Richard Gibney's 365 Days of Fitness: Day 168

Day 168 One of my goals during the whole process of preparing for the K100 relay was to keep up my strength and speed. Running for over an hour isn't usually conducive to becoming faster or stronger. I wasn't expecting to become Usain Bolt over the past few weeks, but I was hoping to maintain what speed and strength I had.

Over the last couple weeks I reintroduced some Olympic weight lifting into my training. Long cardio is continuous and relatively slow, whereas Olympic lifting requires short bursts of explosive power and speed. My hope was to off-setting the tendency to recruit more slow twitch muscle fibers during the running by involving more fast twitch dominant movements.

Today's Workout

Warm-up:

Db Complex: 10lbs

• Arm Circles x 10
• Deadlift / Fwd Raise x 10
• Squat to Press x 10
• Reverse Lunges x 5 per side
• Neider Press x 10

Kettlebell Swing: 2 sets / 20 reps / 30 seconds rest (16kg)

Olympic Lifting Day

Exercise 1: Clean + Jerk (2 min rest) Set 1: 80lbs x 6 Set 2: 115lbs x 6 Set 3: 115lbs x 6 Set 4: 115lbs x 6

Exercise 2: Squat Clean (2 min rest) Set 1: 145lbs x 6 Set 2: 145lbs x 6 Set 3: 145lbs x 6 Set 4: 145lbs x 6

Exercise 3: Front Squat (2 min rest) Set 1: 175lbs x 6 Set 2: 175lbs x 6 Set 3: 175lbs x 6 Set 4: 175lbs x 6

Exercise 4: Overhead Press (2 min rest) Set 1: 155lbs x 3 Set 2: 135lbs x 6

I wasn't throwing around a ton of weight, but I don't seem to be losing any strength or power. I took a break for a while from the Olympic lifting because it seemed to be setting off my lower back. However, my back has been feeling great, so I will continue to include exercises like clean and snatches in my training.

Tonight I have my conditioning group and the plan is for some sprinting. I think I'm going to give this one a pass. As much as I really want to join in, my calves are pretty fired up from my long run yesterday and I think it would be best to give them a rest. The last time I ran the K100, I pulled my calf a few days before the race. I don't want to do that again.

Richard Gibney's 365 Days of Fitness: Day 167

Day 167 Today I finally got around to doing a long run. I wanted to see what it would feel like and how long it would take me to run a distance similar to my Kananaskis Relay leg. I didn't run my exact distance but it was close and certainly a lot farther than I have run for a very long time.

It was a perfect day for a run, sunny, 19 degrees, with a slight breeze. There were quite a few cyclists and runners out but not so many that the paths were congested. Lots of Dads out riding bikes with their kids on Father's Day. I started my run from home, where I ran from 16 ave, up 14th st to the river bank. I then ran along the bike path, past Eau Claire Market, until I got to Fort Calgary.

I continued on the bike path underneath the bridge on 9 ave that brings you into Inglewood and found myself behind the Saddledome. The path behind the dome was inundated with Canada Geese and as a result was also covered in goose poop. I did my best not step in any while I tried to avoid annoying the Geese that hissed at me as I ran by.

Once I got behind the dome I crossed a pedestrian bridge and continued on the bike path along the elbow river until I got to the entrance of the stampede grounds. At this point I was a little over 5 miles in, which is about half my K100 distance. It was encouraging that I still had plenty of gas in the tank. If I was fading I would have been really worried for next weekend.

I lost my way briefly, but found my way back on the bike path and continued on it around the talisman centre until I found my way to Elbow Drive. For a brief moment I thought about stopping in this french pastry place for a nutella crepe but I abstained and decided to make my way to the Glencoe club.

By the time I got to the Glencoe I had run exactly 7 miles (11 km) in just over an hr. Not a blistering pace but still decent. I wasn't trying to set any records but I was getting a good idea of how my run on Saturday would go.

I had forgotten my watch at work the other day, so I quickly popped into the Glencoe to pick it up, grabbed a sip of water then continued on my run back toward home. I ran back down elbow drive, turned left at 5th St and made my way to 17th ave. Home was only 11 blocks away.

I picked up the pace a bit as I made my way down 17th. As I got to my front door I looked at my Adidias MiCoach app. I had run just shy of 9 miles in 1 hr and 18 minutes. Not too bad. I'd like to run my leg next weekend in under an hr and 25 minutes. I think I'd be hard pressed to run that last mile in less than 7 minutes, but I do think overall I could run quite a bit faster and make up enough time.

Today's Workout

Run: 8.93 miles (14.4 km) / 1:18 Duration / 8:47 min per mile

All in all, I feel really good about my run. I have an idea now about how to set a pace for next weekend. Afterward, I had a great lunch and as bonus for running so far, I got in my car and went to the french pastry place and got myself that Nutella Crepe. After all, my MiCoach app said I burned over 1100 calories. Not a very accurate measure but I think I earned my crepe.

Richard Gibney's 365 Days of Fitness: Day 166

Day 166 I woke up today feeling a little stuffed up. I'd been feeling like that a little bit over the last couple days and was thinking that it was likely allergies, but as today went on I became pretty sure it's a bit of bug. Oh well, just have to push ahead and adapt a bit. I decided to pass on doing a long run and instead put together a circuit of some of my favorite core exercises.

You'll notice you won't find the words crunch of sit-up anywhere in my workout. That's because I don't believe in them. By saying that I don't mean they don't exist, rather I'm kind of saying I wish they didn't. People say all the time that your power comes from your core. This is not necessarily wrong, but it is inaccurate. A more accurate statement would be that power is lost through a weak core.

In order to create force and as a result power, we have to create movement. This is done by using the parts of our body designed to move. When I hit a serve in tennis, the force begins with my legs pushing into the ground as I jump up, then travels through my core and into my upper body as my shoulders turn towards the ball during my follow through. The final application of force comes from my elbow and wrist as I make contact. The role of my core in that whole process was not to create force or movement but to transfer force from my lower body to my upper body. In fact the less movement through my core the better I am at transferring force.

As an analogy think of the core as a bridge that you're running across. Now imagine that bridge is a suspension bridge with a lot of slack. If you tried to run across, the force from your foot strikes would cause the bridge to bounce and swing all over the place. It would be hard for you to run very fast. Now imagine that the bridge suddenly becomes more taught and is supported by wires coming from multiple directions. It would much easier to run across. The purpose of the core is not to create movement but to prevent it, so that the other parts of the body can transfer force more effectively. The problem with sit-ups and crunches is that essentially what they are doing is wiggling the bridge.

When choosing exercises for our core we need to think about training the core to do what it was designed for. Movements that simulate what we do in everyday life and in our sports will yield the greatest transfer. Yes in the morning you may sit-up as you get out of bed, but do you really do it 20 or 30 times in row? No! However, if you work in your garden and pick up a heavy pot are you using your core? Yes! Your core is not lifting the pot, but it's protecting your spine while you lift the pot. Even running, one of our most upright activities is an extremely core intensive activity. When you watch an elite level runner in action it's hard not to notice how effortless they make it look. The reason it looks easy is because not an ounce of energy is being wasted in moving their body forward. The bridge isn't wiggling.

I really could go on and on describing the role of the core and how we need to focus on training methods that have real world applications. Basically I'll say this, when working out spend as little time as possible lying down or sitting. Most of us spend way too much time in those positions already. Just move, pick things up, put them down and do it often, and if you want to see your abs, no amount of sit-ups or crunches will help you see them if you eat too much of the wrong things.

Well I really didn't expect to write a novel for today's post. For a relatively short workout I wrote a lot. Oh well, I hope some of you found it interesting and will maybe think twice about doing those sit-ups in the morning.

Today's Workout

Core Circuit: 3 rounds / no rest between exercises

• Turkish Get-up: 5 reps per side (14 kg)
• Bubka Hanging Leg Raise: 10 reps
• Downward Cable Chop: 10 reps per side (100 lbs)
• Barbell Deadlift: 8 reps (135lbs)

I could have gone a lot heavier with the deadlifts, but I decided that seeing as it was the last part of a core focused set of exercises, that I would be best to keep things light. The idea I was generally tax the musculature of the core from multiple angles, not to work particularly on lower body strength.

For a quick 30 minute workout, it worked pretty well. As I mentioned earlier, I think I may be fighting a bit of a head cold. No cause for concern, just a little inconvenient. If I feel better tomorrow, I'll try get that long run in. If not I can wait a day. I just don't want it to linger too long and be around next weekend when I'm running the K100. On a more positive note, I just realized I have less than 200 workouts left until I'm finished my goal. Still a long way, but I'm approaching the halfway mark, at which point I will actually have fewer workouts left to complete than I will have finished.

Richard Gibney's 365 Days of Fitness: Day 165

Day 165 Although I'm posting this a day late, I still managed to workout yesterday. I just got home a little too late to write a post. I took the day off work yesterday which was really nice. Nicole needed a bone scan on her hand, which involved getting an injection. She has tough time with needles, so I went to offer some support. She did really well and got through it like a champ.

My reward for being so supportive was getting to go see the Man Of Steel. I'm a huge Superman fan and was really excited to see this movie. It was pretty awesome. Afterward, I felt pretty inspired to workout. Henry Cavill, the guy they got to play Superman, achieved a pretty amazing physical transformation for the role. Of course when there's millions of dollars at stake and your job is to get in shape I'd say most people would achieve impressive results in the gym.

Today's Workout:

This workout consisted mostly of supersets. Paired exercises are indicated by sharing the same letter group. for example, A1. Bicep Curl supersetted with A2. Tricep Pushdowns.

Superset 1:

A1. Inclined Db Press: 4 sets / 8 - 12 reps / 60 seconds rest Set 1: 35 lbs x 12 Set 2: 55 lbs x 12 Set 3: 65 lbs x 10 Set 4: 70 lbs x 10

A2. 1 Arm Db Row: 4 sets / 10 - 12 reps / 60 seconds rest Set 1: 55 lbs x 12 Set 2: 70 lbs x 12 Set 3: 85 lbs x 12 Set 4: 85 lbs x 12

Superset 2

B1. Weighted Tricep Dips: 3 sets / 10 - 12 reps / 60 seconds rest Set 1: 45 lbs x 12 Set 2: 45 lbs x 12 Set 3: 45 lbs x 12 Set 4: 45 lbs x 12

B2. Db Bicep Curl: 3 sets / 8 - 12 reps / 60 seconds rest Set 1: 35 lbs x 12 Set 2: 45 lbs x 12 Set 3: 50 lbs x 10 Set 4: 55 lbs x 8

Quad-Set 1:

D1. TRX High Elbow Row: 3 sets / 12 - 15 reps / no rest Set 1, 2 and 3: Body weight x 15 D2. Cable Chest Fly: 3 sets / 12 - 15 reps / no rest Set 1, 2 and 3: 50 lbs x 15 D3. Db Lateral Raise: 3 sets / 12 - 15 reps / no rest Set 1, 2, and 3: 27.5 lbs x 15 D4. TRX Tricep Extension: 3 sets / 12 - 15 reps / no rest Set 1, 2 and 3: Body weight x 15

Well I didn't feel like I could fly after the workout, but I felt pretty good. It was a lighter day than my other upper body earlier in the week. However, that being said I'm still pushing some reasonably heavier weights. The heavy sessions seem to be doing the trick by allowing me to get more out of the lighter ones.

At some point in time this weekend, I hope to get in one really long run. This time next weekend, I will be running the Kananaskis Relay. I haven't ran my 10 mile distance yet, so I'm not really sure what type of time I can post. I won't try to break any records but I think it would be a good idea to see what running my distance will feel like.

Richard Gibney's 365 Days of Fitness: Day 164

Day 164 A few weeks ago, I decided to try my hand at the crossfit workout called Fran. I checked the average time to completion on the internet and found that I was slightly better than average. However, after looking at some of the competitive times, I realized my time was rather unimpressive. Today, my schedule was shaping up in such a way that it left me pretty small workout window. I know wanted something pretty intense and short, so I decided it was time for a second date with Fran.

Like before, I spent a good 15 - 20 minutes warming up. Anytime you attempt a max effort in any workout it is extremely important that you warm-up enough. Prepping the body thoroughly will not only ensure that you perform your best but drastically reduce the chance of injury.

With Fran, deep squatting is a necessity, so I spent a lot time opening up my hips with some foam rolling and dynamic stretches. The pull-ups can be pretty hard on the shoulders and lats so I did a little bit of upper body rolling and shoulder activation to keep things in one piece. All in all I think I did a pretty good job of preparing myself for another attempt at Fran.

Today's Workout:

Fran (Attempt #2)

Superset:

Exercise 1: 95 lb Barbell Thruster (Front Squat to Overhead Press): 21, 15, 9 Exercise 2: Pull-ups: 21, 15, 9

Alternate with descending rep scheme and complete as fast as possible

First Attempt: 6:50 (Day 148 )    Today's Attempt: 5:00

I was pretty happy with how I did today. I don't really have much frame of reference, but I think decreasing my time by almost 2 minutes is pretty good. I banged out the thrusters much faster this time, but I still think I could speed a lot on the pull-ups. I can still only do 1 at a time. I need to learn how to get my kip cycling so that I can lose less time. Oh well, something to work on.

5 minutes isn't a very long workout, but the considering the intensity and the length of the warm-up prior, it felt pretty sufficient. After work tonight, I also played another game of softball. We continued to do well, and won our game. I made some pretty dramatic catches. My somewhat unorthodox style of catching, seems to lend itself to a little bit of drama.

Tomorrow, I'll finish off the work week with a bit of upper body strength training and perhaps a battlerope challenge I've heard being tossed around a bit lately.

Richard Gibney's 365 Days of Fitness: Day 163

Day 163 After a couple days of moving some heavy weights, my body was stiff from head to toe when I woke up this morning. Not wanting to over do it I decided to focus a little more on cardio and give my muscles a bit of break. I've been taking my group through a lot of circuit training lately, so I decided that tonight would be a good night to get in a bit of a fun run with some hill sprints. Although, I think my group would be quick to point out that my idea of a "fun run" and theirs may not exactly be the same thing.

Today's Workout:

Fun Run / Hill Sprints

1 km run from Glencoe Club to the hill at the bottom of Rideau Towers.

400 metre Hill Sprints: 20 minutes (Perform as many reps as possible) 1/2 way up and up the stairs - back down - all the way up = 1 rep

- My group probably averaged around 4 / I did 2.

3 km run cutting through Stanley Park, back to Glencoe Club

The weather was great for running. Lots of sun but not too hot. The one down side was the mosquitoes. As the night wore on, we were pretty much being eaten alive any time we stood still. I wanted to do a body weight circuit at the top of the hill on this grassy patch, but the bugs were just too bad, so instead we ran back to the Glencoe. The run wasn't supposed to be very fast be apparently a couple guys started to pull away from the pack, which resulted in an unexpected race. I didn't join in the race but I'm glad some of the guys felt like pushing it.

Depending on how I feel tomorrow, I may take another day off the weights. However, If I'm feeling good I might get back on the platform and do some Olympic lifting.

Richard Gibney's 365 Days of Fitness: Day 162

Day 162 I stuck with the plan pretty well today and got into some upper body strength work. I've really been wanting to increase my chin-up strength, so I made that a major focus today.

I decided to give a particular protocol called wave loading a try. Wave loading involves alternating an extremely heavy load with a moderate load. The purpose of this it to trick the body into accepting heavier loads in the higher rep range sets through a phenomenon called post-tetanic facilitation. Basically by using a really heavy weight in say your first set, something close to your 1 rep max, you cause your nervous system to freak out. The result is increased activation of the number of motor units involved in that movement. This means that if you rest adequately, before doing your lighter set you should be able to move more weight because of the increased neural activation. I hadn't really tried it before so I was interested to see how things turned out.

