Workout for Tuesday, June 30

Burpees and Dumbbell Push Presses

3 rounds for time:

10 Burpees
20 Dumbbell Thrusters

Use a pretty light weight here--maybe 5-10 lbs per dumbbell, we are going for speed. If you don't have dumbbells, do 30 bodyweight squats instead.

Workout for Monday, June 29

100 jumping jacks (clapping above your head)
75 squats
50 sit ups
25 push ups

For time

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

The sermon at my church this morning was about waiting. I thought this was appropriate in the pursuit of fitness as well...

Do you like to wait? If so, I would imagine you would be in a very lonely category of people. Most of us spend lots of time waiting and we don't like a minute of it. We live in a fast food, quick results, instant gratification world. I think the faster things become, the more we demand things to become faster. Is this really good for us? I wonder.

How many infomercials have you watched selling you the "quick" way to six-pack abs, easy weight loss, disappearing cellulite, etc? It is so enticing, the easy way. Millions are spent on these products--heck, I've spent my share! Nothing like this has ever worked for me. Has it for you?

Unless you are one of those extremely rare and fortunate people who have naturally thin and muscular bodies, weight loss and muscle building take time and effort. And patience. And WAITING. Not what you wanted to hear but probably what you knew was true. Weight loss is the result of hard-fought choices with food one day, or even ONE MEAL at a time. Strength and endurance are built with sweat one hard workout at a time. And, when you think you have reached your goal--you realize that there is never really an end to this fitness quest.

Most of us can get up the motivation and discipline to make it through a few days or even a few weeks of good nutrition and an exercise program. Why are some able to make it longer, turn it in to their lifestyle? Since I have stuck with this for over 2 years, I'm going to say that it is a lifestyle for me. What made this time different though than all the other times I've lost weight and exercised?

1. I was ready. I was so tired of hating my appearance and hating how I felt that I just had to do something.
2. I was embarrassed. Embarrassed by how totally out of shape I had gotten. I couldn't run a quarter of a mile without stopping to catch my breath. I couldn't do a single body weight squat.
3. No promises of ease. As I've mentioned before, I started with a personal trainer who just happened to own his own CrossFit affiliate. While he did promise that I would see results, those results would only come with hard work.
4. It was FUN. No workout was exactly the same and they were all short. There was a competitive element, which I could really embrace--especially since I was really just competing against myself.
5. Hard work paid off, and prompted more hard work. I could see and feel the changes in my body. This made me want to work even harder to achieve more changes, and to be patient while waiting for those changes.

I do still battle with weight. The difference is that I do not let myself get out of control now. I know what I need to eat. I know that getting back on track is just a matter of making good choices at my NEXT meal. Sure, I have unmet expectations and setbacks, but I think those just keep me moving forward. Keep me living in hope. Help me endure the waiting.

I encourage you to be disciplined in your nutrition choices and your workouts. You know this is the road to success. You also know that this process takes time. There will be waiting. As my minister, Chris Shorow, said this morning..."Waiting is believing enough in something to wait for it to happen."

Start believing, then working, then waiting. You'll be glad you did.

Workout for Friday, June 26 and Saturday, June 27

Sorry for the late posting today! Summers are tough to keep on schedule!

Continue working on Push ups from the toes--do as many in a row as possible. Then...

Choose one of these workouts to do today and one tomorrow:

3 rounds for time:

5 burpees
15 broomstick thrusters
25 good mornings

--or--

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

--Plyo Squats*
--Plyo Push ups**

*Plyo Squats--squat down, then jump up at least 1" from the floor when rising
**Plyo Push ups--regular lowering of push up, then when rising--push off the floor. Hands should leave the floor a little.

We did this last on June 1 and 2

Workout for Wednesday, June 24

Our workout at church:

Farmer's walk: Carry two dumbbells (just hanging by sides) approx. 400 meters. Do 10 thrusters 3 different times.

Push up practice--practice FROM THE TOES push up form and do as many as possible in a row.
Deadlift and push press practice with PVC

20 sit ups per minute for 5 minutes

Workout for Tuesday, June 23

Tabata sit ups*

Rest for a few minutes, then:

300 squats--For Time

*Remember Tabata? 20 seconds "work" followed by 10 seconds rest for a total of 8 intervals. This will be 4 minutes total.

We did this last on May 19.

Workout for Monday, June 22

3 rounds for time:

25 push ups
25 sit ups
50 jump ropes (or jumping jacks)

Last time we did this--May 22

Workout for Saturday, June 20

Planks!

Try to hold each of the following planks for 2 minutes:

Front plank
Right plank
Left plank

Workout for Friday, June 19

Deck of Cards

Hearts--squats
Spades-push ups
Diamonds--sit ups
Clubs--walking lunge
Jokers--burpees

Values are as follows:
Numbered cards=their number
Face cards=10
Aces=11
Jokers=20

Shuffle the cards, start working through the deck and the exercises until completed!

Workout for Wednesday, June 17

15-10-5

Sumo deadlift high pull with one dumbbell
Sit ups

Not necessarily for time


21-15-9

Dumbbell thrusters
push ups

For Time

Workout for Wednesday, June 17

Don't forget that we meet in the

FLC at 4:30 this week!!!

Workout for Tuesday, June 16

Favorite/Least Favorite Tabata Mash up

Pick your least favorite and favorite of the following exercises:

Sit Ups
Push Ups
Burpees
Squats
Lunges
Box Jumps
Mountain Climbers
Tuck Jumps
Double Unders
Jumping Jacks
Good Mornings

The normal Tabata is 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest for 8 intervals. The Mash Up is to alternate favorite and least favorite exercises for a total of 16 intervals (8 minutes total). If you choose Burpees and Sit Ups--you would do burpees for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds, sit ups for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds, burpees for 20 seconds, and so on. Your "score" is the lowest number you do in any 20 second period of each exercise (you will have two scores.)

Workout for Monday, June 15

5 rounds for time:

50 jumping jacks
40 squats
30 sit ups
20 walking lunges
10 push ups

This is a tough one! We did it last on May 15.

Workout for Saturday, June 13

Run or walk 5k (3.1 miles)

What do you do when you DON'T want to do the workout posted for the day? SOMETHING. That's right. Do something. Call it a rest day if you must and hang out with family and friends. OR do what I did today...change the workout to something that you want to do.

I love running. Don't confuse that statement with "I am a fast runner," or "I run every day." No, I run typically 2-3 5k runs a month and a 10k about every 90 days or so. Then I have the CrossFit 400m and 800m runs that come along in workouts every now and then. But for the last couple of weeks I have gotten on my treadmill planning to run a 5k or 10k and just cannot do it. Today was no exception. I actually quit and left the room, defeated again. I couldn't let myself do that again. I decided I would run "sprints" instead. (I put sprints in quotations because most would not consider my speed sprinting!) Here's what I did:

1/4 mile (400m)
1/4 mile (400m)
1/2 mile (800m)
1 mile

I rested about 3-4 minutes between each segment. None of my times were personal bests, but still, I pushed myself pretty hard and certainly got in a good workout.

As for the last 1.1 miles of the 5k workout posted for today? My 17 year old niece is visiting this weekend. I think the mall and many miles of shopping are calling out to us!

Work Hard, Be Nice

My husband, 15 year old son and I were visiting with a lady the other day. She asked our son what he thought was the most important thing to his parents. Without missing a beat, he pointed to his dad and said "Work Hard" and to me and said "Be Nice". She started laughing and showed us the book she was reading..."Work Hard. Be Nice" by Jay Matthews. What a funny coincidence! The book is about 2 inner city school teachers who have developed a very successful curriculum based on these two principles.

What is the type of person you admire most? My guess would be that it would be someone who works hard and is nice to others. Sure, there are lots of other attributes that make up a terrific person, but they probably all boil down to these two characteristics. We always wonder if our kids pay any attention to what we say and do. I learned that they do from my son's answer. He knows the values that are important to us...whether he puts those values into practice is another matter entirely!

So, what does this have to do with "getting lean?" I'm not really sure. I love the concept of "Work Hard, Be Nice" so much that I wondered if it would apply to EVERY aspect of our lives. Obviously, success in a healthy lifestyle requires hard work, but being nice? Or maybe these two concepts are independent of each other--you work hard at everything you do, and you are nice to everyone you encounter--and they don't always overlap. What do you think? Any ideas? I would welcome the insight.

After reading the comments, I just have to say "Duh" to myself! Thanks Julie and Shanna for pointing out that we should Be Nice to OURSELVES. Take the time to acknowledge and appreciate your hard work and also to take care of your tired, hard working body. Now get out there and Work Hard, Be Nice!

Workout for Friday, June 12

21-15-9

Burpees
Squats
Tuck Jumps

This means: 21 Burpees, 21 squats, 21 tuck jumps; 15 burpees, 15 squats, 15 tuck jumps; and 9 burpees, 9 squats, 9 tuck jumps.

We last did this on April 25

Workout for Wednesday, June 10

10 each Medicine ball cleans with 4, 6, 8, and 10 pound ball
10 each Wall balls with 4, 6, 8, and 10 pound ball
Medicine ball sprints (1 each) with 4, 6, 8, and 10 pound ball

2 person teams. Complete the above as a team for time.

