Return

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Rich and Richard Black with my snook from a Gheenoe in the No Motor Zone in the Everglades National Park.  Tons of Crocs up here too.

Rich and Richard Black with my snook from a Gheenoe in the No Motor Zone in the Everglades National Park.  Tons of Crocs up here too.

For the last 2 weeks I have been fishing.  If some don't know, I am a professional fisherman and television producer within the fishing industry. 

This trip started with a writers conference and ended with an Into the Blue shoot.  I am returning now for three events that can not be missed:

1. The Father/Daughter Dance

2. The Regional Wrestling Tournament for Turner

3. The announcement for the Varsity Lacrosse Team

I am also very excited to return to the garage and start training hard again.  I have been taking some time off and healing up a bit.  I am not sure that I ever fully recovered from Goruck Selection.  Now I am rested, ready to go and feeling great.

See you in the garage

Soreness everywhere

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Tuesday's workout left everyone sore and yesterday made it worse.

I dont like to program where people are simply too sore to enjoy the week or to make improvements.  That SOF workout was a killer.

Today, I thought about the few things that were not hurting and developed a way to move our bodies and try to eliminate the soreness while allowing some rest on the legs.

RRL Warmup

20 GHD

20 Back Extension

20 Toes to Bar

200 flutter kicks

Then

50 GHD situps for time  1:58 for me

Max Pullups in a single set  50 for me

800 m with the most weight you can or want to carry

Finish with Stretching and humor

On another note, I had a fantastic day with my Dad yesterday.  We went to a place we have been going for 20 years and the ducks were flying.  My new shotgun was awesome...Super Black Eagle 2! 

Overall, it really didnt matter if the ducks flew or if I pulled the trigger.  I got to experience a sunrise with my Dad and a major bonus was to see Gus make 6 retrieves at 60-80 yards perfectly.

Great day!

I got Gus a new tree stand for the swamp because the water is too deep for him.  We tried it out in the yard. 


SOF Wod

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I pulled from the SealFit SOF workouts today.  I was in the mood for a long grind full of bodyweight work.  I found what I was looking for:

Complete as many rounds as possible in 30 minutes of the following…

50m Weighted walking lunge (use any weight you have access to) We mostly used 45-60 pound sandbags

20x push ups

20x 4-count flutter kicks

*At the 15 and 30 minute mark, stop what you are doing and run 800m or row 60 calories

This one was simply a grind.  Good mental toughness training as it was quite boring as well.    I would definitely say that this one will definitely not go on the list of favorites or even one that I might return to, however, the work was valuable and was reminiscent of a Goruck event, 20 x or Kokoro.  Just endless, mundane, routine bodyweight and ruck work designed to grind you physically and mentally. 

Master WOD 7

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Master WOD 7

Row 1K.

With remaining time, AMRAP

7 pull-ups and 7 push presses from behind the neck.

RX'd weights

Age Men Women 40-44 115# 75# 45-49 105# 65# 50-54 95# 55# 55-59 85# 45# 60+ 75# 35#

We did this workout on March 8, 2011 and filmed an episode of Fitness Truth.  It was a good one and we had a good turnout that day.

Today, we also had a terrific turn out and were able to try to replicate or improve upon our previous results.

I did 118 reps in 2011 and 127 today with 115 pounds in both workouts.

I was happy with this result, but as I looked at the whiteboard and at the video, I saw that so many of the guys who were at the workout in 2011 had just killed their results today.  It is one thing to see my own constant improvement and to get some satisfaction from that, but when everyone is improving over time, that is when I receive the most satisfaction.

 

Wittman

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For the last 2 days, we have deviated from the standard RRL playlist and visited the 80s yesterday and the 70s today.  The musical time machine is a really fun change.  I find it funny to see who knows the words to certain songs and which songs trigger a memory from others.

Today, we hit up a hero workout from CrossFit called Wittman.

