Experiment of One

As many of you already know, my last long run of the year was the JFK 50 Mile, which was held on November 22nd. I don't know about you, but I find it harder and harder to stay motivated to get out there and run in the sub-freezing winter temperatures and foul, icy weather. Since I have neither a treadmill nor a gym membership, the way that I'm going to tackle the problem of maintaining my aerobic fitness through the winter is by working with kettlebells, free exercise, and step-ups on my 18 inch-high bathtub. That will be my experiment, to try and maintain a base level of endurance such that I will be able to ramp up my running/rucking from 10 miles per week (mpw) to over 50 miles per week by late March for a 150 mile running event to be held in April 2009.

see www.mcnaughtonparktrailruns.com


I'm using a crossfit-type format that engages many muscle groups. I call today's WOD (workout-of-the-day) my Spartan Circuit. It consists of 10 exercises for 30 reps each and step-ups between exercises and/or reps, as needed, for a total of 300 reps and at least 300ft of vertical climb for time. I chose the following:

Flutter Kicks: 4-count for 30 reps, then with no rest, move onto the next exercise.

Mountain-Climber/Push-ups: This is an interesting variation of the push-up. I use the "Perfect Push-up" apparatus with a mountain climber after every push-up repetition. Try these with the twisting motion of the Perfect Push-up handles, for a killer core workout. As before, I moved onto the next exercise with no rest.

Leg-lifts: 4-count for 30 reps, no rest, move onto the next exercise.

35# double kettlebell Snatches: By this time, I could only do 20, so I had to do a set of 30 step-ups on the bathtub before coming back and for my final set of 10. I then went back and did another set of 30 step-ups before moving onto the 5th exercise.

35# double kettlebell Curls: Now I'm really sucking wind, and the toughest part is yet to come. I can only do another 20, which means I have to do another set of 30 step-ups. Back to the bathroom I go for another set of 30 steps before finishing up my 30 curls. To keep it moving, I go back and do another set of 30 steps before moving onto kettlebell Presses.

62# double kettlebell Presses: My legs are rubber at this point, but I pick up the k-bells and begin counting out presses. I can only knock out 10, so I'm back and forth between the kettlebells and the bathroom. I do three sets of 10 presses with 30 steps between sets.

62# double kettlebell Cleans: Things are not getting any better, but I pause only long enough to afford myself a sip of water. Once again, I can only count out 10 cleans, so I'm again religated to three sets of 10 reps with trips to the bathroom in between. So far, I'm at 240 steps and a total of 360ft of vertical climb.

62# single kettlebell Clean and Press: This variation on the movement is supposed to be continuous, five on one side, then five on the other. I could only do the first five on the right then the left. That meant three sets of five on each side followed by sets of 30 steps in between.

53# kettlebell Halos: Two sets of 30 with another set of 30 steps in between.

35# double kettlebell Ski Swings: These are just like the double basic swing except they're swung outside the thighs, instead of between the thighs. After 30 of these all I could do was just fall on the floor. Time: 46:50 and 520ft of vertical climb.