I hate burpees. Even at my fastest clip I do them pretty slowly (10 in about 25 seconds), and in no time at all I feel like quitting from exhaustion and misery. About two-and-a-half years ago I managed 100 in just under 10 minutes, and the experience so scarred me that I’ve only worked them half-heartedly and sporadically since.
So, in the spirit of working on your weaknesses, I resolved to make them a staple of my regime, and just managed to get my time back under 10:00. My approach was pretty simple: do 100 burpees every Tuesday and Thursday. For the first workout, set the Gymboss (cool, new 2009 version of an already-great timer!) to 2 minute intervals and do 10 burpees at the top of each interval, resting during the leftover time (yes, that’s a lot of rest!). Every workout, subtract 5 seconds from the intervals. So 1:55 intervals the next workout, then 1:50, etc. Once you get down to 1:00 intervals, and you do 10 at the top of each, you will get your 100 in under 10 minutes.
Here’s how it went for me (date, interval time, total time):
1/14 2:00 18:40
1/19 1:55 17:11
1/21 1:50 16:21
1/26 1:45 15:12
1/28 1:40 14:44
2/02 1:35 14:10
2/04 1:30 13:55
2/09 1:25 13:06
2/11 1:20 12:25
2/16 1:15 QUIT (pulled shoulder at 17, bailed at 50)
2/23 1:15 12:06
2/25 1:10 11:02
3/04 1:05 QUIT (chickened out at 67)
3/05 1:05 10:15 (needed revenge)
3/09 1:00 09:51
This feels pretty close to my wall. The final 30 burpees of that set were ugly, ugly, ugly. Practically staggering to my feet to manage a 1-inch jump. Ugh. But I’ll take it. Not sure what I’ll do at my next workout. Shaving off another 5 seconds each round doesn’t sound like much, but it’d actually represent improving my time by more than 8 percent!
P.S. I know 10:00 isn’t an earth-shaking time. Remember this guy, who cranks out 100 in 5:00 and change? Unreal.
Here's a workout I've tried a couple times now that I like. I apologize, but it does call for a C2 rower, although you could simulate the fatigue with a 20-second all out exercise bike sprint (on a Schwinn Airdyne would be even better). Still, your gym may have a C2. Check the dusty, unused corner of the gym reserved for pieces of equipment that cause real misery.
Anyway, the workout probably doesn't seem like much (and maybe it's just that my off-season conditioning slide is worse than I thought):
- 100 meter sprint on the C2 (I do it in 18 seconds)
- 10 max. speed/jump burpees
- Rest as long as you want
- Repeat 10 times (I only did 5 today)
By round three I could feel the burn in my legs, and round five was pretty darn uncomfortable. Surprising, given how much rest I was allowing myself. I think what made it so hard was giving a true maximum effort. I can't pull 100 meters any harder, and on the burpees I made a concerted effort to (a) do them as fast as possible and, this is key, (b) jump as high as possible with each jump.
I don't know if you're like me, but when I do burpees I tend to short-change the jump in favor of getting the reps done faster (after all, more time in the air hurts your reps/minute). Burpees with a max. effort jump torch the legs in a hurry (and they are already fatigued from the C2 sprint).
Anyway, give it a shot, report back!
Let me get the reflection out of the way. Four years ago after letting my game languish and decay, I decided I was going to get it back. My goal each season was to play better than the year before. I did that three years in a row, but this year broke the streak. Ah well, it makes it that much easier to meet my goal next year.
Anyway, it was a weird year for a lot of reasons, but the only one relevant to this weblog is that I didn't really adjust my training to more difficult time constraints and stresses as well as I could have. Started the season injured, and never really made up the ground physically or, more importantly, psychologically.
So, after some noodling around, I do believe I have the next couple months of my off-season mapped out (PDF) (update: see below for revised version). Sorry if the notation is kinda terse, it started out as a cheatsheet for myself, but then as I realized I was going to post it I tried to flesh it out while still keeping it to a single page. Feel free to post questions.
A few ideas/influences I kept in mind when designing this:
I did the "Deck #6" workout yesterday morning as a bit of prepaid gluttony penance, and it was great. I mean, I sucked at it, leaving cards in the hole after I hit the 30 minute wall, but still, I'm going to like this plan. I think I'll run through it twice and then change it up a bit.
