Day 9, and I Get a Taste of What I'm Getting Into

Day 9, and today I did a bit of a workout to simulate what I would be experiencing in the 300 Workout.

Ready to see what I did?  Here we go:
***Density Pull ups: 6 pull ups on the minute for 21 minutes
***Density Deadlifts: 5 deadlifts @ 150 pounds on the minute for 21 minutes

Then I did this circuit 8 times through; 30 seconds per exercise; 10 seconds rest in between each; no rest:
***Decline Pushup
***Jump Tuck
***Leg Thrust
***Kettlebell Floor Press (Right Arm) @ 35 pounds
***Kettlebell Floor Press (Left Arm) @ 35 pounds
Then finish off with:
***Superset: 5 Ab Rollouts with 10 TRX Suspended Crunch: 3 times through


Thoughts:
Density Pull Ups: I decided to keep the same amount of pull ups per minute that I did on day 5 to try and tame that wall some more (for those of you who haven't read about my description of The Wall, click here).  That being said, I greeted that wall again, as if you would greet an old friend.  I struggled a bit, to be sure, but I took down some of that wall in the process, then did an extra set of pull ups, just to show the wall that It would not conquer me, but that I would conquer It.
Density Deadlift: I kept the 150 pounds and added another repetition from day 5.  And let me tell you, it was worth it.  The Wall kept creeping in, but each time I lifted that bar of weights, put it down, then came back for more, It just kept creeping away from me.  Take that!
Circuit: this was the first real test of whether or not I could handle the 300 Workout.  I'm not talking about lifting the weight or completing the repetitions; I'm talking about one of the most important (and often most overlooked) aspect of any sport, or any aspect of life: pacing.  The whole point of completing the repetitions are to keep a constant speed, while slowly upping your tempo so that you are able to give it all that you got at the end.  That's the key for any marathon race, triathlon, Tour De France...ask anyone who has done one, and they say that the mind is the most important training partner you can have.  The mind alone can dictate how much to give in what part of the race.  That was my goal; if I have a weakness, it's pacing.  Let's see how I did:
Decline Pushup: Doing this for 30 seconds?  Really easy.  Doing it as part of a circuit?  Not too bad.  Doing each exercise for 30 seconds with only 10 seconds rest AND 8 times straight through?  Now we're talking.  The key to keeping form was to slow down the pushups to a pace that I could manage, which I didn't do in the first two circuits.  As a result, I suffered through the next six, but managed to pull through with only 2 (very brief) bailouts to catch my breath.
Jump Tuck: Jump up as high as you can, then repeat for 30 seconds, keeping the jumps as fast as possible.  Sounds easy right?  The most deceptive things are.  After finishing 8 jumps as fast as I could, I still had 25 seconds to go.  That wasn't going to work.  So I decided to sacrifice quantity and go for quality.  I took my time, prepped myself for each jump, and focused on a soft landing.  Form comes first; everything else will come with persistence and commitment.
Leg Thrust: A great move for the rectus abdominus if done correctly.  Lift your legs a few inches off of the ground, then bring them up until your feet are pointing to the sky.  Then push up with your hips, and slowly lower them back down.  Let your legs come back down.  The most important part is to not lift your lower back off of the ground.  If you do, you'll risk injuring your lower back.  It's a great move, used for some full-range core movement.  
Kettlebell Floor Press: Like the dumbbell floor press (click here for a description on the floor press) except for two things: you're using one arm at a time, which taxes your obliques; and I was using my trusty 35 pound kettlebell as the weight.  Because the weight is off-center, I had to work my abs even harder.  Nice little functional workout.
Ab Rollout and TRX Crunch: A beautiful combination; you use an ab wheel and keep your abs stationary, then use them to pull yourself back.  The crunch?  Go into a suspended pushup position; bring your hips up and bring your knees into your chest; go back slowly to the first position.

Remember this bad boy?

Awe yeah, feel that burn!

It was a great workout, and a nice little mid-term before really experiencing the 300 Workout.  It ain't gonna be easy.  You want proof on how brutal it is?  Check out the sweat on my tank top after the workout: 

There's the front...

Ew, gross!