Good Grief It Has Been a Long Time!

Wow, I haven't recorded a workout in nearly a month! I haven't been doing a lot of working out to report either. I started a new job on 03/31/2014. The last couple of weeks I've been taking 5 minute breaks throughout the day, ala The Pomodoro Technique. During those breaks I've been doing either 5 pushups, 5 Turkish Get Ups or 5 Shinbox Switches.

Today, we're visiting my father-in-law. We're going to watch as many NBA Playoff games as we can. I decided to do some exercise during each commercial break of the game. Here's how it went. This is what I tweeted during the game.

• My son, Miles, and I did push ups during first break. We alternated 1 pushup, then 2 pushups, all the way up to 6 each for 6 sets, 21 total reps.
• Second break we did squats again alternating all the way from 1 rep up to 7 reps for 7 sets, 28 total reps.
• 3rd break of #NBA game Turkish Get Ups 5 left & 5 right #Exercise Miles left 2 go 2 the store w/ mom & big brother. I'm working alone now
• 4th break of #NBA game shinbox switches 10 each way, then all fours to table switch 6 each way.
• Got lazy on 5th break of #NBA game, only 10 burpees.
• 6th break of #NBAPlayoffs game 5x5 pushups with 5-10 second pause between sets. #exercise #NBA
• 7th break of the #NBAPlayoffs game was short! 10 squats pause 3 breaths 9 squats and the game was back on! #exercise #nba 
• 8th break, during halftime of #NBAPlayoffs game 10 shinbox switches, 9 all fours to table each alternating sides #exercise #nba This was a really long commercial break. I had not yet recovered when the 9th break started which was equally long.@charleshb 
• 10th break, once again only 10 burpees. I'm huffing and puffing like a steam engine! #NBAPlayoffs #nba #exercise
• Skipped #exercise during 11th break. It came too quickly after the 10th break. #NBAPlayoffs #nba
• 12th break of the 1st #NBAPlayoffs game of the day pushups 5x5 with 3-5 breaths between sets. #exercise #nba 
• Guess I'm getting tired. 2 commercials of 13th break were over before I realized I should be exercising. I'll do squats next break.
• Squats 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 with 3 breaths Btween sets 4 a total of 55 reps during 14th break of #NBAPlayoffs #NBA #exercise
• 15th break of #NBAPlayoffs Turkish Get Ups 1x5 R, 1x5 L #exercise #NBA 
• Missed 16th break, 17th break 10 shinbox switches, 8 all 4s-2-table each side alternating #exercise #NBAPlayoffs #NBA
• Final round of #exercise 10 burpees! #Nets beat the #Raptors in game 1 of #NBAPlayoffs #NBA Got my #workout in!

I shouldn't say "only" ten burpees. Burpees are hard and I haven't done any since my brief stint of intro classes at Swamp Rabbit Crossfit some months ago. What I called "all-4s-2-table" is a variation of the Thoracic Bridge as demonstrated in this video. I went further than in the video an put my free hand down behind me and raised my hips fully.

I had read and heard the recommendation to do exercise during commercial breaks many times. It was even a recent Lifehacker article. I should actually do it more often. I need to get back to my basics routine of pull ups, push ups, and squats starting on Monday.

DevOps and Cloud Podcasts and Such

I have found these podcasts to be very informative.

• DevOps Cafe
• The Ship Show
• Arrested DevOps
• Food Fight
• Devops Mastery
• Ops All the Things
• The Cloudcast
• Saltstack Videos
• Puppet Labs Podcasts

More to come.

Back to Basics Progress Test Two

After two full days off it is time to check progress.

Intu-Flow warm up from BB4FL: 8.5 minutes

Max Chin-ups: 2.5

3 Minute rest

Max Push-ups: 20

3 Minute rest

Max Squats: 70

Time: 12 minutes

3 Minute rest

Then Six Minute Abs

Myotatic Crunch 1 x 10

CVE 1 x 10

Time: 20'30"

Prasara yoga cool down: 15'30"

OK, chin-ups still suck. I got 1.25 more reps than my previous test on Wednesday 26 February 2014. But it is progress nonetheless. I did a lot better on pushups. I'm pleased with that. I more than doubled my squats. Hooray! Progress! I'm going to add a weight, either 2.5 or 5 pounds, to my crunches. I feel refreshed after the yoga. I almost talked myself out of working out this evening. I'm glad I didn't procrastinate.

Essential DevOps References

Just a quick list of some books that I think are essential to putting your mind in the DevOps way of thinking. No particular order. I'll add some other references soon. Like podcasts, websites, etc.

• The Lean Startup
• The Year Without Pants
• Continuous Delivery
• The Phoenix Project
• Visible Ops Handbook
• The Goal
• Vagrant: Up and Running
• Kanban
• Web Operations
• Effective Monitoring and Alerting
• The Fifth Discipline
• Deming
• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

If you force me to pick three to start with I would read: The Phoenix Project,  Lean Start Up and The Year Without Pants. In that order. They are not technology specific. However, they will change the way you think about IT work.

Basics Week 4 Day 3

Chin-ups: Week 3 Day 3
100 Push-ups: Repeating Week 2 Day 3
200 Squats: Week 4 Day 3

Intu-Flow warm up routine from the BB4FL 7 minutes.

Plan: 5 Rounds with 120 second rest between rounds

Assisted Chin-ups 7, Australian Pull-up 7, Assisted Chin-ups 6, Australian Pull up 6,  then 1 Max Hang & Negative Chin-up
Push-ups 12,13,10,10 max ( at least 15)
Squats 31,38,31,31 max ( at least 45 )

Actual: 5 Rounds with 120 second rest between rounds

Assisted Chin-ups 7, Australian Pull-up 7, Assisted Chin-ups 6, Australian Pull up 6,  then 1 Max Hang & Negative Chin-up
Push-ups 12,13,10,10 max => 6,5,4
Squats 31,38,31,31 max => 45

26 minutes, 4  minute break then

6 Minute Abs

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

36 minutes total.

Prasara yoga cool down: 15 minutes.

This was not one of my better workouts. I took 3 minute breaks between rounds 3 & 4 as well as in between 4 & 5. I took a 4 minute break between my last round of calisthenics and the ab work. That's only 4 extra minutes but the entire calisthenics and ab routine took 36 minutes which is 7 minutes longer than Saturday. That means I used 3 more minutes for which I cannot account. By the way rounds 4 and 5 were done outside as normal, however it was quite cold, misty and windy.

Saturday I did have a 5 hour energy about 30 minutes before I started my workout. But that really couldn't account for the difference. Furthermore, my previous calisthenic rounds were all under 20 minutes. I guess it was just a less than optimal day. Every workout can't be better than the last no matter how much we try.

I was disappointed with my max set of push-ups. I had to break it down in 3 segments. I actually started hitting the wall in the third round of push-ups but did better in the fourth. But I was shot in the last round. I did hang longer on the max hang/negative chin-up. I really feel good on the Australians.

I kept to my breakdown pattern for squats 10-9-8-4 for the sets of 31; 10-9-8-7-4 for the set of 38; and barely eked out 10-9-8-7-6-5 for the set of 45. Crazy hard, just crazy.

I need to refocus on slowing down the myotatic crunches. I was pretty slow, but I think I can go slower. I might be able to add a light weight after another week. Finished up with Prasara yoga cool down from BB4FL.

Basics Week 4 Day 2

Four days of slacking off. Time to get busy after a day of sitting out in the sun watching my son, Isaiah, play in a lacrosse tournament.

Chin-ups: Week 3 Day 2
Push-ups: Repeating Week 2 Day 2
Squats: Week 4 Day 2

Intu-Flow warm up routine from the BB4FL 7 minutes.

Plan: 5 Rounds with 120 second rest between rounds

Assisted Chin-ups 6, Australian Pull-up 5, Assisted Chin-ups 6, Australian Pull up 5,  then 1 Max Hang & Negative Chin-up
Push-ups 10,12,9,9 max ( at least 12)
Squats 27,34,27,27 max ( at least 38 )

Actual: 5 Rounds with 120 second rest between rounds

Assisted Chin-ups 6, Australian Pull-up 5, Assisted Chin-ups 6, Australian Pull up 5,  then 1 Max Hang & Negative Chin-up
Push-ups 10,12,9,9 max => 14

Squats 27,34,27,27 max => 46

20 minutes, 3  minute break then

6 Minute Abs

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

29 minutes total.

Prasara cool down: 15 minutes.

It's amazing how hard the primary part of this simple workout can be. I was barely getting my breath and heart rate down near normal during the two minute rest break between rounds. CRAZY I tell you CRAZY! By the time I finished all five rounds all I could do was collapse on the floor and gasp for breath for three minutes. 

Then I did the 6 minute ab routine. The total time for calisthenics and ab work was 29 minutes. The five rounds of calisthenics took 20 minutes. Get this I did 171 squats! That's CRAZY! I did far fewer chin-ups/autralians ( 23 ) and push-ups ( 54 ), but that's still a significant amount of upper body work. It's a significant amount of work in 20 minutes in my opinion.

When I got to the ab work my quads were so tight, so exhausted that I could barely keep my position on the bosu ball for the myotatic crunches. And my breathing and heart rate quickly soared even though there is really not a lot of movement to the exercise. A 1 minute breather then I was on to the stomach vacuum or CVE. The first couple of reps had me feeling light headed but I persevered. 

I collapsed again for a couple minutes once I completed the ab work. I moved on to the yoga. I'm glad I did as it stretched out my quivering muscles and helped me get my breathing and heart rate back under control. Now I'm doing my part of dinner prep, broiling wild salmon filets, and I can barely stand. I'm just exhausted. I don't even know if I can eat. I just want to drink some more water, take a shower and collapse into bed either with a book or a couple of episodes of some show on Netflix.

Warm Evening Walk and Yoga

The only nice thing about Daylight Savings Time is that it was still light outside when I left for my walk at nearly 7PM. I really didn't feel like exercising this evening but I got myself out the door. It went like this. I'll just put on my workout clothes. Then I'll just go outside and give the dog some water. Then I'll just walk for 5 minutes. If I feel okay, then I'll keep on walking for another 5 minutes and so on. I ended up walking 40 minutes but it was kind of slow, only 1.73 miles. I should have covered at least 2 miles.

Once I got home I got a nice big glass of ice water. Then I did the Prasara yoga recovery routine from BB4FL. I feel great now. Nice and loose and energized.  It was beautiful and warm today. I spent most of the day inside. I'm glad I didn't talk myself out of taking a walk this evening. Tomorrow another basics routine of chin-ups, push-ups, squats and 6 minute abs.

Basics Week 4 Day 1

Chin-ups: Week 3 Day 1
Push-ups: Repeating Week 2 Day 1
Squats: Week 4 Day 1

Intu-Flow warm up routine from the BB4FL 7 minutes.

Plan: 5 Rounds with 120 second rest between rounds

Assisted Chin-ups 6, Australian Pull-up 4, Assisted Chin-ups 5, Australian Pull up 5,  then 1 Max Hang & Negative Chin-up
Push-ups 9,11,8,8 max ( at least 11)
Squats 24,30,22,22 max ( at least 34 )

Actual: 5 Rounds with 120 second rest between rounds

Assisted Chin-ups 6, Australian Pull-up 4, Assisted Chin-ups 5, Australian Pull up 5,  then 1 Max Hang & Negative Chin-up
Push-ups 9,11,8,8 max => 8,5,2
Squats 24,30,22,22 max => 41

19'56"

6 Minute Abs

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

Total time 28'00"

Prasara cool down routine: 15'00".

This was a good workout. Rounds 2 and 4 were done outside. I think I'm doing better on the assisted chin-ups, not using as much assistance. The australians really pump my back muscles, which feels really good. I know I could do more reps of them but I'm sticking to the plan.

I was doing really well on the push-ups until I got to the max set. I don't know if it was my mind or really muscular fatigue. I paused at 8 reps, then cranked out 5 more, paused then cranked out 2 final reps for a total of 15 reps. That matched my last max set but then I did 13 and 2. Of course I did a 4 more reps total leading up to the max set per the plan.

Squats were good. I still need to focus on getting rock bottom and keeping my knees out. I worked the same rep ladder: 10,8,6; 10,8,6,4,2; 10,8,4; 10,8,4; then 10,8,6,4,2,1,2,4,4. I only paused long enough between reps on the ladder to take three deep breaths then on to the next group of reps. I think next time I'll do 10,9,8,7 and so on like that.

The main part of the routine took 2 minutes longer than last time. I'm not sure why. I thought I was moving pretty quickly. I didn't take extra rest. I don't think I did two minutes worth or extra reps but maybe I did. after a two minute break I did the 6 Minute Abs from the Four Hour Body. I finished up with the prasara cool down from BB4FL.

I feel extremely good right now. I must dial in my diet. Exercise is a must, but to really make a difference in my weight and fat loss diet is the key. My plan is to eliminate wheat and follow the Slow Carb Diet with Saturdays as my cheat day. Also I will use an Eat Stop Eat 24 hour fast once or twice a week.

Warm Sunny Walk

I started my workout today with the Intu-Flow recovery routine from the Bodyweight Blueprint for Fat Loss. That took 22 minutes. It was almost 10AM and I needed to be showered and dressed by around 11AM to go to the Furman Men's Lacrosse game.

With that in mind I headed out on a pretty much straight line walk. I figured I would do a 30 minute out and back. I had on sweat pants and a sweatshirt over shorts and a short sleeved tshirt. As soon as I got outside I realized I was dressed too warmly and took off the sweatshirt.

I walked 0.75 miles in just over fifteen minutes at which point I turned for home. My total walking time was 31 minutes and total distance was 1.52 miles. Pretty good. I usually want to cover no less than 3 miles in an hour. No time for any post exercise yoga. I'll do some stretching later on tonight, probably Bretzel 1s and 2s and some shinbox switches.

Basics Week 3 Day 3

Chin-ups: Repeating Week 2 Day 3
Push-ups: Repeating Week 1 Day 3
Squats: Week 3 Day 3

Intu-Flow warm up routine from the BB4FL 7 minutes.

Plan: 5 Rounds with 120 second rest between rounds

Assisted Chin-ups 4, Australian Pull-up 5, Assisted Chin-ups 6, Australian Pull up 5,  then 1 Max Hang & Negative Chin-up
Push-ups 8,10,7,7 max ( at least 10)
Squats 22,29,20,21 max ( at least 25 )

Actual: 5 Rounds with 120 second rest between rounds

Assisted Chin-ups 4, Australian Pull-up 5, Assisted Chin-ups 6, Australian Pull up 5,  then 1 Max Hang & Negative Chin-up
Push-ups 8,10,7,7 max => 13,2
Squats 22,29,20,21 max => 31

17'50"

6 Minute Abs

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

Total time 26'30"

I messed up and did the Prasara recovery routine instead of the cool down. : 13'29".

I felt good after this whole thing was over. I should have done it yesterday. I feel like I'm decreasing my "assistance" on the chins and really working my back and arms more. The Australians hit my lats hard! Maybe I should have been repeating Week 2 of push-ups on level 2. Oh well. I easily got the first 4 sets. The max set I did 13 reps then took 3 deep breaths before squeezing out two more reps.

Squats still have me huffing and puffing. I "laddered down" my squat reps. For example on the last set 10 reps - 3 deep breaths - 8 reps - 3 breaths - 6 reps - 3 breaths - 4 reps - 3 breaths - 2 reps - 3 breaths - 1 rep = 31 total reps. That was 1 rep less than last time. I just collapsed and caught my breath for two minutes before moving on to ab work.

I slowly did my crunches. My abs didn't cramp up as much as they did on Tuesday. But I was so beat down that I just stretched out on the floor on my side, sweating like a pig and heaving for breath. Finally I got to the CVEs and squeezed out 10 reps. Can you say exhaustion? 5 simple exercises beat me down. Finished up with some yoga.

Ice Cold Basics

Chin-ups: Repeating Week 2 Day 2
Push-ups: Repeating Week 1 Day 2
Squats: Week 3 Day 2

Intu-Flow warm up routine from the BB4FL 7 minutes.

Plan: 5 Rounds with 120 second rest between rounds

Assisted Chin-ups 3, Australian Pull-up 5, Assisted Chin-ups 3, Australian Pull up 4,  then 1 Negative Chin-up
Push-ups 6,8,6,6 max ( at least 7)
Squats 19,25,19,19, max ( at least 25 )

Actual: 5 Rounds with 120 second rest between rounds

Assisted Chin-ups 3, Australian Pull-up 5, Assisted Chin-ups 3, Australian Pull up 4,  then 1 Max Hang & Negative Chin-up
Push-ups 6,8,6,6 max => 12
Squats 19,25,19,19, max => 32

19:16 minutes to complete the five rounds.

I postponed the ab work and yoga until later so I could make it to work on time.I did rounds 2 and 4 outside in the 33F air where I have a better set up for the Australians.

Later in the day: 6 Minute Abs

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

Actually finished abs in 7:12 Total time for calisthenics and abs 26 minutes. My abs were cramping like mad after the crunches.

Prasara Yoga cool down 14 minutes.

Was invigorated, loose and just feeling good after yoga. Want to feel better? Yoga is highly recommended.