Monday January 11, 2016

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Happy Birthday Trevor and Jody!

Each year these 2 guys get a workout celebration together.  This year, we chose Murph.

Rx = 25 lb vest or Ruck, non partitioned (do all reps of one exercise before moving to the next...harder)

Murph

Run 1 mile

100 pullups

200 pushups

300 squats

Run 1 mile

Wear 25 lb vest or ruck

Thanks to the GREAT crowd who braved 19 degrees and 25 lb rucks to take on a tough workout in honor of your buddies birthday.  That is what the RRL is all about.  Good work to everyone.

Also, good luck to Bravo who went to the vet to get "Tutored" and RIP David Bowie.  Thanks for all you gave to music in your life.  You will be missed.

Friday January 8, 2016

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It is nut cuttin' time for Bravo.  Monday will be the day.  Dave Ellliot reminded me of this cartoon a while back.  Classic and timely.  Good luck Bravo.

It is nut cuttin' time for Bravo.  Monday will be the day.  Dave Ellliot reminded me of this cartoon a while back.  Classic and timely.  Good luck Bravo.

Fun Friday workout today. 

Clean 5-4-3-2-1-1-1

Then

EMOM 10 Minutes- Alternate between

10 Hang Cleans @ 95 pounds

10 Toes To Bar (T2B)

Then

Load sleds with 315 pounds.   Split group into 2 teams.  Push sled down and back 3 times each, one team competing with the other.

Thursday, January 7, 2016

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Good work today guys!

Push Press

5-5-3-3-1-1-1

then

For 3 cycles:

AMRAP in 30 secs of:

Burpee Box Jump, 20 in

Sandbag To Shoulder, 40 lbs

Wall Ball, 10 lbs

Rest 30 secs between each cycle.

For each cycle continue the AMRAP.

This was a little confusing but still a good workout.  You do all 3 exercises 3 times.  30 seconds on and 30 seconds off.

If we do this one again, I would like to try 6 rounds rather than 3.  I really like the interval work.

 

Monday January 4, 2016

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Today is the day!  New Year's Day has come and gone and if you weren't well on your way to your new goals, today is the first Monday of the year.  Today is the day.  What are you doing today to make your way down the road towards your goals?

Here is what we did at 5:00 AM.

RRL Warmup

Overhead Squat 5-3-1

then

10 Curtis P @ 95 lbs

15 Dips

20 GHD situps

x 4 rounds for time

Go out there and win this day!

New Year's Eve/New Year's Day

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Happy New Year.  Make this your best year yet, despite your age!

 

Yesterday we hit the one that Mike and Trevor did in Florida

10 Jerks @ 155

10 Toes to Bar

10 Burpees

X 5 rounds for time

The 155 lb jerk became pretty heavy for me about round 2.  More difficult than I expected.

My time was 14:21

 

Today we had a light crowd despite the 9 am start time. 

100 m Overhead walking lunge with a 45 lb plate

30 GHD situps with both hands touching the ground

AMRAP 10 minutes

 

then

1 Squat Clean

1 Hang Squat Clean

1 Jerk

EMOM for 10 minutes with the heaviest weight you can handle.

I chose 155 which was tough, but I am pretty sure I could go to 175 next time.

Happy New Year.  Got resolutions?

Post them

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

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Mike and Trevor met up at CrossFit Estero while visiting their families and got in a great workout

You may not be able to see the workout on the board in the picture, but it is

10 Jerks @ 155

10 Toes to Bar

10 Burpees

X 5 rounds for time

I decided we would try it at the RRL today, but just as we were setting up, it started raining.  Usually, the rain is a non issue, but because we would be doing Jerks followed by Toes To Bar, I decided that a wet bar may be dangerous so we postponed this one until tomorrow.

Today, we replaced it on the fly with

Front Squat 5-5-3-3-1-1-1

then a Circle Jerk where we get in a circle and go around clockwise each calling out an exercise and reps.  We did lots of pushup variations, flutters, leg lifts, core work, kettlebell swings, clean and press, and other fun moves. The circle Jerk lasted 25 minutes. It was relaxed and kind of easy, but that was good for today.  We will get after it again tomorrow.

