Zac on Day 60 of The Road To Sparta

Day 61 – March 18, 2012 – 9pm: Warm-up, WOD

“Night Mission”

4 Rounds for time of: 15 push-ups, 15 20″ Box Jumps, 15 50lb Kettle Bell Swings, 500 meter run

R1=3:29, R2=3:47, R3=4:02, R4=3:46, Total time = 15:05

It was 3 degrees Celsius outside on a clear starry night. Recommendations – don’t do this WOD on a full stomach. I used to call my 9 o’clock drives to the nickel candy store a Night Mission and it took about the same amount of time. This is a good substitute for that poor behavior.

Day 62 – March 19, 2012 – Sick

Day 63 – March 20, 2012 – Sick

Day 64 – March 21, 2012 – Still a little sick so we eased into the workout today. Warm-up, Squats – 3 warm-up sets then 5×5 185lb. Strict Press – 3 warm-up sets then 5×5 110lb. 10 minute AMRAP 7-7-7 Squat cleans 20lb medicine ball, Box Jumps, Push-ups. I completed 10 rounds today which is a PR over Day 29′s 7 rounds.

Day 65 – March 22, 2012 – My goal was to post a sub 44:00 time on POWERLINE by Day 90. Today I dropped a whopping 42:56. This bests my Day 48 time of 45:28 by a big sexy Spartan margin of 2:32! Ahh-hoo!

Day 66 – March 23, 2012 – Friday fun day. Warm-up, Deadlifts 135×5, 175×3, 195×1, 215 5×5. Bench 95×1, 115×3, 135×1, 150 5×5.

WOD “Football Gone Bad”

R1=101, R2=76, R3=79

Total = 256 PR

My previous score from Day 8 = 165. New goal is to eclipse 100 on each round. I should be able to do this by improving my box jump and double under technique. This is a tough workout and I feel all the better for it.

Day 67 – March 24, 2012 – Recovery

Day 68 – March 25, 2012 – Recovery

Day 69 – March 26, 2012 – Warm-up. Squats 135×5, 165×3, 185×1, 190 5×5. Press 75×5, 95×3, 110×1, 115 5×5. Today I learned the technique to do a kipping pull-up. I did about 30 total but the most I could manage consecutively was 4 – and they were flamboyant. Once I can consistently do 5 kipping pull-ups in a row I’ll be able to attempt my first legitimate Crossfit Benchmark Workout (Rx) – Cindy. I’m pumped for that. Cindy’s my Boo. After spending time at the gym I ran a new course – Traffic Hill 10km – at about 60-80% effort. I focused primarily on running technique and foot striking instead of speed. It was a smart move and spending time on running technique is something I haven’t done in a few weeks. It was more of a mentally taxing run than physically challenging. The uphill portion was fantastic, by far the best part of the run, and it took me about 30 minutes. I took the same amount of time on the downhill and completed the 10.1km run in 1:01:00. I wasn’t a fan of the heavy automobile traffic or the downhill portion of this course so I probably won’t do it again anytime soon. There’s too many great forested trails to explore around here to bother wasting another day running on the road. The hill was fun though and I did get a “ya Zac!” from a random pickup driving past. Thanks for the cheer mystery black truck person.

Day 70 – March 27, 2012 – 8:30pm. Warm-up. 1 Pood Kettlebell complex I’m calling “Pood Street.” 5 rounds for time of:

• 10 – Two Arm Swing Overhead
• 10 – Left Arm Swing Overhead
• 10 – Right Arm Swing Overhead
• 10 – Left Arm Clean-Press
• 10 – Right Arm Clean-Press
• 10 – Goblet Squats
• 10 – Push-ups

Total time 16:03. This is a beautiful workout. By the end of the 5th set my form was breaking, I was having to repeat no-reps and I was sweating so much that I lost my grip (nothing was injured). I lost a good :30 seconds to this type of ballyhoo. Pood St. 50lb coming soon.

Day 71 – March 28, 2012 – Warm-up, Squat Stretch, Strength. Deadlift 135×5, 185×3, 205×1, 225 5×5. Bench Press 115×5, 135×5, 150×1, 155 5×5. WOD: AMRAP 18 minutes:

• 6 Hang Power Cleans 95lb
• 9 Burpees
• 12 Knees to elbows

The cleans and burpees went by easily and then I got slayed by the knees to elbows. My abs were toast from Day 70′s Pood Street so I compensated with my arms and shoulders. It didn’t take many reps before I couldn’t even hang on to the bar. All I could do was smile grip it and do my best to hang on for a best effort ugly rep. Good times.

Day 72 – March 29, 2012 – Recovery

Day 73 – March 30, 2012 – Warm-up, Squats 135×5, 165×3, 185×1, 195 5×5. Press 75×5, 95×3, 115×1, 120 5×5. WOD 21-18-15-12-9-6-3 of

• Kettle Bell Swings 55lb
• Push-ups
• 100m run between rounds.

Total time 9:18. I was happy with this day.

Day 74 – Day 89 – My family and I were captured by Lotus Eaters and taken to Cuba. I did random workouts on the beach occasionally that consisted of doing thrusters with logs, squats, barefoot runs through the sand and water, open water kayaking, swimming, push-ups, v-ups, boating and hill climbs through the forest. It was 30 degrees at around 9am every day and usually by 11am the thermometer hit over 34. At that time the Lotus Eaters forced me to consume various alcoholic beverages, read books, shoot the breeze with other captives and lay on the beach until bedtime. The food was really difficult for me in Cuba because veggies and fruit were limited. To survive, I even had to eat pasta. Omelets in the morning and fish at lunch and dinner were my main sources of protein. Although I could easily have been held captive for a lifetime, I found the strength to break free from the Lotus Eaters camp one night at 1am and rescue my family. My Road To Sparta training made the whole experience so much better because I could do so much more with my body. I’m happy to be back and safe in Canada. I need to hydrate and get my nutrition back up to speed immediately. Day 90 is going to hurt.

Day 90 – April 16, 2012 – Warm-up, Squats 135×5, 165×3, 185×1, 195 5×3. Press 75×5, 95×3, 115×1, 120 3×5, 120×4, 120×2. WOD 21-15-9 Thrusters (65lb), Box Jumps (20″), Kettlebell Swings (55lb). I was a sack of turd on this WOD. My mind was there but my body definitely was not. I’m going to be sore tomorrow for sure. My legs are already stiff.

Day 91 – April 17, 2012 – Today’s Powerline run time = 44:52 (PR Day 65 = 42:56). I was givin’r but was almost a full two minutes off my PR today. Two beats in a row. My legs are fairly stiff today but the run felt good for the most part. My left IT Band is tight so it may be time to get serious about rolling that baby out on a more regular basis.

Day 92 – April 18, 2012 – Warm-up, Deadlift 135×5, 185×3, 205×1, 225 5×5. Bench 115×5, 135×3, 150×1, 155 5×5. WOD 4 Rounds

1 minute Row (calories)

30 second rest

1 minute Burpees (max reps)

30 second rest

1 minute Double Unders (max reps skipping)

30 second rest

Totals: Row 104 – Burpees 59 – DU 46

Clearly my skipping technique blows but I was really happy with my rowing and my burpee performance today. As a special treat I did the WOD together with my trainer Marc today, which is inspirational for me because he’s fast and that drove me to row harder and complete more burpees. The experience made me better. At 7pm last night, exactly 30 hours after my first workout back from holidays, the lactic acid in my quads hit maximum and before my workout today it was hard to even bend my legs. They feel really good post workout though and most of the acid is squeezed/circulated out. It feels good to get my nutrition back on track too. Smiles all around.

