March Totals

Notice: 3/12/2011 - Any "West Hill" activities will

now be referred to as Clover Springs.

ACTURAL
Days this month: 31
Some form of exercise: 23 of 31 days
Approx. exercise hours: 23.5
Approx. hiking/climbing miles: 24.5
Cycling miles: 22.0

MARCH WORKOUTS - AT A GLANCE

3/31 - Clover Springs / Move Slowly

3/30 - Cycling / Preston Loop, PFC Gym / Core Strength

3/29 - Clover Springs / Speed Hike, PFC Gym / Strength, Power, Core

3/27 - PFC Gym / Strength, Power

3/26 - Lake Sonoma / Natural Movement Hike

3/25 - Cycling / Preston Loop

3/24 - Clover Springs / Hike, PFC Gym / Strength, Stamina

3/22 - PFC Gym / Strength

3/21 - Clover Springs / Move Slowly

3/20 - PFC Gym / Strength

3/19 - Clover Springs / Speed Hike

3/18 - PFC Gym / Power

3/16 - PFC Gym / Power, Strength

3/15 - Clover Springs, PFC Gym / Move slowly, Power

3/14 - PFC Gym / Power

3/13 - PFC Gym / Strength

3/12 - PFC Gym, West Hills / Power, Move Slowly

3/10 - West Hills / Endurance Intervals

3/8 - West Hills, PFC Gym / Endurance, Power

3/7 - West Hills, PFC Gym / Endurance, Power

3/5 - Tahoe / Snowmobile

3/4 - PFC Gym / Core, Lower Body

3/3 - West hills / Move slowly, Cycling / Preston Loop

UPDATE: Weight loss since going Paleo 1/7/2011: 18.6 lbs.

Location: Clover Springs

Workout: Slow Movement

Hike - Water Tanks

Slow movement hike with Katie. Sunny and warm out. Shorts and no shoes.

Time: 00:278:51

Approx. Miles: 1.5

HR: ave.-103 max.-128

Location: Cloverdale Backroads

Workout: Warm up

Cycling - Preston Loop

Time: 00:30:52

approx. miles: 7.7

HR: ave.-134 max.-220

Location: PFC Gym

Workout: Core Strengthening & Conditioning

"The 1000" - Rest as needed to complete all reps

600 meter row @ 80# resist.

100x kettlebell swing @ 53#

100x 1/2 get up (to kneeling position - core strengthening) @ 30# sandbag

100x 5 count superman back extensions

100x wood chopper @ 20# med ball

Rest as needed to complete all reps

Note: I basically broke this up into 4 rounds. Completing the rows in the first 3.

Bonus

3x 3 hanging handle pull ups

Note: I was surprised I completed these with little effort. Three months ago was struggling to do one!

Time: 01:17:51

HR: ave.-134 max.-170

Location: Clover Springs

Workout: Warm up

Speed Hike - South Ridge (original route)

Speed hiking only. No rest for round trip. Personal best time for hiking this route.

Time: 00:37:49

Approx. miles: 2.5

HR: ave.-130 max.-156

Location: PFC Gym

Workout: Strength, Power, Core

Strength - Stronglifts 5x5 - w/o "B"+2

5x 5 Squat @ 85#

5x 5 Overhead Press @ 77.5#

1x 5 Deadlift @ 145#

Power - Dead Weight Complex @ 33# Bulgarian Bag

5 rounds of 10 reps each - 150 movements

- squat

- lunge (alternate)

- 20" box step up (alternate)

Bonus - Core

3x 2 hanging handle pull up

3x 7 ab wheel (strict)

3x 7 abmat sit up (strict)

Bonus Bonus

3x 7 med ball push up

Time: 00:53:52

HR: ave.-126 max.-166

Location: PFC Gym

Workout: Strength, Power

Warm up

- 1 min. jump rope

- 200 meters row @ 80# resist.

