Tapering for reals now

Im blogging from my cell phone while Hannah's in with her reading tutor. I felt so grown up today. I actually sat on a park bench with soccer moms while we watched our kids play after school. Now all I need is a minivan. Hannahs new school is way cooler than her last school. And john would be proud. Its in the hood. ;) Today was my last workout until next monday. I am feeling more excited than bitter about running this week. I had a great run this weekend and held a good pace. Shirley judges a good run by pace and how much I talk. I was able to talk this last run so that's good. So im waiting for a nickname to stick with me. I've been called Keen, Joe Cocker, cupcake, flame out boy, and most recently 4916. 49 is the number of push presses I did in the first set of FGB and 16 is the number I did in the last set. So now I have a gym record. Biggest performance degradation ever in a Fight Gone Bad workout. Nothing to be proud of but hey, its something. ;) im under a ton of pressure to meet some huge deadlines at work. I needed some feel good food today so I ate a german chocolate cake today for lunch. If that was wrong, I don't want to be right. It was amazing. Plus im carb loading for the run. My thumbs are cramping so im going to end this one now.

Warmup 3x
10 pvc Pass throughs
10 pvc squats
50 jumpropes

Skill 4x
5 dead hang pullups focused on negatives
5 ring dips focused on depth and negatives
5 one arm push presses(25lb DB)

WOD 3x through 90 sec rest between rounds
35sec work/25 sec rest
Sprints
Jumping rope pullups
Ball slams.
Kb clean (25lb would go heavier if no marathon)
Jump rope

Workout was good but intentionally held back which felt weird to do. Folks were really kind and wished me good luck as I was leaving. Reminded me again of why I love this gym and the sense of community its created.

Diet
Meal replacement shake
Meal replacement shake
German chocolate cake
Veg Burrito

Apple Fritter

Fruit Smoothie with 30g Protein

Body Gone Sore

i had a great run today with shirley. Ran 8 miles and felt really good. However, the soreness from FGB has kicked in and im hurtin!! Not injured hurtin but super sore hurtin. My traps, shoulder, and butt are aching. I don't often workout Saturdays so i just realized that i should take tomorrow off to let my body recover. Especially since i ran today. Enjoyed the client appreciation party. was fun to see everyone in one place. since i go to the morning class, most of the people, i only get to see from the blog or briefly when i meet melissa after night class. The food was AMAZING!

Workout:
8 mile run in 69 minutes.


Diet
3 meal replacement shakes
1 fruit smoothie
1 reeds cherry gingerale
1/2 of a vegetable calzone
1 chicken burrito from baja fresh
1 large bag of peanut m&m's
1/2 of a bean and cheese burrito from baja fresh
1 GU gel
64oz water

fight gone sad

well, finished my first fight gone bad. in some ways it was better than i expected and in many ways it was harder. i'm the type of guy who has to break the med ball complexes into small parts because they are hard for me. When i used to go to the traditional gyms, I would go in, lift as much weight as i possibly could for 1 set of 6 and then be done. Nothing more, nothing less. I did that for 15 years. My muscles have been conditioned to go all out and then they just die. i had a personal trainer once accuse me of faking it saying that he "knew muscles" and that he knew for a fact muscles don't hit walls like mine but instead they gradually get tired. When all you've ever done is short sets of heavy weight, your muscles don't know what fading is. They only know failure. Its clear to me that it will take some time to develop some more endurance. melissa counted for me today and she said she couldn't even warn me when to pace myself because i went from looking super strong and smooth to near death within a matter of reps. No fading. Just a brick wall. Nathan is convinced more than ever that my marathon will go just like that. i don't blame him. The only reason i know it wont happen that way, is because i don't know how to run fast. Running with Shirley tomorrow. Ready to party. Hannah was inspired by Evan's drawing of me and offerered her own drawing of me. She drew me lifting two deer overhead. She thinks i'm much stronger than i am. Thats one of the many reasons why she's my favorite daughter. Maybe she doesn't think i'm that strong. Maybe she thinks my ego needs a boost after seeing me lying on the floor of the gym crying for my mommy after fgb. Either way, i like the pic.