UPDATE: After a pass through, I've tweaked the program a bit with some of my own ideas and some of Noel's. See below for his great comments. Noel, I wanted to change the exercise order to line up more with your suggestions, but found I ended up ordering largely due to time efficiency (mini-circuits timed largely based on whether you're working both sides simultaneously or not for a given exercise). Anyway, here's version 1.2 in PDF and Word formats (the latter for those who want to do their own tweaking).
Wow, check out the Sean Sherk "Caveman Training" video. Five rounds of five minutes each. Looks great. Looks like hell. « via CF forums »
I got a copy of my Ringtraining.com newsletter yesterday, in which the availability of black rings was announced (nice). Also included was this workout:
10 Ring Pushups
Row 250 meters
Repeat 5 times, as fast as possible.
I figured I'd give it a shot, but of course I forgot to set the clock. Didn't matter, as I didn't finish. My times for the first four 250m:
After that last one my back started to tighten up, and as it's been giving me some trouble I decided not to push it. Or maybe it was the nausea talking.
About a week ago I whined about being in a rut, and I received some nice supportive messages in response. The first one was from Dusty Rhodes, and suggested (among other things) doing a few workouts with a training partner. I figured I'd take his advice today, without letting my complete and utter lack of a training partner stop me. So I piggy-backed on today's Pike Workout (click through for exercise descriptions in the comments):
This was a challenge. The idea is to do it as quickly as you can:
Get a Deck of Cards.
Shuffle them.
Spades: Burpees
Clubs: Mahlers
Hearts: Pushups
Diamonds: Squats
2-9 = Face Value
10-K = 10
A = 15
Go through as quickly as you can and keep time. My time was 28:09.
So that gave me something to shoot for, but I fell short, finishing in 30:09, and I took advantage of the optional Mahler substitution (two-count Mountain Climbers), which has gotta be miles easier (or at least tons faster). Dang. Overshooting 30:00 by a mere nine seconds particularly rankles. Surely I could have gutted out another ten seconds somewhere in there?! Still, the training partner who had no idea he was my training partner certainly helped me push myself. With about a quarter of the deck to go I really wanted to quit, but since I swore to myself I'd post the results I couldn't bear the thought of reporting "failed to finish."
I came up with a workout, heavily inspired by Ross Enamait's Work Capacity 101 (but easier), that takes advantage of all the equipment new equipment I've mentioned recently (my hanging pullup bar, my new jump rope and tire (the latter for sledgehammer training), and my horse stall mat as a nice burpee surface):
- 5 pullups
- 10 burpees
- 20 sledgehammer swings (10/arm)
- 40 high-knees, sprinting rope skips (if you miss, do them over until you get 40 in a row)
- Rest 1 minute
- Repeat 10 times
Well, my plan was 10 circuits, but the kids came home after the fifth. I say that like I blame them for cutting my workout short, but in reality I was grateful for the excuse. My forearms in particular were on fire, and I thought I was going to fling myself from the bar as I kipped at the bottom of the pullups, and my grip on the sledgehammer was so tenuous by the end that I feared for our car's safety (I workout in the garage). I would hate to have to explain a sledgehammer-sized dent in the door.
If that's too easy for you, you could switch up the sledge and the burpees like so:
- 5 pullups
- 10 sledgehammer swings per arm
- 20 burpees
- 40 high-knees, sprinting rope skips (if you miss, do them over until you get 40 in a row)
- Rest 1 minute
- Repeat 10 times
Better you than me. :-)
Got a new jump rope this week. I've tried a variety of jump ropes (leather, beaded, and "speed", but this new one is easily my favorite. It's a Cable Freestyle Rope from buyjumpropes.net. The handles are long, lightweight plastic (with foam sleeves, not pictured on the site) and the rope is basically a flexible coated wire. It's the fastest rope I've tried (although not the fastest they sell) and the long handles are nice for crossovers. Since it's been cold I've only used it wearing like exercise pants, which is good because I bet it hurts like hell when you whip yourself with it. Adjustment is very easy, just a little two-part sleeve inside each handle that you slide apart to adjust. Adjusted out to the max. they are just long enough for my 6'4" self.
The other new piece of equipment I got this week was a used tire, kinda on the largish side (maybe off an SUV?), picked up for free at a local garage (they generally have to pay to dispose of them, so I imagine any garage would be happy to be rid of them). What's it for? Why, beating the tar out of it with a sledgehammer, of course!
So, in honor of my new finds (and workout time being pretty tight lately), today's workout:
- Tabata jump rope, immediately followed by...
- Tabata sledghammer, immediately followed by...
- 50 double-unders on the rope.
Ross Enamait recently ran an article on sledgehammer training, which includes a video demo of sledgehammer Tabatas. From there, he also links to his own article specifically on Tabatas.
Anyway, since I mostly feel the jump rope in my shoulders and the sledgehammer in my forearms, it's amazing I can type this at all.
On vacation I came up with this GPP workout that I liked. It won't transform you into a superstar or anything, but it hits a little bit of everything, gets the heart rate up, and works the core at the same time rather than having to do a separate mini-workout:
It's a bit along the lines of the Pulling, Climbing, Twisting workout I posted awhile back.
During the season the strength workouts (not one of my strong suits, if I even have a strong suit) are the first thing to fall off the table as I make room for pickup and tournaments and such. I manage to do a pretty good job maintaining, but I certainly don't make any gains. I'm starting to get a good picture of what my off-season is going to look like this year, which is nice. Still messing around with different things though, as I'm going away next week and don't want to try to establish a good rhythm until I get back. Had a nice strength workout tonight though, which I thought I'd share:
- One-arm DB snatch, 4 sets of 5 reps per arm.
- Sandbag shouldering, 4 sets of 8 (alternate shoulder with each rep).
- Grasso Lunge, 4 sets of 5 reps (new exercise, really like it). Interwove these sets with sets of...
- ... Romanian Deadlifts (scroll down until you find it, I've also seen it called a one-legged deadlift). Another favorite. 4 sets of 5 reps.
- Weighted pull-ups, 4 sets of 4 reps, Interwove these sets with sets of...
- ... Weighted ring dips, 4 sets of 4 reps.
Felt good. I'm thinking I'll be just the right amount of sore tomorrow.
Via the RT forum comes an impressive resource, Performance Workouts:
Enjoy what promises to be one of the most extensive and thorough exercise databases available. These guides assure that you get the most from each and every workout. Choose from still images with detailed descriptions, or see the exercise in action with video clips available in two different formats (Windows Media Player or QuickTime).
Nice!
Alrighty, yesterday's workout. Give it a shot, do better than I did:
- Warm-up: 50 one-arm, light-weight (20 lbs.) DB swings per arm, done in sets of 25. This has become my new favorite warm-up. Hits lots of muscles, doesn't take long to break a sweat. I do the first 25 for a given arm swinging up to vertical, then the second set swinging to 90 degrees to up the tempo.
- The Dreaded Leg Matrix as described by Skwigg (see paragraph 3). Took me 120 seconds (sigh), crappy form (sigh), probably managed 1-inch vertical on most of the squat jumps (sigh). The lactic ache in sets 3 and 4 was incredible. I would like to see a video of someone doing this in the prescribed 90 seconds, with good form. I mean, if you're a complete rock star and able to do good jumps for the lunge jumps and the squat jumps, won't the time in the air alone pretty much consume whatever time you socked away from the first two sets? Volunteers?
- 4x4 on The Evil Wheel. I do it from my feet, but rollout to a wall that stops me way short of going to the floor. Gonna start working on these more regularly.
- Tabata pushups. Pretty good for the first couple sets, then lucky to get 5-6 in the each remaining set. Weak.
- Core circuit. I set my Gymboss for 30 seconds work, 15 seconds rest, and did this circuit: [1] Chinnies, [2] Plank, [3] Plank, right side, [4] Plank, left side, [5] Superman, [6] Knee Hugs, [7] Medicine Ball Slams (10 lbs.), [8] Medicine Ball Twist Throws, [9] Flutter Kicks, [10] Plank. Actually did a pretty good job on really cranking during each 30-second work period.
Let me know how it goes!
Ross's workout, The Magic 50, has become my de facto benchmark workout. I feel like I've been going a bit light on the running lately (partly because of the damn achilles, which are still bad from Easterns), so tried a variation yesterday. I substituted a 50m sprint for the DB swings, so it looks like this:
- 5 DB snatches per arm
- 50m sprint
- 10 burpees
- Rest 1 minute max.
- Repeat 5 times (for a total of 50 snatches, 5 50m sprints, and 50 burpeees)
Challenged myself with the DB weight (60 lbs.), sprinted all-out, and did the burpess as fast as I could (no hitches or breaks in the movement, one flows into the next).
Thought I was going. To. Die.
Enjoy!
I always seem to find ways to not do Work Capacity 101. Frankly, it scares me. I mean, who isn't scared by this:
- 5 pull-ups.