Monday December 28, 2015

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With rain on the forecast again, I decided to flush out the lactic acid from Frogman's New Year with an original deck of cards.

This one is easy and a great travel workout, but I really do enjoy doing it with the group.  It is somewhat conversational but still, a lot of work.

Shuffle a deck of cards

Red cards = pushups

Black Cards = Burpees

Face Cards = 10

Aces = 11 or 1 as a scale

go through as quickly as you can.

 

 

Tuesday, Wednesday and Christmas Eve, 2015

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Tuesday

For time:

Row, 3000 m

300 Double Unders

Run, 3 mi

 

Wednesday

Normal Park Stairs

 

Thursday, Christmas Eve

Frogman's Christmas (Frogman's New Year)

100 Pullups

250 Pushups

500 Situps

Run 3 miles

For time

 

My time on this one today was 65 minutes.  When preparing for Selection, I did it in 56 minutes.  That is a little disappointing but still an awesome workout.  Great group of guys today with alot of kids.  Nate Drew killed it and beat his Dad...and his dog.

 

Merry Christmas to everyone

 

Monday December 21, 2015

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Our finisher was 1RM Turkish Getups. Trey got 135 pounds and I almost killed Mike's dog Sophie

Posted by Tom Rowland Training on Monday, December 21, 2015

Row 1000

then

20 Wall Ball

20 Box Jumps

20 Burpees

x 2 rounds

then Run 800

For time

 

then

Finisher: 1RM Max Turkish Getup (See video)

Friday December 18, 2015

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We ease our way into the weekend with some Double Kettlebell situps with 53 pounds in each hand and then Every Minute on the Minute 5 pullups and 5 Dips for 20 minutes. We are all a little sore from this week and some will be running the Lookout Mtn race tomorrow. Easy day. Enjoy your weekend

Posted by Tom Rowland Training on Friday, December 18, 2015

Linda left us all more than a little sore yesterday so I planned a pretty easy day today to get us moving, eliminate lactic acid and get ready for a great weekend. 

Kevin remarked that it seemed like Festivus today with feats of strength and the airing of grievances (Seinfeld).  We did double kettlebell situps with 53 pounds in each hand and some other core work and then hit the workout of the day:

Every Minute on the minute (EMOM) for 20 minutes

5 pullups

5 dips

Some days it is nice to back off the intensity and have a conversational pace.  I had a good time this morning working our way through a relatively simple and easy workout.

Update on Wim Hof breathing:  I have been experiencing a plateau for the last couple of weeks.  When I first started this method, I saw rapid improvement in my breath retentions but soon after they began to drop and eventually simply plateaued until today.  I was getting around 2 minutes for each one but really not getting any further.  Without worrying about the time, I continued along with the program and saw significant success in other areas like my running, several workouts, many PRs and an overall feeling of being less tired and more focused.

Today, my retentions started around the same but on set 2, I went for 2:30.  Again on set 3 and 4 I hit 2:30 and on set 5 went to 2:40.  This was exciting to me because it is the first time I have seen improvement in 5 or 6 weeks.  Some of us are seeing times of 5 minutes or more on the breath retention with lungs completely empty but I have just not gotten there yet.  Today gave me hope that I will continue to improve and may be able to make it to 3 minutes or longer.

Many people have communicated by email with me about the Wim Hof Method.  If you are trying this, I am very interested in your results.  Leave a comment or email me at Permitfly4@aol.com and let me know what kind of results you are experiencing.

 

Thursday December 17, 2015

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Today started a little differently than most.  I opened the garage at 4:50 am and met Bill Clift outside.  We prepared to do the Wim Hof Breathing Method like we have every day for the last several weeks.  When doing this breathing, you get pretty focused on what you are doing and in a zone. During this time, I was aware that my dogs were making a funny bark that I don't normally hear but continued with my breathing.  It seemed that Gus had caught an Opossum and brought it in the garage and dropped it on Bill's legs while he was in deep breathing.  I was unaware of what was happening, but once I finished I saw what was going on.  Bill is visiting from Austrailia, so this will give him a great story to take back to his mates. Only in Tennessee!

