Modified Fight Gone Bad, Basketball

Early afternoon

Modified Fight Gone Bad

	R1	R2	R3
Wall Ball	45	38	50
SDHP	37	32	30
Box Jumps	20	17	12
Push Press	15	14	14
Double Unders	20	15	16
Total	137	116	122

Workout comments: Modification of the Fight Gone Bad workout. Total was 375. The rower is replaced with the double-unders. Had to take several breaks throughout the workout, which hurt my total reps. I just couldn't keep these up.

Evening

About 2 hours of basketball with the work league. Just an open gym tonight. I haven't played in almost 3 months, which is to say the game was pretty sloppy. Took some protein in after the game and slept well. Not as sore the following day as I expected to be.

Strength, Short Run

Late afternoon

HSPUs 4 X max reps
10, 10, 8, 6

Strict pullups 4 X 10
*Supersets

Power clean and jerk 4 X 3
140, 150, 150, 160

Wood Chop 4 X 10
230
*Supersets

3 mile run
27:00

Workout comments: The HSPUs continue to improve. I'm shooting for a goal of 20 unbroken HSPUs by the end of the year. Maybe it's time to try one of those military push push workouts. Seemed to work pretty well for the pullups.

The power cleans were a little difficult, especially when tacking on the jerk. But not impossible. Amazing how fast olympic movements leave you feeling significantly less sore than power lifting movements.

Strength

Early Afternoon

Bench Press 4, 5, 5, 5
Loads: 205, 195, 195, 195

Situps 4 X 20
*Supersets

Front Squat: 4 X 5
Load: 155, 165, 165, 175

Strict Chinups 4 X 10
*Supersets

Deadlift 4 X 3
Load: 260

Dumbbell Press 4 X 5
Load: 130
*Supersets

Metcon

100 Back Squats for Time
Load: 135

9:05

Workout comments: Long strength day followed by short metcon. Broke up the squats into sets of 10.

Black Friday Trail Run

Black Friday and I decided to head down to the park for a long-ish trail run. I say long because I don't think I've done a run that lasted over an hour in about 3 months. I took a meandering root starting from Northwestern Ave and then cut over to the eastern side of the park at Bells Mill Rd. I made my way all the way down to Valley Green, where I cut back over and immediately went back up into the trails just after the Inn. There are two entrances near Valley Green. One is just before Valley Green Rd, which leads down to Forbidden Drive from Ridge Ave. This is the normal trail I take. The next trail is just after the Inn. These two entrances can't be more than a quarter mile apart, but they can easily add 1.5-2 miles onto a run.

It was later in the afternoon and except for a few hikers and mountain bikers, I don't think I saw too many people out. I've never mastered the art of running the early morning, probably remnants of a collegiate rowing career. 6AM on the water every morning in Philadelphia in nothing but spandex destroys your desire to be an early riser. But I'd say late afternoon runs in the fall/winter can be even better. Despite having the run loom over your head like ominous storm clouds, late afternoon runs offer the chance to catch the waning rays of sunlight before dropping below the treeline and a chance to run into a few deer along the way. Something I've done almost literally on a few occasions.

On this particular occasion, I decided to head out without my iPod for some "back to nature" running, and mostly because I had just read on article listing the many benefits of meditative running. According to the article, many recreational modern runners abhor the constant physical reminders of running: labored breathing, sore leg muscles, etc. Our minds turn to any other distraction to avoid thinking about running, which can easily be music. But this author suggests that by focusing on breathing, physical sensations, and our surroundings and ridding our minds of any extraneous thoughts, that our bodies will achieve a higher sense of fulfillment from running. It can allow the mind to re-charge itself. Hopefully, this individual will rediscover the joys of running.

I tried this technique with little success, but I would imagine that the mind needs practice in this area. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable run and I'll give this a try again in the future.

Not sure about mileage, maybe 9 in about 84 minutes.

Strength, Two Metcons

Early afternoon

Strength

Deadlift 4 X 5
Load: 260

Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 10, 10, 5, 5
Load: 110, 130, 130, 130

Pullups 4 X 10
Sets of pullups were spread throughout the workout

Metcon
50 walking lunges
21 Push Press (80) 21 Pushups
Repeat this round with 18, 15, 12, 9, 6, 3 (50 walking lunges between each round)
17:14

5 rounds
15 second plank hold
AMRAP situps 30 seconds
30 seconds rest

Total situps across 5 rounds: 96

Cleans, Situps, Press, Metcon

Early afternoon

Cleans 5 X 3
Load: 140, 150, 160, 160, 170

Incline Situps 5 X 15
*Supersets

Barbell Press 4 X 5
Load: 120, 130, 140, 140

Metcon

AMRAP in 10 minutes
400m run
10 DB Thrusters (right arm) 45
10 DB Thrusters (left arm) 45

3 full rounds, plus I just missed finishing the 4th 400m. I finished the run anyway and finished in 10:21.

Workout comments: Surprisingly good feeling on the run. Set the treadmill at 6:30 pace, and this wasn't too difficult. Cleans were also a shock, although I'm still hesitant to increase the weight much more for fear of dropping it in the fitness center. Really need to start looking for my own set.

No soreness today.

Strength, Short Metcon

Early afternoon

Bench Press 5 X 5
Load: 195, 195, 195, 195, 205

Situps 5 X 20
*Superset

Squats 4 X 3
Load: 225

Pullups 4 X 8 (Neutral grip)
*Supersets

Metcon
Revised Annie

50, 40, 30, 20, 10

Double Unders
Burpees

12:45

I think my PR in the regular version of Annie is somewhere around 7 minutes. This was definitely a much tougher version, but I was dogging it during the burpees. I figured I need to make HSPUs, box jumps, and burpees a much more regular block of my workouts. They are the aspect of any workout I hate the most.

The bench press is getting better and better, while I'm continuing to make up lost ground on the squats.

Trail Run

Late afternoon

A brisk trail run with Brigid on Saturday afternoon. We took the trail section from Northwestern to Bells Mill and up the hill to the newly created meadow. We followed this for a while, making our way down to the Rex Ave bridge, across, and up into the trails on the eastern side of the creek back towards Bells Mill. Just as we were nearing the bridge, we heard our names being called and saw Brigid's mom walking on the other side of the creek on Forbidden Drive. I was amazed at how she spotted us from so far away, but then I realized Brigid was wearing a bright sky blue t-shirt. We were just about finished anyway, so we made a U-turn at the bridge and joined her for the walk back to Northwestern. We must have been moving, because out of nowhere, we happened across Brigid's two uncles who were out walking the dog. Apparently they get out under the guise of walking the dog for an hour, but really only go for about 15 minutes and then sneak over to Brittingham's for a beer. Classic.

Unknown distance: 43 minutes.

Strength

Strength

Deadlift 4 X 3
Load 260

Situps 4 X 20
*Superset

Metcon

AMRAP in 3 minutes
3 Power Cleans (140)
6 Pushups
9 Air Squats
*9 Dips

*Alternate dips and air squats between each round.

Repeat this 3 minute attempt 4 times, with 1 minute rest between rounds.

3 rounds + 3 reps
3 rounds + 9 reps
3 rounds + 8 reps
3 rounds + 7 reps

Workout comments: Deadlifts are progressing well, yet another exercise that has lost ground since I haven't done it in over 2 months. The dips killed me during the metcon, killing my heartrate and making the subsequent rounds so much tougher to finish.

Bench Press, Wood Chop, Squats, Pullups

Early afternoon

Bench Press 5 X 5
Load: 205

Wood Chop 5 X 10
Load: 245
*Supersets

Squats 10 X 2
Load: 195

Pullups 10 X 4
Mix between regular and neutral grip

Workout comments: Nothing to report. Nothing felt too sore after yesterday, but I did sleep for about 9.5 hours.

Strength, Short Trail Run

Early afternoon

Bench Press 5 X 5
Load: 195

Wood Chop 5 X 10 each side
Load: 245
*Supersets

Squats 10 X 2
Load: About 220

Pullups 10 X 2
* Supersets. I alternated between neutral and normal grips pullups.

Late afternoon

Short trail run in the Wissahickon. The effect of daylight savings time is finally taking its effect, although the weather is slow to catch up. I can still run in shorts and and t-shirt. But the light is waning and soon I'll need a headlamp if I want to continue these after-work runs. I have to leave the headphones at home, because running the last hours of daylight is usually a guarantee of making your way across a few deer. They must be so used to people at this point that they don't move until you are right on them, and running on the trails requires more concentration on your foot placement then what's 50 yards ahead. I'm lucky if it's just a doe, but today they were accompanied by a pretty large stag. The last time I came across one of these, it had a small fawn with it and started chasing me down Forbidden Drive. By the time I knew what happened, they were bounding off through the trees, and the snapping branches is what caught my attention in the first place. Still pretty amazing that you can find a place like this in a large city.

Unknown distance in about 32 minutes.

Metcon

Early afternoon

1, 2...10 rep rounds of the following:

Push Press 100
Pushups
Front Squats 100
Double Unders
Power Cleans
Situps
Box Jumps
KB Swings 50
Pullups
Burpees

Workout comments: I didn't make it through to the 10th round. The 9th round took me close to 8 minutes to finish, and I was already at 38:30. I had a huge pile of sweat and aching hamstrings to show for it. Extremely tough workout to finish. Maybe a future goal of finishing in under 30 minutes? The pullups were also strict.

Squats, Power Cleans, Situps, Pushups

Early afternoon

Squats 5 X 5
Load: 105, 155, 175, 195, 195

Situps 4 X 20
*Supersets

Power Cleans 5 X 5
Load: 140

Pushups 5 X 15
*Supersets

Workout comments: Very sore in the quads from the walking lunges on Tuesday and the hamstrings from the deadlifts. I'm still keeping the loads relatively light to allow my body to adjust. The power cleans felt very easy at 140, but I'll have to look into what my max used to be. Squats should have been done at ~230.

Short Trail Run

Early afternoon

Short Run around Malvern, through the quarry and following the stream, skipping the nature preserve. Maybe 4.5 miles in 40 minutes. Very slow pace to alleviate some of the ankle pain I felt after the run on Friday.

Late afternoon

Metcon

For time:

15, 25, 35

Double Unders

Swings (30#)

Thrusters (30#)

Box Jumps

Situps

Then, untimed:

2 Rounds (AMRAP 30s)

Dips

Decline Pushups

V Sits

One-legged squats (each leg, one leg elevated behind on box)

Plank hold

Workout comments: Unbroken double under rounds (except for the first round when the rope was too short). Did not expect this, but it was almost easier than I remembered. The second rope I used was definitely too long.

Bench Press, Wood Chip, Boot Camp

Early afternoon

Strength

Bench Press 5 X 3
Load: 205, 225, 225, 235, 245

Wood Chop 5 X 10 (each side)
Load: 230

Metcon
5 Rounds for Time

20 OH Walking Lunges 45#
15 DUs
10 Contralateral Pushups
5 Box Jumps 18in

12:34

Ab work

Workout comments: I guess all the upper body work is paying off. Tied my old PR for the 1RM, but doing 3RM. Of course, I was using the equipment in Spring House, which I think is always just a little different than what I've been using in Malvern.

First time doing a serious metcon in a while. Went better than I expected. I only really got held up on the box jumps, but mostly because I'm still thinking I'm going to slip like the last time. They are not the most reliable boxes. Lungs and muscles were burning, but I was still moving through everything pretty quickly. I was defintely feeling the cleans and deadlifts in my hamstrings from yesterday.

Squat Cleans, Deadlifts, Pushups

Early afternoon

Cleans 5 X 5
Load: 120, 120, 130, 130, 130

Pushups 5 X 15
*Supersets

Deadlifts 4 X 5
Load: 210, 260, 260, 260

Pushups 4 X 20
*Supersets

Workout comments: Nothing really to report. Deadlifts and cleans felt good, but I learned my lesson after the VERY sore legs from squats last week and kept the weight relatively light. This serves a duel purpose: keeps me injury free and boosts confidence.

Swimming Intervals

Late afternoon

WU: 10 laps easy (2 Touch and Go laps)

Main: 20s on, 10s off
25y, 25, 25, 25, 24, 24, 24, 24

CD: 5 laps easy

Workout comments: Swimming these types of timed intervals are difficult because it's hard to gauge distance in an unmarked pool, plus you just tend to lose count of the laps after a certain number. But these intervals were short and I just tried to shoot for a full pool length on each interval. The short rest caught up with me on the last 4 intervals, and I fell just short of a full pool length on each one. Still the first four felt very good, strong, and efficient. But that's coming from me.

HSPUs, SU, Run

Early afternoon

Strength

HSPU 4 X Max reps
10, 6, 6, 9

Incline Situps 4 X 15
*Supersets

Easy Run 4.5 miles
42 minutes

Workout comments: After minimal discomfort (in my ankle) after a mile on the treadmill yesterday, I braved the unknown and ran with Paul R. for ~4 easy miles around Malvern. I haven't run in more than 2 months, and it's as though I completely missed a season. Sure, I've been outside walking around and in my backyard pretty often, but when you haven't run outside in such a prolonged period of time, it's as if you are experience everything with brand new eyes. It's not early November, but despite the chillier than usual weather we've been having the past few weeks, I almost expected to walk outside to the sweltering temperatures I left in the middle of the summer. I should have packed a long-sleeved T-shirt.

The route was pretty much the same route as they always take, but it will probably take a few times before I can clear the cobwebs from my brain. The recent rain that came a few weeks back must have totally rearranged the trail at one point, and you could see the spots where the small creek was totally overflowing, debris piled up everywhere. At one point there was a massive piece of lumber, maybe 2' X 2' and almost 35-40 feet long that had become lodged on a tree which hung about 10 feet over the now receded creek. Amazing the power of water.

Squats, Pullups, Shoulder Press, Short Run

Early afternoon

Squats 8 X 2
Load: 225, 225, 175 for the rest.

Pullups 8 X 4
*Supersets

Dumbbell Shoulder Press 4 X 5
Load: 120

Incline Situps 4 X 20

1 mile run: 9:48

Workout comments: No pain in the right ankle during any of the workout today. Even after the initial warmup, 225 was WAY too much weight for this workout, which crushed all hopes that somehow my fitness had somehow magically remained even after 2 months of lower body inactivity. The run felt a little tough, but mostly because my legs were shot from the squats.

Strength

Early afternoon

Bench Press 5 X 3
195, 215, 225, 235, 235(failed third rep)

Strict Chinups 3 X 10

Should Press 3 X 5
Load: 110

Workout comments: New PR for the 3RM Bench Press. It's been so long since I've attempted a 1RM (245) that I'm really curious about what it might be now. Hopefully something above 260 and I would be happy.

Doctor's appointment tomorrow to see about my foot. Hoping for the best, but expecting the worst. The time since injury now is almost 9 months. I don't think I've ever had any kind of affliciton that has lasted this long.