warmed up with a basketball shooting game, then a rather lengthy squat and plank/core series. It was quite different from our usual Sunday workouts and it was a lot of fun. Also, for the first time, the box jumps felt pretty darn good :)

[Crankin]

I skipped yesterday to go x country skiing, necessitating me to go to the evil one's class today. I swear, even with 3 and 5 lb. weights, I could hardly lift my arms in class today. She does so many reps (one minute or more), I can barely stand it! Some of it is because I didn't go for 2.5 weeks when I was sick, but still. I can do her classes when it's interval focused with cardio intervals, but this kills me. There were a couple of new people in class today; one a woman who usually goes at night, who was struggling by the end, and the other, a guy who was barely making it through. I focused on trying to do more than them!

[Catrin]

I skipped yesterday to go x country skiing, necessitating me to go to the evil one's class today. I swear, even with 3 and 5 lb. weights, I could hardly lift my arms in class today. She does so many reps (one minute or more), I can barely stand it! Some of it is because I didn't go for 2.5 weeks when I was sick, but still. I can do her classes when it's interval focused with cardio intervals, but this kills me. There were a couple of new people in class today; one a woman who usually goes at night, who was struggling by the end, and the other, a guy who was barely making it through. I focused on trying to do more than them!

Ugh Crankin, this doesn't sound like fun. As intense and hard as my group trainer is, our group membership is stable so he knows who is coming and plans accordingly. The evil one's approach doesn't sound like it is set up for success :( Nothing wrong with hard/intense, but the students have to be ready for it and helped to reach that point!

Our trainer is taking a different approach, while our workouts are becoming more intense - he is going back to the basics to make certain we all get a chance to nail them. We are also tracking our strength/power combination portions of the training in a different way to become more intentional about what we are doing.

I had a little plus this morning - and proof that my shoulder/lats are improving. While my front squat still su*ks (I want to bend my knees first rather than hinge at the hips like I should), I am no longer bending backwards to compensate!!!! Yayyyyyy! I was even able to get a 55 pound barbell in a proper front-squat position and THAT has been impossible. In the past I've only been able to get an unweighted 35-pound bar into position and THAT was leaning backwards to compensate for shoulder/t-spine/lat problems. I've NEVER been able to get a heavier barbell into that position so I am very happy. Now I just need to practice with some lower weight and beat that little hinge problem I have - it is a head problem I think. Kettlebell front squats are fine so I know it isn't a physical issue - just too accustomed to compensating.

I am really starting to want to ride my bike now - which is a good sign :)

[Crankin]

Me, too! I seem more excited about riding this year, maybe because I have actually taken 2 full months off from outdoor riding.
Class this morning was very hard, but good. Two cardio intervals, about 6 minutes each, burpees, box steps, running, jumping on the step, etc. Lots of walking with a wide rubber band, too. Next week, I'll have the good instructor both days, so it gives me a positive attitude.
Now I just have to figure out what's going on with my diet/weight. I think I'm going back to semi-vegetarian, still low carb, but not as strict, as what I am doing is not working. Well Fed is making me too well fed.

[Catrin]

Me, too! I seem more excited about riding this year, maybe because I have actually taken 2 full months off from outdoor riding.
Class this morning was very hard, but good. Two cardio intervals, about 6 minutes each, burpees, box steps, running, jumping on the step, etc. Lots of walking with a wide rubber band, too. Next week, I'll have the good instructor both days, so it gives me a positive attitude.
Now I just have to figure out what's going on with my diet/weight. I think I'm going back to semi-vegetarian, still low carb, but not as strict, as what I am doing is not working. Well Fed is making me too well fed.

I just make one of her recipes a week - the rest of the time I eat more simply - but it is far from boring, I love spices :) For me it is working, I've now lost 10 pounds since going Paleo/Primal last July :) In July my weight was trending 135-138, for the past three weeks it's been swinging between 125.1 and 126. I also enjoy recipes from other Paleo cookbooks - such as Practical Paleo and Caveman Feasts.

I would LIKE to lose more, but right now I am focusing on body composition. What seems really odd to me, however, is for the stores I normally shop (such as Dressbarn), I am now wearing their smallest sizes. This doesn't make sense to me since I am far from thin - my body-fat composition is still too high (just outside of the 'normal' range). This feels rather odd for someone who spent several decades swinging between 180-210!

[Crankin]

Don't get me started on sizing. I am small, but I have a good amount of padding in some places. Pretty much limited to Banana Republic, J Crew, the Gap, and Athleta. Occasionally, I wander into a real store, but it's just easier to order what I know will fit.
Not sure what I am doing wrong with the eating. But, going back to 2 meatless meals a week, and a small amount of good quality whole wheat grains is what seemed to work before. Looking forward to riding, and the last few days of x country skiing.

[Catrin]

Don't get me started on sizing. I am small, but I have a good amount of padding in some places. Pretty much limited to Banana Republic, J Crew, the Gap, and Athleta. Occasionally, I wander into a real store, but it's just easier to order what I know will fit.
Not sure what I am doing wrong with the eating. But, going back to 2 meatless meals a week, and a small amount of good quality whole wheat grains is what seemed to work before. Looking forward to riding, and the last few days of x country skiing.

Our bodies like what they like ;) The important thing is figuring out what works with our individual bodies. Enjoy your skiing while you can! It seems soooo long since I last rode, but as that was in late December then I guess it has been.

[Sky King]

I graduated to a new level today in one of our exercises. Was pretty stoked as when we did them two months ago I couldn't do it with finesse. I don't know the name but you are in a push up position in the arms extended position and take your leg, tuck it toward you tummy then push it out under your stomach to the other side. so if using left leg you shoot it out to the right while rolling your hips and shoulder so the right side is perpendicular to the floor and you tuck your right elbow back to your side. You keep your left leg parallel to the floor and no more than 4 or 5 inches from the floor. then back into the push up position and repeat on the right side. Of course I still can't do a pull up but I may never be able to do one of those.

[Irulan]

We call those kick outs but think they are also called Plank Rotations. At least, I think we are talking about the same thing. I couldn't for the life of me bring up a YouTube video on them.
I won't do them because the shoulder rotation aggravates a mostly dormant old injury.

[indysteel]

I graduated to a new level today in one of our exercises. Was pretty stoked as when we did them two months ago I couldn't do it with finesse. I don't know the name but you are in a push up position in the arms extended position and take your leg, tuck it toward you tummy then push it out under your stomach to the other side. so if using left leg you shoot it out to the right while rolling your hips and shoulder so the right side is perpendicular to the floor and you tuck your right elbow back to your side. You keep your left leg parallel to the floor and no more than 4 or 5 inches from the floor. then back into the push up position and repeat on the right side. Of course I still can't do a pull up but I may never be able to do one of those.

Those are really hard! Congrats!

[Catrin]

Our trainer calls them a three point pushup, and they aren't easy! We do them pretty often and I keep trying to get faster at them...

[OakLeaf]

You got a video? I googled all three of those names and none of the videos I saw looks remotely like what you're describing!

Is it like T-push-ups, only you have your bottom leg extended off the floor in the side plank position???

[Irulan]

I tried to find a video, too. Usually you can find one of almost any exercise on the planet!

[Catrin]

I see what you mean. Too many exercises have the same name.

Start with one leg, draw one foot up on the inside, then kick the leg to the other side bringing the side of the hip to the ground. Rinse and repeat on the other side, one can get very fast at this and it really helps hip flexibility. If I can find a video this weekend will post it.

Tomorrow I've a lifting event to participate in :) Just doing it for the fun of it. We already know our targets for the chest presses, leg presses and single deadlifts.

[Irulan]

video yourself doing it! It will be better than many of the videos people post of themselves...

[Catrin]

video yourself doing it! It will be better than many of the videos people post of themselves...

I am not very good at it, but this is a good idea if I can't find something better out there. My new phone takes very good video...

[Catrin]

I broke two personal records at the gym this morning :)

PR 1 = plank (on elbows) for 5:10 - I've been trying to break 5 minutes for months! It seems that I was stuck at 4:37-42.

