Workout Lite

Was not a heavy workout week.
Monday:
warm up :4 x 8 3 in 1's (hang clean, front squat, push press)  1 x 45lb, 1 x 55lb, 2 x 65lb
4 rounds of:
300 rows on rowing machine
hang snatch x 10 x 45lb
300 rows
turkish get ups x 6 ea arm x 10lb kettlebell (from standing down to lying on floor and back up all while holding a weight pointed up to the ceiling regardless of body position. Try it. Not as easy as it sounds)

Tuesday:
1 min weighted toe touches x 10lb
30 sec plank
1 min jump rope
30 sec plank
1 min wtd roman twists x 25lb ouch
30 sec plank
30 sec jump rope single leg, each leg
30 sec plank
1 min flutter kicks      and that was the warm up

6 rounds
200 meter run ( I ran 3 and did 3 x 200 rows on the rowing machine. Rowing is harder)
30 wall balls x 12lb
30 kettlebell swings x 20lb

Thursday:
warm up with a little core, not much
15 minutes of 10:10:15  lat pulldowns, push ups, sumo squats
45 sec run @ 8mph
10 push ups
run
10 lunges each leg
repeat all 4 again
3 x 30 sec @ 9mph

Saturday:
17 mile bike ride, flat but fast
Sunday:
6 mile bike ride with the small one, flat and slow but alternated Big Ring Ride with Spinning

2 Lazy 2 Blog Workout

Busy or Lazy. I could go either way. I'm having issues with foot pain (fasciitis), so I had to replace all the running exercises with something else, like rowing or elliptical. And I missed blogging the workouts the last 2 weeks so here we go:

Monday 19th
warm up: CORE and 4 x 8 hang clean 1 x 65lb, 3x 75lb
3 Rounds of:
group hang clean x 10 x 75lb
200 rows on rowing machine
15 single arm push press 20lb DBs
200m backwards on elliptical
tuck jumps x 20
It was supposed to be 5 rounds but I had to get to carpool so I did 2 more rounds at work in the afternoon

Tuesday 20th
warm up CORE
5 Rounds of : 1 min at each station, 1 min rest after completion of all 5  
Box Jump 18 inches
wall ball 12lb
plate push 35lb
jump rope (try for at least 100 jumps)
push press 65lb

Wednesday 21st
warm up CORE
30 minutes to do as many rounds as possible- I got 3 1/4
15 single arm snatch each arm 25lb
200 rows
15 kettlebell swing 20lb
10 pushups, 10 chair pushups, 10 clapping pushups ( i had to do the clapping ones on my knees, grr)

Mountain bike for about 45 minutes in the evening- easy pace

Friday 23rd
1 1/2 mile on the elliptical with call outs (stop to do whatever C says do: pushups, jumping jacks, mountain climbers, etc)  50 tire flips to be done any time. I did 20 in the middle of the "run" and 30 after.

Monday 26th
warm up CORE
20 minutes- as many rounds as possible
10 lat pulldowns 70lb
10 push ups
15 squats with 12lb DBs

Friday 30th
warm up CORE
Jump rope- 1 min dbl foot jump, 30 sec right leg, 30 sec left.  2 min rest, REPEAT
1 min dbl foot jump, 30 sec shuffle jump, 30 sec dbl under- which I could NOT do. Kept whacking my ankles with the rope.  2min rest REPEAT
20 sec work 10 sec rest x 8 intervals (4 min of ea exercise)
push up
squat
full sit up
walking lunge

I Heart Tractor Tires

What a great way to spend a Sunday morning and afternoon.



















Monday: warm up with Core work
10 min limit- do 50 tire flips- GO!  Did it.
Overhead tire presses- 4 people pressing. Supposed to do 50, I'm not sure if we did. I think I blacked out.
50 tire flip and jump  (flip, jump in, jump out)

Tuesday: warm up with bench press...5x65lb, 5x75lb
 Bench press 2x3x95lb, 2x2x105lb, 1x1x105lb
50 chair pushups, 15,10,10,10,5
superset: incline DB press 3x10x20lb, 1x10x25lb AND Ab Ball Flys 4 x 15 x 15lb
50 pushups wearing 25lb weight vest 15,15,13,8

Wednesday: warm up with Core 
30 minutes to do as many rounds as possible: did 7 Rounds in just over 30min of:
20 mt climbers each leg
20 sec sprint 20% incline 6.6mph
10 single leg plyo jumps 90lb
200m run
Wednesday night was just nuts and I didn't feel like cooking so instead- we had this lovely plate of cheese, fruit and smoked salmon rolled with cream cheese and grilled squash. 

Thursday: warm up with Coreand bench press 1x5x85, 2x2x100, 2x3x95
20 min limit to do as many rounds as possible:did 4
400m run
21 kettlebell swings x 20lb
12 pullups (used a band for assist)

Friday: NADA, did nothing. Felt guilty. Dunno why.

Saturday: Heavy Yard Work. Still hoping I saw the Poison Ivy before it saw me. So far so good.

Sunday-GOT MY MOUNTAIN BIKE ON!

This morning we set out at Murray Park, close to the Big Dam Bridge and headed over the bridge into NLR. At the Soccer fields we cut over to the trails at Burns Park to ride in the woods for a while. We rode for several miles and there is a sweet  but much too short ridge ride that we love. There's J on the ridge, and here's me coming down the end. J says I always look stressed in every picture so he said SMILE! Now he says I have a cheesy fake grin- Bud, you can't haven't both ways.

We rode out of the park and down the river trail to the Emerald Park turn to head up the switchbacks to Ft. Roots. We rode the rough and tumble rocky trail down to pick up the river trail once again and into downtown Little Rock. We stopped at Rumba Mexi-Cuban Kitchen for a bite to eat. Turns out they do a brunch on Sundays with a make your own Bloody Mary bar. hmmm. Didn't try the Bloody Mary bar since we were still riding. I had grilled fish tacos and J had the chorizo with cheese grits. If we hadn't eaten 2 count them 2 baskets of chips, it would have been better. : ) Those last 6 miles or so to finish the river trail were a bit  tougher than they had to be.

Another week, another $2.00

Tuesday: warm up with CORE and agility ladder
25 pushups
25 chair pushups
25 weighted pushups (PU with a 25lb plate on my back, wish I had a picture)

outside run 800m forward, 400m backward, 800m FW, 400m BW.

Running backwards becomes the theme of the week.

Wednesday: lighter CORE workout to warm up
"The 300"  50 of each exercise done in sequence
wall ball x 15lb ball
box jump 24" box
pull ups (assisted by a band of course)
kettle bell swings 20lb
push up
thrusters 65lb (front squat with push press)

Thursday: CORE again.
5 x 10 hang clean 45lb bar
21 single leg jumps (used plyo machine on this set at 60lb)
400m run backward
200m sprint forward
15 single leg jumps
400m bw
200m fw
9 single leg jumps (used an 18" box this time)
400m bw
200m fw

Friday: CORE, again. Ouch.
3 rounds of:
tire flips x 15
tire hits x 20  - baseball bat coated in tape till it looks like a bowling pin, wood chop over head and hit tire.
plate push 2 x 20yds - 1 x 45lb 2 x 35lb
weighted step ups 12 ea leg -  1 x 25lb DBs on 24" box 2 x 20lb on 18"
bench dip x 10-elevated feet, 1 x 12 x 10lb plate in lap, 2 x 10 x 25lb plate
seated chest press x 15 ea arm x 30lb

I'm tired. And my shoulders are a little sore

There is no workout program...

that makes up for a bad diet. Damn straight.

Sunday 7th: 5 hours of early morning trail work then 3.5 hours sitting in a car. Ate a lot.
Monday:  2.7mi hilly run, hill repeats to pain mode on short steep hill (about 8 sec runs each), chair pushups on the "porch" of our hotel room : ) , chair dips too, then a walk of the run route in the afternoon. Ate AND drank a lot.
Tuesday: Abs and a little in room cardio/calesthenics food wasn't quite as bad today, I even ate quite a bit of fruit but come on!!?? what's with the fried food frenzy?
Wednesday: an hour or so of pretty tough mountain biking and another long car trip
Thursday: NADA
Friday: back to morning class  
10..9..8..7.......1 rep workout
Weighted stationary lunges 10,9,8 rep @ 20lb dumb bells 7,6,5 @25lb  4,3 @30lb  2@ 35lb, 1 @ 40lb
Incline dumb bell press 10,9,8 @ 20lb  7,6,5 @ 25lb  4,3,2,1 @ 30lb  tried and failed with 35.
Dumb bell push press same as incline press

Finished off with 2 x 20 each sumo squats and walking lunges carrying a 15lb medicine ball. Yes my glutes were sore, thanks for asking.
then had a great pasta and wine dinner with Sweet Sarah Smiles.

Saturday: 7 yes I said 7 hours of trail work. Followed by another 3 or so in our own yard on Sunday. Criminy.  No more raking for a while please. Pretty please. With a showgirl on top. Maybe even 2.

Full week

Hit the 5:30 a.m. workout 5 days in a row this week!

Monday: warm up with core (seated twists w/10lb plate, V-ups, plank, etc)
5 pull ups
10 pushups
15 squats
20 rounds in 20 minutes!
then 1000m run/jog in 5'50"

Tuesday: warm up with core
50 pushups
bench press 2x3x80lb, 2x2x95lb, 1xFx100lb
10..9..8..7..6......1  start with 10 reps, then 9 then 8...so on down to 1
superset: dumb bell bench press and elevated pushup (feet on 8 in box) to failure
          db press 25-30lb, avg push up 7
superset: push press and plate raise to failure
          push press ended rep 1 at 65lb but tried at 85lb and could do 4 reps...25lb plate raise avg to F was 10

I ruined it all by eating fried catfish and onion rings for dinner, but man was it tasty!

Wednesday: warm up with core and speed ladder work
Sprints day
8 sec sprint:8 sec high knee holding the support bar (same speed)
11 sprints @ 9-11mph, flat incline
4 x 12 sec sprint @12-12.5mph    tried 13mph but tripped and burned my back on the treadmill. Doofus.

Thursday: warm up with core and ladder again
3:00 circuit of ea exercise 20 sec work: 10 sec rest
box jumps switching between 18-24 in box x 3 rounds
plate push switching 25-35lb plate x 3 rounds
lat pulldowns 70lb/DB row 30lb x 2 rounds
tire flips avg 14 flips in 3 min x 2 rounds
DB military press  20lb x 2 rounds

Friday: warm up with core
5k outside in the cold
finished off 3 x  20 x 8lb wall balls

Then, the weekend. But that's another post.
         

A Busy Week

-

2 1/2 weeks ago, our yard looked like this. The good news is, this week it doesn't!

Monday:
warm up- 50 x V ups, 3 x 12 overhead squats
4 rounds-
3 in 1's (clean, squat, press) x 10 45lb
plyo jumps x 20 started at 120lb, dropped to 105 lbs set 3,4
400m run outside, every 50 steps (counted on one foot) stop for 12 jump squats
pushups x 20
1 min rest between rounds

Tuesday:
warm up with core workout
bench press 2 x 3 88% of max, 2 x 2 93% max, 1 x F 100%   85,90,95lb
superset 1-  4 x 12 each front plate raise 25lb AND military shoulder press 20lb
superset 2- 4 x 20yd plate push 35lb, shoulder implosion 2 x 10seconds
shoulder complex (8front, 8side and 8rotator lifts per set) 3 x  5lb
50 pushups

Tuesday Night involved a birthday cake and way too much pizza so Wednesday morning I slept in that extra hour. More on that later.

Thursday:
warm up with core workout
50 chair pushups (sets of 15, 15, 17, 3)
bench press 1 x 6 80lb, 2 x 5 85lb, 1 x F 95lb = 3 reps
3 x 25 pushups between sets of bench press
endurance bench  (as many reps as possible for 15 seconds, hold the wt up for 15, press for 15 seconds)
1 x 55lb, 1 x 60lb
standing curls 3 x 10 15lb dumb bells
partner curls- 10 reps, 9 reps, 8 reps.......1 rep.  used 15lb until last rep- used 45lb bar
resisted curl- partner holds bar and resists you as you try to lift and lower

Friday:
warm up with core
10 rounds-
30 plyo jumps 90-105lb
200 m run (sprint)
box jump (over 8 and 12 in)
10 burpees
NO REST!

Saturday:
Worked on the trails for 5 hours. Lots of raking, bending, rock moving, etc. Sure didn't feel like all that much during the day but we were so exhausted, we both fell asleep on the couch before 10 p.m.. Sad.

Snow, Tire Flips and Push Ups

No, snow has nothing to do with the tire flips. Or push ups. Except that the snow got in the way of me doing any said tire flips or push ups for a week.

