The question often comes up about whether to workout when feeling sick.  My general view on it is “No,” but let me explain further.

First, if you have a fever, this is absolutely an indicator that working out is a no-no.  You are ill and your body needs to heal!

If you don’t have a fever, yes, sure — you can work out if you really want to, but it’s best to take it easy, because you are in a weakened state.   Some folks really can’t stand to miss a workout, and I get that.  But, I think that what some people don’t take into account is that when you are already run down, the workout will be less effective than when you are healthy, so in other words, maybe the only reason to do it is for sanity, not for significant training benefits.  You sometimes do better if you let go of the guilt of skipping and just take the rest day.  You will not lose fitness by skipping just a few days.

That said, when you are well enough, get back at it, because consistency is one of the most important determinants of success.

It’s always a good idea to gather as much info as possible about a race course before you race it. Most races post the route on the race website, so be sure to review the info provided to get a mental picture of the route in advance. If you are coming from out of town to a race, it’s good to at least drive the route ahead of time so you have some idea of what to expect. Of course it’s also great if you can train on the actual course — if it’s where you live, or if the race course is in a not too distant location. Just don’t try to run a whole race route in the days immediately before the race!

Using a deck of cards, we assigned the following exercises to each suit:
Hearts = ring rows
Diamonds = push-ups
Clubs = wall balls (squat then throw ball up to a spot on the wall)
Spades = lunges (do both legs for one rep)
Jokers = 10 squat thrusts

Then, you just draw cards until you get through the whole deck. Face cards count as ten, and aces can be high or low (we went with high).

Definitely a tough workout, but a lot of fun!

Today’s group workout was one of my favorites, which involves doing 1-mile repeats around Murchison Middle School.  Going west is uphill on North Hills Drive, and going east is downhill on Far West Blvd. The focus is on the hill climbing, with the recovery on the downhill. After several hill repeats, we rode over to Shoal Creek for an easy cruise before heading home.

The second part of my workout (on my own) was strength-based:

• 5 x 5 back squat 95# – worked on full range of motion
• 4 rounds of 4 dips plus 4 pull-ups, 90 sec rest between rounds
• pushups 1×10
• hanging leg raises and hanging knee raises, 2 x 10
• situps 1 x 25

1. Squats: max # in 2 min
2. Pull-ups: max # in 1 min
3. Sit-ups: max # in 2 min
4. Push-ups: max # in 2 min
5. Run 1 mile as fast as possible

(rest 2 min between segments of the test)

So, I went for a swim in the Fastlane.  Main set as follows:

• Ladder: 4 min, 3 min, 2 min, 1 min (:30 RI) — moderately easy
• 4 x 1 min (:30 RI) – mod hard
• 4 x 30 sec (:30 RI) -  hard

This week I was invited to a kettlebell training class at the Red Black Gym, where i have trained in the past, so I decided to try it out. I incorporate kettlebell training to a small extent in my own strength training, but I haven’t done a whole lot of KB training compared to other activities, so this was a good opportunity to try something a little different.)

The workout was as follows:
8 rounds of

• Bottom-up kettlebell right arm x 8
• Bottom-up kettlebell left arm x 8
• KB clean Right x 8
• KB clean left x 8

Then 4 rounds of

• KB clean Right x 4
• KB clean left x 4
• KB clean push push press/jerk -right- x4
• KB clean push push press/jerk -left- x4

Then we did a 3 min test for as many reps as possible, using a KB in each hand to simultaneously clean and jerk the KBs. (I did 36 using a 10 kg (22lb) KB in each hand. )

We finished up by doing a circuit twice through, with 4 stations (1 min work, 30 sec to transition to next station):

1. Stone deadlift and shoulder carry (I used the 73 lb stone)
2. 200 m run
3. Farmers walk with 16 kg KB in each hand (like carrying pails of milk)
4. Tractor tire flipping

New skills I learned were the stone deadlift and carry (I’ve always used sandbags) and the KB jerk. Overall, a fun workout on another beautiful day in Austin!

What are you doing to open your mind to new things?

• 1/2 mile jog
• 5 rounds of 3 pull ups + 7 pushups with feet on a swiss ball (90 sec rest interval between rounds)
• 5 rounds of 10 squat jumps + 10 air squats (60 Sec RI)
• 3 x 10 reps of leg raises, hanging from pull-up bar with ab straps  (30 sec RI)
• 2 x 10 reps of dip stand knee raises (30 sec RI)

The workout is to be completed just like the song, where you start with one, then go to two and back down to one, then 3, 2, 1, then 4, 3 ,2 , 1, and so on.

The workout goes like this:

On the first day of Christmas, my sick and twisted true love gave to me 1 minute in the plank pose.

On the second day of Christmas, my sick and twisted true love gave to me 2 minutes sprinting on the stationary bike, and 1 minute in the plank pose.

On the third day of Christmas, my sick and twisted true love gave to me 3 pull-ups, 2 minutes sprinting on the stationary bike, and 1 minute in the plank pose.

On the fourth day of Christmas, my sick and twisted true love gave to me 4 dips on the dip stand, 3 pull-ups, 2 minutes sprinting on the stationary bike, and 1 minute in the plank pose.

On the fifth day of Christmas, my sick and twisted true love gave to me 5 golden ring rows, 4 dips on the dip stand, 3 pull-ups, 2 minutes sprinting on the stationary bike, and 1 minute in the plank pose.

On the sixth day of Christmas, my sick and twisted true love gave to me 6 barbell thrusters, 5 golden ring rows, 4 dips on the dip stand, 3 pull-ups, 2 minutes sprinting on the stationary bike, and 1 minute in the plank pose.

On the seventh day of Christmas, my sick and twisted true love gave to me 7 push-ups, 6 barbell thrusters, 5 golden ring rows, 4 dips on the dip stand, 3 pull-ups, 2 minutes sprinting on the stationary bike, and 1 minute in the plank pose.

On the eighth day of Christmas, my sick and twisted true love gave to me 8 frog jumps, 7 push-ups, 6 barbell thrusters, 5 golden ring rows, 4 dips on the dip stand, 3 pull-ups, 2 minutes sprinting on the stationary bike, and 1 minute in the plank pose. 

[At Day 8, Chris was heard exclaiming: "Oh my God! Jesus!"]

On the ninth day of Christmas, my sick and twisted true love gave to me 9 Russian kettlebell swings, 8 frog jumps, 7 push-ups, 6 barbell thrusters, 5 golden ring rows, 4 dips on the dip stand, 3 pull-ups, 2 minutes sprinting on the stationary bike, and 1 minute in the plank pose.

On the tenth day of Christmas, my sick and twisted true love gave to me 10 lunges, 9 Russian kettlebell swings, 8 frog jumps, 7 push-ups, 6 barbell thrusters, 5 golden ring rows, 4 dips on the dip stand, 3 pull-ups, 2 minutes sprinting on the stationary bike, and 1 minute in the plank pose.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my sick and twisted true love gave to me 11 dip stand knee raises, 10 lunges, 9 Russian kettlebell swings, 8 frog jumps, 7 push-ups, 6 barbell thrusters, 5 golden ring rows, 4 dips on the dip stand, 3 pull-ups, 2 minutes sprinting on the stationary bike, and 1 minute in the plank pose.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my sick and twisted true love gave to me 12 burpees, 11 dip stand knee raises, 10 lunges, 9 Russian kettlebell swings, 8 frog jumps, 7 push-ups, 6 barbell thrusters, 5 golden ring rows, 4 dips on the dip stand, 3 pull-ups, 2 minutes sprinting on the stationary bike, and 1 minute in the plank pose.

When it was all said and done, the totals were:

• 12 burpees
• 22 knee raises
• 30 lunges
• 36 KB swings
• 40 frog hops
• 42 pushups
• 42 thrusters
• 40 ring rows
• 36 dips
• 30 pull-ups
• 22 min on the bike
• 12 min in the plank position

The hardest part for me was holding the plank in the latter part of the workout — I switched between hands and knees. And with the volume, I used only the bar for thrusters (no additional weight), used a 16 kg KB, and did regressions when needed (e.g., negatives instead of strict pull-ups).

Here’s a photo of a sweaty and tired me after the workout was finished!