Filthy, filthy, filthy...

Very filthy, very, very, very filthy. Before this week I thought I was fit, and compared to most I guess I was (am?), I was wrong. Very wrong. I can see how far I can go, and how much further I can put myself, this is going to be a great journey.

Being the cretin that I am yesterday was a day off, as Crossfit is 3 days on, 1 day off, so muggins here shot out at lunch for a 45 min ride. Even though its my ‘easy’ route it still involves quite a few hills, one or two of which can be challenging. It took me nearly the whole ride wondering why the steeper or longer hills seemed so hard, my breathing was OK, and my quads weren’t sore or burning up but I just seemed to have no power at all….doh – the 75 hip extensions yesterday, plus all the Gordo core workout – when you ride, the beginning of the power for your stroke comes from your hip abductors/glutes – precisely what I beat the crap out of the day before.

But hey, I HTFU’d and enjoyed it anyway. Fast forward to last night and today’s WOD (Workout of the Day) was posted..at first it was disbelief followed by “This is going to be ugly” followed by cool, this will be so hard that it will make me strong !

A lot of that positive attitude was reading the Men's Health interview with Lance Armstrong about his come back and another small insight into what makes him tick. Unfortunately the article is not online yet, but a very edited version is on NY Times, looking at the shape he is in I would not want to bet against him next July. The other was Jason Statham's original article, how many times have we gone to the gym and not put in 100% thinking something is better than nothing, then have the same thing happen the next time, this article changes your thinking. Since I first read it I've committed to each and every workout even if I'm having a bad day, no skipping that last rep, no cutting sets short, and no half arsed efforts.

Similar warm up to Tuesday – 5 mins rowing, then 3 sets of 10 reps of overhead squat, incline twisting sit-up, push up, side planks, dip, plank+10crunches

Then THIS is the ‘Filthy Fifty’ as I did it

50 24“ Box jumps

50Jumping pull-ups (stand on boxes so bar is easily reached then jump and finish a pull up)

50 Kettlebell swings – my gym doesn’t have 36lb, only 20. This was the only one I could do straight

50 knee to elbows (hang from bar, curl lower body until knee to elbow)

50 45lb push to press (stand bar at shoulder, ¼ squat and drive bar overhead, lock elbows)

50 Back extension

50 Wall ball shots (20lb medicine ball, squat and then drive upwards throwing ball up wall, catch repeat)

50 walking lunges

50 Burpees

400 yard run

Row to cool down

Not counting the cardio or planks, that’s 530 reps in 43 minutes. Most things if I had to stop I could get motivated and get back on quickly in 5-15 seconds, in nearly every case I hit at least 30 reps before the first stop. But the burpees…which use almost every muscle in the body was 5 sets of ten, with a minute, maybe 2 minutes between the last couple, I didn’t realize how much they use the abs/core. One of the older citizens of the gym came over at one point as he thought I needed help getting up..I just looked at him because I wasn’t sure that I didn’t need help.

At the end I needed to sit down and quickly, Mr Pukey wasn’t quite visiting, but he was walking up the path if I didn’t stop moving, by halfway through the workout I could hear the blood in my ears, and flowing through my veins, a hammering in my head. It took a few to get my life back together again, and I could feel the workout in EVERY muscle in my body, but its workouts like this that push you beyond the edge that really provide the gains.

I want my Jason Statham six pack !

And I'm going to get it. And quickly ! :-)