Kettlebell Pyramids

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For time:

200m run
35 KB swings 25/35
400m run
35 KB swings 25/35
800m run
35 KB swings 25/35
800m run
35 KB swings 25/35
400m run
35 KB swings 25/35
200m run
35 KB swings 25/35

Post time to comments.

Alot of you have asked, "what's with the Barbie on the Wall? Is it supposed to represent some GPP ideal?" Haha. Nope. Just the theme of our Red Rock team. Nice running girls (Wendy, Candice, Nikki, Amanda, Janetha, Amy).

Alot of you have asked, "what's with the Barbie on the Wall?  Is it supposed to represent some GPP ideal?"  Haha.  Nope.  Just the theme of our Red Rock team.  Nice running girls (Wendy, Candice, Nikki, Amanda, Janetha, Amy).

BAT Medley

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OTC - 

Biceps Medley - 4 rounds.

20 alt BB biceps curls 25/45
20 T2T bent rows 25/45
biceps 21's 
Rest 30 sec.

Abs Medley - 4 rounds.  

20 sec. plank hold
10 plank complex R
10 plank complex L
20 back ext.
Rest 30 sec.

Triceps Medley - 4 rounds.

10 (ea.) seated uni OH triceps ext R 10/15
10 (ea.) seated uni OH triceps ext L 10/15
10 (ea.) shoulder crushers R 10/15
10 (ea.) shoulder crushers R 10/15
20 narrow pushups
Rest 30 sec

Post Rx to comments.

The kind of dimples you want in your legs (Joanna).

The kind of dimples you want in your legs (Joanna).

Corrugation

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For time:

50 situps
50 crunch twists L
50 crunch twists R
50 back extensions
1 min 6" leg hold
50 KB juggles 25/35
50 tick tocks L 25/35 
50 tick tocks R 25/35 
1 min ab bridge hold
50 crunches
800m run (600 rope jumps, 800m row, 50 burpees)

Post time to comments.

If you are looking for a little more out of those abs today, consider switching crunches for crunches on a ball.  Don't have a ball?  Cool, just roll up a towel and place it in the small of your back.  Keep the small of your back pressed into the towel at all times as you do your crunches.  

Keep in mind, if you are looking to gauge your fitness with this workout vs. the last time you did it, your times will be slower.  Adding extension to the trunk via a towel, or stability ball increases the amount of work your abs have to do per rep.  Gauging your times will not be an apples to apples comparison.  

GPP Fitness for Kids Summer Classes - Register HERE through Centerville City!

Want the kids to feel great this summer and have fun getting strong and healthy?  This is the class!  We've done this in conjunction with Centerville City for 3 years now.  It is awesome and the kids love it.  

It is an 8 week class held 2x/week at GPP.  For kids ages 11-18.  Workouts begin June 11th, Tuesdays & Thursdays at 10:30 am.  Cost $55.

We've been chuckling about this all day - from GPP NWA.

We've been chuckling about this all day - from GPP NWA.

AMRAP Squats & Run

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AMRAP in 20 min of:

max effort squats (for reps) 
400 m run

Post number of squats per round and number of laps completed to comments.

To do a "max effort squat" set, complete as many perfect air squats as you can in an unbroken string.  Upon your first break set - go run! 

It has been a couple of years since we did this one.  Might want to check out comments from the last time we did it, for how to negotiate its demands.  Also, there are some stellar performances.  Just amazing.  

Remember MORE/HARDER/FASTER is not BETTER.  BETTER is BETTER.  It's not the goal to see how many squats you are ultimately capable of today.  Today is about getting max benefit from a max rep set of squats.  The better your squats, the more benefit you'll gain.  

Rookies - be CAREFUL.  This one is a soremaker.  Sneaky too.  You'll be feeling fine during ..., then won't walk for 5 days.  Not OK.  

These guys are on the ball (T.J. and Cade - who is down 40 lbs.)

These guys are on the ball (T.J. and Cade - who is down 40 lbs.)

Balance, Coordination, Accuracy

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300 backwards jump ropes

3 rounds of:
10 TGU (R) 25/45 use barbell
10 TGU (L) 25/45 use barbell

5 minutes of:
stability ball balance drill (knees on)
stability ball balance drill (seated)

Post consecutive backwards jump ropes, thoughts on improving your TGU and consecutive minutes on stability ball balance drills to comments.

One of the reasons we prefer the stability ball for use with our crunches and situps is for the increased overall stimulation provided to the trunk vs. the floor.  It also increases flexibility, balance and just plain LOOKS GOOD ON!

Sam et al. gets WAY back!

Sam et al. gets WAY back!

