Upper Body - Cut a Little Short - Week 2/8 - 4# Vest

I cut today's workout a little short much like yesterday's leg day. I think that it is just my body adjusting to going 4 days in a row as opposed to 2, rest, 2. I am actually going to do an long run tomorrow so its 5 days in a row before a rest. It will all work out. This is a push toward the Beast. 

Time: 7:36

Warm Up:

• 50 Jumping Jacks
• 40 Squats
• 30 Sit Ups
• 20 Push ups
• 10 Burpees

Pull Ups/Dips with 4# vest

• 4 Underhand, 3 overhand, 2 overhand, 3 in line, 3 overhand
• 7 side, 5 front, 7 side, 4 front, 8 side

Time: 8:08

Back Bridge / Hanging Leg Raises

• 20 seconds, 5 BB Push Ups + 5 seconds, 3 BB Push Ups + 15 seconds
• 19 Hanging Knee Raises, 10 Hanging Leg Raises, 5 Toes to Bar

Time: 8:26

Wanted to do 2 more sets on BB/HLR and then a finisher but just didn't have it. Saving something in the tank for tomorrow's long run.

Leg Day - Week 2/8

I am feeling the breakdown in my glutes and low back. This is good as I am building my posterior chain. That said, I did do as much as I wanted to do today although I did get a good workout in.

I will also note that I read an article on preparing for the Vermont Beast for a beginner and it talked about practicing power hiking. Now, I have been avoiding going to Ramapo Reservation (last week and trying to back out of it again this week) but I need to do it. It trains me for the terrain. What I have to keep in mind is that I don't have to run it. I have to complete it. That is my plan for Saturday. Get there early and just get out and do it without worrying about time or what percentage of the trail I actually run. That will do me more good than anything else. That and lunges.

Time: 7:34

Warm Up:

• 50 Jumping Jacks
• 40 Squats
• 30 Sit Ups
• 20 Push Ups
• 10 Burpees

Time: 7:43

Sandbag Circuit:

• Lunges: 5, 5, 10
• Back Squat: 10, 5, 5
• Step Ups: 5, 10
• Front Squats: 5, 5

** Did 2 & 1/2 circuits until I crapped out. 

Time: 8:16

Tried to do a full body circuit but it just was not meant to be. Called it a day.

Upper - Push/Row & HS/Pike - Week 2 of 8

Got good work in today and really killed my chest. I like these apps for quick finisher routines but continue to fall back to basics with full body tabata and burpees. I guess there is nothing wrong with that.

Time: 7:34

Warm Up:

• 50 Jumping Jacks
• 40 Squats
• 30 Sit Ups
• 20 Push Ups
• 10 Burpees

Time: 7:42

5x5 1 Arm Push Up Progressions & Rows with 4# Weight Vest

• I tried a negative 1 arm push up and didn't come close. Did 5 sets of 1 arm with the other arm on a low bar.
• Going side to side with Rows I wasn't able to do 5 reps on each side on the 5th set. I guess that means that I am making progress since the exercises are getting harder

Time: 8

Handstands & Pike Push Ups

• Handstands up against a fence: 30, 30, 22, 18, 30 - not going for balance but for stabilization. Tried a little balance and am getting better at it but I am not there yet.
• Pike Push Ups: 4, 4, 2, 2, 3

Time: 8:23

• 1 minute of Spartan Chest exercises. 20 seconds on / 10 seconds rest. Tough after an upper body workout

Kung Fu Tabata (30/15 for 10 rounds)

• Squats
• Lunges
• Archer Squats
• Push Ups
• V-Ups

Time: 8:36

Leg Day - Sandbag in Park - Week 2/8

Sunday I recovered from my run and it rained on Monday morning so I was well rested for today. Traditionally, I would start with an upper body routine but kicking the Monday upper body to Friday may rest my lower body better for a long run this weekend. 

I pushed myself hard today and maybe I could have pushed harder but I did make progress going from 5 reps to 10 although I cut the number of circuits in half. I will continue to progress with either circuits, reps or load.

Time: 7:32

Warm Up:

• 50 Jumping Jacks
• 40 Squats
• 30 Sit Ups
• 20 Push Ups
• 10 Burpees

Time: 7:40

• 5x5 Pistols

Time: 7:53

10x Circuit x2

• Lunges
• 1 Leg RDLs
• Step Ups
• Front Loaded Good Mornings

Time: 7:19

Conditioning Finisher:

• 10 Crunches with legs in air
• 10 Seated Crunches
• 10 Cross Legged Seated Raises
• 10 Left & Right Side Isolated Crunches
• 10 Seated Leg Scissors

• 30 Burpees in 4 minutes

Time: 7:30

Weekend Long Run - Week 1/8

Disappointed in my numbers but I guess that since I don't feel like I have really been working on long runs, I guess that this is what I should expect. I have 7 more weekend to fix it.

Since I wanted to do more I will use the unused energy for a body weight strength /conditioning workout tomorrow.

• 6.08 miles
• 1 hour, 5 minutes
• 10:46 minute/mile pace

I need to get this to 2 hours, +12 miles. 

Legs 2 - Week 1/8

Took the sandbag weight down from ~80 to ~60 (you never know exactly how much these bags of dirt weigh). Also took down the number of reps per set from 10 to 5 but did 4 circuits as opposed to 1. I got a good workout in. No complaints.

Time: 7:40

Warm Up:

• 50 Jumping Jacks
• 40 Squats
• 30 Sit Ups
• 20 Push Ups
• 10 Burpees

Time: 7:48

Circuit 5x per set - 4 circuits

• Lunges
• RDL
• Step Ups
• Good Mornings (switched between front loaded & back loaded each circuit)

Time: 8:32

50 Burpees in less than 5 minutes

Time: 8:38

Upper Body 2 - Week 1/8 - #2

Main takeaway from today is that I took too long with my work sets. I ended at an hour and had no time for assistance work or conditioning. This makes Saturday's long run critically important. 

Time: 7:13

Warm Up:
50 Jumping Jacks
40 Squats
30 Sit Ups
20 Push Ups
10 Burpees

Time: 7:21

• Handstands: 5 sets - tried to get to a combined 30 second hold each time. Max hold was 20 seconds
• Pike Push Ups: 5 Sets. Having trouble getting 5 sets of 5. Working on negatives
• Finished with 5 sandbag push presses quickly followed by 20 reps of 10# push presses

• Push Ups: Working toward 1 arm. Incorporated elevated feet and going side to side on 4th & 5th set
• Rows: 10 regular, 2 sets side to side x5, 1 set explosive up & slow down, 1 set side to side

Time: 8:13

Week 1/8 - Leg Day with Sandbag

Today I actually felt like I had some POP in my legs and body for the first time in a long time. My burpees were less laborious and I really had some energy. I also had a lot of pop in my conditioning at the end. Good start and maybe I can extend the 7.5 minutes into 10 and then 15. Hopefully this is the turn around that I need.

I want to be careful and keep this energy so I am going to make sure that I take my rest and periodization so that I peak for Killington. 

Also, this is my first day with weight on a leg day. It is part of my Killington push. One part of the push is splitting leg day with upper body day. The other part is adding load to my workouts. I started with an 80 pound sandbag but cut it down to 60 half way through since I was not going to make it. 

Last note is that I ran into the guy that won the 2014 Spartan Super last year and got to talk with him. The key takeaway was that a lot of racing and training is mental. If I feel that I need to work out in a certain way to prepare myself for Killington then I need to listen to myself and do it. If I feel as if I do my best by running by myself, whether the person starting with me sticks with me or not, then I will do better by running by myself. 

Time: 7:50

Warm Up:

• 50 Jumping Jacks
• 40 Squats 
• 30 Sit Ups
• 20 Push Ups
• 10 Burpees

Time: 7:57 

Pistol Squats 5x5 - Mix of Archer squats, 1 leg squat on bench, full ROM Pistol with assistance, Pistol Squats on ground. I think that my butt is at or below my knee on regular Pistol Squats. Time to focus solely on that.

Time: 8:12

Leg Circuit:

• 10 Lunges each leg 80# sandbag
• 10 Back Squats 80# sandbag
• 10 Step Ups each leg 60# sandbag
• 10 Front Squats 60# sandbag

Time: 8:28

Kung Fu Conditioning - 30/15, 2 rounds no rest:

• Squats
• Knees to Palms
• Archer Squats
• Push Ups
• Leg Raises

Time: 8:37

I ended this early since I had a late start. Next time I will get to the park earlier and do 2 rounds of the Leg circuit as opposed to the conditioning since I feel I want to work on strength. I can also do this workout at Pizzuta Park if it is open.  

Killington Countdown - Week 1/8 #2 - Upper Body

Adding the Killington Countdown to my workout headlines so that I don't forget what I am training for. I have no idea if I am in better shape than last year so I had better not slack off and really prepare for the battle that lies ahead of me. This will also keep me motivated through the hot, dog days of summer. 

I was supposed to do a long run yesterday but my legs were killing me after Saturday's Kung Fu workout. The 100 body weight squats + 100 archer squats (each side) + 40 body weight squats as part of my warm up really killed my legs. I was still hurting today and it was tough to get going. I am hoping that this is all due to the rest I gave myself and that I will be fine once I get back into the groove.

The new workout routine is going to include more conditioning work at the end of the strength workout. I am keeping track of time and finding my warm up to be about 8 minutes which gives me about 35 minutes for strength training and 15 minutes for conditioning. Since I am eliminating conditioning days I will see if I can get more sessions in overall during the week. 

I am also adding a weight vest to my pulls & dips and my push & rows. I want to continue to improve my upper body strength game. I have made improvements but still have a lot of work to do.

Start time: 7:30

Warm Up: 

• 50 Jumping Jacks
• 40 Squats
• 30 Sit Ups
• 20 Push Ups
• 10 Burpees

Time: 7:38 - 8 minutes

• Pull Ups: Was in the 2 -3 range with different grips. Finished each set with 4 second negatives
• Dips: Had a problem the first couple of sets with the bar in front so I did parallel bar dips of 6 reps. Finally got back to 5 reps on forward bar

Time: 8:03 - 25 minutes

• Back Bridge: Got up & into it easily the first 4 times and sets 2 - 4 even did 2 - 3 push ups from bridge position. Couldn't get into position for 5th set
• HLR: I had no grip strength. 5, 6, 7 reps on Hanging Leg Raises was all that I could muster

Time; 8:21 - 18 minutes

Full Body Conditioning 30/15:

• Push Ups
• Hill Climbers
• Burpees w/o Push Up
• Squats
• Sit Ups
• Rows
• Jump Squats
• Plank
• Jumping Lunges
• Knees 2 Elbows

Time: 8:30 - 9 minutes

Kung Fu Workout

I took the week off to rest and I needed it I finally felt good enough to get in a good workout today. Yesterday I did Yoga but before that I have not done anything besides walking since Saturday.

Today's workout is a full body workout that I found when researching Kung Fu. It is the beginning workout and I completed the highest level but I can't find the intermediate level. I can always do this workout again with a weight vest or as a conditioning finisher.

Warm Up:

• 50 Jumping Jacks
• 40 Squats
• 30 Sit Ups
• 20 Push Ups
• 10 Burpees

Kung Fu Workout Circuit - Completed 10 circuits

• 10 Squats
• 10 Knees to Palms
• 10 Archer Squats
• 10 Push Ups
• 10 Leg Ups

Spartan Super - Palmerton PA July 11th

• Total Time: 4:47:08
• Overall: 1,428/2912 = 49%
• Male: 1,167/2,084 = 56%
• 40-44: 177/319 = 55%

I am final editing this on Wednesday and I haven't worked out since the race on Saturday due to aches. Hopefully I am learning to rest and will take this week to recharge in order to reload for Vermont in 9 weeks. 


Something that I can't discount is that I earned my 2015 Trifecta. Officially, 2 years in a row. That is something to be proud of.

Not my best race. I really want to start to blame it on the heat since I did the Vermont Beast and New Jersey Beast with no real leg problems. Going forward I am now thinking about doing a upper vs lower body split with the lower body being very strength based. Squats, sled drags, lunges & split squats with a weighted sandbag. I would end up doing less burpees and conditioning but would make sure to do an endurance workout (preferably hill/trail run) every weekend.

A couple of reasons that I didn't do what I dreamed of doing:

1- Fatigue. I have been dragging the past several weeks and I am not back to where I need to be recovery wise.

2 - Diet. I need to make a no carb push to trim down a little bit. Overall I am good but I am probably carrying too much weight.

3 - Conditioning. This one will probably improve as I make gains on the first two but I need to be strong late.

4 - Race Day Diet. I don't know about this but I didn't have my banana before the race, I cut it to half an oatmeal for breakfast, part of a protein bar, only had one mustard pack and one energy gel during the race. I probably need to concentrate more on fueling.

5 - Do It Alone. This is a bullshit excuse but all of my best races have been when people have left me alone and I did it myself. This is more mental than anything since I did not wait for, or run side by side, with Scott. He didn't hold me back, I did.

How to Improve between now & Vermont:

1 - Rest. I need to get fully recovered before I stat my training for Vermont. I am taking a week off. I probably won't but I need to recover and then take those deload weeks. I guess that they have a purpose.

2 - Weighted Lunges. I miss the gym and the 12/10/8/5/3 rep scheme with squats and deadlifts were awesome for Vermont last year. Since I can't do that I need to do weighted lunges and sandbag lunges. Lunges must prepare me for Killington.

3 - Lose Weight. No more carbs for lunch. No more office snacks. Maybe invest in beef jerky, slim jims, Quest bars and fruit for snacks.

The positive was that I felt a lot stronger in my upper body. I am doing the fight things and need to continue. I will do even better if I lose weight.

Comments about the course was that this had some brutal uphills and it was hot with temps in the upper 80s.

It started with a death march climb up the mountain. They love to take the steam out of you at the beginning, and at the Beasts, at the end. 

• Log Hurdles
• Vertical Cargo
• Cliff Climb #1
• Herculean Hoist - He missed it the video but it was here. Others struggling but not me. I heard many thuds of fall ing sandbags and Course Marshall calling people out to do their burpees.
• A-Net Cargo
• Monkey Bars - The fun part about this was that the bars seemed more spaced out and higher and lower for each rung. I stopped about 2/3 of the way through and had to swing again to get my momentum back to get to a higher bar. Then, just cruised through the remainder. Really nailed this one and it was a high point since it showed how my training has helped me.
• Sandbag Carry - Brutal hill up & down. Had to stop several times coming up.

• Spear Throw - It seemed as though my rope was not long enough. I had it but then it snapped back. I did my 30 burpees.
• 6' Wall - No problem. Again, my training came out here. 
• Inverted Wall - No problem due to training. Others were really struggling and I have struggled here in the past.
• Stairway to Sparta - Upper body strength made this no problem.
• Atlas Carry - Seemed very simple
• Sled Drag - No problem but my stomach was really bothering me and I ripped a nasty one here.
• Farmer Carry - Easy, but not for everyone.

I think that this long trail run picture belongs here

• 7' Wall - I had trouble with these walls and needed a bit of a boost. Legs were starting to give out and I was getting low on upper body strength.
• 8' Wall
• Cliff Climb #2
• 5' Wall
• Log Carry - Really taking a pounding on the legs by now. Gutting this out. 
• O-U-T - This was after a long trail run. I had to stop at the water station and take a long time to get my rest. It took me 3 tries to get over the small Over Wall. By this time I was contemplating if/how I would do the rest of the obstacles. I was exhausted and my right ankle was starting to bark at me. As I write this on Tuesday, it still aches.
• Mud Pits
• Tyrolean Traverse - This is where I cramped up and could not do this obstacle. My left leg completely locked and it took me some time to clear myself off of the course before I started walking again.
• Z-Wall - Didn't stand a chance. Not sure if this was here or some where else. It was around this part of the race.
• Water Crossing - I walked across since they said that you could cramp if you swam. Usually I would swim but I had just cramped so I thought it best not to do it in 8 - 10 feet of water.

• Bucket Brigade - This was the deciding point. Somehow I mustered up the gut to do this. This is where I earned my medal. There were a lot of light buckets and spilled rocks on that hill. I did a lot better than many others.
• Rope Climb - Failed again. Tried to do burpees but only go to 3. I really did my best. I had nothing left at this point.
• Barbwire Crawl #1 - These barb wire crawls were brutal with the only saving grace being that I could roll the entire time. The first one was downhill.
• Slip Wall
• Barbwire Crawl #2 - Uphill. Gutted it out rolling.
• Log Hop - Almost made it to the beam. Couldn't do burpees. Sorry.
• Clif Multi-Rig - I tried twice. It takes momentum and swinging with 1 arm ring to ring. Good precursor to Vermont. I hope to continue building my upper body so that I can nail this thing.
• Fire Jump

In summary, I gave this race everything that I had. I have done better and results wise this was not my proudest moment. I did learn a lot from this race and hope that lessons learned will serve me well in Vermont and beyond. Vermont was my best race last year and I have the chance to make it my best race this year. Time to go and do it.

Body Weight Conditioning

Still resting, recovering and preparing for Saturday so when I came across a full body body weight conditioning workout  I decided to do it. Good workout since it activated all of my muscle groups but if/when I do it again I will have some modifications. 

Plan going forward with this is to carry my duffle bag to the park (weighted carry / rucking), do this, and then ruck home. The full HIIT workout is only 10 minutes long. 

The active/rest periods are 45 seconds to 15 seconds. I could only get through 7 of the 10 exercises. This may be because I am dragging lately but may also be because it is a 3:1 work to rest ratio and I am more accustomed to to 2:1 work to rest ratio. Next time I will modify to 30:15 and progress from there to 35, 40, 45.

The more that I think about it, the more that I am disappointed in myself. I really need to pick up my game. I need to make a serious push to kill it at the VT Beast. This should be an easy workout.

Warm Up:

• 50 Jumping Jacks
• 40 Squats
• 30 Sit Ups
• 20 Push Ups
• 10 Burpees

Workout - 45 on, 15 rest

• Push Ups
• Hill CLimbers
• Burpees w/o push up
• Squats
• V-Ups
• Rows
• Knees 2 Elbows / Toes 2 Bar
• Jump Squats ** I stopped here
• Back Bridge
• Jumping Lunges

Light Run / Burpees / Lunges

Still battling dead legs. I felt a little bit better when I woke up today but the front part of my legs, I am guessing the quads, are still heavy and dead. Did not run home.

I am hoping that a decreased work load and stretching will help get them back into fighting shape for Saturday. Saturday is going to be challenging and I never expect to be 100% but I really need to be able to move. We shall see.

• Run Distance: 1.14 miles - No run goal this week
• Run Time: 11:06
• Pace: 9:44

• 50 burpees in 4:40 / 5.6 seconds per burpee

• 100 meters lunges

Body Weight Strength - Tapering

I have been feeling heavy and a bit worn down - or at least less than 100% - so going into the Spartan Super this coming Saturday I am dialing back the intenstiy a bit although still getting good workouts in. 

Today I drove to the park instead of running since my legs felt a bit dead. I will need them next week. I did 3 sets of 4 exercises instead of 5 sets of 3 exercises. The goal was to do all 5 of my super sets but I cut off at 4 due to not feeling like getting in the last one. It also worked out time wise. 

On another note, I saw my friends that at one time wanted to do races with me, and Rob Beeler who has. The takeaway is that I am glad that I have made working out a habit for the last 20 years. All of these guys had taken a decade or more off and their bodies broke down once they tried to kick them into motion. 

Rob's doctor told him about the many imbalances that he had in his body and that caused his problems. Funny thing is that Rob worked with a personal trainer who also noticed the imbalances but ignored them since he was working him into the packaged Cross Fit routine. 

Another guy went to a dietician several years ago and lost 100 pounds. I asked what the nutritionist did to help him and he just told him to eat Paleo and eat right. 

It is unbelievable to me that these guys paid as much money as they did and all they ever needed to do was exercise and eat right. 

Warm Up:

• 50 Jumping Jacks
• 40 Body Weight Squats
• 30 Sit Ups - kept neck straight
• 20 Push Ups
• 10 Burpees

Handstand Push Ups

• Handstand - 3 sets - getting better balance
• Pike Push Ups - 3, 2, 1 - I am getting my chest to the ground and finding a weakness getting back up

Muscle Ups

• Pull Ups - 3x3 with hang at end
• Dips - 3x5 on the parallel bars

Pistol Squats - 3 sets of 5 1 leg squat on bench. Getting better with balance and keeping on heel

1 Arm Push Ups

• Push Ups - 1 set of 12 regular, 2 sets of 10 going side to side
• Rows - 1 set of 10 regular, 2 sets of 10 going side to side

Cut Run Short

I woke up dragging but went out to do my long run anyway. Very early into it my legs felt heavy which I thought that i could run through but when I started to feel a pain in my ankle I shut iit down for the day. The most important thing is to be 100% for next Saturday so I will stick with tomorrow being a rest day and then go light strength on Sunday (less sets/more reps of lighter resistance), rest Monday, conditioning Wednesday, light strength Thursday, rest Friday, race Saturday.

I have pride in the fact that, through experience, I have learned how to listen to my body and rest/taper before an event. Hopefully this works. At least I have an idea of how to plan.

Run Distance: 1.42 miles / Miles for Week: 5.9 / Goal for Week: 14 miles ** not going to hit it
Run Time: 13:47
Pace: 9:40

HS Push Ups, Pistol Squats, Back Bridge/HLRs

I woke up aching today but did get a full workout in and am glad that I did. I feel stronger and healthier because of it. 

• Run Distance: 2.21 miles
• Miles for Week: 4.5
• Goal for Week: 14
• Run Time: 20:28
• Pace: 9:15

• Handstand Push Ups:
• 5 sets of practicing handstands against a fence 5 times. My balance is improving. 
• Pike Push Ups: 5, 4, 3, 3, 2 ** Kept my feet on the ground but went deeper each time by bringing my chest to the ground. Made the exercise much more challenging but also will address the start of my barbell military presses

• Pistol Squats: 10 regular body weight / 5 1 leg on bench (**got better ROM with butt below knee), 5 assisted full ROM Pistols, 5 1 leg, 5 assisted Pistols

• Back Bridge: 15 seconds, 1 rep (tried for reps), 15 seconds, 15 seconds, 15 seconds **trying to do back bridge push ups to increase the difficulty
• Hanging Leg Raises: 18 knee raises, 9, 8, 8, 7 Leg Raises ** Pulling up with raise to work shoulders. Hopefully these will be full pull ups one day