- 3 rounds of

10x air squat

7x abmat sit up

7x ab wheel

7x BA pull up

Strength

Stronglifts 5x5 - w/0 "A" as listed

5x 5 barbell squat @ 75#

5x 5 bench press @ 95#

5x 5 barbell row @ 95#

Power

Bulgarian Bag Complex @ 33#

3 Rounds of

6x swing snatch

6x swing shoulder flip

6x push up

6x hip extension (feet on bag)

6x 360 swing

6x swing squat

6x swing lunge

1 minute rest between rounds, no rest between movements.

Bonus

3x 6 supine ring pull up (feet on box)

6x 3 sitting dips

Time: 01:10:00

HR: ave.-119 max.-166

Location: Lake Sonoma

Workout: General

Natural Movement

A short workout at the overflow parking lot - log walk, log flip, log jump, log push up, stair climb.

Then take off cross country for some natural movement.

Descending a forested slope. Lake Sonoma in the background.

Enjoying the area after the climb up out of the canyon.

Madrone grove.

Time: 01:25:02

Approx. Miles: 2.0

HR: ave.-125 max.-167

Homemade Equipment

The Bulgarian Power (Fitness) Bag

Alright..., I first saw these being used at Mark Twight's Gym Jones site. I have never heard of them before, so I googled it and came up with hundreds of hits.

Here are a couple...

http://www.suples.com/bulgarian-training-bags/

http://www.mytrainer.com/action/viewvideo/534/Bulgarian_Power_Bag/

I then search Mark's Daily Apple and sure enough, he talks about them also. So, I though I would make one.

There are several videos on-line that show how these can be made, just search the phrase.

Weight: 33 lbs. (They can be made to weigh whatever one wants).

Total approximate cost: $25.00 - or a lot cheaper.

Components

14 inch Inner tube - used or new

Sand or some other sort of filling for weight

Zip Ties

Cord or tubular webbing (optional)

Duct and/or electricians tape

The Inner Tube

I bought my tube new at a tire shop. One could probably get these for free if you asked around, but I didn't want to deal with the holes or weak sections associated with used inner tubes. The new one I bought was 14/15 inch @ $16.00.

I cut out the stem section. I will adjust the length later on.

Leaving about 6 or 7 inches for the handle, secure the closer with the first zip tie. If adding additional handle (tubular webbing or cord), lay it in and tie off with 3 or 4 more zip ties.

As pictured below, when I trimmed off the tag end of the zip tie, I left a couple inches so I could tape them down later on. Cutting them short leaves a sharp edge that will cause problems later on.

I used the burly Duct Tape to cover and secure the zip ties, then used stretchable electricians tape to to form a tight handle.

Fill the tube with the desired material and weight.

Pull it up tight and repeat the process of creating a closer and preliminary handle. Depending on how much material one puts in, one might end up trimming several inches off the tube.

Here is the finished product before shaping better handles.

I Built up the handles with tight wraps of electricians tape. I like the softer, stickier feel of cloth athletic tape, so I used that to finish up the handles.

Here is the finished product.

Location: Cloverdale Backroads

Workout: Endurance

Cycling - Preston Loop

Via RiverPark, West Side (with a push up the Cherry Creek Rd. hill).

Time: 00:35:14

Miles: 8.0

HR: ave.-135 max.-174

Location: Clover Springs

Actual: 3/24/2011

Workout: Warm up

Clover Springs - Trail Run/Hike

South Ridge to top fence line and back. Run until tired, then speed hike while recovering. Repeat.

Location: PFC Gym

Workout: Strength, Stamina

Stronglifts 5x5 - w/o "B"+

5x 5 squat @ 80#

5x 5 overhead press @ 75#

5x 5 deadlift @ 135#

Sandbag Complex - 5/50

3 Rounds Of @ 50# sandbag

10x get-up

10x clean squat

10x snatch

10x clean & lunge

10x half moon

Bonus

3 Rounds Of

7x push-up

7x abmat sit-up

7x ab wheel

Total Time: 01:38:15

Approx. miles: 1.5

HR: ave.-141 max.-173

Non Fitness Related

3/23/0211

The San Jose Sharks laid it to the Calgary Flames last night at HP Pavilion.

