Sunday, June 29, 2008

Monday 06/30/2008

WOD
21-15-9 reps of:
American KB Swing
Jumping Lunge
V-Up
Double Under

WOD
1.5 mile run
Swim:
Warmup - 500 m
Skill/Technique Practice - 500 m
Workout - 5 x 50 m sprint/50 m recovery; 500 m @ 60%; 10 x 50 m sprint/50 m recovery
1.5 mile run

***
"If you can do a half-assed job of anything, you're a one-eyed man in a kingdom of the blind."
- Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

Sunday 06/29/2008

WOD
3-6-9-12-15-12-9-6-3 reps of:
American KB Swing
Plyometric Pushup
KB Russian Swing/Catch/Goblet Squat
KB Switching Hand Pushup
KB Figure 8 Upper Cut
Double Under

WOD
Every minute on the minute, for 10 minutes:
3 Deadlifts (70 kg)
3 Dead Hang Pullups
10 Pushups

Rest 2 minutes, then:

Every minute on the minute, for 10 minutes:
2 DB Burpee/Squat Clean/Thruster Combos (35#)
6 DB Overhead Swings (45#)

***
Amen to this quote!

"Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon."
- Dalai Lama

Friday, June 27, 2008

Saturday 06/28/2008

WOD
3 Rounds of:
12 KB Snatches (L)
24 Pushups
12 KB Snatches (R)
24 American KB Swings
12 KB C&J (L)
24 Situps
12 KB C&J (R)
24 KB Figure 8 Upper Cut

***
"One measure of leadership is the caliber of people who choose to follow you."
- Dennis A. Peer

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Friday 06/27/2008

WOD
"Birthday Bonanza"
3 rounds of 22 reps each:
Burpees
Jumping Squats
V-Ups
American KB Swings
Jumping Lunges
Pushups
Flutter Kicks
Mountain Climbers
Donkey Kicks
Double Unders

WOD (sorry, Bea!)
1.5 mile run
Swim:
Warmup - 500 m
Skill/Technique Practice - 500 m
Workout - 10 x 50 m sprint/50 m recovery

***
"But He knows the way that I take;
when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold."

- Job 23:10 (NIV)

Thursday 06/26/2008

WOD
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of:
Burpee
Russian KB Swing
Pushup
KB Double Tap Hand-to-Hand Swing

WOD
1.5 mile run
3000 m swim (freestyle)
1.5 mile run

***
"The first human who hurled an insult instead of a stone was the founder of civilization."
- Sigmund Freud

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

First female four-star U.S. Army general nominated

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- America's first female four-star general has been nominated, the Pentagon announced Monday.

President Bush nominated Lt. Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody to serve as head of the Army's supply arm.

By law women are excluded from combat jobs, the typical path to four-star rank in the military.

"This is an historic occasion for the Department of Defense and I am proud to nominate Lt. Gen. Ann Dunwoody for a fourth star," said Defense Secretary Robert Gates. "Her 33 years of service, highlighted by extraordinary leadership and devotion to duty, make her exceptionally qualified for this senior position."

The Senate must approve the nomination.

Dunwoody, a native of New York, was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1975 after her graduation from the State University of New York in Cortland. She also holds graduate degrees in national resource strategy and logistics management.

She became the Army's top-ranking woman in 2005 when she received her third star and became deputy chief of staff for Army logistics.

"I am very honored but also very humbled today with this announcement," said Dunwoody. "I grew up in a family that didn't know what glass ceilings were. This nomination only reaffirms what I have known to be true about the military throughout my career ... that the doors continue to open for men and women in uniform."

The Army Materiel Command handles all material readiness for the Army. During her career, Dunwoody has been assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, 10th Mountain Division and the Defense Logistics Agency. She served with the 82nd Airborne in Saudi Arabia during the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

She has been awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, Master Parachutist Badge and the Army Staff Identification Badge.

The first woman to become a general officer in the U.S. armed services was Brig. Gen. Anna Mae Hays, chief of the Army Nurse Corps, who achieved the rank in 1970 and retired the following year.

Elizabeth Hoisington, the director of the Women's Army Corps, was promoted to brigadier general immediately after Hays. She also retired the following year.

