Today I heard some good news. Kehau, the female workout machine at Raw Fitness Maui, said when she first started working out she couldn't even do a pushup. Now she cranks out dips on the rings. What rings? Those gymnastics rings that you see in the olympics. Yes, that's right folks, at RFM they want you do do ring dips. They ain't easy.
Except Kehau manages to crank out sets of 15, 12 and 9. The whole workout was dumbbell hang cleans, knees to elbows and ring dips for 15, 12 and 9 reps and I think I did mine in 9 minutes. Probably more and not less. But I didn't do the ring dips, in fact nobody did ring dips except for Kehau. I don't want to make excuses but I think I'd be able to stabilize myself if I hadn't had that pec tear earlier this year. But I can still crank out regular dips so at least there's that.
And yes I wore underwear today. Or as Kristi asked, "Are you in uniform today Rod?" Yes, don't be afraid, the children will not go blind.
So I got this week and then it's the start of the Paleo diet on November 1st. Thirty days of natural foods and no processed stuff like sugar and pasta and all that. The tough part is going to be no dairy. I loves me some ice cream. And beer. Damn it. But it'll be nice to see the muscles under my gut again. I might even have the nerve to post some shirtless pics. Gotta bring the sexy back you know.
By the way, I apologize if some of you just threw up in your mouth after reading that last line. I know I did. But I do plan on going through with this 30 day Paleo diet. But first let's get through this week.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
Commando squats (or, why you should wear underwear when you workout)
It was my last blog I believe when I promised you more hilarity to my workout stories.
God has answered my prayers, for today I ripped my workout shorts.
And no, I was not wearing underwear.
Let's start from the beginning.
Today was a nice mix of a 400 meter run, followed by 15 overhead squats, for three rounds. Not too bad right? My muscles were ready, however my shorts weren't. They were cheap K-Mart workout shorts that I think I got for $8 earlier this summer and when I squatted down too far today they split during our warm up.
It was so loud everybody heard it and I jumped up and turned around so that the two females in the gym, Kristi and Kenna (who is only in high school), weren't flashed. I felt my backside and the rip went from . . .
well let's just say everything was exposed.
Yes, it was bad. I was imagining doing the run and cars behind me crashing as they glimpsed a view that should not be viewed in public. Or flashing Kenna and then having her parents filing a restraining order against me.
Luckily someone left a towel at the gym. Unfortunately it was a child's Power Ranger towel that barely wrapped around my waist. Still, it was long enough to block everything so I went for it. Hell, I've been writing about pregnant women and one armed gimps doing this workout so I can't let a little clothing malfunction do me in right? Yeah, didn't think so.
I was last behind Bob and Kenna but I powered through the squats better than I did before. My legs are getting stronger I think because the last time I needed to keep resting. Then again everytime I squatted I could see parts of myself sticking out in the mirror, so I think that had something to do with my increased motivation to finish. My running needs improvement but hopefully that happens over time.
Now I must wash this towel, as there is sweat on it from areas of my body that no child should ever come into contact with. There are several lessons to be learned from this story, which I shall list below:
1) Wear underwear
2) Do not buy cheap workout shorts
3) Bring your own adult sized towel everywhere you go, just in case
Have a good weekend gang,
Rod
God has answered my prayers, for today I ripped my workout shorts.
And no, I was not wearing underwear.
Let's start from the beginning.
Today was a nice mix of a 400 meter run, followed by 15 overhead squats, for three rounds. Not too bad right? My muscles were ready, however my shorts weren't. They were cheap K-Mart workout shorts that I think I got for $8 earlier this summer and when I squatted down too far today they split during our warm up.
It was so loud everybody heard it and I jumped up and turned around so that the two females in the gym, Kristi and Kenna (who is only in high school), weren't flashed. I felt my backside and the rip went from . . .
well let's just say everything was exposed.
Yes, it was bad. I was imagining doing the run and cars behind me crashing as they glimpsed a view that should not be viewed in public. Or flashing Kenna and then having her parents filing a restraining order against me.
Luckily someone left a towel at the gym. Unfortunately it was a child's Power Ranger towel that barely wrapped around my waist. Still, it was long enough to block everything so I went for it. Hell, I've been writing about pregnant women and one armed gimps doing this workout so I can't let a little clothing malfunction do me in right? Yeah, didn't think so.
I was last behind Bob and Kenna but I powered through the squats better than I did before. My legs are getting stronger I think because the last time I needed to keep resting. Then again everytime I squatted I could see parts of myself sticking out in the mirror, so I think that had something to do with my increased motivation to finish. My running needs improvement but hopefully that happens over time.
Now I must wash this towel, as there is sweat on it from areas of my body that no child should ever come into contact with. There are several lessons to be learned from this story, which I shall list below:
1) Wear underwear
2) Do not buy cheap workout shorts
3) Bring your own adult sized towel everywhere you go, just in case
Have a good weekend gang,
Rod
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Pistol whipped
So back in high school I took a Shotokan karate class for a year. We used to meet in the Paia Community Center and practice for an hour. Before practice we would stretch and warm up, with one of those warm ups being one legged squats. Yeah. You stick one leg out, squat down on one leg and then come back up. I used to be able to do 10 on each side no problem.
Welllllllll, that was a long time ago. Try more than 20 years. Today at Raw Fitness Maui we brought those suckers back although now I hear the official name for that one legged squat is to do a "pistol." Mainly because you feel like shooting yourself afterwards.
So now when I do pistols I fall back on my ass once my I squat past my knee. The whole workout was 5 handstand pushups, 10 pistols (5 on each side) and 15 pull ups for as many rounds as you can handle in 10 minutes. I did 5 rounds and was about to hit the pull ups on the 6th when time ran out. Not bad. Of course I had to put a wooden box under me while doing the pistols but I didn't feel so bad. I don't think anyone did those unassisted. Even our trainers. You need some king sized quads to handle those babies.
And once again the handstand pushups saved my ass. I can crank out about 12 to 15 of those at a time so five is minor. Here's the proof:
Also congrats to Bob, my cousin's husband who I talked into becoming a believer in RMF. He finally joined the regular workout crew (he was having personal training sessions before this to get himself ready) and he tore it up. Go Bob!!!
The workouts are getting less hilarious I know, sorry guys. Don't worry, I sense there will be more humiliating workouts ahead so stay tuned. Promise.
Welllllllll, that was a long time ago. Try more than 20 years. Today at Raw Fitness Maui we brought those suckers back although now I hear the official name for that one legged squat is to do a "pistol." Mainly because you feel like shooting yourself afterwards.
So now when I do pistols I fall back on my ass once my I squat past my knee. The whole workout was 5 handstand pushups, 10 pistols (5 on each side) and 15 pull ups for as many rounds as you can handle in 10 minutes. I did 5 rounds and was about to hit the pull ups on the 6th when time ran out. Not bad. Of course I had to put a wooden box under me while doing the pistols but I didn't feel so bad. I don't think anyone did those unassisted. Even our trainers. You need some king sized quads to handle those babies.
And once again the handstand pushups saved my ass. I can crank out about 12 to 15 of those at a time so five is minor. Here's the proof:
Also congrats to Bob, my cousin's husband who I talked into becoming a believer in RMF. He finally joined the regular workout crew (he was having personal training sessions before this to get himself ready) and he tore it up. Go Bob!!!
The workouts are getting less hilarious I know, sorry guys. Don't worry, I sense there will be more humiliating workouts ahead so stay tuned. Promise.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Damn it, I'm going to have to start pushing myself
It might have been the workout or it might have been me, but yesterday was a bit too easy.
Yeah, easy. A word I'm not used to using when speaking about hitting the gym at Raw Fitness Maui. But it was.
We had 10 minutes to do 12, 9, 6, and 3 reps of deadlifts and pushups. I did about 185 lbs for the deadlift but only did regular pushups. Everybody else did the clapping sort. I thought I was being smart because my tri's were still sore from Wednesday's workout but at then end of it I wasn't even breathing hard.
And I don't think it was because I'm in shape yet. Gotta keep this blog honest ya know? It was a very stationary workout so I wasn't getting winded and it played to my strengths.
So why didn't I do the clapping? You know, I guess I'm so used to scaling down my workouts from everybody else that I figured I couldn't do it. But afterwards I tried 12 clapping pushups and it wasn't hard at all. Yeah it took longer than the regular pushups but it wasn't bad.
So I think I'm at the point where I'm going to have to really think about my limits and what my physical capabilities are. RFM is defnitely a technique first kind of gym but it's also a go harder, faster, stronger place too. I guess I'll try to figure this out on Monday's workout.
Also folks, I know this was supposed to be a blog about two gyms and two workouts but damn, trying to squeeze it in is tough. I feel like if I don't go to Crossfit I'll fall behind everyone else (even more so than I am already) whereas Elite Fitness doesn't really have that sort of competition. Then again I haven't been in the ring with anyone so I could be wrong about that. But their MMA conditioning class is great and I really like doing it on Thursdays. It's just I'm so sore after three days of Crossfit that I really need the Thursday rest day or else Friday will be hellish. I don't know, maybe I should skip the Friday workout and do Saturdays. I gotta think about it.
On another note I've been trying to diet as well. The Paleo diet is very popular at RFM and one of our members Derek has lost a ton of weight on their 30 day plan. Guy used to look like the round mound of rebound and now he's lean and mean. Pretty insane stuff. It's basically the paleolithic diet that the cavemen were supposed to have been eating. Nothing processsed, meat, fish, chicken, fruits, vegetables, no dairy and some other rules. I've been trying to follow the diet but I've been cheating here and there. I'd say I'm 75 percent paleo right now. Fruit, chicken, meat and vegetables but I've been having some dairy here and there. I think I'm going to do the 30 day plan November 1st. Here's the link to the paleo diet website: http://www.paleodiet.com/
Wish me luck gang.
Yeah, easy. A word I'm not used to using when speaking about hitting the gym at Raw Fitness Maui. But it was.
We had 10 minutes to do 12, 9, 6, and 3 reps of deadlifts and pushups. I did about 185 lbs for the deadlift but only did regular pushups. Everybody else did the clapping sort. I thought I was being smart because my tri's were still sore from Wednesday's workout but at then end of it I wasn't even breathing hard.
And I don't think it was because I'm in shape yet. Gotta keep this blog honest ya know? It was a very stationary workout so I wasn't getting winded and it played to my strengths.
So why didn't I do the clapping? You know, I guess I'm so used to scaling down my workouts from everybody else that I figured I couldn't do it. But afterwards I tried 12 clapping pushups and it wasn't hard at all. Yeah it took longer than the regular pushups but it wasn't bad.
So I think I'm at the point where I'm going to have to really think about my limits and what my physical capabilities are. RFM is defnitely a technique first kind of gym but it's also a go harder, faster, stronger place too. I guess I'll try to figure this out on Monday's workout.
Also folks, I know this was supposed to be a blog about two gyms and two workouts but damn, trying to squeeze it in is tough. I feel like if I don't go to Crossfit I'll fall behind everyone else (even more so than I am already) whereas Elite Fitness doesn't really have that sort of competition. Then again I haven't been in the ring with anyone so I could be wrong about that. But their MMA conditioning class is great and I really like doing it on Thursdays. It's just I'm so sore after three days of Crossfit that I really need the Thursday rest day or else Friday will be hellish. I don't know, maybe I should skip the Friday workout and do Saturdays. I gotta think about it.
On another note I've been trying to diet as well. The Paleo diet is very popular at RFM and one of our members Derek has lost a ton of weight on their 30 day plan. Guy used to look like the round mound of rebound and now he's lean and mean. Pretty insane stuff. It's basically the paleolithic diet that the cavemen were supposed to have been eating. Nothing processsed, meat, fish, chicken, fruits, vegetables, no dairy and some other rules. I've been trying to follow the diet but I've been cheating here and there. I'd say I'm 75 percent paleo right now. Fruit, chicken, meat and vegetables but I've been having some dairy here and there. I think I'm going to do the 30 day plan November 1st. Here's the link to the paleo diet website: http://www.paleodiet.com/
Wish me luck gang.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
finally, an all upper body workout
Today's workout consisted of 12 push presses and 12 dips for as many rounds as you can handle in 10 minutes.
As we used to say back in high school, "Crackahz." No really, I actually mean it.
I know I whine a lot after these workouts but that's because my lower body has been untrained for 38 years unless you count the kicks I've thrown in several years of Shotokan karate. Anyway, it's a hell of a lot easier for me to push my upper body than it is my lower body. I've been lifting weights since I was 16 but it was all bench and curls and military press. You know, big muscles for the beach kind of thing. It's only now that I'm doing this olympic powerlifting hell that is Crossfit that my legs are learning all sorts of painful lessons that I didn't learn back in high school.
But throwing weight up with my upper body? Yeah, that's something I'm used to. I cranked out six full rounds plus 8 push press reps today. Usually I don't make it past four rounds so today was definitely a good day.
I haven't told anyone this yet but I want to compete in the Crossfit games one day. Maybe on the national level. That and I want to run the Kona Ironman at least once. A buddy of mine said recently that he realized once men pass a certain age, there is no such thing as "maintenance" workouts anymore. When you're younger you can get away with putting in a certain amount of excercise and still look and feel good. You don't have to have any goals, nothing to aim for. Just walk into the gym at least twice a week and throw some weight around.
Well that $hit doesn't cut it anymore apparently. I've got no choice if I want to stay in shape. Either I get stronger and faster or I get weaker and lazier. I really believe there's nothing in between once you get older than 35. So why not keep moving forward? Sounds better than having your physical well being slowly disintergrate as time passes by.
Why am I thinking about this? Well, mainly because I had a good day today. Everything seems possible after a good day. Does for me at least. I'm thinking no rest day tomorrow. Time to hit up Elite Fitness again and see if I can handle another round of MMA cardio conditioning. Hoo-rah.
As we used to say back in high school, "Crackahz." No really, I actually mean it.
I know I whine a lot after these workouts but that's because my lower body has been untrained for 38 years unless you count the kicks I've thrown in several years of Shotokan karate. Anyway, it's a hell of a lot easier for me to push my upper body than it is my lower body. I've been lifting weights since I was 16 but it was all bench and curls and military press. You know, big muscles for the beach kind of thing. It's only now that I'm doing this olympic powerlifting hell that is Crossfit that my legs are learning all sorts of painful lessons that I didn't learn back in high school.
But throwing weight up with my upper body? Yeah, that's something I'm used to. I cranked out six full rounds plus 8 push press reps today. Usually I don't make it past four rounds so today was definitely a good day.
I haven't told anyone this yet but I want to compete in the Crossfit games one day. Maybe on the national level. That and I want to run the Kona Ironman at least once. A buddy of mine said recently that he realized once men pass a certain age, there is no such thing as "maintenance" workouts anymore. When you're younger you can get away with putting in a certain amount of excercise and still look and feel good. You don't have to have any goals, nothing to aim for. Just walk into the gym at least twice a week and throw some weight around.
Well that $hit doesn't cut it anymore apparently. I've got no choice if I want to stay in shape. Either I get stronger and faster or I get weaker and lazier. I really believe there's nothing in between once you get older than 35. So why not keep moving forward? Sounds better than having your physical well being slowly disintergrate as time passes by.
Why am I thinking about this? Well, mainly because I had a good day today. Everything seems possible after a good day. Does for me at least. I'm thinking no rest day tomorrow. Time to hit up Elite Fitness again and see if I can handle another round of MMA cardio conditioning. Hoo-rah.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
training for the zombie apocalypse, or how I let a one armed guy beat me today
Yes, it's true. First a 5 month pregnant lady kicks my ass at a Crossfit workout. Then a 12 year old boy. And now Derek the Wonder Gimp with one arm laps me by a mile.
Today the workout sucked so bad only three of us showed up. Derek the beforementioned gimp, Kevin the minicardio machine and yours truly. The task before us was to run 400 meters then squat 50 times for four rounds.
In case you suck at math that's a total of 1600 meters and 200 squats. My quads were already crying when I read the workout online the night before.
To motivate us Bump said to imagine as if we were training for the zombie apocalypse and needed to have our stamina up in order to avoid the legions of the undead. It kind of pumped me up. For the first 400 meter run that is. By the time I counted my last squat I was praying that the zombies would catch me because I would have told them to eat my legs first to stop the pain.
I came in last of course, after Gimp boy. Derek has been going hard core and I suspect him to be smoking meth before coming to our workouts. At least that's my excuse for him beating me today. It can't be because he's in better shape than me right? Maybe I should stop drinking at noon, it could be affecting my performance.
Today the workout sucked so bad only three of us showed up. Derek the beforementioned gimp, Kevin the minicardio machine and yours truly. The task before us was to run 400 meters then squat 50 times for four rounds.
In case you suck at math that's a total of 1600 meters and 200 squats. My quads were already crying when I read the workout online the night before.
To motivate us Bump said to imagine as if we were training for the zombie apocalypse and needed to have our stamina up in order to avoid the legions of the undead. It kind of pumped me up. For the first 400 meter run that is. By the time I counted my last squat I was praying that the zombies would catch me because I would have told them to eat my legs first to stop the pain.
I came in last of course, after Gimp boy. Derek has been going hard core and I suspect him to be smoking meth before coming to our workouts. At least that's my excuse for him beating me today. It can't be because he's in better shape than me right? Maybe I should stop drinking at noon, it could be affecting my performance.
it's all about technique, of which I have none
So today I learned I could possibly have a slipped disk in my back. Or just really really inflexible. Take your pick.
We were doing High hang cleans at Raw Fitness Maui today and I just couldn't get the movement right. There were like three trainers surrounding me trying to give me pointers but I just wasn't getting it.
Then to top it all off I kept having to stop and stretching because my lower back was getting tight. Kristi, one of the gym owners, was concerned because I seem to have a tight back a lot during workouts. I told her I just thought it meant I was out of shape. She seemed to think it might mean I have a slipped disk and should see a doctor about it. Nice.
By the way I think I should mention that I already hate tomorrow's workout. Run 400 meters then do 50 squats for four rounds. It. Will. Suck.
We were doing High hang cleans at Raw Fitness Maui today and I just couldn't get the movement right. There were like three trainers surrounding me trying to give me pointers but I just wasn't getting it.
Then to top it all off I kept having to stop and stretching because my lower back was getting tight. Kristi, one of the gym owners, was concerned because I seem to have a tight back a lot during workouts. I told her I just thought it meant I was out of shape. She seemed to think it might mean I have a slipped disk and should see a doctor about it. Nice.
By the way I think I should mention that I already hate tomorrow's workout. Run 400 meters then do 50 squats for four rounds. It. Will. Suck.
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