Man Vs Blubber

3 Days Straight With The Girls

2010-04-08T22:28:00.007+07:00

3rd straight day workin' out with the girls and it's been great. They quickly catch on to the proper form of the exercises and have impressive work ethic. Nothing's hotter than a chick workin' it. Beg your pardon...On to the workouts!

Today's workout

5-5-5-5-5 of:

Deadlift
Dip (Ladies assisted)

and end with 1 mile run

Good workout done under an hour. Phew. Deadlifts were delicious, especially with our sore abs from yesterday's GHDs.

Yesterday's workout
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of the triplet:

Chest-to-bar pull-up
Box jump, 30 inch box
GHD sit-up

Did this under 40 mins with the ladies. My chest-to-bar pull-ups only lasted 'till the 2nd round, the rest were regular standard chin-over-bar pull-ups. Ladies did assisted pull-ups. No 30 inch platform in the gym so we had to deal with less. Also had to improvise with the GHD sit-ups using a medicine ball. By the way, GHD stands for Glute-ham developer.

Example of a proper GHD sit-up with machine
Image from Gym Jones

WOD - Helen For My Friend

2010-04-06T21:06:00.004+07:00

"Helen"

Three rounds for time:
Run 400 meters
1 1/2 pood Kettlebell x 21 swings (or 55 pound/25kg dumbell swing)
12 Pull-ups

Decided Helen was to be Carissa's first CrossFit workout. Naturally I had to do it at her pace, but we managed to finish in about 40mins.

Partitioned the 21 swings to 7 each and 4 for the 12 pullups. I decided to swing the 25kg that the workout demanded instead of my usual 20, and she the 5kg. It was heavy but barely manageable for me and she wasn't used to the swinging action so we were both kinda sluggish. Slow-mo. We were both gassed from the runs, but good thing there was some walking from the first floor jogging track to the weights area.

In the end, she and I were gasping for air as we surrendered our bodies to the floor - hallmark of the timed CrossFit workout.

Killer Easter Workout

2010-04-04T20:38:00.003+07:00

Now I can say I've had a piece of Jesus' suffering through this pain-in-the-everything workout. God.

"Tabata Something Else"

Complete 32 intervals of 20 seconds of work followed by ten seconds of rest where the first 8 intervals are pull-ups, the second 8 are push-ups, the third 8 intervals are sit-ups, and finally, the last 8 intervals are squats. There is no rest between exercises.

Pull-ups 37
Push-ups 65
Sit-ups 73
Squats 136
Total 311 reps

I'm beating myself up for my push-up numbers but squats made me happy =)

Nothing But Crossfit

2010-04-04T20:36:00.000+07:00

Been doing these ever since my last post. The beauty of CrossFit workouts is that they're dynamic, aren't time consuming, and when you're done, you're done. These workouts are no joke though. I've only completed some of em' but even the ones I didn't gave me some sense of accomplishment. I feel like a well-done steak after! =D Meanwhile, check out this pic of Worldwide Handstands from CrossFitters around the world.

Workoutroll:

"Griff"

For time:
Run 800 meters
Run 400 meters backwards
Run 800 meters
Run 400 meters backwards

Forgot my time. Probably wasn't a good one.

7 sets of 5-rep Deadlifts

In kgs:
90
90
90
90
95
100
95

Just use a heavy weight enough to challenge you for 5 reps. Plenty of rest in between. Really tests your grip.

"Stephen"

30-25-20-15-10-5 rep rounds of:
GHD sit-up
Back extension
Knees to elbow
95 pound Stiff legged deadlift

I hated this. Fucking workout. Dropped Knees-to-elbow at 15 rep round. Took me 1 hour and 25 mins to complete. That says everything hahaha. I'll be back to get revenge on my time.

Five rounds for max reps of:
2/3 Body weight thruster
Pull-ups

13/10
10/10
9/10
6/7
5/4 Total 43/41

For time:
5 Muscle-ups
95 pound Back squat, 15 reps
10 Muscle-ups
95 pound Back squat, 30 reps
15 Muscle-ups
95 pound Back squat, 45 reps
10 Muscle-ups
95 pound Back squat, 30 reps
5 Muscle-ups
95 pound Back squat, 15 reps

I don't remember what happened here.

I did Helen again too. Disappointing time of 34.15.

Ten rounds for time of:
135 pound Deadlift, 15 reps
15 push-ups

Swapped it to 50kg (110 lbs) @ 3rd round. Finished in 39.44

Did this again too, with weaker results.
In kgs:
25
27.5
30
32.5
32.5 failed
30

Only 6 rounds with a body weight of 69kgs.

I did half a Murph!
"Murph"

For time:
1 mile Run
100 Pull-ups
200 Push-ups
300 Squats
1 mile Run

Partition the pull-ups, push-ups, and squats as needed. Start and finish with a mile run. If you've got a twenty pound vest or body armor, wear it.

