Long, slow cardio

I read a post today written by someone that is sick of HIIT cardio, and has decided to do longer, slower cardio. He says that he HATES HIIT.

Ummm....yeah. I hate it too. In fact, about 75-80% of the time, I'm not all that big a fan of exercising in general. By that I mean exercising for the sake of exercising. If I was riding a bike or rowing a boat or playing a sport for enjoyment, I wouldn't consider it exercising. HIIT is particularly heinous. It is designed to bring you right to the edge of your body's capability. Our minds and our bodies don't like that. But when we force ourselves, our bodies adapt to protect themselves. That's how we get better.

Why do I do it? Why do I look forward to doing some of the more challenging Crossfit workouts? Because it works. Period. You can run for ten miles every day, and if you try one these CF workouts will fry your ass....and make you better in the process.

I guess it really depends upon your goals. If you want to really build some muscle mass, you aren't going to get it done doing a ton of long slow cardio. If you love it, then go ahead. Just don't have expectations that you're going to add a ton of lean muscle AND run ten miles a day, cause it ain't gonna happen. Sorry to burst your bubble on that.

Anyway, if you have any questions, you can find me on the beach playing with my kids. I've got time to do that, because I only did two four minute Tabata interval sprints. I was finished in ten minutes. I'll see you in a couple of hours after you're finished wearing out your sneakers!

One step up and two steps back

Having been away for a few days, there was a danger that I was going to be missing workouts. Fortunately, I got them all in and worked them pretty good too. I was back in the gym today, and had a very strong UBWO, even though I was lacking in motivation today.

I made some progress getting through Starting Strength. It is a technical read, so it does take some time. I want to finish the instruction postion of the book before moving on to programming. Once I start, I'll be (hopefully) moving weight up rapidly, and I want my form to be impeccable.

Once again, my eating was all over the map. I seemed to start evey day not eating anything for hours, then having a decent meal, and then the roof caved in. I ended each day looking at the effects of the past month and a half around my waist, and then start the same thing the next day. I'm really sick of it.

I have allowed situation and poor planning to derail me, and I've been making excuses for myself. It needs to stop. Now.

Yesterday was the first time

since last weeks LBWO that I wasn't still suffering from lower body muscle pain. Those weighted walking lunger are murder. I briefly toyed with not doing them today, but quickly came to me senses. I did them with squats and some calve raises. I'll add some deadlifts again next week. Good workout.

At the end, I decided to do a Tabata workout using only burpees. Burpees really are a killer. My lungs were burning with lactic acid by the time I was finished. I don't often get that anymore. Running doesn't do it to me...or at least not very much. Tabata burpees seem to bring it out very nicely, thank you. I lost count of my reps, but since I'm writing, I clearly did a few less than what would have killed me....but not by a lot.

My food has been back under control today. I forced myself to make a good luncg choice that I didn't want to make. I'd really like to get back to that being an easy choice instead of a hard one.

Case in point

I had a very good UBWO today. I was planning to do a tabata interval at the end of my workout, but hadn't planned what it would be. My upper body was spent, and I have lower body tomorrow. I thought about doing some snatches or thrusters. I ended up running out of time and doing nothing.

This is exactly why i need to assemble a program. I need to know what I'm doing before walking into the gym.

Good workout anyway, but not as good as it could have been.

Im sick of writing the same things

and then doing something else.

My eating has been lousy. Yes...it could be worse, but that isn't any consolation. I'm eating the wrong foods too often, too much too often, not frequently enough too often. The weekends are the biggest culprit, but I'm getting some slippage during the week too.

I've got to get back on track immediately. There is no good reason for this little party I've been having. To make it worse, I missed yesterday's workout. I don't like missing workout to begin with, but missing one and eating like crap just adds insult to injury.

My goals right now?

1. By the end of next week, I want to finish reading Starting Strength and develop a workout program that will have specific strength goals. The program will encompass CF style met-con workouts in addition to running. Workout hard every time out.

2. Get my eating back to a clean BFL style eating plan.


3. Within a month, finish reading The Zone and plan a new meal plan that skews a bit towards a paleo lifestyle. Implement the plan, making sure to cook enouogh food for my family to eat as well.

I'll be back later.

Kick butt UBWO

Short on time. I worked it hard today, and I'm proud. Of course, the four slices of pizza I had for dinner last night was not on the meal plan. That was not good. Back to work now!

Going backwards

I seem to be losing ground on my running lately. I don't know if it's the extra weight from vacation, or if it's doing sprints instead of 5k runs. I seem to be having some trouble maintaining speed on my longer runs. I'm doing fine on the 400 and 800m sprints, but when I try to run 2.5 miles and up, I struggle to keep going. Maybe I need to do the sprints in addition to the 5k runs, not instead of. Maybe I need to rid my body of about ten pounds of fat. Maybe I should stop making excuses and just push the hell out of myself. I have to admit I'm a bit concerned about moving to CF and not regularly running a 5k.

Anyway, I pushed through it, but I'm not pleased.

Rubber legs

Good squat day today. I didn't do any deadlifts, since my back is still reminding me that it's a bit tender. My favorite new leg exercise is weighted walking lunges. Holy mackerel! Those things are deadly! I was very pleased with my LBWO today. So much so that I decided to do a four minute Tabata interval using air squats at the end of my workout. I totalled 93 squats, and had a lot of difficulty walking afterwords. Tabata squats after a LBWO = Hobble. Torture = Fun. My only complaint is that my legs were so spent, I was only barely gasping for breath during the four minutes. I'm used to being nearly unable to breathe when doing these. Perhaps squats on leg day weren't the best choice, huh?

I love/hate pullups

I'm beginning to wonder whether it's the pullups that are beating the hell out of this old body of mine. I've got the shoulder thing going on, and I also have bicep pain all the time these days as well. I'm trying to stay away from kipping pulls because they put additional stress on the joints. I don't know.

The good news is that my lats are wider, thicker and stronger than they have ever been. If I do a few sets of curls, I'm able to use heavier weight than ever before. While the pullups may be hurting me, they are building me up too. I hate the thought of laying off them for a while. I don't want to lose what I've gained.

Maybe I need to rest a bit more. I do two UBWO each week, and one LBWO. Maybe I should go back to the BFL splits of two one week and one the next. I need to think a bit.

Anyway, I had a strong UBWO today. I needed it!

I find it hard to believe

that I used to run in the mornings. I've done it twice recently, today included. It's hard getting a body going that was in a peaceful slumber minutes prior to starting. I get winded way too easily. I ran a BFL style HIIT cardio today, and I felt like I could barely hang on. I wasn't pushing the speed or anything. It was just tough going. Perhaps I haven't been running my 5k often enough anymore. Running the sprints is great, but you don't run for 20+ consecutive minutes doing them. I don't know. Maybe I should add some sprints after my HIIT. I'll see.

I'm not talking about my eating this past weekend. Enough said.

My back is still a little tweaked. I did crunches for abs for the first time in ages.

The untimely death of newscaster Tim Russert once again hammers home the message we should all hear. I keep this quote close to me at all times:

To a great extent, the health problems experienced by the members of the ridiculous culture in which we live are self-inflicted. They are result of the reluctance of the bulk of the population to do anything that is either physically hard or something that they don’t want to do. People seem to have acquired the idea that they have the inalienable right to stroll through life without having sweated, picked up anything heavy, worked hard, or eaten less than they wanted at every meal. This approach is, of course, wrong. And it has resulted in a lot of expensive, unattractive, and entirely preventable problems amongst people who seem puzzled about why things aren’t going well.--Mark Rippetoe

You can be sure the family of Tim Russert wishes he did as well.

Ready for a rest day

After cranking out my UBWO today, I have to say that I'm more than ready for a rest day. Pretty much every muscle in my body is a bit sore right now. That tells me I worked hard enough this week, but it is time to give myself some time to recuperate.

Eating about 90%. Nothing else much. No deep thoughts today.

Cardio day mixed with abs

Today, I decided to repeat a CF workout I did in March. It was:

Four rounds for time:
Run 400 meters
Rest 2 minutes


1:38
1:33
1:28
1:28
Total time 12:07

Ran on a treadmill at a 1.0 incline.

My total time in March was 11:58. To be fair, the gym has new treadmills that take far too long to get up to the speed you set. This easily cost me quite a bit more than the nine seconds I fell short of my previous time. Still, I don't like seeing time go backwards.

I also ran a moderate half mile before and after the 400m runs, and finished off with four sets of situps/bicycles.

Oh... my quads, hammys, and especially glutes are protesting yesterdays workout. I know I did good!

I had a bit of a revelation today

I was watching this woman finish up her workout. She was thin...almost too thin. I see her at the gym all the time. She goes to aerobics classes, then jumps on the stairmaster, then does a bunch of other stuff. She probably works out at least two hours a day. She has the slightest bit of fat right below her navel. It must drive her crazy. She'd probably work out three hours a day just to get rid of it if she could. Of course, she'd be working against herself if she did that, but the mind doesn't always listen to reason. How do I know that? Because I do the same thing sometimes!

It got me to thinking. We are bombarded with so much input on a daily basis as to what the "perfect" body is supposed to look like. There's only one problem. The "perfect" body isn't something that is easily sustainable. It may not even be healthy to sustain. Bodybuilding and fitness competitors do NOT always look show ready 365 days a year. We perceive that they are, because that's how we get to see them. It's ridiculous.

When we assess where we are, we should think about performance first. We should be realistic in our goals. I know when I've added too much extra fat to my body. I know that my diet is 80% of my performance and appearance. The key is to understand where to draw the line on that "extra" fat. By all means, if you been lax, do what you need to in order to get rid of it. But don't spend so much time and effort thinking you need to look as if you can wash clothes on your abs every day of the year. It's not realistic, very likely not sustainable, and will lead to a lot of disappointment. Maybe I'll get the washboard someday; maybe I won't. Maybe I'll live my life at 10-11% bodyfat instead of 6%. Honestly, I'm fine with that. I need to live my life for me, not some ideal that I saw in a magazine. Health and performance are the most important parts of a fitness program. The rest is just gravy if you can get there. Just be realistic. Beat yourself up over what you should beat yourself up over, not what you shouldn't.

