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.