Took me about an hour to do half haha. So that's 1 mile, 50 Pull-ups, 100 Push-ups, 150 Squats with my friend Paul nagging me on. Did the opening mile in 9 mins 35 secs on the treadmill.

Overall my workout times show that I'm still a ways off from the CrossFit vets. I'm having fun though and I'll get there! I'm also extremely pleased for completing workouts under an hour.

LONG post done!

WOD - 5 Rounds of Punishment

2010-02-08T16:57:00.008+07:00

Back in the blog and that's all there is to know.

Decided to start CrossFit workouts again to expose my lack of fitness.

Five rounds for time of:
155 pound Thruster, 5 reps
5 Muscle-ups
Run 400m

Subbed 55kgs (121 lbs) instead of original weight. Boooyy this was a killer. Breezed the first round - though I was already heaving for air right after. Second round of thrusters was manageable but further exasperated my asphyxiation. Muscle-ups were surprisingly springy and comfortable. Olé. Only did three rounds in the end as I was wheezing by the third round of the 400m run. Toughest workout so far methinks. Arr...next!

WOD - 7 One-rep Sets of Weighted Pull-ups

2009-10-19T21:27:00.003+07:00

Weighted Pull-ups 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

Post loads and body weight.

Body weight - 68kgs

In kgs:
30
31.25
32.5
33.75
35
36.25
33.75

Training has been infrequent. I blame college life. I blame me. Hehehe. Those 3kgs of lard gained from the holidays did nothing to help.

WOD - Helen

2009-10-03T22:49:00.002+07:00

"Helen"

Three rounds for time:
Run 400 meters
1 1/2 pood Kettlebell x 21 swings (or 55 pound dumbell swing)
12 Pull-ups

I forgot to record my time! I also didn't realize until the end that the length of the jogging track in my gym is 150 meters. No wonder I was gassed - I ran around four times for a total of 600 meters. Oh, I used a 20kg plate for the swings. 25kgs is still quite heavy.

All in all good "easy" workout for another lazy absence.

Yesterday's WOD

2009-09-21T05:34:00.002+07:00

21-18-15-12-9-6-3 rep rounds of:
Handstand push-ups
L-pull-ups

Broke 'em into three's. I forgot that you're supposed to time yourself. Great workout anyway. HSPUs are killers. It's surprising how I'm not sore from it today.

Back From The Slack

2009-09-17T23:37:00.005+07:00

This time I admit, I've truly been slacking off. Just a couple of CrossFit WODs under my belt and an unfortunate (yet temporary) halt to my plyometrics training. I even started binging on junk.

Extremely light short workout today:
3 rounds of each
7 Handstand push-ups
1 One Arm Push-up (each arm)

Lower back soreness from yesterday's deadlifts reduced me to having the mobility of an old man with a bad back.

Only workouts done previously:

Done yesterday:
Deadlift 3-3-3-3-3 reps

In kgs:
110
110
110
110
110

"CrossFit Total"

Back squat, 1 rep
Shoulder Press, 1 rep
Deadlift, 1 rep

In kgs (inaccurate):
75
45
110

Total: 230kgs =(

These are just estimates because I only had access to the assisted bar, of which I don't know the weight to.

Note: Despite my lapses in training, I noticed significant improvement in my muscle-up form and strength. Credit is due to the CrossFit workouts. =)

2 WODS

2009-09-04T18:28:00.002+07:00

Yesterday's WOD was:
Weighted pull-ups 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

In kgs:
20
22.5
25
27.5
30
35
40, 37.5, 36.25 - Failed attempts

The day before I did:

"Nate"
Complete as many rounds in twenty minutes as you can of:
2 Muscle-ups
4 Handstand Push-ups
8 2-Pood Kettlebell swings

Wow, I didn't know 2-Pood meant 32kgs! No Kettlebells in my gym so I used a 32kg dumbell instead and proceeded to being destroyed by the swings.

WOD - Cindy

2009-08-24T17:04:00.002+07:00

"Cindy"
Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:
5 Pull-ups
10 Push-ups
15 Squats

I equaled my lowest of 8 rounds today. Now I wonder how my friend and I got 15 rounds on our first attempt of Cindy.

WOD - 7 One-rep Sets of Push Press

2009-08-19T00:38:00.005+07:00

Push Press 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 reps.

Load is supposed to be heavy but I'm not very familiar with the push press. Having only done it via thrusters(squat to push press), I started light.

In kgs:
30
35
40
50
55
60 - failed attempt
55

And that's it. Played some ball afterwards.

Absent Doesn't Mean Stagnant

2009-08-15T21:41:00.007+07:00

It's been more than 2 weeks since I last posted - though it doesn't mean I've been slacking. Weekly plyometrics have been the meat of my workouts as well as a regular heaping of basketball. You see, one of my goals is to be able to dunk. Tall order for a person of my stature.

The only notable workout I did since was another Crossfit WOD:

"J.T."
21-15-9 reps for of:
Handstand push-ups
Ring dips
Push-ups

For time.

This one really exposed my poor conditioning. Everything else was a breeze except for the handstand push-ups - which turned into a pathetic struggle in the dying reps of the last set. I had to take a dump in between so the workout took roughly 45 mins.

WOD - Lynne

2009-07-31T15:23:00.005+07:00

My workout of the day taken from CrossFit:

"Lynne"

Five rounds for max reps of:
Body weight bench press
Pull-ups

65kg bench press: 7-11-9-8-6
Pull-ups: 14-13-13-11-8

Satisfactory workout day. Felt weak on my left during the first set of bench, only to realize I had an extra 5kg on it. Also fell apart on the last set of bench attempting my seventh rep. Plates fell on the left side but barely managed to recover. Must've been that blooper on the first set. One too many today, meaning much work to do.

The Talent Myth by Scott Semple

2009-07-30T15:38:00.018+07:00

I'd like to share something that I found a while back and just re-read again today. Whoever you are, whatever you do, and wherever you're at, this applies to you. I hope it serves as a timeless inspiration and truth to you as it did to me. Thank you Scott Semple.

The Talent Myth
by Scott Semple on July 21, 2006

“My mother said to me, ‘If you are a soldier, you will become a general. If you are a monk, you will become the Pope.’ Instead, I was a painter, and became Picasso.”

A friend and training mentor once told me, “The secret of the pros is that they train in secret.” For a while that made sense. It seemed that where performance is highly optimized — and where optimization is highly coveted — it would make sense that methodology would be closely guarded.

But secret methodology is the province of world-class athletes; not of participants; nor of enthusiasts. Most people — if sufficiently motivated, and if unencumbered by lame excuses that they assign to genetics — want to know the secret that distinguishes the pros from themselves. The real “secret” of the fit, the fast and the “talented” is no secret at all; it’s a much harder pill (than genetics) to swallow. And no one will accept it because of what it demands: real commitment in the form of regular, consistent, indefinite practice. And real practice demands devotion.

THE PROS TRAIN. And they train consistently and indefinitely. In other words, they commit.

People love to say that they don’t train (or practice or study…) They think it makes their mediocre performance more impressive. Or they use a hero as an example, saying he or she doesn’t practice either. But the truth is that anyone who becomes really world-class good at anything has devoted a large part of their lives to that thing — often to the exclusion of all else. They may not call it “training” or “practice;” the actual labels are irrelevant. It’s the time spent that counts.

“Practice” and “training” are not timelines and diet plans — although those are effective parts of it. Real training means committing to the process: showing up at the keyboard or behind the lens or in the ring or on the rope, and doing it religiously, even when you’re tired, even when you’ve got nothing to say, even when it’s too cold, too hot, too hard.

People wish they had talent. They see it as a practice-free ticket to crowd-stunning skill. But talent doesn’t exist. “Talent” doesn’t get results; practice and devotion do.

Was Picasso gifted from birth with the talent to become an artistic genius? Or was he gifted with the tenacity to become a genius at anything? As he wobbled down the street on his first bicycle, did his mother see her son’s uncommon ability, or his uncommon focus and determination? What led her to predict that he would be great? Was he out-of-the-womb a brilliant finger-painter? Or was he just stubborn?

Original Source: Scott Semple's Blog

...and Introductions.

2009-07-30T00:13:00.006+07:00

On a lighter note, I will be posting my workouts and thoughts, and maybe an article or two. I'll do my best in making it as articulate as possible - explaining ambiguous terms and whatnot. I fiercely welcome any and every question/s you may have and will get back to you if my answer doesn't suffice.

Quick physical facts and personal feats:
-21 years
-168cm
-65kg
-Pull-ups: 21
-Weighted pull-ups: 35kg
-Deadlift: 130kg

Person who's physique and work ethic I admire: Jason Statham

Train hard and have fun!

Unnecessary Hoopla...

2009-07-29T22:08:00.018+07:00

Like many others, the 300 spartans jump-started my serious foray into fitness. Buff and ripped at the same time? Who knew? I didn't even know 8-pack abs existed. I knew then, I wanted that spartan physique.

Excited and blindingly jumping into things, I ended up being fat-buff with no definition and not much strength to show for it. For about 2 years.

That didn't work. Big learning experience. So I sought for eclectic knowledge while testing and applying what worked best. Things have changed since then.

I no longer train for appearance, but for performance(not in bed mind you) - which was the main message of Mark Twight when training the 300 cast. Their mission statement being: appearance is a consequence of fitness. I've experienced this as truth.

My pursuit of strength and superior health is and will be an ongoing, progressive, and learning journey. It's fascinating when you look at world-class athletes who continue to push the limits of the human body. Records, limits, boundaries. I want to continually find mine and break 'em.

Because I believe, that the infinite physical possibilities you can achieve with your body, can serve as a testament to what you can achieve in all aspects of your life. This is why I do...also because it's fun.