U.S. Army Sergeant Jeremiah Wittman, 26, of Darby, Montana, assigned to the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, based out of Fort Carson, Colorado, was killed on February 13, 2010, when insurgents attacked his unit with a roadside bomb in Zhari province, Afghanistan. He is survived by his daughters Miah and Ariauna, wife Karyn, siblings Robert H., Charity, Jenell, and Natasha, father Robert, and mother Cynthia Church.

"Wittman"

Seven rounds for time of:
1.5 pood Kettlebell swing, 15 reps
95 pound Power clean, 15 reps
15 Box jumps, 24" box

Here are the results:

Our times were around 19-25 minutes Rx with our oldest athlete, Robert, finishing in 29 minutes at Rx!  Way to go Robert!!  Not bad for a bunch of old dudes, but as I look through the results on the whiteboard, I am seeing tons of times that are crazy good.  12:07 is the top time...unbelievable. 

I guess that is possible, but that is hard for me to comprehend.  I know I could have taken a few short breaks out of my last couple of rounds, but even if I went completely unbroken with no breaks at all throughout the entire workout I don't think I could have cut more than 3 minutes off the total time.  

There are some amazing athletes out there.  Finishing this workout in under 15 minutes is incredible.  Cheers to you. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend.  Watch for an interview post with my friend Jonathan Hurtado who was in Goruck Selection with me and is training to do it again in Bozeman with a stop at SealFit Kokoro on the way!  

3 minute intervals

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TBT...one of my favorite moments at the RRL.  Alan wrestling with Kyle Maynard.  Kyle put him in the Jawbreaker and almost broke his jaw.  Good times

TBT...one of my favorite moments at the RRL.  Alan wrestling with Kyle Maynard.  Kyle put him in the Jawbreaker and almost broke his jaw.  Good times

DSC_0650.jpg

RRL Warmup

 

1.

50 double Unders

10 Overhead Walking Lunge

10 Ring Pushups

30 second Handstand hold

Not for time

 

2.

Run 400 m

10 Push Press @ 95 pounds

5 pullups or Muscle Ups

Complete this every 3 minutes x 5 rounds

Start at 0,3,6,9,12

Do the round as fast as you can, if you finish early, rest for the remainder of the 3 minutes

 

Row/Burpee team workout

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2 Man Team workout today

Row 100 calories as a 2 man team

For every 10 calories, teams have to do 10 burpees.

Switch any way you like

I had to do this without a partner.  What I did was:

30 calories/30 burpees

20 calories/20 burpees

I found that this was a fantastic short workout.  I think this workout may work better as a single person rather than a team.  I plan to incorporate this into so many other things like barbell work and other movements.

 

 

Single Digit Club

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The single digit club is reserved for those hearty individuals that come to the workout when the temperature is in the single digits. 
This is significant because we never workout indoors at the RRL.  When it is 102 in the summer, we are outside...or, like today, when it is 4 degrees (My truck said 4 but our outdoor thermometer registered 7 or 8), we are outside.

I had saved some old shutters for burning and it was a good thing.  Today was not a good day to discover that we were out of Kerosene.  The sideline heater remained unlit but the fire barrel burned hot.

We did a 25 minute Circle Jerk which is where we get in a circle around the fire barrel and each call out an exercise and reps for 25 minutes.

I remember the following:

CBLs

Pushups

Vups

Situps

Wall Balls

Wall Ball run

200 m run

Jumping jacks

plank

boat

Mtn Climbers

Flutter kicks

And some med ball bowling that Jody came up with.

All in all a pretty easy day at the RRL but I figured that if these guys were good enough to get out of their warm beds, I might as well take it easy on them for once.

We also had a puppy who entered the Single Digit club...Rufus. 

Congrats to everyone and good on ya!

Trevor and Jody's Birthday workout

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Trevor passed through town for 1 day before heading to Japan for 3 weeks.  Jody made his anticipated return today.

Both guys were greeted by 20 dudes ready to go this morning.  It was a little chilly, but the camaraderie made it tolerable.  I understand that we will see single digits this week.  I hope we continue to have 20 + every morning.

