30 Days of Hell page 6

[primalrob]

easy-peasy today. the assigned WOD was for beginners. here it is:

* Run 1-2 miles
* 30 burpees
* 30 jumping lunges

i ran 3 miles, because i was feeling good, and threw in 60 pull ups since i feel like i haven't done many this month. (watch tomorrow's WOD be all pull ups) funny thing, despite the lack of pull ups assigned by the spartan race, i feel like i'm better at them. rather than go till failure, i did a bunch of smaller sets to work on form. i feel like my form is way better than it was a month ago. maybe it's the all-around fitness from these WODs; maybe it's just a big rest from the pull ups.

today was my last day at my former job. i've got the week off before i start my new job. i'm pretty excited, and awfully nervous. regardless, i'm thrilled to have some time to just chill out and relax. four of those days are still part of my 30 days, so i'll do plenty of work and be well-behaved with my diet. i suspect i'll also be doing plenty of moving slowly with Miles.

[primalrob]

awesome day today. my wife had an appointment for an hour near a school with a fenced in field, so i figured Miles and i would tag along for some frisbee time. no such luck; there was a kids softball game or something going on. so, i kicked off my flip flops and Miles and i just walked around town for an hour and a half. lots of great time outside, and hardly any glass to dodge.

then, there was today's WOD:

Go for a long bike ride.

i'm so happy about this. i've barely ridden my bike at all this summer, and i forget how much i enjoy it. now, i think they wanted some serious miles logged, but i only own a mountain bike that i picked up for cheap on craigslist, so i wasn't going to pull a century or anything. a quick look on a map tells me i went about 20 or so miles...on a mountain bike. what a great ride. there are couple of really well maintained trails near my place that follow a river and some old railroad tracks out to a beautiful lake and beyond, up to 50 miles north. it's mostly gravel, with a couple of short paved and wooded spots, and about a mile cutting through a down town to link the two trails. for most of the ride, i was all by myself, able to enjoy nature and spit out bugs. i worked pretty hard, and rode for a while...but i felt good and got some great endurance training in. i don't consider that chronic cardio for one second.

not sure what i'm doing for food, but i'm thinking it's leftovers. i've still got some pork, and a bunch of kale...and maybe, just maybe, i could be talked into some spaghetti squash. then again, maybe not since parmesan cheese is dairy.

[primalrob]

30 days of hell...today was the culmination of all the workouts. technically, it was yesterday's workout, but i was honestly afraid of how hard it would be. so i put it off until today. here is the assigned WOD:

Spartan 1500

1. 100 Burpees
2. 100 Pullups
3. 100 Box jumps
4. 100 Sandbag Squat Throws
5. 100 Jumping Jacks
6. 100 Brazilian Ab Twists (50 each side)
7. 100 Bodyweight Squats
8. 100 Side kicks (50 each side)
9. 100 Jumping lunges
10. 100 Curls (50 each side)
11. 100 Tricep Overhead Extensions (50 each side)
12. 100 Frog jumps
13. 100 Squat jumps
14. 3 Rope Climbs
15. 300 Crunches

it's as bad, if not worse, than it looks. i even procrastinated for a while by taking Miles on a walk. i made a few adjustments based on equipment and space, and did the following:

Spartan 1500

1. 100 Burpees
2. 100 Pullups
3. 100 Box jumps
4. 100 Sandbag thrusters
5. 100 Jumping Jacks
6. 100 Brazilian Ab Twists (50 each side)
7. 100 Bodyweight Squats
8. 100 Side kicks (50 each side)
9. 100 Jumping lunges
10. 100 Curls (50 each side)
11. 100 skull crushers (at least i think that's the name)
12. 100 Frog jumps
13. 100 Crunches

i completely dropped the rope climbs (no rope) and the squat jumps (my legs were already fried by that point), switched to two arm tri extensions (no dumbbells...had to use a cinder block and backpack for curls and extensions), and cut the number of crunches.
it may not have been the full Spartan 1500, but i'm pretty damn proud of what i accomplished today. i didn't time it, but it was between 2 and 3 hours in total. a lot? shit yes. this was easily the hardest workout i have ever done. harder than the hardest hikes in the northeast in the dead of summer, harder than the triathlon i did, harder than anything i ever did in a gym, and much harder than anything i've done this month. i feel amazing, like i can do anything. on top of that, the green apple i had when i got done was the best i've ever tasted.

tomorrow is 30 days, and i'll probably do a light workout just to keep up with the challenge. i'll also do a wrap up on the fitness stuff...probably food too.

speaking of food, my wife and i are moving soon. she suggested that we just eat up all the food in our place rather than move it. obviously, we're not going to eat all the spices and things, just the stuff taking up real space. she reminded me that i've got a ton of stuff in my freezer. grass fed beef, elk, venison, moose, chicken thighs...even some goat. there's veggies and stuff too, but i'm sort of happy that i'll be eating some amazing meat this week, and probably next week too.

it's pouring out, but i want it to clear up so i can cap today's WOD off with another walk with Miles.

[TLoRu]

Omggggg. That is a crazy WOD. Congrats on completing it and completing the 30 days. Are you planning on continuing with these workouts or kind of doing your own thing for a bit? I think I'm going to do your WOD from July 27. Run a few miles, 30 Burpees, 30 jumping lunges.

Congrats again!

[primalrob]

Omggggg. That is a crazy WOD. Congrats on completing it and completing the 30 days. Are you planning on continuing with these workouts or kind of doing your own thing for a bit? I think I'm going to do your WOD from July 27. Run a few miles, 30 Burpees, 30 jumping lunges.

Congrats again!

thanks. today was a killer.

not sure if i'll keep doing these after tomorrow. i flagged some of my favorites that work as a metabolic conditioning alternative to sprints...so maybe one or two per week. mostly, though, i think i'm going to get back to some strength training and plenty of moving slowly. i have the spartan race in a couple of weeks though, and i'm transitioning to a new job, so i might keep it light for a little while.

[Richardmac]

thanks. today was a killer.

not sure if i'll keep doing these after tomorrow. i flagged some of my favorites that work as a metabolic conditioning alternative to sprints...so maybe one or two per week. mostly, though, i think i'm going to get back to some strength training and plenty of moving slowly. i have the spartan race in a couple of weeks though, and i'm transitioning to a new job, so i might keep it light for a little while.

That last long workout looked crazy. You must have had some crazy DOMS?

Richard

[fat belly frog]

Well done on the 30 days, that seemed to go by pretty quick. Did you drop any weight with the workouts and clean diet?

Agree with the others that last WOD looks a killer... But what a great way to finish.

[primalrob]

That last long workout looked crazy. You must have had some crazy DOMS?

Richard

i was actually surprised how much energy and pep i still had in my muscles last night...but now the DOMS has completely taken over. my whole body is sore. not sore enough to keep me from doing a light workout today, but i can definitely tell that i worked hard yesterday.

[primalrob]

Well done on the 30 days, that seemed to go by pretty quick. Did you drop any weight with the workouts and clean diet?

i couldn't tell you if i lost weight or now; i haven't weight myself in a couple of years. i'm pretty sure i lost some fat though. a month ago i didn't really look right in a medium sized shirt...now they fit perfectly. i don't think it was a enough to change my bodyfat set point, necessarily, as that would require more time and a measured calorie deficit by picking different foods than the ones i mostly ate. but, that wasn't really the point of this challenge.

[primalrob]

ok. today is the final day of my 30 day challenge. i'm sticking with the food part of the plan for the day, but i doubt i'll be doing much exercise. i'm pretty sore. all over. i may get out for a bike ride or take Miles out for a walk or get itchy for some movement a little later, but for now i hurt.

overall, this was a terrific month, and a packed month. i had a lot of personal life change. as far as my challenge goes, i feel pretty good about it. the food portion was definitely the easiest. i generally eat primal on an every day basis (save for special events, hanging out with some friends, etc.), so all i really did was cut out the nuts and the dairy--two things i eat too much of in my opinion. the only thing that was really hard about this was giving up icecream in the hottest month of the year, during a drought, when the heat would not end. i'll probably keep both out of my diet more and more for a while, i just won't go out of my way to avoid them.

The WODs i did were great. i really pushed my fitness, and i think i achieved a new level. by the end, i was really craving a good push in what i could do, and yesterday's workout was certainly the final exam that i needed. though there wasn't a whole lot of focus on strength, i do feel stronger. more than that, though, i feel more powerful. i feel like my whole body is prepared for anything, rather than just being able to do a good squat. i definitely had a few favorites, and now have a few other go-to workouts to replace whatever i'm going to do next. i am more than ready to conquer the spartan race. i don't expect to have an amazing time or anything, but i know that i will get through it just fine.

i've also noticed a little more mental clarity, or even confidence, which i think comes from having a better understand of what my limits are...or aren't.

as far as results go, i'm sure i lost some weight, but i don't weight myself. i do know that i am a little bit smaller just by how my clothes fit, and by a look in the mirror. i don't think this has too much to do with the workouts though. i think it has almost everything to do with food. sure, i exercised more this month than i normally do, but when i think about what i ate, food makes more sense. first, i didn't cheat. even when hanging out with friends i was able to stay on plan. second, i ate less calories. cutting out cheese and nuts/nut butters had me consuming less daily calories than i probably normally would. third, carbs. thinking back to what i ate, it was a lot of meat, eggs, veggies and sardines. granted, i ate a lot of veggies, but probably not enough to throw any big carb numbers up. i also ate very little fruit. this wasn't on purpose; i just focused protein first and didn't want fruit. i didn't have any rice, or potatoes, or starchy vegetables. i can say with absolute confidence that i spent most of this month at a very low carb level, and the entire month at a low-carb level. i'm normally not very careful about my carbs, or calories, but clearly there was some effect this month.
i'm not going to stick to that. i'll likely carb up once in a while, and will definitely be partaking in either some ice cream or frozen yogurt by the end of this week, but it's interesting to look back and see how it affected me. i know there's been a lot of debate on the forums lately about the role of calories, and i'm not one to be staunchly on one side or the other. for my own experiment, i know that calories matter...and so does everything else. but, focus on protein and veggies, and it's all moot.

one aspect of the VLC nature of this month that excites me is the level of intensity with which i worked out. i did a few balls-to-the-wall heavy duty workouts, and did it all eating hardly any carbs. the fact that just about every workout was designed for endurance tells me that i, at least, don't need to carbo load for big fitness events unless i feel like it. that's my n=1 anyway.


i guess that's about it. if anyone has been reading this and has any questions, fire away. otherwise, i'll check in and update from time to time until my next 30 days of hell (october, maybe?). for now...

...challenge completed.