Friday, February 28, 2014

Thursday and Friday Feb 28

Thursday was a cool day, but one in which I was constantly busy. Just no sitting around and making sure that I could train; I didn't get a chance to get to rugby, as I had to chase a small child around my house.

Meh, I'm ok with that.

Friday I had to make it quick, so i got this done .... migh have been to just check a box, but at least I got a training session done:

four rounds of this in less than 25 minutes.

30 step ups
20 kb swings
10 kb snatches
10 hanging knee tucks

Whew!

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Wednesday Feb 26

I got to work and gulped at my email. A lot less email, equally as demanding. I got through it, eventually.

I did also get this done for 10 rounds before having to go back and be an adult:

20 bw squats (mainly bw squats, some rounds with a 25 lb bell)
50 feet farmers walk with 60 lb bells
20 kb swings with 40 lb bell
10 hanging knee tucks

That last bit was the hardest I've ever done in the last few rounds. My grip was gone from the farmers walks and my arms were almost hanging limply at my sides.

Monday and Tuesday Feb 25

Monday was crammed. I understood that might happen when I looked at my work email and saw what people were asking me to do. How many people get more that 10 emails at work and more than 40 emails at home a day? I do... eesh. On top of that, had a rugby exec meeting Monday too.

Meh ... I got through it all.

Tuesday I got my boxing cardio session done:

10 rounds of
 hitting the heavy bag for 2 minutes
kettlebell swings for 1:30.

I used the 56 lb bells for the second part of the workout. Whoa, that was killer, man.

Monday, February 24, 2014

Friday, Saturday and Sunday Feb 23

Friday was a wild one, and I was so sore. I took a day off of training and my body really appreciated it.

Saturday I spent half the day in a bingo hall and the other half chasing my son around the city. When I got home, I just fell down and slept.

Sunday I did this for four rounds:

20 bw squats
15 step ups each side
20 kb swings
20 seated knee tucks
10 push ups

I did the push ups that the dude from the Crossfit place I saw a few weeks ago. Elbows nice and tight to the body ... which were a lot harder to do that the elbows out version I'm used to. Meh, felt good.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Wednesday and Thursday Feb 20

These were nice and normal days, which of course, means training.

Wednesday ... I don't know why I didn't blog this yesterday, but whatever ... I got a good TT Cardio training without cardio workout. I got this done for ten rounds and then had to go back and be a grown up.
Yeah, that's gross

20 squats - some rounds were bodyweight, some rounds were kb goblet squats
50 feet of farmers walks with two 88 lb kettlebells
20 kb swings using a 40 lb bell
10 ball slams
10 hanging knee tucks

That was an excellent workout. Left feeling awesome. Simply just a spectacular workout.

Thursday was a nice normal day, so ... training again. This workout came from the New Zealand Rugby Coaching toolbox website.

I got this done for three rounds ... only three as I have indoor rugby tonight.
totally resembles me

20 bw squats
10 overhead presses with 40 lb db
10 hanging knee tucks - also got a few hanging leg lifts (see pic)
10 roll backs to overhead medicine ball throw with a 10 lb ball

after doing that three rounds, got this done for three rounds:
20 bw squats
10 db flies 40 lb dbs
10 db single arm rows 40 lb dbs
10 reverse flies 15 lb dbs used

Much later in the day, rugby. After that, spent a good hour digging out snow and ice and water from around my house before going to bed. Crazy neighbour still out there, doing what they do.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Sunday Monday and Tuesday Feb 18


Yeah, this wasn't my set of days. I was active, but didn't get a training session in on Sunday or Monday. I did do some shoveling ... what fun that was, by the way... getting really sick of this white crap all over the place.

Sunday was an off day, but I had to drive people to places and entertain a certain three year old opera singer. I did see some really cool Rugby League 9's from Auckland, though. Interesting discussion on Twitter and Facebook about it, too. One guy I was chatting with was in Brisbane, Aus, while the other was in Dundas, ON. I like this intertubz thingy.

Monday was a day in which I had to drive around and around and attend a birthday party for my middle child. I did do a lot of chasing and lifting of my kids and others. Kinda fun, actually. It snowed a lot later on in the day, too.

Tuesday I was off at training for the day and so no chance to run off for lunch. I did get this done laer on in the evening for five rounds:

20 bw squats
20 kb swings  - used a yellow 16 kilo bell
15 step ups each side
10 hanging knee tucks

Five rounds of that was a pretty decent session. I do hope the warming weather that is coming will melt all the ice around me. Eesh, I am getting sick of it.

Monday, February 17, 2014

Friday and Saturday Feb 15

Friday was another messed up day. Just nothing went my way and I played catch up the whole day.

Saturday, I got into my garage and closed the door and got this done for five rounds before the world came in and made me go be a dad.

20 bw squats
20 swings of a yellow kb
20 step ups
10 hanging knee tucks

Just the basics, but at least I got something done.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Wed and Thursday Feb 13

Wednesday ... was a wild day, man. A number of things conspired against my training session. Not the least of which was a surprise meeting. I really have never liked meetings in the first place and surprise ones ... or at least ones that I forgot about and then recalled having to go to at the last minute ... are always a drag.

That one was no exception.

In any case, I didn't train Wednesday. Although I was feeling Monday and Tuesday's training session in my legs and arms, so ... a rest day was taken.

Thursday, I got this done for four rounds:

10 bench db flies
10 bench db rows
10 reverse bench flies
20 bw squats

10 kb deadlifts (last two rounds an 88 pound kb was used)
20 two handed swings
10 hanging knee tucks

On the home front, things are going well. At least everyone has stopped hacking up a lung and is back to being just mildly irritated by the snow all over the place. I keep telling myself I can't go for runs, as there is so much ice on the sidewalks around here and I keep telling myself to suck it up.

That was until Wednesday morning when I slipped and fell on my own sidewalk. Yeah, I'd like ot get a rowing machine for next winter, thanks.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Tuesday Feb 11

When I woke up today, all I could think about was "What was I going to do for training today?"

As I checked my email, I found a message from TT and my question was answered. I did this for ten rounds in about 28 minutes

20 bw squats
50 step farmers walk with a 60 lb kettlebell in each hand
20 kb swings (40 lb bell used)
10 slam balls slammed
10 hanging knee tucks

For three or four rounds, tried to get 3 chin ups as well. My forearms were smoked, however and I had to stop. As I'm typing this much later in the day, I'm still feeling a bit of pain.

Monday, February 10, 2014

Monday Feb 10

I'm going to start to use Comic Life on these shots again...
I'm truly hoping this week doesn't go sideways like last week. Too many missed things, and I'm now coming to the realization that I can't out train a bad diet.

Like I needed that pointed out to me again.

I got my boxing session done, and I got it done well. At the end I measured my HR at it was up at about 160 bpm. Not bad.

In any case, got this done for ten rounds before having to go and be a grown up:

2 minutes hitting the heavy bag
1:30 kettlebell swings, cleans, snatches etc.


Saturday Feb 8 ... and a pause for a shout out

I haven't done one of these in a while, as I've been seriously stupid busy at work. I do like going to different gyms, doing a workout and then writing about it.

This time I went to Sports Training Academy in Oakville with a buddy of mine and his 11 year old and one of the 11 year old's buddies. The four of us arrived on time and got things going on right away.

As it was my first official time being in a CrossFit place, I elected to do their introduction workout. I got this done in 6:40:

500 m rowing (on a Concept 2 ... a very nice ride .... kinda like the Spyder that Ferris Bueller drove)
40 bodyweight squats
30 push ups
20 sit ups
10 bodyweight rows in lieu of chin ups

Before we got started, I met another young man who was also in for his first time. He was about my age, a little heavier and hadn't trained at all. The instructor, Dan, was pretty good at meeting, watching and giving feedback on our forms. Seems I've been doing push ups with my elbows out for a while. I knew that, and it was nice to be reminded not to.  Everything else checked out, so we got it done.

