Tabata Workout (aka How to Kill Your Forearms in 16 Minutes or Less)

Warmup:

5:00 @ 8mph
stretching

Tabatas:
Finger-tip Push-ups:

25, 23, 21, 20, 14, 12, 10, 8

Split Jumps w/ 2x10lb dumbbells:

21, 19, 20, 20, 20, 21, 20, 20

Hanging Power Clean w/ standard bar:

16, 14, 11, 10, 10, 9, 9, 13

Jump Pull-ups:

26, 17, 14, 13, 13, 13, 11, 16

Russian Twists:

21, 22, 19, 18, 15, 15, 15, 15

Finished up with some stretching and tucked in to a nice lunch of left-over butterflied shrimp.

Tabata Workout

Warm-up:

5:00 @ 8mph
Stretching

Tabata Workout:
Pullups:

12, 8, 3, 2, 2 Chin-ups, 1 Chin-up

Box Jumps w/ 180 degree turn:

12, 14, 12, 14, 16, 16, 16, 14
Definitely a learning curve on this one. Took me a few cycles to get my balance right.

Dips:

18, 15, 9, 6, 4, 4, 4, 4

Thrusters w/ 2x10lb dumbbells:

13, 13, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

TOs:

22, 22, 21, 15, 11, 11, 8, 9

Ankle Work:

25 left leg calve raises
25 right leg calve raises
25 toe-ups
25 calve raises standard
25 toe-ups
25 calve raises heels together/toes apart
25 toe-ups
25 calve raises heels apart/toes together
25 toe-ups

Light Workout

4-5 hours of house work. Probably doesn't fit the bill as workout worthy, but it involved carrying garbage and building materials up and down stairs and the like so what the hell.

20 Dips

Seven/Thirty:
30 Standard Crunches
30 Push-ups
30 Crunches with Legs up
30 Push-ups
30 Leg Raises
30 Push-ups
30 Crunches with knees apart/feet flat
30 Push-ups
30 Crunches with knees apart/feet together
30 Push-ups
30 Right-side oblique crunches
30 Push-ups
30 Left-side oblique crunches
30 Push-ups

New Brunswick Pick-Up

6:00 @ ~7 mph
stretching
15:00 throwing
10:00 3-man marking drill

2:30:00'ish of pick-up

stretching

Ankle work:
Trace the alphabet
25 left leg calve raises
25 right leg calve raises
25 calve raises (both legs)
25 toe raises (stand on your heel)
25 calve raises, toes in/heels out
25 toe raises
25 calve raises, toes out/heels in

I definitely didn't work very hard out there today. Lots of young kids running around, which is cool. Unfortunately, the lack of experience out this week made the ultimate a bit sloppy so it was tough to get motivated to run hard when you could basically walk your defender out of position and jog a few steps and get wide open.

Took a lot of deep shots, not all of them good choices, but what's pick-up for anyway? When I rush my flick hucks they knife a lot. They get where they're going, but way too fast and with no float. I need to slow it down and flatten those throws out to allow receivers to run under them.

Ground was hard and uneven so it was a good test for my ankle. It held up fine, though it's a bit sore now. A good sore, nothing serious.

Swing, Press, Squat and friends ...

Warm-up:

5:00 @ 8mph
stretching

Swing, Press, Squat for time (from CrossFit.com)

3 Sets of:

1. 20 Kettle-bell Swings (16lbs)
2. 40 Push Press (standard bar)
3. 60 Squats

Total Time: 11:05

And friends ...
Balance Work:

2:00 on the Balance Master (Cheap-o see-saw-like dealie similar to a wobble board but not nearly as cool or useful)

Muscle-Up Training:

7 Sets of:

1. 2 pull-ups
2. 2 dips

Today's crossfit.com workout of the day called for muscle-ups, which, at the moment, are way beyond my fitness level. So, I threw in this quick set to start building up for them.

Tabata Russian Twists:

20, 20, 20, 18, 18, 18, 17, 16

Planks:

1:00 Forward Plank

1:00 Left Side Plank

1:00 Right Side Plank

Tabata Treadmill:

Max'd out the treadmill at 10mph and 7% incline and ran a tabata cycle (You know the drill. 20 seconds on, 10 rest).

Filthy McNasty

Based on a suggestion/dare from R 'TF' T, TF I did a quick little workout from our good buddies at CrossFit.com quaintly entitled Filthy 50s. Check out the video for more info.

And we go a little something like this ...

Warm-up:
5:00 @ 8mph
stretch

Filthy 50's (timer starts now):
50 Box Jumps (18-inch box)
50 Kettleball Swings (16lb ball) *
50 Jump Pull-ups *
50 Lunges per leg (stationary lunges, not lunge-walk as per video)
50 Push-Press (standard 6-foot bar as per video) *
50 Knees-to-Elbows *
50 Back Extensions
50 Wall Balls ***
50 Burpees
50 Kangaroo Jumps **

Total Time: 20:43.9

5:00 rest period (2:00 gasping and panting, 3:00 @ 3mph on the treadmill)

30 TOs
30 push-ups
20 TOs
20 Push-ups
10 TOs
10 Push-ups

I'm not about to pretend this workout was easy. I was definitely gasping for air at the end and I'm sure I'll be sore in the morning. However, I routinely feel worse after the Tabata cycles. There's something about the pain (mentally and physically) of total muscle failure that makes the grueling endurance requirement of the Filthy 50 seem ... mmmm ... merely dirty. There were plenty of times when I was hurting in the 50s, but never as much as the last 3 or 4 sets of a Tabata cycle, and given that, I always knew I could finish.

