RX THE WOD

Cabs and Food in Singapore

Posted on November 6, 2012 by

Catching a cab in Singapore after dinner can be a heated affair and a fight almost broke out over my ride. In a city with limited and expensive registrations, taxis are king…
It is great to be paleo in Asia. The food is great, varied and almost always can be made full paleo. And if all else fails, there is satay everywhere…

Endurance
800m, 2x400m, 4x200m, 4x100m run
Catalyst Strength
Clean Pull 100%x4x5
Back Squat 80%x5x2, 85%x4x3
MetCon
Every minute on the minute
1,2,3…10 bench presses 135lbs
Then
3 rounds for time:
33 push-ups
33 kettlebell swings 45lbs
33 walking lunge steps 45lbs
[9:02]

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Twin Towers WOD

Posted on November 5, 2012 by

As my business trip brought me back to Kuala Lumpur after two decades, I was hoping to see the Petronas Twin Towers from the top. Unfortunately they are closed on Mondays, so I settled for a jog in the park around the towers.
Compared to Taipei Tower’s 101 floors, Petronas has 88, which should be plenty should we ever try to climb them. That gave me an idea for the right WOD to remember this day by..

Twin Towers WOD
2 rounds
(Once Up and then back down)
– 1 Min plank hold
– 5 Thrusters 115lbs
– 10 pull-ups
– 20 burpees
– 30 squat jumps
– 40 Push presses 45lbs
– 50 one-arm KB swings 25lbs
– 60 push-ups
– 70 sit-ups
– 88 flights of stairs (880m run @ max slope/incline)
[38:07]

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Fitness in the Asian Century

Posted on November 4, 2012 by

This morning took me into a globo gym in Taipei that looked more like a night club than a gym. There was top-40 music blasting through the speakers, little cubicles with small cocktail tables and Internet stations as hangouts. More importantly, innovative TRX rings, agility training stations and a boxing ring for those wishing to work out. When you have a nation dominated by a 20-something population, you need to make their fitness regime resemble their fun pastimes…
I was happy to find good pull-up bars, Oly bars and the TRX served as a decent gymnastics ring substitute. And a thick rubber floor to drop the bars all I wanted..

After 21 years I am returning for a day to Malaysia, where I spent some of my formative years. Since the Petronas Towers weren’t yet built then, I now get to check them off my must-see list of the tallest towers on Earth.

SealFit Daily
• Warrior Yoga, Hip flexibility, Mental Focus Drills
Catalyst warmup
Catalyst Strength
• Snatch – 75% x 2, 80%x 1, 83% x 1, 85% x 1, 83% x 1, 80% x 1
• Clean & jerk – 75% x 2, 80%x 1, 83% x 1, 85% x 1, 83% x 1, 80% x 1
• RDL – 58% (of back squat) x 8 x 4
Endurance
– 800m run
– Tabata bike
MetCon
5 rounds
– 5 power clean 95#
– 10m sprint
– 5 pull-ups
– 10m sprint
– 5 ring (TRX) push-ups
– 10m sprint
– 5 knees to elbows
– 10m sprint
[8:10]

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Taipei 1 on 1

Posted on November 3, 2012 by

We had an incredible sunny day in Taipei. Given the 36-hour visit here, we did our best to follow our shortlist. See the 3rd tallest tower in the world at Taipei 101, eat at the best restaurant in the tower, visit the palace museum and have fun food at the night market.
The food in Taiwan is incredible and paleo friendly. The night market had more exotic dishes than I could ever imagine…
Strength
– Catalyst Warmup
– Catalyst Strength
• Snatch pull – 96% x 5 x 5
• OHS 3×5
• Snatch push press – 78% x 5 x 5
• Snatch Balance 3×5
Endurance
– CFE Drills – run, row
Metcon
– Tabata weighted GHD Sit-ups [92@25lbs]
Plus
– Every minute on the minute:
1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1 Manmakers @ 25lbs

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Hong Kong Breeze

Posted on November 2, 2012 by

Every time I return to Asia I am reminded how vast this continent is compared to Europe or North America. Just to meet with clients you have to fly 4-5 hours from one capital to the other. In a day you can sometimes cover what would be a round trip from New York to LA. Today is one of those days from Singapore through Hong Kong to Taipei. That also means a mandatory CF rest day…

This endless continent is now springing up more and more CrossFit gyms. The tiny island of Singapore has more boxes than France. On the other hand, China’s count of CF gyms still stands at zero despite having dozens of Chinese cities with over 10 million people… It seems all fitness entrepreneurs here failed at math… This is despite the fact that Chinese globo gyms are doing a brisk business with membership rates in the stratosphere. One such gym with full weightlifting and gymnastics gear in central Beijing charges visitors $70 for a day of drop-ins. Affluent customers are not the issue in Asia especially for something that could be popularly labeled as an American fitness trend. With such a strong weightlifting, martial arts and gymnastic tradition in China, I don’t understand what keeps more boxes from popping up…

I did find a fellow American running a regular gym in Taiwan but with CF gear like pullup bars, kettlebells, Oly bars and the works, plus the passion and understanding on how to use them…

During the long flight I marvel at how Asian carriers like Singapore Airlines or Cathay Pacific refuse to succumb to the mediocre service of their US or European counterparts and still give us full smiles, great attention and awesome food that is distant memory for our airlines back home…