Yeah, the chin ups weren't going to happen, at least not without a crane this time around. That was a nice wake up call to me. I need to start getting those done in my regular workouts.

As mentioned above, I got that workout done in 6:40. A nice time, I think. I wasn't rushed, but I just kept at it. I think I could have gone faster, but I wasn't pushed or made to feel that I should go faster. It was nice to have someone else doing the same workout as me, in about the same time frame, too. A real plus, to be frank.

After, Dan asked me if I wanted to do the partner WOD. I declined, instead doing the Strength WOD as it was written on the big board. So, after that workout, I did this for five rounds:

5-8 deadlifts  with about ... I'm guessing here... like 90 lbs on the bar.
10 Kettlebell swings mostly with the 60 lb bell.

Not a bad little workout. Then, I helped keep eyes on one of the 11 year olds, as he was just needing some help with safety in the gym. No worries, glad to help.

In the end, I was glad to have gone and get to train with some very pleasant people. I do spend a lot of my time inside my own garage, arguing with myself. I liked Sports Training Academy - good training site, a little rough around the edges - a real plus for me - and some kick ass people running the place. 
from their Facebook page


Friday, February 7, 2014

Wed, thurs and Fri Feb 7

I just really hate winter. This week did nothing but confirm it. Wednesday was a really big storm that hit during the rush hour. I got to work and spent the day working for myself and other people who called in sick. I got home to hip deep snow on my driveway. I cleared that, only to have to do more when the plough man came through my 'hood later on. Thursday was rugby, although I wanted to train during the day, I couldn't make it happen. I did do extra stretching and a lot of sprinting during the hour on the pitch, though. Friday was another piece of crap day. I got ready to train and then ... I'm beinng honest here, fell asleep. It was weird, I closed my eyes and ... boom ... it was an 90 minutes later and I had to go be a dad.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Tues Feb 4

Eesh. Some things in life ... I got stuck at work today, so no workout before picking up the kids. I did get this done, though:

10 rounds of

20 bw squats
20 kb swings - used the 16 kilo bell
10 step ups each side
10 hanging knee tucks

I just had to get something done. Man, I just had to get something done.

I was talking to a rugby guy/AT last week. He commented that I was "In a rut" but that "he liked this workout". It's basically a repeat of something I did last Thursday, except I didn't get the farmers walks in. Something about it being a small garage in my house or something prevented me from getting that done. In any case, I got my training in for the day. I'm hoping for a snow day tomorrow.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Sunday and Monday Feb 3

Sunday was a snowy day and so I got a lot of informal work done while shovelling snow ... twice! In a rather surreal moment that keeps repeating itself, I offered to help my friendly neightbour clear off his drive way and he said no.

At this point, I can only assume I smell particularly bad or something.

In any case, I got this done on Monday for ten rounds:

2:30 seconds hitting the heavy bag
1:20 seconds of kettlebell lifting, swinging or use.

With the kettlebell, I mainly did cleans. I got to 35-40 reps for each round, which isn't bad when you consider the length of time. Still not a bad workout.

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Friday Jan 31 and Sat Feb 1

Friday was intended ot be a training day, but work just got in the way. I'm glad to have had the expereicne in the last five months, but I'm also glad for a change of scenery in my job.

I've also put together proposals to speak to groups about what I learned form my experiences over the last few months. I'll let you know if anyone wants to hear me blather on about online learning.

In any case, Friday was a "rest" day, as my career required me to focus on keeping my stuff together.

I fell asleep on the couch Friday night, and it was probably for the best. My wife, God bless her, is as sick as a dog at the moment. Her hacking cough isn't helpful for sleep. I realize that staying away from her isn't the most husbandly thing to do, biut I have to do as much as I can to stay healthy for the rest of the family.

In any case, I knew Saturday was going to be a gong show, so I got up early and did a quick session before everyone woke up:

15 kn cleans
15 kb clean and presses
10 kb one arm rows
10 kb snatches
20 body weight squats

By the time I was done, the family was up and I was off to be a dad. No to try and stay healthy.