Lil Kate

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2 rounds for time:

400m run
25 squats
400m run
25 situps
400m run
25 high sumos 45/65
400m run
25 pushups 
400m run
25 burpees

Post time to comments.

The Scientific 7-Minute Workout  by Gretchen Reynolds

Thanks Russ L. for sharing this article. The scientific world doesn't move very fast inside the health and fitness world.  It is disappointing.  With the proliferation of workouts like ours, you'd think the scientific world (This one was put out by ACSM.  They are considered the "gold standard" in our industry) would simply study the stuff that is already going on around it.  It won't.  Click on the link above and read the article and check out the movements they suggest.  Does it all look familiar?  It is very close, but I'm sorry - no cigar.  There are lots of probs with this thing (It was a cute try though).  I'll outline below.  First, a little history. 

Years ago (like 1999, or so) I started tweaking body building workouts to make them more functional and effective.  I began with using the 7 major body parts (legs, back, chest, shoulders, biceps, triceps & abs).  I would run my clients through these in rapid succession.  I would change the order of progression & movements performed during these workouts daily.  My clients were WASTED, but the results were astonishing.  Clients reaped impressive gains in both health, fitness and appearance.  I'd never seen anything like it.  My peers hadn't either.  Some began accusing me of cheating somehow.  Others simply followed suit and saw similar gains with their clients.    

When I presented these rudimentary methods (scientific in nature) to my bosses, I was mocked and told these methods were "unaccepted" and that I would need to conform to more "scientific" principles (specifically those of the ACSM and etc,).  Eventually, I was pushed out.  

Today (more than 10 years later) "Science" seems to be accepting the methods me and my peers have been pioneering over the last decade, or so.  But they are WAY behind.  I imagine they always will be (unless they get a few pointers).  I mentioned above that the workout they presented (The Scientific 7-Minute Workout) was mostly crummy.  Below are a few points on coming up with effective workouts  (I'd mail them to the NYT, but they probably don't care.) the authors, and the NYT could use on writing workouts.  

  1. 7 minutes is awesome!  Good job!  (thought I'd start with a positive).  There is no law that says how long an effective workout should last.  
  2. 12 exercises!  OK.  Cool, but many are redundant.  You've got step-ups (a sort of squat), lunges (a sort of squat), squats (a sort of squat), wall sits (a sort of squat).  Squats are cool, but if you going to use a different one, pick one that has a different effect.  Most of these do the same thing (there were also 2 pushups).  Seems like you were just throwing things in there to get us worn out.  Where is the science in that?   
  3. Check your form guys.  The photo of that squat is less than deplorable.  I'm no form Nazi, but ...
  4. Forgot about pulling motions.  1/3 of the muscles in your body are pulling muscles.  You haven't even addressed them here.  If one were to do this workout for any length of time, the poor soul would create serious imbalances (these will likely create injuries - catastrophic in nature).  Not to mention incomplete fitness.  
  5. Forgot about twisting and extending motions for the trunk.  It moves in 4 ways.  You only addressed 2 of them.  Why not take one of the several redundant trunk motions you've already listed and trade one, or two for something that will balance and stimulate overall core development and structure?     
  6. Did you guys forget to mention how often this workout should be performed?  I'm sure you didn't mean for it to be done daily, or did you?  When does it change?  How can I vary intensity?  I checked around.  Couldn't find the specifics.  I'm quite sure I went deeper than the average reader (MANY of whom are out there RIGHT NOW doing this thing daily) would.  
  7. This ... "The exercises should be performed in rapid succession, allowing 30 seconds for each, while, throughout, the intensity hovers at about an 8 on a discomfort scale of 1 to 10, Mr. Jordan says. Those seven minutes should be, in a word, unpleasant. The upside is, after seven minutes, you’re done."  ... Is VERY bad advice.  It should read something like "work your way up to an 8 out of 10 over several months of progressively increasing training intensity."  Blanket advice like that, published by an outfit as big as both of these (ACSM & NYT) can kill.   Look, I'm not taking away from anyone's personal accountability, but WOW!  

This thing looks as if it were written by someone who's never coached another client.  Let alone the thousands that this article went out to.  Which is why "science" will always be about a decade behind.  Until "science" gets out of the lab and starts logging some hours (I suggest thousands, as we have) doing something more than theorizing and speculating, you may never be able to trust the guys/gals in the scientific community (and those who blindly follow) for sound fitness advice.  

Last week, Tony goes, "I'm going to get my MU on the bar within a week." He did it in less!

Last week, Tony goes, "I'm going to get my MU on the bar within a week."  He did it in less!