PR 2 = single deadlifts - 25 bodyweight reps (125 pounds) That isn't heavy compared to some of the heavy lifting some friends of mine do (both female and male), but they've been doing it for years. This is the heaviest yet for me and I did it 25 times. These were singles which means that the barbell is dropped as soon as we stand all the way up with the weight - much easier on the back this way. This was part of a power-lifting challenge for my group training peeps - I just did it for fun as I know there is no way I can win the competition.

I forgot to ask my trainer if there is another name for that exercise, but I'll try to remember to ask him the next time I see him.

[Irulan]

Clap pushups anyone?
I got excited a while ago when I squeezed one out. I tried it again two weeks ago when we had 4 x10 pushups as part of a larger matrix. In each of those sets of 10, I did 5 clap pushups! That was really exciting for me.

[Veronica]

I do clap push ups, sometimes off the floor, sometimes off the bench.

Veronica

[indysteel]

Clap pushups anyone?
I got excited a while ago when I squeezed one out. I tried it again two weeks ago when we had 4 x10 pushups as part of a larger matrix. In each of those sets of 10, I did 5 clap pushups! That was really exciting for me.

Fantastic, Irulan!

[Catrin]

Sounds like you had fun Irulan! Right now I am not allowed to do either pushups or OH presses but I have done these in the past from an inclined push up position. One of these days I would like to do it from the ground :)

[Catrin]

I had remembered the name of the exercise incorrectly. This is much better than a video of ME, this is a video at my gym and the one talking is Tony, my group trainer :) Chip makes this look very easy - it is fun but not easy. I am still trying to get my feet up by my hands but we all need a goal ;)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsscpRFUkjA

[OakLeaf]

Oh! Too tired to try those tonight, maybe tomorrow if I can do them without torquing my shoulders too much. But I watched it twice and can't figure how he gets 6 ... looks like 8 every way I count it ... :p

[Catrin]

Oh! Too tired to try those tonight, maybe tomorrow if I can do them without torquing my shoulders too much. But I watched it twice and can't figure how he gets 6 ... looks like 8 every way I count it ... :p

:) have fun!

[indysteel]

That looks fun (and hard), Catrin, but I don't know that it's the move not the move Sky King described. I could be totally wrong, but I thought what she described a plank, knee to nose, side plank with the lower leg (the same leg that you held to your nose) held perpindicular to the body, back to plank. We do them in yoga a lot, but I'm not sure it goes by a given name.

[Irulan]

We do variations of that: same leg touch is Spider-Man, opposite leg is a scorpion variation.

[Crankin]

I had a really good boot camp class Monday. We didn't do anything special, but all of the intervals were very traditional things, like jump ups, jacks, and running on the step. I like things plain and simple!

[Catrin]

We do variations of that: same leg touch is Spider-Man, opposite leg is a scorpion variation.

Yes, I really like the Spider Man crawl, it really opens my hips & feels great!

[Crankin]

I just got home from a step class. I went today because it looks like the "storm" is coming this way and I won't be going anywhere tomorrow, especially at 5:30 AM. So, I've been to this class before; it's led by the fitness director. The step routine is simple (keeping to my previous post), but fun and there is a "sculpt" part to the class, so there is some weight work, and today there were intervals of jacks and jump ups on the bench, as well as some good ab work. I get there really early (like 25 minutes), so I can put my step near the fan and the door to the outside that she opens, as this class is so crowded it gets really hot. The first time I went, I almost passed out! After I did that, I warmed up on the treadmill for 10 minutes.
People were just pushing their steps in toward mine, but I held my ground and the woman who plunked hers down really close to mine in front got what she deserved when during one of the routines, I hit her with my hand a couple of times when my arm was extended (not on purpose, of course, but it made her move).
I am pleasantly exhausted and this was a good sub for boot camp.

[indysteel]

Sounds a lot like what we did last night in my Total Fit class. It was mostly a step class with some body bar resistance work and kickbocking thrown in. The previous night it was Bosu and hand weights, and I struggled a bit. I had a migraine earlier in the day and I think either the headache itself or the medicine I took for it (Relpax) left me a little zapped.

[ridebikeme]

Glad to hear that everyone is having a good time with your classes!! It definitely gives us all something to think about over the colder/dark months:)

I've been teaching a suspension straps class, and two different Boot Camp classes this winter. The first Boot Camp has students that are from 54-66, and truthfully I've had TONS of fun! It's been great to see all of them inprove so much, especially in strength. At times, they thought I was crazy, but the smiles on their faces when they accomplish something is incredible. LAst night and tomorrow we are doing a MARCH MADNESS challenge, so a couple of movements and doing long supersets. The first Boot Camp folks last night asked what else they could do after they completed the challenge. Although their upper bodies were tired.. they wanted to add something else. I guess it doesn't hurt that they are involved with a department challenge, and they are leading right now. :)

[Sky King]

ohh, I can feel this one just watching the video. thanks Catrin

[Sky King]

I am going to share this with my instructor. I would love a class for that age group. We do get pumped when we conquer a new exercise :)


Glad to hear that everyone is having a good time with your classes!! It definitely gives us all something to think about over the colder/dark months:)

I've been teaching a suspension straps class, and two different Boot Camp classes this winter. The first Boot Camp has students that are from 54-66, and truthfully I've had TONS of fun! It's been great to see all of them inprove so much, especially in strength. At times, they thought I was crazy, but the smiles on their faces when they accomplish something is incredible. LAst night and tomorrow we are doing a MARCH MADNESS challenge, so a couple of movements and doing long supersets. The first Boot Camp folks last night asked what else they could do after they completed the challenge. Although their upper bodies were tired.. they wanted to add something else. I guess it doesn't hurt that they are involved with a department challenge, and they are leading right now. :)

[Crankin]

Hey, Ridebikeme, I'd fit into that age group.... and here I am in class with people much younger! Actually, I think most of the people in my boot camp class are in their 40s to around 50. Occasionally, we get a newbie and the younger ones never stick it out :).
What do you do differently in this class? Were the participants unfit when they started?

[Catrin]

I am the oldest in my training group and I certainly feel that at times. Our trainer gets frustrated with me sometimes but so do I so that is ok ;) Sometimes my mind and body just has problems communicating.

[Irulan]

Hey, Ridebikeme, I'd fit into that age group.... and here I am in class with people much younger! Actually, I think most of the people in my boot camp class are in their 40s to around 50. Occasionally, we get a newbie and the younger ones never stick it out :).
What do you do differently in this class? Were the participants unfit when they started?

That is my experience, too. The class I most regularly attend is myself ( 52) DH (53) and two other guys, one probably mid 40s and the I'm sure about my age.
We are all of the mind set of "we do this so we can do everything else". A fitness class from the U across the street comes in right after us. Nothing like hearing a 20-something girl start whining and I can say, "really, I'm 52 and I can do xxxx of that....".

[Catrin]

Yes, there is something about being able to do things that at one time I would have never considered even possible! I try not to compare myself with my younger teammates, but it does make me feel good when a much younger person says things to me about the things they see is doing.

[Crankin]

When I went to the step and sculpt class Wednesday, I saw the others eyeing me as a "newbie." I love to prove them wrong. It's a crowd that seems to trend older, like between 35 and 55, but it's hard to tell here. Even with a very overheated room, which is the only thing that does me in, I just think of all of the suffering I have done climbing on my bike and I wonder how the others would handle that :). Or doing the boot camp class at 5:30 AM. But, I know I am the oldest in those classes. I just figured out that my 60th birthday will be on a boot camp day and you can be sure I will tell them my age then!

[ridebikeme]

I actually did NOT set up the Boot Camp for particular age groups; it simply worked out that way. There were more people originally, but as others have mentioned, some of the group dropped out. I would have to think that their fitness level was fairly decent, most partcipated in a walking program etc... but no strength classes for many years. I simply started with bodyweight types of movements and adjusted the movements/effort for each class. There is no doubt that they have been pushed, but honsetly, they work hard and are motivated to feel and 'see' the difference. I give them feedback, encouragement, adn I push, but the reality is that they do teh work. In fact, when popularity of the class took off, more people wanted to join but we were too far along for anyone to join unless they were very fit. When that didn't happen, one of the members convinced my supervisor to allow me to teach another Boot Camp. So now although they are at two different levels, there is some friendly banter back and forth between the two groups and people simply have worked hard.

In the end, I feel very fortunate for these folks and have truly enjoyed these classes!:)

[Catrin]

Today Tony worked with me on 1-legged balance drills. We learned yesterday that I cannot perform a single legged deadlift. I CAN do a single legged Romanian deadlift but not a regular one. Balance is the issue, so 30 minutes of a wide variety of balance drills, some core work, and a little strength. Who knew my balance was so bad?

[Crankin]

I bet your balance isn't as bad as mine!
Although it's definitely improved from these classes.
Yesterday we had a totally different kind of class. The only tools were a set of heavier and medium weights. Basically, it was 5 sets of eight minutes each. Each set was 2 minutes cardio, 2 min. strength X 2. Every set was different, some not so bad, some horribly hard! I could barely move yesterday, although I think it was more the cumulative effects of step class, my body conditioning DVD, and Nordic skiing.

[Catrin]

I bet your balance isn't as bad as mine!
Although it's definitely improved from these classes.
Yesterday we had a totally different kind of class. The only tools were a set of heavier and medium weights. Basically, it was 5 sets of eight minutes each. Each set was 2 minutes cardio, 2 min. strength X 2. Every set was different, some not so bad, some horribly hard! I could barely move yesterday, although I think it was more the cumulative effects of step class, my body conditioning DVD, and Nordic skiing.

That's one heck of a combination of activities Crankin, sounds like fun :)

I honestly had no idea how bad my balance was, it was embarrassing yesterday :o I can, however, see that my problem with step ups and box jumping above a certain height is at least as much about balance as anything else. Thankfully the one-legged drills he had me do today are things I can pretty much do anywhere so I've no excuse about not being able to practice!

[indysteel]

Catrin,

I've been practicing yoga for 7 years and work on a lot of balance poses. Some days, my balance is good. Some days, not so much. It takes a lot of practice for me to have consistently spot-on balance. So, don't feel bad.

Ack. The territorial woman in my total fit class is just awful. I set up in a spot yesterday that I was pretty sure wasn't "hers," but I asked just to be sure. In response she said, "No, it's not mine, but it's likely somebody elses. Our regulars can be pretty territorial." To which, I responded "You know; I'm trying to be mindful of that, but to be honest, you're the only one who's made a point of telling me that."

I did talk to a lovely woman after class who invited me to a group run on Saturday mornings. I doubt I'll do that any time soon, but it was nice to be asked. You take the good with the bad, right?

Class was very much like what Crankin described. We did step and BOSU intervals mixed with body bar intervals. Then we finished with some core exercises. Tonight is yoga--a class I've missed the last two weeks because of weather. My Tuesday night yoga class is always really humbling. No matter how strong I feel in my other classes, this particular yoga class really kicks my butt, and I can't figure out why it's so much harder. It's kind of bumming me out because when I finish my Sunday night class, I feel awesome and after Tuesday's class, I just feel spent.

[Catrin]

Thursday is normally a rest day for me, but I went in this morning to do one thing. Just one thing :) My gym is having a "Hover" challenge - just another name for a plank on elbows. Top three times for the month wins an impressive list of prizes, especially that top time. I was a contender...until someone managed to hold the position for 12 minutes! :cool: Now THAT is impressive, if heartbreaking. I was still number 2 at 5:01, and there is no way I can break that 12 minute mark (or even match it). We can re-do as often as we like during the month so I decided to try it again. My time this morning was 6:01 - which isn't a bad improvement! Still in solid #2 position, but I will take it.

My trainer has started introducing me to other plank-type challenges that are dynamic - THOSE are what I need to focus on. Fun that I was able to beat my own time by a full minute though :)

[Veronica]

Do they care about form for this challenge? I've watched some people do plank with their butts up in the air rather than being flat.

Veronica

[Catrin]

Do they care about form for this challenge? I've watched some people do plank with their butts up in the air rather than being flat.

Veronica

Oh yes, they focus more on form than I have ever seen - normally when I am tested on this I've a dowel rod right down the middle of my back and I must keep it there. I didn't have the rod this morning, but Thomas told me that my back/hips never budged out of correct form. Those taking the challenge must be witnessed and timed by one of a couple trainers. I could barely stand up after 6 minutes, for a few seconds. I can't imagine 12 minutes! We have professional athletes as members, I can't help but wonder if it was one of them.

[Catrin]

Today we played games :) dog sled pulling, carrying our partners on our backs, hopping over each other, all kinds of fun. For the first time I've been able to get an unweighted 45 pound Olympic bar over my head onto my shoulders unassisted - so that is sign of shoulder/strength improvement - that may not sound like much but it is the first real sign of strength gain for my arms. Yayyyy! I also managed to get 55 pounds in a fairly decent front-squat position - also a good sign AND a first!

I've NEVER done a partner carry before - and my partner out-weighs me by about 15-20 pounds - it really wasn't a problem. Granted, that is a different thing than a narrow bar across our backs, but I was cruising with her :) I think she weighs about what I've been back-squatting recently. After the workout I played on the leg press machine for a bit, got it up to 450 pounds (3 reps).

[Crankin]

And, how do you carry someone on your back? I can't imagine it!

[Catrin]

And, how do you carry someone on your back? I can't imagine it!

Remember when we were kids and we rode on someone's back? Arms around the neck and legs around the waist or hips. Dawn is taller than I, so the first time she was crooked and I didn't move too quickly, after that it worked much better :)

[Crankin]

The thought of that hurts.

[Catrin]

The thought of that hurts.

It was far easier than I THOUGHT it would be, my jaw dropped when he told us what we were going to do. It worked like this:

Partner 1 has a harness on, Partner 2 has the other part of the harness around their body.
Partner 1 crawls (arms fully extended, not on elbows) 25 meters with Partner 2 pulling back on the harness to add resistance.
Partner 1 unhooks from the harness and does 10 deadball (http://www.performbetter.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product2_10151_10751_1005453_-1_1000165_1000165_1000165_ProductDisplayErrorView) slams with a 20 pound ball.
Partner 2 climbs on Partner 1's back, go back to starting point and partners reverse position.

This was just the first part of our workout after we warmed up :)

One of my teammates refused to do it, she is pretty large and was afraid she would hurt someone, she did bear crawls and deadball slams instead.

[Catrin]

This morning was fun - but I could (literally) barely walk afterwards! It doesn't SOUND like all that much, but very quad intensive.

After our dynamic warmup the fun commenced :)

Single-leg planks but on the TRX, not the floor (4x20 seconds, 10 seconds off)
Dumbbell rotational side-planks
Kettlebell or barbell high pulls (for me it was kettlebells)

Superset of back-squats and pull-ups (PR on back-squats :-)
Superset of split squats on TRX and pushups (I did planks)

Metabolic finisher was a squat matrix:
24 prisoner squats
Lunges, 12 on each side
24 plyo-lunges
24 Frog jumps

The goal was to do the above in 2 minutes or under. It took me a little over that so all of us had to do it a second time, bad Catrin. I was faster the second time :cool:

My quads were seriously talking to me after the above workout - they recovered quickly of course but it was good to see my efforts got my body's attention! I actually had problems walking for the first few hundred feet after the finisher - it must have been just that combination AND this was the first group workout since Saturday - my body has had a couple days off from him!

[Catrin]

Sunday Funday workout today included the Partner 100's. This was during the last 30 minutes of class

Set a 30 minute timer for the following

100 Pullups (only modification allowed are band-assisted or an assisted pullup machine)
200 Pushups (elevated pushups only allowed modification - no knees)
300 Abmat situps
400 Air Squats (butt to dynamax ball for a valid rep)

The partnership is responsible for the reps, not each individual. So while my partner ran/jogged 200 meters I do the exercise. Upon her return I run 200 meters while she starts where I left off and so forth until we have either completed everything or the 30 minute timer goes off.