Today's Workout

Superset 1

Exercise 1: Weighted Underhand Grip Chin-up Wave Load: 1 - 6 rep protocol / 3 min rest Set 1: 70 extra lbs x 1 Set 2: 70 extra lbs x 6 Set 3: 100 extra lbs x 1 Set 4: 70 extra lbs x 6 Set 5: 125 extra lbs x 1

Exercise 2: Inclined Barbell Press Wave Load: 3 - 6 protocol / 3 min rest Set 1: 135 lbs x 8 Set 2: 185 lbs x 6 Set 3: 205 lbs x 3 Set 4: 185 lbs x 6 Set 5: 205 lbs x 6

Superset 2

Exercise 3: Wide Grip Bent-Over Barbell Row 4 sets / 6 - 8 reps / 2 min rest Set 1: 115 lbs x 8 Set 2: 165lbs x 8 Set 3: 165lbs x 8 Set 4: 165lbs x 8

Exercise 4: Barbell Bench Press 4 sets / 6 - 8 reps / 2 min rest Set 1: 205 lbs x 8 Set 2: 205 lbs x 8 Set 3: 205 lbs x 8 Set 4: 205 lbs x 7

Well I'm not sure if the wave loaded really made much of a difference, but I'm still happy with how the workout turned out. I'm especially happy with my chin-ups. I didn't think I would be able to add an extra 125lbs. Tomorrow, I'll give the weights a break and might try to sneak in some intervals on the treadmill.

Richard Gibney's 365 Days of Fitness: Day 161

Day 161 With the amount of running I've been doing lately I felt today would be a good day for moving around some weights, so I decided to do a little bit of Olympic Weight lifting this afternoon. As I've mentioned in the past, doing exercises like cleans and snatches has set off my lower back from time to time. However, things have been feeling really good lately, so I felt confident about getting back into them. That being said, I didn't go crazy. I'm a little out of practice and my timing is off, so I would be more likely to hurt myself if I went too heavy.

Today's Workout:

Exercise 1: Barbell Complex (5 reps each / 85lbs / 90 seconds rest)

• Hang Pull
• Clean + Jerk
• Jump Squats
• Bent-Over Row

Exercise 2: Power Clean 4 sets / 5 reps / 155lbs / 2 min rest

Exercise 3: Barbell Front Squat 4 sets / 5 reps / 185lbs / 2 min rest

Superset

Exercise 4: Jam Ball Slam 2 sets / 15 reps / 30 lbs / no rest

Exercise 5: Kettlebell Farmers Walk 2 sets / 30 seconds / 1 min rest

The lifting went well. As I suspected my lifting technique was a little off but it got better as I got into it. One really positive thing is that my legs feel really strong. My front squats felt really easy.

After the lifting session I decided to join in with my conditioning group in the evening for another big circuit. I coached them through the first set then joined in for the second.

Part 2: Conditioning Circuit - 60 seconds per exercise

1. Stair Sprint
2. Agility Ladder
3. Jam Ball Slams
4. Squat Jumps
5. Kettlebell Swings
6. Pylon Hop
7. Med Ball Side Toss
8. Mini Band Walk (Forward / Backward)
9. Skater Jumps
10. Side to Side Cone Shuffle
11. Push-ups
12. Split Jumps
13. Battle Ropes
14. Wind Sprints
15. Squat jacks
16. Alternating Fwd Lunges

It started to rain as we ran through final 10 minutes of the workout, which was actually really nice. Everyone was working really hard, so being able to cool off was more than welcome.

Tomorrow, I might ride my bike to work to sneak in a little extra cardio. I'll probably hit the weights for a little upper body as well. A couple of my clients have said I'm looking a little skinny, something I've been hoping to avoid, so I guess I'd better have an extra big breakfast and move some weights.

Richard Gibney's 365 Days of Fitness: Day 160

Day 160 The light lift session I did yesterday seemed to have worked out the stiffness from earlier in the week. I felt much better when I woke up this morning. I didn't have anything too ambitious planned but it was nice to feel good and ready for a workout.

This afternoon I decided to go for a decently long run, but the weather seemed to have other ideas. I stopped by the techshop during my run to ironically check if my running rain jacket had come in, but it wasn't in and when I got outside it started to pour. I bailed on the idea of a long run and tried to get back home as fast as I could.

Today's Workout

4 mile run:

- 1st 2 miles, approx. 18 minutes (9:00 / mile pace) - 2nd 2 miles, approx.14 minutes (7:00 / mile pace)

I was a little worried about my iPhone, as I didn't have any pockets to put it in and it was getting quite wet. By the time I got about 1/2 way home the wind was gusting and the rain was getting heavier, so I quickly hid in the entrance of the best buy on 17th ave. I found a dry patch on my t-shirt and wiped off my phone. it was working fine, so luckily I hadn't done any damage. I'm ashamed to say I have a bit of an addiction to that thing and would not handle my phone being fried very well. I got home completely soaked but quite satisfied. I felt like I had really worked hard. Something about running in the rain is both awful and tremendously satisfying at the same time.

I worked up quite an appetite, which I brought and definitely put to a use a couple hours later at a party for some friends who had just gotten married. I really like food and one of the great perks of working out everyday is that I seem to be able to eat a lot more and not gain any weight. If anything I'm struggling a little bit to maintain my weight. Oh well more lifting and little more dessert.

Richard Gibney's 365 Days of Fitness: Day 159

Day 159 Today's Workout

I woke up today with my body really feeling the effects of the workouts of the week. I didn't think the bike ride yesterday would take that much out of me, but my hips were super tight all day. My original plan was to get in a reasonably heavy upper body lift but based on how I was feeling by the time I got to the gym, I decided to do a really light but thorough full body strength session.

I normally prefer to do multiple sets per exercise, but today the focus was on actively using a lot of the body while not over-stressing any one part. Doing just 2 sets instead of 4 or 5 would still be enough to get the blood pumping and workout some of the stiffness.