Trevor and Jody Birthday Workout

Run, 400 m

10 Overhead Squats, 115 lbs

Run, 800 m

20 Barbell Lunges, 115 lbs

Run, 800 m

10 Curtis Ps, 115 lbs

Run, 400 m

20 Ground To Overheads, 115 lbs

For time

When returning from a layoff or coming to the garage for the first time, I give this advice:  Go easy...do 1/2 of what everyone else is doing. 

To see any results and TO ENJOY THE PROCESS, it is crucial that you do something every day.  Coming to the gym and killing yourself only to be too sore to return the next day is not only painful, it is ineffective.  Go light, come often.

I think it can be summarized with the following:

1. Consistency- come every day

2. Accuracy- after you have achieved consistency and you are on a schedule to come every day or 3 days a week, focus on accuracy next.  This means doing all the movements with the full range of motion.  Go all the way down on the squats and pushups, get the chin all the way over the bar on the pullups...etc.  Don't worry so much about the weight or number of reps.  Range of motion is the most important at this stage.

3. Intensity- After you are consistently coming and have made a commitment to continue, you then focused on accuracy of movement.  Once these two are achieved, it is then time to focus on intensity.  Put more weight on the bar as long as your form is perfect. When it breaks down, peel the weight off the bar.  Poor reps with more weight is not good or impressive.  Focus on solid reps.  Increase weight when you are ready.  Focus on speed of quality movement and working to Rx.  Go at your own pace, but when intensity is increased and #1 and #2 are still being achieved, you will see big results.

Consistency, Accuracy, Intensity...The recipe for success.

OG

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The RRL has been going strong for over 8 years now.  During that time, many have come and gone...and returned...and gone again.  We have developed a strong group, bound by camaraderie forged through sweat and humor.  

There is, however, a group of guys who have been here the whole time.  This is the OG. 

Today, the Old Guard was represented well with the most senior member of the RRL, Matt Greenwell followed closely by Kim Ray, Alan Lebovitz and Will Hunt.  Patrick St. Charles rounds out the OG.

My Beyond the Whiteboard account lists 1,650 workouts.  These guys have been with me for most of them...never complaining, always pushing hard.

Thank you to the OG for always showing up.  Thank you also to the NG who were apparently sleeping in today.

Here's to another 8 years!

RRL Warmup

2 Man Teams

Leapfrog

10 Calorie Row

15 KB Swings @ 53 pounds

15 Wall Balls

AMRAP 20 minutes

This is a great format.  Partner 1 starts on row while Partner 2 rests.  When 10 calories are completed, partner 2 starts on the KB swings.  Partner 1 moves to the wall balls.  Only one person works at a time and you leapfrog through 20 minutes like this.

This is a good one, but you could do this with any 3 exercises and 2 man teams.

If you find a magic recipe like this one, let me know




Frogman's Christmas/Frogman's New Year

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We have done this workout as both Frogman's Christmas and Frogman's New Year.  I think you can probably find it titled both across the internet, however the workout stays the same.

Frogman's Christmas/Frogman's New Year

100 Dead Hang Pull ups

250 Pushups

500 Situps

Run 3 miles

For time

On Dec 26 2012, we did this same workout and my time was 66 minutes and change.  Today, I completed this in 57:10 which is a great improvement for me.  I credit it to all of the pushups and situps we did to get ready for Goruck Selection.  Despite doing much better, I was still smoked by Rusty Gray (on his anniversary) who ran about 400 m farther than he was supposed to and still beat me by about 45 seconds.

We had a great turnout today with Kim Ray, Matt Greenwell, Kyle Haren, Kevin Distasio, Rusty Gray and even Will Hunt dropped by to drink a beverage while cheering us on.  It is great to have such camaraderie at the garage. 

I am continually impressed that I can write something like this on the board and get zero complaints from any of the guys. They just step up and do it.  This, in turn, makes me step up and do it better than before.

Thank you to everyone who is a part of the RRL.