Rest

Whipped already this week. I guess heavy deadlifts then a brutal weight vest effort will do that. I feel asleep at 9pm last night!

Back tomorrow and then a big First Friday. I plan to do something nuts. Having trouble picking. Badger, DT, JT Daniel or weighted Murph. Thoughts?

Wait - those aren't nuts, just regular old Crossfit.

Run, Pull up Burpee Pyramid 1-7-1, Row

With the vest - just for "fun"

I started with the 800m run. Running with the vest was OK. Pull ups with the vest were bearable. You really noticed the vest on the jumps of the burpees.

And the row with the vest was the worst. Just horrible. Felt like it was constricting my lungs - which were gasping already.

Time 20:16.

But once in a while it is good to step it up and wear a vest. And today seemed like that day.

My man Chad took the challenge as well and smoked me by at least a minute.

I am going to feel this tomorrow. Really feel it.

Deadlifts 2x2x2x1x1x1

I am getting sloppy. I forgot to look up my previous PR (PPR) and walked in thinking that 1 rep max was 336#. So when I got 340# - I was happy and ready to walk away. But then everyone in the 1230 class was crushing PRs and some nice round #s - 200, 300, etc. So a stepped up to 350 - and failed. Then I got pissed off, tried again, and got it. Form was not ideal, but I kept my abs tight and the 350 lift was better than the 340 - per Melissa.

Good thing, because my PPR was actually 340.

Arrrgg!

I'm back

Back from vacation and right back at it. As in airport to CFOT kind of
thing. I actually had sand in my shoes when I changed (Fl beach sand!)

Anyway. On Fri and Sat, those of us not doing sectionals gave their
workouts a try. Minus the rest in between. Coming back from a week
completely off, I was rested but rusty. Got almost 13 rounds of
weighted Cindy. Not bad. C&J was a no go. The rude welcome back of wod
1 was enough.

About 15 hours later I retuned for the last two wods. I scaled the oh
squat - which is my worst lift - and got 3+ rounds. With 5 min rest we
jumped into the last wod. I used the 88# kb, and got in 6+ rounds.
With no rest, that was ok.

Looking at our sectional competitors and some of the men's results, I
am blown away. My best would not get me in the top 100. Crazy.

3,2,1, Vacation

Rest Day today after 4 tough days with some heavy lifting thrown in. After being out past 1 am to watch hoops, feel beat.

Private school spring break is upon us and we are going with 3 other families from Stellla's 1st grade class to Florida. Sharing a house with folks we know just a little. Should be interesting.

No CF. So maybe a jog or two. And maybe a cartoon. Stay tuned.

Magic weight loss

Funny thing. The last few weeks I have been a little funk. I was getting a little bored with CF after my 1 year anniversary. I was getting tired of not eating bread, pasta, rice, sugar., etc...

So I admit that I was cheating a little on my diet. A few slices of pizza here, pasta and bread at a restaurant (like regular people.)

Also, I was going a little half-assed at CF. Showing up, but not giving it my all - which is SO wrong. But looking back, I know I was.

Guess what - over two weeks I put on 6 pounds. Then last weekend. I got my self together. Got some more energy and effort at CFOT. And got my diet back on track according to Mark Sisson and the Primal Blueprint. Diet is so key. 5 days later, I have dropped 4 pounds and have a scary amount of energy. The last three days at CFOT I went Elite, Elite and destroyed the HSPU WOD if I must say. I have seen it work for me, and I have seen what happens when I get off track. It is crazy.

Links:

(http://www.marksdailyapple.com/ and

http://www.amazon.com/Primal-Blueprint-Reprogram-effortless-boundless/dp/0982207700/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264614663&sr=8-1)

Handstand pushups and T2B ladder

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 of HSPU and T2B.

We did heavy presses (36 reps of 165# jerks) the other day, and my shoulders were a little tired. But HSPUs are one of my things. So I really wanted to blow through this as fast as I could. I saw one time of 8 something, and I got fired up to beat it.

