Sunday, August 31, 2014

So you're going for a PR?

Oh man, it's a two post kind of day!  This one is going to be short and sweet.  EST is getting ready to start a squat cycle, and tonight was a 1RM for a "Squat" according to the website.  I had a lot of things lined up to do today.  A lot of things got moved to go get this 1RM... I don't know exactly where I'm at here... would like to get started with something in mind.  Last 1RM from a front squat I can remember, was something like 125 at CFDS 3 months ago.  I remember it because my wrist hurt, I didn't have good form...no front rack...  it was bad. 

Fast forward from then to today, and I'm ready, I get to the box, and I'm looking forward to finding my what my 1RM BACK squat is going to be.  I planned on this to be EPIC.  I can feel it.  Imagine my surprise when I walk in and see 1RM... for the front squat.  Man.  Dang.  LOL.  I really wanted to make up for my problems on Monday with losing the bar. 

There is more WOD than the 1RM tonight, but I couldn't move all my plans, so I was going to get my 1RM and bounce.  Got warmed up, started working.  One thing I've started trying to do...and I think it's only good in the beginning, but I don't count the weight on the bar after the heaviest bumper/plate is on.  Particularly when I'm going for a 1RM.  I don't want to know, I go as heavy and as hard as I can, until I can't go anymore.  Makes it a surprise for everyone.  LOL!

So after putting 25's on, I would move 10's, 5's, more 25's on and off the bar, getting heavier, but not paying attention to how much more I added.  So today, as I'm squatting, I'm trying to keep my rack high, and I focused on a spot on the wall for every lift.  As it go heavier... I suffered, but the squat was solid, and the rack was better than it's ever been.  What made me stop... it got exceptionally heavy for me in the rack.  I think I could have squatted even more, but I was worried about dropping the bar.  My rack is better...but it's not perfect.  Still heavy on the wrists....

So I get to my final weight and stop.  The last thing that we were going to do was called a walk out... I don't know if thats the official name for it, but it was taking 10% of your 1RM, un-racking, and then holding it for about 10 seconds.  The thought behind it is to get your nervous system used to the idea of the extra weight, holding it, etc, so when you get that heavy again, you know what it's like, and know you can hold it.  Make sense?  If any coaches can call this out...help me out, that would be great. 

My walk out...or whatever it's called, for that weight I went ahead and added two 25# plates to it and called it good... the only real downside to the way that I'm doing it, don't really know what that 10% is... know what I mean?  

So I'm all done, take the 25#'s off each side, and it's time to count.  Final tabulation, 175#.  That my dear sir/ma'am, is a 50 pound PR.  YES.  Want to take this time to thank CrossFit Diamond State, CrossFit Establish, and CrossFit Unlocked.  Without you guys, I never would have been here, never would have had these gains, and I'm thankful for every coach I've ever worked with. 

Looking forward to making it to 200#'s.  I think thats my goal for EVERY lift.  Snatch, Clean, OHS, Push Press, Strict Press, all of it.  Simply put, I want to be a strong dude.  Yes, yes I do.  :D

Back to basics

Hey there!  It's a warm day out...and the AC just went out in the car yesterday... 95 degrees of happiness, let me tell you.  Missed my typical timeline of blogging any day I do things  CrossFit related... but it's ok, we're here now. 

Friday was an interesting day workout wise.  The latest bootcamp class was having their final WOD, so the invite went out to the rest of the box to show up at 7, WOD with them, and then have some refreshments afterwards.  Well, there seemed to be some confusion as to which WOD we were going to do.  The one on the main board was 3 rounds of weighted lunges and TGU's, and then a Tabata setup of wall balls, rowing, situps, and burpees.  I mean, I guess thats as good a WOD to come in on as any... not like their first real WOD was Fran or anything.... 

On the other board, we have the bootcampers first WOD... which would be a great thing to benchmark against.... go figure right?  The coaches had a pow wow, and we did bits of the TGU's and some other things as a warmup.  Then the WOD.  It was a pretty nice one to do on a Friday.  12-9-6 Air squats, empty bar strict press, burpees, and a 100m run.  The run got added in at right before we started... I didn't do it... I prolly could have, and a the better man in me say I should have. 

Coaches also decided that 95lbs was going to be Rx for this workout.  Talking with the Professor, and Weldy,  Prof was like "oh c'mon Dan, it won't be that bad".  So I put the 25's on, and do a few...yeah, not bad.  So I'm ready, game time.  The airsquats were airsquats, all of me up, all of me down.  Slower than everyone else still.  Not unexpected, but man... c'mon.  As it comes off, I'll get more comfortable with them, and should get faster... Maybe I'll look into just dropping like a rock?  Strict press, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.... not bad so far.  7...8...  ok, now it's getting heavy.  10...stop...didn't put the bar down, just stopped, then pushed the last two up.  "not bad" huh... yeah, right. 

The burpees...  the goddam burpees..  and picture it said like this... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbUYhSV_u50  those first 12 hurt.  The benching Thursday, that strict press...and now the burpees... killer.  I'm finishing up the last of the burpees as people are getting back, and some of them getting done with their squats.... slow again.  I pop tall, and on to the airsquats, no big issue here.  This next set of presses was hard... broke it up into two sets.  Struggling.  The burpees were tortuous.  I got up... a beaten man.  Last round, squat, again, no problem.  Broke the press's in half again... and these things were awful.  I mean back bowed, head to the side, pushing with every fiber of my being to get them overhead...ugly, but completed.  Last burpees... 7:20... and beaten by everyone but another slow guy who actually ran... and he was a bootcamper.  I feel a little guilty about it, but... yeah. 

I want to keep that in mind for posterity sake, maybe do this again in 3 months, and see exactly where I am when the dust settles...and maybe do it running.  :D

I'm off, got 40 minutes to get to the spot, and get my 1RM for the squat before we start the squat cycle... wish me luck.  

Friday, August 29, 2014

My hands hurt for hours after this one

Oh man.  After today's WOD, coming home, cleaning up...bout an hour later, I was sore.... like I don't want to move sore.  Now today, I'm fine...and really, later that night, much better.  It was good to get back to the box.  Ended up taking Tuesday and Wednesday off, saw the chiropractor, got my shoulder in a better place.  Things are good.  I'm of two minds.... part of me thinks I need a week off, and the other part wholeheartedly disagrees.  I think my body could use the rest, it's been creaky lately....but after a warmup for a WOD, everything is right as rain... My guess, it's my nutrition that isn't doing me any favors. 

It's ok though.  Lurong starts in two weeks...and I'm sure their supplements will be here before then as well... maybe things will get sorted out sooner than later.  Kat up at EST also suggested some pro-biotic drink.  Said it had done wonders for people she knew...  Might have to give it a shot too.  I don't like the onset of achyness... I've run out of my GNC mega mens sport... and that might very well be part of the issue.  I'll be a guinea pig for you, let you know whats what, if I can figure it out myself.  Coaches, nutrition gurus, and really anyone... your feedback is always appreciated, leave a comment if you've got something you swear by as well.  

So Wednesdays WOD...  Strength work was the good ol' bench press.  I confess, I was hoping it was a 1RM day, wanted to see if I had another PR in me (I'm pretty sure it's another 20 pounds ;)  ).  Alas, no, it was a 5 set 5 movement of 80% of your 1RM.  In retrospect, I feel a little wrong for not doing the full 80% for the whole time, but I did it on the very last set, and while it wasn't to the point of failure on the last one, it might have been had I done it all at 80%.  Maybe that was the point?  The guy I was spotting for failed on his last set... IDK.  I'm going to love looking over this stuff after I've been coaching for a while, see how much changes in my though process between now and then. 

The METCON was a peach.  My hands hurt most of the night after it.  4 rounds of 10 ring dips, 20 toes to bar, and 30 DU's.  Thankfully, I had the sense to not wear my lifters, I hate jumping in them.  My first set of ring dips were comical.  I didn't have a good scaling option in mind (I should have... ) so I'm leaning forward into the rings, and then pushing myself up to a standing position....it's really weird to describe... but yeah, there were probably funny to watch.  Adrian had me on a box doing dips the rest of the time... I hate box dips, but then again I hate most things that are painful and I'm not good at.  :)

I can tell I'm getting just a bit lighter...and I've got a PCP appointment in the coming weeks to verify this....but there is still A LOT of me hanging from the bar trying to do toes to bar.  It's not the hanging that hurts me (that I can tell), it's the fact that there is just enough fat in my hands, that the pads...where callouses form for us...they get squished/pinched.  80 T2B... yeah.  Pain aside, I've started staring at the ceiling while I do these...not sure if it's good form, but I concentrate more and I feel like I work harder to pull my legs up, rather than do a "jump" off the ground, if that makes sense.  Maybe toes to rig is the way to go? 

The DU's... I think I really need to take a day, and just figure this out.  My singles aren't all that good, but if I can skip that and just get the doubles... maybe that is better?  Still haven't bought my own rope...and I'm pretty sure thats a great first place to start. 

Working on a mentality change.  I saw Fridays WOD, and immediately was like "meh" I don't like it.  I'm going to try to go into the box with the thought of giving it my very best efforts. 

Looked up this WOD called Clovis for Labor Day... We might be doing that up here, nothing set in stone... but wow.... anyway, tell you later about Fridays workout.  Cheers. 


Monday, August 25, 2014

Dog days of summer

The "cool" weather was nice while it lasted, but the heat is on.  I got to the box today, and while talking with a few folks, someone blurted out "it's HOT".  I shot them the iciest stare I could and said no no, it's just warm.  Everyone had a good laugh.  Recorded high was a clean 100.  I usually don't call it hot till it hits triple digits... guess thats what time in a FedEx trailer stacking boxes gets you.

Tonight's WOD was WAC..... Weights As Cardio.... or at least it felt like it was WAC.  LOL.  The stretching tonight was good.  I had some tight hamstrings over the weekend, so I was looking forward to it.  Felt good to be back in the box, even with it being hot as bawls.

The strength element was back squats.  I saw that last night, and was hoping for 1RM... and I've got a 1RM, but it's locked away in Wodify.  Once I get back to CFDS and start paying, should get access back to that tool.  Until then, I have to find it on my own.... well, actually, no.  Tonight we were looking to do 4 sets of 3-5 reps of 80% of our 1RM.  I *think* that mine was in the 150's...so I ended up with 125 on my bar.  I think I'm waaaaay stronger than this now.  Don't get me wrong, it was still a challenge but I can do more.  Did have an issue on the lest set though.  I don't know what happened, but as I'm starting to come up out of the squat, I lurched forward, hands came off the bar to catch myself from falling....and the only thing the kept the bar off the ground was my neck...   Ended up saving myself and getting back to the rack... Have to watch for that more next time.

The METCON was a nice little burner.  12 Push Press at 95 lbs, and 12 KB swings, 4 times for time.  I could have probably done both Rx.  95lbs is now a bit below the 1RM... that said, I didn't want to go RX and take 10+ minutes to do this.  I did 75, and 1 pood on the KB not the 2 pood it called for.  Pood, for those of you who have never heard the term:  http://www.kettlebellsusa.com
I got the first round down in just under a minute, probably faster if I'd concentrated more.  The second was when everything got heavy.  Having to set the bar down is a clock killer.  I probably could have muscled through the pain, but I let that sweet sweet seductive voice in my head sell me on the benefits of the bar being on the floor.  If I'm going to get better at these types of movements, I'm going to have to ignore the sales pitches from the brain, listen to the heart instead.

It was fun, and difficult, and it shows me more areas to improve on.  Tomorrows WOD is going to be nasty....absolutely disgusting in 95 degree heat.  Going to make sure I get plenty of sleep and eat well for that.  Leads me to some closet cleaning.  Haven't been eating particularly well the past month.  Not bad mind you, but not 100% Paleo either.  I'm looking forward to the Lurong Challenge, my first CrossFit competition in a way.  Will be a great way to get back on track with my nutrition, and a great way to track some progress.  I've been saying I'll get measurements soon for a while now... looks like "soon" is finally going to be here. 

PCP appointment is in another few weeks as well.  Scales don't lie, and I'm anxious to see the story it's going to tell.  

Friday, August 22, 2014

Happy Belated Birthday Coach Gia!

I actually told her Happy Birthday on her birthday, but tonight was all about that birthday WOD.  Just so you know.  No guilt here for doing this late.  :D

Today was bad...first, I went to bed late again...give me a break here, it's my first night home, I usually stay up late.  Now lets get to nutrition... or the lack there of.  No lunch today, think I had a handful of nuts when I got home, took a nap, then got up and had some greek yogurt with protein enriched granola.  Figured (really I hoped) that would give me some energy for the WOD tonight. 

So I get to EST tonight, at 610, open gym isn't till 7.  There was one person there.  It's hot here.  I'm talking 95+ with 80% + humidity.  People tell me it's been like this all week, and it's going to be there again tomorrow.  EST is doing the 31 hero WOD at 9am on Saturday, best of luck to everyone there, I'll be asleep, have to catch up at some time.  
I started warming up for this challenging WOD.  I didn't have a plan... probably another mistake.  Stretched, did some of the movements, stretched some more, did more movements with the bar and some weight, finally I'm ready. Or at least I think I'm ready.  I set up my space, class of new athletes is going to be on the other side of this rig. 
The WOD is this:

Cash in: 26 burpees
Then 8 rounds
1 muscle up
6 deadlifts 275/185#
8 HSPU
8 squat cleans 185/125#
Cash out: 26 burpee box jumps 


If you've looked at these numbers, and take another look at that picture... you'll notice some subtle differences in the weights... LOL.  The 275 deadlifts are possible, but it's close enough to my known 1 RM... I don't think thats a good idea, put up 185, I'll roll with that...well, I thought there were 35's on the end, and that it was 205... didn't realize the mistake till later.  The squat cleans didn't happen either... between my knees, fear, some laziness, and that weight, which is 40lbs over my current 1RM...I went with 95# power cleans... in retrospect, I should have made it 135 if I wasn't going to do the squats... maybe next time.  

My lov...I mean disdain for burpees is well known by now, or it should be.  I took my phone and started the stop watch.  Dove right into the burpees.  26 later, I wanted to be like "I'm done" and walk.  Covered in sweat, living the dream in a sweat box.  My muscle ups were... special.  I'll have to work with a coach on some more scaling options.  The deadlifts were good, the HSPU's...after conquering the use of a box, I did that scaled, and then the p.cleans....I'm actually getting irritated at myself for not putting more weight on that... I'll get over it here in a sec.  

First round was easy enough.  Two was good.  Three took a while.  Four had a lot of rest in it.  At this point my lack of food and sleep has thoroughly zapped me.  I've sweat through both shirts, I'm dripping from the shirts, and the fans and water are doing nothing for me.  I'm done.  Wait... I've got more burpees... well damn.  I've halved everything but the first set... I half these too.  29:13 is my time for what is essentially a halfy birthday WOD.  :)

I don't lay on the ground normally... I wanted to.  Badly.  Sat on the box in front of the fan for a min instead.  Ug.  Tired, wiped out.  When I got up, I almost started the clock and finished.  I felt a lot better after 2 minutes of sitting.  Figured that wouldn't be in the spirit of the WOD (and that it was a false flag), so I cleaned up, said my good byes, did a cool down, and took off. 

I'm going to keep this workout in my back pocket as a benchmark.  Not quite a Fran or Cindy or anything, but I can measure what I did this time to next.  Might be up early enough to go to the 31 WOD tomorrow, cheer some folks on.  Should be signing up for the Lurong Challenge tomorrow as well.  http://www.lurongliving.com/challenge/  Check it out, and if you happen to be near EST, CFDS or CF Unlocked, I'm pretty sure they're all listed as affiliates.  If those aren't in your area, I'm pretty sure there is one near you if you're interested.  May the odds ever be in your favor...or something like that.  
  

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Clock watching

Gonna tell you up front, no WOD talking tonight, so if you need to bail, I've got you.  If you happen to have already popped that popcorn, then I'm going to tell you a story. 

Today was long, and that bear complex... some new soreness, and some old soreness.  I wasn't expecting the abs to be sore, but my triceps, my goodness.  Just yawning and stretching today has been an amazing experience...and one I don't really want to have again any time soon. 

Work was work, but then there was this meeting scheduled for 430...and it had the look of one that would run over.  And run over it did.  I watched the clock hit 5 o'clock.  Then I watched the minute hand hit 5, 10, 15, 25, 35, 45, 5:54, finally done.   6 minutes to get changed and drive 30 minutes to Unlocked... not going to make it.  !@#$

I had half this blog written before this fiasco.  Was going to call it the chipper...because the WOD was going to be the first one ever identified to me as a chipper.   No matter.  I knew most of the movements I could simulate with a weight bench, and some free weights.  I had this new scenario half written before the end of the meeting...was going to call this one Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome.  I'm a man of big plans and creative vision... LOL

I get back to the room, get changed, grab some water, head down to the hotel gym.  Get to the door, slide the key through the lock, and I'm in.  The first thing that assailed my senses was the smell.  I don't have the words or experiences to describe it, sweat, staleness, funk...maybe a bit of mold?  It's ok, I can work through this.  Taking stock of the room... there is nothing I can use.  There is a machine in the corner, a few medicine balls, a stationary bike, treadmill, and an elliptical.  The smell keeps me from trying to problem solve this here, I go back to my room. 

At this point, I've figured out how I can do most all of this WOD in my hotel room.  I start warming up... I don't know if it was the bear, the soreness, the fact I'm in my room... but it's just not feeling right.  The air squats, the tricep stretches, none of it felt right....so today is going to be a rest day.  I'm not going to get all philosophical about it, say that maybe it's for the best and all that...  Just going to take it for what it is, a chance to get less sore... but if second day soreness is any indication, tomorrow is going to be worse than today. 

Tomorrow is a travel day, then Friday should be another WOD... well, it will be another WOD, but I might do open gym instead.  Coach Gia had a birthday very recently, and they have a nasty nasty nasty WOD for it...might do that one instead.  :D  Hope to tell you all about it soon. 

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

So thats a bear complex huh?

I'm a lucky dude.  I've got some fantastic friends, and I really need to thank Andy and Gia at CFDS for suggesting Unlocked.  After the WOD tonight, I didn't have to rush off to get new shoes, or new gear, didn't need to be back at the hotel for anything, so I got to hang out, get to know folks a bit.  I like the people out here.  Really, I'm pretty sure most CrossFit boxes are going to have someone you'd say "oh ____, yeah, he/she is good people", but in this case, it's me talking, and I'm saying my good people linked me up with more good people.  Maybe it's not luck, maybe I'm blessed.  Maybe it's both...  *shrug*

I gotta tell you, there are days I have a love/hate relationship with my job.  We do good work as a company, we're impacting healthcare in a meaningful and good way... but man they keep messing with my CrossFit.  After this week I'm back in KC for 2 weeks... I can't get a solid rhythm with programming if I can't get consistency, don't they know that?  Sheesh. 

Anyway, this bear complex... not as weird as a Shankle.  I still think everyone who's never seen the man do his own complex, need to hop on YouTube and take a look, it makes more sense afterwards.  Man, I keep getting sidetracked... We started the WOD today with a deload strict press.  I still don't fully know what deloading programming is, but I know it's purpose.  Going back to my crazy travel and not having the same programming every week....ok, really, back to today...

So, it's 3 sets of a 5 reps, at 40, 50, and 60% of the 1RM... feels like a warm up, and maybe thats the purpose?  Next is an EMOM, that is pretty much the same thing we're going to be doing for the WOD...  I don't make the programming up, and I usually don't understand it...my job is to do it (for now).  8 minutes, 1 power clean, to a jerk movement, to a back squat, to a back jerk.  I've never done a back jerk before, so I started at 65 to test it out, then 85, landed on 95# for the EMOM.  Around the 4th minute, I started noticing people adding weight.... and the first couple of back jerks weren't really great, but by #4 it felt fine, so by the 5th movement, I started adding little weights.  Everyone had snatched up the 5's, so I settled for 2.5's.  This is still my first time doing back jerks, so really, small increments are probably good.  Ended up at 105.  I'll take that for a first time. 

THE BEAR.  Several movements put together, I did it two different ways.  The way I tried to it was a full clean into a thruster (from the bottom of the clean), into a back squat into another thruster (from the back squat).  1.  The other way was slower... power clean, front squat, push press (or push jerk), back squat, rear jerk.  Man, that was painful writing.  Ug.   We did it in 12-9-6-3, with the same number of HSPU's. 

Workout was difficult, but it's the kind of difficult I like.  Love me some weights... not so much when it's done for cardio effect... but still.  I even graduated up to doing quasi pike off the box HSPUs.  First time even attempting that from a box... Getting stronger, getting better.  Unlocked is becoming a land of firsts.  

Got the WOD done, wasn't the last person, but I have a nagging suspicion I missed a complex or two.  Tired body tired mind.  One thing I clearly need to take some extra time on is my breathing.  I was sucking eggs before I got halfway though the first 12, and it only got worse.  Consistent intensity is the key... can't be consistent without the air can you?

So, like I said, got to stick around for a bit.  Some of the coaches did this little 3x1 workout (modeled off the 3x3 at the games).  1k row, 100 DU's, 1 mile run.  There were more than a few who'd just got done with the 6pm WOD, or the 5pm WOD.  On one hand, this sums up the insanity of some athletes in CrossFit, on the other hand, I can't wait till I can mix it up with them.  Soon enough.

Well, I've always said I try to be coachable.  I've been told I need more sleep... and I've known how important sleep is for a while now, but lately haven't always been the best following up... going to get that Rx on my sleep tonight, catch you tomorrow. 

Monday, August 18, 2014

I'm goin goin, back back, to Deli Deli

Maybe it should be Dela Dela... anyway, I'm back in  Delaware, my home away from home.  Went to Crossfit Unlocked again, finally met the mythical Jeff and Ali Peet finally, they do exist.  Good times were had.  But first, I need to rant a little on Mondays. 

Normally I like Mondays, not because of work, but because it's usually the first day back in the box after a weekend off.  Usually feeling fresh, read to go.  Thats not the case on tra, vel Mondays.  These hurt.  I usually end up going to bed after 10 for whatever reason, and getting up before 4....with bad sleep in between.  Got home late Sunday night, got packed, and was in bed around midnight.  Didn't get to sleep till after 1... don't know why.  And I was up at 4.  Forgot my iPod (the key to my sleeping on planes usually), left my sun glasses too, rental didn't have XM so the drive in felt longer... lots of little things.  Travel Mondays suck... 

You know what though, I made it, it's actually 1240 am right now, so Mondays been gone for a while now.  Life is good (though I'm going to be TIRED when I wake up...).  So lets talk about Unlocked.   Less people tod...well, less vehicles were there when I pulled up today, we still had a pretty full class.  Got to introduce myself to more of the fine folks here, and a few who were there for my first visit made the joke of "you always pick the nasty WODs huh".  Guess I can't be accused of cherry picking.  :)

Todays WOD was... probably what is often referred to as "spicy".  One thing about Unlocked, they name their WODs...or at least the ones I've seen.  I like that, makes them more memorable.  This one was called "Make Time to Climb".  These were the particulars:
5 Rounds
6 Power snatches 135
20 wall balls 20
30 DU or 90 single jumps
8 Rope climbs any time during the workout


Having just hit a 2RM of the power snatch on Friday at 125... I didn't think doing this WOD with RX weight was very practical.  I miiiiiiight have been able to do it, but I think I would have taken a lot longer to get done, which would have messed up the intent of the programming.  

So I'm doing the snatch at 95.  Wall balls are wall balls, the DUs... I scaled these down.  My New Balance shoes are shot (got replacements on order after tonight WOD), so I brought the lifters... and those aren't the best shoes (in my opinion) to be jumping rope in.  I had plans on doing 30 singles.  The scale for the ropes, was 50 pullups (or 50 ring rows for me).  This is going to be greeeaat.  

It's getting late, so I'm not going to go into all 5 rounds.  The "highlights" of the movements.  The snatch didn't go quite as well as I wanted, Jeff came over a few times with some coaching.  I hope I showed enough improvement to demonstrate what I'd told him, and that was that I'm coachable.  I had issues where I was doing a press instead of staying tight under the bar.  I worked on it.  

The wallballs... man.  LOL.  I'm starting to hate these.  I picked a 20# med ball initially...and the first round of wall balls killed me.  Amazing what 6#'s difference can do.  The 14 made it easier to do... but I feel like I'm still not quite to that piston like speed everyone else is.  Might be where I'm recovering the ball, or how I toss it against the wall... I want to get faster.  

I did my ring rows after the wallballs.  Not much to say here.  There were a lot of  people, a few of these got awkward.  :)  Life happens.  The DU's.  I confess, I didn't do 30 very many times.  I get frustrated when I can't string a few together after a few attempts.  I think the least I did was 15... This is my #3 thing I want to get better at.  So we've got OHS, Snatches, and jumping rope.  I should probably write this down somewhere....

Total time of 25:58.  Slow.  It will get better, it has gotten better... Just need to stay patient.  Thats all I've got, it's waaaaay past my bedtime, and the Unlocked WOD looks tough, but good tomorrow.  I like CFDS's too (it's got OHS's... chance to improve ya know), but I don't think I'll hit them up at all this trip.  Busy day at work tomorrow and the more I type, the less I sleep... so yeah. 

Friday, August 15, 2014

...and it wasn't pretty

In the almost 4 months since I started CrossFitting, I've learned a lot, and know there is still plenty that I don't know.  What I do know... or can truly appreciate now, is someone doing Olympic lifting with fantastic form.  I mean there are few things prettier in the box (to me) than watching someone use perfect form/technique in a lift.  Tonight, my form was ugly.

Well, my lifts were ugly....my form hasn't been the best looking (in my mind) at all this week.  That said, I came into tonight with one thought, and that was hitting PR's.  #startingwiththeendinmind

The warmup tonight was a little bit taxing.  After doing a round of it with PVC, I did the next round with a bar.  So 10 full cleans, 10 OHS, and then 10 strict press.  It's not that the bar was overly heavy...but I never put it down, and towards the end it seemed a lot heavier than it was.  In truth, I was concerned that I would take some of the gas out of the tank.  Turned out to not be the case...or at least not noticeably.  

Tonight's WOD was a three part WOD.  Get a heavy 2 RM power snatch, 2 RM strict press, and then time for hand stand pushup variations (work on "something" essentially).  I saw this last night and my first thought was "OH BOY, I'm PRing tomorrow".  Made it a statement of fact rather than saying to myself "I'm going to TRY to PR tomorrow". 

Luckily for me, I didn't have any PR's for the power snatch, so I didn't have to worry about a set weight.  I went heavy, and I kept going.  Around 105, the power snatches started getting heavy, it was starting to get ugly.  I was still gently putting the bar on the ground, trying to do touch n go's... and  the outsides of my shoulders didn't appreciate it.  Adrian tells me it's more than OK to drop the weight.  You got it.  Put more weight on, got this one up, getting uglier.  Brought it down to around shoulder height or so before I let it go.  Controlled drop, no crazy bounce, stayed right where I wanted it to.  Wish more people would do this...I've seen some things. 

Added more weight.  Ugliest one yet, but I got it up, over my head, locked out.  #winning  Got to 125.  Respectable considering where I'm at in my CrossFit journey.  Also gives me an idea what I need to be able to OHS... so then I can full snatch this... getting it one piece at a time.  We'll get there. 

The strict press was where I wanted to make my some progress on tonight.  Started at 65, jumped to 95, and then from there, just added 5's and 10's until I was barely squeaking out my two reps.  It was pretty late in the workout, and a lot of my good focus and energy was used up.  I went by a few others, I smiled and joked, I could feel the endorphins... this was going to be one of my last lifts of the night, I grabbed 2 more 10# bumpers...

I'm looking at 2 25s' and 4 10's on my bar.  I didn't want to do the math, I just grabbed the bar and pushed.  It was slow going, just pushing as hard as I can as the bar slowly rose...and then, I was able to get my head through, get that extra bit of back into it... the first 1/2 of the lift, hard, the second half, not so much.  Went through this progression one more time.  Thats it, I don't think I can add anymore weight.  Time for the gym math.  135#.  20 pound PR.  YEAH!

Everyone PR'd tonight....well, all 4 of us in the 6pm class.  And this was with a 2RM scheme... and the numbers are still over my 1RM... yeah, we'll take that.  None of it was pretty, but it got done, and I hit my goals, just like I knew I would.  A successful night indeed. 

I was spent, I didn't bother with any of the HSPU progression.  Cooled down, said my c ya laters, and I was gone. 

The aftermath... my shoulder, my left shoulder, hurts... I may have done too much.  It's not the ow I'm sore hurt, this feels like it might be my first injury.  I'm hoping not, and I'm going to see the chiropractor tomorrow, and maybe my brother and his so called magic hands... I may need them.  Hopefully I don't. 


Thursday, August 14, 2014

Throwback Thursday

So I missed a post on Tuesday, sorry, got busy when I got home, and then it just became another WOD.  If you're wondering, it was difficult, I tried my best, and lots of sweats were had. 

Took Wednesday off, might take the rest of the week and the weekend off.  I haven't been feeling right lately... I'm sure 70% of it is sleep related...might grabs some of that Progenex Cocoon or something.  Must be all that excitement about getting PR's and losing weight. 

I didn't want to go today, wasn't feeling quite right.  I also know that going to the gym/box when you don't want to is a sure fire way to feel better.  I do feel better now, glad I went.  Funny how that works. 

Back to the "quite right".  I think my hip has shifted a little, and I just feel a bit fatigued.  I don't think my lunch selection helped at all today...matter of fact, it's battling it's way out as I write this...brb. 

Ok, so tonight WOD was simple, but challenging.  Full clean 1RM, then a 15 min EMOM of 2 cleans (at 70% of that 1RM) and 4 bar over burpees.  My cleans tonight we're horrid.  Adrian noticed... even mentioned it during the EMOM.  My front rack was non existent.  Even with this not feeling well, and not having a solid rack, I still managed to get a 10 pound PR.  I'll take it. 

It's funny, and I was too tired to catch it during the EMOM, but Adrian had me switch to power cleans after one or two rounds.  He said something like "your rack is looking off tonight"...or something like that.  I should have looked at him, grabbed my chest, and been like "how dare you!" 
Now some of you don't know me super well yet, but these are the crazy things that come to mind...sometimes juuuust after they're no longer going to be funny.  More than a few people have told me that I should get into comedy... something tells me I won't get many laughs if I look like I can kick everyones @ss...   #crossfitproblems

Alright, so on to this throwback Thursday.  I'm sure you've seen it on social media by now.  A little #tbt here and there with old pictures.  I happened to have someone share an old pic of me on FB yesterday.  Back around wedding weight.  A weight goal I plan on surpassing, but this pic is still a good goal in itself.   






I miss having hair... that probably wont come back, but I've still got that shirt somewhere (I think) and I'd love to have post a picture with that on again, around that same weight... stay with me awhile and you'll see it.

Catch you tomorrow.  Should be more PR's coming.  #cantwait

Monday, August 11, 2014

OHS frustration continues...

Man, tonight sucked.  I didn't WOD particularly well, but I'm still glad I went.  Let me catch you up to today right quick. 

Obviously, unlike my last posts suggestion, I didn't get back to this on Friday.  Took Friday and the rest of the weekend as a rest period.  I do, looking back, wish I'd gone in on Sunday, they did OHS's and I think that would have benefited me greatly.  As it was, Saturday and Sunday both found my knees (though a different one each day) in a bit of pain... like achy stuff... could have been all the front squats, or the lack of supplements while I was out last week...  either way, I had to get back today, if for nothing else, to get my body back to being ready for the rigors of the week. 

Alright, so thats my weekend, or most of it in 4 sentences, just the way I like it, uneventful.  On to today.  The WOD was something that I don't do particularly well (yet), but want to get better at.  Had a lot of success with these after some coaching by Jordan at the EST Barbell Club (EBC).  What is this dastardly movement?  Snatches.  Real snatches to be specific, not just the power snatch with an OHS at the end.  I was real excited to finally do them right that night at EBC, only got to 75#, but it was something to build on.

Didn't build on it tonight though.  Got really frustrated with it too.  Granted I'm doing it at 65#, which is  over 85% of my 1RM, and probably too high a weight to start with, but I wasn't thinking about that while trying to snatch.  I did poorly, like I said, super frustrated.  Getting it up was easy, getting under the bar and being stable was uber difficult... I know now (as of writing this out) that I need to start lighter.  Simple as that.  #introspectionworks

Adrian, being the coach he is, sees my frustration, and brings out a trusty box, so I'm power snatching, and then OHS down to the box.  He tells me I'm losing my tension at the spot the box is at.  So I work that a few times, flip the box to a lower height, and do a few more of those.  I got lower with the 65#, but it's still not as stable as I want to be.  I can't put into words how aggravating this is.  I'm going to make this a focus over the coming month and a half.  I want to start seeing some gains/improvement in my snatch and OHS.  Coaches, expect questions. 

The METCON part of the WOD was "easy".  Partner WOD consisting of:
In teams of two, one working at a time:
5 Rounds:
-5 Overhead Squat
-10 Kettlebell Swings 70/46
-20 Double-Unders

There were only 4 of us at the 6pm class, so it was a pretty easy split for partners.  If there had been 5, I'd have done this solo.  I didn't think this needed to be split up, but in the same breath, I'm glad it was.  The OHS's, I traded the 10's on the end, for just the bar, and I SMASHED these OHS.  I mean I was fast, and doing it well, only roll up on the toes at most, once a set.  I was getting after it, getting low, and staying locked out.  Frustration turned to fuel. 

Addy...Eddy...My partner, I call him Addy, we all do, and I can't find him of FB to give his full name, but he killed it tonight.  Dude has come so far in a similar timeframe as myself.  It's been really cool to watch him get stronger.  He does things now, 3 months in, that he couldn't do when he started.  Incredible. 

Addy and I hammered this WOD out.  We didn't beat the other team, but we both put in some quality work.  Felt good to be done, still frustrated about the OHS's, but I'm getting over it.  Celebrating another CrossFitters gains helps me get over my own issues.  :)

Tomorrow is all upper body work, and my legs need a break.  Happy to get it. 

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

...weren't you listening?

Well were you or weren't you?  Sorry, I'm having a discussion in my head... you see, several of my early posts harped on how important sleep is to your body, particularly when you're doing things like CrossFit...I haven't had 7+ solid hours since Saturday night, and really, I haven't had any solid hours...keep waking up, like I don't trust my alarm clock or something...so, all that to let you know that I'm tired.

I made the drive again, got out of work juuuuust early enough to make it to CFDS for the 630 class.  My apologies to CF Unlocked, I told them I'd likely be back this week, but with getting out early, I couldn't pass up the chance to go....and really, if you want the honest truth, I wanted to do the Unlocked workout tonight.  They're ramping up for the ESAC  (an East Coast competition), and they had 4 movements to find a 1RM for.  I love weightlifting... and I hate burpees... and burpees were at CFDS... speaks volumes to my affinity for these people.   

The warmup tonight was a lot like the class warmup at Unlocked on Monday.  Lots of movement as a group back and forth across the box.  High knees, Frankensteins, butt kickers, and some other things.  Dripping sweat.  Ragged feeling.  Fatigued might be the right word... I probably should have taken a rest day. 

WOD proper was a nasty little thing.  4 rounds of 10 thrusters, 10 burpees, and 10 toes to bar.  I gave up lifting weights for this?  SMH.  I chatted it up with Gia... I'm not at 100%, and my last memories of burpees was getting less that 40 in 7 minutes.  Knocking that down to 5 per round.  Also knocked down the weight from something I might have been able to do (95, 115 maybe), to something I knew I could do (75). 

Tonight there were a lot of people at CFDS.  Enough that the option of making this a partner WOD was presented to class...2/3's took the offer.  My man Dustin is here tonight.  I had a dream last night, that I'd make it to CFDS, and there would be a partner WOD... last time Dustin and I were around for a partner WOD... it was bad.   So as soon as the offer went up, I made sure to stay on the side doing it solo.  I laughed with Dustin about it after, he's a good sport, and he's got Andy to partner with... I'd say it's a win win all around. 

