Monday, March 22, 2010

Our first workout. We tend to refer to the workout as a WOD, so whenever you see WOD (pronounced Wad), know I am talking about the Workout of the Day. So, today's WOD:

WARM-UP: roll your neck, your shoulders, loosen up your legs, etc. Walk in place fast for about 5 minutes. Make sure to really swing those arms. Try to get your heart rate up a little, remember this is a warm-up so you are trying to get your muscles warm.

WOD: For time (whenever you see "for time" that means to do the workout, all exercises and all rounds, as quickly as you can and note how long it took you. So for example, if I say 3 rounds of walking around the block for time. That would mean that you should walk around the block 3 times and write down, or comment to the blog, how long it took you to walk around the block 3 times. You should also use the blog to indicate how the workout made you feel - tired, energized, injured, excited, bored, etc. This will help me tailor the workout to get maximum results).

Monday, March 22, 2010 WOD: FOR TIME

     - 3 rounds of 30 AIR THRUSTERS; take a 20 second rest in between rounds.

          The air thruster is a combination of two movements. The first movement is an air squat. To do an air squat, you simply stand with your feet shoulder with apart. Toes ponting slightly outward, about an inch or two. Then you sit back into your heels and go as low as you can. Then raise yourself up by pushing off from your heels. See the first picture below. The second movement is a thruster. The thruster entails that you simply raise your hand straight over your head. See image below, but do it without a bar (although you could use a broomstick). When you put these two movements together you get the air thruster - you squat and as you come back to the standing position you push your arms up into the air. When your arms are fully extended you should be standing up very tall. Then pull your arms back down to your shoulders/chest and that's one rep. So down into squat, as you come up when you are at standing throw your arms up into the air, when your arms are fully extended, pull them back to your shoulders and repeat for 30 reps.

Images: 
      Air Squat                     

Thruster (here the athlete is using dumbbells, you should do it with no weight, milk cartons, or a 

broomstick in front of your shoulders.

Introduction

Mom (& other retirees), this will be a place where I will post various things, exercise for you to do. I will - the best of my ability - provide either pictorial demonstrations or video demonstrations of the exercises so that you know what I am talking about. I will also do everything in my power to try and make the exercises things that you can do at home, in your living room, in front of the TV, etc. 


Another thing I think you will like about my programming and this whole CrossFit movement in general is that workouts are short and intense. That is, no more days of spending 1, 2, or 3 hours pumping iron and doing treadmill and such at the gym. Our workouts typically last no longer than 20 minutes and often times they last much less. Still effective, however, which I think is just awesome!


So, together we will set up a long distance training program to try and help you increase your strength. The goal of CrossFit and my training will be to target your core muscles: that includes your abs, lower back and upper legs. From this type of training you get increases in strength across your entire body, without necessarily working your whole body. It's quite a fascinating and interesting effect that nobody understand how it works. My research team here is hoping to do some research on this in the Summer to try and get to the bottom of it all. The owner/CEO of CrossFit has successfully trained people from all walks of life, from Olympic athletes and NFL players to house moms, run of the mill people, and retirees. The goal is to increase an individual's functionality. That can vary. If you are an Olympian your functionality demands winning gold. If you are a retiree it might simply mean to be able to carry your grocery bags from your car to your kitchen, or put away a box, or pick up your grand kids, all without hurting yourself. 

So I will do my best to strengthen you up. First, you will need to have 1 thing: you will need a 4.5 foot rod of some sort. I use a piece of PVC piping (0.89¢ at Home Depot), but you could also use a broomstick or mop stick, with the broom or mop removed. You should be able to click the comments, or post a comment links below as a way of responding. This is a good way to provide me feedback on what is and what is not working, how you are feeling, and generally communicate with me about the program. Also, it's a fantastic way to store a permanent archive of your activity so that we can track your progress and make sure that you are improving and getting fitter. When we don't feel like you are making progress then we will modify the program so that you are making headway.


OK, so this is where we'll get started. Go ahead and try and click the comments link below and leave me a message. This is going to be fun and beneficial and if not then we will just can it!