I Heart Burpees! The Deck of Cards WOD

Kelley and I played a nice game of cards today.  It's not the sit at the table and sip your tea kind of game though; this was a heart pounding, sweaty game played outside.  Speaking of, it got up to 75 degrees today; perfect weather for the Deck of Cards WOD!

 

After spending all day in the kitchen cooking (me) and cleaing all around the house (Kelley), we finally took a "break" from house chores and went outside to "play cards."

 

The Deck of Cards WOD is simple, face cards count as 10, Aces are 11, and the numbers are, well, their number. 

 

We would usually make Jokers something like run .5 miles, but didn't have any in the deck, so we just started and ended with a run around our loop; approx .45 miles.

 

Here's what we assigned for the suits:

 

Hearts - Burpees (hence the title)

Diamonds - Pushups

Spades - Situps

Clubs - Squats

 

After our first run around the loop, we set out laying down 6 cards at a time and going through as RX'd. We hit blackjack on burpees and I got excited (love hate thing), but Kelley, not so much.  I'd just work on my new found double under skill while Kelley worked through a few sets.  She did awesome; no matter how worn out she got, she carried on.

 

This is a great, fun way to get some exercise and spend quality time with others.  You can customize the game to make the suits whatever you want.  Other choices might be pullups/chinups, jumping jacks, jump squats, etc.

 

Tonight I'm having a sample of everything cooked this weekend. I used fresh garlic extensively and really love it in a spaghetti squash egg white casserole I made.  Yum!

 

Now, I must go on to a chilly protein smoothie of beets, spinach, cocoa powder, egg white protein, and stevia.

 

Do you have any crazy concoctions you like to puree into a delicious and healthy treat?

 

Have a great Monday....ughhhh.

 

Easy Lifts and a Couple WOD's + My First Double Unders!

Finally! I just purchased an Ultra Speed Cable Jump Rope from Amazon recently and was able to perform several double unders today.  You would think they are easy (maybe they are to you), but they have proven difficult to me; until now! Great way to end the week.

 

It would be nice for another three day weekend, but I guess that won't be happening, so we'll have to make do with two.  It was hard to get myself going for today's workout as I was feeling tired and unmotivated. But, I got better after warming up and cranking out a few double unders. Can you tell I'm excited?

 

Today's workout - Evening

 

Warm-up; double under practice for 5 minutes

Hang Snatch - 3 x 3x 95lbs

OH Squat - 3 x 5 x 65, 75, 75

Back Squat - 5 x 95, 145, 165, 185, 185, 185 (went deep; past parallel)

OH Press - 3 x 5 x 95lbs

 

WOD #1 - 4 Rounds; No Rest:

Double Kettlebell Swings (25lbs/arm) x 10

Med Ball Half Moon Slams* x 10/side w/ 15lb med ball

 

*Start with the ball on the ground to one side of your feet, bend over to pick it up and raise all the way over your head to the other side and slam down. This should be the shape of half a moon. Pick up and reverse the motion; now do it for 10 times each side.

 

Rest 90 seconds

 

WOD #2 - 4 Rounds; No Rest:

Body weight dips x 10

Tuck jumps x 10

Jump Rope x 100

 

 

This was the last day of my de-load week and will shoot for a few heavy lifts tomorrow. I am thinking of trying for my Crossfit Total which is finding your 1 rep max (RM) for the squat, press, and dead lift.  I'll post an update either way.

 

If I do the Crossfit Total, I plan on doing a WOD with Kelley a few hours later.  Have you heard of the Deck of Cards workout?  I'll explain more tomorrow, but I have a good feeling it will be fun...and exhaustive!

Okay, off to chow on a salad topped with slow-cooker veggies, nutritional yeast, and microwave egg whites.

 Then it's on to a few protein smoothies with frozen blueberries and Greek yogurt!  Perfect ending to the week.

 

Any big plans for you this weekend?  I'm really craving just doing a puzzle with Kelley.  We've been on this kick with puzzles lately and need a new one.  Any suggestions? I'm thinking something Food!

Yesterday's Workout and Setting the New Tone for My Blog

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I am taking a much needed deload week from heavy lifting to help my body recover and refresh my mind. I can’t remember the last time I took a break longer than a day from some form of exercise. Of course, I’ve been doing CrossFit style MetCon’s every day after lifting sub maximal weights.

I’m really trying to get better at the classic Olympic lifts; Clean and Jerk and Snatch. The Snatch is really hard for me and will take a lot of practice.
I have been trying to gain strength by following a small bulk diet by creating a caloric surplus, but I am so averse to gaining fat that this is hard. Plus, I eat a lot of unprocessed food and cook my own vegetable filled meals which make you feel full on little calories compared to most meals.
Increasing my intake of food is still in order, and I have gained some strength and weight, but not what I could have. I have gone from 140lbs when I first started to 163lbs now. It’s been over a year, but I’d like to see more strength gains. The problem, as I said before, is my need to keep conditioning in my routine so I’m not just out of breath from walking.
Maintaining a good conditioning base while increasing strength is not easy, but I plan on detailing my adventure into trying. I will hopefully still have interesting topics to cover and stories to tell along the way.
Yesterday’s Workout (01/23/13)

Same weight routine I would follow on Wednesday, just with lighter weights. This helps keep your muscles primed for mobility without putting a lot of stress on them.
Warm-up for 5 min

Clean and Jerk – 95lbs x 3 sets x 3 reps

Front Squat – 115lbs x 3 sets x 3 reps

Snatch Deadlift – 5 reps x 115lbs, 145lbs, 165lbs

Deadlift – 5 reps x 185lbs, 205lbs


MetCon (Metabolic Conditioning) found on a CrossFit file located here
1,500 Rep WOD
10 rounds of:
100 jump ropes
10 burpees
10 situps
10 pushups
10 squats
10 pullups

(Source: Crossfit Houston)
Since I suck at pullups, I subbed jumping pullups instead. The rest was as RX’d (prescribed).
Then Kelley came home and I set up a WOD for her (I’m acting as her strength and conditioning coach) which consisted of:

As Many Rounds As Possible (AMRAP) in 15 min of:

5 x Burpees

10 x Pushups

15 x 15lb Kettle Bell Swings

20 x 15lb Kettle Bell Squats

30 x Jump Rope

She was sweating pretty well after this one. Doesn’t help that it’s getting to 70+ degrees here in Texas!
For dinner I had slow-cooker mixed veggies with lentils, steamed spaghetti squash, and a microwave collard green egg white omelet. This was great, and then I had a cool treat of plain 0 % Chobani Greek Yogurt with mixed frozen berries and roasted pistachios. And then more.

Feeling a little sore today and will try to just enjoy the outdoors since it’s in the 70’s again. Maybe some sprinting and messing around with my new 15lb Slam Ball!

Have a great day….so glad it’s Friday tomorrow!