Sam Lim is My Hero

Thursday September 11, 2014

Prehab

Banded Rack Stretch
10 Calf raises + Calf Stretch 30″
Active Hang >1min

Warm Up

20 Front Racked Barbell Lunges
5×5″ negative pullups or ring rows
15 Bird Dogs ea. Side w/ 3s Hold
25″ Low Bear Crawl ea. Direction (Forward, Back, Left, Right)
50 Unbroken Single Unders or 1min Max Effort Singles

Cool Down

Tabata Active Hollow Hang

Fitness

Strength

4 sets with 60 seconds rest between movements:

Front Squat x 4-3-2-1 reps (build up to your 1RM attempt)
Chest to Ring Rows x 6-8 reps
Double Under Practice x 60 seconds

Notes: For newer athletes, perform 3-4 reps for all rounds of front squat. For the ring rows, think about the positioning for chest to bar pullups. You can make this harder by elevating your feet on a box or bench and adding weight if needed. No swinging or arching the back, focus on control and a rigid midline. If you have been practicing singles on the double unders for a long time now, maybe try some double unders today! Review our double under progression HERE.

Conditioning

Two rounds for total time:

400 meter Row
30 Pushups or Handstand Pushups
20 Toes to Bar or Vups
100′ Bear Crawl

Rest 2 minutes between rounds

Notes: Scale the pushups to allow for quality movement and range of motion. HSPU may be kipping. Score is total time including the rest.

Advanced – Active Recovery Day!

Three sets of:

Swim 50 Meters
Rest 30 seconds

Two sets of:

Swim 100 Meters
Rest 60 seconds

One set of:

Swim 200 Meters
Rest 2 minutes

Two sets of:

Swim 100 Meters
Rest 60 seconds

Three sets of:

Swim 50 Meters
Rest 30 seconds

Mobility and Maintenance:

Choose 1-2 Thoracic Mobility Drills and spend 5-10 minutes with them
Choose 2-3 Lower Body Mobility Drills and spend 10-12 minutes with them
Choose 1-2 Upper Extremity Mobility Drills and spend 5-10 minutes with them.

– AND/OR –

Body work from a licensed body worker (ART, Graston, acupuncture, etc…)

I have been seeing a Rolfer weekly and have seen measurable improvement in the mobility of my structure and quality of movements (like running, airdyne, walking). I highly recommend finding a body worker with knowledge of both myofascia and human movement.

Inflammation Maintenance:

This could be a lot of things, but think in terms of compression, contrast baths, salt baths, castor oil packs, etc….

Don’t forget the role diet plays in inflammation! Drink your fish oil and eat your veggies. I have also found EMS (electro muscular stimulation) to be quite effective as well.

Nutrition Preparation:

Ensure that you have quality foods prepared in the appropriate quantities to fuel your efforts for the remainder of the week.

A slow cooker is key to making sure you have plenty of good foods (especially meat) convenient with little effort. You can get 7 quart hamilton beach models on amazon for about $35. If you struggle with your nutrition or planning for the week, set up an appointment with me for help.

Mental Restoration:

Different for everyone – could be meditation or could be gathering with friends; the key is to engage in activities that make your life full and help you recharge your batteries.

Every time Sam Lim finishes a work out, a sweat angel gets its wings. If you’ve ever had a class with Sam, you know that when the conditioning is over Sam will drop to the ground dramatically…and he sure as hell earned it every time. When I first met Sam, he was just under 300lbs, and had a determination to change that I rarely see in an athlete. The type of determination that makes you want to help because you know your advice will not fall on deaf ears.

Sam attended a nutrition seminar with Diso and I at the beginning of 2014, and approached us with a ton of questions. He took the answers and ran with them (on his own) with great success. In the time since then I’ve seen Sam pull off a number of firsts, including (most memorably) his first pullup. Seeing the look on his face after that achievement is exactly why I love to coach, so thank you Sam for being such a driven and inspirational individual. Here is his side of the transformation story!

Before I moved to LA I used to be 350 lbs. smoked a pack of cigarettes a day and drank a great deal as well. I was slowly killing myself and the sad part about it was that I knew I was killing myself. I needed to change but did not put any effort into doing so. Until my best friends convinced me to get off my ass and make the move from GA to CA. Since the move I gave up smoking, drinking heavily, and I started to exercise because I knew that if I wanted to start a new life, I need to be a better me.

Fast forward 2 years. I have tried many exercises during that time and only managed to lose 50 lbs and no where close to where I wanted to be. I have been actively doing crossfit for 6 months and I have lost 52 lbs and dropped 2 waist sizes. I can honestly say, Crossfit has change my life.

So how has Crossfit changed my life? I can write a book going into the details but I will just list only a couple.

– I was able to join a community where people do not judge on how poorly I do, but rather help and inspire me to get better. In return for that help and inspiration I give everything I have to the workout. So everyday I get better physically.

– As I started to get better physically, I also started to feel better emotionally and mentally. I have become more positive and more confident. I wake up every morning not dreading about how bad my day will be but instead I think “Bring it”

Paradiso Crossfit helped me change my life. It’s a place where you are welcomed as a friend, colleague, teammate, and family. If you are looking to do crossfit you I can promise you will meet some of the best people in one of the best communities in the world and when you start this new journey, I highly recommend making Paradiso Crossfit your first step.