September 18,19,20, 2018

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This has been a weird week. On my first back squat on Monday, I felt something in my back. I stopped immediately, but the damage was done. It was significant, but I did get on it quickly. I got in the ice immediately which helped. I followed that with a very hot shower. I felt pretty decent at that point but made the mistake of hanging from a bar, stretching and rolling. It was too early and I really aggravated it.

Acupuncture followed and then just laying on my back. then more ice and more heat.

The next day I started in the ice then super hot shower and I could tell a 95% improvement. I took it easy all day with no more stretching, no sitting and just moving gently.

In the afternoon I tried some assault bike which felt good and some Ski erg which was also good. I did 30-20-10 of both of those with calories and felt pretty good. I finished off with some ice and heat.

Wednesday I avoided the 5 mile run that others did and I did 30-20-20 calories on Assault, Ski and Row with a 1 min plank at the end. I did that am rap for 35 minutes. It felt good

Today, the workout was 3 partner workouts

  1. P1 Bar hang, P2 max pushup.  Amrap 8 min,  switch when someone comes off bar.  Score = total pushups

  2. P1 15 burpees, P2 Max cal assault or row, switch when done w burpees.  Score = total calories

  3. P1 run 400, P2 Max squats.   Switch when return from run.  Score = max squats

Good one!

Sept 17, 2018

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Today, we did a going away party workout for Winston who is heading to the Air Force or possibly the Space Force.

How could we do anything other than

Air Force

20 Thrusters

20 Sumo Deadlift Highpull

20 Overhead Squat

20 Front Squat

All of these at 95 lbs. Doesn’t sound too bad…oh wait, you have to start with 4 burpees and then do 4 burpees at the top of every minute. Complete all of the 20 reps of one exercise before moving on.

Trevor crushed at 6:33 and probably could have gone under 6 minutes. I did my best to keep up but just couldn’t quite keep pace with Trevor. I finished at 7:55.

After that we hit the Density Training

Back Squat

EMOM 3x8 @ 85% 1RM

I tweaked something in my back so I did not finish the back squats

Sept 14, 2018

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Great end to the week with a partner workout.

For the first time, I partnered with Michael Lebovitz and for the first time, he won a workout. I LOVE the leapfrog format and we added some new exercises to it today

10 Pullups

10 Sumo Deadlift Highpull @ 95 lbs

15 Assault Bike Calories

AMRAP 15 min

then

Front Squat

2x8 EMOM @85% 1RM


Then, this afternoon Josh showed back up for a second one. I worked on some handstand walks and Jody, Will and Steen did this mornings workout. Melissa stopped by and didn’t have a partner so she did Kelly

Run 400

30 Wall Balls

30 Box Jumps

x 5 rounds


Sept 12, 2018

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Wednesday is run day

Today:

6 mile run.

I decided to do the same course as last week to see if we could improve our times. I think everyone improved across the board. My time was 2:47 faster than last week. Making progress.

Afternoon workout was a Density day

Power Clean

2x8 EMOM @ 85% 1RM

What that gibberish means is every minute on the minute do 2 power cleans every minute on the minute for 8 minutes at 85% of your best recorded Power Clean.

September 11, 2018

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Morning workout

Helen

Run 400

21 KB swings 53/35

12 pullups

x 3 rounds

then

7 vups

7 situps

7knees to chest

emom for 7 minutes

Afternoon workout

Density Work

Snatch

2x8 EMOM @ 85% 1RM

then

Coach Ethan Reeve

10 Power Cleans

10 Chin ups/pullups alternate each set

x 10 with a time cap of 20 minutes

Rx=cleans at bodyweight

I did 135lbs and got 9 rounds +3 cleans. I will finish this next time! One day at bodyweight (I better lose about 40 lbs)

September 10, 2018

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Good Monday Morning!

This morning:

Boat Race

Row 500

Run 400

Rest 3 minutes between rounds

x3 rounds for total time

then

Warm up Back Squat getting ready for Density work 

Every minute on the minute

2 reps at 85% 1RM x 8

Thanks to Ethan Reeve for helping me with Density Training

Ill leave you with this from Ben Bergeron today.  This is a great thing to think about on a Monday morning and ground yourself in this concept for the week.  It really is the difference between positive and negative.  Many people do not understand that there is a difference between these two extremes, and it took me a long time to understand it as well.  However, upon the realization that there is a difference and that you can choose the way that you think about everything in life, my life changed radically and substantially.  

In the following piece, Ben Bergeron, coach of Mat Fraser and Katrin Davidsdottir as well as author of the excellent book Chasing Excellence, explains how this concept can be applied to jealousy in competition in the gym, in life, in business, or elsewhere.  Check it out:

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MASTERS’ MINDSET

“Iron Sharpens Iron”

Jealousy is a challenging topic to talk about.
There’s two mindsets that we can speak to here – “Zero Sum”, and “Non Zero Sum”.

The  “Zero-Sum” mindset is when one looks at others who have accomplished “X” and thinks: Why them? Why isn’t it me? 

The other mindset, “Non-Zero Sum”, looks at those same people and accomplishments, but has a different approach: If they can do it, so can I.

It is most challenging in those who we compete against.
But even our fiercest competitors are friends of ours. 
Iron sharpens iron, and their accomplishments inspire our accomplishments.

One is jealousy (if you win, I lose), and one is inspiration.
Both are very, very powerful. Both, in different directions.
Let’s choose to be inspired.

How do you think on a regular basis?  Are you a Zero Sum or Non-Zero Sum?  Consider your language, both spoken and unspoken this week and see if you tend to be positive or negative.  Pay close attention to your language all week.

 

Sept 6, 7, 2018

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Trying out my new schedule, I got a little extra sleep on Thursday and worked out in the afternoon with Josh and Melissa.  The guys hit it in the morning and Kyle, Justin and Wade all put up some impressive scores.  I really, really liked the format of this one.

5 x 2 min rounds with 3 minute rest between rounds

10 Thrusters @95 lbs

Row 200

Max # thrusters in the time remaining

Your score is determined only by the number of thrusters you can complete after you have done the first 10 and then rowed 200 m.  For instance, if you complete the 10/200 in 1:30 you have :30 to do as many thrusters as you can.  When the clock hits 2 minutes, you stop and rest for 3 minutes.  Repeat this 5 times and keep track of your score.  

Kyle and Justin got 54 while Wade got 42.  I maintained 8 thrusters for each round and squeezed out 9 on the last round for a hard earned score of 41.  Great format!

Today

Run 400 m

Shoulder to Overhead @185

x 3 rounds

This one was HEAVY for us.  We scaled it back to 155 and it was still pushing my limits.  

I finished in 9:42 with 155 and Wade and Justin just breezed through this one at 155 about 30-45 seconds faster than me.

I hope everyone has a great weekend

Sept 5, 2018 and Coach Ethan Reeve Podcast Interview- Density Training, Mindset, Positivity and Work Ethic

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Coach Ethan Reeve Interview - Density Training, Mindset, Work Ethic and Positivity

I am pleased to publish what may be my favorite of all the podcasts I have done to date.  If you are new to the podcast you can get lots more information and also be a part of our online Book Club by going to the dedicated Podcast site.  Tom Rowland Podcast click here

I had the opportunity to sit down with Coach Ethan Reeve.  We were going to do it in my office but I decided that we must do this in the garage surrounded by the gear and culture that we have created.  If you don't know Ethan Reeve, here is an intro that I wrote on the Saltwater Experience website:

 

Ethan Reeve is one of the world's very best strength coaches, PERIOD.

Ethan developed a love for strength training and a work ethic to match as a boy "chopping cotton" and baling hay for 8-12 hours a day.  He did 500 pushups every day from grade 8 through 12 which helped him move on to wrestle at the University of Tennessee.  While there he won two Southeastern Conference wrestling gold medals at 150 and 158 lbs but still felt as though there was something missing in his strength and conditioning.    He created a workout that we call the "Ethan Reeve" which is 10 power cleans at body weight and 10 chin ups x 10 rounds.  He did this 7 days a week for 2 years while in college always making sure that he could complete it under 20 minutes.  His discipline was so strong that he even did this workout on competition days and before weigh in as a wrestler.  The hard work and dedication paid off as he finished his career as a two-time NCAA All-American and four-time SEC champion wrestler at the University of Tennessee.

After college, Coach Reeve He began his coaching career at The University of Tennessee serving as assistant wrestling coach/strength coach for wrestling for two years, before working as an assistant coach at Oklahoma State, Ohio and Clemson. 

He got his first Head wrestling coach position in 1984 at UT Chattanooga where his teams won five Southern Conference championships in just six years.

My path intersects with Coach Reeve at The McCallie School in Chattanooga, TN.  He became the first full-time strength coach at McCallie from 1990-1995. He also worked with the Women's US Rowing Team at the same time period helping them to win four Gold medals and one Silver medal in the 1995 World Championships.

Coach Reeve became the first Director of Strength and Conditioning at Ohio University in 1995 and worked worked with over 650 athletes.  In 2001, he became Director of Strength and Conditioning at Wake Forest University and remained there until this year when he returned to The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Coach Reeve is known for a training philosophy called Density Training which we talk about on the podcast.  We also go into the mental aspect of training, training as an aging athlete and how his Density Training program can be applied to any exercise for athletes of any level.

I hope you will enjoy this conversation as much as I did.  If so, leave a comment or share it with your friends on social media.

You can listen to this podcast on the Soundcloud link above or 

Click Here for Itunes

Today we revisited a long run route that we have not done in a while.

As many know, I have struggled with a calf injury for the last 5-6 years which has had me sometimes running well and then injury strikes.  When this has happened, I am completely off of running for 6-8 weeks.  Of course, this does not mean that I am not doing anything.  I will row, Assault Bike, swim, do ropes or just straight up CrossFit all the time.

With the help of Fast Break, I have diagnosed my shoe needs and have moved away from a zero or low drop shoe back to a conventional running shoe with a high drop.  Say what you want, it works for me and I'm 50.  I really don't care if I am in the trendiest shoe, I just want to run.  These shoes and the stretches I have been doing have me back out there.  

Today, 6.02 miles in 55:40 which is 4 minutes slower than last time.  Lots of work to do to get back down to a 7 minute mile pace for this run but I am out there and making progress.  For that, today was a huge win already and it is 7:40 am.

August 25-Sept 4, 2018I

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I have been traveling through Florida doing the podcast and then filming Saltwater Experience.  

We had a special guest, 9x World Champion of the 170 lb weight class in the UFC, Matt Hughes.  It was so much fun to get to know him and celebrate his recovery.  Last year, Matt was hit by a train and was in very bad condition.  He has recovered extremely well and he has a great sense of humor.  We caught big sharks and had a blast

I have been surviving on the Deck of cards workout.  If you don't know what it is, check out this quick podcast

It was great to get back into the garage this morning and hit this one

T.U.P.

15-12-9-6-3

Power Clean @ 135

Pullups

Front Squat @135

Pullups

This one went a little slow for me this morning but I loved it.  So nice to hit some weights after so much bodyweight.

Im back in town for a bit now, looking forward to hitting it hard.

August 21,22,23,24, 2018

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I released the first short show from my interview with World Class Strength and conditioning coach, Ethan Reeve.  Coach Reeve is one of the best Strength and Conditioning coaches in the world. PERIOD.  He is known for Density Training and explains how you can use Density Training for any exercise, specifically how you can go from 5 pullups to 20 in a short time.  Or from 1 to 10 for a less conditioned athlete.

Here it is in a 4 minute show, enjoy and please subscribe to the podcast.  Leave a rating and review on iTunes really helps

 

 

Such a great week this week!  LOTS of people in the garage and a few new faces.

Tuesday

Thruster 5-4-3-2-1

Then 2018 Masters PS event

Row 800

Ski 600

40 dumbbell squats with 35 lbs in each hand

x 2

The masters athletes in the Games are beasts.  They beat my time by 2 minutes on this short workout!

Wednesday

Run 5 miles

Thursday

Front squat 3-3-3-3-3

then

Minnekahda Crippler

20 back squats at 185 lbs

Run 1 mile

20 back squats at 185 lbs

 

Friday

Renassance Park

This is a benchmark workout that we repeat regularly.  It is one of our favorites that incorporates a lot of pushups, box jumps, burpees, body rows, bear crawls and running.  I finished in 22:52 today, far short of the record of 21:32.  Josh and Colton blazed it.  Over 20 people met at the park today

August 18-20, 2018

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On Saturday we had a birthday celebration for my 50th.  Sometimes I will put a lot of effort into creating a workout like this but this time, I just decided to do a benchmark.  We did Filthy Fifty through once and then back through again.  I wore a 20 lb vest.

This was way more difficult than I thought it would be and it took me 63 minutes.

Afterward, we did a community ice bath and then everyone came upstairs to have pancakes and coffee.  Thanks to Allison and Alan Lebovitz and my wife Cynthia for getting this all together.  

