It was a very busy year from returning from the Middle East to getting certified as a personel trainer as well as a Crossfit trainer and building my gym and business. I want to thank everyone that believed in me and was invovled in the process from the start. 2009 is going to be an even bigger year for us!
Starts today! Great combination of deadlifts and burpees, heavy and fast!
Training: Deadlifts x 5 Burpees x 10 5 rounds for time
Thanks to Crossfit
Training: 1 arm push-ups practice for 30 minutes Start by doing these modified i.e with your knees on the ground, legs spread wide. Work to lower your chest and shoulders to the ground evenly and to push-up evenly. Keep your body as tight as possible.
3 degrees outside, sweating and working inside the gym. We are getting some great results utilizing workouts that cram alot of work but are smashed through in about 10-15 minutes and under. I am going to be coupling this with "heavy" conditioning, heavy conditioning is simply a heavy load bearing movement coupled with a fast bodyweight or a smaller load movement. This is going to drive strength gains and conditioning at the same time and I am really excited about this.
Training: 50 sit-ups 15 thrusters 20 pull-ups 12 thrusters 15 pull-ups 9 thrusters 10 pull-ups 50 sit-ups For time Loading on the thruster is 65 lbs, and 95 lbs
Training: Elevated push-ups = feet higher than hands Start a stop watch then perform 1 elevated push-up the 1st minute, 2 the 2nd minute, 3 the 3rd minute and so on until you are unable to complete the push-ups in that minute. How long can you go?
What Favre did: 45 lb dumbell hang squat cleans + thruster Pull-ups 21-15-9 For time Massive forearm work on this holding the dumbells through an explosive movement
Friday, December 26, 2008
10 lunges 10 push-ups 10 jump-squats 7 rounds for time
This is what my oldest daughter told me when she saw a slimmer Santa at a Christmas party we attended recently. Maybe he wouldn't need as many reindeer to pull him if he trimmed up some.
Training: 21-18-15-12-9-6-3 Pull-ups Push-ups Sit-ups Squats For time
Athletic, explosive, and powerful, movements don't get better or more functional than the push-jerk. The biggest loads will be lifted and multiple skills and adaptations will be learned. This lift utilizes the most favorable mechanics to move and stabilize large loads overhead and once learned correctly the athlete will use the same motions in everyday life whenever something needs to be placed overhead. Maybe those Christmas decorations I may eventually take down and put away?
Training: Push-jerk 6x3
What Favre did: 5 muscle-ups 10 overhead squats at 95 lbs 5 rounds for time
Work hard and realize your dreams. Photo courtesy of Diana
We are hitting the final couple of days before Christmas. And apparently from the news reports from around the nation, it's a good thing we have built lots of strength and conditioning to fight off the hordes while some of us finish the panic shopping.
Training: 5 x turkish get-up left arm 5 x turkish get-up right arm 10 x push-ups Max rounds in 20 minutes
It is with a very heavy heart that we say good bye to an strong athlete and an even better friend and person. Diana's first training session was August 4th 2008 where she performed her first training session of 1 pull-up, 2 push-ups, and 3 squats, for max rounds in 20 minutes. She did 45 rounds and I was impressed! Hardly missing a training session she continued to work hard and motivated and inspired the other athletes around her, including myself. D has an inner strength that few possess and always strives to perform better and better. Her smile and energy always provided a bright spot in my day. Her drive, passion and strength will carry her to success and I feel blessed to have had her in my gym and life, even for just a short amount of time. You will be greatly missed Deelicious!
Big D 2.0: Tire flip x 3 push-up x 6 Swings x 9 Max rounds in 3 minutes Rest 1 minute Repeat for 5 "rounds"
My athletes know that I believe in them and that I believe in what they can do and how they can perform while training. I believe in what they tell me what they want to do in life and that they can accomplish whatever goal they set for themselves. However no matter how much I believe, if they don't have the same belief in themselves it may be too short of a journey. Build that belief in yourself, look at where you started and see how far you have come during training. Remember how awkward those first squats were and how impossible any sort of pull-up felt. Now correct squats are second nature and pull-ups are used as warm ups! You can do it, I know it and now start believing it.
Kristy: 100 rope turns 10 burpees 15 push-ups 20 squats 10 rounds for time
Honestly I'm not going to post a video or picture but I am going to say this workout has to be one of the most demanding and intense training sessions I and my athletes have done to date.
The morning crew did 1 version of this workout and then the afternoon crew did version 2. I wanted to see the difference in time and try a gauge intensity. Version 2 moved much faster through the rounds which I like but version 1 did take longer and was a little physically tougher during the calisthenic part of the training session. Both quality and both elicited a great metabolic response.
Training version #1: Jump-rope 100 turns Push-ups+mountain climber Squat+jumping lunges 2-4-6-8-10 4 rounds for time
Version 2: Jump-rope 50 turns Push-ups+mountain climber Squat+jumping lunges 2-4-6-8-10-8-6-4-2 For time
When the weight on the dumbell snatches starts to get heavy it's time to learn to drop back under the weight to ensure the arm is locked to support the weight. The movement is meant to be explosive from start to finish, which means not pressing the dumbell out at the top. The dumbell snatch is a great, athletic, explosive movement.
Training: Dumbell snatch x 8 Dumbell snatch x 8 Burpees x 10 5 rounds for time.
The increased strength built with the front squats along with core strength, balance, flexibility and coordination is truly functional strength.
Training: Front squats 5x5
This is NOT functional training in the least. This is stupid circus shit that will not help us in our fitness goals or apply to everyday life. Again the swiss ball stuff is feaking stupid. Want functional, then lets hit some deadlifts and burpees!!
Ok say they may not be super fun but they are very effective building the increased work capacity the athletes are chasing. I lowered the weight slightly on the swings to drive a faster time and drill correct technique. Now as the athlete gets fatigued and is racing the clock, technique will suffer to varying degrees. This is fine and expected and me as the Coach is there remindeing the athletes to maintain that correct technique. It may not be perfect but they will still try.
Training: 21,18,15,12,9,6,3 Swings Pull-ups For time
I love the basics, my favorite movements to train are the basics. Athletes cannot go wrong with heavily emphasizing the basics in their training. The basic build a strong foundation that can be built apon for the rest of their lives and once the basics are mastered any exercise can be learned and applied.
Training: Back to Basics 80 squats 2 pull-ups 60 squats 4 pull-ups 40 squats 8 pull-ups 20 squats 10 pull-ups
Everyone has bad days in the gym and it's OK. Sometimes everything feels weird and you can't focus and the weight you have smoked before now feels heavy. These days are normal. The best thing to do is to move on and look to the next training session. Also bad days happen for a variety of reasons, diet, stress, life just kicking you in the tenders. Hows this for a bad day, coming in last at a base strongman competion when you trained and you know you are stronger than most, but I wasn't that day and my last place finish showed it. Shit happens and you say fuck it and move forward.
Training: Press 5x5
Training: Weighted pull-ups-work up to a max single
Another athlete, Tracy, completed her goal of running a mile without stopping, so in the tradition of the gym a workout was created! This is one of my favorite parts of being a trainer, seeing the athletes progress and complete goals. She worked hard so here she is:
