3,000

I thought about making the title of this post something witty about Sparta and the 300, but I'm too tired. (By the way if you are not familiar with that story, go and get "Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae" by Steven Pressfield instead of watching the Movie 300. Excellent book.)

Today was 3,000 repetition day at good old Firehouse Fitness. I walked in, and there were only five exercises on the board. 1,000 Mountain Climbers. 500 Touch and Reach. 500 Push-ups. 1,000 Crunches and/or 1,000 Jump Ropes.

Have I ever mentioned how early 6:00 a.m. feels when you go to the gym? If not, it feels very early indeed.

We had more freedom to complete our exercises today. In fact, we do many variations of these exercises, and Jason let us choose our method and where we started in the rotation. Since they all looked unpleasant, I started at the beginning.

1,000 mountain climbers takes a little while to do. I did mine with my hands on a medicine ball, I like being up off the ground a little. I did them in batches of 100.

When that was over, I moved onto the Touch and Reach. This is a simple exercise that involves squatting down, and touching the floor between your legs. You then stand up, and extend your hands above your head. Think burpee without the push-up or jump. I've done many forms of this exercise, but kept it simple. I used a medicine ball in my hands. Some people got on the bosu, and used weights in their hands (for about 10 repetitions.) I saw some walk toward the exercise bands, but no one used them. No one used the small tires either.

At this time, it was getting toward the end of class. I usually have to leave 10-15 minutes early so that I can catch my train to work. I got down and did 50 push-ups, followed by 100 crunches. I kept this rotation up until I had to leave.

All-in-all, I did 1,900 repetitions this morning, and now want to sleep.

Bad picture, tough workout

Okay, the picture sucks, and so did the workout.

We showed up at the gym, and I glances at the workout board. At first I thought it was empty, but it was just a very simple workout. The board reads - Cycle 1 250 roundhouse kicks per leg, Cycle 2 1,000 mountain climbers, Cycle 3 1,000 jump ropes.

I started out strong with the kicks. My left leg was a little tired.

Mountain climbers are one of my least favorite exercises, especially when I have to do 1,000. To do a mountain climber you put your hands on a medicine ball on the floor. You get in pushup position with one leg bent forward, then you jump and change leg positions. I would bust out 100 really quick then rest and go again. The wife would just go slow and steady. We finished about the same time.

We then moved to the jump ropes. I can only bust out around 100 at a time. We got to the gym a little late, so I only finished 777, but I still felt retched, I mean good about that.

It's amazing what three simple exercises can do.