Workout Of The Day - 31st October 2009

Finally got to my run & sprints today - tomorrow will be an intro session to interval training with one of the volleyball folks!

We're looking at 3 sets, each set comprising of:

• 100m sprints
• 20 air squats
• 4x20m shuttle sprints
• (insert number) pull ups
• 1 min of non-stop box jumps

 And a swim before that!

And I'm getting my All Blacks Polo Tee, direct from Perth!

Thanks Ru for the lovely tee!

And for today's workout

WOD

• Run 1.5km
• 1 set of 100m sprint
• 2 sets of 4x20m shuttle sprints

My legs are poofed from the amount of prolonged squatting at work and climbing ladders and staircases!

Read more...

Workout Of The Day - 28th October 2009

Went to the monkey bars again at the park nearby to do pullups and parallel bar dips. Looking forward to Sunday - it'll be intro to the NUS interval training regime with a small group of us followed by a Kayaking session at Sentosa!

Some things we'll probably be doing:

• 100m sprints
• Air Squats
• 4x20m shuttle sprints
• Pullups 
• Box Jumps

And probably paddle for 2 hours at Sentosa before the day ends! And being surrounded by tonnes of beautiful people!



WOD

• 40 pullups
• 20 parallel bar dips

I want to get a Army Section Commander bag and fill it with weight plates for my pull up regimes!

Notably because:

• Weight plates can probably fit (I haven't check but I think they will)
• Its pretty tough (They can really take weight)
• Its small (really small bags - 1/2 the size of a typical bagpack)

Read more...

Workout Of The Day - 27th October 2009

This is my 200th post! And for that I took it 'easy' with my WOD considering the 100 pullups I've done cumulatively over the past 2 days.

WOD

• 100 pushups

Good squatting at Crossfit East Sacremento

Read more...

Workout Of The Day - 26th October 2009

Its back to my pullup regime again - am loving how my 'sides' / 'lats' are swelling and a little sore from yesterday's pullup regime!

WOD

• 60 pullups
• 30 parallel bar dips

I realized, people don't really pay attention to you at the chin up bar until you keep going at it for minutes and they realize you've done at least 40.


One day I'll do 100 again. Then 150. Then 200.

Read more...

Crossfit Gives You An Ass, Not Running

Big squats. Box jumps. Lunges. Pistol squats. Sprints. These give you an ass.

Shari thanks Crossfit for the ass too!

Long distance running removes your ass. And as well as alot of other parts of your body.

I've tried it & tested it - its true. The jeans I just bought middle of this year? They're getting kinda tight now, especially at the butt & thigh area. I'm back to wearing the pair of jeans I wore as a NSF (national fulltime serviceman). And it fits like how they used to.

I've 'shrunk' alot since my Army days, as an undergraduate in NUS, and as an avid runner.

And with my training (as close as I can get to Crossfit), my sprints & HIIT sessions, my new indulgence in sports (Volleyball, Kayaking at the present) - I'm slowly regaining what I lost.

And a good testimony to this is my this year's IPPT - 25/25 marks, something I never achieved even as a 2nd year soldier. I think I maxed out only at 22/25 for IPPT then.

Read more...

Workout Of The Day - 25th October 2009

The kayaking session was postponed due to the rain, so I did some barbells & chinups before dinner.

WOD

• 10 backsquats
• 20 pushups
• 10 backsquats
• 20 pushups
• 10 backsquats
• 20 pushups
• 40 pullups

Feasted on some chocolates with coffee. Its a pretty lazy Sunday due to the weather.



Here's a good (short) read about training in the different domains:

Now, there are different time domains in which you can increase your work capacity. For instance, a low time domain would be 2 seconds, which would be a 1 rep max power clean. A workout such as “Cindy” is somewhere in the middle at 20 minutes. And a longer one would be a marathon.

If you spend all your time doing long distance training, you’re only increasing your work capacity at the far end of the spectrum. And it will actually bring down everything at the beginning of the the spectrum. In essence, you will decrease your work capacity at everything lower than a marathon.

As the picture above shows, the marathon runner is is skin and bones. What would happen if you asked him to lift something heavy? He would crumble. What about splitting wood, or piling sandbags? He would be crushed.

Link

And its annoying how a large majority of the people here think that the ability to run far alone is a great indicator of great health and fitness, i.e.

Picture on left = ideal (at least can pass IPPT)
Picture of right = grossly huge and horrible

Ignorance - its everywhere isn't it?

Read more...

Workout Of The Day - 24th October 2009

Was pretty tired after work today so I did a 2km run, followed by chin ups. Planned to do some sprints too but was too darn tired - so I passed on sprints.

