80 Percent Simple and Sinister Practice One

I took two days off after the Gruntwork kettlebell deadlift and farmer carry session on May 8th. Really needed it as I was quite sore, especially my left hip and upper back. Back in the saddle today.

Movement Prep Giant Sets

1. Assisted Squats 3x5
2. Hip Bridge(Raise) 3x5 
3. Kettlebell Halo 3x5 per direction 35lbs.

8/10 Simple and Sinister

• One Hand Swings 8x10x16kg
• Get Ups 8x1x16kg

Cool Down Stretching Super Sets

• 90/90 Stretch 3x30 seconds per side
• QL Straddle Stretch 3x30 seconds per side

Felt good after the movement prep. Warm, loose and ready to go. Prep took 10:05.

Upped sets of swings and get ups to 8, thus the 80% in the title. Took my time with swings with plenty of rest in between sets as this is practice not a test. Same for get ups. Still got my heart rate up and got a good sweat going. Focused on generating power on swings and really squeezing my glutes at the top. Focused on form during get ups, keeping kettlebell arm strait, getting square, etc. Kettlebell practice took 20:35.

I forgot to do my plank practice, bummer. Guess I'll go do one now. Cooled down w/ the recommended S&S stretches. Cool down was 8:30. Everything feels better now. Tomorrow will be a longish (for me) walk. I walked 21:20 this past Thursday.

Trying to Get Pain Free

I haven't done much besides walk for a long time. Trying to get my left hip as pain free as possible. I did Original Strength resets & the Dynamic Aging routine semi-consistently for a while. I started on the Gold Medal Bodies Elements program but fell off in week 2. Since then just trying to get my steps up. I managed to average 7138 steps during May while I had a goal of 6K steps. This month I'm upping my goal to 7K.

I got down to my lowest weight on May 28th at 248.0 pounds. That's my lowest weight since August 28th, 2017. In the intervening time, I've gotten as high as 256. I attribute that to a couple of things. First, walking more as for a while I was only getting 3K or 4K a day. Second, I've been trying with maybe only 60-70% success is following the 4S+A diet. That is no Snacks, no Seconds, no Sweets, and no Alcohol except on Sometimes on days that start w/ S. Third I've been trying to get 7 hours of sleep per night. Fourth, one of my aunts sent me some Laird Superfood for my birthday. I've been using it in my coffee in the morning. It fuels me pretty well and I'm able to maintain a 16-20 hour fast most week days. Occasionally I'll have some bone broth around lunch or mid-afternoon.

Now to keep the weight going down. My conservative goal for the end of June is 245. If I get lower that will be a bonus. I'm going to restart the GMB Elements tomorrow. Also the last couple of weeks I've been doing Farmer carries and Suitcase carries with my 35 pound kettlebells a few times a week. I'll probably throw in a couple days of upper body weight workouts as well.

Quick Kettlebell Practice

I didn't train yesterday. I only got six hours of sleep the night before. I trained hard the day before yesterday and didn't really feel up to it yesterday. I listened to my body. I ate two good meals, lunch and dinner. I was good to go this morning.

I didn't wear my Fitbit Blaze to bed last night, it needed a charge. So, I don't have an exact measurement of my sleep last night. I estimate I got between 7 and 8 hours of sleep. Like I said, I felt very good when I got up this morning. The weather is awesome...and strange. The low last night was 66°F and the humidity this morning was only 39%. This made for super comfortable training conditions. I trained barefoot and shirtless as normal.

Original Strength Reset

• Cross Crawl - 20 per side 
• Crocodile Breathing - 2 minutes
• Head Nods - 20 reps
• Rolling - 4 reps left and right first leading w/ arms then legs
• Rocking - 20 reps
• Crawling - 3 minutes

Simple and Sinister

• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings  6 x 10 x 53 lbs
• Turkish Get Ups R, L, R, L, R, L x 1 x 53 lbs

I'm still going to cycle my training for now as follows 10 sets day one, 6 sets day two, 8 sets day three, then repeat. Taking rest days as appropriate of course. Today was a 6 set day. That came in handy as I had an 0900 meeting today for work.

Warm up was as usual, nothing extra. Just enough to get a light sweat going, muscles & joints warm and flexible. Total time 13:49. Kettlebell practice was short and sweet. Nothing much to say, felt good. Total time 13:54. I've not been getting my steps in everyday since I went on vacation. I'll make a more concerted effort to do so from today on.

Red Tailed Hawks and Kettlebells

So another perk of training outside is to either be lying on your back preparing to do a get up or doing  some weighted carries and see a red tailed circling overhead. That's freaking cool. Not something that you'll experience when you're training inside a big box gym or even inside your own in house gym. This has happened to me a couple of times. Today as I was doing finishing get ups I noticed the shadow of a hawk in my driveway. As I started my carries it circled over again and I watched it as much as I could. Of course since I was training so I couldn't take a picture. So, the included picture is from the US Forest Service. 

Warmed up with an Original Strength Reset

• Cross Crawl - 20 per side 
• Crocodile Breathing - 2 minutes
• Head Nods - 20 reps
• Rolling - 4 reps left and right first leading w/ arms then legs
• Rocking - 30 reps
• Crawling - 3 minutes

Hip Bridges 5 reps

Simple and Sinister

• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 8 x 10 x 44 lbs
• Turkish Get Ups L, R, L, R, L, R, L, R x 1 x 44 lbs

Finisher

• 2 x Waiter-Rack-Suitcase Carry with 25-25-44 lb Kettlebell
• 2 x Farmer's Walk with 2 44 lb Kettlebells

The warm up was fine. I did a little extra rocking coming up to a tall kneeling position and full hip extension and opening up my hip flexors. I also did some extra hip bridges, I just felt like I needed it. Total warm up time 16:18.

Kettlebell practice was as normal. Swings were EMOM. I was a little wobbly on the first rep of getups but then I got solid thereafter. I finished my 80% S&S in 17 minutes as planned.

I rested a bit and then started doing some loaded carries. I had listened to an episode of the Everyday Athlete Podcast in which I was reminded that the waiter walk carry is really supposed to be with the bell held bottoms up. Therefore I had to sacrifice weight and do the waiter's walks and rack walks w/ a 25lb. Then I picked up a 44 for the suitcase carries. Waiter down, rack back, suitcase down and back left handed, switch hands and repeat. Rest a bit, repeat both hands. Rest a bit then farmer's walks w/ 44's down and back. Rest a bit. Repeat. Total kettlebell time 40:45.

I think I did a little bit too much on the carries. It was hot. When I was done and cooled off all I wanted to do was shower, eat and take a nap. I did the first two and was revived enough to skip the nap as I'm finally going to go see Wonder Woman! 

I did not get my steps in yesterday. I was just under 7K and my current goal is 8k. And I didn't do any kettlebell practice yesterday either, I let it be a recovery day after three straight days of training. I know S&S is supposed to be daily practice but I'm 51 years old and need to work back up to that, also my left hip seems to need a break every few days.

Outdoor Training

It's nice to train outdoors, you get plenty of fresh air and sunshine, usually. However, it has rained the last two evenings which makes crawling in the grass less fun. At least the carport was dry so I could do other stuff without getting wet or falling and busting my ass.

Performance Preparation

Original Strength Reset

• Cross Crawl - 20 per side
• Crocodile Breathing - 2 minutes
• Head Nods - 20 reps
• Rolling - 4 reps left and right first leading w/ arms then legs
• Rocking - 20 reps
• Crawling - 3 minutes

Wide Leg Founder 1
1 Set of 5 reps Kettlebell Halo w/ 25 lbs.

