RIP Leia Organa, Good Riddance to 2016 and the Workout

Overall, 2016 was a great year. We got started in the amazing town of Chattanooga, we have a wonderful little house and we brought a great new little dog into our family. However, I feel like 2016 is trying to kill off my childhood and adolescence!! David Bowie, Prince, Carrie Fisher, and now George Michael?! I am ready for 2017 to come along and hit the reset button.

Warm-Up:
Airdyne, 2 minutes
PVC Passthrough, 20 repetitions
PVC Wraparound, 20 repetitions
Foam Roller Work
Weight Training:
Hang Clean from the Hip, 4 sets of 3 repetitions at 80% of 1-RM
Super Set: Perform each exercise in order to complete a set. No rest between exercises. Three sets total.
Back Squat, 4 repetitions at 80% of 1-RM
Bent Over Barbell Row, 5 repetitions

Power Snatch from the Block, 4 set of 2 repetitions at 75%

Super Set: Perform each exercise in order to complete a set. No rest between exercises. Three sets total.
Snatch Pull, 2 repetitions at 95% of 1-RM
Dumbbell Incline Press, 3 repetitions

AbMat Sit-Up, 50 repetitions
Mobility:
Banded Shoulder Stretches
Hamstring Stretch
Quadriceps Stretch

Have a Great Day!!

Being a Movie Critic and the Workout

We went to a matinee viewing of "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" today. I grew up in the late seventies to eighties so the Star Wars movies have been a huge part of my life. Rogue One was quite good in my opinion. The story line was very good... I would have liked a bit more of Forest Whitaker... but what I liked most was that they kept a style that was very similar to the original Episode IV movie. I will say two thumbs up from me!!

Warm-Up:
Jump Rope, 100 repetitions
PVC Passthrough, 20 repetitions
PVC Wraparound, 20 repetitions
Weight Training:
Hang Clean from the Hip, 60% 3 repetitions, 70% 3 repetitions, 75% 3 repetitions, 65% 3 repetitions
Super Set: Perform each exercise in order to complete a set. Four sets total.
Back Squat, 72% 6 repetitions
Bent Over Barbell Row, 8 repetitions
Power Snatch from the Hip, 60% 3 repetitions, 65% 3 repetitions, 70% 3 repetitions, 75% 3 repetitions
Super Set: Perform each exercise in order to complete a set. Four sets total.
Snatch Pull, 90% 3 repetitions
Bench Press, 5 repetitions

Have a Great Day!!

Just a Quick Workout Post

Just a bit tired today so I am going to post the workout today and get myself to bed...

Warm-Up:
Airdyne, 2 minutes
PVC Passthrough, 20 repetitions
Foam Roller Work
Weight Training:
Clean from the Block, 75% of 1-RM 6 sets of 2 repetitions
Clean Pull, 4 sets of 2 repetitions 90%, 95%, 100% and 105% of 1-RM
Front Squat, 3 sets of 3 repetitions at 83% of 1-RM, 1 set of 3 repetitions at 60% of 1-RM
Power Snatch, 65% of 1-RM 6 sets of 2 repetitions
GHD Sit-Up, 30 repetitions
Mobility:
Banded Shoulder Stretches
Hamstring Stretch
Quadriceps Stretch

Have a Great Day!!

Not Really a Rest Day on Super Tuesday and the Workout Today

I think that it would have been interesting to watch the faces of the Clinton campaign like a time lapse, slow motion train wreck stare as they watched the Electoral College map fill in. It was amazing how badly the "professional pollsters" screwed up this election. I cannot remember, in my life time a bigger screw up in an election?! I am quite certain that the only person more stunned than Clinton was Trump. Well, with control of the House, Senate and White House it is time for Republicans to put up or shut-up. Getting elected is one thing, governing is another. I am hoping that Americans can all say that for the good of the country, I wish Trump success.

Warm-Up:
Row, 500m
Foam Roller Work
PVC Passthrough, 15 repetitions
Clean from the Block, 70% of 1-RM 3 sets of 3 repetitions
Clean Pull, 95% of 1-RM 3 sets of 3 repetitions
Front Squat, 80% of 1-RM 5 sets of 3 repetitions
Power Snatch, 65% of 1-RM 4 sets of 3 repetitions
GHD Sit-Up, 25 repetitions
Mobility:
Banded Shoulder Stretches
Hamstring Stretch
Quadriceps Stretch

Have a Great Day!!

Dawgs vs. Volunteers and the Workout

The guys at work and at the gym fall into either the Tennessee Volunteers' camp or they root for the Georgia Bulldogs. The end of the game today between them was pretty incredible with the teams swapping touchdowns in the last ten seconds. Amazing ending. Unfortunately, now I have to watch a great football game between Clemson and Louisville. Now don't get me wrong it will be an exciting game but it could be named, "Which College Football Coach Do You Despise More?" Bobby Petrino or Dabo Swinney?!

Warm-Up:
Row, 500m
PVC Passthrough, 10 repetitions
PVC Wraparound, 10 repetitions
Foam Roller Work
Weight Training:
Super Set: Perform each exercise in order to complete a set. No rest between exercises. Four sets total.
Banded Back Squat, 60% of 1-RM with 1-1/2" Bands for 5 repetitions
Alternating Push Press, 2 repetitions from the Front Rack Position, 2 repetitions from Behind the Neck
Power Clean and Jerk, 80% of 1-RM 4 sets of 1 repetitions
Power Snatch, 60% of 1-RM for 3 repetitions, 70% of 1-RM for 3 repetitions, 80% of 1-RM for 2 repetitions, 85% of 1-RM 4 sets of 2 repetitions
Front Squat, 50% of 1-RM 3 sets of 10 repetitions
Mobility Work:
Banded Shoulder Girdle Stretches
Hamstring Stretch
Quadriceps Stretch
Foam Roller Work

Have a Great Day!

Finally a Saturday Where I could Get Crap Done and the Workout

This felt like the first Saturday in a while where I did not have some type of certification or class or something going on?! I was able to get down to the gym by 7:00 am to get my lifting out of the way. I got home and got the lawn mowed, trees and bushes trimmed, recycling done, laundry washed, dried and folded, shopped for dinner and did some baking. I think the dogs were the happiest having a good long morning walk with time running hot laps in the yard while I mowed. Great domestic Saturday?!

Warm-Up:
Row, 500m
PVC Passthrough, 10 repetitions
PVC Wraparound, 10 repetitions
Foam Roller Work
Weight Training:
Super Set: Perform each exercise in order to complete a set. No rest between exercises. Four sets total.
Banded Back Squat, 55% of 1-RM with 1-1/2" Bands for 5 repetitions
Alternating Push Press, 2 repetitions from the Front Rack Position, 2 repetitions from Behind the Neck
Clean and Jerk, 60% of 1-RM for 3 repetitions, 70% of 1-RM for 3 repetitions, 80% of 1-RM for 2 repetitions, 85% of 1-RM 4 sets of 2 repetitions
Power Snatch, 60% of 1-RM for 3 repetitions, 70% of 1-RM for 2 repetitions, 80% of 1-RM 4 sets of 2 repetitions
Mobility Work:
Banded Shoulder Girdle Stretches
Hamstring Stretch
Quadriceps Stretch
Foam Roller Work

Have a Great Day!!

Veteran for Kaepernick and the Workout

I will never know what it means to be Colin Kaepernick. Now he is making millions of dollars but he is also bi-racial and adopted. At first I did not like the way that Kaepernick protested the national anthem and the flag, But now he has said that he is going to donate $1 million to those disadvantaged people that he is protesting for. Kaepernick has also decided to take a knee facing the flag rather than sit to show respect for the military folks who are often the ones presenting the flag as part of a color guard. One by one Kaepernick is knocking down the arguments of those who have attacked him for his protest. Soon people will have nothing left to address except the real issues of racial inequality and police brutality that Kaepernick is actually protesting.

Warm-Up:
Row, 500m
Banded Overhead Squat, 3 sets of 10 repetitions
GHD Leg Extensions, 3 sets of 10 repetitions
Weight Training:
Super Set: Perform each exercise in order to complete a set, Five sets total with no rest between exercises.
Overhead Barbell Lunge, 6 repetitions per leg
Trap Bar Deadlift, 6 repetitions
Power Snatch, 7 sets of 3 repetitions
Behind the Neck Push Press, 5 sets of 5 repetitions
Mobility:
Banded Shoulder Girdle Stretch
Hamstring Stretch
Quadriceps Stretch

Have a Great Day!!

RIP Gene Wilder and the Workout

Another iconic figure of my childhood has passed away... actor Gene Wilder. What a great talent that made so many people smile! "Blazing Saddles", "Young Frankenstein", "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory"... sad day. Great workout at the gym today helped me get over it.

Warm-Up:
GHD Back Extension, 10 repetitions
Air Squat, 20 repetitions
Zots Press, 4 sets of 5 repetitions
Weight Training:
Snatch Balance, 7 rounds working up to a one rep maximum
Snatch, 7 sets of 3 repetitions every minute on the minute
Back Squat, 5 sets of 8 repetitions
Power Snatch from the Block, 6 sets of 2 repetitions
Mobility:
Banded Shoulder Girdle
Quadriceps Stretch
Hamstring Stretch

Have a Great Day!!

Busy Day So Just a Quick Workout of the Day Post

Warm-Up:
3 minutes AMRAP Warm-Up Pace:
10 Ball Slams
15 AbMat Sit-Ups
Strength:
Bench Press, 4 sets of 10 repetitions. One set every 3 minutes
Metabolic Conditioning for Time:
7 rounds:
7 Power Snatch
7 Overhead Squats
Cool-Down:
50 AbMat Sit-Ups
400m Walk

The "Flour Tortilla" and the Workout of the Day

A "sourdough" was a nickname used in the Yukon or Alaska during the gold rush for someone who spent an entire winter north of the Arctic Circle. The name is used because they would protect their sourdough starter from the cold by keeping it close to their bodies. Yeast and baking soda didn't work nearly as well in the cold. Freezing does not kill a sourdough starter, being too hot does. With all of that said, we have decided that surviving an entire Tucson summer deserves a similar title. We have decided that title should be the "flour tortilla". The tortilla is to the Southwest as sourdough is to the North. So, congratulations to all my fellow tortillas out there! Sweat on!

Warm-Up:

5 rounds (Paced, warmup style):
15 air squats
10 Barbell pullovers laying on ground
20 second Pull-up hold w/ chin over bar
20 abmat situps

Skill:

Burgener warm up, snatch focused

Strength:

Power Snatch, 5 sets of 2 repetitions

Metabolic Conditioning For Time:
10 Rounds
10 Strict Pull-Ups (no kip, band as needed)
10 Box Jumps (24'/20")

20 minute cut off regardless of rounds completed

Cool Down:

25m bear crawl

25m spidermans

Mobility:

Standing quadriceps stretch

Latissimus dorsi foam roller

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!!