FGB score: 270
Don't think that qualifies me for olympics or american gladiators but its a place to start and it sure was a good workout. :)

the "the todd line"

First off, i just have to say how freakin honored i am that Evan has drawn me. He didn't have a photo of me eating a cupcake so he drew me deadlifting. I want to thank him for kindly removing my 2nd and 3rd chin and one of my love handles. Much appreciated Evan. So last night, i learned of another line much like the Oprah line or the P-Diddy line. Its the 'the Todd line". It looks like its just below the diddy line. I think he actually had a secret competition that even oprah didn't know about and he ended up beating her too. Good job Todd. If Todd could beat Oprah in his Shirt On days, then i'm hoping i can too. Now, Todd could mop the gym floor with Oprah as fit as he is. Any advice Todd?

free coffee

Today in class we had deep conversations about Portland. Lots of transplants at the Gym we have to look out for them. It was decided that Beaverton is the safest but that you could potentially die from boredom. I’m from Beaverton so I think its ok for me to agree with that comment. On the topic of marathon training, Nathan said that Oprah had the best trainer in the world and that’s why his money is on Oprah. What’s ironic is that I think his training is why I might have a chance against Oprah. He is going to loan me his GPS pace keeper watch so it can beep or shock me if I fall behind my pace. That should help. I may not work out next week to really taper. If my marathon is anything like today’s workout, I’ll go out in a 5minute first mile and finish the whole marathon in 6 hours. Actually, I think I’ll pace it pretty good. Last night we went to the ballet with kung fu monks. I’m not into ballet or kung fu but it was AMAZING. Those people are fit. They were my inspiration for today’s wod. Or at least for the first 30 ball slams. After that, I just wanted to stop and sneak out the back door. Ok, rumor has it Ristretto’s coffee house just opened on Williams and is giving away really good free coffee all day today. I’m outta here. J

Warmup

3 X

10 Pass-throughs

10 squats

Skill:

2 Warm up sets Dead lifts (95lb/95lb)

5 work sets but not to max because FGB is coming soon J

(135/185/255/315/315)

Glad we were not going for max today. My back still felt a little tender from my push press laziness on Monday.

WOD:

With a 20lb ball and 35lb dumbbell do the following:

30ballSlam/15dumbellSnatchEach Hand

24ballSlam/12dumbellSnatchEach Hand

20ballSlam/10dumbellSnatchEach Hand

16ballSlam/8dumbellSnatchEach Hand

8ballSlam/4dumbellSnatchEach Hand

4ballSlam/2dumbellSnatchEach Hand

2ballSlam/1dumbellSnatchEach Hand

11:01

Started out WAY too fast. That’s my signature move. Go out fast, die, fall to floor moaning and moving like joe cocker(that’s what Nathan calls me)

I'm not avoiding running, i'm just tapering

so the pressure is on with the marathon in 2 weeks. I think John and Nathan are placing bets on whether I can beat pdiddy. I don't think I'm allowed back in the gym if I don't beat oprah but now the bets are on for whether I can beat pdiddy. I heard talk of burpees. I think John's betting that I can do it and Nathan's money(burpees) might be on diddy. It should be fun. Nike makes these bracelets that tell you what your pace is. I might get one for the marathon. If ipods are allowed that might also help. Today's workout was another great one. Tried to stick to my new goal of grabbing heavier kettlebells than usual. It felt good but it definitely affected the number of rounds I was getting done. Kelly from work was back in the gym today. That was a super nice
surprise to see her. It was so dark this morning, I could barely make out the screen on the rower. I think I like it dark because it's a little cooler. I do better when its cooler. Looking forward to my first fight gone bad on Saturday. Don't really know what to expect since its my first time. It definitely looks hard but it also looks kinda fun. We'll see. Day 2 of wearing converse. Like them. They are cheap enough that I don't have to worry about them but they are also flat enough to lift in. Don't think I'll run the marathon in them though. Maybe next time :).

Warmup:
3x
3 tgu 35lb
row 250

workout:
set a
mr. Spec(24k)
10 double kb swing(2x35lb(oops was supposed to be 15)
2 rounds

setb
10 power wheel rollout
broad jumps
5 rounds

setc
10 double kb thrusters(45lb)
10 ring rows
3 rounds

Diet:
8am meal replacement (7gF/19gC/42gP) (this new one has different ratios
and more fiber but tastes like crap)
10am meal replacement (7gF/19gC/42gP)

2pm meal replacement (7gF/19gC/42gP)

6:30pm chicken burrito

11:00pm meal replacement (7gF/19gC/42gP)

Cures severe back pain too

So after yesterdays push presses, could barely walk. I let my core loose(my bad) during the presses and I really felt it in my lower back. I was in so much lower back pain the morning that I could barely get out of bed and considered staying home from work. I went to this morning's 6:30 workout and all pain went away after 10 minutes. Hasn't bothered me since too. SO happy about that. Also, I upgraded shoes. I'm now wearing converse. The problem with the keens is that they smell way too bad. I like the people at the gym too much to put them through the smell of my keens. Today we ran in our workout and they didn't suck as bad as I thought they would. My run sucked but it wasn't the shoe's fault. Todays workout was lots of fun but also hard as hell for me. Its what they call a chipper. Not because we're feeling chipper but because its one time through. I love chippers. Easier to be mentally strong on chippers. I didn't perform all that well today but I was pleased with myself for abandoning my trusty blue kettlebell(20lb) and trying some heavier ones. I ran out of my ready to drink meal replacements. I know they aren't ideal but its a convenient way to ensure I get some fiber, protein, and fat when my days get busy. I have loved the last 7 workouts more than usual. Not sure if the coaches have intentionally changed anything or if I've just found a new appreciation or if I am just feeling good. or maybe its that the class size has been capped. I also like workouts that don't allow me to slack or take the easy way out. Sometimes its a challenge to be self motivating that early in the morning. The stop watch, the tally, and the motivating coaches have been good for me. Now if I can dial in the diet, I may someday be able to fit in my pants again. :)
warmup:
monster walk
latteral crawl in plank
inch worm
frog hop

skill:(3 or 4 times. I forgot)
5Left 5Right
kb snatch 35lb
windmills 35lb
12 jacknife

wod:
1000M Row
4 x double KB Rack Walk 45lb
50 jumping pullups on rope
50 complete sit ups
50 2HKB swings 28K
Run around block for time
Time: 15:46

went for heavier weight than usual for me and I certainly felt it. :)

Diet:

8am meal replacement

9am Maple Bar(IBM rep brought it just for me. woulda been rude to refuse)

2pm turkey sub

4pm smoothie

7pm smoked turkey and lettuce

8:30pm meal replacement(new kind)

got to pull a tire for first time

Today was my first day to pull a tire. That was pretty cool. Felt like I was in a strong man competition or something. Not that I felt all that strong. Plus those guys pull tires attached to the rest of the vehicle. Today was push press day which is usually one of my favorites. My core felt really weak today. Its amazing how important core strength is to so many exercises. When I saw John front squat 5 trillion pounds a few weeks ago, I was in shock. I had never seen anyone front squat the amount of weight he was doing. He reminded me that so much of it has to do with core strength. I'm reminded of how true this is every time we do any Olympic bar lifts. Some exercises I can improve over time without much practice because my core is being strengthened through all the other exercises we do. Pretty cool stuff. I'm now responsible for getting 3 kids to school every morning so I'm cutting it close with my morning workouts. If there's no traffic and I skip out on the stretch, I seem to be ok. I'm trying not to be as much of a mental wimp in workouts now. I seriously used to pick kettlebells by their color. I love that blue one. However, I've decided to change the way I pick kettlebells and just pick heavy ones(heavy for me at least). We'll see how that goes. I'm also going to cut back on the cupcakes for a while. Melissa reminded me that the marathon is in 2 weeks. I should probably try to be as lean as I can for that(too late now I guess). I haven't figured out what it is but I'm feeling abnormally good and optimistic lately. Maybe its because I started eating steak sandwiches after being vegetarian for a bajillion years. It also might be that Hannah's new school is in the hood and that I never have to go to Beaverton ever again. Or it could be that the Office starts next Thursday.

Warmup (I was late. Only got 1.5 rounds of below

Curtis p's 25lb

100 jump rope

Push Press

115/135/145/165(tried for 185 on set 5 but couldn’t even budge it today. Shoulders felt great but core felt really unstable today)

cross chop halos 35lb

did 3 rounds of:

8 goblet squats 32K/32k/32k

8 jump squat

tire drag(lighter of the 2)

did 2 rounds of:

5 dead hang pullups(i chose to also make these slow negatives)

7 dips(only got 5 on 2nd round and even then had to break it into 3 and 2)

15 pushups elevated feet(24inch box)


Diet
8am: Meal replacement shake.

9am: americano

2pm: Perfect foods bar and betty lou pecan butter ball.

More to come I hope.

the oprah line

so yesterday Nadine said that Oprah ran a marathon in a pretty decent time.  i felt a sense of panic take over. my original goal was to beat puff daddy's time since i learned that he only started training 8 weeks out. i could live with myselft if i dont end up beating puff daddy. however, i dont know if i could say the same thing if i dont beat oprah.  i came across an article titled "how oprah ruined the marathon" by making it ok just to stagger across the finish line. I also saw that puff daddy's goal was just to beat oprah. So i've added a goal B to my goal. Goal A is to beat puff daddy. if that aint happening, then i'll be ok just beating oprah.  They call this new benchmark "the Oprah Line".  

This is a little blurb from the article:

When Oprah expanded the sport, she also lowered the bar for excellence. For the previous generation of marathoners, the goal had been qualifying for Boston. Now, it was beating Oprah. Her time of four hours and 29 minutes -- the Oprah Line -- became the new benchmark for a respectable race. (That was P. Diddy's goal when he ran New York.)

Melissa has the car today so i dont know what i'm going to eat. i usually make an event out of saturday breakfast/lunch/dinner and all the snacks in between. My computer was acting up yesterday which didn't allow me to update the diet part of my blog. thats a good thing because it just ended with more pie and one more burrito and 2 scoops of ben and jerry's.  

Workout:

none. sleep. eat. watch a movie maybe

Diet:

nothing yet. hope to eat burritos and something good.

Eating pumpkin pie again

I never stopped eating pumpkin pie but that's what i had for lunch today and realized i haven't had that in a long time. Today was my favorite of all workouts. The dead lift day. Only reason its my favorite is because its the only one i'm not afraid of getting hurt on. Squatting too heavy could hurt. Pressing too heavy could hurt. With the deadlift, my thought is that its either going up or its not. i like that about the deadlift. my next goal besides 20 dead hang pullups is to learn how to run fast. i've been working on chi running which is sustainable for long distances but i dont know how to just run fast anymore. Until a few years ago, i thought i knew how to run fast. If i do my running style faster, its still not fast. AFter the marathon, i'm going to go to the track and work on sprint intervals and limit all runs to 40 minutes max. If i speed up my running, then maybe i could join a ultimate frisbee team or something.


Skill:
Deadlifts
2 x 5 warmup set with 95
work sets
135x3
165x3
225x3
335x3
365x3

wod
3X
power wheel back and forth

Muscle up practice(pullups on rings for me)

med ball throws (12lb) (Stephen and Evan made this pretty damn fun. I really like having those guys around in the morning)

Diet:
8am: RTD Meal Replacement 330Calories(16gF/13gC/32gP)
11am Pumpkin pie
12pm RTD Meal Replacement 330Calories(16gF/13gC/32gP)
1:45pm Pumpkin Pie

Eating red meat again.

so before recreate I was a vegetarian. The thought of meat freaked me out. I started eating chicken a few weeks in. Now I recently started eating a little red meat. My only rule now is that I only eat free range meat. Eating meat has allowed me to get more protein in without a bunch of bloating tofu. Don't want to over do it though. I'm not convinced that I need too much meat. Today was a great workout. Its the kind of workout that made me fall in love with the gym. It was pretty hard but contained most of my favorite exercises.

Warmup:
2 rounds KB complex 35#
standing med ball partner pass 12#

run around block for time
rest 3 min
1:58/1:52 (I'll admit that I didn't go all out on this. Was wearing my keens plus my knees have felt a little fragile from running) With marathon approaching, I'm trying to keep my knees happy.
WOD
As many rounds in 20 minutes
kb clean and squat 35#
H2HKB swing 35#
10 pushups
13 rounds
Nathan prescribed 20K which there weren't enough of for all the guys. By the end I was glad about that. 35# felt plenty heavy for 20 minutes.

diet
meal replacement shake
chicken burrito

vegetarian burrito. Just a small 300 calorie one

2nd vegetarian burrito(first one wasn't enough)

another great day

i’ve really been enjoying the last few workouts. I haven’t really identified what it is but im really enjoying them lately. I’ve always enjoyed them but I think I’m starting to get my second wind with all this. There’s the initial phase of oh my gosh this I kicking my ass, it must be good for me, I should come back. Then there are the few weeks into it feeling of “my old pants fit again and I don’t feel so blah. This is great!!!”. Then there’s a slight plateau accompanied by a feeling of “I’m working really hard and its not getting easier and I’m not losing more weight L ”. Then later there’s a feeling of “hey, I feel good and love this stuff”. That’s where I think I’m at now. I think not being unbearably sore every day is helping me to give it a little more in each workout.  I think I’m also more comfortable and aware of my abilities and limitations.  

 

Warmup

3 x through

5 Curtis P’s(20#/25#/25#)

250Meter Row(rowed about a 1:50500m pace)

In place inchworm

 

Skill:

3 Turkish Getups (35#/35#/35#)

8 Heavy Medball Squat and Carry(60#/80#)

 

Wall ball (20#/28#/28#)

10 KB crosschops (35#/35#/35#)

 

10 half moons with sandbag

1 minute continuous 2hkb swing (35#/35#/35#/35#)

 

 

Diet

9am Lemon Bread from Daily Café

1:00pm Steak Sandwich

More to come I hope.

Hard workout

Today was a great workout. VERY hard for me but felt great when it was done. John was very motivating this morning which was great because I was feeling really tired when I arrived. Smallest class I've been in in a while. I hear buzz of a possible 5:30am class which I would love to do if one ever starts. My body responds so much better to morning workouts on an empty stomach.
Warm up:
2x
10pass thrus
10 squats

skill:
go through round of each before repeating.
10 kb cleans (35#/35#/35#/45#)
dead hang pullups(10/8/6)
ring dips (10/10/6)

workout:
4 round 45work/15 rest
mr. Spectacular 35#
rope whip
heavy jump rope
line drill sprints
bear crawl
dip holds

i'm back

so i was feeling sorry for myself for not making it to the gym last week. sounds like i wasn't the only one. Some folks were sick and some had crazy work schedules. We could relate to the pain of seeing how it doesn't take long to feel out of shape again. Today was my favorite kind of workouts. It was a strength workout with a simple movement followed by a short but very intense met con workout. i don't love them while i'm doing them but they are definitely my favorite format of workout. Felt so good to be back at it. My mental health is already much much better than it was last week. Also i found my large Sigg water bottle so my water consumption will be back. Those things are ridiculously expensive so when i lost it, I wasn't going to allow myself to buy a new one. i'm so glad i found it since its the key to me getting adequate hydration.

Warm up:
2x
Med ball complex 20lb

Skill:
2 warm up sets of pushpresses @ 65lbs

5X5 push presses with the following in between. Kind of like an active rest.
I don't remember the weight progression but we all ended at 150lbs. Stephen and Jason made it look light but today, that weight felt kinda heavy to me.

WOD:
3 X with 3minutes rest.
250Row/20MedballSlams/Sprint To Corner and Back
1:48/2:16/2:15
The second round is supposed to be the fastest. usually when i do it, thats the case while my 3rd round usually pushes the 3 minute mark. Today the first round felt really good. By the second round, i had nothing in me. I am so happy to be back at the gym. I really like the folks who workout in the morning too. friendly, funny, fit, and motivating. Coffee is the only thing i'm missing at that hour. :)


Diet:
9:00am RTD Meal Replacement 330Calories(16gF/13gC/32gP)
9:30am Coffee
2:00pm 2eggs, 8oz Roast Beef
5:00pm Cherry Almond Muffin
7:00pm 1 string cheese
11:00pm 1 sting cheese

Drank 1 gallon of water today. best i've done in a little while.

What a week.

Work kicked my butt last week. We're remodeling our concordia store and it meant we had some long days. Worked 22 hours on friday. Last week I only worked out twice I think. I'm reminded of how dependent my mental health is on working out. I rode my bike today a little to get at least some activity in. That helped. Hoping that this coming week is better than the last as far as making it to the gym. Really curious to hear all about the mt. Athlete seminar over the weekend.

can you lift a cow?

so i was skimming through steve maxwell's blog and there's a picture of him carrying a cow! At least i think it was a cow. wow, that guy really is resourceful when it comes to finding a way to get a good workout with what's around. I may have to start with a small puppy and work my way up. i would love to say that i've carried a cow. today was another early day at work.



Diet:
8:00am Perfect Foods Bar
9:00am RTD Meal Replacement 330Calories(16gF/13gC/32gP)
10:00am coffee
11:00am RTD Meal Replacement 330Calories(16gF/13gC/32gP)
2:00pm Steak Sandwich and Salad from Hopworks on Powell
more to come

no workout today

i didn't get to workout today because i had to work at 6am. every muscle in my body is sore from Cindy so maybe its not such a bad thing to get a little rest. wow. i am really sore. i cant find any of my water bottles so my water consumption has been way too low. i need to drink more water. i also need to make sure less time goes by between meals. i'm bummed. i just had to cancel my workout reservation for tomorrow. :( 2 days in a row of no workout. can my mental health take it? i hope so. I'm still pretty sore from cindy and will be running 14 miles this weekend so that should be cool. i'm wishing i had my act together when it was time to sign up for the mt. athlete seminar. it seemed a bit intimidating at the time and is probably out of my league but sounds pretty cool. Hannah has expressed interest in climbing so i'm thinking about picking it up again. i gave it up when she was born and think it might be cool to pick it up again with her. i think i need to lose another 15lbs before i can even think about getting back into it. i dont think i'm overweight but i think all/most of my weight is not all that functional for climbing. i bet my grip has gotten a lot stronger since joining the gym. i used to be one of those guys who always wore lifting straps at the traditional gym which made my grip so weak. if i dont start climbing again maybe i'll try ultimate frisbee again. that was fun but i was so out of shape i couldnt keep up with all the whipper snappers. pretty sad that i was too out of shape for frisbee.

Workout: get up at 6am and add 2 new cash registers to the concordia store.

Diet:
5:45 am RTD Meal Replacement 330Calories(16gF/13gC/32gP)
9:00am RTD Meal Replacement 330Calories(16gF/13gC/32gP)
9:30 coffee
1:30 bagel with cream cheese
3:30pm RTD Meal Replacement 330Calories(16gF/13gC/32gP)
5:00pm Bagel with Cream Cheese
6:00pm coffee
7:00pm chili relleno burrito from la bonita

more to come

Cindy

Today's workout was a lot of fun. i was a little disappointed that i only improved a tiny bit in a couple months. i was working next to super fit people so maybe i went out to fast trying to keep up with them. i'm not too bummed because i got an amazing workout out of the deal. its funny how you start to care about times and numbers for these workouts after a while. I got an amazing workout and that should be the most important part but a little part of me wants to get more rounds or get faster times on these benchmarks. I guess thats the part that keeps motivating us when a good workout isn't enough. Anyway, i can't type what the workout is until 7:31pm. then i'll put my time.

So this was my 2nd Cindy. My first cindy was 14 rounds and today i got 16. I expected to improve more than that since last time. Oh well, it kicked my butt and thats what i'm in it for. :) Next time we do cindy, i'm having tacquitos for lunch. Todd did and he blasted through 18 rounds. i dont know if it was really the tacquitos or the fact he doesn't wear a shirt anymore that got him the 18 rounds. Either way, im impressed Todd.

8:00am RTD Meal Replacement 330Calories(16gF/13gC/32gP)
12:00pm 7 Purple plates at sushi ville. (spicy tuna rolls and the ones with salmon and cream cheese)
6:00pm 2 vegetarian burritos from taco truck on interstate and killingsworth.
9:00pm RTD Meal Replacement 330Calories(16gF/13gC/32gP)

The morning of night people

This morning's class had a bunch of my favorite faces from the night classes. It confused me at first. I thought it was night for a second. Today was the first day of me trying to workout, head home to shower, and get Hannah to school by 8:15. It worked out great! I'm so relieved. I'm writing this from a starbucks downtown watching all the business folks in some of the most uncomfortable looking shoes and outfits I've ever seen. I'm so thankful that I don't have to dress up. In fact, if I even wear a collared shirt to work, people ask me if I'm going golfin or if I have an interview. A long time ago, at another job, a co-worker woke up late and came in without doing her hair or make up and was wearing sweats. i'm not kidding when i say she literally frightened people. She was the talk of the office. People were genuinely concerned and disturbed. I told myself i never wanted people to react to me like that so i came up with this brilliant idea. i decided to get people used to the most unattractive version of sean. I call it the "camping" version of me. Tattered clothes, bed head, crusty crap in the corners of my eyes, sandles, and stubble on my face. Its fantastic. Everyone in my world only knows this version of sean and they are quite used to it. This camping version of me is the baseline. It allows me to get ready in minutes. And if i want to dress it up, its so easy. The other day, i wore a 15 year old hand me down collared shirt and everyone i saw that day asked me what the special occasion was. I just want to note that the camping version of sean does brush his teeth and showers. I probably just shared too much information but it made the last 20 minutes while waiting for the sprint store to finish working on an employee's phone go by a little quicker(yes it really did take me 20 minutes to type all that on my treo). see you in the gym.



Workout
Warmup
3x with pvc pipe
10 pass throughs
10 squats
100 jump ropes

SKILL:
3x
double kb clean and press 35lb/45lb/52lb(had to push press last rep of 52lb)
10 dips on the rings.no vest but went very low and felt it.
KB situp(25lb/25lb/20lb)

WOD:
4 sets 45 work/15 seconds rest
90 seconds rest between set
2HKB swing(35lbs)
L sits (very hard for me to do more than 10 seconds at a time)
Med ball cleans 20lbs
broad jumps
shuttle runs




Diet(as of 11:52)
6am 32oz water
8am 80grams of corn starch(dont ask)10g Creatine 320Calories 80gC
9am RTD Meal Replacement 330Calories(16gF/13gC/32gP)
11am RTD Meal Replacement 330Calories(16gF/13gC/32gP)
11:15 32 oz water
4pm Americano
8pm Bubba burrito from Laughing Planet
10pm RTD Meal Replacement 330Calories(16gF/13gC/32gP)

back to school

so today was Hannah's first day of school and it was a hit. i think i was more anxious than she was. Now that that's out of the way, i'll be back in the gym tomorrow. Wanted to walk her to the classroom door for day 1. I figure if I leave at exactly 7:30am i can be home by 7:45 and have time to shower and take her to school by 8:20.Should work ok. We'll see tomorrow how it goes. Today was my 3rd day fo inactivity and for the first time in my life of working out, i'm very ok with that. i'm starting to appreciate and understand the value of rest with intense exercise. So today was an in between day with diet. here's how it went:

8:00 am 1 meal replacement drink
9:00 am 1 25oz water
10:00 am 1 meal replacement drink
11:00 am 2 macaroon cookies left in breakroom
12:00 pm coffee
12:16 pm coffee
12:19 pm coffee
12:23 pm coffee
4:00pm sw green chili burrito from laughing planet
5:00pm 27-38 tamari almonds
7:20pm Reeds gingerale and almond croissant
8:30 2 Quorn Patties(fake chicken)
9:00 25oz water
10:00pm 40g whey protein.

writers blogck

so today was really uneventful so i dont have a ton to type about. little Seth spent the night and woke us up at 7am saying "uncle sean, there's lots of sun out, we need to be up". I couldn't find the snooze button on his head but hannah was an awesome big sis and got up with him. I woke up at noon. We went to our friend Andy's house and we roasted 200lbs of New Mexico Green Chili. We love it. We just got home and are getting ready to wind down since Hannah starts school tomorrow. I lost track of how many green chilies and tortillas i ate. I did manage to get in 70g of protein. 56oz of water, no coffee, and no sweets. No exercise either. We waved goodbye to the ice cream man as he headed on to his next state this morning.

Ice cream follows me

So the other day at work I'm standing in the lobby and look over to the breakroom where I see 2 ben and jerry employees standing behind a fully stocked sundae making station ready to serve. No lines, no music, no cash registers, no signs. For a moment, I thought I was dreaming. Turns out it was a gift from our bank. 2 hours of all you can eat sundaes complete with all the choices available at a full b&j ice cream shop. It was fantastic. I didn't think my luck could get any better. Then last night we're out at the Antony and the Johnsons concert(amazing), and our downstairs roommate sends us a text saying "my friend the ice cream man(thats his title) is going to be staying with us". I woke up and looked out the front window to see the biggest ice cream truck I've ever seen. I jokingly asked Jodi if her friend brought me any ice cream and she ran up with ice cream sandwiches. Pretty cool luck I've been having. This was way off topic for a fitness blog but its saturday and I haven't done anything fit today. Melissa saw my last blog entry where I said I was going to start doing more around the house so the neighbors don't think I'm a lazy deadbeat. I told her that I really just wrote it so that anyone from the gym who read it didn't think I was a lazy deadbeat. :)

todays WOD:
woke up, drove to old wives tale after seeing a line too long at Gravys on Mississppi. Ate,
came home and went back to sleep, and woke up only now.

Diet:
tofu scramble
meal replacement
2 cornmeal pancakes
3 coffees
1 meal replacement
3 dot cupcakes

2 Reeds Gingerales

32oz water

back home

so we're back home and i've already been able to eat better. my calf is killing me from a pistol squat yesterday. my own fault. was very dehydrated. this gym experience has been so good for me. I was the type of guy who used to go to gym, do 1 set to complete failure(positive and negative failure) for just one body part each day. I looked really strong but had absolutely no endurance. It was also worthless strenth. i could bench press a lot but what was that worth. I feel much better about the new kind of strength i'm developing here. Its also been a very humbling experience too. There's no faking your way through these kinds of workouts. I had to do the 7:30 am class instead of the 6:30 and ended up getting 2 work calls and had to leave early. :( My calf hurt today but i didn't want to miss deadlifts. i feel good for days after deadlifts and they provide so much bang for the buck as far as strength goes. I was starting to enjoy the fact that Melissa is stronger than I am. I was making her open the pickle jar when i couldn't, carry the heavy grocery bags, and even move the heavy recycling bin around the house to the curb. I think i might start doing more around the house. The neighbors are going to start to think i'm a lazy dead beat.

Workout

Warmup

ladder drill(these hurt a lot with my calf still extremely sore from yesterday)

Workout:

5x5 Deadlifts

225/255/285/315/370(3)

went too heavy on last one. Joe and another nice guy were boosting my ego with kind flattery. Made me think I was stronger than i was. :)

WOD:

3 sets of

45 seconds heavy rope waves 15 secondsrest.

45 seconds jump rope 15 seconds rest.

(First time doing it. Way harder than it looks. Felt it in my deltoids most)

1000M row was next but had a 2 work emergencies and had to leave :(

Diet:

Meal replacement 35gP/10gC/13gF

Meal replacement 35gP/10gC/13gF

2 coffee

Meal replacement 35gP/10gC/13gF

96oz Water

1 chicken burrito
3 pieces of veg pizza

ok, lets try this again for reals

ok, so as of today, i'm going to try to log my workouts and diets more seriously so i can have something to look back on. Thanks John for the info. i think i now have the reputation of being the junk food king. The funny thing is i usually do pretty well with diet. i just happened to start blogging on the day i was in the middle of a junk food phase. i've had a lot of stress at work with some compliance deadlines and i've needed some feel good food since i don't drink or take drugs. The one thing i will confess to is not understanding moderation. i am an all or nothing guy. I've dieted on nothing but flax oil, water, and whey powder for weeks at a time to lose weight. I've also eaten 24 voodoo donuts in 1 day. See what i mean. i've never been able to just be moderately well. Thats why i was super fond of the body opus diet for many years. Written by Daniel Duchaine(he's dead now. probably from the diet he wrote about)It was a 70%fat/30% protein diet Monday through Friday and a 80%carb/20%protein diet saturday and sunday. i would do this for 12 weeks every year when i was a vain 20 something year old so that i was lean for the summer. It was the perfect diet for someone like me that was all or nothing and didn't understand moderation. I'm trying to be more moderate now that i'm almost an adult. We've been house sitting this week so ive been away from my fridge and i'm affraid of the stuff in the beaverton fridge. I was in meetings again today so the diet wasn't great but it wasn't total crap either. I only drank about 30 oz of water and too much coffee. My calf cramped doing a pistol squat today as a result.

Workout,
Warmup:
2x
Kettlebell complex (16K)
8 Around the world
8 Goblet squats
4 kb swings
4 high pulls
4 clean press
4 each side lunges
4 chops
8 push ups


Skill:
Pistol squats
can do them all the way if i hold a 20lb kb extended out in front of me.(cramped today)
Hand stand pushups(did 3 sets of 5)
Ring Rows(15 with feet on ground)
Ring Rows(15 with 40lb vest and feet on ground)
Ring Rows(15 with feet on block(no vest))

WOD:

3 x for time

Run around the block 450M

10 Knees to elbows

15 ball slams

Heavy Ball carry down driveway and back(60/50/50)
Time: 13:26(calf cramped from pistol squat so run was compromised) Felt really strong on the other exercises though.
Diet:
32oz water
6 coffees
1 Bubba Burrito from Laughing Planet with Tempeh instead of chicken)
1 Meal Replacement drink (35gP/10gC/15gF)
1 Trilogy Kombucha
2 cupcakes

i don't love beaverton

So now I know what Jason goes through every morning driving from Beaverton to the gym. I’ve been house sitting and I’m discovering that I really don’t like Beaverton or the drive from Beaverton to anywhere.. There is traffic even at 6am coming from Beaverton. Apparently, I’m known as being the late guy. I left pretty early today from Beaverton and I was still late. Today was another hard workout (I think they might call them Grinders) I’m not sure. My new favorite exercise is the kettlebell clean and press. I LOVE it. I like graceful moves and to me that seems like one of the more graceful moves.  My new personal goal is to be able to do 20 dead hang pullups before the end of the year. I don’t really have a good reason for the goal but seems doable with some effort.

 

Workout:

8 KB clean and press did the green ones for 2 of them and the next size up black ones for 3 of them.
10 half moons once with bag, 3 times with 10lb ball, once with 20lb ball
15 wall balls 2 with 20lbs, 3 with 12 lbs
rest a minute

3 rounds:
row 250 m
15 2 hand kettlebell swing. 1 with green one. 2 with next size up black one.
3 turkish get up. used the blue one until Nathan asked me if I was feeling ok. Used Green ones for the last 2.

(I didn’t actually remember the workout so I cheated and looked at John’s organized blog for the details. Hope that’s ok. Do I need to site my references?)

 

Diet:

1 pefect food bar

3 coffees

1 chocolate chip cookie

2 salmon cakes

½ gallon of water

(will update if/as I eat more)

 

 

 

 

Lost my frog hop again

Fortunately there was a witness or two for the one and only day I ever did a descent frog hop. Maybe I got too confident about this newly acquired skill because I lost it. I was trying so hard to make Devon proud too and just couldn't. I was so proud of myself for taking 3 days off to rest but today felt really hard for me. Maybe it was the weekend of eating bad food that put the hurt on me. Well today wasn't much better with the diet. 2 reasons/excuses. House sitting in Beaveron and a long day of meetings. Our IBM rep loves us and always brings us french pastries and nichola's kababs 'n stuff. A normal routine for me is high fat/protein liquid meals monday through friday and whatever I can fit in my mouth friday through sunday. I extended the "whatever" period this weekend. Tomorrow I'll get back on track with the diet.

Todays workout:
weighted pullups and dips. Did dead hang pullups.
45work and 15 rest workout.
way harder for me than it looked on the board.

diet:
3 coffees
1 Perfect Food Bar
2 veg kabab
2 cups rice
1 piece of pizza
1 diet soda
1 quart of water
1 meal replacement
35g Protein/11 fat/10carb(fiber)
not a great day for diet but could be worse.

Last day of long weekend

so other than the 15 mile run, this was my weekend to eat comfort food and be very lazy. Had a good time with friends last night. Ate lots of food. Ate my first breakfast at Gravy's on Mississippi. It was good but I think I ate too much. Today, I've been stretching on the foam roller and watching TV.

workout: none
diet: carbs, carbs, more, carbs. A serving of fat, and just a pinch of protein. 1 gallon of water. 3 coffees