Tabata box jumps

Planks, front and each side

Breakfast: Protein shake
Lunch: 3 oz. deli turkey, salad, ranch dressing (about 1 T.)
Dinner: Fruit, 2 chicken tenders, 1 chicken wing, about 6 nachos, and a margarita

Okay, not doing too great here. I may have to bring my scale next Wednesday and have you all keep ME accountable!!!

Workout for Tuesday, June 10

Complete the following in any order and broken up into whatever number you wish at a time:

100 Push Ups
100 Sit Ups
100 Squats

We last did this on May 3

Breakfast: smoothie
Lunch: Whataburger chicken strips, about 10 french fries
Dinner: 1 cup chicken noodle soup (tried for almost no noodles), about 2 oz. chicken
Snack: String cheese, cashews

Okay, so lunch was not good. Whataburger has very little choice that would be good, but probably the burger with everything except the bun would have been better. I'm gessing I probably had about 11 blocks protein today, and way more carbs than I needed. Not a great day.

Workout for Monday, June 9

400 meter walking lunge for time--counting your steps

I did this yesterday at the Memorial H.S. track. It took 436 lunges and 16:24 minutes. I just cannot seem to do this any faster and honestly, I'm not sure that speed is really that important here. I am now awaiting the inevitable soreness that I know will hit my backside. If you feel you just can't do 400, fine--do less. One of these days you will do them all. Watch the video for instruction, and make sure that the knee of your front leg stays over your heel. The knee of your trailing leg should almost touch the ground. Also, DO NOT put your hands on your thighs and lean into the lunges. You can put your hands on your waist, or leave them loosely on your sides.

Also...
Since I FINALLY am up and running on my new laptop, I will begin logging my food intake. I'll try to add that at the end of each day. My goal is to do this for one month. Don't get too excited about innovative or creative meals here...I am basic and boring most of the time. I also will be doing some estimating, but I will try to guess high rather than low on things.

I'll try to do better at quantities and measuring, but the main goal is to stick with little or no grains and sugar.

Breakfast--protein shake made with 1/2 cup milk, some water, 1 cup fruit, 2/3 scoop protein powder and fish oil. Guesstimating at 3 1/2 blocks protein, 3 blocks carbs, lots of fat from the fish oil (but I'm not really counting it much since it is considered a supplement.)
Lunch--1 string cheese, 2 oz. deli turkey, small apple and dip (dip made from cream cheese, almond butter, honey and cinammon) Guessing at 3 blocks protein, 2 blocks carbs, 3-4 blocks fat
Dinner--4 oz. meatloaf, made with very little breadcrumbs and about a cup of fruit, Guessing at 4 blocks protein, 3 blocks carbs, 3 blocks fat
Snacks--2 pieces of chocolate--2 blocks carbs (guessing)

Total--Protein: 10.5, Carbs: 10, Fat: 7 plus 3T. fish oil (No veggies today--need to fix that!)

Workout for the day--21-15-9, 24" Box Jumps, 1/2 pood KB swings, 63# Sumo Deadlift High Pull--7:04

Workout for Saturday, June 6

Push up ladder

Do one push up the first minute, two push ups the second minute, 3 push ups the third minute and so on until you cannot complete the push ups required for that minute. Your "score" is the minute you were able to complete.

Get outside today! Walk, run or bike at least a mile--enjoy!

Workout for Friday, June 5

Hello legs!

As many rounds as possible in 10 minutes:

5 tuck jumps (see video)
10 mountain climbers (10 each leg)
15 squats

Last time for this workout was April 17

Ibuprofen--Vitamen I

I have copied a Q & A from the CrossFit San Francisco website. The author is a physical therapist and has trained very high level athletes. Even though I HATED learning the information here, I feel I need to heed this advice and I thought it would be good information for you as well...Oh--and don't get too hung up on the CrossFit Lingo--"Fran" and "Fight Gone Bad" are the names of workouts.

Hey Kelly,
At the seminar you said no more ibuprofen, so I stopped. But what should I take when the DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) is bad? I foam roll, tennis/lacrosse ball roll, etc... But it only goes so far. Crushing the fish oil as well. ASA (an NSAID by the way) or acetaminophen or just suck it up? (all parentheses are mine)
ThanksWC


