I want to start off by saying how excited I am to write this post. For a while, I felt like I was just coasting through life. I was not living a bad life, just one that I felt had nothing exciting happening. I have a wife, house, and started a business, but still I felt like nothing exciting was going on. Within the past month, especially the last week, things have gotten much more admirable for my family.
First I want to say thank you to CrossFit Eternal. This place has been a blessing to us. We have made so many new friends that we feel like we have known forever. I am being challenged again, which really helps me keep myself occupied. After one month at Eternal, I have officially been invited to participate as a dragon slayer. The dragon slayers are a group of comprised of people with the talent and admiration to make it to the CrossFit games. I currently train with the #4 female, #18 male and #29 male finishers in the 2012 Mid Atlantic Region. This is a great opportunity for me to push myself and train with the best of the best in the Charlotte area. It brings me back to my days as a college football player competing to be the best I can be every day.
The next thing that has sprung out of nowhere is the growth of my business. I created RAW Performance because I have a passion for living a healthy lifestyle. I know not all people have the money, time, knowledge ect.. to get the supplements and weightlifting equipment that they need to continue living a healthy life. I wanted to be able to supply people with these items at a much more reasonable price than the big chain stores. I like to get to know my customers and make new friends while seeing them exceed their own personal goals. In the last month my business has far surpassed any expectations I have had for it. I have made a lot of great contacts and even better friends through the growth of my business. Hopefully this continues to get bigger, and I can continue to change the lives of my customers.
Lastly, as many of you may know, my wife and I have been waiting on a house that was on short sale since the beginning of March. The more I thought about the house, the more reservations I had about it. It would soon need a new roof, new AC, new kitchen, and many more renovation that I did not want to think about. I never said too much because my wife was so excited about the house. By chance and boredom, I was surfing the internet this week and found some houses in a location that we were interested in. I found a brand new house that had just been built, cheaper than the house we were waiting on, and just about the same size. With it being a new house, all of the renovations we would have to make, were already done. We would be paying less, and ready to move in. I called the Realtor, and we looked at the house that night. Both of us fell in love with the house, and we found ourselves signing the paperwork on a brand new house the next morning. Everything should go through smoothly, and we should expect to be moving in mid-August. We can not wait to have the space to have our friends over and move around. This is another blessing, because this week we also found out that Tiffany made a 160 on her LSAT and should be a shoe in to get into Charlotte School of Law.
We have to stay humble, but this past month has been one of the best in my life. So many great things have been happening to us. I am glad that all of our hard work has paid off, and we are able to do the things that make us happy. I hope we are able to continue fulfilling all of our dreams and make those around us better people as well.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Thursday, June 21, 2012
6/21/12 BIG Strength Day
Today was a huge focus on strength. We had no met-cons, no on the minute stuff, just lifting heavy weight. These are usually my favorite days, but now I want to work on stuff I am bad at (sounds crazy, but I may actually want to go run a mile or something).
Snatch- Low Hang- 10x1
I felt very good on this today and did not fail at any reps. I worked up to 215 on my last set. If you recall, that was my max last week. So far at Eternal, I have gone up 25 pounds on this lift, in about 3 weeks. My goal is to hit 250 by the end of July.
Squat- 6x3
385, 385, 395, 395, 405,415(2)
I started out not feeling the squat today, but after a minor coaching tip and stance change, I felt better. I had my feet too wide apart which hindered my ability to track my knees outside of my toes. I narrowed my base, and it fixed a lot of the minor flaws and problems I was experiencing.
Strict Press- 5x3
135, 155, 165, 170, 180
I HATE press. I really don't like doing anything holding weight overhead, because my shoulders are too tight which makes it hard for me. I did OK at this, it just hurts. My last rep at 180 may have been a slight push press, but not huge.
Snatch- Low Hang- 10x1
I felt very good on this today and did not fail at any reps. I worked up to 215 on my last set. If you recall, that was my max last week. So far at Eternal, I have gone up 25 pounds on this lift, in about 3 weeks. My goal is to hit 250 by the end of July.
Squat- 6x3
385, 385, 395, 395, 405,415(2)
I started out not feeling the squat today, but after a minor coaching tip and stance change, I felt better. I had my feet too wide apart which hindered my ability to track my knees outside of my toes. I narrowed my base, and it fixed a lot of the minor flaws and problems I was experiencing.
Strict Press- 5x3
135, 155, 165, 170, 180
I HATE press. I really don't like doing anything holding weight overhead, because my shoulders are too tight which makes it hard for me. I did OK at this, it just hurts. My last rep at 180 may have been a slight push press, but not huge.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
6/19/12
Went to Eternal early today. I prefer to get my work done in the morning, because if I want to do anything extra I can at night.
Strength:
Squat Clean 6x2
225, 245, 265, 280, 295, 305 (only got 1)
I have never done heavy reps on clean so 295 twice is probably a PR. I hit the first rep really easy every time, but the second one was always the tough one.
Skill work:
3 rounds not for time
5 Muscle ups
16 Pistols
5 HSPU (strict)
I only did 2 rounds of this because I wanted to start on my cleans. HSPU's are very tough for me still and I need to continue working that movement. Pistols felt great and muscle ups were OK. I need to try and practice a false grip and maintaining it through the movement. I think it will help me in the long run.
WOD:
3 Rounds
1min ME Squat Cleans 135
1min ME pullups
1min ME Push Press
1min ME situps
1min REST
I got 215 total. This was much easier than I expected when I saw it on paper. The squat cleans wee easy, but just take a lot of time. I would just butterfly as many pullups I can get without dropping off, so I could prepare for the push press because I knew it would be a strength. Mush press went well, and abmats were basically another 1 min rest. I am pleased with my score, but still need to work on maintaining my speed throughout the entire workout.
Strength:
Squat Clean 6x2
225, 245, 265, 280, 295, 305 (only got 1)
I have never done heavy reps on clean so 295 twice is probably a PR. I hit the first rep really easy every time, but the second one was always the tough one.
Skill work:
3 rounds not for time
5 Muscle ups
16 Pistols
5 HSPU (strict)
I only did 2 rounds of this because I wanted to start on my cleans. HSPU's are very tough for me still and I need to continue working that movement. Pistols felt great and muscle ups were OK. I need to try and practice a false grip and maintaining it through the movement. I think it will help me in the long run.
WOD:
3 Rounds
1min ME Squat Cleans 135
1min ME pullups
1min ME Push Press
1min ME situps
1min REST
I got 215 total. This was much easier than I expected when I saw it on paper. The squat cleans wee easy, but just take a lot of time. I would just butterfly as many pullups I can get without dropping off, so I could prepare for the push press because I knew it would be a strength. Mush press went well, and abmats were basically another 1 min rest. I am pleased with my score, but still need to work on maintaining my speed throughout the entire workout.
Monday, June 18, 2012
6/18/12
This month the dragon slayers are focusing more on improving strength rather than working conditioning. Next month we are switching gears and hammering out Met-Cons. I need improvement at everything but, since I have vastly improved my olympic lifting.
Strength:
7x1 Snatch
Then
5x2 Snatch @85%
Then
6x2 Push Press & Weighted Pullups
For the second straight week, I PR'd my snatch by 10 pounds. I hit 225 this week relatively easy. I failed 235, but I feel like I can hit it next week. The 5x2 was at 190, and I did not fail once. With the coaching I have gotten I am hitting weights that were my PR last month. I am very happy with these improvements.
My shoulders are by far my weakest part of my body and I feel like it holds me back on a couple things. I finished my last set of Push Press at 225 only once. I just hurts holding the weight over my head. I think it is due to a flexibility issue, so I will need to continue to improve my shoulder mobility.
Midline:
4 Rounds
25 Toes 2 Bar
25 Back extensions
I went to sets of 15 on the last 2 rounds. My core is not as strong as it should be and I need to continue to improve that.
Conditioning:
10x10 yard sprints (5-10 sec rest)
I needed some sort of conditioning so I decided to run a couple sprints after football practice. This was very easy, and I may extend it to 20 yards next week.
Coach Josh posted a very good blog today about trying to better yourself and improve everyday. Everybody can improve on something everyday. The goal is to be the best you can, and win everything you can, but the bigger goal is to improve upon your own records and times everyday. I am glad I have a coach that pushes me to get better everyday. He knows what each of his athletes need to improve on, and he helps us attack our weaknesses (ya I ran a 5k on Saturday...). I feel like I am right where I should be, and if I keep working hard, the results will continue to come.
Strength:
7x1 Snatch
Then
5x2 Snatch @85%
Then
6x2 Push Press & Weighted Pullups
For the second straight week, I PR'd my snatch by 10 pounds. I hit 225 this week relatively easy. I failed 235, but I feel like I can hit it next week. The 5x2 was at 190, and I did not fail once. With the coaching I have gotten I am hitting weights that were my PR last month. I am very happy with these improvements.
My shoulders are by far my weakest part of my body and I feel like it holds me back on a couple things. I finished my last set of Push Press at 225 only once. I just hurts holding the weight over my head. I think it is due to a flexibility issue, so I will need to continue to improve my shoulder mobility.
Midline:
4 Rounds
25 Toes 2 Bar
25 Back extensions
I went to sets of 15 on the last 2 rounds. My core is not as strong as it should be and I need to continue to improve that.
Conditioning:
10x10 yard sprints (5-10 sec rest)
I needed some sort of conditioning so I decided to run a couple sprints after football practice. This was very easy, and I may extend it to 20 yards next week.
Coach Josh posted a very good blog today about trying to better yourself and improve everyday. Everybody can improve on something everyday. The goal is to be the best you can, and win everything you can, but the bigger goal is to improve upon your own records and times everyday. I am glad I have a coach that pushes me to get better everyday. He knows what each of his athletes need to improve on, and he helps us attack our weaknesses (ya I ran a 5k on Saturday...). I feel like I am right where I should be, and if I keep working hard, the results will continue to come.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
6/12/12
I got to catch up from yesterday so here it is.
6/11/12
Strength:
6x3- Weighted Dips and Weighted Pullups
Dips were at 95# and pullups were at 45#. I need to continue to work on pullups since they are much harder for me.
WOD:
"Filthy 50" (25min. time cap)
I tried pacing myself through the beginning half to try and have some energy for the end. The hardest for me were the knees to elbows and the burpees. At the 25min. cap, I finished 35 burpees. I probably would have been around the 28min. timeframe if I would have finished. It wasn't terrible, I just need to work on moving through everything and limiting my rest time.
After, I decided to try a new world record (LOL) for a 500m row. My previous PR was 1:25, but it was a couple of months ago. I started out with a 1:18 pace through the first 250, but began to slow and was down to a 1:25 at the end. I finished in 1:21 a PR, but I layed on the floor for 10 minutes, then couldn't walk for another 20. A 500m row all-out is one of the hardest things I have ever done.
6/12/12
Skill:
3rounds not for time
5 Muscle ups, 16 pistols, 8 ring handstand pushups (another LOL)
Muscle ups and pistols were easy, I was able to flip upside down, but could not do a push up, so I did 5 strict HSPU's for the final round.
Strength:
5x3 Deadlift
365, 385, 405, 425, 455 PR
I can't remember my last 3RM on deadlift, but I know it was not anywhere close to 455. I kept great form through 425, but 455 got shaky at the end.
WOD:
4x500m Row 2 min rest between efforts
1:33, 1:35, 1:40, 1:39
This was very hard after the deadlifts and my world record attempt from the day before (still LOL). The 3rd and 4th set were tough and I did not have too much left in me after that.
Coach Josh told me I need to work my met-con this month and try to improve my times on the workouts, especially on the bodyweight stuff. My Olympic lifting has been improving quite a bit, so I hope we will do some clean and jerk or snatch tomorrow to try and set another PR for the third day in a row.
6/11/12
Strength:
6x3- Weighted Dips and Weighted Pullups
Dips were at 95# and pullups were at 45#. I need to continue to work on pullups since they are much harder for me.
WOD:
"Filthy 50" (25min. time cap)
I tried pacing myself through the beginning half to try and have some energy for the end. The hardest for me were the knees to elbows and the burpees. At the 25min. cap, I finished 35 burpees. I probably would have been around the 28min. timeframe if I would have finished. It wasn't terrible, I just need to work on moving through everything and limiting my rest time.
After, I decided to try a new world record (LOL) for a 500m row. My previous PR was 1:25, but it was a couple of months ago. I started out with a 1:18 pace through the first 250, but began to slow and was down to a 1:25 at the end. I finished in 1:21 a PR, but I layed on the floor for 10 minutes, then couldn't walk for another 20. A 500m row all-out is one of the hardest things I have ever done.
6/12/12
Skill:
3rounds not for time
5 Muscle ups, 16 pistols, 8 ring handstand pushups (another LOL)
Muscle ups and pistols were easy, I was able to flip upside down, but could not do a push up, so I did 5 strict HSPU's for the final round.
Strength:
5x3 Deadlift
365, 385, 405, 425, 455 PR
I can't remember my last 3RM on deadlift, but I know it was not anywhere close to 455. I kept great form through 425, but 455 got shaky at the end.
WOD:
4x500m Row 2 min rest between efforts
1:33, 1:35, 1:40, 1:39
This was very hard after the deadlifts and my world record attempt from the day before (still LOL). The 3rd and 4th set were tough and I did not have too much left in me after that.
Coach Josh told me I need to work my met-con this month and try to improve my times on the workouts, especially on the bodyweight stuff. My Olympic lifting has been improving quite a bit, so I hope we will do some clean and jerk or snatch tomorrow to try and set another PR for the third day in a row.
Friday, June 8, 2012
6/7/12- BURPEES!
Another great day with great friends. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to meet some of the people that I have met over the past week. Coach Josh may possibly be the best pure weightlifting coach I have ever had in my life- this includes my years playing college football. Last night I learned more about the squat in 45 minutes that I have learned in my 24 years of existence. I am very excited to see where this will take me.
Strength:
5x3 split jerk
205, 215, 225, 245, 255 (2)
I have never done multiple reps at a heavy weight on jerk, I have only done 1 rep sets. I feel like the hardest part of the lift was lowering the weight back to your chest. I would feel great on the first rep, then struggle on 2 and 3- something I will have to practice. My form has improved drastically with just 3 days of coaching, and I feel like everything Josh said has clicked.
WOD:
100 burpees for time
YUCK!!!!! I hate burpees and feel like I am pretty slow at them, but actually this wasn't as bad as I thought. I started out at a nice smooth pace and was at 23 after the first minute. My weakness is to just stop even though I could keep moving, and I did that a couple times around #37, #50, #75, and #90 (why 90, no freaking idea...I had 10 more- GO!!!!) Anyway, finished in 6:16. In the 7 minutes of burpees during the open, I got 93, so this was a hug improvement on something that I never practice. Tiffany absolutely shattered her record with finishing in 6:55.
Extra:
4x400m run
3min rest in between
I kept them all about the same speed- the legs were pretty tired from the lunges the day before and the burpees. 1:24, 1:27, 1:32, 1:23.
Strength:
5x3 split jerk
205, 215, 225, 245, 255 (2)
I have never done multiple reps at a heavy weight on jerk, I have only done 1 rep sets. I feel like the hardest part of the lift was lowering the weight back to your chest. I would feel great on the first rep, then struggle on 2 and 3- something I will have to practice. My form has improved drastically with just 3 days of coaching, and I feel like everything Josh said has clicked.
WOD:
100 burpees for time
YUCK!!!!! I hate burpees and feel like I am pretty slow at them, but actually this wasn't as bad as I thought. I started out at a nice smooth pace and was at 23 after the first minute. My weakness is to just stop even though I could keep moving, and I did that a couple times around #37, #50, #75, and #90 (why 90, no freaking idea...I had 10 more- GO!!!!) Anyway, finished in 6:16. In the 7 minutes of burpees during the open, I got 93, so this was a hug improvement on something that I never practice. Tiffany absolutely shattered her record with finishing in 6:55.
Extra:
4x400m run
3min rest in between
I kept them all about the same speed- the legs were pretty tired from the lunges the day before and the burpees. 1:24, 1:27, 1:32, 1:23.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
6/6/12
A little late with this post, but we went over to some new-found friends house last night and I did not have time to comment on yesterday's work.
Strength:
7x1 Snatch
135,155,175,185,195,205,215PR, 230(f)(lol more about this later)
Snatch felt very good. The coaching at Eternal is amazing and helped me PR on my first snatch day there. 215 went up very easy and I should have been about to get 225 no problem. I took the 5 off one side and left it on the other, so I was lop-sided with 230 on the bar and still almost hit it. Next week I should PR again at 225.
WOD:
2 Rounds
4min AMRAP
10 Wallball
10 HR pushups
2min Rest
4min AMRAP
10 KB Swings 2pood
10 walking lunges (really 20)
The first AMRAP was much easier and quicker than the second. Swinging the "big daddy" Kettlebell is on another level from what I am used to and it slows me down quite a bit. Wall balls were easy and pushups weren't terrible. I still think I left a little on the table.
1st part- 9 rounds+6 wallball
2nd part- 6 rounds+2 swings
Already, after only 3 days, we have met some great people at eternal. Everybody is very welcoming and it is just an overall feel-good atmosphere.We went over to Sean and Mona Catto's beautiful house last night and had an absolutely amazing time. They are just 2 flat out great people. We are excited to continue to meet new folks day in and day out.
