Crossfit Workouts

I recently took part in a CrossFit Team Event at work and with the CrossFit Games fast approaching us in Carson I thought it was fitting to write a quick blog on it.

Now CrossFit is a training programme which builds strength and conditioning through a variety of different workouts. In these workouts many aspects of fitness are covered from gymnastics, to  weightlifting and as far as a triathlon based workouts at the games. Games you may ask? This is run every year in Carson where all the top CrossFit athletes from around the world take on events over three days to determine the fitness man and women on earth. Prior to this there are regionals and a open so anyone has the opportunity of going. Some of the professional athletes such as Rich Froning, Dan Bailey and Stacie Tovar who are ones that I personally support are in ridiculous shape and could step on stage with professional bodybuilders and wouldn't look out of place. Now with the rise of CrossFit so has the criticism of the sport, mainly because its all about doing things as quick as possible, with form sometimes leaving a little to be desired. Kipping Pull ups is an aspect which has got the most grief due to the swinging phase of the movement, as oppose to just pulling straight up, with many other exercises being adopted with a variation for Crossfit. Check these out online, some of them can be very useful, all down the individual on preferences.

CrossFit I occasionally include in my programme as either a cardio based workout or something strength related just to mix my workouts up. Now today one of the workouts which I dare you to try in a group of 3 is as follows:

250m Row
Box Jumps
Rest

There is a person on each station, with changes happening after the 250m row has been completed. This is as many box jumps and distance of the row added together to gain a score after 20 minutes. My team today managed 5,800m row with 426 box jumps, (I so shouldn't have trained legs yesterday!!!!). After this my heart rate hit the highest it had in a while and how much more rewarding it is this then a 20 minute run outside. Working more your anaerobic capacity but also will be burning a lot of calories due to the sheer intensity. Try is as oppose to just going on a run, especially those of you who are doing added cardio in order to reduce body fat for the summer. Other workouts to try:

Murph - As quickly as possible.

1 mile run
100 pull ups
200 push ups
300 squats
1 mile run

Fran - Quickly as possible.

Thrusters (Front squats to push press)
Pull ups

Rounds of 21,15,9.

Give these a go and post you times in the comments below.

Jack

The accessories that I'm currently using, all a must have!!!!!

What Accessories should I have?

This is one thing I quickly wanted to discuss as there are always little bits that can help and aid you getting the most out of your workout and in the kitchen at home.

A food blender is the first and this is a must in my eyes in anyone's kitchen. Now everyone believes that the nutribullet is the best on the market, however you really don't need to spend that much on one. I've just got a Tefal blender which was like £25 from John Lewis, it does everything you need. Post workout smoothies's, blending my pancake mixture, even as far as making my own nut butters, it's all been done in this one blender. This is a must.

Frylight is another must have cooking spray for the kitchen. Unlike most cooking oil which you have no control over and end covering your whole dinner in unwanted oil, therefore meaning extra unwanted calories this you just simply spray on. 1 spray = 1 calorie, simple!!! They have introduced different flavoured versions, plus a new coconut oil based spray all great alternatives.  

Now to the gym!!! The first product which I don't know where I would be without is my trusty smart shake shaker, I just love them. The shaker has a stack based system on the bottom to hold supplements, nuts, just about any small snack. The filtering system which comes with the shaker also means you don't have to worry about any lumps, however this also depends on what powders you use. The last important thing of all is the longevity and how easy it is to wash. For some reason you never seem to get the smell like from others once you've used them a while, plus you drop them and they never break. I'm always dropping stuff!! They have a carabiner on the shaker as well which means it's easy to transport, just attach it to a strap on your gym bag. 

Last but not least myprotein, their straps are just amazing. Their hand wrap straps I've been using a lot recently when training back and trainings to hit my traps, they work a treat. Unlike conventional strap these have loops either end which your hands go through once wrapped around the bar, so it's impossible to then lose your grip. Like anything new they take a bit of getting use to, however once you do you'll notice the difference and never go back. Their new clothing range is also a must buy. The lycra bottoms I brought and unlike any other they don't shrink when you wash them, never seem to lose their elasticity and are just so robust. Even after a Tough Mudder they still seem brand new.

So there you have it, the must have accessories!! Hope they'll help.

Jack

New Push, Pull, Legs routine!!!

This week I have decided to split my workouts in a different manner. As oppose to doing the normal split of chest, back, legs and shoulders with a few additional areas covered, I have decided to op for the push, pull, legs followed by a further push, pull day, after watching a Michael Kory routine. Wow does it make a difference!!

The first push day was very similar to a chest workout however I included a few lateral raises which is a weak area of mine, with incline DB press at 45degrees bring more shoulders into the movement. I finished with a favourite of mine which is standing DB press which I find recruits the core so much and makes the movement much more of a rounded exercise. I felt like I hit this area as a whole a lot more effectively then just solely focusing on chest. The pull day saw me focus on both bring depth and width to my back, but as oppose to super setting a lot of my exercises I concentrated on going heavy, with fewer reps and sets. This worked a treat as my posterior chain rarely gets worked like this, with me waking up the following day with huge DOMS. This had quite an effect on my leg day for some reason. I just didn't feel as strong front squatting, so opted for a high rep day which wasn't pretty with my quads now crying out in pain 48 hours later. 

Now with the second push and pull days I broke my shoulder routine in half. My push routine I started off with push press getting up to 90kg for 5 which I was really pleased with and from then on hit the anterior and lateral head of the shoulder. A point to note with lateral raises don't go to heavy!!! If you're swinging them up than they are to heavy. I avoided this by doing them on a seated bench, super setting them with a incline press, this got a almighty pump going. I also used the cables for lateral raises which keeps a constant tension on the muscle fatiguing that head of the shoulder. Cables also featured with a Steve Cook inspired frontal raises with a rope through the legs, making sure you pull the rope apart at the top of the movement. Along with pronated incline flies which stretched the whole area out, my chest and shoulders were in bits, I couldn't even lift my water bottle up!!!! 

Second pull day I really wanted to focus on width with my back and include rear portion of the shoulder along with traps. These all blend well as along as you're contracting your back correctly when trying to build width your rear delts and traps are getting a good workout as well. This is exactly what I done with lat pulldowns to begin with, pausing slightly at the bottom of the movement for a full contraction. I targeted the rear delts much like the push workout the day before through DB reverse flies super setting with DB rows off of a incline bench. Performed correctly the upper back around the rhomboids will really be working hard. My favourite super set was using cable bent over rear flies along with cable face pulls. A full stretch of the muscle, along with a pause when fully contracted and this with build a V-shaped back that everyone wants. I finished this off with high single arm pull downs and boy did they finish me off!!

So there you go a new routine that I'm bringing in to my workouts. Always great to mix it up and if you train with a lot of volume, 5-6 times a week it's great as it allows muscle groups that all important 48 hours off. Give it a try and let me know how you get on.

Be sure to check out Michael Kory as this is who I thought of using the idea off of. Plus be sure to follow me on Instagram at jacksfitnessforyou for lots of motivation and recipe advice. 

Paleo Diet

I mentioned in a earlier blog that I was going to post a blog up about Paleo and what it is all about. After cooking with my wonderful girlfriend this evening, the dish grass-fed steak with honey glazed roasted vegetables (pictured below) I thought I was in the right frame of mind to right about it.

Paleo is often associated with Crossfit and is based upon a presumed diet of Paleolithic humans or in other words the caveman. This therefore means food which would have been found 15,000 years ago when hunting and gathering, consisting of fish, grass-fed pasture raised meats, eggs, vegetables, fruit and nuts. This excludes any grains, diary products, potatoes, refined sugar and salt. This is therefore a very high protein, low carbohydrate diet, great for those who are trying to build a lean, well built physique. As you can see it isn't a diet but more of a way of life.

I follow aspects but am not a true follower of the diet as I still have oatmeal and milk in my diet, however for the summer holiday I am going to go totally Paleo to lower my body fat even more and look ripped for holiday. I'm sure there shall be pictures to follow!!!! 

See pictured below an easy meal comprising of grass-fed rump steak with roasted courgettes, carrots, mushrooms, red onion and tomatoes. With of course the addition of steamed broccoli, which I can just not get enough of. As you can see, his and her poritions, however she can still finish it all off.

So to conclude the Paleo diet is a very strict diet and not for the faint hearted, however it will reward those who are committed and who want to lose weight.

Remember 70% diet, 30% gym

Jack