No partnership completed all of the reps in the 30 minute time period, though one partnership got more than halfway through the squats. We will re-do this soon and hope to beat our score from today. Fun - painful - but fun!

It is humbling for me to have to use the assisted pullup machine because of my shoulder, BUT I was able to do my fair share of the pushups even if they were elevated, I've not been able to do pushups without pain for some time so this was a good sign. I am unashamed to say that I am just a little sore this afternoon, and am enjoying a recovery beer ;)

[Crankin]

Beer is a good recovery beverage :).

[Catrin]

A short ride yesterday, a longer ride this morning before my Funday workout and it was a bit over the top :eek:

After warming up we did the following:

Round 1:
Beat up a really big tire with a sledge hammer 20 times
Run 400 meters
10 box jumps
Run 200 meters
50 monster rope slams
Run 100 meters
25 pushups
Run 200 meters
10 bouncing med-ball slams
Run 400 Meters

2 minute break

Round 2 = same as above but rowing rather than running

Round 3 = same as above but running AND rowing the full distance each round (so run 400 meters and row 400 meters).

I am feeling it this afternoon - I was certainly feeling it at the end but I am sure we all did. This was after a bike ride this morning...

ummmm, no more mixing riding AND Sunday Funday workouts in the future... I will have to choose from week to week but it WAS fun ;)

[Catrin]

I thought my deep squat was pretty good... Well, it turns out it IS pretty good when I am back-squatting more than my body weight, pretty bad in some other situations. I think it is only good during back-squats because the weight is keeping my heels down. So, me and my body are going to be discussing this with each other - and with some rehab/pre-hab guidance from my trainer I AM going to get this down this summer. No more fun and games, and this will also help my riding with ankle/hip flexibility. Thankfully squats don't hurt my knees :) Also doing some balance work which is seriously needed...and can only help on the bike as well!

[Catrin]

We've been learning some new things - kettlebell snatches (thank goodness for KB wrist protectors), and the full Turkish get-up with kettlebell (video here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztTOn0rSMis), there is a 10 second commercial at the start). The resolution isn't the best but it gives a decent idea - I also kept the sound down as I am in the office. Right now I am only using lower weights to learn technique and to test the shoulder (which is fine so far). Pushups seem to be much harder on my shoulder than things like this.

In May I will be dropping back to two group training sessions a week and taking everything else outside. Looking forward to a nice long season of riding, geocaching and continued strength training!

[Catrin]

This morning I had the hardest 90 minute workout in my life. By far, and no exaggeration. It was the finale from our group trainer for a 10-week long "warrior challenge". I did a LOT of work in those 90 minutes, and a few things that I've never done before. I had considered either going for an easy spin or geocaching this afternoon...but neither is happening. I think I might be sore for my 6am group training tomorrow morning...I hardly ever get sore regardless of effort level so we will see. It was a lot of fun though!

hmmmmm New Holland Dragon's Milk (very dark ale) is my recovery beverage this afternoon!

[Crankin]

That sounds challenging, Catrin.
I've had a little break from training. Last Thursday, the instructor was on her honeymoon and they couldn't find a sub. Today, I have a cold, and it's also a holiday here, so not even sure there was a class. Plus, I wanted to be here when Oakleaf left for the marathon, so here I am. I'll do some weights at home, but I am really not feeling that well. I guess riding yesterday didn't help.

[Veronica]

I wondered if Oak was staying with you. Really hope her day goes well!

Veronica

[Catrin]

That sounds challenging, Catrin.
I've had a little break from training. Last Thursday, the instructor was on her honeymoon and they couldn't find a sub. Today, I have a cold, and it's also a holiday here, so not even sure there was a class. Plus, I wanted to be here when Oakleaf left for the marathon, so here I am. I'll do some weights at home, but I am really not feeling that well. I guess riding yesterday didn't help.

It was, but I feel pretty good today outside of sore glutes/hamstring. I was the only one who showed at my 6am group training this morning and he took some time to make certain we I warmed up/stretched my sore bits properly.

Glad you were able to host Oakleaf - really hoping her day goes very well today :)

[Crankin]

Today's boot camp kicked my zzz.
And, it was mostly cardio. One minute intervals of everything, with the usual weights/core stuff in between some of the intervals. Others were cardio intervals of different things in a row.
It was warmer this morning (54) and very humid. When I got to the gym, the heat was on :eek:. I think the AC finally went on, and all but one of the fans were on, but this got to me. I was sweating buckets and feeling it a lot more.
The only time I ever feel like this is always related to heat. I don't do well with sudden changes to warm; I really need to acclimate slowly.

[Catrin]

In my 30 minute session today, my trainer kicked my butt with something he calls "Crazy 8's". Appropriate name! I am going to miss our solo sessions, but I still have the benefit of his training 2-3 hours a week with the small group training sessions!

3 sets of the following 5 exercises for time - 8 reps for each and 16 total for the lunges (after warming up of course):


Zurcher Front Squats
Racked TRX Rows
Deadlifts (personal record today - even if it was only for 4 reps)
Dips (table dip, no rings...AS IF I could actually do that one)
Kettlebell Lunges


2 minute break between sets, and the weight went up significantly for the Zurcher squats and deadlifts.

After THAT was over, we had 5 minutes left in my session so we headed back to the squat rack. I did back squats for 5 minutes but there was a twist :) Every 30 seconds I racked the bar and did 5 air squats.

When those 5 minutes were over my time was done....and I was done ;)

First time I've done the Zurcher front squats, that totally gets around my shoulder/elbow flexibilty problem and I could do them properly :)

Hopefully I will get to ride tomorrow, planning on an easy ride - it is supposed to be in the 60's and not windy!!!!!!

[Catrin]

This was an excellent metabolic conditioning workout. I was the only one who showed up for group training this morning. By the time the 28.27 minutes it took me to perform the following, I was DONE. There was an appropriate warm-up prior to this. I didn't have anything left afterwards, but before long as I was charged up and ready for whatever this day might bring. Nothing in the following requires special equipment so it is easily modified, outside of (perhaps) the TRX rows.

100 air squats
30 second high plank
90 pushups
30 second high plank
80 TRX rows
30 second high plank
70 knees to chest sit-ups
30 second high plank
60 burpees
30 second high plank
50 modified deck squats
30 second high plank

[Crankin]

The thought of 60 burpees leaves me speechless.
Today, in the middle and near the end of my class, she had us run outside, around the little cul-de-sac twice and back in the opposite door. At first, I was up with the big girls and then one of them sprinted. Oh boy. During the second set, though I was able to pass a couple of younger women who I know do tris. Hard for 6 AM. We did a lot of core and weight work, too.

[Catrin]

It sounds like you did great! Frankly, I would rather do most anything than run & that includes bear crawls.

Burpees aren't my favorite though I didn't do the pushup part because of my shoulder, especially after all of the earlier pushups + TRX rows. He modified the burpee also to have my hands come down on a dynamax ball rather than the floor. I think the regular way might have been easier but I did get the 60 done :cool: The last 20 were rather slow...

[Irulan]

We did all sliders on Tuesday. Lunges, gators, hamstring curls, mountain climbers, push-up taps....you name it.
The coolest one, also one of the hardest, was how we did shoulder flyes. On your knees, sliders under hands, hands wide stance out past shoulders to the sides, and then slide in, to under the breast bone.

[Catrin]

We did all sliders on Tuesday. Lunges, gators, hamstring curls, mountain climbers, push-up taps....you name it.
The coolest one, also one of the hardest, was how we did shoulder flyes. On your knees, sliders under hands, hands wide stance out past shoulders to the sides, and then slide in, to under the breast bone.

