11/10: 7/10's

I went to the Noon class today with Angel. You are probably asking yourself, "Noon class on a weekday, huh?" Well I was fortunate enough to get laid off last week, so I now have some time around lunch to make a workout, and wow, was it nice to be outside during the weekday! More on this later, let's get on to the workout:

Workout:
5 Rounds for time
7 Squat Cleans (30# DB's)
10 Burpees

Time: 7:01

I felt good during this workout. Whether that was because it was the middle of the day or I was just excited to be outside, I don't know. What I do know is I should have gone heavier. I definitely could have finished in the 8 minute range with 40's. The burpees were the worst for me. My back has been real sore since doing some deadlifting last week and the motion of the burpees was a little painful, but hey, you have to endure some pain to get what you want, NOTHING COMES EASY!

Now a couple of thoughts on getting laid off. While going from a guaranteed salary and getting checks every 2 weeks to having no income obviously is not fun, I can do nothing but look at this as a positive thing. I don't have kids to support, I don't have any pets to feed, and I have a chance now to really look at what makes me happy in everyday life. Not many people get the opportunity to do this. The thought of going back into another office setting and sitting at a cubicle in order to fill the "hours" I was told I have to be there, sounds like the worst idea in the world. We were not put on this earth to waste away in dimly lit, windowless settings where our "hard work" is hardly appreciated or rewarded.

Don't get me wrong, I am all for working hard, but when you get shit from your bosses for not putting in the "extra hours" even though all of your work has been completed in an impressive fashion, that pisses me off. It turns into a competition to see who can kill the most time in the office so the bosses see you are putting in more hours so they assume you must be working hard. What I am trying to say is that if you are a cubicle dweller, you know how much time is wasted during the typical workday, and surprisingly, all of your work still seems to get done on time. Imagine if you could focus for 3-4 hours, get all of your work done for the day, and have all that time on your hands! What would you do?

This is what I have been thinking for a couple of days now and I believe that I can pull this off. I have recently realized that I am fairly good at writing and I know their is a strong need for web content writers out there. I also know that with that extra time, I would get my crossfit certification as well as some other fitness certifications, I would get into kiteboarding, Mtn bike more often, get into photography, learn the drums, most importantly LIVE MY LIFE!

So here is my goal:
By January 1st I want to be freelance writing for 5 websites, have at least 2 certifications in fitness completed and have my crossfit cert scheduled.

We will visit this in a month and a half and see where I am.

Think about what type of legacy you want to leave on this planet when you are gone. What would you think of the life you are leading when you are on your death bed. Would you be proud of your accomplishments and the path you chose or would you wish you had pursued your passions and enjoyed life? It's never too late to make a change.

Back To It: 10/17 Workout - Hateful 15 Minutes

So after taking about a week off, not by choice but by necessity, I found myself getting my ass kicked this morning.
6am Class with Kelly

Workout: 15 Minutes as many rounds of
10 Deadlifts (135)
15 Box Jumps (Tall Box)
After each exercise run to the fence

I was partnered with Neil on this one. The deadlifts were the easiest part. I definitely need to work on my momentum with the box jumps and being able to hop straight back into it after I land. I definitely felt a little lethargic this morning from not lowering my fat intake during my week off. Time to get back into it.

10/11 Workout - Max Press & Pullups

8:30 am workout with Kelly, Angel & Diane.

Workout: 5 Rounds, Max Reps
Ground Press, Body Weight (175)
Pullups

Final Score: 73, Only completed 3 Rounds

Round 1: 7 Press, 22 Pullups
Round 2: 6, 17
Round 3: 5, 16

Kelly had all of us work on our Ground Press. He showed us how we should be keeping our shoulder blades and upper part of the shoulder, completely against the ground throughout the whole press movement. This avoids putting any stress on the shoulders through the movement. I like doing this on the ground as opposed to on a bench because it doesn't allow you to cheat with momentum. It also makes you work on loading your shoulders and keeping them in a safe, loaded position throughout the movement. I was surprised on my strength in the press. The last time I ground pressed, probably about 7 months ago, I was struggling with 135 and now I feel great with 175. This stuff apparently works! The pullups felt great. I definitely could have gotten more reps on my first round.

10/9 Workout: Body Weight Challenge

6 am class with Boz. Had some whole milk before I left the Apt., definitely helps. We warmed up with the usual stuff, jump rope, pushups, squats and a run to the hydrant. Feeling surprisingly good this morning even though I got to bed late.

Workout: 5 Rounds with Partner
5 Pistols Each Leg (with or without support)
5 Weighted Pullups

7 vs. 7 Tug O' War to end the morning

I was surprised at both my pistols and my pullups. My pistols have improved greatly since the first time I did them. I am much weaker on my left leg than my right. I can almost do a right legged pistol on my own, I just need to work on the balance. Left leg has a ways to go. I started the pullups at 35# and quickly moved up to 50# for my fourth round. I got 4 pullups on my fourth and 3 on my fifth. I could have rested and gotten to five, but I wanted to see how many I could do without resting.

The Tug O' War at the end was awesome. We should do that more often.

10/7 Workout: Push Jerk Heavy

6 am class with Kevin. Real tired this morning but the whole milk definitely helped with the empty stomach.

Workout: Heavy Push Jerk
I got 3 reps with 155#

Ended the workout with Partnered Burple race.
Each Partner Does the following for time:
7 Burples
6 Burples
5 Burples
4 Burples
3 Burples
2 Burples
1 Burple

I felt good with this weight, definitely could have gone heavier. It was the first time I did push jerk from the back of my neck. I definitely need to work on the initial explosion to jerk the weight up there. Gotta jump.

I teamed up with Graham for the burples and we came in second.

10/6 Workout: Quad Tabata

7 pm class with the Angel of Death tonight. He didn't dissapoint.

Workout: 4 minutes of Tabata for each exercise (20 seconds on, 10 seconds off)
Ring Pushups
Knees to Elbows
Kettlebell Swings
Double Unders

Score: 20

Because it's tabata, you scored your lowest round. Starting at the pushups was a bad idea. Easiest was kettlebells worst was double unders. Trying to swing that jump rope as the last exercise sucked. My arms were shot by then. Next time start at Double Unders and maximize the output there.

Starting to feel better with the extra fat in my diet. I am going to stick with the two extra blocks of fat per meal for now. I am also adding some whole milk before the am classes which is also helping.

10/4 Workout - The Sweaty 15

Saturday 8:30 Class with kelly, Angel and Diane.

Warmup: Body Squats
Pushups

Workout: 15 Minutes for as many rounds of:
15 Double Unders
10 Pushups
3 Push Press each arm (45lbs DB)

Rounds: 10

I felt good during this workout. My shoulders were definitely tired as hell towards the end, but my double unders have greatly improved. The pushups were what slowed me down the most. I had to break the 10 reps up towards the end. Goal is to get at least 12 rounds next time.