Witch's Brew

Warm-up:

1 mile @ 8.5 mph
Active Stretching

Witch's Brew (from RunJumpLift):

4 rounds of:
4 x Deadlifts
4 x Hanging Cleans
4 x Front Squats
4 x Push Press
4 x Clean & Press/Jerks
Rd 1: 55lbs, Rd 2: 75lbs, Rd 3: 95lbs, Rd 4: 115lbs

Constant Plate Movement for 2:00 w/ 25lb plate.

Tabata Box Run (2 feet up, 2 feet down; alt. lead foot from one rep to the next):

26, 26, 25, 25, 25, 24, 26, 27

Core Work:
3 Sets of:

20 x Back Extensions
20 x Inclined Sit-ups w/ Medicine Ball toss

2:00 Balance Master

Dance! Dance! Revolting!

Wait... that's not quite right.

Anyway, I got an XBox 360 for X-mas and with it came Dance! Dance! Revolution! and with DDR comes 'Workout Mode' which allows you to enter your weight and then tracks your Calories burned per song. Now this is the kind of shit that really plays on my addictive personality! It the game can be believed (which I doubt), you generally burn around 20 Calories per song on Basic and around 25 on difficult. I didn't track total songs played or Calories burned, but Mel and I played for an hour and half last night and an hour tonight and I definitely worked up a bit of sweat. It's no track workout, but it's pretty kick-ass at the balance and agility so I'm putting it in the log.

For good measure, I also threw in 60 "L" Dips and 50 Swiss ball crunches as well as my nightly 50 push-ups. Tomorrow, it's back to the gym after a week of Christmas revelry. While I didn't overdo it at the dinner table, I certainly ate more/worse than normal.

Old Fashioned Ass Whooping

I have nobody to blame but myself for this workout. I like to think of it as a counter-attack against the cookie dough of yesterday morning, or perhaps a preemptive strike against the Yuletide feasts to come.

Warm-up:

1 mile @ 8.5 mph
Active Stretching

Old Fashioned Ass Whooping:

Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
1 x 140 yard suicide (cones at 8 yds, 14 yds, 20 yds, 28 yds)
10 x push-ups
20 x body-weight squats

Total rounds completed: 13, with :21 to spare.

If you're wondering about the odd distances, I ran my suicides on a small basketball court and made my turns at the touch lines, the foul lines, and half court.

Brumfis Pickup

Neither cold, nor snow, nor folks on vacation shall stop Brumfis pick-up. In fact, Ryan Thompson commuted all the way from California just to play. Pickins was slim at first, but we eventually had enough for some Boot. Those of us there on the earlier side got about 45 min. to an hour of throwing in before we busted out the cones to play three games of Boot. Much fun was had by all.

Stairs and Core

Warm-up:

1 mile @ 8.5 mph
Active Stretching

J&J Stair Workout:

3 rounds of 10 flights as follows:
every step
every step, high knees
every step
every other step
every step
right foot hops
every step
left foot hops
every step
2-legged hop up 2, back 1
1:30 rest

Times:
rd 1 - 1:58
rd 2 - 1:52
rd 3 - 1:59

Corkscrews:

2 x 10/side w/ 35lb plate, :30 rest between sets

Incline Sit-ups w/ Medicine Ball Toss:

3 x 20, :30 rest between sets

10:00 Exercise Bike

Tabata Circuit

Warm-up:

1 mile @ 8.5 mph
Active Stretching

Tabata Circuit:

8 rounds of:
Thrusters w/ 10lb dumbbells
:10 rest
Wall Balls
:10 rest
Box Jump w/ 15" box
:10 rest

Totals:

Thrusters:
15, 14, 13, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14
Wall Balls:
12, 12, 12, 12, 13, 12, 12, 14
Box Jumps:
24, 24, 23, 25, 25, 23, 25, 27

9:00 Exercise Bike

Swiss Ball Core

Core Circuit:

10 x Swiss Ball Push-ups (hands on ball, feet on
floor)
30 x Swiss Ball Crunches
10 x Swiss Ball Push-ups
20 x Leg Raises w/ Ball bet. legs
10 x Swiss Ball Push-ups
20 x Pike Bends w/ feet on
ball
10 x Swiss Ball Push-ups
20/side x Swiss Ball Side Crunches
10 x Swiss Ball Push-ups
20/side x Windshield Wipers w/ Ball bet. legs
10 x Swiss Ball Push-ups
20/side x Side Knee Tucks w/ feet on ball
10 x Swiss Ball Push-ups
20 x Left Swiss Ball Side Bend
10 x Swiss Ball Push-ups
20 x Right Swiss Ball Side Bend
10 x Swiss Ball Push-ups
20 x Swiss Ball Back Extension, legs anchored, raise upper
body
10 x Swiss Ball Push-ups
20 x Swiss Ball Back Extension, upper body anchored, raise
legs
25 x Body-weight Squats (no Swiss Ball for this one!)
50 x push-ups (also no ball)

DB Snatch, Pull-ups, Core

Warm-up:

1 mile @ 8.5 mph
Active Stretching

21-15-9 for time:

Right hand Dumbbell Snatch @ 25lbs
Left hand Dumbbell Snatch @ 25lbs
Kipping Pull-ups
Total Time: 9:03

Core:

1:30 Plank
:30 rest
1:30 Right side plank
:30 rest
1:30 Left side plank

Brumfis Pickup

After a morning spent vacuuming water and carrying wet shit out of my basement, I was in dire need of an outlet. Ah! The joys of home ownership. Fortunately, today's a Brumfis Pickup day!

The temperature was pretty low, but the calm conditions and ample sun made for a surprisingly pleasant experience (says the guy with 4 layers, plus a woolen sweater, snowboarding gloves, and a hat that would've kept Pearey and Hensen warm). We started off running 5's and then expanded the field and bumped it to sixes with a sub or two after a few more folks rolled in.

Quality continues to be high out there with some Pike heads, a few Roots guys, and a handful from Rutgers. By the end, we played for around 2-2.5 hours and managed to get in 4 games to 7 (some of them were even close!). I finished off the day with a half hour or so of throwing with Sammy IV. Man, that guys always up for a toss. As the Brit's would say: "What a tosser!"

Tabata Workout

Warm-up:

1 mile @ 8.5 mph
Active Stretching

Tabata Intervals:
Jump Pull-ups:

29, 29, 26, 22, 19, 18, 16, 18

2:00 Rest:

:30 full rest, 1:00 constant movement w/ 25lb plate, :30 full rest

Mount Climbers (reps are per leg):

25, 23, 22, 20, 19, 19, 19, 19

2:00 Rest:

:30 full rest, 1:00 arm swings w/ 5lb dumbbells, :30 full rest

Burpees (no push-ups):

11, 11, 10, 8, 7, 7, 6, 9

2:00 Rest:

:30 full rest, 1:00 constant movement w/ 25lb plate, :30 full rest

Lateral Bounds (reps are per side):

18, 19, 17, 16, 15, 16, 16, 15

2:00 Rest:

:30 full rest, 1:00 arms swings w/ 5lb dumbbells, :30 full rest

Witch's Brew

Warm-up:

1 mile @ 8.5 mph
Active Stretching

Witch's Brew (from RunJumpLift):

4 rounds of:
4 x Deadlifts
4 x Hanging Cleans
4 x Front Squats
4 x Push Press
4 x Clean & Press/Jerks
Rd 1: 55lbs, Rd 2: 75lbs, Rd 3: 95lbs, Rd 4: 115lbs

The leg portions were easy for me, but the hanging cleans and the push press were pretty tough by round 4. I guess that shows where the majority of my muscle mass currently lies. Interestingly enough, the full clean & press/jerks weren't a problem at all. And talk about an exercise that makes you feel powerful!

UFC Trainer Experiment using two exercise I got from this video (thanks Tim!):
Constant Rope Swinging for 2:00.