All right, let's set the record straight about this stuff.
The Disclaimer: Medicine is serious busines. Always follow the advice of your doctor.
Sorted? Ok.
Ibuprofen has no place in the life of the athlete obsessed with chasing performance. Taking an anti-inflammatory drug of any kind makes tendons and ligaments weaker, and stops muscles from getting stronger. Is this clear enough? Yes, we used to call it Vitamin I. Yes, we used to say that RICE should have a second "I" in it (Rest, Ice, Ibuprofen, Compression, Elevation). We used to also do "21's" on back and bi's day too. It's not ok.
Here's the low down. Ibuprofen is an NSAID (Non-Steroidal-Anti-Inflammatory-Drug) which is believed to work through the inhibition of cyclooxygenase (COX), thus inhibiting prostaglandin synthesis. Prostaglandins, are like hormones in that they act as chemical messengers, but do not move to other sites, but work right within the cells where they are synthesized. Prostaglandins are vital mediators of the inflammatory cascade. The swelling and subsequent prostaglandin production signals all of the important cells circulating in your body to come and fix/reinforce the challenged tissues. That's right, all that soreness you feel after Fran is the resultant swelling from all the micro-damage you've done to your muscles. It's this very inflammatory response that is responsible for making you a BETTER ATHLETE. The Worst thing you can do is to go through a horrible workout like Fran and then not reap the resultant gains from the training stimulus.
No good coach should allow their athletes to take ibuprofen at anytime. Even if they are hung over..Why? NSAIDs have been shown to delay and hamper the healing in all the soft tissues, including muscles, ligaments, tendons, and cartilage. Anti-inflammatories can delay healing and delay it significantly, even in muscles with their tremendous blood supply. In one study on muscle strains, Piroxicam (an NSAID) essentially wiped out the entire inflammatory proliferative phase of healing (days 0-4). At day two there were essentially no macrophages (cells that clean up the area) in the area and by day four after the muscle strain, there was very little muscle regeneration compared to the normal healing process. (Greene, J. Cost-conscious prescribing of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for adults with arthritis. Archives of Internal Medicine. 1992; 152:1995-2002.)
Long term NSAID use is hard on your tissues and directly responsible from some pretty gnarly chronic body issues.
So how do we treat acute inflammatory/inflammation pain? You know the answer. Ice. (Maybe a little Tylenol if you really, really need it, it's not an NSAID after all) But remember, Acetaminophen causes three times as many cases of liver failure as all other drugs combined and is the most common cause of acute liver failure in the United States. Even recommended doses especially combined with even small amounts of alcohol (Yes you Crossfitters) have caused irreversible liver failure. Don't be so cavalier about treating your muscle soreness with drugs. Taking pain meds of any kind is serious. Can you see the difference between treating pain and treating inflammation? Control swelling and Pain with Ice as seen below, it won't short circuit the way your body actually heals itself and becomes stronger. (Hell, the Ice bath might make you a little stronger too.) Bask in your soreness!
Brag about it at work as your friends help you get up off the toliet. And above all, practice all the recovery tricks you know! These include: Proper nutrition, fluid intake, ice bath, fish oil, active recovery, stretching, massage, etc. Hell, you can even sneak in another quick workout the next day before the 48 hour soreness beat down really kicks in! Quick, let's do Fight Gone Bad before you get too sore from yesterday's double fran! For example.
Seriously. Knock it off. Get off the Vitamin I.
--K-There-is-no-I-in-Star

Workout for Wednesday, June 3

Yes, I know that this is an "after the fact" posting of our workout. But here is what we did:

5 dumbbell deadlifts
5 dumbbell hang cleans
5 dumbbell push presses

Weights: 10#, 15#, 20#, 25#
Rest 1 minute or so in between sets

20 sit ups on the minute for 5 minutes

Thanks Julie Bowers for the sit up suggestion!--and by the way, did you all notice how you were able to get ALL 100 of the sit ups done with no problem? Bet you couldn't have said that 4 months ago, could you!

And last but not least--

Bottom to Bottom Tabata Squats

Yes, everyone's favorite. Good job everyone! And thanks Jordan and Connor for humoring me and doing Tabata sit ups--you guys did great.

Workout for Monday and/or Tuesday, June 1 and 2

First of all, I am very sorry not to have posted this earlier. I am still on limited internet access--but that is about to end. My new computer is in and I should be up and running again by tomorrow afternoon. I didn't realize how much I depended upon it until it was gone.

Next--a June challenge. My family is doing 100 push ups and 100 sit ups each day. Since my shoulder is a problem, I am doing 100 squats and 100 sit ups. I may also try to throw in 50 double unders a day, though I'm not sure about that. So--the challenge for you? I would say to pick something that you think you need to work on and do it every day for the month. You are welcome to follow the examples from my family, or make up your own. Just do SOMETHING!!!

Choose one of these workouts to do today and one tomorrow:

3 rounds for time:

5 burpees
15 broomstick thrusters
25 good mornings

--or--

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

--Plyo Squats*
--Plyo Push ups**

*Plyo Squats--squat down, then jump up at least 1" from the floor when rising
**Plyo Push ups--regular lowering of push up, then when rising--push off the floor. Hands should leave the floor a little.