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.

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.

Homebody WOrkouts

You don't have the money, you can't spare the time or my significant other
won't let me. Whatever the reason, going to the gym can seem near
impossible. Lucky for you, you have plenty of weight to use at your own
home. Body Weight. It takes a high amount of motivation to work out in
your house, a place usually reserved for other more normal activities, but a
few simple steps can make it much easier.

1. Clean up: No one wants to work out surrounded by piles of dirty
laundry and dirty dishes. Do yourself a favor and straighten up. Clear out
a nice are that you'll have plenty of room to work in. This will also help
you focus more on working out rather than all the cleaning you should do.

2. Turn it up: Music that is. If you need some extra motivation,
make it music. Not the television. You'll usually end up distracted.

3. Send the kids to grandma: No kids means no distraction, which
means, better workout.

4. Workout: Here is where you can get creative. Make your own
workouts. You can include pushups, situps, lunges, squats, V-up, planks and
bridges and wall-sits. Investing a little bit of money can increase your
potential. A pull-up bar can lead to jumping pull-ups, negative pull-ups
and of course, pull-ups. Gymnastic Rings are a bit pricey, but they can be
hung from a garage ceiling and add a whole new level to your workout. You
can also run up and down your street. The options are limited only by your
imagination. So experiment, and stop making excuses.

Sample Workouts.

Run around the block
Then do 3 rounds of:
15 Pushups
15 Situps
15 Squats
Then run around the block again.

4 Rounds
Jumping Lunges x10
Pushups x15
Squats x20
Sit-ups x30
Wall sit x45 Seconds

Every minute on the minute perform a squat. 1 Squat for first minute, 2
Squats for second minute 3 squats for the third and so on and so forth.
Continue until you cannot complete anymore. You can sub the squats for any
other body weight exercise.

Lunges: All the way around your house...twice. Rest as needed.

The Home Wrecker:

20 Jumping Pull-Ups
20 Chair dips
20 Squats
20 Pushups
20 V-ups
20 Burpees

WOD: Rest

Ehh, What's UP D.o.C: The Dilemma of Contradiction and its Effect on Health

Sounds fancy, huh? Well, I made it up, but there is a growing problem in
America today. It's the abundance of information and the lack of clarity.
We (and by "we" I mean me) at Coalition Fitness are here to sift through
that B.S. The theory basically states: No method is a solid method, each
method can be criticized, improved and negated. In other words, there are a
thousand ways to do one given task, and a thousand different people that
will say their way is better. For example: Deadlifts are the most
important exercise ever. No! Squats engage more muscles! A vegetarian
lifestyle is the best way to live. Wrong! You need meat to properly build
muscle. Burpees suck...well that's just common knowledge and the one
exception to this Law. Think about it. We as Americans spend about 40
billion dollars on diet and weight loss products and services, yet we are
still one of the fattest countries in the world and spend roughly 140
billion on obesity related afflictions. There is something wrong there, and
it's definitely not the lack of information. Everywhere you turn there's
another product or diet that promises incredible results, and FAST! And we
buy into it, like sheep to the flock. The problem is TOO MUCH information.
This blog addresses all the methods that I have seen work in practical
implementations. These are not fads, these are lifestyle changes. This
blog is not a "6 weeks to a beach body" plan, it's a "Obtaining a healthy
and fit LIFEstyle", for good.

So, drop the latest health magazine, put away the ab-roller and log
onto the this blog each and every day. Here, youll find all the information
you need, and the way to avoid the Dilemma of Contradiction is to log onto
to ONLY this website. Simple as that. Problem solved, now join me in a
lifestyle of fitness!

WOD:

Rest Day