Mud and Ice

Press – 5/3/1
53# / 58# / 65#

Double KB Floor Press – 5 x 10
8kg/arm

Ring Rows – 5 x 10

Prowler – 6 x 45 yards
50# + prowler

The prowler was extra zippy today because it snowed a bit yesterday, after which it immediately started to melt. That meant that I was pushing in mud 50% of the time and snow 50% of the time. It was kinda like “aaaarrrrghhh” and then all of the sudden “wheeeeee!” When that sucker hit the snow I felt like Chevy Chase in Lampoons Christmas Vacation when he uses the special sled wax.

Bingo.

 

Training Update

Tuesday

Box Squat – 5/3/1
76# / 86# / 96#

Deadlift – 5 x 10
93#

Hanging Leg Raise – 5 x 10

Push Press – 5/3/1
56# / 63# / 71#

Press – 5 x 10
33#

One Arm KB Rows – 5 x 10
8kg

Wednesday

Prowler
2 x 60 yards – 50# + prowler
4 x 40 yards – 50# + prowler

Thursday

Deadlift – 5/3/1
153# / 173# / 193#

Box Squat – 5 x 10
40#

Barbell Rollouts – 5 x 10

I missed training on Monday due to a family obligation, so I had to scrunch Monday and Tuesday together again. Not a problem, just takes a long time.

On Wednesday I put together yet another DIY Prowler type-thingy (pictured above.) Basically, it is a $13 plastic children’s sled with a wooden 2×6 frame attached to the inside with lag screws. Pretty simple and cheap. The whole thing costs around $25 to make. My main problem with my prowlers has been having someplace to push them. My backyard is, literally, a cow pasture – and the only other halfway suitable prowling place is a gravel road. The road chewed up the skis on my first prowler like crazy, and once the frost thawed in the back yard the other prowler tore huge gouges out of the grass.

This latest version that I put together seems to work the best out of all of them. I have no idea how much weight you could put in it. It is plastic, after all. I thought it would push easier because the plastic would have less friction with the ground, but it seems to be the other way around. I know nothing about friction and mass and all that science stuff, so perhaps the increased surface area increases the friction despite the slicker surface. If you are a smart physics type person feel free to shout out the answer.

All I know is, after I pushed it six times I wanted to go lie down in a cool, dark place and cry a little bit. I think that means it works pretty darn well.

 

BCAA

I’m not much for supplements. I used a fairly high dose of fish oil for about a year, ZMA off and on, Natural Calm, and vitamin D3. Other than not getting sick while on D3 (which is possibly coincidental anyway), I can’t say that I noticed a difference in any part of my workouts or daily well being using the other supplements.

However, there is one thing that I’ve been experimenting with recently that has made me a believer. BCAA’s (branch chain amino acids.) Just use some google-fu and you will find all sorts of info on BCAA use. Here is an article from Charles Poliquin that is very informative, though keep in mind that he sells BCAA’s so it’s in his best interest to say they are awesome.

But in my experience, they are awesome. I’m not the least bit sciencey, so my testimonial is purely anecdotal. I am currently using the powdered BCAA’s from GNC, and I mix up two scoops in 16 oz. of water. I drink half before my workout and half after. I don’t know how to describe the effects other than without them I feel like I have sugar in my gas tank, and with them I feel like I have race car fuel in my gas tank. While using them during workouts I’m able to work harder and longer, and I recover much quicker between sets.

I stopped using them this week just to see if I was imagining things or not, and I can definitively say I was not imagining it. I feel significantly better during my workouts while using them.

One other effect that I’ve noticed is a complete lack of sugar and carb cravings post BCAA use. I’ve heard that is a side-effect of glutamine (which I’ve never used), but for me BCAA’s knock those cravings right down.

That’s a win-win in my book.

Train

I never get tired of watching the Ninja Warrior guys train. It’s amazing what the human body can do, isn’t it?

As for my training, it went like this:

Deadlift – 3/3/3
143# / 163# / 183#

Box Squat – 5 x 10
40#

Barbell Rollouts – 5 x 10
(assisted, kneeling)

Walk, with puppy.

I hate those rollout things. My technique consists of closing my eyes and tightly squeezing every possible part of my body that can be squeezed. I squeezed so hard today that I almost popped one of my contact lenses out. I’m not making that up, unfortunately. I may have overdone it just a bit.

I Blew a Ski and Went In the Ditch

Monday I had a jam-packed day and didn’t have time to work out. Which meant that both my Monday and Tuesday workouts had to be scrunched into one day on Tuesday.

Tuesday:

Box Squat – 3/3/3
71# / 81# / 91#

Deadlift – 5 x 10
91#

Hanging Leg Raise
5 x 10

Push Press – 3/3/3
53# / 60# / 67#

Press – 5 x 10
33#

One Arm KB Row – 5 x 10
8kg

Walk 2.25 miles

Whew!

Thursday:

Shoulder Press – 3/3/3
48# / 55# / 62#

Push Press
1 x 10 – 33#

Double KB Floor Press – 5 x 10
8kg/arm

Recline Ring Rows
5 x 10

Prowler Push – 5 x 40 yards
75#

I planned for more Prowler pushes, but I ran into technical difficulties. That is, one of my wooden skis split in half and fell off. Bugger!

The other prowler I built also has difficulties. It works fine unweighted, but throw some plates on there and the thin metal tracks tear the heck out of my yard, and that is not cool. We have enough trouble growing things around here as it is, without me ripping it apart intentionally.

Fortunately, I do have a plan C when it comes to prowling. I need to procure more supplies, but I’m pretty sure it will work. Stay tuned.

There is also a plan D and possibly a plan E before I get to plan F, which is buying an actual Prowler.

Motivation

Prowler
1 x 40 yards (Prowler only)
6 x 40 yards (Prowler + 50#)

Shoulder Press – 5/5/5
44# / 51# / 58#

DIY Prowler

DIY Prowler

Prowling – it seems like everybody is doing it these days. The catch is those Prowler or Prowler knockoffs are expensive: anywhere from $500 to $200. Being the DIY kinda gal that I am, I built my own.   Continue Reading…

Kicking My Own Ass

Do you ever feel like kicking your own ass? I do, frequently, and particularly today. Like good old Paul from the Bible, I don’t do the things I want to do and do the things I don’t want to do. Know what I’m sayin?

It’s nothing major. Just a minor bump in the road, and easily correctable. But all day I wanted to say to myself “Dude! What are you doing?” and then punch myself in the face. Do you ever talk to yourself and call yourself dude? No? That’s just me, then?

Thankfully, I managed to restrain myself from slamming my face in the toilet seat. Think of the germs!

I did feel better after I worked out tonight. That went like this:

Kettlebell Cleans
10 minutes technique practice
10 & 12 kg

Deadlift – 5/5/5
133# / 153# / 173#

Box Squat – 5 x 10
40#

Barbell rollouts – 3 x 10
w/red band

Walk 2 miles

Prowling for an Endo

Push Press – 5/5/5
49# / 56# / 63#

Press – 5 x 10
27#

Single Arm Rows – 5 x 10/arm
8kg

Prowler
6 x 40 yards (no weight)
run

Second day on the Boring But Big template. I love it – simple, yet brutal. Classic Wendler.

The prowler pictured above is, of course, homemade out of junk I found rusting around the ranch. The triangle part is an old bed frame that I cut up and welded into an approximate Prowler-like shape. The rest is made up of scraps of pipe and bits of steel. The skis are wooden 2×6′s cut at a 45 degree angle and smoothed down with a band sander. They work pretty well, except I don’t have anywhere but the gravel to push this Frankenstein-ish piece of equipment and they are getting chewed up pretty fast. Plan B may be in order.

I was running when I did these pushes, but with extreme caution. That is because when I first built this thing I decided it would be an excellent idea to take off pushing it down the driveway at full speed. I hit a bump, because a gravel driveway way out in the country tends to be bumpy, and I did a complete endo. In other words, I went right over the handlebars – head first. It hurt. It hurt a lot. So for my pushes today I ran fast, but not too fast.

Hey, Knucklehead

Box Squat – 5/5/5
66# / 76# / 86#

Deadlift – 5 x 10
81#

Hanging Leg Raises
5 x 10

Walk 2 miles

Today was the first day of my new 5/3/1 cycle, and I’m attempting the Boring But Big template. That may seem an odd programming choice for someone who desperately wants to lose weight – but what the heck, I am anything if not odd.

You can read all about Boring But Big here.

The 81# deadlifts seemed light. Excessively light. But when I plugged all my numbers into the spreadsheet that’s what popped out, so that’s what I’m doing. Even though I felt really good doing a fairly heavy triple (213#) last cycle, I have the feeling I need to back off a little bit. I’ve been seeing things about people getting injured recently. First it was Dana, then today I watched a great series of videos on the CrossFit Journal about another lifter that blew a disc out. All that talk of blown discs was making my Spidey Sense tingle.

Sometimes the universe taps you on the shoulder and says “Hey, knucklehead – back off.” If you don’t heed it, it’s usually followed by a smack on the back of the head. I’d much rather get the tap than the smack.

So lighter I will go.