1 Arm Bar per side, 1 minute each w/ 25 lbs.

Simple and Sinister

• One Hand Kettlebell Swings R, L, R, L x 10 x 35 lbs
• One Hand Kettlebell Swings R, L, R, L, x 10 x 44 lbs
• One Hand Kettlebell Swings R, L x 10 x 35 lbs
• Turkish Get Ups R, L, R, L x 1 x 35 lbs
• Turkish Get Ups R, L, R, L x 1 x 44 lbs R, L
• Turkish Get Ups R, L x 1 x 35 lbs per side

I don't know why I didn't workout yesterday except that I went to be late and got up late. Oh, it was really wet in the carport, too. Anyway, I slowed around this morning and had to make my training time short so I only meditated for 5 minutes instead of 10. I also didn't do my planned direct ab work again. Performance prep went fine. Total prep time was 20:17 which was nearly 2 minute longer than Tuesday! I don't know why since I was trying to hurry and I did the exact same movements.

Started my swings with my right hand today. I actually felt strong with the 44lb bell. I could have done a couple more sets at that weight. I think I'll move up on my next training day. I didn't go up today since I didn't train yesterday.

Get ups with the 44 felt better but I don't think I'm ready to do anymore sets at that weight yet. I wasn't wobbly and didn't tweak anything but still. I want to be really solid and easy with the weight before I add more sets with it. Total kettlebell time 19:57. I only got 6517 steps yesterday despite volunteering at the varsity lacrosse scrimmage.

Monday Morning Kettlebell Practice

I got plenty of sleep over the weekend. Took some megadoses of vitamin C, too despite there being little evidence of the efficacy against the common cold. However, I feel better. I know it's anecdotal and a "N of 1" experiment, but oh well. I was good enough to go today so I did.

Performance Preparation

Original Strength Reset

• Cross Crawl - 20 per side 
  
• Crocodile Breathing - 2 minutes
• Head Nods - 20 reps
• Rolling - 4 reps left and right first leading w/ arms then legs
• Rocking - 20 reps
• Crawling - 3 minutes

Wide Leg Founder 1
1 Set of 5 reps Kettlebell Halo w/ 25 lbs.

1 Arm Bar per side, 1 minute each w/ 25 lbs.

Simple and Sinister

• One Hand Kettlebell Swings 4 x 10 x 35 lbs  L, R
• One Hand Kettlebell Swings 4 x 10 x 44 lbs  L, R
• One Hand Kettlebell Swings 2 x 10 x 35 lbs  L, R
• Turkish Get Ups 4 x 1 x 35 lbs L, R
• Turkish Get Ups 4 x 1 x 44 lbs L, R
• Turkish Get Ups 2 x 1 x 35 lbs L, R

Good prep, good training session overall. Felt really good to get loosened up, to be outside in the sunshine and cool crisp air. Original Strength resets really make me feel good. When I don't do at least one reset a day I can tell the difference. Total prep time 20:37. Cold and breezy enough that I kept my sweats on for the entire training session.

On to Simple and Sinister. Did all sets of swings one handed. Felt strong. Good form and power through all sets. Get ups were strong. The sets with the 44lb kettlebell were hard but better than the first couple of times I did them. I'm going to stay with this set, rep, weight scheme for at least another four days. Total kettlebell time 20:20. Only got 3018 steps yesterday, already have more today.

My Left Hip Is the Boss

Yesterday, 01/17/2017, my hip was really bothering me. I didn't get my full steps in. I decided not to do my kettlebell practice also. I did do some rolling of my glutes, hamstrings, quads and other hip flexors and extensors last night while watching basketball on television. Made me feel better today. Meant to post this yesterday but oh well. Here it is.

Exercise for Energy

I've been told that your exercise routine should make you feel energized and ready to face the day rather than leave you wondering if you can even walk up the steps into your house. Of course, sometimes you need to go all out but most of the time like the strong men of old it's better to leave a little in the tank. You should feel better when you're done than when you started. That's exactly what this combination of Original Strength with Kettlebell Simple and Sinister does for me.

It may seem strange to recommend training without days off when the goal is storing energy, but moderate daily training will keep the muscles’ fuel tanks topped off, while making tissues resistant to microtrauma and almost soreness-proof. It is the ticket to being always ready. Pavel Tsatsouline in Kettlebell Simple and Sinister

Even with that approach, I still made another sweat angel today. Hahaha!

Performance Preparation

Original Strength Reset

• Cross Crawl - 20 per side 
  
• Crocodile Breathing - 2 minutes
• Head Nods - 20 reps
• Rolling - 4 reps left and right first leading w/ legs then arms
• Rocking - 20 reps
• Crawling - 3 minutes

Wide Leg Founder 1
1 Set of 5 reps Kettlebell Halo w/ 25 lbs.

1 Arm Bar per side, 1 minute each w/ 20 lbs.

6 Minute Abs

1. Myotatic Crunch 1 x 10
2. Cat Vomit Exercise 1 x 10

Simple and Sinister

• One Hand Kettlebell Swings 10 x 10 x 35 lbs R, L, R, L, R, L, R, L, R, L
• Turkish Get Ups 5 x 1 x 35 lbs per side

I didn't skim through the OS reset book as I mentioned yesterday so I did the same routine. Still felt good. I did tack on direct ab work today. Total prep time 24:32.

As planned all of my swings were the one hand version today. Also, did all my get ups with the same 35 lb kettlebell. Felt good, even easy. But just to be on the safe side I'll stay with this set, rep and weight scheme for a few days then start working in the 20kg (44lb) kettlebell. Total ketllebell time 19:59. I only got in 3987 steps yesterday, not good but it was raining nearly all day. BTW, my glutes and hamstrings have some significant soreness. Maybe I'm hinging at the hips even better?

Warm Again

I stopped watching TV at 2200 hours and got under the covers. I was quickly asleep. However, my Fitbit Charge HR didn't recognize me as being asleep until after 0100! I'm sure I got more than hours of sleep as I didn't get up until about 0615. Therefore, I engaged in my kettlebell practice today after two days of skipping it due to lack of sleep.

Performance Preparation

Original Strength Reset

• Cross Crawl - 20 per side
• Crocodile Breathing - 2 minutes
• Head Nods - 20 reps
• Rolling - 4 reps left and right first leading w/ arms then legs
• Rocking - 20 reps
• Crawling - 3 minutes

Wide Leg Founder 1
1 Set of 5 reps Kettlebell Halo w/ 25 lbs.

1 Arm Bar per side, 1 minute each w/ 20 lbs.

Simple and Sinister

• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 2 x 10 x 35 lbs
• One Hand Kettlebell Swings 6 x 10 x 35 lbs R, L, R, L, R, L
• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 2 x 10 x 35 lbs
• Turkish Get Ups 1 x 1 x 25 lbs per side
• Turkish Get Ups 3 x 1 x 35 lbs per side
• Turkish Get Ups 1 x 1 x 25 lbs per side

It sure is a lot nicer to train outdoors when it's 50F rather than when it is in the 30s. It was warm enough that I had to take off my sweatshirt after completing swings and before starting getups as I was getting too hot. Anyway performance prep went well. I think I'll start doing arm bars with the 25lb kettlebell next week. Total prep time 20:21.

Swings felt good. I can really feel my glutes working more. Maybe they were asleep or at least napping? Hahaha! I usually start my one hand swings with my left hand as it is my non-dominant hand but today I switched that up. I also made that switch for get ups. 

The 35 pounder is beginning to feel light again even for 1 hand swings as well as get ups. I'm not going to rush and jump up to another weight yet. Next week I'll do my last sets of swings with one hand and the last set of get ups with the 35, too. Total kettlebell time 20:41.

I only got 7048 steps yesterday. However, that was the most steps I've gotten for days since Friday 01/06/2017. Maybe I can hit my goal of 9K today. BTW, despite a day of rain and the increasing warm temperatures check out the remaining pile of snow over my shoulder!

