boxerrebel

Bacon. Also, beer fans should try my newest discovery: the Phillips Brewery Longboat Chocolate Porter - it's delicious on its own or as a cooking liquid for short ribs!

Two Battles to Report: Yesterday: 10 minutes to find a 3-rep max for cleans - got to a new PR of 72#. I still need to work on my cleans a bunch, because I'm having trouble using the hip extension to get the weight up, rather than doing a "muscle clean." Then, for conditioning: 25 kettle bell swings (45#) 5 push press (45#) 20 KB swings 5 push press 15 KB swings 5 push press 10 KB swings 5 push press 5 KB swings 5 push press Completed in 6:20. Finally, 12 minutes to find a 3-rep max for lat pulls and seated row. Got to 57.5# and 55# respectively (that's the weight per side - so that;s 115# and 110# total). Then, for today: Some met con goodness. 5 rounds of: 25m sled push (70#, plus the sled's weight) 10 dead lifts (135#) 10 dumbbell chest press (20#/side)

Based on what I've pasted below, I'm giving myself an A- for the challenge. I completed 3/4 goals with 100% success, and did 75% of the HIIT workouts I set out to do. This was a fun way to motivate myself and a great intro to the Nerd Fitness universe! I definitely plan to do the next challenge!

1. Get stronger! [Do (at least) one unassisted pull-up.] Value: +3 STR COMPLETE! Full credit for this = +3 STR 2. Get off your ass! [Do 2 HIIT workouts per week.] Value: +2 DEX, +2 STA Full credit for 12 HIIT workouts during the challenge 75% credit for 10/11 HIIT workouts 50% credit for 7-9 HIIT workouts 25% credit for 6 HIIT workouts No credit for fewer than 6 HIIT workouts Did NINE of possible 12 HIIT workouts for 50% credit on this goal = +1 DEX, +1 STA 3. Stop eating that crap! [Do not eat any of the baked goods from the café at the law school. Especially not the pumpkin scones. They're not even really that good.] Value: +3 CON Ate NONE of the crap = +3 CON achieved. 4. Get your sh*t together! [Finish all papers/assignments with time to spare. Be well-prepared for final exams.] Value: +4 WIS, +1 CHA Did ALL the things in time for full marks = +4 WIS, +1 CHA

Well, looks like I'm set for full credit on my pull-up, nutrition, and academic goals. As of this morning, I'm at 9/12 HIIT workouts for the challenge. With 4 days remaining, I doubt I'll make it to 12 (especially since I have a heavy workout planned for Saturday a.m., so have a rest day scheduled for tomorrow), but we'll see how things play out!

Today's Special: For Time: 20 box jumps 10 back squats (115#) 20 TRX rows 9 back squats 15 box jumps 8 back squats 15 TRX rows 7 back squats 10 box jumps 6 back squats 10 TRX rows 5 back squats 5 box jumps 4 back squats 5 TRX rows 3 back squats Then some work on chaining my box jumps together a little better, and on double-unders.

Battle do Jour: 7-7-5-5-3-3 Front Squats (70-80-85-90-95-100) Lat Pulls (45-47.5-50-52.5-55-57.5) For conditioning: 10 minute ladder 3x 5 cleans 5 push press 5 hollow body rocks then 3x 10 cleans 10 push press 10 hollow body rocks

Stick to it - the last few days of the semester are always the hardest!

Battle: Strength: 5-3-3-2-2-2 Rows (45-47.5-50-52.5-55-55) Bench Press (65-75-80-85-90-90) *New PR! Dead Lift (170-190-200-210-215-220) *New PR! Metabolic: AMRAP in 10 minutes 5 pull ups 10 push ups 15 air squats 20 seconds battle ropes

All exams defeated. All the things finished in time. None of the crap eaten. WIN.

Battle: 3x 5 minute rounds "for points" (i.e. one minute to do maximum number of reps of each exercise, then move on to the next) Squats (100#) Push Press (35#) Sumo Deadlift High Pull (45#) Barbell Row (45#) Pistol Squats My scores: 91/91/100 Light weights, but high intensity. I'm pretty tired for having done 15 minutes total exercise.

Update: Only one exam remaining, and I've so far managed to get all the things done ahead of schedule. Yay! The café at the law school is closed for exam period, so I'm out of the woods on the scones. Did another unassisted pull-up yesterday, plus 40 jump-and-pull-ups during my workout. The only place I'm lagging is on the HIIT workouts - gonna have to focus on those for the next couple of weeks.

Battle du jour: Family Law take-home exam. Fitness-wise: AMRAP in 45 minutes: 20 lunges (25#) 15 dead lifts (135#) 10 pull-ups 20 pistol squats 15 box jumps 10 push ups 20 renegade row (15#) 15 kettlebell swings (45#) 10 push press (25#) WICKED. I'm toast.

In my experience, short time/high intensity is the way to go - I've had much better results than friends who started working out around the same time I did, but have been doing higher volume of exercise at lower intensity. If you want me to clarify any of the elements of the workouts for you, I'm happy to do so! Listening to my body and understanding my limitations - especially which are real, physical limitations and which are only in my mind - has been key for me. I find that a willingness to push slightly beyond what I think is possible for me has helped me make a lot of progress, but I always keep in mind that it is not a competition - sometimes I choose to be conservative and remind myself that fitness is a life-long pursuit and that injuring myself will set me back. Over time, I have learned to distinguish between discomfort that is normal for me after a hard workout, and pain that signals that I need to move more slowly with a certain exercise. Good luck!

Merci!

One pull-up: ACHIEVED!!! Did it from the step on the squat rack, so not from a total dead hang, but I'm a happy camper. I'm gonna work on cleaning up the form, stringing a couple together, and so on for the remainder of the challenge!

Yesterday's battle: Evidence Law exam (a 100% final). Today's Battle: Strength: Dead Lifts Warm up - 5x130, 5x150 Then 5-3-3-2-1-1 170-190-195-200-210 **new PR!** Workout: 21-15-9 Pull-Ups Push-Ups Front Squats (40#)

True! I spent an hour doing squats and split jerks last night instead of studying for this morning's exam. Update: Two exams down, two to go. I've been really successful so far on getting things done ahead of time, so hoping to keep that up for next week. Have stayed away from the baked goods. I'm training tomorrow a.m., so we'll see how the pull ups are progressing!

My "job" is law school. I work 60-80 hours a week, and I pay THEM $10K a year.

The Battle: 1. Environmental Law exam - 3 hours. 2. Strength workout: 3-3-3-2-2-2 Split Jerk Back Squat Hit a new PR of 200# on the squats! Woot!

Seriously. NOT efficient. I'm going lone wolf on the rest of these exams for sure. Today's progress will be all academic (maybe I'll throw in some HIIT this evening...) because I have exams tomorrow and Friday. So far/so good on getting things done ahead of time - finished my last paper 24hours before the due date! Still holding strong on not eating the pumpkin scones.

Yup - you alternate the sets, so for 16 minutes you end up doing 8 sets of each pair of exercises. It's a GREAT mini-workout - in and out of the gym in under 30 minutes, and serious hard work!

Battle Du Jour: AMRAP 10 minutes: 1. 10 Box Jumps/10 Dead Lifts (135#) 2. 5 Push Press (45#)/10 Squats (135#) 3. 10 Seated Row (40#)/10 Bench Press (55#) Finished with some work on overhead squats and hollow body rocks.

You can read their position statements on a variety of issues here: http://www.salvationarmyethics.org/position-statements/ Good news: they seem to be in favour of world peace. Bad news: all their other positions.

Report on the pull-up front: Did one unassisted pull-up!!! (off the step, not from a dead hang). Tried from the dead hang, and I can feel that I'm almost strong enough. SOOOOO happy with this progress!!! Also, got in a met con/HIIT session for 6/12 for the challenge.