CONDITION THIS…
Forget everything I’ve said about my training being difficult up to this point. I clearly had no idea. Pete was right… now we are really starting to work hard.
The easy days of lifting heavy weights with long recovery rest periods are over. Now he’s programmed us up to do several different exercises with heavy weights back to back with little or no rest between sets.
One particularly hellish session looked like this…
A1: 5 x 15 calories on Airdyne bicycle (this only takes about 30 secs but every second feels like an hour when your quads are on fire)
A2: 5 x 16 DB walking lunges (despite my increased strength I still hate these)
A3: 5 x 12-16 renegade rows (think of yourself in plank position with your hands holding 10 kilo weights … while trying to keep your hips level alternate arms lifting the weight up to your chest – so not easy)
A4: 5 x BB push press
A5: 5 x kb swings rest 60 secs (what only 1 minute of rest – you have to be joking)
B: back extensions 3 x 12 (I’ve already explained these gems)
B2: GHD sit ups 3 x 12 rest 90 secs (Similar to the back extension but reversed, so you have to lower your torso backwards through space and then use every bit of abdominal strength you’ve got to crunch yourself back up to your strapped in legs. Definitely not for the faint hearted.)
As a Christmas present to myself I bought a heart rate monitor so I could track my progress and make sure I was pushing myself hard enough… as if there was any question of that. To start, I could see that on the average night of training I was now burning over 750 calories in the hour plus of activity. My maximum heart rate was consistently hitting 183 bpm.
I tried to convince Pete that if my heart rate reached 200 it would entitle me to at least a minute rest… he just laughed and it has yet to happen. Check out the video of me trying my hardest to get my heart rate up there.
The workout was…
**Warm up on rower or bike
A: back squats 4 x 6-8 20×0 rest 2 mins
B1: 4 X 12 weighted step ups
B2: 4 x amrap push-ups on bar
B3: 60 seconds row (split time 2 mins)
5 rounds rest 1:1
C: tabata sit up test 5-8 rounds
**
The video is me going through B1, B2 and B3. If it looks easy, remember I had to do it 5 times.
See www.crossfitathletic.com.au for more.
