SUP in February

Today has been one of the greatest days of the year! Yes it is early in the year, but still. So far nothing touches the way today went.

Today is Henry’s birthday. Today he is 2 years old. He has made me incredibly happy and my life is bother because of him. This morning he got Chocolate Pancakes and was allowed to open a gift. He loves Thomas the Tank Engine and so he got a shirt, and of course wore Thomas to school. Tonight he has a slew of other presents and he will get to open and play with all of them.

I went in like normal and mustered with the wing and went to workout. Today was a tough day. I modified the WOD big time and really struggled. Here’s what I ended up doing:

5 Handstand push-ups, 5 pistol squats, 10 pull-ups
10 Handstand push-ups, 10 pistol squats, 20 pull-ups
15 Handstand push-ups, 15 pistol squats, 30 pull-ups
I could not finish the pushups, I lost my form, I fell during some of the pistol squats, and I finished the pull-ups by doing them one at a time. The RX’d WOD was almost twice as many of each exercise and then climbed back down the sets.

I finished my workout by doing the following:

4 Sets of Squats, increasing weight with each set
4 Sets of deadlift, same weight throughout
2 minute tabata style hanging knee raises, ball crunch, cable crunch and side crunch- 8 minutes total

After a good 30 minute break I met a friend and spent the next hour and a half on paddle boarding. It was amazing. We fought the channel for a good 30 minutes and spent some time in the water chasing our boards and hopping back on. The water was 56 degrees, however the air temp was perfect. about 70. As soon as you were out of the water you were no longer cold and the wetness felt great.

Just before turning back and heading around sand island, we spotted a school of dolphins. They spent the next 20 minutes or so in our area feeding and playing. we also hundreds of pelicans fishing, and a few loons. And the fish, HUGE! Several times I mistook fish for skates, only to realize they were giant sheeps head and red drum.

After we turned around, I switched boards with my friend and spent some time on his racing SUP and using his carbon fiber paddle. It was awesome. The stability was much lower than my all-rounder board, but the ease and power was wonderful. Each stroke on his board was about the equalivalent of three strokes on my board. I wouldn’t give my board up, but I could definitely enjoy have one like his. Maybe I will get one! I did decide that I wanted fish off of my board, so maybe soon.

As for the rest of the day, I am planning on making cupcakes with Henry and Em, and we will spend time talking to his grandparents. And then- DUKE at UNC. The game is at 8pm CT and my wife and I will sit on opposite ends of the couch and cheer for our respective teams. Anything could happen!

Tomorrow I am back at the gym and then pizza night and family in town for the Birthday Party!

Workout Journal

Finally a normal day in the gym. No cancelled PRT or actual PRT. Just me, my routine, and 300 A-school students. Luckily they weren’t in the way and the instructors had them busy.

Today was a rest day for CrossFit.com.  Since the PRT yesterday kept me from Tuesday’s WOD, I did it this morning. I followed that up with a chest workout Since I missed that on Monday (Presidents Day). Here is the routine:

10 minutes of warm-up on the elliptical
AMRAP in 7 minutes- 5 bench jumps, 3 135# Cleans
Dumbbell Press 6×8-12
Incline Barbell Pres 5×8-12
Decline Dumbbell Flye 4×8-12

Tomorrow is a WOD, and depending on how long it takes, I few leg exercises and abs. I will let you know what happens.

Workout Journal

Today was a busy day on the fitness side of life. It was also busy on just the life side of things. I got the house cleaned and vacuumed, the kitchen cleaned and the floors mopped, I called the cable company to handle some business , and knocked out a little bit of studying for primary. Now I am just waiting for the wife and kid to come home.

So what was the workout? Well since there was a communication error last week, I ran my PRT today. Despite not running in the last 8 weeks or so, I ran an 11:30 mile and a half. After the PRT I went inside the gym and got to work for real. The humidity killed me and so after the run I decided to skip the CrossFit WOD. I moved right into my Back/Bicep/Calves routine. Today I performed:

4 sets of dead hang pull-ups AMAP
3×10 T-bar rows
2×12/2×6 Barbell curls- the first group was normal and the second was heavy/cheat
In between the curl sets I added rope pulls for :30
3×10 Incline Dumbbell curls
4×10 Leg Press Calf Raises
4×15 Seated Calf Raises

I pushed each set to the heaviest weight I could tolerate and really felt like I got an incredible workout. I left in a puddle of sweat and was hammered.

Once I got home I realized I have been running blind for a few weeks and not as focused and prepared for this bulk phase as I should be. So I started over; sorta. I weighed in this morning and was 176.6 pounds. This is just over 8 pounds from my goal. Later in the day I took some measurements for body fat calculating. Using a tape measure and HealthStatus.com, I found my body fat to be about 15%. This is obviously not the most accurate way to measure body fat and so I also used my calipers and linear-software.com to find a second more accurate you number. This time I got 11.6. I then averaged the two numbers and am using 13% as my body fat. If you compare this to the pictures below, from BuiltLean.com, I am definitely not quite 15% but not the 10-12% either, I am in between.

 

After coming up with a good body fat estimate, I then went to weight-trainer.net and calculated my lean bulk calories. Here is a table from the website showing my stats:

Based on the above diet numbers and the approximate muscle gain per week, I will spend about 14 weeks gaining the 8 pounds and reaching my goal. My current routine is a 12 weeks cycle and if you assume some fat will be added with the muscle, then I should be 185 in about 12 weeks, not 14.

After adjusting my calorie intake in my calorie counter, I went to the Big Man on Campus and printed the calendar. Now as I complete the each day I will mark it off. This will keep me accountable and ensure I am following the routine correctly.

Tomorrow I plan on taking body measurements for chest and biceps, etc. My weigh in plan is every Friday so I can ensure I am not gaining too much weight too quickly. This would mean I am adding fat not muscle. However I will  only calculate body fat and retake measurements every 4 weeks. Those items are not affected as quickly and can cause you to chase the tape or even get discouraged.

Tomorrow is strictly a CrossFit, but I may add a little cardio.

 

1st Navy Jack

So as a Naval Officer and a SNFO I am authorized to wear a flight suit and with it several patches. I have a name tag, a class patch from API, a command patch, and a flag. The flag is on my left shoulder and currently I am allowed to wear either the American Flag, or the First Navy Jack. I have chosen to wear the First Navy Jack.

 

That’s fine and all, but my wife challenged me today and asked me what it meant. Well this is what I knew- the flag was used in the Revolutionary War and you better not tread on me. Not exactly what one should know when choosing how to represent himself and his country. I knew it had a great history and when it came into being, but I didn’t know the significance of the saying or snake. So I looked it up and here is what it means, and why I wear the First Navy Jack.

In the Revolutionary War the Navy ships flew the flag which is an adopted version of the Gadsden Flag. The stripes represent the 13 original colonies and the motto is a representation of the traits of the Timber Rattlesnake- which symbolizes the United States and found its habitat in the 13 colonies.

The Timber Rattlesnake was chosen because it is a quiet and peaceful snake that to the untrained eye is harmless. The snake never attacks unprovoked, however never backs down after struck. The snake will fight to its death and will inflict large amounts of venom into its prey with speed and precision. The small bites can barely been seen and yet the venom released is always deadly. Conscious of this the Timber Rattlesnake does not begin her attack until generously giving notice. The snake has no eyelids and therefore is the perfect symbol for vigilance.

I wear the First Navy Jack because I, like the Timber, am from one of the original colonies, now states in the union. I am proud to fight for my country and to serve the United States. I will never back down from a fight and will strike with precision and speed. The First Navy Jack represents all I believe in as a member of the Armed Forces and I will always be vigilant.

 

Workout Journal

I have a post in mind for today and since it has nothing to do with exercise and I figured I would update you on my workout.

The WOD was a CrossFit total- set a row machine to 3 2 minute rounds of rowing with 3 2 minute breaks in between. During the first break perform 95lb thrusters, during the second break do 95lb snatches, and during the third break do 95lb cleans. Add total calories burned on the rower and total reps performed.

The two minutes of rowing and the explosive motion of the three lifts killed me. Here is my break down and total:

29 cals, 14 thrusters, 31 cals, 9 snatches, 25 cals, 15 cleans. Total- 123

After the WOD I completed a few sets of shoulder press, side raises, calf raises and weighted ab crunch. It was a good day and I felt beat!