Core Fit 'N Motion

I know for those of you that do CrossFit, the title is dangerously close to one of your named workouts.  This workout was nothing like Fight On Friday.  Three of the kids fight this friday at the Taekwondo Junior Olympics in Austin, Texas.  Good luck to Brittany, Lorin (Dex) and Travis.  Each will be competing in the 14-17 black belt division.  The top four finishers in each division qualify for a fight off in Colorado Springs at the Olympic Training Center in August.  The winner of the fight off makes the Junior National Team.  It is so cool to be associated with kids that train and compete at that level.

Now that I have digressed, we had a nice turnout tonight in the cooler Monday evening air.  We did a shorter workout consisting of five rounds. Each round consisted of Overhead Lunges, Sling Shots, Clean and Press, One-Arm Swing and Squats.  It was designed to be an easier workout to keep the kids active, but not work them too hard.  Tana, Renee, Dexter and Josh all participated as well.  I think they all liked the easier start to the week.  I must say there was a look of surprise (relief?) on their faces when they heard after the first round that they only had 4 more to go.

Tana is looking great.  She is squatting deeper, clothes are looser and she is lifting more weight.  Great job and keep it up! One day she will let me put her picture on the site.  Until then, here are some of the rest of the gang…

Can you say balance, stretch and strength??

Good to the core

Cleans and Presses

It’s been a busy week!  We had a great turnout Monday with Lorin showing up for his second workout.  He’s already showed great improvement in form.  We ran another 8-station circuit outside in the humid Minnesota evening.  The bonus was that Brittany (along with her sister that watched), Josh, Renee and I all jumped in our pool afterwards to cool off…

Last night was a Taekwondo night.  This was our last Tuesday training before the National Tournament.  I can’t wait to see how good Mike, Lorin, Travis, Brittany and I all perform.

Tonight we ran a traditional class (so I could workout as well).  It was a tough workout and we were all drenched with sweat.  No swimming bonus because Mike didn’t bring his swim suit 😦

Dexter came on Monday.  I already lost track of how many workouts he has completed, but I’m totally amazed at how quick he has learned all the moves and how hard he pushes himself.  I’ve known him for a long time, and his work(out) ethic is amazing.  Keep it up!

Don’t usually do Kettlebells on Thursday.  I like to save it for Taekwondo, but Taekwondo has been cancelled on Thursdays for the summer.  So instead, we had a turnout of two.  Dexter came for his second workout. Tonight we tried some new tools and did a nice workout of 11 rounds with 2 minutes of exercise followed by 1 minute (or so) of break. The focus was to do more weight than normal.

Last night we tried out the new barbell.  Check out Mike and Josh from last night and Dexter and Brittany tonight!

Heavy?

What Strength!

Old School Turkish Get Ups - Way to go Brittany and Dexter!

Rows Anyone?

Tonight Was Interesting…  Our biggest group, yet again – 8!  We had people from Delano, Cokato, Waverly, Brainerd and even Hamburg Germany.  Since it was the first workout for several we kept the workout basic (but not too easy) so everyone could keep up. Tonight we ran an 8 station circuit.  Most of it was outside in the nice humid Minnesota evening.  The mountain climbers caused a lot of groans, but way to stick it out.

Warming Up

Kettlebells aren't supposed to be fun!

Rope Work

Our Friend From Germany

Round 3

Check out this back kick!  I couldn’t get this high without our training.  A coach for another athlete saw the kick and came up to me after the fight and asked if I was a Ninja…. I laughed but was glad to see that someone was impressed with what a 40 year-old could do!  All is possible with the right training.

Alan in Blue Back Kicking - Renee - now you have a photo of Alan working out!

Sorry, no pictures.  We had the biggest turnout to date.  7 – Brittany, Decca, Jen, Mike, Renee, Tana and Travis.  We had an 8 station circuit that we ran through twice.  Congrats to Jen and Decca for making it through the fundamentals intro and their first circuit!

The ropes provided the biggest challenge for everyone. Renee reported that she liked the plyo box jumping the best.  I liked the group doing the Figure 8 To A Hold – very impressive.

It’s been another great week.  Tana is proud to announce she is down a clothing size.  She is looking great!

On Saturday I competed in my first Taekwondo tournament in 3 years.  I took gold by winning two fights!  It was my first gold as a blackbelt.  Most surprising to me was how good I felt during the matches.  Most fun was when I landed a back kick that still has me smiling.  I have it on video, but am struggling to get it converted to a photo to post.  Tana said she would work on that for me, so hopefully I will be able to post the picture soon.

Tonight, Chris and Casey joined in for an intro and short circuit.  I didn’t think Casey would ever give up 🙂  Great job ladies!

Earlier this week Renee, Mike, Brittany, Josh and Tana “left it on the mats”.   A little birdie told me I will have two special guests tomorrow…

Here are some pics from earlier this week:

Brittany gets lowwwwwww

Renee doing the wave with the ropes

Renee and Mike with the lunge

Renee feels the stretch of the Windmill

Great workout with the Wednesday night crew. Tana is now working out with the regulars. She has been great to watch with her daily improvements. Way to go everyone!

Mike on the ropes

Swing'n

Smoked!

Renee's Sweat Angel