March 31, 2009

Treadmill 5 minutes

Squats, 10, 8, 6, 4, 225#, 255#, 265#, 275#
Glute-Ham Raises, 10, 10, 10, 10
OHS, 3x15, 89#
Glute-Ham Raises, 12, 12, 12

Split Jerk, 2, 2, 2, 205#, 185#, 185

Cable Push pull, 1x24
Cable Crunches, 1x36
Hyper-extensions, 1x15

March 30, 2009

Warmup

Skips and shuffles and so on.

Dynamic Mobility

Lunges and inch worms, and so on.

Jump curcuit

vertical jump and stick, 30 seconds, 15 seconds of rest, left leg hop, 15 seconds, Rocket Girls, 30 seconds, 1 minute of rest
jump squat and stick, 30 seconds, 15 seconds of rest, right leg hop, 15 seconds, speed skaters, 30 seconds, lateral hop, 15 seconds, front and back hop 15 seconds

Sprint
sprint from lying start, head first, feet first, and from back

Weight Room
4 rounds, 1 minute of rest between
Renegade Rows, 12
Sprot Squats, 18
Sumo Deadlift with a high pull, 6

Tabata cycle, core
front plank/windmills
side plank/wind shield wipers
mountain climbers/supine hip march
crunches/supermen

About a dozen, we were expecting the regular leader to be back, alas. So, I made it up on the fly -- seemed to work ok.

March 27, 2009

Elliptical thing 25 minutes.

Hang Squat Cleans, 10, 8, 6, 4, 135#
Glute-Ham Raises, 10, 8, 6, 4
Bench Press, 10, 8, 6, 4, 185#
2 minutes of rest between circuits

Cable Crunches 1x30, 150#
Hyper-extensions, 1x20

Yeah Baby! Almost felt like a human being again.

March 26, 2009

Eliptical thing 20 minutes

OHS, 3x5, 135#
Jumping Deadlift, 3x5, 135#
Dumbell Snatch, 3x3l,r, 70#

Cable Crunches, 1x21, 150#
Hyperextensions, 1x20

March 25, 2009

Took it easy again today.

20 minutes on the elliptical thing.

Front Squats, 5x3, 185#, 205#, 225#, 235#, 245#

March 24, 2009

Took it easy again today.

20 minutes on the elliptical thing.

OHS 3x5, 135#
Glute-Ham Raises, 3x10

4 way neck machine, 1x32, 150#
Cable Crunches, 1x24, 150#
Hyperextensions, 1x20

March 23, 2009

I forced myself to take it easy. Yes, I went to the gym, but, I didn't over do it.

20 minutes on the elliptical thing.

3 Weeks, nearly, of eating in the Zone

I promised myself I would not do the old guy thing and talk about what I ate and when I pooped in every update to this silly blog. None-the-less I think it is timely to review the progress. Basically, I've lost 12 pounds in 3 weeks. 7 of that was in the first week and I think it was a lot of fluid and drek my body wasn't eliminating. I've built Saturday in as a cheat day. I'm weighing in each morning and I'm seeing 1 to 1.5 lbs of variation. In truth this is loss is faster than I wanted. Folklore says the faster it comes off the harder it is to keep off. True perhaps if one is dieting, instead of changing the way they eat which to my mind is what the Zone is about. That said, I can see a difference in my subcutaneous fat again not really where I want to see the loss. I don't have a big gut, but, like many guys I store my fat there. From what I've read that is the hardest to lose, the body clings to that reserve, oddly, it is bad for a guy to have that fat. So it makes sense that I'd burn subcutaneous first, but, sense isn't always what we want. A friend more experienced with the Zone, and a solid athlete, has suggested that for the same 16-17 block plan, that breaking it into 5, 3 block meals and 1-2 block snack and only going 2-3 hours between. I will say that timing the before workout meal is tricky, and it is a long push to get through the afternoon with a 4,4,2,4,2.

So, all that without a single meal plan or a schedule of BM. I do wish I hadn't made eating the Zone the last piece of my fitness plan, but spilt milk; at least I can encourage other folks to consider it first.

March 19, 2009

Work out group 10 people showed up

GENERAL MOBILITY
Forward skip backward arm circles
Backward skip forward arm circles
Skip with a twist
Carioca
Forward shuffle, 2l, 2r
Backward shuffle, 2l, 2r
Puddle Hops
Hips in shuffle
Hips out shuffle
Backward Push
Butt kicks

DYNAMIC MOBILITY
Superman Walk
Reverse overhead lunge
High knee walk to lunge
Knee out walk Lunge with a double twist
Crucifixion/Scorpions
walking knee machine
Kick walk

Pre-work, 7.5 minutes
2 push ups, 3 inchworms, 4 lunges

Work 2 rounds
Trigger Event -- Diagonal Run w/ sandbag 2x
Jump Squats
Sledge Hammer the Tire
Shoveling with an O-bar
Renegade Rows
“MaceBell” Shield Cast
RClubbell Mills, LClubbell Mills,
Kettlebell Swings
Bear Crawl

Core, Tabata
Mountain Climbers/Bicycle Crunches
v-ups/supermen

I think some folks had fun, others, struggled but toughed it out. Mostly it was an issue of unfamiliar movements. I love this kind of work out. Alas, I'm feeling like this cold is moving into the bronchi. So I lead the work out. This is basically a "working man" workout all really functional movements.

March 18, 2009

Caught a piss ant cold so today was the first day back since Thursday.

Warm up
20 minutes on the elliptical thing.

Work out

"W" and "S" and I improvised a work out.

Split Jerk, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 90#, 135#, 160#, 175#, 185#
Glute and Ham raises, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

OHS, 4x10, 89#

March 12, 2009

Workout group 8 of us showed up.

Medi-ball Warm Up.

Workout

3 couplets, 3 rounds each, 60 seconds of rest between each

Deadlift, 275#, 5 reps
V-ups, 12 reps

hang Squat Clean/Push Press, 135#, 5 reps
supine rows, max

Dumbbell swings, 35#, 16 reps
Rocket Girls

Back to the Field house for Medi-ball Tennis

Medi-ball tennis is a version of Hoover Ball. Named after President Herbert Hoover. The game was invented by his physician to try and keep him in better shape.

"J" is away next week so I get to plan the workouts, Muh, hah, hah, hah... I'm thinking Tabata's from HELL. I'm thinking sledge hammers, and sandbags, I'm thinking walking lunges around the track! Oh the possibilities are without limit! Ok. I know, "settle down".

March 11, 2009

Warm Up, Tabata Intervals

Push ups/Supine Rows
Air Squats/Lunges
Dumbbell Swings/Speed Skaters
Sit ups/Supermen

Work

Deadlift, 315#, 5x5
Bent over Rows, 135#, 5x5
Assisted Pull ups, 5x10

Core, 2x30
Cable Crunches, 150#
Cable Push Pull, 60#, tried "S's" weight for one set, 120#

Wrist Curls
Reverse Wrist Curls

March 10, 2009

Warm Up
20 minutes on the Elliptical thing.

Work out
Squats, 225#, 7,6,5,4,3,2,1
Box Jumps, 7,6,5,4,3,2,1
Jumping Dead lift, 135#, 7,6,5,4,3,2,1
60 seconds of rest between rounds

OHS, 89#, 6x10

Core Circuit
4 Way neck machine, 150#, 2x30
Standing Cable Crunches, 150#, 2x30
Cable Push Pull, 60# 2x24
Hyper-extensions, 2x20

Reverse Wrist Curls, 35# 3x10
Wrist Curls, 35#, 3x10
5# roller, 2x

March 9, 2009

Work out group had about 10 people show up.

Warm up
Medicine ball warm up. Nice change of pace. Usual kinda partner stuff, chest passes, putts, slams.

General Mobility
Usual stuff lunges, and walking stretches.

Jump circuit

Vertical Jump and stick, step, gather, vertical jump and stick, broad jump to vertical jump, and so on.

Weight Room

4 exercises, and either 6 rounds 10 reps, or 4 rounds 5 reps, obviously the weight is the variable.