- 10 med. ball slams (non-bouncing ball, hard and fast, like a zombie is trying to get up from the ground and eat you, and you are trying to pummel it back into the earth).
- 15 burpees (not squat thrusts - incorporate a push-up and leap).
- 20 jumping jacks.
- Repeat 10 (10!) times at the top of every two minutes (that means, if you go as fast as Ross does in his video, the most rest you can hope for is about 45 seconds, and personally, I'm not nearly as fast as Ross).
I think the first time I tried it was around six months ago, I cut almost everything in half, and I still only managed five or six circuits. I might have tried it one other time since then, and wussed out similarly. I've made progress at The Magic 50 because I keep trying it, but little on WC-101 because I avoid it.
So today was the day, and I was determined not to shirk. Here are the rules I laid down for myself:
- Perform all the reps as prescribed, as fast as possible.
- One minute rest between rounds.
- As many circuits as possible before exhaustion.
So how many circuits did I last?
Four.
I suppose that number is meaningless without also including a total elapsed time, but I forgot to set the clock. Next time.
The big problem for me is the burpees. The way the workout is structured, you arrive at those slightly winded and with your triceps pre-fatigued. I'm also not used to doing 15 at a stretch. I usually do 10 at a time, and even when I'm doing as many as I can in a 30-second block, it's never much more than 10. Those extra five make a big difference.
I definitely have to plug away at this workout some more. It induces levels of discomfort I never experience on the field (and then only if we're committing way too many turnovers).
Anyway, read Ross's article, watch the associated video, and give it a try! I'd be curious to hear if it's as painful for you as it is for me.
My fourth pass at my de facto benchmark workout, The Magic 50 (background: first, second and third runs). I used a 50# DB for the swings and snatches last time, but today I cut it to 40#, as it has been a long time, and I was feeling fragile after yesterday. I resolved to go quicker this time to make up for the lighter weight. Man, every move was a chore. But I'm not too disappointed with my time: 14:31. Heaps better than my second attempt from around the beginning of the year, which clocked in at over 26 minutes!
Alrighty, I'm through floundering around toying with exercises and workouts and now have a five-week plan hybridized from Never Gymless and Infinite Intensity and some friendly advice from Ross himself on how to build the weekly cycle around two days of pickup. The next five weeks plus a light week will take me right up to Log Jam, our next tourney. Anyway, yesterday was an "explosive strength" and core day that left me pretty sore in the hamstrings, entire back, and shoulders, so that's good and bad. Good in that I worked, bad in that I think I've lost a bit by just doing a la carte workouts for quite awhile rather than having an actual program. It allowed me to slack rather than push myself to do what I'd planned. The soreness is also bad because I'll be hitting my defacto benchmark workout, The Magic 50 today, which I haven't done since April. I'm thinking I'll have to cut the weight a bit. Anyway, yesteday's workout, which I had to tailor a bit around some achilles tendinitis (yes, another injury post is forthcoming) I've been flirting with since the bad ankle sprain last year, and which Easterns threw into full effect:
- Flag, 4 reps, 4 sets: Probably should go at the end with the core work, but it's really a strength move so I stuck it at the beginning. It's that thing you've probably seen Bruce Lee do where basically you cantilever your body out horizontally, with only your shoulders on a bench, and your hands gripping the bench behind your head. I do it on the floor, gripping the underside of a closed door (and wearing thick gloves). I haven't trained this movement in awhile, and it really shows. Starting with body vertical, probably only got down to like 45 degrees, so I've lost at least 15 degrees.
- Mini-circuit, 4 sets: 1-DB High Pull, 8 reps, Knee Tucks, 10 reps: See the Crossfit Exercises for the High Pull demo ("Sumo Dead Lift High Pull"). I do it one arm at a time with a dumbell, and my legs are bit closer together, but you get the idea. Knee Tucks are basically jumps where you try to get as high as you can, bring your knees to your chest, and explode again upon landing, minimizing ground contact (like you're doing them on a hot plate). Only did two sets of these because I could feel it starting to bother the achilles, which I've done an admirable job of resting (i.e. not playing). I'd hate to torpedo that. I really like the High Pulls.
