strict press x 3

Today I was able to get 155# for 3 without much trouble. When I tried 166 - a 1# PR, I got 2 and then failed on rep 3. Given the heavy (185#) clean and jerk presses just 2 days ago, maybe I had some residual fatigue. I actually felt pretty good, which I was happy about, just did not have that last lift.

Did 1 lame interval of 15 cal row, 15 each of 20# db thrusters, pullups and burpees in 2:47. Had to get back to work. Which is where I still am at almost 9pm.

An article by your's truly about our fearless leader.

Made it to the CrossFit Games website: - here

The Chipper

See workout and comments below.
Time 20:40. Just ahead of Vinnie and waaay behind Tim R.


10 Clean and Jerks (185#)- That is flat out horrible. Very heavy. Missed 2 cleans.
30 Box jumps- -felt good
30 KB Swing - partitioned alot.
10 Muscle-up - Felt good. Did all singles, but no misses and little rest
30 Burpees - that is a lot
30 GHD Situp - worst part of the wod
10 HSPU - best part of the wod. Would have done 50 to skip the last two movements.
30 Pullups - 10, 10, 5, 3, 2 - Took it easy
30 Wallball - was wasted already. took a long time

A few pictures from the chipper:

Sectionals Open - Take 1, or 2 or 12

It is Crossfit Games season. Over the next few weeks over 20,000 people around the world are trying to narrow down to under a 1,000 to go to Regionals in May and then about 100 to the CrossFit Games in July. So 100 out of more than 20,000 will get to compete in the CrossFit Games - and 99.5% of us are not going. Are the 0.5% who make it the best possible people - of course not. Will the 100 people be really fit people? Sure, but maybe not the exact 100 fittest. But the ultimate winners will be super fit. Is the fittest possible person in the world going to have a bad day and not do well. Happens all the time. Sorry.

The Sectionals Open process is turning into a mess. Terrible computer problems. A one week postponement already in week 1. And in my mind, the worst possible rules. You have 5 days to do the workout once posted. Do it every day if you wish. And for week 1, an extra week on top of that. I don't get it.

I am going to do each of the 6 workouts exactly once. If I do poorly, so be it. But I am doing it once and move on. Not even worrying about it. I am going to learn from each workout and work on what I did poorly on.

In my mind, a competition means you step up to the platform and do your best. No second chances.

(1 exception - Say for some reason a really well organized event messes up and none of the women's scores count)

Tues - hspu circuit

I forgot to post about this one. 20 minutes, as many rounds as possible
5 hspu, 10 pullup, 15 box jumps

I fell over after hspu #1. Really. Just lost my balance. But then I was in a groove. The box jumps took me the longest time. I finished 11 full rounds and 11 reps short of a 12th. Loved that one.

Barbara

I love this workout - or at least I thought I did.

5 rounds
20 pullups, 30 pushups, 40 abmat situps, 50 airsquats - then rest exactly 3 minutes.

But i'm not sure if it is my insane work schedule, my lack of sleep, my missed meals or what. After plowing through the first cycle in 3:28, my next two rounds were 4:10 and then 6:48. And then I had to go. I was non stop from 7am to 11:30 pm yesterday. I was lucky to get theses 3 rounds in.

After round 1 my muscles were so fatigued. I did the 20 pullups, but everything else had to be broken up. I was really disappointed with my last round. 3 pushups at a time? Not pretty.

Back to the grind.

Back Squats with Chains x5, met con

Monday means back to work, and at CFOT that usually includes squatting, cleans or thrusters. Just seems natural.

But I am working around the clock and have gotten 5 or less hours of sleep for 3 nights in a row. I am completely running on empty. I should be back at work now - 8 pm - but I think sleep is required.

I worked with Chad and tried to focus on form. Did not care how much was on the bar. In my last set, I was getting deep and had to fight on the last set. I know I was working, because my hamstrings are already sore - which is the sign of doing them right.

Did a burpee, double under metcon afterwards. Should have done 6 rounds, but I did 5 in 8 minutes. I need to push for longer.

CHEAT DAY!!!!

This has been a long time coming. Almost 3 months to be exact.

From the start of Pete's Paleo Challenge, and from the day I signed up to do the Crossfit Sectionals Open. So for almost 3 months I been very strict with the diet. Heavy on the protein, fruit and veggies - and very low on the grains and sugars. I have lost a few pounds, gotten stronger, and felt great. But I have also missed a few foods.

So a few weeks back, I decided that on the day after the first Open WOD (yesterday) - that I would have a pre meditated cheat day. Granted I was also supposed to be on vacation and was going to do this in an island paradise setting. It was going to be glorious. But Old Town was pretty nice today too (if you erase the 10 hours I spent in the office on a Sunday.)

So how bad was I - and how did I like it.

Wake up - 6 am to walk the dog. 5 hours of sleep. Out of habit I had my Vitamin C drink and protein, green powder and fish oil. Damn it, I am supposed to be cheating!

8 am - take the papers (Post and Times) to Mishas and plow through both with 2 iced coffees and 2 croissants. Added cream to my coffee, cause I'm a rebel. I hate the way sugar tastes now, so I did not do that. Feeling a little bloated and lethargic after that.

10- Yoga - I am not a very good cheater.

noon - at work. Went to lunch with my boss. He eats terribly as a rule. Overwood has a nice Sunday brunch and I had pancakes with butter and syrup. Tasted pretty good. But I feel worse.

5 pm - went home from work and ordered a pizza. Small. Ate half of it. I felt disgusting. Could not eat another bite. Felt tired and took a nap. Woke up 2 hours later feeling groggy.

8pm - dinner with Chad/Sue (Hollywood/Bollywood) to talk work. Ate polenta and meatballs and mozzarella and tomato. Feel full and terrible. Ate very little of it.

9 - back at work. Couple of hours to go. The nap set me back.

Thoughts - An all out cheat day once in a blue moon is not a bad idea. Similar to trying to smoke a whole pack cigs or drinking a whole bottle of liquor in one sitting. You are not going to want to see the stuff for a while. And that is kind of where I am.

So I am glad I did it, and don't miss much of this at all. Kind of a fun experimental day.

Back on the program - starting..... now!

Crossfit Sectionals WOD1

I participated in WOD 1 as part of the Patriot Crossfit event. 95 athletes from more than 10 Crossfit affiliates participated. The energy and performances that took place were amazing.

See the great video that Koz took here featuring some of the CFOT team.

I will say that I spent almost 5 hours there for my 10 minute WOD. So I am not sure if I will do all 6 like that. But this was a great experience.

WOD 1 was a 10 minute amrap of 30 double unders and then 15 ground to overhead with 75 pounds. I completed 4 full rounds. I was metabolically taxed by this and struggled. Fewer and heavier movements over a shorter period would have been better for me, but it is all fair game.

Here is me in action. I chose to clean and jerk (or press) the 75# rather than snatch it. I suspect it is slower, but worked better for me. My judge Aaron from Potomac CrossFit. Did a great job.

Cleans & Jerks, and Grace

WOD1.) Every minute on the minute for TEN minutes perform 1 Clean and Jerk. Load should be heavy, form should be perfect.


I was late to CF - so no warm up. I did a few reps, added weight and got started with 165. I added 10# every round, ending with 205 - which happens to equal my clean pr. There you go. I was not even thinking about the cleans. Just walked up to the bar and cleaned my PR twice (in 60 seconds) with relative ease. I'm guessing I could do a little more if I tried. Love it.


WOD2.) “Grace” 30 Clean & Jerks for time 95w, 135M - First time through in over a year - maybe 2. 3:50. OK, but nowhere close to all the sub 3s that happened today. What a place. The better you get, the farther behind you fall. Love that too.

Random Thoughts a week before Sectional Season

First of all, I am sore as can be. A very tough week of Crossfit and I overdid it. I had a couple of weeks of finding good balance - 4 times a week of cf, plus yoga once, and lots of mobility work. This week was bad. 5 days of cf. No yoga. Too much work. Couple of nights out late, couple of nights with a few drinks. No mobility work. And here I sit on Sunday night - completely not ready for a week of training. Contrast that with just a week ago - when I was tan, ready and rested after a smarter week.

I need to be smart this week and roll out, do my mobility and not hit every wod.

On another front. The Paleo Challenge. Pete's Paleo Challenge to be exact. I am pretty much ending that. At least the diligent point tracking aspect. My weight hit a low of 158. That makes 5 pounds since Jan 1 - and I do not want to lose any more. I am a step away from shopping at Nordstroms Kids. I have had a cheat meal here and there in the past week, but still my diet is much better than it used to be and I am much more aware of my food choices and their effects. Time to let it go.

Work - did I mention I am working too much. Just had to cancel my Spring Break trip. I have to stay behind and my wife and daughter are going to the dream resort - The El Conquistador in Puerto Rico - for a week. I really needed the break, and this is devastating. At least I have something to focus on when I want to get angry during a wod.

