Fun workouts

[GuyWhiteyCorngood]

I figured I'd toss up a thread on fun or challenging workouts. My morning workout destroyed me pretty good, so I thought I'd share in case anyone wants to give it a shot. Crossfit may not be for everyone, but an occasion high intensity workout can't hurt.

We added a twist for our gym. You could rest in between exercises, but the goal for each movement was to go unbroken - meaning no pauses. Each pause mid-exercise added a 100m rowing penalty. I did a little rowing at the end The workout is scaled for three different levels.


Advanced
10 Pullups
20 Thrusters (95/65)
30 Back Squats (95/65)
40 KB Swings (53/35)
50 Double Unders
40 Box Jumps (20”)
30 Wall Ball, 10 feet (20/16)
20 Pushups
10 Toes to Bar


Intermediate
10 Pullups
20 Thrusters (75/45)
30 Back Squats (75/45)
40 KB Swings (44/26)
50 Double Unders
40 Box Jumps (20”)
30 Wall Ball, 10 feet (20/16)
20 Pushups
10 Toes to Bar

Beginner
Run 400meters
10 mod-Pullups or ring rows
20 Pushups
30 Squats
40 KB Deadlift (53/35)
50 Sit-ups
40 KB Deadlift
30 Squats
20 Pushups
10 Mod-Pullups
Run 400meters

[BossaGator]

I like this one - infinitely scalable, pretty simple, and kicks my ass every time.

Pick a time for 400 m run that will challenge you after a few rounds but that won't completely wipe you out. Add 1:00. Workout is 5 (or however many you decide) rounds of that time period. Each round you run 400 m and then with the remaining time you do as many kettlebell snatches at a good weight (I use 50# or so) as you can. Score can be the total number of snatches you do, or the average each round. Obviously how you choose to score the workout may impact your optimal strategy, just like how you score a Tabata workout will impact your strategy (i.e., total reps, minimum reps in a round, or average reps per round).

EDIT: obviously, you can also do it with other variations on the weight work. I've done a similar workout with 75# and 95# power snatches before and those worked well too. But whatever it is should be something that's relatively full-body and with a good cardio component.

[GuyWhiteyCorngood]

Looks like a good one, Bossa. I'll suggest it for our gym. I need work on KB snatches, too. Bringing the weight down smoothly is the tricky part for me.

[Dreamliner]

My favorite 'finisher' is what I call 55's. I think Crossfitters do it. Pair two exercises like, say, dumbbell swings and burpees and go 10, 9, 8 ... down to 1 for time. Quick and dirty. My mind wanders when I string together many more than two or three exercises. Maybe it's all that gluten in my system.

Indeed, when you consider that I practice basic gymnastics skills ... and the occasional deadlifts and snatches, Crossfitters would mistake me for a Crossfitter ... until they saw me reach for my donuts.

[GuyWhiteyCorngood]

Originally Posted by Dreamliner

My favorite 'finisher' is what I call 55's. I think Crossfitters do it. Pair two exercises like, say, dumbbell swings and burpees and go 10, 9, 8 ... down to 1 for time. Quick and dirty. My mind wanders when I string together many more than two or three exercises. Maybe it's all that gluten in my system.

Indeed, when you consider that I practice basic gymnastics skills ... and the occasional deadlifts and snatches, Crossfitters would mistake me for a Crossfitter ... until they saw me reach for my donuts.

I have serious adult ADD, so even with my own wandering mind, I like the variation. Unless it's the Filthy 50 - that's just too much.

I like descending numbers. Increasing ladders are always a good psychological challenge though. Sometimes we mix both, where one exercise has increasing reps, but the other has decreasing reps.

Again, I'm not fanatical about my diet. I work out in a gym full of cops, so we're kind of torn (collectively) about donuts.

[Dreamliner]

Originally Posted by GuyWhiteyCorngood

I have serious adult ADD, so even with my own wandering mind, I like the variation. Unless it's the Filthy 50 - that's just too much.

I like descending numbers. Increasing ladders are always a good psychological challenge though. Sometimes we mix both, where one exercise has increasing reps, but the other has decreasing reps.

Again, I'm not fanatical about my diet. I work out in a gym full of cops, so we're kind of torn (collectively) about donuts.

I was about to say that my ADD prevents me from focusing on more than two or three money exercises per session. My son is a chip-off-the-old-block. I have him doing a couple of compound exercises three days a week.

I hear you on the diet. For all the staunch advocacy of this or that diet, I rarely meet anyone who sticks to one unerringly. I'm an intermittent faster, but only just barely.

One exception is a couple I know who ... get this - they fast 32 hours THREE days a week AND add a 20g carb day. They'll stick to this regimen for a months and may lose a few pounds. Obviously, they compensate on their feeding days. They are CONVINCED that it makes them healthy, even though the woman in particular is obese.

