January 1, 2018

/

Hard to believe that I just wrote 2018 in the date line.

We started this year out right with a good one in 18 degrees.

Frogman's New Year

100 Dead Hang Pullups

250 Pushups

500 Abmat Situps

Run 3 miles

It was very cold but Reggie, Young Braswell (6th grade), Wade, Lee, Miles, Jody, Kyle, Rusty, and me...(then Will Hunt later) braved the 18 degree weather and hit this one. 

We had plenty of time to be staring at the sky as we progressed through the 500 situps.  Rusty spotted not 1 but 2 bald eagles circling the driveway.  They came very close, within 200 feet and made a couple of circles right before Sweet Home Alabama played on the stereo.  Wade was dressed head to toe in official Marine sweats and the American flag was standing straight out in the wind.  It was a VERY American scene and a great way to start 2018, surrounded by friends pushing me to get better, thankful for where we live, grateful for my health and happy to be celebrating the health of my body by doing a tough workout like this one.

I hope everyone has a great 2018.  Start it off right.  Finish strong

December 26, 27, 28, 2017

/

Dec 26, 2017

Blender

Run 800

Ski 750

Bike 1.2 miles

Row 750

x 2 rounds--27:42 for me

 

Dec 27, 2017

10 am start this morning. 

Hinshaw Warm up

Run 30 minutes at conversational pace

then

100 @ :22

Rest 2:00

150 @ :33

Rest 2:00

200 @ 44

Rest 2:00

200 @ 44

Finished

 

 

Dec 28, 2017

Warm up

15 minutes to work to a 1rm max Snatch off blocks and then back down to empty bar

Double Decker

AMRAP 15:
15 Power Snatches (75/55)
30 Double-Unders
15 Wallballs (20/14)
30 Double-Unders

December 24, 2017 Christmas Eve

/

In preparation for a big Holiday brunch at my Mom's house, I decide to move around a little this morning.  I have been working on an RRL triathlon or quadathlon of sorts which will incorporate running, ski erg, assault bike and row.  I think that there can be several versions of this which will hit all different time domains and intensity.

Today I tried this one

Run 1 mile 7:01

Ski 1000m 3:30

Bike 1 mile 2:34

Row 1000m 3:56

This took me 17:52 which was broken down with the approximate times above.  There were a few seconds here and there for transition.  This was a good workout, but I think that I will try it a little different next time.  Id like to find distances on the different disciplines that all come out to about the same time.

One idea was

Run 800m

Ski 1000m

Bike 1.2 miles

Row 750 m

This would be a sprint and I expect it would take about 12 minutes.  The intensity would be ramped up.  Id also like to try those same distances at 2 rounds and try to get under 25 minutes

 

Another idea was

Run 3 miles

Ski 5000 m

Bike 6 miles

Row 5000 m

That one would be significantly longer.

Merry Christmas to everyone!

December 22, 2017

/

Happy Birthday Robert!  Great work.  Also notice the small envelope at the bottom left.  If you haven't made your donation, please consider

At the RRL, many of us may be getting a little older, but we still get after it.  Today, Robert Fisher showed up, strapped on the 20 lb vest and celebrated his 58th birthday with us by doing this workout:

RRL Warmup

Then

1000 m row easy pace

10 minutes to build up to workout weight on Clean and Jerk

"Wiped Clean"

30 Air Squats

20 Cal Row

7 Clean and Jerk @ 135

x 5 rounds, start on the 4:00

This means that if you finish a round in 3:00, you have 1 minute to rest before next round starts.  Your score is your slowest round.

Robert crushed this with the vest on and 95 lbs on the bar.  Great job at 58 years young.

Never, ever, ever give up!

Rusty wondered out loud how many 58 year olds could complete that workout like Robert did today.  I have no science or statsto draw from, but my own experience says that about .005% of 58 year olds could do it.  The fact that he can do it, is not an accident.  Paying attention to your diet, mobility, sleep, health and hydration are all factors.  Robert has kept all this in check over the years.  In the wise words of Jocko Willink,

Discipline Equals Freedom

Have the discipline to exercise, sleep well, live on a healthy diet, keep your weight in check, work on mobility, lift weights, get cardio and you will have the freedom to be able to do just about anything that you want to when you are 58!

Good job Robert.

 

December 21, 2017

/

Warm up

3 Rounds:
:20s Jump Rope Reps (Singles or Doubles)
1-2 Ring Repetitions (Ring MU or Ring Dip)
7 Barbell Repetitions
– Round 1, Good Mornings
– Round 2, Stiff-Legged Deadlifts
– Round 3, Deadlifts

Take 5-7 minutes to build to your starting weight on the deadlift to start our first part today.

Then

4 Rounds:

3 Bar Muscle-Ups
15 GHD Sit-Ups
5 Deadlifts
Rest 2:00

Then

For time:
1,500 Meter Row
100 Double-Unders
50 Calorie Air Bike (30 Calorie Assault Bike)
100 Double-Unders
1,500 Meter Row

I finished this last one in 19:52 and could not understand how the leaders were doing it in 16 minutes.  Upon reading closer, I see that it calls for 30 cals on the Assault Bike.  We did 50.  16 is still a very good time, but at least I see where some of my time went.

