happy birthday to me

I think I pledged to move and write about it every day. Then skipped a week. I’ve been doing pretty well. I got “distracted” by the need to grade final exams. I still have some more to grade.

I celebrated 51 yesterday. It’s a state of mind, so I decided I would try to imagine 15 instead. And then I decided I prefer being an adult. So 51 it is.  And I did the Insanity Fit-Test today.  Ouch.

  1. switch kick: 40 (2 reps =1 -> I lost count several times) 😦
  2. power jacks 42
  3. power knees 60 (l)
  4. power jumps 30
  5. globe jumps 6 rotations
  6. burpees (“suicide jumps”) 10 slowly
  7. push-up jacks 10
  8. plank obliques 12 pair

The fit-test itself was pretty intensive.  I’m going to give this my best.  This is a six-days-a-week two-month program of high-intensity sweat sessions. I bought the DVD’s over the summer and was scared to start. ha ha.  I figure there’s no time like the present.

The shrinking days of December steal my energy. So I’m fighting back.  What are you doing to keep moving in December? xx

Want to avoid winter depression?

Where I live, the sun rises at about 8:30 AM and sets around 4:30 PM in December. The days grow shorter and shorter. In the past, I have hibernated. When I learned to run, I trained all winter for a marathon, running in the dark and over snow-covered trails. This season, I’ve started feeling sluggish. I am committed to keeping moving all winter.

Today: 15 minutes flow yoga, 10 minutes on the rower (2,000 meters), 6 minutes with two kettlebells, and then some painful mobility work with two Yoga Tune-up Balls.

I’m committed. My body needs my help. I need my body. How about you?  Can you commit to caring for your body?

Sunset

Raise your EatQ and bridge the gap between what you know and what you do

If you would like to receive an invitation to the EatQ class that starts next month, please sign up here and get your free mindful eating checklist: http://bit.ly/1wbfQY9

In this 8-week class, you’ll learn the key to raising your Eat.Q.: the capacity to take a mindful pause—just long enough to make a healthy decision, rather than an emotionally driven one— and how to make a decision that serves you best. You’ll also learn some core tools to help you make a sound decision at the moment it counts.

Running drills :: videos

You will need a subscription to the CrossFit Journal ($25)  to access the videos:

Running Drills With Brian MacKenzie Part 1
http://journal.crossfit.com/2011/06/bmackrun1.tpl

Running Drills with Brian MacKenzie Part 2
http://journal.crossfit.com/2011/06/bmackrun2.tpl

Running Drills with Brian MacKenzie Part 3
http://journal.crossfit.com/2011/07/bmackrun3.tpl

Running Drills with Brian MacKenzie Part 4
http://journal.crossfit.com/2011/07/bmackrun4.tpl

Running Drills with Brian MacKenzie Part 5
http://journal.crossfit.com/2011/07/bmackrun5.tpl

Running Drills with Brian MacKenzie Part 6
http://journal.crossfit.com/2011/07/bmackrun6.tpl

04.Oct.14 WOD

I’m going to start biasing the WODs for running, which I like a lot. Every fall I race at least once a month. I have registered (but not sufficiently trained) for a half marathon in Amsterdam in a few weeks. I will likely drop back to the 8 k – all the fun, none of the pain.

I also have registered for the CF Endurance program in May.  So I have some prep and mobility work for that too. Like double-unders. I did 20 the other day, stitched into about 150 singles.

Videos:

Running Basics 

Stability

Warm-up Specific to Running

Drills

4 x 20m Ball of foot hops w/ forward lean
4 x 25 each side – Wall Drill
4 x 15 each side – Alternating Foot Pull – Forward Lunge
Running Practical Application
4 x :30sec on, :60sec off @ 94-96 cadence
1 x 3 min @ 92 cadence
Bonus Workout
:30sec on :30sec off – Hollow Rock

3 rounds (no time limit) [Prep Phase]

5 pull-ups (assisted or otherwise) or upward rows

10 push-ups (use a wall-pushup if you need to)

15 squats

20 situps

1 min. hollow rock holds

Run Prep

10 x (50 m run, walk 50 m back)

Skills

Hollow body progression Part 1  Part 2

WOD 3.Oct.14

A big shout out to my little brother, who turns 49 today.

Today’s Main Site Workout is a Hero, which typically honors a solider killed in combat. For the rest of us, the Workout means to kill us.

Here’s two scaled versions. Pick your poison.

2=>16 x 100-meter shuttle sprints
2=>16 hang squat clean thrusters or hang power clean-front squat-thrusters, 25#-35#/15#-25# dumbbells (lbs.)

(Convert to KG here)

or

1=>8 x 100-meter shuttle sprints
1=>8 hang power clean-front squat-thrusters, 25#-35#/15#-25# dumbbells

Let’s translate.  Shuttle sprints: mark 100 meters, run back and forth 4 times as fast as you can.

For the hang power clean – look here. Get two dumbbells up by your collar bones/shoulders (“cleaned”), then do a front squat and power up to a thruster.  Look here.  This is one fluid movement.

Basically, this one sucks.

WOD 01.Oct.14 Step-Ups, Push-Ups & Pull-Ups

You may need to get creative at home for the pull-ups – suggestions below. If you can jump up, then jump rather than step. Finish by standing tall. Every time.

2 rounds for time:

10 box step-ups, 12”-24”
5 pull-ups
5 push-ups
15 box step-ups, 12”-24”
5 pull-ups
5 push-ups
20 box step-ups, 12”-20”
5 pull-ups
5 push-ups

Modification for the push-up: upright, against the wall. Keep a solid core. Don’t do a knee push-up. You want to build a straight, strong line.

Modification for Pull-up: If you have a pull-up bar available, use bands to help you as you get stronger. Or hang on the bar, drop off, rest, repeat.  You can also use a door (cover the top with a towel to prevent splinters). Or a TRX or “exercise sling” for upright rows.

More reading

Pull-up Progressions:

full set of instructions (using bar) from CrossFit Hampton Roads.