SLIPS - Deadlift

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Home Gym

1230

Warm Up

Hip-Hammy Flow

Wrist Mobility

Down Dog / Cobra

SLIPS (20 min)

Scales - Front scale & back scale

L-sit - 2X tuck for 10-15 seconds, 2X straight legs 5-10 seconds

Inversions - Hold, 1X to 2 abmat, fail to 1 abmat, 2X to 2 abmat

Plank - elbows for 90 seconds, right then left elbow for 30 seconds each

Deadlift

warm up with empty barbell then

12x95

10x135

8x185

3/3x225 (plan was 6 unbroken)

1x275# (plan was 4 reps, I forgot how heavy 275 was, thanks REP Fitness for the new plates)

Rest 2-3 minutes between sets

Back Squat

6x95

6x135#

Just because I wanted to play with my new plates some more.

Gym Equipment

Equipment seems to be steadily returning to stock.  Today, I could have purchased a pair of Rogue 55LB Color Training Plate 2.0 for $366 with free shipping or the Rogue 25LB Color Training Plate 2.0 for $187 with free shipping.

Last night I was able to purchased a pair of 50# dumbbells from REP Fitness for $119 and free local pick-up.

UPDATE:  1400 6.30.2020 dumbbells are in stock 

2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15, 17.5# pairs

22.5# pair

Still waiting on a 35# pair.

UPDATE 7/10/2020

Rogue Competition Bumpers In Stock!

(2) 45# pair for $278 each

(1) 25# pair for $186

--

Subtotal $742

Shipping and Handling $143.15 (To Colorado)

Tax $39.83

--

Total $924.98

This works out to $4.02/# from Rogue.  So $360 for a pair of 45# plates is unfortunately fair.

25# Pair of US-MIL Spec Crumb Bumpers = $87.50 + $29.92 + $5.30 = $122.72 ($2.45/#)

Weekend in Durango

This past weekend, we took our first family trip and I had my first adventures training while on the road in a while.

Thursday - Rest day, picked up weights at Rep Fitness

Friday - Morning run in Salida (2.58 miles; 11:28/mile pace), then 2 rounds of 15 air squats and 10 push-ups, finish with 2-1-1-1 pull-ups

Saturday - Morning run in Durango (2.65 miles; 11:51/mile pace), then 2 rounds of 15 air squats and 10 push-ups

Sunday - Morning run in Durango (1.66 miles; 12:15/mile pace), then 15 air squats

Monday - Morning walk in Durango, then arm pump at hotel gym alternating db hammer curls, db overhead triceps press, db military press (about 10 minutes)  The gym was actually well equipped with 2 treadmills, 1 elliptical, 1 stationary recumbent bike, adjustable bench, York Dumbbells 5-50 and a worn out foam roller.

I was fairly pleased with myself for running 3 days in a row, although my body and enthusiasm seemed to suffer a bit.  I would not have benefited from having any strength equipment with me.  I did manage to stay on an athletic diet, despite indulging in my kids treats from time to time.

Power Clean and Jerk - Half Loredo

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Home Gym

1400

Warm Up

Hip Hammy

Wrist Mobility

pvc warm-up

barbell warm-up

Power Clean and Push Jerk

Every 2:30 for 20 minutes (8 sets)

1.1.1 Power Clean and Push Jerk

I worked up from 75, 85, 95, 105, 115, 125, 135, 135#  It felt OK, but I am still hopping back and was not receiving the bar well at 125 and 135.  Video is from the last set at 135#

Conditioning

Half Loredo

For Time:  3 Rounds of

24 Air Squat

24 Push-up

24 Walking lunges

400 m run

Round 1:   6:31 (6:31)

Round 2: 13:43 (7:12)

Round 3: 21:22 (7:39)

It was brutally hot outside, but I was fairly pleased with my pacing.  Air squat and Walking Lunges were unbroken.  Push-ups were 8/8/5/3 on all 3 rounds.  Runs were slow, around 3:00 each.

Programming was a blend of CFG and main site programming for June 24, 2020.  I liked the Comptrain WOD also.  It consisted of Power Clean and Push Jerk combined with Lateral Barbell Burpees.

Front Squat

Monday, June 22, 2020

Home Gym

1800

I was warm from the Mace session, but did a light set of front squats

Front Squat

Every 3 minutes

10 at 60%

8 at 65%

6 at 70%

4 at 77%

2 at 85% of 1RM

This was taken from Vintage Crossfit that was adopted from Comptrain.  Target weights were 

My listed front squat from April 2019 was 203#, but it has been a while since I have done front squats.

My numbers ended up being

75 (37%)

95 (47%)

115 (57%)

135 (67%)

155 (76%)

Getting under 135 felt heavy and 8 reps at that weight would not been healthy for me.

Tempo Run

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

1100

Pomona Lake Number 2

I got out for what I thought was a quick run, but ended up at 2.56 miles (10:43/mile).

Sharkk Fitness

I had a chance to try out Mace and Indian Clubs training at Sharkk Fitness today.  They are starting to open up again and will be starting classes.  Coach Mike was willing to provide a 45 minute private lesson at a discounted rate.

We started with some reference points.  Mike cues in a number of ways.  One of which is the head of the mace in a clock direction.  We then warmed up our scapulas, shoulders and hips.  Scapular position was really emphasized.  Finally Coach Mike explained some shoulder anatomy.

Picking up the 10# mace we started with some hand to hand transfers.  Mace should be close to the body with both hands in contact with the mace at all times.  We did some 360 swings.  The mace goes over the shoulder in the direction of the hand that is on the bottom.  We also did an archer.  Finally we worked through a 360 into a squat.

We also worked with the 10# Indian Clubs, doing swings (kind of like kettlebell swings) and then pressed out with the Indian Clubs.

Throughout all of this we talked about the training philosophy and transitional and rotational transfer of power.  The importance of grip strength in Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai

Finally we closed with options for future training.  I am most interested in group classes.  They also have a lot of classes for kids.

The studio itself is well appointed with a bag area, strength and conditioning area, open fight training area, cage and boxing ring.  They have some lockers in the back and restrooms.

UPDATE:  They are restarting group classes

RTS Level 1 - Strength and Conditioning, Mace Kettlebell, Indian Club an Bodyweight drills

Dutch Drills - Kickboxing, technique and partner drills

Bag Class - Fitness kickboxing, mace, battleropes, plus kickboxing

Rep Fitness - Re-opening June 22nd

Rep Fitness is re-opening for orders and they have decided to use a lobby system through Queue-It.  Hanging out in the lobby is supposed to provide a person with a random position in line to place an order.  They are only taking orders for items they have on hand.

My Rep Fitness wish list includes dumbbells, bands, bumper plates, change plates, weight tree and a barbell.  My wist list is also roughly in that order.  They do not have 35# or 50# dumbbells.  The bands I will order through Rogue on 3 Ships Free as I want a set of OSO Collars and need to fill out the order.  Although they are in stock I will hold off on change plates, weight tree and barbell.  They are not essential to continuing to train at home.  They are definitely a nice to have.

Perfect world I get (2) pairs of 45# comp bumpers and (1) pair of 25# comp bumpers for $535.  I am willing to get the 250# set of black bumpers for $339.  I am not planning on getting individual or sets of color bumpers.

The queue seemed to work fairly.  I had (4) computers going and received 4798, ~8000, ~10,000 and 20,597.  Now it is a question of what is left after 4,797 people order their sundry items.  My originally wait time was 47 minutes.

12:05 PM update:  4,212 users ahead of me, wait time is 34 minutes

12:10 PM update:  3,632 users ahead of me, wait time is 30 minutes

12:15 PM update:  2,909 users ahead of me, wait time is 29 minutes

12:20 PM update:  2,487 users ahead of me, wait time is 20 minutes

12:25 PM update:  1,944 users ahead of me, wait time is 15 minutes; AB-5000, AB-5200, AB-5100 out of stock; people are going nuts on the Facebook message board

12:30 PM update:  1,410 users ahead of me, wait time is 10 minutes; Facebook concern is how many users are truly building out a home gym and how many are purchasing for resale

12:35 PM update:  758 users ahead of me, wait time is 6 minutes; per Facebook, Deep Knurl sold out

12:40 PM update:  124 users ahead of me, wait time is 1 minute

I came up in the queue at 12:41:22 and had to wait another couple of minutes to be re-directed to the site.  The 45# comp bumpers were sold out along with the 45# black bumpers (these were in stock over the weekend).  I opted for (2) pairs of 45# color bumpers ($139/pair).  The 25# comp bumpers ($125) were in stock and I picked up those as well and checked out (additional $32.08 for tax; total was $435.08).  My order number is 10010xxxx and I will be able to pick up on Thursday!  I am pretty excited to soon be able to deadlift at greater than 80% of 1RM again.

I went to the Rep Fitness site at 3:00 PM and they are sold out of Black Bumper Plates, Color Bumper Plates, Excalibur Bars, Hex Dumbbell Sets, Iron Plates, KG Comp Plates and Rubber Grip Dumbbell Sets in addition to other items that I am not tracking.  Apparently I am 54,850 in line and 35,184 are ahead of me and the line is paused.

My need list is whittled down to 35# dumbbells.  I would still like to get a Concept 2 Rower and am on the wait list.  After that, I am left with a relatively short wish list of a better barbell and collars, resistance bands, EZ curl bar, change plate set, weight tree, silencer pads and a squat box.

Long Run

Sunday, June 21, 2020

1000

Rocky Mountain Greenway Trail around east rim of Standley Lake Reservoir out and back.

Overcast with a nice breeze

5.31 miles (12:18/mile) pace

Bike Ride

Saturday, June 20, 2020

1000

17.34 mile Lollipop around Leyden Rd north on SH 93 on Gios

Legs felt good.  Average speed 12.8 mph

35 Pound Dumbbells

After patiently and desperately waiting for the past 3 months to get a decent set of hex head dumbbells, I now find (2) sets on Facebook Marketplace.

The pair above (not sure of the brand) is right down the street, listed last night for $140 and reduced to $130 this morning.  I think I would be willing to pay $100.

Another set was listed at 0730 on 6/20/2020 for $130.  This set is from CAP.  Certainly not known for quality.

As a benchmark, the pair I want can be purchased from Rep Fitness for $83 and $86 from Rogue Fitness. Neither company has them in stock.

I will continue to make due with my standard dumbbell handles until the come in stock.

SLIPS - Deadlift

Friday, June 19, 2020

Home Gym

1230

SLIPS

Front scale - 20 seconds each leg, left leg stronger

Back scale - 20 seconds each leg, left leg stronger

L-sit - 4 times max effort, best was 7 seconds

Inversions - 

HS hold

HSPU - 2 abmat

HSPU - 1 abmat PR!!!!

Negative to 1 inch

HSPU - 2 abmat

Plank - Hold 2 times 1 minute on palms

RDL and warm-up deadlift with 135#

Deadlift

7x7x185#

This was a good workout.  49 reps at this weight was challenging, but perfect for me.  I did use straps and rested 2-3 minutes between sets.

Programming was from main site 200617

Nutrition Update

It has been a little over 3 weeks since I have been adjusting to my athletic diet.  I still feel hungry, but have sufficient caloric intake to train hard.  I am down 7 pounds.

Track Workout

Thursday, June 18, 2020

RV Track

1545

Warm Up

400 m jog

quick hip-hammy flow

Track

4 x 800 m with 200 m walking recovery between efforts

4:14

4:15

4:22

4:18

DIY Home Gym Improvements - Space Saving Barbell Rack

Right now I have a 15# technique bar, a 20 kg beater bar and a 60" axle bar.  I keep the 20kg in a corner and have the technique bar and axle bar on a homemade "gun rack" made from bike hanger hooks.  I am constantly worried the kids will knock over the 20kg bar.  Grabbing one of the other bars means moving the bicycles and moving them back.  It sucks.

This solution will accommodate my current needs and also leave room to grow for a future 15kg bar and my pride and joy Matt Chan bar which I will hopefully be able to order for Christmas.  

What about the axle bar?  This being shorter, I am going to try to use 2 inch PVC and mount a sleeve to the wall between the studs on the unfinished front part of my gym.  I cut three 6 inch sections and will be using the other two for warm up PVC and a standard curl bar (another item on my list of things to buy).  The rigid 2 hole straps were 2 x $2.08; I will work on this tomorrow.

I have not taken on plate storage yet as my home gym may be converted back to a garage space.  I am avoiding any project that would make it more difficult to park in the garage.

Space Saving Barbell Rack

Materials

2 inch Schedule 40 PVC - $7.49

2 inch Mending Plate (4 pieces) - 2 X $2.88

1x4 - had at home

1x3 - had at home

Base mat - had at home

Tools

Hack saw

Drill

2 and 1/8" Hole saw - Project is on hold until I purchase one of these

Circular saw

Tape measure

Level

Difficulty Level:  Medium

I followed the excellent directions on Garage Gyms, but this has a lot of steps.

(1) cut the pvc - not easy with a hack saw.  I did nip my finger once and then put on gloves.  They ended up at weird angles, but certainly grip the barbell securely

(2) position the top board.  Finding the studs was not bad.  Determining the height was OK, I have my technique bar on the top step, there is room for a 15 kg bar, and I have room for two 20 kg bars.  One of my cups did line up with the stud mounting holes, so I had to screw in the boards and then the cups.

(3) position the PVC cups and match drill through mending plates.  This was OK.  I did put one mending plate on upside down (bevel needs to be towards you), but that was a quick clean up.

(4) cut and position the base boards.  This was pretty easy.  I did use a level to make sure everything is as it should be.  Rather than a stall mat, I used an old door mat to cushion the bars.  Cutting it was easy as I have a relatively new blade on my box cutter

(5) last step will be to cut 54 mm holes and secure the two pieces to the basement steps.  

Update June 18, 2020 - Cutting the holes was not too bad.  I did pilots, cut the holes, sanded the edges and then secured all of it with 3 screws per board.  It feels really secure, but I added some eyelets to secure the bars with a bungee cord as well.  The PVC bar storage was even easier.  I set a 2x4 between the wall and the PVC tubes so that the axle bar sleeve would have enough clearance.

DIY Home Gym Improvements - Bench Press Boards

Bench Press Boards

Materials

8 foot 2x6 - $4.87

4 feet of 2 inch wide velcro - $9.47

Tools

Circular saw

Jig saw

Orbital sander

Measuring tape

Difficulty Level - Easy

(1) cut the 2x6 to the following lengths

19 inch

15 inch

15 inch

15 inch

(2) cut out a 4" handle on the 19" board

(3) sand the edges

(4) pick the nicest pieces/sides for the ends

(5) mark the velcro locations

(6) cut velcro in 10 inch sections and adhere the velcro to the appropriate sides

This was good enough to make a Four Board Press that can be reduced to a One Board, Two Board or Three Board.

Back Squat - Metcon

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Home Gym

1230

Warm Up

1 min jumping jacks

hip hammy flow

slow squats

barbell warm up: back squat at tempo with 45, 95, 135#

Strength

Every 2:30 for 15 minutes (6 sets)

Back Squat - 2 reps @31X1 tempo

This was a tough tempo as the weight got heavy.  I managed 155, 170, 185, 195, 205 and 215#.  I was slow out of the hole with the 1 count pause.

Metcon

For time

21-15-9 of

Thrusters (95/65)

Sit-ups

This was a clever couplet.  I scaled the load to 55# and managed to go 12/9, 9/6 and 9 on the thrusters.  I might have managed heavier, but would have needed more sets.  All of the sit-ups were unbroken.  I finished the round if 21 in about 3 minutes, the round of 15 in 2 minutes and the last round in a minute.  Total time was 6:08.

Programming was directly from CFG for 6.17.20

I still love the timer.  Programming intervals and then the count up timer is awesome.  I am actually looking forward to an AMRAP so that I can program a countdown timer.

Bench Press

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Home Gym

1330

Warm Up

arm circles

wrist mobility

down dog / cobra

face down scorpion

Bench Press

Build to heavy, rest 2-3 minutes between sets

8x45

6x95

5x135

3x155

3x165

2x175

1x180

1x185

1x190#

Diya was spotting me and she noticed a sticking point.  We tried to mock up a board and she confirmed that it was about 4.5" above my chest.  Knowing this, I am planning to get a 2x6 and have it cut at Home Depot to 19", 15", 15", 15", 15" in order to make up to a 5 board press.  I will shape the 19" so that it has a handle.  I will likely only use the 3 board press.  To make it pretty, I am considering getting some stencils and a wood burning kit from Walmart.

Indian Club Training

I think I have too much time on my hands, because I am all of a sudden interested in India club and mace training.  Hopefully the urge passes, because I really do not want to explain why a set of juggling things showed up in the mail or why I destroyed one of my wife's flower pots making a mace.

Both implements were born for war and transitioned to wrestling training and ultimately general physical fitness.  The clubs are traditionally wooden of varying weight.  Now they are made from plastic and steel as well.  The mace was originally stone on bamboo and also made of metal.  Now they are most frequently homemade with concrete and bamboo.  Clubs and mace are commercially available around the world with plenty of youtube tutorial videos.

Plastic/metal clubs are around $40-$50 and wooden clubs $100-$120.

Mace are around $4/lb.

For me, I would train with either or both implements for grip strength and mobility.  I am leaning toward making a light mace with concrete.  My cost estimate is 1" pvc, some lag bolts and one bag of concrete.  All in I am looking at about a $10 investment.  Depending on how that goes, I would buy a set of wooden clubs (2-5#).

https://www.indianclubs.com.au/ 

The definitive source for all things Indian Clubs.

Tempo Run

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Pomona Lake Number 2

0900

~2.5 miles at ~11:00/mile pace (Strava cut out)

Strict Press - Metcon

Monday, June 15, 2020

Home Gym

1230

Warm Up

Hip Hammy

Wrist Mobility

Down dog / Cobra

Barbell warm up with 45, 65, 75#

Strength

Every 90 seconds for 12 minutes (8 sets)

3 Strict Press @20X0 tempo

85

95

100

105

110

115

115

115

These got heavy fast, but I was able to maintain reasonable form.  I was doing better at keeping my ribs tucked in when it was lighter

Metcon

4 rounds for time of

12 push press (95/65)

9 v-ups

6 HRPU

I scaled this to 95# and did tuck-ups.  It was a fast workout at 6:43.  I finished the first round in just over a minute and then slowed down considerably.  I went unbroken on tuck-ups and HRPU.  I went 12; 8/4; 6/6; 6/6 on the push press.  65# was the right weight.

Double Under (10 min)

I spent some time practicing double unders.  I was planning on doing 10 sets of 10, but I was missing reps and ended up 10/9/10/10/6/10/9/10/9/10.  After a few minutes, I went for a max reps set and managed 24 unbroken.

Programming was from CFG.  DU were from Comptrain that had a workout of DU, Thrusters and OH Squats.  I need to work on my thrusters.

Loving the timer in the gym.  Next update will be barbell storage.

Long Run

Sunday, June 14, 2020

Rocky Mountain Greenway Trail

0900

Warm up with hip circle and then took off.

4.89 miles (12:01/mile pace)

Equipment Update

My Rogue Home Timer arrived today and it is perfect.  Getting the batteries in was a little weird, but hanging it and learning to work the remote was fun.  I am excited for the workout tomorrow.

Nutrition Update

It has been a little over 2 weeks since I have cut out snacking between meals and processed sugar (read snack cakes, cookies, cake, ice cream, etc) during meals.  It sucks feeling hungry, but it is not unbearable.  I have noticed my bowel habit have changed in that I am less gassy and have more firm stools.  As far as weight loss goes, I am down 5 pounds.  I think 2 pounds/week is aggressive and that pace should slow down to 0.5-1.0 pounds/week as my metabolism slows to conserve calories.  My lifestyle goal is to eat clean food and stick to natural sugar sources (read as fruit).  As an athlete, I would like to weigh 170 pounds, which would be 13% weight loss.  I think that weight would allow me to perform pull-ups, muscle-ups, hand stand push-ups and shave 25 seconds off of my mile time.

Bike Ride

Saturday, June 13, 2020

1400

Quick ride on the Pinarello out to US 93 and back.  Felt really strong.

Crossfit Southlands Closed

Crossfit Southlands in Aurora closed and I thought it would be a great opportunity to grab some equipment at hopefully fair prices.  My plan was a pair of spring clips, 15kg barbell, pair of 45# bumpers, and a light medicine ball.

Upon arrival at 9:50, I found myself about 50th in-line and my hopes of acquiring anything was lowered significantly.  At 10:00 they made some announcements that were difficult to hear and started letting people in.  I saw bumper plates and barbells make there exits from the building.  At about 10:30, I was allowed in and went back to find a few slam balls (all 30 lb or greater) and some wooden training plates left.

I checked the prices on bumpers and they were a fair $1.50/lb.  I did not check the prices on anything else, but expect that prices were fair there also.  The rowers were being sold via silent auction.  I ended up coming home empty handed.

Snatch Technique - Metcon

Friday, June 12, 2020

Home Gym

1200

Warm Up

Hip-Hammy Flow

Wrist mobility

Down Dog

Pass throughs

Squat therapy

Snatch Technique

Every 2 minutes for 14 minutes

1 snatch pull + 1 muscle snatch

I built up from 35, 45, 55, 65, 70, 75, 75

These felt good, but I am really looking forward to getting a 28.5 mm barbell

Metcon

AMRAP 6

6 hang power snatch

10 front rack reverse lunge

Prescribed weight was 75/65, but I scaled to 45# primarily due to the reverse lunges.  These felt surprisingly good and I got through 4 rounds + 5 reps.  Knocking out 40 reverse lunges gave me some confidence if Dekafit returns to Denver.

Programming was from Crossfit Golden for 6.12.20

HSPU - Back Squat

Thursday, June 11, 2020

Home Gym

1730

Warm Up

Hip Hammy Flow

Wrist Mobility

Down Dog/Cobra

Cat/Cow

HSPU Technique (10 minutes)

2 abmats - 1 rep

1.5 abmats - 1 rep

1 abmat - failed

negative to floor

2 abmat - 1 rep

Back Squat

Every 2:30 for 15 minutes (6 sets)

Back Squat x 3 reps

175

185

195

205

215

225

I was surprised that 225# felt pretty good today.

Standard EZ Curl Bar

I used to occasionally grab the EZ curl bar at the globo gym to do biceps curls and skull crushers.  I have never used one at Crossfit boxes.  However, I decided not to sell the EZ curl bar that came with the garage sale amalgamation of random bars, clips and standard plates.

I pulled it out about a month ago and realized the vintage screw collars only allowed for about an inch of loadable "sleeve."  I debated whether to buy new collars and lost interest.  In the past few days, I decided to resurrect the project and bought a couple of 1 inch bore zinc plated mild steel set screw collars for $1.95 each.  I then grabbed the bar to evaluate the existing collars and overall condition.  It was pretty beat up and I wish I would have taken a before picture.  The existing inner collars were rusted on, with one side having a set screw and the other side no set screw (they are of course different collars).  I soaked both ends in vinegar and was able to disassemble it, then I removed the electrical tape and then removed the athletic tape that was below that.  Finally I scrubbed it for a while with the vinegar solution and the next day with brake cleaner to finally have a mostly residue free hollow curl bar with no knurling.  Now I know why all of the tape was there.

The collars are supposed to arrive June 16 and if I am successful, I will play around with it and possibly order some spring clips.  I hate to put money into this as I can get a brand new curl bar with knurling, plenty of loadable sleeve and spring clips for $40, but I am willing to throw another few bucks at it along with some elbow grease.

June 17, 2020 - Update

The collars arrived, but were too small.  My decision to go with a new Marcy EZ Curl Bar from Big Five Sporting Goods for $39.99 is all but decided.

Track Workout

Thursday, June 11, 2020

Ralston Valley Track

0930

Warm Up

Hip Hammy

Squat Hold

400 m run/walk

Workout

6 x 400 m with 200 m walk between intervals

2:06

2:06

2:01

2:01

2:04

2:07

This was a big improvement from last week at a perceived effort of 7.  It wasn't a max effort and it was not an easy jog.

Tire!

I finally got a tire to flip.  I had hemmed and hawed on this for a while.  I like flipping tires and strongman in general, but did I real want a 300# hunk of rubber against the side of the house to train with 15 times per year for a grand total of maybe 4 hours annually.  Short answer yes.

I got to the tire yard with another functional fitness enthusiast and the first tire I tried was way to heavy.  I flipped it, but it had to weigh over 400#.  This one felt pretty good and is probably on the order of 250#.

It felt as good at home as it did at the tire yard.  I will probably give it a bit of a scrub down and drill some holes to prevent water from accumulating in it.

UPDATE:  5/11/2021.  I used this a lot less than I planned on and ended up parting with it on Facebook Marketplace.

Metcon

Wednesday, June 10, 2020

Home Gym

1700

AMRAP 20

400m run

20 lateral box jump overs

400m run

20 burpees

I finished 2 rounds + 1 rep on the Hail Mary rule coming in at 21:56.  I finished the first round in 9 minutes and the second round in 10 minutes.  

Programming was from CFG which called for an AMRAP 30.

Equipment Shortages

Strength and Conditioning equipment continues to be in short supply.  

Rogue Fitness has had equipment trickle in and quickly fly off the shelves.  I was notified of an Echo Bike, but decided to pass.  Barbells quickly go and even Bone Yard barbells which include blemishes and returns disappear quick as well.  Proud new owners seem to be pretty happy with Bone Yard bars especially when they come with esoteric customization.

Rep Fitness took orders for a while and then got completely swamped.  Equipment slowly came in.  Rep initially halted new orders from June 2 - June 10 to catch up.  They have extended that halt to June 22.

Titan Fitness has gotten beat up a little bit on social media for raising prices.  I think slight price increases are justified as shipping costs have gone up.  I am in the market for Silencer Pads.  They were $149 and if they stay close to that price, I will likely still get a set.

The secondary market is still crazy with standard plates at $1.50 to $2.00/lb and Olympic plates at $2.00 to $3.00/lb.  For those who enjoy flipping equipment, it has become quite the game and profitable as well.  

The gyms in my area have opened up with a variety of safety precautions which include reservations, lower capacity and wiping down equipment.  I am not ready to go back to Crossfit Golden, but I have considered starting a BeStrong membership at $45/month.  I am not ready for the Globo gym scene.

My home gym continues to meet my needs.  Most urgently, I would like to get some rubber hex head dumbbells.  I have done WODs with plate loaded dumbbells and it sucks.  It would be nice to be able to max out my deadlift and I will likely grab some iron weight.  Finally, Olympic Lifting with a 31 mm barbell is no fun.  I like the idea of having a 15kg bar as it is shorter also.  I will get these few items from Rep when available.  

The other items on my wish list are just nice to have items like a Matt Chan barbell, more weight (bumpers and/or iron) and a pair of spring collars.  I want the barbell from Rogue and will hopefully find a shipping deal or develop the willpower to wait until Black Friday and then go nuts.  With unlimited resources, I would just get all Competition Bumpers and get (2) 45# pair, (2) 25# pair, and a set of change plates.  215+215+125+150 = $705.  In reality the Rep Fitness 250# Black Bumper Plate Set would better suit my needs at $339.  I would keep my Hi Temps to use outdoors and due to needing 10# pair and 15# pair due to current strength limitations.

Deciding on cardio equipment has been mentally fatiguing.  If I had double the gym size and had $3,000 to blow I would just get the Rogue Echo Bike, Concept 2 Rower and Concept 2 Ski Erg.  I will only get one item, but the pros & cons are daunting.  I think I have eliminated the Rogue Echo Bike due to footprint and weight.  Deciding on a Concept 2, I am most comfortable with the rower and know that they are easy to resell.  

In summary:

Buy ASAP - Rep Fitness 35# DB, 50# DB and 35# equalizer plates - $83+$119+$100 = $302

Buy with shipping deal - Matt Chan Barbell - $395 plus shipping

Buy if still training at home in winter - Concept 2 Rower - $900 plus shipping

Buy when resources warrant - Rep Fitness 250# black bumper set - $339

Bench Press - Metcon

Tuesday, June 9, 2020

Home Gym

1530

Barbell warm-up

Bench press 8x45

Bench press 4x95 @20X0

Bench press 4x115@20X0

Strength

Bench press

Every 2 minutes for 10 minutes (5 sets)

Bench press 4 reps @20X0 tempo

I went 135, 145, 155, 155, 155.  It was a good weight, the fourth rep was really tough on the last 2 sets.

Metcon

5 rounds for time of

10 abmat sit-ups

10 push press (65#)

10 hand release push-ups

I finished in 11:10.  I came out of the gate way too hot, finishing the first round in 1:30.  I then settled into a 2:20 to 2:30 pace per round.  The sit-ups and push press were unbroken.  The HRPU went from 5/5 to 4/3/3.  It was a good short WOD.

Programming was adapted from CFG programming for 6/9/2020 which featured 5 rounds of 30 DU, 10 push press (95/65) and 10 HRPU.

Bike Ride

Sunday, June 7, 2020

Gios

1300

Easy ride towards US 93 and back, really windy

Tempo Run

Tuesday, June 9, 2020

Pomona Lake Number 2

0900

Tempo Run

2.60 mile run (11:10/mile pace)

Deadlift - Pull-ups - Conditioning

Monday, June 8, 2020

Home Gym

1500

Warm Up

Hip Hammy

Wrist Mobility

Pass throughs

Around the worlds

Dead Hang

Scap Pull-ups

Kip swings

Romanian Deadlifts (45#)

Deadlift (135#)

Strength

Every 90 seconds for 15 minutes (5 sets)

Station 1: Deadlift - 6 reps (185#)

Station 2: Strict Pull-ups 3 reps @30X0 tempo

I felt like I chose a good deadlift weight, but my grip was being taxed.  I added straps and a belt on the third round.  The strict pull-ups were good, but the tempo was taxing.  I did 2/1 on the first round and then singles.  The 3 count lower turned into a 2 count lower by round 4.

Conditioning

AMRAP 10 

5 pull-ups

10 deadlift (175/125)

15 v-ups

I scaled this to kipping pull-ups, singles, deadlifts at 135# and tuck-ups.  I was able to go 6/4 on the deadlifts, but the tuck-ups got taxing and I was taking longer breaks than I planned.  I finished 3 Rounds + 21 Reps in 10 minutes and finished the fourth round at 10:38.

Programming was from Crossfit Golden for 6/8/2020.

Re-branding

I am re-branding this blog as training.teamgupta.net  I started the blog to separate the content from my main blog which focused on lifestyle, travel and multisport racing.  All of my training was tracked in Beginner Triathlete.  When I became active in the micro-gym scene, I chose to separate that content and this blog was born.

Crossfit CEO Greg Glassman made an insensitive tweet on June 6 in response to the statement from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation that "Racism is a Public Health Issue." The following silence from Crossfit Headquarters shook the Crossfit community.  Reebok quickly broke ties and other partners and high profile athletes quickly followed suit.  .Breaking ties for me is much easier than it is for local boxes.  As of June 8, 2020 Crossfit Undeniable is planning to make a formal statement, Crossfit Golden is taking a wait and see approach and West Metro Crossfit without hesitation is re-branding to West Metro Strength and Conditioning.  Rogue and Romwod released statements.  

From my position of privilege, I have struggled to find my voice to loudly proclaim that Black Lives Matter.  Time will show that I am on the wrong side of history.  When my kids ask if I joined the protests in 2020, I will have to reply that I stayed home and watched television.  Words matter, silence matters, Black Lives Matter.

Long Run

Saturday, June 6, 2020

0700

Rocky Mountain Greenway Trail

4.90 miles (12:28/mile pace)

HSPU - Rope Climb - Metcon

Friday, June 5, 2020

Home Gym

1330

Warm Up

Hip Hammy

Wrist Mobility

HSPU Technique (0:00 to 10:00)

Hold

(2) reps to 2 abmats

(1) rep to 2 abmats

(1) rep to 2 abmats

negative to 1 abmat

negative to floor

Rope Climb Technique (10:00 to 25:00)

5 minutes to rearrange gym

standing pull

hand over hand 4x

hand over hand 2x

standing pull and hand over hand 1x

standing pull

Warm Up for Metcon

Power Snatch 65#

Power Clean 65#

Box Jumps

Burpees

Conditioning

"Opposite Day"

30-20-10:

Power Snatches (95/65)

Box Jump Overs (24/20)

Directly Into...

10-20-30:

Power Clean and Jerk (95/65)

Lateral Barbell Burpees

I scaled this to 15-10-5 at 65 & 20" Box Jumps and 5-10-15 at 65# and still got lit up.

The Power Snatches went 5/5/5 then 4/3/3 then 3/2, but the Box Jumps were steady.  I finished these at 7:11.  The Power Clean and Jerks were on a similar split.  The lateral barbell burpees were tough.  This took me 11:13 for a total of 18:24.  I felt like I scaled it well.  I did not even consider the full WOD, but dabbled with the thought of 21-15-9.

I wanted to work on skills and grabbed the conditioning from Comptrain for 06.05.2020

The family got me a gym flag for my birthday

Track Workout - Metcon

Thursday, June 4, 2020

Home Gym (Ralston Valley Track)

0900

No warm up

Track

6x400 (hard, but not max effort)

walk 200 between efforts

2:30

2:09

2:11

2:15

2:13

2:18

I felt really good about this and will continue to shoot for a 8:30 to 9:00 pace, rather than shooting for an 8:00 pace on track days.  I was relieved not to tweak anything, considering how the last couple of track workouts went.

Metcon

12 min AMRAP

20 abmat sit-ups

20 lunges (unweighted)

5 rounds + 4 reps

This was adapted from Crossfit.com 200604 which called for 20 GHD sit-ups and OH walking lunges with 60#.  I tried a 35# KB for 3 steps each leg and quickly opted for unweighted.  I should have brought a 10# DB with me.  It was a nice couplet and those are two movements that I have been neglecting.  First 2 rounds, sit-ups were unbroken.  Last 3 sets were 10/5/5.

45 minutes total workout.

Snatch

Wednesday, June 3, 2020

Home Gym

1530

Warm Up

Foam roll

Hip Hammy

Wrist mobility

Down Dog / Cobra

Squat Therapy

Pass throughs

Burgener warm-up with PVC

Snatch Complex

Build to heavy, rest 2-3 minutes between sets

1 high hang power snatch

1 hang power snatch

1 power snatch

1 squat snatch

1 squat snatch

25

35

45

55

65 - failed (dropped the 2nd squat snatch)

65 (video)

70

75 - failed (dropped the 2nd squat snatch)

Snatch Wave

9 minute EMOM

Squat Snatch (75#)

Video is from sixth rep

Programming:  I was in the mood to Olympic lift and just through this together.  Total workout with warm up was about 45 minutes.

Front Squat

Tuesday, June 2, 2020

Home Gym

1800

Warm Up

1 min of jumping jacks

1 min of air squat, stretch, boot strappers

2 rounds of

5 boot strappers

5 single leg glute bridge

5 squat thoracic rotations

Pass throughs

Forearm mobility

Barbell

tempo front squat with 45, 75#

Strength

Front Squat (4 sets)

2 Front Squat at 42X1 tempo + 4 Front Squat

I worked up from 95, 105, 115, 125# and felt good about the movement, but struggled with the tempo as it got heavy

Metcon

4 Rounds of 15 Front Squat (135/95)

rest 1 min between rounds

I scaled this to 75# and it was still brutal

Round 1:  0:48

Round 2:  0:52

Round 3:  0:55

Round 4:  0:57

With the 1 min breaks, the total WOD time was 6:32

Programming was taken from CFG 06.01.20

Run

Tuesday, June 2, 2020

Home Gym

0830

2.59 mile run (11:25/mile pace)

Pull-up Dip Station

The TSA-2300 Pull-up Dip station was a pretty awesome toy that I had set up in the basement as well as the garage for a period of time.  I snagged this at a garage sale for $20 in 2015 and enjoyed it for a couple of years.  I sold it in 2017 as it has a big foot print and I figured it was just as easy to do pull-ups at the park or at a globo gym.

Glute Ham Developer

I just realized that I never gave a proper introduction or farewell to my beloved GHD.  I bought this wonderful beast on August 10, 2016 responding to an ad on craigslist.  It was in Fort Collins and being used in a functional fitness gym that was moving some stuff around and did not need as many GHDs as they had.

My motivation was simple.  I intended to train primarily in globo gyms and wanted my home equipment to supplement what I could not find at those facilities which tend to be heavier in cardio and machines.

This thing was solid as a rock and certainly well worth the $400 price tag.  Unfortunately I did not use it that much.  It had a large foot print.  It seemed like I spent more time setting it up and tearing it down to store in the winter than I did using it.

I finally broke down and listed it for sale on craigslist and got back the $400 I spent on it.

Keg?

I came across an interesting post on denver.craigslist.org offering 5 gallon 1/6 or 1/2 barrel workout kegs filled or empty.

5 Gallon - 60 lbs max - $85

15.5 Gallon - 160 lbs max - $120

I cannot imagine a scenario where I would train with one of these, but it would be pretty cool.

Deadlift - Metcon

Monday, June 1, 2020

Home Gym

1200

Warm Up

Hip Hammy

Wrist mobility

empty barbell deadlift and Romanian deadlift

Work bar up at 95, 135#

Deadlift

3-3-3-3-3-3-3

about every 2 minutes

185

205

225

245

260

260 (video)

260

Metcon

3 rounds for time of

400 m run

9 burpee box jumps

Round 1 - 2:30 run, 4:20 round

Round 2 - 2:50 run, 4:40 round

Round 3 - 3:10 run, 4:49 round

I slowed down more than I would have liked on the runs, but the BBJ were good.  13:49.

Programming was my own.  I wanted to deadlift and like the 7x3 rep scheme.  The metcon was pretty good.  I was shooting for a 12 minute workout.

DP Magnum Weight Bench & Plates

Taking a walk down memory lane, I thought back to the first weight set I ever had.  I believe my parents got it for me when I was in middle school or high school.  I am guessing around 1985.  That is why I snagged the image above.  It was a DP Magnum set with the butterfly pec attachments, leg extension and leg curl attachments.  I also recall having a 110# cast iron weight set with a (2) 25# (4) 10# and (4) 5# plates plus a hollow bar and dumbbell handles.  The hollow bar was quickly bent when I added additional weights which were concrete filled plastic.

Digging through my archives, I found that I had sold it out of my parent's house in January 2009 for $40.  New I am guessing it cost between $200 and $250.  I have absolutely no regrets selling everything for 20 cents on the dollars or 20 cents/pound despite current market conditions.

I never like the attachments, but it was a surprisingly stable adjustable bench.  I recall the clips had square head set screws.  The dumbbells were also quite effective and could be loaded to 30# each which was more than sufficient for me.

I just came across the actual pictures from when I listed it on Craigslist back in 1999.