I used 4 weighted jump-ropes linked together and wrapped around a leg press machine. Didn't really work due to lack of space, but it was fun.

:30 rest

Constant Plate Movement for 2:00 w/ 25lb plate.

This one is worth doing again.

Tabata Sets:
Chuck Kellers:

14, 13, 12, 12, 11, 12, 12, 12

Inclined Sit-ups:

16, 16, 15, 15, 14, 13, 13, 12

Quick Cardio

Actual work cut into my gym session so time was limited.

Warm-up:

10:00 Rowing Machine
Active Stretching

Treadmill:

Tabata Cycle @ 10mph/7% incline
2:00 @ 3mph
2:30 @ 8.5mph
1:30 @ 10mph

400 Circuit

Warm-up:

Active Stretching

400 Circuit:

10 rounds for time of:
10 x mahlers
10 x push-ups
10 x burpees
10 x sumo squats
Total Time: 19:36

Brumfis Pickup

Mel and I showed up a bit late today but still managed to get in a good 1 hour and half of play in. The weather was a bit brisk, but turnout was decent anyway enabling us to run 6s for pretty much the whole time. I finished things up with 15 minutes of throwing with Walt before heading to the showers.

Tabatas and other such fun things

Warm-up:

10:00 rowing machine
Active Stretching

15 x Rope-grip Pull-ups

Tabata Sets:
Push Press w/ 35lb bar

26, 25, 21, 13, 10, 10, 9, 12

Lateral Step-ups (each rep is per leg):

9, 8, 7.5, 7.5, 7, 8, 7.5, 8

Hanging Power Clean w/ 35lb bar:

17, 19, 15, 12, 10, 9, 10, 12

Russian Twists w/ 35lb plate:

15, 15, 12, 12, 10, 10, 9, 12

Treadmill:

10mph @ 7% incline

Cool-down:
7 Steps Abs:

7 x 30 crunches, various positions

Exercise Bike:

6:00 for 50 Calories

Swiss Ball Circuit

I didn't hit the gym today 'coz I was still sore from Monday (damn KB swings), but I had to do a little something so I took to the Swiss Ball once again.

Core Circuit:

10 x Swiss Ball Push-ups (hands on ball, feet on
floor)
20 x Swiss Ball Crunches
10 x Swiss Ball Push-ups
20 x Leg Raises w/ Ball bet. legs
10 x Swiss Ball Push-ups
20 x Straight Knee Tucks w/ feet on
ball
10 x Swiss Ball Push-ups
20/side x Swiss Ball Side Crunches
10 x Swiss Ball Push-ups
20/side x Windshield Wipers w/ Ball bet. legs
10 x Swiss Ball Push-ups
20/side x Side Knee Tucks w/ feet on ball
10 x Swiss Ball Push-ups
20 x Left Swiss Ball Side Bend
10 x Swiss Ball Push-ups
20 x Right Swiss Ball Side Bend
10 x Swiss Ball Push-ups
20 x Swiss Ball Back Extension, legs anchored, raise upper
body
10 x Swiss Ball Push-ups
20 x Swiss Ball Back Extension, upper body anchored, raise
legs
25 x Body-weight Squats (no Swiss Ball for this one!)
50 x push-ups (also no ball)

Blackjack Circuit

Warm-up:

1 mile @ 9 mph
Active Stretching

Blackjack Circuit (modified CWoD):

3 rounds for time of:
21 x V-Ups
21 x Kettlebell Swings @ 25lbs
21 x Push-ups
10 x Rope-grip Pull-ups
21 x Box Jumps
21 x Back Extensions
21/leg x Lunges
Total Time: 17:27

5:00 Elliptical Machine

Swiss Ball Circuit

Core Circuit:

10 x Swiss Ball Push-ups (hands on ball, feet on
floor)
20 x Swiss Ball Crunches
10 x Swiss Ball Push-ups
20 x Leg Raises w/ Ball bet. legs
10 x Swiss Ball Push-ups
20 x Straight Knee Tucks w/ feet on
ball
10 x Swiss Ball Push-ups
20/side x Swiss Ball Side Crunches
10 x Swiss Ball Push-ups
20/side x Windshield Wipers w/ Ball bet. legs
10 x Swiss Ball Push-ups
20/side x Side Knee Tucks w/ feet on ball
10 x Swiss Ball Push-ups
20 x Left Swiss Ball Side Bend
10 x Swiss Ball Push-ups
20 x Right Swiss Ball Side Bend
10 x Swiss Ball Push-ups
20 x Swiss Ball Back Extension, legs anchored, raise upper
body
10 x Swiss Ball Push-ups
20 x Swiss Ball Back Extension, upper body anchored, raise
legs
20/leg x Single Leg Squats (no Swiss Ball for this one!)
10 x Plyo push-up to standing (also no ball)

Neighborhood Run Redux

7:00 Run
8:00 Interval Run (:30 hard, :30 easy)
Active Stretching
8 x Hill Sprints (:14, :13, :13, :12, :12, :12, :11, :11)
2:00 Walk
10 x Fingertip Pull-ups
30 x TOs
60 x Push-ups = (20(normal + diamond + wide))

Neighborhood Run

5:00 run
11:00 interval run (:30 hard, :30 easy)
4:00 run
2:00 walk
50 x push-ups
50 x bicycles
5 x hill sprints (:15, :13, :14, :14, :12)
1:00 walk
Active Stretching (while talking to Jehovah's witness about hell)

Hiking

Mary Ellen, Alex and I headed over to the Sourland Preserve in Hillsborough, NJ for a bit of hiking today. The weather was cold, but sunny and made for a nice hike. All told, we hiked for about 2 hours.

New Brunswick Pickup

Today marked the first day of New Brunswick pick-up and, true to form, it was very cold and very windy. It's amazing how much difference cold air makes when your lungs are used to working out indoors. Things started off a bit slow but that allowed me to get in a lot of quality throwing in the swirling wind with Waltkal. Eventually we got enough folks to put together a game of 5's and then 6's and I think even 7's at one point. The best thing about it is there are always quality players out there to keep you honest and to keep the game moving, even if numbers are low. today we had a solid Pike/ex-Pike core (me, Dusty, Glenn, Frenchy, Walt) combined with some potential future Pikers and assorted Rutgers folks.

Workout:
45:00 throwing
5:00 run
Active Stretching
1:30:00 ultimate

Sammy I-V Circuit

Warm-up:

1 mile @ 8.5
Somehow, I forgot to do my Active Stretching and didn't notice until well into the circuit. No wonder I was so stiff!

Sammy I-V:

3x
50 Richochet Jumps
10 Push-ups
30 sec rest

2x
10 Box Jump w/ 180 degree turn
5 Divebombers
30 sec rest

2x
10 Depth-Drop Box Jump
5 Pike Push-ups, feet on chair
30 sec rest

3x
5 per leg Low Squat Jump into Jump Lunge
10 one-hand push-ups (x5 each arm)
30 sec rest

3x
5 one-legged jumps with one step walk-up (per leg) - focus on footwork and arm swings
30 sec rest

1x
1/2 Tabata Set of Split Jumps (:20 on, :10 rest), focus on pumping arms
30, 30, 31, 35
1:00 rest

3x
8 Consecutive Kangaroo Jumps
10 clap push-ups
30 sec rest

1:30 Forward Plank
30 sec rest

1:30 Right Side Plank
30 sec rest

1:30 Left Side Plank

Explosive Power Leg Workout

Warm-up:

10:00 Elliptical machine
Active Stretching

Explosive Power Leg Circuit:

5 rounds for time of:
10 x Kangaroo Jumps
10 x Squat Jumps w/ hands behind head
10/leg x Power Skips, max height
10/leg x Lateral Bounds, max lateral distance
10 x Box Jump from seated position
Total time: 12:57

2:00 rest

7 Steps Ab Workout:

7 x 30 crunches, various positions

Single Leg Squat Circuit:

2 rounds of:
10/leg x Single Leg Squats
15/leg x Bulgarian Split Squats
10/leg x Box Jump March

2:00 rest

Back Strength:

2 x 25 Glute/Ham Extensions

Men's Health Circuits

Warm-up:

1 mile @ 8.5 mph
Active Stretching

I based the following circuits off a Men's Health article.