There you go. Tired and Angry. See, my life isn't perfect.

Sat Partner Metcon

100m lunge. 700 run then:
1 partner works at a time to complete 200 reps of:
slamball, abmat, med ball clean and pullups
1 final 800m run


Worked with Laurie Wasko - my Team_B Awesome mate.
It was part exercise and part psychiatric session. Laurie is the best.
I walked in unmotivated. But somewhere along the way I was able to up the intensity. Except the pullups which really hurt after the 30 muscle ups yesterday. The first 100 pullups were ok, but then it was a struggle.

Hard work, but fun.

Back squat x 2, then 30 muscle ups

worked up to 250 x2. Honestly my overly busy work schedule has caught up with me. My mobility has just about stopped. And today my knees and shoulders bitched and complained to no end.


Worked up to back squat of 250x2. Not great.

30 muscle ups. Used the rings from the ceiling. And flashed each one. Took 13:07. Tough day.

Thursday Metcon

This makes 3 or 4 Thursdays in a row. Every one since Danya gave a little talking to about everyone always making Thurs their rest day. Mix it up people!

Todays WOD is below:

I ended up doing 3 rounds in about 16 minutes. I was not watching the clock and almost forgot to look. Murphy was done way ahead of me, but otherwise I have no idea since most people did 5 rounds. I added 20# to the push press and did 115#. Used the heavy sledge. 1 round of unbroken du. Kind of a disappointment since I am "so good" at them now.

20 Kettlebell Swing, 20 Sledgehammer hits, 20 Push Press, 20 Double-unders, 20 GHD Situp

Bulldog: 3r, Infidel: 4r, HTFU: 5r

metcon tuesday

20 minute amrap of
200m run
9 fr sq (135# and clean from the floor )
9 bx jmps
9 pull ups

I finished 6 full and then another run. Felt terrible and wanted to quit.

Koz lapped me after a couple of rounds and I felt like crap. When I saw he added chest to bar pullups (and I did not) I was a little in awe. At least I got to see his performance.

With that said, I did fairly well and much better than I would have in the past. Although I felt bad, I was able to keep going. Had to break up the box jumps, but that was it.

JT Hero WOD

9:32 - First time doing this since my first First Friday and first time ever finishing it.

More later, very busy at work.

Sat rest and Sunday Yoga

It has been 3 weeks since I have been able to make a Sunday yoga class. I have missed it and it also showed.

Other than a 2 mile run yesterday, I have rested and done the yoga class this weekend.

I don't know what the wod will be for Monday, but I do know that I will be rested and ready to attack it. A lot of people have been talking up my recent performances. This is one of my keys. Rest and recovery. So when I am at CF, I am able to give it my all.

First Friday - Diane

So First Friday is pick your own workout. When you PR on the deadlift and handstand puhsups in a week, of course Diane is on tap. 21/15/9 of 225 deadlifts and hspu.

I had done this twice before:
Sept 09 - 8:40
Dec 09 - 7:40

Today 4:24!!!

Round 1:
It felt great out of the gate. I warmed up for a long time and my mobility was good. The first deadlifts were fast and furious. I stopped at 8 and took 3 breaths. Did 7 and took 3 breaths and then did 6 = 21 The last 6 started to get harder. hspu's were pretty much the same.

Back to the bar at about 1:30
Although it was only 15 reps, I was feeling it - mostly in the low back - and my strength was fading. I think I did 5/4/3/3.

Last round
Just holding on. Maybe 3/2/2/2. No strength left and my form was less than ideal.

But that first round was something. I felt like a legit crossfitter for at least 30 seconds.

Thurs Metcon

7 rounds
200m run, 15 of kb swings, box jumps and wall ball.
23:42.

I am totally gasping for air still. I am sure it is good for me.

Wed rest day

Me passing up a push jerk metcon is like Charlie Sheen curling up with a good book on a Friday night. But it is almost Crossfit Games open time and I am trying to add in more rest and also pass up the wods that I am pretty strong in. I'd rather work a weakness, a skill or a metcon for now.

Row, Squat Cleans, pullups and back

500m row, 15 squat cleans with 135, 30 pullups then 15 more sq cleans and a final 500m row.

9:17.

I was angry with myself about yesterdays wod. And angry about some developments at work. So this became my anger management class. Hammered the pullups (25 then 5) and the final 200m of rowing at a 1:35 pace. Then I began to feel horrible Fran-like pain.