* Switched the order from the video based on the availability of the pull-up bar.
** CrossFit calls them Tuck Jumps and lists them as a substitute exercise for the Double-Unders. I did K-Jumps because
A. there was no space to jump rope.
And B. I can barely jump-rope under the best of circumstances.
*** Having re-watched the video, I definitely cheated on the Wall Ball. I did a 'jump and throw' motion, I did not go into a full squat like in the video. I think my way was more of a lung-buster whereas theirs would definitely burn your quads a lot more.)

Deck of Cards

Another fun idea from dusty.rhodes

"...
Get a Deck of Cards.
Shuffle them.

Spades: Burpees
Clubs: Mahlers
Hearts: Pushups
Diamonds: Squats

2-9 = Face Value
10-K = 10
A = 15
..."

I'm convinced that this is one of those workouts that never gets easier. Sure, your times improve, but if you're doing it right, you're always pushing yourself to your max and you're always spent at the end.

Anyway, my time:
18:43
and my deal:
QH, 10S, KS, JC, 6S, 4C, AC, KD, 5S, 4H, 9S, 10H, 9D, 7C, 8S, 6C, 2H, 5H, 3H, 8H, JD, 7D, JH, 7H, 3D, 4D, 6H, 3C, 8D, QD, 10C, 3S, 2S, AH, 9H, QS, 7S, AD, KH, JS, 5D, 5C, 2D, QC, 8C, 4S, AS, KC, 9C, 6D, 2C, 10D

New Brunswick Pick-up

Warm-up:
5:00 run @ ~8mph
15:00 throwing
5:00 3-person marking drill

2.5 hours of pick-up

Legs and lungs again felt strong (actually eating breakfast seems to do wonders for preventing cramping). Acceleration wasn't quite there, but felt pretty strong in the air despite some leg-work yesterday. Again hit a few deep throws, mostly flicks. I'm looking for the opportunities more, but it's still not natural enough. The tabatas are definitely great for me. After three hours in the cold, my body feels great. Again, solid eating habits probably help this a lot too (big props to Mellen for hooking me up with a 1/2 Boboli pizza as soon as I walked in the door!!!).

Sammy I-V Workout

Last night before bed:
1 set of 100 pushups
- tried to maintain an even tempo throughout, dropped off the pace at around 75 push-ups

This afternoon at the RHoD:
Warmup:
3/4 mile @ 8mph
1/4 mile @ 10mph
Stretch

Snagged a workout from Dusty's vault and modified it for my own nefarious purposes:

3x
50 Richochet Jumps
10 Pushups
30 sec rest

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

2x
10 On Box Jump
5 Pike Pushups
30 sec rest

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

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

1/2 Tabata Set of Split Jumps (:20 on, :10 rest)
34, 35, 35, 35
1:30 sec rest

3x
8 Consecutive Kangaroo Jumps
10 clap pushups
30 sec rest

Tabata Workout

Quasi-exercise:
10 minute speed-walk to the dentist (12 streets/2 avenues)
(took the subway back so as not to miss my gym time)

Warmup:
5:00 @ 8mph
Stretch

Tabatas:
Pushups: 37, 38, 37, 31, 21, 15, 12, 11
Box Jumps: 16, 15, 12, 10, 8, 7, 8, 8
Dips: 20, 17, 11, 6, 6, 5, 4, 4
Squats: 29, 30, 31, 32, 31, 30, 33, 32
Russian Twists (abs): 23, 24, 23, 24, 22, 18, 17, 19

Hand-held %Fat reading of the day: 12.3%

Yay Toys!!

While in the gym yesterday, I came across one of those hand-held 'electronical' BMI/Body Fat Calculators and so naturally, I had to play with the damn thing. Basically, you enter your height, weight, age, and sex grab on to the metal plates and sit back while it sends a (arguably minuscule) jolt of electricity through your chest cavity. Based upon the time it takes to cook your innards and the amount of bacon grease that collects in your abdomen, it is able to calculate your BMI and Percent Body Fat.

Interestingly enough, my % Fat came out to 12.5% putting me in the high end of the 'Athlete' range whereas my BMI came in at 25.1 putting me in the low end of 'Chunky Monkey.' I don't really put much stock in this stuff and instead tend to focus more on how I feel and how I perform on the field, but what the hell ... another interesting personal statistic to track. Either way (stat-based or feeling-based) I've got work to do this off-season. What else is new.