This WOD was rough... fair, but rough.  The thrusters weren't really all that heavy at 75lbs, but the breathing gets me every time.  The burpees...well my struggles with them continue.  Even at 5 per round, they beat me down like Debo.  Like I've told you before, anything taking me from the ground to my feet is going to zap me... toes to bar...well, the rig was pretty crowded.  G suggested situps.  3 days in a row... I can only imagine how bad this is going to feel tomorrow.

Not a lot of extra stories about the next 3 rounds.  Thrusters were done like they were supposed to be... unlike my first ones way back when I started CrossFit.  Burpees only got slower... and the situps just hurt.  LOL.  Oh well, good times.  Got to cheer on some old friends at the end who did the partner setup.  Yeah, good times. 

After everything, I got to spend some time catching up with my peoples, got some food intake modifications to try out, all and all, worth the trip, even if it did include burpees. 

Tomorrow is going to be a much needed rest day.  I'm home in KC for the next week, and my travel is really wonky the next 6 weeks, so who knows when I'll be back in DE.  Look forward to getting back to EST, and of course I look forward to getting back to CFDS.  Also plan on getting more time in at CFU the next week out here, work schedule looks crazy, so I'll get some quality time in with them.  Need to build that relationship up. 

Anyway, I'm out, see you Friday. 

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Always worth the drive

Made it to Diamond State tonight.  Made it in time to do the 630 WOD.  Worth the time invested in getting there.  Got to see every coach but Randi tonight, and a lot of "the regulars" from when I was a regular.  It was a great time.  Leads me to the realization that if I can keep this up, I'll have be subject to 3 different coaches programming... I don't really know what this means.  LOL.  Muscle confusion at it's best most likely. 

Alight, semi mush stuff out of the way, lets get to the meat n' potatoes.  Tonight's WOD was a fun one, and I'm sore from it...tomorrow will be a battle, whether I end up at CFDS or CFU.  Ok, now I'll get to it. 

The warmup tonight was a bit different than I'm used to.  Starting with 3 minutes of jump rope.  I don't think it said DU's... probably more jumping that I've done straight in a while.  Reminds me... I still need to buy a rope... We did some other stretching, this was just the bit that was a little different than what I'm used to.  The other thing of note...to me, was we did handstand holds for those who could, or planks for those who couldn't... 3 rounds, 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest.  By the end of it... the space where my abs will be... was on fire....that good burn...or at least a burn you remember as you're getting ready for skill work..

Skill work.  HSPU's and Pistols.  Still not strong enough to do HSPUs.... it'll come, soon enough....so today, I did lots of pushups.  The pistols....those were special.  Another CrossFit first.  My chosen attempt was to do it onto a box.  I didn't make it to the box.  LOL.  I bent down as far as I dared...as far as I knew I'd still be able to stand back up anyway...  I'm sure it was probably comical...if I didn't look like I was trying so hard.  Sigh.  I think next time I try them, I'm going to use a rig for support and go lower... the box thing just didn't seem right... or, maybe I'm really just at that point, and it's going to take practice... maybe it's a bit of both.  Still, 454 is a lot of weight to try and squat one legged. 

Great, so now I've got ravaged abs, my quads are being babys... and we haven't even done the METCON.  You'll probably start seeing the hashtag 3coachesprogramming in future posts.  I chose my life, I'll deal with it...you just get to read about it and feel just a little sorry for me. 

15 minute AMRAP.  3 different 5 minute workouts.  From 0-5 minutes, we're doing 5 deadlifts and 15 pushups.  I picked L1 on the scale (95/65#).  I was going to pick L2, which was 135#, but it was recommended to use the same weight throughout...and after all the pushups and skill work... 95# would do... as a yay to me, this is one of the first WODs, if not the first at CFDS where I did L1 through the whole thing, and not something lighter.  Small moment of pride.  #gettingstronger

Alright, so this AMRAP was great, till I got to the pushups... After having already done some, my arms were already weary... and in sets of 15... ug.  The deadlifts were a piece of cake, but those pushups... got through 4 rounds of deadlifts, and was on pushup 3 of that 4th set when time was called.  Relief right?  LOL.  No.  Payne!


The second part that fit into the next 5 minutes was a 4 rounder for time.  4 hang power cleans, 6 front rack lunges.  Surprisingly (to me), the hang cleans were tough at 95.  They didn't look pretty at all.  I was getting the weight up in the rack fine enough... but I didn't feel super smooth about it... might just be me.  The lunges.  I only did 1 round with the weight in the rack position.  I punked out.  Looking back, I probably could have done them all with it... well maybe...  "keepin' it real", I don't know one way or the other if I could have done it... I ended up doing regular lunges instead.  The burn wasn't quite the same, but the burn was there anyway.  The last lunge took solid effort to come out of.  4:28 seconds.  So I get 32 seconds to get my breath back.  Good luck. 

Final round, another AMRAP of 5 minutes.  7 push press, 12 situps.... more situps... I can't contain the joy.  My push press is heavy, almost too heavy at this point... I did work on keeping my heels down, something I didn't do the last time I did them at EST...it helped, got me through 2 full rounds.  The situps for this were rough, as I'm sure you can imagine.  I switched between butterfly and straight legged.  Those butterflys feel so much harder... maybe they are?  I ended up starting my 3rd set of push presses.  Got to 6 before I ran out of time.

I'm spent.  This was awful, and awesome.  Chest bumps and high fives.  I miss this.  They we're pretty good about it at Unlocked.  Need to get that community feel at EST still...it's coming along, don't get me wrong, but we're not where the Delaware affiliates are yet.

I stuck around a while longer, talked to a few more familiar faces.  Good to see the family again.  Gia posed an interesting question... and keep in mind I've only actually worked out once in my last two visits, but she was like "why don't you come to my classes?".  LOL  I might try to do that tomorrow... just got an EZ Pass tonight, figure it will shave 2 minutes off the commute.  We'll see where I end up, the programming at both places looks like a good, sweaty time.

It's 1am, I'm going to bed, need to get some recovery in after all. 

Monday, August 4, 2014

CrossFit Unlocked

They tried to kill me!  Thankfully, no one has ever drown in their own sweat, else they might have succeeded. 