Circuit I:

5 rounds of:
0:40 treadmill @ 10mph, 10% incline
10 x Over-head squats w/ standard bar
Round 1: 0:40 plank
Rd 2: 0:40 left side bridge
Rd 3: 0:40 right side bridge on right arm 40 sec
Rd 4: 0:40 plank
Rd 5: 0:40 hold bottom of a push-up

2:00 rest

Circuit II:

3 rounds of:
0:40 Mountain climbers
0:20 rest
40 x push-ups
10 x bent-over row w/ standard bar

2:00 rest

Circuit III:

4 rounds of:
1:00 treadmill @ 10mph
5/leg x single-leg rotation squat
Round 1: 85 x crunches
Rd 2: 60 x right side oblique crunches
Rd 3: 60 x left side oblique crunches
Rd 4: 50/side x bicycles

Preemptive Strike

In an attempt to partially offset tonight's trip to a Manhattan Italian restaurant, I went for a run in the unseasonably warm weather. After two days of squats, my legs were a bit leaden but they loosened up after a few minutes and then hardened back up again towards the end.

21:00 run

Medicine Ball Routine

Warm-up:

10:00 Elliptical Machine
Active Stretching

Medicine Ball Routine I (thanks Dusty):
3 rounds of:

10 x front squat w/ vertical toss & catch
15 x overhead slams
10 x burpees
1:00 rest

Medicine Ball Routine II:
3 rounds of:

20 x inclined sit-ups with vertical toss & catch
20 x push-ups (1. regular, 2. diamond, 3. wide)
20 x Russian Twists w/ ball
1:00 rest

Friendly Competition, 11/13

Warm-up:

1 mile @ 8.5 mph
Active Stretching

Crossfit WoD Jason:
For time:

5 x muscle-ups
100 x squats
10 x pull-ups
10 x dips
75 x squats
15 x pull-ups
15 x dips
50 x squats
20 x pull-ups
20 x dips
25 x squats
Total time: 12:21

The original workout called for muscle-ups the whole way through, but I'm not nearly ready for that. As it was, the 5 I did were quite a struggle.

10/side x Corkscrews w/ 35lb plate

50 x inclined Sit-ups

10:00 Elliptical Machine

Chores & 7 Steps

1.25 walk from Meineke

3 hours bagging leaves

1.25 walk to Meineke

7 Steps Abs and Push-ups

7 x 30 Crunches, various positions
7 x 30 Push-ups, various positions

PADA Mosh, Day 2

Alright, Sunday at Mosh! Time for some real ultimate, right?

Our quarters match up was against some friends from around the scene on Johnny Pivot Foot (nice name!) . They had some ballers on this team so we were pretty fired up to get some running in. JHB came out strong and was able to make better use of the wind. That, combined with a hard night of drinking by JPF, earned us the victory and and a spot in the semis against our Arch Nemesis: Pipe Wrench Fight (new name, same team).

Alright! Now I really get to play the decent ultimate I've been missing for the past month! Or not... While on paper, the teams looked well-matched, on the field, PWF kicked our asses. I'm not exactly sure why, but JHB played uninspired and really didn't even put up a fight allowing PWF to cruise to an easy win. So my thirst for decent ultimate continues unsatiated. Maybe Vegas...

At least the Giants beat the Eagles.

Workout:
2ish games of ultimate
lots of throwing
some hotbox/500/silly disc games

PADA Mosh, Day 1

Mel and I headed down to Toughkenamon, PA to play some competitive disc for the first time in a month. As per tradition, we took the field with Johnny Handblock. There wasn't much of interest to report on Day 1. I think our opponents scored a total of 5 or 6 points on us so the ultimate wasn't all that exciting and it certainly wasn't particularly taxing. On the plus side, it was great to catch up with some old friends, meet some new ones, and drink free Victory.

Workout:
3ish games of Ultimate
Lots of throwing
various shenanigans

Half-Filthy 50

Warm-up:

1 mile @ 8.5 mph
Active Stretching

Half-Filthy 50 for time:

25 Box Jumps w/ 18-inch box
25 Jump Pull-ups
25 Kettleball Swings w/ 25lb ball
25 Lunges per leg (stationary lunges)
25 Knees-to-Elbows
25 Push-Press w/ standard bar
25 Back Extensions
25 Wall Balls
25 Burpees
25 Kangaroo Jumps
Total Time: 7:29

5:00 Exercise bike

CFWoD: "Michael" plus some Elliptical

Warm-up:

10:00 Elliptical
Active Stretching

CFWod: "Michael"

Three rounds for time of:
Run 800m (3:00 @ 10mph)
50 x Superman back extensions
50 x Crunches
Total Time: 15:42

Cool-down:

10:00 Elliptical

Leaves, Disc Golf, & Quick Circuit Workout

Mel and I returned yesterday from a relaxing cruise to the Bahamas bloated from endless buffets, and lazy from being waited on hand and foot. I'd like to think that I didn't blow 10 months of (logged) workouts on one cruise, but I'm not so sure. We did get in a fair amount of walking, some solid swimming, and lots of throws in high wind, so it wasn't a total waste - not to mention the whole relax n' recharge value. Plus, it helped me avoid thinking about that place I'd spent every Halloween weekend since '98...

I eased my way back into the workout routine today with the following:

A couple of hours raking leaves

18 holes of disc golf (-2 on the day)

Quick Circuit Workout:

5 rounds for time of:
10 x mahlers
10 x push-ups
10 x burpees
10 x squats
Total Time: 8:43

Lee's 666 Workout

Warm-up:

Tabata Chuck Kellers (treadmill was in use!)
1 mile @ 8.5 mph
Active Stretching

Lee's 666 Workout:
I. First 6

2 rounds of:
10 x Jump rope w/ weighted rope
10 x Wall Balls
10 x Plyo Box Ski Slides
10 x Push-ups
10 x Plyo Box Step Ups (Up-Up-Down-Down)
10 x Jump rope w/ weighted rope

II. Second 6

2 rounds w/ weight vest of:
10 x 80 Jumps
10 x Explosive Throws on Plyometric Box.
3 x Hurdle hops
10 x Seated Medicine ball throw
10 x Mountain Climbers
10 x Walking lunges (2 forward, 1 back)

III. Third 6

2 rounds of:
½ Pyramid lunges (10-8-6-4-2)
10 yards of Side Winders with ankle bands
10 x Dumbbell Carry (40 lbs or higher)
10 x Box jumps
10 x Push-ups
10 x Overhead Squats w/ medicine ball

Each phase was set up before hand so that you ran ~10 yards from one exercise to the next.

Friendly Competition, Part III

Warm-up:

1 mile @ 8.5 mph
Active Stretching

Jamaal Circuit:
3 rounds for time of:

10/leg x reverse over-head split squat w/ full twist using standard bar
10 x Plyo Clap Push-ups
10/leg x Plyo Box March
10 x Pull-ups
10 x Kettle-bell swings, 25lb KB
10 x Box Jumps
10 x Standing Russian Twists w/ medicine ball
10 x Front Squats w/ vertical medicine ball toss
10/side x lateral bounds w/ 15lb dumbbell
10 x Superman back extensions
Total time: 19:59

10:00 Elliptical Machine

DB Snatch, Chin-ups, etc

Warm-up:

10:00 Rowing Machine
Active Stretching

21-15-9:

Dumbbell Snatch, left @ 20lbs
Dumbbell Snatch, right @ 20lbs
Chin-ups

10/leg x Pistol Squats

10/side x Corkscrew w/ 35lb plate

30 x Swiss ball crunches

30 x Back Extensions

This ended up being a difficult workout for me because I didn't eat enough and was starving before I even got to the gym. I have a tough time staying focused (on anything other than my stomach) when I'm hungry.

