BOLT FIT

CROSSFIT!

2010-07-08T16:49:00.000-07:00

This month my goal has been to try something new...either Nashville Kettlebell or Crossfit was on my list. On Monday Crossfit CFT located here in Nashville had an On Ramp class happening for beginners, and Kristin and I were able to jump in. I suppose I jumped, and Kristin kinda tagged along for the ride. Ends up that Kristin's over-developed sense of competition really got her pumped and now she is ready to do some CrossFit competitions. Overall we both really loved the atmosphere and the coaches; working out in a group atmosphere like this really can't be beat. All the teachings really line up with my current beliefs and goals relative to fitness, and the coaches have a great style of presenting the information. Suffice it to say, we're both super pumped about getting involved with CrossFit!

Monday's workout:

Dynamic range of motion

Practice of Squats, Ring rows, Pushups

MetCon:

Run 200 meters

15,12,9 of

Squats

Pushups

BW ring rows

Run 200 meters

My time: 5:58

Tuesday:

Dynamic range of motion

Strength:

Weighted pull-ups x 3-5 reps with 20lb. weight vest

Weighted dips x 5 reps with 20lb. weight vest

Wednesday:

Practice:

Shoulder press (military, push-press)

Deadlift (barbell, kettlebell, medicine ball)

Metcon:

10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1

KB deadlift x 16kg

Dumbbell pushpress x 15lbs.

My time: 6:02

MIA

2010-07-04T15:21:00.000-07:00

Where have I been? Surfing in California, drinking fine wine, hanging with family, and "growing" a mustache!

It's been great, and one of the most satisfying things for me after this trip is that I don't feel I lost anything in my training and progress toward awesomeness at all...in fact I feel like I gained some strength. I suppose surfing for 8 one day and 3 hours the next will leave you feeling like you accomplished something physically.

It used to be that I would drop every form of exercise when I went away on a trip. I always had great expectations for running everyday, doing bodyweight work in the hotel room, or weights in the gym, but that never seemed to happen. I think this may have happened for a few reasons; 1) I was getting too mentally exhausted with my obsessive workout routine that I needed a mental break, 2) I couldn't get myself to workout if it wasn't going to be a world-class workout - so if I didn't an hour or have weights/pull-up bar - that would serve as a reason to postpone rather than doing something, and 3) some combination of those two and other factors of which I am currently unaware.

So, in keeping with my Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule...I worked out on Wednesday before I left, and then on Friday...while I was on vacation! The Friday workout consisted of this:

-warm-up/stretching/mobility

-3 sets of:

10 one leg squats

20-30 pushups

20 restricted range of motion body weight rows

-Finished up with core stability work and bridging

Nothing too interesting or ambitious, BUT I actually did it, and that was what I was looking for. The body weight rows are the one exercise I would note...I had to use one of those foldable suitcase holders/stands that are in most hotel rooms for those. I just balanced it in the "folded" position and did rows under that. Again, it wasn't full range of motion, but it worked and gave a pulling exercise in the hotel room.

Then Sunday and Monday I hit the beach for surfing. Some of the spots required lots of paddling...Mondos in particular had breaks hundreds of yards off the coast, so I got a nice workout doing that. And I couldn't have had more fun doing it!

Then I was back in town, and picked up working out again on Thursday.

I've decided that the next phase of my training is going to focus on "bulking"...as I'm still under-weight from where I feel I should be post motorcycle accident. I'm going to do my best to have the gains be primarily "lean" much like some of the ideas discussed at Martin Berkhan's blog Leangains.

For this phase the nutrition plan I'm going to try will be a modified version of the IF (intermittent fasting) approach that Martin describes on his blog. On off days, I plan on fasting through breakfast, and using an 8 hour eating window. On my workout days I plan on working out early and eating soon after. I plan on eating more carbs on workout days and less on off days. The majority of my diet should be whole foods with plenty of protein and fats in the diet as well. I haven't quite worked out how this is going to go exactly, but I'm just going to jump in and try it and see how it goes.

As far as workouts go, I want to focus on strength gains. Based on reading ideas by Steve Maxwell and Martin Berkhan, I plan on my strength gains being largely representative of body composition changes. If I am increasing in the number/weight I can chin...I am probably increasing muscle while losing, maintaining or having minimal fat gains. If I notice that I am starting to have lower numbers in my chin-ups then I'll know that I'm probably gaining too much fat. So, my strength will be a good gauge of how I am progressing.

I think I will be trying Nashville Kettlebell for a while. I hope that in doing so I'll strengthen my weaker links...especially my lower back. If I feel the urge, I'll do some strength work at home consisting of pulling exercises (chins/pull-ups/BW rows), pushing (dips, pushups, handstands), and leg exercises (deadlifts, squats).

See you tomorrow...

Nutrition

2010-07-01T11:58:00.001-07:00

If you want to be fit, then you need to maintain a healthier diet. It sounds simple, but it’s difficult for some of us to do. I was eating a new healthy snack that I enjoy the other day and I thought we needed to work more on nutrition (or at least I do). I want us to add a Recipe/Nutrition section on the blog-site, one in which will offer solid recipes for us to share and beneficial nutrition and snack ideas. Nutrition is just as important as the exercising especially if you are trying to tone and/or slim. I am very guilty when it comes to my eating pleasures. So I know finding enjoyable healthy alternatives for snacks and meals will benefit me greatly. It would be nice to have a spot that offers suggestions for snacks to purchase when I go to the store and how they may benefit us. We can offer our own reviews. Also recipe ideas for making meals would be great to access. What do you all think?

My snack I was enjoying will be my first post suggestion. It was Sun-Maid Mediterranean Dried Apricots. I find them to be delicious. A handful of them offer 11% of your daily value for potassium and 12% of dietary fiber. They are low in sodium and have no fat. So Enjoy!

Also, the package label has a healthy food fitness award logo. This is an award giving by the experts at Fitness magazine as a healthy, nutritious food. Perhaps I can research some of their snack options, among others and we can start our own list as well.

June Twenty-third, Two thousand and ten

2010-06-22T19:14:00.000-07:00

4 sets of:

-Lunges x 16kg KB

-Hack squat x 16kg KB

-Ring dips

-Ring rows

Then 3 sets of:

Hanging leg raises/twisters

MLC (burpee pull-up combos)

GO USA!

June Twenty-first, Two thousand and ten - The War Within

2010-06-21T15:27:00.000-07:00

3 rounds of:

20 reps Goblet squats x 16kg

10 2-hand swings x 16kg

6-8 KB military press R/L x 16kg

6 Chin-ups

2 rounds of:

Abwheel rollouts (prep for ring roll outs)

Side plank x 30 sec.

Bird dogs (extended elbow to knee x 5 each side)

Bridges

3 minutes of "The war within" (find a long hill...sprint up for 10/15 seconds, walk down for 20/30 seconds...get to the top). The name "The war within" is based off of classic approach-avoidance conflict theory...example: when Pearl Harbor was bombed many men enlisted (i.e., approach)...when it came time to ship off, and especially, when it was time to go on shore for battle and possibly death some opted out (i.e., avoidance). So, "the war within" is that as you run up the hill the faster and harder you push the quicker you get done, but it hurts more...in the moment when it hurts...will you approach or avoid?! Charge on good friends!