Good day!

December 18, 19, 2017

/

I had to go out of town to film some tips in Hilton Head, SC but the guys were hard at work at the gym

Yesterday

This morning we did a series of short efforts with 3-5 min rest between

100 burpees

100 Knees 2 Elbows

100 Double unders

100 Empty Bar Lunges

The workout of 100 Burpees is a deceptively difficult task.  You simply throw yourself on the ground and then get back up to standing, add a slight jump and do it again...100 times.  Of course there is some technique that can help you go faster at this movement, but for the most part it is a max effort gymnastic movement that will test your cardiovascular system and ability to purge lactic acid. 

When I do the 100 burpee test, I always make sure that I make a note of the standard.  For the most general, I just make sure my chest touches the ground and then upon standing, that my hips are open and that I jump off the ground enough for my entire foot to come off the ground.  I have also used a bumper plate to jump onto each time, go over a barbell or rower, jump onto a box or even do it for distance with a broad jump between the burpees.

Today, I used the most general standard which I have recorded 14 times over the last few years.  My scores are all over the place because some of these efforts were done with a 60 lb ruck while preparing for Selection.

A few years ago, I started doing the Wim Hof breathing and noticed some performance benefits but nothing that I could really put my finger on as being a result of the breathing.  The first time I did the 100 burpee test on Jan 17, 2016, I was surprised and amazed to be able to do them straight through, unbroken.  At that time, I had never been able to complete more than 50 without a break.  I did 100 straight and set a new PR of 4:55 which was more than a minute better than I had ever done before.

Since then, I beat that time with a 4:35 and then today, beat it again with an all time PR and Gym record of 4:27.  At 49 years old, I am feeling so great about this accomplishment!

The first time I ever did 100 burpees for time was in 2007 and I remember my time being around 8 minutes.  Over time my technique definitely improved but so did my conditioning and strength.  I hovered around 6 minutes for a couple of years and made some improvement but once I started doing the Wim Hof Breathing regularly, the time dropped on the burpees and lots of other things as well.

This test can be done anywhere you have a 6 foot area and will improve your conditioning or act as a test to allow you to see if you are making improvements or backsliding.  Write down your results and the standards you used so you can repeat the test in the future.

December 13, 2017

/

Greeted by the cold air this morning, we did the Hinshaw warmup in 25 degrees.  Wednesday has become our run day and we hit a good one this morning on the cold track.

With Jimmy, Alan, Rusty, Robert, Miles, Jody and Keith, we did

This was a great workout.  The above info came off my app which got a little confused.  The workout called for:

Run 200 fast, Run 200 slow, Run 300 fast, :30 rest, 300 fast, :30 rest, 300 fast, 3:00 break x 4

December 6,7, 2017

/

Wednesday is run day

Hinshaw Aerobic Capacity, week 18

Run 1600 Meter for 00:06:58

Rest for 00:04:00

Run 600 Meter for 00:02:00

Rest for 00:04:00

Run 1200 Meter for 00:05:03

Rest for 00:04:00

Run 400 Meter for 00:01:30

Rest for 00:04:00

Run 800 Meter for 00:03:25

Finished

 

Thursday

Complete as many rounds as possible in 15 mins of:

Row, 250 m

10 Push Press, 155/105 lbs

20 GHD Sit-ups

 

December 4,5, 2017

/

Monday

Long warm up followed by

1 Round:
30 CTB Pull-Ups
50 Thrusters (65/45)
70/50 Calorie Row

Post times below.

Then some time on the Assault bike

 

Tuesday

Long and extensive warm up then:

HSPU work

then

"BLUED UP"

5 Rounds:
10 Power Cleans (135/95)
10 Bar-Facing Burpees

Post Time to the Leaderboard below.

Then a core challenger

MIDLINE

3 Giant Sets:
20 GHD Sit-Ups
25 Hollow Rocks (Video)
30 Abmat Sit-Ups

Rest 2-3 Minutes between sets.

November 30-December 1, 2017

/

Thursday

Warm up then a 2k Row for time and potential PR

I actually hit a PR on this today.  7:21.  Still have alot of work to do, but making progress.

Friday

Warm up then

"LONG GONE"

5 Rounds:
1:00 Wallballs (20/14) *Females to a 9′ Target
1:00 Alternating Dumbbell Snatches (50/35)
1:00 Calorie Row
1:00 Rest

In this workout, your score is the total repetitions across all rounds.

This one was tough.  My score 306.  Left my legs sore!

 

November 29, 2017

/

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.  Im not sure where I left off with documenting the workouts, but as a recap, we didnt miss any days.  On Thanksgiving, we did a 3.5 mile trail run on Stringers Ridge followed by some barbell work. 

On Monday, we were back to the Comptrain Masters programming,  I went fishing yesterday and missed the workout entirely so I made up for it today.

This morning we hit a Hinshaw running track workout:

Run 300 Meter for 00:00:58

Rest for 00:02:00

Run 250 Meter for 00:00:49

Rest for 00:02:00

Run 200 Meter for 00:00:37

Rest for 00:04:00

Run 300 Meter for 00:00:58

Rest for 00:02:00

Run 250 Meter for 00:00:48

Rest for 00:02:00

Run 200 Meter for 00:00:37

Rest for 00:04:00

Run 300 Meter for 00:00:56

Rest for 00:02:00

Run 250 Meter for 00:00:48

Rest for 00:02:00

Run 200 Meter for 00:00:38

Finished

I was under the split for each of these and I felt great.

At lunch I met Will Hunt, our best swimmer for a pool workout that I saw Tia Toomey Clair post on Instagram:

We didnt quite get through the whole thing but it felt great...and terrible to be back in the pool again.  I have so much work to do on my swimming!

Back to Comptrain tomorrow.

November 21, 2017

/

Feeling determined to give it a much better effort today, I put on my Smashin Frog T Shirt that says "Attitude is Contagious" and headed to the garage at 5 AM. 

Some breathing and then some Strict HSPU work followed leading up to the workout.

“On the 4:00” x 5:
12 Toes to Bar
16 Deadlifts (135/95)
12/9 Calorie Assault Bike

I still did not feel 100% this morning, but I altered my mindset and gave it 100%.

I did each round in 2:00 with the slowest round at 2:02.  I might have been able to go faster on another day, but today I feel like I gave it all I could.

The rest of the day has been much better as I am pleased or at least satisfied with my effort this morning.

Do yourself a favor and give 100% effort 100% of the time.  You will feel better as well.

November 20, 2017

/

This morning was tough. I hate to make excuses so I wont.  I simply let doubt creep in and infect my brain.  This is how a good training session goes bad as it did for me this morning.

It would be easy to say things like

"Well, you cant have it everyday"

but that is not true.  You can have it everyday.  Maybe you dont set a PR everyday, but you can give your best.  I did not give my best this morning and it was all because of what I let go on in my head.

The mental game is the most difficult to master and it takes constant attention in my opinion.  Let your guard down and watch your discipline slip away.

I did not give it my best this morning, I simply survived. 

Dont do this in your own life.  Simply give 100% effort 100% of the time and you will make progress.

Tomorrow is another day and I will show up ready to roll.

RRL Book Club

/

A few of us decided that we wanted to read a few more books this year.  Using the same mentality of accountability, friendship and fun, we began a small group around reading.  The books that we have gravitated towards are books on mindset, training, spiritual journeys and history.

Since starting we have read the following:


Secrets of the Millionaire Mind,  T Harv Ecker
Relentless, Tim Grover
The Power of Positive Thinking, Norman Vincent Peale
The 10x Rule, Grant Cardone
Ego is the Enemy, Ryan Holiday
The Road Less Traveled, M Scott Peck
Mindset, Carol Dweck
Extreme Ownership, Jocko Willink and Leif Babbin
The One Thing, Gary Keller
On Fire, John O’Leary
The Obstacle is the Way-Ryan Holiday
The War of Art- Stephen Pressfield
Daily Rituals-Mason Curry
Rise of Superman-Stephen Kotler
School of Greatness-Lewis Howes
Open:Autobiography of Andre Agassi
Small Giants-Bo Burlingham
Meditations-Marcus Arelius
https://johnapassaroblog.com/2015/12/04/the-pursuit/
The Forgotten Highlander-Alistar Urquhart
Never split the difference-Chris Voss
Start with why-Simon Sinek
Fishing for happiness- Joe Simmonds
Stealing Fire-Stephen Kotler
Daring Greatly-Brene Brown
Disrupt You -Jay Sammit
The Oxygen Advantage- Patrick McKeown
Chasing Excellence-Ben Bergeron
The Moral Compass- William Bennett
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future- Ashley Vance
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
The Shack-Paul Young
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years-Donald Miller
The Carpenter-Jon Gordon
The Stand-Stephen King
7 Lessons From Heaven-Mary Neal
Essentialism- Greg Mckeown
Man’s Search for Meaning- Victor Frankl
Perceptual intelligence- Brian Boxer Wachler
Legacy- James Kerr

Next 2:
The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself-Michael Singer
Hillbilly Elegy-JD Vance


Podcasts:

Jocko Podcast -All of them but
Ep 12-The Forgotten Highlander
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jocko-podcast/id1070322219?mt=2&i=1000364033691

 

Unbreakable Podcast-Tom Shea

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/unbreakable-podcast-with-thom-shea/id1198039216?mt=2&i=1000382368864

 

Tim Ferris

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-tim-ferriss-show/id863897795?mt=2&i=1000320102531

 

Part 2

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-tim-ferriss-show/id863897795?mt=2&i=1000320102530

Feel free to join us in reading any of these.  Post in comments or email to discuss the ones you have read