Workout 4/30: 400m Sprints

Today is the Chicago Public School's City Track and Field Championships. I have eight athletes prepared to give their best efforts of the season. We have witnessed an awesome year and met nearly all of our goals. Complete season, broken school records, personal records! So, in honor of them, I decided to kick myself in the rear and run some 400m sprints. And when you see my times, you will understand, as I did, that my students accomplished a lot more than I did this season. They are awesome! That's why they are out there on the track and I am not. You can find me in the stands cheering them on, and out on the track by my lonesome where no one else can witness my slow butt. But if they can be consistent at practice and push themselves on the race track, I can push myself to physical betterment.

Check out their season at Hancock Eagles Track and X-Country

Workout:
1 mile warm-up
Dynamic Stretching routine
5x400m (1:25; 1:32; 1:37; 1:35; 1:30)
Cool-down*Jeremy Wariner's a 400m king! I am so ready for the Olympics to see how he and our other athletes do! I have great respect for their accomplishments because it goes so far beyond most of our abilities.

Workout 4/28: 2-Miles + Deadlifts

It's time to get back into running, so that means figuring out how to combine CrossFit and 5k Training for the best potential performance. As you will read in a minute, I went out for a run and noticed something really sad...I'm out of shape. When I say out of shape, I mean getting wide around the middle. Most of my issues stem from what I eat and how much I eat. I have little or no self-control when it comes to anything remotely sweet. Cookies...I'm like the Cookie Monster. Ice Cream...who knows why I don't have a constant cold headache. Gummy Candy...some say "you are what you eat," and I am becoming gummy in every way. So I think best potential performance is going to come with some learned self-control when it comes to eating. I say this again because I need your accountability. Unfortunately, face-to-face accountability is always better, but you will be the next line of accountability.

Workout:
Run: 2 Miles (untimed)
CrossFit: Deadlifts 3-3-3-3-3
195#-215#-235#-245#-255#

*I could feel the strain of those deadlifts in my left hamstring right away. I pushed through it, but I think I will be feeling it hardcore for the next few days. I going to heavily rely on stretching throughout the day today, and we'll see what comes of it. BEST OF LUCK TO MY TRACK KIDS THIS WEEK! IT'S CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK!

Workout 4/23: Back Squats

Warmup:
Run 1 mile
Back Squat Warm-up (10x45#; 7x95#)
CrossFit:
Back Squats for Max Weight @ 5 reps
No. 1-5x145#
No. 2-5x165#
No. 3-5x185#
No. 4-5x195#
No. 5-5x200#

*Okay, I hate having a Smith machine as my only squat rack because I'm not totally positive I could have done that without the extra support. But hey, I must make due with what I have available to me.*Instructional drawing courtesy of CrossFit Ireland.

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Now playing: Demon Hunter - Undying
via FoxyTunes

Workout 4/22: Shoulder Press

CrossFit: Shoulder Press for Max Weight
Reps and Rounds: 3-3-3-3-3
Results: 65#, 95#, 115#, 120#(f), 120#(f)

I hate posting failures, but I can tell that my shoulders not quite what it used to be. Ever since tweeking it on muscle-up training, it has not hesitated to remind me that it doesn't like heavy loads. It needs to be worked out nonetheless.*Here's a 90# Shoulder Press taken at the CrossFit Games 2007. Photo courtesy of Peninsula CrossFit. There's another goal for the next couple years; participate in a CrossFit Games.

Workout 4/19: Springtime Running

Ah! Finally! It's time to get back into the good ol' Saturday running routine. For those of you who recently started reading my blog, I love April to October because it means the routine of Saturday runs returns. Each Saturday, I get up and out with a friend of mine to run and talk, talk and run. Yes, some of you would scoff at that, but it's a perfect time for me to reflect on my week and or on important issues all while running. Running has a way of reminding me many things. It reminds me that I still have some pounds to shed. It reminds me how thankful I ought to be for the ability to run. It reminds me how beautiful nature is in the warmer months. And it reminds me how important it is to bounce ideas off another person. So even if running "sucks" in your opinion, try waking yourself up early next Saturday (maybe even before the sun rises), throw on your running shoes (and clothes, I guess), and run (preferably with someone else). You may just find a perfect Saturday morning routine.

Run: 3 Miles (Time: N/A)*No, Lance and Matt are not my Saturday running partners!

Workout 4/18: Elizabeth

CrossFit: "Elizabeth"
21-15-9 Rep Rounds of:
Squat Cleans @ 65#
Ring Dips
(Time: 13:51)

Workout 4/17: Nancy

CrossFit: "Nancy"
Five Rounds for Time of:
400m Runs
65# Overhead Squats x 15
(Time: 21:28)

Workout 4/16: Quarter Gone Bad

Hi all! Okay, so I've been busy, but the least I can do it post my numbers. Hope everyone is enjoying the return of spring. I know I am! Today's wisdom: Find joy in what you do for a living. Try to spend one day without complaining about your work. It may be hard sometimes, I know. But at the end of the day, you may actually feel good about your lot in life.

2 Mile Run +
CrossFit: Quarter Gone Bad-Modified
5 Rounds of:
15 seconds-95# Thrusters
45 seconds-Rest
15 seconds-15# Weighted Pull-ups
45 seconds-Rest
15 seconds-Burpees
45 seconds-Rest
*Count your reps for each 15 second unit.
(Rd. 1: 6-5-5; Rd. 2: 6-4-5; Rd. 3: 5-4-5; Rd. 4: 3-3-5; Rd. 5: 4-3-5)

So, you don't think 15 seconds of work does anything to you? Then you may not be trying hard enough. GO OUT AND GO HARD!*Jerry, nice sticker proposal! Photo courtesy of CrossFit Old Town.

Workout 4/9: Kelly

"From Now Until June"
A 6-syllable, 6-line poem by Mr. Mirek

Round around the middle!
Sweat begins to dribble...
Challenges are called for;
Maybe I can lose more.
Ten pounds less would be great.
This roundness will deflate.

CrossFit: "Kelly"
3 Rounds for Time of:
400m Run
30 Bench Jumps
30 Wall Ball Shots (15# Medicine Ball)
(Time: 18:48.13)Happy National Poetry Month everyone! I challenge you all to write a CrossFit or Fitness inspired poem today. Feel free to add it to my comments! I'd love to hear what you all have to say.

Workout 4/8: Max Effort w/ Track Team

As a coach, one gets to make the calls and demand excellence in effort. Yes, the coach is often hated and glared at during the workouts, but when times continue to drop and records continue to be broken, athletes realize that there is a pay-off for that hard work. A friend of mine gave me that encouragement the other day, so I decided to demand maximum effort from my athletes today, and in return I received a challenge. "C'mon Mr. Mirek, let's see you do this!" And me being who I am could not let them down. I had to meet their challenge to show them that it was doable. I also wanted to model what I demand from them. So, with eyes closed and near passing out a few times, I joined them and drove through the whole workout. Here it is...

CrossFit Kids: Max. Efforts
3 Rounds of
25 Tuck Jumps
Max. Push-ups in 1:00
Max. Sit-ups in 1:00
Max. Squats in 1:00

Rd. 1-46PU+34SU+67SQ = 147 Reps
Rd. 2-33PU+21SU+51SQ = 105 Reps
Rd. 3-24PU+22SU+54SQ = 100 Reps
TOTAL = 352 REPS*Max Effort...Grin and bear it! Photo courtesy of CrossFit Flagstaff.

Workout 4/7: Pull-ups on the Minute

Post #200...have I really bored you for that long? Ha! Actually I thank many of you for your continued reading even when you can get so much of the information from other places. But I look at it this way, you are sharing in my pain. Yes, sometimes the pain is unbearable, but most of the time the pain is fought through. So, here's my battle cry for us...LET'S GO! Endure! Let's walk through the "ring of fire" together.

CrossFit: Pull-ups on the Minute
With a continuously running clock do one pull-up the first minute, two pull-ups the second minute, three pull-ups the third minute... continuing as long as you are able.
(7 Rounds + 6 = 1+2+3+4+5+6+7+6 = 34 Pull-ups)
Stagnant! Boo Hoo! I can feel a "ring of fire" called eating with self-control coming on.*Photo courtesy of CrossFit Eastside. Hold each other up!
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Now playing: Johnny Cash - Ring Of Fire
via FoxyTunes

Workout 4/4: Gwen

CrossFit: "Gwen"
15, 12, 9 Rep Sets of:
95# Clean and Jerks
No broken sets allowed, so once you commit, you must complete...touch and go! Rest between sets as needed.

Ah! That felt good! Intense! Hard! Accomplished! I'm back! Three days in a row!*I wasn't this intense, not was I lifting this much weight. I can't wait for the Olympics! I have a whole new appreciation for weightlifting!

Workout 4/3: 800s and the Core

I decided to run with the kiddos today. That's a great, rewarding experience. If you ever get that chance to create relationships with students and exercise with them, enjoy the ride. Volunteer with teens, coach a sport, create a club. I learned this joy through Team M3 last summer, and now I have the opportunity to see athletes improve themselves with each practice and each meet. Sure, we won't be state champions this year, but we are breaking old records left and right (Check us out!). The joy in their faces makes it all worth the time and effort. So to all my readers, find some kids to work with...you will come away with a treasure that will not fade.

Workout: 800s and the Core (combo of some CrossFit)
5 Rounds of:
10 Sit-ups
10 Supermans
10 Leg Raises

3 Rounds of:
800m Runs @ 70-80% Effort*The joys of seeing amazing accomplishments!

Workout 4/2: Fran

YES! A major weight has been lifted off my shoulders; my portfolio is done and handed in. So now it's time to add on some weight...not fat, but onto the bar. Time to get back into CrossFit and running. Everyone around me has started to jump back into action, and I have been sitting behind a computer putting together major projects. And my body is showing it. So, back to action!

CrossFit: "Fran"
21-15-9 Rep rounds for time of:
65# Thrusters
Pull-ups
(Time: 10:54.64)
*Yes, it is a PR, but I'm not counting it because I couldn't do all of the pull-ups without assistance. I had to move about 10 pull-ups to jumping pull-ups. So...good job, but I have a ways to go.*Now that's my idea of babysitting. Photo courtesy of Rainier CrossFit.