Workout of the Day
In five minutes, complete a 400 meter run and as many rounds as possible of
5 Pull-Ups
10 Push-Ups
15 Air Squats
At the conclusion of the five minute set, rest for 5 minutes. Complete a total of four sets (35 minutes in all – 20 work, 15 rest). In each set, pick up where you left off the previous set. For example, if I complete 4 full rounds, 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups and only 7 squats in my first set, when the second set begins I will run my 400 meters and then perform 8 squats – thereby completing my fifth full round, before hitting the pull-up bar again.
Coaching Tip – When you see a 1:1 work to rest ratio with a 5 minute rest period, you need to bring the intensity when you are working. I am not building in rest to be nice, I am putting it there because you will NEED it if you are working at an appropriate intensity. Go hard, recover and do it again.
A Chat with the Fall 2010 LGFGPG Challenge Winner
Written by C.J. Martin
Dan the Man has been a close friend for many years. In the time I have known him, he has been amazingly committed to many things – his wife and kids, his career as a lawyer, and politics (both at a community and national level). And there have even been times where he has been committed to fitness goals, such as running the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon. But in all that time, he had never truly committed to his health and fitness. He did not maintain a quality nutrition protocol, and his training for the marathons was not what I would call supportive of general health and fitness. When Dan signed up for the Look Good, Feel Good, Play Good Challenge, I had no doubt that he would succeed. He didn’t disappoint. As you can see by his photos, he transformed himself in just 8 weeks.
In anticipation of the upcoming Challenge (which begins January 12), I sat down with Dan to chat with him about his success strategies in the last challenge.
Q. Dan, why did you join the Challenge?
A. I had been working out at Invictus for about a year and a half, but basically refusing to change my diet the entire time. I knew that I was getting stronger and fitter, but I also knew that my diet could be way better. After going to the Games and seeing our athletes, I was motivated to push myself harder, and I knew that also meant changing my diet.
Q. What did you do with your diet during the Challenge?
A. I went Paleo.
Q. Was that difficult for you?
A. The first three days of Paleo were the most difficult days of the Challenge for me. I am not gonna lie, I was an ass. I thank my loving wife (Lil’ Katie Niiice) for putting up with me.
Q. What was your favorite meal during the challenge?
A. Kate made a delicious Thai steak salad.
Q. Did you do anything else to give yourself an advantage in the Challenge?
A. I committed to working out at least 3 times a week. I also knew that I was technically very weak on the Concept 2 erg, so I took a clinic with Shane that vastly improved my rowing. Thank you Shane!
Q. What kept and keeps you motivated to continue to eat well and train hard?
A. I think it is easy to be motivated when you find something that you love. I love the Invictus community. The physical improvements are great, but the whole Invictus community helps keep me motivated. We should all be proud of what we have built.
Q. What is the greatest improvement you see in yourself – physique, performance, fitness, mental?
A. I was steadily improving in all of the above before the challenge, but my improvement was exponential during the challenge. My belly is much smaller and my muscles are much more defined. My performance has definitely improved and I am much fitter. I can now string 2 muscle-ups together, whereas before the challenge I could string zero together. I also use to have high liver enzymes and that is a thing of the past. Mentally, being able to go through the challenge and stick with the Paleo diet was a huge breakthrough. Getting through it has allowed me to crush that mental block and know that I can excel if I put my mind to it.
Q. How did it feel to be announced as the winner of the Fall Challenge?
A. For the first time in a long time, I found myself speechless. I had worked hard, but I know a lot of other people had too, so I was shocked and honored that I won. At the time, I truly did not know what to say.
I feel especially proud of the win given the fact that the competition was so fierce. Clichéd as it is to say, it is true nonetheless – we are all winners in this competition. By committing to that paradigm shift in the way we approach our diet, or that extra little push on a workout we all made amazing achievements during the competition.
I also felt extremely grateful to the coaches and entire community for their cheers, support, encouragement, friendship and acceptance. I received advice, recipes and workout tips, among other things, that helped me along the way. In short, what I would say is: Thank you for the countless ways that you have changed my (and my family’s) life for the better.
Q. What message would you give to others who want to embark on a Challenge or any fitness goal?
A. I am constantly impressed with the company that I keep at Invictus. The coaches are beyond great and their knowledge and expertise has transformed me, not only physically but also mentally. The community is so inspiring that, with it, we have no choice but to succeed in our endeavors at the gym. The support I get from our coaches and our community helps me feel stronger and healthier in and out of the gym.
Awesome! I feel blessed to have you at Invictus, and couldn’t be more proud of everything you have accomplished. I am looking forward to comparing your September (before) photos with your photos at the culmination of the 2011 Challenge in March, and am confident you will amaze folks with your transformation.
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with the community.
Dan, I am so proud of you. . . and yes, you were an ass.
Dan, you rock! Your commitment to your workouts and your nutrition has been a motivation for everyone. So happy for you! Can’t wait to see the 6 month pictures.
