Monday 19 March 2012
Posted: March 19, 2012 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: crossfit, exercise, fitness, helath, life, lifting, motivation, news, perspective, psycology, running, turkish get up, WOD 3 CommentsIf you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn’t part of ourselves doesn’t disturb us-
Contrary to popular belief we do not receive our training information from the Uzbekistan Intelligence Agency. Rather we have a “unique” in-house training team that encompasses both males and females across a wide range of athletic abilities. Some compete others could care less about what happens during the day. A rather touchy topic came up recently during a run over this past weekend: If you had to explain minimalist running in eleven words how would you do it? No more no less…11 words got it!!!
To preface and set up this post for all the sensitive soy chai-tea latte types reading in their minimalist shoes this morning: We genuinely do not care about your shoes or running philosophy. If its 5:45 am on a beautiful partially sun lit trail?!? Carry on pounding your feet into the earth blasting Peaches and Cream in your iPod thingy. Yeah it is that quite in the morning…Think about that peeps! Are you this person?!? Carrying on then…
As a social experiment try this the next time you see a granola crunching/VFF peep out on the trail? Be prepared to walk away after the eleven word limit and by all means purge the non-sense they spill forward. Ready?
Last night we presented this very question to our own Bio-Mechanical Engineer Uncle Harry, a rather flamboyant older gentleman. Now understand you have to say this aloud as you do it? Understand that last bit? It truly is the most through 11 word definition of how to run in known existence:
“My foot should hit the gentle earth beneath me moving backwards!”
Can you believe that? Is it really that simple? “…I Just bought four books for my Kindle teaching me how to run and you guys did it in 11 words?”
Start poking holes naysayers although be advised if you are “new” here and easily get butt-sore…Say the above words over and over as you wander the aisles in Whole Foods looking for gluten-free flax-seed oil. Unless you are prepared to take on Uncle Harry in an elastic energy/forward momentum debate? We kindly recommended you walk away from this argument next time on the trail…at 5:45 in the AM…when we are chilling out…not listening to Peaches and Cream!!!
The Plan-
Today’s sign of the coming Apocalypse:
Please click on me dear yoga mom…
The Workout-
Are we still getting up before the Sun rises in the morning?
From our “Book Ends” series here…
30 Minute Walk/Trail Run…Walk and if you feel like running go for it, followed by:
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 Perfect One Arm Presses (non-pressing arm is holding a plate, db, kb 10 lbs heavier than pressing weight)…Followed by:
10 Perfect Hinge Walk Out Push Ups (walk out once – 10 push ups – walk back)
10 Minutes Messing about with the Turkish Get Up (Not for time and not AMRAP! Carry over from last week and fiddle around with small muscle activation)
20 Minute Walk/Trail Run…
Notes:
FYI- Friday is going to be work up to a Heavy One Rep Each Arm TGU. Now though extensive research on our part we have unlocked two very different types of peeps: The one who will go nuts all week putting up big numbers only to stink up the joint Friday and the peeps who will refine technique and pattern the movement daily. We’ll see who shows up Friday won’t we? Be safe and most importantly today, ENJOY!!!
Tuesday 13 March 2012
Posted: March 13, 2012 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: exercise, fitness, health, lifting, motivation, movement, perspective, running, swimming, yoga 2 CommentsSpeech is conveniently located midway between thought and action, where it often substitutes for both-
Review from yesterdays post:
Is Nicolas Cage a good actor?
Is blindly following a recommendation from a celebrity via Twitter a prudent move?
Threading this together with one of our ongoing themes here: Is following a Random Fitness recommendation a healthy long-term decision?
Today’s Sign of the Apocalypse:
Charge your iThingy while breathing (<—-Once you click this link you will not be able to un-see the horror that lies before you!)
The words “Fitness and Health et al” are intimately intertwined in our culture. Agree or disagree? Post a comment after reading further…”So like ugh where are you dudes going with all this?” As more and more Random Fitness peeps begin to integrate Fitness/Health routines there are some that are not integrative in the least. To dig a bit deeper this morning: Integrative means you’re integrating the practice of a wide variety of fitness programs in the hope of making yourself healthy and whole.
You can calm down now, we are not trying to pooh-pooh the value of your program (Remember that is an EASY ARGUMENT to make). Basically we are proposing to you a definition of Fitness/Health that incorporates the physical body, spirituality and a sense of overall well-being.
Quick Talking Points:
When did the end result outweigh the process? We need to understand that we simply do not wake up in harmony and balance. There are a million ways to go about discussing this…Would it be safe to say that our quest is not linear, or point to point? And that we are prone to going through periods of re-doing previous programs and routines? Now what would happen if we tried to join these last two thoughts together?
The Plan-
One of the main problems facing us is that we believe that we should be able to accomplish something without actually putting in any effort.
The Workout-
Warm Up into a healthy lather this morning and carry on with the following:
150 Heavy Hard Style KB Swings (keep these snappy today – feel free to break them up into digestible bits – nail down solid form!)
30 second Pull Up Hang (let go of all stress and lengthen out) followed by:
25 Perfect Push Ups (focus on breathing and allowing said breath to release you from the bottom)
About four times is good enough for the above two movements
Finish up today with the following:
15-20 Minutes performing a Turkish Get Up with no weight!!!
Here’s the trick: Find something round and odd to use instead. A six-inch diameter Mickey Mouse bouncy ball you bought for the kiddos a while back works. We will even allow one of those five-pound exercise balls. You need to be able to palm it, not grip it with your finger tips! Focus your eyes through your palm and watch what happens…Tough little albóndiga with a 2 pood kb performing the TGU but you just dropped a Mickey Mouse ball on your head?!? How do you feel now tough guy?
Notes:
We are trying to pull four or five different theories/thoughts/anything together above in our post…always easy to chat about over a few pints although tough to iron out in a blog post. Patience is advised and as always feel free to chime in to add to our dialog today! Most importantly have fun today and be prepared to be humbled doing the TGU’s, ENJOY!!!
Thursday 8 March 2012
Posted: March 8, 2012 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: crossfit, exercise, fitness, health, jokes, life, lifting, motivation, news, running, stress, yoga 5 CommentsHappiness is not a state to arrive at, but a manner of traveling-
It’s that time of the week again peeps!!! Uncle Ralphie just came down the stairs in his nice fluffy pink bunny jammies. He really needs to stop smoking cheap cigars in the morning though! Hey, here’s Uncle Mo! Always nice to see a man carrying around a snifter full of purple “juice” in the AM wearing (quite affectionately by the way) a silk robe?!? Feel free to wander off on your great conquest of the Inter-Webz and all things Random Fitness. Today is a Rest Day here…You know what to expect?!?
The Plan-
The Workout-
Rest Day Although…Tap into your inner curiosity and go exploring out and about with the kids maybe? Scout out that next hill to do sprints on or maybe a new park to play on later this summer? Basically take the blinders off and put down the damn phone for once!!!
Notes:
What a lovely day it is. The sun is up and everything is fine and dandy, ENJOY!!!
Tuesday 21 February 2012
Posted: February 21, 2012 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: crossfit, exercise, fitness, health, lifting, motivation, perspective, running 3 CommentsThe man is happiest who lives from day to day and asks no more, garnering the simple goodness of life–
We generally hope you know that acute pain signals an injury, we hope? As you reach out your hand to “accidentally” touch a hot stove; you pull your hand away in response to the pain. Give or take a few days and before you know it all is healed and you are prepared to go at it again.
If only it was the simple huh?
The discussion we want to have today touches on pain and self-awareness (feel free to comment on something blatantly unrelated to what we just wrote…)
One of the major problems we have is a mind-body disconnect. A really good book to pick up is the: Science of Flexibility by Michael J. Alter
A few examples of a mind-body disconnect you see almost daily maybe in yourself or others: Doing back bends in yoga after not bending like that for 35 years, Glute/Ham Sit-Ups for no apparent reason, Bench Press with your mate after WOD’ing (what a ridiculous term!) for six months and claiming the bench is too functional, kipping Pull Ups. The list is long so hopefully these will touch a nerve in you?!?
As we try to tie this together today let us get back to our original message concerning the hot stove. We know there are a few X-Fit apes and yoga moms reading today that simply don’t get the point and continually reach out and touch the hot stove over and over again feeling the pain each time, becoming conditioned to enjoy it as the scars grow bigger and bigger. Just as we preach about playing like a kid and enjoying life…How many times does it take for a kid to touch a hot stove to learn his lesson? That’s what we thought peeps!
The Plan-
Simple day today, really simple!
The Workout-
Not for time…
500 Swings
250 One Arm Press (each arm)
100 Hinge Walk Out Push Ups (Arms sore from yesterday? Good!)
If you don’t move throughout the day as effortlessly as the slinky above you need to watch this gif all day long then. Who would have ever thought you could learn how to lift and learn from a slinky?
Notes:
Stay safe Random Fitness peeps and good luck to our X-Fit/CultFit open peeps, ENJOY!!!
Friday 17 February 2012
Posted: February 17, 2012 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: fitness, fun, health, lifting, motivation, perspective, running Leave a commentLittle minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune, but great minds rise above them-
Today’ s sign of the Apocalypse:
Pinterest Profile- Who really cares?
The Plan-
We can’t help but sit up and take notice when our crack research department chimes in and tells us that our readers require constant hand holding and pats on the back. “No, no you need to eat this and do this exercise little pal.” “Oh don’t worry that your life sucks and has virtually no meaning. Just check out these 10 things to let you know you suck to cheer you up!”
It really is that easy fellow peeps!
The Workout-
Pick two of the following numbers: 100-200-300-400-500-600-700-800-900-1000
Pick two of the following movements: Push Up-Pull Up-One Arm Press–Lunge-Goblet Squat-Swing-Hinge Walk Out-One Leg Dead Lift-Bent Over Row
Over the weekend: Bent Over Row-Lunge 800/900 respectfully broken up into nice little sets throughout the weekend. Rest assured this can be done! Part of the master plan this week was to intertwine movements into your daily life and routine. Perfection and quality, remember? Beating yourself up doing high rep pull ups is pretty silly and self-serving at the least. 25 or 50 here and another 15-30 there and before you know it you get off the couch and drop into 50 push ups? Obviously some of the movements this week work better than others, it’s part of the bigger picture we try to present to you. Old Uncle Francis here has a squat rack in his garage and he goes through this same program almost weekly.
It all boils down to forming good habits that are easily repeatable and can be maintained.
How many of you feel like this after a week of pulling Random Workouts from the Netz?
Notes:
Word to the wise bloggers lurking out there on the inter-webz: It’s Friday, three long days since Valentines Day…Have an exciting and safe weekend peeps, ENJOY!!!
Update: For those of you that are in the know- Please Enjoy!!!
CultFit 