Shoulders and Triceps WOD: "Need a Shoulder to Cry On?"

Today I did heavy shoulder work with a lot of bodyweight triceps exercises. The circuit training, "Need a Shoulder to Cry On" had a strong showing with seven participants! Crushed it all out to the Pandora disco station. My one main complaint: "Billy Jean" by Michael Jackson, NOT disco.

Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Lateral Dumbbell Raise

Alternating Front Dumbbell Raise

Diamond Push-ups

Dumbbell Triceps Kickbacks

Overhead Dumbbell Triceps Press

Heavy Barbell Push Press

Heavy Barbell Shoulder Shrugs

Barbell Triceps Face Breakers

"Need a Shoulder to Cry On" (Each exercise done for one minute and fifteen seconds. Three sets of exercises. One minute break between sets.)

Barbell Push Press

Triceps Dips

Abdominal Crunches

Diamond Push-ups

Kettlebell Swings

Seated Wall Ball Toss

Heavy Rope Whips

Have a Great Day!!

WOD: "Feeling a Bit Peckish?!"

Today's WOD is for the Chest and Biceps: "Feeling a Bit Peckish?!"

Dumbbell Chest Press
Incline Dumbbell Chest Press
Dumbbell Flies
Weighted Push-Ups
Alternating Dumbbell Curls
Concentration Dumbbell Curls
Heavy Barbell Bench Press
Weighted Dips

Circuit Training (Each exercise one minute, three sets. One minute rest between sets)
Jump Rope
Dips
Dumbbell Flies
Crunches
Gymnastic Ring Push-ups
Barbell Curls
Seated Wall Ball Toss

Have a Great Day!!

Power Shake, Vitamix and the WOD!

I wanted to drop a quick shake recipe on folks. I usually have this mid-morning after a workout. I try to find a lot of my equipment used (i.e. Olympic plates) or even make a lot of my own gear (i.e. drag sled, Atlas stones). Some gear though I purchase, and when I do I purchase quality gear. One thing that we bit the bullet on was a Vitamix blender. It is a beast, can pulverize anything that you put in there, and comes with a 7-year warranty!

Back to that shake recipe.  It is loaded with great fiber, green leafy vegetables, protein, antioxidants and some simple carbohydrates. This makes two servings:

12 oz. 2% Milk (I don’t get much dairy so I use real milk. Feel free to substitute soy, rice or whatever “milk” floats your boat.)

1 large carrot

2 kale leaves with the stems removed (I find that this removes some of the bitterness.)

1 frozen banana

½ cup frozen organic blueberries

3-4 frozen organic strawberries

1 tablespoon of raw organic cacao nibs

1 heaping scoop of Syntha-6 vanilla protein powder

Blend all ingredients to a thick shake consistency. Add water if you need to thin it out a bit. Enjoy!

The WOD is for the Back! Also, today we get packed up and drive back across the country to Arizona. That will put me back in my home gym and I will be able to start up with some great supplemental workouts again. I would say that the workouts while at home for the holidays have been a real success and I am feeling strong despite the holiday drinking and eating!

Walked the dog around the block. Ocho cannot wait to get back to his ten acres in Arizona though!

Dumbbell Pullovers

One armed Dumbbell Rows

Sandbag Upright Rows

Dumbbell Snatch

Weighted Pull-ups

Abdominal Work

Have a great day!

Philosophy on Fitness, the Workout of the Day (WOD): Legs and "Captain Caveman"

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!