- Mini-circuit, 4 sets: Clap Pushups, 8 reps, Lunge Jumps, 10 reps (5/leg): Start the Clap Pushups with a 5-second static hold in a halfway-down pushup position, get a little static-dynamic protocol action going. Let one pushup flow into the other, stop early if you start breaking form. Quality over quantity. For the lunge jumps, go into a lunge, spring out of it, scissor your legs in the air, land in another lunge, spring out of it. Again, one lunge should flow into the next. My back leg doesn't go back very far, as it bothers my back knee when I do. Instead, as I flex down into the lunge, my back knee ends up pretty close to my front foot, if you can picture that. One of the few high-impact exercises my knees will tolerate, if I get the position right. Experiment with what's comfortable to you. This will shred your hamstrings, be careful. First time I tried these I came very close to pulling one in a big way. Could be I'm just weak, but I can do these pretty comfortably and still be sore as hell the next day. Also, these don't bother the achilles at all, happily.
- Mini-circuit, 4 sets: 1-DB Push Press, 5 reps, Ankle Hops, 20 reps: See the Crossfit exercises page again for the Push Press (again, I'm doing a single dumbell variation). Ankle hops are just jumps with ankles only (just enough knees to absorb the shock). Skipped these because of the achilles.
Okay, on to the core. A meager three circuits of the following:
- 15 Knee Hugs:: Lie on your back, arms stretched overhead. Heels just off the floor. Pull your knees to your chest as you crunch and loop your arms over your knees (without touching your knees - no cheating). Extend out, returning arms to overhead and heels just off the floor (basically no part of your legs except your butt should ever touch the ground). That's one. I believe it's a good sign if your low back stays pressed to the floor. Arching means a weak something, somewhere, I vaguely recall reading. Don't hold me to that, though.
- 16 Lying Hip Swings (8/side): Lie on your back, raise your legs to upright (12:00). Arms out to your sides. Keeping your legs straight, rotate your hips/waist to bring your legs to 3:00 (more like 2:30 for me). Then back to the other side (9:00), like a metronome.
- 15 Supermans: Lie on your stomach, arms stretched overhead. Simultaneously raise your arms and your legs such that you're arched and as little of your torso is on the ground as possible (ideally just your hips). Careful about your back on this one.
- 10 Unstable Rows (5/side): Special equipment for this one. Set up a single gymnastic ring as close to the floor as you can (or some kind of strap/handle kludge. Put a dumbell next to it. Now assume a pushup position with one hand on the ring and the other hand on the DB. Pull (row) the DB to your chest. The closer together your feet, the harder this is. My feet are pretty damn far apart, even with just a 20# DB.
I do not think this should have laid waste to me as badly as it did. I felt okay throughout, but basically my entire backside from just above my knees to the tops of my shoulders are sore today. And to think I have to hit The Magic 50 next, which is all 1-DB swings and snatches, and burpees. Yowch. More on that in a moment...
Here's a quick workout I made up and really like:
First, Tabata something. I skipped rope last time, but sprints or burpees would also be good. Then do 3-5 runs through this core circuit:
- 12 V-Ups: See the link. Nice demo and explanation.
- 20 Grasshoppers: That's what Ross Enamait calls 'em, anyway. Assume a pushup position. Tuck your right knee in towards your chest and sweep your leg up, attempting to touch your laces to your left hand (your hands stay on the ground throughout the movement). Now the other side. Keep alternating.
- 20 Crickets: I made up the name, as they are kinda a backwards Grasshopper. Watch the trailer (WMV, 1.6MB) for The Art of Strength: Newport DVD. The exercise is at 1:10 of the trailer. Note the knee flexion. Try to get your foot up near your opposite hand (a guy on my team can touch his foot to his hand doing this movement).
- 30-second Waiter's Walk, each arm: Hoist a dumbell locked out overhead and start walking. Keep walking the whole time. Make it heavy enough to challenge yourself, but note that if you change direction it'll be harder to keep the weight balanced up there than you think. Don't let it come crashing down on your head. That would be bad. I feel compelled to include the "I'm not responsible if you try this and injure or kill yourself" disclaimer. There.
Remember, that's 3-5 runs through the core circuit (you only do the Tabatas once, but you're welcome to do them at the top of every circuit if you feel up to it). Try to keep rest between exercises to 30-45 seconds, and rest between circuits to a minute. Feel free to up the reps if it's too easy.
Report back, let me know how it feels. Be nice to know who's reading, and if you are trying any of this stuff. Thanks!
I'm going to get lots of mileage out of the last few Rival Training posts...
First up, they link to a National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Performance Training Journal PDF, which prompted me to find their archives. What a gold mine! That ought to keep me in reading material for awhile.