Hmmm, this sounds like fun - I am going to have to try it out tomorrow! I am planning on dragging a sled around the track tomorrow with an assortment of weights for one mile, and a slider-based warmup sounds like a good idea :)

Tuesday I had my final solo session with my trainer. He used it as a kind of 'graduation' and put me through a combination of every kind of squat you there is, mixed with a different core exercises. It was good to see the areas where I've improved, and while we needed to modify two things on the menu, only two things had to be modified :)

[Catrin]

I did not have much time today so decided in advance to do a sled mile. I warmed up a bit and put on the harness for the sled. This exercise has me dragging the sled behind me, the sled itself is just a small platform that only weighs 5-6 pounds..

The idea was to start w/25 lbs, then go up 25 each lap until I hit 100 lbs, then reverse the process back to 25 pounds. 200 meters per lap. I did fine for the 1st half but when I dropped from 100 lbs back to 75 lbs I noted my old quad injury complaining a bit & decided to make that my last lap with weight. It was a great workout regardless & the first time I've done it without a coach. I wound up short two laps (with weight, I walked 3 laps cooling down), but I think that was a wise idea. This is a whole body exercise that targets the quads and to have come out of it with a re-injury would sort have defeated my purpose :o Perhaps I am finally learning...

This is a pretty quick way of combining cardio and lower-body strength all at the same time :) It also makes little kids look at you really oddly - we had an elementary school field trip going on at the same time!

[Catrin]

I NEED to get better at broad jumping! This morning we did a series of exercises, but the number we were asked to do was different for each one of us. After we warmed up, we broad-jumped 50 meters and we had to count how many times it took us to broad jump that distance, no steps in-between each jump.

This was the heart of the workout - our starting reps for each round was the number of times it took us to broad jump that distance, for me that was 45. Thankfully he had mercy on us as he thought most of us would have smaller numbers - we didn't- so we cut the number in half. My goal was 24 rounds - so my first round of the following was 24 of each. The goal was to work down from our starting number all the way down to one. I didn't make it...but then again, none of us did in the 30 minutes we had to complete the work. Our homework is to finish during the coming week. I've 19 rounds to go - some of us got more than 5 rounds done, but not many.

Burpees
Valslide Jacknives
Goblet Squats (30-72 pounds)
Release Pushups
TRX Racked Rows

We've an endurance event coming Memorial Day weekend, the Memorial Day Murph (http://mdmfundraiser.com/about/). The Murph is a Crossfit workout named for a fallen soldier who used this as his own training - and while it has become traditional to do this on Memorial Day weekend, this year it is being used as a military charity fundraiser. Many from my training group are participating, including our trainer. There is a reason why he is giving us these types of workouts.

[Catrin]

It was SUPPOSED to rain today, so I went to the gym to test myself before next Saturday's Memorial Day Murph workout. This has become pretty common and is a military charity fundraiser. I wasn't sure if I should go for the "half-Murph" or the full. The full workout features the following:

1 mile run
100 Pullups
200 Pushups
300 Squats
1 mile run

While my shoulder forces me to scale two of those exercises (inclined pushups and racked rows on the rings rather than pullups), I think I am ready for this. I spent some quality time on treadmill this morning and Cindy (a Crossfit workout that features the three exercises) and did the "half-Murph". I got this next week - I am a SLOW runner so I will likely be one of the last to finish but I will finish - that is all that matters.

BTW, you can break up the three exercises anyway you wish - the only thing that can't be "broken up" is the running. I will probably do 20 sets of 5 racked rows, 10 inclined pushups and 15 squats. My shoulder is fine with doing lots of pushups...as long as my hands are in the diamond position AND I don't do more than 10 at a time :) We do what we can - and it will be fun and is for a good cause! Right now, at least, it looks like the weather will be perfect with 60ish temps.

Looking forward to riding tomorrow morning - right now I am waiting for the new owner of my mountain bike to swing by and pick it up!

[Catrin]

We finished yesterday's workout with a friendly, and fun, competitive Hungry Hippo! Our trainer posted a video of the final round on Facebook, but since it isn't a public page I can't provide the link here. I tried... Occasionally we do things like this, it makes me feel like a kid again :)

Hoping to ride tonight after work. Riding this year is like pulling teeth, I enjoy it when I do but it is SO hard to get started for some reason.

[Catrin]

FINALLY starting to see some upper body development after a year of intense work - upper body strength will always be my weakness but it is comforting to see some change. The basic lifting movements no longer cause discomfort - so I FINALLY get to the point where I can start doing some extra work to improve my form in things like the push press and OH squat. This morning had some fun with a basic barbell complex. I was the only one who showed to this morning's "group training", so my coach really focused on my form.

Hoping to ride some tonight if I get home early enough!

[Catrin]

Been working on mobility issues for a long time, but yesterday I had a major milestone - I was finally able to perform a proper front squat without looking like a backwards banana :) This is HUGE, and comforting as it means my restrictions in that area really have been mobility related rather than mechanical.

NOW just to get that to extend to the bike :)

[Catrin]

FUN workout today, and I inflicted it upon myself :) Well, our coach sends us a weekly challenge to do on our own and this was it for this week. This is called the Grinder, and it is a great conditioning workout:

100 Abmat situps
90 double unders (or 270 single jump ropes which is what I did)
80 TRX chest presses
70 calories on the rower (started out too hot/fast on this)
60 wall ball shots
50 kettlebell swings
40 TRX rows
30 Burpees
20 BB Deadlifts
10 30-meter sprints

I actually cut the sprints in half since my heel was tight, but did everything else. It was a great 41 minute workout! I am considering a gentle ride this evening if I get home in time, If not tonight then a less gentle one tomorrow ;)

[Crankin]

I had enough time with the "sliders" this morning (yes, my cheap gym bought real ones) to fill a lifetime. A few other fun things, too, including going outside, running one way and back, around the cul de sac 2x. As long as the tri people aren't there, I'm always first.
Now, I'm leaving for a ride with a friend. Quite unusual, for me to do this after a gym day, but my schedule is different now, so it will be fun (and slow, on purpose).

[Catrin]

I had enough time with the "sliders" this morning (yes, my cheap gym bought real ones) to fill a lifetime. A few other fun things, too, including going outside, running one way and back, around the cul de sac 2x. As long as the tri people aren't there, I'm always first.
Now, I'm leaving for a ride with a friend. Quite unusual, for me to do this after a gym day, but my schedule is different now, so it will be fun (and slow, on purpose).

Glad to hear they got some "real" sliders. I will eventually get some for home - but I will get the cheap furniture movers which is, of course, what they are :) Hope you had fun on the slow ride!!!!

[Catrin]

Metabolic Rowing :)

10 sets of :30 max effort rowing with :30-:60 between sets. I managed to row 2,338 meters in that time period which DOES count the easy strokes between intervals.

I am starting to like the rowing machine quite a lot, once I figured out how to not fight myself on the rower.

[Crankin]

Evil one is obsessed with the sliders. I hadn't taken her class in about 3 weeks, and I truly thought I was going to die yesterday. I am so sore this morning, I bagged an easy early AM ride to stretch for 30 minutes.

[Catrin]

Went to my gym for a brief unscheduled workout mid-morning to celebrate/de-stress from an hard deadline at work and for the first time in a LONG time was able to not only do Kettlebell Thrusters at all - but even properly and with no pain! I've not been doing any pressing exercises for some time due to my recalcitrant shoulder but after only 2 ART treatments the response of my shoulder is amazing :)

The treatment seems brutal at the time - but the results are profound!

[Catrin]

"Hurricane Training" this morning. This is comprised of nine sprints that drop down in time after every set of 3 rounds - starting with 25 second sprints, then 20, then 15. Incline = 10, though he sets the speed differently for each one of us - I started with a speed of 5, my last round was 6.5 - the fastest I've ever been on a treadmill. In between each sprint there are two exercises, and a 2 minute rest after every set of 3 rounds.

[Catrin]

This morning we did a deceptively simple set of exercises for 15 minutes. We did not start nor end with these. Our coach had me doing something a little different from my team-mates since pressing is a problem for me right now because of my shoulder - so the following is what I did.

3 fast rounds of the following:

3 kettlebell cleans
3 kettlebell front squats
3 TRX high rows

:45 rest, then do another 3 rounds, rest, etc. for 15 minutes.

At first 45 seconds seemed a very long break, that changed quickly. We followed this with sled-push races :)

[Catrin]

I REALLY needed a good workout today, and our 15 minute "finisher" at the end of group training this morning certainly provided that. He called it a "modified Cougar"

15 KB swings
10 Goblet Squats
10 TRX Rows
10 Pushups

15 KB Swings
9 each of the 3 exercises
15 Swings
8 each...etc...down to 1 with 15 swings between each set.

I DID get them all in 15 minutes and even beat my team-mate. Done...and I was DONE by the end. Finishing first was a surprise to me, but he did have a heavier kettlebell to swing than I did. That does have an effect at some point - we did a LOT of swings!

[Catrin]

Sharing more wildness in the workout world, and this time with a picture of my group! Sunday is always conditioning day, and it turned out to be "Hurricane Training Day". Normally this is on the treadmill with short fast sprints at an incline of 10 and two weighted exercises between each sprint. Today it was something else: sleds.

SOUNDS easy, push a sled with a 45 lb weight as fast as you can for 15 meters, turn it around and come back. Do 2 kettlebell exercises while your partner repeats push. Do each three times, then another of 3 with a different set of kettlebell exercises. Third set had banded planks rather than KB exercises. Here is a picture of us getting ready to go!

This is a little blurry, I am the one at the far end waiting to go. I love planks (mainly because I can do them for long periods of time), but they really change when you have a resistance band around your body! We held the position until our partner returned with the sled for us to push - our coach does believe in using guilt as a motivator from time to time ;)

16651

[Crankin]

That sounds like torture.
I am ready to fall down dead tired. I went to boot camp 2 days in a row, as I am trying to get back on track after vacation, and now we have 3 days in CA for a wedding this weekend. My favorite instructor is now teaching on Monday and Tuesday. She did a really different workout on Monday and I felt great. Although today was different, there was some repetition of muscle groups, which was not good. Yesterday, I was peer pressured into using 2 risers on my step. She said it was just for resistance stuff, but we did do some cardio on the bench and I was fine, but it feels awkward. I have the cardio capacity, but I'm always afraid I am going to kill myself. I am particularly bad with the long resistance bands... sometimes I cannot figure what to do by watching, and I have to get personal "corrections." I hate this; I can do the exercises, but I can't figure out how to get into position to do them. Thankfully, she doesn't use the bands very often for upper body, sometimes for lower. It feels such a long way from when I was the one asking if I could touch someone to help them be in the correct position in my classes.

[Crankin]

DH started Boot Camp at the fitness center at work yesterday. He didn't think there would be so much running! It's all outside (yesterday was about 40 at 7 AM) and he feels pressured to "look good," because of his position in the company. His comment this morning was "at least I can walk," but he is going to have to modify some of the stuff, because after 3 days of riding in Vermont his knees aren't feeling too happy with running up and down the garage stairs 12 times.

[Catrin]

Your post made me smile Crankin! I can see how the combination of riding + Boot Camp when he isn't used to the latter can hit the knees - glad to hear that he is wise enough to not fear modifications. I've a bit of a problem with not wanting to do that but my coach no longer gives me the choice, he plans my modifications into his program :o

Yesterday I was the only one to show for the 8am group training and he knows me so he KNEW I needed an azz-kicking/stress busting workout. He was all ready for me. The last ~18 minutes of the workout looked like this:

Kettlebell ladder the 1st (this took me 9:38 to complete)
44 lb kettlebell goblet squats: 20 down to one by twos (so 20, 18, 16, etc)
TRX Rows: 1-10 by ones

Kettlebell Ladder the 2nd: (8:17 to complete)
62 pound kettlebell swings: 10 down to 1 by ones
TRX Chest Presses: 1-20 by twos

I seriously needed this workout - and it has entered my list of favorites!

[Irulan]

I would think the instructor would be supervising first timers.... "If you are new to this, you might do only XX stair repeats..."?

[Crankin]

He said several of the participants were sitting down on the ground. He has the cardio capacity and the legs to do the running. His body is just not used to it. The instructor didn't make anyone do stuff when they couldn't. I showed him how to modify the side slides/touch the ground.

[Catrin]

This is "Warrior Cardio" week for my group training, and while our coach's warmups are always intense, for the last week of the month they progress in intensity so we are ready for the main event. This morning part of our second warmup included mountain climbers on sliders. Sounds simple, but we had one foot in the air - the only foot on the ground is the one attempting to do the mountain climber. I did it - it was just a few inches for each one but I DID it :) The main event that we were warming up for was intense, but fun! I think that I am a sick woman....

[Catrin]

"Warrior Cardio" week has rolled around again - it is always the last week of the month. My butt was thoroughly kicked this morning! Our "finisher" was the following:

Prowler sled push for 200 meters
100 monster rope over-head slams
50 wall balls (in my case it was 42 wall balls and 25 goblet squats)
25 Head Cutters (burpees with a kettlebell)

All of this followed a 10 minute body weight pyramid and a 6 minute KB clean and mountain climber combination.

I was the second slowest, so far, in completing this work in 15:24. I am NOT ashamed of that time, it was a royal butt-kicking - which is a good thing for a holiday week! Back tomorrow morning for another one before heading out of town for the rest of the week. BTW, the fastest time so far was 8:45 :eek: THAT was awesome, and from a man in my age group.

[Irulan]

We did dumbbell 100's today. That is 100 of each exercise before you move on to the next one. 10% of body weight in each hand, for me that's a 12 on each hand. I had to downgrade when I got to the curls.
bench press
squats
rows
lunges
curls
catch and release
horizontal pull ups
side lunges.

.If you hit failure before 100 you have to (pick one) row 500m, jump-rope 100, jumping jacks 100, quadmill, run of set of soccer field lines, and then between each dumbbell set you had to do some core in this order, choose one, going down the list.
10 log rolls
20 pikes
30 alternate pikes
40 sky divers
50 hip dips
and I forget what was after that as I only made it to the horizontal pull ups.

"fun", right? :D

[Catrin]

Irulan, your coach and mine are related!

I've heard through the grapevine that our coach has the Hell Mill planned for us tomorrow morning. Basically it is an assortment of exercises done around a 200 meter track, a single exercise for each 200 meter lap (8 total laps). So lap one (or one of them), will be bear crawls for 200 meters. He has different versions of this particular workout so we will see in the morning what is in store for us. We don't do this often, it isn't a common workout. He does usually pull the stops out around holiday time. It should be a lot of 'fun', and an interesting way to prepare for a 7.5 hour drive directly afterwards :eek:

[Catrin]

We didn't do the Hell Mile last week - which is a good thing since I had that really long drive right after. I am considering doing a more shoulder-friendly version of it this Saturday, we will see.

This morning was a great workout as always, and we did an EMOM (every minute on the minute) for 15 minutes. The idea is very simple, the first minute you do 1 of each (2) exercises. Rest for the remainder of the minute. Second minute complete 2 of each and continue that way until the 15 minutes are up. The goal is to complete all reps of both exercises within each minute. If you fail to complete all reps of both exercises within the minute time frame then you cut the reps for both in half and just complete that number for the rest of the time.

So, for example, if you make it to the 8th minute and complete all 8 reps of the first exercise but not the second, for the remainder of the 15 minutes you complete 4 of each during each minute.

Our two exercises today were kettlebell goblet squats and pushups. He actually had me do something else for the second exercise as pressing is a problem for me right now. I got all the way to the 15th minute :) I did not, however, complete, I failed on the 15th round. I am pleased with that however, it is the closest I've ever gotten to completing this particular EMOM workout. The only thing better than goblet squats for this are deadlifts :)

[Crankin]

I felt like I was dying in boot camp today. It was the evil one, but while it wasn't tough cardio wise, almost none, she had us doing planks with sliders. I hate those things. I can do the standing stuff with them, no issue, but today was misery. I always use smaller weights in her class, and even those were hurting me. But... I felt better afterwards, and then I went to PT, where I got a very good massage.

[Catrin]

I hear you Crankin, planks and sliders can be...interesting for me as well because of my bad shoulder. Things seem to be improving though - slowly - but improving.

[Catrin]

Today I met with a training partner and we did the Partner 100's workout. The actual exercises can differ, but this is what we chose to do:

100 Chin-ups (her) or TRX Rows (me)
100 back squats (her) or goblet squats (me)
(I am not allowed to do overhead work or pullups right now and while back squats aren't "over head", one must go there to get the bar in position and, of course, remove it!)
100 Abmat situps
100 95-pound deadlifts
100 TRX hip extensions

How this works is one partner runs a set distance while the other partner starts the exercise. At the end of that distance the partners switch and partner 2 starts up with the number where partner 1 stopped. We normally do 4 exercises in this workout, but we seemed to have some fuel left in the tank so decided to do a "bonus" round. I've no idea how far we actually ran, and it took us 54:12 to complete this workout. We were focusing more on form than time, and now my hammies are sore. This is a GOOD thing as I hardly ever get sore...tomorrow all I will do is mobility work and, possibly, some rowing. We will see.

[Catrin]

Our coach gives us a "weekly challenge" every week to do on our own, and this week the challenge had a Christmas connection - it was the "12 Days of Christmas" workout. It is pretty simple, with each round add the next exercise, just like the song. I had to change the overhead work since I can't do that, so this version has my modifications.

1 Burpee Pullup
2 Deadlifts (body weight)
3 Medball Cleans (originally Medball Clean & OH Toss)
4 Tire Flips (originally handstand pushups or pike pushups)
5 Box Jumps
6 Pushups
7 TRX racked rows
8 Split Jumps
9 Kettlebell Swings
10 TRX Crunches
11 Medball Forward toss (replacing Medball OH Slams)
12 BB Front Squats (originally BB squat and press)

It was a lot of fun and took me 44:06 (not counting warming up). My goal was to finish the workout + warmup in an hour and I succeeded. This was the most equipment heavy workout I've ever done on my own! I know I've team-mates who would have done it faster, but my goal was to FINISH it, and to focus on proper form. I will do it again in a couple of months and see if I can improve my time

[ridebikeme]

Sounds like a great workout Catrin! Glad to hear that you are having fun and being challenged:)

[Catrin]

Sounds like a great workout Catrin! Glad to hear that you are having fun and being challenged:)


Who needs a working shoulder!!! (tongue thoroughly in cheek) It actually is VERY stable because of the nature of the mechanical problem with it, I just can't go overhead with it.

[ridebikeme]

[I]'m glad that you were able to find something to challenge you while your shoulder is recovering! It's some times a very hard place to be in, and obviously you took the challenge head on. Congratulations!!!I]

[Catrin]

[I]'m glad that you were able to find something to challenge you while your shoulder is recovering! It's some times a very hard place to be in, and obviously you took the challenge head on. Congratulations!!!I]

Thanks for the encouragement! I am uncertain that it will actually improve more than it has, it's been like this since I was 12 - I just didn't know about it as my life was so sedentary for so long. The neck injury from the mtb crash didn't help. Surgery is an option, but I won't go that route unless they can guarantee that my shoulder would be more functional afterwards, and of course they can't do that. My OD is convinced that we will, eventually, get there without surgery, we will see :) Giving up just isn't an option, I know what lies in that direction and I refuse to allow myself to be in that kind of condition (or lack thereof) again.

[Catrin]

Just a little bragging, only because it made me feel good and it validates all the hard work I've been doing. I saw my doctor this morning for my annual "wellness appointment", and in the course of our conversation he mentioned that I am more fit than most of the people he sees in my age group :) It does feel like I must work harder than my younger team members to maintain (let alone progress), but that made me feel good :)

[Crankin]

That's great, Catrin. This becomes more reinforcing as you get older, believe me. A big part of this is knowing when to rest and how to modify, just as you have. I've had pressure from some of my fellow boot camp people and a sly comment from the instructor I like, that I should use another riser when we use the step, whether it's for jump ups or just any step move. But I know that I'd probably trip and kill myself and also that my achilles would be screaming. Maybe eventually, but right now I'm happy with what I am doing.

[Catrin]

That's great, Catrin. This becomes more reinforcing as you get older, believe me. A big part of this is knowing when to rest and how to modify, just as you have. I've had pressure from some of my fellow boot camp people and a sly comment from the instructor I like, that I should use another riser when we use the step, whether it's for jump ups or just any step move. But I know that I'd probably trip and kill myself and also that my achilles would be screaming. Maybe eventually, but right now I'm happy with what I am doing.

I agree, it pays to know what is going on with our body. My coach isn't pushing me to use the next higher box for box jumps, even though I am only using the 14-incher. He pays attention at how far we clear the current height and I don't think I clear it by much. I am short :) It gets humbling when he puts me on a lower height than the others for step-ups (especially weighted), but I know it is for my own good. The way he pushes us, I know he isn't just trying to be easy on me. I've been focusing on trying to keep my ego out of things when I do have to modify, and that in itself can be a challenge...

[Crankin]

Well, one thing that makes me chuckle is when people (we are all regulars and the others all seem to be tri-athletes or runners) start out with heavier weights for certain sets. I, on the other hand, start out with the ones that I know will let me complete all of the reps, with good form. By the end, the others have put the heavy ones down and switched out to what I use. Of course, I vary the weight by type of exercise and who is teaching. I try not to let my ego get in the way, because I know I am at least 15 years older than most of them. So, they are not babies, but in their 40s, a few are 50-ish and occasionally, we have a young one come in (they can't stick it out!). I often, though, can outlast them in all things cardio, and end up running with 2 of the super fit tri-athletes, who are also the oldest next to me. But, one of them, who I really like, is a bit of an exercise bulimic (new diagnosis), as I have seen her going off to do more on the eliiptical, or run outside after class. And, she's always fighting injuries. It is hard not to compare, but even when I was in my early 30s and teaching at the gym, I could not do what others did... like teach back to back classes a few days a week. As it was, I was sick all of the time from no rest and 7-8 classes a week.

[Irulan]

Today was the annual mile lunge day.
Right.
I opted for the 1/2 mile option; that's more than enough. Anytime you paused for any sort of a break, you had to pcik one of the following and do it to failure: bridge, side bridge, push through, curls, presses, skydivers, single leg extensions.... I added burpees to the list since I've been doing my friends' "30 Burpees a Day Holiday Challenge" on Facebook.

[Catrin]

Today was the annual mile lunge day.
Right.
I opted for the 1/2 mile option; that's more than enough. Anytime you paused for any sort of a break, you had to pick one of the following and do it to failure: bridge, side bridge, push through, curls, presses, skydivers, single leg extensions.... I added burpees to the list since I've been doing my friends' "30 Burpees a Day Holiday Challenge" on Facebook.

I LIKE this one, and I agree that 1/2 mile of lunges done properly is quite sufficient. I had group training today (and will Thursday), and we are having a special group "Funday" workout tomorrow morning. I know he is going to kick our azzes in an epic way, so there will be a good brekkie in the morning. Great way to get in your burpees for the day! I am going to remember your 1/2 mile lunge challenge for when I am working solo.

[Catrin]

I needed a good conditioning workout this morning since I missed our Funday workout yesterday, so I took this one on again. Even managed to shave a couple minutes off my origional time! Would love to do this in sub-30 minutes, but that isn't going to happen anytime soon. It is a lot of fun though!



Our coach gives us a "weekly challenge" every week to do on our own, and this week the challenge had a Christmas connection - it was the "12 Days of Christmas" workout. It is pretty simple, with each round add the next exercise, just like the song. I had to change the overhead work since I can't do that, so this version has my modifications.

1 Burpee Pullup
2 Deadlifts (body weight)
3 Medball Cleans (originally Medball Clean & OH Toss)
4 Tire Flips (originally handstand pushups or pike pushups)
5 Box Jumps
6 Pushups
7 TRX racked rows
8 Split Jumps
9 Kettlebell Swings
10 TRX Crunches
11 Medball Slams (actually did the slams the second time)
12 BB Front Squats (originally BB squat and press)

[Crankin]

Sounds very hard, but good.
The "evil one" is no longer teaching at 5:30 AM, starting this week. Everyone was complaining, so I was elected to talk to the fitness director. It worked...