Day 93 – April 19, 2012 – Rest

Day 94 – April 20, 2012 – Warm-up, hip stretches, Rx Squats 135×5, 165×3, 185×1, 195 5×5. Achieved a full range of motion on a majority of these squats today. I was able to get deep enough to break parallel on my sets and perform well. All the flexibility work is starting to pay off and it’s allowing me to advance up in weight. I’m really happy about this accomplishment today. Press  75×5, 95×3, 115×1, 120 5×5. After pushing to failure on Day 90 it was really nice to come in and push achieve this weight and move to the next level.

WOD AMRAP 15 minutes

• 30 Lunges with a 45lb bumper plate overhead
• 15 Sit-ups with a 45lb bumper plate overhead
• 100 meter run carrying a 45lb bumper plate (I hugged mine)

Total = 3 rounds +33 reps. This WOD turned my shoulders into warm chewy bubblegum. What a beauty. Lots of room for improvement on this but I’m starting to feel like myself again after vacation. I’m already looking forward to next week.

Day 95 – April 21, 2012 – Yardwork, recovery.

Day 96 – April 22, 2012 – 1 pood Kettle Bell “Complex 1″

7 Rounds

• :30sec 2 arm swing overhead
• :30sec Left arm snatch
• :30sec Right arm snatch
• :30sec Left arm clean press
• :30sec Right arm clean press
• :30sec Goblet squats
• 1 minute to do 20 push-ups  and rest with the remainder (last round 30 push-ups)

Day 97 – April 23, 2012 – Warm-up, hip stretches. Deadlifts 135×5, 185×3, 225×1, 235 3setsx5reps. Bench 115×5, 135×3, 155×1, 160 5×5. Lots of room for gains on both of these. They felt really good today. I’m still leading with my hips a couple centimeters at the start of my Deadlifts but otherwise my form is feeling great. WOD AMRAP 15minutes (as many rounds as possible)

• 5 Deadlifts (185lbs)
• 10 Push-ups
• 15 Sit-ups

Total = 12 rounds + 26 reps

The next time I do this type of workout I’m going to try competition push-ups wherein you lay on your chest and take your hands off the ground before executing each rep. These slow down the reps but there is a full range of motion with no tendon loading for an advantage on the pushing motion.

Day 98 – April 24, 2012 – recovery

Day 99 – April 25, 2012 – Powerline PR 42:28!!!!! (previous PR Day 65 42:56). I loved every second of this run. It felt good from start to finish. Great technique, zero joint pain, and good body control throughout. I took a 5 minute break to walk back to my garage and slam some water then completed 50 reps of Kettle Bell 50lb two arm swings for time 2:02. Stretch. Jay-Z pumpin – dustin’ my shoulders off. Pumped on life.

Day 100 – April 26, 2012 – Clean to Push-press ladder. I didn’t have much time to play today so Marc created a ladder for me to get some reps in and introduce me to the clean and push press. It went like this: 95lbx5, 100×5, 105×5, 110×1, 115×1, 120×1, 125×1, 130×1, 135×1. Once I completed that he told me to keep going incrementally until I failed. 140×1, 145×1, 150×1, 155×1, 160×1, 165×1, 170×1, 175×1, 180=fail. My push press was solid but my initial clean didn’t have enough speed at 180 to get up to my shoulder. This was a great introduction to Olympic lifting. I’m really excited to work on my technique and explosiveness to bring these numbers up even higher. The more hips the merrier. I’ve got a fever and the only cure is more Kettle Bell!

Day 101 – April 27, 2012 – Night Mission 2 – 18:28

21-15-9 reps

• Box Jumps (20″)
• Dumbbell  Thrusters (25lb/25lb)
• Kettle Bell Swings (50lb)
• Burpees
• 500 meter run

I felt like puking after 11 minutes. Thrusters are evil – that is all.

Day 102 – April 28, 2012 – 50lb and 35lb Kettle Bell “Stress Relief” (Rx70/53)

5 Rounds

• :30sec 2 arm swing overhead – 50lb
• :30sec Left arm snatch – 35lb
• :30sec Right arm snatch – 35lb
• :30sec Left arm eye line swing – 35lb
• :30sec Right arm eye line swing – 35lb
• :30sec 2 arm swing overhead – 50lb
• 1 minute to do 10 push-ups  and rest with the remainder (last round 20 push-ups)

Day 103 – April 29, 2012 – Recovery

Day 104 – April 30, 2012 – Warm-up + 5 minutes skipping. Squats 135×5, 175×3, 195×1, 200 5×5. Press 75×5, 95×3, 115×1, 125 5×5. Both of those went really well and felt great. Today Marc introduced me to the Snatch. We did about 15-20 minutes of snatch drills. The snatch is such an unnatural movement pattern to me. I think it’s going to take a ton of repetitions to get my timing all lined up. Tricky stuff but I’m really excited about learning Olympic lifting technique. Marc walked me through about 10 minutes of clean technique following that. I skipped for another 15 minutes to work on my double-unders. Stretched and called it a day.

Day 105 – May 1, 2012 – Recovery

Day 106 – May 2, 2012 – Warm-up, 50 Double Unders, Deadlift 135×5, 185×3, 235×1, 245 5×3. Bench Press 115×5, 135×3, 155×1, 175 5×5. WOD “Tabata Something Else”

Pullups Rx =14

Pushups = 58

Situps = 81

Squats = 109

Total PR = 262. (Previous Day 31 = 233)

Day 107 – May 3, 2012 – active rest day – 15 minutes of swinging the 35lb Kettle Bell around and then

10-10-5 50lb Kettle Bell Snatches

• Left arm
• Right Arm

10 minutes of shoulder stretches using a 7′ length of 1″ wood dowel ($10.20). I have some severe lactic burn from the high-rep squats on Day 106 and although my left knee doesn’t hurt it has some fluid in it. I’m bummed about that.

Day 108 – May 4, 2012 – Warmup, skip, shoulder stretches, hip stretches. Strength training session today. Squats 135×5, 175×3, 195×1, 205 5×5. Press 75×5, 95×3, 115×1, 130×5, 130×4, 130×4. Power cleans 135 3×3, 155×3, 175 6×1. My left trapezius is super tight from fighting with the bar on the forth rep of my press on the second to last set. Mumma mia it is tight – heat, pressure, massage. It was worth it though because I completed the rep.  I’m upset about my poor technique today on the presses – the weight is getting heavy enough to really accentuate any technical mistakes on each lift. Focus. I had fun today though and had a big smile on my face for the entire workout. Happy Friday friends.

Day 109 – May 5, 2012 – Recovery

Day 110 – May 6, 2012 – Yardwork. Warmup. WOD 10 minute AMRAP – 50lb Kettle Bell:
- 20 Two Arm Swings Overhead
- 10 Left Arm Snatch
- 10 Right Arm Snatch
- 20 Two Arm Swings Overhead
- 20 Push-ups

Total= 3 rounds plus 20 reps. Quick and dirty.

Day 111 – May 7, 2012 – Recovery

Day 112 – May 8, 2012 – 30 situps, 30 pushups, 30 Kettle Bell Swings, 1.5km run, 10 pull-ups, 200m alternating lunges, 30 box jumps 20″, 200m alternating  lunges, 100m walk, 200m alternating  lunges, 30 box jumps 20″. Tabata situps PR 94. Tabata pushups PR 76. Stretch.

This workout started as a run but either ligaments or tendons in both of my knees are locking up my joints and wiggling around in there. The silly thing is that they started to hurt after a good sleep and a day of rest. I’m confused because they can take the weight but the quick relax-tense load of running is too much. The point is, there was a ton of stuff I could still do and I managed to get in a really decent workout and a couple new PRs to make the day bright.