Well done Dan!!!!
Looking forward to a great 2011 and seeing what you and the rest of the Invictus community will achieve!
Dan the Man, congratulations again!! And congratulations to Kate for putting up with you
DAN! You already were a stud, now you’re just a studlier stud. These pix are a great motivator!
Great work Dan!! Your hard work is an inspiration to all of us!
Great Work Dan! Way to show what can be done if you put your mind to it.
Today’s’ workout was fun, I think we should do more Interval/Metcon work.
Out of curiosity, do you think we should do more interval/metcon work because you enjoy it, or because that is what you perceive as being in the best interest for your health and fitness, or a combination of the two?
I ask because it is often the case that we gravitate toward what we are most comfortable with rather than what might be best for us. It’s not always the case, but I would like to hear why you would suggest programming more of this type of work for the groups at Invictus.
Actually there are a couple of reasons.
just obnoxiously loud
1. we can push ourselves more. When I do lifting either I can do a weight or I cant, there really isnt a lot of pushing myself beyond my boundary mentally and physically. Its hard physically and technically but its more of a strength limiter. With metcons its just as much mental as physical.
2. It also can be adjusted on the fly to help yourself keep pushing. For example if I am supposed to do 20 pullups in the first round, I can push myself to go to 20 again with a band or by jumping a pullup. Or I can hang and keep trying a single one depending on what im trying to get. Again its more adjustable for the athlete.
3. Its fun to try and catch your breath after a workout. I often feel that the short metcons we do are more strength limited then anaerobic. If I can only do 10 pushups, then doing it 4 times is hard, but trying it for 10 rounds provides more conditioning.
Has invictus ever done FGB? I think its a lot of fun, it sucks, but its fun.
lifting is very important, it helps us get stronger, but not necessarily more conditioned. What I love about crossfit is that it helps us both in strength and conditioning to become a better athlete..
again these are just my ideas, im hardly an expert…
interesting points, though I’m not sure I agree as either an athlete or coach.
as an athlete…
1. it’s important to understand what your strengths and weaknesses are, and hopefully get on the path to keeping your strengths strong, and making your weaknesses strengths. if you can’t push yourself hard with strength work, it’s probably because that’s a weakness…meaning you need to make it a priority to fix. guarantee you, somebody is pushing themselves more in the strength portions on some days than on the conditioning…and they need to work on their conditioning.
2. weights can also be adjusted throughout a workout so that you keep pushing through…that’s why there are usually tempo and rep range prescriptions. i would also argue that for some athletes, 20 pull-ups is conditioning and not strength, and the goal would be to use the progression/modification appropriate to your level and then stick with it for the workout; use strength training to help get you to the next progression/modification up (in most cases).
3. again, just me and my athletic experience, i have a harder time catching my breath after a Fran than I do after a Cindy. not sure i’m tracking on what you were trying to say about the push-ups…will try to address it better from a coach’s perspective. i have done FGB at invictus and i agree it is fun and sucky
as a coach…
1. this is going to be relative to the athlete and what their strengths and weaknesses are. there are going to be athletes who enjoy longer aerobic dominant workouts more because that’s what they feel more comfortable with, and there are athletes who enjoy shorter, heavier, more anaerobic dominant workouts more because they are stronger and thrive there. as for metcons (my assumption is that you mean longer aerobic dominant workout) being just as much mental, try telling that to someone going for a 500+ lb 1RM Deadlift, or a 70kg lifter attempting a 130kg C&J.
2. everything we do is scalable to anyone’s ability level. not sure what else you’re saying here, though i recommend avoiding the band and working on developing your pull-up
3. it’s easy to get someone’s conditioning up (a few weeks), it’s hard to get them strong (months). that’s a pretty broad statement, but mostly applicable. it’s going to vary from athlete to athlete and what their dominant pathways are. as for the push-ups, it will depend on what training effect you are looking for. your definition of conditioning probably needs some refining, because it’s a pretty broad range of energy systems and everyone is going to be a little different depending on their dominant energy systems. 10 sets of 10 push-ups will be impossible for some, turning into a series of 1RM attempts; for others it may be a breeze providing a different training effect all together.
thanks for the exchange on this. i encourage you to come out to the Q&A session next friday!
George touched on most of the major points there, so I will save further discussion for the Q&A session on January 14. I love this exchange though and hope folks turn out next Friday to chat about this issue. I think it’s important for you all as athletes to know why we do things the way we do, the research and education that goes into it, and our experiences with different training methodologies both as athletes and coaches.
Thanks again.
I see triceps!
Awesome job Dan!!
Great Job Dan, your inspire me to be better.
Proud of you Dan, keep it up!
You look AWESOME Dan….you are definately the MAN!! Proud of you!! =)
Inspirational stories are the best!! Thanks Dan for sharing
PS What happened to the reply button by the individual comments??
awesome!
Would you happen to have the recipe for the Thai Steak salad? It sounds yummy and I would like to try it….thanks!!