CrossFit Low Oxygen

Yesterday I did CrossFit with my friends Melissa and Carl.  Now this wasn't just any CrossFit......this was CrossFit Low Oxygen.  It's located in Frisco, Colorado that is at an elevation of 9,042 feet.  Denver's elevation is 5,280 feet.

The Saturday morning class is full with about 30 folks of all different fitness levels.  Brothers Dave and Brent, both ridiculous fit, lead us through an intense workout that involved 100 reps per exercise, 200 meter runs in between exercises, and unexpected burpee breaks.  Oh how I hate burpees!  When the music went off the signal the burpee break, you could hear the collective UGH! from everyone in the class.

We worked out in groups of three so I did mine with Melissa and Carl.  The 100 reps of each exercise was split up between the teams, how ever you wanted to get to 100.  All three members of group had to do each run....which had a twist.  These were weighted 200 meter runs with medicine balls and sand bags.

We had a few minutes to come up with our game plan of how to get through the W.O.D or Workout of the Day.

We decided to start with pull ups to get the hardest one out of the way first.  Instead of each getting a third of the 100 done in one fail swoop we rotated doing reps of 10 or less.

I really love that on the wall behind the pull up bar is the word, "Breathe."  That's a challenge in and of itself working out at over 9,000 feet!

I used a band to assist me in pull ups.  With some shoulder issues I don't do a lot of pull ups.

Then off on the 200 meter run carrying a medicine ball. Yes, not fun!  We alternated carrying medicine balls and a sandbag during the runs in between each exercise.

For the Medicine Ball Walking Lunges, you had to hold the medicine ball overhead as you lunged.  I went first and decided to go ahead and knock out 34 so I was done.  Melissa and Carl alternated until we hit 100.

We did switch the abs and box steps.  For the Medicine Ball Sit Ups, two people had to do these together.  Sitting on ground with feet touching, both go back to lay on ground with arms overhead, one person has the ball, who then sits up and tosses it over to the other person.  Carl and I started.  I did 20 then Melissa jumped in.  When Carl hit 30, I jumped back in and all three of us alternated from there to hit 100.

For the Sandbag Box Step Ups, with a sandbag on your shoulders, you had to step up on a box then down.  We alternated doing 10-15 reps until we hit 100.

Next was the D-ball Slams.  You start with medicine ball overhead, slam it to the ground, and pick it up a couple of inches from ground when you are in the bottom of the squat.  We alternated doing 10 reps until hitting 100.

For the Sandbag Push Presses, you start in a mini squat, elbows out in front of you, holding sandbag at shoulder level then press up to full extension.  We alternated doing 10 reps each until we hit 100.

Finishing the last run was a fabulous way to complete a tough Saturday morning workout.

Post-workout Pic at CrossFit Low Oxygen

Of course I was exercising and filming. So here are some clips from the CrossFit Low Oxygen W.O.D. on Saturday, June 23, 2012.

Constant Climber, Renegade Rows....Great Weight Intervals

Yesterday was intervals and weights with Cristina.  I usually workout with Cristina on Thursdays but had to change because of a lunch meeting this week.  In the session I hit the ground running....literally.  After quick warm up it was into sprints.  These are 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off at 6, 6.5, 7, 7.5, 8, 8.5, 9, 9.5, 10, 10.5, and 11mph.  I was really pumped that I only did 30 second rest before the 11mph sprint.  Sometime I'll take 40-45 second before that one.

I didn't get much of a break before hitting the Constant Climber machine to do oblique pull downs for 40 seconds on each side.  These were paired with 10 box squats on each leg.

Then to renegade rows and what I'll call weighted side hops.  The second one is actually to help me with form.  With lunges I tend to turn my toes in slightly instead of pointing toes straight ahead, so these hops are suppose to help hip flexors fire better so I don't turn in.  Those rows are tough to do with weights that roll!  I did 20 renegade rows (alternating 10 on each side) and 10 weighted side hops on each leg.

One other set was biceps and triceps.  As Cristina said when I did a drop set to exhaustion on biceps, "Your biceps need a little love"....in other words they need a lot of work to be ripped!  Those alternated with overhead tricep push downs, which I actually went up on weight with each set.  Got to do 12 of each for the three sets, until the last set of biceps when Cristina dropped the weight and made me keep going with bicep curls to exhaustion.

With the exercise pairs, you do both exercises for 3 sets with minimal rest between sets.

Here's a quick look at how to do the exercises.  Have fun!

Lots of Lunges

Last Thursday was intervals and weights with Cristina at Pura Vida Club.  Instead of coaching me through and time watching, Cristina ran the sprints with me.  I love it when a trainer jumps in and does some of the exercises with me.  We did 30 second on, 30 seconds off at 7, 7.5, 8, 8.5, 9, 9.5, 10, and 10.5 mph. Then off to do some weight sets including the constant climb machine.  Never done that one...and certainly felt it through the weekend.  I think Cristina was on a lunge kick Thursday because I certainly had to do a ton!

Here are some the exercises including:  Lunges with ViPR Twist, Side Lunges with Weights, Constant Climber, and Bosu Lunges with Overhead Press.

Have fun trying these at the gym!

Push The Circuit

Today I made it the the Mad Abs and Dirty 30 classes at Pura Vida Club that I love to take on Wednesdays but hadn't been able to make in a couple of weeks.  There was no ease back in to class with Mad Abs class set up in circuit style.  So I jumped in and pushed hard for an hour.

Here's the set up for the Mad Abs class that Cyndie taught:

Burpees with weights (I did mine with 10 lbs)
Back Raises on the ball
Plank
Side twist with bands
Crunches with body bar
Side crunches on Bosu ball

Each exercise was for a minute (if side then switched at 30 seconds).  We did 3 rounds of all exercises.

That was just the beginning....Dirty 30 included burpees, of course!  But the burpees had a twist.

Here's the breakdown:

Front Lunges - 20 each leg
Squats - 20
Tuck Jumps - 20
Reverse Lunges - 20 each leg

Medicine Ball Chops - 15 each side  Using weighted medicine ball, start with ball to one side raised up over a shoulder, then slide or chop the ball across your body to the outside of the opposite hip as you squat slightly.

ViPR Push - across room and back  The ViPR is a weighted tube.  You basically bear crawl on your hands and feet as you alternate hands to push the weighted tube across the floor.  I started with the heaviest one for the first round but dropped to a lighter one for the other two.

Nasty Thing - 15 reps  Okay I laughed when Tim wrote it on mirrors.  It should be caused burpees that make you cuss.  Start in push up position, row one arm, push up, row other arm, push up, jump feet to hands, stand up,  extend arms overhead, then return to start position.  Here's the kicker....do these with weights.  First round I did 8 pound weights, but for other two rounds dropped to 5 pound weights.

I got through almost three rounds before the 30 minute class ended.  I was in to my third round of my last set of Nasty Thing and finished five.  I was bound and determined to finish three rounds so I kept going and finished the last 8 of the set.

Pushed it and got it done!

Intervals & 2 Sets Weights

Thursday was my intervals and weights training session with Cristina at Pura Vida Club.  I went in really tired but was still able to push in the workout.  I started with sprints at 7.0 mph and increased .5 mph with each sprint.  These were 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off the treadmill.  Because I was tired I only went to 10.0 mph.  During sprints we laughed because with my crazy schedule, workouts are my therapy!

Then it was in to weights.  Cristina had me do exercises in sets.  Some counts were 12 and some were 6 depending on the move.

One set of 12 was lunges with row.  That was followed with ViPR push ups.  These were 6 on each side of putting one hand on the ViPR and other on the floor for push ups.

Another set was triceps pull downs with side lunge for 12 followed by Bosa Ball leg lifts of 6 on each side.

Here are the great gym moves.

Get 'Er Done Intervals

Yesterday I had a one hour intervals and weights session with Cristina at Pura Vida Club.  I text Cristina right before session asking if we were going outside.  YES! I got back.  Ok here we go I thought - one hour of sprints, hops, lunges, shuffles, and other moves that made me tweet out afterward that the new name of my sessions with Cristina are officially called "kick Jen's booty hour."

We did start indoors for sprints.  I'm better at sprints on treadmill so I can watch speed and time.  So after a quick warm up, I was off and running sprints at 6.5, 7, 7.5, 8, 8.5, 9, 9.5, 10, 10.5, and 11mph.  I did 30 seconds at each miles per hour then 30 seconds off before going on to the faster speed.

After sprints, we headed outside for some top of the parking garage fun.  First up was set of lunges with ViPR row and shuffles with Cristina adding resistance to the band that was around my waist.  I did 10 lunges with 20 swings and 10 shuffles each side for three sets.

Another series was leg hops over small hurtles and bicep curls.  I did 10 hops then straight in to 12 bicep curls for three sets.

The toughest one for me was the lift of a 24 pound ViPR.  That was followed by jumps over a small hurtle.    Cristina had me do 4 lifts of the ViPR (using 4 small lifts up and down) then 10 jumps.

Here's a look at some of the intervals.

Fell Off A Box

If you were at Pura Vida Club yesterday about 12:15pm then you likely saw me fall off a 2 foot box/stand when I did a squat jump. It was one of those slow-mo falls. I landed on top of the box but shifted weight back just enough that I looked like I was one of those Nestea plunge commercials from the 80s...except there was no pool or water to fall backward into.

I was really tired yesterday and completely brain-fried that I forgot my camera for workout.  If I would have remember it, Cristina would have totally caught that fall on video.  Good thing for me I guess.  Bad for you since you miss out on a seriously good laugh at me.

Once making sure I was okay, trainer Cristina said, "Well, at least you know what it feels like to fall."  Yes I do and then what it feels like to laugh at yourself then get right back up and try again.  I had no problem jumping high enough to easily clear the box but for some reason my brain didn't want to trust I could do it. Determined, I jumped again and again. That first fall was the only one in high intensity intervals session.

I warmed up with a few minutes of walking but instead of doing sprints, since my right hamstring is super tight and bothering me, Cristina had me go to the rowing machine for row sprints of 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off. I did these for 8 minutes staying under 2:12 for 500 meters pace.  The last one I went under 2:00 pace for part of it.

I stretched out my hamstring on the foam roller for a few minutes.

Then it was over to the 2 foot box/stand.  First exercise was stand on top of box, lunge, step hop on top of box, then lunge with other leg and repeating as fast as you can for 30 seconds. Then repeating two more times.

Next the the box squats. After the fall I did one set of 10 then a set of 6.

The weighted ViPR was next.  Cristina pulled out one of the biggest (i.e. heaviest) ones. She had do a side lunge leaning the ViPR over to the side, then up and quick switch to lunge other side.  I did three rounds of 30 seconds going as fast as I could with 30 second rest in between.

She dropped the ViPR weight for me to do lunge presses. As soon as I tried, my hamstring said no.  So she switched me to fast squat presses - squatting with ViPR at chest level then pressing it overhead as I stood up.  Being bull-headed I tried lunges with press for the second round and powered through but for third round of 30 second interval I went back to the squats.

I wrapped up the 30 minutes high intensity intervals with more rolling of the hamstring on the foam roller. Guess I need to use mine at home more!

Modified Tabata - Get It Done In Under 30

Today I booked it over to make the noon Mad Abs and 12:30pm Dirty 30 classes I usually take on Wednesdays at Pura Vida Club.  


In Mad Abs, Cyndie had us use a Bosa ball and medicine ball for today's class.  We used the Bosa for almost the entire class including doing some lower back strengthening doing Superman lifts on them.  Mountain climbers, walking planks, slide crunches on Bosa with both legs off floor were all part of the abs fun today.


For Dirty 30, Tim had us do modified Tabata, which is four minutes of intense interval or circuit training. We had three stations today.  Here's the breakdown:


Cross over lunges then extended lunge for 20 seconds - cross your right foot in front of and outside your left foot so you are in a curtsy position lunge, then push off that right foot, and taking it out to the right to land in a 90 degree lunge with right leg while left leg straightens in a side lunge position.
Repeat with left leg as lead for 20 seconds.
Rest 20 seconds.
Repeat 3 more rounds.


Handle medicine ball kettlebell swing for 20 seconds - squat then swing handle medicine ball up to shoulder and repeat  using the power of the squat and hips to help with lift of the ball.
Shoulder press for 20 seconds - elbow even with shoulder and press ball up. Free hand is down by your side, not on hip.
Rest 20 seconds.
Repeat two moves again on each arm.


Body bar row for 20 seconds - make figure 8s as you paddle with the body bar using straight arms. Hips should stay square, abs in, and be in an athletic stance with knees bent slightly.
Mountain climbers for 20 seconds - in plank position with feet on gliders bring knees forward to elbows as fast as you can.
Rest 20 seconds.
Repeat 3 more rounds.


Then do another round of all exercises. Have fun!

Reverse Lunge With Lateral Raise

Yesterday was my Monday workout of Kinesis and Pilates with Erin at Pura Vida Club.  We stayed inside and hit the Kinesis machines today.  The weather was warm enough for an outdoor workout but the winds were too high.  She had me do some moves today that are multi-muscle moves.  One of the new ones was the reverse lunge with lateral raise.  You actually can do the move at home with weights too.

Here's how to do the move with weights and on Kinesis machine.

In Pilates, she had me do a jump board series.  I haven't done jump board in Pilates in awhile.  It's also a great cardio series too.  Jump board is tough but I love it!

Blast It In 30

Yesterday I did my Wednesday regular of Mad Abs and Dirty 30 classes at Pura Vida Club.  Cyndie taught Mad Abs.  We used the body bar and did sets of exercises for 30 seconds to a minute.  For example, in plank for a minute then superman pose for a minute.

One of my favorite moves was a tricep curl to crunch or sit up.  Stay laying down on your back, knees bent with feet of floor, and hold body bar up in air even with shoulders.  Then curl bar back over head, return to start position, and rolling up into a seated position, then roll down slowly really focusing on abs as you return to start position.

After the 30 minute Mad Abs it was time for Dirty 30.  Tim had us do the series twice.  It's tough but a routine you can easily do in the gym by yourself.  Here's the workout:

150 Jumping Jacks

25 each leg Lunges (front, back, walking, jumps - whatever you want to to)

10 Burpees (with push ups in plank position)

Run 1/4 mile

15 Plate Squats (squat with weight low then as you stand up, push weight up to chest then overhead)

6 each arm Turkish Get Ups (start laying down w/ weight in hand & arm extended to ceiling, roll up to seated position, use other hand to help you stand up, then return to starting position)

50 Frog Thrust (start in plank, jump feet to outside of hands, then return to start position

Have fun getting through two rounds in under 30 minutes!  I got through in under 25 minutes.

Doing The Reps

It's Wednesday and for me that means Mad Abs and Dirty 30 at Pura Vida Club.  I love the classes.  They are tough and so worth me making a lunch date with my myself to workout.

Cyndie taught Mad Abs using a ball and weights.  She did one minute intervals.  We did two sets of each series and ended the class with two minutes of plank.  We did a plank with ball against the wall, forearms on ball and legs extended.  We were in regular plank for 30 seconds.  Lifted one leg for 15 seconds, then lifted other leg for 15 seconds.  Then we repeated for another minute.

In Dirty 30 I knew it was going to be tough today when the first thing written on the mirror was 10 hand stand push ups.  Tim's class is always tough but today was extra tough.  Here's series:

10 Hand Stand Push Ups - yep that means in hand stand position with feet against the wall

20 Pull Ups - I did mine TRX style using a bar

30 Turkish Get Ups - lay on floor with one arm extended holding weight. Sit up keeping weight pushing toward ceiling

40 Push Ups

50 Burpees - yes 50!

60 Kettlebell Swings - I used a 12 kg one (that's 26.4 pounds)

70 Lunges each leg - I alternated front and back lunges to get to 70

80 Speed Squats

90 Mountain Climbers

100 Jump Rope - it's 100 contact

Because there were so many in class we all started on different exercises.  I started with mountain climbers, skipped jump rope to save that for last and went through rest of series of 10 to 80 reps.

Talk about a killer workout!  I finished the series in 25 minutes and did a few extra push ups and called it a day.

Have fun with this one.

Kinesis Garage Workout, Pilates & Airrosti On A Monday

It was a beautiful day so Erin took me outside to the parking garage for my Kinesis session at Pura Vida Club.  Of course there was running stairs, lunges, push ups squats, and step ups involved.  It was a get back to basics workout.

One of the exercises was a lunge, crane, press series going up a parking garage ramp.  Starting position is holding 8 pound weights by shoulders and do a forward lunge.

Then bring back leg up so foot is next to knee, do a shoulder press, and step into a forward lunge with the leg that is in the crane position.

Here's Erin cueing me through the exercise.

After Kinesis outside we headed inside for an hour of Pilates.  She had me do a lot of new moves today with a lot of abs work.  She also did a great stretching series.

Since the weather is getting warmer, Erin knows I'm kicking up my running.  Stretching is critical to staying injury free so I love getting in a good 10 minute stretch to end the hour and half work.

From there I down a Mix 1 Protein drink, because I'm trying to up my protein intake, and headed over to get my shoulder worked on by Dr. Brian Wilson at Airrosti.  In just two treatments, rotating my arm around and back is getting better.  I'll get another treatment on Thursday.  I'll admit, I'm bad at icing an injury and yes Dr. Wilson got after me.

He also analyzed my push up position and told me I had to change it or risk keep re-injuring my shoulder.  I was doing push ups with my hand out to wide and rolling my shoulders forward.  I'll now be doing them with hands directly under shoulders and drawing my shoulder blades down my back.  That throws the work into the chest, where it should be for push ups, and not in the shoulders.  I'll start my new form push ups on Wednesday in Tim's Dirty 30 class at Pura Vida since I'm sure they'll be a part of the exercise series!

Digging Deep To Get Through

Tired, I trudged in to Pura Vida Club for my usual Wednesday Mad Abs and Dirty 30.  Sarah taught Mad Abs.  She had us do 60 second cycles today.  We started with a plank series. Yes started with 60 second in plank!  We did planks, a great pilates series that usually part of her class, and used the ball (mine was a weighed ball) for moves like hip lifts and roll-ups.  Love that she ended the class with mountain climbers and burpees as a warm-up for Dirty 30.

Chalk it up to being tired, gloomy weather, or combination of both but I found myself having to really psyche myself up for workout today.  I knew I was going to have to dig deep just to get through Dirty 30 today.  Well it was definitely one of those workouts that wasn't just going to make me sweat or exhaust me, but one of those that pushes you beyond what you thought you could do that day.

Tim had us do 8 exercises and repeat the cycle as many times as we could in a 30 minute time frame.  Here's the catch - all exercises done while hold weights.

Here's the workout:

Speed Squat - 30 reps
Push Ups - 14 reps
Burpees with press - 10 reps
Speed lunges - 10 reps each side
Bent Over Row - 20 reps
Shoulder Press - 20 reps
Run 4 flights of stairs - 2 times
Turkish Get Ups - 10 reps (both arms this time. Start on back, holding weights perpendicular to floor. Sit up pushing weights to ceiling and return to start position)

Since there were so many of us in class we broke off in small groups and started on different exercises. I started with burpees and ended with push ups as a cycle.  I got through the cycle 3 times plus a fourth round of burpees and lunges.  That was everything I had today.

This afternoon I went to Dr. Brian Wilson at the recently opened Airrosti office in Denver.  I did Airrosti in San Antonio.  It's a rapid recovery treatment for any soft tissue or joint issues.  My right shoulder has been bothering me a lot lately and I was actually going to try to get in to Dr. Jason Garrett back in San Antonio during my next visit.  A lot of pro athletes do Airrosti and I found it does wonders for my shoulder.  I also have issues with my IT band from time to time and get treatments for that too when needed.  It helps me heal quickly so I can push to the next level.  It hurts worse than heck during treatment but results are phenomenal!  Getting pain free is the goal.

Lunges & Squats In The Sunshine

It was such a gorgeous day in Denver with highs around 68.  I was so excited when my trainer Erin at Pura Vida Club text me this morning asking if I wanted to take my Kinesis session outside. Absolutely yes!

We used the top level of a parking garage.  Starting with running up and down stairs, this was an old school workout.  Erin put me through a series of lunges, squats, medicine ball tosses, push ups, tricep dips, and other exercises.

The lunges with twist we've done before but add an incline and it's a different ball game.  With a weighted medicine ball, step forward into a lunge, twist across that front leg, then repeat on other side.  Lunge with right leg forward, twist to the right and lunge left leg forward, twist to the left.  Once I got to the top of the ramp, I went back down and started over again but this time twisting in the opposite direction.  Lunge right leg forward, twist left, then lunge left leg forward, twist right.

I really like the weighted medicine ball squat, press, throw.  Erin threw me the medicine ball.  I went into a squat, then as I stood up, threw ball up and over back to her with a goal of getting the ball to go high.  You can do this exercise by yourself but you loose the toss.  It's fun to do this with a workout partner!

Here's Erin explaining the medicine ball squat, press, throw.

After 30 minutes of go-go-go outside we headed inside for an hour of Pilates.  My hamstrings are super tight so she had me do some pretty intense hamstring stretches for the last 10 minutes of the session.

Great way to kick of the work week!

Partner Mad Abs & Weighted Dirty 30

I know when I walk into the room for Mad Abs and Dirty 30 at Pura Vida Club that I'm in for an intense workout hour.  Today's workout was a killer as usual.  For Mad Abs, it was a new instructor for me.  Cyndie had us partner up so I got to partner with my friend Amanda, who's a Pilates instructor at the club.

We started sitting next to each other in a V-sit (feet on floor or off) and taking a medicine ball to the outside, tap it on floor then toss over to your partner to do the same thing for 30 seconds.  Then you spin around on the floor and do the same thing for another 30 seconds to work the other side.  Then we sat on the floor facing each other with toes touching, one person takes ball, lays down on floor then crunches up to seated position and toss ball to partner who does the same thing.  We did this for 30 seconds.  Next is the leg push down.  You lay on the floor, legs extended straight in the air, and grabbing on to partner's ankles.  The partner standing up pushes your feet/legs toward the ground. You do that for 30 seconds.  Then you extend one leg hovering above the ground, the other leg extended and do single leg push downs for 15 seconds then switch to other leg.  Then you switch positions with your partner.  Do that series a second time....and that's just the first series we did in Mad Abs.  Other series included tossing the ball, crunching up to do punches, mountain climbers, and moving planks.

Next on to Dirty 30 with Tim.  He did Tabata style today.  We did each exercise for 20 seconds then moved on to next exercise or rested for 10 seconds.  We also did each exercise with some sort of weight.  Here's the series:

With body bar (I used 12 lbs one):
   Row Lunges - start and stay in a lunge and row body bar with straight arms alternating sides
   Squats - Wide grip on body bar and power squat
   Rest
   Repeat but lunge with other leg for 2nd round
   Repeat a 3rd and 4th time alternating lunge positions
   Rest after 4th round is active rest as you move to next exercise station

With weighted tube:
   Bazooka lunges - gripping tube, lunge forward and bring tube up to shoulder as if you were holding a bazooka. Bring tube down as you step back then lunge other side taking tube up to other shoulder. You want a quick pace on these.
   Speed skate - move side to side in a speed skate motion, extending tube out side to side and not up.  Again you want quick pace.
   Rest
   Repeat 3 more times
   Rest after 4th round is active rest as you move to next exercise station

With weighted handle ball (I used 14 lbs one)
   Kettlebell Swing - squat then swing kettlebell up to shoulder height as you stand up.  You should feel this in glutes not shoulders.
   Lean Over Row - lean over and stand on one leg with other leg extended (you look like a T), with ball or free weight in hand of side of your standing leg, row elbow up then down
   Rest
   Repeat but do lean over row on other side
   Repeat 3rd and 4th time alternating lean over row sides
   Rest after 4th round is active rest as you move to next exercise station

Repeat entire series again.
 

Tabata Intervals Are Tough

Today I did Mad Abs and Dirty 30 at Pura Vida Club.  Both classes have awesome instructors - Jamie teaches the Mad Abs and Tim teaches the Dirty 30.

I'm not sure how, but somehow, Jamie makes the 30 minute Mad Abs class go by fast.  I love that she does so much more than crunches.  Today we used a body bar, Bosu, and ball for the class.  I love that she gave us two challenges to end the class.  Here are the two moves used an exercise ball and Bosu.

Plank with hands on Bosu (ball side up) and legs on the exercise ball.  If you can do that then try bringing knees in keeping feet on ball.  If you can do the knee roll in, then try bringing feet in as you extend up in a pike position.

Turn Bosu ball over so the flat part is up.  Hold on to the sides and place legs on ball.  Trust me this plank is challenging enough but if you want to go one more level then alternate bringing knees to elbows.

Those were the two exercises to end Mad Abs then it was on to Dirty 30 with Tim.

Today he did 6 exercises in Tabata style which is doing exercise for 20 seconds then resting 10 seconds and going right in to next one.  Here are the exercises for 1 cycle:

Burpees - I so have a love-hate relationship with these.  I hate doing them but love the results of doing these.

Cross Over Lunges

Push Ups - yes I did all cycles on toes military style

Squat Curl Press - squat with weights in hands, as you start to come up do bicep curls, the press weights overhead.

Deck Squat - with step long ways start laying down with arms extended beyond head.  Sit up then stand up, then squat back down and go back to starting position.  I actually had problems with this one. Tim noticed and said it's because I'm short-waisted.  So he suggested holding one of my 5 pound weights in my hands while doing the move.  That worked!

Mountain Climbers - like burpees I have a love-hate relationship with these.

Now do that cycle 8 times doing each exercise for 20 seconds then rest 10 seconds and right into the next one.  There is no extra rest in between cycles!

Take It From The Ten

I went for an intense one hour workout today and took the Mad Abs and Dirty 30 classes at Pure Vida Club.  In Mad Abs, the instructor Jamie used a step, mat, and gliders for the 30 minute class.  After a quick warm up we hit it hard working abs.  My favorite move started in the plank position with hands on the step.  From there we went down on our right forearm and then left and back up to regular plank position.  Then in plank position picked up right leg, took it out to the side four times and then did the same on the left.  Then combined the moves going down on forearms, then up, the legs one at a time out to side.

Next was Dirty 30 with Tim.  He had us do a tough sequence today.  We had a step, mat, weight, and rubber band.  We started the sequence doing 10 reps and worked down to doing 1 rep.  So you do each exercise 10 times, then 9 times, then 8, on down to one rep of each.  Here's the sequence:

Push ups - military style preferred form.

Cross Over Lunges - step one foot in front of the other but at an angle as if you are in a curtsy position, lunge then stand with feet parallel.  Do number of reps on each side.

Burpees - Plank, jump feet to hands, then jump up reaching hands to ceiling, returning back to plank


TGU (Turkish Get Ups) - I did these with 5 pound weights.  Start on your back with one arm up to ceiling with weight in hand.  Use the other hand to help you sit up, then stand up, all while keeping the weight high reaching up to the ceiling, then go back to start position in the reverse of how you got up.  Split the number of reps between both arms.

Band Row - stand on band, lean forward, the push arms back.

Inch Worm - start in a plank position and walk feet up to hands then back out. This was the hardest one for me.

Jumps on and off step

Mad Abs & Dirty 30

Today was one of those days that half the battle is getting to gym.  Well I made it and pushed it hard for an hour with Mad Abs and Dirty 30 classes at Pura Vida Club.  Sarah started her 30 minute Mad Abs class with a plank series.  In the class we used the Bosu ball, body bar, and gliders for full body movements that focus on the core.

After than I went straight into Tim's Dirty 30.  It's 30 minutes of doing cycles of a exercise series.  This class is tough!  Today Tim had us do a series of five moves starting with 10 reps each then repeating the cycle with 9 reps, 8 reps all the way down to 1 rep of each move.

Here are the moves in a cycle:
Bent Over Plate Row - bend over at waist with 25 or 45 weight plate (or use two), arms extended, then pull elbows back in a row movement.

Push Ups - on toes, military style.

Forward Lunges each leg - Tim gave me a great tip.  If you do these in place then lean forward slightly.  You'll feel it in your abs more and save your back.

Burpees - Plank, jump feet to hands, then jump up reaching hands to ceiling, returning back to plank

Turkish Get Ups (TGUs) - I did these with 3 pound weights.  Start on your back with one arm up to ceiling with weight in hand.  Use the other hand to help you sit up, then stand up, all while keeping the weight high reaching up to the ceiling, then go back to start position in the reverse of how you got up.

You can do the moves in any order but do them in same order for each cycle.  If you are short on time and need to blast it out this will do it!

The Dirty 30

I had two classes I wanted to try at Pura Vida Club today:  Mad Abs and Dirty 30.  We'll I got to the noon Mad Abs class about 5 minutes late and it was packed.  So off I went to do my own abs workout of crunches, planks, roll ups, and other ab exercises including the elevated side plank.  

So after abs it was in to Tim's Dirty 30 class.  It's 30 minutes of give it all you got.  


It's a boot camp style  class that's designed to kick your booty!

Here's the series:

Burpes 15 (Push up, jump feet to hands, then jump up reaching hands to ceiling, and back to push up position.)

Lunges 25 each leg (These are three-quarters of the way down with goal of quick, not deep full lunge.)

Weighted squat lift 12 (Using weight plate or weighted ball, squat then bring weight forward to shoulder level.)

Run .25 mile (I used this to push my run at a faster pace but not all out sprint.)

Turkish Get Up 7 each arm (I'd never heard of these before but you start laying down on your back with a 3-10 pound weight, straight arms and weight in line with shoulder. You use other hand to help you sit up, then stand up, all while maintaining the weight high reaching up to ceiling then go back to starting position in the reverse fashion of how you got up.)

Mountain Climbers 50 each leg (Start with straight arm plank position and alternation bringing knees to elbows.  Feet on gliders.)

I got through two rounds. Some of the guys got through three. That's my goal to get to in the Dirty 30.

I have a good feeling I'm going to feel this workout tomorrow.  

I finished out the day with a great 45 minute dog walk.  With temperatures around 60 in Denver in January, I couldn't pass up a nice long walk with my dog.  He was certainly happy too.

Reverse Lunge With A Twist

Yes I feel these today!  It's probably because I did the reverse lunge with a twist along with jumps and other lunges in my hour and a half Kinesis and Pilates session with Erin at Pura Vida Club.  January 3rd will be 6 months to my 40th.  Erin decided to kick it up a notch a little early!

These lunges are great to do with or without a medicine ball.  I did mine with an 11 pound ball.  These will help get you in ski or board shape in no time.