Day 113 – May 9, 2012 – WOD Sparta Kettle Bell Show.

5 rounds of Kettle Bell 35lb (1pood)

• :30sec two arm overhead swings
• :30sec left arm snatches
• :30sec right arm snatches
• :30sec two arm overhead swings
• :30sec left arm clean and press
• :30sec right arm clean and press
• :30sec to do 10 push-ups (30 push-ups on round 5)

Then  (after :30sec rest)

5 rounds of Kettle Bell 50lb

• 20 reps two arm overhead swings
• :30sec rest

This workout was a amazing. I surprised myself by getting 30 solid pushups in 29 seconds on the last round of complex one. Pounding out the KB50′s was awesome. I managed to do each set unbroken and Rx. After 40 reps I thought my forearms were going to explode. After 60 I thought my core was going to give out. At 80 I thought there would be no possible way to hit 100 so I had to give it a try. When I completed the last set for 100 I felt pretty badass. Very stoked. Good full body stretch session – 15-20 minutes. Booya. My knees are still a bit tender so I’m resting them.

Day 114 – May 11, 2012 – Warm-up. Deadlift 135×5, 185×3, 235×1, 265x5x5. Bench Press 135×5, 155×3, 175×1, 185 5×5. All good and ready for more weight.

Day 115 – May 12, 2012 – 100 Push-ups, 30 V-ups. WOD 8 hour AMRAP Garden Bed construction and dirt shoveling. Total = 2 new 4′x12′ beds, 5 fills (4.5 cubic yards of dirt), 45x25m wheelbarrows. 20 box jumps 20″.

Day 116 – May 13, 2012 – WOD Kettle Bell 35lb

5 rounds of Kettle Bell 35lb (1pood)

• :30sec two arm overhead swings
• :30sec left arm snatches
• :30sec right arm snatches
• :30sec two arm overhead swings
• :30sec left arm clean and press
• :30sec right arm clean and press
• :30sec to do 20 push-ups (30 push-ups on round 5)

I rocked this in my back yard with no shirt on and sweat all over the place. The sunny days have arrived.

Day 117 – May 14, 2012 – Warm-up. Squats 135×5, 175×3, 195×1, 210 5×5. Press 75×5, 95×3, 115×1, 130 5×3. YES!.

WOD  “Helen”

3 rounds of:

• 500 meter row (sub)
• 21 KB 55lbs
• 12 Pull-ups

Total = 16:02

This was a tough workout on the forearms. I was really happy with my pull-up performance in the first round with 6-4-2 pull-ups in the set. My knees are still fubar’d a bit so I substituted rowing for the usual 400m run. I rowed fast but when it came to pull-ups on round 2 and 3 I was only able to grip the bar for a 2 rep max on each effort. No run means no rest for the forearms. I’m looking forward to big improvements on this benchmark WOD. Super stoked about my Presses today too.

Day 118 – May 15, 2012 – Today was my first day with my new running coach Mary Bridges from www.letsgocomoxvalley.ca Mary is a Can-Fit-Pro Certified Personal Trainer and an elite endurance athlete that runs 100km+ ultra-marathons that include the North Face Death Race, a 125km nasty with 17000 feet of elevation change over three mountain peaks in Grand Cache, Alberta.

Today Mary assessed my gate and foot strike. She showed me some drills and spotted some pronation (rolling) in my right foot that may be slowing me down and possibly aggravating my knee. I’m really excited to work on my efficiency as a runner and ultimately getting my 8km time down to warrior class awesomeness. Be sure to check out her site. I feel like a better runner already.

Day 119 – May 16, 2012 – Warm-up. 1setx8reps, 2 setsx7reps consecutive pull-ups today. Deadlift 135×5, 185×3, 225×1, 275 5×5. Bench Press 135×5, 155×3, 175×3, 190 5×5.

WOD Double Tabata Row (resistance 10)

16 rounds

• 20sec row
• 10sec rest

Total distance = 1858m

My strategy really sucked for this and I hit the gas too hard at the front clocking 1:17-1:22/500m for the first few rounds, bonked around 8 and then really had to work hard to keep my stroke sub 1:35/500m. Next attempt I need to aim for 1:25/500m to keep consistent and charge at the end. My average today was 1:26/500m. Firebreather. I need 16 rounds at 1:20/500m to break 2000m. Totally doable. Nasty but doable.

Day 120 – May 17, 2012 – Recovery

Zac on Day 120 of The Road To Sparta with Marc and Matteo Mazzocchi

“For honour and glory!” Here is the first video journal on The Road To Sparta. A few reflections about my Titanium CrossFit training, motivations and progress. Be sure to join the http://facebook.com/TheRoadToSparta page and leave comments or video posts.

A giant shout out to Titanium CrossFit and my trainer Marc Mazzocchi. I’d also like to sincerely thank all of the awesome people that inspire me everyday to perform beyond my own expectations and most of all my family for all of their support and encouragement: you make “all” possible.

Kelly Starrett and Carl Paoli – I love your mobility info and really enjoy the vids you create. I’m a big fan of your work.

Feel free to share this video with your family and friends and if anything inspires you please let me know. This is just a by the seat of my pants project so tell me what you think, how I can make it better, what format you prefer, what you’re up to these days. Much love – in daily fitness – z

Do you want to sponsor The Road To Sparta? Contact Zac Whyte here.

Zac on Day 29 of The Road To Sparta

Day 30 – February 16, 2012 – I hadn’t planned on working out today. It was a difficult day, 1degree, misty, cold, grey and stressful. I could have easily poured everything into work today; I’m overwhelmed with business and my mind wanted to keep my ass in the chair. Productivity, efficiency and work has ruled my life for almost a decade and it has become extremely powerful. It makes it possible for me to live a certain lifestyle but when it’s unchecked, it destroys the things in life that are truly important – the meaningful stuff that I’m working for in the first place. Like many Canadians I’ve spoken to we’ve conditioned ourselves to be last on the priority list by chasing tomorrow’s glory instead of today’s. Overcoming this conditioning was my battle today. My mind woke up about 15 minutes into a run I didn’t plan on doing and said: “what the @#$% are you doing out here – you’ve got a ton of work to do?” I drowned that voice with gratitude. The energy of everyone I know, the people I love, and the health that is welling inside me. I was in control and I ran a PR on Pipeline today of 41:23 (Day25 was 41:42). I was proud of that accomplishment, considering I never intended on doing anything today, but the real victory was far greater than words. Thanks for the vibes.

Day 31 – February 17, 2012 – Feel the burn. Warm-up row and reps. Deadlifts 5×5 175lb. Bench Press 5×5 130lb. Bent Row Max 5 Reps ended at 135lb (form would break slightly if I went higher). WOD today “Tabata Something Else.” A super fun but nasty burn workout. 8 rounds of each movement for 20 seconds of go followed by 10 seconds of rest. Do 8 rounds of Pull-ups before moving on to Push-ups, and so on.

• Pull-ups: 10
• Push-ups: 56
• Sit-ups: 80
• Squats: 87

Total Score = 233

Day 32 – February 18, 2012 – Rest

Day 33 – February 19, 2012 – 10:30pm on a crazy work weekend I jammed in a late night “workout of the day” to make sure I didn’t have two days in a row of rest. That’s just a deal I’ve made with myself that I won’t compromise on. WOD 30-40-30 of pushups, situps, squats, and 50lb kettle bell swings for time. Total time 18:19 – a PR (over my previous 20-20-20-20-20 on Day 21 21:01). Nice!!

Day 34 – February 20, 2012 – 10:30am – running on 2 hours of sleep I was feeling like a Navy Seal. “It’s not every day you get to train on only 2 hours of sleep,” I said to my trainer Marc Mazzocchi. I was itching for some pain today and I got a full dose – this was my favorite workout to date. After my regular warmup row and pushups, situps, squats and pullups I did Squats 3x warmup and 5×5 175lbs. Strict Press 3x warmup 5×5 100lb. Then the WOD. “Navy Seal” modified (is what I’m calling it). 21-15-9-15-21 Row (calories) and Thrusters 75lb (95lb Rx) for time. Total time = 15:10. This was a really brutal workout and I loved it. Navy Seal – row the boat – carry the boat. I put the “Seal” in Navy Seal on this one.

Day 35 – February 21, 2012 – Recovery day. This might be too much information but I got a hemorrhoid from yesterday’s workout. Frickin sucks. Worked on the beginning of the first episode for The Road To Sparta that will come out shortly after Day 60. I ate pizza today and felt incredibly guilty. It actually brought me physical pain to do it but I still ate it. That’s the behavior of a drug addict. I’m trying to put that failure out of my mind. It’s the first stumble I’ve had on The Road.

Day 36 – February 22, 2012 – Warm-up. Deadlifts 95×5, 115×3, 135 5×5. Bench Press 95×5, 115×3, 135 5×5. WOD Kettle Bell Tabata Mash-up (Sweaty Spaghetti is what I’m calling this one). 1 pood Kettle Bell (35lb). Clean and Press Left Hand (score=34), KB Renegade Rows (score=62), Clean and Press Right Hand (score=37), KB Renegade Rows (score=70), Goblet Squats (score=82. My score total=285. Each move got 8 rounds of 20 seconds GO and 10 seconds REST. Kettle Bell Renegade Rows are super hard to keep good form on. This was a challenging workout and I felt like a wet noodle after I completed it. Following the workout I worked on my shoulder flexibility for about half an hour and tried to improve my front squat form.

Day 37 – February 23, 2012 – I feel like a King today! I achieved my milestone goal of running Pipeline in under 40 minutes in less than 40 days. This was the toughest mental battle I have had with myself to date on The Road To Sparta and I really pushed my limits to make this time. I even stopped at one point and took a rock out of my shoe. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I looked at my watch with 39:04 on it. I FREAKED OUT! The whole first half of the run my mind told me I wasn’t going to make it. “It’s too cold; you’re face is numb from the cold and you’re not going to make it; you should have eaten more carbs at breakfast; drank more water; you’re going to feel like a complete failure for not achieving your goal in 40 days – you should just make it 60 days right now and save yourself the embarrassment on the finish line.” On it went. When I hit my fastest split time ever at the halfway point 21:39 I knew it was possible if I hit the gas hard on the way back. I relaxed my body, focused on my form and hit the nitrous at the end. This was a moment I’ve been dreaming about. I called Marc right away to let him know I cracked 40 minutes. We celebrated together and immediately established a new goal of sub 35 over the phone. A beautiful day of body movin’ – I’m so excited this accomplishment is a reality.

Day 38 – February 24, 2012 – Recovery

Day 39 – February 25, 2012 – 9pm: Kettle Bell circuit 10 rounds of :30sec intervals of 1 pood

• (14-15) Right arm swings
• (14-15) Left arm swings
• (7-8) Right arm clean to press
• (7-8) Left arm clean to press
• 10 push-ups (rest with whatever is left and repeat)

On the last two sets I decided to do push-ups to failure. Round 9 = 21 pushups, Round 10 = 15.

Following that I immediately did 5 sets of 5 reps 50lb Kettle Bell Goblet Strict Press with 20 second breaks between sets. This was a nice cardio workout and at 1 pood during the circuit fairly meditative. In the future I’m going to tack on more stuff like goblet squats, strict press and maybe burpees instead of pushups until I’m confident enough with my technique to increase the weight to a 50lb Kettle Bell. I love the KBs for the sweaty factor.

Day 40 – February 26, 2012 – As expected I have hit the first speed bump in my training. A vein got wrapped up in some muscle fibers and popped. That’s right my hemorrhoid from Day 34 has caught up to me. I visited Emergency at the hospital today and waited 4 hours and 45 minutes for a 5 minute meeting with a surgeon. He gave me some nitro glycerin to relax the muscles in the area so it will let go of the popped vein and retract. I’m also on a sitz bath routine for awhile to speed heal the cut in my skin. Full recovery could take 1 day to 2 weeks and I’ll have to cool it on the heavy weights. Aerobic and light weight is fine though. This is only a minor set-back and I’m feeling fantastic otherwise. I’m about to charge off another fitness plateau for sure. Onward; upward.

Day 41 – February 27, 2012 – My clothes are starting to be really baggy and my belt doesn’t fit anymore (no more holes). Even though I have only lost a pound in 10 days my body is changing quite a bit. After I explained all the gory details of Day 40 to my trainer Marc Mazzocchi, he changed up the workout today so I could continue healing but still get a good burn in. We used really light weight and did Oly Lift speed reps. This gets all the muscles firing together. After my usual warm-up I started with Front Squats 65lb 8 sets of 3 reps. Pull down and push up as fast as I could. Strict Press 65lb 8×3 same deal. WOD today was sets of Burpees for 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 with a 100m sprint in between each set. Total time = 10:22. I also did my first consecutive chin-ups today and rocked the first rep to my chest! I also completed around 40 pull-ups throughout the workout with at least :20 seconds of rest between each. I’m excited about my strength increases in this arena. Slow but steady.

Day 42 – February 28, 2012 – Limited warmup 5 pushups, 10 situps, 10 squats, 5 Kettle Bell 50lb Overhead swings. WOD 40-30-20-10 Pushups, Situps, Squats, Kettle Bell 50lb Overhead Swings. Total time= 15:32 PR (Day 33 18:19). Big improvements in my pushup endurance and squat flexibility are making me more efficient at this WOD. Incredible! Almost 3 minutes off my previous time only 9 days ago.

Day 43 – February 29, 2012 – Today was Pink Shirt Day (anti-bullying day). I was excited to work out today and after my usual warm-up I did some speed reps with half weights. 8 sets of 2 dead lift reps for speed followed by 8 sets of 3 bench press reps for speed. My WOD was a rowing challenge of 20x :20 second intervals with :40 seconds rest between them. The rower was set to full resistance (10). I was able to achieve 2573 meters. I might of made it over 2600 if I hadn’t pushed myself off the seat a couple of times from going so hardcore. hahaha. Next time. I really enjoyed the workout today and wearing pink.

Day 44 – March 1, 2012 – Swelling and pain on the outside of my left knee today. I walk/jogged from and to the mechanic today (4km) and road my bike all over town doing business errands (10km). I was able to squeeze in a short but productive workout at the gym. After warm up my knee wasn’t feeling so hot so I did a quick WOD that I called Sick Day in my log. 21-15-9-15-21 Pushups, Kettle Bell Swings 50lb, Box Jumps. I completed this in 9:32. I can definitely make time on this in the future by jumping on and off of the box but today I jumped up and stepped down to reduce stress on my knee. I was super stoked to see the other gym members getting ready to do their round two trials for the CrossFit Open qualifying. A whole lot of snatches. Very impressive feats of physical strength and endurance from these people – very inspiring. I’ll post the workout above.

Day 45 – March 2, 2012 – 30 push-ups – MUN trip

Day 46 – March 3, 2012 – 30 burpees – MUN trip

Day 47 – March 4, 2012 – 30 squats – MUN trip

Day 48 – March 5, 2012 – After a rewarding weekend of no sleep chaperoning at CAHSMUM (Model United Nations) in the Sheraton Hotel Vancouver with 12 students from Highland Secondary, I was excited to get back into the fitness and nutrition rhythm. To re-ignite my body today I combined two of my running courses: Powerhouse and Pipeline, into an 8km running course called Powerline. I know, super clever name. I ran this in 45:28 pushing at a comfortable pace. I rested for five minutes and then did two rounds of 30 reps each: push-ups, sit-ups, squats, kettle bell swings 50lb. I completed this in 8:50. I’m looking forward to really dumping on the gas this week.

