Africa Photos

Morning Classes Going Great

For about 2 and a half weeks now I have been dragging my ass out of bed, as well as the asses of about 4-5 people depending and going through a workout at 5:30 AM.

I thought it would be a terrible experience for two reasons. The first reason: I HATE mornings. The second, Most other people HATE mornings. I was left to assume that myself and the trainees would but heads. Turns out, things go pretty smoothly. I enjoy getting up now, and I even occasionally smile. Its a great feeling to get up before the sun and accomplish more in 1 hour than most people do all morning. I gotta give it up for the "Coalition Crew" All five of them.

Todays Workout:

3 Rounds:
10 Burpees
20 Box Jumps
30 Pushups
40 Squats
50 Jumps with jump rope

Everyone did great, all right around the 20 minute mark. Keep up the good work!


I have moved my training blog to www.manufacturedman.blogspot.com. Gotta keep your business and personal life seperate.

Training

Shoulder Press 5x5 *DELOAD WEEK*

5@65lbs
5@80lbs
5@100lbs

Metcon:
"Angie"
100 Pullups
100 Pushups
100 Situps
100 Squats
For time

11:51

Pull ups were a breeze, pushups were ok, situps were the weakest, and squats were easy.

My PR for this workout is 10:15, so kind of disapointed about that, but I definitely didn't push THAT hard with it being a light week and all. Still very happy. I have seemed to add about 5-8 lbs to my frame since I left and I am still keeping the same quickness. We will see what the coming months bring.

Sunday Funday

This Staurday was a much needed rest day but on Sunday I decided to step out and be a kid, which I think is very important. Stop caring about who is watching you and just act alittle silly.

Training, and I use that term loosely, involved about an hour and a half of tire jumps of about 45 inches, various vaults, front flips, handstand, round-offs, cartwheels, and I finally nailed a freestanding clapping handstand pushup. It was so nice to just have fun and play outside. Taking away the rest periods, the rep schemes and everything else that sometimes bogs down training and really turns working out into work makes for a much more enjoyable experience.

Training:
1 1/2 hours of basic gymnastics, sprints, vaults etc.

Training

Back Squat
5-3-1
5@275lbs
3@300lbs
4@335lbs

3 Rounds For time:
30 Pushups
21 Overhead Squats @ 95lbs
6 Minute Cutoff

After 6 minutes I had completed 2 Rounds and 25 Pushups

Rest 30 Seconds Then:

3 Rounds
30 Toes To Bar
30 Ground to Overhead @ 95lbs
6 minute cutoff

After 6 minutes I had completed 1 Round and 15 TTB

I felt strong on the overhead squats, but the second workout got me. The ground to overhead was painstakingly slow.

Get Your Roll On

Revocery is crucial. Sometimes, many of us fail to realize this. We tend to think athleticism is only found in the gym between reps and rounds. Fine tuning your rest and revovery periods are just as important as how intelligently you train.

Self Myo-Fascial Release (SMR) isn't a new concept but it has been gaining ground among many athletes as they realize the necessity of recovery. Realize that the better you can recover, the faster you can get back into the gym with a fresh set of legs and a solid back.

SMR can be painful but the gain is worth the pain. Start with these basics.

Back: Deadlift got you permanently hunched? Do pullups have your back in knots. Start by placing a foam roller (available at numerous sporting goods stores) underneath your upper back and put your hands behind your head. Now slowly raise your hips off the ground until only your feet are supporting you. Slowly roll down your back and when you feel any hotspots (trust me, you'll know it) stop and apply direct pressure until pain is diminished by 60-75 percent. Continue down and repeat as necessary.

Iliotibial band: You squat MAD weight, but you're also MAD tight down low. I have the solution, it's painful and should be done only as much as you can physically handle it. Lay on your side with a foam roller underneath the meaty part right below your hip. Keep your head nuetral and your face grimaced, you'll feel it. As with the back, gradually work down and stop and visit each sweet spot before movin' on.

Calf: Sit down with legs stretched out in front of you, bring one foot to your butt, and roll out the opposite calf. Start low on the leg and work up towards the knee, you know the deal by now. Work out sweet spots until pain is lowered by about 60-75 percent.

There are different types and sizes of foam rollers and personal experience will more than likely be the deciding factor on which size or type you use. Many companies also offer other self massage tools, such as "the Stick" and Body Secrets handheld massager ball. Experiment and play around with each and see what works best for you.

If you're on budget, I find that taping two lacrosse balls together makes a PERFECT tool to work out the muscles of the middle back (trapezius, Rhomboideus Minor etc.)
A PVC pipe cut to about 1 and a half foot length is good for the quads and calf muscles.

Whatever method you decide to use, be smart about it. Don't overdue it, and keep at it. Using these guidlines and doing research on your own can lead to better recovery and an increase in performance.

Training:
For time:
15 Snatch @135lbs
15 HSPU'S
15 L-Pullups
15 HSPU'S
15 Snatch @135lbs

I had to stop at 5 reps on the last set of snatches. My shoulder gave me some grief. Better safe than sorry, but I was at 17 minutes and 30 seconds.

Deadlift 5-3-1
5 Reps @ 310
3 Reps @ 350
4 Reps @ 390

Focused on form.

Fixing the Weak Link

It's pretty easy to neglect certain elements of overall fitness when you get into the zone. Day after day of heavy lifting, short metcons and endurance workouts has left me seemingly blind to seeing any weakness that may exist, so I continued on with my training, thinking I was nearly bulletproof. I had just finished 3 rounds of 15 Burpees, 20 Unbroken Pullups and 25 GHD situps. I then decided that I was going to attend the six o'clock yoga class.

Bad idea.

Not 2 minutes into it, my hips cramped, my back spasmed, I almost passed out and nearly shit myself. I felt like an absolute fool. There I was, a larger male that looks physically fit, but I can't balance, bend or twist to safe my life. I felt like an idiot. I was constantly swearing under my breath, gritting my teeth and thinking, "I swear to God, I am leaving on the next down facing dog." But I didn't leave, I couldn't. That's just my mentality now. After I calmed down, controlled my breathing I really started to come to the realization that flexibility is a huge issue for me.

It bit my ass at the SoCal sectionals. I couldn't get comfortable in the overhead squat position and my hips didn't have the elasticity to allow me to get into an L-sit with ease, the two events I finished the worst in. I don't know what was worse, my miserable experience with yoga or the fact that I had a huge hole punched in my fitness last night.

Discovering weaknesses is crucial to the success of any athlete, but more important than that is the ability for the athlete to swallow his or her pride and fix those weaknesses.

Needless to say, I have started an extensive stretching and mobility regimen.

Training:
10 Minutes of Muscle-Up work, focused on the transition and linking multiples.

3 Rounds:
15 Burpees Unbroken
20 Pullups Unbroken
25 GHD
1)2:33
2)3:00
3)3:13

1 Painful hour of yoga

Namaste.