Wait.... I Thought Mexico was Going to Pay for the Wall? Workouts

I have been listening to the threat of a government shut down if President Trump includes the funding of the border wall with Mexico into the government spending bill. My major confusion is pretty simple I think.... Candidate Trump made it clear that Mexico was going to pay for the wall?! What happened to that?

Sunday:
Spin Bike HIIT, 35 minutes

Monday:
Back Squat, Buckeye Program
Romanian Deadlift, 3 sets of 10 repetitions
Calf Raise, 3 sets of 50 repetitions
Mobility:
Quadriceps Stretch
Hamstring Stretch

Tuesday: Crossfit
Warmup:
Run, .25 mile
Hollow Rock, 10 repetitions
Arch Rock, 10 repetitions
Burpee + Broad Jump, 5 repetitions
Strength:
Push Press, 3 sets of 2 repetitions at 90%
WOD:
“Jan” 10 Rounds For Time 
5 Squat Cleans RX (95/65)
5 Pullups
Buyout:
3 rounds of :30 secs on Air Assault bike
3 rounds of 1 minute planks

Have a Great Day!!

Busy, Busy, Busy and the Blog

I have neglected the blog since Wednesday. Sometimes life gets busy and just pulls you away from normal everyday activities and this week the blog was the thing that just kept getting pushed back. I will catch up now. Yesterday was the first time that Rebecca went to the gym here in Chattanooga and we both attended a crossfit session. It was a great workout and it was fun to go together.

Thursday: Marathon Training
Run, one and a half hours
Mobility:
Quadriceps Stretch
Hamstring Stretch

Friday: Crossfit session
Warm-Up:

250m Row

5 Burpee + Broad Jump

15 Hollow Rock

15 Arch Rock or Superman Raise

Walking Lunge, 10m

Spiderman Walk, 10m

High Knee, 10m

Butt Kick, 10m

Strength:

Back Squat, 4 sets of 8 repetitions @ 65-70% of 1-RM

WOD: Four Rounds for Time

5 HSPU or Wall Walk

10 SDHP (95#/65#)

15 Burpees

Prowler Sled Push, 20m (90#/45#)

Mobility:

Quadriceps Stretch

Hamstring Stretch

Banded Shoulder Stretches

Saturday: Rest Day!!

Have a Great Day!!

Gun Control, Jeff Jefferies and Crossfit Day Five

Another mass shooting, this time in Louisiana. I have no idea when we are going to do something about gun violence in this country. It is embarrassing. I could go on a great rant but you would probably love watching this video by comedian Jeff Jefferies more than reading my expletives. "Guns to a Drone Fight"... priceless.

Great Friday at Crossfit. The warm-up today included a couple of fun games that got us moving quite a bit. The workout was short but very challenging. Light on the legs but pretty strenuous on the upper body. The Burgener warm-up led by the coach did a fantastic job of breaking down the clean into manageable bits to get people doing the exercise properly.

Warm-up:
90 second row + 90 second continuous wall therapy  air squats (facing wall, hands on wall, feet as close to wall as form allows)
10 PVC Wrap Arounds
10 PVC Passthroughs
Modified Burgener Warm-up clean focus with PVC
Game:
10 Min CrossFit game Pizza Box Knock Off (If someone knocked the AbMat out of your one hand you had to do three burpees... ugh) and a Crabwalk to Ball Collection Team Event
WOD:
Metabolic Conditioning for Time:
3 Rounds
200m Run
6 Squat-clean-thrusters (75/55) (I went with 95lbs. The Rx+ was 135lbs.)
10 Pull-ups (band as needed or supine ring rows)
Cool Down:
1:30/side single-leg row (strapless)
Mobility:
3 minute Quadriceps stretch

Have a Great Day!!

Quick Crossfit Day Four Post

My legs would like to thank the Crossfit gods for the Workout of the Day today! It turned out to be a WOD that focused mostly on the upper body which my quads really appreciated. We had a good 1.5 mile run on the warm-up and I had a nice chat with one of the members. Clearly one of the best parts of Crossfit is the camaraderie that you build with the people there. I have had a good time getting to know a few of the folks that are members of the local box. After four days I have realized that the workouts in Crossfit are tough, can be applied a number of fitness abilities and the variety will keep me from getting bored. I do have most of the gear at home to do these workouts so it is hard to justify paying a membership fee. If I did not have my own gear, I would absolutely join up!

Warm-Up:

3 minute continuous Air Squat

5 minute AMRAP at warm-up pace:

30 second hold Chin Over Pull-Up Bar

25m Foot Pull Drills

30 second Hollow Rock Hold

Cardiorespiratory:

2x8 minute Steady State Run at 70%-80% of Maximum Heart Rate

Rest one minute between sets

WOD: Metabolic Conditioning, 4 Rounds for Time

10 Hand Release Push-Ups

9 Toes to Bar or Knees to Chest

8 Ring Dips

7 Hang Power Cleans (75/55) (the Rx+ is 135 lbs. for men so I went with 100 lbs.)

Cooldown:

3 minutes of One Leg Jump Rope

Have a Great Day!!

"Securing the Border" and Crossfit Day Three

I love it when a politician says that they will "secure the border" between the U.S. and Mexico or that they will not vote on some other important legislation until we "secure the border". The people that say those three words are either idiots or ignorant. I have been traveling on the U.S./Mexico border for weeks at a time for just about two decades. The Mexicans that I have been blessed to meet there are not drug or human smugglers or rapists. They are farmers, ranchers and people fishing. Are there bad people out there? For sure. I have run into way more scary Americans on the border than Mexicans. The border along the Rio Grande in the lower canyons will never be secure. There will never be a fully secure wall or fence there. Anyone that tries to tell you otherwise is full of crap. Anyone that claims that the Mexicans will pay for that wall is not an idiot.... they are delusional?!

Whenever people say we need to "secure the border" or keep "illegals" out of America I ask them a simple question: If you were a Mexican with no hope of finding a job and you had to feed your spouse and kids, would you enter the U.S. illegally? Most people answer "Yes". I would. The reality is this: Americans want illegal drugs. Mexican drug cartels provide those drugs. Because there is more money in the drug trade than anywhere else in Mexico, that is where people work. People who see no way out but to carry a backpack full of drugs across the desert for sometimes hundreds of miles. Or, they enter the U.S. illegally to find a job that no American will do for peanuts: Picking fruit or vegetables, cleaning hotel rooms, digging ditches. The other truth: The "War on Drugs" has failed. The solution is to decide what we as a nation want to do about drugs. If they were not illegal, there would be no interest in selling them. We could take the wasted money from the "War on Drugs"  and use it to help develop Mexico economically. That would be cheaper than the border security and wall building. Once the Mexican economy is stable and the drug cartels no longer make money hand over fist, the Mexicans will stay in Mexico and work there. These people don't WANT to leave their families!

Off my soapbox, onto the Crossfit box. Great instruction and camaraderie again. Excellent Turkish Get Up demonstration which I equate to weighted line dancing?!

Warm-up:
3 minute continuous kettlebell Turkish Get Up (35/26)
10 Kettlebell Swings
10 Kettlebell Windmills
Triceps and Shoulder Stretch with Band
Quadriceps and Groin Stretch
WOD:
Metabolic Conditioning: (3 Rounds for Maximum repetitions)
As Many Repetitions As Possible (AMRAP):  3 rounds ×6 minutes per round with 1 minute rest between rounds.
AMRAP #1:
Row for 15 Calories
15 Standing Wall Ball Tosses (14/10)
AMRAP #2:
Row for 20 Calories
7 Barbell Thrusters (95/65)
AMRAP #3:
Row for 15 Calories
15 Standing Wall Ball Tosses(14/10)
(Try to duplicate performance in AMRAP #1)
Keep track of number of repetitions per round. (I was able to do 90 repetitions (three full rounds) in AMRAP #1, 54 repetitions (two full rounds) in AMRAP #2, and 90 repetitions in AMRAP #3)
Cool Down:
200m walk

Have a Great Day!

Crossfit Day Two and Becky Hammon Makes History Again!

Not that long ago I posted when Becky Hammon became the first woman Assistant Coach in NBA history. As an Assistant Coach for the San Antonio Spurs Hammon has had the opportunity to learn under one of the greatest coaches in the NBA, Gregg Popovich. Popovich and the Spurs have not made too much of Hammon's hiring. They have emphasized over and over that she was hired for her basketball knowledge, not to just hire the first full-time woman assistant coach. That seems to have been reinforced by the fact that the Spurs just won the NBA Summer League with Hammon, not Popovich at the helm. Awesome!

Today was day two for the Crossfit trial. The instruction was again excellent. I had never done a Barbell Push Jerk before. The coach broke it down into simple steps and then watched and did a great job of detecting and correcting form issues. I am also not very gymnastically talented. Whenever I attempt handstand push-ups I am either concerned about crashing through the wall or smashing my head into the floor. I was given some great ways to modify these by using a box in a pike position to start building up my strength for future handstand push-ups. Finally, I have done Barbell Power Snatches before, but not real ones. I was coached in the finer points and learned a ton. Day two: Great stuff!

Warm-up:
3 minute Row
5 PVC Passthroughs
PVC Shoulder Stretches
5 minutes AMRAP:
10 Barbell Box Back Squat
30 second Wall Sit with a Medicine Ball squeezed between legs (20lbs./14lbs.)
10 Barbell Overhead Press
30 second Handstand Hold
Strength:
4×2 Push Jerk from rack at 85% of one repetition maximum (I used 155lbs.)
WOD:
Metabolic conditioning for time:
Three rounds: 18-15-12 repetitions
Handstand Push-ups (modified for clumsy oafs like me)
Power Snatch (I used 95lbs.)
Cooldown:
3 minute walk

Have a Great Day!!

Yesterday's Rowing and Day One of Crossfit

First, yesterday I rowed for 30 minutes for a total distance of 7050 meters. It was pretty damn hard for me and has set a very good benchmark for the future.

Today, I went to my first Crossfit class at an affiliate very close to our place. I went in on Saturday and chatted with one of the coaches about the class. Apparently the 5:30am and 6:30am classes are packed and the 7:30am class has fewer people in it. I felt that going to the 7:30am class allowed me to workout with five or six other folks while still being able to ask questions of the coach.

The coach provided very good instruction and a number of times she went out of her way to say very important things like, "I would rather have you use lower weight and use good form than try to use a weight that is too heavy." I have watched too many "Crossfit Fail" videos that do the exact opposite of this. 

I arrived a few minutes early and caught the end of the 6:30am class. While warming up and gently stretching, I was getting a bit irritated because there were people that were violating a personal pet peeve of mine: Needlessly dropping bars. I get it when people drop bars when they are attempting a heavy weight and they fail, dropping the weight. But, these folks were dropping bars simply to drop them after completing a repetition. I got over it, but it was an ominous beginning.

The people that I worked out with were of various shapes and sizes and of varying physical ability. As we went through the routine the coach gave very solid tips and advice for form adjustment. It would be interesting to see how well that happens in a class that is full with 12 participants. The workout was very solid and I left the facility sweating like a pig. I will let you know how tomorrow goes! So far, two thumbs up!

Workout: This was a "Chipper". Lots of different exercises that you "chip away at".
Warm-up:
3 minute continuous plate floor push (45/25) (The first weight amount is for men and the second is for women)
5 PVC Wrap arounds
5 PVC Passthroughs
5min AMRAP: ("As Many Rounds As Possible")
10 Barbell Overhead Squats with a Sotts Press at the bottom of the squat
30 second Barbell Overhead Squat hold at bottom of squat
10 Barbell Hang Muscle Snatch
30 second Pull-up hold with chin over bar
WOD:
Metcon ("Metabolic Conditioning") for Time
100m Farmers Carry with Kettlebells (2×53/35)
5 Snatches (95/65)
200m Farmers Carry
10 Clean and Jerks (95/65)
100m Farmers Carry
15 Front Squats (165/125)
100m Farmers Carry
20 Back Squats (165/125)
Rest 1 min
Maximum time handstand hold
Cool Down:
3 minute run

I completed this WOD in 15:45 with a 45 second handstand hold.

Have a Great Day!!

The Summer Trial and Change Continues

Today I am going to ride the Concept2 Rowing Machine and go for a maximum distance in 30 minutes. Tomorrow I am going to begin a one week free trial at a local Crossfit affiliate. I have never tried Crossfit and I am very interested to see the progression throughout the week. I like the idea of Crossfit with a combination of exercises (i.e. cardiorespiratory, weight training, power training, etc.) however I do not know how I feel about the competitive "Again, faster" mentality. I feel that in some modalities (i.e. load bearing exercises) "faster" can often manifest itself as poor form and that can lead to injury. I will list the daily workouts here and give my feelings after each workout.

Today's quote is from George Bernard Shaw:

"Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything."

Workout: Cardiorespiratory
Rowing Machine, 30 minutes maximum distance
Straight Leg Sit-Up, 50 repetitions

Have a Great Day!!