Stealing a Workout and the WOD!

Everyday, my two brothers and I exchange e-mails to share the things that we did for exercise. Today I got a great e-mail from my brother Kevin who is a general contractor, home builder and owner of Newphire. I think that it speaks for itself on ways that you can get a workout into your day.

"Unlike Brian, I rarely have or make the time to do a solid block of working out.  I do, however, steal a workout throughout the day without adding much time to my other commitments.  For example, yesterday I put my tea water on to boil and did a set of 50 pushups and a couple of TRX sets of shoulder and ab stuff.  I knocked out another set of pushups while cooking breakfast.  While bushing my teeth, I did 2 minutes of squats into toe raises.  At work, I spent about 30 minutes cleaning out footings by shoveling out loose dirt that had fallen in.  Bought a sack of chicken food and rather than lifting it once to put it away, I lifted it 10 times.  Got in a set of twisting bicycle crunches in the evening." 

"Far from an overwhelming amount, and I wish that I did more, but it beats the hell out of nothing and it literally took no more than a few "extra minutes" out of my day." 

"Today I am going to split well over 50 gigantic hickory logs.  They were knocked down in a mini twister in our backyard two summers ago and I need to get them split before they rot.  I broke down and got a splitter from the rental place (for free- perks of the contractor) as each log takes over 30 minutes to split with a maul.  Nonetheless, I will be lifting a shitload of wood to get it to the splitter and positioned right, then load it in the wheelbarrow, cart it across the yard, and stack it in the woodshed.  I will be worn out by the end of the day."

To me that sounds as good if not better than anything I do on a daily basis!

The WOD: Chest and Biceps

2.5 Mile Walk with the Dog "Ocho"

Dumbbell Chest Press

Suspension Strap Flies

Weighted Pushups

Alternating Dumbbell Curls

Suspension Strap Biceps Curls

Concentration Biceps Curls

Abdominal Work

Have a Great Day!

 

Protein, Protein Everywhere and the Workout of the Day!

How much protein is enough? The government recommended daily allowance (RDA) of protein for an adult is between 46-56 grams. That may be fine for someone who is sedentary, but what about active people and athletes? Hell, I am burning 50 grams sitting at this desk writing this post!

I have only posted a few times, but if you have read anything here you know that how much protein you consume will be based on YOU, your level of activity and your body's abilities. As a very general rule, based on work done by people way smarter than I am, a person with a sedentary lifestyle needs about .3-.4 grams of protein for every pound of bodyweight. Example: On average, a 200lbs. sedentary individual needs 60 grams of protein a day to maintain good health. This generally jives with the government RDA.

As an active person or athlete, the body's need for protein increases. To put it in its most simple form, active people need more protein to repair and maintain muscle and other tissue that have been broken down during exercise. It is generally accepted that an active person or athlete requires 1-2 grams of protein for every pound of bodyweight. Example: On average, a 200lbs. person that engages in athletic pursuits needs 200 grams of protein per day to maintain health.

While I was thinking about writing this post yesterday, just doing some casual mathematics I was able to add up at least 150 grams of protein that I consumed. Now, how do you do that without eating a million egg whites?

Most folks that I know who exercise seriously supplement their healthy diet with an additional protein source of some sort. I am currently using a powder for shakes: Syntha-6. I also occasionally use a protein bar when I am in a hurry and I have found the Pro Bar Core Bar to be great tasting and serves its purpose. I hate to sound like a broken record, but with a healthy balanced diet and a regular exercise regimen these are the things that work for me. Find what is appropriate for you. Find the things that you can eat without gagging. Maybe that is one million egg whites?!

On to today's workout: Back and the "Day Laborer".

Lifting with Rebecca: (Three sets per exercise)
Dumbbell Pullover
Single Dumbbell Bent Over Row
Upright Barbell Row
Suspension Strap Horizontal Pull-Up (DIY adjustable suspension strap system)
Weighted Pull-Up

Supplemental Workout:
Deadlift (From the post yesterday, this is an exercise I do barefoot).
Landmine Barbell Row (Just got the Rogue Post Landmine yesterday. I will let you know how it goes!)

WOD: "The Day Laborer". Growing up, my older brother Kevin and I worked construction. We had no real skills at the time and spent our days hauling 2x4s, schlepping bricks, digging ditches, etc. Kevin has moved on and is now a contractor running his own business building beautiful, ultra energy efficient homes (New Phire Builders). When I told him about this workout he laughed and titled it "The Day Laborer". It brought back a lot of fun memories.

20 Sledgehammer Swings (10 left handed, 10 right handed).
5 Tire Flips (A blown Firestone 23.5-25 loader tire that I picked up for free).
1 Atlas Stone Lift to Platform (DIY 188lbs. stone made from a plaster mold of a beach ball filled with Sakcrete).
Three Sets.

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!