300 workout
For my training session today, my personal trainer Andrew had me try the 300 workout. The goal is to do -- as fast as you can -- 50 pullups, 50 135lb deadlifts, 50 pushups, 50 24" box jumps, 50 "wipers" (alternating-side leg raises) while holding 135lbs above your head, and 50 35lb clean and presses (25 with each arm). You can rest whenever you like (and unless you've been training at it for some time, you'll need to!), but the clock keeps running.
Despite some lingering chest congestion from a cold I caught 10 days ago, I completed the workout in 23:21. My average heart rate was 170bpm, peaking around 182 during the box jumps.
Andrew said his best time is about 24 minutes, and a good time for other people he knows is 28 or 29 minutes. So it looks like I'm in pretty good shape. The great thing is that I am pretty confident that I can improve my fitness a lot more over the next few months.
One modification I think should be made is to adjust the workout for height and weight. My guess is that the workout was originally targeted at someone around 6", 200lb, probably a 30" to 32" inseam. All other things equal, the physics of vertical leap make it proportional to inseam.
Since I'm 5'5" 160lb with a 26" inseam, this would reduce the deadlift/wiper weight to 108lb, the clean and press weight to 28lb, and the box jump to 20". I definitely would have needed fewer rest breaks with these adjustments. I took 3 breaks during the deadlifts, box jumps and wipers, 1 break during the pushups and final 25 pullups, and switched arms 4 times during the clean and press.
I'm also curious what the typical rate of decline in performance is with respect to age.
Despite some lingering chest congestion from a cold I caught 10 days ago, I completed the workout in 23:21. My average heart rate was 170bpm, peaking around 182 during the box jumps.
Andrew said his best time is about 24 minutes, and a good time for other people he knows is 28 or 29 minutes. So it looks like I'm in pretty good shape. The great thing is that I am pretty confident that I can improve my fitness a lot more over the next few months.
One modification I think should be made is to adjust the workout for height and weight. My guess is that the workout was originally targeted at someone around 6", 200lb, probably a 30" to 32" inseam. All other things equal, the physics of vertical leap make it proportional to inseam.
Since I'm 5'5" 160lb with a 26" inseam, this would reduce the deadlift/wiper weight to 108lb, the clean and press weight to 28lb, and the box jump to 20". I definitely would have needed fewer rest breaks with these adjustments. I took 3 breaks during the deadlifts, box jumps and wipers, 1 break during the pushups and final 25 pullups, and switched arms 4 times during the clean and press.
I'm also curious what the typical rate of decline in performance is with respect to age.