Scrumhalf's New and Improved Functional Fitness Log

[Scrumhalf]

you are doing a shit load on that body , props.

Thanks, bro! I firmly believe that we impose limits and boundaries on ourselves unnecessarily - whether it be based on age or perceived capability or whatever. The human body is capable of much more than we think. Only by really pushing yourself to what you think is your limit do you realize that what you thought was out of reach is indeed possible.

I have been really inspired by a bunch of Navy SEAL videos that I have been watching. The SEAL ethic of pushing yourself beyond what you thought you could do and discovering what you are made of resonates with me - I am far from SEAL material of course, but I can certainly get inspired by them. I wish I was 20 years younger - wouldn't mind testing out for SOF and putting mind over matter.

[the art of war]

Thanks, bro! I firmly believe that we impose limits and boundaries on ourselves unnecessarily - whether it be based on age or perceived capability or whatever. The human body is capable of much more than we think. Only by really pushing yourself to what you think is your limit do you realize that what you thought was out of reach is indeed possible.

I have been really inspired by a bunch of Navy SEAL videos that I have been watching. The SEAL ethic of pushing yourself beyond what you thought you could do and discovering what you are made of resonates with me - I am far from SEAL material of course, but I can certainly get inspired by them. I wish I was 20 years younger - wouldn't mind testing out for SOF and putting mind over matter.

I completely agree how you view the human body. I've spent many hours allowing my mind to manipulate things - and now trying to harness the opposite and use it's potential to achieve goals is incredibly rewarding. Keep on pushing man. As for seals, one of my good friends is one - he sold his car and runs everywhere, and I mean everywhere. Upwards of 30+ miles a day lol.

[Scrumhalf]

Thursday 6/10/10


Workout Time:
6:30am

Pre-workout Nutrition:
1 cup black coffee

Overnight Sleep:
6.5 hours

Body Condition:
Traps and delts sore but good otherwise


Run

Ran 4 miles in 29.59, a PR!! :thumup:

Yeah baby!!! Got the 4 miler in under 30 minutes. :woot:

Notes:

1. Felt good. I think I can go faster. I felt like I was holding back. Will try to ratchet up the speed a bit next week and see how it goes.

2. New goal: 29 minutes!!!

3. Stretched well after the run with lots of foam roller work. Hope to feel 100% tomorrow for strength workout.

4. Have to do a blood donation in 1 hour. Hope that won't affect my strength too much tomorrow, but we'll see. :)

[Scrumhalf]

Donated blood at 11am. I have a strength workout tomorrow - don't know if the loss of blood will affect it or not. I might move the workout from the morning to the afternoon just to be sure I recover adequately.

I can really understand why the cyclists do blood doping. A loss of 1 pint of blood and I am huffing and puffing up the stairs. :rofl: I have to go up 6 flights of stairs to get to my office and I never take the elevator.

[the art of war]

:whistle epo epo epo epo lalala :P

[Scrumhalf]

Friday 6/11/10


Workout Time:
3:30pm

Pre-workout Nutrition:
1 cup black coffee, 2 grilled veggie sandwiches on whole wheat bread 2 hours before lifting

Overnight Sleep:
6.5 hours

Body Condition:
Good


Upper Body Strength


Circuit - 4 rounds of:

DB Bench Press
70x6, 75x3, 70x5, 70x5

DB Rows
70x5, 75x5, 75x5, 75x5

Circuit - 4 rounds of:

One handed DB Snatch
35 x 4

Standing DB Shoulder Press
40x6

Finisher:
2 sets of diamond pushups - 15 reps each


Notes:

1. Felt strong and didn't see any effects of yesterday's blood donation, strength wise. I was however breathing harder than normal, so clearly oxygen transport is still compromised. It will probably take a couple of days to get back to normal.

2. Had only 45 minutes to work out today due to meetings, so had to cut it short to upper body only.

[Scrumhalf]

Sunday 6/13/10


Workout Time:
3:30pm

Pre-workout Nutrition:
1 cup black coffee, 1 PB&J sandwich

Overnight Sleep:
8 hours

Body Condition:
Good


Max pushup rep progression


15 sets of 10 pushups each in 15 minutes; new set started at the beginning of each minute


Notes:

1. This progression is meant to increase my strength endurance and be able to hit 75 consecutive pushups. Right now, I can do anywhere between 40 and 50 depending on the day.

The goal is to do twice as many reps as the target in 15 sets in 15 minutes. In my case, since my goal is 75 pushups, my total rep target is 150, split into 15 sets of 10 each. Gradually, I will increase the number of reps and cut down the number of sets, hopefully culminating in a single set of 75 reps eventually.

[Scrumhalf]

Monday 6/14/10


Workout Time:
3:00pm

Pre-workout Nutrition:
1 cup black coffee, 1/2 cup brown rice, 1 cup black eyed peas, 1.5 hours before workout

Overnight Sleep:
6.5 hours

Body Condition:
Good

Weight:
130 lbs (Damn - lost 2 lbs. :( Need to pick up the calories a bit).


Run


4 miles in 29:22. Another PR, baby!!! :thumup:


Notes:

1. This one was hard. I was struggling a bit at the end but gutted it out. I thin it was because I was dehydrated - didn't drink enough water all morning.

[Scrumhalf]

Tuesday 6/15/10

Workout Time:
6:30am

Pre-workout Nutrition:
1 cup black coffee, 1/2 cup oatmeal

Overnight Sleep:
6 hours

Body Condition:
Legs a bit tired after the 4 mile run yesterday afternoon, but otherwise good


Max Strength


2-hand DB clean and press from hang
42.5x6, 45x3, 42.5x5, 42.5x4

Circuit - 4 rounds of:
Squats: 6 reps each
Hamstring curls: 5 reps each, 85, 85, 85, 80

Circuit - 4 rounds of:
Weighted pullups: +35lbsx5, +45x4, +50 PRx3, +45x3 :thumup:
Weighted dips: +70lbsx5, +80x5, +85x3 PR, +85x3, :thumup:

Finisher:
3 rounds without rest of:
Commando pullups - 1 rep short of failure
Diamond pushups with feet on bench - 1 rep short of failure


Notes:

1. Felt strong today. Any residual effects of blood donation or dehydration from yesterday are gone.

2. PRs on weighted pullups and weighted dips. Will shoot for +90lbs on dips next time - that would be 2/3 of bodyweight added - a milestone for 2010. Next goal is bodyweight added, but it may be a while for that.. :)

3. Knees a bit sore from the run yesterday. Might need to get new shoes.

[Scrumhalf]

Wednesday 6/16/10

Workout Time:
6:30am

Pre-workout Nutrition:
1 cup black coffee, 1/2 cup oatmeal

Overnight Sleep:
6 hours

Body Condition:
Good


GPP and Core


GPP Circuit - 5 rounds, no rest, of:

Burpees - 30 seconds
Jumping Jacks - 30 seconds
Split jumps - 30 seconds
Grasshoppers - 30 seconds


Core Circuit - 4 rounds, no rest, of:

Back hyperextensions with 35lb plate - 10 reps
Russian twists on decline bench wtih 20lb dumbbell - 8 reps
Hanging leg raises, dead hang, strict form - 6 reps
Weighted crunches on swiss ball with 60lb dumbbell - 10 reps

Finisher:

2 sets of chinnies, 60 reps each
25 burpees for time. Finished in 1:15


Notes:

1. Getting better at the GPP workouts. Didn't feel as dead as I did the last time I did this workout. Even this old dog can improve his conditioning. :)

2. Grasshoppers are HARD. Both my delts and my legs were screaming at the end.

[the art of war]

what's a burpee ?

[Scrumhalf]

what's a burpee ?

This:

YouTube - Tabata burpees

In the video, the guy does it as a Tabata interval, but you can do it various ways - max number in say 5 minutes, or 50 or 100 as fast as you can, etc.

It is one of the best whole body conditioning exercises around.

[the art of war]

you're an animal dude - those are ridiculous.

[Scrumhalf]

Haha, you're right bro. Burpees are hard and tabata burpees are particularly brutal. The guy in the video did them exceptionally well - if you notice his form does not suffer one bit throughout. I am not as smooth yet but getting better all the time. :)

For grins, just try the GPP sequence I posted . Do a sequence of burpees for 30 seconds, jumping jacks for 30 seconds, split jumps or bodyweight squats for 30 seconds and mountain climbers for 30 seconds. 5 rounds with no rest. You'll be ready to ask for the stretcher to be brought in after that :rofl:

at least that's how I felt the first time I did it. I'm getting better at it now.

[Scrumhalf]

All right fellas, goin' to try to break 29 minutes for the 4 mile run tomorrow... Wish me luck!!