Tuesday, May 31, 2011

It's getting warmer.

So stay hydrated. And warm up really well to acclimate to and to tolerate the heat better.

Here's the fun part:

Sprint, Bike, Swim, OR Row. Choose ONLY 1.

6 x
 - 90 Seconds ON; 90 seconds OFF

All-out efforts. Stay consistant.

Here's my advice: Don't just try to "endure" the 90 seconds. Try to beat yourself. See the 90 seconds as a limited window of opportunity to beat your previous run by even an inch. Otherwise, you're just suffering for 20 minutes, and that will suck. HAVE SOME FUN!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Summer

is just around the corner. That means many of you will be barbequing. Rusticles is a very hungry dude, and as such demands that you bring him some tasty barbecued meat.

Here's a simple one to keep you all busy this week:


4 Rounds:
- 400m Sprint
- 50 Squats

Enjoy!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Keep up the good work.

We get lots of compliments about how well you all squat. So thank you all to adhering to the standards we've been working on. Keep up the good work.

I'd like You guys to learn to hand stand. So if you want to try it, here's a good tutorial

Handstand Against Wall Progression Pt.1

Handstand Against Wall Progression Pt.2


Here's a workout for you all to do this week.

5 RFT:
50 Mountain climbers (2 count)
25 Situps (get your belly-button in front of your pelvis before touching your toes..)


Enjoy!

Monday, May 9, 2011

Comfort is the enemy

In the beginning of BHIP we stress finding comfort while in a state of discomfort. We all get pretty good at doing that. But inevitably we all somehow reach a "cruising altitude" and get comfortable in it. The workouts still get you sweaty and you might feel pretty wrecked, but the big leap is just missing. This was fairly evident on last Wednesday's workout when people were reverse-curling the bar rather than actually cleaning the bar (one is easy, the other is difficult) and then complaining that the bar was "too heavy".

I truly appreciate hearing that workouts were "hard" "grueling" "challenging" "killer" etc.. but there has to be a certain amount of credibility to those descriptions. Sitting can be excruciating, and anyone who has ever been on a long flight will attest to that.

A huge difference exists between just getting through a workout as quickly and obstacle-free as possible and actually using the workout as an opportunity to build upon already existing strengths. I'm not saying that it's "wrong" to just breeze through a session and I'm not saying that anyone is breezing through them either. It is clear that everyone is working hard; but our focus needs to be redirected. As we try to constantly improve our performance in any way we can we have to use our training time to address our weaknesses and strengthen them along with alread-existing strengths.

Here is an analogy I use when describing training as part of a workout: A "workout" is kind of an obscure term to begin with, but there are 3 types of workouts in my opinion.

1. Exercise: This is when we do something we can and have been able to do and are all capable of doing regardless of training. i.e. going for a jog, walk, gardening etc. Very low on the skill chart. very universal. The analogy here is "exercising" one's rights to freedom of speech. Everyone CAN, and thus DOES it.

2. Practice: This is a workout where one uses ACQUIRED skills in an intense environment. Football practice. One must know the game of football before practicing. Kind of like practicing medecine or law. You first need to acquire the required skill-sets and then implement them at a high intensity.

3. TRAINING: This is where we acquire and refine skills and gradually increase intensity to practice/game speed. This is the time when things get uncomfortable and stressful. Like job training, new demands are placed on the system that require a certain amount of adaptation from the individual to facilitate proficiency. Then the skills are overloaded once more to develop perfection at underload. Training can be extremely stressful and uncomfortable, but that stress is what makes us better, stronger, faster and more capable of handling larger demands. The key is to take advantage of the OPPORTUNITY. he discomfort is NOT a punishment, but rather a stimulus to adapt against. Sometimes the old saying "no pain, no gain" is true. Just remember, the pain is temporary but strength lasts.

I can go on about this forever, and some are probably sick of hearing it, but we all need reminders, so please do whatever you need to do to stimulate yourselves. These are YOUR workouts to make YOU stronger, better, faster, and harder to kill; no one else. So take advantage of them.

On that note, here's something to keep you sweaty:

Episode 245/365: Unglue Your Hips and Thighs


4 x 20 burpees. rest 1 minute in between each set. scale accordingly.

time EACH set separately. Do not deviate by more than 1 second per set. *Foul if you do.

* Foul = 1 minute wall-sit (rest your back on a wall with thighs parallel to the ground).

Enjoy. and please post your times. Thanks

Monday, May 2, 2011

Strength

Many have heard me argue that strength is THE most important factor in athletics, and in life in general. Strength allows you to say "YES", in the physical sense and metaphysical sense. Stregth has this strange illusive aspect to it where those who believe that they're not strong also believe that they aren't entitled to it or were somehow delt a "weaker" hand. Those are mere excuses. The reality is that strength is attained via hard work. Stregth is a vision that a person must have and commit to setting out to achieve it. It doesn't just fall in your lap.

It is delightful to hear that people enjoyed dead lifting. But don't be mistaken, heavy lifting days aren't "easy days". You shouldn't be asking "That's it?" at the end of the workout. You should feel releived that the workout is through. Aaron came up to me and informed me that he experienced that moment of zen while lifting that I have called a "religious experience".

It truly is. If you push yourself hard enough for a brief moment things get interesting. everything around you ceases to affect you and you are totally in your own little world. It's slow-mo and you can't hear anything. Things start getting scary, but you know you've come to far to turn back or let go, so you push on, millimeter by millimeter, the weight keeps moving. You have no doubts or fears at this point. Just anxiety to finish the job. You extend and stand up tall. What seems like an eternity concludes with a violent scream of growl. And then you don't want to let go. You've done all that work only to surrender the bar for another attempt. You let go and then the lungs take over and the vision blurs and things get wobbly. All that surefootedness seems to drain out from under your feet and you start stumbling. You know you have to lift the bar again, but not a bone in your body wants to. So you wait there with an ever rising pulse and blood pressure, knowing what lies ahead.

There should be fear in you before you lift. You should be nervous. You should be anxious. Its the fine line we walk between progress and disaster. Without it, there is nothing to overcome, nothing to strengthen against. It is thanks to mean ol' Mr. Gravity that we can get strong. The workout should be anything but easy, humdrum, or boring.

So enjoy them. Work hard. Get strong. Then get stronger.

Here's a little conditioning work:

5 rounds as fast as you can:

5 broad Jumps
10 Hand-release push ups
15 bench dips (use a chair)

Here's a glimpse into our methods of program development: