Workouts – Ruck and Field Fitness

Continuum Part 1

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When I look in the mirror, I see that time does not slow down, nor does it stop. No matter how much we may wish for it to slow / stop. How often do you look in the mirror, and just wonder how much time has passed and what choices in life you have let slide thinking that tomorrow would be a better time to begin that new endeavor?

Well, health is not something that should ever be overlooked by anyone in any time frame for its decline is visible, and so are its effects on your body, and mind.

Movement, hydration, sleep, and nutrition (not in any specific order) are monumental for every human being. Healthy mind, healthy body, and you will benefit so much more than being idle and eating processed foods.

I’ve spent more time since the last time I wrote on this blog moving, resting, teaching, learning, and helping others reach their goals. How has it turned out? Heck, I’m blown away by it. Does it warrant me to post before and after pictures? Nope. The following will have to do.

Endurance athletes, with weights is what my crew should be labeled as. Neither the body builder, heavy weightlifter, endurance only athleticism is a type of mold or cookie cutter label they’d fit under or into. They are all around athletes and enjoying life because of it.

Work on them abs people! Six packs, Big bi’s, large tris, and the like is not what I hear when listening to them tell their tales of success, or work that needs to be accomplished to get to where they need to be for Goal success!

What I do hear is – “I ran without stopping”. “I was able to squat lower and did more reps too”. “I have never run that distance in my life before, much less entered any race prior to today!” “I am moving more weight, and not being broken down by it during the exercises, and I’m able to recover better because of it!”

“I ran today what you had programmed, and since I felt good with the amount of running previously, I decided to go a little further, and I ended up doing 4 more miles than I had planned for”.

These are some of the quotes I have received this past year. I am blown away by them (clients) with them putting in the work and trusting me with their health I am humbled. I’m very appreciative of each and every one of them.

They show up, I program, and we all get it done!

Here are some highlights – No certain order:

The pick up

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Starting is not where this post begins, it picks up where I left off sometime last year.

Well, one marriage, 1st grandchild, a few permanent departures (deaths) some expected, while others not so.

RuFF has grown, shrunk, and maintained an even keel through it all prior to Lockdowns and thereafter. Winter storms, snow showers, ice, slush, sand, and ice down into the nape of the neck at times felt oddly good just to cool off.

Now that the cold, dreariness of winter has passed us we of course in Chicagoland have two seasons. If you didn’t know already.

Season 1 is winter. Love it. The slowness of the days trying to get started, the gloominess of an early morning Ruck workout, dragging ourselves out of a warm bed to be exposed to a harsh and at times unforgiving wintry morning is always a battle. Internal at first, then external once we’re in process of moving during the WOD.

Season 2 – Construction and Heat waves. I still don’t understand how in the Midwest that is know for having four seasons we only get two in Chi-town? Either way we get through it with a lightheartedness. Joking about how it is an only Chicago thing.

It is at times I contemplate the facilities I was provided so must ask myself- am I doing this really for me or is it for a bigger purpose?

I always have a dual purpose response- Lead by example for they will follow so they can be guiding lights in their circles of influence be it work, home, church, etc.

Secondly, I do it to see the future my children have made for themselves. As adults they are making and have made decisions to be better individually and as a whole for the family, and/or community at large.

I do not live vicariously through my children. I want share their experiences they have when they have a chance to share with me. If they seek advice I want to be humble enough to have the capability and capacity to give it to them when the time arrives and they are ready to receive such advice.

It can be a learning experience for me also for communication to happen it starts when they are just babies so nurture and communicate with your little ones. So, when they reach out at that time they know that those lines have always been open.

In RuFF communication as a group, and per individual is constant, and at times very frequent. Some not so, but we make ourselves available for it. Communication, Communication, and Commitment is key. Honor them, and honor yourself.

Have you ever heard of the term -“sweat equity”?

It is an eye brow raiser for sure and the crew gets it when a new person joins us. At first getting into the group and groove / vibe of working out with a Ruck is something they have to get used to.

Thus you must earn your slot for everyone is welcoming, and supportive but they expect everyone to get down,dirty, sweaty, snotty (farmer John time), and ice/sand/water everywhere to be entered into the RuFF fold as a true member.

I believe there have been only two occasions where we all had the Oh, 💩 moment! Thunder and / or lightning while we’re in the middle of a workout. Yes, shorts bunching on the butt cheeks event.

A few of our outing s from last year to present from our Workouts/ Ruck outings.

Gallery 1 – Oct 20221

Gallery 2 – Oct cont’d

Gallery 3 -Nov-Dec ’21

Summer heat, sweaty mornings

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Amongst the throngs of people working out early mornings I’ve ascertained that not many really can be comfortable being outdoors for prolonged periods of time due to the weather. Yes, fair weather athletes come in all shapes and sizes.

Not judging at all since they give a good ribbing as well as take it. Once the frost clears, the grass is growing with flowers to boot. So the interest of doing work outdoors increases. The next step is getting them to commit to a schedule and then to commit to the varied weight loads and types of movement included while wearing a ruck.

We typically use the ruck as primary tool for resistance and exercises, and not limited to sliding down muddy slopes without much of a second thought since it’s a benefit added once we get rainfall (dry now), while working out at our favorite hill. Going up is tough, going down fun. So it’s a ying yang type of thing. We adapt accordingly.

Recognizing that every time there is a plan of action we must be fluid enough to adapt to a plethora of circumstances like construction here. Our staging area is beside an under pass where we get some of our work done. It’s being fixed and bricks, rock, and steel can fall on you so we’ve staged further away to keep our nuggets safe.

Then, there is bright sunshine! I love it. Early light means no headlamps, and no reflective clothing for our dreary dark workouts. Shorts, tanks, and bug spray has replaced much of our attire. Not complaining one bit. Except for areas near the river where we ruck the mosquitoes are huge! So, spraying bug juice will continue until we’re comfortable with the bugs everywhere. Then spray some more so you don’t get mugged by them.

Am I the only one that looks forward to a hot cup of coffee on a Hot day, with my favorite cigar to boot after a workout? What is your go to post workout in any temperature or time of year. I’ve been very consistent without losing a beat on endurance.

There is heat then there is-Humid heat! Sweating while thinking of working prior to getting to our workout location is something to ponder if you consider going outside in the summer. In the Midwest, more like Chitown there are two seasons, 1) Winter, + 2) Construction.

You fight the battle in front of you one at a time. Keep hydrated, and smile knowing you can do the things many more can only dream of doing. Complete each evolution, set, rep, workout in the knowledge the the discomfort you’re experiencing is temporary and the benefits outweigh your exertion. Heat subsides, sweat cools you down unless it gets in your eyes then it’s a blistering paragraph of expletives! Speaking from experience here.

Oh let’s not forget the little snags or cuts out in the field you get while crawling around like a mad person doing your thing. Searing hot burning is a threshold you need to learn to appreciate. Swear, scream, laugh, cry, just don’t quit! The high fives and funny post workout pics are well worth it.

I’ll leave you with this.

Get up, go outside and move. No matter how uncomfortable you become just keep moving. The chemistry involved between your ears is what we’re trying to change. Change it will, and for the better.

Below

1) 210611 – RED Friday partner WOD at our hill. Video included of my partner in crime and I

2) 210604 – RED Friday WOD at our Sandlot

Partner WOD 1 mile ruck, hill lunges, hill ruck, dive bombers, push ups, 400m run, bear-crawl ruck drag, candlesticks, and sweaty high fives!

Got pretty sweaty, scratched, itchy, and encouraging everyone to get it done!

Sandy WOD with squats, sit ups, bear crawl ruck drag, low crawl-ruck press, flutter kicks, leg levers, walking lunges, mtn climbers, hello dolly’s, 200m ruck run, prone flutter kicks, crab walk. Yes, hot, sweaty, and sand everywhere!

Get some!

See you out there! Hopefully with us soon!

Peeking out and getting warmer

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Well the season is changing once more to the tune of above 20F on a daily basis making things thaw, muddier and warmer. Well, if you’re like me where anything above 20F is warm then you’ll have plenty to be happy about that is except for the ice building up wherever there was snow.

Snow melt is cool, when it’s white. In the city it’s basically as dark and dirty, and festooned with garbage and road dirt. Who knows what else is in there, but enough to state that it is going away. I can safely say that wearing a windbreaker over a 1st layer of wool to workout in 25F weather is not unheard of since you’re shivering until you begin to move then you want that shell off also.

How in the world can people function wearing so much on their bodies while working out outside and feeling ok with 3+ layers on them is beyond my comfort zone, but hey they’re getting it done just the same. I heat up fairly fast once I start moving without really sweating under 15min of work. I have to really put out a lot of Jules to make me sweat plenty and at times the work at hand has me perspiring so much so that I can resemble a steam pipe at times. Funny sight to see steam rising off my body like i was doused with water and then unzip my shell and it’s like the steam pipe sprung a little leak.

With snot shots (farmer john’s) coming on a little more frequent when expending a lot of effort I find myself making sure the wind is always in my favor and not against me when I do them. I’ve seen may runners have a bad day when performing a snot shot (farmer john = holding down one nostril while blowing out snot from the opposite side and repeating the process on the other one) when it blows onto their forearm while performing such act is hilarious. I can state that I have not had that happen ever! Ha! Right, it’s happened to the most experienced of us all and it’s embarrassing but funny as hell also.

Enough about the snot shots. Let’s get to the sunnier days for training. Our training days had become a – ‘get out of the car, run to meeting area, get orientation, start workout, finish workout, take pics, and get the hell back into cars to warmup and head home’ affairs. There were days when it was so cold just waiting to start that jumping up and down became a constant warm up start of our warmup itself. Ever felt so cold that air would not want to come out of your mouth because it liked being warm inside you? Yeah, that happened on multiple occasions. Yet, here we are happy to state that we have made it to March!

March in the Midwest means different things to us than the rest of the country. Why? Well, we can expect at least more below freezing days regardless of what calendar day it is. We can expect more snow, and dreary days to come. It is what it is in the Midwest. Our winters can last longer than the calendar spring states. To which we just put on our ‘don’t give a F!’ Face, and attitude to continue doing what we do best. Live, Love, and Laugh at the changing climate that the season(s) throw at us to make us formidable individuals to face adversity with less angst.

Keeping things on an even keel makes things manageable and your stress levels low. Although we were pretty fed up with the snow here since we had no where to put it. All of the shoveling done within one week I had a stack of snow I shoveled to 1m/3Ft height and no place to turn safely out of my driveway on occasion. Helping others dig out really didn’t phase me due to my fitness, but man you’re going to really consider wearing the right clothes just to shovel since once again it must be stated that Cotton is NOT good for chores involving outdoors activities that require movement aside from just walking to the car.

Hydration on days like those mentioned above really is a must. Have you ever heard of anyone sweating while swimming? You’re not going to, but you do sweat and you need to hydrate. Electrolytes are a key, and you do need to make sure you get a balanced intake. Where can you get such items? You can Google electrolyte drinks, and you should choose a drink that should not have a LOT of SUGAR! Do yourself a favor and do your research since there is an unlimited amount of information on said drinks in the market. Be self sufficient and proficient on said subject matter since your health is at the forefront of your intake of electrolytes and the benefits you can have due to your intake.

I’ll leave you with this – make the time to get out in the sun. It’s coming out earlier and staying out longer. Walk, run, fast or slow. Get out and get your Vitamin D! Increase your potency. Be a healthier version of your previous self. Workout outdoors, enjoy nature even if it’s in an urban parkway. Find time to commune with Nature without distractions.

Be a better you, and when you can share that experience do so to enrich others with the benefits of a healthier lifestyle. It’s free to choose and be healthy. Lifestyles take time. One step, one min, hour, day, month, year at a time.

See you out there,

Gio

Icy, wintry, cold WOD with the RuFF crew in the early morning.