Daily 9 Warm-up

In the Marine Corps, we have "The Daily 7", a series of calisthenics that make for a good little workout appropriate for large group workouts and intended to be done regularly to build strong, healthy bodies.  I wanted to make a daily 7 for us to use as a warm-up. Unfortunately, there are too many movements that I consider essential, and a ton more that I still consider useful, but you have to draw the line somewhere. So, this is the "Daily 9 Warm-up".
1. Joint Rotations
     -Neck- 10x each direction
     -Shoulders- 10x each direction
     -Torso Rotations- 5x each rotation
     -Hip Rotations- 10x each direction
     -Knee Rotations- 10x each direction
     -Ankle Rotations- 10x each direction
     -Wrist Rotations- 10x each direction
2. Shoulder Complex
     -Scarecrows- 15x
     -Bar Pass Throughs- 10x
     -Egyptians- 10x
3. Twists & Wood Choppers- 10x each
4. Spiderman Stretch- 10sec each position- twice
5. Squat & Reach- 10x
6. Scorpions
     -Supine- 5x slow, 5x fast each side
     -Prone- 10x each side
7. Over/Under Fencce- 5x each side
8. Plank Complex
     -Straight Arm Pushups- 10x
     -Side Hip Raises- 10x each side
     -Bridge & Reach- 10x each side
9. Knee Tuck to Lunge & Twist- 5x each side

You should have a little sweat going at this point and be ready for the WOD. This is also something you can do on rest days to keep your body loose and moving well.

Squats & Swim

Back Squat

3x 230lbs

3x 245lbs

3x 260lbs

Swim

4x100m w/30sec rest

1:35, 1:47, 1:49, 1:53

3x200m w/ 1min rest

3:52, 3:39, 3:40

Spent some quality time on swim technique. Thanks to Kevin McLaughlin the Aquatics Director @ Pitt for taking the time to watch my stroke and give me some direction on cleaning it up. They have a sweet underwater video system to watch technique. We took my stroke per length from 21 strokes to 15. Once again the value of having a professional coach really makes all the difference.

Run 2x 15min on: 2min rest

My buddy Joe and I ran this in the AM. I'd like to get more than 4miles in 30 minutes, but it is a hilly course, so I'll take how I did. This was a nice one to work on some faster pacing for a little longer time than just short intervals.

Bike 3rnds: 7min on: 3min off

Did this at the Highland Park Reservoir this morning. I still need to get better at the aero bars and changing gears though my Cervelo P2 is absolutely beautiful.

How do you celebrate Memorial Day?

Is this Monday going to be all about BBQ and picnics and time with your family? There is nothing wrong with any of those things, but I’m going to take some time on Monday to remember those who have given their lives in the name of the freedom to enjoy that time and who’s families will be missing their presence maybe a little more on this holiday than on all the other days they go on missing them. In particular, I’ll be remembering one of my Marines from Afghanistan whom we lost last year, LCpl Abram Howard.

If anyone wants to join me, I’ll be at the Highland Park Reservoir at the pullup bars by the Super Playground @ 9AM on Monday.

LCpl. Abram LaRue Howard, 21, of Williamsport, PA died Tuesday, July, 27, 2010, in the Marjeh district of Helmand Province, Afghanistan, while serving his country in the U.S. Marine Corps training police and fighting terrorism in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He is survived by His father and mother, Bart and Connie,his brother Alex, his sister Olivia, his maternal grandparents, and a host of aunts, uncles, and extended family who will be missing him dearly this weekend.

“Abe”

21x L-Pullups

100yd sprint

3x Burpees

100yd sprint

18x L-Pullups

100yd sprint

6x Burpees

100yd sprint

15x L-Pullups

100yd sprint

9x burpees

100yd sprint

12x L-Pullups

100yd sprint

12x Burpees

100yd sprint

9x L-Pullups

100yd sprint

15x Burpees

100yd sprint

6x L-Pullups

100yd sprint

18x Burpees

100yd sprint

3x L-Pullups

100yd sprint

21x Burpees

100yd Sprint

The Pull-ups are because he is a Marine. The Burpees are because of his wrestling background. The sprints are because he was a football player.

A Success Story

3 days isn't a lot of time to change someone's life, but I had that chance this week. I get a call on Tuesday, "Dude you gotta help me." My friend Brian had just come up short on his PT test applying for the Pittsburgh Police Department.

Me- "When are you retesting?"

Brian- "Friday"

Me in my head- "Ughhh, how the hell are we going to do this?"

Me out loud- "All right lets get started"

Obviously 3 days isn't a lot of time to improve fitness, so technique was the only way we were going to get this done.

Brian met me and I introduced him to CrossFit Endurance running. I taught him drills to teach his body how to do the technique properly and I gave him homework over the next few days. This included plenty of time repeating the drills, mobility work from www.mobilitywod.com, and just enough sprinting to get him used to moving fast while using the new technique.

How'd he do? Check out the video:

He was almost in tears of relief when he came across the finish line and they told him he passed. I had been thinking about all the time and money I've spent gaining the knowledge and experience I have in the strength and conditioning field. Between certifications, seminars, and a college education it adds up. Moments like the one today make me realize that it's all been worth it. Changing lives is why I'm in this game and I'm thrilled that I had the chance to do that this week.

Changing Lives!

Hey everyone,

Even though the gym is closed, I decided to still make some posts on here from time to time about the fitness endeavors I have going on.

The most exciting one is that I’ve been training my Mom. She is has never been athletic in her life and is overweight. She was really afraid to workout with me, but I finally guilted her into it. We’ve been working out for about a month now and I can all ready see the results. We are going to have to work on the diet more to make significant results in the weight loss arena, but her ability to move has really sky rocketed. We’ve done squats, deadlifts, push ups, pull ups, presses, agility drills, and medicine ball drills. Sounds pretty intimidating right? Well, everything has been scaled. She uses the Smith Machine to help with balance on the squats and she does box squats. She puts the bar down at lower rib cage level for her pushups, and up a little higher for body row pull ups. She calls them “fake” but I’m really happy with her results in such a short time. I can see that even her quality of movement has improved, as in she moves more smoothly as she’s doing the exercises. I also had her working on standing on one foot with a bent knee and it was too much when we started. Today, I had her put one foot up on a step so she could keep using the back foot for balance and to take some of the weight off the lead leg. She ended up not needing balance assistance and pushed off the back foot to just stand on the lead foot. There is no way she could have done that two weeks ago. I’m so excited to see the progress she is making. She’s excited to. She invited one of her friends from work who is having trouble with some other issues, but it really comes down to lack of midline stability, poor mechanics, and general weakness. All things I think we can help with.

It’s not training the Steelers or competing in the CrossFit Games, but I couldn’t be more excited to working with these two and can’t wait to see the results we can get in the next month.