Maintenance Run

I tagged along with Mary Ellen and, as she went to tai kwon do to learn fancy new ways to kick things, I ran through Bridgewater to Boundbrook and back again.

Maintenance Run:

5:00 run
20:00 fartlek intervals, 1:00 hard, :30 easy
10:00 run

Friendly Competition, Part II

Last week, it was the Pull-ups/Push-ups/Squats challenge from Crossfit. This week, I put something together myself along those same lines.

Warm-up:

10:00 Elliptical Machine (139 Calories)
Active Stretching

Friendly Competition, Part II
10 rounds for time of:

10 x Burpees
10 x Mahlers
10 x Jump Pull-ups
Total Time: 17:06

Cool-down:

8:00 Exercise Bike

CFrosty Circuit II, CKs and core

Warm-up:

1 mile @ 8.5 mph
Active Stretching

CFrosty Circuit II:
Medicine Ball Routine (part 1):

20 x front-squat vertical toss
20 x sumo-squat backwards toss (against wall w/ catch)
25/side x standing Russian Twist
20/side x chest throws in lunge position (against wall w/ catch)

Functional Lifts (part 2):

2 Sets of:
10 x Hang Clean @ 105lbs
10/leg x Split Drops w/ 15lb Dumbbells
:30 Overhead Squats as fast as possible w/ proper form (35 reps, 34 reps)
8 x Walking Superman Push-ups
10/leg x Pistol Squats w/ toe touch

Tabata Chuck Kellers:

16, 15, 14, 14, 13, 13, 13, 13

Core:

30 x Supermans
30 x Oblique crunches, right
30 x Oblique crunches, left
30 x Back Extensions

Tabata Cardio and some Core

Warm-up:

1 mile @ 8.5 mph
Active Stretching

Cardio Set:
Tabata Treadmill, 10 mph, 7 incline

Tabata Elliptical Machine

Tabata Exercise Bike

Tabata Rowing Machine

Core:

30 x Supermans
30 x V-ups
30 x Back extensions

Innisfree - hiking

This is more a chance to show off some pix than anything.
I spent Sunday morning (pre-Giants game, of course) hiking with the family in Millbrook, NY at Innisfree. It's a beautiful Chinese Cup Garden around a peaceful lake and with the fall foliage in full bloom, it provided the perfect setting for a relaxing hike.

The workout, if you want to call that, was a leisurely 2 mile hike.

If you want to see the pix, visit my smugmug gallery.

Crossfit's WoD: "Cindy"

Gym time was limited so today was pretty speedy...

Warm-up:

5:00 Elliptical (65 Calories)
Active Stretching

"Cindy"

Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:
5 x Pull-ups
10 x Push-ups
15 x Squats
Total Rounds Completed: 21 (w/ 8 seconds to spare)

5:00 Exercise Bike (40 Calories)

Combo Set & Screamers

Warm-up:

10:00 Elliptical Machine (147 Cal.)
Active Stretching

Combination Set:

4 sets of 5 reps @ 85lbs, 1:00 rest bet. sets
1 rep represents a combination of the following exercises:
Romanian Dead Lift
Hang Clean
Front Squat
Push Press
Reverse Lunge (1 per leg)

1:00 Rest

5:00 Exercise Bike (50 Calories)

Screamer Ladder:

3 x push-ups
1 x kangaroo jump
6 x push-ups
2 x kangaroo jumps
9 x push-ups
3 x kangaroo jumps
.
..
...
21 x push-ups
7 x kangaroo jumps
...
..
.
3 x push-ups
1 x kangaroo jump

1:00 rest

7 Steps Abs:

7 x 30 crunches, various positions

Back:

30 x 'superman' back extensions

Red Fish Run

Warm-up:

5:26 run
Active Stretch

Tabata Sprints:

8 sets of :20 sprint, :10 rest

40/40s:

10 sets of 40 yard jog, 40 yard sprint
Total time: 3:38

Cool-down:

3:42 run
Walk around block to enjoy the day and scope out the neighborhood

Tabata Workout: Burpees, Jump P/Us, Thrusters, Lateral Bounds, & V-Ups

Warm-up:

1 mile @ 8.5 mph
Active Stretching

Tabata Sets:
Burpees w/ 10lb weight vest:

9, 9, 9, 8, 8, 8, 8, 7

Jump Pull-ups w/ 10lb weight vest:

25, 25, 18, 16, 13, 13, 12, 13

Thrusters w/ 15lb dumbbells:

14, 11, 9, 8, 7, 6, 6, 5

Lateral Bounds w/ 10lb weight vest (reps per leg):

14, 13, 14, 12, 14, 15, 15, 15
First four sets I 'stuck the landings', after that I focused on as little ground contact as possible.

V-Ups:

22, 20, 19, 15, 14, 12, 12, 9
Those were some sorry looking V-Ups by the end.

I'm gonna feel this workout in the morning. Hell, I feel it now.
AWESOME!

Tabata Workout: Pull-ups, OH Squats, Dips, Box Jumps, Standing RTs

Warm-up:

10:00 rowing machine
Active Stretching

Tabata Sets:
Pull-ups:

15, 10, 7, 5,
4 w/50lbs assistance,
5 w/90lbs assistance,
5 w/120lbs assistance,
5 w/150lbs assistance

Overhead Squats w/ standard bar:

18, 18, 16, 16, 14, 13, 12, 15

Dips:

22, 15, 10, 5,
5 w/50lbs assistance,
5 w/70lbs assistance,
5 w/90lbs assistance,
9 w/90lbs assistance

Box Jumps:

21, 19, 19, 16, 12, 10, 10, 9

Standing Russian Twists w/35lb plate:

8, 8, 9, 10, 11, 10, 9, 9

Cardio Circuit

Cardio Circuit:
Elliptical Machine:

10:00 for 135 Calories

Treadmill:

1 mile @ 8.5mph plus some 3.0 mph for 140 Calories

Exercise Bike:

10:00 for 100 Calories

Rowing Machine:

10:00 by the analog clock since the display is broken

Quick Core Work:

3 sets of:
25/side x Russian Twists w/ 35lb plate
25 Push-ups w/ feet on bench

Regionals, Day 2

Sunday morning saw us facing off against Pittsburgh's Forge at 9AM. Unfortunately, our O once again faltered early and often. Despite several breaks by the D team, we just couldn't put the disc in the end zone consistently and fell to a fired up Forge team despite a late run in the second half.

And so ends Pike 2008.

Despite our rather lackluster performance, I'm still proud of the team and of my decision to stick with it. We have a lot of young talent and the potential to really make something great out of it. I'm not going to lie, watching some of my ex-teammates qualify for Nationals with other teams is very hard, but the choices that were right for them just wouldn't have been right for me. In the end, I'd rather lose with my team that win with somebody else's.

Regionals, Day 1

Mel & I drove down last night to the fields I've come to know so well over the years for the latest in a long string of Regional Championships. Pike comes into the tournament seeded 6th to vie with 15 other teams for the Mid-Atlantic's two Nationals bids.

We started off the day with a comfortable win over Floodwall and then got set for a re-match of last year's backdoor finals with Los. Los pounded us with deep pulls and aggressive D on our resets and our inexperience on showed. The O gave up a lot of unforced errors and Los' d-team used their athleticism to convert those errors into goals. Although our D team played valliantly, the O couldn't play consistantly enough to keep us in the game. After that, we re-grouped to take out Sectionals Rivals Bearproof from Central PA and finished off the day with a win against our old friends on Medicine Men.

Bloodied a bit from our loss, we were still alive and heading into Sunday play at Regionals.

Throwing Session

Mel and I headed over to RU practice tonight to get in some throwing before the weekend. All told, we threw for a little more than a half-hour.

Flying 30s - Overspeed

This morning, I headed over to the start of it all, Buccleuch Park, the site of my first-ever Pike tryout, to get in my last speed workout before Regionals. I gave special attention to my warm-ups and picked out a nice stretch of running trail that was relatively straight and had a slight but constant downgrade.

Warm-up:

8:32 run
Active Stretching
Sprint Preperation Plyos

Flying 30s (running slightly downhill for overspeed training)
3 x 30/30s:

Accelerate for 30 yards, stride for 30 yards. This is where I focus on form and on truly getting my muscles ready for full sprints.

3 x 30 yard sprint:

All-out 30 yard sprint with full recovery between each one.

3 x 60 yard sprint:

All-out 60 yard sprint with full recovery between each one.

3 x 90 yard sprint:

All-out 90 yard sprint with full recovery between each one.

I finished things up with a short run back to the car. This is, by far, my favorite workout. It's fun to run fast! And it's fun to be prepping for a tournament that means something.

As Tony might say, "I feel grrrrrrreat!"

Half-Filthy 50 plus some core

Warm-up:

1 mile @ 8.5 mph
Long Active Stretching session

Half-Filthy 50 for time:

25 Box Jumps w/ 18-inch box
25 Jump Pull-ups
25 Kettleball Swings w/ 25lb ball
25 Lunges per leg (stationary lunges)
25 Knees-to-Elbows
25 Push-Press @ 55lbs
25 Back Extensions
25 Wall Balls
25 Burpees
25 Kangaroo Jumps
Total Time: 7:42

7 Steps Abs:

7 x 30 crunches, various positions

Cool-down:

Long mostly-static stretch session

Earth Mover

I spent a good portion of the afternoon moving soil from the front driveway to the backyard in order to re-grade the yard and stop water from pooling against the side of the house. I moved a total of 3 cubic yards. It might not sound like much, but you'd be surprised. I got in a ton of lunges and deadlifts in and I was soaked by the end.

That's some old-school, Rocky-style training right there!

Pike Practice/Muscle-Ups

Today was the last practice before Regionals. We ran a good mix of focused scrimmages and drills to get the team fine-tuned for next weekend. It's definitely gonna be exciting. We're a young team with a lot of promise. We're well-prepared and well-trained, but relatively untested thus far. Nobody out there knows what we're capable of (do we?), and I love it.

After practice, TC, Ross and I gave free 'Hot Box' lessons to all comers. Oh, and I performed my first-ever unassisted Muscle-ups! (That's been a goal of mine all season).

21-15-9 Workout: Legs, Core, and Arms/Shoulders

Warm-up:

8:00 Rowing Machine (127 Calories)
Active Stretching

21-15-9 for time:

Deadlift @ 95lbs
Reverse Lunges w/ 15lb dumbbells
Thrusters w/ 15lb dumbbells
Total Time: 11:44

21-15-9 for time:

Russian Twists w/ 35lb plate
Back Extensions
Total Time: 4:30

21-15-9 for time:

Dips
Hybrid Shoulder Raises w/ 15lb dumbbells
Total Time: 4:17

Suicide Workout @ RU

I met up with Glenn & Frenchy before RU (Exit! Nine!) practice yesterday to run some suicides. My bright idea for the workout was to set up the suicides to mimic the type of running done by the 3-cutter in the pull play and so we set up cones (read sneakers) at 0 yards, 30 yards, 40 yards, and 70 yards and ran a set of 90 yard suicides and a set of 60 yard suicides. The total workout went as follows:

Warm-up:

7:00 run (which I'm fairly certain was about 1 mile in length)
Active Warm-ups

Suicide Workout:
8 x 90 yard suicides (0-40-30-70), rest = walk to start

first 6 were in the :14-:15 range, last 2 were in the :15-:16 range

7 minute rest

8 x 60 yard suicides (30-40-30-70), rest = walk to start

first couple were around 11 seconds, then I stopped timing.

~10 minutes of throwing

Pike Practice/Scrimmage

Practice ran from 9am-1pm'ish today and involved an O vs. D scrimmage, some fast break/endzone work, and other fun stuff. Man, was I sore by the end of this. Rotten crappy practice fields!

Pike Double Practice

We had a double practice today down in Philly. 9am-12pm'ish, then 1pm-4pm'ish, followed by a BBQ at Fink's House of the Blues.

Rutgers Field Workout

Mel, Walt, MJ, Raph, Mere, and I headed over to RU again tonight to get in some field work. We started things off with a throwing session. It wasn't scripted, but each pair focused on continually cutting and throwing to motion (no static throws here). Next up was an extended agility ladder workout led by MJ, followed by the Rabbit v Meatball drill (I love that drill! It reminds you that to play real defense, you need to work your ass off!). After that, we went into an Away and Back drill, and then Windshield Wipers (in cuts and fade cuts). Raph and I finished things off with 30 flicks/30 backhands/30 hammers.

Full Body Circuit

Warm-up:

5:00 Elliptical Machine (60 Calories)
Active Stretching

Full Body Circuit:

3 sets of:
10/leg x Dumbbell Curl - Lunge - Push Press Combo w/ 10lb dumbbells
10 x Deadlift - Shrug - Heel Raise Combo @ 85lbs
10 x Push-up - Core Row Combo w/ 20 lb dumbbells
10/side x Corkscrew w/ 35lb plate
1:30 Rest

7:00 Exercise Bike (69 Calories)

100 x Crunches

Field Work

Mel and I met up with Walt and snuck onto the sideline of Rutgers' practice tonight (Thanks Mio!). The workout was a ad lib'd but I was pleased with the results.

Workout Components:

Agility Ladder
Tous' mirror drill
Throwing with constant cutting
Windshield wipers w/ a mark (in cuts & fade cuts)
Pull Play cutting simulation
3-person deep cutting/throwing weave drill

Basically, we were able to get in a solid running/sprinting workout as a byproduct of focusing on disc skills. It's much more fun that way.

Recovery Workout

Despite cramping up like a - something that cramps too easily - yesterday, my body felt mostly fine today. A little muscle soreness here and there, but nothing too big. That, combined with the fact that I drank 4 glasses of water, a fountain Coke, and a Smithwicks at dinner last night and didn't end up peeing until 10pm or so tells me that I need to be better at hydration and at eating during the day if I'm going to be able to play at the level at which I need to play. Talk about stupid mistakes hurting your team - And I know better!

Enough self-pity... 2 weeks of hard work left before Regionals starts today and so I hit the gym for a low impact recovery workout. I find this sort of thing loosens me up and will hopefully get me ready for a real workout tomorrow.

Recovery Workout:
10:00 Elliptical Machine (115 Calories)

10:00 Excercise Bike (90 Calories)

Treadmill: 1 mile @ 8.5 mph (plus some walking to bring it to an even 140 Calories)

10:00 Rowing Machine (115 Calories)

(NB - I'm not overly concerned about Calories burned, but I find keeping track provides me with a measuring stick for how hard I am working over the different exercises.)

Sectionals, Day 2

After a day spent getting my shit back together, I felt pretty good on the field. We started the day off with a good win over Pittsburgh BURGH in the semis and then watched Pittsburgh Forge battle OLD SAG in the other semis. Forge came out on top by a few breaks and so we geared up to face them in the finals.

It was a close fought game. Our O faltered in the first half giving up a couple of breaks in a row before getting it back together. In the second half we re-captured a break before giving it back and then went on a run at 13-10 to tie the game. After that, the intensity picked up on both sides and, despite some great D by both teams, Offense prevailed down the stretch and we traded out until Forge finally took the game at DGP after both teams had multiple chances to win. 17-16 Forge.

I played fairly well in this game, but must've screwed up my nutrition or something because I ended up cramping up horribly towards the end of the game and couldn't even play the last few points. My pride took a real hit from that. Not being able to get on the field towards the end was painful and I really feel I let the team down.

After the tough loss, we faced off against OLD SAG in a bit of a lack-luster 2-3 game. SAG took half 8-7 before we picked it up. I think we ended up winning 15-10 or so.

Sectionals, Day 1

I'm generally not all that interested in recapping tournaments, but here's a quick run-down:

Awesome! A tournament < 5 minutes from my house!

I was definitely not sharp today. Two weeks away effected my mental game more than I would have expected. Also, not getting reps in with the team at the last two tournaments meant that inserting me back into the offense required a few adjustments on everyone's part. Fortunately, day 1 at sectionals wasn't too tough. Pike went 4-0 on the day with wins over Penn State (x or y), Rutgers, Bear Proof (CJ's team), and Love.

Afterward, we went back to my place for a team bbq, which Pike also won.

Sammy I-V Circuit

The hardest part about a tournament week is not letting all that anticipatory energy trick me into over-exerting myself on the workouts. I picked this one out of the stash since it's a fun all-around workout but not too taxing in any one area.

Warm-up:

10:00 Elliptical Machine (140 Calories)
Active Stretching

Sammy I-V:

3x
50 Richochet Jumps
10 Push-ups
30 sec rest

2x
10 Side-Side Box Jump
5 Divebombers
30 sec rest

2x
10 On Box Jump
5 Pike Push-ups
30 sec rest

3x
5 per leg Low Squat Jump into Jump Lunge
10 one-hand push-ups (x5 each arm)
30 sec rest

3x
5 one-legged jumps with one step walk-up (per leg)
30 sec rest

1x
1/2 Tabata Set of Split Jumps (:20 on, :10 rest)
26, 28, 29, 31
1:00 rest

3x
8 Consecutive Kangaroo Jumps
10 clap push-ups
30 sec rest

Abs:

1:30 Forward Plank
30 sec rest
1:30 Right Side Plank
30 sec rest
1:30 Left Side Plank

Adding that extra :30 to the planks really makes this into a mental workout for me.

Filthy 50

It's perhaps a bit much for a tournament week workout, but I figured doing it today would give me plenty of time to recover. Plus, I OWE, since I missed Heavyweights this past weekend.

Warm-up:
1 mile @ 8.5 mph
Active Stretching

Filthy 50 for time:

50 x Box jumps w/ 18-inch box
50 x Jump pull-ups
50 x Kettlebell swings w/ 16lb bell
50/leg x Lunges
50 x K2Es
50 x Push-press, 35lb bar
50 x Back extensions
50 x Wall balls
50 x Burpees
50 x Kangaroo (Tuck) jumps
Total Time: 18:28

Aside from checking my grip on the K2Es at 30 & 45, I powered through this workout until the wall balls. From then on, it was a battle. Those last three exercises are straight nasty.

Cool-down:

5:00 Exercise Bike (35 Calories)
5:00 Elliptical Machine (50 Calories)

Quickie before Bed

I had a little extra energy last night so I did a little more than my normal push-ups/crunches before bed:

50 x Pike Push-ups, feet on bed
20 x V-Ups
25 x TOs
35 x Superman Back Extensions
50 x Push-ups
2:00 Squats (as timed by my Oral B toothbrush)
100 x Crunches

Frosty Medicine Ball & Circuit Work

Warm-up:

1 mile @ 8.5 mph
Active Stretching

Medicine Ball Routine:

20 x front-squat vertical toss
20 x sumo-squat backwards toss (against wall w/ catch)
25/side x side-twist
20/side x chest throws in lunge position (against wall w/ catch)

5:00 Elliptical (68 Calories)

Frosty Timed Circuit:
5 sets of:

Kettlebell swings, 30 seconds on, 15 seconds off
(reps: 12, 12, 13, 13, 14)
Burpees, 30 seconds on, 15 seconds off
(reps: 12, 12, 14, 17, 18)
Box Jump March, 30 seconds on, 15 seconds off
(reps/leg: 13, 14, 16, 16, 18)

5:00 Stationary Bike Cool-down (25 Calories)

Combo Set & Screamers

Warm-up:

1 mile @ 8.5 mph
Active Stretching

Combination Set:

4 sets of 5 reps @ 75lbs, 1:00 rest bet. sets
1 rep represents a combination of the following exercises:
Romanian Dead Lift
Hang Clean
Front Squat
Push Press
Reverse Lunge (1 per leg)

1:00 Rest

5:00 Elliptical Machine (60 Calories)

Screamer Ladder:

3 x push-ups
1 x kangaroo jump
6 x push-ups
2 x kangaroo jumps
9 x push-ups
3 x kangaroo jumps
.
..
...
21 x push-ups
7 x kangaroo jumps
...
..
.
3 x push-ups
1 x kangaroo jump

1:00 rest

7 Steps Abs:

7 x 30 crunches, various positions

Pike Double Practice

Pike had a double practice today with drills and focused scrimmages in the morning and a scrimmage to 11 in the afternoon (with random double-scores thrown in).

Practice went very well and deserves more attention than I'm giving it here. Too bad.

Half-Filthy 50

Just the right thing for the day after yet more poolside shenanigans and the day before a big practice...

Warm-up:

10:00 Elliptical Machine (125 Calories)
Active Stretching

Half-Filthy 50 for time:

25 Box Jumps w/ 18-inch box
25 Jump Pull-ups
25 Kettleball Swings w/ 25lb ball
25 Lunges per leg (stationary lunges)
25 Knees-to-Elbows
25 Push-Press @ 55lbs
25 Back Extensions
25 Wall Balls
25 Burpees
25 Kangaroo Jumps
Total Time: 8:09

My goal is to be able to go full bore through this whole workout - no resting. I'm getting close. Today I made it 2/3 through the burpees before I had to stop and then I rested again at 18 K-Jumps.

2:00 Rest

Treadmill:

5:00 @ 8.5 mph (plus some 3mph to get to an even 100 Calories)

Tabatas (push-ups, treadmill, lateral bounds) and Core

Warm-up:

10:00 Elliptical Machine (125 Calories)
Active Stretching

Tabata Push-ups:

41, 40, 34, 21, 14, 11, 11, 10

Tabata Treadmill:

10 mph @ 7% incline

Planks:

1:30 Plank
1:30 Right-side Plank
1:30 Left-side Plank

Tabata Lateral Bounds w/ 10lb Dumbbells (reps are per leg)

12, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 13, 12

Additional Core:

4 sets of:
15 x superman back extensions
30 x crunches

Throwing

Mel & I walked the 1/2 mile to the local ballfield to get some throwing in. We spent much of the walk discussing the merits of this week's the-huddle.org topic re: catching. The dark combined with the passing cars and sickly yellow arc-sodium street lights made catching, even just seeing, an exercise in concentration and anticipation. While throwing I focused on staying on my toes, even while extending my pivots, remaining balanced, and on throwing with touch, even after a quick fake or pivot.

Work:

1/2 mile walk
30 minutes of throwing
1/2 mile walk

DB Snatch, Chin-ups, SL Squat Work

Warm-up:

1 mile @ 8.5 mph
Active Stretching

21-15-9 (untimed):

Dumbbell snatch, right @ 20lbs
Dumbbell snatch, left @ 20 lbs
Chin-ups

Single-Leg Squat Workout:

2 sets of 10 x Single-Leg Squats per leg
2 sets of 15 x Bulgarian Split Squats per leg
2 sets of 15 x Step-ups w/ 15lb dumbbells per leg

Quick Core:

20 x Back Extensions
100 x Crunches
20 x Back Extensions
100 x Crunches

Pike Double Practice & Pool Party

Pike had a double practice in Princeton today followed up by a BBQ & Pool Party at Kyle's place. Practice saw a lot of short and focused scrimmages with much emphasis placed on scoring in the first possession and suitable punishments doled out to the losing squads. We also ran through a couple of drills targeted towards key aspects of our offense.

All in all, the team is doing much better at bringing focus and intensity to practice which will only help us in the series. Personally, I'm really feeling pressure to bring it to every practice since this fall's wedding schedule means I'll be missing some key weekends going forward.

The pool party was great. Lots of good food, good folks, and outrageous shenanigans. The diving board was put to good use and we all got some good work on our shoulder high, 360 degree, flipping layout grabs into floating pool furniture. Hey! If you don't practice it, how can you expect to pull it off in a game?

Workout:

Double Practice
Poolside Shenanigans

Tabata Workout

Warm-up:

10:00 Elliptical Machine (125 Calories burned)
Active Stretching

Tabata Workout:
Pull-ups:

14, 10, 6, 4, 4 w/50lb assist, 4 w/70lb assist, 4 w/90lb assist, 4 w/110lb assist

Lateral Step-ups (per leg):

7, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8

Push-ups:

38, 36, 23, 20, 12, 12, 10, 10

Overhead Squats w/ 35lb bar:

13, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 11, 10

Crunches:

30, 31, 32, 34, 34, 34, 35, 34

Cool-down:

6:00 Elliptical Machine (65 Calories burned)

Suicide Workout

Warm-up:

10:25 run - 3 laps of the Rutgers Intramural Fields (~1.5 miles)
Active Stretching

Suicide Workout:
4 x 200m Suicides (0-15-0-25-0-40-0-40), 1:45 between each

:33.95
:33.48
:33.19
:33.19

3:00 rest

6 x 120m Suicides (0-15-0-25-0-40), 1:15 between each

:19.58
:19.97
:18.97
:19.59
:19.05
:19.22

Let's pretend for a minute that the cones, which I paced out, were perfectly placed, and my timing was spot on even though I worked my own watch while trying to sprint full out.

3:00 rest

10 x Body Builders

7 Steps Abs

7 x 30 crunches in various positions

3:38 run - 1 lap of the fields

Where's the Beach

I spent the day at the Jersey Shore with my brother and some good friends and while I'm not sure this truly counts as a workout, I was definitely sore in the morning. At the very least, I got in a lot of good throwing in a very stiff breeze, swam a few laps in the Spring Lake pool, and don't underestimate just how much work it takes to body surf all day!

MCUDL A League Finals, Game 3

Big Stick vs. Roots of Rhythm

Energized after they big win last night, Roots came out strong to start the game. If memory serves, they went up 4 or 5-1 before Stick could right the ship. Stick made a few strategic adjustments on O and D and managed to close the gap. However, Roots remained patient and again stepped it up at the end of the game to take the Mercer Cup 15-12.

MCUDL A League Finals, Game 2

Big Stick vs. Roots of Rhythm

I've been delinquent in my posting and so my memory fails me a bit. Roots definitely came out strong after Stick stole game 1. We traded a couple of breaks in the first half, but when Stick managed to break to go up 11-10 in the second half, I admit, I thought the cup was ours once again. Alas, it was not to be. Roots came back strong, put on a 5-1 run and took game 2 15-2.

MCUDL A League Finals, Game 1

Big Stick vs. Roots of Rhythm

Tonight marked game 1 of the best-of-3 and ended up being a rematch of last year's finals in which Big Stick came out victorious. Roots won both regular season match-ups and so come into the finals as the 1 seed. However, Big Stick has a winning tradition and a love for big games. Overall, I'd say the teams are pretty evenly matched. Big Stick has much more experience but a smaller roster compared to the young and athletic Roots of Rhythm who bring a full line-up of fire and intensity to every game (though tonight they were missing at least Ricky and Beaches).

Stick came out strong, scoring 2 straight, but Roots rallied to tie it up after I doinked a sweet huck from Walt off of my fingertips. The game went back and forth like that forth like that with Stick scoring 1 or 2 and Roots answering to tie. Stick came out strong in the second half and built a 12-9 lead. As is their trademark, Roots refused to die and, after a strategic timeout, they pulled their best Cool-hand Luke impression to roar back and tie the game up at 12s. At this point, Stick answered with a timeout of their own, regrouped, and stormed back onto the field to run off three straight and take the game 15-12.

At this point, I need to give props to Billy Kiefer and B-Lo on Stick and the Saul Brothers on Roots for raising the level and getting involved in nearly every success for their respective teams. And I gotta give some love to Mellen who ripped down a sweet huck in traffic at 13-12!

As for me, I played 'OK' but not great. My legs were definitely a bit leaden and I blame this on the number of Burpees the O-Team earned yesterday at practice. It was good practice for me though, since I had to rely on my set-ups to get open rather than simply overpowering people. I was able to get the disc pretty regularly, largely in part to the Roots' strategy of "back Dono by 15 yards," but my defense was sluggish and involved a lot of "being content to contain Noah as much as possible." Anyway, tomorrow's a much needed rest day, so we'll just have to see what Wednesday brings.

Workout:

Extended Warm-up
1 x MCUDLA A League Finals

Pike Practice etc.

Despite the rain and the tornado warnings, we got in a good hard practice this afternoon at the Edgely Ball Fields. We put in some work on man-to-man defense, marking, dump resets, and ran scrimmages designed to work on a few weak spots on either side of the disc. All in all it was a lot of fun, even though the O ended up doing way too many mandatory push-ups, sprints and burpees (the D stepped up and did the same amount, but theirs were voluntary). Still seeking that 'calm intensity.'

Afterward, a half dozen of us stuck around for some Mini and, since the rest of the team left in fear of the rain, we were in full compliance with the First Rule.

Workout:

Full Practice
1 hour of Mini

Disc Golf

10:00 throwing
18 holes of Disc golf (w/ lids): -3

Seven/Thirty

Seven/Thirty:

30 x push-ups
30 x crunches
30 x diamond push-ups
30 x crunches with feet up & knees at 90 degrees
30 x push-ups with arms wide
30 x leg lifts
30 x push-ups with hands at waist
30 x crunches knees apart, feet together
30 x push-ups, left hand high, right hand low
30 x crunches knees apart, feet apart
30 x push-ups, right hand high, left hand low
30 x right-side oblique crunches
30 x clap push-ups
30 x left-side oblique crunches

ETC Track Report

The ETC picked up a new member today and he came on the scene strong and dominated start to finish. Jake Rainwater joined Mel and I at the Piscataway track for a little up and down ladder action. I posted times with which I normally would be happy, but Jake was well in front of me on every single one. My only consolation is that I was barely able to eke out the final 100m to avoid the clean sweep.

Warm-up:

1 mile in 7:00 (almost as though I was on the treadmill)
Active Stretching
Quick Plyo set focusing on running form

Up and Down Ladder:

100m: un-timed
200m: :28
300m: :45
400m: 1:08
400m: 1:08
300m: :46
200m: < :27 (missed the watch, but we were flying 'cause I really wanted to win this one)
100m: un-timed

15:00 throwing

Mercer A-League Semifinals

Big Stick vs. Illuminati

Mellen and I showed up early tonight to get some work on the agility ladder. If you can get some time with one of these, I highly recommend it. They are a fun way to improve your footwork and balance while in motion. There are so many different drills and variations that every workout is different.

After that, we spent some time throwing and getting ready for the semis which ended up being some sort of Dickensian Pike Past, Present, and Future affair. Big Stick definitely represents the Ghost of Pike Past with me, Walt, MJ, JT, Billy Kiefer and B-Lo out there on the line, although we also have Spanish, definitely a rising star on Pike's current roster. Illuminati's connection to the past was limited to Dusty Rhodes, but Pike Present and Future where well represented by Raph, Jake (the Jake), Ross, Bo Li, and, M.I.A. for the semis, Tom Quayne & Will Reed.