June Nineteenth Two Thousand and Ten

2010-06-19T15:03:00.000-07:00

Just completed a workout for the weekend.
I am excited to say that I am the proud owner of rogue fitness rings.
So I performed a high level of ring exercises today.
See below:

3 Sets of the following:

Dips with Rings x 4
Body Weight Rows with Rings x 10
L-Chin-ups x 4
Ring Roll Outs x 8
Chest Flys with Rings x 4
30 seconds of Jump Rope

June Eighteenth, Two thousand and ten

2010-06-17T20:32:00.000-07:00

Robin's workout of the day:

3-5 sets of:

Hack squat x 16kg KB

Archer Ring push-ups

Ring BW rows

Then:

Hanging leg raises/twisters

Multi-level circuits (burpee/KB/pull-up combos); be creative!

WATCH US IN WORLD CUP!

June Sixteenth, Two thousand and ten

2010-06-15T18:34:00.000-07:00

Even though Episode One is over I'm really trying to make sure I keep working out at least 3 days a week.

Robin's workout of the day:

3-5 sets of:

-Airborne one leg squats x 8-10 reps

-Ring dips x 6-8 reps

-Inverted ring shrugs/pulls x 6-8 reps (hang upside down and performing shrug motion with elbow flexion)

Then

-Core stability

-5-10 hill sprints

Post total workout time and resistance used.

Episode One hangover?

2010-06-13T19:12:00.000-07:00

So, what is next for you Bolt Fit followers?! Well I'll be following a strength/size building plan, but the general plan really can be modified to fit whatever goals you have. I'll be following the general program that Jeff Martone describes for Tactical Athlete with some slight changes to number of reps. Tomorrow will probably be something like this...

Dynamic stretching/warm-up

2 rounds of 24 in. Plyo jumps (optional)

3-5 rounds of:

Squats x 15 reps

Kettlebell/dumbbell push press x 6-8 R/L

Pull-ups x 6-8 reps

1-2 rounds:

Burpees with pull-ups

Hanging leg raises

Bird dogs

Side planks

Bridges

Most of the work at the end will focus on core stability as I need to work on that. Goal time of 30-40 minutes worth of work. Enjoy if you want!

Simple, But Not Easy

2010-06-10T05:23:00.000-07:00

My final workout for Episode 1 will be simple, but not very easy (hence the title). You will not need any equipment whatsoever. Although you will need a lot of toughness. We all are tough!

It would be best if you could go to a high school track for this workout. The total workout is going to be a 3.0 mile run split up into 5 parts. Warm up (as always). I'd suggest running at least a half mile-mile with a good stretch. Before starting this workout, keep in mind it's ALL CONTINUOUS! No breaks!

You'll be running 3 continuous miles. The time you stop is to do additional exercises. Every 800m (at 800m, 1600m, 2400m, 3200m, and 4000m, or 1/2 mile, mile, 1.5 mile, 2.0 mile, and 2.5 mile) you'll stop to perform the following:

1) 40 pushups (20 regular, 10 wide stance, 10 "heart to heart")
Heart to heart pushups are simply placing your hands together, spreading your feet, and having your heart hit your hands at the bottom of the pushup)

2) 20 burpees (do 10, then the break before the other 10 burpees is high knees in place for 30 seconds)

3) 30 slow with good form crunches, followed by 45 seconds of the isometric "V" ab move (see my last workout for a description).

4) 60 seconds of jumping knees to chest. The first 45 seconds are slow jumps. The last 15 seconds pick up the pace so as soon as your feet land you're popping off the ground.

5) 5 burpees. 5 normal pushups, 15 seconds of jumping knee to chest.

To finish strong, run your last 800m at a solid pace. At a minimum, run it faster than your first 2.5 miles.

Your pace on the run should be medium. Don't just jog it, but don't go all out either. The last 800m will be fast.

Cool down.

This workout is designed to be pretty difficult, but only YOU can make it difficult if you so choose.

Maximizing

2010-06-09T06:06:00.000-07:00

Bolt-Fit as sweet as Aunt Jemima

This is my final workout for episode one. I suggested this as a workout pre-episode one, but I am now revising/simplifying it and re-establishing it as today’s workout. The goal and reward of this workout will be the amount of push-ups you complete in 15 minutes. So keep that in mind as you do them, make them quick, but keep good form and count/write down the amount you complete each set.

Warm-up, stretch and get loose.
Start the 15 minute countdown. Perform as much of this as you can do with nothing but a couple seconds of break between exercises.

Set of Push-Ups
30 seconds set of Crunches
Set of Push-Ups
60 seconds of Jump Rope
Set of Push-Ups
30 seconds each for left then right side plank
Set of Push-Ups
60 seconds of Jump Rope
Set of Push-Ups
60 seconds of elbow bridge plank
Set of Push-Ups
60 seconds of Jump Rope
Set of Push-Ups
30 seconds of lying on your back with your feet 6 inches off the ground and hold (your legs should be touching, pointing your toes out and legs should be straight, no bending at the knees), Keep your core tight as you hold it, if you struggle, raise your legs up to 12 inches off the ground and then 18 inches and then back down to 6 inches.
Set of Push-Ups
60 Seconds of Jump Rope
Set of Push-Ups
Set of Crunches
Set of Push-Ups

Do as many push-ups as you can in a set. This is up to you. You can do varying amounts each set or you can always do 25 or 40 push-ups for each set. Just remember the goal is to see how many you can do. You will take breaks between sets of push-ups but not breaks of rest. Nope, not here, not today, instead you will be performing exercises conditioning other muscles.
After your push-up set, quickly start doing some crunches/sit-ups. You don’t need to count these, just do as many as you can without becoming too unbearable, maybe 30 seconds worth.
Do push-ups again then do jump-rope. If you do not have a jump-rope then you’ll be jumping in place and doing the motion of having an imaginary jump-rope. If you get tangled in the rope, don’t start the time over, just start the jumping again until 60 seconds is complete. The idea of this workout is Push-Ups, Abs, Push-Ups, Jumping, and Repeat. If you want, you can perform the different abdominal workouts in your own preferred order. Above is my order and recommendation. I am not sure how far I will get as I will be doing this workout later this evening. If you have to keep doing more to fill your 15 minutes, just keep repeating the same cycle of Push-Ups, Abs, Push-Ups, Jumping until you are complete. If by chance 15 minutes has not worked you out sufficiently, please take it to 20 minutes. Keep track of how many push-ups you did in the 15 minutes though and then total for 20 minutes. So we can each have the 15 minute comparison.

Putting it all together

2010-06-06T17:42:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about what I plan on doing when Episode One ends...I think I want to focus on developing a few things; 1) strength and size, 2) core stability, 3) explosiveness, and 4) play with kettlebells. This workout is going to be a hybrid/example of what my workouts may be like after Episode One ends. That is if I'm not trying out Nashville Kettlebell. In general, I'll be targeting the 8-10 rep range. So, here is the workout...

Warm-up (joint mobility for me)

3 rounds x 10 reps of the following exercises (choose a variation for all exercises so you can do 10 reps):

-Pistols (Steve Maxwell Pistols)

-Push-ups (e.g., ring push-ups, ring archer push-ups, clapping/plyometric pushups, one-arm)

-Bodyweight rows (e.g., ring rows, weighted rows)

Then

3 rounds of:

-5 Burpees with pull-ups

-30 second side plank Right/Left

Rest as little as possible between exercises, and 60-90 seconds between rounds.

Post total workout time, pistol (one leg squat) version, push-up variant, and body weight row version. You can use the jump to flow into the pull-up (use momentum). A note on the burpees with pull-ups - I was introduced to these in Jeff Martone's Tactical Athlete Pull-up System DVD where he goes over many creative variants and calls them "Multi-level Circuits."

Make it Burn!

2010-06-03T21:57:00.000-07:00

Today we’re going to take a little break from running. We’re also going to take a break from exercises involving much movement. So what could we possibly be doing that will give us a high quality BOLT style work out? The answer…static exercises aka isometric exercises. Make these exercises BURN!!

Warm up your muscles well. We may violate the “no movement” aspect of the overall workout here. Run for 5 minutes to get the blood flowing.

Perform the following exercises with about 1 minute break in between. Also, time the entire workout because you may need more break in between exercises. You’ll want to gauge your progress when you perform this same workout in the future. A good way to do that will be to time the workout.

1)Flexed arm hang for 45 seconds. Get on a chair and get your chin above the pull up bar then hang there with your arms flexed for 45 seconds.

2)Find a door frame and push up with 85% effort for 45 seconds.

3)Now stand in the door frame and push outward with 85% effort for 45 seconds as if you’re trying to raise your hands above your head.

4)Get in a pushup position with your elbows rested on the floor. Keep your body straight and in good form to work your core muscles. Hold for 45 seconds.

5)Standing leg extensions. Find a bed and stand facing away from it. Put your right leg on the bed (your knee cap should be facing down on the bed). Stand on your left leg that is slightly bent. Then push down your RIGHT leg (the one on the bed) with about 85% effort for 45 seconds.

6)Same exercise as above but switch legs.

7)Sit on the floor and put your legs in the air about 18 inches off the floor. Your back is raised off the floor, and your arms are pointed towards your toes. You’re putting your body into a V shape. This will work the abs. Hold for 60 seconds.

8)Find a wall for support and balance. Do a handstand with the help of the wall. Hold your body up with your arms extended for 30 seconds. If you’re super motivated slightly bend your arms. The more you bend your arms the more difficult.

9)Wall sit for 60 seconds. Then for the next 15 seconds raise your left leg as straight out as you can. The next 15 seconds do your right leg. Total time is 90 seconds.

10)Get into a pushup position. Go half way down to the floor and hold for 45 seconds.

Do steps 1-10 twice. Take as much time between sets as you need in order to complete the 10 exercises all over again.

Bonus Round: Do steps 1-10 for a 3rd time. However, this go-round hold each of the exercises for only half the time.

At the end of the bonus round there is one bonus exercise. Emily calls this the pike press from her gymnastics days. Sit on the floor in a pike position with your legs straight/together and pointed forward. Place your hands on each side of you palms on the ground. Then try to lift your body off the ground (keeping good form with your legs straight and together) for as long as you can. This will be really tough at the end of this workout. It will work your shoulders and abs.

For Boncela

2010-06-01T20:11:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed the idea of Robin's last post. I would like to continue the tribute with this mid-week workout. This workout is a tribute to the late Adam Boncela who was a fellow friend and teammate of ours. Gentlemen, he is an honorary Bolt Bud. He was as tough as scarlet on steel as he ran and trained with an admirable sense of passion, devotion and strength. So that's what we are doing. I know he enjoyed running the 800 meters and running the 4 x 800 relay event. You are going to be running each leg of the relay. So that is four medium-fast 800 meters. But that's not all of it...

Assignment:

Stretch before warming up. The workout will begin right after the warm-up.

Warm up by jogging 800 meters or half a mile, if you are not running on a track.

The warm-up leads into a fast paced 800 meters, but keep some reserved as this is the first one of four. You have to have some strategy.

Do not stop running once complete, instead slow down to an easy pace for the next 400 meters. Go as easy as needed, but don’t walk. If you are feeling good then don’t go quite as slow on the recovery lap.

Begin again with a hard 800 meters. Then eased 400 meters.

Repeat the hard 800 and eased 400.

Once again, complete your fourth hard 800 meter run and eased 400 meters.

Once done, find some bleachers or a chair or curb or anything that offers you two heights of surfaces (ground and raised)

Now position yourself in a dip position (feet on the ground, hands on the raised surface with your butt and body off the seat). Dip down and back up using your body weight bending from your elbows. Complete 20. Quickly now flip yourself over to an incline push-up stance. Your hands will be on the raised level or chair with your feet on the lower ground. Perform 20 incline push-ups. Look forward and keep elbows in. Now flip it again! We are now doing dips again, but this time, your legs are on the raised level (chair) and your hands are on the ground lifting your body off the ground. Perform 20 dips. Position your hands as far back as you can, they should be further back than your head, and try to have your elbows bend toward your back and not away from your body. Flip it! Now perform 20 push-up on the decline with your hands on the ground and feet elevated above you. You are complete. If you are able to do more sets then do it. Let us know your time for running and for total workout time or sets completed. If my math is correct you should end up running 3.5 miles. Wow! Good Luck!

If this seems like a lot (I have not completed it), try to run 800 warm-up, three medium-hard 800's, with 400's in between and a final 800 cool down to equal 3 miles. The fourth 800 will be an open tribute for boncela to serve as our anchor in this case. Let me know which you perform and how it goes.

Memorial Workout

2010-05-30T14:25:00.000-07:00

Prior to a yoga practice it is common to devote the practice to a very high intention. Sometimes, as we mindlessly march through our days it's easy to devote workouts to "beautiful bods" or other personal motivations, which are all well and good. However, in doing so we sometimes lose sight of the bigger picture and the things that are most important.

Memorial day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. So on this day we'll look outside ourselves. The intention for today's workout is the mindful remembrance of those who have given their life in our nation's service. This workout is inspired by the Ryan Crossfit Hero Workout.

5 rounds for time of:

- 7 muscle-ups

- 21 Burpees (each burpee terminates with a jump one foot above max standing reach)

Maplewood, Missouri Firefighter, Ryan Hummert, 22, was killed by sniper fire July 21st 2008 when he stepped off his fire truck responding to a call. He is survived by his parents Andrew and Jackie Hummert.

Bolt Fit Memorial Day Workout

4 rounds for time of:

- 7 Pull-ups

- 7 Ring Dips (or 10 regular dips)

- 21 Burpees

- Steve Maxwell's revolving plank series

I maintained the pull-ups and dips as they are the two key elements of the muscle-up, though the transition is probably the most difficult aspect of it. I also added the plank series as spinal stability is something we can all benefit from and will prove useful as we learn more challenging exercises. I took the total rounds down to 4 because I was adding an exercise.

So be strong and fight through every last rep, perform it with flawless form, perform this workout and honor the memory of those who have given their lives in service to our nation! You may dedicate your effort to any specific individual as you wish. Also, you can perform the original "Ryan" workout if you are so able.

Find A Stadium And Get To Work!

2010-05-27T21:27:00.000-07:00

I love this workout. I used to do it a lot last summer when the weather was warm. Now that the weather is warm again, it’s time to dust off this workout and bring it out again. You’ll get out of this workout exactly how much you put into it. Scale it to your intensity level. I like to treat this workout as a solid medium to medium-hard feeling once it’s all said and done.
Equipment needed: A high school track with stadium (or your local major college stadium if you’re a real hard charger) and a weight vest (optional)
Exercises include: running stairs, pushups, and running around the track

Warm up appropriately. You’ll want to run at least 800m-mile and stretch out real good.
Dublin Coffman and Jerome’s stadium is perfect for this workout. That’s usually where I do this. Try to glide up the stadium stairs (I usually take 2 at a time) and be smooth/controlled. Don’t race to the top. Once at the top, jog to the next set of stairs and try to jog down the stairs. Try not to walk down the stairs, but most importantly, don’t fall down the stairs. Do this for the entire stadium. It should take about 4-5 minutes to complete a stadium (if I remember correctly).
When done with the stadium, walk to the track for about 30-60 seconds of rest.
Then rip out 20 standard pushups.
Jog slowly to the starting line and run a 400m.
I try to hit 90sec 400s. The pace is quicker, but not a sprint. You don’t want to jog around the track, but don’t kill yourself either. Maybe 90sec 400’s are too fast or slow for you. Make it a good medium “strideful” pace.
Take 60 seconds break and repeat.
Do 5 sets (or however many you can without killing yourself).

Suicide Stretch

2010-05-25T20:44:00.000-07:00

Nut. Task: I am assigning a simple but easy Wednesday nutrition task. Refrain from any alcoholic beverages today, drink no coffee, carbonated, sugary drinks or anything that lists high fructose corn syrup as the number one ingredient. Today try to drink only water and 100% juices.

For this workout, you simply need your body and a stretch of earth that spans about 100 yards.

This exercise workout is an old-school version of a suicide run with bit of a twist. So you need to mark off approximate measurements for your start/0 yards, 25 yards, 50 yards, 75 yards and 100 yards. Use anything, local trash, rocks, articles of clothing, any objects that are reference points for these 5 points.

The Workout:

Warm-Up: Light run, stretches or anything else you would like to do.

Perform Suicide Run with Stations.

Follow this method:

The Start/0 yd marker: 20 Crunches/Sit-ups
Run to 25 yd marker: 20 Push-ups
Run back to 0 yd marker: 20 Crunches/Sit-ups
Run to 50 yd marker: 20 Ski Jumps
Run back to 0 yd marker: 20 Crunches/Sit-ups
Run to 75 yd marker: 20 (10 + 10) Small Plank Series
Run back to 0 yd marker: 20 Crunches/Sit-ups
Run to 100 yd marker: 20 Jumping Jacks
Run back to 0 yd marker: 20 Crunches/Sit-ups
Finished

Record your time. Take 5 minutes of rest.

Repeat Suicide Circuit for a second time.

Record your time again.

Cool Down - Light run and stretching as desired.

Diagram:

Details:

Crunches: I did variations each time, but always keep core/abs tight while doing them. I did ones alternating with left elbow touching right knee and right elbow touching left knee. I did ones half up and straight towards knees and some I did quarter raises off ground where I leaned alternating toward my right and then left sides/external obliques. Do what you would like.

Push-Ups: I kept my elbows in closer to my body and kept my face looking out/up as oppose to down toward the ground. Once again do what you like and are capable of doing.

Ski Jumps: Stand with your feet together. Bend the knees and jump to the right as far as you can and then immediately jump laterally back to the left, like as if you are on skis. It is nice if you have a vertical line down the middle so you can jump laterally to the right and then back to the left side of the line. Right and Left jumps equal 1 repetition and not 2 in this workout so you have to do 40 total or 20 (Right and Left).

Small Plank Series: Similiar to Tom's previous plank jumps. Position yourself in plank position and jump with your legs toward your arms and then back out again (In and Outs). After 10 of these (1 rep. equals to the In & Out motion). Perform 10 side to side plank jumps. Remember to try to get air as you jump from side to side. Refer to Tom's video if needed for those 2 jumps.

Jumping Jacks: Nothing pretty here. Just like how you've always done them.

Metabolic Mayhem

2010-05-24T11:53:00.000-07:00

Warm-up

10 minutes of skill/play training

15 minutes metabolic conditioning

AMRAP of

8 ring body weight (BW) rows

10 Hindu pushups

25 air squats

5 knees to elbows (or arm pits in my case)

Happy ending

5 50 yard sprints with 30 seconds rest in between each

Cool down

How-to:

Warm-up...whatever you want. I did joint mobility.
10 minutes of skill/play...I worked on different kettlebell exercises. You could work on handstands, max weight bench press...whatever you want to do. The idea is that in this portion you are not trying to get your heart rate to high and fatigue your muscles too much. Maintain a fresh feeling during this period, but you can still do difficult skills.
Ring Rows...Steve maxwell tells best here. You can use a jungle gym. If you are doing rows on a straight bar then do 10 reps. If you can't do rows then do 5 pull-ups instead.
Hindu pushups, again refer to Steve Maxwell here. Do nice controlled full reps.
Learn air squats here. If you want you can do prisoner squats here too, which would entail interlacing hands behind head and trying to keep elbows out of your peripheral vision.
Knees to elbows here.

I imagine that none of these exercises are new to most of you. This is just a how-to so we are all on the same page. For the most part they may just be slightly different variations.

Report your total number of rounds and what skill you worked for 10 minutes in the comments. You can post total work out time too.

Episode One - Tom's day 3 complex

2010-05-20T07:43:00.000-07:00

Warm up - jog 5-10 minutes easy

1) Plank series

Hold each move for 7 seconds each. 1) plank, 2) left hand off plank, 3) right hand off plank, 4) left star pose, 5) right star pose

Do this series 3 times with 20-30 second break in between.

2) Wall sit for 1 minute

3) 5 traditional pushups straight into 6 total (3 left and 3 right) half superman pushups

Take a 20-30 second break before starting the pushup circuit

4) Pushup circuit

8 count run in plank

8 plank side to side jumps

6 pushups with rotating left and right leg going forward

8 in and outs

Take a 1 minute break before kick/jump series

5) Kick/Jump series (all kicks/jumps done without break between sets)

20 switch kicks

20 squat kicks

180 degree ceiling jumps for 30 seconds

Take 2 minute break before pushup circuit

6) Do pushup circuit again (step 4)

Take 2 minute break before superman/boat set

7) Superman/boat series

Superman 15 seconds, Boat 15 seconds, Superman 15 seconds, Boat 15 seconds

2 minute break before superman/boat series

8) Pushup circuit again (step 4)

2 minute break before superman/boat series

9) Superman/boat series again

10) 1 minute wall sit

11) Balance moves

A) "Yoga move" for 30 seconds

B) Standing splits on the left and right foot for 30 seconds each

C) Single leg squat with arm circles on both left and right for 30 seconds each

Elsty Exercise Journal

2010-05-19T20:27:00.000-07:00

The Pre Bolt-Fit Photo-Shoot:

Week One

5-17-2010
15 minutes of running/walking. 900 meters at sprint pace. Performed 4 sets of (pull-ups x 12, push-ups x 12, janda sit-ups x 12). Rode stationary bike for 2 miles.

5-18-2010
Ran for 10 mins (1.2 miles at medium pace), Performed 2 sets of (burpees x 12, frogger jumps x 12 and elbow bridge plank hold for 30 seconds). Did 4 sets of tricep workout.

5-19-2010
Jogged a mile.

5-20-2010
Ran 20 mins @ medium pace. Performed 120 push-ups (4 sets of 30).

5-22-2010
Ran a mile @ medium-hard pace. Performed the plank, push-up, jump, etc., circuit.

Week Two

5-24-2010
Stationary bike 2.5 miles in 10 mins. Peformed 5 rounds of "metabolic mayhem".

5-25-2010
Completed "Suicide Stretch" run and exercises.

5-26-2010
Ran 3 miles @ medium-pace in 26:30. Performed 4 sets of chest and 2 sets of abdominal exercises.

5-30-2010
Completed 4 sets of Stadium Run.

Week Three

06-01-10
Performed memorial workout. Rode stationary bike.

06-02-10
Ran Tribute to Boncela. 4 x 800's. Run for total of 3.5 miles. Did Incline/Decline dips and push-ups.

06-03-10
Jogged for 20 minutes, approximately 2 miles. Did circuits for 13 minutes.

06-05-10
Jogged for 5 minutes. Performed Tom's Isometric workout.

06-06-10
Jogged for 25 minutes. Approximately 2.25 miles.

Week Four

06-08-10
Peformed Robin's final workout. Pistol Squats, Push-Ups Body Rows, Burpees with Pull Ups, Planks.

06-09-10
Performed "Maximizing" workout.

Week Five

06-14-10
Performed last workout for Episode One: "Simple, But Not Easy", ran for 3 miles @ medium pace.

Post Episode One: (see any results? i think i may be paler)

06-15-10
Did Bicep and Abdominal workout. 4 exercises of bicep curls and 2 for abdominals. Ran treadmill for medium 2 miles in 16:25. Biked stationary @ medium pace for 3 miles in 12:35.

06-18-10
Ran for 10 mins @ easy pace. Peformed burpees with pull ups, bodyweight rows, heart to heart pushups and jumps.

Episode One - Day Deuce

2010-05-18T16:52:00.000-07:00

Bolt-Fit made for Beautiful Bod Buds

First of all I am assigning a Nutrition Required Task:
This can be completed by the end of this weekend.

Assignment:
Eat watermelon slices.
I was reading an article recently that identifies watermelon as a very rich source of potassium. There is approximately 664 mg of potassium in one large slice, which is more than a banana or cup of orange juice. Potassium is great for lowering blood pressure. It is also beneficial for anxiety, stress, muscular strength, metabolism, heart and kidney disorders, preventing strokes, water balance, electrolytic functions, and for the nervous system. Along with muscle building, it is also a great source for preventing muscle cramps.

If watermelons are not available or disliked, eat two bananas. If you refuse both these options, then you are being a bit difficult. Instead, eat some salmon or chicken with fresh fruit juices or eat some almonds as a snack. Enough already. Back to your Wednesday Warrior Workout:

*There is a full description and links of how to perform the exercises below this workout list. So please review to obtain a full understanding of how to perform the tasks.

Warm-Up / Stretch (if needed or desired)

1. Run – 10 minutes at a medium pace, get the heart-rate up some.

2. Perform a set of the following circuit:

Burpees x 12
Frogger Jumps x 12
The Elbow Bridge Plank hold for 30 seconds

3. Take a 2 minute break.

4. Repeat Step 2 to perform another set.

5. Take a 2 to 5 minute break.

6. Run – 10 minutes of running - - Divided: 2 minutes at an easy pace, 4 minutes of medium pace, 2 minutes hard and the final two minutes at an easy pace (will serve as a cool down).

7. Cool Down / Stretch (any further if needed or desired)

Now record the amount of time it takes you to complete the total workout if you can keep track of it. Also write down the amount of reps you achieve for each exercise or if you modify the amount or number of sets you complete. Also, keep track of the distance you run, if you can.

To scale the workout you can run for less time, take longer breaks between the sets or the runs or make the exercises easier like not perform the push-up for the burpee or to not jump in the air.

The How To:

Burpees are a full body exercise for strength training.

Begin in a standing position.

Drop into a squat with hands on floor.

Kick feet back into push-up stance and perform push-up.

Immediately return or "hop" your legs towards your hands to return to squat position.

Leap up in the air bounding from the legs with your arms stretching toward the sky.

Repeat.

(All these steps are performed in a smooth motion with no pause)

This is an excellent example of a burpee.

This is also an excellent example for its own reasons.

Frogger Jump (the name I have given it) is exactly as it sounds. It is a plyometric squat jump that will resemble jumping like a frog.

Start from a standing position.

Drop into a squat position.

Bound as far forward as possible, swinging your arms as you push off the ground simultaneously with both legs.

Repeat

The Elbow Bridge Plank is an abdominal/core exercise.

Get in the push-up stance, except with your elbows touching the ground, hold your body raised in the air while clenching your abdominals. Keep a Flat line – no sagging hips or protruding buttock.

See example one.

Or example link two.

Episode One - Day One

2010-05-16T16:08:00.000-07:00

This workout is pretty simple and straightforward, but might end up being pretty tough. Remember, everything is scalable, so work at your current fitness level.

Warm-up anyhow

Workout:

15 minutes alternating sprinting (85% max speed) and walking

Record your total sprint time (i.e., start/stop your stopwatch every time you start sprinting)

Then

As Many Rounds As Possible (AMRAP) in 15 minutes of:

Pull-ups x 12

Push-ups x 12

Janda Sit-ups x 12

Cool-down

Do the pull-ups, push-ups and sit-ups with perfect form. Hold the top position of the push-up for at least a second, and lower yourself all the way on the pull-ups. If you need assistance to get 12 pull-ups...use it - I used one of my rings to give the extra assistance necessary since I am just not in 12 pull-up shape. If you need to add weight/raise feet for 12 push-ups to be difficult enough then do that too. I used my push-up board to take some pressure off my recovering wrist. See Jeff Martone's article for ideas on how to do Janda Sit-ups. I did mine 2-leg style. The main idea is that you are activating your hamstrings and pulling with your heals rather than having an anchor above your feet. This should decreases hip flexor involvement to increase the work done by the abdominals.

In the comments post:

Total workout time (45 minutes or less)
Total sprint time
Total number of completed rounds for pull-up, push-up and sit-up supersets.

Nutrition Challenges for the next two days:

Abstain from something you would usually have (e.g., that extra beer, baked goods at work, etc.)
Stop short on a meal when you would usually overeat

Be sure you are living in the "fierce urgency of now!"

Episode One

2010-05-12T18:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I emailed the buds (i.e., Tom and Ahren) and told them I'm high-jacking the blog...and I am!

I'm creating Bolt Fit Episode One right now. Actually, I'm going to lay down the concept, and we're all going to make it happen.

Time frame: 1 month

Goal: "Overall fatburn/Muscle build" - Tom's words

Scheme: primarily compound/functional exercises with resistance that can be performed in the 8-12 rep range

Equipment (by priority): Bodyweight (we've all got some of this), Rings/jungle gym, pull-up bar, kettlebell/s, dumbbells

Diet recommendation: Eat whole foods, not too much, as much local food as possible (my variation of Michael Pollan's food rules)

Contributors: Bolt Buds (i.e., Tom, Ahren, Robin, anyone else?)

So to reiterate, this episode, Episode One, is going to be short and sweet. One month. The goal is to burn some fat and add some muscle. In order to achieve this we'll be assigning workouts. Each individual will have to scale these according to his/her fitness level. For example, I can't do 8 pull-ups right now - so I'll be using a band/chair for assistance until I am in that rep range. Also, pushups are hard on my wrist still, so I will need to modify those either by doing them on the rings, or push up board/stand. If you don't have a kettlebell...use a dumbbell or do a totally different exercise (i.e., squat thrust with jump squat to replace swings).

The point is NO MORE EXCUSES! We are starting now. Regardless of your fitness level, come on in to the Bolt Fit gym if you are ready to put in the effort/time. By the way, the time commitment will not be so restrictive that you can't do other activities you love. This program is 3 days a week for 30-45 minutes a day, period. Furthermore, this episode, similar to those that follow, is not meant to be a treacherous bootcamp that you can only muster the courage to do once in a blue moon, but a fun and exciting way to do beautiful human movement and walk away feeling refreshed and energized.

An example workout could be similar to the workout I did yesterday.

Example 1

Warm-up:

Joint mobility

Skill work:

Kettlebell clean

Bridge work

Workout, 2 rounds for time of:

Kettlebell (KB) swings x 12

Pull-ups x 12

KB push press x 8

KB hack squat x 12

Turkish Get-up practice

Body weight (BW) rows on rings x 8

BW dips on rings x 8

KB two hand hi-pull x 12

Plank x 30 seconds

Janda sit-ups x 12

Post your total time to complete the two rounds and weight used in comments.

Example 2 (less complex)

Workout, Warm-up then As Many Rounds As Possible (AMRAP) in 25 minutes:

Pull-ups x 8-12

Dips x 8-12

Single leg squats x 8-12

Post your total number of rounds in the comments.

Again, these are just examples of what workouts could be. Always scale as necessary for your exercise level. Use perfect form for every rep. A new workout will be posted Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday...with the intention of that workout being performed the following day (i.e., Monday, Wednesday and Friday).

Before next Monday, May 17th, take your before pictures and record your weight. Check the blog Sunday, May 16th for the first workout to be performed the following day. After you complete the workout, post your achievement in the comments section. I hope this information is not too repetitive...I just want it to be very transparent so everyone understands what we'll be doing for a month.

Post your questions about Episode One, as well as any recommendations or adjustments that may be worthwhile.

The Weak Link

2010-04-28T07:16:00.000-07:00

I had been trying to decide what I was going to do for my first WoW assignment, and I just had not been able to think of any good ideas. Given my current situation, there just were not any workouts that were getting me too excited. Anything with squatting is out because the nurse for my hernia surgery said to stop doing stuff that hurt, and I didn't think my hands were ready for anything too intense yet. So, what was left?

Well, I was watching a little bit of the NFL draft and it gave me an idea...There was a piece on the Stafon Johnson, the USC running back whose throat was crushed during a bench pressing accident. Typically I don't cheer for USC anything (I'm a long time OSU fan!), but you have to cheer for this athlete. It was interesting how they mentioned that the strength of his neck may have saved his life. As weird as this sounds, I've always wanted a "huge" neck, but this injury made me think of my neck in a different way. Now I was more interested in developing it to decrease my chance of neck related injury...to make sure my neck wasn't going to be my weak link. See, I hurt my neck REALLY bad over a year ago when trying on a motorcycle helmet. How you ask? Well, I was advised to shake my head side to side to make sure it was snug enough and didn't jiggle, but I shook to furiously and did some major damage. After continually re-injuring when I thought it was recovered, I finally found the inspiration to strengthen my neck and finally overcome this injury.

So, my WOW was set. Mostly neck related work. I worked on Steve Maxwell's joint mobility neck series and Jeff Martone's bridging progressions. All with the focus of strengthening the neck and increasing range of motion. I wrapped it up with a few kettlebell swings and cleans. It was the perfect workout given my other injuries (i.e., not the neck injuries), and my neck hadn't felt so good in a long time. The next day I felt a bit sore, but I could tell that my neck was in good shape.

So I ask you: What's your weak link? What are you going to do about it?

WOW #2? Yeah, I think so.

Walking the Line

2010-04-27T06:55:00.000-07:00

The Early Years

“Ok kids, just go ahead and run to the end of the orchard.” It must be difficult to be a kindergarden teacher. I can only imagine the patience it must take to teach a group of 20 five years old all day long. It was around 1985, I was about 5 years old. I recall a field trip to the local apple orchard with my kindergarden classmates. After my class toured the orchard’s business office and created a ruckus about the place, my teacher decided to let us loose and run to the end of the orchard. I think this is where I won my first race. I remember running as fast as I could to the end of the orchard with a competitive burn in my belly. I wasn’t going to lose. I couldn’t. I was stronger than all these other kids, and I knew it. It had to be proven, and it was.

Sitting around the dinner table that night with my family, I told my parents about my victory. I can still remember the look of pride on my father’s face when I told him I beat everyone to the end of the orchard. He was so proud, and I was proud too.

It’s hard for me to understand why I felt so compelled to beat all of my classmates. There was no prize. It wasn’t even an official race. But something inside pushed me, and this same feeling pushed me through high school and college to run as fast as I could.

Fast forward another couple years. I found myself registered in the Coopersburg Pennsylvania 1 Mile Fun Run for kids. My parents used to run in a lot of road races and whenever there was a kid’s race associated with the adult 5k, I’d usually run in it. Some kid named AJ was rumored to be really fast, and all the kids said he was going to win. Everyone picked the favored horse to win, and the burn in my belly began to take flame once again. By the time the race started my whole body was full of adrenaline and a desire to win. Like the prideful look on my father’s face about my orchard victory a few years earlier, I still remember the look of disbelief, and panic on AJ’s face as I passed him with about a quarter mile to go. There he was in his brand new running shoes, and fancy running outfit; there I was in my old tennis shoes I wore everyday, and soccer shorts. As I passed him I felt a victorious feeling that’s indescribable. I beat him handily and ran the mile around 6:17. Coopersburg PA had a new fastest kid.

Winning is always fun. In these two races I described, I had an overwhelming desire to win. I believe that my desire to win was much stronger than the other runners in these races and that’s a large part of why I won. Unfortunately, I don’t think I was born a natural runner with great natural talent. When I started running high school track my sophomore year, it was my desire to win that helped me excel. It certainly wasn’t an extra large heart to help pump more blood through my body, or a super set of lungs to suck in more oxygen. I simply wanted to go as fast as I could. I wanted to win. Desire to win and tenacity were my advantage, not raw talent. I also had another advantage, an advantage that can sometimes be dangerous if not used wisely; pushing limits.

I’ve always been curious to push limits. I’d stay awake at night thinking about how fast my body could run an 800m or a 1600m. Could I run a 1:55 800m? If I could run 1:55, why not 1:54? If I’m going to run a 1:54, I might as well go 1:53.9. I’d spend hours thinking about this. What was my limit? For the record, my best time was 1:56.9. I ran the opening leg of the 4x800m senior year at the conference meet and ran this time. Therefore, this isn’t an official 800m time, but this was my split. I remember watching the video of the race and timing it on my own watch over and over again to make sure the time I was told after the race was in fact accurate. It was accurate, but I digress…

Back to pushing limits. I can remember several occasions when younger where I’d push limits to test myself. There was this time when I was in about 4th grade when I was forced to drive around town to run errands with my mother. Any youngster can relate to how boring this can be, especially if ice cream or the batting cages weren’t any of the stops along the way. Naturally, I was bored and asked my mom if I could stay outside as she went into the store. She agreed and reminded me not to walk off with any strangers. The day was hot, probably in the mid to upper 80s. I decided I was going to see if I could sit in the car with the windows up until my mother returned. I wanted to see if I could do it. I wanted to see how much I’d sweat, and just how hot I’d get. It got pretty uncomfortable in that car, and I was sweating like crazy. I don’t remember how long I was in that car, but I’d guess it was 20-30 minutes. As you can imagine, my mom came out of the store and was frantic when she realized what I did. “Do you understand that you could die if you’re in a hot car too long?! Why didn’t you put the windows down? Are you crazy? Never do that again!”

Why would I do that? What was the point? Most people can’t relate to this. They think this type of behavior is stupid and unnecessary. I happened to like the physical challenge of it.

During high school and college track, I’d run so hard that my feet and ankles would bleed. Eventually this lead to a serious leg infection and a broken foot during my college years. Why not just stop running and relax? What’s the point of putting myself through such pain? I was obsessed with pushing the limits, and obsessed with observing how fast my body could go. I ignored pain. The first year of running track at OSU, I had incredible pain in my left foot. Not running was completely out of the question, so I pushed through, painful stride after painful stride during workouts. Every time my foot hit the track, I tried my best to block out the pain. It all came to an end during a track meet at Indiana University. In the first turn of the 600m dash, I felt a very sharp pain in my left foot and a slight snap. I finished the race on a broken foot running about 1:25-1:26 (not a bad time for running on a broken foot). I was in denial that my foot was nothing more than sore. It took a few days until I got an x-ray and confirmed it was broken. All along I was running on a stress fracture. It was only a matter of time before it snapped.

Two track seasons later, I found myself in an even more precarious situation as a result of going too far. With my feet blistered and bloodied after an intense track workout, I got an infection that put me in the hospital for 3 nights. The infection was so severe the doctor said it could have killed me had it travelled to my heart. It only took a few hours for the infection to leave me nearly unable to walk. The pain was excruciating.

After college track around the age of 24, I was searching for some more stimulus that could keep my mind busy and body challenged. I had the bright idea to ride a bicycle from Seattle to San Diego. I got excited just thinking about how far I could ride a bike and the excellent shape my body would be in after the epic journey. It turned out to be one of the best experiences of my life, yet I never would have started the trip without a desire to push boundaries and test myself.

So how does all this relate to Bolt Fit? It’s quite simple actually. I miss the days of competition I enjoyed running high school track and college track at The Ohio State University. It was the competition that fueled my desire to win, and the natural side effect of this was being in the best physical shape of my life. I miss the enormous sense of satisfaction I’d get from pushing myself to complete exhaustion. Over the years I’ve allowed myself to get lazy. I’ve mellowed quite a bit after college and have lost nearly all the stamina I once had. My eating habits aren’t the greatest, and I drink more than I should. After college I have new goals that take up most of my time and aren’t fitness based, like trying to make a good living. It makes it more difficult for me to dedicate the time to working out the way I used to.

I want to feel more physically powerful, and light the fire I once had for being in excellent shape. I’m not interested in going so hard that I get injured again. I want to share new workout ideas that keep me challenged, motivated, and genuinely excited to be working out. There’s no greater satisfaction than the post workout refreshment of achievement, and enhanced mood. Including more intense exercise into my daily routine will add more strength and optimism to my day.

Bolt Fit can keep us connected and focused. It can provide some friendly competition to drive us further than if we go about fitness on our own. We can create new challenges for ourselves that will push the envelope and keep us moving forward towards increasingly better fitness and health as we enter our 30s.

As Tony Horton likes to say in P90X, you’ve got to “Bring It!” It’s time to BRING IT and I’m excited to work out in the Bolt Fit blog gym. I hope you’re all ready to BRING IT too!

Beyond Limits

2010-04-20T09:48:00.000-07:00

I am reminded of an indoor track race in high school. The event was held at the French Field House at Ohio State University. The event was a 4 x 800, my favorite event in track. Speed, Strategy and Teamwork. All three of us Bolt Buds attended the same high school and participated on our track team. And the three of us had trained vigorously during the winter season. Our reward was to run in these indoor races before the season began and to face some competition. The track was 200 meters long so we needed to run 4 laps. Seems easy enough! Well, to our misfortune, the official had a difficult time counting. I surged ahead in my final lap, with all the strength that I had, to place us nicely among the top of the leaders. However, to my surprise the couple runners that finished ahead of me were told they hadn’t completed 800m and that one more lap remained. The official blocked the runners from handing off their baton to their partner. With my lack of compliance, knowing this guy was out of his mind considering I knew how many laps I had just run, I refused to abide by his shenanigans. So my teammate and I, knowing how to correctly run the race, ran on the other side of the official to hand off the baton. My teammate was Tom and I’m glad he obliged. I’m sure the anguish look on my face showed that there was no way I could run any more. I had just kicked in my final 200 meters using every percent of my body. And Tom knew it was his time to take over. We were the first group to do so correctly, but not the only. Tom bolted past the runners that were coerced to run that extra lap. We were in first and remained that way till the end of the race (even though they had miscounted again on another leg of the race). Nonetheless, even though we finished first, we were disqualified. I believe more than half the teams were disqualified when they claimed race results.

This race has never left my memory. One particular reason may be because I was left wondering what would have happened had we tried to run the race the way the official had wanted. What if I ran another 200 meters after finishing? Could I have passed the few runners that remained in front of me? Would I have started walking like one of them did? If I was pushed to my limits and then asked to do more, beyond my limits, would I have been able to do it???

You may see where I went with the workout of the week. I think this is an interesting idea. I think we should all try it or perhaps we can revisit it later. This week, I choose to run a 1600 meter race simulation. It was under a hot midday sun, on an outdoor track and with no competitors. So it was a bit difficult to achieve some of the same variables. At this time, I do not possess the speed or shape to run an 800m so I tried for the 1600 (only to find that I am not in the shape that I would like to be in to run that either). I ran my 1600 meters knowing that I was going to force myself to run another 400 meters. This also makes it difficult having it premeditated that I am going to run further after the 1600, unlike my actual race experience.

I ran a 5:50 mile (1600 meters) on the track this weekend. I took a 2 second stop and go start to simulate the confusion of being asked to continue running after completion. I barely had enough in me to finish my mile so I knew it was going to be difficult to run more. I originally intended to run another entire lap. But I quickly discovered I had run out of gas. I still managed to run about a 49 second additional 200 meters. It was definitely still harder to do than I imagined. It involves a whole different scale of toughness in my mind. It is one thing to run a race and give it your all, it is definitely a whole another level to run a race give it your all and then see if you can push through more right afterwards. Give it a shot. Let me know your results and feelings. This concept could be applied to other activities, other than running as well. It could be biking, swimming, jumping, carrying something till you drop it and picking it right back up and seeing how far you can get with it afterwards.

The Bolt Effect

2010-04-10T11:46:00.000-07:00

What do you remember? Why do you remember it? My wife's blog is Leproust Vintage - I know I already told you this - but now I want to highlight it because of the name. It's based off of the Proust Effect, in my wife's words "this effect is actually caused by the relationship between the olfactory system and the limbic system of the brain, and is otherwise known as involuntary memory." Her blog is aptly named this because of the distinct smell of a good vintage find, and the effect it has on her - my theory is that she gets some kind of adrenaline rush (but that's for another post altogether!).

You may be wondering where I'm going with this...so I'll ask you again, what do you remember and why do you remember it? Well, I'll tell you what I remember...I remember my best track race. My burning legs and I were running a stride behind the best runner on the other team (a bit unusual as I was not a track star), and I can still hear Coach Hos screaming encouragement at me as he ran across the infield.

I remember a few of the best surfing days of my life! Sun shining down on me all day, while set after set kept rolling in. After awhile it took all I could give to just paddle a few strokes to catch a wave, but I never went in and took a break for fear that the swell would die down...on those days it never did. When the sun eventually went down I remember lying in the most comfortable recliner ever, eating a sandwich and falling asleep - still coated in salt and sand from head to toe.

I remember doing yoga teacher training...after six hours my body never felt so taxed yet rejuvenated, it was near an out of body experience! And for anyone who has climbed for hours at a time, I'm sure they can relate to the pump in the forearms. After one long climbing session at the wall I remember not being sure if I'd be able to squeeze the clutch of the motorcycle to ride home.

That shouldn't be a problem anymore...

Since my accident, I haven't made many cherished memories like those. Except for when I tried swinging a 40lb. dumbbell to prepare for going to get my first kettlebell. My hamstrings, glutes and low back were a very good sore for at least a few days.

So, WoW #1 (workout of the week) is going to be pretty flexible - go make a memory! Scale as necessary for yourself and your current activity level. For me it may be learning some joint mobility mixed in with some dynamic yoga. That's about all I can do for a bit longer as I'm still healing from surgeries. Post your workout and the memory in the comments.

By the way, the title of the post - The Bolt Effect - is what I'm calling the relationship between the brain's sensory systems, intense physical activity and the corresponding memories that become so beautifully stamped in!

Bolt Breakthrough

2010-03-29T09:21:00.000-07:00

Buds,
Jessica and I stepped it up this weekend. I wanted to share our bolt achievements. We ran in the Cooper River Bridge 10k Run. We both enjoyed new personal records. I think it may be my second 10k run in my life, but it is still worth the boast. So we now have new records and goals set for the two of us. We challenge you to run it with us in the future or sign up for other races with us this year.

Stats:

The Cooper River Bridge Run:
The race takes place in Charleston, South Carolina.
Participants run over the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge which extends 2.5 miles long, 200 feet high and has a 4% slope.
It is the 7th largest race in the United States.
It is the 3rd largest 10k race in the United States.
It is the 5th largest 10k race in the world.
It is limited to 40,000 entries for the event.

Bolt Elsty Personal Stats & Records:
I finished with a chip time of 46:05.
That is a 7:24.98 Pace Per Mile.
I finished in 1,471/33,042 overall place.
I finished 285/2,072 for my division (25-29, male).

Jessica Personal Stats & Records:
Finished with a chip time of 55:19.
That is a 8:54.14 Pace Per Mile.
Finished in 6,561/33,042 overall place.
Finished 452/3,534 for her division (25-29, female).

Elsty Intro

2010-03-21T18:09:00.000-07:00

Start:
I grew up as one of the smallest guys in the class, on the field and among my 3 older brothers. Yes, it was great for some hide and seek, capture the flag and flashlight tag! And no matter what, I held my ground, even if I wanted to stand taller away from it. But I wanted to be like my brothers and classmates and I wanted to push myself among them and past them. I didn’t back down easily from a game or challenge. I can remember the Presidential Fitness Challenge at Deer Run Elementary School. There were very few, if any, that did more sit-ups, push-ups, a longer flexed-arm bar hang or ran faster in the mile. I was very proud of my achievements because I really did not naturally possess the physical tools. I just pushed hard and also enjoyed it if the girls took notice. ; )

Bods:
I am in search of motivation to continue to push my body. I think we have discovered a great motivator: buds. Why not have family and friends to encourage and motivate you? I know I can find it difficult to “take the time” to maintain a consistent workout regime. I have always enjoyed the rewards of working out – physically and mentally, but I also enjoy Skins Hot Dogs, Donatella Gelato from the Luna Rosa and some cold Sam Adams brews. So finding a more balanced and healthy lifestyle is advantageous to me. I want to enjoy all spectrums of life. This is a way to keep up with friends, to further build on our budship and to try to stay as bolt as one another!

Buds:
The three of us have many years of experience in both similar and different forms of exercise. The idea, as it is to me, is to integrate our experiences and discover new methods. Robin has achieved Yoga excellence for 10 years. He has disciplined himself to bodyweight/gymnastics type training, mixed with some weight training, running, indoor climbing and the ultimate ability to ride waves like art. Tom has been a prized athlete and has been a member of ROTC and Track and Field at the collegiate level. Along with running, he has trained in P90x, Insanity tasks and bike rides that fear no state lines. I have been in a gym regularly for over 15 years, generally coming up with my own workout routines. I have also been running more regularly, accomplishing 5ks, 10ks, Marine Mud Runs and soon to be the OBX half marathon this year with my Bolt Babe girlfriend, Jessica.

Finish:
I, like many, am starting to tire from the ritual of the gym and can get bored with workout routines. So it is easy for me to envision this site as a fuel for my motivation. Modern, natural and traditional ideas of working out mixed with innovative, quick, demanding and fun suggestions, all to be shared among friends. I believe this could help my motivation to endure as I continue to get older. There is a clear balance in my life that I would like to achieve. This site could help me to find it. Perhaps, as we progress with it, we can be sharing more than exercise and results but music, photos, nutrition, food-science, recipes, some lol’s and anything else we come across.

The Prelude

2010-03-03T18:07:00.000-08:00

When I was a kid my future occupation of choice was superhero…maybe that’s why I’ve been obsessed with exercise, working out, muscles, and “getting huge” as I always have said! But that has never quite happened (as I have been quite scrawny for my life), and I’ve made some mistakes along the way. I’ve spent most of my time trying to figure out the perfect workout approach. I’ve hurt my back exercising, hurt my shoulder exercising, and broke my wrist and my hand when ramming my motorcycle into a SUV. All of which have slightly held back my efforts to become a superhero…but the worst mistake of all was being duped into wearing a Wonder Woman uniform.

I still want to be a superhero, but my idea of a superhero physique has changed…now it’s fire fighters, military special ops, guys who have to be functionally fit, not because it is cool, but because life necessitates it. Now my life absolutely does not necessitate it…but maybe it does, maybe all life necessitates being FIT. All I know is that I want to be ready for whatever happens…I want to be ready to carry someone out of a burning building, I want to be able to help a friend move (and earn some beer in the process), I want to be able to surf all day (despite not being able to train for it as I don’t live near a beach), I want to be able to run a race, I want to be able to hunt a grizzly bear with my bare hands…I want to be able to do it all, I want to be ready for it, AND I want to have fun doing it.

So, in comes BOLT FIT. A way for three buds to work together despite living a good distance apart. A way for us to keep each other motivated, and not over think exercise, but “just do it.” I’ve come to the conclusion it’s time for a change, and that time is NOW!

Now for a proper introduction: my name is Robin Jones, I’m a PhD student working in the area of stuttering. Why stuttering…in short, because I stutter – nuff said. I live with my wife, Kristin (author of vintage fashion blog Leproust Vintage), and our devil of a dog Desmond. Maybe someday he’ll stop being a pee and poop terrorist. We’ll leave it at that until the working out actually begins…which will be a bit longer before my wrist and hand heals up from the accident.

I’ll let the other guys introduce themselves. So this is us…getting more fit one day at a time!