Time And Again

After a long trip to the East Coast (in which I ate too much and slept too little), it was time I got back to the gym. I got up early (4 a.m.), pulled on a shirt and a pair of shorts, warmed up with a nice, long row on the erg in my garage, and drove though the silent streets to CrossFit Palo Alto.

For the past week and a half, I'd done next to no exercise, other than schlepping the kids and assorted pieces of luggage from place to place. I knew I was rusty, but I figured I could go easy on myself today and ease back into my routine at the gym.

Wrong.

We were scheduled for time trials. It's been nine months since I was last put through the paces of this workout, in which we go all-out in each of six different exercises -- with a few minutes of rest in-between -- in order to establish benchmark times.

On the menu:

• 50 pull-ups
• 50 push-ups
• 50 Abmat sit-ups
• 50 air squats
• 400 meter run
• 500 meter row

Here's how I did today, compared against my results in November of 2010 and November of 2011:

So let's review: 

Suckier at sit-ups. Better on pull-ups. About the same on everything else, but I managed to shave 13.5 seconds off the whole shebang from the last go-round. Yes, I was fresh and (somewhat) rested from vacation, but I'll take it.

Monday's Workout: Cabo San Lucas

We're in Cabo San Lucas for the week, and we're planning on eating like rabid wolves this week, so to kick things off right, the entire family decided to work out on the balcony this morning (minus the three-year-old, who was wandering around somewhere, munching on a scrambled egg and playing with his LEGOs). 

 M got cranking on her double-unders... 

...and air squats... 

...while Big-O got his mobility on. 

I wish I could squat as comfortably as he can. 

I decided to dash off a quick home-brewed WOD: 

50 double-unders, and then 5 rounds for time of: 

5 handstand push-ups... 

 (Whoops -- nip slip.) 

10 pistols... 

...and 15 sit-ups. 

As you can see, Big-O decided to go rip off his shirt and join in the fun.

Result: 9:13. I cooled down with another 50 double-unders.

And then we proceeded to eat, swim, and do a whole lotta nothin'. (We did eat some worms, though. M'll do all the food-related play-by-play over at Nom Nom Paleo.)

Don't you love it when people bore you to death with their vacation photos?

Friday's Workout

Three of us showed up to exercise in the dark this morning. Our coach is out of town, but he left us with instructions on what to do. After warming up with a half-mile run to a pitch-black neighborhood park, we did our homework:

And let me tell you: It takes forever to lunge across the length of that park.

Still: No lights, wet grass, chilly weather, morning rain -- all perfect for an outdoor workout with a senior officer in the Marines and a guy whose nickname in class is "The Terminator."

As you probably know by now, I love bodyweight workouts, so this one was right up my alley. The only part I found mildly uncomfortable: Doing sit-ups in the wet darkness, hoping that I didn't pick a spot sprinkled with dog shit.

Result: 12:27.

Tuesday's Workout

There's no better way to start off another sunny day on Maui than with a visit to the local CrossFit affiliate, right?

Today: No strength skill practice. Instead, after warming up with some running, walking lunges, and basic calisthenics and stretches, we were off to the races.

Metcon:

3 rounds for time:

• 20 pull-ups
• 30 push-ups
• 40 sit-ups
• 50 air squats

Looks reasonable enough. And no one loves these fast bodyweight workouts more than me. I finished in 11:37, which sounds about right for me.

Afterwards, we "cashed out" by running about 400 meters uphill to the place where we had dinner last night, and then running back. We finished with a quick stretch, and then we were done. The entire workout took less than 45 minutes.

My only complaint about today's WOD: I couldn't find a mat to slide under my ass during the sit-ups -- and you know what that means. I did my best to keep my butt from being rubbed raw, but after class, when I pulled on my snorkeling gear and swam out into the Pacific to check out the coral reef off the beach near our place, the saltwater sting on my rear end was unmistakeable.

Still, ass rash or no, I'm enjoying every minute of this. Some have asked me why I'm so intent on proper eating and exercise. True, it's a lot of work. But the fact that I'm able to be active and spend the entire day swimming, building sand castles and running around with my boys (we caught a frog today!) makes it all worth the while.

(Photo: Ben Warren)