Recently in Training Category

I hadn't realized how much my elbow tendonitis was bugging me. Well, I think it's tendonitis, anyway. It was making me reluctant to work out. I was doing snatches and cleans and a CrossFit workout or two a week. On Tuesday night I went with a friend--my neighbor Beth--to work out with a running trainer at the Green Lake track, and after that (we ran four or five miles), my elbow felt almost back to normal. I suppose it had to do with getting lots of blood flow into the joint and connective tissues without using it to lift anything in the process.

On Thursday I got up in the morning and went running along the lake and up the hill from Leschi, to continue working on my elbow. I'm not really into running any distance for its own sake as I prefer weightlifting, CrossFit, and other short workouts. That night I did a CrossFit workout involving a barbell complex. I'm learning to let the weight down in a safer way that puts less strain on my elbows; either dropping the weight if it's bumper plates, or letting it crash down onto my thighs if it's an unloaded bar. I think the way I hurt my elbow was by catching the weight at the bottom, stopping it with slightly bent arms.

Next day, the elbow felt pretty good. I did a bunch of cleans and then the CrossFit workout at 5:00--the dreaded kettlebell line-up. It was like a hundred degrees out and everyone was moping. I slowly completed the final round of 24-kg clean, squat, and push-press--whew. A while later I had the great pleasure of seeing one of my ex-trainees doing really strong cleans with the 24-kilo kettlebell--yay!

Today I did some deadlifting, up to five reps at 92 kg (80 percent of my max of 115), then three singles at 100 and one at 105. That was enough. My elbow feels pretty good. Not normal but not as bad as it had been.

Yesterday I worked on presses, up to 5 sets of 3 at 35 kg. Then deadlifts up to a set of 5 at 94 kg (slightly over what my calculated 5-rep max should be based on my 1-RM of 115). In case that was not enough, I backed off the weight and did 5 reps at 85 and at 80. My back is very tired today; every time I stand up I want to sit down. I have two classes to run today and one personal training client. The energy always seems to be there when it's needed, thank goodness, even if I'm tired before I go.

I fell behind on blogging. That happens so fast.

Last week Scott had us do some weighted pull-ups, and I did one for the first time with a 16-kg kettlebell attached to me. I went in the next day by myself and worked up to this again, and did six singles at that weight, resting 45 to 60 seconds in between.

Yesterday I worked on barbell pressing and squats. On the presses, I got up to not as heavy as I hoped. I worked up to two singles at 40 kg and then did several sets to failure at 37 kg: 3 reps, 2, 1, 1, 1.

On the squat, I worked up to a new max of 102 kg. I had ridden my bike to the gym, so by the time I got home (after that workout plus running a couple of training sessions) I was extra tired. I like that.

The kettlebell class just had their 9th class and they're working so hard. A lot of people in the class know each other, so maybe they're a little bit competitive, or who knows what the explanation is, but no matter what I throw at them they seem to get it immediately and to attack a workout like a pack of wolves. It makes me tired just watching them!

In the past few sessions I've used some workouts involving the basic, "staple" kettlebell exercises that are used often in CrossFit workouts: the deadlift, swing, one-hand swing, clean, highpull, and snatch, plus push-ups and sit-ups. Trainees who had never seen a kettlebell before a month ago have learned these so well that I wish I had them on video as an example of what beginners can be capable of.

Two recent workouts:

As many rounds as possible in 15 minutes of:
5 1-hand swings per side
5 cleans with 2 KBs
5 snatches per side

and last night's:

12 KB deadlift (2 KBs or 1 heavy one; challenge yourself)
12 Push-ups
12 Sit-ups
5 rounds

I didn't realize what a grip killer this was going to be. I wanted people to do weighted walking lunges (I almost typed 'lunches') and then thought it would be good to use the same dumbbells for something else, so I added the clean and push-press, then thought pull-ups would round it out well. So they did this:

2-dumbbell weighted walking lunge, one length of the gym
20 clean and push-press
15 pull-ups
Four rounds

Dips
2-KB front squats
V-ups
Wallball

Do each for 1 minute. Break only to call out score and move to next station. There were only two trainees or I would have done it in partners like Fight Gone Bad.

Three rounds.

One minute break in between rounds.

I found that when I come to the gym and do a really hard workout, I don't question it and just do the best I can; but when I'm the one who made up the workout and am running it, watching the trainees do it, I feel bad for making them do something hard. I ought to get over that!

Tonight was the second night of the new session. We did an extensive weightlifting style warm-up using PVC: shoulder pass-throughs (shrug and pull the bar ends apart the whole time); the Burgener warm-up several times through; more pass-throughs; additional overhead squats; and several run-throughs of the press, pushpress, jerk progression. This was before we picked up the kettlebells. Everyone was sore so the more lightweight warm-up, the better.

We reviewed last week's exercises, the deadlift, two-hand swing, and goblet squat. We learned the one-hand swing, press, and push-press. The workout:

1-hand swing, 10 per side
Push-press, 6 per side
15 air squats, touch the medicine ball (as a depth gauge)
5 rounds or 15 minutes whichever comes first.

People pushed themselves but stayed safe. I was watching back position, hip extension, and shoulder stability in the push-press. Afterward we played around with pull-ups, using ring-rows, rubberbands, jumping, and kipping.

As many rounds as possible in 15 minutes with a barbell at about 50 percent of your 1RM press:

Press X 2
Push-press X 2
Push jerk (non-split) X 2
10 jumping pull-ups

I had one trainee in class today and he did 13 rounds.

Bill, who has had 18 personal training sessions with me so far, is a great example of the hardworking, can-do attitude that allows beginners to get fitter with CrossFit rather than being intimidated by it. Bill started coming to CrossFit Seattle twice a week because he wanted to try kettlebells. Naturally I used CrossFit training methods, with kettlebells as the tool.

Bill saw all the other equipment in the gym and was perfectly willing to go full-on CrossFit when I eventually suggested it. For him, this doesn't mean 400 meter runs and handstand push-ups. He is about 60, knows he has some weight to lose and that this is tied to diet, but is as hard a worker as anybody and his improved movement skills show the results of his workouts.

One day this week, Bill did about five 45-second rowing intervals with 30 seconds of rest between them. On a few of the intervals I asked him to go slow and focus only on being patient on the knee bend in the recovery phase. Then he did a lot of sets of 10 box squats, without and with a kettlebell.

We tried using a lower box next, because his box squats are so much more solid than they used to be. The lower box threw everything out of whack at first because although WS now has the flexibility to get down there safely, it was hard to get up from that low position. With balance assistance, he practiced this lower squat by sitting down on the box and then standing up using his heels and not pushing his knees forward. His technique is decent at the higher box squats, and this paid off on the lower box as well. We did a lot of other exercises (push-ups with the hands elevated; sit-ups) and had him return to the low box squat every so often. Each attempt improved.

Bill has never once said he can't do something I asked him to do. We modify the exercises to make them do-able though difficult, and he just does them. I see his movement improving and his work capacity and perseverance improving as well, and I'm so impressed with his hard work. The finisher to his workout today was 10 sets of 10 light kettlebell swings. This was hard, but he would not have quit had I suggested it. Now he can say he's done 100 kettlebell swings.

If Bill would plug into the Zone diet or some version of it, I'm sure he would see more dramatically visible results, but that's up to him; the exercise is still good and this shows in his skill and stamina. Anyone who thinks maybe they can't do CrossFit could take inspiration from Bill.

Another inspiration is June, who comes to the workout classes at CrossFit Seattle. She had her four introductory personal training sessions with me, and this week (about four weeks later) I ran into her in a workout class of Scott's. June is middle aged and came in to get back in shape after cancer treatment. From the start, her movement skills and ability to make corrections were good on most exercises, but her stamina was pretty much gone. No problem--take breaks when needed. Today, she said to me, "I'm just loving these classes! I feel like I've been working really hard and it's so much fun!"

In Scott's class on Monday, June did the workout I described in my last post, below. She modified a few of the drills as needed, such as doing squat-thrusts instead of burpees, and using a light barbell for the push-presses. This was smart, and Scott encouraged these modifications. June did the tire drag portion also--twice! (Once was enough for me.) I'm impressed with her and she sets a great example for anyone who's considering starting CrossFitting but is having doubts.

This entry is cross-posted on the CrossFit Seattle blog.

My client LH wanted some ideas for CrossFitting in the non-CF-specializing gym she belongs to. She took me in there today as her guest. Working out in a deluxe place like that is always a treat even though I wouldn't trade CrossFit Seattle for all the nice views and saunas in town. First we did some deadlifting, and we both worked up to a heavy set of five (for me, 196 lbs). Then we did a CrossFit workout: 21-15-9 dumbbell push-up rows and dumbbell thrusters. I used 15 and 30 pounds. Eleven minutes. Then I had to ride my bike home. I was S-l-o-w coming uphill at the end. I've been pretty knocked out ever since.

At the front desk when I was registering as a guest, we talked with a trainer who is going to an event that will have CF trainers and kettlebell trainers, among other things, teaching what they do. I hope he likes it. He was skeptical about CrossFit for average people and said you have to be a high-performance athlete to do it.

That's not correct, but one would get that impression from watching the videos on CrossFit.com, which show elite CrossFitters instead of a real cross-section. Lots of average people do CrossFit, and work harder than they would anywhere else, but within their own safety and ability threshhold. Look at the videos to get an idea what correct form looks like at speed, to get inspired by how intense some people can get, to get ideas on how to build a creative workout, or to see what CrossFit is if taken to its limits, but don't look at the videos to decide whether or not you can actually do CrossFit yourself. It looks different on everybody.