Tabata that, and push jerk

Tabata:
Row 6
Burpee 7
High Pull 8
Box Jump 6
Total 27

I did not really attack this workout. I could have gone balls out and scored 1 more point in each of the 4 exercises - or 248 reps instead of 216 reps. Not sure why I held back. In past Tabatas I have started fast and faded. This time, I started at a slow pace and planned to keep the same # of reps for all 8 rounds. Surprisingly, this was easier than I expected. I had almost 5 seconds left on most rounds.

Maybe I am getting fitter, and can keep up a higher level of effort than before. Next tabata I will challenge myself more.



Jerk -190. I did push jerk to baby my sore knee a little. Maybe it was more of a push press at the end. Melissa was keeping me honest and reminding me to get under the bar.

Back to CFOT for Mary

7 2/3 rounds:
5 handstand pushups on parallettes (oh my)
10 reverse lunges (2-45# plates) for the pistols
15 pullups

First day back at cfot in a week. It’s good to be home.

Not only that, but compare this effort to my first workout after Xmas break a year ago. Yup. Pukie time.

Today, I felt pretty good.

A visit to CrossFit Legion - Knoxville, TN

Visiting My wife's cousins in Knoxville, I decided to take a little road trip. Just 10 minutes down the road is a new box called Crossfit Legion. Henry took an old service (gas) station and turned the large open room into a good sized cf box.

There was no scheduled class, but Henry answered my email with a call and invited me to come in while he did some paperwork.

So I messed around and used the stretch band. Then I did his prior day wod. 10-1 pull ups mixed with 1-10 push ups. Simple and quick. But I really go after it and only let go of the bar once or twice. Finished in 5:05.

My knee is still messed up. I cannot really fold my right leg completely. It feels swollen and painful. More stretching and a rehab visit soon.

Limping to the finish

The year is done. Or at least in 9 days it is. But I am traveling for most of this, so my cross fit year is pretty much done. It was an amazing year. I think that is nothing that I did in 2009, that I did not to better, faster stronger in 2010. Every lift, every Fran, every pull up. Considering that I am on the south side of 40 (or is 41 the north side?) that is incredible.

But the last week has been total crap. My knee hurts, my good shoulder hurts, and I was too busy to do the Hopper. That put me in a funk. So it is a great time to head out of town and work that lacrosse ball, stretch band and rest,

See you all in 2011. Although I would love to hit the wod tomorrow before my flight. We'll see.

Tuesday 12/21

Wod 1: I fear the 2k row , but today I had no energy and funny enough, if you row a slow enough pace it is not that bad. I finished in 8:40 and basically had the same pace thoughout. This was more about doing it as opposed to skipping the wod, which was a thought.

Wod 2: 1 rep push press. Did I mention that I did this at the sport n flex. So for this wod, I had to keep the grunting and weight dropping to a minimum. That held me back. I worked several sets of strict press to warm up. 65x3, 85x3, 115x2 and 135x2. Then push press x 1 of 135,155, 175, 185 195. No misses. Called it a day.

Monday 12/20

My knee is still sore from Pistols a few weeks back. Clearly I pulled or strained something.

So no to heavy squats today.

Alt WOD:
50 pullups, 100 pushups, 150 ab mats, 200 air squats
14:34


WOD 2 - 30 muscle ups. I did 10, failed once and felt something off in my shoulder. Decided to lay it safe and I stopped. I was on a good pace.

Strict Press x1, Weighted Chin Up

In 21 minutes, bounce back and forth between strict press and weighted chin ups for a 1 rep max on each.

Worked up to 175# strict press. I think 45, 95, 125, 145, 165, 175

Chin ups - 0, 26, 35, 45, 53, 63, 70, 75(f)

The 175# was not a PR. Back in August I hit 190 - which is insane. Prior to that my PR was 181, so I was on fire that day. Today the 175# was a struggle. I could have attempted one more lift, but I would not have gotten 190#. I was getting tired of running back and forth between the weighted chins and the strict press. I see that in 21 minutes I attempted 13 weighted lifts. That is not much rest. So not getting a PR today on the press makes sense. Plus yesterday's workout took a brutal toll. I am sore.

Clean x 1, then KB horribleness

20 minutes to work on 1 rep clean. Chad was on fire and hitting this workout with enthusiasm. I walked in sore, tired and in a funk. Thank God for Chad. He pushed me to go after it, and 10 minutes in we had 200# on the bar. Actually 201.5, then 205. Near miss twice at 210. Felt good.

95,115, 135, 155, 175, 185, 201.5, 210 (f), 205, then 210 (f)

WOD #2: 21,18,15,12,9,6,3 swings with the 70# bell. Complete all sets without a break. Rest in between as little as possible. I blew it on the round of 12. Got 10 and failed. Had to do that over. Ughh.


Good day. Painful, but good.

Potomac Crossfit Throwdown

This was awesome to watch. Rather than me talking about it, you can go to their write up. Results are here.

Results

And also a few videos mostly from the final event, which was 20 reps of 195# squat cleans. Here and Here and Here

Every Minute for 10 minutes Deadlift x 1

This was fun. 5# away from my PR. Missed lifts 8 and 10. 10 was a PR attempt. Lift 9 was my best deadlift ever. Only 5# from my PR and it flew up and felt easy.
245-275-295-305-315-325-335-345(f)-345 – 355(f)

Chad with a big lift, which I am sure he will post right after this.

Encouraging and yelling for him was almost as fun as the lifting.

Jerk

I wanted to work on form. I can push press around 210, but unless I really commit to the jerk and get under the bar, I will never increase what I can get overhead.

Started out ok at the lighter weights. Even 190 seemed decent. But when I get over 200, I cop out and just press it. Need more work.

Front Squat & Diet news

20 minutes for a 1 rep max. My knee is funky. Did 205 and called it a day.

Met Con:
12 minutes. 7 rounds: 10x Pullup, box pistols, Ring rows.

Feeling achy. My diet has been poor lately, and while I have put on no weight - I am not feeling it. Back to super strict Paleo. This is probably the worst food stretch I have had. Candy, cookies, pasta, pizza, a bagel! Unlike me. Actually, very much like me in 2008 and prior. But if in fact it is these 3 days of poor eating that made me achy and lethargic, I am shocked. I will report back on Friday after some clean (normal) days.

Bigger shock is that I am still 162. I keep expecting to top 165 with all this poor eating.

B(log) is for Bitching

I realize that most of the time I am in a pretty upbeat mood and generally enthusiastic about crossfit and all other minor matters. But of late, I have been sick, worked out too hard, and now I am sore and not able to perform as I want.

So coach reminded me to RICE my knee. (Rest, Ice , Compression, Elevation)

I could do that. But instead, I went to Crossfit, scaled the weight and exercise, and best of all - I just bitch about it a little on my blog. What else is my blog for?

So ok, I will ice my knee. And take fish oil, etc. And thanks for listening.

High Hang Snatch, then metcon

Knee was swollen and inflexible. Did not attempt squat snatches. Did 95# power snatch pretty well.

wod 2 was 12/9/6/3 of snatch and push press. 6:00 at 95#.

First Friday (post)

30 muscle ups - 9:01
500m row - 140.8

Ever since getting my first muscle up at the end of August, I have wanted to do this. My goal is 6 minutes. Which I pulled out of thin air with no context. Today, this week, was not the day to get that time. First, I was pretty sick and I am still on antibiotics. Second, and foolishly, I have taken no rest days from cf this week. Not a good combination. And over the last two days we have done max strict press, 50 dips, push ups and 50 more presses along with 44 strict chin ups. My arms have not recovered.

When I usually could do 3 or 4 muscle ups, I could only get 2 or 3. And after getting 15 ( half way) in 2 minutes, the last 15 took 7 more. Almost a minute on the last one. I want a rematch. But I need to recoup - a lot.

Row. My best ever. Feeling better on the rower, but it still sucked.

Lastly , some double unders.

First Friday - (Pre)

A great tradition at Crossfit Oldtown is First Friday where members complete one (or multiple) Crossfit Hero or Girl wods. This is great for several reasons.
*First, you get to do something you choose to do, rather than being told what to do, and sometimes it is nice to have a choice.
*Next, these are benchmark workouts that you can compare your results with others, or yourself over time. We don't do Helen or Badger that often, and certainly not more than once a year, so if you want, you can use this as a test - retest.
*It helps you get towards a goal. If you want a sub 5 Fran, then work towards it and knowing that you are going to do it in a few weeks will help you focus.

With all that, I love First Friday, but I am not happy about this one. I am recovering from a cold, and more pressing, is the 4 brutal workouts I have done without a rest day over the past 4 days. I can barely move my arms, so this is gonna be tough.

30 Muscle ups for time, here I come.

Jerry's Birthday WOD

44 was the theme:

44 strict pullups, 44 pistols, 44 situps,
44 box jumps, 44 air squats, 44 situps,
44 sledge strikes, 440m run, 44 situps,
44 double-unders, 44 walking lunge(Grab a 45lb plate if you need to HTFU), 44 situps

I subbed rowing a 600m for the run and 2x airsquats for the pistols.
Time 29:15

I thought this would kill me, but at the pace I was going it was just slow and steady. I was proud of the double unders that were not too bad today. Especially considering I just had hopped of the rower. 44 dead hang chin ups were tough.

Strict Press x 5, then a pushing metcon

Worked up to 145 x 5. Tried 150 and got only 3. That was plenty.

The metcon was a bruiser. Reminds me of the JT hero wod -all pushing.

7 push press 115
7 ring dips
7 hand release pushups
15 minutes

The first few rounds are a breeze. Nothing to it. Then it begings to fall apart. I was unable to get even the 7 pushups by round 4, and had to break them up. Ended with 7 and a third plus 1 dip. Ouch.

Link to an awesome article

Thank you to Erin for pointing this out. Blair Morrison eloquently writes here about some things that I believe, and some that I had not even thought of yet.

Fitness is.....

Shout out to Jeremy Moss

Team B Awesome teammate Jeremy Moss has undertaken an huge challenge to row 100,000 meters over a 30 day interval. Day in and day out he is putting in over 2k, with some days of 5k.

That sounds just miserable, and also just crazy enough to do some good. I bet that his technique and time improves greatly.

Very impressive.

Back Squat 5 x 5

I am still sick and my lungs particularly are not up to par. Case in point. I was gasping for breath in between sets of back squats. I worked up to 205 for 5 with 2 sets of chains. That is close to my max, so my strength is hanging in there. But I did not have speed anywhere close to what I normally have. Plus, my joints hurt - shoulder and knees, which limited my rack position and overall enjoyment today.

Took a pass on the met con wod due to lung capacity and worked on some band stretching and back extensions. I was winded just from that!

Hoping to recover soon.

Clean Up

I am a little under the weather. Doc was not sure what it was a prescribed a general antibiotic. He was mostly impressed with my weight, which even on an unexpected visit was 162 after years of creeping towards 190. So my weight is stable now for over a year. Pulse 56. BP 90/72. All nice to see.

Anyway, I feel week and short of breath. So max effort clean and jerks did not go great. I did not have the speed, enthusiasm, or anger needed to do much. Although, I got 195#. Not too bad considering.

Sat 11/27

Once through:

800run, 30 toes-2bar, 400m Overhead Plate carry(25lb W, 45lb M), 30 dips, 200m walking lunge, 30 burpees, 100 double-unders.

Between the cold, and the Thanksgiving gorgefest that occurred, this was tough. I finished in 33:16, wheezing and hacking. Carrying the 45# plate to the mailbox and back was tough. I got 100m at first, but ended 10 at a time. Breathing really heavy in the cold is bad for my asthma and I am still suffering.

Good to be back though.

Back Squat then Row, d/u's

2 workouts from the recent Mid Atlantic Hopper individual competition.

225# back squat - max reps in 3 minutes
I got 17 reps. Started in sets of 5 and continued down to sets of 2. I was toying with using less weight, cause this is a bid chunk of my 3 rep max (90%+). Especially after yesterday, when I wish that I had gone heavier, I was pleased with my choice and the results.

500m row, then 44 double unders
3:47. Still doing double/single etc.


Overall - my efforts place me in the lower bottom half of the participants in the Hopper.

But it was good work to do.

Melissa's 33rd BDay WOD

2,3,4,5,6,5,4,3,2 = 34 of
Muscle ups, thrusters and snatches

This was brutal. 34 muscle ups in a wod is tough. Adding thrusters and snatches is 3x the pain. Suggested weights were between 95# and 135#. I chose 95# due to the snatches - 135# is my PR. But they were easier than I expected at 95#. I should have gone 115#.

The muscle ups were tough. At one point I got 5 in a row, which is a pr. But then fatigue set in, and I was failing. Overall, I was gasping a lot and trying to get over the failed reps - so I waited around a little.

Time 18:59.

If I had gone 115# I suspect it may have added 1 minute.


Melissa gamely tried some of this with a vest. She is a bad ass and a trooper. That seems nearly impossible. I think she got half with the vest and half without. She is the coach for most classes I take, and I owe her a lot. It was great to suffer through this in her honor.

Sat 11/20

The aftermath

I wanted to go to the sat am crossfit. They are always fun, and this one looked even better. But I am really sore, and I have a painter at the house. And my wife is out of town.

Any excuse I can think of to avoid running this morning. My legs are very sore.

So lucky you. I spent the hour updating my blog for the past week.

I may take a light jog later.

Friday 11/19 - FS, bottom tabata squat, 1 mile "run"

Pure evil.

Back home to CFOT. Front squat x 3 with Vinnie and coach Melissa. Vinnie is so strong, and never seems to tire. His wrists hurt limiting him slightly. I try to show him how I position the bar so that it does not hurt. He proceeds to out squat me by 45 pounds for 3 reps. I got 205 x 3. DId 225 for 1 and then failed on rep, that is my PR so I was happy to match it. But really felt it in my butt/quads. I was sore already from that max effort.

Too bad. Cause then tabata squats. And rest at the bottom. Are you kidding me! I do not have what they call muscular endurance. I was in serious pain. Maintained 12, but fell to 10 in round 7. Back to 12 in the last round. I was on the floor. I think a tear came out.

Too bad. Go run a mile - immediately. Vinnie was out the door and running as I was picking myself off the floor. He was way out ahead. I limped home in 10:17. For the first time ever, the limitation was not my cardio, but my legs that were on fire.

I have skinny legs, and they are not strong. This destroyed me.

Thurs 11/18

Flew to NY on Wed night. Had a huge steak which was good as I regained my strength. But I drank very little and went to bed by 11, which is not what my coworkers did.

Getting to bed early allowed me to go to CF NYC (Black Box) in the morning at 7:15. Not my time of day, but my only chance. Note this cycle of choices and how it can effect your fitness. Be moderate at night and you can exercise early. And then as an aside, I presented to our Board of Directors - a stoic group of Japanese men - and absolutely nailed it. A 10 minute presentation that left them with no questions and actually smiling. I was energetic and did not forget a single point we wanted to convey.

Or, I could have raged at night on the company dime, and gotten in little sleep and no workout, and had a head throbbing presentation. Not afraid to say I have done dance that before.

Taking the better choice over the long term makes a big difference. I thought of that as I saw one of my NY coworkers for the first time in a few months. He is 40+, goes out late, drinks in empty calories and does not exercise. He looks like shit.

Sure once in a while I like to let loose, but the level, frequency and definition of that has changed over time.

Anyway, back to CF NYC. They follow the main site. Hang Power cleans x 3.

My lats were killing me from the prior day, and my stamina was still recovering. After a self warmup, they spent 10 minutes doing the Burg warmup and some drills. Then 1 person per bar and start the cleans. I liked the warmup and learned a cue or two in the into. Otherwise, I could have done this in the hotel gym. Not a single word of coaching. Worked up to 145, limited by my wrists and forearms tiring out.

Wed 11/17

All better. But down under 160 pounds.

Back to CFOT.
Shoulder press x 3 - worked up to 165.

Then onion skin - 3 rounds of max pullups in one set - rest remainder of 3 minutes.Max strict press of 95 pounds in a set, and rest remainder of 3 minutes. Repeat cycle 3 times.

One of my recent goals was to crack 30 pullups, and of all things, I was able to get this today. 15 were easy, a little pause hanging on the bar and, then maybe 5 or 3 more at a time until I was getting just 1 at a time.

This hurts your grip and lats terribly. So the rest of the sets suffered greatly from this first effort. But happy to hit 30 and looking up that soon.

Tues 11/16

Awake at 7 am - 12 hours of sleep. Ready for work...NOT

Back to bed for another 6 hours.

Then - recovery kicked in. Think I had a nasty 24 hour roto virus. I will spare you some of the other clues.

Mon 11/15

The sickness.

Started to catch a headache at the end of the day, which got worse and worse. It was stressful at work, but alas this was no migraine.

Monday night saw me vomitous and chilled. And in bed by 7pm.

Time to catchup

But not quite yet. I will fill in details of the past week or so as soon as I can.

Oh my

So if I was going to pick a day to come back, overhead squats was not my best choice.

Any lingering pain that I had from the hopper, mixed with tightness from being inactive all week messed me up good. Worked up to 115 x3 overhead squats. But was not feeling it.

The burner afterwards was 10 ohs, 10 burpees, 10 c2b pullups. I used 85# on the squats and finished in 8 something. I could not get all of the sets unbroken. The snatches felt nice, but it was only 85#.

Not feeling it

A few days into my planned week off from Crossfit - something interesting happened. First of all, in addition to not going doing the workouts, I have been eating like shit too. In other words, like I used to and like 95% of Americans do. Including the world's largest Reeses PB cup that was brought back for me by my daughter from the M&M store in NY. I ate the whole thing, and it was good.

But now, I feel like crap. Lethargic and putting on a few pounds already.

So I am going back in. My body is used to the intensity and I miss it. Eating lunch with the guys, not going to the gym...kind of sucks.

Really?

Yes, as I alluded to in a recent post: Next Up? , I am actually taking a break from Crossfit. Don't worry people, it is not going to be a long break - I am thinking a week.

Coming off the Mid Atlantic Hopper, I really need it. Cause if you look at this picture, there is one thing to note.


And that important thing is, that Danya is a professional trainer and dance instructor who has competed and been athletic her whole life. And she is 8 years younger than I am. And after that, Jeremy and Laurie are 12 and 15(?) years younger than I am. So while they are all back at it, I am in more pain than I like to admit. I am proud of what we all did, but I am also secretly proud of the fact that doing this at 41 years of age, is pretty damn impressive. There are more than a few people I can think of that started to train for this event, and never made it due to injury.