Got to meet some of the fine folks at CrossFit Unlocked tonight, and they even let me attempt their WOD.  Fun, sweaty times were had.  Let me 'splain my day up to now.

I slept like a newborn last night...which is to say I didn't sleep much during the nighttime hours.  Had some lady take my favorite seat (prime sleeper) on the plane for the flight out here.  Didn't really eat lunch...  so yeah, I was loaded for bear when I finally got to Unlocked... which was it's own adventure. 

CrossFit Unlocked isn't your typical box.  Most (that I've run across) are in some sort of light industrial complex, have a warehouse feel, and are surrounded by concrete.  Unlocked is here, out in the country. 

I can't make the pic any bigger, but thats one of the coaches house on the right, and it's sitting on something like 10 acres of land.  Don't let the location or exterior fool you, these folks are the real deal, and they're growing like crazy.  This picture doesn't show the 20+ vehicles that were there when I pulled up. 

I was a little nervous when I got there, being the new kid and all.  Lots of vehicles, I'm walking up someones driveway, and I don't know anyone here....  Didn't stop me though, I was armed with a referral, and I made sure to name drop CFDS and some of their coaches.  It was great, welcomed with open arms.  Got introduced to everyone... there were at least 18 names, I only remember two... Brian and Lane.  Lane was coaching the class, and Brian was another coach that was doing the WOD.  There was a third coach who introduced himself...Jason maybe?  I forget, it's not important for this, I'm sure I'll talk about him more down the road.   

After introductions, and some DIY stretching, we did a couple of group movements across the box.  High knees, butt kickers, inch-worms, something like Sampson lunges, and maybe one more thing.  I'm dripping sweat like...well like me.  LOL.  I guess I should mention that it's recently rained, and the humidity must be in the 90th percentile.

10 minutes of skillwork followed.  I tried to do more wall walks... it's not a very inspiring story, so I'll spare you my struggles.  I do think I've gotten farther up the wall than at EST, but I can neither confirm or deny this.  Still, it's a testament to the fact that I have gotten stronger...I did more than I've done before.  On to the WOD. 

I thought I was going to hang in this WOD.  I really did.  These people are machines.  I didn't stand a chance.  LOL.  20-18-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2  front squats with 95#, same number of situps, then a 100m run between sets. 

I don't know why I thought I could keep up with this...well, actually I do know why, it's because I'm an optimist.  Brian had already made the executive decision that I was going to airsquat.  I'm glad he did, cause I was going to do it weighted... and I think I could have, but it would have been a titanic struggle...probably would have ended with me in the fetal position...

Anyway....

Did my first 20 with a PVC pipe...was going to do them all like that, but after 20 front squats, 20 situps, and 100m on the rower, reality set in.  My travel fatigue mentioned earlier hit me like a truck.  I'm getting done with my first 20, and people are already out running their 100m for their round of 18.  It's going to take me a long time to get done... this time I make an executive decision.  I decided to do every other set, so 20-16-12-8-4.  It looks kinda sad when I put it out there like that... but it's what I could do with the energy I had.  I finished mid-pack... this was probably the right call. 

High fives and fist bumps later, everyone is done.  I step outside and talk to Brian.  He lets me in on the grand master plan for the coming months.  In a word, expansion.  This, much like the efforts of Gia and the crew at  CFDS please me greatly.  I've been doing this for only a few months, but to see boxes growing and the great communities... it makes me happy.  Success breeds success...or something like that. 

Tomorrow I'm going to do everything in my power to get to CFDS, but if I can't, I'll be back to Unlocked.  I think we're going to be a great fit for each other, and if I can work a system to go to both boxes every week I'm in DE...I'll be a happy camper. 

Saturday, August 2, 2014

....but I don't want to go

Man alive, I didn't want to go to the box yesterday.  I was still sore, tired, cranky, winey....and I had even more excuses lined up for reasons I should not go.  Ignored them all, and I went.  You know why?  Because I know that going to the gym when, even when I don't feel like going, will give me the results I want.  Have to put in the time to get the rewards.  Jerry Rice's quote comes to mind....

“Today I will do what others won't, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can't”

I like that one a lot, and it wasn't till I was there, rolling out and stretching with Adrian and Linz that that particular thought matured enough.  My body and mind knew enough to get me to the box, regardless of my crybaby attitude, and then it was all mystically clear. 

Another interesting thing happened.  About 3 movements into the warmup, I'm not longer achy...or concerned about being achy, I'm just moving and priming the body for another WOD... funny how that works. 

Yesterdays WOD was really a pretty good one to go to, sore or not.  The strength part wasn't really anything that we'd touched during the week, so my shoulders/arms were getting a bit of a break, which is fine by me.  We did Romania Deadlifts at about 60% of the 1RM of the traditional deadlift. 

I worked into mine around the 3rd set of 4, which was the goal.  The lifting itself wasn't terribly heavy, but my grip...my goodness, it was seemingly weak.  I never dropped the bar, but by the end of my last set, I was struggling to hold on with those last vestiges of strength in my fingers.  I think I just need to adopt the hook grip and use it exclusively. 

The METCON was pretty straightforward, 500m row, 20 hand release push ups, 30 KB swings, and a 400m run.  2 rounds for time.  Adrian is a big fan of the ring pushups.  Me, not so much.  I'm slow on them, working on stabilizing as much as pushing, I fall behind.  The KB's are my equalizer.  Not wanting to be dead last, I blast through the pain and only stop once each set to get a better grip.  

The bear of the workout for me was the 400m run and then 500m row....since I row everything, it's a 900m row.  Got it done in a decent amount of time, then got back to the pushups and KB swings.  My final time after everything was like 15:28.... ha, funny, I said it was "like" that and pulled out an exact number... so my time WAS 15:28, and I wasn't dead last.  Yay to me. 

I'm looking forward to next week.  I plan on hitting up CrossFit Unlocked for the first time on Monday, and Diamond State Tuesday or Wednesday, maybe both.  I'm excited to get back to my first state of fitness...which happens to be the first state....so clever, I know.  Contrary to the title of this post, I don't want to miss those days.  :D  See you then!


Oh, and for those of you long time readers, clearly I've changed the format and look, any thoughts or feedback you feel like leaving is appreciated, be it positive or negative reactions to the changes.