It's Been Too Long...Back on the Blog!

It's been too long! About time I make my return. First, a little update:

In May, myself and a 5 others from Jogo Crossfit Bellingham competed as a team at the 2010 Northwest Regional Qualifier. We competed valiantly and were in 5th place overall going into the third and final workout, the top 6 teams at the end of the weekend advancing to the 2010 Crossfit Games down in California. We gave it all we had but after the dust settled, our team ended up falling just short, tied for 8th. It was an honor and pleasure to compete side by side with the friends I've come to love through the months of training and preparation leading up to the qualifier. It was also outstanding to go head to head with Loren, Walt and the rest of the Kirkland Crossfit gang. They were just out of the top 6 going into the final workout and put up an outstanding performance to finish in the 4th position overall. As the saying goes, if you can't beat 'em, root for 'em! Were cheering for you guys to take it all come the middle of July!

In the month and a half since then, I've geared down my training in some ways and amped it up in others. I'm trying to give extra focus to the lifts and to the gymnastics skills that are my biggest weaknesses; basically bw pushing and pulling, especially in the handstand position and on the rings. Up to the present, I've done so with varying success. I've not been very productive with the gymnastics programming and am looking to refine what I'm doing to improve. As for the lifts, I've been making decent progress. Until last week, I'd been on a steady progression in load. I had an awful week with the lifts. I think sub-par nutrition and rest in the time since the qualifier finally caught up with me. I'll look to shape up in both of those areas and keep going at it. Stay tuned.

From here on I'll certainly look to be on the blog more consistently. Most often, I'll only be posting when I have pr efforts or when I see a benchmark wod. In the time since the qualifier, I've literally done less than 10 met-cons. Here's a look at a few noteables:

Individual Northwest Qualifier #1

3 rounds for time of:
-10 overhead squats, 135#
-50 double-unders

time=5:04

Walt was in town for this one and we went head to head. I barely clipped him and it was a good battle. I was amazed at how difficult this workout was. I honestly thought I'd finish closer to the 3 minute mark. That last set of overheads was brutal!


"Fight Gone Bad"


score=399

I went after this one last week. I was actually in the gym to lift, was having an awful session, got frustrated and decided to call it and just go after a met-con with the rest of the gym. I wasn't expecting much and was almost in disbelief when I added it up : a 6 rep pr. I'm certain I'll finally eclipse the 400 mark on my next go at 'er.


"Cindy"

AMRAP in 20 minutes of:
5 pull-ups
10 push-ups
15 air squats

score=15+1

I wasn't happy with this result as I was hoping to be closer to 20 rounds. My body-weight going in was about 240 and I felt every pound. As is usually the case, push-ups destroyed me. I know what I have to work on.


That's it for now, be back sooner than later.

Blog Update-4/20

I've been on a little hiatus from blog land due solely to my own laziness. My apologies. Here's an update of the last couple weeks.

The Level 1 Cert down at Rainier CrossFit was excellent! I learned more than I thought I would and had a great time with Loren and his pals from Kirkland CrossFit. Loren and I went after "Fran" at the cert in an epic head to head battle that left me grounded for upwards of a half hour. We were also taught how to lift atlas stones in what I'd call the realization of a boyhood dream (maybe a bit dramatic, but I've seriously wanted to try my hand at atlas stones since I was a lad watching world's strongest man on espn). Kurtis, owner of Rainier CrossFit, schooled us well in the stones and left me wanting more. By the time it was done, I was able to easily hoist a 230# stone! I'll be looking to add stones to JoGo's repetoire at some point in the future, seriously, stay tuned. Overall, the weekend was great and one I'd describe as an excellent "community" experience.

As for my training, here's a quick look at some notable performances from the Level 1 until now, "Fran" included:


Saturday, 4/10-"Fran"

3 rounds, 21-15-9, AFAP of:
-thrusters, 95#
-pull-ups

time=4:22

I missed my pr by almost a minute (3:27). But the standards with the HQ trainers in your grill were STRICT and I had a number of reps not counted. It was a good eye opener for me to realize I need to be more stringent in attaining full range of motion.


Tuesday, 4/12-"Bionic"

"Bionic" is a JoGo benchmark and a gnarly wod. I first went after it February of 2009 at the first annual JoGo Throwdown competition. I finished in 10:49 that day and the winning time was 7:13 by who else, Jer Ingersoll, the metabolic machine from Kirkland CrossFit. I hoped to challenge that time this go-around.

5 rounds AFAP of:

6 x sdhp, 95#
6 x burpees
6 x front squat, 95#
6 x kb swing, 24kg
6 x hang power snatch, 95#

time=7:29

I went after this one with Jonathan and only clipped him by about 5 seconds. It was a good battle and we pushed each other hard towards Jer's time. Didn't get it but were close and certainly pleased with the result. And, btw, Jon's time at the competition was upwards of 13 minutes. That's a hell of an improvement.

Also on this day in the gym, I realized I'm capable of handstands in space as well as walking on my hands which was exciting. Unfortunately, all the excitement cost me a severely bruised hip...but it was worth it.


Friday, 4/16-heavy snatch balances

I've heard much about, and strongly believe in, the benefit of heavy snatch balances. Their ability to get you confident with putting big weight overhead and develop not only speed strength, but confidence in the snatch (my favorite lift), is second to none. So why haven't I been doing them? Great question, was time to start:

3 x 135
3 x 155
3 x 185
3 x 205
1 x 225
1 x 235
1 x 255
1 x 275, failed 3 attempts

Man, again, talk about building confidence. I started light and patterned my way up and pretty soon was putting weight overhead I didn't realize I was capable of. I was SO CLOSE to getting the first attempt at 275, lost shoulder stability coming out of the bottom. I wish I had a video of that first attempt to see what all went wrong. I got the bright idea to record my efforts after that attempt. Here's a video of the second go at 275 attached below. The camera was flipped and I'm not sure how to rotate the video here (I'm technically inept) so you'll have to turn your head, apologies. I wasn't that close on this one but much can be learned from it. Namely, notice how I inclinate forward on my dip and my elbows are way behind the bar instead of beneath it. Where does the bar go and where do I lose the lift? Forward. I'm convinced if I keep a vertical trunk during the dip and suck my elbows under, I make this lift. That's exciting.




Here's another video of Chris Spealler and Eric o'Connor going at snatch balances: Chris vs Eric

There are some fantastic lifts in this video, especially from Chris.

Fitness Update-4/5 thru 4/9

Friday

Today is Friday 4/9 and I've taken the past two days off. This was my first week back on strict nutrition and I felt it. I was sluggish and having to dig deep to find energy. Now, I'm feeling fantastic but for a few days there, my body was going through some "poor fuel" withdrawls and hollering at me a bit. I'm already down about 10-12 pounds from my weight on Monday (that's some serious food/water weight I was carrying!) and that's without fasting, I've been eating like a horse! I'm stoked to be over the hump. My nutrition this week has been legit and I'm pretty pumped to be feeling the motivation again to stay clean. I think my performance from here on out will really start to reap reward.

This week, I trained hard Monday through Wednesday. As I said, I was struggling but was still able to get a good bit of work done.

Monday-4/5-Running Chipper AFAP:

800m run
50 jump rung pull-ups
40 kb swings, 32kg
400m run
30 box jumps, 24"
20 wall ball shots, 10ft/20#
200m run
15 push-ups
10 kick to supports
100m run

time=14:30

This one had a 15 minute time cap and I just wanted to make sure I came in under the cap.

Tuesday-4/6-"DT", 5 rounds AFAP:

12 deadlifts, 155#
9 hang power cleans, 155#
6 jerks, 155#

time=8:30

Wasn't happy with this time, was shooting for sub-8. I went after it and gassed out. I went unbroken on all the jerks until the very last one and failed rep 6 in round 5. Took me a bit to re-coup and finish the final rep, it was pretty poor. All things considered, I'll look to do this one again in the next month and really think I can come in close to the 7 minute mark.


I'm headed down to the level 1 cert this weekend with my brother from another mother, Loren Winter, and company. It's being held down at Rainier CrossFit and I'm stoked for it! I'm in Snohomish today hanging with the old man before I head down and am toying with swinging into Snohomish CrossFit to get a wod in. But then again it'd probably be wise to save some energy for the weekend. Stay tuned.

Pictures-3/30-Power Hour Pics

At 3pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, a few of us often get together for the days training session for a time we've affectionately labeled "Power Hour." And today's Hour was one hell of a sesh (see the post below). Em (JoGo visionary, co-coach, teammate, dear friend) sat this one out as she'd gone after a training session earlier in the day. But she decided to stick around for a little moral support. And she snapped a few pics of Jonathan and I getting gnarly while she was at it. Check 'em out. Of note: I outweigh Jonathan by about 60# but only got him by about 15 reps today. Pretty impressive effort at 115# for the young fella, he's becoming a beast. Good stuff brother.

"Sumo-Thruster War Power Hour"

Fitness-3/30-"Sumo-Thruster War"

Tuesday

No lift today, just one hell of a wod. "Sumo-Thruster War" was on the docket today, 20 minutes of pain:

30 seconds thrusters, 115#
30 seconds rest
30 seconds sdhp, 115#
30 seconds rest

repeat for 20 minutes

score=192

I went after this one with my bud and teammate Jonathan by my side. It was a good war indeed as we offset in order to work while the other one rested, a good battle back and forth. My goal was to go after this one hard until I hit a wall and then scrap to finish every round with the same amount of reps as in the round I "crashed." And I did pretty well to do that. My goal going in, however, was to hit 200 reps-I wanted to average 20 reps per minute of work. And I fell 8 reps short which seems like a lot but when you break it down, that's less than an extra 1/2 rep per interval. When I think back to the times I dropped the bar when there were still a few seconds left in the interval, I realize I could've gotten those 8 reps easy. A little disappointed with my resolve during this one but a great wod none the less.

Fitness-3/29-press/push press/split jerk, "Fitness Tests"

Monday

I came into the gym feeling pretty well rested after taking it very easy Saturday afternoon and all of Sunday. Started with some overhead work, here were my best efforts:

press
-5 x 155

push press
-1 x 205

split jerk
-3 x 240

I felt fairly strong going overhead. Attempted a 6th rep at 155 on the press and missed it but am finally starting to see my press strength improve. The jerks felt like butter and 3 at 240 was no problem. This is exciting.

After the lift, went after some fitness tests, taken from one of the events at the 2010 CrossFit Games Hawaii Sectional. In these tests, you've 1 minute to do the prescribed work and even if you end up having time to do more, you stop once you hit the mark required. In other words, it's pass/fail. If you finish before the minute is up, you've the remainder of the minute plus the next minute to rest before starting the next test. There were 5 tests, so the wod was 9 minutes total since the last rest isn't taken into account because the workout is over:

1) 10 ohd squats @ 135#, score=pass, took me about 20 seconds and felt like I could've gone the whole minute
2) 10 unbroken pistols each leg, score=pass, barely got this one right leg needs work...both legs need work
3) 30 unbroken pull-ups, score=fail, I did 28 and grip was the determining factor
4) 45 unbroken 20 inch box jumps, score=pass, finished around 50 seconds
5) 4 unbroken hspu on parallettes, score=fail, I couldn't get one, the parallettes make for a brutal range of motion

Overall, there weren't really any surprises here. I did think I could get 30 pull-ups so was a bit disappointed I didn't. But next time, I will. And the hspu's on the parallettes is a whole new ball game. I plan to start spending a lot of time on them.

Fitness-3/27-cleans/fronts, sandbag stair runs

Saturday

Started off the morning right with some oly work. Went after some sub-max squat cleans to gear up for some front squats, here are my best efforts:

cleans
-3 x 215

fronts
-6 x 245

I took all the cleans from the hang and felt strong. The 6 reps at 245 on the fronts was a good effort for me, I failed on rep 7 unfortunately. I think it was more of a mental failure then physical, gave up on 'er a bit. But still getting stronger.

Fitness-3/22-snatch, deads, "Team Annie", double-unders

Monday

Body was feeling good after the rest on Sunday. Started the day out with a lift, here are my bests:

snatch
3 x 165

deads
5 x 375

Snatches were pretty light, I took them all from the hang except for the set at 165. They were a good warm-up for the deads. The deads felt heavy but I felt strong. It was weird. The reps were slow, like I was lifting a house or something but I felt like I could've just kept going. Kind of bizarre. I stopped at 5 x 375 but felt like I might've been good for another 5. Just didn't want to wreck myself and 5 reps felt like enough. I'm trying to get better about making smarter decisions in regards to training, especially early in the week when it might really impact the rest. Went after a "Team Annie" next.

"Annie" is 50-40-30-20-10 of:

double-unders
sit-ups

team time: 7:56

We had 3 to a team and alternated 20 second intervals until all reps were completed. 2:1 rest to work and a nice way to get the lungs going a bit but keep it light. Simple as that. After the workout, Art and I went after a 2 minutes double-under test:

score=152

I may have lost count here because I swear Art seemed to be getting more in than me and he only finished with 149. I think I made the first 80 unbroken and then things went downhill fast. This score should be up at 200 or more as far as I'm concerned. It was amazing how gassed I was after only 2 minutes. It just proved how much work I've to do. A good day none the less.

Fitness-3/20-Visit from Loren, cleans, front squats, "Northern European Chipper"

Saturday

I had the privlage of having my good friend Loren up for a visit Friday night and was stoked to have him with me in the gym the next day for a tough morning session. Loren pushes me hard and I needed it. We went after cleans and front squats to start. My sets looked as follows:

cleans
5 x 160
5 x 185
5 x 205

fronts
5 x 205
7 x 230

The cleans felt pretty light and were a good warm-up to the fronts. Actually, 205 felt heavy but I finished the set easily. Loren made it look like the bar, good Lord. The fronts felt heavy and I barely got that 7th rep up. I'll look to see my strength going back up quickly as this was my first workout under any heavy weight in a couple weeks and the body was hollering a bit. After the lift, we went after the chipper wod from the 2010 CrossFit Games Northern European Sectonal Qualifier. It was a brute:

35 x sdhp, 95#
50 x box jumps, 20"
35 x push press, 95#
50 x air squats
35 x toes to bar
50 x american kb swings, 24kg
30m farmers carry walking lunge, 24kg bells
50 burpees

time=18:24

I was pretty pleased with this output. It was a grinder and I just tried to set a pace and keep moving. The toughest part of this one was the transition from toes to bar on to kb swings, my grip was trashed. I know I wouldn't have done as well as I did if not for Loren getting after it with me. Thanks for the push brother, can't wait to do it again, "Fran" here we come!

Fitness-3/19-"Crunchless"

Friday

Was a quick one at the gym today. But Effective. "Crunchless" was 3 rounds, 15-12-9 with a run each round of:

-snatch balance, 95#
-toes to bar
-hollow rocks
-400m run

time=10:50

I was pretty pleased with this output. The toes-to-bar need work. Did the first round w/out coming off of the bar but they were slow, can't seem to cycle them like knees to bows, it's tough. Everything else was easy. I do need to run harder.

Fitness-3/17-press/push press/split jerks, "Alternate Universe"

Thursday

Started out with some overhead work.

Press
7 x 140

Push Press
5 x 175

Split Jerk
4 x 215

Going into this one, my shoulders were already pretty shot after yesterday's "Elizabeth" debacle and wasn't feeling too strong. The press continues to need lots of work. Push press was light and a good warm-up for the jerks. Was going for 5 at 215 and missed the last attempt. But made some great improvements to my technique and feel I'm getting back up close to my pr in the jerk.

Fitness-3/16/10-"Elizabeth...kind of", L-hang work

Tuesday

"Elizabeth" was on the board today and decided to go after it with a twist. I set the rings high and decided I'd do a muscle-up before commencing any of the dips. That meant if I came off the rings before I'd gotten my reps for the round, I'd have to hit a muscle-up to get back on and finish my reps. It was a poor choice. "Elizabeth" is 3 rounds, 21-15-9 of:

squat clean, 135#
ring-dips

time=19:45ish

This one was a disaster, the whole muscle-up idea killed me. I got the set of 21 dips done with only 4 muscle-ups. The set of 15, I hit my first muscle-up and knocked out 7 dips. Then I started failing muscle-ups. Then the rings about came loose and I had to grab a box and fix them. Then I kept failing muscle-ups. I ended up finishing the workout without muscle-ups, just performing straight dips. I took this one slow from the start and it still kicked my butt. I should note my body weight is up 10-12 pounds from the Sectional competition. And I can feel it big time doing the BW work. After the wod, I attempted more muscle-ups and couldn't get one, took my oly shoes off, and nailed one easily. It seems every pound counts. Maybe it's just my imagination.

Finished with some false-grip/l-hang work. Was a good day.

Fitness-3/15/10-snatch, deadlifts, "Pillar Circuit"

Monday

Today marked the start of my first full week back in the gym. I'd hoped to get into the gym over the weekend to go after some new pr's in the snatch, deadlift and front squat but I didn't make time. The rest proved to be worthwhile. I felt good to go with new energy/motivation for another couple months of hard work. Started back on the first week of a new strength cycle with snatch and deads:

Snatch
5 x 155

Deadlifts
7 x 350

The snatch felt strong and light, was a good warm-up for the deads. The last set at 350 on the deads felt heavy (it was my first heavy dead since Sectionals) yet easy. I was good for more than 7 but decided to cap it. Trying to be smart about my training, especially first week back.

After the lift, went through a KB circuit, un-timed but with good pace. The "Pillar Circuit" was 3 rounds of the following:

-5 x R/L 2 arm front racked kb box step-up, 24" box/24kg or 16kg
-5 x R/L 1 arm kb chest press, back on medball, 24kg
-5 x R/L renegade row, 24kg
-10 x R/L 1 arm front racked kb abmat sit-up, 24kg

This one took me around 10-15 minutes to work through and I was actually pretty good and spent afterwards. It's amazing how much unilateral work will call out your weaknesses. These were some out of the ordinary exercises, at least for our programming, and it was an excellent change of pace and great way to start back to training. The step-ups were brutal! I used the 16kg's for the first round, decided it was too easy and went to the 24kg"s for the second round. Barely made 5 each leg. Gnarly exercise.

Fitness-3/12/10-clean pr, press, "The Great North"

Friday

I was pretty good and wrecked after Tuesday's first big effort back in the gym after my post-competition lay-off. So, I took Wednesday and Thursday off in order to rest up. I wanted to finish the week with some new 1-rep PR attempts in the olympic and power lifts before we start our next round of programming next week as we begin gearing up for regionals. So I went in this morning with plans to determine new 1-rep scores for the clean, front squat, press, snatch and deadlift. I started with the squat clean.

Clean
-1 x 225
-1 x 245
-1 x 260
-1 x 270
-1 x 275, failed

I was pretty happy with this effort. 270 was a pr by 25#. The attempt at 275 was close, but couldn't get out of the hole. I have a good enough pull to clean MUCH more than this but my front squat continues to be the limiting factor. It's improving steadily though and I'll look forward to retesting after a few more months of work.

After the clean, I planned to move to the front squat. I put 275 in the rack for my first attempt and ended up failing the rep. I'd done 275 fairly easily a couple weeks ago but my head wasn't in the game and it seemed I spent my energy on the clean. I decided to scrap the front squat and move to the press.

Press
-1 x 155
-1 x 170
-1 x 175, failed

My press is weaaaakkkkk. I think this was the same 1 rep I made last time I tested over 3 months ago. So, seemingly, it didn't improve at all. But, as evidenced by the front squat, I think I was zapped, probably mentally as much as anything else. Just couldn't get fired up. Feeling good, I'm sure I could get at least a 5-10# improvement. Still a long ways to go in the press but I already knew that.

After that, I decided my 1 rep day was done. My mind wasn't right and I didn't want to frustrate myself. I moved on to the "Great North," a wod from one of the sectional qualifiers.