Word of advice to those getting older and wanting to compete: It is great to be still standing on game day, but expect to be limping for the next few. Especially if your weekend consisted of a lot of max levels of rowing and deadlifting. I credit the mobility wods with allowing me to make it all the way to game day. Cause I really upped my intensity and could easily have overdone it.

But also, clearly Crossfit is the secret fountain of youth that many have searched for, and few are willing to endure. But think about Jeff Tincher, Jerry Hill, Tony Blauer, and you dont think that these guys are in their 40s or 50s. You think 20s. Jeff is 45+ and won the brutal final individual WOD. It is hard to fathom that.

So there you go. I have had a taste of competition, and I want more. And in about a week, I plan to get back after it harder than ever.

Team Event #3

Row 8,000 meters as a team

Early Sunday morning we had to return for WOD 3. They had announced it the night before, row 8,000 meters as a team.

Team Awesome is not really your ideal rowing team - you know (tall, large people.) We may be tough as nails, but put us on rowers and we have a lot of making up to do. No surprise that some of the team that had tall women, tall and or heavier men did very well.


So that is it. Only the top 5 teams got to complete the 4th WOD. Also known as - the WOD with bodyweight movements and Olympic lifts that I would have loved to do. We are going to do that one in the gym sometime soon, and I will report back on the results then.

Thanks to all that came out to watch, and those who gave us support. And thanks to my teammates. They were in a word: Awesome.

Team Event #2

For time:
2 people working at a time:
each member of the team completes
30 double unders - wait for last person to finish
30 GHD situps - wait for last person to finish
20 double unders - wait for last person to finish
20 GHD situps - wait for last person to finish
10 double unders - wait for last person to finish
10 GHD situps - wait for last person to finish

Guess who sucks at double unders. Thats right, I do. We knew this going into the Hopper, but took solace in the teamwork concept, because Danya is about as good as you can be at them, Laurie very good, and Jeremy also good. But because of the format, we did not get to use our little strategery.

It was a vicious cycle. I took so many attempts to get 30 or 20 or the 10 double unders that I was exhausted when I had to do the GHDs.

But it is no ones fault but my own. It is a skill I have had almost 2 years to work on, and I blew it.

Here's me suffering on the GHD. Laurie is not only better at Crossfit, but she has an awesome hair flip going on.

The Hopper - Event 1

I have a ton of thoughts about the Hopper. Some good, some bad, some frustrating. But if you know me at all, you know that I am a positive person. So despite not being happy with the way the Hopper was administered, I am not going to dwell on that. I would have loved to have the opportunity to show some of my skills, but I did not really get to. What I got to do, was to push through on some of the very worst things that could have come up. I am a short, light guy so rowing is not for me, and it came up not once, but twice in three events. And while I may be strong for my size, deadlifting 172% of my bodyweight for high reps in a short timeframe is also not up my alley. But if nothing else, I did not give in, and I did not quit on my team. So there is that. Enough bitching. Cause if I was stronger, smarter or more skilled, I would have done better. And next time I will be all three.

Team WOD #1;
two parts:
1 guy and 1 girl work at a time and then switch. So you are either resting in minute 1 and 3 or 2 and 4. Alternating with a minute each of
Row for calories
Burpee Box Jumps
Then right into:
Part 2:
100 deadlifts for time
275#/185#

Time limit 6 minutes. Share 1 bar. Load it yourself and switch weights yourself.

Sadly we came up short. 96 reps. So, another 10 seconds and we would have finished. We came in 1st among teams that did not get all 100 reps, or 11th overall. Hindsight is 20/20, but the first 4 minutes of the wod did not matter as much as finishing the deadlifts. Going all out on the row was not smart, cause I was tired before deadlifts #1, and would have liked to been able to do more. Live and learn.

The other CFOT team benefited from our knowledge and was able to pace. That and Adam Murphy's Performance gave them a 4th place finish in that event.

Hoping next year it will be a pushup, handstand pushup, push press, pull up medley - and I can show some of those punks how it is done.

Final countdown

Feeling MUCH better this morning. Walking down the stairs test was a solid improvement. Felt almost no discomfort at all.

Did 30 min of rolling out, lax ball, and other stretches. Some ring rows, and 1 single muscle up. Then done.

Starting to jump out of my skin with all this accumulated energy. I am REALLLLY fired up.

More pre-hopper cont.

The one minor concern I have is my knee has been sore. I have been told by my support team that I have tight satorious muscle which can cause that. A few weeks back I had an incident, and it has been tight since. But only recently did I connect the knee pain with the tight muscle on the inside of my quad. So I have been icing and stretching, and fish oil and rolling and anything else I can think of.

Including a massage from Olga. That is a painful ordeal. Not a relaxation type of massage but I am feeling better, my test is the basic - how does it feel to walk down the stairs in the morning. Hoping for a betterg tomorrow.and even better Sat.

Back up

My blog has taken a back seat to other pressing matters. Not really sure what those are, but I have been busy.

It is Hopper Week. Team BeAwesome is ready to go in the BWI Hopper. I have followed Jerry's game week advice and worked out moderately Mon/Tues even less on Wed. I have been rolling, stretching, icing and relaxing like crazy. I have been eating well, and I am skipping alcohol this week. Since Sunday at least. And believe me, that is tough. I like one beer most nights. Usually I drink half and dump it, but I like that half.

The combination of not working out and no beer is making me antsy, jumpy and angry.

Perfect Hopper attitude. I don't know what they are going to pull out of that Hopper, but I am mostly healthy and at the top of my game. My game is not all that, but I am going to give it my all. More later.

deadlifts and double unders

3 rounds
10 deadlifts of 275
50 double unders

And of those 50 d/u's - I probably had 200 singles to get some rhythm, and a ton of misses.

14:04. Need a ton of work on d/u. As in d/uh.

Press, Push Press, Push Jerk

185 - failed at 191
205
205

Could have gotten a 215 push press. The bar was still going up well. Did too many reps at lower weights. But still a good day. Chris G had some nice PRs.

Saturday - Running Cindy

3 rounds of Cindy
200 m run
repeat.
AMRAP 30 minutes

I woke up tired and not feeling it for a Saturday morning workout. But a bodyweight workout like this is a good way to wake up and warm the muscles up. Each group of 3 rounds of Cindy and a 200m run was considered 1 round. I had 3 rounds in at about 9:45 and was a few paces behind Dwight, who is a hell of a smooth runner. In contrast, I was powering through the inside work and shuffling on the runs.

In the second and 3rd ten minutes, it took about 5 minutes to complete a round. So I got just over 7 full rounds.

Dwight stayed a little ahead of me. In the earlier class, Harold "The Harold" Doran had about 8 rounds and Freak Show Hill had 10+.

My chest and legs are still sore two days later and my hands a little tender.

Ugh

I am behind on workout posts. Lets just say that this has been a tough week at CrossFit OldTown.

A brief recap, cause I am extra busy:

Wed - 9,7,5 Muscle-ups, Deadlifts, Lateral Burpees, C2B Pullups. I used 275 for the deadlifts, although 300 was htfu. I should have used 300. Not much difference really. I was able to do the last round touch and go for all 5, so the weight was not a prob. Muscle ups after chest to bar pullups, a whole nother thing. I was on the verge of a breakdown - super frustrated after missing time and again on the final muscle up. 3 minutes and 6 or 7 attempts for the single last rep! But overcoming that, no matter what the circumstances is part of CF. The clock does not matter, just do it. 14:56.

Thursday - run 600m then 21,15,9 of Push Press, abmat and airsquat. Actually it was GHD situps, but I backed down. But I upped the htfu weight on the push press from 115 to 135. Cause John Scott did it first and that is how I roll. I considered doing 145 just cause I am a smug push presser. I doubt it would have changed my time much. The runs were tough, cause I had been everyday this week, and my legs were sore already. 21:51

Friday - rest.

Sat - am wod I hope

Sunday - seminar at Potomac CF.

Snatch Balance x1, then Front Squat x 1

Such a basic move, I should be doing it more and more. Obviously. Worked up to 110. I had some speed, but need more.


Front Squat. After long last. I got 225 down and back up. I had taken that ride down many, many times and could not come up. Melissa told me I was going too deep (is there such a thing - yes) and losing core tension. So I took her advice and nailed it. On the video, I was below parallel for sure, so that means I was going waaaay below parallel before that. Good to know. And sometimes video is helpful. Seeing what you did and associating it with how it felt will help me know how far to go next time.

Failed at 235, but glad I tried it.

400m run + exercise x5

with 4 minutes on the clock, run 400m and then perform as many reps as possible in the remaining time. Rest 2 minutes and repeat:

Round:
1-pullups
2-box jumps
3-ghd
4-high pull 70#
5-burpee

my reps - 43, 35, 23, 36, 30

Horribly tiring. It is hard to run and then get after it, but that is exactly the point.

Next up?

Of course the Hopper is next up. It is about 3 weeks away. But then what?

Training for the Hopper has been great. Being part of a team makes me want to improve and excel for them. Representing CFOT also plays into it. I know we all have a lot of pride for our home Crossfit. Crossfit changed my life. I would rank it up there with marriage and fatherhood as far as importance in my life. And Jerry, Melissa **** and the other coaches have been there for me as I transformed from fat middle aged white guy to athlete. So when it is Hopper go time, I will be representing them. I will push past my limits and bear risky levels of pain to perform better than ever before. I do not want to let anyone down.

And then.....

Then, I have been thinking of taking a break. Maybe a week, two or more. I might do something different for a while. The Hopper has been foremost on my mind for a month+. My progress and performance at CFOT have surpassed my own expectations. But I forsee a let down afterwards. I have been really wrapped up in it, and my balance is off. For now, it is damn exciting and hard not to get caught up in cf fever. But it is not sustainable for me.

Anyway, that is what I am thinking. I am either nuts or very sane. Not sure yet.

**** of course Jerry and Melissa get my main shout out - they are there for me day in and day out. But Danya, Danny, Andrea and Chriss as well. Granted, Andrea and Chriss' split from CFOT caused hard feelings, divides, rumors and ended friendships. But I will always be grateful to them for their coaching and support during my transformational first cf months. None of the other stuff matters to me. I wish them success, and miss them. Not everyone may see it that way, and that's enough about all that.


ps- I have not been drinking tonight. Just having some deep thoughts.

Jackie

Row 1,000m
50 thrusters - 45#
30 pullups

Time 6:57

Slow row (4:15) then go, go, go! (Really held back, but felt very fresh moving onto thrusters) Did thrusters 10, 10, 10, 5, 5, 5, 5 - only rested 3 counts - never dropped the bar. Honestly, thrusters felt great- like air squats.
Pullups - 22, 5, 3 - again - 3 counts and go. Tried to to all 30 but could not. Should have done 18/12. If it had been 50 pullups and not 30, it would have taken me another 5 minutes, because I was completely done.
Now my arms are on fire and my throat is raspy.

I have been experimenting with rests. Counting down in my head "3,2,1 go" seems to fake me out to start moving again - as if it was the beginning of a wod. Resting longer does not make me feel any better. Especially on workouts that are a one-time-through sprint, the faster you do the reps, the faster you are done.

Lunch bunch on fire - Jerry 2nd time through, a pukie, and some stubborn efforts.

Deadlifts and hspu - on parrallettes

........15, 12, 9 of 275# deadlifts and then hand stand pushups on parrallettes. 9:29.

Parrallettes are a game changes. I'm not even sure if I spelled them correctly. But they are really hard. I did 3 or maybe 4 to start, and by the end it was 2 at a time. Compare that with regular hspu, which I can do 15 or so. I went from fresh, to completely spent in 9:29.

The In / Out List

A fun little collection of random CFOT thoughts, I'm not even sure who reads my blog these days. Based on the stats I get, I picture a Latvian Villager and a dude in Annapolis. Anyway, these were running through my head.


Out / In


Jerry teaching lunch bunch. / Jerry in the lunch bunch
MarkyD can't muscle up. / MarkyD loves muscle ups
Blue room boys. / The Diva's
Roasted almonds. / Raw almonds
Keens. / Inov8s
Rest days. / Can't keep away
Quiet Melissa. / Loud Melissa (love it)
Sectionals Prep. / Hopper Prep
FGB is miserable. / Love the misery
Clean shaven. / Random facial hair designs
Lt. Col. Dan. / Col. Dan
Walk in and work out. / Mobility Wod every day
Fish oil. / More fish oil
Hollywood. / That boy good



Just a start - more to come. Post yours in the comments.

Squat snatches 3 per min x 10

More practice. Some of the reps felt great. Really good.
I was happy with my flexibility today. Felt good warming up and stayed good.

But the weight was low. More work still needed,

Then a little muscle up pistol wod. Pistols will kill you.

Cathy

5 rounds - 27:28
Did 3 rounds with ghd and 2 with am mat.

It was 10 ring dips, 15 cal row, 20 sledge strikes, 25 jump slam ball, 30 ghd or am mat.

A killer. Felt sick for a good while. Still actuallly.

Pullups, KB swings and DUs

a good metcon. I am poor at double unders and doing pullups and kb swings drains your grip strength and your stamina making me even worse at du's. Time 12:30. Middle of the pack.

Back in the saddle

Back from Vegas. 4 days of lots of fun, drinking, hanging out and gambling. Some great (and great big) steaks, and I admit to a lot of drinking and not much sleep. Not to mention, 4 days of no working out or stretching.

4 days of not working out is a good idea. Except for the lack of sleep and too much grey goose, my head is clear and my body recharged. 4 days of not stretching is a bad idea. I was a month straight of the daily mobility wods, and feeling great. Now I am tight. I should have found the 5 minutes a day - it really makes a difference. Especially after basically 2 hours of sleep + 3 more in a plane seat on Sunday.

So coming back in to Crossfit today was a rude awakening. Luckily it was a strength day - Thrusters x 3 and then x1. The after work was a 2 minute or so interval x5. I did not have it.

For the thrusters, I was really too stiff and immobile to have perfect form. But my muscles were recovered and I was feeling stubborn. Got 155 x3 and then 206 x1. Both PRs. I failed the first attempt at 206. Melissa gave me some tips and told me that I could do it. Not sure what she based that on, given that I had just missed, and the weight felt really heavy. I took a good 5 and got back after it. I knew that I had to stay real tight on the bottom, that is when I lose it. If I get back up to a standing position, I can get it over head. And that is what happened. The speed was not there, but it was enough. A small bounce off the shoulders was the window I needed. Just pressed and kept it going. PR!

Video of the lift here. (link coming soon)

Thanks coach.

The last MarkyD WOD

As a prize for raising a bunch of money for FGB, I got the chance to program WODs for 3 days. Shoulder press and hspu 24/7!
Actually, I did have hspu nad clean and jerk in there, but I also tried to mix it up. Having recently gotten my first muscle up, I decided to add the her WOD "Nate" in the mix. I loved doing that one, and was very proud of being able to string together consecutive muscle ups many times, and ultimately got through almost 12 rounds. Not to mention that I hate KB swings, and this one used the 70# bell. 3 days later the 96 swings are still crushing me.

Yesterday I threw in a little metcon. What? Of course I am not a met con kind of guy, but I have to put in the work just like everyone else. Originally, I planned a terrible combination of burpee box jumps, ghd situps, weighted walking lunges and 400m runs. The weather cancelled the runs (tornado warning) and put us on the rowers. And coach wisely removed the word "weighted" from the walking lunges.

As I type this I am headed to Vegas for my annual guys trip. This year, we roll 10 deep. Good god we are not getting into any clubs. So as my body is broken down from my own mini-week of programming, I am glad for a break. I have a massage planned, but not a workout for days. That should fix me. That and the MWODs. I will not stop those, cause at my age - I need them.

See you all soon.

Nate

11.9 rounds. Pictures and more commentary later. This was big for me.

Started on hspu and ended on muscle ups. failed on last rep so was one rep short of 12 full rounds.

first ever workout with muscle ups. could not be happier. MarkyD’s best week ever continues.

Goode’s birthday after party – 36 man makers. Not Goode at all.

Clean & Jerk

I am hurt and I know it, but I am still faking it a little. Luckily all I need is rest and stretching, and I have a long weekend trip to Vegas coming right up.

Today I worked on the clean and jerk and wanted the form to be more important than the weight. I worked up to 185# with ease. No misses, not even any struggles. I still need to work on getting lower under the bar when going overhead. But today was not that day.

2 days to get through. And then I rest.

Cindy = Attendance FAIL!

Took a lunch with the office and planned to go at 515. Then work got in the way. There is a lesson here. Lunch is my most reliable time to go.

FGB5: A recap

What a day. I am exhausted, and not all of that was due to the workout. The energy and excitement at CF OldTown was like I had never seen. And kept up all day. I stopped in mid morning to check things out, and ended up counting for Amy. She did a great job and even turned it on in the last round, surpassing her round 2 output. One day, I want to be as fit as that.

Then later it was time for the CF kids. My daughter Stella and a dozen other CF Kids got a crack at doing FGB as well. I was a little surprised that they actually did the adult 3 rounds of 5, 1 minute stations. They subbed sit up and burpee for push press and high pull. So in other words, they had it just as hard as the adults, if not worse. No adult would willingly sub burpees for push press and think they could do as well with that. The Mayor came and talked to the kids, but "forgot his workout clothes" Ha. He may be in better shape then he used to be, but he would not have been able to hang with those kids. Stella did an amazing job and I am so proud of her. Next year, she will beat me if I don't step it up.

Then my turn. My knee still hurt but I was going to just go all out and see what happens. The first round was good and I held back a little. Got 100 reps in including 30 push press. Could have gotten 110 reps, but I wanted to save a little. Round 2 I was already tired. I pushed, but could not repeat my round 1 totals. 15% dropoff, which is pretty much normal for me. Round 3 I was sucking wind - hard. The last couple of stations I had no wind at all, and my knee was on fire. I ended on box jumps, which of course was a terrible place to be. 20 in round 1, but only 8 to end. On a good knee maybe I could have gotten 15?

But given that I only hurt my knee on Wed, it is already better than it was. So I am confident it will be 100% soon.

Total score 251. Without the bad knee, maybe 260? But no excuses. 251 is +29 from last year. If I keep it up, I have a real shot at 300 in 2 years. That is why I love CF. Getting from 222 to 300 reps in FGB is an unreal task. It basically means that you have to get 40% more fit. It is not something you can do in one week, one month or even one year. It is a goal that I have, and one that will take very long term dedication. I can't wait until next year.

FGB_5 - a preview

Wouldn't you know that after being mostly injury free for all of 2010, I tweaked my knee right before FGB5.

Last year I was laser focused on FGB4 and thought I would get a 300+ score. I was smoking crack. My stamina was lacking and I scored 222. Not even close. I think I had a score of 90, 70, 60 in the three rounds. Also known as - I did a lot of standing around catching my breath in round 3.

I feel like a whole year later that my stamina has improved, but has it improved by 30+% to get me to 300? I don't know - and tomorrow may not give me the answer. Because my knee is sore and swollen. - it hurts to squat. So doing FGB at all seems like a bad idea, and having expectations of a great output seem foolish.

But more importantly - I raised $845 from friends and family and donated a matching $845 to total $1,690 towards the cause. CFOT has surpassed $20,000 in total.

And my daughter will be participating as well. So I am sure to be pumped up after watching my daughter complete FGB and then stepping up to do it myself. I am going to give it my all, and remember that it is not about me and my score will be there for me to beat next year.

p.s. if you want to donate - click here. I will still match.

Snatch x 1

Knee is still sore, but healing. Tomorrow is FGB and I thought a little work today would be a good idea. Not really sure about that.

I did about half depth squat snatches. Worked up to 125 and had to press it out. My knee definitely had pain in the squat position.

MarkyD is on ice

A little tweak earlier underneath my left knee. That last push jerk was a struggle and it put me in an awkward position. Good form is important and it really protects you. I'm gonna ice my left knee and see what happens.

FGB is on Sat. Pretty much all 5 exercises require leg drive. So I am hoping for the best.

Push Jerk x 1

205#

Day 3 after two particularly tough days on. Day 1 was the brutal front squat x3 and also the rowing ladder. Day 2 was Laurie's BDay (yesterday) with the 90 weight vested box jumps.

Guess what - my legs are shot and flexibility was not good. Even the warmup hurt a little bit.

So while I intended to dive under every bar into a perfect split jerk landing, I just did not have it today. 195# was a great, great lift. 205# was a modified push press. And 215# was just a debacle. Felt a strain in my knee and that was my day.

Recap: Forgettable other than the nice 195# lift. Jack got 215# and I was proud to see it. Good technique beats bad - case in point: Jack beat Me.


Muscle ups - 2 good, 1 miss. On Friday I am going to do some muscle up skill work as I chill prior to FGB.

Laurie's Birthday

Happy Birthday Laurie! Fellow member of BWI Hopper Team B_Awesome.


I thought in the spirit of teamsmanship, that we would all volunteer to wear a weight vest and join her in today's WOD. But like Chad says "first thing you learn in the Army, is don't volunteer for shit" Right he is, cause we agreed before we knew this.

WOD: 3 rounds for time
10 Power Cleans 165
20 box jumps
30 hand release pushups
400m run

This was tough. The vest makes you hot and bothered and not in the good way. Box jumps are way harder. Runs ditto. But in the end I finished in 21:30. Respectable.

Laurie passed me on the last run, and I was really happy for her. She really is awesome.

Front Squat x 3 & Row ladder

STRENGTH WOD take no more then 6 sets including warmups to find your 3 rep max in the front squat (should take less then 20 minutes).

Got 205 x 3 and then 215 and also 220 x2. Tough for me to string all 3 together. But still progress.


CONDITIONING WOD: 500m row for time, rest, 400m row for time, rest, 300m row for time, rest, 200m row for time, rest, 100m row for time. Take no more then 2-3 min rest between each effort.

1:46, 1:30, 1:07, 0:41, 0:19 = 5 min 23 seconds total. First time through. PR for 500m. The 100m felt the best. Was exhausted, but still able to pull. Have to remember. No matter how badly you feel, doing work does not feel that much worst that resting and gasping. And doing more work, does not feel that much worse than going easy. So just finish up and be done with it.

Gar, Jared, JC, Heather, Chad & Chris all put in some killer efforts today. Lunch bunch rocking.

Onion Skin

Max reps pull ups - max rep 95# strict press.
3 cycles through - 3 minute clock for each - total 30 minutes of pain


98 total pullups - 72 total strict press (95#) = 170 total reps. Round 1 was 25/23. Then things got ugly.

Looking back and thinking I could have gotten one or two more reps each time is easy. But during, the pain is bad. You have to block it out, and sometimes I don't.


I think 2 people got more strict presses today. A ton got 100+ pullups. But considering that a few months ago I was still getting my kip - not bad.

Robb Wolf

What a nice guy. His book signing was next door to Potomac Crossfit and he had people sit with him on a coach as he signed his book. Spent a good while with each person. Very generous.

My questions and his answers:

Me: So I have already lost my excess weight and gotten in better shape. I don't need the makeover or 30 day diet. So what do I do next.
Rob: Nice work. Keep it up. But also, find another fitness related outside interest. Rock climbing, hiking, boxing, whatever. Crossfit is awesome, but don't burn out. Use your fitness outside of CF.

Chad: Should I drink coconut water after a wod?
Rob: "A lean dude like yourself - go for it" But get some protein in as well.
Chad: Marky D - Rob Wolf called me a 'Lean Dude'

Me: My wife has rheumatoid arthritis, and suffers joint pain and restriction. Takes a huge amount of Motrin as well as biologic treatments. Can diet help at all.
Rob: There is a whole chapter on diet, leaky guy syndrome and auto-immune diseases. She should experiment with upping fish oil and removing grains from diet. Anything to reduce inflammation. See how it goes. Will not hurt, and possibly could help. Anything to get the motrin levels down is good, because eventually that will ruin her stomach.

That's it. Lot's of nice people from Potomac CF to chat with. A good outing.

Rest - and Robb Wolf Book signing

After the back squats and prowler work, I was toast. Very sore. Although todays mobility wod seems to help. Never mind the strange idea of me rolling around on a lacrosse ball under my butt. As K_Starr suggested, there was one particular spot that was sore as can be, and clearly I need to fix that. I forsee more obscene rolling in the office.


Robb Wolf is in the hood signing his new book at Potomac Crossfit tonight. He is one smart dude and I agree with almost everything he says about nutrition. Some of it I cannot understand one bit, but I am sure he is right.

My weight is still 162 or so. I am locked in tight between 160-163. As in, it has been months since I was more than a pound variance. And that was when I hit 159. I took some rest, ate some carbs and I was back on track.

Back Squat x2 - with the chains

Good old fashioned back squats with chains. Along with deadlifts, one of the best single exercises you can do to get stronger. Worked on getting good depth and a better rack position. As well as adding about 10% to the load from last time. Worked up to 225# and felt solid.

The mobility wod's have helped. A little every day. I feel more confident and stronger in the bottom position. Ready to add some more weight next time.

The prowler after party was a gasser. I was losing the fun near the end.

Run, Row, Pull, Push

3 rounds: 400m run, 300m row, 20 pullups, 10 loupees (2x pushup burpees)

Hopper training continues. This WOD is NOT up my alley, but I wanted to do well anyway. I am a slow runner, and a worse rower. I did not allow myself any standing around time - if I had to - 3 breaths and go - cause you are not going to recover more than that anyway. On the runs, pick a person and try to chase them or stay ahead of them. But be realistic. Danya was on my tail and I know she is faster than me, but I would not let her pass. Lynnette was ahead of me, but there is no catching her - watching her run is like poetry. Effortless and fast. Damn her.

I knew this was WOD just short enough to go for it. Another round or two would have changed this dramatically. But I just kept pushing. Came in last on my first run, but then steadily picked up the pace.

17:24. Not the best time of the day, but I beat some people that I would not have expected to. Jack ran the first run like he was on fire, but was able to keep going. Wish I was 24 again.

Team B. Awesome was very awesome.

Hang Cleans to Jerk to Front Squat x3

3 of each, don't drop the baby (the bar)
Worked 65, 95, 115, 135, 155, 170 stop. Got them all. Maybe I was too cautious in the ramp up. But all the lifts felt good, and I was sucking wind after every round. I could have psyched myself up for one more ride with 180 or 185. But I was tired, and Jerry suggested stopping on a high note.

The cleans were super. I was not using my arms much, I was getting low, I was releasing the bar that the top. I feared the cleans the most and thought that would limit me. The rest I could power through, although I could have been better at getting under the jerks. Next time.

I feel like the K_Starr mobily wods are helping me immensely. Being confident and strong in a bigger range of motion = free money. Diving under the cleans and catching in a squat. Much easier than yanking that bad boy shoulder high. Duh - but this is new to me. I have always been strong, but not often smart and rarely quick or mobile. I like.

I felt almost like an actual crossfitter with speed and technique.

Please donate - $5, $10, $100 - it all helps

September 11th has passed again. Many of you know people who died that day, or since – while serving.

I always think back to my high school friend and classmate Cesar Murillo. He worked for Marsh & McLennan, who occupied floors 93-100 of the North Tower of the World Trade Center: exactly where the first plane crashed into the building. No one in his office who showed up to work that day survived.

I also think of Marine Kirk Bosselmann. My boss' only son, he enlisted in the U.S. Marines after 9/11 and died in Fallujah, Iraq. He was searching door to door, putting himself in harms way to keep us safe and met a terrible end.

And I think about all of the other service men & women who have died or were wounded. Voluntarily risking their lives, far from home, keeping me & you safe.

Which is why I so strongly support the Wounded Warrior Project. They are supporting wounded veterans, and I am supporting them.

