135 lbs hasn’t felt this heavy in quite some time. I cut down the rest time between exercises here to next to nothing — just long enough to catch a gasp of air — before hitting the next movement. If you look at the time-under-tension of each movement you’ll see that each “work” segment lasted approximately 10 seconds (give or take a couple), and I made a point to maintain this even toward the later sets. If I had to take an extra moment or two of rest to meet that criteria, so be it. And at some points, in fact, I had to do just that. Power burst, short rest, power burst, short rest, etc. — this was the affect I was shooting for; akin to sprint repeats with very short recovery between heats. Also of note: there’s nothing like fatigue to expose your weaknesses, and in my case, the bug-a-boo remains strength and stability levels in right leg. No telling how much power-production potential (and sprint speed) I’m leaving on the table by having a relatively (to my left leg) weak right leg. Just think of the power production lost on each right-leg stroke over a given distance. But hey, that’s what this is all about, right? Locate the relative weakness, address it properly, then identify and address the next.
4 rounds of the following — my version of “anaerobics“. Hmm; does this make me the Richard Simmons of anaerobics? Anyway, I then continued on seamlessly with the weighted dips, supersetting them with glute/ham raises.
snatch-grip high pull (from the hang): 135 x 7, 7, 7, 7
power clean (from the hang): 135 x 5, 5, 3, 3
single-leg step-up (left leg, front squat position): 135 x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
power clean (from the hang): 135 x 5, 5, 3, 3
single-leg step-up (right leg, front squat position): 135 x 5, 5, 4, 4
weighted dips: 45 x 7, 7; 70 x 7, 7; 80 x 6, 6, 6
GHR: 40lbs x 5, 5, 5
How is this different from a CrossFit workout? In maintaining primary emphasis on per-exercise (and per-rep) intensity vs the overall completion time of the combined rounds, I can preferentially target the anaerobic energy production system. This may seem a subtle difference — in practice, though, it makes all the difference in the world. Imagine how different the rep execution would be if my intent were on completing the entire workout in “record” time.
Moving on. If you have the opportunity, check out this interview with Novella Carpenter of Farm City “fame”. Farm City, by the way, is a fantastic read. Here’s a mini-review I did a while back as part of a larger post.
(From Chow.com)
Ah, what a dream. A couple of acres right-smack-dab downtown of a large, metro area (fixie riding!), 800 or so square feet of open warehouse space available for a “strong box”, some field/alley runs for sprints, drags and such. Hmmmmm….
Theory to Practice 
Thanks for the video. I am going to try some lettuce, chard, and kale this summer in a container. I’m not urban, more sub-urban, but I dream of at least having chickens for the eggs. I would love to have a real farm someday.
When we were in Greece (on a small island, Samos), we were blown away by how the restaurants got much of their food. Cars or trucks with a megaphone would slowly drive up and down the street advertising what they had – one fresh fish, the other produce. “Psiria, calamaria…” Every day. It was great. It’s like her goat milk story. And made for DELICIOUS meals.
I’m ready to kick-off a Paleo kibbutz — anyone game?
That would be “Psaria” — which is fish. Oh, and I would imagine that the villages still share animals for certain things, like perhaps milk. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could get a subdivision to turn into a fully functioning cooperative?
Keith,
How high is your stepup box? I’m 5’9″ and have tried from 12″-24″. I’m trying to figure the best height as it relates to cycling, esp climbing hills.
I use a box height that’s right about the same level as my tibial tuberosity, i.e., about an inch or so below the bottom of my kneecap.