They definitely had talent to spare and took it to us early and often. However, Pike Past's big game experience (let's just say that summer league semis doesn't qualify as a big game for most of us) and hard-earned confidence proved too much in the end as we were able to overcome a 12-10 deficit and steal the win 15-13.

Workout:

Quick Jog
Active Stretching
1/2 hour on the agility ladder
~20:00 throwing
Mercer A-League Semis

Plyo Workout

Based on the team plyo workout of the week, with slight modifications due to space constraints.

Warm-up:

1 mile @ 8.5 mph
Active stretching

Plyo workout:

2 sets of:
1. 3 x 50 bent over ankle bounce
2. 4 x 6 kangaroojumps
3. 4 x 6 1-leg step jump
4. 1/2 Tabata Set, Elliptical Machine (4 x :20 sprint, :10 slow)
5. 4 x 5 pause lunges
6. 3 x 20/20 sprint **
7. 2 x squat jumps w/ 3 second pause

** A summer program was eating lunch in my gym so I ran sprints in their cafeteria. Take that!

FCS, Day 2

We lost our pre-quarter game to Wiretap 14-13 after being up 13-10. Ouch. We definitely need to get some consistency on the O side of things. After that, we won both consolations games, taking the Ninals in 1 point victory Pyrrhic victory over Boneyard.

Workout:
3 x tournament play games
1 x Chocolate/Cherry milkshake
1 x demoralizing rape by US Airways

FCS, Day 1

Don't have time to write much at the moment, but here goes:

Pike headed down to High Point, NC for the Furniture City Shootout. Awesome fields, good regional competition, and a chance to eat hush puppies, sweet tea, and CookOut milkshakes.

Pike was a bit streaky on day 1. While the D looked solid throughout, the O had some consistency issues (insert whiny excuse about 3 missing starters) and, as a result, ended up going 2-2 on the day with one really bad loss to Los.

Workout:

4 x Tournament play games
30:00 throwing with Wayne to iron out some huck issues
1 x 12-pack with Dusty & Wix
1 x Big Daddy Plate w/ Tabata Hush-Puppies

Hang Clean, Jump Pull-ups, Burpees & CKs

Warm-up:

1 mile @ 8.5 mph
Active Stretching

21-15-9 for time:

Hang Clean @ 105lbs
Jump Pull-ups
Total Time: 9:52

Tabata Sets:
Burpees:

9, 9, 8, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7

Chuck Kellers:

13, 11, 11, 11, 10, 9, 10, 10

This quick n dirty workout is sure to get your heart rate up and keep it up. I put it together in order to replicate the kind of exhaustion you should feel in your legs after doing a sprint workout.

Mercer A-League

Big Stick vs. Rutgers

Still a bit footsore from Wildwood and a bit tired from being up late to see Dark Knight (AWESOME!!!), I went down to Mercer for the last A-League game of the regular season. Too bad it takes me 2.5 hours to get there from work or I could've taken part in some skills work with Dusty. Man, I need to put a resumé together!

I spent a good amount of time warming up with plyos and active stretching before the game to work out some of the post-tourney soreness. During the game, I focused on getting behind my defender's momentum, trying to force him to fully commit to a course before I did, so that I could get more separation on my cuts.

Against higher level opponents, you aren't going to have an athletic or physical advantage so you need to find other ways to get the disc. If I can perfect this style of cutting, I'll be able to use my opponents' athleticism and aggression against them and essentially take away their ability to anticipate. Now, they're forced to react to my movements, and thus, to commit sooner than they would like. The final piece is being willing and able to take what is offered, something I've only recently started to fully achieve. Oh, and you need to be able to do all of this quickly or else you just end up squirreling up the cutting lane and confusing the hell out of the thrower.

OK, enough ego-babble... the game itself was fun. Even though Stick was able to jump out to an early lead which we maintained throughout, Rutgers has some young studs that make you work and a solid offense to see them to the end zone. Their lack of depth hurt them in the end, especially when compared with Stick's veteran roster, and Stick was able to cruise to a 15-8ish victory.

Workout:

quick run
active stretching & plyos
1 x summer league game

Wildwood, Day 2

Rule #1 of Scooby Doom Ultimate: The more time you spend with Nic on Saturday night, the worse you will feel about yourself on Sunday morning.

Glassy eyed and cotton mouthed, we stumbled back to the beach Sunday morning to get ready for Scooby Doom's quarter final match-up. Our hangover-induced ineptitude and 'that athletic guy who ran a lot and scored 2-pointers' kept the game close, but we managed to eek out a victory at DGP and earn a spot in the competitive 3-1 semi-finals. Off to the Melon's 2-2 quarter final we went where I spent most of the game on the sideline trying to get sand out of my eye. Dammit Jude! I said 'NO HAMMERS!!' As I recall, the game wasn't all that close. Semis there too!

WTF? Scooby Doom is in a semi-final? Let's face it, now we're playing with house money. That other team apparently 'slept' Saturday night and game out strong going up 4 or 5 early on. We eventually tied things up and even took the lead at some point, but at the cap horn, they were up 1. On the final point, I missed a wide open Raph in the endzone and they worked it up to score. Oh well, it was a nice run. Quick goodbyes to the Syracuse folks and back across the beach for the 2-2 semi.

Our late arrival prompted accusations of ringer-recruitment, but Beth quickly set the record straight. After that, Becca Tucker and Kim Tischler kept our NY opponents in the game, but the Melons were able to slowly build a lead before 'The Nothing' showed up and forced beach evac. With the day growing long in the teeth and the skies promising retribution for Saturday night's sins (and Jess needing to get back to Rochester some time before Fall), we said our goodbyes and, as nicely as possible, abandoned our teammates to begin our trek north.

From what I heard, the tournament triumphantly returned to the beach in time for the Melons to win the semis, lose the first game of the finals and start the second before 'The Nothing' realized what was going on, made a great big u-turn, and game back to make them ALLLLLLLL dead. Being in the hole already, the Melons conceded the win, handed over the giant metal lightning rod... err, I mean... trophy and ran for the cars as fast as their sandy feet could carry them.

Workout:

3.5 x 50 minute games of beach ultimate

Wildwood, Day 1

Mel, Jess, Raph and I headed down to Wildwood, NJ for a little fun in the sun. Not satisfied with playing in only one division, we signed up to play Olympic 2-2 with the Horned Melons and Competitive 3-1 with a Syracuse/Kaimana reunion team. As reigning 2-2 Champs, the Melons were seeded pretty high (not #1, but who's counting!!) while Scooby Doom ended up as the very last seed in the bracket. Basically, that meant that our two teams played at opposite ends of the beach requiring more effort to get from game to game than the games required themselves.

Day 1 ended up being a ton of fun with both teams going undefeated. No surprise for the Melons, but a huge shock for us Syracuse folks! 8 games in the bag, we headed over to the beer garden where we opted to drink smuggled beverages and play silly games on the beach (Thanks to JB EZ from Ghana for teaching us Rough Tag). Apparently, Raph and I didn't get enough exercise during the tourney.

Workout:

8 x 50:00 games of beach ultimate
lots of trekking across the sand
assorted shenanigans including Rough Tag, flutter, mac lines, & MTA

Quick Circuit

The fates have conspired to make this a light workout week for me it seems. That's probably good, since I have serious trouble pacing myself on my own. Last night after 8 hours of traveling to Worcester, MA and back, I was going crazy from lack of physical activity so I did the following before bed:

Quick Circuit:

50 x push-ups
10 x mahlers
30 x crunches
10 x burpees
30 x crunches, legs up & bent 90 degrees
30/leg x mountain climbers
30 x leg raises
10/leg x 1-legged squats
30 x crunches, knees apart, feet apart
30 x push-ups with feet on bed
30 x crunches, knees apart, feet together
10/arm x 1-armed push-ups
30 x left side oblique crunches
10 x burpees
30 x right side oblique crunches
10 x mahlers
50 x push-ups
50 x push-ups