Fight Gone Bad is a yearly fundraiser for the Wounded Warrior Project, along with the Lance Armstrong’s LiveStrong Foundation and the CrossFit Foundation. The CrossFit community as a whole takes on this one charitable effort each year.

Every dollar that you give, I will match. So please help.

Thank you.


Mark Davis

To Donate – go here: https://rapidgiving.com/fundraising/page/4958/marks-fundraising-page

To learn more – go here: www.fgb5.org

FGB Prep - or how to completely bonk

500m row, 50 reps of wallball, 70# highpulls, box jump, 75# push press - then another 500m row.

I was doing ok until the last row. I completely ran our of gas and thought I would die, puke, quit or all three. I ended up taking 10-15 second rests after 200 and 400m. How sad, but I had too. I was beyond redlined.

All in all, I could have finished about 15 minutes if I did not break up the row, and in the end came in 15:25.

Sadly, FGB is 17 minutes - but we do get 2 breaks of a minute each. I will need them.

Tabata this

Pushup, Sit up, Squat, Row, Pullup
20 sec on / 10 sec off x 8 = 4 minutes of each, then a minute off and switch stations
Score is the lowest # of reps out of the 8 rounds - 1 score per exercise.

My total: 12, 11, 14, 5, 6=48

Last time - in May - I came out of the gate too fast and fell off. Especially on pushups - where I had 20.....10. So I did alot of pushups that did not count. Today, I gamed it and tried to pick a # I could do throughout. I actually took my score from the last round in May and added 1 or 2.

And it worked better. I fell off the pace 1 rep on pushups and 1 on sit ups, otherwise a very efficient effort.

Round 2

Came back to work a little met con.

400m run
20 kb swings
20 db thrusters
Goal 5 rounds
Only did 3, as my lower back tightened up.

But then - out of the blue - progress on muscle ups
Before the wod I had 1 fail and 1 good muscle up.

After the wod - 12 in a row with no fails - in about 10 minutes.

Within the week I will do 30 muscle ups for time- goal - 20 minutes - book it!

O/H Squat x3

For an inflexible old guy like myself, OH squat is the hardest barbell movement. Or is it the similar movement cousin, the snatch?

Anyway, in my earlier days at CF I was not able to OH squat at all. Recently I was able to get 95# for 3, and today I did 125#. I bet I could have done 135, but I was starting to tire. Next time.

Greetings Latvia!!

How cool is this. A breakout of who is looking at my blog, by country:

United States 81
Canada 6
China 4
Germany 2
Ireland 1
Latvia 1

One of my great grandparents came came from Latvia, so I was excited to see this.

Thurs - rest day

Mild shoulder rehab and some good rest.

Weight still solid at 162. I have been catching a few cheat meals such as pasta last weekend and a Perfect Pita breakfast the other day. Oh yeah, my wife and daughter made banana bread and m&m cookies. They are now gone, good riddance.

Looking forward to first friday. I have several things in mind, and I may do them all.

risky business

So I was pretty sure that I my rotator cuff was somewhere between sore, strained and torn. Went to my chiro, and he suggested strained, based on what range of motion I had vs. the pain I was in. I have been icing, and he suggested a few more treatments and no direct work in that area.

So of course I tried to do heavy power cleans today. Suprisingly the first round I was able to get 185. I had a few misses. But mostly, I was sore from yesterdays brutal front squat session working with Jack B. So I had no jump. So I did the rest at 165.

Double unders actually hurt my shoulder more than the cleans, so I subbed box jumps. 15 box jumps for 30 double unders. I know coaches have said sub 1 for 1, but a box jump is at least twice as much explosive work as a double under. I made sure to land both feet all the way on the box and stand up on top. I actually learned something from watching the CF kids class. My daughter uses the same box jump as us - she's 7 - but she is able to do it because she pulls her knees to her chest and lands in almost a full squat. Doing that and then standing up as you jump down, seems easier that jumping and landing upright on the box. And faster too.

Thanks kids.

Intervals

5 times through

1 minute Row (Cal)
1 minute Push Press (95)
1 minute Pushups

Total reps 233

Sat. Partner WOD

One partner works, one rests.

3 minutes of
Pull up. 135# hang cleans. Burpees.
1 minute of rest.

Twice through.

Worked with John Scott. Brutal.

Strictly awesome

1 rep strict press.

Prior PR 181 (Had to look it up)
Today: 190
Bam!

Then a good little burner afterwards that I did in 9:24.

What a week. Fran with running, heavy deadlift metcon, my first muscle ups. 63 handstand pushups in a wod.

I am now exhausted and sore. And I earned it.

side note - bought a buddy lee jump rope. Since my double unders suck, I figured I would try to throw $40 at the problem. First use was ok. The rope does not whip you like the speed ropes at CFOT. So less pain when you fail. And I do. I will keep working at those, hard!!!

Muscle up time

As in: its about time. One and a half years into crossfit, I finally got it. Thanks to Melissa for taking time out of her day for a session, and all of her great tips.

Click here for video -

Get loose

As an older Crossfitter, I suffer aches, pains and limited range of motion. ANd although I try to keep up with the 20 year olds, I am 41+ and often feeling it.

Of all the fish oils, massages, soaks, active recovery strategies I have tried, nothing beats good old stretching and mobility. Which is why I latched on to Kelly Starrett and everything he has to say. Kelly is the owner of CF San Francisco. He is also a physical therapist with a Doctorate. And from what I have seen an avid and strong crossfitter. Given his practical experience and background, I think he is about as good as it gets regarding mobility issues.

And yes, I arranged a business trip last year just so I could drop in on him and bith hit a wod and get a treatment. Both were rough.

Him:Does this hurt?
Me: Yes.
Him: Yeah, I bet it did.

So anyway, I stumbled across his new video blog. Starting last week he is posting quick tips and ideas for mobility and stretching. I highly recommend it. Today I tried his day 2 (or was it day 3) hip flexor stretch. It hurt, but afterwards, I felt great and had a real good workout. Anyway, I suggest you limp over to his site:

http://mobilitywod.blogspot.com/

Deadlifts, ring dips, GHDs

Do Work.

30 reps - Deadlift - Use 80% of your 1 rep max.
60 ring dips
120 GHD situps

16:09

Partition as you choose.

This was a thinking mans workout in addition to needing good strength and conditioning. I figured that I could do any where up to 10 deadlifts, but that would mean 40 GHDs. So I worked backwards, and decided 20 GHDs was a good amount at once, so therefore, I split htis up into 6 equal rounds of 5/10/20. I am sure others had better ideas.

Deadlifts felt great. Ring dips were a breeze. GHDs were tough and started to take a toll on my lower back. Need to watch my form.

Debating a rest day tomorrow.

Running Fran

Fran with an 800, 600 and 400m run between rounds.

16:29.

I'm Back

After a an extended and two-part vacation, I'm back.

Today's WOD is a tale of two parts.

20 minute AMRAP of
7 hspu and
28 double unders

Results 8 full, 1 set of hspu and a d/u or two.

Part 1 was no problem for me at all. In fact after a few middle rounds of breaking them up, I was able to get all 7 in rounds 7,8 & 9. Not a problem.

Double Unders - Problem!!!
What a debacle. I am the worst at double unders of any one at CFOT. For sure.

Extended vacation

My blog is backlogged. Been on vacation off and on. Took a few days off, but lately I have been back at it. A recap od this week: all at World Gym in Bethany Beach, DE. (No chalk, no dropping weights, no attracting attention)

Monday - heavy push jerk. 165 x 3, was afraid of dropping heavier weights.
Tuesday - heavy dead lift. 355 x1
Wed - front squats 155 x5
Thursday st press, up to 160x3

Wanted to go heavy, but the fear of dropping holds you back. Back to cfot next week for some met cons.

The 7

How could I forget to post about that. First Friday, and I did the 7 with John Scott. The hardest part were the 135# thrusters. They took every ounce of mental and physical strength. In the end, I had to scale after 5 rx rounds.

56 minutes. Wowser.

Vacation

For a change, I am on vacation but feeling great. Not broken down, sore, etc. I will hit our wods at the gym, head to cf oc, and also going to try a trx class.

Diet chocies are ok, but the beach for 2 weeks means a lot of ice cream, five guys, and other great stuff.

185# Grindy

That was a bruiser. Here it is the end of the day and I am sleepy and really sore already.

3 times through
5 C&J (185#)
3 rounds of Cindy

Time 17 something.


Catch some video here. I was wearing my Khalipa shirt to try and tap into some of his power.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnbeZa8cI-M

Run, Pullups, Wall Ball

5 rounds. 400m run, 30wall ball, 20 pullups.

A classic old school crusher. 3 rounds was tough, 4 was brutal, and the 5th was awful. I am sure I was going in slo mo at the end. Every inch of my shirt was soaked. It is hot in August in DC at mid day.

But I finished.
32:18.

I had set a goal to do all the pullups without a break. That lasted 1 whole round. The end was 3 at a time. And my hands just hurt right now.

New cartoon. The END!!

Enjoy:



The website I used to make all these is now charging to publish. So it is officially not fun anymore.

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/6864273

Hope you enjoyed the show.

Deadlifts, HSPU and burpees

My blog is falling behind. I'm trying. But of late, I dont have a heck of a lot to say.

I have a long vacation coming up. So things may be quiet here. I plan to bring my bike to the beach and do some long rides. Maybe the 30 miles each way to CF ocean city, MD.

Yesterday was a 20 minute amrap or 3 deadlifts at 275, 5 hspu and 8 burpees. I did 9 rounds and then 1 more dl. I had some time at the end, but really, felt like my form was starting to go, and that to push it was a bad idea. I still believe that heavy deadlifts are not a good mix with a wod for time. But since they had them at the cf games, I guess I am in the minority. Deadlifts are the 1 exercise that scare me. I prefer to make sure I have perfect form so I dont get hurt.


Then the Haynesworth 300. I am an idiot. I marked off 25 Meters instead of 25 yards. And I failed the first run by 1 second.

What's the difference? Who knew, a meter is approx 39 inches and yard only 36. So - 25 meters is actually about 27 yards. Shave off 2 yards, times the 12 sprints, and of course I would have come in 1 second less.

I was actually happy that I passed on the second attempt even at the wrong distance. So I must be more fit that Fat Albert Haynesworth.

I will retake today just to see.

Bear Plus

Thursday night I had to go to NY. Some bad weather turned my 2 hour trip into a 10 hour ordeal. I sat on a plane for 3 hours, and then they took us back to the gate. In a pissy mood, I decided to take the train instead of waiting. Who know what would have been faster. But the whole thing sucked. I took the metro from the airport to Union Station, and of course all of the escalators were down. Thank god I am in better shape, because I was lugging a suitcase and bag of work. Then train was relaxing, but my whole day of hanging out in NY was shot.

After my meetings, I flew home and landed at 4:30. I decided to go to CF. Of course I had to stop and buy some clothes at Sports Authority. Lets call it the $60 workout.

5,4,3,2,1 of muscle ups and the bear at 115. I subbed 3 each of dips and pullups for muscle ups. With all my pent up aggression, I flew through. I partitioned the 2nd two rounds of bear, but did not rest. Finished in 8:41.

I have to say that I am happy with my newly added work capacity. I don't have to stand around as much. The Fran challenge is having some nice side effects.

How low can I go?

This is getting ridiculous. Maybe its the summer heat. Maybe it was the Fran challenge. But this is the least I have weighed since high school. Too light.

Running clinic #1

Coach Stanley gave an intensive hours worth of drills that made me sweat and suffer. It is hard work to relearn how to run. My hammies hurt!

10 Power Cleans, 10 pushups

Hands leave the bar and you get a 200m penalty run.
9:00 for 5 rounds
Felt good

Annie Up

50, 40, 30, 20, 10 Double unders and then half the pullups.
10:41
After Fran - the pullups still hurt. Had to break the up more than usual

OH Squats, GHD, 400m Run

My mind was so free after finishing the Fran Challenge. What a weight off my shoulders. Sure I am sore, but I feel better just being done.

Or at least I did. After 1 single round of OH squats, my legs failed me. "You want us to OH squat, and then run - hahahahaha" They actually said that. Round 2 was terrible, and then I took off some weight. I actually considered taking off more weight each round until I had a bamboo stick over my head.

So there you go.

Sunday - Fran challenge winner. Monday - puppy dog weight and very slow time.

p.s. Dwight was asking me for diet advice. Win a Fran Challenge and be on a nutrition panel and people start to look up to you. But I am certain that Dwight is in better shape than I am and has lower body fat. But my advice for him is like my advice for everyone. 5 simple things. 1. Keep showing up at CFOT and doing what is on the board. 2. Do a little extra to improve. 3. Get enough sleep. 4. Cut out the crap in your diet. 5. Roll out, pre-hab and rehab what hurts.

I bet those simple steps get you very far. Then tailor the rest as needed cause everyone is different.

Fran Finals

($80 for 1st place of non-coaches plus $30 for 5th best improvement since prelims - 1:05 or 16.9%)



Lot's of thoughts running though my head. Six weeks ago I did Fran in 6:24, and today I did it in 5:19. Fastest time of the non-coaches.

I am very proud of my progress. Coaches Sean, Danya and Kevin all had better times. I would say they inspired me. Sadly today, I did not see a single rep that they did. I was busy dealing with 21/15/9 thrusters and pullups, and they all finished ahead of me. But I bet they were awesome to watch.

The pain during and immediately after Fran is horrible. It is so brief, but just hateful. I had one single moment of doubt during my middle round of thrusters. I put the bar down after 11 reps and fought hard in my mind to pick it up as soon as I could. I really did have that moment of "I should just quit - this hurts too much." It is a just mental dog fight, and I guess I did ok.

Six weeks ago I told Jerry that I really wanted to win the challenge. Beating Kevin's initial time of 5:23 (or his PR of 4 minutes) was never realistic, but I really took this seriously. Jerry prescribed a regimen of 10x tabata rows a couple of times a week. I did not do them 3 times every week, but I did them a bunch. Tabata rows really do mimic the horrible short term exhaustion of Fran. It's all out effort with some very short breaks. And 10 intervals = 5 minutes of work, which was my goal. So all in all, I was just 19 minutes off of my insane goal (and damn if I did not beat Kevin's first time.) I guess if I did all my tabata rows I could have gotten there.

Nice job everyone. Some damn inspiring efforts by Jason B. Nate, Bry, Kelly, Mike O, and all the rest. And thanks to Kevin, Sean and Danya for putting a goal out there for me to chase. They are studs and to be near their level is something to be proud of. Thanks to Jerry and Melissa for everything.

In CFOT I trust.

deadlift x 3

So much for my plan to get a ton of rest before the Fran Challenge on Sunday. With 2 days off, I was feeling less sore than usual, and I had a ton of energy. Time will tell if this was a mistake.

But with all that said, I worked only 6 sets and stopped at 300 x3. My previous time, I had done 315 x 3 and then got two out of three attempts at 340. So today was less for sure.

300 felt great, and I am ready to go on Sunday.

3,2,1 Fran

Count down to Fran Challenge - 3 days

I am making way too big a deal of this.

Push x3 x3 x3

Strict Press 145x3 - but only 160x2
Push Press - 185 x3
Jerk 190 x3.

Worked on form and I was better. I tried 205x1 at then end and missed. I could have gotten it.

Squat cleans x 3

Worked up to 185 and only got 2.
Went back to 175 and got 3.

Video of the workout

Tabata stuff

Wall Ball / Pull up / Burpee / Push Press / Row

62 / 60 /40 /48 /35 = 245

I did pretty well except for the row. I was toast and it showed. But otherwise, I was happy with my ability to keep working. Especially on Wall Ball. I have gotten better at them. The Push Presses were also hard. Not a good sign for the Fran Challange. Overhead with 95# is tough when you are completely exhausted.

Way to go Melissa

We just wrapped up 2 weeks of WODs programmed by Melissa. I was impressed. However, there were some real crushers in there.

Looking forward to the next two weeks by Danya.

It is kind of like visiting another crossfit, without having to go anywhere.

Snatch, T2B 10, 9, 8....1

What an eye opener. I started with 115 and had to drop to 95. I should have done 105 or something in the middle. I felt like I was pressing out with 115, but then 95 felt too easy. Ripped my hand on the T2B. All in all, not a great Monday for me. But a bad day at CF is better than none.

TGU

Never been to a turkish bathhouse.
Never had a Turkish coffee.
Never done a Turkish Get Up *


* Before 07/09/2010.

So today Melissa programmed these into our WOD.

5 TGU
10 ring dips
15 Wall Ball

4,5 or 6 rounds.

I chose the 35# kb and 4 rounds. It was my first time after all. These exhaust you. And I think I like them.

Rest up

2 hard days and I need a rest already. The 100 pullups crushed my back, and the thrusters/lunges combo finished off my legs and shoulders.

Thanks Melissa.

Thruster x 1

A much as I hate Fran. This was fun. Worked up to 200. Tried 206 and failed terribly.

Pullups

100 for time with a 10 burpee penalty for each drop from the bar

20, 20, 15, 15 ,10, 10 ,10 = 100 (and 60 burpees)
in 8:56. This workout hurt, but not too badly. Just get through it. Standing around and resting seemed like a waste to me, so I kept going.


Farmers walk afterwards. That is a weakness for me. I only did the 45#s and only did 400m. And boy was it hot.

First Friday

I am rule breaker. I did not feel like doing any of the hero workouts. I was having a bad week at work and was distracted. Exhausting myself with fran or the like was not what I felt like.

But earlier in the week we did clean and jerks. The highest suggested weight was 155, but I did 135. Right away I felt guilty. So for FF, I was going to do heavy ones until I was beat again.

In the past I had once cleaned 201, and once jerked 210. But not together. Both together is not the same as doing either. I think once before I was able to c/j 175.

Today I got 201. Form was not perfect. So really with more work, 210 or more is coming soon. I like that. My goal for the year was 225 and I have 6 months. Did another 20 or so reps with 135. Form was better.

6 rounds: 5 C&J, 10 burpee

I am really sore. So rather than challenge myself on the power/strength side - I went Infidel 135# weight for the C&J rather than HTFU 155.

I tried really hard to keep the speed up, and the form perfect. No push presses or strict presses - all jerks.

I had 3 rounds done in 4 minutes and finished at 9:10.

I will call it active recovery.

Run, Pullup , Sledge

Dammit

Soni got in my head telling me how he mis-counted the rep scheme this am. And sure I enough I messed up too.

Even worse, I did extra!