Next, a reference to this Outside Magazine bit on the "glycogen window". It reminded me of this contrarian view from Art De Vany I meant to blog awhile ago:
Note there is some distinction to be drawn between quickly replenishing glycogen for performance reasons vs. not quickly replenishing glycogen to elicit a greater training response. Read the comments too, as they are also quite interesting.
Finally, Eileen's Abs Workout, which looks pretty good. Some notes on the exercises:
Lie on your back, knees bent. Raise your head off the floor until your trunk is at about a 45-degree angle. Twist from side to side rapidly 100 times. (KQ Note- arms crossed over chest is the way I've been doing these and seen them done).
These are Russian Twists (or at least that's one name for them). You can make them harder by clasping your hands together and extending your arms out perpendicular to your body. Even harder by holding a medicine ball in your extended arms. Even harder by doing them on an incline bench and holding your body horizontal.
Do 50 "Rocky Balboas", or twist crunches. One knee bent, other straight, hands behind your head. Reach one elbow towards the opposite knee. Alternate sides. (KQ Note- I prefer hands to ears so you don't pull on your neck. And really try to keep your shoulders down, away from your ears)
"Chinnies" or "bicycle crunches" (although I kinda like "Rocky Balboas"). Important to note that the straight leg does not rest on the ground.
Next, do 50 high-speed bicycles. (KQ Note- on back, arms at side. Lift legs up at 90 degree angle, then lift pelvis up off the ground. Arms can help balance. Move legs in a bicycle-y way!)
I'd be tempted to sub in flutter kicks here, as described by Scrapper:
Lie flat on your back and place your hands underneath your butt. Press the small of your back into the ground and raise your feet 6 inches. The first motion is one leg swinging up until your foot is almost over your crotch then, as it descends, the other leg is on the way up.
Good stuff, a tip o' the hat to the Rival Training gang.
I took last week off, and pretty much spent the previous two weeks experimenting with different workouts and exercises. I realized I'm kinda idling while I wait for Ross Enamait's Never Gymless to come out next week (next week! I can't wait!). So today I thought I'd give The Magic 50 another shot. It is the very first workout of Enamait's sample program in Infinite Intensity. I didn't finish my first attempt at it, even using the relatively paltry weight of 30-pound DBs. By week five I had increased the weight, and managed to finish, even if I was quite unhappy with my time of 26:25.
But I'm happier with my latest attempt, completed a few minutes ago: 50# DBs for both the snatches and the swings, and a total elapsed time of 19:45 (might have managed 60# for the snatches, but am still nursing a shoulder injury). At this rate I should be able to get under 15:00 in another 5-7 weeks. I could almost convince myself of that if I wasn't on the brink of hurling all over my keyboard.
Since I post my humiliations so freely, I hope you'll forgive me posting the occasional triumph. Along with Tabatas, Scrapper's Workout #1 put me on the road to wellness. As you'll read in that last link, I first started doing it a little over a year ago, and it killed me, even halving (or two-thirdsing) most of the repetitions. The last time I did it was months ago, and I'd probably gone up to 70-80% on most of the repetitions. The legs still really wiped me out though, and it remained a workout to dread.
But tonight I was casting about for a workout, and thought I'd give it a shot. I blazed through it, only short-changing the pushups (pyramid to 10 instead of 12) and felt like I could keep going at the end. A far cry from the nauseating experiences of months past! It's so gratifying to have such a clear indicator of progress; I had to crow a bit. So indecorous. My apologies.
I've been a bit at sea since finishing the 10-week sample program in Infinite Intensity. I figured I'd revise it slightly and go through it again, but haven't gotten around to the revisions yet, so have been picking and choosing workouts while I waffle. Last week I found myself on a GPP/core day, but without enough time to do both. I didn't want to pick one over the other, so this is what I came up with:
- Body Rows x 30 seconds
- Mountain Climbers x 30 seconds
- Weighted Russian Twists x 30 seconds
- Rest x 30 seconds
- Repeat 10 times
Set things up so you can move between exercises without rest. I felt this one in a bunch of different places for a few days: hips, upper back, lower ribs, obliques (really noticed it sitting up sideways to get out of bed the next morning). Some notes:
- The closer you are to the floor on the body rows, the more challenging they are, but they still aren't nearly as hard as pull-ups. Still, they are a good movement and work the muscles a bit differently. And if you're babying a shoulder that doesn't like going overhead at the moment, they are a nice substitution. If you prefer pull-ups but can't do 10 good circuits of them you can do negatives after you run out of gas (jump to the bar and lower yourself) or static holds (perhaps jump to the uppermost position, hold, lower halfway, hold, lower and hang, keeping shoulders activated).