Day 49 – March 6, 2012 – Everyone in my house is sick with a cold and I am managing to fight it off but it could be only a matter of time for me so I want to make the most of my workouts. 7pm: I did a new style of workout tonight that is bodybuilding inspired crossfit. In 15 minutes I needed to complete max reps of Lunges (5 each leg) with 2x25lb dumbells then 5 hang deadlifts with 115lbs. I completed 180 lunges and 79 dead lifts so I could probably double the weight next time to achieve around 60 reps each. I then completed 15 minutes of max reps 5 Bench Press with 2x35lb dumbells and 5 Bent Over Rows with 2x35lb dumbells. Same deal – I need to double the weight next time as I completed 130 Bench reps and 125 Row reps. It was fun to try something new and my glutes are going to burn tomorrow for sure.

Day 50 – March 7, 2012 – I’m running a bit of a fever from the beginning of a cold. Really sore glutes today as expected from yesterdays crazy lunge session but the acid dissipated in my warm-up, which is always the same by the way: 5 minutes of rowing on the erg and 3 rounds of 10 squats, 10 pushups, 10 situps, and 5 pullups or negatives. Strength training today was a repeat of Day 34. Squats 3 warmup sets then 5 sets of 5 reps (5×5) 175lbs. Strict Press 3 warmup sets then 5×5 100lbs. I can definitely increase the weight on both of these next workout. Then came the WOD. 8 rounds of 8 reps Hang-Clean-Press 65lb followed by a 100 meter sprint for each round. My previous time on this was 16:21 at 7 reps HCL from Day 10. Today I clocked a massive improvement and  PR of 9:01! Time to increase the weight and do it again. Super gains. Wow.

Day 51 – March 8, 2012 – Sore throat all day today and my legs are feeling tired but I managed to jam in a workout at 8pm. It’s a little bit manic because I just made it up on the fly in my garage gym using my free gymboss iphone app that kept me focused and moving:

1. 5 rounds of :30sec Kettlebell intervals (50lb,50lb,35lb,35lb,35lb)

• two arm swing overhead
• left arm swing 100degrees
• right arm swing 100degrees
• left arm hang-clean-press
• right arm hang-clean-press
• two arm swing overhead
• rest (:30sec… repeat)

1. 50 pushups, 50 situps, :30second rest (I completed these fairly quickly)
2. 5 rounds of :30sec 50lb Kettlebell intervals (This was a coup de grace set)

• two arm swing overhead
• rest

1. 30 pushups, 30 situps
2. Full body stretch, weeze and sweat clean up – 15 minutes

Day 52 – March 9, 2012 – Today was extra special because I was joined at the gym by two Facebook friends inspired by The Road To Sparta page. This was their first Crossfit workout ever and they basically received “a day in the life of Zac” treatment. Marc introduced them to the proper technique used for ergs (rowing machine), dead lifting, and bench pressing, while I completed my strength training sets. Deadlift 3 warmups followed by 5×5 195lb, Benchpress 3 warmup sets followed by 5×5 145lb. Maya was a natural at 65 and 85lb Deadlifts. We all did the WOD together: Cindy MOD. AMRAP 20 minutes – 5 ring rows, 10 pushups, 15 squats. I scored a PR of 17 rounds today (besting my Day 15 workout of 9 rounds). We had a good stretch. To top it off I did my first 3 consecutive overhand pull-ups today. I was really happy to have Bobby and Maya give this a try. They’re going to be feeling it tomorrow. For honour and glory! I hope to see you guys again soon.

Day 53 – March 10, 2012 – Sick

Day 54 – March 11, 2012 – Sick

Day 55 – March 12, 2012 – Sick

Day 56 – March 13, 2012 – The last of my cold is hanging on but there was no way I was going to go 4 days without a workout. I decided to do the dumbest thing I could think of to vent my pent up couch potato frustration; a straight up Angie MOD. 100 50lb Kettle bell swings, 100 pushups, 100 situps, 100 squats for time = 23:42 KBs took 3:39 and then 30 pushups and then I hit a big wall. I grinded one or two pushups out until I hit 100. Sit-ups and squats went slow but ok. The pushups were really punishing. This is the first time attempting a straight 100 set though so I’m glad to have a benchmark finally.

Day 57 – March 14, 2012 – Goal change. The 50km run is out. After learning about the amount of time I would need to commit each week for a 50km campaign I have opted to focus on speed training for my running goals. I want The Road To Sparta to represent balance and I think a fast 8km running time with some seriously solid CrossFit performance is perfect at only 8-12 hours a week. A 50km training schedule will tack on an additional 9-14 hours a week. That would put too much stress on the other aspects of my life so… it’s out – and that’s ok.

Today’s workout was: warm-up, squats 3 warm-up sets 5×5 180lbs, press 3 warm-up sets 5×5 105lbs. Both of these felt good. The WOD today was ugly for me. 2 5minute rounds with 1 minute break in between – AMRAP – 3 Power Cleans (115lb), 5 Burpees, 7 V-Sits. My score for round 1: 4 rounds and 2 reps, round 2: 4 rounds and 2 reps.

Marc showed me a new squat stretch that is awesome. Lay on your back with your butt almost against a wall and put your feet on the wall in a squat position. It’s a beauty. My left knee has been bothering me from some bad technique I’ve been tossing into the mix on occasion. The left side of my body is more flexible than my right side and I think that imbalance is causing my left leg to compensate for my right when it gets tired. That compensation is tweaking my knee sometimes. I’m going to start attacking this imbalance aggressively and see if it improves my occasional knee pains. Here’s to your health.

Day 58 – March 15, 2012 – I got my pump on in a half hour schedule gap today at 11am. 5 rounds of :30sec intervals with a 35lb Kettle Bell (1 pood).

•             two arm swing

•             left arm swing

•             right arm swing

•             left arm clean press

•             right arm clean-press

•             goblet squats

•             10 pushups (30 pushups on round 5)

I’m working up to do this with my 50lb Kettle Bell but it’s still a bit heavy for me to hold good form for 5 rounds. I finished with a good stretch and really focused on my getting my right side loosened up especially.

8pm: I went swimming laps with my friend Denis. He is a former national team water polo player and he analyzed my freestyle for me. It’s improving. Swimming is all about repetitions. I did about 20-30 laps, took it easy and focused on technique. I’m looking forward to tomorrow at the gym.

Day 59 – March 16, 2012 – Warm-up and squat stretch. Rocked out 5 consecutive pull-ups today! BOOM! Deadlifts 135×5, 175×3, 195×1, 205 5×5. Bench 95×5, 115×3, 135×1, 145 5×5. The WOD today was a Tabata Mash-up of 185lb Deadlifts and 20″ Box jumps. In a Tabata each exercise is 8 rounds of :20seconds work and :10seconds rest. Alternating 2 exercises makes the total time for the WOD 8 minutes. My scores were 37 Deadlifts and 67 Box Jumps for a total of 104. I was joined again today by Maya and Bobby which was great. It makes the day that much more fun when your friends are in the house too.

Day 60 – March 17, 2012 – Time trial day at Vanier Track. 5000 meter run: 24:06. Average 1:55/lap for 12.5 laps. This is a massive PR over Day29′s 28:11. A difference of 4:05 <— For honour and glory! What a fantastic way to finish my two month milestone. I’m inspired  and functioning well above my own expectations.

Zac on Day 60 of The Road To Sparta

This was the first MUN conference for all of the Highland delegates this year. The itinerary was packed and their individual committees worked almost every hour of the day. On Saturday night there was even a midnight crisis that kept about a third of the students in various committees working until 2:30am.

As a chaperone, I took great delight in watching my team present their positions for the first time. They were really excited to create resolutions for some of the world’s most pressing issues.

I was able to take in two guest speakers during the conference. The first was Samantha Millar, an Office of Emergency Programmes (EMOPS) employee at UNICEF, who spoke about the important role that MUN conferences played in her path to work with the United Nations in New York. The second speaker was Dr. Shafik Dharamsi a professor at UBC teaching Social Accountability and Community Engagement (SACE). He was one of the top three speakers I’ve seen in my lifetime. Both speakers were catalysts for some great discussion with the team afterwards.

Many of the Highland students worked really hard preparing for the conference and watching them apply their knowledge was the highlight of this weekend for me. For more information about CAHSMUN follow the link. Maybe I’ll see you there next year.

Now’s your time to learn more and give your feedback to help guide decisions about how our solid waste will be dealt with in Comox Valley and Strathcona Regional Districts. More information can be found at http://cswm.ca/plan Feedback and comments are welcome until April 27, 2012. Thank you for your participation.

Day 2 – January 19, 2012 – Stiff today all over but in a good way. 20 minute stretch and light weights followed by basket ball at the CRA. I can no longer jump but the cardio was good. 6pm: really stiffened up in the quads and chest. 8pm: stretch for 20 minutes – lots of water.

Day 3 – January 20, 2012 – Super stiff but had a 60 minute walk at 9% incline 3.8m/hr followed by a 10 minute stretch. Vega and water shot. I got blisters on the between the balls of both feet. Running socks next time. I wonder where those are?

Day 4 – January 21, 2012 – Still stiff but hit the gym with Jessie French for the same circuit and added weight to all the bars – 100% better movement and I left the gym feeling extremely confident. Another big stretch at 4:30pm. Watched CrossFit videos until 12:30am on YouTube. Jacked!!!

Day 5 – January 22, 2012 – Feeling really good – high on endorphins. Good nutrition today. I bought a skipping rope so created a circuit to try it out. 3 rounds of 10 squats, 20 burpees, 10 situps, 1minute skipping (with the new rope). Really inefficient breathing rhythm during my circuit – especially during burpees. Completed a few double-unders but the roof is low 9′ so I’ll need to be efficient to complete them. 30 minute walk on the treadmill 9% at 3.8m/hr. There was sand in one of the running socks and made my blister worse on one foot.

Day 6 – January 23, 2012 – 7:30am minor joint stiffness in my right knee. Feeling good. 1pm: Awesome workout: warmup, squat testing – incremental sets of 5 reps from 45lb bar to 185lb. Finished with 5 rounds of a kettle bell routine at 1 pood 36.11lbs. Stretch.

Day 7 – January 24, 2012 – REST – Bought a 15lb, 35lb, 50lb kettle bell set. Feel great after yesterday – doing research on nutrition and looking forward to Marc’s meal plan / nutrition guide.

Day 8 – January 25, 2012 – 9am: Even though it was a rest day yesterday my body feels tired. My traps and bi’s are tight. 10:30am: workout – warm-up, straight press to max 5 reps 115lbs, Football gone bad 3 rounds with 2/25lb thrusters and a 20″ box jump – total reps = 69/48/48. Tabata situps 4min = 41. Stretch. Rear deltoids are SCREAMING!

Day 9 – January 26, 2012 – 9am: tired muscles and a little bone soreness on the right inside knee joint. Torn cartilage likely opening from the jumps. Bought some new protein powder called EDGE – has 4 ingredients (that’s it). 1pm: 40 swim laps at the aquatic centre. Started off ugly but got better. Still ugly swimming though. Stretched my body to the point of cramping it during my freestyle strokes but was able to relax by the end. I think a lesson or some coaching with accelerate the learning curve. I’ll take the camera to the pool next time to see what I’m doing in the water. My pinkies are worked hard to hold form. Recommendations: Speedo baby

Day 10 – January 27, 2012 – 7am: Tired right hamstring and very tight right groin. Full body fatigue from swimming inefficiently yesterday. Core is really tired. 12pm: another day of anaerobic awesomeness. Warm up – 3 rounds of – 10 air squats, 10 spidermans, 10 pushups, 10 situps, 10 pull-up attempts. Strength training – Dead lift (DL) Technique training: 5x 5 reps of 95lb, 2x 5 reps of 135lb. Conditioning – 8rounds of 7 65lb clean to press, 50 yard sprint, 50 yard walk. Tabata Russian Twist 4 minutes Rx: 106. My core was super fatigued before the Twists and I thought I would only be able to do 30 reps or black out. That was just my head messing with me and I crushed that voice – Ah-hoo! Goal for next time: 128

Day 11 – January 28, 2012 – 9am: feeling great but have tight hamstrings from sprinting yesterday. Going to stretch, pound water and rest today. 11am: 3.5km family walk and goof around at the playground. Stretched on the bars in preparation for the next pull-up attempt on Monday. Bought some glucosamine, Calcium/Magnesium/VitaminD, and Primrose Oil.

Day 12 – January 29, 2012 – 2pm: remind me to never go to the pool on a Sunday afternoon; it was packed so I came home and did a 4km x-country/road run that follows the road and trails on Powerhouse road. I PR’d my time from 21:00 to 19:03 = 1:57 Sick! I couldn’t believe my eyes every time I looked at the splits. It was an amazing run on many levels. On the path I passed two motivating people. First, I saw a friend that has been battling cancer for the last year and half walking spryly and looking great – I’m assuming he’s all clear and that gave me a real surge of adrenaline. Secondly, I came across fellow Titanium Crossfit’er Tania Bystedt near the end of the run and collected a high-five to propel me to the finish. Outstanding. Massive cardio improvements and hill climbing endurance. I did a 6 minute kettlebell round (1 pood) and stretched for 20 minutes following the run. A relatively light workout today but I’m smiling ear to ear.

Day 13 – January 30, 2012 – Running on very little sleep today (parenting), I managed to rally for an inspired workout. After warming up and almost getting my first chin-up… almost, Marc started me with 5 sets of 5 back squats at 205lbs (after warm-up sets). I’m really trying to focus on my technique and range of motion. My hips are starting to loosen up and that is helping me get deep enough to break 90 degrees in my squat. Getting it right is really important to me because I’ve got big dreams brewing in the lifting department. We followed up with bench testing for a 5 rep max adding 20lb increments from 45lbs to 175lbs. I then did half a Rx (<–Crossfit prescribed) row workout. 12 rounds of 250m sprint followed by 250m active recovery. I was able to hold a sprint average around 1:43/500meters but was totally thrashed in the recovery strokes. Total time = 26:07. About half way through my technique improved considerably and learned how to really engage my core and make the row movement more efficient. Doing this produced the same averages with about 75% of the effort. I’m looking forward to beating that time. I wore a couple layers of skin off my right knee from rubbing my long-sleeved shirt against it. I didn’t notice until the soap hit it in the shower.

Day 14 – January 31, 2012 – 1pm: Tabata situps for a PR of 68 (41 previous). I did it with fresh abs instead of post WOD but I’ll take it for a benchmark. I stretched a ton today. I focused on my groin and hamstrings for an hour to increase my range of motion doing squats. My hips are bolted shut from a decade of sitting and it’s going to take hundreds of hours to unwind these puppies. 9:40pm: Swam for an hour at the pool. Worked on fixing a crossover on my freestyle. I got that straight and then worked on my kicking – then my crossover came back. Swimming is nuts. It’s like every stroke I take has a check list of 20 items and I only have the capacity to work on them one at a time. I had two laps where everything lined up though and it was an amazing feeling to fly through the water so effortlessly. It all ended abruptly with a cramp in my arch and then my calf in my right leg. I’m going to stretch a bit before hitting the rack and preparing for tomorrow’s WOD at Titanium Crossfit.

Day 15 – February 1, 2012 – I LOVE OLYMPIC LIFTING. Who knew? After my usual warmup – 3 rounds of 10 prison squats, 10 pushups, 10 situps, 5 chin-up attempts, Marc, my personal trainer from Titanium Crossfit, had me working on technique for my deadlift and strict press. Each time I am able to complete 5 sets of 5 reps in either discipline the weight increases by 10lbs for the next workout. I started at 60% of my 5 rep maximum for each. Building up allows me to work on technique so my nervous system can get used to the movements and I can build muscle before getting to the really heavy weight. After my strength training I did the Crossfit workout AMRAP “Cindy” (modified). AMRAP = As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes. A round consisted of 5 ring rows (usually pull-ups), 10 pushups, and 15 prison squats. I completed 9 rounds total and was totally torched. Although my rounds are low, I am so proud of my tenaciousness and mental toughness throughout the entire workout. In the last 2 weeks my squat range has increased over 10cm (3 inches). I can finally break a 90 degree angle when I squat and source power. This was a big victory milestone for me yesterday . The stretching yesterday really paid off and kept me alive in that workout. I’d like to be able to sit on my heels eventually while still standing. Doing so would allow me to maintain control while lifting really heavy weight down the road.

Day 16 – February 2, 2012 – Ran a course I named Pipeline today 6.73km in 43:55. I pushed into anaerobic 4 times. Once at the halfway mark on top of the hill for 30 seconds (nasty). I then walked for 50m. On the way back I did it again twice on two small hills for 10 seconds each and at the finish line for 20 seconds. For the last three I did slow recovery jogs for 100 meters instead of walking. My time wasn’t as good as I was hoping for but it sure was a burner. Yeehaa.

Day 17 – February 3, 2012 – Two glorious victories today. 9:30am: warm-up,

Kettlebell Circuit (1 pood) 5x

30sec Two handed swings

30sec Left push press

30sec Two handed swings

30sec Right push press

30sec Goblet Squats (became a stretch)

30sec Overhead lunges Left

30sec Overhead lunges right

1min rest… (repeat 5x)

The Goblet squats got me so low that I was almost sitting completely on my calves in a squat stance. My feet were far enough apart to source lots of power. The next step will be to get comfortable and more flexible down low like that but I feel most of the hard part, as far as flexibility goes, is over. Finally, to completely finish off my core: Tabata situps PR (personal record) of 78!!! Previous was 68 on January 31.

Day 18 – February 4, 2012 – 5min row, Warm-up, Squat technique 95×5, 115×3, 135×1, 140 5×5. Bench Press technique 45×10, 95×5,115 5×5. WOD today was 21-15-9 Wallball (20lb), Burpees, Situps = 8:49. One round of 21 reps for each, one round of 15 reps for each, etc.. Stretch. Following the workout one of the trainers Jesse French gave me some tall guy tips for burpees. If you spread your legs in the pushup getting up is much faster and easier on the abs when you pull your legs up to stand. It’s important to save your abs as much as possible for the situps. I’m going to practice that and see how things improve.

Day 19 – February 5, 2012 – A day of rest today. I did however, source a steady supply of homemade eggs. I am nervous of eating store bought eggs so I don’t eat them generally. Eggs are a good unprocessed dose of protein in the morning. My mom has always raised 4-6 chickens for eggs, kitchen scrap consumption, and Martha Stewart’esque garden esthetics. She’s a bit of a jet setter these days so I raided the hen house in true Spartan fashion.

Day 20 – February 6, 2012 – Deadlift and Bench Press technique day. That felt really good. WOD today was Tabata – left hand dumbbell hang snatches (35lbs), right hand dumbbell hang snatches (35lbs), and Russian Twists (20lb Medicine Ball). The total WOD was 12 minutes trying to get the most reps possible – 8 consecutive rounds of :20sec Left / :10sec rest / :20sec Right / :10sec rest / :20sec Twists / :10sec rest. My scores were 70 left arm, 74 right arm and 168 Russian Twists for 312 reps. I was really happy with my pacing and managed to keep my shoulders in good shape with proper technique.

Day 21 – February 7, 2012 – A stressful day of balancing parenting with work today so I promised to beat the @#$% out of myself at 8:45pm. Kettlebell (35lb) warmup: 3 rounds of 10 swings, 10 left thrusters, 10 right thrusters. 10 Lunges each leg. 5 goblet squats (35lb kettlebell) with 10sec each in the basement. WOD (Angie Modified) – 100 pushups, 100 situps, 100 squats, 100 full kettlebell swings (50lb) – for time.

Total time: 21:01. I no rep’d myself 7 times for incomplete movements (and made them up). I’m really proud of my intensity which was solid until about 60 of each, then my mind started chirping and the warrior stepped in. I broke everything into sets of 20 reps except for pushups which I did 10 before situps and 10 after. My grip strength is really improving. A couple weeks ago I couldn’t even hang on to the 50lb Kettlebell for more than 20 half height reps. Today I was crankin’ it full for 100! Recommendation: more push-up work and one hand work with the 35lb bells to keep building technique and strength. These are the weak links right now but not by much.

Day 22 – February 8, 2012 – I walked briskly for an hour pushing my daughter, the empress (2.5yrs), around to town and back. I got the blood moving but this was otherwise a solid day of rest. My body feels fantastic – even after my late evening workout. No soreness or stiffness. I’m antsy as all hell and looking forward to cramming in a workout sometime tomorrow.

Day 23 – February 9, 2012 – 7am: woke up with a swollen left knee. My outside ligament is over stretched likely from the squats on Day 21. I noticed it twinging yesterday when I was walking down hill – today it’s full of fluid. 8:45am: Warm-up, then 5 rounds of :30second intervals with a 35lb kettlebell -

• two arm swing
• round the waist right
• two arm swing
• round the waist right
• two arm swing
• static goblet press
• one arm swing left
• one arm swing right
• rest

(repeat)

Then had a :30second rest into Tabata sit-ups for a PR of 82!! My schedule is working out today thanks to this quick and nasty workout. 4:15pm: knee is looking better but the ligament is tender to touch.

Day 24 – February 10, 2012 – 7am: my knee is still a bit stiff but the fluid is gone and it’s good enough to train on. Today I was so close to a chin up it that I thought I got it. On video review though it’s no good. I’m pretty confident that a good kettle bell workout and run tomorrow followed by a rest on Sunday will make at least one possible on Day 27. My goal on Day 1 was to make one chin up by Day 29. Strength training today: Squats – 3 set warm-up followed by 5×5 165lb. These were really solid and stable throughout. Strict Press – 3 set warm-up followed by 5×5 90lb. WOD today was a series of moves in combination for 5 sets. The weight increased for each set starting at 75 and ending at 90lbs. Without letting go of the bar:

• 5reps deadlift
• 5reps hang cleans
• 5reps front squat
• 5reps push press
• 5reps good morning (bowing with the bar on your shoulder)
• 5reps bent over row
• 1 minute rest and repeat.

I need to continue building squat flexibility and get used to relaxing my shoulders when the bar is in rack position for my front squats.

