Run & Burpees - Conditioning Day

I know that I change my shit around constantly but I think that I have found another good program to stick with. This is doing the run and burpees for conditioning on the days that I don't lift. Separating strength and conditioning days seems to be a workable plan. 

My plan now is M/W/F strength following the 5/3/1 program and doing body weight exercises for assistance work, T/R run to park to do my burpees and eventually tabata sprints then run home, Saturday rest/yoga, and Sunday is an endurance run. Let's see how long I stick with it. 

Run Distance: 2.23 miles
Run Time: 20:27
Pace: 9:11

134 burpees in 17:19

Bench 5/3/1 Cycle 3, Week 2 - BW Assistance Exercises

A couple of things to note is that I am working to get the most out of every rep. This includes slowly lowering the bar to my chest and pausing before pushing the weight upward. I do the warm up sets very slowly with my eyes closed in order to feel the muscles being stimulated. On the first two work sets I push the bar explosively. On the last work set I am going for total number of reps so all alternate techniques are thrown out the window. 

This is also the first day that I am using my body weight routine as my assistance exercises. I am not tracking them the way that I have tracked others since I am leaving it up to myself to increase and decrease leverage to make each set as challenging as it can be. For two arm exercises I am doing sets of 5 while 1 arm exercises are sets of 10 alternating between each side so each side gets 5.

I am using the Smith Machine for the body weight rows as well as the dips. I am also using benches to elevate my feet for push ups and rows. Finally, in order to increase grip strength, I am doing as many pull ups using the rope as I can.

Warm Up: 5 minutes rowing

Bench: 5@65, 5@85, 3@100, 3@115, 3@130, 10@145

Assistance Super Sets: 

• Body Weight Rows
• Push Ups

• Dips
• Pull Ups

Time: 60 minutes
Weight: 205

Long Run Cut Short

Sunday was supposed to be my long run day. Originally, I planned to go to the hills and run that but due to other obligations I need to stay local so I was going to run Hoboken and Weehawken for distance & duration.

Starting out I felt an occasional twinge through my hamstring and in the back of my knee. About 10 minutes in I decided to shut it down and not risk injury. I feel that I am prepared for the NJ Beast and pushing myself too far would only jeopardize my health for it. I followed my own advice and listened to my body, come back the next day, and stick to slow and consistent progress. 

Writing this on Monday, my leg and all up and down the left side of my posterior chain ached a bit and I believe the cause is from pistol squats. That is fine since it is a new exercise that stimulates new muscles and I will adjust. 

Distance: .93 miles
Time: 9:14
Pace: 9:57

Park Burpees & Body Weight Exercise Revelation

Today was a quick run to the park for burpees and run back. This is my new cardio day. 

I had a revelation last night that I need to make my body weight exercises my assistance exercises at the gym. Although it is bad ass to run to the park and bust out some push ups, pull ups, and dips, I am finding that this routine is a full on strength routine that took away from my dead lifts on Friday.

Thinking back to my success of last year, I split strength and conditioning days. Therefore, starting on Monday I will do body weight exercises as my assistance exercises after my big lifts. This means that I wont be doing dumbbell rows or holds. I will make up for this by only doing rope pull ups and making sure that I do body weight rows. Tuesday and Thursdays will be a run to the park with burpees and then any other conditioning that I want to do. But just that - conditioning. Not strength.

I do have the idea of wearing a weight vest for conditioning once I don't have to wear a sweatshirt over a long sleeve compression shirt to exercise in the morning. Best to add load once it gets warmer and I can wear a short sleeve shirt. Start with 2 pounds and increase by 2 pounds every week. 

Total run distance: 2.26 miles
Total time: 21:10
Pace: 9:23

131 burpees in 17:46

Deadlifts 5/3/1 Cycle 3, Week 1

I thought that I wold do better today but again I slept in and then was gassed at the end of my deadlifts. Only got 6 reps in on the last set when I am really shooting for 10. I couldn't get myself to do assistance exercises. I was aching yesterday after the body weight routine so I guess that my body is still adjusting to the new workout regimen. 

I continue to read about how older guys need to rest more so I will take that advice. I will also take the advice that this is a marathon and I don't need to kill myself. I will have off days. I am strong enough to do the Spartan Beast in 3 weeks and don't need to over train. 

I am making progress but the load is still below my PRs. I was doing 10 reps of 260 and then more sets at the end of last year. We shall see. I will follow the program I put in place until the NJ Beast and then reevaluate. The gym schedule for the summer may have a lot to do with it since I don't know if it will be open early. Additionally, I have been concerned about my weight gain so maybe more outdoor running and conditioning will do me well for the summer months. 

Still don't know what I am going to do on Saturday and Sunday. Ideally, I will run to the park and do burpees on Saturday and then run hills on Sunday but we shall see how I feel and what time permits. I think the low end work out is Yoga on Saturday and running duration on Sunday through Weehawken and Hoboken. I really can't complain if that is the end result. 

Warm Up: 5 minutes rowing

Deadlifts: 5@125, 5@145, 3@170, 5@205, 5@235, 6@265

Time: 30 minutes
Weight: 209

Run -> BW@Park -> Burpees -> Run home

Slept in but my legs are finally feeling better so I guess that the rest was needed and helped. 

Great pace to my warm up and cool down run. The BW routine took something out of me which meant that the burpees at the end were a real grind. I felt better toward the end than the beginning. 

Total Run: 2.37 miles in 20:48 for 8:46 pace

BW 5x5 Super Sets:

• 1 Arm Push Ups & 1 Arm Ring Rows
• Pistol Squats & Hanging Leg Raises
• Dips & Pull Ups

* I really don't have all of there nailed but am working harder every time and increasing difficulty with leverage and range of motion

129 burpees in 17:50

Squat & OH Press 5/3/1 Cycle 3, Week 1

Liked what I did today since my hamstrings have been hurting me since the hill running. That hill running has really taken its toll. I was nervous/scared about putting on heavier weight since I didn't want to hurt myself but then took a relaxing breath and cleared my head and did what I did. Even now my hamstring is twinging but I expect to be able to get through it. I do have a run with pistol squats and burpees tomorrow, deadlift on Friday, run & burpees Saturday and hills again on Sunday so I will have to watch what I do but I expect that rest and level headed thinking will get me though this.

Warm Up: 5 minutes rowing

Squats: 5@80, 5@95, 3@110, 5@130, 5@150, 8@170
OH Press: 5@45, 5@55, 3@65, 5@75, 5@90, 6@100

Assistance Super Set: 
Pull Ups: 5, 5, 3, 3, 3
Dips: 6, 6, 5, 6, 5

Time: 45 minutes
Weight: 207

Bench 5/3/1 Cycle 3, Week 1

As has been the case with my workouts since Saturday, I was pressed for time today and cut out 1 super set of assistance exercises. I chose pull ups & dips since I will be doing them tomorrow as part of my park routine. 

Very proud of what I could do on the bench press today for a couple of reasons. 

First is that the run yesterday was a killer and my lower back and legs were sore. I know that doesn't effect the bench but it is always a built in excuse.

Secondly, someone was on the bench when I wanted to get on it so I was forced to do my assistance exercises first. This took a bit of steam out of me and could have effected my bench numbers. 

Lastly, and I am not sure that this fits within this list, but I really think that the body weight park work is helping me out with my bench. Not sure if I could have put up the reps on the last set without this help.

Warm Up: 5 minutes rowing

Assistance Super Sets: 
DB Rows: 60, 65, 70, 6@75, 6@75
DB Holds: 80, 85, 90 for 20, 90 for 20, 90 for 25

Bench: 5@65, 5@75, 3@90, 5@105, 5@120, 10@140

Time: 45 minutes
Weight: 206

Sunday Hill Run

Made myself get back to Mahwah and run hills even though it was cold and the mountain was covered in snow. 

Starting out there was a lot of ice along the trail and I considered turning back since I really couldn't run. I am glad I didn't since the back half of the trail had considerably less ice and I was able to get some good running in. I was also able to establish a baseline from which I can measure my improvement. 

I was not able to do the entire route since the snow and ice made me slow and I did need to get back home for church. Great news is that I ran/hiked for 2 hours.

8.93 miles
2 hours & 3 minutes
13:48 pace
Total elevation: 1,857 feet

Saturday Run & Burpees - Great Pace

Had to do a quick workout and it snowed on Friday night. So, I ran to the park, did my burpees in the snow and ran home. 

Great pace on the run & burpees.

Run: 2.18 miles in 20:51 for pace of 9:35
124 Burpees in 14:43

Snow Burpees

Run -> BW @ Park -> Burpees -> Run

It was cold this morning but got to the park and got my work in. I am not writing down results like I do at the gym but I am working to get 5 reps in per set and if I can do that increase difficulty by adjusting leverage on the next set. This is now an inexact science but I am sure that if I put the work in I will get to where I want to go eventually.

• Run to park @ 9:04 per mile pace.
• Super Sets of 5:
• 1 Arm Push Up & 1 Arm Row
• Pistol Squats & Hanging Leg Raise
• Pull Ups & Dips
• Incorporated Pull Ups with my hands in line on the bar and pulled myself up side to side
• Doing Dips with both hands on the same bar to better replicate pushing myself over a wall or the top of a muscle up
• 122 burpees in 15:34
• Run home @ 9:07 pace total for 2.2 miles

Park Bodyweight

Since this is my deload week from the 5/3/1 and the Stevens gym is closed in the morning due to spring break, I am glad to put this workout together. It is actually very challenging and really not something for a deload week.

My goals are to get to be able to do 1 arm push ups, Pistol squats and muscle ups. I finish off with the burpee challenge for my conditioning and all of this is sandwiched in between a 1 mile run to and from the park.

• Run 1 mile to the park
• 1 arm push up and ring row 5x5 Super Set
• I am working on my 1 arm push ups my slowly putting more weight on individual arms. I am doing the best that I can and expect slow improvement.
• Ring rows are done with weight shifted to individual arms.
• 1 leg squats 5x5 each leg
• I tried using the pole to hang on to for balance but that really doesn't work for me. The course of action is to do them without assistance and continually work on my depth. I am not sure but I may be getting my ass at or below my knee already. Nevertheless, I know I have more work to do here.
• Pull Ups & Dips 5x5 Super Set
• I am not getting 5 pull ups every set but still working on it. The grip is different and taxing new muscles. The key is to continue doing pull ups to get better at them.
• My shoulder started hurting again when doing dips. Limited sets to 5 reps each. Was able to do that with just a little pain.
• 120 burpees in 15:50
• 120 in 16 minutes would have been 10 burpees in 1:30 pace. I need to continue to bring it down to 10 burpees per minute. 
• Good news is that I had less sets that I paused within the 10 reps.
• Run 1 mile home

• Total running time: 20:21
• Total running distance: 2.12 miles
• Pace: 9:36 per mile

Sunday Run with Burpee Pull Ups

I did about half of what I wanted to do but still got a good workout in. The real goal should be for duration and the extras that I throw in run counter to that goal so maybe that isn't the best strategy. This coming Sunday I will return to Mahwah and run hills for about 2 & 1/2 hours and find out how long that route actually is. 

• Run to park
• 25 burpee pull ups
• Run through Port Imperial Hill & Stairs and turn around to do them again.
• Run back to park
• 25 burpee pull ups
• Run toward Hoboken beach. 

• Total distance: 5.49 miles
• Total running time (excludes burpee pull up time): 59:46
• I should have ran for 14 more seconds and rounded out these numbers but didn't know
• Pace: 10:53
• Not good. Need to have 10 minute pace even with hills, stairs & burpees. 

The goal was to get to Hoboken beach and do 68 burpees for a total of 118 and satisfy the burpee challenge. Then run back. 

Deadlifts 5/3/1 Cycle 2, Week 3

I wasn't feeling 100% today and my shoulders and back are killing me from two straight days of 50 burpee pull ups each day. So, I went in and had a pretty good deadlift workout and went home. The plan is to put the burpee pull ups into my Sunday run to get to 200. So, run to park, 25 burpee pull ups, run hills and stairs at Port Imperial and back to park, 25 burpee pull ups, continue running to Hoboken beach for 68 more burpees (118 for the challenge) and run back to Lincoln Harbor. I plan rest days for Saturday and Monday.

Warm Up: 5 minutes rowing

Deadlifts: 5@120, 5@150, 3@180, 5@225, 3@260, 5@290

Time: 25 minutes
Weight: 207

Park Bodyweight Routine, Day 1

I have been looking forward to this day for a while. The snow is basically melted and I am ready to hit the park regularly for a body weight routine. One problem is that they are doing construction at the park and it is supposed to be closed. They had better either wrap up construction quickly or just leave me alone. I am sure that the earlier that I get there, the less problem I will have. 

The goals of this routine are:

• Increase my running frequency
• Build strength through 1 arm push ups and pistol squats
• Improve my conditioning - Tabata sprints / burpees

Body Weight Workout:

• Run ~1 mile to the park in > 10 minutes
• 5 sets of 5 for each arm of 1 arm push ups
• Super Set ring rows sets of 10 alternating arms (5 each)
• 5 sets of 5 for each leg of pistol squats
• 50 burpee pull ups with alternating grips (part of a challenge - up to 150 for the week)
• 48 burpees in 5 minutes. 
• Goals are: 50 in 5, 100 in 10, 150 in 15
• 17 burpees to get to the 115 in the daily burpee challenge
• Run ~ 1 mile home in >10 minutes

Squats & OH Press 5/3/1 Cycle 2, Week 3 & Burpee Pull Ups

In keeping my head up to look in the mirror and monitor form during my squats, I am not following Mark Rippetoe's instruction and am starting to notice that I need to get my head down as I lift heavier weights. 

Almost done with Cycle 2 since next week is a deload week and the gym is closed for spring break. Good chance to get to the park and work on bodyweight stuff. 

Warm Up: 5 minutes rowing

Squats: 5@75, 5@95, 3@115, 5@145, 3@160, 4@180
OH Press: 5@45, 5@60, 3@70, 5@85, 3@95, 4@105

10 sets of 5 burpee pull ups in ~15 minutes each set with a different grip

Time; 50 minutes
Weight: 206

Bench Press Cycle 2 Week 3 & Burpee Pull Ups

After burpees and a sandbag carry on Saturday and burpees and a long run on Sunday I was glad to see the gym packed and the squat rack occupied so that I could put off a leg workout until Wednesday. 

The burpee pull ups are part of a challenge, My goal is to do 200 of them this week. I am off to a good start. I was planning to do 5 sets of 10 but decided to do 10 sets of 5 so that I could do 5 good ones each set. Now that I have done them I need to challenge myself to do 5 sets of 10. 

Warm Up: 5 minutes rowing

Bench Press: 5@55, 5@70, 3@95, 5@120, 3@135, 4@150

• Would have liked to have done more on the last set
• All reps leading up to the last set were done extremely slowly with long pauses at the bottom. Since I am not dealing with max load I am getting the most I can out of every rep.

50 burpee pull ups. 10 sets of 5 varying grip each set.

Time: 45 minutes
Weight: 207

Long Run with Burpees

Would have like to run further or for a longer duration at a better pace but since I stopped twice at the park and did 55 burpees for time twice I am not going to beat myself up. I still do need to work on duration and distance. I have 40 days to do it. 

7.56 miles in 1 hour 19 minutes and 31 seconds for a 10:31 per mile pace. I went from Lincoln Harbor to the soccer park (.94 miles) and did 55 burpees in 5:17. I then ran to Port Imperial, up the hill, down the stairs and turned around to hit the stairs and hill again returning to the park (2.26 miles) and did 56 burpees in 5:27. From there it was off to Hoboken, all the way down to Hoboken beach and back and I gave out when I got back to the North Hoboken Pier.

Saturday Burpees & Sandbag Carry

Nothing special to report here. 

110 burpees in approx 13:15 - 1 burpee every 7.23 seconds. Need to get to 6 seconds. First goal to get to 7 which is a hair under 13 minutes (12.57). When going running today and stopping for burpees my goal is to do 55 in 6 minutes.  And then when I return to the park on my way back on the run, do it again.

Sandbag carry: 1.46 miles in 27:19, 1.05 miles total elevation change. Not sure where the elevation change came from but the better time was because I did some mini 10 second sprints along the way.

Deadlift & OH Press 5/3/1 Cycle 2, Week 2

My car tire was flat on the way to the gym. I could have turned back and taken care of it. No. I missed Monday and needed to get my work in. I got to Stevens, did my lifts and then rolled my car to the shop to have it fixed.

Warm Up: 5 minutes rowing

Deadlift: 5@120, 5@150, 3@180, 3@210, 3@240, 7@270
OH Press: 5@45, 5@60, 3@70, 3@85, 3@90, 6@100

Assistance Super Set:
DB Row: 10@60, 10@65, 10@70, 6@75, 7@75
30 Second DB Hold: 80, 85@20, 85t, 85@20, 85@25

Time: 60 minutes
Weight: 209

Squats & Bench 5/3/1 Cycle 2, Week 2

Due to travel and weather it has been a week since I was in the gym. Good to get back. My shoulder has been bothering me a little bit so the rest was appropriate. I discovered that the shoulder strain is being caused by Dips. I took it easy on those. 

Warm Up: 5 minutes rowing

Squats: 5@75, 5@95, 3@115, 3@135, 3@150, 8@170

Bench: 5@55, 5@80, 3@95, 3@110, 3@125, 8@140

Assistance Super Set: 

• Pull Ups: 5s, 5u, 4r, 4r, 4r 
• Dips: 10, 6, 6, 4, 4

Kettlebell Conditioning Tabata Finisher:

• Squats @ 16kg
• Swing Clean @ 12kg

Time: 60 minutes

Weight: 208

Burpees & Sandbag Carry

It was tough to get started today. Once going I guess that I felt alright. I feel good now that it is over and I felt strong at the end of both exercises. It was the start of them both that was the killer.

106 burpees in 13:20. 1 every 7.55 seconds. Need to get to 1 every 6 seconds. This starts with no rest inside 10 rep sets. Then work to strict rest times between sets. Then less rest time between sets.

Sandbag carry for 1.47 miles, 30:29 minutes and total elevation change of .93 miles. 

Although it was tough, this is a light day for me which I think says a lot. 

Sunday Hoboken Run with Burpees

Conditioning work continues. 5.28 mile run in 49:52 for a 9:27 pace. Not bad since my starting point was 10 minute mile. Let me see if I can get to 9 minute mile for 5 miles. 

I stopped at Hoboken Beach and did 104 burpees in ~13:30. Need to get to a 10 burpee per minute pace.