No Kettlebell Practice Today

I chose to stay up with my younger son (the only child still at home full time) and watch the college football national championship game, University of Alabama vs Clemson University (Clemson won 35-31 BOO!), so I didn't go to bed until after midnight. I also chose to have a couple bourbons neat. Consequently, even though I slept late I only got 6.5 hours sleep. I've committed to only train if I get 7 or more hours of sleep. Thus no kettlebell training today. I will try to get more steps in and also do an Original Strength reset. I got a paltry 4853 steps yesterday.

Another Cool Damp Kettlebell Session

I got up early this morning, 0600, thanks to the silent buzzing alarm of my Fitbit Charge HR. More important than the alarm was the decision to get up when the alarm went off rather than stay in bed. Another factor is that I stopped watching TV around 2200 and was in bed reading listening to chill music before 2230. I got about 7.3 hours of sleep.

I did some chores, made coffee and read a lot this morning. We were also having a new mattress and box spring delivered so I didn't get started with my training until 1000. It was still cool and damp after another night of rain. Thankfully the carport was mostly dry and I don't have to work today. I'll have to move more quickly and get started sooner tomorrow.


Performance Preparation

Original Strength Reset

• Cross Crawl - 20 per side
• Crocodile Breathing - 2 minutes
• Head Nods - 20 reps
• Rolling - 4 reps left and right first leading w/ legs then arms
• Rocking - 20 reps
• Crawling - 3 minutes

Wide Leg Founder 1
1 Set of 5 reps Kettlebell Halo w/ 25 lbs.

1 Arm Bar per side, 1 minute each w/ 20 lbs.

Simple and Sinister

• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 4 x 10 x 35 lbs
• One Hand Kettlebell Swings 4 x 10 x 35 lbs L, R, L, R
• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 2 x 10 x 35 lbs
• Turkish Get Ups 2 x 1 x 25 lbs per side
• Turkish Get Ups 2 x 1 x 35 lbs per side
• Turkish Get Ups 1 x 1 x 25 lbs per side

Same routine as yesterday. The Original Strength reset really makes me feel good. I think the combination of the kettlebell halo, arm bar and get ups are making right shoulder better. At least from the standpoint of it is getting easier to hold the 20 lb kettlebell in the arm bar already. Total prep time 17:30.

The swings and get ups were the same as yesterday. I think I'll keep things just as they are at least through Saturday at which point I'll decide whether to do more sets of one arm swings and whether to do a couple more heavier sets of get ups.  Total kettlebell time 20:50.

I only got in 6356 steps yesterday. It was rainy and I went to a party at a friend's house yesterday afternoon. Not excuses per se, just the facts. BTW, this makes thirteen straight days of S&S.

First Kettlebell Practice of 2017

Got nearly eight hours of sleep last night. Stayed in bed and read for about an hour after I woke up. It is a cool, cloudy, misty day. Apparently it rained either pretty hard or at least steadily for a long time last night as there are some big puddles in our driveway. Once again I procrastinated and didn't start my training session until 1126.

Performance Preparation

Original Strength Reset

• Cross Crawl - 20 per side
• Crocodile Breathing - 2 minutes
• Head Nods - 20 reps
• Rolling - 4 reps left and right first leading w/ legs then arms
• Rocking - 20 reps
• Crawling - 3 minutes

Wide Leg Founder 1
1 Set of 5 reps Kettlebell Halo w/ 25 lbs.

1 Arm Bar per side, 1 minute each w/ 20 lbs.

Simple and Sinister

• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 4 x 10 x 35 lbs
• One Hand Kettlebell Swings 4 x 10 x 35 lbs L, R, L, R
• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 2 x 10 x 35 lbs
• Turkish Get Ups 2 x 1 x 25 lbs per side
• Turkish Get Ups 2 x 1 x 35 lbs per side
• Turkish Get Ups 1 x 1 x 25 lbs per side

Performance prep as normal, it took 18:42. It's not much fun crawling in the cold, wet grass but I did it. At least the carport was dry! I guess the wind wasn't blowing much if at all while it was raining because if it does blow a lot, the carport is slick and wet. Not suitable for training.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I went up to a 20 lb kettlebell for the arm bars yesterday. It was an easy adjustment holding it with my left hand. Keeping the bell vertical with my right hand was a bit more challenging. I could feel my arm wobbling after 25 to 30 seconds and had to fight to keep it vertical.

Given that I've been doing two hand swings for three weeks with the same weight I decided to work in a few sets of one had swings today. One hand swings are the preferred modality for Simple and Sinister. I did four sets one handed. See above for the break down.

Yesterday I completed my get ups in much less than the allotted 10 minutes. I figured that was a sign that I need to increase the weight so I did that for two sets. Again, see the above for a break down. It was a little challenging. Harder to keep my arms vertical but if it was easy, I would be ready for an even heavier weight wouldn't I? Total kettlebell time 21:47. As you can see from my smiling face I felt good once the session was complete. I got in 9631 steps yesterday. Read the following quote and really think about it.

It may seem strange to recommend training without days off when the goal is storing energy, but moderate daily training will keep the muscles’ fuel tanks topped off, while making tissues resistant to microtrauma and almost soreness-proof. It is the ticket to being always ready. - Pavel Tsatsouline in Kettlebell Simple and Sinister

Are You Going to Workout Today

Are you going to work out today? That's the question my wife asked me this morning. I was wavering a little bit, but she has noticed that I've been working out almost daily since 12/11/2016. Yesterday I wondered if I needed a day off. I had gotten 7.5 hours of sleep so that wasn't a reason not to train. I ate plenty yesterday so that wasn't a reason not to train either. So, after that question and as the sun blazed down bright, I decided to at least do my performance preparation and make a decision from there.

Performance Preparation

Original Strength Reset

• Cross Crawl - 20 per side
• Crocodile Breathing - 2 minutes
• Head Nods - 20 reps
• Rolling - 5 reps left and right leading w/ arms then legs
• Rocking - 20 reps
• Crawling - 3 minutes

Wide Leg Founder 1
1 set of 5 reps Kettlebell Halo w/ 25 lbs.

1 Arm Bar per side, 1 minute each w/ 15 lbs.

Simple and Sinister

• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 10 x 10 x 35 lbs 
• Turkish Get Ups 5 x 1 x 25 lbs per side

Did my normal prep. Felt nicely warmed up, loose and ready to go. The arm bars are starting to feel really light. I think I'll bump it up to 20 lbs. next week. Performance prep took 18:50.

Moved on to my kettlebell practice. Swings felt good. Lower back a little less tired during the final few sets. Get ups went well. Shoulders felt good. Doing better with "windshield wiping" my legs. Looking forward to moving back up to the 35 pounder for get ups. And instead of going up on weight for swings I think I'll start doing one hand swings with this same weight. Total time 20:54.

 I weighed myself on Tuesday. I had scheduled myself to weigh in on Sundays. I missed this past Sunday because it was Christmas day and I got distracted. Weighed in on Tuesday, late in the evening after eating all day and the big eating of the holiday. My weight was up 4.4 lbs from the previous week's weigh in. That was quite disappointing. But I knew some potential reasons, a big one being water retention.

My rule is to weigh in just once a week, but I that gain nagged me. The next day I was down about 2 pounds, today another 2 pounds. This really points to water retention and the time of day. I usually weigh in early in the morning and while still fasted. My goal is to be down 3 pounds from my initial weight on 12/11/2016. We'll see if I make that on Sunday.

Oh, and yesterday I got in 8537 steps which just surpassed my current daily target of 8.5K. I also listened to a very good podcast while training today. It was an interview of the guys from Mind Pump on the Total Human Optimization podcast by Onnit. After a crazy dive into "Are we living in the Matrix" they talked about things like feeling comfortable in your skin, training for health and longevity, manipulation of consumers by advertisers in the fitness industry, etc. Good stuff all around.

Cool Misty Training Day

Yesterday evening I was feeling sore. Woke up this morning after 0800 and felt good. My muscles were not sore. No aching back, hip or shoulder. A good night's sleep of at least 8 hours and a healthy amount of food yesterday evening led to the sense of well being. I was ready to train.

Performance Preparation

Original Strength Reset

• Cross Crawl - 20 per side
• Crocodile Breathing - 2 minutes
• Head Nods - 20 reps
• Rolling - 4 reps left and right first leading w/ legs then arms
• Rocking - 20 reps
• Crawling - 3 minutes

Wide Leg Founder 1
1 set of 5 reps Kettlebell Halo w/ 25 lbs.

1 Arm Bar per side, 1 minute each w/ 15 lbs.

Simple and Sinister

• Two Hand Kettlebell Swings 10 x 10 x 35 lbs
• Turkish Get Ups 5 x 1 x 25 lbs per side

It is a cool, cloudy and misty day but I still trained outside. Everything about performance prep was normal. Crawled a big circle in my father-in-law's backyard. After my performance prep I felt good enough to step up to 10 sets of swings and 5 sets of get ups as planned. A little tired the last few sets of swings but I maintained good form.

On to the get ups. These felt good. My shoulder position and stability is improving. Most notably in my troublesome right shoulder. Now that I'm up to the full number of sets I'm looking forward to increasing the weight. Despite a temperature in the mid fifties Fahrenheit I was sweating nicely, but not heavily once I complete the get ups. I feel energized and refreshed.

Walk for Lunch and Evening FMS Exercises

I took a walk at lunchtime. I covered 1.41 miles in 32:48 for an average speed of just 2.6 mph. Much slower than my 3.1 mph walk on Saturday evening with Laura.

This evening I did my FMS corrective exercises. I got them done in 12:48. Once again I did some extra rolling of my hip flexors after I was done with the FMS prescribed stuff. Nearly at 10K steps at the time of this writing with 9889. I'm sure I'll get the 10K before I go to bed.

Late Evening Walk

The day about got away from me. Looked up and it was 2030 and I hadn't been for a walk yet. Got out and got it done! Laura went with me, too, which is great because her pace is generally faster than mine and it was tonight. We walked 2.01 miles in 38:39 for an average of 3.1 mph.

Once we got home I did the corrective exercises as prescribed after the Functional Movement Screen which I did a few weeks ago. Those took about 20 minutes. Did some extra rolling of my hip flexors and calves when I was done w/ the FMS related exercises. I'm at 11K+ steps for the day.

Recovery Day

Nothing special today. Walked 2.33 miles in 51 minutes for an average of 2.7 mph. Once I returned from my walk I did the corrective exercises recommended as a result of the Functional Movement Screen. That took about 14 minutes. I did a little extra release of my hip flexors, calves, ankles and feet. That's it.

30 Days of Change Day 6

30 Days of Change Day 6 was primarily an active recovery day. Nothing strenuous.

Part 1: Walk 20 minutes.

Part 2: 3 rounds of 5 reps each

Chest Expansions
Calf Raises

Pretty easy. My walk was through my father-in-law's very hilly neighborhood in Aiken, SC. My back was a little tight and my left hip was hurting, but otherwise no issues.

A WOD Full of SUCK

That's how one of the other members of Distinct Crossfit described yesterday's workout, "A WOD Full of SUCK!" I got to the box late. I went home first to make sure my son had gotten home okay from his first day on his new job! Congrats Isaiah!

Anyway, people hard already begun the warm up when I got there so I only got in two rounds of it.

Start up
3rds
20 jax
10 PVC jerk
10 jump pull ups

Strength
Strict Press
Week 2
Pull chart for loads

Oly skill
5 pressing snatch balance after every round of strict press
45/35 or lighter

Metcon
800m run
then
21-15-9
S2OH 105/75
Pull ups

Finisher
Lacrosse ball shoulders/back
Lacrosse glute
1 min banded IT stretch per
1 min band hammy per side

There were a lot of people at the 1815 class yesterday. I ended up working in on the strict press with two younger guys who are not as strong as I am. This also threw me a bit behind the class because I had to increase the weights they were using after each of their sets. My strict press was 3@110#, 3@125# and 5@140#. Coach Derrick said he thought I had three more reps in me for that max set. I could feel my low back protesting a bit which is why I stopped. I need to get a weightlifting belt that fits my currently and temporarily big gut.

The snatch balance was quite hard, first off my shoulders were tired and my heels were coming off the floor and pitching me forward. I think it was due to lack of mobility in my hips and ankles. Got to to work on those areas.

The metcon was a KILLER! Running outdoors on pavement, in the heat and humidity, going up and down even slight hills is a lot different that running indoors on a treadmill with no change of incline set up. Sunday I was able to run 1600M w/o stopping or walking at all on the treadmill. Yesterday I had to walk a two or three times to complete the 800M. Once again I was the last one back from the run by a long stretch. Oh and those young guys that I'm stronger than? They are way, way better at running, metcons and bodyweight movements than I am.

Then we were on to 3 round of Shoulder Two Over Head supersetted with Pull Ups. First round reps were 21 of each movement, 2nd round 15 reps each, 3rd round 9 reps. Remembering how a workout partner, Tyrone aka Tynado had me scale down the weight on power cleans the day before, I scaled the S2OH weight down to 95#. I can't yet do good pull ups so I did jumping pullups. I had to break the 21 and 15 rep rounds down into smaller chunks.

I'm so used to doing strict movements that I did my first round of S2OH strictly before I noticed that everyone else was doing a "push press", dipping a bit at the knees and using their legs to help get the weight up. Believe you me, I did push presses the 2nd and 3rd rounds.  I almost went unbroken on the round of 9, I had to wipe my sweaty hands after 3 reps of pull ups but I got the final 6 unbroken and I did the 9 S2OH unbroken with Coach Derrick urging me on.

I finished in 15:25. It really was a KILLER! There was one guy, older than most but I don't think he's older than me, still doing banded pull ups when I finished. Banded pull ups are harder than jumping pull ups, so I had an advantage. Plus I'm pretty sure he used the Rx weight for the S2OH.

 I didn't do the prescribed finisher. I did use a foam roller on my back and hip flexors. I also did my Prasara Yoga cool down routine. This was my fourth day in a row working out. I was feeling really beat down. I took a "Contrast Shower", which I read about on Confessions of a Crossfit Coach, in order to help speed my recovery when I got home. I also iced my back and right shoulder. By the time I had finished dinner my left hip socket was hurting so bad I could barely walk.

My doctor says the cartilage is just all rough and worn in there and there is nothing to be done about it. I'm not yet a candidate for hip replacement and hope I'll never be. The more weight I lose the less it should bother me and the only way to lose the weight is to move more and eat better and moving more just makes it hurt. So I've just got to suck it up and keep moving. However, I will be taking today off to give these aching joints a chance to settle down.

Recovering from Helen

I was very sore yesterday. I didn't get home until after 7PM and almost skipped doing any exercise. When I got home I thought I'll just do an Intu-Flow recovery routine and a Prasara Yoga recovery routine and skip walking. Then I thought I'll just do the Intu-Flow. But I had been watching The Crossfit Games in a side window all day. So I did Intu-Flow, walked and did Prasara.

Intu-Flow Recovery: 26 minutes
Walking: 44 minutes
Prasara Yoga Recovery: 22 minutes

Total Time: 92 minutes
Total Calories Burnt: 661

I was beat down tired when I got done. It was warm and very humid during my walk. My aches and pains during the walk were my left ankle and right knee. My knee was occasionally giving me sharp pains like before I got it scoped some years ago. Funny my left ankle was so tight as I haven't injured it in a long time. I got in 9514 steps yesterday.

Any way, I feel good today. My legs don't feel to sore, but my arms shoulders and back are still pretty sore. I'm looking forward to today's Crossfit workout at Distinct Crossfit.