The Punisher and Deadlifts

Once again I did succumb to the song of the Punisher Sirens, and once again they had their way with me and left me spent in a puddle of sweat.
To Todd.….I both thank you and damn you for introducing me to these mischievous nymphs 3 years ago to whom I find myself yielding so willingly.
And this is called adding insult to injury...as if doing the Punisher this morning wasn’t enough, this evening I did 4 brisk ½ mile walks with clients and a workout that is sure to leave a mark ---Deadlifts with Debra--- we each did 13 total sets of deads alternating between standard and sumo.
Good job Debra!

~Feelin’ Alive!~

Heavy Bag

It was a fairly full day, but in addition to a couple of brisk 1/2 mile walks with a client, I still made time for a 30 minute heavy bag workout.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Lower Table Rock

What an fantastic end to the week!
After a couple of active hours with Hailey, I had an awesome, relaxing hike on Lower Table Rock.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Tabatas and a Busy Day

My day got started with several brisk 1/2 mile warmup/cooldown walks with clients and a killer Tabata workout with the last client.....working out with my client gave us both a little extra push and I'm sure we'll be feeling it tomorrow.
But, that ended up being the lighter part of my day. The rest of the day was filled with business paperwork, laundry, dishes, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, dusting, etc, etc, etc....all of the things I put off for far too long.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Heavy Bag

Since it was a busy day and I have had several high volume and/or intensity days in a row, I only made time for a 30 minute heavy bag workout today.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Upper Table Rock and a Push/Pull Workout

FROGS!! This morning I did a great Upper Table Rock run and I got soaked! It seems the frogs like this weather too. Both yesterday on LTR and today on UTR, the frogs were out in force. There was an almost deafening cacophony of croaking on the plateaus…..very surreal…..like some sort of Hitchcock movie.
And then, there's nothing like a good push-pull workout to compliment a TR run.....in the afternoon I did a quick, moderately heavy workout of bench press and deadlift supersets.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Lower Table Rock

This afternoon I was going to squeeze in a quick deadlift workout between sessions, but goddammit, the Table Rock sirens started singing their sweet, sweet song and calling my name again! So I ran Lower Table Rock and let them have their way with me. Maybe I'll get to the deadlifts tomorrow.
Afterward I did a couple of brisk 1/2 mile warmup/cooldown walks with a client.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Upper Table Rock

What an awesome day! Earlier I had one of the best modeling gigs…..there was a fantastic, lively group of artists (as always), the theme was a fun one to do (picture a hillbilly with his banjo and jug dressed in the finest hillbilly fashion) and I got lots of very positive feedback.
Of course, after spending the better part of 3 hours sitting motionless, when I got back I squeezed in a quick Upper Table Rock run before seeing my last client of the day and doing a couple of brisk 1/2 mile walks with him.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Heavy Bag and Circuits

Goddammit!! I was half way through a great heavy bag workout when the bag came crashing down. After around 15 years, the quick link connecting the chain to the bolt in the rafters finally wore down to less than the thickness of pencil lead. I got it back up, but then I didn't have time to finish the workout before I had to leave for a training session :(
After the session though, I managed to finish the heavy bag workout without any heavy objects falling on me. After that, I did a similar workout to the one I had my client do.....pullups (I had her do band rows), pushups, squats and crunches.....9 circuits of 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 reps.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Rest Day

Other than some time with Hailey this morning, I didn't do anything that could be considered exercise today.
It seemed like I needed another full day of recovery....sometimes you just have to listen to your body, especially after a week of some fairly high intensity workouts.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Heavy Bag

I was feeling a little puny today....a little short on sleep and I might be getting a little cold....so in addition to a couple of warmup/cooldown walks with a client, the only thing I made time for was a 30 minute heavy bag workout.
I might actually make tomorrow another rest day.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Rest Day

Because it's been a busy day and I've had several high volume/intensity days recently, I took it easy today. The only thing I made time for was a couple of 1/2 mile brisk walks with a client.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Lower Table Rock

So, what happens when you have a howling wind, pouring rain, temps hovering around 40 deg and a crazy SOB with a couple of hours of “flex” time in the morning?
You get one crazy SOB hiking Lower Table Rock and ending up soaked, with frozen, prune-like feet and a huge smile on his face!!
There was no avoiding the puddles and staying dry this time….I just had to wade my way through them.

~Feelin’ Alive!~

Upper Table Rock and Plyos

I had another great balance, agility and core stability workout this morning. This time it was an Upper Table Rock run and it was mud instead of ice that made it so slippery.
Later I had 30 minutes free so I did a fun workout of upper and lower body plyos.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Lower Table Rock and an Upper Body Workout

Because of a slow schedule this morning, I had time for a great Lower Table Rock run. I did have to slow down a bit due to a thin layer of ice and snow on much of the trail, but there was an added benefit....it made for an awesome balance, agility and core stability workout.
In the afternoon I had about 1/2 hr before seeing my last client so after a couple of warmup sets I did 3 supersets of BB bench presses and DB rows plus 3 supersets of chinups and ring pushups.
I finished the evening with a couple of brisk 1/2 mile walks with a client.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Kettlebells and Heavy Bag

In addition to a couple of brisk walks with a client today, I made time for a workout of KB swings, snatches, clean & presses and overhead squats....plus I ended the day with a 30 minute heavy bag workout.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Hailey Time and Jacksonville Trails

After being worn out by Hailey for a couple of hours this morning, I went on a great hike on the Jacksonville Trails with a friend.
It was a perfect end to the week!

~Feelin' Alive!~

Tabatas and Brisk Walks

It was another busy day with clients, but in addition to a couple of brisk 1/2 mile walks with a client, I still made time for a fantastic Tabata workout....pullups, pushups, SB crunches and squats.

~Feelin' Alive!~

And, I think this bears repeating...... You Can't Outrun Bad Nutrition! I hear it all of the time, "You can eat anything you want because you hike, run and workout all of the time." But the fact is, you can't outrun bad nutrition. I could easily burn the calories in soda, sugary cereals, white bread or any of the other poisons so common to most people's diets, but I can’t outrun the detrimental affects poor nutritional choices will have on my health.....and neither can you.

Heavy Bag

It was a busy business and personal day so there wasn't a lot of time for exercise, but I did make time for a 30 minute heavy bag workout.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Lower Table Rock Hike and a Couple of Walks

Today I went on a great Lower Table Rock hike with a friend. The weather couldn't have been better and we took our time to take in the sights and enjoy everything the Rock had to offer.
I finished the day with a couple of brisk, chilly walks with a client.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Chinups and Pushups

After yesterday's leg thrashing, I gave my lower body a bit of a break and kept the overall volume of activity a little lower today.
In addition to a couple of brisk walks with a client, I made time for an upper body workout of 30 minutes of chinups x 10 reps and ring pushups x 20 reps (I'm not sure how many supersets I did, I just kept going non-stop for 30 mins).

~Feelin' Alive!~

Upper and Lower Table Rocks, Leg Workout and Walks

This morning I found time to run both Table Rocks....I haven't done a TR2fer in a long time and it felt GREAT! Afterward, I finished my "office" work faster than expected and had time for a good leg workout of BB front squats, SLDLs, DB stationary lunges and calf raises.
I finished my long day of activity with a couple of brisk 1/2 mile walks with a client.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Heavy Bag and a Couple Brisk Walks

I was going to try to get the week off to a killer start, but all I made time for was a 30 minute heavy bag workout and a couple of brisk walks with a client.
But, tomorrow I should have time for a good trail run and maybe more....I'm ready to pick up the volume and intensity again!

~Feelin' Alive!~

Hailey Time and Lower Table Rock

After being thoroughly worn out by Hailey this morning, I went on a fun Lower Table Rock hike as a cooldown. The weather lately might not be very good for the winter snowpack, but it's great for trail runs and hikes.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Heavy Bag and Walks

Today, partly due to a busy schedule and partly due to needing to give my body more of a break, I kept things light and only made time for a 30 min heavy bag workout and a couple of 1/2 mile brisk walks with a client.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Upper Table Rock and Kettlebells

This morning I had a cancellation so I decided to use the time to catch up on paperwork. I got the files etc. out and ready to work on, but the Sirens of the Table Rock were singing my song again and the files just had to wait. So, I had a great Upper Table Rock hike....no running, just a hike this time to give my muscles and joints a break.
Afterward, I did a fun workout of KB one arm swings, KB snatches and KB clean & presses.
And yes, I did finally get to the paperwork.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Lower Table Rock Run and Upper Body Workout

This morning I made it out for a great Lower Table Rock run....a stiff, sore run due to yesterday's heavy leg workout, but still a great run. Afterward, I spent an hour in my gym doing bench presses and DB rows.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Leg Workout and Brisk Walks

Today I braved all of the New Year's resolutioners at the gym and did a heavy leg workout of leg extensions, leg presses, prone leg curls and donkey calf raises....4-5 sets x 8-12 reps each.
I ended the day with a couple of brisk warmup/cooldown walks with a client.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Heavy Bag and Brisk Walks

After several days of high intensity activity, it was time to relax and do a little active recovery, so today all I did was a heavy bag workout and a couple of brisk 1/2 mile warmup/cooldown walks with a client.

~Feelin' Alive!~

Pushups and Lower Table Rock

I never should have told my client how many pushups I had done yesterday and last Friday. He likes to see me hurt too, so he challenged me to another pushup twofer.....he did 45 (damn him) and much to my surprise, I managed to get 90….I even did 96 with a complete and total collapse half way up on 97.

And, I wasn’t gonna do it…..I was gonna take a break after the killer workouts I had been doing…..but the weather was just too perfect and the Table Rock Sirens were singing their sweet, sweet song and calling my name again…..so I succumbed to their wishes and ran Lower Table Rock this morning. Surprisingly, it felt pretty good and I made great time considering the past few days’ workouts.

I finished my day with a couple of brisk walks with a client.

~Feelin' Alive!~

1112, Upper Table Rock and Hailey Time

Today I brought in the New Year with typical TOPFIT style.
After a couple of very active hours of Hailey time, I headed out to Upper Table Rock for my first trail run of the year. Plus, I finished my second annual ~January 1st Pushup Challenge~. Using today’s date (1-1-12) as my target number, I did 1112 pushups.

~Feelin’ Alive!~