Push Press
Bent over Rows
weighted lunges
dips or pull ups

I screwed things up but still worked hard. I went for 135# but forgot to do the dips or pull ups. So I finished early did the bonus 3x10 hanging knee raises. Realized my mistake and did 20 reps of supine rows.

Bonus

Back at the b-ball court we did medicine ball x-pass drill. 30 seconds of work 30 seconds of rest, 5 rounds.

Stayed with the zone eating plan pretty much through the weekend. Saturday was my cheat day, but my cheat really was only to eat more, but maintained the correct ratios, except for dinner. Sunday was pretty much on. So in the first week I dumped the standard 6-8 pounds of fluid. Now we will see how the weight really comes off. I'm content for a pound a week.

March 6, 2009

Warm Up

Too little. Just trashed around.

Work Out

as a circuit:
Deadlift, 273# 7,6,5,4,3,2,1
Hang Cleans, 135#, 7,6,5,4,3,2,1
Push Press, 135#, 7,6,5,4,3,2,1

then:
Over Head Squats, 89#, 3x10

Zone Breakfast, Day 5

4 oz Steak
2, fried eggs
half a cup of grapes
1.5 apples
some oil for the pans
2 tsps of chopped almonds for the fruit salad

I'm just a hair over on the protein and probably a bit under on the fat -- though with the egg yolks maybe not. I would think this meal would stick to the ribs. It seemed huge while I was eating it. I'm just starting to notice hints of hunger, 3.5 hours later. Certainly by 10 it will be time to eat.

Lunch is a left over Chile from last night. That was our first venture into combined foods since starting. I wasn't sure how much I could have? When the food is in nice distinct piles on your plate it is easy to visualize as "blocks" but, how much can I have when it is all mixed together? Obviously, I survived this crisis of conscience. And, at least, in the Zone they don't make you measure the cayenne too, so I could spice it up nicely.

March 5, 2009

Workout group 8 people or so.

Warm Up

Same stuff, skips, and lunges and so on.

Pre-work

16 burpees lunge walk the length of the tennis court, 16 burpees lunge walk back

Work

3 rounds

2 broad jumps, sprint to mid court and jog out to baseline 4x
duck walk to service line and back, backwards, and repeat with lateral walk
6 push ups with changing hand placement
1 legged vertical jump 20 seconds on a side
lateral shuffle sprint on "go" continuous for about 2 minutes

Weight room

3 rounds

2 way sports squat, 6 on each side
drop lunge with a press at the top, 6 on each side
supine rows with an isometric hold and negative release, 10 seconds, 8, 6, 4
weighted knee machine, 6 on each side


Grand Finale
Medicine Ball Move the Mountain

Lunge walk out put the ball down, run back, and back to the ball, and back, wash, rinse, repeat at each line

Partner Move the Mountain

Toss the ball back and forth, run to line and put the ball down, run back and forth, retrieve the ball and repeat the toss, so on for all the lines

Zone Eating

Well, we've been trying to follow the Zone "diet". I say "diet" because it is really more of a way of eating rather than a way of not eating. I've summarized it in this way: it is more about the ratio of food types to each other, and to a daily total. So, yes it is calorie restricted, not that you count calories. Rather, the heart of things is that your body uses 3 types of macro nutrients, protein, fat, and carbohydrates and these need to be in balance with each other 30%, 30%, and 40%. At the outset the whole thing seems incredibly OCD. Measuring and counting but I agree that that is important to becoming self-conscious about types of food and amounts. The eating plan is built around, first, the relationship of lean and fat body mass. Once that is determined, food is organized into "blocks". "Blocks" are a really interesting notion because they force you to break out of the silly food pyramid that we've all been bamboozled with. For, example, we instinctively think of green bell pepper as a vegetable and so really cool and not something we can eat enough of. But, our body looks at it and says "carbohydrate". Now the amount of pepper in a carb block is a cup and a half, which, when you sit down to eat it is a whole lot of pepper. Likewise, 6 cups of romaine lettuce counts as a carb block -- I'd still be eating dinner if I had that much lettuce. On the other hand fat is a whole lot more deceptive -- gobbling a handful of almonds or olives for example is probably a days worth of fat -- which is eye opening. Three almonds counts as a fat block as does six peanuts, so, certainly the OCD quality is most apparent with relation to fats, and low quality carbs. Tortilla chips, for example, are a "bad" carb, 1 oz of them is a carb block. Translated to the real world that equals 7 chips. Chip #1 yummm, Chip #2 mmmm, Chip #3 crunchy, Chip #4 yummy, Chip #5 good, Chip #6 wow, Chip #7 couldn't eat another bite

A real emphasis of this plan is to balance hormone cycles, in particular insulin. So it came as a huge surprise yesterday when my blood sugar crashed during my workout. A real important aspect of the plan is to not let yourself go longer than 4-5 hours without food, except when sleeping. With working out on the noon hour I've found that eating at 10 keeps my calories up without leaving me on a full stomach during the workout. According to the books calculations I should be on a 16 block plan, 4 breakfast, 4 lunch, 2 snack, 4 dinner, and 2 bed time snack. Some of the crash might be a result of the type of breakfast, some of it might be my body not really being ready to burn body fat, instead of dietary fat. Up to now I've kinda been going along with"P" but, now I've started to own this and make a plan for myself. I tried a 5 block breakfast this morning 1egg, 2 egg whites scrambled, 1/2 cup of kidney beans, 1/2 cup of onions, 1.5 cups of bell peppers, 2 corn tortillas made into quasadilla's the rest of the 2 ounces of cheese in with the eggs and vegetable scramble. 2/3 a tablespoon of oil for cooking eggs and vege's, and a bunch of olives, 9 I think to make up the remaining fat blocks. That made a huge plate of food. We'll see how well it sticks and how today's workout goes. I can honestly say that when I eat I don't feel short changed. Certainly as hour 4-5 roles around I'm hungry. But, this doesn't have the constant gnawing that dieting gives. As with any diet it is important to build a cheat day in, so, I think on the Saturday, I'll still eat zone, but, I permit myself bigger block meals. At the start of any new eating plan one usually sheds fluid, and I've done that, but, it will be interesting to see how rapid the real weight loss is, 1 or 2 pounds a week is a healthy rate.

March 4, 2009

15 Minutes, each

Elliptical Machine
Rower
Stair Climber

10 minutes of stretching

We will call it a rest day.

March 3, 2009

Warm Up
15 Minutes on an Elliptical, blah, blah, blah

Tabata Cycle
Pushups/Supine Rows
Squats/Lunges
Rocket Girls/Speed Skaters
Situps/Supermen

Work

as written:

Thrusters, 21,14, 7, 135#
Bent over Rows, 21, 14, 7, 135#

as done:

Thrusters, 3x7, 1x7/1x6, 1x5
BOR, 3x7, 2x7, 1x5

More breathing than I expected to need, whatever, it is a big bite. Kind of a hybrid of Cross Fit's Heavy Fran.

Core, 3x28-30
4 way neck machine, 150#
Standing Cable Crunches, 150
Cable Push Pull, 1@60#, 2@80#
Hyperextensions

Overhead Squats 1x10, 1x7, 1x7, 89#

"S" joined me today.

March 2, 2009

Workout group

Dozen people showed up.

Warm up
General Mobility
Skips
shuffles, sideways, backways and frontways
carioca
puddle hops
backward push and so on

Dynamic Flexiblity
Standard Fair.

Weight Room
3 rounds 8 reps
Pull ups isometric hold at top(decreasing pyramid 8 seconds first rep, 7 seconds second rep) with a negative down
Deadlift
Bardips
Waiter lunges

6 rounds 5 reps
weighted push ups
dumbell swing with a jump while the weight is on top
deep Rocket Girls

Gym
3 rounds 15 seconds of work on each, 1 minute metabolic jumble
clap pushups
hip raises left and right
split squats left and right
jumble: jumping jacks, pushups, burpees, mountain climbers, bear crawl

Had the unusual, and once in a lifetime experince of sleeping in a snow cave this weekend. I learned a lot and if I ever do it again it will truly be because I'm in an emergency. But, just for fun... not so much.