WOD:

• Run 2km
• 20 pullups

Shari Keener from Running On is one real athele!

Its off to Sentosa tomorrow afternoon!

Read more...

Workout Of The Day - 23rd October 2009

Wanted to go a little more heavy than yesterday but the searing pain in my wrists during my 3rd push press  meant that I had to cut out anything that involves a rack position. Even getting the barbell up to the backsquat position was painful.

WOD:

• 10 barbell thrusters
• 25 pushups
• 10 deadlifts
• 25 pushups
• 3 push presses (wrist!)
• 10 backsquats
• 25 pushups

I think I'll substitute this with lots of pullups starting with the next session if this wrist pain carries on!

The weekend's approaching - its another session at Sentosa if everything goes on well!

Read more...

Workout Of The Day - 22nd October 2009

The late nights sure are taking away the energy levels to a certain extent - but today I feel better than yesterday.

WOD

• 10 push presses
• 20 pushups
• 10 backsquats
• 20 pushups
• 10 deadlifts
• 20 pushups
• 5 high pulls
• 20 pushups

Had a heavy dose of fruits for supper!

Top 10 Reasons Heavy Weights Don’t Bulk Up the Female Athlete

Women do not have nearly as much testosterone as men. In fact, according to Bill Kreamer in Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, women have about 15 to 20 times less testosterone than men. Testosterone is the reason men are men and women are women. After men hit puberty, they grow facial hair, their voice deepens, and they develop muscle mass. Because men have more testosterone, they are much more equipped to gain muscle. Because women do not have very much testosterone in their bodies, they will never be able to get as big as men.

Read more...

Workout Of The Day - 21st October 2009

I really felt like lifting and I thought it'd be a good session today but the moment I heaved the barbell to the rack position, it felt really heavy & I felt sluggish.

WOD:

• 10 barbell thrusters
• 10 deadlifts
• 50 pushups
• 5 barbell thrusters
• 5 deadlifts
• 25 pushups

This session is not timed.


In summary it was a mediocre work out today.

Am looking forward to another sunny fun-filled Sunday!

Read more...

Workout Of The Day - 20th October 2009

Today's a long day at work, so took it very light today- just some pushups.

WOD:

• 40 pushups

 The Paleo versus the USDA Food Pyramid - spot any striking differences?

Read more...

Workout Of The Day - 18th October 2009

Went over to Sentosa today to do some kayak paddling, the store front located just infront of Azzura (not too far from Beach Station)

Beautiful people, beautiful tans!

Prices are pretty good - $6/hr for a single and $12/hr for a double. And the kind staff decided to charge me just for an hour although I clocked 1 hr 45 minutes on it!

The Flying Fox - hang on for your dear lives!

WOD:

• Kayak for 1hr 45min

Its the end of the weekend and its time for another week of work!

Read more...

Workout Of The Day - 17th October 2009

Took a nice lazy swim. In fact, barely swam - I just was enjoying the nice sunshine in the pool.

WOD:
3 rounds of

• 2 x 50m swim sprints

Followed by a nice big protein heavy meal - Kentucky Fried Chicken!

I did a sprint session too after a afternoon nap:

WOD:

• Run 1km
• 100m sprint
• 4x20m shuttle sprint
• 100m sprint
• 4x20m shuttle sprint
• 100m sprint
• 4x20m shuttle sprint

Now I'm pooped tired and hungry! 

Read more...

Workout Of The Day - 15th October 2009

Took yesterday as a rest day before hitting the weights today again. Tried out a combination of a deadlift & a barbell thruster which goes like this:

Deadlift the barbell.
Hoist it to rack position.
Do a barbell thruster.
Return the barbell back to the ground.
That makes 1 rep.

WOD:
5 deadlift-thrusters
30 pushups

Followed by 2 rounds of
10 barbell thrusters
20 pushups

Read more...

Workout Of The Day - 13th October 2009

Spent alot of my time at work trawling up and down spiral staircases - so I'm taking today's session lighter - just one round.

WOD:
1 round of

• 10 push press
• 20 pushups
• 10 backsquats
• 20 pushups
• 10 deadlifts
• 20 pushups

This sesion is not timed with 77# (13thOctober 2009)


This looks amazing - I'll keep this for someday this week:

Read more...

Workout Of The Day - 11th October 2009

Managed to pop down to NUS in the mid-day for a HIIT session - it feels good to have the slight burning sensation on my skin now. I could do this everyday if I didn't have to work.

WOD
2 rounds of

• 100m sprints
• 20 air squats
• 4x20m shuttle sprints
• 10 pullups
• 1 min of box jumps

Had to shelve the plans for swimming as the NUS canoe polo team used the whole pool - watching them play makes me want to take up Dragon Boating again somehow. Advice on any recreational clubs?

Post workout is a 10 piece Ikea meatball dish along with 4 chicken wings. The closest to eating Paleo as I've gotten so far!

And here's an amazing video on Pistol Squats:

Read more...

Workout Of The Day - 10th October 2009

Did the same exact workout as that two days ago - this session not being timed though. The clock was distracting me somehow and I just did without it.

But I lifted good, and fast, and hard. I'm really more suited to working out at night!

 
WOD:
2 rounds of

• 10 push presses
• 20 pushups
• 10 back squats
• 20 pushups
• 10 deadlifts
• 20 pushups

This sesion is not timed with 77# (10thOctober 2009)
Time taken: 10min 47sec with 77# (8th October 2009)
 
 
 
Its off to NUS for interval training tomorrow! Am currently looking to be doing some 100m sprints, box jumps, pull ups and etc, followed by a cool down session and maybe 10 or 20 laps in the pool!
 

Read more...

Workout Of The Day - 9th October 2009

Finally got down to run & sprint session - a strong and spirited session - I think I really run a whole lot better during the late evenings / night - which is timely as it means I can do it the moment I reach home after work. And on hindsight, I'm kinda glad that I'm not in a relationship too.

WOD

• Run 1km
• 4 sets of 100m sprints
• 1 set of 4x20m shuttle sprints

Staying hydrated at work with a new water bottle!

Read more...

Workout Of The Day - 8th October 2009

Due to the bad (right) wrist, I'm taking away the barbell thrusters and replacing them with back squats and push presses.

WOD:
2 rounds for time

• 10 push press
• 20 push ups
• 10 back squats
• 20 push ups
• 10 deadlifts
• 20 pushups

Time taken: 10min 47sec with 77# (8th October 2009)   

I have recently started on my 'next phase' of work, and coincidentally I mark it with my new mobile phone - Nokia E63 - am loving this phone as it has a good antenna (hence good reception) and it has a QWERTY keypad, which needs a little getting used to though.

And I've got Cross Fit as my handphone wallpaper.

Read more...

Workout Of The Day - 5th October 2009

Was feeling under the weather yesterday so all my sporting events were shelved. And thankfully I'm nearing full recovery today so I right after I came home I did a 'recovery' (literally) workout. Short one, but this time doing strict shoulder presses with 77 pounds!

WOD:

• 8 shoulder presses
• 10 deadlifts
• 50 pushups
• 10 front squats

Time taken: 3min 53sec with 77# (5th October 2009)  


And I skipped barbell thrusters as today I must have nearly climbed the equivalent of 40 storeys with 3-4kg load on me! (I need to validate my excuse)


And I got my new handphone on Sunday - will be using it starting tomorrow. It sure feels different using a handphone with a qwerty keyboard!

Read more...

Rest Day - 3rd October 2009

Today's my rest day (I had to work today) - so I'm taking a nice long sleep tonight, and having tonnes of fruits for supper - 2 bananas, 1 orange, and some prunes.

The Shoulder Press is an important functional movement that we incorporate into our workouts. It is a great exercise for developing strength in, what else, the shoulders. In addition, the trainee develops balance and stabilization in the shoulder girdle, core strength(that's right, heavy presses work your abs) and has a great carry over to athletic activity. The path of the Press is very similar to the force applied in sports such as football, rugby, and basketball just to mention a few.

The act of lifting a load overhead is also very similar to movements such as carrying a box from a high shelf or lifting a child overhead for a ride on the shoulders. Without strong, stable shoulders, we wouldn't be able to accomplish a myriad of activities that we face on a daily basis.

Cross Fit Malaysia

Its off to NUS again tomorrow for another swim session, and maybe some sprints! And Ikea meatballs. I'm so hungry now despite the fruits I just had!


And what does it mean to eat Paleo - this should confuse some of us, especially when our common knowledge is tested.

Read more...

Workout Of The Day - 1st & 2nd October 2009

1st October WOD:
2 rounds for time

• 10 barbell thrusters
• 10 deadlifts
• 50 pushups

Time taken: 7min 36sec with 77# (1st October 2009) 
Time taken: 7min 42sec with 77# (28th September 2009)

2nd October WOD:
1 round for time

• 15 overhead squats
• 15 high pulls
• 50 pushups

Time taken: 3min 46sec with 55# (1st October 2009)  


Longer working hours means less time & energy for my workouts - but I hope I don't have to minimize them too much!

Read more...