Round 1 was a dream as I hit all 10 and felt little resistance on the HSPUs. But rounds 9-5 I had to break up once or twice for a second. The rounds with 4, 3, 2 & 1 I got them all unbroken.

The T2B were easy enough once you get a rhythm.

Time 7:06. Mission accomplished.

Deadlifts, GHD, and Double Unders

15, 12, 9 Deadlift

30, 24, 18 GHD sit up

45, 36, 27 D/U

15:40ish

I went elite for the 2nd day in a row. My back was rounding, so not ideal, but I wanted to build some strength - so I went heavy. I got through in decent time, especially considering that my D/Us come in batches of 5, 3 or 2.

Run, box jumps C&J

400m runs

Then 30, 24, 18, box jumps

Then 3 rounds. 15, 12,9 Clean and Jerk - 165# (my weight +2#)

Bloody, sweaty and bruised but not broken. Pretty happy actually.

If hands could cry

My hands are wearing down. Last Friday with the heavy deadlifts, I ripped up a mess of hand on my left. And on the right, several layers are still missing and trying to rebuild.

So today's 5 intervals with 20 pullups did not help.

I stayed between 4 and 5 minutes and held it together pretty well until the last 2 rounds. My first three were 4:10, 4:05 and 4:00. I actually warm up slowly, so this makes some sense. But then I could not maintain - especially on the pullups. Had to break them up too much. Melissa correctly points out that when I am tired, I try to muscle them and not kip. Stupid, stupid, stupid - I know.

So anyway - 4 more days until spring break. A week in Fla - and a week break from the box. I feel I need it, and my hands certainly do.

Heavy Deadlifts and Burpees

1,2,3,4,5,4,3,2,1=25 Deadlifts at 305
2,4,6,8,10,8,6,4,2=50 Burpees

15:00

Loved this one. Power, struggle, determination, ripped hands, fast feet and all. When burpees are the easy part of the WOD, you are in for a tough one. This is what CF is all about.

Front Squat / handstand practice

09:15 class and it was a small one. A good chance to get some coaching from Jerry, which is good. I think it is good to get tips from a variety of sources. Sadly, my lingering muscle strain is limiting my ability to get some big lifts. I am able to get right up to about my PR and then the pain overcomes my ability to ignore. Probably a good thing.

Working handstands is fun. Something I have been doing on my own anyway, and it was good to get some feedback.

A few pictures:

Intervals - C&J, Burpees, Row

I had a nice chat with Jerry about my progress today. Kind of like the teacher conference that I will have with my 7 year old's teacher later this week. Anyway, with 1 year of CF under my belt, and my belt itself still being on the skinniest notch :> , I am a little lost as to what to do next. I am not signed up for the sectionals, there are no hoppers coming up, etc...

So do I try to focus on getting stronger, better technique, more powerful, or increase my capacity. I am sure people would say - all of the above. But here is a specific. When there is a barbell metcon with a list of prescribed weights, do I want to pick elite and struggle to get that done, or do I want to scale down and try to do it with speed?

Based on my fitness level, Jerry and I choose to scale down and go for speed. My capacity is lacking vs some of the rest of you. During Helen for example, I can race out of the gate and hang with anyone, but my ability to keep up will fade with each round. I want to sprint that last 400, but I end up shuffle/jogging.

So here is my action plan. Each day I will do 10 minutes of extra work in addition to the roller, stretching, etc.. On a strength day, I will alternate 400m repeats or 2 minute row repeats. On metcon or interval days, I will rotate between kipping pullup work, muscle up transitions, and my new favorite thing: handstands without the wall. I love trying those!

So there you have it. Don't muddle through. Jerry (and Melissa) love to coach and help you work through stuff.

Run, lunge, pullup

Hateful workout. With my short legs I think I took twice as many lunges as everyone else. The 34 overhead got heavy after all those steps and I had to drop it waaay too many times.

Blah.