Matt Greenwell also designed a really cool t-shirt for my birthday

5 sets of 10 and then Gratitude.  Greenwell nailed it

After the pancakes, we took my son Hayden to Move in day at Belmont.  He got moved in and settled.  Good luck Hayden!

Today, we did this one

Deadlift 5-4-3-2-1

then

CrossFit Games 50 + Handstand Walk Event

Handstand Walk 40 feet

20 Wall Balls

Handstand Walk 40 Feet

I finished this in 1:39.  This would have had me around 8th place at the Games.  Need work!

We then did short rope climbs with no legs.  EMOM for 5 minutes 

 

Farmers walks next with double 53 KBs.  As far as you can go until dropping.

Then, Circle up for core and stretching.  Done by 6:40

Have a great week

August 13-17, 2018

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Things have been busy for me but I am catching up.

This week looked like this:

Monday

Having trouble remembering...

Tuesday

2 Man Team Leap Frog

10 Toes To Bar

20 Double Unders

10 Assault Bike Calories

Amrap 15 minutes

Wednesday

Minnekahda 5 mile run- My calf held up.  First time I have been able to run 5 road miles in months.  Trails are ok, but the long flat distance kills me for some reason.  Today, however, I got it done with no issues.  Slow, but complete

Thursday

Weighted Dips 5-5-5

Weighted Pullups 5-5-5

Then Sandbag Fun

Overhead Sandbag Carry, 200 m (10 burpee penalty for dropping)

20 Sandbag Get Ups

Sandbag Run, 400 m

20 Sandbag Cleans

Sandbag Carry, 400 m

20 Lateral Burpee Over Sandbags

For Time.   My time 12:01

Friday

Clean 5-4-3-2-1

Then 18.1

20:00 AMRAP:

8 Toes-to-bars

10 Single Dumbbell Hang Clean & Jerks, 50 lbs

14 Row Calories

I finished just slightly behind where I did in the Open.  10 +15.  In the open I settled with a score of 10+20

August 10, 2018

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Back from our trip to the Keys.  Life is good in the Keys, but this time, the weather wasn't the best.  

We fished some, but lobstered more.  Lobstering is good fun, good exercise and provides good nutrition.  Sounds perfect to me.

Back at the garage today, I started out with mobility that I haven't been able to do on the road and then we hit this one:

The Ghost

Row Calories

Burpees

Double Unders 

Rest 1 minute

x 6 rounds for time

This workout is done Fight Gone Bad style.  You row as many calories as possible in a minute and then transition directly into burpees and do as many as possible in a minute moving directly into Double Unders for a minute.  During the next minute of rest, mark down your scores for each minute and get back on that rower for the next round.  

This is an excellent format for a gym that has very little equipment.  For example, 3 people can be on one station (1 rower) at a time.  This means that a gym that has only 4 rowers can easily train 12 people with just 4 rowers.  This style of workout is fantastic.

 

Freak Frogman Montana

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Preparing for a beatdown, my initial training was similar to when I was training for Sealfit. Heavy rucks, long trail runs, and hill sprints were on a 3 day rotation and nutrition was intensely analyzed daily. Living in Bozeman, Montana, I took full advantage of the surrounding mountains and made sure that I was peak physical shape before showing up to Helena, Montana for the Freak Frog.

When I arrived to the restaurant where were meeting before heading to the event, I looked around and was surprised. At 20 years old, I was the youngest person there by 4 years. Most of the people signed up for the course were older, and ready to learn. Dan Cerrillo, the lead instructor and former Navy SEAL, quickly introduced himself and did a quick overview of the course.

“This is not a beatdown. Most of you have done some sort of Sealfit, Goruck, or similar event, but this is about learning and having fun. This is SEAL training, not BUD/S. There are no tricks, and we will not mess with you. Everything is straightforward and tailored to your skill level. So expect to shoot, get dirty, and have a lot of fun.”

The first morning, the other instructors introduced themselves. Years of experience were shared between them, and would be shown in the days to come. The range brief the first morning was focused on safety, and after we divided up into 3 groups based on skill levels. Thousands of rounds were spent, hundreds of magazines were changed, and many smiles were cast. Overall, the shooting was a blast.

The next evolutions consisted of stalking, shooting, emergency medicine, room clearing, hand-to-hand combat, and other skills a SEAL would have. The instructors were straightforward, and they delivered on their promises. Not only did they deliver, but they went above and beyond my expectations.

After lunch the second day, we went back to the range. One of the lesser experienced shooters was having trouble with his gun, and like instructed, raised his hand for help. Dan walked over to him, and somewhere during a magazine change, the gun was pointed uprange and in the face of Dan. No shouting came out of his mouth, only a swift pushing of the gun downrange, and a cease fire. Dan briefly talked to the man, and then explained to us what happened. He instructed the man on proper shooting safety, and told us that it wouldn’t happen again (it didn’t). He spent the next few drills side by side to him, coaching and encouraging.

On the last day of the course, during the shooting competition, a competitor was having trouble hitting the target. After a magazine change, she still hadn’t hit the target. The pressure was high, and she got frustrated almost to the point of tears. Observing her shot pattern, Dan suspected her sights may be off. He ordered a new pistol to be given to her, and shot it first to make sure it was on then handed it to her. He spoke to her in only a positive manner, giving her words of encouragement and coaching her. After going through the course without missing a single target with the new pistol, she made her weapon safe and turned around to be greeted by a hug from Dan.

The man who pointed his gun downrange had never shot a gun before this course. By the end of the course, you would have thought that he had been shooting for years. After Dan talked to him, there was not another safety violation and his confidence in his abilities skyrocketed. The competitor who got frustrated during the competition had tears of joy streaming down her face after she completed the course perfectly. She encountered something that was difficult and pressed through to see it to the end.

Everything about this course was laid out in an extremely positive mindset. Your skill level coming to this course did not matter. What mattered was that there was improvement both physically and mentally. Learning SEAL tactics and skills was a lot of fun, but the growth that was achieved during the course mattered far more. This course will teach you not only how to defend your family and improve your marksmanship, it will teach you how to do things right every time and how to set a goal and achieve it.

- Turner Rowland

July 30, 2018

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Good Monday Morning!

We brought in a classic CrossFit Girl workout today.  Helen

But first...

Dynamic warm up as a group which included toy soldiers, inch worms, lunges, jogs, medium speed, sprints, strict pullups, kipping pullups, burpees, kb swings.  By the end of it we were warm and ready to take on Helen

Helen

Run 400 m

21 KB swings @ 53 lbs

12 Pullups

x3 rounds

I finished today at 8:56 which is not bad but definitely not my best time either.  I have an 8:04 on the whiteboard.  When I give it all and come in :50 seconds slower, I wonder how I was able to do that time.  Even 10 seconds faster on each run would only be :30 faster.  I really don't feel like my swings or pullups have gotten much slower.  It has to be the run.  I can definitely see how that may have slowed down.  BUT at least I am able to run!  No injuries.

Welcome back Card Steel today!  Good to see you!

July 25, 26, 2018

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Wednesday is running day for us.  I am super excited that I have seemingly cured my 7 year bout with calf injuries with nothing more than a change of shoes.  Thank you to Fast Break for suggesting the Brooks Ghost.  I just bought a second pair yesterday.

We hit a favorite which is also an excellent travel workout:

3 Miles/300 Pushups

Pretty easy...Run 3 miles and complete 300 pushups before, during or after the run in any rep scheme you like.  Do this as fast as possible.

I got in in slightly over 31 minutes which was slower than my last time, but I am still super happy because my calf was completely fine.  No strain, soreness or issues whatsoever.

Today, we went back to Comptrain Masters and did this one

Warm up

Work to 8 Rep Max Thruster

then

For time:

3 rounds of:

7 Thrusters, 75 lbs

7 Pull-ups

7 Burpees

-- then --

50 Row Calories

-- then --

3 rounds of:

7 Thrusters, 75 lbs

7 Pull-ups

7 Burpees

-- then --

50 Row Calories

-- then --

3 rounds of:

7 Thrusters, 75 lbs

7 Pull-ups

7 Burpees

This took me 18:40 and I stayed light on the thruster 8 rm at 135 as I am still dealing with a slight tweak in my back.

Good day.  Afternoon crew has some work to do to beat these times

July 24, 2018

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Experimenting with my sleep schedule this week.  The garage is open in the morning as usual but I will be getting extra sleep today and doing this in the afternoon.

Running Jackie with Buy Out

For Time:

800 m Run

50 Thrusters 45/33 lbs

30 Pull-ups

Buy-Out: 800 m Run

Post total time.

Finisher: Double kettlebell walks with one arm holding kettlebell overhead and the other holding in front rack position.  Switch when needed.  Go for max meters before dropping.