Week B4

SimpleFit, Level 3, Day 1

Monday, June 20, 2016

As many rounds as possible (AMRAP), in 20 minutes, of:

1. 2 Pull-Ups
2. 3 Push-Ups
3. 5 Air Squats

Result

Rounds: 26 (46s/round) 
Reps: 52 Pull-Ups + 78 Push-Ups + 135 Air Squats = 260 (4.6 s/rep)


I beat Level 2, Day 3 a week ago, so I moved up to Level 3, this week.

SimpleFit, Level 3, Day 2

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Level 3, Day 2 consists of 5 rounds of:

1. 3 Pull-Ups
2. 10 Push-Ups
3. 16 Squats 

Time

• Round 1: 43s
• Round 2: 41s
• Round 3: 38s
• Round 4: 38s
• Round 5: 42s 

Total: 03m22s
Reps: 15 Pull-Ups + 50 Push-Ups + 80 Air Squats = 145 (1.4 s/rep)

SimpleFit, Level 3, Day 3

Friday, June 25, 2016

Level 3, Day 3 consists of 1 round of:

1. 16 Pull-Ups (7-5-2-2)
2. 33 Push-Ups (20-5-4-4)
3. 33 Squats (33)

Time: 04m10s
Reps: 16 Pull-Ups + 33 Push-Ups + 33 Air Squats = 82 (3.0 s/rep)

Once again, and happily, I have beaten a level in a week. Having been on this ride before, I know that when I get to Level 5, and every level beyond, I will be living there for a while. In fact, there's a pretty good chance Level 4 will have me for a while. In the meantime, I am happy.

I did the exercises with my usual Day 3 form, which is to say, rushed and poor. Pull-ups had lots of body motion. Push-ups were better; I kept my head up and elbows in, went to full extension (with shoulders rounded)…most of the time. I don't have a good sense of how low I went. I know my chin touched the ground a few times, but were those good push-ups, or were those ones where maybe I droped my head?

Despite doubts about my form, I will move up to Level 4 next week, but I will stay there until I can beat Day 3 with good form. (I hope this isn't a mistake. Maybe the best way to beat L4 with good form is to power through to, let's say Level 6, without worying too much about form, and then come back to Level 4 Day3?)

Week B3

Conference/Vacation/Break/Recovery

Monday, June 13, 2016

I beat Level 2 last Friday night.

 

I didn't really need a recovery week, but I took a trip to NYC for the annual conference of the North American Passive House Network. Both my wife and I went (she's the Certified Passive House designer of our family unit) and we tacked on a few extra days before and after the conference.

Week B2

SimpleFit, Level 2, Day 1

Monday, June 6, 2016

As many rounds as possible (AMRAP), in 20 minutes, of:

1. 1 Pull-Up
2. 3 Push-Ups
3. 4 Air Squats

Result

Rounds: 27  (44.4 s/round)
Reps: 216 (5.6 s/rep)

I beat Level 1, Day 3 on Saturday, so I moved up to Level 2, this week. I had no trouble with the pull-ups. This makes sense as there is still only one rep per round and I did fewer rounds this week, because…the push-ups were really tough.

I am working hard to keep my elbows in, and it makes push-ups much harder. I went to fall-on-my-face failure on the push-ups.

SimpleFit, Level 2, Day 2

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Level 2, Day 2 consists of 5 rounds of:

1. 3 Pull-Ups
2. 8 Push-Ups
3. 13 Squats 

Time

• Round 1: 39s
• Round 2: 35s
• Round 3: 37s
• Round 4: 35s
• Round 5: 40s 

Total: 03m04s

SimpleFit, Level 2, Day 3

Friday, June 10, 2016

Level 2, Day 3 consists of 1 round of:

1. 13 Pull-Ups (7-3-3)
2. 26 Push-Ups (13-6-3-2-2)
3. 26 Squats (26)

Time: 03m09s

And with that, I move up to Level 3.

Week B1

I am numbering the weeks of this log with the prefix “B” because this is my second time getting fit. (If I had known I would fall off the fitness wagon, I would have prefixed the weeks of my first log with “A”. On the other hand, if I had known I would stick with it for four years, then neglect it for almost as long, I don’t know if I would have started in the first place.)

SimpleFit, Level 1, Day 1

Monday, May 30, 2016

As many rounds as possible (AMRAP), in 20 minutes, of:

1. 1 Pull-Up
2. 2 Push-Ups
3. 3 Air Squats

Rounds: 35

SimpleFit, Level 1, Day 2

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

The workout for Day 2 is five rounds of the three SimpleFit exercises. These are timed and done as quickly as possible (with good form). A rest interval of two minutes is presecribed between rounds. The total time exercising is recorded. (Resting time is not included.)

Level 1, Day 2 consists of 5 rounds of:

1. 2 Pull-Ups
2. 6 Push-Ups
3. 10 Squats 

Time

• Round 1: 30s
• Round 2: 28s
• Round 3: 28s
• Round 4: 28s
• Round 5: 29s 
•  
• Total: 2m23s

SimpleFit, Level 1, Day 3

Saturday, June 4, 2016

The workout for Day 3, is a single round of the three SimpleFit exercises, but with many more reps than the Days 1 and 2. They are done as quickly as possible (always with good form) and any rest taken (there's always rest!) is included in your time.

Level 1, Day 3 consists of 1 round of:

1. 10 Pull-Ups (6-3-1)
2. 21 Push-Ups (15-3-3)
3. 21 Squats (21)

(The numbers in parentheses show how I broke up the total number of reps into smaller sets.)

Time: 2m44s

The SimpleFit program has a ladder built right in. The number of reps increases as one moves up the ladder. (The number of rounds never changes.)

The time achieved on the Day 3 workout is the metric for moving up the ladder. If one's time is less than five minutes, one moves to the next level. My time today, bumps me to Level 2!

A Comparison

Left: 2012, after my last workout, after 227 weeks of commitment, before flunking out.
Right: Not quite four years later, on May 31, 2016, after my first workout of the reboot.

And this is from week 122, in July, 2010.
This is where I would like to be again.
I was on SimpleFit Level 7.
Hadn't had an umbilical hernia yet, either.

Fitness Reboot (Week B1) - SimpleFit, Level 1, Day 1

SimpleFit, Day 1, Level 1, is as many rounds as possible (AMRAP), in 20 minutes, of:

1. 1 Pull-Up
2. 2 Push-Ups
3. 3 Air Squats

How many rounds did I get done? (What was my “score”?)

35