Maj. Gen. Jeanne M. Holm, the first director of Women in the Air Force, was the first woman to wear two stars, attaining the rank in 1973 and retiring two years later. In 1996, Marine Lt. Gen. Carol A. Mutter became the first woman to wear three stars. Mutter retired in 1999.

Currently, there are 57 active-duty women serving as generals or admirals, five of whom are lieutenant generals or vice admirals, the Navy's three-star rank, according to the Pentagon.

Source: CNN

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Wednesday 06/25/2008

WOD
Tabata this: (00:20 on, 00:10 off)
American KB Swing
Burpee
V-Up
KB Figure 8 Upper Cut
Jump Rope

WOD
4 Rounds of:
5 DB Man Makers (2 x 12.5 kg)
10 Dead Hang Pullups (Reverse Grip)
15 Pushups
20 DB Overhead Swings (17.5 kg)
25 GHD Back Extensions

Another super busy day ahead. Nothing beats a 5:00 am workout, excepting a 4:30 am workout (which I admit is not the most enjoyable of experiences). I need to be in camp by 7:00 am for Commanders' Parade, and will later have to travel to the extreme west of Singapore sometime this evening (my camp is somewhere in the eastern part of SG) for an evening dialogue session. Blah.

***
"Men in general judge more from appearances than from reality. All men have eyes, but few have the gift of penetration."
- Niccolo Machiavelli

Monday, June 23, 2008

Tuesday 06/24/2008

WOD
21-18-15-12-9-6-3 reps of:
American KB Swing
Pushup
Double Under

Light workout this morning, as I will be taking my IPPT (Individual Physical Proficiency Test), the annual fitness test for military personnel later this evening. Talk about being prepared for whatever life throws at you -- I was supposed to take my IPPT some time these two weeks, according to what I heard yesterday, and the super-efficient fitness and conditioning center immediately scheduled me for a slot today. I also did two bouts of military PT yesterday (one self-inflicted and CrossFit-esque, the other a 4 km orientation run with static PT thrown in at the end for kicks, with the company I'm shadowing). Planning on greasing the groove with pullups today (and the rest of the time I'm on unit attachment). Will update more later -- long and busy (albeit fulfilling) days ahead!

***
""There are no atheists in foxholes" isn't an argument against atheism, it's an argument against foxholes."
- James Morrow (is this the James Morrow I think it is?)

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Monday 06/23/2008

WOD
40-30-20-10 reps of:
American KB Swing
V-Ups
Overhead KB Walking Lunge (R/L)
Double Unders
L-Sit Hold (in seconds)

***
"Charm is the quality in others that makes us more satisfied with ourselves."
- Henri Frédéric Amiel

Sunday 06/22/2008

WOD
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of:
KB Snatch (R)
KB Snatch (L)
Handstand Pushup
KB C&J (R)
KB C&J (L)
Double Under

WOD
21-15-9 reps of:
Barbell Hang Power Clean (35 kg)
Normal Pushup
Sumo Deadlift High Pull
Diamond Pushup
Push Press
Spider Pushup

***
"Who is rich? He who rejoices in his portion."
- The Talmud

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Saturday 06/21/2008

WOD
Perform 4 rounds of:
3 Wall Walks
6R/6L Dead Stop KB Snatches
9 Switching Hand KB Pushups
12 KB Figure 8 Uppercuts
15 American KB Swings

WOD
21-15-9 reps of:
Deadlift (80 kg, approx. 176#)
DB Squat Clean into Thruster (30#)
Pushup

***
"About the only time losing is more fun than winning is when you're fighting temptation."
- Tom Wilson

Friday, June 20, 2008

One of my all-time favorite quotes...

... which is also why it's the header for my other blog.

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly.

So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."

- Theodore Roosevelt

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Friday 06/20/2008

WOD
Every minute on the minute for 25 minutes, perform:
4 Burpees
8 Decline Pushups
12 Double Unders

Our course organized a social night last evening which involved an awesomely fun and crazily intense game of 7-a-side water polo (accompanied by plenty of splashing, laughing, and perhaps some underwater misdemeanors), copious quantities of ice-cold Tiger Beer, and plates of deep-fried finger food. I managed to stay clear of the latter two without much difficulty, thankfully.

***
"The goodness of the true pun is in the direct ratio of its intolerability."
- Edgar Allan Poe

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Thursday 06/19/2008

WOD
20-15-10-5 reps of:
Burpees
Jumping Lunges
American KB Swings
Pushups
Russian KB Swings
Double Unders
V-Ups

***
"Boredom is the feeling that everything is a waste of time; serenity, that nothing is."
- Thomas Szasz

back to the grind

CrossFit workouts at 5:00 am in the morning are the best way to get your days started! There's nothing quite like tumbling out of bed at 4:55 am and knowing that you've got an hour to get your CrossFit workout in before it's time for military PT (or 5BX, aka. 5 Basic Exercises, as it's commonly termed here). That's also probably the reason why I'm always nodding off during the talks/discussions, especially the afternoon ones. I don't suppose it does any good for my ROA (route of advancement) or CEP (current estimated potential) to be caught napping in front of a lieutenant-colonel. Staying seated for long periods of time always makes me sleepy. I'd much rather be on my feet doing something. Strangely enough, when the discussions or presentations are over and it's time for sports and games I'm always fully re-energized and raring to go.

After classes yesterday, I managed to check out the refurbished gym at SAFTI Military Institute (the venue for my week-long residential pre-vacation attachment course). It's been considerably prettified since my cadet days -- it used to look a whole lot worse, with the plastic peeling off the seat covers on the weight machines, and rusty weight benches. The old machines have since been replaced with a plethora of spanking new ones, for every isolation movement fathomable. As duly expected, I stayed clear of the machines and made a beeline for the dumbbell rack. I hammered out a brutal
manmaker/snatch/swing workout in about thirty-five minutes and was pretty whooped after that. Thankfully it was time for dinner by then, and as you know, food never did fail to make anyone feel better. Even if it was army cookhouse food, which is frequently, if not always, of a somewhat dubious nature....

Wednesday 06/18/2008

WOD
7 rounds of 7 reps each:
Burpees
Dead Hang Pullups
Plyometric Pushups
Donkey Kicks
Knees to Elbows
Double Unders
V-Ups

Military PT
1 mile cadence run
3 sets of:
15 pushups (Set 1: Normal/Set 2: Spider/Set 3: Diamond)
20 crunches
4 sets of 8 dead hang pullups
1 mile cadence run

***
"One man with courage makes a majority."
- Andrew Jackson

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Tuesday 06/17/2008

WOD
21-18-15-12-9-6-3 reps of:
Burpees
Dead Hang Pullups
Pushups
Knees to Elbows
Double Unders

WOD
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of:
DB Man Makers (Burpee/Renegade Row/Squat Clean/Thruster)
DB Hang Power Snatch (R)
DB Swing
DB Hang Power Snatch (L)

***
"How many things are there which I do not want."
- Socrates

Monday, June 16, 2008

Monday 06/16/2008

WOD
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of:
KB 1-Arm Complex (Swing/Snatch/Clean & Jerk/Overhead Squat) - alternating R/L
American KB Swing
Pushup
KB H2H Swing
Double Under

WOD
20-19-18-17-16-15-14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of Pushups
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19-20 reps of Double Unders

***
"Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed - else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Sunday 06/15/2008

WOD
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of:
KB Snatch (R)
Pushup
KB Snatch (L)
Squat Jump
KB Overhead Walking Lunge (R)
Pushup
KB Overhead Walking Lunge (L)
Double Under

I was contemplating the possibility of bringing my kettlebell into camp tomorrow, but decided against it since it's (just a tad) too hefty. If I remember correctly, there's a pullup bar right outside the living quarters, though...

***
"Man is an intelligence in servitude to his organs."
- Aldous Huxley

Friday, June 13, 2008

Saturday 06/14/2008

My self-declared workout space in the driveway at home. Notice the Post-It notes on the white shelving on the right of the picture? Those are all workouts from when I was back in March -- my mom kindly left them there, thinking they'd come in handy for future workout planning!

WOD
Run 4 miles easy

WOD
5-10-15-20-15-10-5 reps of:
KB American Swing
Plyometric Pushup
KB Goblet Squat
Burpee
KB H2H (Hand-to-Hand) Swing
Double Under

***
"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry