Warm-up:

100 jumping jacks
10 pull-ups
10 dips
10 stability ball sit-ups
10 overhead air squats
10 over unders with a hockey stick (hard to explain)
2 sets of stretches

Weight belt with 25 lbs did:
4 / 4 / 3 / 3 / 4 chin-ups, superset to
5x5 53 lb. kettlebell weighted dips
Rested a minute between sets

53 lb. kettlebell snatches
5x6, resting minute or so between

Action shot:

Double 53 lb. kettlebell push press
5x5, resting in between (not keeping track)
One xtra set of 5 w/o any push (i.e. strict military press)

Double 53 lb. kettlebell swing
5x6, resting in between approx one minute

Double 53 lb. kettlebell hang cleans
5x5 resting a minute between sets

Done … sorta a loose workout (took nearly an hour and a half), but sometimes that is just how they go, particularly on a sunny day.

First workout since pre-Thanksgiving (sigh). About 30 hours into a fast.

Warmed up with 2x10 of Pull-ups, dips and air squats. Then jumped rope x200.

Workout was 10 rounds of 30 seconds work/30 seconds rest with a 35 lb (1 pood) kettlebell (recently retrieved from my brother). The 10 rounds were 2x of:

• ATB uppercuts
• Swing and taps
• ATB uppercut flips
• Swing to catch to press to swing
• ATB lunges

I wasn’t sure what 2x the weight would mean as far as intensity is concerned w/r/t the Martone kettlebell drills: now I know! Much more of a workout – particularly of the core. I’m happy to be using a more challenging weight than the wife’s 18 lb. version, which though it was good for some cardio, wasn’t doing much in the way of stressing my muscles.

Warm-up with five minutes of kettlebell drills with the baby kettlebell (18 lb. kettlebell - ATB uppercut/flip, swing and flips, ATB lunges, swing catch/push swing, ATB hot potato).

Then, the following 5x5 superset:

- Weighted dips with 53 lb. kettlebell
- Kettlebell rows with 53 lb. kettlebell

Next superset was:

- Military press (tending to push press) with one 53 lb. kettlebell per arm (Three sets doing both arms at once – last two sets alternating arms)
- Upright row (using only one 53 lb kettlebell)

Next superset:

- Hammer curls using 18 lb. kettlebell. Note that the handle makes these really good due to the leverage you can get. Also, assuming you aren’t resting the kettlebell on your forearm (thus trying to get leverage), you get a solid forearm workout free.
- Overhead tricep extensions with same KB (leverage a bit trickier to pull off here)

Final superset:

- Pistols (man I hate these)
- Double kettlebell dead lift

Ended with a one-minute plank.

Pretty good workout!

My workout today was completed during the 29^th hour of a fast. And before I get into it, I noticed that this fast was very easy — definitely easier than the last two (from last week). I’m guessing my body has flipped back into being adept at fat-burning, but who knows.

So on to the workout. Today I did something a bit different — I did only one set of every exercise, with each rep taking a count of 10 on the positive and 10 on the negative. This was an attempt at “slow burn” or slow lifting. The gist is just that you do all your reps very, very slowly with the intention of only doing one set per exercise.

Here’s how this translated into actual work completed:

• 3 reps pull-ups, two negatives
• 3 reps hanging from the dip bars (like a reverse dip with my legs elevated a bit)
• 3 reps dips, two negatives
• 3 reps push-ups, two negatives
• 3 reps isolated curls with 18 lb kettlebell, two negatives
• 3 reps military press with 18 lb kettlebell, two negatives
• 3 reps tricep extension (over heard, two hands)
• 3 reps 53 lb kettlebell fron squat
• 3 reps 53 lb dead lift
• 1 minute plank
• Hanging oblique raises - 3 per side

Slow reps are very painful and can really get your heart rate going. What I really liked out of all these exercises (as much as you can “like” pain in slow motion), were the squats and dead lifts. The slowness really made me think about my form and the tension due to the lack of momentum felt good.

Took a break yesterday as it was raining and I was quite busy with work. Going to India Sunday, so if this workout blog goes dead tomorrow, you’ll know why.

Anyway, here was my workout:

• 53 lb weighted dips: 5x5
• 18 lb weighted chin-ups: 5x6
• 2x53 lb dead-lifts 5x5, one arm at a time (grabbing both kettlebells with one hand at a time). This is a grip strengthening/balance exercise I guess.
• 2x53 lb push press: 2x10, 1x8, 2x6 – all on the minute for five minutes
• Kettlebell high-pulls, 10 reps per arm, 5 sets (so 20 total reps per set) – all on the minute for five minutes

Fin.

Solid workout.

For my 5x5 training today, I made up my own routine:

• Alternating between:
  
  • 5x5 weighted dips (dip bar with 18 lb kettlebell on a dip belt)
  • 5x5 weighted chin-ups (same weight)
  • Resting minute and a half between double sets
• Alternating between:
  
  • 5x5 double 53 lb kettlebell dead lifts
  • 5x5 single leg squats
  • Resting minute and a half between double sets

Then, to really kill myself, I did 10 minutes whereby on the minute I did 5 burpees (5 burpees takes about 20 seconds of work).

Then, to further push the envelope (overtrain?), I did 10 minutes of 10 53 lb kettlebell swings on the minute (again 20 seconds of work).

There wasn’t any specific WOD today, and since there were a number of folks at the gym even being a Friday, I decided just to work on muscle ups (still no success), take an attempt at setting a starting record for personal 500m rowing best, and do miscellaneous other exercises. Some fun tidbits: managed 500m row in 1:47. Also managed to do some pretty decent butterfly kips, even as I banged my jaw on the bar - TWICE. My BFK is getting closer though - kinda pumped about that. Also managed to do a slow-mo bar muscle-up a few times (lost count - maybe five or six) including flipping around the bar. In the process, I inspired some others to go Olympic on the pull-up bar.

Here are some shots:

John attempts swinging all the way around (it doesn’t work)

Brandon kinda goes around the bar and racks himself in the process. Hilarity follows.

Brother Tyler does the same.

Not sure what to say other than impressive flexibility.

Good times for a Friday afternoon. Followed up with Mi Rancho Carne Asada.

Abbreviated warm-up.

CrossFit WOD was 30 muscle-ups or 120 dips and pull-ups. I’m close on the muscle up, but still not there.

So it was 120 pull-ups and 120 dips. I broke it all up into 24 sets of 5 of each.

25:05

For reference, the typical CrossFit Warm-up:

• Run 400m or Row 500m
• 10 pull-ups
• 10 dips
• 10 Glute-Ham Sit-ups
• 10 Overhead Air Squats
• 10 20 lb. Medicine ball cleans
• 2 sets of stretches