Superset : Alternate Exercise 1 and 2

Exercise 1: Pistol Squat 2 sets / 8 reps per side / no rest

Exercise 2: TRX Inverted Row 2 sets / 15 reps / no rest

Superset 2: Alternate Exercise 3 and 4

Exercise 3: Inclined Db Chest Fly 2 sets / 15 reps / no rest

Exercise 4: Single Leg Swiss Ball Hamstring Curl 2 sets / 10 reps per side / no rest

Superset 3: Alternate Exercise 5 and 6

Exercise 5: Kettlebell Walking Lunge to Push-up 2 sets / 6 reps per side (12 push-ups) / no rest

Exercise 6: Db Curl to Press 2 sets / 15 reps / no rest

Superset 4: Alternate Exercise 7 and 6

Exercise 7: Lateral Db Raise 2 sets / 15 reps / no rest

Exercise 8: Lateral Db Lunge 2 sets / 10 reps per side / no rest

Quad Set: Do Exercise 9 through 12

Exercise 9: Hanging Pike (Toes to Bar) 2 sets / 12 reps / no rest

Exercise 10: Back-Extension 2 sets / 15 reps / no rest

Exercise 11: Rope Face Pull 2 sets / 15 reps / no rest

Exercise 12: Anti-Rotation Cable Press 2 sets / 10 reps per side / no rest

In the end, the workout did as it was ended. My stiffness was worked out by the time I was finished. I had a little bit of a sweat going which I would attribute to lack of rest periods between exercises. It wasn't going to make me break any world bench press records but it felt good. Saturdays as I've mentioned are often tough to find motivation for, so something like today was just right. Tomorrow if the hips feel better, I might try a long run.

Richard Gibney's 365 Days of Fitness: Day 158

Day 158 Today I reduced my regular carbon footprint by riding my bike to work instead of driving. Considering that it takes me about 5 - 7 minutes to drive to work, riding my bike is something that I really should be doing more often. However, as I mentioned before I'm not great at early morning physical activity and the fact that I usually start at or before 7 am, makes me more likely to stay in bed an extra few minutes than hop on my bike. That being said my car being in the shop necessitated that I use a different mode of transportation.

I actually really enjoyed the ride to work. Being able to somewhat ignore regular traffic rules meant I was able to save a bit of time. I was able to get to work in less than 15 minutes, which was great. Feeling awake and ready after getting some fresh air and bit of exercise was really nice.

On Friday's I often workout with my 11am client, however today he cancelled on me and shortly after my noon hr client cancelled as well. I didn't have a 1:00, so this left me with a 3 hr break before my next session. I could have used this time to workout in the gym, then get some lunch but instead I decided to kill two birds with one stone.

I needed to get my car from the shop and could have had the dealership pick me up with a shuttle but instead I decided to ride my bike. With the Glencoe club being downtown and the dealership being on the northwest side of town I knew I was in for a trek, but I had plenty of time to get there and back in time for my 2:00 client.

It was a pretty nice ride actually. I rode from the club to Prince's Island park, across the peace bridge toward kensington, then up 11th ave. The hill behind SAIT was pretty hard but then after that it was relatively downhill. I got to the dealership in about 45 minutes. I didn't destroy myself, but I pushed it pretty hard. I popped my bike in the back of my car and made it back in time to grab a coffee and snack before my 2:00

Today's Workout

Bike Ride to Volkswagen Dealership:

Distance: 8.24 miles / 13.26 km          Duration: 47:36

It was nice to get some exercise out of the gym. I used to ride my bike everywhere when I was younger. I think I might try and make this more of a habit. I live so close to work, so I really don't need to drive, and it just a really handy way to get some exercise and give my legs a break from the impact of running. Tomorrow I'll get back to some upper body strength work and probably a bit of core.

Richard Gibney's 365 Days of Fitness: Day 157

Day 157 Today turned out to be a super random exercise day. My schedule really didn't allow for anything structured, which was kind of ok as I really needed something a lot less taxing today. Basically this post is a series of miscellaneous activity that I'm claiming as exercise. Some of it alone, I probably wouldn't have considered working out but the accumulative activity over the course of the day could definitely constitute a workout.

Today's Workout

Activity Log:

8:00 am: 30 minute power walk with a client through Elbow Park (This was harder than I thought it would be. My client Mary was huff'n it up the hills)

5:00 pm: Body weight circuit with my ski conditioning class: Body Weight Squat x 20 reps /  Jumping Jacks x 30 sec / Reverse Lunges x 30 sec / High Knees x 30 sec / Lateral Lunges x 20 sec per side (60 sec rest / repeat 3 times)

7:00 pm: Soft Ball: Wasn't the most strenuous of exercise but I did sprint quite a bit. I almost hit a home run, but not quite.

9:30 pm: 200 push-ups (60, 30, 10, 40, 25, 20, 15)

As I said, not exactly a structured workout but overall it did involve a great deal of physical activity. Probably the most surprising activity of the day was the power walk. My client wanted to go outside for a walk, so I said "ok lets go". We got outside and before I knew it she was trucking down the street. I actually found it difficult to keep up. My short legs are not designed for power walking.

Overall it was an active day but I still felt I needed a bit more, so at the end of the day when I got home I did a bunch of push-ups to make me feel like I'd done enough. Tomorrow will be back to something more structured. I didn't get in enough regeneration work today (Foam rolling, stretching) as I wanted, so that will have to be on the agenda tomorrow for sure.

Richard Gibney's 365 Days of Fitness: Day 156

Day 156 Today was a long day. My car was in the shop with a flat tire, so this morning I got a ride with Nicole to work. This meant getting to work at 5:30 am, as that was when she was doing her workout. I can wake up at that time but working out is a no go for me. I find I need at least a few hours and a couple meals in me to get a decent workout. However, being up early wasn't all that bad as I was able to get a good breakfast in me at the Glencoe and I was able to get in some weights around 11 when I was feeling both awake and fed.

Today's Workout:

AM Workout: Weights (Upper Body Pull Focus)

Exercise 1: Weighted Overhand Grip Chin-up: 5 sets / 5 reps / 301 tempo / 3 min rest 45lbs extra for all sets - 6 reps on set 4 - 5 second negative on last rep of set 5

Exercise 2: Seated Cable Row 3 sets / 6 reps / 301 tempo / 2 min rest Set 1: 160lbs x 6 Set 2: 180lbs x 6 Set 3: 180lbs x 6

Kettlebell Upper Body Circuit - 18kg Kettlebell in each hand - 3 sets / 90 seconds rest after each set

• Clean to 1/2 Arnold Press x 10
• See-Saw Press x 5 per side
• Bent-Over Row x 10
• 2 handed swing x 10

In the evening I ran my conditioning group. I put them through a version of the spartacus workout. I had too many people to use any dumbbells, so instead we did body weight exercises. I mixed in some sets of stairs after each set of exercises. I joined in for the first set. I thought about doing the second and the third but I noticed a few people were struggling with exercise form, so I decided I needed to keep an eye out and correct things where necessary.

PM: Workout (Conditioning Session)

Modified Spartacus Workout - no Dumbbells, just body weight - 60 seconds per exercise / 15 seconds between exercises

• Air Squats
• Mountain Climber
• Squat Jumping Jack
• T Push-ups
• Split Jumps
• High Plank
• Lateral Lunges
• High Plank Alternating Shoulder Tap
• Alternating Fwd Lunge with Twist
• Squat Jumps

After the Spartacus workout we ran a hard loop around the club. I joined in for this. I figure a little more cardio wouldn't hurt. My hips and feet and feeling pretty tight, so I think tomorrow I'll give my legs and rest and focus on some regeneration. I get to sleep in a little bit more as well, so I get to regenerate a little more from a sleep perspective as well.

Richard Gibney's 365 Days of Fitness: Day 155

Day 155 Tonight's post is going to be a short one. I had to get my car to the dealership tonight to have some new tires put on and with after-work traffic happening around this time and having to get some dinner it was pretty late by the time I was able to get my workout in.

Today's Workout

3 mile run in 29 minutes (Considering I stopped to pee at the co-op and forgot to stop my timer, it was probably a little faster)

It wasn't the longest or the fastest run, but it was a run none the less. The K100 relay is about 2 and a half weeks away, so I will definitely have to sneak in a couple more long runs to get ready. I feel pretty fit at the moment. I'm not worried about being able to do the run. I think I'll do just fine, but I just want to feel like I'm prepared.

Tomorrow will likely be a double session. Some weights in the morning and some conditioning with my group in the evening. It should make for a big day. Hopefully I'll get a decent sleep tonight. The last couple nights have been pretty restless.

Richard Gibney's 365 Days of Fitness: Day 154

Day 154 I wasn't sure how my workout today was going to turn out. I had a terrible sleep the night prior and wasn't feeling great. I had a client cancel just before lunch which opened up a perfect window to get in a workout. I like working out before a meal, so I can take advantage of the post-workout window and get the most amount of nutrients absorbed. I started warming up, but had to stop. I was just too tired and decided to get some food instead.

After lunch, I was teaching a class and started to feel light headed, which I thought was a bit strange as my blood sugar certainly wasn't low. I finished the class and was about to start with my 1:00 when I started to feel really uncomfortable. I chalked it up it being tired and probably a little dehydrated. I ended up asking my client if we could post-pone our session, then went home, drank a bunch of water and took a 45 minute nap. I woke up feeling much better and went back to work.

My 3:00 was really nice and let me be her workout partner. We hit the weights for some relatively heavy lifting. The possibility of doing some more exercise later was a possibility but I'd have to wait and see how I felt.

Warm-up Dowel Chest Opener: 10 reps Waiters Bow Hamstring Stretch: 10 reps Spidermans: 3 reps per side

Db Complex: 10lbs Arm Circles 10 reps Fwd Raise 10 reps Upright Row 10 reps Curl to Press 10 reps Punches 10 reps

Kettlebell Swing: 2 sets / 15 reps (16 kg) / 30 sec rest

Exercise 1: Single Arm Db Snatch 4 sets / 5 reps per side / 90 seconds rest (55lbs for all sets)

Exercise 2: Bench Press 5 sets / 8 - 10 reps /  2 min rest Set 1: 185lbs x 8 Set 2: 205lbs x 10 Set 3: 215lbs x 10 Set 4: 215lbs x 10 Set 5: 185lbs x 12

Exercise 3: Deadlift 5 sets / 6 reps / 2 min rest Set 1: 185lbs x 6 Set 2: 205lbs x 6 Set 3: 225lbs x 6 Set 4: 225lbs x 6 Set 5: 225lbs x 6

Later in the day I ran my conditioning group. I thought about joining them but I figured that seeing as I needed to go home and lie down this afternoon, it would be better to hold off. They did a really tough session of stair sprints with body weight drills. It looked like fun. I look forward to joining in with them on Wednesday. Hopefully, I'll get a better sleep tonight.

Richard Gibney's 365 Days of Fitness: Day 153

Day 153 This morning Nicole and I went to lululemon to show some support for our friend Philip Ndugga as he launched his series of video fitness tips. We knew Philip would likely be demonstrating some exercises but we had no idea we'd be working out ourselves. We arrived a couple minutes after the event started, where we were promptly asked if we wanted to take our jackets off. "The workouts about to start" they said. Luckily we were wearing our Sunday lounge around / workout clothes and not jeans.

The premise of Philip's workout today was doing high intensity exercise in a short period of time to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of your workout. The atmosphere was really fun. Philip has fantastic energy and this amazing ability to get people amped up and ready to work hard. A DJ cranked out some music while we jumped into a series of jumping jacks, high knees, squats, and lunges. Space was limited but Philip did a great job of putting together a challenging workout with no equipment and extremely limited space. When all was said and done, everyone had worked up a great sweat. Even Philip's bald head was extra shiny with sweat. For our efforts we were rewarded with some champagne and orange juice. A great way to start a Sunday.

To view Philip's fitness tips you can visit his website ndugga.com. Photos of his event can also be seen on his facebook page, Philip Ndugga Pro Fitness Trainer.

The original plan for my workout today was to do a long run with some people from my conditioning group. The forecast wasn't great, but I thought we'd be ok running in a little rain. However, when the time to run actually came, it was pouring out and my group wasn't really dressed for that kind of rain. Rain or not we weren't about to let a workout go to waste, so we hit the treadmills and the stretch mat for one of Martin Rooney's Hurricane workouts. There were four of us so we traded off on the mats and the treadmills to keep things moving.

Today's Workout:

Hurricane Category 1:

Round 1:

Treadmill Sprint / 9.5 mph / 10% Incline / 25 sec

Push-ups x 10 V-sits x 10

repeat 3 times without resting

Rest 90 sec before Round 2

Round 2:

Treadmill Sprint / 9.5 mph / 10% incline / 25 sec

Leg Scissors x 20 Side Bridge Raise x 10 per side

repeat 3 times without resting

Rest 90 sec before Round 3

Round 3:

Treadmill Sprint / 9.5 mph / 10% Incline / 25 sec

T Push-ups x 5 per side V-sit Hold x 20 sec

repeat 3 times without resting

It was a slightly different hurricane workout than the one I did a couple days ago. After tossing around some pretty heavy loads yesterday in the squat rack, I needed a break from the weights, so I chose a hurricane that involved some supplemental core exercises. Pairing up with one person on the treadmill and the other doing the core work worked really well. My original plan was to do a run by myself, but I'm really glad that I got to do my workout with some friends. On top of joining in with Philip's workout this morning and the Hurricane with some of my group this afternoon, I'd say I got my share of exercise today.

Richard Gibney 365 Days of Fitness: Day 152

Day 152 My workout today was quite simple. In fact it involved only one exercise. However, this doesn't mean it wasn't tough, it pushed my limits quite a bit actually. My lower back has been feeling really good lately, and as I mentioned recently I'm getting back into pushing some heavier weights, so today I thought I'd test myself with some squats.

I started off quite light, then gradually increased my weights from set to set. I'm quite proud of the fact that every squat was below parallel. A lot of guys will tell you they squat big numbers, but when you actually see them squat you realize the bar is barely moving.

Today's Workout:

Exercise 1: Back Squats Set 1: 135lbs x 10 / 60 sec rest Set 2: 185lbs x 5 / 90 sec rest Set 3: 225lbs x 5 / 2 min rest Set 4: 255lbs x 5 / 3 min rest Set 5: 275lbs x 5 / 3 min rest Set 6: 315lbs x 3 / 3 min rest Set 7: 335lbs x 1

I'm quite happy about how my workout went. I haven't squatted over 300lbs for at least 6 years. Lower back and Sacro-iliac joint issues had made me a little wary of getting under a heavy bar. About 10 yrs ago, when I feel I was my strongest, squatting over 400lbs was something I did quite frequently. I have a ways to go until I'm back up in that territory but today was a good start. I have to be careful not to go too crazy, but I think if I'm careful I can get pretty close to my all time strongest. I plan on maintaining the Chiro and Active Release to keep my hips and lower back in check. Heavy dead-lifting will still be limited as that seems to be a major trigger for setting off my back.

Tomorrow, as many of my Sunday's have been lately, will be a long run. I wasn't too keen on the running in the beginning but I'm starting to enjoy it a lot more.

Richard Gibney's 365 Days of Fitness: Day 151

Day 151 The other day I was told about a post on the blog of Tim Ferris, the author of the 4hr Body. This one in particular wasn't written by Ferris but by Nate Green, a co-worker of George St Pierre's nutrition coach John Berardi and one of Tim's researchers for his 4hr Body book. The post detailed an experiment in which Green underwent a transformation where his goal was to gain 20lbs of muscle in 28 days. The experiment was designed to illustrate how a fighter might gain a bunch of muscle in an attempt to jump weight classes. In theory something that George St Pierre himself might use to gain a bunch of weight to make a super-fight with Anderson Silva a possibility.

The post is incredibly detailed, outlining from start to finish exactly what Green ate, the supplements he took and the workouts he completed. I'll probably re-visit this post a few times out of professional curiosity. I can't see myself using this protocol on myself. I don't really have desire to gain that much weight but I do have a couple clients with lofty muscle mass goals. They could definitely benefit from something this effective at putting on quality weight.

The part of the post that I tried on myself today was one of the conditioning workouts included in his training program. Green's workouts were designed by Martin Rooney, a world re-known strength and conditioning coach who has made a name for himself helping fighters get ready for the octagon. Green's goal was to make as much of the weight gain come from muscle as possible. To do this, along with his diet, he used strength training to build muscle and high intensity conditioning workouts to prevent fat gain.

below is a link to the blog post I'm talking about: http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2013/05/11/how-to-gain-20-pounds-in-28-days-the-extreme-muscle-building-secrets-of-ufc-fighters/

My workout today was one of Rooney's famous "Hurricane" sprint workouts. The general basis of these workouts is that they are short, intense, and leave absolute devastation in their wake. Today's workout involved alternating sprinting on the treadmill with a series of barbell exercises. The combination of heart rate intensive sprinting with the muscular fatigue from weight lifting makes for one incredibly metabolic workout.