[Catrin]

Sounds very hard, but good.
The "evil one" is no longer teaching at 5:30 AM, starting this week. Everyone was complaining, so I was elected to talk to the fitness director. It worked...

Glad to hear you no longer have to deal with the evil one! 5:30 in the morning is just too early for that sort of thing!

Yes, it was a very good workout, but I didn't realize how hard it was until I finished it. And immediately got dizzy....but then again I AM a dizzy broad sometimes ;) I am pretty sure that THIS kind of dizziness is from not drinking enough. I really like this workout as a kind of benchmark - it does have a little bit of everything! I think I want to do it every 6-8 weeks, no more frequently.

I was describing this workout to someone and it took her a bit to realize that it isn't just 1 time through :) Day 1, then Days 1 & 2, then Day's 1-3, etc. Guess she didn't get the song reference :)

[Catrin]

Amazing the difference it makes when you take my shoulders out of the equation. I think my coach has been as frustrated (or more) than I have been about my inability to gain upper body strength due to my mechanical shoulder complex problem that is also strongly affected by my neck. I am VERY happy with something that happened yesterday as those of you who also deal with physical limitations will especially appreciate.

My shoulder/neck problem means that, not only a strong resistance from my body to gaining arm strength (shoulder girdle is prevented from getting in the right position), but we have learned that I simply cannot go overhead or do vertical pressing. No bench presses, no pushups, no overhead squats, jerks, etc. Pity, for I want to do Olympic lifting but I am precluded from MOST of the lifts - but not all :) That is another topic.

Yesterday our coach had bench presses on tap for my group. In the past I've attempted this with an unloaded bar and had to stop due to the inability to show proper form and, at times, pain. This time he had something totally different in store for me while the others worked on heavy bench presses. He is good at dividing his attention!

We have some lovely new weight machines - these aren't cable machines either (plates instead). One of the new ones is a standing squat machine that basically takes the arms totally out of the equation but the arms are in a good position for the lift - not just hanging down. Perfect for someone like me. I was able to go up to 190 pounds - and that felt light. I felt like I could have gone MUCH heavier - and my coach was more surprised than I was. I can do close to 500 pounds on the leg press for multiple reps so I figured some of that would translate, and apparently it does. He paid very close attention to my form and called it good :)

We are focusing on what I CAN do, and stop trying to persuade my body to do what it doesn't want/can't do. We really have been doing this, but even more now.

[Catrin]

Gave myself a great workout this morning. The goal was supposed to be to keep my heart rate as close to 140 as possible without going over. I failed at that but it was fun!

11 rounds of:

115 pound deadlifts, 8 reps each round
12 box jumps
15 monster rope slams (I changed the type of slam)
10 dynamax ball slams or cleans

I needed to do this for at least 20 minutes and that turned out to be 11 rounds. As time went on I had to take slightly longer breaks between rounds to at least attempt to stay close to the upper level of my zone 2 heart rate. Interestingly enough the deadlifting was the easiest part!

[Catrin]

We had a great group workout this morning that featured sandbags, trap-bar deadlifts, TRX, nice shiny new kettlebells and bosu pushups!

I am also making a coaching change. Still working with my usual coach, but once a week rather than twice. Adding on a fantastic kettlebell coach that we have! There are few in North America with his level of certification in different KB disciplines. His coaching style is very different and he is GOOD at what he does. He is also 65, and understands how to work with those with back/shoulder/neck/etc issues. I am excited to learn more about kettlebells! His training is no less intense than my other coach, but it is presented in a very different way - and my body feels much better afterwards - especially my neck. It is good to mix things up - I look at this as having the best of both worlds without having to pay any more money!

[Catrin]

Today I inflicted 3 rounds on myself of:

50 meter 45-lb KB Farmers Carry
50 meter broad jump burpees
50 meter sprint
50 meter KB lunges (22 lbs)

Unashamed to say that this was a butt-kicking! My goal was 5 rounds, but ran out of time on my lunch break. Don't really think I had 2 more full rounds in me anyway. This is an example of the weekly challenge that my strength and conditioning coach gives us. It took me ~31 minutes to do the three rounds, and I don't think that is half bad for this old bird :)

Of course, now that it might be actually warm enough to take my bike to my favorite park, I've mountain bike event volunteer duties this weekend! Oh well, it will be fun to see old friends.

[Catrin]

Today's workout was rather ironic since I did a solo 500 kettlebell swing workout yesterday (single arm, alternating). I've been working to develop my own home kettlebell gym at home because, frankly, I need to get my butt back in church - and with the summer coming I don't want to be tied to my gym on the weekends. I love it, don't get me wrong, but I need options and I know a lot more about how to develop my own workouts and warmups. I can do a LOT with 3 kettlebell weights, a Jungle Gym and some stretch bands. So, I chose to do that kettlebell endurance workout yesterday because I am doing a 10,000 swing challenge, but I also thought today's workout wouldn't feature kettlebells. That coach does use them, but he doesn't often focus on them...until today. You saw that coming, didn't you?

So today we did 3 rounds of pure kettlebell fun! 1 round of 5 KB exercises - one of each (each arm), 5 times. Round 2 featured the same 5 exercises, 2 reps of each, 5 times through (both arms of course). Round 3 saw 10 reps of each exercise each arm - and for all rounds you complete one side before moving to the other side. To say this was a blaster is an understatement! The 5 exercises were KB swings, cleans, squats, presses, and snatches. The first three are easy for me, the second 2 not so much - which is why I am working with a kettlebell coach. Frankly I shouldn't have done those last 10 snatches, my form was terrible but I did the best I could.

[Catrin]

On one hand I am complaining because I am coughing too much to ride my bike or trail run yet. On the other hand, this weekend I've done all of the following and it has felt great - outside of coughing when running. That WILL pass, and this didn't even tire me. I shouldn't complain

Today I started with 3 sets of heavy barbell weighted hip extensions, and practiced kettlebell cleans between each set. This was on my own before my crazy Sunday Funday group got started - I can't attend as often as I once did so I enjoyed being there today.

We started our group conditioning session with mobility, core and stability work, afterwards there were the following two "main events":

1 racked row
2 pushups
3 bosu getups

The goal is to double each exercise each round until reaching a 10 minute cap OR to reach 10,20,30 reps. I lost count and just continued for the 10 minutes.

15 minutes of the following:

200 meter run plus 5 story stair climb

5 KB "woman-makers" - I won't call them man-makers because I am not a man! Our younger women were giggling and calling them "b*ob makers" ;) This was rather different from others I've done in the past. This version calls for a chest to KB pushup (KB is flat on the ground, not standing up), while remaining in pushup position place one hand behind the back, then the other. Then complete a cheetah movement to get the feet up by the KB, take it by the handle, then stand up and press it overhead. That counts as one movement. It takes a bit of time to do 5 of them well!

400 meter row


Outside of the coughing from the running I felt pretty darn good. This was after my usual Saturday 500-swing kettlebell workout at home yesterday. Now I rest until Tuesday morning! If it were warmer I would at least go walking.

[Catrin]

Great workout today in my new group. My KB coach is very understated, but he proves time and time again that one doesn't need a full hour for a bu**-kicking (it IS an hour long). After warming up & joint mobility work he divided us into partners. He does keep training partners together.

The partner rounds today looked like this:

I did relatively heavy single arm kettlebell swings while my partner completed 10 hip extensions each side, 10 kneeling KB presses (each side individually), 10 KB rows, each side individually. Then he did his swings while I completed the prescribed exercises. We did 4 total rounds, the last two rounds featured single arm cleans rather than swings. Overhead strength is my weakness and we keep pounding away at it like always. The difference now, however, is that I am seeing signs of increasing strength and THAT has NEVER happened regardless of how hard I've worked!

This was a GOOD workout - now I will be taking the next two days off as I've the Dirty Girl Saturday morning :D :eek: