We had a very mellow and relaxing Christmas. Late breakfast, later lunch, gift exchange and then a wonderful home cooked meal. I made out like a bandit with a GoRuck 80lbs. Training Sandbag with refillable bags, a new Aeropress Coffee Maker, a couple of great big bottle craft beers and a package of wonderful handcrafted hard salamis!! You can't do much better than that?! For those who are tired of the normal carols out there for Christmas.... here is my all time favorite, The Season's Upon Us by the Dropkick Murphys! Enjoy!
Workout:
Warm-Up:
Jumping Jack, 30 repetitions
AbMat Sit-Up, 30 repetitions
5 Rounds for Time:
Air Squat, 10 repetitions
Dumbbell Thruster, 7 repetitions
Diamond Triceps Push-Up, 20 repetitions
Alternating Lunge, 14 repetitions per side
Have a Great Day and a Very Merry Christmas!!
I texted my buddy to remind him that it was one year ago that he and I completed the GoRuck Challenge. Twelve hours and over twenty miles with fifty pound packs. Forty degree weather and rain. Carrying around boulders and sandbags along with our twenty-five pound team weight. It was what we refer to in the NOLS community as "Type-2 Fun". At the time it sucks, but looking back it is funny as hell. If you haven't done it... start training NOW!
Today's quote is from Peter Haeussler:
"Type-2 Fun – fun only in retrospect, hateful while it’s happening. Things like working out ‘till you puke, and usually ice and alpine climbing. After climbing the West Face Couloir on Huntington, Scotty and I both swore that we hated alpine climbing. The final 1,000′ was horrific – swimming up sugar snow that collapsed beneath us, roped together without protection – and took nearly as long as the initial 3,000′ from camp. On the summit, Scotty turned to me and said, in complete seriousness, 'I want my mom so bad right now.' By the time we reached Talkeetna our talk of Huntington turned to, 'Ya know, that wasn’t so bad. What should we try next time?'"
Morning Session:
Dumbbell Chest Press, 3 sets of 10 repetitions
(Primary muscles worked: Pectoralis major, anterior deltoid, triceps brachii)
Incline Dumbbell Chest Press, 3 sets of 10 repetitions
(Primary muscles worked: Clavicular head of the pectoralis major, anterior deltoid, triceps brachii)
Dumbbell Chest Flies, 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions
(Primary muscles worked: Pectoralis major and minor)
Dumbbell Hammer Curls, 3 sets of 8-15 repetitions
(Primary muscles worked: Biceps brachii, brachialis, brachioradialis)
Evening Session:
Warm-Up: Perform each exercise for one minute and fifteen seconds to complete a set. Three sets total, no rest between sets.
Jump Rope
Laying Medicine Ball Chest Pass
Abdominal Crunches
Weight Training:
Bench Press, 5 sets of 2-10 repetitions
(Primary muscles worked: Pectoralis major, anterior deltoid, triceps brachii)
Weighted Dips (Bodyweight +70lbs.), 5 sets of 5 repetitions
(Primary muscles worked: Anterior deltoid, pectoralis major and minor, rhomboid major and minor, triceps brachii)
Fat Grip Barbell "21" Curls, 3 sets
(Primary muscles worked: Biceps brachii, brachialis, brachioradialis, palmaris longus, flexor carpi radialis, flexor carpi ulnaris)
Have a Great Day!!
I think it was about 2:00 a.m. I think. It was raining, around 40 degrees Fahrenheit and my buddy Bryan and I were standing with our 40 lbs. backpacks held over our heads. We were waiting for our companions to complete their fireman's carries. Once they were done, Cadre Bobby then explained our next two activities: Drag your buddy, with his pack on, about 75 meters then switch for the drag back. Then low crawl out through the mud 75 meters and back.
I did not envy Bryan's task as he began dragging me the 75 meters. Between me and my pack I was probably between 260-270 lbs. As Bryan pulled on the grab loop of my rucksack, I started to slide across the grass, through the mud and through several puddles that threatened to drown me. "I am sorry for everything I have done to bulk up recently" I apologized to Bryan as he grunted along in the cold muck. To myself I thought, "Man, I am glad that I am wearing a good pair of shorts".
The GoRuck Challenge this past November was a really crazy time: Fun, challenging and worth every second. The funniest part of the whole thing was that the weather in Tucson flipped 180 degrees for the 12 hours that we participated in the event. Instead of warm and 60 degrees, we got dumping rain and 40s.
The clothing you wear for the Challenge is crucial. You don't want to bring too little and freeze your ass off, becoming a burden to the rest of your team. Bring too much of anything and you are just carrying extra weight. Bobby gave us enough boulders and a sandbag to carry, we didn't need anymore weight! On top of weight considerations, whatever clothing item it is, it has to be TOUGH. This is a review of the best damn shorts I have ever owned, the UN92 Crossfit Action Shorts.
UN92 is a California based company that has been making MMA fight shorts since 1992. I have two pairs of these shorts and I wear one of them everyday for my workouts. They are versatile enough to swim in, run in, lift, jump, whatever it is that you want to do. The fabric is light, breathable and incredibly stretchy. You can move in these shorts! UN92 has managed to make not only a comfortable product but one that is also damn near bulletproof. It has a velcro fly and waist as well as a drawstring closure. I think that combination is all that kept my shorts on my butt through the GoRuck drag in the mud! My one suggestion: When washing these shorts, close the velcro waist and fly before putting them in the washing machine. If you don't, every sock you own will be stuck to the fly when the spin cycle is done!
Today's workout has made it back to Shoulders and Triceps. These dumbbell workouts while visiting for the holidays are fine, but I look forward to getting back to the gym at home! I miss my barbell, sled, hammers, tires and stones!
Standing Shoulder Press, Super-set with Suspension Strap Reverse Flies
Alternating Front Dumbbell Raise
Lateral Dumbbell Raise
Shoulder Shrugs
Sandbag Overhead Press
Dumbbell Triceps Press
Suspension Strap Triceps Face Breakers
Weighted Diamond Push-ups
Abdominal Work
Have a great day!
My theory on exercise? Pretty simple really: I want to be able to do my job, challenge myself physically and have fun. I don't do it to compete with people around me, I haven't bought into the Crossfit craze of doing exercises for time. I don't think that I will ever be the strongest or fastest, but I will be fit and healthy for me.
My job at NOLS often times requires me to be in wilderness settings with novices for weeks. My level of fitness allows me to take care of myself and others in remote settings for long periods of time.
My partner Rebecca is a second year medical student and has a very busy schedule. Fitness is also very important to her but was a challenge to work into her busy schedule. As a couple we committed to working out six days a week lifting weights. These workouts are a big part of my daily routine.
There are times that I like to challenge myself whether that was climbing 14,000 foot peaks when I lived in Colorado, running a marathon while living in southwest Virginia or participating recently in the GoRuck Challenge in Tucson. My fitness level allows me to do things that are challenging and to push myself.
Finally, I like to have fun. My weightlifting routine is pretty consistent and if that is all that I did I would probably get pretty bored. I supplement my traditional lifting exercises with functional workouts that can be strenuous, but also very fun at the same time. Here is an example of my workout from today:
Lifting with Rebecca (Each exercise is done for three sets):
Dumbbell Squats
Dumbbell Lunges
Barbell Front Squats
Body Weight Calf Raises
Straight Leg Dead-lifts
Glute-Ham Developer (GHD) (This is a simple DIY device that we made).
Supplemental Workout:
Back Squats with Heavy Chains (3/4" links, 5 foot sections. 22.5 lbs. each. Purchased at McMaster-Carr).
Today's WOD is named "Captain Caveman". The idea was to simulate hoofing out into the dangerous world of the caveman, clubbing your dinner and busting it back to your hole in the rock with your grub!
100m Shuffle (not really a walk, not really a run) with a sledgehammer (in this case it was a Rogue Fitness SISU War Hammer at a lead-filled 28.5 lbs.).
20 Hammer Swings on a large tire (The big, old earth mover tire was free! I just went over with a pickup to a commercial tire place and drove it home. Ten reps right handed, ten left handed).
70m Weighted Sled Drag (35m out and back. This is a DIY sled made out of an old tire, an eye-bolt, some webbing and weighted with 120 lbs. of kettlebells).
400m Shuffle with a Sand Bag on one shoulder and the hammer in the other hand. (The sand bag is also DIY and weighed in at 40 lbs.) This shuffle is a loop that brings me back to the large tire where the routine picks back up at the Hammer Swings.
Three complete rounds with a swig of water between sets.
Hard but fun!
