Ladder & 'Jackie' workouts
*note* Getting caught up now that LJ is not being harrased by D.O.S. attacks. I wanted to post this on Wednesday but couldn't. Given what I'm using LJ for these days, if this downtime keeps up, I may switch over to something else. Sorry LJ, you're problem, not mine.
Onto the original posts...
Sunday I ran the workout as DT was away on vacation. I must admit that it feels nice to be able to say and do that; it’s a great confidence booster.
A ladder workout is where you start with a certain number of reps and increase or decrease by one in each set you do. For example, an up ladder of push ups and squats would consist of 1-2-3…etc…, or one push up and one squat, then two push ups and two squats, then three push ups and three squats, etc… A ladder down is the reverse, 10-9-8… etc… The number you start at and end at vary depending on the workout.
Sunday we did a burpee & sit up ladder, from 1 to 10 (1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10). The new guys did that. I did an up ladder followed immediately by a down ladder. I did 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1. My time was 20:40.
It was an awesome workout and I was amped afterwards. In 20 minutes I did a total of 100 sit ups and 100 burpees. Not too shabby considering I’ve only been at this for ~6 months!
Last night was a huge milestone for me. Yesterday’s involved 2 lifts the new guys had not done before, and with DT out of town I taught them how to do them! I was hesitant about my being able to teach so I emailed DT with details of how I was going to explain and show the lifts to the new guys. Other than one small correction I had them perfect!
To be honest, it was quite the ego boost to have DT endorse my being able to teach a lift to someone.
The two lifts I taught the guys were the Sumo Deadlift High Pull (SDHP) and Thruster. The SDHP is a big name for an easy lift as it’s a natural extension of a deadlift, which the guys already knew how to do. A Thruster is like a deadlift and a Shoulder Press combined, both of which the guys already knew how to do, so all I had to show them was how to smoothly merge them.
The workout was called “Jackie” and, for me, consisted of:
R/X’ed: (yes, I did a full prescribed Hero workout last night)
45 lbs SDHPs, 100 reps
45 lbs Thruster, 50 reps
30 pull-ups (Beginner)
I did it in 20:14, which is a great time. 100 SDHP’s with a 45 lbs bar is the equivalent of rowing 1,000 meters. The rest of the guys did a buttercup version (no weight and less reps); they are still new so they did good not using any weight.
I really pushed myself with that workout and am feeling it today. I have that dull ache/burn in my legs and arms - and I LOVE IT :) Laugh at me if you wish, it feels awesome and invigorating to have even completed that workout, let alone scored that kind of time.
I *finally* got access to the fitness centre here at work. It’s small, and consists mainly of one large ‘nautilus’ type machine. Machines are the enemy for Crossfit’ers as with the isolation of muscles they provide you lose your core strength; your body doesn’t use just one muscle by itself, it is always using multiple muscles working together. If you want to get stronger, you need to work on all of them at once, not just one of them. Ok, ok, off my soap box… ;)
The fitness centre does have an extensive set of dumbbells, a treadmill, stationary bike, and sit up bench. It also has a few open spaces. With all of that I should be able to get creative enough and come up with some good workouts. I’m hoping I can get into the routine of getting up and heading straight into work, working out, then showering in the change rooms and getting dressed for work. I function a lot better with a workout first thing in the morning and this could be an easy way to get them in. As a bonus, I’ll beat almost all the morning traffic! :)
Onto the original posts...
Sunday I ran the workout as DT was away on vacation. I must admit that it feels nice to be able to say and do that; it’s a great confidence booster.
A ladder workout is where you start with a certain number of reps and increase or decrease by one in each set you do. For example, an up ladder of push ups and squats would consist of 1-2-3…etc…, or one push up and one squat, then two push ups and two squats, then three push ups and three squats, etc… A ladder down is the reverse, 10-9-8… etc… The number you start at and end at vary depending on the workout.
Sunday we did a burpee & sit up ladder, from 1 to 10 (1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10). The new guys did that. I did an up ladder followed immediately by a down ladder. I did 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1. My time was 20:40.
It was an awesome workout and I was amped afterwards. In 20 minutes I did a total of 100 sit ups and 100 burpees. Not too shabby considering I’ve only been at this for ~6 months!
Last night was a huge milestone for me. Yesterday’s involved 2 lifts the new guys had not done before, and with DT out of town I taught them how to do them! I was hesitant about my being able to teach so I emailed DT with details of how I was going to explain and show the lifts to the new guys. Other than one small correction I had them perfect!
To be honest, it was quite the ego boost to have DT endorse my being able to teach a lift to someone.
The two lifts I taught the guys were the Sumo Deadlift High Pull (SDHP) and Thruster. The SDHP is a big name for an easy lift as it’s a natural extension of a deadlift, which the guys already knew how to do. A Thruster is like a deadlift and a Shoulder Press combined, both of which the guys already knew how to do, so all I had to show them was how to smoothly merge them.
The workout was called “Jackie” and, for me, consisted of:
R/X’ed: (yes, I did a full prescribed Hero workout last night)
45 lbs SDHPs, 100 reps
45 lbs Thruster, 50 reps
30 pull-ups (Beginner)
I did it in 20:14, which is a great time. 100 SDHP’s with a 45 lbs bar is the equivalent of rowing 1,000 meters. The rest of the guys did a buttercup version (no weight and less reps); they are still new so they did good not using any weight.
I really pushed myself with that workout and am feeling it today. I have that dull ache/burn in my legs and arms - and I LOVE IT :) Laugh at me if you wish, it feels awesome and invigorating to have even completed that workout, let alone scored that kind of time.
I *finally* got access to the fitness centre here at work. It’s small, and consists mainly of one large ‘nautilus’ type machine. Machines are the enemy for Crossfit’ers as with the isolation of muscles they provide you lose your core strength; your body doesn’t use just one muscle by itself, it is always using multiple muscles working together. If you want to get stronger, you need to work on all of them at once, not just one of them. Ok, ok, off my soap box… ;)
The fitness centre does have an extensive set of dumbbells, a treadmill, stationary bike, and sit up bench. It also has a few open spaces. With all of that I should be able to get creative enough and come up with some good workouts. I’m hoping I can get into the routine of getting up and heading straight into work, working out, then showering in the change rooms and getting dressed for work. I function a lot better with a workout first thing in the morning and this could be an easy way to get them in. As a bonus, I’ll beat almost all the morning traffic! :)