Threshold

Workout of the Day

Max rounds with :90 rest of:

20 unbroken pushups

20 unbroken situps

(complete all pushup sets before moving to situps)

I was pretty tired all day today, most likely the result of yesterday’s heavy workload. For today I wanted to work on unbroken sets. I think I break things up too much and therefore never train my threshold in muscular endurance. So I decided to take 50% of what I estimated would be my unbroken maximum of these two exercises and try to repeat it as many times as possible with a reasonable rest period between. Much of this was experimental since it was my first go around and I think the next time I do this it will be slightly different.

I was able to move through 10 sets of the pushups without failing. This isn’t to say the end sets weren’t tough, but I think this should be the point when you know that the number is too low. If you can make it through 10 sets with :90 seconds rest without missing, you need to do more reps. Next time I will try 25. Another option would be to go with less rest…maybe a minute between sets. Either way, the key is to keep ramping up the difficulty until you hit the threshold.

For the situps I was through 6 rounds when I ran out of time. Niels and I had commitments for dinner and were running a little late. I suspect I may have been able to get to 8 rounds but probably not much further. Because each repetition takes longer I find that the situps were more challenging—more total time under tension.

Tomorrow we are going to the North Sea for some active rest. Willemijn’s brother is an accomplished rower and has offered to take me out. Can’t wait.