That was fun

I had a very good time with my squats and deadlifts today. My squat form was spot on again. It is so much easier to power out of the squat when your form is correct. I was a bit concerned about the deads, since my back is still a bit tweaked from last week. They worked out fine. I held good position and the back feels better than before. I also added some weighted walking lunges. They get pretty challenging pretty quickly.

For my grand finale, I did a 4 minute Tabata set of Burpees with a 20" box jump at the end. Yup. They smoked me. I'm really looking forward to having drastically improved metabolic conditioning from adding these Tabata sets to the end of my workout. I know they will improve my CF times as well.

UBWO and Tabata Intervals

I had a very good UBWO today, even though I felt a bit weak today. No matter. I pushed myself through and I earned my stripes.

At the end of the workout, I did two, four minute Tabata cycles for my abs. I've done Tabata sprints before, but I'd not really done it with other types of exercises. CF does have "Tabata this" workout, but I never really put it together before. One of my old Tracker buddies wrote about Bodybot the other day. From what I can see, it appears that the Bodybot workouts are really Tabata intervals. The idea is you do twenty seconds of work followed by ten seconds of rest. You repeat these cycles with one or more exercises until you finish four minutes.

I did four different ab exercises today in the two four minute rounds (K2E, situps, bicylcles and mountain climbers). I'm going to make sure I add one or two of these to the end of every weight training workout. I think they will help me tremendously in my met-con work, and they will help fire up my metabolism too. I had a lot of fun with it, if you consider torture fun!

Just being alive isn't living

This post is going to be a mixed bag of different stuff.

First off, I've been following the story of a tracker and her family dealing with the terminal illness of her daughter Jonnae. On June 9th, Jonnae succumbed to her illness after a battle that lasted several years. This one hit close to home for me, because I have a family member that was diagnosed with the same illness nearly ten years ago. Fortunately, treatment for him was successful, and we have a very different story to tell. That being said, it is with us every day, and you never again feel comfortable about it.

I also came across this post yesterday. I wholeheartedly agree with her sentiments.

We spend far too much of our lives just existing instead of thriving. We have received the gift of life, and we should cherish that gift. For all of the Jonnaes out there...and for ourselves... it is our obligation to live in a way that makes our short time on this earth worthwhile. We should push ourselves and care for ourselves. We should challenge ourselves daily. We should focus on the good in our lives and let go of the bad. We will all have ups and downs. It is how we deal with these things...the downs in particular...that defines who we are and how we will be remembered. I feel a little silly reading the story of Jonnae and her family and how they dealt with her illness, and then thinking about some of the silly things I let affect me in a negative way, and how I let that affect others around me. I don't want to live like that any more.

Crossfit WOD

Ten rounds for time of:
12 Burpees
12 Pull-ups

Total time was 27:44

This was a great metcon workout...and those pullups got pretty damned tough. I'll skip back on my Tuesday UBWO this week for sure.

Cardio in the morning

It was stuffy and hot in the gym this morning. I couldn't tell whether my struggle running was due to that or due to the fact that I don't run in the morning anymore. I didn't like it much today. Not at all...but I did it. HIIT cardio. I'm pleased I got it in.

Watch that form!

My back is okay today, feeling just the slightest bit tender. I'm lucky. I think I had some form problems on deadlifts yesterday. The funny thing is, I was trying so hard to make sure that I didn't start changing the angle of my back until I had completed my hip extension on the lift that I held the back angle too long, into the quad extension. Finally, at the end of the movement, I changed back angle. It was too late at that point, and it strained my back a bit.

I should have known I was screwing it up, because they just didn't feel right. Anyway, I'll have to watch that next time I do deadlifts.

I'm juggling my schedule just a bit for the next few days. I'll do my UBWO today, and cardio tomorrow. I'll do cardio on Monday and UBWO agin on Tuesday. It will work better with the rest of my schedule.

LBWO today

My lower back is a bit tender today. After those back extensions doing Michael, squats, deadlifts and stiff leg deadlifts today caused my back to protest a bit. My form was good. I just overdid it a bit. I should reserve Michaels for Thursdays in the future.

Food clean again.

Michael today

My time was 23:54, which is 12 seconds slower than my record, but 1:45 better than my time two weeks ago. After my shower, Mr. Pukie was in the general area, but luckily he didn't come knocking at my door. I'm very happy with my workout today.

Michel is:

Three rounds for time of:
Run 800 meters
50 Back Extensions
50 Sit-ups

Food is squeaky clean today.

Two posts in one

I did some sprints over the weekend. I really do need to do them more often. When you jog all the time, you almost "forget" how to sprint all out. The body just isn't accustomed to doing it anymore. As kids, we spend our days running all over the place playing games. Now, I need to train myself to do that again. At least once per week, I'm doing some sprints.

I had a very good UBWO today. I went a bit heavier than last week, and feel good. I want to make progress, not stagnate.

Food....starved for most of Saturday, pigged out on Sunday. Not good. Today is better.