Workout Journal - Shoulder Press Max - 175 Pounds

So far I have not recorded any personal best to date for my max 1 rep Shoulder Press or also called the Strict Press, I have recorder a personal max best for Push Press but there is some leg involvement with Push Press that gives you some extra momentum which makes the Push Press much easier to lift heavier weight than a Strict Press or Shoulder Press.

Anyways, today I just barely pushed out one rep of Strict Shoulder Press at 175 pounds, this was after working up using a 3-2-1-1-1 approach to get to my 1 rep max. I figured it was a good weight since my body weight is only at 180 right now, think I will set my new goal to be at 200 pounds for 1 rep :)

Here is a great PDF link on the Press!

Workout Journal - Front Squat Max 245

It's been a bit over a month since I went for a max Front Squat, Well today was Front Squat Day at my CrossFit gym and I could not remember what my best to date front squat was so I just did what felt good, our work up to max was based on a 3-2-1-1-1. So in other words we started out lighter and did three reps, then upped the weight and did 2 reps, then added some more for a single rep and then we added weight two more times to hopefully get to a max single Front Squat.

I ended up maxing out today at 245 pounds which after I checked back against my last personal front squat workout journal entry was 30 pounds over! Not bad improvements. I have been doing back squats and dead lifts which will for sure improve my overall front squat strength.

Video samples taken from (www.crossfit.com)

Mountain Biking in Whistler BC Canada

I had the opportunity to get away for three days earlier this week with my long time buddy Steve, we stayed at a timeshare up in Whistler BC Canada and got in some mountain bike riding while we where there. This time of year it's kind of between the mountain biking season and the ski season but there is still some biking going on up in Whistler.

If you watched my other biking video, you will know that I feel biking is an awesome way to get and stay in shape, to be honest, biking can be a real eye opener when you're not in shape! I feel I'm in pretty good shape right now with all the CrossFit I've been doing but when it comes to mountain biking I have a lot more work to put in before it will start getting easier. My legs felt pretty good and didn't even really feel that soar afterwards but my lungs had trouble keeping up with all the technical hill climbs, perhaps being up a bit higher made it harder to get the much needed air into my lungs... Well that's my excuse :)

All I can say is not only do I want to do more mountain biking, I need to do more!

Hey Mike - Put Your Shirt Back On!

What can I say, I've had a few people tell me to put my shirt back on so I made a video explaining why I take my shirt off for my YouTube videos. Well for one, it's a lot more comfortable and helps me keep "kewl" but there's more...

Watch the video and I will explain my reasoning for taking my shirt off in the videos, then you can take part in the survey by either giving me a thumbs up and I will keep the shirt off or a thumbs down and I will consider keeping my shirt on for the videos ;)

Just Ordered my New Fitbit Force Wireless Activity & Sleep Wristband

Fitbit just announced to day a new wristband Fitness and Sleep tracking product called the Fitbit Force. If you are not familiar with these types of devices then make sure to checkout my review on the Fitbit Flex which is kind of the same thing but with less bells and whistles as the new Fitbit Force.

What the Fitbit Force offers over and above the Flex are some additional features like an LED screen that shows you the time and also allows you to toggle through the different information available like steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned, active minutes, sleep info and even stairs climbed. Fitbit upgraded the Force with their leading-edge accelerometer and altimeter to use advanced technology and track your unique personal data.

My take on this is that the Fitbit Force is a bit of an up-sell from the Flex ($99 versus $129) that makes you a bit less dependent on looking at your smartphone for real time data along with more detailed and accurate info from the new advanced accelerometer and altimeter built in. Heck, now you don't even need to wear a watch anymore!