- To do mountain climbers, assume a push-up position. Sprint in place, pistoning your knees to your chest as fast as you can while keeping good form. The less your butt bobs up and down, the better. The closer your knees get to your chest, the better. The faster, the better. If you haven't done these before, you will find them surprisingly tiring.
- To do weighted Russian twists lie on the floor with your knees bent like you're about to do sit-ups. Holding a medicine ball with both hands, bench press it to the fully extended position and hold it there. Now do a partial sit-up and hold. From this position, keeping the medicine ball extended, twist back and forth, first bringing the medicine ball towards the floor on one side, then the other, maintaining tension throughout your core. You can do this without the ball to make it easier (just clasp you hands). You can do it on an incline bench to make it harder.
A reader recently asked how I modified the sample program in Infinite Intensity for Ultimate. My reply is here, and hopefully of interest to non-Ultimate players as well, as most of my modifications are not Ultimate-specific.
As I've mentioned before, the very first workout of the Infinite Intensity program is The Magic 50. For me, five weeks ago, it was a rude awakening, as I only managed a Not-So-Magic 30. The workout shows up again in the program at the beginning of week five, so I resolved to post my results regardless of how damning they were. Sigh. Cringe.
50-pound DB for the snatches, 40-pound DB for the swings. 26:25. Twenty-friggin-six minutes and twenty-five seconds.
On the one hand, that score totally sucks. By the third circuit I was catching rest as I transitioned from one movement to another, and my fifth circuit was an interminable score-killer, as I had to wait out waves of nausea before proceeding. On the other hand, five weeks in and I did the whole thing rather than three-fifths of it, and with heavier (probably too heavy) weights to boot. And while I cheated between movements, I did each set with good rhythm and cadence (e.g. I didn't catch rest mid-burpee-set).
So give it a try, post how you do.
(Here are burpee instructions and tips, if you need 'em.)
When I started the 10-week sample program from Ross Enamait's Infinite Intensity I was worried it would be too hard for me, and that I'd have to scale it back to the point of meaninglessness. But I just finished week five, so I'm halfway there! I've definitely had to do some scaling back, but not as much as I would have thought, and I feel like I'm in the shape of my life. In celebration of the halfway milestone, let me share with you a (modified for Ultimate) version of the last workout of the first half:
Burpees x 30 seconds
Pivot and Fake x 30 seconds
Burpees x 30 seconds
Pivot and Fake x 30 seconds
Burpees x 30 seconds
Pivot and Fake x 30 seconds
Rest 60 seconds
Repeat 4-6 times.
After five weeks of the program, I have a love/hate relationship with burpees. They are great, but I suck at them and they kill me. Make sure you're doing the right kind of burpee (here's a demo clip). Let me emphasize a couple points:
- Drop down into a full squat while putting your hands to the floor before you kick out.
- Kick out and drop into the pushup simultaneously.
- "Kick in" at the same time as you are pressing out of the pushup (even after five weeks, I still suck at this part).
- From the squat, leap as high as you can and then drop into the next squat, all in one fluid motion.
I think the above tips are all key to both good form and speed. Also, as you progress in the workout above and you start to die, try to focus on the fluid progression of each movement to the next. It will be very tempting to kick out first, then do a pushup (while catching a bit of rest in the upright pushup position), or to land the jump without flowing into the next squat (again catching rest, or at least a breath). There are a million ways to cheat. Resist the urge. Focussing on form and fluidity will help you get the most from the workout.
In each 30-second block, if you can do 10 burpees that's very good. 12 is excellent. 15 is ungodly. I think I do 8, maybe 9, in the first 30-second block, and then never quite get that high again (I'd like to blame my height for those crappy numbers, but I probably lose a second per burpee from my subpar "kick in"). And in the third round I cheated all over the place (I hate myself), catching rest and only managing 4-5 per 30-second block. The last round was better.
(Yes, when given a choice of 4-6 rounds, I chose four. Sigh.)
It seems like you should be able to catch good rest pivoting and faking, but if you do it aggressively, practicing low-release fakes, there's not much rest to be had. I found myself travelling a ton as fatigue set in, and by the last round my pivot was so. very. slow.
Fantastic. Can't wait for half #2. I know I'm going to do better on the workouts that repeat in weeks six through ten.
Two uses for a deck of cards (besides actual card games, that is):
- Deck Workout: shuffle 'em up, put them face down, and turn the cards over one at a time. Perform the exercise indicated by the suit:
- Spades: bodyweight squats
- Hearts: pull-ups
- Diamonds: push-ups
- Clubs: four-count chinnies (left-right-left-right-ONE, etc.)
Do repetitions in accordance with the value of the card, doing one for aces and ten for all face cards. You might want a multiplier in effect for the squats. And it certainly wouldn't take me long to resort to jumping pull-ups following this protocol.
- Use the cards to keep track of circuits. For example, to keep track of the 10 circuits in Work Capacity 101 you'd deal out 10 cards, and turn one over after each time you finish a circuit. When they're all flipped, you're done (in oh-so-many ways).
Back when I was doing no strength training at all, I did some poking around and found Scrapper's Workout #1. This routine will always have a special place in my heart as it, along with discovering Tabata intervals, really changed the way I train. All bodyweight exercises, no equipment required, and it's a grueling full-body workout. When I first started doing the routine, I was careful to stick to the prescribed 20-30 seconds rest maximum between sets, but I cut most of the repetitions in half, and was still wrecked by the end. I'd try to squeeze the workout in during my afternoon break from work, but by the end I was often so nauseated that I had to lie down. Even sitting at the computer was out of the question! I attribute my extreme exhaustion to three things:
- No strength training on my part for at least 10 years prior.
- Very little recovery time between sets.
- Working arms, torso, core, and legs to exhaustion all in the same workout.
I really came to dread my two days per week with this workout (that's a compliment), but happily I'm much better at it now. Not so good that I'm ready for Workout #2. I may never be ready for Workout #2, but it's good to have it out there as a goal.
The Netflix Workout carried me a little ways, but it wasn't far enough. Starting at the beginning of 2005 I completely overhauled my training approach, and that overhaul is now fodder for this weblog. Here were my revelations (which I'm sure are old hat to anyone who's already fit):
- You can only get more flexible and stave off injury if you make stretching a priority. Do it every day, and not just as a half-assed workout warmup. I now take a break from work to stretch, making it an entirely separate activity from my workout proper.
- You have to train for strength in addition to training for endurance.
- Intervals and high intensity training are king. Long duration aerobic training is for marathoners, not team sports and power athletes. Shorter, more intense workouts will still boost your endurance, but without sacrificing speed and power.
You can check out the links to the right to see how I came to many of these ideas (none of which are original, that's for sure).
I have to admit, I was quite skeptical that intense interval training would get me the same endurance benefits (within the context of Ultimate Frisbee) as my hour-long aerobic sessions in front of The Sopranos. But the bottom line is this: I cut my workout time in half, and was easily two months ahead of schedule, conditioning-wise, from the previous season. I was amazed. Shorter workouts, better results. Oh, and I dropped the rest of the forty pounds, bringing me roughly back to my college weight.
Best of all, after many months of forcing myself to exercise, I'm finally happy to exercise for its own sake (and that's despite my workouts being intense and varied enough that watching TV at the same time is out of the question).
Okay, that's enough groundwork. Time to start blogging for real.
Having dug myself into a hefty forty-pound hole, I had to find a way to climb out. I had long loathed running and other forms of standalone conditioning, so I had to find a way to make exercising a little more fun (I would later come to embrace exercise for its own sake, but that took a long friggin' time). Enter what I call "The Netflix Workout". It's simple:
- Get an account at Netflix.
- Pick a TV series you've been meaning to catch, and load it into your queue.
- Hop on your favorite aerobic exercise machine of choice, and watch an episode. Your workout ends when the episode ends.
I'd workout at a moderate-to-hard pace (for reference, shoot for breaking a sweat about five minutes in and finished pretty soaked). I started with The Simpsons (~22 minutes per episode), then jumped to 24 (~42 minutes per episode). I'd probably do this around four days a week, and I also stopped having seconds at lunch and dinner (effectively eliminating 1.5 bonus meals from my day; I'm such a hobbit).
Less food and more exercise bought me a 20-pound drop over about four months. I started playing better, and was able to keep my shin splints in check (I'll save those details for another post). I kept at this for two seasons, but in hindsight I plateaued after the first few months. Even making the jump to The Sopranos (~55 minutes/episode) didn't bring much of an improvement. All it did was make my workouts longer (and the onscreen language more colorful). Then I went and pulled a hamstring on day two of Regionals, so decided the relatively mild aerobic stuff wasn't enough. It was time to ramp things up, and throw some strength and flexibility into the mix...