Last Monday we got hit with a beautiful snow. A rare occurance in these parts. I was happy to see fluffy stuff instead of ice pellets. But, it kept everyone home for a couple of days and made conditions still treacherous in the dark hours of early morn when I usually to to work out. Then it just got darn busy trying to play catch up. Did get a bit of walking in on Monday and Tuesday- walking in the snow FEELS like a workout.

Saturday 13th- 2.5 hours on the Ouachita Trail in heavy hiking boots traversing the mud and snow.


Monday 15th- She's Got Leeeggggs
3 x 15 plyo press 180lb
3 x 15 plyo jumps 125lb
2 x  plyo jumps 15 sec work: 15 rest: 15 work
mountain climbers between sets while other group did jumps

circuit 15 sec work: 10 sec rest for 3 min
wall balls 15lb
plate push 25lb
tire flip
wall sit

Tuesday- She's got ARMS??
3 x 20 wide chair pushups
bench press 1 x 6 85lb, 2 x 5 95lbs, 2 x 4 attempted 100lb but went back to 95.

Circuit x 4 rounds
alternating dumb bell chest press  10 ea arm x 25lb
med ball push up (hands on top of 2 small med balls) to failure (face plant)
walking push ups 10lb DBs
: 30 sec of cable bumpouts 20lb each arm - this is like boxing but pulling weighted cables out - ouch

Wednesday- She doesn't have speed
5 minute core workout to warm up
sprints. omg sprints.
5 light x 8.5-10 mph to fail  maxed out about 40 sec
5 medium x 11-12 mph to fail maxed out about 20 sec
2 heavy 5.5 mph on steep incline this was my favorite maxed out at 30 sec!
Took a 600 m jog outside in the cold to warm down

Thursday- 20 minutes to do as many rounds as possible
5 pullups
10 push ups
15 squats
only did 11 rounds?? It sure felt like more
then 4 x 8 push press, 55lb, 65,65, 75lb

Friday- TIRE FLIPS- Waaahooo tire flips!
50 x 2 hand heavy tire flip
25 x single hand "light" tire flip right arm
25 x single hand "light" tire flip left arm
50 x flip jumps-  flip, jump in, jump out, flip. Oh my stars.

I should have a rest day but I'm hoping the weather holds out long enough to do some trail work tomorrow. Please weather gods, shine down happily upon us!

The Freezing Fun of February

I know, it wasn't so long ago that I would have had no issue at all with jogging in a 27 degree pre-dawn. Lately I think I'm wimping out on it? I haven't done a distance road run in months. I've never really enjoyed road running as much as other things so if I can substitute something else I will. I should find a way to rediscover some joy in it.

Monday- Overslept after a fun Sunday workout at Pinnacle (2.5 hours on the icy trail!)

Tuesday- 15 sec work : 15 sec rest intervals x 8 (4 minutes each)
resisted run out (bungeed to a sled with 100lb dumbell on it, grab a med ball overhead, run out and put it back)
weighted step ups (45lb bar on shoulders or at chest, step up and down on 24inch step)
wall ball w/ 15lb ball
lying med ball toss (alternate with plank or pushup, no rest)
sprints x 10 mph
I repeated the wall balls and ball toss/ push ups cause I had a few minutes to kill but didn't think I could do any more legs

Wednesday- warm up with Abs.  Workout time limit 20 minutes, as many rounds as possible
10 push ups
max out lat pulldowns 80lb OR pullups ( I did mostly lat pulls, a few pull ups)
15 squats
Finished 13 2/3 rounds!

Thursday- Step Mill 25 minutes followed by 4 x 45sec run @ 8 mph

Friday- The "Angie" workout
100 push ups
100 sit ups
100 squats
100 pull ups or lat pulldowns-  did 40 assisted pullups with band, 60 lat pulldowns 70lb
did 5 x 30 jumping jacks in between lat pulldowns sets to keep heart rate up

Saturday- I had a little too much fun out with friends on Friday. Managed 35 minutes of Wii "hard" workout with resistance band

Sunday- Started on building a new mountain bike trail in the woods. yee haw. 3.5 hours of raking, walking and a little jogging.

Not so New Year's Resolution

Started back at the 5:30 a.m. AIM workouts.

Monday 25th: 10,9,8,7,...1
1 circuit repeated with 10 reps of each exercise, then 9 reps, then 8, etc down to 1 rep trying to increase weight on the way down the reps.  There were so many people at this workout that no matter what, I ended up waiting between sets and I had to leave for the bus at rep 2. It was still so tough.

Deadlifts-  started with 45lb, ended with 75
bench press- started with 65lb, started and ended with 75 after rep7  but did an 85 at rep4
single arm snatch- started with 20lb but moved to 30lb from 7 rep down
push press- 65lb for 10-7, 75lb 6-end
chair push ups to max  avg was 6

Tuesday 26th:  7 rounds of
300 meter sprint outside
20 kettlebell swings 6 x 20lb 1 x 30lb
lat pulldowns to max- I switched each set between 70-80lbs and did 4-11 reps each set


Wednesday 27th:  warm  up with ab workout
15 x 15 sec sprints!  started at 8.5 mph increasing every 2 sprints up to 12.5 mph

Thursday 28th: warm up with abs again
5 rounds  1 min at each station, 1 minute of rest after completing a full round
push press 65lb, last set  was 45lb but doubled the reps
box jumps on 12 inch
wall balls 10lb ball
weighted wall sits 10lb plate overhead for 30 sec, in front of chest  moving like driving a car for last 30 sec
plyo jumps w/ 90lb

Friday 29th: snow day. went sledding some and did a 30 minute resistance band workout



Saturday 30th got NADA but sitting and watching the ice melt. Too slippery to get out much but not enough to sled.

Sunday- 31st Today we're heading to my favorite outdoor gym- Pinnacle Mtn right after lunch!!!

Too Happy?

Stress is not healthy, but stress usually encourages me to work out more. And I tend to make an effort to stay away from certain things that spell doom for me when I'm stressed out. Mainly dessert and alcohol. Lately life  has been too good. Is there such a thing? Despite a few hiccups and a big worry over the realization that we're about to dump a ton of money into renovating our kitchen- life is good. I hate to say it's noticeable, but the last few years have been extremely stressful both at work and at home. Have we found our groove? Am I cursing the happiness by actually saying it out loud? Last night the question was posed to me - "Skinnier but unhappy or Fatter and happier, which do you prefer?"   uh, I would prefer to be able to eat steak, baked potatoes, pasta, cobbler and banana pudding without ever gaining a pound. But since that won't happen...crap, it's back to writing down everything that goes in the mouth. I hate that more than exercise.

Saturday 16th:  Got up and cleaned the garage. Then once I loaded my car with good but no longer needed items, I sent the boys to Goodwill and immediately went upstairs to commandeer the one working TV in the house to do a Wii workout for 40 minutes. Realized that the weather had actually improved after several days of sub 30 Degree days and I should have been outside running hills.

Sunday: should have been a bike ride but the whole house was sick with some sinus crud. Except me. So instead of working out, I took the small one, who was recovering nicely, out to buy a dress for Homecoming Court. That was a workout for my patience. 5 stores. And we still have to get shoes.

Monday: Finally got that bike ride in. Short but Sweet. About an hour worth of mountain biking out at the CARP trails on Camp Robinson. J was still feeling pretty sick so I was afraid the ride would be short. I decided to single speed it. yucca, portapotty, freeway, 2 (10) bridges.
Added 25 minutes of upper body work with a resistance band at home in the p.m.

Fatter but Happier it is then. I'm okay with that. I think.

I'll forget if I don't...

write it down.
Tuesday- 25 minutes on the step mill, 20 min at 65-100 steps/min. 5 burpees followed by 3 x 45 sec "sprints" @ 8 mph. not really a sprint pace for most people :(

Wednesday- 40 minutes of Wii Sports Active. Ouch. I've now broken 2 resistance bands trying to get them to feel like I'm actually doing something. Ugh. Must go get REAL band this weekend. Then got smacked playing balance games on Wii fit. I am the most uncoordinated member of the family by far.

Thursday- 20 minutes on the step mill followed by:
12 pushups to plank 30 sec, 1 slow pushup, plank 15 sec, 1 slow pushup plank 15 sec
4 x 45 sec sprint @ 8 mph
bench press 10 x 45lb, 6 x 65lb, 4 x 75lb

What Good is Cold Without Snow?

This past week we had record low temperatures here in our Southern hamlet. I do not enjoy single digit temps. Yes, I do realize it is January but what good is cold without snow to play in?
Saturday I needed to be in my office for a couple of hours but before leaving I hit the fitness center for a quick 25 minute treadmill workout-uphill. When I got home, I talked the man into a Wii workout. We did a 30 minute full body circuit followed by a 25 minute upper body circuit. Nice :) At least it felt like I was somewhat better than a comatose sloth bear that afternoon.
Sunday when the temperature finally reached above freezing (barely) we went out for a stroll in our favorite urban park.  There were more people at Pinnacle Mountain than I expected. I guess after a few days of teens and tens for temps, 35 was downright balmy! We got about 6.5 miles in, but not as much running as I would have liked. Still a better workout than I've been getting since the Holiday Haze of Laze set in.

This is part of the Base Trail back in November. It didn't look much different yesterday, except for the occasional patch of ice.

Ah, the bliss. Except for the random unleashed dog and wild haired hippy runner. That's a different sort of trail entertainment.

The Traditional Christmas Hike

Almost every year since we married, J and I have wandered off into the woods on Christmas morning or afternoon.It's time for  just the two of us to decompress after the excitement. This year we had a quick Christmas morning gift exchange and yummy breakfast with the small one, my mom and her husband before driving to Lake Catherine State Park for the afternoon. The plan was to hike the Dam Mountain Trail, but we didn't realize that it closes during hunting season. Better safe than sorry. We did a loop of 2 other trails to get in about 4.5 miles of hike.

The 23rd and 24th of December brought record rainfall to our neck of the woods. Unfortunately it was bad enough to flood several areas, strand a few folks and even displace a few for the Holiday. It also meant that the waterfalls were flowing and we saw some pretty magnificent ones. Beauty and Destruction. Water always wins, no matter what.

We've hiked most of this area before but it looks totally different with that much water.

We had a great time and we can still look forward to going back to finish that Dam Mountain Trail someday.

Friday Fitness Follies

I have no reason to title today's post as such, I just appreciate alliteration.

Sunday- I can't even remember but it seems we did a whole lot of hanging the house, putting up a christmas tree and lights (the poor tree STILL doesn't have ornaments) and some shopping.

Monday- back to reality
A good warm up with core work and mountain climbers
20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest (read that MOVE your lazy butt to where you need to go next)
8 intervals of each = 4 minutes total time at each station:
box jumbs 12"
full sit ups
plate push 25lb
push ups

I felt the need to punish myself with a 9th round of box jumps, sit ups and plate pushes at 4 intervals/ 2 min
Didn't think I could do more pushups but squeezed out 2 sets of 5 before collapsing :)

Tuesday - Nada. SO busy at work and home. Late night from visiting Central High School thinking we might send the small one there next year.

Wednesday- Sprints. OMG I HATE sprints. Mostly because I have no speed and I suck at them.
15 sec x 10 @ 10mph,  15 sec x 5 @ 11 mph
Then we had a "competition". Whoever came off the treadmill first had to do 5 burpees. We had 3 women today, I lost all but 1 sprint- and I'd RATHER do burpees than run!! Hear me!

Thursday-missed my morning class but hit 15 minutes on the treadmill walking hills and 25 minutes of step aerobics at work before I had to bail out for carpool. Add in about an hour of Wii Fit- we tried the Biggest Loser game tonight. I think the decision was the family likes the hula hoop game on Wii Fit Plus more than anything else.  I should post video. Joe Daddy has the high score in super hula hoop right now.

Friday Friday- core work to warm up and a little treadmill warm up
3 circuits of:
20% incline sprints at 7mph x 15 sec
plyo jumps @ 100lb x 15
box jump 18" x 15
single leg box jump 6" x 15
plate push 25lb x 15 yd
tractor tire flip x 15
no rest between sets!

I know I need an endurance workout this weekend but it's so cold. I just don't know. Does marathon house cleaning count?

What Happened to the Work Out Blog?

I lost my workout notebook last week. I'm heartbroken. It had 3 months of workouts, notes, and statistics (which maybe I could live without) but I'm missing being able to look up my "max" weight for lifting workouts, I can't remember everything. I'm missing my notes to self about which workouts were hard,  made me sore-what I did or didn't do afterward that contributed, etc. So to catch up THIS WEEK:

Sunday- Beer Fairies. 1 ten mile loop of single track did NOT make up for the morning playing Fairy Duster.

Monday-
Abs- 1 min ea seated twist, toe touch w/10lb plate,  leg extensions and scissors
3 sets, 5 sec rest between exercises, 30 seconds between sets, do as many reps as you can in 1min for each:
Sumo Deadlift with High Pull 45lb (bar)
Wall Ball 10lb -  deep squat and throw the ball up to an X on the wall, catch, repeat
Box Jumps on 12 inch box
Push Press 45lb (bar)
Burpees

Tuesday-
Abs again, I don't remember exactly what we did because I have blocked it. It was hard.
Push Press x 50       1 x 10 @ 45lb (bar)  4 x 10 @ 55lb
Front Plate Raise      1 x 10 @ 25lb
Partner Curls (pass the bar between partners) 1st turn is 10 reps, then 9, then 8....down to 1. I had a spot w/45lb bar
Static 21's  3 x 21 @10lb Dumb bells held straight out in mid bicep curl position- one arm 7 reps up, switch arms, 7 reps down, switch arms, both arms do full curl   OUCH
Rope Tricep Push Down 1 x 15 @20lb

Wednesday- plans shot and ended up with a short 2.5 mile walk/jog with the dog

Thursday- 15 mile bike ride, some road and a lot of "flat" whoop dee doo singletrack FUN

Friday- a whole lotta yard work and cleaning up. Made homemade tomato soup today, it's getting chilly and I love soup in cold weather.

Saturday- well that's today. As soon as the temp is over 50, heading out to my favorite gym

OT from Visitor's Center up to East Summit, up-over and around the West base trail and back to the VC. It was a good 1 hour and 45 minutes or so. I could have done another lap. Or at least a couple more miles. Maybe next weekend I'll hit it hard.

5:00 a.m. is Early You Know

I started back at Arkansas Sports Performance Center this morning.  The workouts are intense, usually shorter than your average cardio or sculpting class because there is little time wasted on resting. Oh my poor body! Short, tough, circuit training style. I really like em. Every day is something different and I never worry I'm going to get bored with a "routine" because there isn't one.

This morning was my first day back after almost 10 weeks because of the Syllamo. And my finger. The first thing is warm up. An absolute necessity! Once the workout begins, you need to be able to hit it hard.

Todays workout:

 4 sets x 8 repeats of 3 in1's:  Hang Clean, Front Squat, Push-Press

All in one fluid motion, or at least an attempt at fluidity. Mine weren't pretty every single time but I tried.  I alternated between 55lbs and 65lbs.  I found that my finger still doesn't like to grip heavy things.

30 seconds each Plate Push and Walking Lunges for 10 minutes

For this we push a weight plate (I used 25lbs) across astroturf. Hands on plate, butt up and run. Not as easy as it sounds. Then after 30 seconds we lifted the plate overhead and did walking lunges with Chris yelling to get deep and hold proper form! 30 seconds and back to pushing, repeat for 10 minutes. The trick was, you could not put the plate down. If you choose to rest you have to hold on to it. It wore me out but it wasn't impossible. I wonder if a 35lb plate would have made it impossible?

My Favorite Gym

We are so lucky to have this park  in our back yard. Well, a 15 minute drive from our backyard. The 223 mile Ouachita Trail starts (or ends) here. We have so many hiking or running options: follow the OT for a couple of miles then head up Pinnacle or around the base trail or continue to follow the OT out for as many miles as we can stand. For Thanksgiving 3 years ago, we took the small one on her first overnight backpacking trip along 21 miles of this trail, ending at Pinnacle Mountain.

11-06. I can't believe that little girl is now taller than I am.

Yesterday was a beautiful fall day in Arkansas. Temps in the upper 60s by mid day, sunny, gorgeous. J and I headed over to my favorite outdoor gym. We started at the Visitor's Center and the OT trail head then  picked up the East Summit Trail up and over the mountain.  We stopped to chat with a friend just as the steep boulder climb starts, I am always up for a chat with a friend but I HATE getting passed. This guy comes flying by taking those boulders like they were office bldg stairs. RRRRRR, it's ON! I didn't catch him of course, but it did give me someone to chase.

At the top...I stopped to help a family take pictures. A set of 3 siblings that grew up in LR but had spread to Texas and Missouri with one staying put. And kids galore. Oh my. I hope those photos turn out, it was tough to get that many people in the photo, kids had to be wrangled, the wind was whipping and I am not a great photographer!

In the time it took the family to get situated, J had made it up and decided to take a picture of me taking a picture. Yes, I had 2 cameras-it was a big family remember?

This workout was turning into a social event! On the way down we ran into an old friend of mine that I hadn't seen in 4 years.  He was taking his 7 an 9 year old girls and 2 friends up the West Summit. That's a tall order for one man! By the time we hit the bottom and turned onto the Base Trail I was ready to run again and I went for it. I often fall on this trail. I think it's because I was doing it early in the mornings for a long time. Once I even jumped the gate at 6 a.m. to get on the trail. Ssshh don't tell on me. I din't fall today! I can do it without being a total clutz!

Ah the end is near, but it involves up. This is always tough no matter how long or short the hike has been. This one was shorter than my normal "alone" route. But it still hurt in the end. We stopped in at the VC to clean up a little and to start gift buying for Christmas. Ozark Soaps are great as small gifts or included in baskets.      I knew that lady at the gift shop thought it was a bit gross that I washed my face in the rest room, then when I came out and J was talking to her about what we had been doing all morning, she said "Oh no wonder you were washing up!" Yeah, sunshine, dirt, and running kind of make that necessary.

Note of apology to everyone in Fresh Market and IO Metro:  I'm really sorry you had to smell me. I promise I don't always look or smell like that. You always see me that way because your stores are on the way  home from Pinnacle and I feel compelled to stop no matter how gross I am.

A Month of Crossfit

I completed 4 full weeks of crossfit, missing one day each week except last week, I made all 5 days. It makes me sweat. It makes me tired. It makes me feel pretty good about how strong I am. Weekends have usually involved at least one endurance workout, running or biking for at least an hour, preferably 2 or 3. I've been tracking workouts and some of my favorites are days when it's a long list of exercises that you have to rotate thru as quickly as possible. This morning for instance, started with a bench press/hang time set.
Bench press at
80% of your max 1 x 6
84% of max 2 x 5
88% of max 2 x 4
between each set you have to hang from the pull up bar with your knees up, thighs parallel to the ground for 30 seconds.
THEN the workout started.

3 rounds
chest press x 8 30lb ea arm

farmer walk (walk all the way across the gym carrying heavy dumbells) 45lb

walking pushup for 10 yards (10lb dumbells in hands, do a pushup, extend an arm out without moving your feet is harder than it sounds, spider crawl up and do another pushup) this was the hardest thing on the list, I swear.

incline flies 8 x 15lb
flat flies 8 x 15lb

punching bag 30 seconds

start another set. If you can't, you have to hold a plank until you can start the next round.

Every day is something like this. I am really enjoying it. Except on days that involve running. Sprints blow.

The Start of Something New

Last week was my first attempt at multiple Crossfit workouts.

Monday:
general w/u
6 x 10 sec sprints
set 1: 6 x 6 ea
hang clean 65lbs
push press 20 lb DBs

set 2:
50 hang snatch
go to max rep then drop to plank until you can continue
I did 6 x 6 reps then 2 x 5

had little time to stretch and it hurt the rest of the day and into the next workout

Tuesday:
general w/u
4 rounds repeated:
800 m run ( tight and slow)
95 lb bench press to max (2 + 2 with spot was about it for me)
chair push ups to max (on toes, max for me was 4-5)

GOOD stretch, much better than Monday

Wednesday:
general warm up + 1 min run at 7.4 mph
12 x 10 sec sprints with 20 seconds rest in between. If more than 20 seconds is needed- do 5 pullups.
Did 7 sprints, pullups, only finished 3 more sprints, I was toast, 5 pullups.

In the evening I went out for a 2 mile trail run/hike on the quarry trail at Pinnacle.

Thursday: Rest day. Did 30 minute walk on treadmill at 3.7 mph intervals 2-8% incline.

Friday:
general w/u with 800 m jog
5 round repeated of : 5 pullups, 10 pushups, 15 squats
warm down 2 x 400 m jog with 30 sec rest in between
core work, roman chair w/ 10 lb plate, plank, side plank, toe touches, leg lifts, etc.

Sat: yard work
Sun: 18 mile bike ride, no big hills, avg 18 mph