At one point Cory Sarich of the Flames put a hard clean hit on Logan Couture. Couture's line mate Ryan Clowe took exception to it, probably because earlier in the game Sarich had taken another run at Couture, or maybe just because Clowe hates the Sumbitch.

Anyway, Clowe gave him a pretty good licking. Not any knock-out punches, but I'm sure Sarich had a sore nose when all was said and done.

Thanks Ryan! Your moral conduct and leadership are inspiring, even for an old guy like me.

(Photo's poached from the Sharks Website)

Location: PFC Gym

Actual: 3/22/2011

Workout: strength

Warm up

400 meter row @ 70# resist.

Stronglifts 5x5 w/o "A"

5x 5 squat @ 75#

5x 5 bench press @ 95#

5x 5 barbell row @ 95#

Time: 00:36:06

HR: 103 ave. 152 max.

Location: Clover Springs

Actual: 3/21/2011

Workout: Move Slowly

Clover Springs - Hike

South Ridge (original route) keeping heart rate near 125 bpm.

Looking North - Cloverdale.

Looking East - Mount St. Helena.

Ridge greenage with wildflowers.

Time: 01:02:31

Approx. Miles: 2.0

HR: 106 ave. 132 max.

Location: PFC Gym

Actual: 3/20/2011

Workout: Strength

Warm up

3x 1 minute jump rope

Stretching for lifts

Kettlebell Complex - 3 Rounds @ 53#

30x two handed swing

6x swings clean - 3 each side

6x swing clean & press - 3ES

6x dead snatch - 3ES

6x dead clean squat - 3ES

6x clubbell forearm extension @ 16# - 3ES

Overhead Press

3x 3 press, 3x push press @ 85#

2x 3press, 3 push press @ 87.5#

1x 3 press, 3 push press @ 90#

Bent Row

1x 3 @ 135#

2x 3 @ 115#

3x 5 @ 115#

I was finding the right weight for the Bent Row. I will work forward from 115#.

Time: 01:15:46

HR: 136 bpm ave. 177 bpm max.

Homemade equipment

Clubbell

Another piece of homemade equipment, the clubbell. I got the information for this off the video in the link. Here is the specs. and cost break down.

Weight: 16 lbs.

Length: 29 inches

Component Cost: (from my local ACE Hardware) approx. $55.00

It can be made for less. I will explain below.

Here are the components

- Galvanized pipe and fittings

- Cylindrical piece of cast iron (an old window counter weight)

- Sand

- Electricians tape

The pipe and fittings weigh 8 lbs. The piece of cast iron weighs 6 lbs. The remaining 2 lbs. comes from the sand.

One could use other material or objects to adjust the weight. Chain, lead ball fishing weights, cement or just sand. Pour sand in on top of whatever you use to hold everything together and prevent movement inside the pipe.

Here it is assembled

I covered the pipe threads and filled in the gaps with duct tape, then finished off the handle with plastic electricians tape.

The finished handle.

I wanted to eliminate the cold industrial look and feel of the piece, so I gave it a coat of cold galvanizing primer and a black top coat.

After the paint dried I gave it a few swings. At 16 lbs. it seems a little heavy now, but will be good in the future. The endcap is removable so I can adjust the weight as needed.

The electricians tape on the handle didn't feel right so I covered it with cloth athletic tape for a better grip, much better. I then ended up covering the rest of the pipe with silicone self bonding tape to give it a rubberized feel.

The final product with a olympic bumper plate for size reference.

Flat with a dumbbell.

By eliminating a lot of the extra crap I put on this thing and just going with the pipe and some form of filler for additional weight, the cost would be about $40.00 - $45.00, possibly cheaper if the conponets were bought at a super store like Home Depot or Lowe's.

Make one and enjoy!

Location: Clover Springs

Workout: Endurance

Trail Speed Hike

North Ridge/main fire trail

Time: 00:41:21

Approx. Miles: 2.0

HR: 135 bpm ave. bpm 163 max.

Location: PFC Gym

Workout: Power

Warn up

Ladder @ 1,2,3,4,5,6,5,4,3,2,1 each

- strict sit up

- push up

- ab roll out

-b/a pull up

Deadlift

5x @ 155#

5x @ 165#

5x @ 155#

Back Squat

2x 5x @ 65#

2x 5 @ 75#

2x 5 @ 95#

Walking Lunge

2x 10 with 44# KB in each hand

Notes:

-Walking Lunge - stopped at 2.5 sets because of knee pain. 44# is too heavy. Too much instability causing poor form. Start next w/o @ 25# dumbbell.

- Start next back squat session @ 95#

Time: 00:48:39

HR: ave.-113 max.-157

Location: PFC Gym

Workout: Power, Strength

Warm up

Ladder @ 1,2,3,4,5,4,3,2,1 for each

- push up

- sit up

- ab wheel

- B/A pull up

Kettlebell Complex @ 53# KB

4x 25 2 handed swing

10x swing clean

10x swing clean & press

10x dead snatch

10x squat clean

20x cross chop (10 each side)

20x OH forearm extension @ 44# KB

Stronglifts 5x5 - W/O B + 5#

Time: 00:59:08

HR: 123/201

Location: Clover Springs

Workout: Move Slowly, Forest Bathing (it has nothing to do with the rain or any water for that matter)

About a 1.5 mile short hike to a little oak forest I know about for a slow movement work out and forest bathing. I first read about Forest Bathing at Mark's Daily Apple and incorporated it into todays outing. I found a comfortable spot and just sat down for about a half hour in the rain, enjoying the peaceful solitude. It was fantastic!

Pouring rain at the trailhead (but that's why I went).

Looking for the perfect spot...

And here it was.

The Buckeye trees are waking.

Location: PFC Gym

Workout: Strength

Stronglifts 5x5 - w/o A @start weigth

Total time: 01:08:48

HR: ave.-99 max.-130

Location: PFC Gym

Workout: Power

Warm up

3x 1 minute heavy bag intervals with 20 second rest between.

Power

Kettlebell Complex @ 52#

4x 25 two handed kettlebell swings

10x KB swing clean

10x KB good morning

10x KB swing clean & push press (5 ea. side)

10x KB dead clean

10x KB sumo deadlift high pull

10x KB forearm extension (@ 44#)

Bonus movements

2x 2, 1x1 hanging hand bar pull ups (unassisted)

10x KB push ups (unstable base)

10x ab wheel roll out

Time: 00:38:54

HR: ave.-135 max.-168

Location: PFC Gym

Work out: Strength

Stronglifts 5x5

Work out B @ starting weight

Time: 00:14:24

HR: ave.-100 max.-121

Location: PFC Gym

Workout: Interval, Power, Core Strength

Interval

3 rounds of "Couture" @ 55# - 6 reps per movement

Power

Bench Press

3x 6 @ 100#

4x 4 @v 110#

2x 3 @135#

3x @ 155#

Bench Flye (swiss ball) - 3x 6 @ 20# DB

Standing Reverse Flye - 3x 6 @ 20# DB

Misc. swiss ball 20# DB movements

Pull up Ladder (band assisted)

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,6,5,4,3,2,1

Core Strengthening & Conditioning

Swiss Ball movements

Time:01:07:49

Heart Rate: ave.-123 max.- 168

Location: West Hills

Workout: Move Slowly

Hike

Hike to the water tanks, descend the grassy slope with Marc & Katie. Some push ups, squats, lunges & sit ups thrown in along the way

Time: 00:34:33

Miles: 1.5

Heart rate: ave.-104 max.-141

Location: West Hills

Workout: Endurance Intervals

South Ridge Shuffle

Hike the South Ridge route at a fast pace stopping at 3 stations and performing

20x air squats

20x push ups

20x strict sit ups

20 walking lunge

On two trail sections, natural movement exercises - hop, jump, lunge, run.

Time: 00:59:55

Miles: 2.0

Heart Rate: ave.-141 max.-173

Location: West Hills, PFC Gym

Workout: Move Naturally

West Hills - Hike / South Ridge

From the gate, climb the South Ridge route until it chokes out with scrub oak, moving through, around and over loose rock, brush and mud bogs, while it was raining,

with 3 Rounds of:

10x push ups

10x sit ups

10x squat with 30# rock

10x walking lunge

mixed in along the way.

PFC Gym

Workout: Power

Pull up Project

Band assisted pull up ladder @ 1,2,3,4,5,6,5,4,3,2,1

Total Time: 01:08:41

Miles: 20.5

Heart Rate: ave.-129 max.-160

Location: West Hills

Workout: Endurance

Trail Hike

Creek Trail/South Slope Traverse/Lower Forest

Time: 00:37:01

Miles: 1.5

Heart Rate: ave.-128 max.-158

Location: PFC Gym

Workout: Power

Free weights

Time: 00:27:41

Heart Rate: ave.-114 max.-145

Location: Northstar @ Tahoe

Actual: 3/5/2011

Workout: Play Different Sports

Snowmobiling - Tahoe

With several of the GSC management team at our annual NorthStar Ski Weekend. Marcie and I we with the "more sporting" group so we were able to open the sleds up pretty good and get some speed.

Time: Count as 00:01:00

L to R: Sam, Marcie, Randy, Bobby, Janet and Barry ready to go.

Marcie waiting as the leaders extract a stuck sled.

Marcie relaxing at the break stop overlooking Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe from our first break stop

Location: PFC Gym

Workout: Core Strengthening & Conditioning, Power

Core

3 Rounds of

10x push up

10x sit ups

10x ab roll out

10x band assist pull up

Power - Lower Body

3 Rounds of

10x DB clean squat @ 35# db's

10x 35# DB lunge (5 each side)

10x 155# deadlift

Had lower back pain after 5 deadlifts in the first round. Did not complete anymore movements.

Time: 00:21:11

Heart Rate: ave.-122 max.-153

I'm am off to a weekend snow trip in a few hours so I didn't want to aggravate my back and limit my weekend activities. Hopefully I will be able to get some workouts in up in Tahoe.

Location: West Hills

Workout: Trail Hike

AM - Slow Movement

Keeping heart rate near 125 bpm, climb 3/4 of the South Ridge route.

Time: 00:44:56

Approx. Miles: 2.0

Heart Rate: ave.-113 bpm max.-136 bpm

Location: Cloverdale Backroads

Workout: Endurance

PM - Cycling - Road Bike/Preston Loop

Time: 00:30:27

Miles: 7.16

Heart Rate: ave.-135 bpm max.-209 bpm

February Totals

ACTURAL
Days this month: 28
Some form of exercise: 17 of 28 days
Approx. exercise hours: 32.0
Approx. hiking/climbing miles: 31.0
Cycling miles: 0.0

FEBRUARY WORKOUTS - AT A GLANCE

2/28 - West Hills / Move Slowly

2/27 - Lake Sonoma / Overlook Move Naturally

2/26 - PFC Gym / Power, Strength, Core

2/25 - West Hills / Move Slowly

2/23 - West Hills / Move Slowly

2/22 - PFC Gym / Strength, Power

2/21 - Lake Sonoma Trail Run/Speed Hike. Tire Drag W/Out

2/19 - PFC Gym / Core - West Hills Speed Hike

2/18 - PFC Gym / Strength

2/16 - West Hills speed hike

2/15 - PFC Gym / Strength

2/11 - 2/13 - Backbacking/Lassen
2/5 - PFC Gym workout, Redwood Peak hike

2/7 - PFC Gym

2/9 - PFC Gym (am)

UPDATE: Weight loss since going Paleo 1/7/2011: 18.6 lbs.