Gus with his prize

 

Recently, I purchased 2 new Rogue benches.  These things are really solid and came fully assembled.  We really don't do a ton of bench pressing at the RRL, but it is really not because I don't like the exercise, it was mostly due to the fact that we really didn't have enough benches.  With these two new ones, I decided to do a workout that I have always wanted to do but have avoided because we didn't have enough gear.

Linda

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

Deadlift 1.5x Body weight

Bench Press 1 x Body weight

Clean .75 x Body weight

Set up 3 bars and go through as fast as you can.  Do 10 of each exercise, then 9 and on down the line.

I like this one because I am weighing 170 rather than 187 and that sure does make the whole thing easier.  My weight loss reminded me of the book that I just read called Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin.  In it they go over the concept of Discipline = Freedom.  I had to be extremely disciplined to lose 17 pounds, but by having that discipline, I now enjoy the freedom of running much faster and using lighter weights in a workout like this.  There is far more to that concept than my extremely simple comparison, but it hit home today.  I strongly suggest that you read that book.

I finished in 27:14 today and don't really have any idea how that stacks up.  I am sure that lots of people can go much faster, but I thought it was decent for my first try.

It is also of note that it rained during 90% of the workout and we had about 15 guys today.  No one complained.  Not even Bill regarding the opossum.

Wednesday December 16, 2015

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We made our 7.12 4 Bridges route safer by taking a back road.  This added a little and our new route is 8.01 miles.  We still run the 4 bridges and cross the TN River 4 times.  I liked this new run better.

I ran it in 65:01 but Michael Miller crushed it almost 5 minutes faster than me!  Way to go MM.

Alan rounded up some cash from the guys and gave my wife a very nice gift of a few gift cards for massage and other stuff that ladies like.  Thank you so much to all of you guys for thinking of her.  Without her patience, there would not be an RRL.

Monday Dec 14, 2015

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Rain Burpees

Despite a pending rain storm, we had a full house this morning.  We almost beat the rain. 

At the RRL, we dont have weather days.  Rain, snow, sleet, hail, extreme cold or extreme heat will not change what we do.  This is mostly because we only have a driveway to do our workouts with a small garage.  Not too many people can fit in the garage, so, over the last 8 years, we have just learned to love the elements.  Today offered unseasonably warm conditions followed by the beginning of a nice storm front.  We finished 90% of the workout in summer-like conditions in December.

RRL Warmup

WHM Breathing- 5 rounds plus pushups

1. Sled Push/Burpee

Sled Push 50 m (down and back) with 225 lbs

5 Burpees

x 4 rounds

for time

 

2. Push Press

5-5-3-3-1-1-1

 

3. Sled Push/Burpee

Sled Push 50 m (down and back) with 180 lbs

5 Burpees

x 4 rounds

for time

 

4. 50 Power Overs for time

Power Overs

Alan Lebovitz and Rusty Gray doing Power Overs this morning before the rain

Posted by Tom Rowland Training on Monday, December 14, 2015

We have done this Sled Push/Burpee workout before...but that was also before I resurfaced the driveway with about 400 lbs of sand in the mix.  No doubt that there is more friction on the driveway.  We used to pile 315 pounds onto the sleds but after trying that yesterday, I dropped it to 225 for about the same effect.  Today, we pushed the sled x4 then did our push press and then returned to the sled -45 pounds for a second round.  Things changed as it began to rain.  I thought that traction would be an issue, but I was surprised when the sleds were moving much faster.  The rain was an advantage as it made the driveway slicker but we were able to maintain traction.  I got some cool pictures and video this morning of Mike and Alan in the rain.  See below. 

Great Morning!  Happy Monday.

 

Friday December 11, 2015

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If you don't know Ross Enamait, you definitely should.  Ross is a boxing trainer who runs the site, www.rosstraining.com

I found Ross' site in 2005 and loved it right away. Ross has an excellent attitude and I enjoy what he writes.  He has books and videos that are excellent.  Check them out.  I liked his attitude so much that I asked him to be on Saltwater Experience.  The weather messed us up a little, but we had a great time and he caught a huge Bull Shark.