Sat WOD

10 Snatch, Thruster, C&J mixed with lat burpees and pullups

Time 8:35

I went too light. Rx was 135. I did 95 because that is my snatch PR. I should have done 115.

First Friday - Badger

In real life. Badgers are cute furry little guys. In the world of Crossfit WOD's, "Badger" is a leg punishing bruising ordeal.

3 rounds for time:

30- squat cleans - 95#

30 - pullups

800m run

Time 37:45 (Start 23:00 End 60:45)

The runs were damn long and lonely. I hoped to recover a little for the next round, but I also tried to keep the pace up a little. 30 squat cleans are a lot.

My goal was actually to work on my clean technique - especially fast elbows and releasing the bar at the top. I think these 90 reps gave me a good opportunity to do that. Some were better than others, but overall, the form was an improvement and something I need to carry forward to heavier cleans.

Fran - but rest for me

Sticking to my guns. And my guns are sore and tired.

Plans for the day include, a burger (maybe even with a bun) a massage, and drinking a few beers while watching Maryland v. Duke.

In other words, a normal persons day and the complete opposite of Fran.

Power cleans 1x1

Blahhhh

I am dragging ass. Today makes 6 days straight including the 2 hour seminar on Sunday. What kind of things happen when you come 6 straight days:

less power

less speed

mental fatigue

nagging injuries come back to the forefront

No PRs

check, check, check, check and check

I was close though. I had 201 (a 1 pound PR attempt) as close as you can get. 5 tries later, I was no closer. Fran tomorrow. I love her, but I am calling a break. Maybe two days even. I am plain old whipped.

3/1 - OH Squat, run and lateral burpees

Rx weight was 115 - which is my PR. I scaled all the way to Porch of 85#. I was dreading this workout. First of all, after hitting last Thurs, Fri, Sat and the 2 hour seminar on Sunday - I am exhausted. Secondly, I am terrible at OH squats.

But funny enough, with that very low weight, and my ability to lift heavy things over my head, the bar pretty much felt weightless up there, and I was able to concentrate on the squat. So all in all, this felt pretty good, and I was able to get through it with one partition in the first two rounds and then all 9 in one shot for the last round. Lateral burpees and running were solid as I just tried to keep mentally tough and keep moving. Resting is not going to make you feel better, so might as well finish. So I did - in 14:05.

And hey - my ahem, groin, injury did not bother me at all. I will be careful, and keep stretching, but that was a pleasant surprise.

Next time, more weight.

Sunday bodyweight elements workshop

What a great event. 2+ hours of semi one-on-one time to work on a few elements. Namely: pullups, handstand pushups, muscle ups and double-unders. 5 CFOT coaches and limited to about 20 members. I have so much to work on in all 4 areas. My plan is to work on one element for 10 minutes after every CFOT class. I hope the rotation will keep it fresh and keep me from burning out or overworking.

Highlight of the day. Danny helping me to get - a brief - but solid handstand away from the wall. Not good enough to call a true handstand, but good enough to give me enthusiasm to keep working it as I really think I can get it.

Here is me workout on pulling one leg away from the wall, and then the next. My arms are too far apart, among other issues, But I am getting there.

Lowlight - Doing so many pullups that I ripped a gaping hole in my hand in minute 30 of a 2 hour seminar.

Sat - Jerk Press then Death by pullups

Worked up to 205. It is painfully clear that I am push pressing and not jerk pressing this weight. Goal #1 for me this year is to master the technique. Others in the gym can jerk press 40-50% more than they can push press. Mine are equal. So in theory, there is no reason that I cannot jerk press 250, 275 or 300!

300# would be an awesome achievement, and I promise to get there.

Death by pullups.

After jerk pressing ( I mean push pressing) all that weight overhead, my shoulders were already tired. So it is no surprise that I could not PR in Death by pullups. I got 14 full rounds and some change. Once again, I was not doing smooth kipping pullups. I was using brute force and determination.

See next post for related learnings.