Putting the Burpee to the Test

This past Memorial Day weekend, I had the awesome opportunity to go camping in the wilderness of Northwest Arkansas with a close buddy of mine. Over the course of 3 days, we hiked a little over 15 miles while carrying close to 50 lbs. of gear on our backs. If that wasn't a good way of putting my Burpee workouts to the test, then I don't know what is.

"I knew I shouldn't have brought that space heater..."

Not only was the trip a huge workout for my back and leg muscles, but by hiking to the tops of both "Spy Rock" and Hare Mountain, it also gave me the opportunity to see how my endurance has improved over the past 5 months.

Perched Atop "Spy Rock" on the Ozark Highlands Trail

Overall, I can say I'm happy with how my body performed carrying weight up and down the Ozark Highland Trail, but this trip also showed me there's still more work to be done. With 7 months left in the Burpee Experiment, I'm going to keep increasing my reps and work on lowering my times, while also continuing to add in new workouts each month.  

Since I spent Friday and Saturday hiking 15 miles, I'm going to cut myself some slack on missing those workouts this past week. Here are my results from Monday through Wednesday:

Date	Workout	Sets	Total Time (Morning)	Total Time (Night)	Beak Time Per Set	Total Burpees
5/21/2012	Ladder	13	14 min 06 sec	14 min 01 sec	50 sec	182
5/22/2012	Ladder	13	14 min 06 sec	14 min 01 sec	50 sec	182
5/23/2012	Ladder	13	14 min 06 sec	14 min 05 sec	50 sec	182
5/24/2012	REST
5/25/2012	Ladder		VACATION
5/26/2012	Ladder		VACATION
5/27/2012	REST

In honor of Memorial Day, I'll leave you with a short passage from a poem written about the Civil War, by Theodore O'Hara:

"Rest on embalmed and sainted dead!

Dear as the blood ye gave;

No impious footstep here shall tread

The herbage of your grave;

Nor shall your glory be forgot

While fame her record keeps,

For honor points the hallowed spot

Where valor proudly sleeps."