Today's Workout:

Hurricane Sprint Workout

Round 1

Treadmill: 9.5 mph / 10% incline / 25 sec

Move Immediately to Barbell Superset  (65lbs)

Exercise 1: Push Jerks x 10 Exercise 2: Close Grip Snatch x 8

Repeat from the beginning for a total of 3 sets / rest 2 min before round 2

Round 2

Treadmill: 10.5 mph / 10% incline / 25 sec

Move Immediately to Barbell Superset  (65lbs)

Exercise 1: Wide Grip Bent-Over Row x 10 Exercise 2: High Pull x 10

Repeat from the beginning for a total of 3 sets / rest 2 min before round 3

Round 3

Treadmill: 11.5 mph / 10% incline / 25 sec

Move Immediately to Barbell Superset  (65lbs)

Exercise 1: Bicep Curl x 10 Exercise 2: Power Clean x 10

Repeat from the beginning for a total of 3 sets

This workout was awesome. By the time I finished I was dripping in sweat and every muscle in my body was jacked up and full of blood. It had some similar elements to a Crossfit workout, but Martin Rooney would be quick to point out that unlike Crossfit, his workouts are periodized, and use sets and rest periods to maximize work load and recovery. There is also no clock to race against. You're goal is to do the work prescribed in the length of time it takes to do the exercises effectively.

The Hurricane training protocol is part of Rooney's Training for Warriors Program, a training system and certification program that he developed for teaching people how to train the combative athlete. He's also written a few massive books on training for MMA. If I can find the time I hope to attend one of his courses. I train a few martial arts athletes, my girlfriend included, so I think his program would offer a great deal of value to my own programming.

Tomorrow I might get back to a little more strength work. I think I mentioned somewhere during the week that I'd do some squats, so tomorrow might

Richard Gibney's 365 Days of Fitness: Day 150

Day 150 This week I returned to a somewhat unstructured workout plan. This meant I had to take into account what I had already done this week when choosing today's workout. Monday I got back to heavier lifting with some dead-lifting and bench pressing. On Tuesday I crushed myself with a quick metabolic style crossfit workout and last night I joined in with my group for a big circuit. With all that in mind, I decided to do some heavy chin-ups and other upper body pulling movements for today's workout. I thought about including some squatting, but my legs were pretty fried from the last couple days, so I decided to save them for another day.

Today's Workout:

Exercise 1: Weighted Chin-ups 5 sets / 6 - 8 reps / 301 tempo / 2 min rest Set 1: 45lbs x 8 reps Set 2: 45lbs x 8 reps Set 3: 45lbs x 8 reps Set 4: 45lbs x 7 reps Set 5: 45lbs x 7 reps

Exercise 2: Wide Grip Bent-Over Barbell Row 4 sets / 8 - 10 reps / 2011 tempo / 2 min rest Set 1: 135lbs x 10 reps Set 2: 145lbs x 10 reps Set 3: 155lbs x 8 reps Set 4: 155lbs x 8 reps

Exercise 3: 1 Arm Db Row 3 sets / 8 - 10 reps per side / 301 tempo / 90 sec rest Set 1: 85lbs x 10 reps per side Set 2: 85lbs x 10 reps per side Set 3: 85lbs x 10 reps per side

Well, for my 150th workout it wasn't particularly epic, but I was pretty happy with my chin-up strength. I have 33 more workouts until I will pass the halfway mark for the year. I'm feeling pretty good about the way things are going. My body feels healthy and I seem to be in a pretty good flow as far as getting the workouts in. I haven't felt rushed or pressured to get them in lately, which certainly makes things more enjoyable. The next few days are still up the air as far as whats next, but I'm pretty sure they will involve some squatting and some cardio.

Richard Gibney's 365 Days of Fitness: Day 149

Day 149 About 3 weeks ago I put my group through a big multi-exercise circuit. I didn't get to join in because I felt that seeing as it was the first time putting them through that type of workout, that I needed to coach them through it. Tonight I put them through another circuit. I had 33 people come out, which was a lot more than I had expected, so I had to add a few more stations than I had planned for. I put people into groups of 2 and had them split up over 17 stations. We did 2 full rotations of the full circuit. I didn't join in for the first round to make sure things were running smoothly, but I did get to join for the second half. I had one athlete going solo, so I became his partner.

Today's Workout

Summer Conditioning Group Circuit:

60 seconds per exercise / 2 times through (1 circuit for me)

1. Run Stairs
2. Kettlebell Goblet Squat
3. Agility Ladder (Random footwork patterns)
4. Battle Ropes
5. Side to Side Overhead Med Ball Slams
6. TRX Inverted Row
7. 3 metre side to side cone shuffle
8. Skipping Rope
9. Walking Lunges
10. Squat Jumps
11. Med Ball Side Toss
12. Push ups
13. Squat Jacks
14. Side to Side skier hop
15. Lateral Lunges
16. Air Squats
17. T Push-ups

We finished off the night with 3 sets to the top of the Glencoe stairs.

I think the workout was a great success. Everyone, did such a great job. I'll probably put together another couple circuit workouts over the course of the summer. I think now that my group really has the hang of them, I will likely join in for the workouts from now on.

I think tomorrow I'll be back moving the weights around. I managed to get in for some active release with my chiropractor Dr. Helena Horsky today, so I'll feeling nice and loose and ready to train hard.