____________

some charts for future reference:

Chart 1. Body Fat Guidelines from American Council on Exercise
Classification | Women (% Fat) | Men (% Fat)
Essential Fat | 10-12% | 2-4%
Athletes | 14-20% | 6-13%
Fitness | 21-24% | 14-17%
Acceptable | 25-31% | 18-25%


Chart 2. BMI
BMI | Weight
Below 18.5 | Underweight
18.5-24.9 | Normal
25-29.9 | Overweight
30+ | Obese

Tabata Workout

Warm-up:
5:00 @ 8mph
Stretching

Tabatas:
Pushups:
37, 34, 33, 27, 23, 16, 12, 11

Lunges (1 rep = 1 lunge per leg):
8, 8.5, 8.5, 9, 8.5, 9, 9, 9

Pull-ups (1/2 set only):
15, 6, 3, 2.5
(These continue to kick my ass. I tried so hard for 3 on the 4th set that I had to give myself a .5.)

Burpees:
10, 9, 9, 8, 9, 9, 8, 8

TOs (or wrap-arounds or full-body cruches):
20, 20, 16, 11, 7, 8, 7, 7
(form went out the window by the 4th set, last few sets were mostly flailing.)

At some point, I hope the quivering in my quads will go away. (Meow!)

Quickie Before Bed

Ankle Rehap:
25 x calf raises w/ feet parallel
25 x calf raises w/ heels together
25 x calf raises w/ heels apart
25 x calf raises - left foot only
25 x calf raises - right foot only

trace the alphabet w/ left foot

Pushups:
50 x standard pushups
40 x diamond pushups
60 x wide-stance pushups

Abs:
30 x TOs

Hills/New Brunswick Pickup

3/4 mile @ ~8.5mph
quick stretch
4 hill sprints (walk to start for rest)
1/4 mile @ ~7mph

10 minutes of stretching/throwing
3.5 hours of pick-up ultimate

Ran moderately hard during pick-up today, but still lazier than is good for me. Couple decent deep throws and a few break marks. Lots of deep cuts and short goal-scoring cuts. Ankle felt 95%, legs & lungs felt strong. Cramped up like a bitch during the last couple of points (both calves & both hammies at various times), but played though. Probably need to eat better before the game and drink more during (and not be a bitch).

V-Torso Workout

Treadmill Warm-up:
5:00 @ 8mph

Stretching

Pull-up Set (0:30 rest bet. exercises):
10 x Military Pull-ups
10 x Standard Pull-ups
10 x Chin-ups
(Not part of the V-Torso, but these kicked my ass in Monday's Tabata workout.)

V-Torso:

Super-Set #1 (0:30 rest bet. exercises, 1:30 between reps):
3 reps of:
10 x Millitary Press @ 35lbs per arm
10 x Inclined Lateral Shoulder Raise @ 15lbs per arm
10 x Forward Shoulder Raise @ 15lbs per arm

1:30 rest

Super-Set #2 (0:30 rest bet. exercises, 1:00 between reps [time was gettin' short]):
3 reps of:
10 x Pull-overs @ 45lbs
10 x Lateral Shoulder Raises @ 15lbs per arm
10 x Single Arm Row @ 45lbs per arm

1:00 rest

15 x Back Extensions w/ feet anchored (lift upper body)
15 x Back Extensions w/ upper body anchored (lift legs)

Tabata Workout

Treadmill warmup:
¾ mile @ 8mph

Stretching

Tabatas:

Pushups: 33, 34, 31, 25, 15, 12, 11, 9

Squat-jumps: 17, 20, 19, 17, 17, 15, 16, 17

Dips: 21, 15, 10, 5, 5, 6, 5, 3 (nasty, esp. after the pushups)

Lunges: bet 7-8 each leg every time.

Bicycles (1 rep = 2 knee touches): 27, 28 ,27, 23, 22, 20, 21, 22

The way I feel after these workouts is comparable to the way I feel after a hard track workout. Namely, like shit. I love it.

Tabata Workout

First Workout since the ankle sprain 12/29. Hit the gym with a vengeance just now and oh god, I feel like I’m dying.

Treadmill Warmup:
¾ mile @ 8mph
¼ mile @ 10mph

Stretching and whatnot

Tabata’s:

Pull-ups for ½ Cycle (no way near ready for 8 reps)
4 x 20 on, 10 off
1. 16 pull-ups
2. 6 pull-ups
3-4. 0 pull-ups. Jump up and try to hold myself up as long as possible

Step-ups for Full Cycle (alt. 1-leg step onto 32” bench)
8 x 20 on, 10 off (didn’t count)

Pushups for Full Cycle
8 x 20 on, 10 off
1. 32
2. 29
3. 17
4. 11
5. 11
6. 13
7. 12
8. 11

Hindu Squats for Full Cycle
8 x 20 on, 10 off
17-18 on each

Russian Twists for Full Cycle
8 x 20 on, 10 off

Planned on lunges but couldn’t do it.

Add in two weeks of no workouts, prescription decongestant/anti-histamine and over-the-counter expectorants and you end up tired, dizzy and nauseated. Man, talk about a mental challenge. Working to total muscle failure on nearly every exercise is just brutal on your mind.

GFY to Dusty for telling me about this shit!