It's been awhile since the last big update from Jim at Beast Skills, but he's started making up for lost time:
Ross Enamait's new book, Never Gymless is now available to order! Just put my order in. Review to follow...
Finally got to play some disc outside yesterday! Very windy Goaltimate. The gang has had some lovely weather and sevens for Ultimate previous to yesterday, but conflicts have heartbreakingly kept me away. Anyway, aside from one gymnasium session mid-winter, this was my first play since the ankle sprain closed out my 2005 season. I was curious how I'd feel, as I've been training pretty hard all winter, but with a conspicuous lack of running. Would all those burpees translate? I was worried, as in my experience you can be in great shape and still suck at running if you haven't been doing it, but I was pretty happy with the day. Legs and lungs felt great, although I'm sure the wind and lack of full-field Ultimate helped with that. And I had to quit early with a "deep blister", the second of my life. Let me tell you, when the FixingYourFeet guy says:
Am I a stickler about calluses? You bet. I've seen the grimaces on the faces of athletes who have deep blisters that cannot be repaired without a lot of pain. I've seen them hobble off, knowing it won't get any better.
... he knows what he's talking about. Much worse than a surface blister. I didn't even think my calluses were too thick, but I'll definitely be doing some maintenance. There, that's more than enough about my feet.
Man, White Mountain Open is only like four weeks away! Psyched.
Just updated my bits on Ross Enamait's triple-clap pushups (he has expanded his post into a full article) and the Turkish Get-up (via the Crossfit forums comes this excellent demonstration from the Art of Strength folks (WMV, 7MB)). Definitely going to start doing my TGUs like that.
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.
It's a large file, but oh-so-worth it: Kris Kremo juggling (AVI, 75MB).
I've read a few Brad Johnson articles, and linked to a couple in the past, but recently sought out all I could find. Very cool, creative stuff. Here's the rundown:
If you're like me, once fatigue sets in the first thing you start short-changing on your burpees is the leap. Here's a solution: mark off 100 yards or so and start at one end. Do a burpee, but instead of leaping for height, leap for distance. You aren't done until you get your feet past the 100-yard marker. Shorter jumps equals more burpees.
Shee-it (emphasis added):
Last year, patient care director Colleen Becker decided to check the numbers. She looked at a daily hospital census—about one-third of the 900 patients weighed 350 pounds or more.
Startled, Becker checked another date, then another.
The numbers were consistent. On some days, half the patients were obese. Some weighed 500 pounds or more.
"We ran the data again to make sure we weren't hallucinating," Becker said. "We weren't. So we had to somehow figure out the appropriate supplies, equipment, training and care for the patients we're dealing with."
So here's an idea: tax credits for fitness. To qualify, if you're fit, your doctor gives you a form you can attach to your return at your annual checkup. I'm betting any economic loss in tax revenue would be offset by the reduced obesity-related burdens on our health care system (the economic damage goes far beyond hospitals buying reinforced beds and such).
Ross Enamait discusses and demonstrates triple-clap push-ups. Always informative, always inspirational.
(Video links in the article.)
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.
Outside Magazine answers the question, "Will listening to music improve my training?" (scroll down to the second question)