One of Ross signature workouts is one called Work Capacity 101 (Sometimes just WC 101 seen in the video above).  It is a simple workout, really, but guaranteed to give you a challenge and a benchmark to work towards each time you repeat it.

The idea is to do as much work in 20 minutes as possible (work capacity) with the goal of completing 10 full rounds.  At some point, I started to see how fast I could do 10 full rounds and it made the workout even more intense.  You can do it either way. 

The concept of work capacity is simple.  Take a given amount of time and do work in that time.  If you can increase your fitness to allow for more work in the same amount of time, you are in better physical condition.  Work capacity is a great judge of fitness.

The workout looks like this:

Work Capacity 101

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:

5 Pull-ups

10 Ball Slams (we use an 8 lb non bouncing slam ball)

15 Burpees

20 Jumping Jacks

I think the fastest that I have ever completed 10 rounds is 16:39.  We have not done this workout in over 2 years so I was excited to give it another try.

Today, I was thrilled to complete 10 rounds in 15:56.  I have been doing this workout since 2006 and consistently improved, but today was the best.  This is very satisfying because I am 47 years old and still improving. 

Workouts like Ross' WC 101 give us the opportunity to use simple movements to set benchmarks and gauge our fitness.  Keeping track is hugely important to always know where we are and what we need to work on.  Besides...seeing improvement; even by 1 second is incredibly motivational.  That motivation carries through every part of your life.

 

Thursday December 10,2015

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Short and Heavy...That is the theme for today.

RRL Warmup

30 Overhead Squats with PVC, 10 Push-ups, 10 Ring Dips, 10 Pull-ups, 10 Burpees, Jump Rope (Singles), 3 mins ,20 GHD Sit-ups, 20 Hip Extensions, 20 Toes To Bars

1. WHM Breathing 6 rounds plus pushups

2. Workout 1

5 rounds for time of:

12 Kettlebell Swings, 70/53 lbs

40 Double Unders

3. Workout 2

Complete as many rounds as possible in 6 mins of:

7 Front Squats, 135/83 lbs

50 Double Unders

Here is a picture of our board today with results


Wednesday Dec 9, 2015

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Still reeling that Turner turned 18 yesterday.  Cant believe it.  This is me and him in 1999 walking to the skiff.  One of my favorite pictures

Still reeling that Turner turned 18 yesterday.  Cant believe it.  This is me and him in 1999 walking to the skiff.  One of my favorite pictures

Alarm: 4:45 AM

1. WHM Breathing 6 rounds plus pushups

2. Run 7.2 miles

I ran today WITHOUT the dogs for the first time in quite a while.  It was kind of nice for a change because I had a chance to listen to the first few chapters of Jocko Willink's Extreme Ownership.  If you own a business, manage a team or simply manage your most important team...your family, this is a great book.

I ran with Mike Drew, Michael Miller and Patrick this morning and held the lead to Walnut Street Bridge and then got passed by Mike and Michael.  I was able to stay in sight of them and even catch up a little by concentrating on higher cadence and shorter steps.  It does take concentration for me to run that way, but I am noticeably faster and could probably drop minutes if I could remain concentrated for the entire run.  

I felt great today.  It was 38 degrees and I just ran in a pair of shorts and t shirt.  My time was 54:04 which is a 4 minute PR and really about a 6-7 minute improvement over my average on this run. 

Thanks Mike, Michael and Patrick for pushing hard.  We all set PRs today.

I have kept up the breathing every day and really do feel as though it has made a remarkable difference in my performance.  The cold exposure is definitely not as pleasant as the breathing, but I am doing it.  Doing something when you dont like it is a mental victory.  I definitely dont like the cold water, but I will stick it out.  Part of this program is to choose a challenge that you didnt think you could do at the beginning.  I think that a 15 minute swim in the lake on Jan 1 may be in order.  Who knows...I could chicken out.