Pushed a Jeep 220 Yards for a CrossFit Workout Today

Elephant pushing a jeepToday’s CrossFit workout was kind of fun! In addition to the usual strength training, we did some conditioning work that included pushing a Jeep. I don’t think I’ve pushed a car or truck since high school, when we either got stuck in the mud or ran out of gas. Who would think that I would do that again someday as a workout that I pay for? Life is funny…

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Tabata High-intensity Interval Training – Love It, Hate It

I described what a Tabata workout is in an earlier post. A Tabata is high-intensity interval training (HITT) and is basically 20 seconds of ultra-intense exercise and then 10 seconds of rest, repeated for 8 cycles continuously for 4 minutes. It really packs a ton of cardio and fat-burning exercise into the longest 4 minutes of your life. Today we did it for 4 exercises back to back (Squat Cleans, Pull-ups, Burpees, Kettlebell Swings), so that makes it the longest 16 minutes of your life. Who would think you would be completely drained after just 16 minutes of exercise? But, try it sometime and I think you will discover the same thing. I have a love/hate relationship with the Tabata. More than a lot of other conditioning WOD’s, you really do feel like you’re competing against yourself (if you track your progress as you should be doing!). I love that and, looking back at my past performance, I see improvements that motivate me a lot. That includes physical changes that I can see; burning off fat and getting a lot more muscle definition. The hate? The Tabata workouts really wipe me out and, like I said, you would never imagine how long 4 minutes can feel.

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Pre-Paris CrossFit Workout of the Day for Thursday

Photo of Eiffel Tower in Paris, FranceWell, this morning was my last CrossFit workout before heading off to Paris. I have two challenges while traveling this time:

  1. Keeping up with CrossFit Travel WODs
  2. Avoiding the temptation of French food to maintain the Paleo Challenge

That’s right. I have to somehow avoid the great bread, cheeses, pastries, and chocolate and only eat duck, beef, and foie gras. Wish me luck!

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Programming for Strength Training – Jim Wendler's 5.3.1 Methodology

Guineapig lifting barbellStrength training using Olympic-style weightlifting was something I avoided until just a few months ago. For the last 30 years, I have primarily done bodyweight training (e.g., push-ups) and some lighter lifting with dumbbells (e.g., bicep curls). That’s about it. But, when I joined my CrossFit gym a little over 5 months ago, weightlifting was a core component of the training. I dreaded it at first. But, now I have come to realize how much the increases in strength have improved my overall fitness, my cardio performance (e.g., long trail runs), and the muscle tone of my body. It is worth the investment of your time and energy.

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CrossFit Workout of the Day (WOD) for Thursday

Here is the CrossFit workout (WOD) that I did this morning. Warmup: 30 seconds each of burpees, push-ups, sit-ups, jump squats, split jumps Assistance: Mobility WOD to stretch shoulders and hips Conditioning: 3 rounds for time 7 Squat Cleans 500m row 3 Rope Climbs – Finally learning to trust my left hand grip strength. I…

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