Jim vs. Kettlebell/Bodyweight Weekend Workout #1

Yes, this is the first workout of the program I just finished. I’m not restarting, though; it’s just that the program provided 12 very cool workouts with a lot of movements I don’t tend to do. So I figure, one per weekend will be a solid complement to the mainly barbell workouts I do during the week.

Superset x 4 of:
1-arm KB clean and press, 5 per hand
Max pull-ups, changing grip each round (9-7-7-5)

Superset x 3 of:
Walking KB lunges, 12 each hand
Max push-ups (23-21-20)

3 sets of:
Hand-to-hand KB swings x 20

Run for 5 minutes

Odd: my pull-up reps went down, but my push-up reps went up. Overall, I felt more comfortable with the exercises. So, that’s that.

Jim vs. Kettlebell Workout, Week 8 Day 2

Normally, the second time I do one of these workouts, it’s as Rx’d. But then, normally I’m able to finished the scaled-back version the first time. That didn’t happen last week, so this week’s goal was to just get through said scaled-back version.

For time:
Burpees x 40
Squats x 40
Pull-ups x 40
Push-up x 40
Walking lunges x 40
KB swings x 40
Sit-ups x 40

And that modest goal, I achieved. I was somewhat conservative in my pacing in service of that goal, but still wrapped this up in 15:46.

Jim vs. Kettlebell Workout, Week 7 Day 2

Yesterday I woke up feeling sick. You don’t want to go into a workout that starts with 40 burpees when you feel nauseous prior to burpee #1, so I went back to bed. Ended up staying home from work, too.

Gave it a go today, though. May not have been a great idea.

For time:
Burpees x 40
Squats x 40
Pull-ups x 40
Push-up x 40
Walking lunges x 40
KB swings x 3

Why three KB swings? Because that’s how far I got before I hit the ground to fight off the urge to puke. There were supposed to be 40 sit-ups, too. And naturally, I don’t know how long this took me because the time got messed up.

So, my ass is kicked.

Jim vs. Kettlebell Workout, Week 2, Day 1

Week 2 begins. Used the 35lb bell again, but this time I did the workout as Rx’d.

Superset x 4 of:
1-arm KB clean and press, 5 per hand
Max pull-ups, changing grip each round (9-9-7-7)

Superset x 3 of:
Walking KB lunges, 12 each hand
Max push-ups (21-17-15)

3 sets of:
Hand-to-hand KB swings x 20

Run for 5 minutes

Definite improvement. Beyond just doing the full number of reps on the clean & press, walking lunges, and H2H swings — and running an extra minute — I increased my pull-up reps by two and my push-up reps by nine.

Good.

Jim vs. A New Kettlebell Workout

Borrowed a kettlebell workout book from Judd. It’s an eight-week program, and I decided to give it a go. Scaled down the first workout, since I’m still getting a handle on th new KB… and I’m glad I did.

Superset x 4 of:
1-arm KB clean and press, 4 per hand
Max pull-ups, changing grip each round (10-8-7-5)

Superset x 3 of:
Walking KB lunges, 10 each hand
Max push-ups (21-14-9)

3 sets of:
Hand-to-hand KB swings x 15

Run for 4 minutes

Damn, this hit hard; the walking lunges especially. I was thinking of doing this as Rx’d next week. I may still give it a go, but… damn.

EDIT: Two notes.

• First, I used a single 35lb kettlebell for all KB exercise.
• Second, I rested 45 seconds between sets of a given exercise, or between supersets, and 90 seconds when switching from one “phase” of the workout to the next. Except between the first group of supersets and the second, because I needed to take my dog out.

Jim vs. Push Jerk, Hanging Leg Raises, Walking Lunges & Jump Rope

Today was a hearty return to putting a barbell over my head.

Push jerk
105 x 3
115 x 3
125 x 3
135 x 3
145 x 3

I haven’t done just that motion in a while, and I believe that final set was easily a 3RM. It felt strong, but then I’ve done a lot of clean and jerk recently so it’s not like I was completely cold. Today’s metcon, though, included a new exercise that thus requires a video link!

Three rounds for time:
Hanging leg raises x 20
Walking lunges x 30
Jump rope x 80

The hanging leg raises were new, and I actually tried to keep my legs as straight as possible (with limited success). The jump rope was supposed to be double-unders x 40, but I am have been remiss in working on that exercise; I also decided to scale it back to a 2:1 DU-to-SU exchange instead of my standard 3:1. I finished in 8:00.

Jim vs. The Filthy Fifty

Oh, gods.

“The Filthy Fifty”
For time:
50 Box jump, 18 inch box
50 Jumping pull-ups
50 Kettlebell swings (5olb db)
Walking Lunge, 50 steps
50 Abmat Sit-ups
50 Push press, 45 pounds
50 Back extensions
50 Wall ball shots, 10 pound ball
50 Burpees
50 Single unders (x3)

First, the caveat: I made some substitutions due to limitations of equipment and/or skill. As Rx’d, the box jumps would be 24″, the sit-ups would be knees-to-elbows, the wall ball would use a 20lb ball, and the single unders would be double unders (which is why I did three single unders for each assigned double under).

That being said, this was still intensely harder than when I did the  “Thoroughly-soiled Thirty-five” back in April. (I suppose 250 additional reps with occasionally increased difficulty will do that.) The burpees, in particular, rank up there with the toughest things I’ve ever done since starting Crossfit; the only thing that got me over was my refusal to get so close to the end and not finish. My time was 32:03.

Next time, I’m gonna do this thing for real.

Jim vs. Walking lunges, Pull-ups, & Sit-ups

I should know better. I new my body responds better to starting my week with a strength day, even if I lack assess to a gym. So I toyed with the idea of doing a modified Lynne today, but went ahead and did a hard metcon anyway. This was a mistake, I think.

Walking lunge 100 ft.
21 Pull-ups
21 Sit-ups
Walking lunge 100 ft.
18 Pull-ups
18 Sit-ups
Walking lunge 100 ft.
15 Pull-ups
15 Sit-ups
Walking lunge 100 ft.
3 Pull-ups

That was how far I got in 9:39, before I collapsed with nausea. A few minutes later, I finished up:

9 Pull-ups
12 Sit-ups
Walking lunge 100 ft.
9 Pull-ups
9 Sit-ups
Walking Lunge 100 ft.
6 Pull-ups
6 Sit-ups

Did that in 3:32. Total of 13:11, though I can’t count that. That was not fun.

Jim vs. Walking Lunges, Pull-ups & Sit-ups

Since the gym in Teagle Hall bans the walking lunge, this one became a home workout, to be tackled in the morning before work. While this generally involves getting up earlier than usual and working out alone, having my exercise behind me when I get to work can be a very nice feeling.

Walking lunge 100 ft.
21 Pull-ups
21 Sit-ups
Walking lunge 100 ft.
18 Pull-ups
18 Sit-ups
Walking lunge 100 ft.
15 Pull-ups
15 Sit-ups
Walking lunge 100 ft.
12 Pull-ups
12 Sit-ups
Walking lunge 100 ft.
9 Pull-ups
9 Sit-ups
Walking Lunge 100 ft.
6 Pull-ups
6 Sit-ups

I knocked this one out in 13:06. Then I succumbed to the semi-gentle ministrations of the earth’s gravitational pull for a few minutes. Then I got ready for work.

Jim vs. the Filthy Fifty

Well, not quite fifty; I’m still doing Pack scale, after all. The Thoroughly-soiled Thirty-five, maybe?

For time:
35 box jump, 16 inch box
35 jumping pull-ups
35 dumbbell swings, 35 lbs.
35 steps, walking lunge
35 sit-ups
35 push press, 45 pounds
35 back extensions
35 wall ball shots, 10 pound ball
35 burpees
35 standard jump rope jumps

OK, some caveats: even at Pack it’s supposed to be 18-20 inches for the box jump, and 14-20 lbs for the wall ball, but we’re limited by what equipment is available in Teagle. But even with that, I’m really happy with my 15:46 time. This thing is brutal… especially with burpees coming damn near at the end.