Strength:
7x1 Snatch
135,155,175,185,195,205,215PR, 230(f)(lol more about this later)
Snatch felt very good. The coaching at Eternal is amazing and helped me PR on my first snatch day there. 215 went up very easy and I should have been about to get 225 no problem. I took the 5 off one side and left it on the other, so I was lop-sided with 230 on the bar and still almost hit it. Next week I should PR again at 225.
WOD:
2 Rounds
4min AMRAP
10 Wallball
10 HR pushups
2min Rest
4min AMRAP
10 KB Swings 2pood
10 walking lunges (really 20)
The first AMRAP was much easier and quicker than the second. Swinging the "big daddy" Kettlebell is on another level from what I am used to and it slows me down quite a bit. Wall balls were easy and pushups weren't terrible. I still think I left a little on the table.
1st part- 9 rounds+6 wallball
2nd part- 6 rounds+2 swings
Already, after only 3 days, we have met some great people at eternal. Everybody is very welcoming and it is just an overall feel-good atmosphere.We went over to Sean and Mona Catto's beautiful house last night and had an absolutely amazing time. They are just 2 flat out great people. We are excited to continue to meet new folks day in and day out.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
6/5/12
First off, I want to start by saying that my supplement/ weightlifting equipment business RAW Performance is taking off. I am very excited about this because it is a passion of mine and i love helping people reach their health goals. I have now designed a new website to hopefully make things run more smoothly for the customer. Check out the new website at rawperformanceshop.com
As for CrossFit, I had another solid day. Eternal's programming is much more volume than I am used to, but I feel like I am adapting well. My body has felt pretty good, and I haven't been too sore.
Extra Work: 3 rounds not for time- 5 muscle ups, 16 pistols, and HSPU's (I just did max effort each time since I am not very good at these yet- 6,5,4)
This was a good little warm up and skill work session. Muscle Ups were very easy, and 5 reps consecutively were not bad at all. This may be a PR since I have never done too many multiple reps in a row. Pistols were very easy and done quickly. HSPU's were strict which made it tougher. Considering I learned how to do these about a month ago, I have improved drastically.
Strength:
Squat 3x9 Tempo 3 down, explode up, no rest at the top
255, 275, 285
Normally I can knock out 315 for 9 no problem, but with the tempo of going down slow and no rest at the top, these were much harder. I need to practice moving through higher rep strength work and tempo work. These are some things that I never work on and need to practice.
WOD:
1000m row
THEN
21-15-9 Squat Clean/Box jump (135#/24")
I tried to pace myself through the row to save my legs for the squat cleans. I rowed a 3:30, but the set of 21 squat cleans were brutal. I did singles the whole time, but I would do three reps quickly then rest. I was very slow on the 21's and then moved a little better through 15's and didnt break up the 9's. This lets me know that I rested too much at the beginning and I need to work on moving better without resting. This will improve over time, and I feel like I am being pushed by the coaches much more than I am used to. Time: 14:46
As for CrossFit, I had another solid day. Eternal's programming is much more volume than I am used to, but I feel like I am adapting well. My body has felt pretty good, and I haven't been too sore.
Extra Work: 3 rounds not for time- 5 muscle ups, 16 pistols, and HSPU's (I just did max effort each time since I am not very good at these yet- 6,5,4)
This was a good little warm up and skill work session. Muscle Ups were very easy, and 5 reps consecutively were not bad at all. This may be a PR since I have never done too many multiple reps in a row. Pistols were very easy and done quickly. HSPU's were strict which made it tougher. Considering I learned how to do these about a month ago, I have improved drastically.
Strength:
Squat 3x9 Tempo 3 down, explode up, no rest at the top
255, 275, 285
Normally I can knock out 315 for 9 no problem, but with the tempo of going down slow and no rest at the top, these were much harder. I need to practice moving through higher rep strength work and tempo work. These are some things that I never work on and need to practice.
WOD:
1000m row
THEN
21-15-9 Squat Clean/Box jump (135#/24")
I tried to pace myself through the row to save my legs for the squat cleans. I rowed a 3:30, but the set of 21 squat cleans were brutal. I did singles the whole time, but I would do three reps quickly then rest. I was very slow on the 21's and then moved a little better through 15's and didnt break up the 9's. This lets me know that I rested too much at the beginning and I need to work on moving better without resting. This will improve over time, and I feel like I am being pushed by the coaches much more than I am used to. Time: 14:46
Monday, June 4, 2012
6/4/12
Absolutely awesome day! I am in love with where we are at, and the people there are even better. I feel like this is where we should have been from the beginning. I can tell that after a little training and coaching, I will be shattering PR's on a daily basis.
Strength:
Clean and Jerk-7x1
185,225,225,245,265,275(f),275PR
The clean was very easy, but the jerk is still what I need to work on. Josh is a phenomenal coach and he made things seem so simple. I think I still have 10-20 pounds left in the tank. My goal is to hit 300 by the end of July.
Clean and Jerk-3x3 80-85%
I used 225 for all the reps here, and this is when I really felt like this is where the jerk really started to click. I am very excited for the next clean and jerk day.
Met-Con-
100 double unders
50 pullups
25 Burpees
50 pullups
100 double unders
12:11 I started off very strong and was doing a pretty good job until about halfway through the burpees. The second set of pullups I had to break into sets of 5 and the last set of double unders I started off doing sets of 10. I could not feel the jump rope in my hands from like of grip/shoulders. I should have done a little better, but that is what practice is for. I had to do the met-con by myself because I got there early and I think that slowed me down slightly. Either way, it was a great day and I am excited to go destroy squats tomorrow.
Strength:
Clean and Jerk-7x1
185,225,225,245,265,275(f),275PR
The clean was very easy, but the jerk is still what I need to work on. Josh is a phenomenal coach and he made things seem so simple. I think I still have 10-20 pounds left in the tank. My goal is to hit 300 by the end of July.
Clean and Jerk-3x3 80-85%
I used 225 for all the reps here, and this is when I really felt like this is where the jerk really started to click. I am very excited for the next clean and jerk day.
Met-Con-
100 double unders
50 pullups
25 Burpees
50 pullups
100 double unders
12:11 I started off very strong and was doing a pretty good job until about halfway through the burpees. The second set of pullups I had to break into sets of 5 and the last set of double unders I started off doing sets of 10. I could not feel the jump rope in my hands from like of grip/shoulders. I should have done a little better, but that is what practice is for. I had to do the met-con by myself because I got there early and I think that slowed me down slightly. Either way, it was a great day and I am excited to go destroy squats tomorrow.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
6/3/12
Well, a lot has happened since my last post. I got in touch with Josh, the head coach at CrossFit Eternal talking to him about competition training. I went in and trained with his athletes that made it to regionals, or are very close. This group of people is called the dragon slayers lol. The work volume is very intense and very heavy. This is something I have been preparing for, and what my goal is for CrossFit.
Saturday-
Strength
5x5 back squat- I worked up to 335 in this, but my legs were a little sore from squatting the day before. I wish I could have done a little more, but it was a solid squat session.
We then practiced max distance handstand walk, which I PR'd big time with about 10 feet. I never do any sort of practice being upside down.
WOD-
20 min- Even Minutes-Push Press 155# 15reps, Odd minutes- Kettlebell swings 72# 15 reps. I was able to make it through 4 whole minutes. I have neve swang the 72# kettlebell, or done 155# on push press for multiple reps. I dropped down and for the rest of the time i did 5 push press and 8 kettlebell swings. This was very humbling, but exactly what I need.
After, we did some core strengthening- 25 GHD situps and 1min weighted plank holds, 5 rounds. This is another weakness of mine and Josh told me just to stick to 2 rounds.
I had a TON of fun there, working with an amazing coach and people that are like-minded. We all have the same goals and all pushed each other. The dragon slayers are a very tight nit group, and I feel very honored to be welcomed by them. So, as of tomorrow, we will be training at Crossfit Eternal in Charlotte. Tiffany was also very welcomed and told that she has a lot of potential and will be put on a competition type programming as well. We are very excited for this and can not wait to get started and see the results.
Saturday-
Strength
5x5 back squat- I worked up to 335 in this, but my legs were a little sore from squatting the day before. I wish I could have done a little more, but it was a solid squat session.
We then practiced max distance handstand walk, which I PR'd big time with about 10 feet. I never do any sort of practice being upside down.
WOD-
20 min- Even Minutes-Push Press 155# 15reps, Odd minutes- Kettlebell swings 72# 15 reps. I was able to make it through 4 whole minutes. I have neve swang the 72# kettlebell, or done 155# on push press for multiple reps. I dropped down and for the rest of the time i did 5 push press and 8 kettlebell swings. This was very humbling, but exactly what I need.
After, we did some core strengthening- 25 GHD situps and 1min weighted plank holds, 5 rounds. This is another weakness of mine and Josh told me just to stick to 2 rounds.
I had a TON of fun there, working with an amazing coach and people that are like-minded. We all have the same goals and all pushed each other. The dragon slayers are a very tight nit group, and I feel very honored to be welcomed by them. So, as of tomorrow, we will be training at Crossfit Eternal in Charlotte. Tiffany was also very welcomed and told that she has a lot of potential and will be put on a competition type programming as well. We are very excited for this and can not wait to get started and see the results.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
5/31/12
Today was a very long, but good day in the gym. I try to deadlift on Wednesday's and Crossfit Harrisburg had a heavy deadlift workout, so it was perfect. The WOD was:
You have 40 minutes to complete the following:
120 calories on the rower
40 Deadlift at 345#
80 Ring Pullups
I chose to do a 60 calorie row at the beginning and end, then do 10 rounds of 4 deadlift, and 8 pullups. I talked to some people this past weekend about the efficiency on the rower. This helped A LOT for saving energy. I was able to keep my pace around a 1:50 and my strokes per minute around 16. This is slower, but I used WAY less energy than I usually do. I finished in 38:06
Next, my team did Event 2 from regionals this year.
1000m Row
25 Pistols
15 Hang Clean at 225/135#
* Each team member must finish each movement before moving on to the next.
We finished in 23:06 which was a pretty good job. We did not all quite do it RX, but time-wise it was pretty good. I thought the hang cleans wouldn't be too bad, but after 2 WOD's it was very hard and slow. I think my sets went 5,2,1 (slipped) 3, 4. I dont think I pushed it as much as I could have, but it was still a good workout.
Tomorrow is REST! My shoulders need it, so I will be doing a lot of stretching and mobility.
You have 40 minutes to complete the following:
120 calories on the rower
40 Deadlift at 345#
80 Ring Pullups
I chose to do a 60 calorie row at the beginning and end, then do 10 rounds of 4 deadlift, and 8 pullups. I talked to some people this past weekend about the efficiency on the rower. This helped A LOT for saving energy. I was able to keep my pace around a 1:50 and my strokes per minute around 16. This is slower, but I used WAY less energy than I usually do. I finished in 38:06
Next, my team did Event 2 from regionals this year.
1000m Row
25 Pistols
15 Hang Clean at 225/135#
* Each team member must finish each movement before moving on to the next.
We finished in 23:06 which was a pretty good job. We did not all quite do it RX, but time-wise it was pretty good. I thought the hang cleans wouldn't be too bad, but after 2 WOD's it was very hard and slow. I think my sets went 5,2,1 (slipped) 3, 4. I dont think I pushed it as much as I could have, but it was still a good workout.
Tomorrow is REST! My shoulders need it, so I will be doing a lot of stretching and mobility.
5/30/12
I have been slacking lately by not posting in a couple of days. I will have a lot more time in the next couple weeks, and should be able to post a little more frequently on a regular basis. I will start by a little recap of what has been going on.
5/26/12
Murph- 66:15
With the combination of hand release pushups, a 25# weight vest, and the heat, I was a little slower than what I had hoped for.
5/27/12
Worked on snatch- got up to a PR of 195 power snatch
5/28/12
EMOM Clean and Jerk (push jerk) for 15 min. increasing weight every rep. I worked up to 275, which is a 30# push jerk PR and a PR on my clean and jerk. I wish I would have tried 285# because this went up very easily.
2008 games Final Workout- "Heavy Grace"
30 reps and 155# squat clean and jerk- 4:04. This my be the tightest my legs have ever felt after a workout. 4:04 would have been good enough for 3rd place in the 2008 games...
5/29/12
I tried to work up to a 1RM on snatch because I felt my form was getting better. Although my form has gotten exponentially better, if your shoulders are so sore/tight that you can't catch the weight above your head, it makes for a frustrating day. I hit everything up to 185# pretty easy. I then failed 7 times at 205# which is my current PR. I could not get the weight far enough back because my shoulders just wouldn't let me.
Tabata Push Press with 65#, and Tabata situps.
I tried to keep a steady pace throughout. I figured out that it was my shoulders that were the problem on my snatch during this part- 65# was hard... I stayed at 10 reps for the first 4 sets, then went down to 8 for the last 4. On situps, I stayed at 9 the whole time.
I am in need of a rest day- which I will take on Thursday. I am also going to start focusing more on mobility and strengthening my shoulders. I think that is probably my weakest part of my body. I can't wait to have the summer off because I will be able to break up my workouts and take more time on things that are necessary such as flexibility and mobility.
5/26/12
Murph- 66:15
With the combination of hand release pushups, a 25# weight vest, and the heat, I was a little slower than what I had hoped for.
5/27/12
Worked on snatch- got up to a PR of 195 power snatch
5/28/12
EMOM Clean and Jerk (push jerk) for 15 min. increasing weight every rep. I worked up to 275, which is a 30# push jerk PR and a PR on my clean and jerk. I wish I would have tried 285# because this went up very easily.
2008 games Final Workout- "Heavy Grace"
30 reps and 155# squat clean and jerk- 4:04. This my be the tightest my legs have ever felt after a workout. 4:04 would have been good enough for 3rd place in the 2008 games...
5/29/12
I tried to work up to a 1RM on snatch because I felt my form was getting better. Although my form has gotten exponentially better, if your shoulders are so sore/tight that you can't catch the weight above your head, it makes for a frustrating day. I hit everything up to 185# pretty easy. I then failed 7 times at 205# which is my current PR. I could not get the weight far enough back because my shoulders just wouldn't let me.
Tabata Push Press with 65#, and Tabata situps.
I tried to keep a steady pace throughout. I figured out that it was my shoulders that were the problem on my snatch during this part- 65# was hard... I stayed at 10 reps for the first 4 sets, then went down to 8 for the last 4. On situps, I stayed at 9 the whole time.
I am in need of a rest day- which I will take on Thursday. I am also going to start focusing more on mobility and strengthening my shoulders. I think that is probably my weakest part of my body. I can't wait to have the summer off because I will be able to break up my workouts and take more time on things that are necessary such as flexibility and mobility.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
5/26/12
Today we honored a fallen solder named Michael Murphy. He has a workout that he liked to do to prepare for his NAVY SEAL deployments. The workout is:
1 mile run
100 pullups
200 pushups
300 squats
1 mile run
* This should be done in a 20# weighted vest.
We had a nice little memorial day ceremony at CrossFit Harrisburg where the Fire Department presented the flags and we said the pledge of allegiance and sang the national anthem. It was a cool little way to start the day.
It was absolutely miserable outside- somewhere around 80 or so when we started. Iactually ran a very good mile with my weight vest on at the beginning. I think I ran a 7:34, which is less than a minute off of my previous PR. I decided to do a 20 round Cindy (5 pullups, 10 pushups, 15 squats). I moved pretty well through the first 5 rounds but, the heat and doing hand release pushups started to get to me. The final mile run was horrible, and I think I stopped about 4 times to catch my breath. I finished in 66:15, just over my goal of an hour. I didn't feel particularly sore after the workout, just drained from the loss of fluids.
My buddy Michael Tancini was home for the weekend, and I had the opportunity to meet up with him today. Michael finished twenty-something in regionals, and is a good source of knowledge for me. Even though we just got done Murph, I decided to go hit a workout with him as well. We did a little snatch and squats. I wasn't able to go as hard as I normally would because I was so tired, but it is nice just watching, learning, and asking questions with somebody that is better at me on certain movements. He looked at my snatch form and gave me a couple of pointers which I think will be very helpful. It is nice to be around someone that has similar goals and skill levels. I wish he were home more often, because he would be the perfect training partner for us to push each other on the workouts. Tomorrow I think we are going to get together again and do some more work. My goal is to make regionals someway somehow next year, and training with people better than me, only makes me a better person.
1 mile run
100 pullups
200 pushups
300 squats
1 mile run
* This should be done in a 20# weighted vest.
We had a nice little memorial day ceremony at CrossFit Harrisburg where the Fire Department presented the flags and we said the pledge of allegiance and sang the national anthem. It was a cool little way to start the day.
It was absolutely miserable outside- somewhere around 80 or so when we started. Iactually ran a very good mile with my weight vest on at the beginning. I think I ran a 7:34, which is less than a minute off of my previous PR. I decided to do a 20 round Cindy (5 pullups, 10 pushups, 15 squats). I moved pretty well through the first 5 rounds but, the heat and doing hand release pushups started to get to me. The final mile run was horrible, and I think I stopped about 4 times to catch my breath. I finished in 66:15, just over my goal of an hour. I didn't feel particularly sore after the workout, just drained from the loss of fluids.
