Matt Ragland

When I was a CrossFit regular, I hated doing dead lifts. The were heavy, slow, and too repetitive. I liked to go-go-go! My lack of discipline in the movement also led to a tweaked back on a few occasions. But that will happen on dead lift rep 73…

I also hated Thrusters and burpees, but in a different way. I embraced the movements because I know they challenge me. Thrusters and burpees are worth doing because they are full-body movements that challenge every muscle I have, calling on all my focus, strength, and discipline. The hate is actually more of a respectful nod to the movement, but we all know the moment when you look at a workout and say,

Argghhhh! I hate (fill in the blank)!

Want I want to challenge you to today is to think of the 3-4 movements you respectfully “hate”. Maybe they’re burpees, bicycle abs, table pulls, overhead press, lunges, or any of the other 40+ movements we’ve done this year. Choose them on the criteria of how much the movement challenges you to be your best on every single rep. At home workouts can be easier to do, but if you spend a little time with The Simple Gym, you’ll see how challenging body weight exercises can be.

When we challenge ourselves to be at our best each rep, we inevitably improve with each rep. Are we perfect? Perhaps we will have the perfect form on occasion, but we’re not pursuing perfection.

We are on the relentless pursuit of daily improvement

Because of this we have the courage to wake up and say,

Today I go a little further

Will you always achieve this? No, there will be days nothing goes right. There will be days when you lift less weight or run slower. But the courage to stand in the arena and dare greatly is a much grander way to live than simply shrugging to say “not me, I won’t challenge myself”.

The Workouts You Hate

For me, it looks like this:

5 Rounds for time

• 10 Burpees
• 10 Lunges (each leg)
• 10 Jump Squats
• 5 Man-makers (each arm)

Today you have the option of doing the workout I hate, or you can choose the workout you hate. Either way is fine. Pick 3-4 movements and complete 3-5 rounds.

Step in to the arena and live greatly.

One of our core beliefs at The Simple Gym is this:

You Can Find Fitness Anywhere

In part one of the canvas bag workouts, we put that belief to the test. You can use a simple canvas bag to add a level of weight resistance to your movements, and see your fitness goals demolished.

With a canvas bag.

When you consider the implications of this, you can begin to see other everyday items as possible exercise equipment. Gallons of water, bags of sand, or tree branches all suddenly have bigger implications, and there is a sense of play about your life.

It’s amazing 🙂

So here is part two of the canvas bag workout set. Enjoy!

Canvas Bag Workouts – Part 2

5 Rounds for time

• 10 Shoulder raises (each arm) – alternate front and side if desired
• 10 Tricep extensions
• 1 minute of Farmer Carry
• 30 seconds of Jump rope (no bag necessary)

In our move to Nashville, we live less than 5 miles from a Trader Joe’s, which is wonderful. Besides all the specialty food items we’ve been picking up, a very useful shopping bag has also been purchased. Case in point, the Trader Joe’s Canvas Shopping Tote. As I carried loads of groceries in, I noticed how little strain there was in the bag, supporting the heavy load of groceries with no issues.

If you’re like me, you enjoy making a game out of how many grocery bags you can bring in at once! As I carried more items in the bag, placed it over my shoulder, swung it in to the car, and other general abuse, I realized this was a new piece of workout equipment for The Simple Gym!

A skill we value here is the ability to take an everyday item or location and transform it into an opportunity to be active and have fun. I was so pumped to be thinking of ways I could use the canvas bag to add resistance to the movements or add brand new movements we haven’t introduced yet. For now, I have completed six. We will do three of the movements on Monday, and then three on Tuesday. Let’s get started! You can view the video below to see the explanation of each movement.  

Canvas Bag Workouts – Part 1

5 Rounds for Time

• 10 Squats
• 10 Overhead Press (each arm)
• 10 Bicep Curls
• 1 minute Run

If you have two bags you can use, you can work each arm in the press and curls to save time. 

For weights; you can use books, canned or bagged food, rocks, shoes, anything! Just remember to lift what is comfortable and functional for you!

One of the first things I do in the morning is get the coffee started. Admittedly, we are snobby coffee folks, and drink coffee in a pour-over method using a Chemex. While delicious, it’s not the most time effective solution in the morning, and usually I end up staring at the grounds trying to will them in to faster dripping.

It also means I have about 7 minutes of available time for doing something whilst waiting for the coffee to brew/steep/apparate. 

So, I created a little coffee time workout, a quick collection of movements that help wake me up, feel loose, and ready for the day. It’s like a small win or habit that allows the rest of the day to fall in to place. Enjoy!

Workout #133 – Coffee Time

Simply do as many rounds as possible before your coffee is finished brewing! To make this workout more “complete”, do it for 15 minutes, AMRAP-style.

Movements

• 10 Pushups
• 15 Squats
• 20 Mountain Climbers (10 each leg)
• Back Bend to Forward Fold
• 5 Table Pulls (optional)

To see a movement in action, select it from the playlist below. Have a great weekend, and yes there will be a workout on Labor Day!

Do this workout outside and use some equipment or unconventional tools you haven’t used before. Try to engage the mind in different ways to challenge yourself physically and mentally. Good luck!

4 Rounds for Time

Warm-up

Hip Mobility – 10 each leg

Mountain Climbers – 15 each leg

Movements

Box Jumps – 5/10/12

Overhead Press – 3/5/10

(if no dumbbells or kettlebell; use a rock, small log, heavy book, or water jug)

Table Pulls – 2/5/7

Numbers = Beginner/Intermediate/Beast Mode!

I hope you have a great day, get ready for a live video on Friday, we’ll see you then!