[malscott]

Sheesh. You guys have too much time on you hands. I would die after just the 400! I like to spar for 1/2 hr- 45 minutes-that does it for me after a work out in the dojo! Short twitch guy here.

[BossaGator]

LOVE the decreasing/increasing/pyramid workouts. Box jumps + heavy swings are a personal favorite.

[Dreamliner]

Originally Posted by BossaGator

LOVE the decreasing/increasing/pyramid workouts. Box jumps + heavy swings are a personal favorite.

That sounds like an interesting combo. I've also paired barbell deadlift with feet-elevated pushups. Also heavy swings with ab walkouts.

On another note: practicing the tuck levers today has me thinking I might sub them in for the inverted rows. I couldn't help but notice an intense contraction between the shoulder blades. I'm thinking that the levers and the rows together are overkill.

[deviation]

Here are some fun challenges to do.

100 Squats (legs)
100 Chin-ups(biceps)
100 Russian Twists(abs)
100 push-ups(chest)
100 Standing Shoulder Press-75#(shoulders)
100 Leg Raises(abs)
100 Dips or Diamond Push-ups(Tris)
100 Bent-over Rows 115#(back)
100 High Pulls 45# Plate
100 Calf Raises
1 Mile Run


I did that challenge in 46 min.

THE "ORIGINAL" 300 WORKOUT

Pullups - 25 reps
Barbell Deadlift with 135 lbs. - 50 reps
Pushups - 50 reps
24-inch Box Jumps - 50 reps
Floor Wipers - 50 reps
Single-Arm Clean-and-Press with 36 lbs Kettlebell - 50 reps
Pullups - 25 reps


I did that challenge in 16:50. Alittle under 17 minutes. I actually just did the 300 workout today. It was alot of fun. The box jumps were the hardest for me, only because i couldn't find a 2ft box. I had to do 3 ft.

If you don't know some of the moves, just youtube search " 300 workout" You'll see alot of videos on it.

[GuyWhiteyCorngood]

That first workout looks brutal. 100 pushups with 100 dips coming later would destroy me, but I've only done ring dips lately - a bit tougher. And then looking at bent over rows followed by high pulls...ouch. I think it would be more fun to replace the bent over rows and high pulls with one round of high pull sumo dead lifts.

I did say "fun" workouts in the thread title. What a bunch of masochists around here

[Dreamliner]

Maybe we need a 'Miserable Workouts' thread.

[BossaGator]

I'm a big fan of complexes (barbell, dumbell, or kettlebell). The Curtis Press is a good one without too many movements that can be done for reps or for time.

Curtis Press: hang power clean --> lunge with bar in rack position (one leg) --> lunge with bar in rack position (other leg) --> push press

IMO it's a good finisher after a heavy day. E.g., 30 reps for time at a pretty light weight (usually 95# or 115#) is a good way to wear yourself out and build work capacity after a heavy day without spending too much time on a metcon.

Another good one (which I'm probably going to do later in the week) is the frog complex.

Frog Complex:

Squat clean --> thruster --> back squat --> thruster (off the back rack position). Those can also be strung together pretty quickly to do lots of reps and get a pretty good cardio workout with your barbell. Or they can be done in sets with progressive increase in weight (e.g. 6x at 95#, 6x at 115#, 6x at 135#. . . . and on up).

[deviation]

Originally Posted by GuyWhiteyCorngood

That first workout looks brutal. 100 pushups with 100 dips coming later would destroy me, but I've only done ring dips lately - a bit tougher. And then looking at bent over rows followed by high pulls...ouch. I think it would be more fun to replace the bent over rows and high pulls with one round of high pull sumo dead lifts.

I did say "fun" workouts in the thread title. What a bunch of masochists around here

Believe me when you finish it you would say it was fun and you'd be very proud of your self. It took me 46 minutes to complete it. I felt terrible and on the verge of passing out during the middle of it but when i finished i felt so awesome.

I did the dips on parallel bars and instead of high pulls i just did upright rows with a ezbar.

Personally i loved the 300 workout more. Lower back felt alittle sore the next day but loved it. It's great to mix up your routines alittle with things like this. Things that challenge you. It was a challenge for sure. Then in a month or 2 or 3, try it again and try to beat your time.

On a side note. I just want to share that Myofusion Banana perfection and Sour Apple SuperPump Max are both just amazing. Flavor and profiles both. Can't get enough of it.

[Dreamliner]

I said I'm a simple guy. After handstand pushups, tuck levers and low-box pistol squats, I paired squat jumps and mountain climbers and did them 15, 14, 13 ... 1. Yes, work-capacity is not my strongsuit. But I still finished in around 8:00.