My buddy Michael Tancini was home for the weekend, and I had the opportunity to meet up with him today. Michael finished twenty-something in regionals, and is a good source of knowledge for me. Even though we just got done Murph, I decided to go hit a workout with him as well. We did a little snatch and squats. I wasn't able to go as hard as I normally would because I was so tired, but it is nice just watching, learning, and asking questions with somebody that is better at me on certain movements. He looked at my snatch form and gave me a couple of pointers which I think will be very helpful. It is nice to be around someone that has similar goals and skill levels. I wish he were home more often, because he would be the perfect training partner for us to push each other on the workouts. Tomorrow I think we are going to get together again and do some more work. My goal is to make regionals someway somehow next year, and training with people better than me, only makes me a better person.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
5/24/12
What a great day! this was by far my best training day I have had in a long time. I did a TON of stuff and my body feels great. I will jump right to it.
Earlier in the day:
-4x400m runs with a 2 minute rest between each. Each 400m run needs to be faster than the one before.
1:53, 1:41, 1:29, 1:10. These felt pretty good after the first one loosened my legs up. I could have pushed harder on the last which surprised me.
- EMOM Bench Press (thumb length grip) 3 reps for 15 min.
I started out with 205 on the bar and it felt pretty good. I have not been able to bench because of my shoulder and this did not bother it at all. I think I could have done all the reps at 225, but I didn't want to push the issue. My partner had to drop down to 185 after about 6, so I dropped with him and just did 4 reps instead of 3.
We went to CFH and while I was waiting on my team to get there, I decided to try and find a 1MR on strict press since I have not done that in a while. I got 215 which is a 10# PR
Strength:
-Deadlift-Every 30 seconds for 5 min. 1 deadlift @ 405#. I completed this with no issues. I have really been working on good form on deadlifts because I feel like it was hurting my back more than it should. This focus on form has helped a lot!
-Rest 5 min.
-Deadlift- EMOM for 5 min. 10 reps at 185. I went nice and slow and focused on a good tight midline. I did well on these and had no problems
After ALL that we had everyone there to do our team WOD.
250 Pullups
250 Kettlebell swings (53/35)
250 Double Unders
250 OHS (95/65)
We finished in 31:47. The team did amazing. Everyone pushed it real hard and we know a lot of areas we could have made up some time. OHS were by far the hardest and longest movement we had to do. I think we may do this again in 5 or 6 weeks and see how we progress and try and get under 30 min.
Tomorrow will be an easier day, but all barbell work.
Snatch- EMOM 20 min 1 rep working up in weight throught the 20 min. I will probably start power snatches with 95, and start squatting around 155 or so.
Push Press- EMOM- 7 Min 10 reps at 135...this will be a weakness of mine.
Earlier in the day:
-4x400m runs with a 2 minute rest between each. Each 400m run needs to be faster than the one before.
1:53, 1:41, 1:29, 1:10. These felt pretty good after the first one loosened my legs up. I could have pushed harder on the last which surprised me.
- EMOM Bench Press (thumb length grip) 3 reps for 15 min.
I started out with 205 on the bar and it felt pretty good. I have not been able to bench because of my shoulder and this did not bother it at all. I think I could have done all the reps at 225, but I didn't want to push the issue. My partner had to drop down to 185 after about 6, so I dropped with him and just did 4 reps instead of 3.
We went to CFH and while I was waiting on my team to get there, I decided to try and find a 1MR on strict press since I have not done that in a while. I got 215 which is a 10# PR
Strength:
-Deadlift-Every 30 seconds for 5 min. 1 deadlift @ 405#. I completed this with no issues. I have really been working on good form on deadlifts because I feel like it was hurting my back more than it should. This focus on form has helped a lot!
-Rest 5 min.
-Deadlift- EMOM for 5 min. 10 reps at 185. I went nice and slow and focused on a good tight midline. I did well on these and had no problems
After ALL that we had everyone there to do our team WOD.
250 Pullups
250 Kettlebell swings (53/35)
250 Double Unders
250 OHS (95/65)
We finished in 31:47. The team did amazing. Everyone pushed it real hard and we know a lot of areas we could have made up some time. OHS were by far the hardest and longest movement we had to do. I think we may do this again in 5 or 6 weeks and see how we progress and try and get under 30 min.
Tomorrow will be an easier day, but all barbell work.
Snatch- EMOM 20 min 1 rep working up in weight throught the 20 min. I will probably start power snatches with 95, and start squatting around 155 or so.
Push Press- EMOM- 7 Min 10 reps at 135...this will be a weakness of mine.
5/23/12
I was not able to get my bench press in yesterday, but I did have a good day working on squat cleans. I loosened up and then did:
20 minutes EMOM of 1 squat clean. I started at 225#, but that was light so I went up to 235 about 5 or 6 minutes in. It still wasn't too bad. I was trying to focus on a good flat back, tight midline, staying in my heels, and a good hip extension to pop the weight up. It felt like my form was pretty good the entire time. Since we only had 1 barbell. Tiffany wanted to get some cleans in and she did 12 minutes of EMOM. I did 10 pushups in a 10# weighted vest since I would not have time to bench.
I need to continue working on my bodyweight movements and being able to work past muscular fatigue. It was a good day, I just need to keep working the higher reps, and keeping the intensity up in my training.
Wednesday
Strength:
Ever 30 seconds for 5 minutes-1 Deadlift at 405#
Rest 2 min (basically time to change the weight)
EMOM for 5 min- 10 deadlifts at 185#
WOD:
We are doing a team wod tomorrow with me, tiffany, danielle, and curtis. The WOD is from the 2011 Crossfit Regionals, Team Event #4
In teams of 4 complete the following for time:
I am planning on doing a real short WOD on my own after- something with 21-15-9 of maybe wallballs and something else, just depending on how I feel.
20 minutes EMOM of 1 squat clean. I started at 225#, but that was light so I went up to 235 about 5 or 6 minutes in. It still wasn't too bad. I was trying to focus on a good flat back, tight midline, staying in my heels, and a good hip extension to pop the weight up. It felt like my form was pretty good the entire time. Since we only had 1 barbell. Tiffany wanted to get some cleans in and she did 12 minutes of EMOM. I did 10 pushups in a 10# weighted vest since I would not have time to bench.
I need to continue working on my bodyweight movements and being able to work past muscular fatigue. It was a good day, I just need to keep working the higher reps, and keeping the intensity up in my training.
Wednesday
Strength:
Ever 30 seconds for 5 minutes-1 Deadlift at 405#
Rest 2 min (basically time to change the weight)
EMOM for 5 min- 10 deadlifts at 185#
WOD:
We are doing a team wod tomorrow with me, tiffany, danielle, and curtis. The WOD is from the 2011 Crossfit Regionals, Team Event #4
In teams of 4 complete the following for time:
- 250 Chest to Bar Pull Ups
- 250 KB Swings (55/35)
- 250 Double Unders
- 250 Overhead Squats (95/65)
I am planning on doing a real short WOD on my own after- something with 21-15-9 of maybe wallballs and something else, just depending on how I feel.
Monday, May 21, 2012
5/21/12
Today was a good day. My strength is improving, but my cardio and endurance is still not where it needs to be.
Strength:
I did about 7 minutes of EMOM Front Squat sets of 3 working from 225 up to 295. I then took about 7 minutes to find my 3RM on Front Squat. I hit 315, then was able to get 325. If I were fresh and had not been doing the EMOM stuff, I think my 3RM would be around 340. Either way, I am happy with 325x3
WOD:
50 Wallball
21 T2B
800m Run
21 T2B
50 Wallball
I did the first 50 wallball unbroken in 1:30. I could have kept going and fell like 100 in a row would not be out of the picture. I broke the T2B in 17/5 (yes I did 22- and I did 22 both rounds as well). The run was tough. My legs were shot from the front squats earlier and I haven't been running as much as I should have been lately anyway. I got back from the run around 6:15 and took a rest before hopping up and only getting 7. I then did 5,5,5 and started the wallballs. I thought I was going to be able to get these unbroken, but I did 25 and had to drop. I tried to get going again and got all wobbly and only did 6. I re-grouped and did my last 19 unbroken and finished in 11:20. This was a little slower than I was hoping for, but it was a decent time. T2B have been a weakness for me, but I can tell I have improved a lot.
Tomorrow-
Tuesdays and Thursdays are more of a strength bias day for me. Right when I get out of work I am going to bench (this may be light due to however my shoulder decides to feel).
Bench Press- EMOM 15 min 5 reps. I will start at 135 and go up depending on how I feel
a little later I am going to work on some squat cleans.
Squat Clean- EMOM 20 min. 1 Rep@225- if after 10 min it is easy, I will go up to 245.
Strength:
I did about 7 minutes of EMOM Front Squat sets of 3 working from 225 up to 295. I then took about 7 minutes to find my 3RM on Front Squat. I hit 315, then was able to get 325. If I were fresh and had not been doing the EMOM stuff, I think my 3RM would be around 340. Either way, I am happy with 325x3
WOD:
50 Wallball
21 T2B
800m Run
21 T2B
50 Wallball
I did the first 50 wallball unbroken in 1:30. I could have kept going and fell like 100 in a row would not be out of the picture. I broke the T2B in 17/5 (yes I did 22- and I did 22 both rounds as well). The run was tough. My legs were shot from the front squats earlier and I haven't been running as much as I should have been lately anyway. I got back from the run around 6:15 and took a rest before hopping up and only getting 7. I then did 5,5,5 and started the wallballs. I thought I was going to be able to get these unbroken, but I did 25 and had to drop. I tried to get going again and got all wobbly and only did 6. I re-grouped and did my last 19 unbroken and finished in 11:20. This was a little slower than I was hoping for, but it was a decent time. T2B have been a weakness for me, but I can tell I have improved a lot.
Tomorrow-
Tuesdays and Thursdays are more of a strength bias day for me. Right when I get out of work I am going to bench (this may be light due to however my shoulder decides to feel).
Bench Press- EMOM 15 min 5 reps. I will start at 135 and go up depending on how I feel
a little later I am going to work on some squat cleans.
Squat Clean- EMOM 20 min. 1 Rep@225- if after 10 min it is easy, I will go up to 245.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
5/17/12
Since tomorrow is a rest day, I will use today as a night of reflection and getting some things off my chest.
I just got back from the school from doing my workout and I have come to a few observations.
1. I hate my shoulder. It still hurts randomly and today it hurt. I really think the reason is because I have not taken the freakin miracle supplement for the past 3 days- BPI Sports Blox. If you haven't tried this stuff, do it. NOW. I took that stuff and had ZERO pain. Stop taking it for 3 days and boom and sorts of hurt. (I suggest buying it from me (click that and buy it!)because well... its me, and I sell it cheaper than anyone else.)
2. Working out by yourself SUCKS. I was all by myself, in my place of employment, late at night. It was terrible. I had no motivation to do anything at all. I actually began Fran- which I was looking forward to and I stopped after 5 pullups on the 15. Why you might ask? I dont really know. I just gave up. So I have come the conclusion that I NEED to workout with people. I had stopped going to CF Harrisburg in May because of a misunderstanding, but I also was trying to save money. We are trying to buy a house, and if anyone knows anything about starting up a business, it costs a lot. So if it is OK with Frankie, me and Tiffany would love to get back into the swing of things at Harrisburg (let me know Frankie). We love the atmosphere and all the people. We would have to cut down and split a membership and come just 3 days a week, but it will be 3 great workouts and camaraderie. I am going to be purchasing (tomorrow) a bar and bumper plates (because I sell that too, and at a very good price, once again cheaper than anyone else, so anyone interested let me know) and I will be doing my strength stuff and just some Bodyweight and Barbell WOD's at home in the days we are not at Harrisburg. This will allow me to accomplish the things I want to work on extra at home, and I can do whatever they have in store for us at Harrisburg.
3. Mental toughness is critical. Lately I have had no mental toughness at all. Working out by myself has brought out the worst in me. I have quit and done worse on more WOD's than I ever have before. I just have no one next to me that I am trying to beat. We would really like to do a local competition as a team and do well, and I need to push myself to lead the team. I have not stopped because I physically couldnt do anymore, I stopped because my mind was weak.
On a positive note, my wife is a BAMF. She cleaned 135 today. She squats 225. She now officially squats and cleans more than half of my football players. I am kind of embarrassed, but also proud. CrossFit Footall here we come!
I just got back from the school from doing my workout and I have come to a few observations.
1. I hate my shoulder. It still hurts randomly and today it hurt. I really think the reason is because I have not taken the freakin miracle supplement for the past 3 days- BPI Sports Blox. If you haven't tried this stuff, do it. NOW. I took that stuff and had ZERO pain. Stop taking it for 3 days and boom and sorts of hurt. (I suggest buying it from me (click that and buy it!)because well... its me, and I sell it cheaper than anyone else.)
2. Working out by yourself SUCKS. I was all by myself, in my place of employment, late at night. It was terrible. I had no motivation to do anything at all. I actually began Fran- which I was looking forward to and I stopped after 5 pullups on the 15. Why you might ask? I dont really know. I just gave up. So I have come the conclusion that I NEED to workout with people. I had stopped going to CF Harrisburg in May because of a misunderstanding, but I also was trying to save money. We are trying to buy a house, and if anyone knows anything about starting up a business, it costs a lot. So if it is OK with Frankie, me and Tiffany would love to get back into the swing of things at Harrisburg (let me know Frankie). We love the atmosphere and all the people. We would have to cut down and split a membership and come just 3 days a week, but it will be 3 great workouts and camaraderie. I am going to be purchasing (tomorrow) a bar and bumper plates (because I sell that too, and at a very good price, once again cheaper than anyone else, so anyone interested let me know) and I will be doing my strength stuff and just some Bodyweight and Barbell WOD's at home in the days we are not at Harrisburg. This will allow me to accomplish the things I want to work on extra at home, and I can do whatever they have in store for us at Harrisburg.
3. Mental toughness is critical. Lately I have had no mental toughness at all. Working out by myself has brought out the worst in me. I have quit and done worse on more WOD's than I ever have before. I just have no one next to me that I am trying to beat. We would really like to do a local competition as a team and do well, and I need to push myself to lead the team. I have not stopped because I physically couldnt do anymore, I stopped because my mind was weak.
On a positive note, my wife is a BAMF. She cleaned 135 today. She squats 225. She now officially squats and cleans more than half of my football players. I am kind of embarrassed, but also proud. CrossFit Footall here we come!
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
5/16/12
Tuesday Results:
Squat EMOM 10 Min- 1 Rep add weight each rep
I started at 315 and worked my way up. I was hoping to get to 405 or so just because my back was sore and I havent squatted in a while. I was able to hit 405, 410, 415, and 425. Very pleased with this and surprised at the same time. I was very proud of Tiffany, she worked up to 195- only 5 pounds under what her max was 2 weeks ago.
WOD:
21-15-9
T2B
Burpees
I did the first set of 21 T2B unbroken which is a huge PR for me. I think the most I had done previously was 11. I tried to stay steady on the burpees and just keep moving, not necessarily fast, just moving. After the unbroken T2B, the 15's were broken into sets of 3 and the last set of 9 was 5 and 4. Tiffany helped me to keep moving and did a good job coa hing me through. I feel like I did a pretty good job compared to what I had done in the past. I was very pleased to have a good training day and bounce back from yesterday.
Time-5:21
5/16/12
Strength-
Strict Press- EMOM 10 Minutes- 1 rep adding weight each time
WOD:
FRAN!!
21-15-9
Thrusters- 95/65
Pullups
Last Time I did Fran was about 3 months ago and my time was 4:15. That was before I could butterfly pullups so hopefully this will be a great time!
Squat EMOM 10 Min- 1 Rep add weight each rep
I started at 315 and worked my way up. I was hoping to get to 405 or so just because my back was sore and I havent squatted in a while. I was able to hit 405, 410, 415, and 425. Very pleased with this and surprised at the same time. I was very proud of Tiffany, she worked up to 195- only 5 pounds under what her max was 2 weeks ago.
WOD:
21-15-9
T2B
Burpees
I did the first set of 21 T2B unbroken which is a huge PR for me. I think the most I had done previously was 11. I tried to stay steady on the burpees and just keep moving, not necessarily fast, just moving. After the unbroken T2B, the 15's were broken into sets of 3 and the last set of 9 was 5 and 4. Tiffany helped me to keep moving and did a good job coa hing me through. I feel like I did a pretty good job compared to what I had done in the past. I was very pleased to have a good training day and bounce back from yesterday.
Time-5:21
5/16/12
Strength-
Strict Press- EMOM 10 Minutes- 1 rep adding weight each time
WOD:
FRAN!!
21-15-9
Thrusters- 95/65
Pullups
Last Time I did Fran was about 3 months ago and my time was 4:15. That was before I could butterfly pullups so hopefully this will be a great time!
Monday, May 14, 2012
5/15/12
Well after the terrible night I had tonight, I hope I can have a better day tomorrow. I have just been feeling blah lately for my workouts. My strength has still been improving, but I feel like my WOD's have been suffering. I am going to sort of pull the reigns back on some strength training, and focusing more on the WOD's, even doing two short ones on certain days.
Strength:
Back Squat- EMOM 10 min, 1 Squat- work up to heaviest set possible
WOD:
21-15-9
T2B
Burpees
Rest EXACTLY 5 min Then
5 Rounds
Run 400m
10 Thrusters 135/95
20 Double Unders
Strength:
Back Squat- EMOM 10 min, 1 Squat- work up to heaviest set possible
WOD:
21-15-9
T2B
Burpees
Rest EXACTLY 5 min Then
5 Rounds
Run 400m
10 Thrusters 135/95
20 Double Unders
Sunday, May 13, 2012
5/14/12
I have not posted in a little bit because I have had a lot going on. My birthday was Friday, and were were busy running around for that as well as mothers day and graduation parties. Anyway, I did have a good Saturday and PR'd my snatch with a 205 snatch. I feel like I am finally getting this lift, and I think I should be improving this max very quickly.
Tomorrow me and Tiffany decided we are going to start the 30 day Paleo challenge. We will eat strict Paleo for 30 days. I feel like this is what has been really holding me back because my eating is terrible. My parents bought me a grill for my birthday, so this should make the Paleo challenge much easier. If anyone has any good suggestions on Paleo food ideas, please comment. Paleo Challenge info
5/14/12
BB Gymnastics
5x1- Snatch from blocks (Squat) +1 Overhead squat- 70% 60 sec. Rest
Midline
3x10- Floor Wipers Wipers (One rep is center, right, left) 135#
WOD
10 Rounds
15 Deadlift 135/95
15 HR Pushups
Tomorrow me and Tiffany decided we are going to start the 30 day Paleo challenge. We will eat strict Paleo for 30 days. I feel like this is what has been really holding me back because my eating is terrible. My parents bought me a grill for my birthday, so this should make the Paleo challenge much easier. If anyone has any good suggestions on Paleo food ideas, please comment. Paleo Challenge info
5/14/12
BB Gymnastics
5x1- Snatch from blocks (Squat) +1 Overhead squat- 70% 60 sec. Rest
Midline
3x10- Floor Wipers Wipers (One rep is center, right, left) 135#
WOD
10 Rounds
15 Deadlift 135/95
15 HR Pushups
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
5/10/12
Well I had an up and down night. My snatches went pretty well. I worked up to 165# for 2 from the blocks. Thanks to Elisabeth Akinwale for helping my focus on a couple things to improve my form. It helped a lot.
After I finished my strength I decided to tackle King Kong. I figured, "Hey Im big and strong, I shouldn't have a problem with this. Im such a badass blah blah blah." So basically I had an epic FAIL! As a took forever throughout the workout, I got more and more frustrated. As I failed even getting up on the wall to do my HSPU's on the second round, I told Tiffany (who absolutely killed it in 3:19, so bring it ladies) to shut the camera off. As I got to the deadlift for the last round, trying to finish in under 10 min now, I could not pick the weight up off the ground. I threw the towel in and bitched and moaned all the way home.
Thursday- Rest day- Mobility- Yoga- light jog
Thursday- Rest day- Mobility- Yoga- light jog
5/9/12
Things have been going better lately. My side business RAW Performance has been picking up and relieving some of my stress level. I have also been doing well and enjoying myself in my workouts and getting used to doing it alone. I bought a nice Bose speaker system yesterday so I can get some good music going and keep me sane. I can not wait to move into our new house so I can get my home gym set up. I am going to be purchasing a barbell very soon, but still would like to find a place to get bumper plates at a good price. Let me know if you know of any places near the Charlotte area that may have some used bumpers.
3 Rounds
1 Deadlift 455#
2 Muscle Ups
3 Squat Clean 250#
4 HSPU
I am so jacked to do King Kong now that I can get my HSPU's. I will definitely video this one and post it. I really hope someone else will attempt this, even if they scale the weight.
Tomorrow is rest day, but I think I am going to do a distance run. I have done some shorter WOD's this week so rest day may turn into run day.
BB Gymnastics
5X2 Snatch off blocks ( just below the knee) @ 85% – rest 75 second
Strength
1a) 3xME DB Push ups
1b) 3 X 8 Single Arm DB Bent Over Row (8l/8r) – heavier than last week, rest 60 sec.
1b) 3 X 8 Single Arm DB Bent Over Row (8l/8r) – heavier than last week, rest 60 sec.
Conditioning
"King Kong"3 Rounds
1 Deadlift 455#
2 Muscle Ups
3 Squat Clean 250#
4 HSPU
I am so jacked to do King Kong now that I can get my HSPU's. I will definitely video this one and post it. I really hope someone else will attempt this, even if they scale the weight.
Tomorrow is rest day, but I think I am going to do a distance run. I have done some shorter WOD's this week so rest day may turn into run day.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
5/8/12
I got some Olympic lifting shoes from my buddy yesterday and tried them on the snatches last night. They are very different but seemed to help quite a bit. I am excited to try them with today's work. I would like to try and get in a competition maybe a couple of months from now just to try it. If anyone knows of anything, let me know.
BB Gymnastics
1) 5X3 Clean & Jerk @ 75% – rest 60-80 sec.
1) 1X20 Back Squat
8 min AMRAP
15- Pushups
10- GHD Situps
5- Snatch (Full Squat) 95#
Rest 10 minutes
4X400m Sprint – rest 60 sec.
BB Gymnastics
1) 5X3 Clean & Jerk @ 75% – rest 60-80 sec.
Notes: These are not touch and go reps. Reset before each rep.Strength
1) 1X20 Back Squat
Notes: This should be a maximal UNBROKEN set. If you completed all 20 reps last week, add approximately 5% this week. If you were close to completing all 20 reps (15-19), use the same weight. If you weren’t close (10-14), take off 5%.Conditioning
8 min AMRAP
15- Pushups
10- GHD Situps
5- Snatch (Full Squat) 95#
Rest 10 minutes
4X400m Sprint – rest 60 sec.
Notes: These should be all out efforts. Pacing is not acceptable and degredation of pace is acceptable.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
5/7/12
After my normal rest day today, I am in need to get back into the gym- and possibly watch what I eat. I went to a cookout at lunch then a dinner at my favorite restaurant. I successfully gained 9.7 pounds in one day. Yes this is an amazing feat and I feel like it could be a record in some way. As I sit here, not able to move, or much less breath, I decided what I wanted to do for tomorrows work.
Most of tomorrow will be courteous of Rudy at Outlaw. He is a genius and knows his stuff. I will have to alter some things due to my ability level and equipment available. I also have a little tear in my hand so I want to make sure I take it easy on that.
BB Gymnastics
1) 5X3 Snatch @ 75% – rest 60-80 sec.
Notes: These ARE NOT touch & go reps. Reset before each rep.
2a) 3X3 Snatch Pulls – heaviest possible, rest 60 sec.
2b) 3X3 Heaving Snatch Balances – heaviest possible, rest 60 sec.
Conditioning
EMOM for 5 minutes as many (kipping) HSPU as possible.
3 rounds for time of:
Run 4oom
50 Double Unders
20 pistols
Midline (time permitting)
1a) 2X15 Strict T2B – rest 45 sec.
1b) 2X10 Reverse Hypers – heavy, rest 45 sec.
Most of tomorrow will be courteous of Rudy at Outlaw. He is a genius and knows his stuff. I will have to alter some things due to my ability level and equipment available. I also have a little tear in my hand so I want to make sure I take it easy on that.
BB Gymnastics
1) 5X3 Snatch @ 75% – rest 60-80 sec.
Notes: These ARE NOT touch & go reps. Reset before each rep.
2a) 3X3 Snatch Pulls – heaviest possible, rest 60 sec.
2b) 3X3 Heaving Snatch Balances – heaviest possible, rest 60 sec.
Conditioning
EMOM for 5 minutes as many (kipping) HSPU as possible.
Notes: Spend all rest time hold (farmer’s carry style) 100/70# dumbells. Make every effort to pick up the DBs immediately after your last rep of HSPU. HSPU are regional’s standard.-Rest 10 minutes-
3 rounds for time of:
Run 4oom
50 Double Unders
20 pistols
Midline (time permitting)
1a) 2X15 Strict T2B – rest 45 sec.
1b) 2X10 Reverse Hypers – heavy, rest 45 sec.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
5/5/12
I have been in a funk lately. Yesterday everything felt very heavy, and I did not even complete the WOD. I don't know if it is from working out by myself, working out at my place of work, stressing out about my business, or not getting enough rest. Either way, I have never had problems completing a workout. I did 1 round of DT in a great time of 53 seconds, put the bar down and quit. I am just in a funk.
Each day I will post my results in the comments, and I hope you will too if you are following.
5/5/12 WOD
"Angie"
100 pullups
100 pushups
100 situps
100 squats
*you must complete all 100 reps before moving to the next.
REST 10 min.
Timed 1 mile run
Each day I will post my results in the comments, and I hope you will too if you are following.
5/5/12 WOD
"Angie"
100 pullups
100 pushups
100 situps
100 squats
*you must complete all 100 reps before moving to the next.
REST 10 min.
Timed 1 mile run
Thursday, May 3, 2012
5/4/12
OK, well back from my mini break, I will start posting my workouts again. I would love for the folks that are going to follow, to comment, post your results, and just get better- at everything. My goal when doing anything for time, weight, reps ect.. is to win- everytime. This may offend some people, but when you play college football, you learn to be a winner in everything you do. Anyway the workouts are going to be posted the night before, and I will post my results once I finish the workout. My lifting scheduled looks like this:
Monday- Strength, WOD
Tuesday- Strength, WOD
Wednesday- Strength, WOD
Thursday- Rest
Friday- Strength, WOD
Saturday- WOD (usually something longer)
Sunday- Rest
I have just began a sort of Wendler's 5 3 1 lifting cycle, and I am interested to see how it pans out. I am in my first week, so if you have questions or want to jump in, now is a great time. In the Wendler's cycle, all percentages are calculated using 90% of your max
Strength:
Clean (Full squat clean from the ground) 5@65%, 5@75% ,5+@85%
Front Squat- 5@65%, 5@75% ,5+@85%
Toes to Bar- 3x10
WOD:
"DT"
5 Rounds
12 Deadlift 155#
9 Hang Clean 155#
6 Push Press 155#
Monday- Strength, WOD
Tuesday- Strength, WOD
Wednesday- Strength, WOD
Thursday- Rest
Friday- Strength, WOD
Saturday- WOD (usually something longer)
Sunday- Rest
I have just began a sort of Wendler's 5 3 1 lifting cycle, and I am interested to see how it pans out. I am in my first week, so if you have questions or want to jump in, now is a great time. In the Wendler's cycle, all percentages are calculated using 90% of your max
Strength:
Clean (Full squat clean from the ground) 5@65%, 5@75% ,5+@85%
Front Squat- 5@65%, 5@75% ,5+@85%
Toes to Bar- 3x10
WOD:
"DT"
5 Rounds
12 Deadlift 155#
9 Hang Clean 155#
6 Push Press 155#
Monday, February 13, 2012
The start of my new training program
Today was the first day of my new training program. It was a pretty good day, but it is going to take me a week or two to get used to it. My new program consists of doing the Collegiate strength program on CrossFit Football. I am also doing their Daily WOD which is geared toward football so it is much shorter and with a lot more rest. I am also doing the WOD at CrossFit Harrisburg, which is usually a little longer that hits the conditioning portion I am lacking.
Normally I will be doing the CFFB stuff with my football players after school, but I had a meeting and was not able to lift with them. I went to the CrossFit Harrisburg box to get all of my work in. The first thing I did was some Strength:
Back Squat: 1,1,1,1,1 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 100%
With my PR very recent, I knew hitting 100% would be tough. I was able to hit all 80-95% but struggle on the 4th set. I decided to stay at 95% for my 5th set. My work sets were: 355, 375, 395, 415,415
Our Harrisburg WOD was next so I jumped in to get the work in.
WOD:
15 Minute AMRAP
10- Full Squat Clean 135#
20- Hand Release Pushups
This WOD got ugly very quick. After squatting heavy, and not really feeling my legs being a strong point of the day, this got very heavy very quick. I tried to keep a steady pace throughout the whole thing and not burn out, but the pushups killed me, especially after doing pushups and ring dips the day before. I was able to get through 6 rounds exactly. This is a little lower than I feel I should have done, but I think the 7-8 rounds would have been really pushing it. I'm sure I could do that if I was fresh.
After the WOD I rested up and finished my strength. I had to find a 5 Rep Max on Press, then do 3x5 with 90% of the weight I just used. With my shoulders, chest, and triceps being so tired from the WOD, I knew I would not be able to do much weight. I was only able to work up to 135 for 5 for my 90% was 120. I was able to hit all of my sets and reps, but I definitely took my time to get the reps in.
The CFFB WOD:
3rep max on Box Jumps
4x20 yard sprints
2rep max on Box Jumps
4x20 yard sprints
1rep max on Box Jumps
4x20 yard sprints
As you can see, this isn't a very cardio-based workout. I was able to this relatively easy, but my legs were dead and my box jumps suffered. The WOD was very easy and I think it was a good way to end the day.
my rep scheme was- 30"x3, 40"x2, and 44"x1 (and I barely got it)
Tomorrows CFFB WOD is a beast so it is time to rest up and prepare for the next day.
Normally I will be doing the CFFB stuff with my football players after school, but I had a meeting and was not able to lift with them. I went to the CrossFit Harrisburg box to get all of my work in. The first thing I did was some Strength:
Back Squat: 1,1,1,1,1 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 100%
With my PR very recent, I knew hitting 100% would be tough. I was able to hit all 80-95% but struggle on the 4th set. I decided to stay at 95% for my 5th set. My work sets were: 355, 375, 395, 415,415
Our Harrisburg WOD was next so I jumped in to get the work in.
WOD:
15 Minute AMRAP
10- Full Squat Clean 135#
20- Hand Release Pushups
This WOD got ugly very quick. After squatting heavy, and not really feeling my legs being a strong point of the day, this got very heavy very quick. I tried to keep a steady pace throughout the whole thing and not burn out, but the pushups killed me, especially after doing pushups and ring dips the day before. I was able to get through 6 rounds exactly. This is a little lower than I feel I should have done, but I think the 7-8 rounds would have been really pushing it. I'm sure I could do that if I was fresh.
After the WOD I rested up and finished my strength. I had to find a 5 Rep Max on Press, then do 3x5 with 90% of the weight I just used. With my shoulders, chest, and triceps being so tired from the WOD, I knew I would not be able to do much weight. I was only able to work up to 135 for 5 for my 90% was 120. I was able to hit all of my sets and reps, but I definitely took my time to get the reps in.
The CFFB WOD:
3rep max on Box Jumps
4x20 yard sprints
2rep max on Box Jumps
4x20 yard sprints
1rep max on Box Jumps
4x20 yard sprints
As you can see, this isn't a very cardio-based workout. I was able to this relatively easy, but my legs were dead and my box jumps suffered. The WOD was very easy and I think it was a good way to end the day.
my rep scheme was- 30"x3, 40"x2, and 44"x1 (and I barely got it)
Tomorrows CFFB WOD is a beast so it is time to rest up and prepare for the next day.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Crossfit Total
Saturday we took our CrossFit total, which is doing a max rep on the Back Squat, Press, and Deadlift. This is probably my favorite thing in CrossFit, as I love lifting heavy. The way to get your CrossFit Total is that you have three attempts to hit a weight after you warm up.
Lift 1: Squat
I warmed up and my legs felt a little tight from squatting heavy just a couple days earlier. My first attempt I hit 405 very easy. I decided to jump to 435 which is my current PR and was able to hit it relatively easy. I figured since I hit 435 so easy I would jump to 455. Ifailed at 455, and was disappointed since I think I could get it if I were fresh. Either way, I tied my PR.
Lift 2: Press
I dont ever remember doing a 1 rep max on this, but I do know I hit 185x3. I hit 195 on my first attempt and decided to jump to 205. I hit 205, but struggled with it. Nevertheless, I attempted 210 just to try it. I failed at 210, but managed to set a new PR. This is a lift that I need to get up around 225-240 based on my size.
Lift 3: Deadlift
About a week and a half ago I had set a new PR on Deadlift at 500. My plan was to hit somewhere in the 485 range, since I figured I would be tired from the squats. I warmed up and hit 455 for my first attempt very easy. I made sure to use good form and keep a big chest. I then hit 485 rather easy as well. I figured since I hit it easy, I would try to tie my PR at 500. I loaded it up and hit my final rep. Since I had so many different weights on the bar, I grabbed a calculator to add up the weight. Once I actually calculated, I had 510 on the bar and set another new PR.
CrossFit Total: 1150
After putting some thoughts into my training, I believe I am going to alter my programming slightly. Even though I have made great progress, I would like to add a little more structured work to my regimen. I am going to begin following the CrossFit Football strength programming. I will also be doing the CrossFit Football Daily WOD as well. I am going to begin training my football players with this program, and I will be following it as well. At night, I will also be doing the WOD at CrossFit Harrisburg My goal is to start being able to do the WODs at a slower pace, but without resting between sets. Even if I have to scale to WODs at the gym to get this accomplished, I think it would work better for me in my training.
Lift 1: Squat
I warmed up and my legs felt a little tight from squatting heavy just a couple days earlier. My first attempt I hit 405 very easy. I decided to jump to 435 which is my current PR and was able to hit it relatively easy. I figured since I hit 435 so easy I would jump to 455. Ifailed at 455, and was disappointed since I think I could get it if I were fresh. Either way, I tied my PR.
Lift 2: Press
I dont ever remember doing a 1 rep max on this, but I do know I hit 185x3. I hit 195 on my first attempt and decided to jump to 205. I hit 205, but struggled with it. Nevertheless, I attempted 210 just to try it. I failed at 210, but managed to set a new PR. This is a lift that I need to get up around 225-240 based on my size.
Lift 3: Deadlift
About a week and a half ago I had set a new PR on Deadlift at 500. My plan was to hit somewhere in the 485 range, since I figured I would be tired from the squats. I warmed up and hit 455 for my first attempt very easy. I made sure to use good form and keep a big chest. I then hit 485 rather easy as well. I figured since I hit it easy, I would try to tie my PR at 500. I loaded it up and hit my final rep. Since I had so many different weights on the bar, I grabbed a calculator to add up the weight. Once I actually calculated, I had 510 on the bar and set another new PR.
CrossFit Total: 1150
After putting some thoughts into my training, I believe I am going to alter my programming slightly. Even though I have made great progress, I would like to add a little more structured work to my regimen. I am going to begin following the CrossFit Football strength programming. I will also be doing the CrossFit Football Daily WOD as well. I am going to begin training my football players with this program, and I will be following it as well. At night, I will also be doing the WOD at CrossFit Harrisburg My goal is to start being able to do the WODs at a slower pace, but without resting between sets. Even if I have to scale to WODs at the gym to get this accomplished, I think it would work better for me in my training.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Rest...who needs it
Well yesterday I had the full intention of going and mobilizing, doing maybe a light jog and some double unders. I ended up doing a heavy squat workout and the baseline WOD again. So much for my rest day. I got to the gym and just had to squat since we had not in a while. I felt great too.
Strength:
5,3,1,1,1,1
Box Squat + red and green bands (about 35-45 #'s of tension at the top)
I felt great going into this. As I lifted more weight, my body loosened up even more. I decided to act like an idiot while working out as well. I had watched the Ronnie Coleman video earlier that day where he basically calls everything light weight. I decided to do the same, screaming light weight at the top of my lungs. It was quite funny, especially watching Tiffany just roll her eyes at me the whole time. My work sets were (weight minus the bands):
5- 275
3- 315
1- 365
1- 385
1-405
1-415 (this has got to be some sort of PR, it was a lot of freaking weight!)
WOD:
Baseline Test
400m Run
50 pushups
50 squats
50 Situps
500m Row
Previous Time: 8:51
I wasn't going to do a WOD at all, but then decided I needed to do some sort of cardio. A couple of the ladies were doing the baseline test so I decided to jump in with them. I had a good 1:30 run, just keeping a good pace. I came in and did my pushups and squats unbroken. I had to take a rest at 38 on the situps, but it was a very short rest. I hopped on the rower and tried to pull the chain out of the wheel. I forgot one thing though. The rower turns on automatically if you start pulling, but it does miss about 15 seconds if you do not wait for it to turn on. I did not wait. I had about 6 pulls that did not register, and as hard as I was pulling that was about 125m. Once it started registering, I pulled 150m at a 1:12 pace, but quickly died.With the extra pulls not registering, I ended up rowing about 6:25 and added probably 20 seconds to my time, but I wound up with a PR by over 2 minutes.
Time: 6:35
Strength:
5,3,1,1,1,1
Box Squat + red and green bands (about 35-45 #'s of tension at the top)
I felt great going into this. As I lifted more weight, my body loosened up even more. I decided to act like an idiot while working out as well. I had watched the Ronnie Coleman video earlier that day where he basically calls everything light weight. I decided to do the same, screaming light weight at the top of my lungs. It was quite funny, especially watching Tiffany just roll her eyes at me the whole time. My work sets were (weight minus the bands):
5- 275
3- 315
1- 365
1- 385
1-405
1-415 (this has got to be some sort of PR, it was a lot of freaking weight!)
WOD:
Baseline Test
400m Run
50 pushups
50 squats
50 Situps
500m Row
Previous Time: 8:51
I wasn't going to do a WOD at all, but then decided I needed to do some sort of cardio. A couple of the ladies were doing the baseline test so I decided to jump in with them. I had a good 1:30 run, just keeping a good pace. I came in and did my pushups and squats unbroken. I had to take a rest at 38 on the situps, but it was a very short rest. I hopped on the rower and tried to pull the chain out of the wheel. I forgot one thing though. The rower turns on automatically if you start pulling, but it does miss about 15 seconds if you do not wait for it to turn on. I did not wait. I had about 6 pulls that did not register, and as hard as I was pulling that was about 125m. Once it started registering, I pulled 150m at a 1:12 pace, but quickly died.With the extra pulls not registering, I ended up rowing about 6:25 and added probably 20 seconds to my time, but I wound up with a PR by over 2 minutes.
Time: 6:35
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Rest Days Make you WEAK (or so I thought)
well after what has been a very productive week, last night I had a minor setback. I had a great workout dont get me wrong, but I tweaked my upper back muscles ever so slightly. It feels like when you pull a muscle from holding in a sneeze. It is not too painful, but will not allow for too much rotation of my upper body- very frustrating.
Strength-
I decided to try and work up to a max on snatch. We did not have anything on the agenda, so I figured I barely snatch anything so it wouldnt tired me out. I watched a video with Olympic weightlifting Mike Burgener and learned a lot. I decided to apply some of his practices, and got good results. I worked up to 135 which was my previous max and hit it very easy. I was balancing the weight very well and staying on my heels in the squat. I put 155 on and hit that pretty easily as well. This had taken about 30 minutes to work up to this so I felt kind of rushed since Tiffany was waiting on me to do the WOD. I attempted 165 once and failed but had it over my head, just too far forward on my toes. I know I could have gotten it if I would have attempted it again, but felt like I was taking too long. Nonetheless, a 20# PR is a great way to start the day.
WOD
4 Rounds
6 Ground to overhead 185#
200m run
This WOD looks super easy to me on paper, but it whooped my butt. 185 is light for me and I felt like I would put down a great time. Our trainer who was the "test dummy" did it in 8:35 and I thought that was very long. My strategy was to do a deadlift, then a hang clean to push press. I did not hold the bar on my chest, it was immediately clean and press. I thought the run would be more of a sprint since it was only 200m, but the ground to overhead smoked your legs. I maintained a steady jog at about a 50-55 second pace. The ground to overheads were not a problem and I moved steadily through the WOD, but not as fast as I assumed. I finished in 8:41, just 6 seconds off the fastest time. Not bad, but I should have been better.
Tiffany has said that she thinks my little tweaks of injuries are from over training. I think she is crazy, but nonetheless, I am go to start "resting". I will still go to the gym, but spend a lot of time mobilizing and not even doing the WOD. I may do a couple 400, double unders, or situps, but nothing crazy. I am going to only lift strength 3 days a week as well. I hate resting, but it is better to rest and be 100% than be sore and tweak muscles. I feel soft for taking a rest day, but hopefully it will help in the long run.
Strength-
I decided to try and work up to a max on snatch. We did not have anything on the agenda, so I figured I barely snatch anything so it wouldnt tired me out. I watched a video with Olympic weightlifting Mike Burgener and learned a lot. I decided to apply some of his practices, and got good results. I worked up to 135 which was my previous max and hit it very easy. I was balancing the weight very well and staying on my heels in the squat. I put 155 on and hit that pretty easily as well. This had taken about 30 minutes to work up to this so I felt kind of rushed since Tiffany was waiting on me to do the WOD. I attempted 165 once and failed but had it over my head, just too far forward on my toes. I know I could have gotten it if I would have attempted it again, but felt like I was taking too long. Nonetheless, a 20# PR is a great way to start the day.
WOD
4 Rounds
6 Ground to overhead 185#
200m run
This WOD looks super easy to me on paper, but it whooped my butt. 185 is light for me and I felt like I would put down a great time. Our trainer who was the "test dummy" did it in 8:35 and I thought that was very long. My strategy was to do a deadlift, then a hang clean to push press. I did not hold the bar on my chest, it was immediately clean and press. I thought the run would be more of a sprint since it was only 200m, but the ground to overhead smoked your legs. I maintained a steady jog at about a 50-55 second pace. The ground to overheads were not a problem and I moved steadily through the WOD, but not as fast as I assumed. I finished in 8:41, just 6 seconds off the fastest time. Not bad, but I should have been better.
Tiffany has said that she thinks my little tweaks of injuries are from over training. I think she is crazy, but nonetheless, I am go to start "resting". I will still go to the gym, but spend a lot of time mobilizing and not even doing the WOD. I may do a couple 400, double unders, or situps, but nothing crazy. I am going to only lift strength 3 days a week as well. I hate resting, but it is better to rest and be 100% than be sore and tweak muscles. I feel soft for taking a rest day, but hopefully it will help in the long run.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Push Press PR
I have noticed the improvement on everything so far, and I am very pleased with how everything has been going. My strength is increasing, as well as my explosiveness, and my endurance. I have noticed that I am resting a lot less during WOD's and really pushing to finish. A big part of Crossfit is mental. Not many people are used to pushing their body to its limits. I had a problem with this when I started. I got it in my head that I couldn't finish reps, or I had to drop the weight. This was because I was out of my comfort zone. I was not used to doing multiple reps in a workout so I mentally would not push through it. I am beginning to learn that your body can keep moving, but only if you let it. A lot of people will get it in their mind and say OK since I have 30 reps, I am going to do 6 sets of 5. I do not like this way of thinking. I want to do as many as I possibly can in a row because you never know, you may get to 5 and have a lot of energy left, get to 10 and keep going, hell you may be able to do all 30, but it is only if you let your body do so.
Strength:
Push Press 5-3-1
I wanted to work up to a max set. I was watching some videos earlier in the day, and noticed some people were trying a wider grip on cleans and push press. I decided to try it out and I think it really helps.The bar has less distance to travel and it helps you stabilize the weight overhead easier.
5-170
3-190
1-205
1-225
1-245
1-255 PR
My old PR was 245 so a 10 pound jump was good with me.
WOD
43 Wall Balls 20#
3 Rounds
15 Single Arm Snatch on each arm 35# DB
30 Double Unders
15 Lunges Each Leg with Wall Ball overhead 20#
43 Wall Balls 20#
This WOD was originally without the wall balls, but one of the ladies at the gym was turning 43, so we decided to give the whole gym a birthday present. I did the first 43 unbroken and with no issues. The wall balls were surprisingly easy and I went through them quick. I had no problem on the snatches, and my double unders are slowly getting better. I still get tripped up every now and them, but I was able to do round 3 double unders unbroken. The lunges were very difficult and were tough for all 3 rounds. I had to usually break these up, but tried to keep my rest to a minimum. I went back to the wall balls and was able to do 18 before I dropped the ball. I took a short break and finished the final 25 unbroken. I did not think I would get all 25, but mentally I knew it was the last thing, and I could rest when I was done. I finished in 15:08. I was happy with the time, as this was a very tough WOD. I look forward to tonight since it is a short run, with heavy ground to overhead (My cup of tea!)
Tiff on the 30" box
40" Box Jump
Strength:
Push Press 5-3-1
I wanted to work up to a max set. I was watching some videos earlier in the day, and noticed some people were trying a wider grip on cleans and push press. I decided to try it out and I think it really helps.The bar has less distance to travel and it helps you stabilize the weight overhead easier.
5-170
3-190
1-205
1-225
1-245
1-255 PR
My old PR was 245 so a 10 pound jump was good with me.
WOD
43 Wall Balls 20#
3 Rounds
15 Single Arm Snatch on each arm 35# DB
30 Double Unders
15 Lunges Each Leg with Wall Ball overhead 20#
43 Wall Balls 20#
This WOD was originally without the wall balls, but one of the ladies at the gym was turning 43, so we decided to give the whole gym a birthday present. I did the first 43 unbroken and with no issues. The wall balls were surprisingly easy and I went through them quick. I had no problem on the snatches, and my double unders are slowly getting better. I still get tripped up every now and them, but I was able to do round 3 double unders unbroken. The lunges were very difficult and were tough for all 3 rounds. I had to usually break these up, but tried to keep my rest to a minimum. I went back to the wall balls and was able to do 18 before I dropped the ball. I took a short break and finished the final 25 unbroken. I did not think I would get all 25, but mentally I knew it was the last thing, and I could rest when I was done. I finished in 15:08. I was happy with the time, as this was a very tough WOD. I look forward to tonight since it is a short run, with heavy ground to overhead (My cup of tea!)
Tiff on the 30" box
40" Box Jump
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
I think I may be starting to understand this CrossFit thing
I know I have not been posting much lately, but usually when I get home I have enough time to eat and then I am just too tired to do anything. Recently, I have been a lot better on the WOD's. I think my endurance is starting to improve quite a bit and I am becoming more mentally tough to push through some of the exercises.
Saturday 2/4/12-
We went over early to CrossFit Harrisburg to get our WOD in and it was a good one. My back was still a little sore from the deadlift, but I loosened it up and rolled it out before and felt good.
WOD:
3 Rounds
400m run
10 hang clean 135#
20 wall ball 20#
30 abmat situps
I put down a very good time on this workout. I did everything unbroken, but was a little slow on the run. I kept my pace at a 2:00 minute 400m time and should have pushed it to around a 1:45. I was able to fly through the cleans and wall balls. The abmats are still a little difficult for me. I didn't fly through them by any means, but I did them without stopping.
Time 13:30
After the WOD I decided to try to set a new PR on overhead squat. I warmed up and worked up to my previous PR of 195 and hit it easily. I them proceded to go up 10 pounds each time setting PR after PR. I got 215 relatively easy. I tried 225 and failed. The squat is not hard for me, the hard part is balencing 200+ pounds over my head. Once I can get the weight over my head easier, my max should shoot up.
OHS - 215
Sunday- 2/5/12
I had the idea of going in and doing a test day. I wanted to work on my double unders and complete some more of the benchmark girl workouts.
Test 1:
Annie
50-40-30-20-10
Double Unders
Abmat Situps
I did a lot worse on this than I anticipated. My double unders struggled most of the time as I cussed them everytime I missed. I felt like I should have been a lot better. The situps were surprisingly hard and I had to take a lot of breaks. next time I should improve 2-3 minutes.
Time: 10:09
Test 2:
Jackie
1000m Row
50 Thrusters 45#
30 pullups
This is the same WOD we did on Monday and since I did so bad on it I wanted redemption. I paced myself on the row a lot better and this helped me throughout the entire workout. My row was 3:30 and I did not try at all. I was very pleased with my improvement on this WOD. I still need to work pullups as they are still giving my slower times.
Time: 7:59 (PR by 1:26)
Test 3:
50 Burpees
I had originally planned to do 100, but after the other two WOD's I did not want to do 100 anymore. This is nothing more than staying steady. The 50 were not as bad as I had expected, but they were still tiring.
Time: 3:19 (Tiffany got 3:59 which is MOVING!)
Monday 2/6/12
We got to the box early and only Austin showed up for the 5:30 class. we decided to wait for the 6:30 class so we could workout with more people. Me and Austin began to do Lynne for our strength
Lynne
No Time Limit
5 Rounds
BW Bench 230#
Pullups
Total Reps of each combined
Last time I did this workout was about 2 months ago. It was one of the first one I had ever done in Crossfit. Since then, I believe I have bench only twice, and neither time has been heavy. Last time I think my total was either 119 or 120. Me and Austin began doing it, and quickly realized how sore our biceps were going to be for our WOD at 6:30. We ended up doing 2 rounds where I was already at 79 and he was at 76. I would have shattered my record from last time, but I wanted to make sure I had a good performance in our WOD. My bench strength has actually gone up, even though I have not been benching. My first set I was able to get 230 for 19 reps.
WOD
30-20-10-5
Push Press 75#
SDHP 75#
Box Hops 24"
I had my football kids do this same workout at school so I knew about where I should be. The fastest time at school was 8:14, so I set my goal to be sub 8 minutes. usually when I set my goals I am about 3 minutes off, so I was hoping this would not be the case. I flew through the push press and SDHP doing them both unbroken and reaching my box first. I am good at box hops, but just not doing them fast yet. I had to break them into 5 sets of 6. Austin and Frankie passed me on the box hops, but I quickly caught back up on the push press and SDHP. I had to break up the SDHP in 12 and 8 but the the push press unbroken. The box hops again gave me trouble, but I pushed through them. Igot passed again, but once again got back to my box first. I knew my last set of 5's I could fly through so I tried to do everything as fast as I could. I ended up finishing first with a time of 7:47. Our whole class had a great effort and everyone really pushed themselves. It was probably one of the best atmospheres we have had since the gym opened.
Saturday 2/4/12-
We went over early to CrossFit Harrisburg to get our WOD in and it was a good one. My back was still a little sore from the deadlift, but I loosened it up and rolled it out before and felt good.
WOD:
3 Rounds
400m run
10 hang clean 135#
20 wall ball 20#
30 abmat situps
I put down a very good time on this workout. I did everything unbroken, but was a little slow on the run. I kept my pace at a 2:00 minute 400m time and should have pushed it to around a 1:45. I was able to fly through the cleans and wall balls. The abmats are still a little difficult for me. I didn't fly through them by any means, but I did them without stopping.
Time 13:30
After the WOD I decided to try to set a new PR on overhead squat. I warmed up and worked up to my previous PR of 195 and hit it easily. I them proceded to go up 10 pounds each time setting PR after PR. I got 215 relatively easy. I tried 225 and failed. The squat is not hard for me, the hard part is balencing 200+ pounds over my head. Once I can get the weight over my head easier, my max should shoot up.
OHS - 215
Sunday- 2/5/12
I had the idea of going in and doing a test day. I wanted to work on my double unders and complete some more of the benchmark girl workouts.
Test 1:
Annie
50-40-30-20-10
Double Unders
Abmat Situps
I did a lot worse on this than I anticipated. My double unders struggled most of the time as I cussed them everytime I missed. I felt like I should have been a lot better. The situps were surprisingly hard and I had to take a lot of breaks. next time I should improve 2-3 minutes.
Time: 10:09
Test 2:
Jackie
1000m Row
50 Thrusters 45#
30 pullups
This is the same WOD we did on Monday and since I did so bad on it I wanted redemption. I paced myself on the row a lot better and this helped me throughout the entire workout. My row was 3:30 and I did not try at all. I was very pleased with my improvement on this WOD. I still need to work pullups as they are still giving my slower times.
Time: 7:59 (PR by 1:26)
Test 3:
50 Burpees
I had originally planned to do 100, but after the other two WOD's I did not want to do 100 anymore. This is nothing more than staying steady. The 50 were not as bad as I had expected, but they were still tiring.
Time: 3:19 (Tiffany got 3:59 which is MOVING!)
Monday 2/6/12
We got to the box early and only Austin showed up for the 5:30 class. we decided to wait for the 6:30 class so we could workout with more people. Me and Austin began to do Lynne for our strength
Lynne
No Time Limit
5 Rounds
BW Bench 230#
Pullups
Total Reps of each combined
Last time I did this workout was about 2 months ago. It was one of the first one I had ever done in Crossfit. Since then, I believe I have bench only twice, and neither time has been heavy. Last time I think my total was either 119 or 120. Me and Austin began doing it, and quickly realized how sore our biceps were going to be for our WOD at 6:30. We ended up doing 2 rounds where I was already at 79 and he was at 76. I would have shattered my record from last time, but I wanted to make sure I had a good performance in our WOD. My bench strength has actually gone up, even though I have not been benching. My first set I was able to get 230 for 19 reps.
WOD
30-20-10-5
Push Press 75#
SDHP 75#
Box Hops 24"
I had my football kids do this same workout at school so I knew about where I should be. The fastest time at school was 8:14, so I set my goal to be sub 8 minutes. usually when I set my goals I am about 3 minutes off, so I was hoping this would not be the case. I flew through the push press and SDHP doing them both unbroken and reaching my box first. I am good at box hops, but just not doing them fast yet. I had to break them into 5 sets of 6. Austin and Frankie passed me on the box hops, but I quickly caught back up on the push press and SDHP. I had to break up the SDHP in 12 and 8 but the the push press unbroken. The box hops again gave me trouble, but I pushed through them. Igot passed again, but once again got back to my box first. I knew my last set of 5's I could fly through so I tried to do everything as fast as I could. I ended up finishing first with a time of 7:47. Our whole class had a great effort and everyone really pushed themselves. It was probably one of the best atmospheres we have had since the gym opened.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
PR's all around!
Tuesday 1/31/12
Strength:
Deadlift- 5,5,3,3,1,1
I have never followed the 553311 plan for lifting, but I have really enjoyed it so far. You get just enough reps, as well as working up to a heavy set of one. If I am feeling good, I will try to set a new PR on that last set.
Tiffany had to go to a basketball game so we went over to CrossFit Harrisburg early. We drove seperately because she had to get her WOD in and leave. I decided to do some skill work, stretch, and work on some overhead squats. I began with working double unders. I am beginning to get a lot better with stringing double unders together. Before I would usually do 4 or 5 in a row and then get tripped up. I am now doing about 13 or 14 in a row, but I am still a long way off from mastering these. I worked the double under for about 15 minutes, then moved to the overhead squat. I figured it would be a good day to try and get a max, since it would not wear my legs out. My previous best was 155 for 3 reps, and I had not worked up to a set of one. I was able to get 195, and failed at 205. I was happy to get this weight, since it is a brand new lift for me. I am assuming this max will jump rather quickly for me as I continue to improve my form.
Now to the deadlifts. I was the only one at my 5:30 class which was very odd. This has been the class that was packed every week where would would have to do our WOD's in waves since we had so many people. My work sets in deadlift were:
5- 315
5-365
3-405
3-455
1- 475
1- 500! PR
I wanted to work on some touch and go reps at a heavier weight since I know some WOD's have a 315# deadlift for reps. I did the 315 touch and go pretty quick and easy. I think about 10 reps would be my max on that without having to drop the weight. As I was working up, I wanted to get a 500# deadlift, especially since I had never maxed on it before. The most I had successfully gotten up was 455, but that was pretty easy. Luckily after last time deadlifting, Frankie scooped up some steel plates. This made more room on the bar, so I was able to add more than 455#. I got the 500# deadlift, and I am sure it was ugly. I was so excited to get it though (trust me, I am feeling it today!). Frankie has a picture of me that I will post later in the week.
WOD:
7 rounds
7 Deadlift 225#
7 bar facing burpees (hop over bar after each burpee)
This WOD looked easy on paper, but became very tiring very quickly. I was able to get through the first two rounds no problem, but the burpees were really tiring. As the rounds went on, me and Frankie looked at each other and said the bar seemed to be getting harder and harder to clear. I did everything unbroken, but I rested A LOT in between each set. It didn't help that I just picked up 500# about 10 minutes before. I finished the WOD in 8:46, a decent time, but certainly not my best. Frankie beat me by about 20 seconds (I wish I had his leg stamina). Overall it was a good day. I think the fact that I ate very well helped with energy purposes as well. Today we have a lot of running. With my back as tight as it is, this should be an interesting day
195 Overhead Squat
Strength:
Deadlift- 5,5,3,3,1,1
I have never followed the 553311 plan for lifting, but I have really enjoyed it so far. You get just enough reps, as well as working up to a heavy set of one. If I am feeling good, I will try to set a new PR on that last set.
Tiffany had to go to a basketball game so we went over to CrossFit Harrisburg early. We drove seperately because she had to get her WOD in and leave. I decided to do some skill work, stretch, and work on some overhead squats. I began with working double unders. I am beginning to get a lot better with stringing double unders together. Before I would usually do 4 or 5 in a row and then get tripped up. I am now doing about 13 or 14 in a row, but I am still a long way off from mastering these. I worked the double under for about 15 minutes, then moved to the overhead squat. I figured it would be a good day to try and get a max, since it would not wear my legs out. My previous best was 155 for 3 reps, and I had not worked up to a set of one. I was able to get 195, and failed at 205. I was happy to get this weight, since it is a brand new lift for me. I am assuming this max will jump rather quickly for me as I continue to improve my form.
Now to the deadlifts. I was the only one at my 5:30 class which was very odd. This has been the class that was packed every week where would would have to do our WOD's in waves since we had so many people. My work sets in deadlift were:
5- 315
5-365
3-405
3-455
1- 475
1- 500! PR
I wanted to work on some touch and go reps at a heavier weight since I know some WOD's have a 315# deadlift for reps. I did the 315 touch and go pretty quick and easy. I think about 10 reps would be my max on that without having to drop the weight. As I was working up, I wanted to get a 500# deadlift, especially since I had never maxed on it before. The most I had successfully gotten up was 455, but that was pretty easy. Luckily after last time deadlifting, Frankie scooped up some steel plates. This made more room on the bar, so I was able to add more than 455#. I got the 500# deadlift, and I am sure it was ugly. I was so excited to get it though (trust me, I am feeling it today!). Frankie has a picture of me that I will post later in the week.
WOD:
7 rounds
7 Deadlift 225#
7 bar facing burpees (hop over bar after each burpee)
This WOD looked easy on paper, but became very tiring very quickly. I was able to get through the first two rounds no problem, but the burpees were really tiring. As the rounds went on, me and Frankie looked at each other and said the bar seemed to be getting harder and harder to clear. I did everything unbroken, but I rested A LOT in between each set. It didn't help that I just picked up 500# about 10 minutes before. I finished the WOD in 8:46, a decent time, but certainly not my best. Frankie beat me by about 20 seconds (I wish I had his leg stamina). Overall it was a good day. I think the fact that I ate very well helped with energy purposes as well. Today we have a lot of running. With my back as tight as it is, this should be an interesting day
195 Overhead Squat
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Ups and Downs of CrossFit
The past couple of training sessions for me have been up and down. Saturday was probably the best I have ever done, and Monday was one of my worst days.
Saturday WOD:
Elizabeth
21-15-9
Squat Clean 135#
Ring Dips
I have been looking forward to doing this workout since I had seen it. I knew that ring dips and cleans are two of my strengths and felt like I would be able to put up a good time. I was working out with the two trainers- Josh and Frankie so I wanted to do well. I started out and was able to do 11 unbroken cleans. I could have done more, but wanted to pace myself for the rest of the workout. I finished the cleans first, only about 10 seconds ahead of Josh. We both hopped up on the rings at the same time. I got 18 unbroken then slipped. I tapped my foot on the ground to reset, and finished my last 3. I had pulled away from Josh, but knew he would be close because of his exceptional endurance. After looking back at it, I went slower than I needed to on the set of 15 cleans. I did a lot of singles and 2 reps at a time. I think I could have strung together 3 sets of 5 if I would have really gotten after it. I still felt really good as I moved to the set of 15 on ring dips. I flew through those unbroken and jumped on the bar for my last set of cleans. I did a set of 5 and a set of 4. I jogged to the rings and did 7, shook my arms out real quick, and finished the last two. My goal was to get a time of under 7:00 minutes, but I knew that would be tough. I ended up with a time of 6:29 which I was ecstatic about. Josh finished second a whole minute and 20 seconds behind me. This was by far my best CrossFit performance, other than lifting heavy.
Over the weekend, I was craving subs and sugar for some reason. I ate terrible Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. I just could not get back on track to eating good foods. Monday's workout was a wake up call that what you eat fuels your body.
Monday 1/30/12
Strength
5-5-3-3-1-1 Thrusters
We warmed up and were going to work up to a max set of thrusters. I have been good at this exercise since the first time I tried it, since my legs are pretty strong. My sets were:
5- 135
5- 155
3-185
3-205
1-225
1-245 fail
I felt pretty good working my way up through the thrusters, other than the discomfort in my wrists from holding 200+ pounds. This wasn't a big deal though. I hit 225 relatively easy and expected to hit 245 as well. The weight felt heavy, but I have always been a good 1 rep person. I should have got 245, but my shoulders just couldn't lock it out. I had the weight 90% up, but just couldn't finish the lift. This kind of frustrated me and sort of set the tone for my WOD.
WOD:
Jackie
1000m Row
50 Thrusters 45#bar
30 pullups
After destroying the WOD on Saturday, I set lofty goals for myself of reaching another sub 7 minute performance. The gym was packed so we did a partner Jackie (one partner does the whole Jack, once they finish, the other partner starts). I partnered with Ricky, and let him start us off right. He put down a solid time of 10:43 and I began my row. I started my row in 3rd and quickly chased down the 2 people in front of me. I had a PR 1000m row time of 3:16 and I wasn't really going as fast as I could (I want to test my 1000m row now because the record is only 2:57, I'm not too far off). I expected the thrusters and pullups to be relatively easy, but I just hit a wall. I had to drop the bar and rest 3 times during my 50 thrusters and took forever on the pullups. I was just gassed and had no energy at the end. I blame this due to my bad eating habits, because normally I would be able to push through and finish stronger. I finished with a very disappointing time of 9:23, 4th best for the day. The only good thing is that my team won. I made a vow that starting today, I am going to eat strict Paleo for at least 2 weeks. I want to see if it makes a difference in the energy levels of finishing a workout.
Here is a video of some of my first ring muscle ups I have ever done.
Saturday WOD:
Elizabeth
21-15-9
Squat Clean 135#
Ring Dips
I have been looking forward to doing this workout since I had seen it. I knew that ring dips and cleans are two of my strengths and felt like I would be able to put up a good time. I was working out with the two trainers- Josh and Frankie so I wanted to do well. I started out and was able to do 11 unbroken cleans. I could have done more, but wanted to pace myself for the rest of the workout. I finished the cleans first, only about 10 seconds ahead of Josh. We both hopped up on the rings at the same time. I got 18 unbroken then slipped. I tapped my foot on the ground to reset, and finished my last 3. I had pulled away from Josh, but knew he would be close because of his exceptional endurance. After looking back at it, I went slower than I needed to on the set of 15 cleans. I did a lot of singles and 2 reps at a time. I think I could have strung together 3 sets of 5 if I would have really gotten after it. I still felt really good as I moved to the set of 15 on ring dips. I flew through those unbroken and jumped on the bar for my last set of cleans. I did a set of 5 and a set of 4. I jogged to the rings and did 7, shook my arms out real quick, and finished the last two. My goal was to get a time of under 7:00 minutes, but I knew that would be tough. I ended up with a time of 6:29 which I was ecstatic about. Josh finished second a whole minute and 20 seconds behind me. This was by far my best CrossFit performance, other than lifting heavy.
Over the weekend, I was craving subs and sugar for some reason. I ate terrible Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. I just could not get back on track to eating good foods. Monday's workout was a wake up call that what you eat fuels your body.
Monday 1/30/12
Strength
5-5-3-3-1-1 Thrusters
We warmed up and were going to work up to a max set of thrusters. I have been good at this exercise since the first time I tried it, since my legs are pretty strong. My sets were:
5- 135
5- 155
3-185
3-205
1-225
1-245 fail
I felt pretty good working my way up through the thrusters, other than the discomfort in my wrists from holding 200+ pounds. This wasn't a big deal though. I hit 225 relatively easy and expected to hit 245 as well. The weight felt heavy, but I have always been a good 1 rep person. I should have got 245, but my shoulders just couldn't lock it out. I had the weight 90% up, but just couldn't finish the lift. This kind of frustrated me and sort of set the tone for my WOD.
WOD:
Jackie
1000m Row
50 Thrusters 45#bar
30 pullups
After destroying the WOD on Saturday, I set lofty goals for myself of reaching another sub 7 minute performance. The gym was packed so we did a partner Jackie (one partner does the whole Jack, once they finish, the other partner starts). I partnered with Ricky, and let him start us off right. He put down a solid time of 10:43 and I began my row. I started my row in 3rd and quickly chased down the 2 people in front of me. I had a PR 1000m row time of 3:16 and I wasn't really going as fast as I could (I want to test my 1000m row now because the record is only 2:57, I'm not too far off). I expected the thrusters and pullups to be relatively easy, but I just hit a wall. I had to drop the bar and rest 3 times during my 50 thrusters and took forever on the pullups. I was just gassed and had no energy at the end. I blame this due to my bad eating habits, because normally I would be able to push through and finish stronger. I finished with a very disappointing time of 9:23, 4th best for the day. The only good thing is that my team won. I made a vow that starting today, I am going to eat strict Paleo for at least 2 weeks. I want to see if it makes a difference in the energy levels of finishing a workout.
Here is a video of some of my first ring muscle ups I have ever done.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Legs of Fire
I have been busy this week so I have not been able to get on and post as much as I would like. The WOD's this week have been great so far though. I will get right into it:
Wednesday 1/25/12
We did our baseline testing to see how much we will improve over a period of time. We were sore from the previous two days, but we still did some strength.
Strength:
Hang Cleans- 5,4,3,2,1,1,1
Hang Cleans are by far my favorite lift. Through college and high school I hated doing these, but since I have gotten better at them, I have fell in love. I figured I would not be able to put much weight on because I was so sore so I started out slow and light.
5- 185
4- 205
3- 225
2-245
1- 265
1- 275
1-295
1- 315 (FAIL)
I was not expecting to be able to put up such good numbers, but I worked up to my max and tied my PR. I did the 295 very easy and I'm sure if I would have went up in weight at a more gradual rate, I would have set a new PR. There is always next time though.
WOD:
Run 400m
50 Pushups (I did hand-release)
50 squats
50 Abmat situps
500m Row
On paper I was expecting to blow through this, and do everything unbroken and fast. I added the hand release push ups because I knew I could do 50 standard pushups in a row, and I wanted to be able to see improvement the next time we did this test. I finished the run in 1:38, not far off my goal of 1:30. I took off on the push ups and ended up stopping about 5 times. Hand release makes pushups so much harder. I moved to the squat and got all 50 unbroken. I was expecting the abmat to be easy, but this is challenging for me. I am taller, so I have a bigger range of motion than most people. I got passed by quite a bit on the abmat and I only took about a 5 second rest on #31. I jumped on the rower in 3rd out of 4 people (Tiffany was way ahead because the women only had to do 25 reps of the exercises and that is nothing for her). One other guy was about 25 seconds ahead of me, but I am a strong rower and thought I may have a chance to catch him. I did all I could, but had no legs and only rowed a 1:41 500m (about 15 seconds off of me PR). I finished in 8:50 and he was 8:32 (Tiffany smoked us, 7:14 or something like that). It was nice to chase someone even though I was unsuccessful.
Thursday 1/26/12
This was a WOD that favored me a little more than others because of my strength. I had to go in early to the 4:30 class because we had a coach's meeting for football later that night. Josh was our trainer today, which is a change of pace from my normal trainer Frankie (Frankie did the WOD with us). Josh is in his late 30's and has been doing CrossFit for 3 or 4 years. He is in great shape, a smaller guy, but tons of endurance and strong for his size. He is a guy I am always chasing on the longer workouts. We worked on double unders at the beginning. I have gotten better and was able to string together 18 in a row. My goal is to string 30 in a row by the end of February.
WOD
Deadlifts are at 225#
KB's are 52#
Rounds of 20-15-10-5
Deadlift
KB Swing
Rest 2min
800m Run
I love a workout with heavier deadlifts because I can usually fly through it. I did not know what to expect with so many reps and the heavier weight because this is the first time I have done a WOD like this. I started off and flew through the deadlifts, finishing first in our class of 5 (All 5 of us were in pretty good shape, and the 3 guys were all very tough). I moved to the KB swings and did all 20 unbroken as well, but got passed again. Once again I think due to my height and bigger range of motion, the shorter guys are able to move faster than me through some of these. I jumped back on the deadlifts and this is where I feel like I made my only mistake. I broke the deadlifts up in 8 and 7. Looking back on it I should have just went unbroken, but what can I do know. I moved through the rest of the WOD and did everything unbroken. I knew with a 2 min rest coming up I could really give it my all. I finished the lifting part in 5:25 so I began my run at 7:25. I was about 10 seconds ahead of Frankie who was the closest to me. I pushed through my run, which was terrible after all those lower back exercises, to get a total time of 10:49. This is a goo run for me, a 3:24 800m at the end of my workout. I wound up tying Josh and finished only 8 seconds behind another guy who is a CrossFit "veteran". I was very pleased with my performance, and can tell a huge difference in my endurance since the beginning of my training.
After the WOD I had some time on my hands and played around a little:
500m Row- 1:36
2 sets of 10 butterfly pullups
10 Chest to bar pullups- this was easier than I thought
4 consecutive bar muscle ups
A photo taken after our baseline WOD on Wednesday.
Wednesday 1/25/12
We did our baseline testing to see how much we will improve over a period of time. We were sore from the previous two days, but we still did some strength.
Strength:
Hang Cleans- 5,4,3,2,1,1,1
Hang Cleans are by far my favorite lift. Through college and high school I hated doing these, but since I have gotten better at them, I have fell in love. I figured I would not be able to put much weight on because I was so sore so I started out slow and light.
5- 185
4- 205
3- 225
2-245
1- 265
1- 275
1-295
1- 315 (FAIL)
I was not expecting to be able to put up such good numbers, but I worked up to my max and tied my PR. I did the 295 very easy and I'm sure if I would have went up in weight at a more gradual rate, I would have set a new PR. There is always next time though.
WOD:
Run 400m
50 Pushups (I did hand-release)
50 squats
50 Abmat situps
500m Row
On paper I was expecting to blow through this, and do everything unbroken and fast. I added the hand release push ups because I knew I could do 50 standard pushups in a row, and I wanted to be able to see improvement the next time we did this test. I finished the run in 1:38, not far off my goal of 1:30. I took off on the push ups and ended up stopping about 5 times. Hand release makes pushups so much harder. I moved to the squat and got all 50 unbroken. I was expecting the abmat to be easy, but this is challenging for me. I am taller, so I have a bigger range of motion than most people. I got passed by quite a bit on the abmat and I only took about a 5 second rest on #31. I jumped on the rower in 3rd out of 4 people (Tiffany was way ahead because the women only had to do 25 reps of the exercises and that is nothing for her). One other guy was about 25 seconds ahead of me, but I am a strong rower and thought I may have a chance to catch him. I did all I could, but had no legs and only rowed a 1:41 500m (about 15 seconds off of me PR). I finished in 8:50 and he was 8:32 (Tiffany smoked us, 7:14 or something like that). It was nice to chase someone even though I was unsuccessful.
Thursday 1/26/12
This was a WOD that favored me a little more than others because of my strength. I had to go in early to the 4:30 class because we had a coach's meeting for football later that night. Josh was our trainer today, which is a change of pace from my normal trainer Frankie (Frankie did the WOD with us). Josh is in his late 30's and has been doing CrossFit for 3 or 4 years. He is in great shape, a smaller guy, but tons of endurance and strong for his size. He is a guy I am always chasing on the longer workouts. We worked on double unders at the beginning. I have gotten better and was able to string together 18 in a row. My goal is to string 30 in a row by the end of February.
WOD
Deadlifts are at 225#
KB's are 52#
Rounds of 20-15-10-5
Deadlift
KB Swing
Rest 2min
800m Run
I love a workout with heavier deadlifts because I can usually fly through it. I did not know what to expect with so many reps and the heavier weight because this is the first time I have done a WOD like this. I started off and flew through the deadlifts, finishing first in our class of 5 (All 5 of us were in pretty good shape, and the 3 guys were all very tough). I moved to the KB swings and did all 20 unbroken as well, but got passed again. Once again I think due to my height and bigger range of motion, the shorter guys are able to move faster than me through some of these. I jumped back on the deadlifts and this is where I feel like I made my only mistake. I broke the deadlifts up in 8 and 7. Looking back on it I should have just went unbroken, but what can I do know. I moved through the rest of the WOD and did everything unbroken. I knew with a 2 min rest coming up I could really give it my all. I finished the lifting part in 5:25 so I began my run at 7:25. I was about 10 seconds ahead of Frankie who was the closest to me. I pushed through my run, which was terrible after all those lower back exercises, to get a total time of 10:49. This is a goo run for me, a 3:24 800m at the end of my workout. I wound up tying Josh and finished only 8 seconds behind another guy who is a CrossFit "veteran". I was very pleased with my performance, and can tell a huge difference in my endurance since the beginning of my training.
After the WOD I had some time on my hands and played around a little:
500m Row- 1:36
2 sets of 10 butterfly pullups
10 Chest to bar pullups- this was easier than I thought
4 consecutive bar muscle ups
A photo taken after our baseline WOD on Wednesday.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Tabata This!
No strength workout today since everyone was so sore from the leg workout yesterday. We started off with a nice 400m jog and about 15 minutes of stretching.
WOD: Tabata This!
Row (for calories)
rest 1 minute
Squats
rest 1 minute
Pullups
rest 1 minute
Abmat Situps
rest 1 minute
Pushups
You have 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest 8 times. To calculate you score, you take the lowest total rep for the 8 set increment.
We began on the row and I did a great job. I have grown to love the rower and it has consistently been one of my better exercises. I was able to maintain a 9 calorie pace through all 8 sets. I then moved to the squats which were hard for me after the rower, and with my legs being sore from yesterday. I was able to get 15 reps for all 8 sets, but it was very difficult and really wore me out. After the next one minute rest (which is not nearly as much as you think) I started the pullups. I recently discovered how to do butterfly pullups, so I tried to incorporate these in my workout. The pullups were my worst score of the Tabata. I started with 2 rounds of 8, but quickly fell off to 4 reps on the final set. The last two were situps and pushups. I expected to do around 12 on each, but was to exhausted and got a score of 8 on each of them. My final total was 44, which was a little lower than my goal of 50, but I do not see where I could have made up any reps today. Next time I feel like I can do better. I am going to start incorporating some tabata into my normal workouts with bench, deadlifts, and box jumps. This is something that I need to work on, and something that will help me improve my endurance.
After the WOD me and Tiffany did another 400m run to loosen up some more. I wanted to work on some technical exercises and Tiffany wanted to learn the squat snatch. She learned the form very quickly and will do well when she does it in a workout. I could not get my form down for a while, but Tiffany helped me to get it right. Once I got the form right I decided to add some weight and worked up to 135# which is a 20# PR. I can snatch 185# but that is without doing a full squat. The squat is tough for me since I am not as flexible as I would like. My goal is to get 185# by the end of February as I continue to work on my form.
Here is a video of my 135# snatch (If you have any suggestions, by all means)
WOD: Tabata This!
Row (for calories)
rest 1 minute
Squats
rest 1 minute
Pullups
rest 1 minute
Abmat Situps
rest 1 minute
Pushups
You have 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest 8 times. To calculate you score, you take the lowest total rep for the 8 set increment.
We began on the row and I did a great job. I have grown to love the rower and it has consistently been one of my better exercises. I was able to maintain a 9 calorie pace through all 8 sets. I then moved to the squats which were hard for me after the rower, and with my legs being sore from yesterday. I was able to get 15 reps for all 8 sets, but it was very difficult and really wore me out. After the next one minute rest (which is not nearly as much as you think) I started the pullups. I recently discovered how to do butterfly pullups, so I tried to incorporate these in my workout. The pullups were my worst score of the Tabata. I started with 2 rounds of 8, but quickly fell off to 4 reps on the final set. The last two were situps and pushups. I expected to do around 12 on each, but was to exhausted and got a score of 8 on each of them. My final total was 44, which was a little lower than my goal of 50, but I do not see where I could have made up any reps today. Next time I feel like I can do better. I am going to start incorporating some tabata into my normal workouts with bench, deadlifts, and box jumps. This is something that I need to work on, and something that will help me improve my endurance.
After the WOD me and Tiffany did another 400m run to loosen up some more. I wanted to work on some technical exercises and Tiffany wanted to learn the squat snatch. She learned the form very quickly and will do well when she does it in a workout. I could not get my form down for a while, but Tiffany helped me to get it right. Once I got the form right I decided to add some weight and worked up to 135# which is a 20# PR. I can snatch 185# but that is without doing a full squat. The squat is tough for me since I am not as flexible as I would like. My goal is to get 185# by the end of February as I continue to work on my form.
Here is a video of my 135# snatch (If you have any suggestions, by all means)
Monday, January 23, 2012
Back from my 5 day Hiatus
It feels good to be back from my recent break. I did not take a break from CrossFit, just from writing on my blog. I know you guys have been just so disappointed that I have not been updating you with my workout progress; especially you Joe Hough. I know you have been disappointed that you have not been able to constantly critique my blog on a daily basis. So, here you go, another blog for you to rip apart and make fun of me tomorrow :)
Saturday me and Tiffany did the workout "filthy 50" which was a dirty as it sounds. It was about 10 different exercises that you perform 50 reps each of. I will not go into how terrible it was, but I finished in 30:59. After our workout, we went up to Greensboro to check out the garage games. This was sort of a CrossFit competition. We went up to watch one of the guys that got me started doing CrossFit, Michael Tancini. The workouts were very tough and we had a lot of fun watching. It was actually a lot of fun and we really had a great time. Michael did very well and wound up finishing 9th overall out of about 40 guys.
Today's WOD
Our workout today was probably my favorite since starting at our gym. It was heavy on the legs, and I am definitely feeling it as I sit here.
Strength:
On the minute squats for x number of reps:
3,3,3,3,3,3,2,2,2,1,1,1
I really enjoyed this strength workout today. I am used to doing the normal 5x3 with however much rest I wanted. This workout gave me usually around 30-45 seconds of rest between sets.
My work sets looked like this:
3-275
3-275
3-295
3-295
3-315
3-315
2-335
2-345
2-365
1-385
1-405
We accidentally missed one more set of one, but it was plenty of work for me. I worked up to 405 after a lot of reps with very little rest. About a month ago, my max was 435. I have only squatted heavy one time since then and my max has probably gone up since then. I was very pleased with my results from the strength work. We took about 10 minutes and went on to today's WOD
WOD:
500m row
5- squat 205#
5- box hop 30"
10- squat 205#
10- box hop 30"
15- squat 205#
15- box hop 30"
400m run
This workout killed your already tired legs, but it was one I really enjoyed. On the 500m row I set a PR with a 1:28 row. I was able to go through the first two rounds of squats unbroken, but the third I had to break up in a set of 8 then 7. The box hops weren't too bad, I just tried to stay moving at a constant pace. The run was terrible because I couldn't feel my legs, and we also ran inside. Running inside wouldn't bother me, but we only have 20 yards to run on so I had to do 10 down and backs which was a lot of starting and stopping. This obviously slowed my time, but not so much that it would make a huge difference. I finished the WOD in 11:18 which was respectable, but I would like to have gotten under 10:00. This is a WOD I would like to try again once I get my cardio a little better.
Now time to stretch so I can walk tomorrow!
Saturday me and Tiffany did the workout "filthy 50" which was a dirty as it sounds. It was about 10 different exercises that you perform 50 reps each of. I will not go into how terrible it was, but I finished in 30:59. After our workout, we went up to Greensboro to check out the garage games. This was sort of a CrossFit competition. We went up to watch one of the guys that got me started doing CrossFit, Michael Tancini. The workouts were very tough and we had a lot of fun watching. It was actually a lot of fun and we really had a great time. Michael did very well and wound up finishing 9th overall out of about 40 guys.
Today's WOD
Our workout today was probably my favorite since starting at our gym. It was heavy on the legs, and I am definitely feeling it as I sit here.
Strength:
On the minute squats for x number of reps:
3,3,3,3,3,3,2,2,2,1,1,1
I really enjoyed this strength workout today. I am used to doing the normal 5x3 with however much rest I wanted. This workout gave me usually around 30-45 seconds of rest between sets.
My work sets looked like this:
3-275
3-275
3-295
3-295
3-315
3-315
2-335
2-345
2-365
1-385
1-405
We accidentally missed one more set of one, but it was plenty of work for me. I worked up to 405 after a lot of reps with very little rest. About a month ago, my max was 435. I have only squatted heavy one time since then and my max has probably gone up since then. I was very pleased with my results from the strength work. We took about 10 minutes and went on to today's WOD
WOD:
500m row
5- squat 205#
5- box hop 30"
10- squat 205#
10- box hop 30"
15- squat 205#
15- box hop 30"
400m run
This workout killed your already tired legs, but it was one I really enjoyed. On the 500m row I set a PR with a 1:28 row. I was able to go through the first two rounds of squats unbroken, but the third I had to break up in a set of 8 then 7. The box hops weren't too bad, I just tried to stay moving at a constant pace. The run was terrible because I couldn't feel my legs, and we also ran inside. Running inside wouldn't bother me, but we only have 20 yards to run on so I had to do 10 down and backs which was a lot of starting and stopping. This obviously slowed my time, but not so much that it would make a huge difference. I finished the WOD in 11:18 which was respectable, but I would like to have gotten under 10:00. This is a WOD I would like to try again once I get my cardio a little better.
Now time to stretch so I can walk tomorrow!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
1/18/12
Coming into the day, my body was extremely sore. My back, chest, triceps, and hamstrings were just worn out from the past couple of days work. Wednesday is my "rest day" where I only stretch and do the WOD.
WOD:
20 minute AMRAP
5 Thrusters
7 hang power cleans
10 SDHP
*All at 95#
Going into the workout, I was not sure what to expect. I always underestimate the difficulty of the CrossFit workouts, as I did today. You would think after 3 weeks I would learn, but still I have not learned my lesson. My plan was to do 1 round every minute and get somewhere around 20 rounds. HAHAHA! I began with this plan, and made it through 2 rounds in two minutes, but was absolutely spent. The weight was easy for the thrusters and cleans, but the sumo deadlift were difficult at that weight. My success came from being able to go right from 5 thrusters into 7 hang cleans without dropping the bar. I was the only one in the class that could do that, which allowed me to do a couple more rounds than most people. I wound up finishing 10 rounds as well as 5 thrusters. This was a tough WOD, but it was a good one for a "rest" day.
After the workout, I decided to play around like normal. I was able to do 3 bar muscle ups in a row. I was not thinking I would be able to do any because my forearms were so sore from the WOD, but the muscle ups went up pretty easy. I also worked on some sled push working up to a 20 yard sled push at somewhere around 500#. I worked up to this weight adding 90 pounds every push. A nice little finished to the workout today.
Tomorrow will be another relatively easy day (or at least I think) so I am going to do some more stretching and mobility tonight. One of the guys at the gym wants to do "Linda" one day this week.
Linda:
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of the triplet:
Deadlift: 1 1/2 body weight- 345
Bench press: body weight- 230
Clean: 3/4 body weight- 175
For some reason this looks fun to me...
WOD:
20 minute AMRAP
5 Thrusters
7 hang power cleans
10 SDHP
*All at 95#
Going into the workout, I was not sure what to expect. I always underestimate the difficulty of the CrossFit workouts, as I did today. You would think after 3 weeks I would learn, but still I have not learned my lesson. My plan was to do 1 round every minute and get somewhere around 20 rounds. HAHAHA! I began with this plan, and made it through 2 rounds in two minutes, but was absolutely spent. The weight was easy for the thrusters and cleans, but the sumo deadlift were difficult at that weight. My success came from being able to go right from 5 thrusters into 7 hang cleans without dropping the bar. I was the only one in the class that could do that, which allowed me to do a couple more rounds than most people. I wound up finishing 10 rounds as well as 5 thrusters. This was a tough WOD, but it was a good one for a "rest" day.
After the workout, I decided to play around like normal. I was able to do 3 bar muscle ups in a row. I was not thinking I would be able to do any because my forearms were so sore from the WOD, but the muscle ups went up pretty easy. I also worked on some sled push working up to a 20 yard sled push at somewhere around 500#. I worked up to this weight adding 90 pounds every push. A nice little finished to the workout today.
Tomorrow will be another relatively easy day (or at least I think) so I am going to do some more stretching and mobility tonight. One of the guys at the gym wants to do "Linda" one day this week.
Linda:
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of the triplet:
For some reason this looks fun to me...
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
1/17/12
This is going to be short and sweet today. After such a disappointing performance yesterday, I told Tiffany that I was going to put a time that is near impossible for anyone to beat.
Strength:
5x3 Thrusters
After watching videos of Jason Khalipa absolutely destroy thrusters today, I wanted to see where I stood on these. I worked up to a set of 215 for 3. I should have done 225, but I was too lazy to go grab another 45 to put on the bar. I was watching some of the CrossFit games competitors do these and get up to around 275 for one rep. I feel like I would be somewhere around 255 or 265, but strength has never been my problem anyway.
WOD:
10 rounds
15 deadlift 135#
15 pushups
I knew this was going to be a WOD I could fly through. My deadlift is somewhere around 500# so 135 was very light for me. Pushups are another exercise that does not tire me because of all the benching I am accustomed to. I was able to go nonstop with no resting between sets or reps through 4 rounds. I then made it through the whole workout without having to break up any sets, meaning that once I started the exercise I did all 15 reps. I did rest between moving from one exercise to another, but not for very long. Unfortunately this workout became a cardio issue for me, but that has been my weakness since I started CrossFit. I finished the workout in 9:53 which was by far the bast time of the day. The next closest was about 3 minutes behind. I was very happy with my performance, but still know I have a lot of things that I need to improve on.
On a side note, Tiffany absolutely crushed it today. She did the whole WOD Rx'ed. She did 95 pounds on the deadlift, which is very close to her body weight. She was able to finish the whole thing without lowering the weight or stopping before finishing the whole WOD. Her time was somewhere in the 20's, but she did far more than my pound for pound. It was great to see her do a workout exactly as ordered, even if she did struggle through it for 20 mins. It was very impressive to say the least.
Until tomorrow...
Strength:
5x3 Thrusters
After watching videos of Jason Khalipa absolutely destroy thrusters today, I wanted to see where I stood on these. I worked up to a set of 215 for 3. I should have done 225, but I was too lazy to go grab another 45 to put on the bar. I was watching some of the CrossFit games competitors do these and get up to around 275 for one rep. I feel like I would be somewhere around 255 or 265, but strength has never been my problem anyway.
WOD:
10 rounds
15 deadlift 135#
15 pushups
I knew this was going to be a WOD I could fly through. My deadlift is somewhere around 500# so 135 was very light for me. Pushups are another exercise that does not tire me because of all the benching I am accustomed to. I was able to go nonstop with no resting between sets or reps through 4 rounds. I then made it through the whole workout without having to break up any sets, meaning that once I started the exercise I did all 15 reps. I did rest between moving from one exercise to another, but not for very long. Unfortunately this workout became a cardio issue for me, but that has been my weakness since I started CrossFit. I finished the workout in 9:53 which was by far the bast time of the day. The next closest was about 3 minutes behind. I was very happy with my performance, but still know I have a lot of things that I need to improve on.
On a side note, Tiffany absolutely crushed it today. She did the whole WOD Rx'ed. She did 95 pounds on the deadlift, which is very close to her body weight. She was able to finish the whole thing without lowering the weight or stopping before finishing the whole WOD. Her time was somewhere in the 20's, but she did far more than my pound for pound. It was great to see her do a workout exactly as ordered, even if she did struggle through it for 20 mins. It was very impressive to say the least.
Until tomorrow...
Monday, January 16, 2012
A little taste of humble pie
Today was Martin Luther King Day so me and Tiffany both had the day off from work. We did not make any plans to go anywhere so we decided to do a two-a-day at CrossFit Harrisburg.
11am Strength-
Jerk- 5,3,1
3 Rounds (not for time)
10 Ring Pullpus
10 Ring Dips
3 Rounds
Handstand Pushup hold- 30 seconds
BW Bench Max Reps
We did not try to go fast through this workout, we just wanted to get through it at a leisure pace. I worked up to a max on Jerk, which is another one of my weaker lifts. I would love to be able to do a lot more, but it takes a lot of time. I was able to get 205x5, 225x3, and worked up to 255x1. The 255 was ugly and my not technically count in a true competition, but I figure I will count it now because I know it will go up quickly. I need to work on my form, and dipping lower in the catch. The ring work was very easy form me, but the handstand hold were extremely hard. I was not expecting these to be so hard, but they were very difficult for me to perform. It is an awkward position with your body being upside down, and being 230lbs, I have a lot of weight to hold. After all of that I was able to knock out 18 reps on the bench. My goal was 20, but I did not realize the toll my shoulders took from the rest of the workout.
After the workout, we picked up the dog and took her over to the school to let her run. She loves this racket ball I found at my parent's house. She ran around for about 30 minutes straight and just kept going. Once we got home, all three of us crashed and had a nice relaxing afternoon.
4pm WOD:
Kelly
5 rounds
400m run
30 box hops (24inch)
30 wall ball 20#
Let me start by saying this WOD is terrible! I was not looking forward to it as it was, but it was even worse as we began. I started with a nice leisure 400m run at a 2 min pace. I was trying to pace myself and shoot for a time around 25min. Me and Frankie were talking earlier and figured this would be around where we felt the WOD should take. Boy were we wrong. The box hops killed me legs and tired me out for the wall balls. These were easy, but being so tired, I struggled with them. The rest of the rounds I kept about the same pace- jog the 200 and walk back. Once I got back inside I did 15 box hops as fast as possible, took a quick rest, then paced myself through the last 15. I broke the wall balls up in 3 sets of 10. Tiffany did a good job, but it is tough for her to keep pace with me. The other person the was working out with us, only did 5 rounds of half of everything, so she finished in about 20 minutes. I ended up with a time of 36:17, not good to say the least. Mentally, I was not trying to go fast, I was just trying to finish. The class right after ours had 5 guys in it and they beat me by 2 minutes. I feel as though if I would have done the workout at the same time as them, I would have finished first and gotten a better time, but without the competition, I did not push myself as hard as I should have.
Tomorrows workout should be a quick one, but play into some of my strengths. I look forward to getting back on top.
Here is a video of my 255 jerk PR
11am Strength-
Jerk- 5,3,1
3 Rounds (not for time)
10 Ring Pullpus
10 Ring Dips
3 Rounds
Handstand Pushup hold- 30 seconds
BW Bench Max Reps
We did not try to go fast through this workout, we just wanted to get through it at a leisure pace. I worked up to a max on Jerk, which is another one of my weaker lifts. I would love to be able to do a lot more, but it takes a lot of time. I was able to get 205x5, 225x3, and worked up to 255x1. The 255 was ugly and my not technically count in a true competition, but I figure I will count it now because I know it will go up quickly. I need to work on my form, and dipping lower in the catch. The ring work was very easy form me, but the handstand hold were extremely hard. I was not expecting these to be so hard, but they were very difficult for me to perform. It is an awkward position with your body being upside down, and being 230lbs, I have a lot of weight to hold. After all of that I was able to knock out 18 reps on the bench. My goal was 20, but I did not realize the toll my shoulders took from the rest of the workout.
After the workout, we picked up the dog and took her over to the school to let her run. She loves this racket ball I found at my parent's house. She ran around for about 30 minutes straight and just kept going. Once we got home, all three of us crashed and had a nice relaxing afternoon.
4pm WOD:
Kelly
5 rounds
400m run
30 box hops (24inch)
30 wall ball 20#
Let me start by saying this WOD is terrible! I was not looking forward to it as it was, but it was even worse as we began. I started with a nice leisure 400m run at a 2 min pace. I was trying to pace myself and shoot for a time around 25min. Me and Frankie were talking earlier and figured this would be around where we felt the WOD should take. Boy were we wrong. The box hops killed me legs and tired me out for the wall balls. These were easy, but being so tired, I struggled with them. The rest of the rounds I kept about the same pace- jog the 200 and walk back. Once I got back inside I did 15 box hops as fast as possible, took a quick rest, then paced myself through the last 15. I broke the wall balls up in 3 sets of 10. Tiffany did a good job, but it is tough for her to keep pace with me. The other person the was working out with us, only did 5 rounds of half of everything, so she finished in about 20 minutes. I ended up with a time of 36:17, not good to say the least. Mentally, I was not trying to go fast, I was just trying to finish. The class right after ours had 5 guys in it and they beat me by 2 minutes. I feel as though if I would have done the workout at the same time as them, I would have finished first and gotten a better time, but without the competition, I did not push myself as hard as I should have.
Tomorrows workout should be a quick one, but play into some of my strengths. I look forward to getting back on top.
Here is a video of my 255 jerk PR
Saturday, January 14, 2012
2 for 1
Well, I did not have time to write a post after the workout yesterday, and we went to the 9am class this morning. Anyway, I will jump right to it.
Friday Strength:
5x3 Overhead squat
This is my worst lift by far, so I took the opportunity to try and improve on it. I got a real good warm up and loosened my shoulders up very well. The most I have done on this lift previously was 75 pounds, because I just do not do it. I warmed up and had a lot of help from some people in the gym commenting and tweaking my form. I was able to start my first work set at 95. This felt very light and I did my second set at 115. Once again the weight felt light so I moved to 135. My form was still very good. This is an awkward lift where you have to keep the bar over your body and slightly behind your head. For someone like me that has been benching heavy for many years, this is an awkward position. I was able to work up to my last set at 155 and got it no problem.
Friday WOD:
5 rounds
10 Overhead Squat 75#
15 Kettlebell swings 53#
20 GHD situps
I already dreaded this workout because it included overhead squats, but my confidence was up because of what I had previously just done. I started the WOD and smoked through the first round doing all 3 exercises unbroken. I began the second set of OHS and my right arm began to go numb. It never hurt, it just began to lose its sensation. It was a very weird feeling that ran from my shoulder all the way down into my thumb. I pushed through and finished the KBS unbroken and moved to the GHD machine. If you have never done GHD situps, I highly suggest you try them. The are extremely taxing and take a lot out of you. I finished having to break them up in 2 sets of 10. I was complaining about my arm even though it did not hurt. I tried to hold the bar up to start my third set of OHS and just could not feel it. There was no way I was able to finish doing OHS, so I ran over and grabbed a 45# plate, threw it on my back, and did squats with it. At this point I was so frustrated I could not do the workout as it was written, I lost all focus. I ended up having to break my GHD situps into 4 sets of 5, but still did the KBS unbroken. My time ended up being terrible 15:38 I believe. I went to the school and asked or trainer what her thoughts were about my arm, and she said the same thing as I suspected. Since I am so big and bulky in my upper body, I basically cut the blood flow, circulation, and nerves off to my arm as I was doing OHS. This is something that I need to improve.
SATURDAY 1/14/12
We went into the box for the 9am class. I was looking forward to the workout because it is one that I had done before. My arm was still numb, but not quite as bad as it was the nigh before.
Strength:
Deadlift- 5x3
I decided since I do not know my true 1 rep max on deadlift, that I would attempt to find it. I warmed up and threw 405 on the bar, know I have already done this for 3 reps. I hit 405 very easy and was excited about being able to throw on some big weight today. One problem though....We only have bumper plates, which are very wide. The bar can only truly hold 4 plates and a clamp, which I already had on there. I decided to add 25's on each side and just not use clamps since I was only doing 1 rep. I hit 455 very easy and was now faced with a dilemma. I tried finding a way to put more weight on by using bands, but it did not work out for me. I put 475 on the bar and the weight was not fully on the bar. I knew this was the max I could probably load on the bar today. Frankie was very excited to see me do this and went to grab his camera to put pictures on the website. Everyone wanted to watch me perform this lift. I grabbed the bar and began to stand up. About 4 inches off the floor, the weights began to all fall off the bar in a big anticlimactic way to end my 475 attempt. I know I can get the weight, and presume my max to be in the 500's somewhere. Frankie is going to order some steel plates that are thinner and will allow me to put more weight on the bar.
Saturday WOD:
Cindy
20 min AMRAP(as many rounds as possible)
5 pullups
10 pushups (I did hand release)
15 air squats
I love this workout because it plays to a lot of my strengths, other than endurance. I flew out of the gate knocking out my first round in about 40 seconds. I was averaging 1 round a minute about 6 minutes through, then I began to die. The hand release push ups add a whole new dimension to this workout. If I were just doing regular pushups, I would fly through it getting in the 20's for rounds. I managed to push through 15 rounds plus pullups and pushups. So really I was close to 16 rounds. My goal was to get 18, but my body was just so taxed from not resting all week, I was not able to stay as consistent as I would have liked. Also, I only grabbed a protein shake on the way out the door, so I did not have any food in me. I felt lethargic by the end of the workout which probably hindered my performance. I wouldn't say it was a good or bad day, just solid.
I am really hoping that more people start signing up that are closer to my level of athleticism and competitiveness, because I want to be challenged. There has been very few workouts I have done that others in the class have done RX'd. Everyone has to modify the workload, which I feel is a huge difference from what I am doing. I want someone that will push me and challenge me when I am doing my WOD. right now I am just competing against myself and the clock, and I am not able to see where other people are at. As the word gets out, I suspect more will join that will challenge me and I will have to pick up my pace.
Friday Strength:
5x3 Overhead squat
This is my worst lift by far, so I took the opportunity to try and improve on it. I got a real good warm up and loosened my shoulders up very well. The most I have done on this lift previously was 75 pounds, because I just do not do it. I warmed up and had a lot of help from some people in the gym commenting and tweaking my form. I was able to start my first work set at 95. This felt very light and I did my second set at 115. Once again the weight felt light so I moved to 135. My form was still very good. This is an awkward lift where you have to keep the bar over your body and slightly behind your head. For someone like me that has been benching heavy for many years, this is an awkward position. I was able to work up to my last set at 155 and got it no problem.
Friday WOD:
5 rounds
10 Overhead Squat 75#
15 Kettlebell swings 53#
20 GHD situps
I already dreaded this workout because it included overhead squats, but my confidence was up because of what I had previously just done. I started the WOD and smoked through the first round doing all 3 exercises unbroken. I began the second set of OHS and my right arm began to go numb. It never hurt, it just began to lose its sensation. It was a very weird feeling that ran from my shoulder all the way down into my thumb. I pushed through and finished the KBS unbroken and moved to the GHD machine. If you have never done GHD situps, I highly suggest you try them. The are extremely taxing and take a lot out of you. I finished having to break them up in 2 sets of 10. I was complaining about my arm even though it did not hurt. I tried to hold the bar up to start my third set of OHS and just could not feel it. There was no way I was able to finish doing OHS, so I ran over and grabbed a 45# plate, threw it on my back, and did squats with it. At this point I was so frustrated I could not do the workout as it was written, I lost all focus. I ended up having to break my GHD situps into 4 sets of 5, but still did the KBS unbroken. My time ended up being terrible 15:38 I believe. I went to the school and asked or trainer what her thoughts were about my arm, and she said the same thing as I suspected. Since I am so big and bulky in my upper body, I basically cut the blood flow, circulation, and nerves off to my arm as I was doing OHS. This is something that I need to improve.
SATURDAY 1/14/12
We went into the box for the 9am class. I was looking forward to the workout because it is one that I had done before. My arm was still numb, but not quite as bad as it was the nigh before.
Strength:
Deadlift- 5x3
I decided since I do not know my true 1 rep max on deadlift, that I would attempt to find it. I warmed up and threw 405 on the bar, know I have already done this for 3 reps. I hit 405 very easy and was excited about being able to throw on some big weight today. One problem though....We only have bumper plates, which are very wide. The bar can only truly hold 4 plates and a clamp, which I already had on there. I decided to add 25's on each side and just not use clamps since I was only doing 1 rep. I hit 455 very easy and was now faced with a dilemma. I tried finding a way to put more weight on by using bands, but it did not work out for me. I put 475 on the bar and the weight was not fully on the bar. I knew this was the max I could probably load on the bar today. Frankie was very excited to see me do this and went to grab his camera to put pictures on the website. Everyone wanted to watch me perform this lift. I grabbed the bar and began to stand up. About 4 inches off the floor, the weights began to all fall off the bar in a big anticlimactic way to end my 475 attempt. I know I can get the weight, and presume my max to be in the 500's somewhere. Frankie is going to order some steel plates that are thinner and will allow me to put more weight on the bar.
Saturday WOD:
Cindy
20 min AMRAP(as many rounds as possible)
5 pullups
10 pushups (I did hand release)
15 air squats
I love this workout because it plays to a lot of my strengths, other than endurance. I flew out of the gate knocking out my first round in about 40 seconds. I was averaging 1 round a minute about 6 minutes through, then I began to die. The hand release push ups add a whole new dimension to this workout. If I were just doing regular pushups, I would fly through it getting in the 20's for rounds. I managed to push through 15 rounds plus pullups and pushups. So really I was close to 16 rounds. My goal was to get 18, but my body was just so taxed from not resting all week, I was not able to stay as consistent as I would have liked. Also, I only grabbed a protein shake on the way out the door, so I did not have any food in me. I felt lethargic by the end of the workout which probably hindered my performance. I wouldn't say it was a good or bad day, just solid.
I am really hoping that more people start signing up that are closer to my level of athleticism and competitiveness, because I want to be challenged. There has been very few workouts I have done that others in the class have done RX'd. Everyone has to modify the workload, which I feel is a huge difference from what I am doing. I want someone that will push me and challenge me when I am doing my WOD. right now I am just competing against myself and the clock, and I am not able to see where other people are at. As the word gets out, I suspect more will join that will challenge me and I will have to pick up my pace.
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