Day 25 – February 11, 2012 – A ridiculous night of parenting made going to Titanium CrossFit impossible this morning so I opted for an afternoon conditioning workout instead. 2pm: Warm-up 3 rounds of 10 squats, 10 sit-ups, 10 push-ups, 10 kettle bell swings (1pood). Ran Pipeline: 41:42 a new PR for that course. I made up almost 2.5 minutes over my previous PR for that course on the way back and didn’t go anaerobic until the last 100 meters at the end. I have set a new goal for that course – sub 40 by day 40. Running technique and VO2 max will make the difference. Immediately following the run I decided to jump right into a 21-15-9 of situps, squats, and kettle bell swings (1 pood). Total time: 5:46. Next time I’ll up the weight to 1.5pood and throw push-ups into the mix just to destroy myself. My quads were on fire for an hour after the workout and it was the squats at the end that did it. I have some lactic acid build up that seems to be going away as I write this but if my legs are stiff tomorrow I might go shoot hoops for a really light workout.

Day 26 – February 12, 2012 – Rest.

Day 27 – February 13, 2012 – The gates to glory are finally open – I got my first chin-up today! I’m elated! I did at least 10 more perfect reps throughout the rest of my workout. I couldn’t believe that my body could go from doing zero to 11 perfect reps (with at least :20 second rests in between) in one day. I am over the moon and looking forward to posting the video about the massive mental and physical milestone. My confidence is soaring. After completing my usual warm-up today I completed dead lift warm-up sets followed by 5 sets of 5 reps of 165lbs flawlessly and quickly. The weight keeps going up by 10 lbs each training day but my body is adjusting very well and staying in perfect alignment throughout the movement. Slow weight progression is a good approach. Then I did warm up sets of bench press and 5×5 of 125lbs – it was easy but I really focused on perfect technique and creating solid motor pathways. The WOD today was AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) for 12 minutes of 250meter rowing and 20 push-ups. I was 5 pushups shy of 6 rounds so I only get 5rounds. I was upset but totally bonked and happy with the fact I just did 115 perfect pushups. My rowing was good and I averaged about 1:44/500m each round. Next time I’ll push to sub 1:40/500 and make sure I complete at least 6 rounds with stronger pushups. Hell, I’ll go for 7 rounds. Ah-woo!

Day 28 – February 14, 2012 – 5km Benchmark run today at the Vanier Track. 5km total time: 28:11. My 4km split time was: 22:41 which beat my Day1 run time by 1:35. That difference is about 300 meters. I met a grade 7,8,9 group from NIDES and talked to them about the project and cheered them on as they ran their own workout around the track. It was an added bonus to the day.

Day 29 – February 15, 2012 – Benchmark Day. Today I did the first overhand pull-up I’ve ever done in my life. 5minute row, warmup. Squats 3 warmup sets then 5×5 170lbs, Strict Press 3 warmup sets then 5×5 95lbs. WOD 10min AMRAP 7 squat cleans 20lb medicine ball, 7 20″box jumps, 7 pushups. I completed 7 rounds in 9:30.

Day 29 – BENCHMARKS – We checked measurements today and I took a bit of time to reflect on what I’ve learned these last 29 days, which I’ll get to in a second. I’ve lost 16lbs – from 281 to 265. My chest is down 1.5inches, waist down 2inches (look out speedo here I come), hips down 1.5inches, and Body Fat Percentage down 2% on rough calculation to 26%. What’s cool about this is that I haven’t focused on any of this stuff throughout the month. All I’ve been thinking about is how to improve my workout performance. Attributes like flexibility, strength and cardio have become central to everything I do. The numbers are just a bonus. Thanks for being with me on this journey. I appreciate it more than you know.

“Zac Whyte joined our class today and gave a most compelling presentation, sharing information and stories about The Power of R; empowering 10 and 11 year old kids to think globally and act locally, to RETHINK… to be mindful of waste management and contributing positively to a more sustainable planet. Thanks Zac for your inspiration!”

Join me as I set forth on a personal journey to put a check mark on my bucket list by becoming a warrior class athlete in 365 days. I’ll be joined by a whole host of characters from my community, primarily my personal trainer Marc Mazzocchi from Titanium Crossfit in Courtenay, BC, Canada. http://theroadtosparta.com and http://facebook.com/theroadtosparta

For the duration of the challenge I will be completely reforming my lifestyle to achieve my goal. Instead of doing it alone I thought it would be helpful and motivating to document the journey online and in video blogs so people can follow along. I’m a firm believer in the saying “what gets measured gets managed,” and I’d be documenting this stuff anyways. Be sure to connect with me on Facebook and tell me what you think or at the very least throw some encouragement my way.

Motivations

I’ve never been proud of my body image – I’m built like a rectangular tank so achieving the V-shape that bodybuilders are famous for is difficult without putting on tons of bulky (impractical) muscle. I’ve come to terms with that but now I’m starting to get pretty pudgy in the midsection and that is worrying me. I was a successful athlete in High School but have gone through many cycles of poor exercise and nutrition since then. When I turned 30 my body started going South without me. I’m 35 now, a father and a husband – my life is in order but my fitness goals are not being met. I have a media company and work as a professional speaker/presenter for different agencies. I spend all of my time thinking about how to do good in the world and very little about my own body. Being physically fit is the one thing, I feel, that can unlock my full potential the fastest. It’s time for my mind and spirit to justify a healthier physical lifestyle.

Expectations

1. Become a lean machine.
2. Learn new techniques to strengthen my body, improve my flexibility and focus my agility. I have really terrible knees and hips from motorbike accidents, basketball, volleyball and football injuries and recently a pinched nerve in my back (a computer injury – ha!). These injuries have held me back from training for over a decade. I want to negate these aches and pains with muscle, flexibility and sound training practices.
3. Improve my daily nutrition and eating habits. If it eats like a god and it moves like a god; it must be a god.
4. Crush pull-ups all day long. I haven’t even tried to do a chin up in over 10 years and doubt I can even do one. I watched a movie called 300 a few years back and on the bonus footage DVD there was a clip showing the actor’s training sessions. I was mystified by the guys doing full-on psycho pull ups, not just once, but repeatedly. I’m hoping to be able to do that after a year.
5. Cut my body fat percentage in half and pack on more lean, functional muscle.
6. Meet new people in person and online through the process. I don’t get out much so this will be a great outlet for social interaction in different circles.
7. Run a 50km solo at the end of the year.
8. Learn to swim again. An endurance swim might be in the cards too. We’ll see how it goes.
9. Have fun.

Reservations

I’m scared shitless about this whole project.

Day 1 – January 18, 2012

Age: 35

Height: 198 cm (6’6″)

Weight: 127.5kg (281lbs)

Body Fat Percentage: 27.5-28%

4000m Run: 24:16

Sponsor

Titanium Crossfit

Here’s the letter I received:

First I would like to thank you very much for taking the time to come in to speak to the Global Studies class at Isfeld. We have spent the term focusing on personal consumption and what the students can do personally to make a difference. Your presentation fit in perfectly with the curriculum and inspired students to continue to make a difference everyday by way of changing their habits. The students have become more aware of the use of plastics and the importance of recycling. Students expressed genuine awareness and concern over taking care of their environment. We appreciate the opportunity for you to come in to speak to the students at no cost to the school. The reinforcement of all of these ideas by you had a much greater impact on students than I could have ever imagined.

I am not even sure I can express in words the impact you had on the students. Upon discussing with my students after your visit, many students expressed, ” Zac is my new hero!” They found your presentation the best part of the course, and said that you truly inspired them. I know it might sound like I am exaggerating, but I am not. They were moved by your experiences, your stories, your passion. When things get difficult, if you ever question if you are on the right path, don’t…you are! Again, I cannot thank you enough, you certainly helped make the final days of the Global Studies class amazing.

Lisa Chase – Teacher – Mark R. Isfeld Global Studies