Instead of going up and down a symmetrical ladder – I went ahead and ran the 800m twice. But lets be honest -3rd St. and back is no 800m. By the time I realized that I was running all by my lonesome, it was too late. So I did:

10, 10,400m
15, 15, 600m
20, 20, 800m
20, 20m 800m (should have been 600m)
15, 15, 600m (should have been 400m)
10, 10 done

33:28 including the extra 400m that I ran.

Oh yeah, I also threw up a little - on round 1 no less. That is what a hot day and a week of vacation does to me. My mind is always ready to push it, but my body needs some easing back into CF.

Side note 2 - after my first day back from vacation - which was a seemingly harmless OHS day and a 10 minute circuit - I fell asleep at 8:30 pm - or about 4 hours earlier than usual.

Vacation is easy. Crossfit is tough.

O/H Squat x 1

My prior PR was 115 and was mostly restricted by my lack of flexibility. I am getting there.

Today I got 125# pretty well and tried 135# twice. Felt solid but I could'nt come up with it. I was tired. Next time.

Then a 10 minute AMRAP of 15 KB swings and 30 Jump lunges.

Note that I made my second ever appearance at 0730 and I am still on Mountain time. I actually was able to eat lunch with the work crew.

A good first day back.

Vacation

8 days away from CrossFit and not one single WOD. Did some hiking though, and grew this thing.

Coming back felt good. Some nagging aches and pains seemed to get better. My broken pinkie is about 75% now, which is nice. I can actually sort of make a fist again.

I am now a big fan of taking a full week off once in a while.

strict press x 3

166.

An angry after hours special. Ha da bad day and took it out on the bar.

cleans, ring push ups

10 rounds
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 - 155# cleans
2,4,6,8,10,12,14,16,18,20 - ring pushups

14:58

including the sunday wod - 6 days in a row. all htfu level where applicable. I am beat.

Vacation next week. Take care care everyone.

pullup, jump, sit up run

Is this the first wod that was easier than it looked on paper. I thought for sure I was looking at another 30+ minutes. But I finished 24:40.

100 of each (in a row) and then the 1 mile loop.

100 pullups were easier and quicker than I expected. Took 5:25. I was think I did 5 sets of 10, then 5s and then 3s at the end. Not much pausing.

Box Jumps were ok but took longer. Nicked my finger on the box with my crazy arm swing. On jump #2! Kept going, but it was nasty and a bleeder. Had to pause to bandage. Cost me a good minute. So I was rested to power through those.

Sit ups were my hardest part. Tightness in my lower back. I need some reverse hyper action.

1 mile loop. I am not a good runner. Jack "Flash" Britton caught me early and I sent him on his way. He beat me by a solid minute. Good news, no one else caught me. I saw Gar when I finished the switchback. With 6 blocks to go, I figured he would catch me. Never came though. But I needed that push to help my pace on the end.

Deadlifts x1

Still sore and tired from yesterday. last time I did a range of 295-315 and and avg of 305.

Today, I started at 315 and stayed there for all lifts. I did not have the speed or energy to go up.

Worked with Jerry - who was feeling it, and added at least 5# every round. What a learning experience to share a bar with him. From his approach, set-up, attitude, etc. Good stuff.

After party - tabata row x 10. Felt OK, although the power was not what I wanted. In other words, I felt OK because I was not pulling hard enough.

Runs, Thrusters, Dips

When is the last time I did thrusters with 135#. That would be never. Why would I. They are horribly painful.

During warmups, I did the bar - fine, did 95# - ok, tried 115# - did not enjoy that, and then finally tried 135#. I did 2 reps. I had proven that I could do them, from there, it was just a question of how many in a row and how long would it take.

Answer = 36:33.

This ranks up there as a top 5 most painful CFOT workouts I have ever done. Jerrys birthday WOD is also in there, but this was worse. I have had very few workouts that I wanted to quit, very few that I wanted to lower the weight, and a few where I stopped and tried to throw up. Today was all three. On my 4th run I stopped at the mailbox and leaned on it. Thank god it was 95 degrees out and the box scalded my hands, cause otherwise I may have stayed there for a while.

Kevin Hare had an inspiring effort. In his last round he cranked 9 thrusters in a row with 135#. I had done 3 and was doing 3 at a time - with a lot of rest. He picked up the bar and just hammered through. Beat me by a minute. Nice job.

Nutrition talk

Here is my section. The audio is not great.

http://www.viddler.com/explore/jerryhill/videos/95/

Recipe -MarkyD's Coco-Cocoa Almond Bars

I am pretty sure that the Paleolithic man did not actually eat these, but if he found one lying around, he would have.

I made these yesterday and brought them to the CFOT nutrition talk. They were all eaten, which I think confirms that these are good.

Total time is about 5 minutes, plus a little time to freeze them. So:

-Get a large mixing bowl.
-Add the following (since I am not down with the Zone, I don't weigh or measure. Open your mind and add quantities that you feel are right. Then taste as you go)


-Add 1 spoonful of coconut oil
-Add a three spoons of almond butter
-Pour in about a cup of shredded coconut
-Add half a cup of slivered almonds (Trader Joe's, unsalted and toasted work well)
-Mix in some dark cocoa powder and or dark choc chips
-Drizzle in a little honey

-Mix and smash with a wooden spoon. Break up those almond slivers.
-Make sure the consistency is not too liquid. If so, add more coconut and almond.
-Taste. Is it sweet enough? If not, add more honey. Repeat.
-Put wax paper in a baking dish. Pour in mix and spread thin.
-Freeze it - 20 minutes

-Take it out, flip it over, peel off the wax paper and cut into squares. Pieces will break off. Eat these (cook's bonus!)

Put squares in a bowl and back into the freezer. Take out 5 min before you serve.

Watch them disappear.

Fight Gone Bad

Last fall we led up to FGB with weeks and weeks of interval days, station workouts and other specific FGB prep. Yesterday Jerry innocently dropped a note that 6.11.10's WOD was FGB. That seemed a little unfair to me, as I was not expecting that at all.

I know last fall I had this insane notion in my head that I could get 300 reps. Game day was a painful 222.

Today, I was not sure what I would get, but assumed a 5 or 10% increase, and in fact I improved 6% to 235 reps.

Also of note, I learned my lesson and did not start out of the gate too crazy. My second and third rounds dropped off only 8 and 7%. So I was consistent. Without a doubt, I excel at more moderate intensity longer efforts. These all-out intervals completely gas me.

Plus, without throwing anyone else under the bus, I am really trying to focus on perfect form and full range of motion. I don't really care what my score is. I know that if I keep working as hard as I can and do the form to full range, then I am getting the max benefit. I saw some half ass push presses. Other than some extra points, I am not sure what good that does you. Sour grapes, cause others did better than me, but a little bit of the hard truth too.

Shout out to Erin Fisk. After FGB she led an 800m run that was just the right pace. Saw her working pullups too. She is determined as hell to get better, and I respect that.

Jumping Cindy

20 minute AMRAP:
5 pullups, 10 pushups, 15 double unders

I completed 14 full and 2/3 of another round.

My double unders are a mess and after a while I switched to 50 single unders. Is that equal? I have no idea. But I kept the intensity up the whole time and even made a push at the end. So I was happy with my energy.

Also, on the plus side. My kipping pullups are rocking these days. As in I can do 5 at a time 15 times with no trouble at all. (During Fran last week I could have done 21, but broke it up to 15 + 6 just to save myself.) I know butterflies are faster, and a goal for the future. But I am going to take this moment to pat myself on the back. This was one of my 2010 goals, and I can say mission accomplished.

Double unders could be next. Mine are horrible.

Bench Club - week 4: 06/09/10

Hand stand holds

Funny thing. You would think that being good at handstand pushups would equate to static hand stand holds. But the more you think about it, the less that makes any sense. One movement takes speed and power, the other endurance. And even if I do 20 hand stand pushups in a row, that really only takes 30 or 40 seconds, which is really not that long.

So far today, most people on board with long static hold times were people that were strong, but lighter. Although not everyone fell in to that pattern, I sure did. In 7 rounds I had a combined 4:59, or about an avg or 45 seconds per time. Best was about 1:05.

We fooled around on the pullup bars with chain pullups, butterfly, one arm pullups, 2 finger pullups, 2 bar switch pullups, etc. Just killing time in between more static holds.

Then I worked some intervals to get ready from Fran part 2. I promise you all that my time at the end of July will be better than my recent 6:24 (PR) time. I am not sure if I can eclipse Kevin who is ahead of me. He is a good athlete. All I can do is work as hard as I can to get better, and I have 6.5 weeks left to do that.

Hang Cleans & Runs

After Fran on Friday I had a nice weekend away at the beach. You would think I would be well rested. But somehow all the swimming and sun have tired me out. I walked into CFOT at 1230 and wanted to turn around and go take a nap.

That said, I also want to take this Fran challenge seriously. And if I cannot surpass Kevin (who has a 4:01 PR Fran compared to my 6:24), then I sure as hell don't want anyone behind me to overtake me. So I have work to do. A lot of work to do.

Today though I was happy to power through 7 rounds of 7 hang cleans (155#) and then 200m runs in 15:42. Not the fastest time, not the heaviest weight, but an OK effort. My grip is still hampered by my broken pinky. So I dropped after each rep and started fresh. Trying to control the bar on the way down hurt more than the lift itself for me.

Tried a few reps at 175 afterwords and they felt good.