4 rounds for time of:
-6 pullups, chest to bar
-6 ring dips
-500m row
-6 thrusters, 135#

time: 2 rounds in app 10 minutes

I went at this one un-timed and was just planning on pacing myself through. I know I still made it through the first round fairly quick, about 3 minutes. On the rower in round 2, I went tachycardic. Finished the row, laid down for a bit, finished the thrusters and decided to cut myself off. It's proving harder than I thought to get back in the gym and back to training with good intensity after the competition and the rest. My mind and body need a little more acclimatization. I plan to head into the gym tomorrow morning, after a good nights rest, and test my 1 rep snatch and deadlift. That's if I'm feeling good. And if I'm feeling really good, I'll make a purposeful go at my front squat and maybe even re-test my press. Stay tuned.

Recovered and Back in the Gym-3/9/10

Tuesday

Well, I'm back and I think I'm recovered. Sectionals was quite the experience. I started off the weekend pretty poorly placing low in the first two events. But I finished strong, finishing in the top 25 in events 3 and 4 and finishing workout 5 under the time-cap which was a good accomplishment for me considering it consisted of 20 muscle-ups. It was an amazing weekend and such a blessing to compete with so many amazing athletes and witness so many inspirational performances. The energy was great and the support from fellow competitors was unbelievable. It's pretty phenomenal to watch someone complete a workout only to have them turn around and cheer for you to better their performance. Quite the sport. Much like last year, the weekend renewed my motivation to keep on training. I didn't qualify but gave it my best and significantly improved my performance/fitness from the 2009 Regional Comp less than 1 year ago. Next up: The 2010 CrossFit Games Affiliate Competition! Our gym is putting together a coed team to compete and the middle of May marks the first qualification competition. The top 6 teams from our Northwest region will be invited to compete down in Aromas come July and we think, the way we're going, we've a strong chance to be one of those 6! We'll officially start our next round of training next week.

This week, I'm back in the gym after taking all of last week off. I did a light workout yesterday but today marked my first "intense" effort since the competition and it didn't disappoint. I started the session off with an impromptu clean and jerk wod in celebration of a teammates birthday. John turned 20 today and decided he wanted to do 20 body weight clean and jerks at for time. I couldn't let him go it alone and decided to join. But I used his body weight. If I'd used my own, I think I'd still be there.

20 clean and jerks, 175#

time=3:46

I didn't go for broke on this one. Took 'em one at a time and split jerked all of them. Finished feeling shaky but on my feet and with more in the tank. Wanted to save a little something for the wod to follow. One of these days I'll give Grace a go at 185. But think I'll wait a bit for that effort. 5 minutes later, went after the wod.

"Kettle Bell Hell" was the big effort on the docket today. It's a gnarly wod and is 10 rounds of the following performed AFAP:

-20 Russian kb swings (eye level), 24kg

-5 burpees

-20 Russian kb swings, 24kg

-5 TGU sit-ups each arm, 24kg

time=26:47

This was a pretty good effort. I never broke on any of the exercises. Took a few too many rest breaths between them but for the first day back and 400 kb swings, I'll take it.

Update-2/18-Less than 10 days to go

Thursday

We're less than 10 days out from the 2010 CrossFit Games Washington Sectional Qualifier and I'm in the process of making final preparations to give the best performance I can. I've not been sharing my workouts or nutrition lately. Time, in large part, has been an issue but I've also kept off the blog in order to "protect the playbook" so to speak. Sounds cheesy, I know, but much can be accomplished with proper training, nutrition and rest in the final month leading up to competition. And in the spirit of friendly competition, I'm keeping some training tricks/methods to myself. Ultimately, the fittest athletes will win but to the winners also goes the affirmation of good programming and effective preparation. Basically, a successful performance proves your shit works. Look at Mikko Salo for example, a year ago no one knew him, let alone cared how he prepared. He comes out of nowhere and wins the CF Games and now everyone's dying to know his method. We're all looking for an edge, some more seriously than others. In all honesty though, I've not prepared in this last month nearly as well as I could, or probably should, have. But, I'm buckling down in this last week and a half here and going to give it the best run I can. I'm so excited to get after it with you guys and everyone else who competes next weekend. Trust me when I say it promises to be a weekend we'll never forget! That said, here's a look at some of my notable performances from the last few weeks:

2/9/10

2009 NorCal Qualifier WOD

500m row

30 burpees

10 jerks, 165#

time=4:55

2/10/10

"Helen"

3 rounds

-400m run

-21 kb swings, 24kg

-12 pullups

time=8:42 (pr by about 1:15)

2/12/10

5 rounds (10 minute cap)

-200m run

-10 burpees

-10 kb swings

score=4 rounds + run+8 burpees

2/16/10

"Nasty Girls"

3 rounds

-50 air squats

-7 muscle ups

-10 hang power cleans, 135#

time=12:19- this is not a competitive time, the small and strong guys are finishing this one in well under 10 minutes. But this was a milestone workout performance for me. I was about 232# at the time of this one. I had tried this wod the week before with a 10 minute cap and had barely finished 1 round in 10 minutes, making only 8 successful MU's in over 20 attempts. In my second go at her, less than a week later, I made all 21 MU's with only 1 missed rep. And finished the whole wod only 2 minuets slower than it took me to finish a third of it on the first go. Needless to say, it was a big confidence builder.

Fitness-2/5-ghd/ring push/kb carry

Friday WOD

I felt pretty good and recovered/fresh after taking Thursday off. Went into the gym to get after a short one. We did a 3 rounder AFAP:

20 x ghd situps

20 x ring push-ups

50m kb waiter carry, R arm/32kg

50m kb waiter carry, L arm/32kg

time=14:40

This one humbled me. I rolled through the first round pretty quick. As soon as I started failing on the ring push-ups in the second round though, I knew it'd be a grind. Transitioning from the push to holding 32kg over head and walking 50m was wretched for me. My triceps were so spent from the ring push-ups, it was an absolute battle to keep my elbow locked. Push strength is a weakness and this one was a good reminder of how much I need to work on it.

I took about 10 minutes rest after this one and then went after some muscle-ups. I made 3 muscle-ups in as many minutes and decided to call it a day. Wasn't feeling the gusto and figured I'd be better served resting up for a big day tomorrow.

Nutrition-2/5

Friday

sleep: 8.5 hours on the night

11am

-7 oz. chicken breast prepared in organic evoo

-1/2 cup walnuts

-1 cup blueberries

-medium banana

-16 oz. organic brewed coffee, black

-2.8g epa+dha

3pm

-6 oz. chicken breast prepared in organic evoo

-1/2 cup walnuts

-6 oz. red grapes

-medium organic gala apple

-1g epa+dha

5:30pm (post wod)

-"endurox"-13g prot, 52g cho, 0.5g glutamine

6:45pm

-6 oz. chicken breast

-1/2 cup walnuts

-1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese

-2.8g epa+dha

8:45pm (bayou on bay)

-smoked chicken salad w/romaine, spinach, app. 2 oz. chopped bacon, app. 5 oz. smoked chicken breast, and a little bit of smoked ranch dressing on the side (I'm weak)

-1 oyster shooter (I really didn't want to but had said I'd try one, yikes)

-1 glass pinot noir

10:30pm (the green frog)

-1.5 pints two towers blonde ale

11:30pm (the nimbus)

-1 glass cabernet

12:30am

-2 oz. chicken breast

-1 cup organic whole milk

-130 oz. water on the day

Nutriton-2/4

Thursday

sleep: 6 hours on the night

7:15am

-5 oz. organic lean ground buffalo

-1/2 cup walnuts

-large banana

-1.2g epa+dha

8:15am

-triple 16 oz. americano, black

1:45pm

-5 oz. organic lean ground buffalo

-1/2 cup walnuts

-8 oz. red grapes

-medium organic gala apple

-2.8g epa+dha

8:50pm

-5 oz. organic lean ground buffalo

-1/2 cup walnuts

-large banana

-2.8g epa+dha

12am

-1 cup organic milk

-1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

-1.2g epa+dha

-115 oz. water on the day

Fitness-2/3-press, snatch, overheads, "Role Reversal", hspu and pistol work

Wednesday

Another good day in the gym. Started with a sub-max press and snatch warming up to a max effort overhead squat:

press

2 x 5 x 75

2 x 5 x 95

2 x 5 x 105

squat snatch

5 x 145

3 x 165

1 x 185

overheads

3 x 185

3 x 205

2 x 225

I was sore from Tuesday's work but still felt pretty good throughout the lift. The snatch at 185 was easy, I'm starting to produce a lot of speed through the middle which is promising. This was the first time I've done heavy overheads in months. I lost stability through my shoulders at the top of the 3rd rep w/225 and dumped it. I know I'm capable of more than this but was still encouraged as I've not been training heavy overheads and I'd never done a rep with more than 215.

I rested 7 minutes and then went after "Role Reversal." This was a wod from last year's Rocky Mountain qualifier for the 2009 CF Games and was 3 rounds of the following AFAP:

8 x deadlifts, 300#

run 400m

time=6:31

I was shooting for sub-6 but saved a little too much on the first two runs and couldn't make up the time on the last one. I never broke on the deads and they felt pretty light. I've got to start pushing my pace more when I run.

I rested 7 minutes after this one then went after handstand push-ups EMOTM followed by pistols EMOTM. I started the hspu's w/1 abmat and finished using 2, failing in the 5th minute to complete 5 reps. I failed in the 4th minute on the pistols, my legs were/are shot. Still a good short burst of work to finish the session. I'm resting Thursday and will be back after it Friday.

Nutrition-2/3

Wednesday

sleep: 7 hours on the night

7:15am
-2 organic eggs
-4 oz. organic lean ground buffalo
-large banana
-2.8g epa+dha
-1 cup organic whole milk

8:15am
-triple 16 oz. americano, black

11:20am
-5 oz. organic lean ground buffalo
-1/3 cup walnuts
-large organic gala apple
-2 oz. raw red bell pepper
-3 oz. raw spinach and romaine mixed
-1g epa+dha


3:20pm
-5 oz. organic lean ground buffalo
-1/3 cup walnuts
-medium banana
-1g epa+dha

7:15pm (post-wod)
-"Endurox"-13g prot, 52g cho, 0.5g glutamine

8:pm
-2 baked skinless chicken wings
-1 baked skinless chicken thigh
-1/3 cup walnuts
-1 cup blueberries
-2.8g epa+dha

9-11pm (movie w/the lady)
-app. 12 oz. ravenswood petite syrah
-too many miniature dove dark chocolates (i'm weak)

12pm
-2.8g epa+dha
-1 cup organic whole milk

-120 oz. water on the day

Fitness-2/2-clean and jerk, front squats, jerk, "Hips Don't Lie", leg crank, row, ring-dip work

Tuesday

Was a big one back in the gym today after the extended weekend. Started with some de-load work on c/j and fronts and used the work to warm-up to some heavy jerks:

hsc and jerk

-2 x 5 x 95#

-2 x 5 x 125#

-2 x 5 x 145#

fronts

-5 x 155#

-5 x 165#

jerk

-3 x 205#

-3 x 235#

Would've liked to finish higher on the jerk but ran out of time and wasn't feeling very strong anyways. My pr in the jerk, off of the rack, is 275# for 1 rep. I feel my strength isn't at that level right now and I'd love to get back.

Took a 5 minute rest and then went after "Hips Don't Lie." This was a wod from one of the regional qualifiers for last year's CF Games. It's 3 rounds, 21-15-9, of the following for time:

box jump, 24"

kb swing, 24kg

sdhp, 95#

time=5:19

Last year's top time was about 4:10. Needless to say I wasn't happy. Just have to get better.

From there, I rested exactly 5 minutes and then went after the "leg crank" protocol. The "leg crank" is 3 rounds, each round performed AFAP, with a rest between rounds:

all w/hands laced behind head

-24 x air squats

-24 x fwd alternating lunges

-24 x jump lunges

-12 x jump squats

-rest 45 seconds

Ouch, this protocol is brutal. Last week we did it w/1 minute rests. It's amazing how big a difference 15 seconds makes. After the "leg crank," I took a 90 second rest and then went after a 500m row AFAP followed by another 90 second rest and another 500m row:

1st 500m=1:33:3

2nd 500m=1:34:8

This again proved to be the most painful line-up of exercise I've yet to experience. After the "leg crank" my posterior was just wrecked and the row was awful. Both efforts were way off my pr. The lungs were there but again, my posterior was absolutely devastated. I was happy to pull the second effort only 1 second slower than the first but was disappointed to not pull the first effort under 1:30. I'll keep getting better.

I finished with some ring-dip work. I did 1 strict dip EMOTM. I got 6 dips unbroken in the 6th minute and had to call it a day to prepare for the evening class. I was feeling the lack of good nutrition/rest at the end of this one. Good to be back on board and productive.

Nutrition-2/2-Back from Bachelor Weekend

Tuesday

I'm back on the blog today after a 4 day hiatus for a weekend long bachelor party for a good friend. I ate pretty awful in that span and had a good bit of alcohol. But, even though there was a good amount of bad fuel, I'd say I did well not to overeat and while my weight is up a bit, it's none too drastic. Today in the gym, I performed fairly well. Even though I could tell all the cylinders weren't firing due to my poor nutrition and rest, my output wasn't too shabby. I'm back to premium fuel and am excited to see how my body responds in these final weeks heading up the the CF Games sectional qualifier.

sleep: 7.5 hours on the night (still need to get more consistent here)

10am

-app. 24 oz. organic coffee, black

-1.2g epa+dha

2:45pm (fasted until this meal)

-6 oz. chicken breast

-1/3 cup walnuts

-medium organic gala apple

-1g epa+dha

4:30pm (post workout)

-"Endurox"-13g prot, 52g cho, .5g glutamine

6:30pm

-5 oz. chicken breast

-1/3 cup walnuts

8:30pm

-4 oz. organic lean ground buffalo

10pm

-6 oz. baked chicken leg and thigh meet

-1/3 cup walnuts

-1 cup blueberries

-medium banana

-2.8g epa+dha

10:45pm

-1 cup organic whole milk

-1.2g epa+dha

-110 oz. water on the day

Fitness-1/28-press, "grace", "mini-grace", "jumping nancy" , mu/ghd work

Thursday

Was a big day of work at the gym in prep for about 4 days off due to a weekend long bachelor party. Here's right to it, started with the press:

press

-5 x 135

-3 x 145

-3 x 160

I rested exactly 2 minutes and then went after "Grace" AFAP:

-30 clean and jerks, 135#

time=1:41

I rested exactly 5 minutes and then went after "Mini-Grace" AFAP:

-15 clean and jerks, 135#

time=00:55

I think I did 16-17 reps for this one but when in doubt (when you lose count), do more. After "Mini-Grace" I rested exactly 10 minutes and then went after "Jumping Nancy." This one was 3 rounds, 21-15-9 of the following performed AFAP:

run 400m

overhead squats, 95#

box jumps, 24"

time=9:29

Wanted to go sub-9 on this one, but wasn't too bad of a performance considering all of the other work before it.

I rested 5 minutes after this one and then went after a little triplet un-timed, no rest between exercises and 1 minute rests between rounds:

21-15-9 ghd sit-ups and hip extensions w/5 muscle-ups each round

This was some productive work and the MU's are really coming along. I was able to get 3 unbroken each round. The first 5 took me about a minute to complete and the last 5 took me closer to the 1:45 mark. Pretty good day at the gym.

Nutrition-1/27

Wednesday


sleep: 7 hours on the night


7:10am
-3 organic eggs
-2 links isernio's extra lean all natural chicken sausage
-1 cup blueberries
-2 oz. dried apricots
-1 cup organic whole milk
-2.8g epa+dha


8:15am
-triple 16 oz. americano, black


11:15am
-7 oz. chicken breast
-1/3 cup walnuts
-8 oz. organic baby carrots
-small organic pink lady apple
-1g epa+dha

3:30pm
-5 oz. chicken breast
-1/4 cup walnuts
-3 oz. dried apricots
-1g epa+dha

8:30pm-11pm
-2 glasses red wine (a lovely cab)
-1 cup organic whole milk
-1.2g epa+dha

-115 oz. water on the day

Fitness-1/26-"Ricola", pistols

Tuesday

Started with a 12 minute AMRAP that was thrown out in one of the regional qualifiers for last year's CF Games. "Ricola" was as many rounds as possible in 12 minutes of:

5 pull-ups, chest-to-bar

10 burpees

15 kb swings, 24kg

20 double-unders

score=4+1

Wasn't satisfied with this effort at all. Figured a competitive score in this one would be at least 6 rounds. Jthom was right along side me and I was with him for 2 rounds and then he pulled away when I hit a wall. His score was 6+2.

After the AMRAP, I worked on pistols. I performed 3 x 10 pistols with each leg, holding 10# db out in front, with 30 second rests between efforts. It was productive.

Nutrition-1/26

Tuesday

sleep: 8 hours on the night

10am

-20 oz. organic home brewed coffee, black

-3 organic eggs prepared in evoo

-3 links isernio's extra lean all natural chicken sausage

-large banana

-2.8g epa+dha

2:30pm

-4 oz. chicken breast

-1/4 cup walnuts

-3 oz. dried apricots

-small organic pink lady apple

4:30pm(post wod)

-"Recoverite", 10g prot, 33g cho, 3g glutamine

-3 oz. dried apricots

8:30pm (dinner at Boundry Bay w/friends)

-"harvest salad" w/romaine, pecans, 4 oz. chicken breast, sliced apples, red grapes, a ton of guacamole and a ton of all-natural salsa

-1 glass house red wine

10pm

-4 oz. chicken breast

-1 cup organic whole milk

-1.2g epa+dha

130 oz. water on the day

Fitness-1/25-clean and jerk, front squats, leg crank, row, hspu work

Monday

Started with some cleans and front squats.

Hang Squat Clean and Jerk

-5 x 185

-3 x 205

-1 x 230

Fronts

-3 x 230

-4 x 255

This was a heavier day but the cleans were still sub-max and felt fairly easy actually, the jerk transition continuing to improve. My first rep at 255 on the fronts felt like the bar and then all of the sudden it stoned me. Failed in the bottom of the 5th rep. My strength in the bottom continues to improve but slowly. Man, do I have a ways to go.

Rested exactly 2 minutes and then went after our "Leg Crank" protocol. The "Leg Crank" is 3 rounds, each round performed AFAP, with 1 minute rest between rounds of:

-24 air squats

-24 alternating lunges

-24 jumping alternating lunges

-12 jumping squats

time=12:09, including rests

This wrecked my house. After, I rested exactly 2 minutes again and then went after two 500m rows with 2 minutes rest between efforts.

First 500m time=1:26.5

Second 500m time=1:53

I was destroyed by the end of this one. My posterior from the front squat and leg crank work was devastated and I was pretty pleased to row a sub 1:30 the first effort as my pr is 1:23:6. About 100m into the second effort, my whole posterior lit on fire and I haven't felt paint like that in some time.

After I recovered, I finished with some handstand work.

Nutrition-1/25

Monday-back on the blog

sleep: 5 hours on the night (but I'd slept until noon Sunday and then rested all day so I actually felt pretty good this morning)

7am

-3.5 oz. organic lean ground beef

-1/4 cup walnuts

-large banana

-1.2g epa+dha

8am

-16 oz. triple americano, black

11:20am

-3.5 oz. organic lean ground beef

-1/4 cup walnuts

-8 oz. organic baby carrots

-small organic pink lady apple

-1g epa+dha

3:15pm

-1/4 cup walnuts

-small organic pink lady apple

-3 oz. dried apricots

-1g epa+dha

6:30pm

-large banana

-3 oz. dried apricots

8pm

-6 oz. chicken breast

-1/3 cup walnuts

-1 cup blueberries

-small organic pink lady apple

-2.8g epa+dha

-1 cup organic whole milk

1am

-1 cup organic whole milk

-1.2g epa+dha

-130 oz. water on the day

Fitness-1/23-snatch, deadlift, bench press, fit eval

Saturday

Don't have time for much explanation, but was a good morning at the gym on Saturday.

snatch

-3 x 140

-3 x 155

-3 x 175

deads

-3 x 290

-3 x 335

-5 x 375

bench

-3 x 190

-3 x 215

-6 x 235

Max rep pull-ups, score=27 (pr, old pr-23)

Max rep ring push-ups, score=17 (pr, old pr-15)

Vertical leap from standing, score=27.9" (pr, old pr-25ish)

400m run, time=1:07 (old pr-1:05)

1 Round Fight Gone Bad, score=130 (old pr-173, didn't go after this one hard enough and started on SDHP's which killed my rhythm)

Fitness and Nutrition Update-1/22/10-muscle ups

Friday

Today is Friday and I've been on another miniature hiatus from blog land. This was an "active recovery" or "de-loading" week in our programming as we prepare for the CrossFit Games and I took full advantage. I took 4 straight days off, Sunday through Wednesday. My nutrition was near perfect throughout, the only slight being a few glasses of red wine in that span. I fully intended to blog my fuel but a busy week and unusual meal timing due to not having to plan around workouts hindered me a bit and so blogging got dropped to the bottom of my to-do list. But again, rest assured, my fuel has been top notch. I'm even down a couple of pounds since Saturday's big output. Next week I'll return to the blog and regular meal timing so stay tuned in that regard.

As for fitness, I stepped back into the gym yesterday (Thursday) ready to get some work done. After 4 full days off, my body felt fantastic. I went in just to work some lifts and a couple of skills. I worked the press, clean and jerk, and the front squat. I ended up frustrated as I thought I would hit some bigger than normal numbers after all the rest but my body wasn't having it. Everything felt heavy:

Press

-3 x 125

-3 x 140

-4 x 155

Hang Squat Clean and Jerk

-3 x 170

-3 x 195

-3 x 220

Fronts

-3 x 220

-5 x 245

Every set felt like I was lifting the world and my reps were down from the same weights a couple weeks back but sometimes you just have off days. The one bright spot was the last set of cleans. 220 felt heavy coming out of the hole but the jerk was butter. Which is promising because I've always had trouble transitioning to the jerk out of the front squat and I think I'm starting to own it. Looking forward to more c+j work.

Even with the positive jerk work I was still a bit dejected with my performance, especially after expecting so much more as fresh/recovered as I was. Fortunately, CrossFit is a lot like golf. You can be having the worst day on the course, balls going everywhere, but all it takes is one good shot, one pin-seeker, and the worst day becomes the best. And yesterday, just as I was about to call 'er a day, I made a hole-in-one. Enter the muscle-up.

Nailed my first muscle-up yesterday after many failed attempts, lots of work and much frustration over the last few months. And after I hit one, something clicked and they started coming in droves. At one point I was able to cycle 2 of them almost hitting a 3rd. Straight stoked about sums it up. Turned into quite a day at the little gym.

I'll rest today. Tomorrow I'll snatch, dead lift, bench and work on some more muscle-up and hspu drills with a short burst/quick wod thrown in. I'll rest Sunday and then fire the engines back up for a return to gnarly programming come Monday. I'm pumped.

Fitness-1/16-snatch, deadlift, bench press, snatch/row, burpees, hill-run

Saturday

Saturday was a big day of activity. Here it is:

Snatch

-5 x 125

-5 x 145

-5 x 165

Deadlifts

-5 x 275

-5 x 320

-5 x 355

Then, went after 6 rounds of the following AFAP:

7 x snatch, 135#

250m row

time=12:25

Was a pretty decent time here. The snatches could've been a little quicker but I never really rested longer than a breath or two. The only thing that made them slow was dumping the bar and having to reset between reps. Otherwise, I never stopped.

Rested for 15 minutes then went after a max rep burpee test in 5 minutes:

score=80

Not bad here but should've been closer to 100. Never really stopped but my pace was wicked slow toward the end. I needed to "embrace the suck" a little more during this one. Next time.

Took a 4 hour rest and then came back into the gym to hit a quick bench press and followed that up with a short burst hill run (under 10 minutes). Was a heck of a productive day.

Nutrition-1/16

Saturday

sleep-7 hours on the night

My nutrition on Saturday was pretty fantastic aside from my weekly cheat meal. I didn't keep a journal for the day but can tell you I was fueling damn well (until said meal) as it was a big day in the gym with three workouts and my performance was solid from start to finish. So, since the prime consumption is fuzzy now, I'll give just the details of my cheat meal. Transparency is powerful.

7pm (El Gitano's)

-1.5 baskets of tortilla chips w/house salsa

-2 jalapeno poppers

-super nachos w/chicken, cheddar cheese, refried beans, jalapenos, tomatos, sour cream, guacamole and house salsa

-1 shredded beef chimichanga w/lettuce, cheese, tomatoes and house salsa

-1/2 of a grilled pork chimichanga w/the same as above

That was a big outing last night, definitely too much food, but enjoyable. Good to get it out of the system and I'm (especially my body) already stoked to have returned to solid nutrition.

Fitness-1/15-"Twenty-five", rope work

Friday

Was a quick but intense one at the gym today. "Twenty-five" was 5 rounds of the following triplet performed AFAP:

20 x wall-balls, 20#/10ft

5 x ring-dips

20 x double-unders

time=5:51

Not too much to say about this one, absolutely crushed it. Never stopped moving and was sprinting from exercise to exercise. I did come off of the rings a couple times because I was getting out of control, but was right back up and on. Good show.

Finished the day with 3 x 12ft rope climbs w/no feet from sitting. In and out in a flash but with much accomplished=a great session at the gym.

Nutrition-1/15

Friday

sleep: 8.5 hours on the night

10:45am

-app. 24 oz. organic brewed coffee, black

-large link isernio's extra lean all natural chicken sausage

-2 organic hardboiled eggs

-large banana

-2.8g epa+dha

3pm

-6 oz. baked salmon

-app. 8 oz. mixed vegetables (broccoli, carrots)

-4 oz. strawberries

-4 oz. blueberries

5:30pm (post wod recovery)

-"Recoverite"-15g prot, 49g cho, 4.5g glutamine

8pm-1am (out with a friend)

-1.5 oz. laphroaig single malt, 15yr

-pint belgian brown ale

-pint porter

-large salad w/grilled chicken (6 oz.), romaine, spinach, 1 oz. blue cheese, carrots, walnuts, craisins, and with app. 1 tbsn of balsalmic vinnagrette.

-110 oz. water on the day

Fitness-1/14-press, barbell complex and run, ring work

Thursday

Tough but productive one at the little gym today. Started with some press work:

press

5 x 115

5 x 130

8 x 145

My strength in the press keeps inching up there. I felt stronger today and will continue to improve. This is one way I can supplement my hspu strength and I plan to continue to work on it.

Next up was a heavy barbell complex and running wod that beat me up pretty good. The workout was 6 rounds, w/1 minute rests between rounds, performed AFAP of the following:

5 x deadlifts, 205#

5 x hang power cleans, 205#

5 x front squats, 205#

run 100m

time (including rests)=17:45

This workout called for 155# on the barbell but I went after it with Jthom, a fellow coach and stud who weighs about 175, so I decided to go at his percentage of bw. I performed the first round unbroken, rounds 2-3 w/1 drop, rounds 4-5 w/2 drops and round 6 w/3 drops. Came out strong for two rounds but the weight got heavy quick. It was unbelievably hard to find your legs on the run. I sure would like to have finished this one faster, I didn't think I'd be over 15 minutes. But heavy met-cons take some getting used to. I'll keep at it.

I finished this one with a good bit of l-sit/l-hang work that felt great, really engaged the core. After the workout I coached for 3.5 hours and then went and played in an intramural volleyball match. The body's been sufficiently worked today, looking forward to rest.

Nutrition-1/14

Thursday

sleep: 8 hours on the night

7:15am

-2 organic hardboiled eggs

-1 large link isernio's extra lean all natural chicken sausage

-large banana

-1 cup organic whole milk

-1.4g epa+dha

-650mg ca, 250iu vit d3

9:30am

-app. 20 oz. organic home brewed coffee, black

12:15pm

-4 oz. beef petite sirloin

-1/3 cup walnuts

-1 cup blueberries

-large organic braeburn apple

-1.4g epa+dha

4:30pm (post wod recovery)

-"Recoverite"-15g prot, 49g cho, 4.5g glutamine

-4 oz. beef petite sirloin

-1/4 cup walnuts

-1g epa+dha

11:15pm

-4 oz. beef petite sirloin

-2 organic hardboiled eggs

-1/2 cup walnuts

-12 oz. chopped butternut squash prepared with evoo, garlic, chile pepper and sea salt

-2.8g epa+dha

12:45am

-1 cup organic whole milk

-1.2g epa+dha

-140 oz. water on the day

Nutrition-1/13

Wednesday

sleep: 6 hours on the night (in bed on time for 8 hrs and couldn't sleep, frustrating)

7am

-2 organic hardboiled eggs

-1 large link isernio's extra lean all natural chicken sausage

-large banana

-1.4g epa+dha

8am

-triple 16 oz. americano, black

11:10am

-4 oz. beef petite sirloin

-1/3 cup walnuts

-6 oz. organic baby carrots

-large organic braeburn apple

3:15pm

-4 oz. beef petite sirloin

-1/4 cup walnuts

-large banana

5:30pm

-1 link isernio's extra lean all natural chicken sausage

-3 oz. wild elk jerky (from a bud's hunt)

8pm

-5 oz. beef petite sirloin

-1/3 cup walnuts

-8 oz. organic baby carrots

-2 oz. dried apricots

-1.4g epa+dha

-105 oz. water on the day

Fitness-1/12-"Cynthia", pull-ups/dips/ghd

Tuesday

Had a nemesis wod today and it kicked my butt. "Cynthia" was AMRAP in 20 minutes of:

3 x weighted pull-up, 25#

5 x hspu

7 x R/L goblet lunge, 24kg

score=6+3 pulls+4 hspu

Hspu's still dominate me. The good news today was I made it through the first 3 rounds getting full ROM hspu's. It took me over half the wod though. I got to a point where it was taking me two or three attempts to get one successful rep. It was frustrating but I hung in there as long as I could. At a certain point, I literally couldn't do any more without resting entirely too long so I went to using 1 abmat. The pull-ups were tough, but not by comparison. The lunges were easy, I should've used the 32kg bell. This was a good one for me to do. Unfortunately, because the sets of hspu's were taking me so long to get through, this wasn't much of a met-con. Aside from shoulders that didn't want to move, I felt fresh as a daisy after this one.

Went after some work on the rings and GHD after. Productive session.

Nutrition-1/12

Tuesday

sleep: 8.5 hours on the night (good stuff)

10:15am

-3 organic eggs fried in organic evoo

-3 links isernio's extra lean all natural chicken sausage

-large banana

-1 cup organic whole milk

-2.8g epa+dha

10:45am

-app. 20 oz. organic brewed coffee, black

1:45pm

-6 oz. chicken breast w/rosemary and balsamic marinade

-1/3 cup walnuts

-2 oz. dried apricots

-large organic braeburn apple

-2.8g epa+dha

4:30pm (post wod recovery)

-"Recoverite"-15g prot, 49g cho, 4.5g glutamine

9:40pm

-8 oz. beef petite sirloin, prepared in organic evoo

-1/3 cup walnuts

-1 cup blueberries

-6 oz. organic baby carrots

-2.8g epa+dha

10:30pm

-1 cup organic whole milk

-1.2g epa+dha

-116 oz. water on the day

Fitness-1/11-clean and jerk, fronts,

Monday

Came into the gym today still good and sore from Saturday's work. But, aside from the muscle ache, I did feel pretty refreshed and energized after Sunday's rest. Started back with week 1 of another strength cycle today. Went after clean and jerks followed by front squats:

hsc and jerk

5 x 155

5 x 185

5 x 200

fronts

5 x 205

8 x 230

This was a productive effort. Since my glutes/posterior were hurting pretty good from Saturday's dead lift tabata, I decided to give myself a little break and take the cleans from the hang instead of the floor. My transition to the jerk out of the front squat continues to improve, today seemed world's easier than a couple weeks back. Fronts felt stronger as well. I'd a liked to have hit 10 reps @ 230 on my max out set but failed on rep 9. This is still a good effort for me and they continue to improve, slow but steady.

I finished the session with 3 trips up the 12ft rope, starting seated on the ground, and w/out using my feet. Between each trip, I worked in 10 x ring push-ups. Good start to the week.

Nutrition-1/11

Monday

sleep: 7 hours on the night (poor)

7:15am

-4 oz. chicken breast

-1/3 cup walnuts

-large banana

-2.8g epa+dha

-650mg ca, 250iu vit d3

8:15am

-double 12 oz. americano, black

11am

-4 oz. chicken breast

-1/4 cup walnut

-6 oz. organic baby carrots

-large organic braeburn apple

-1g epa+dha

3:15pm

-4 oz. chicken breast

-1/3 cup walnuts

-3 oz. dried apricots

-1g epa+dha

8pm

-8 oz. grilled petite sirloin steak

-1/3 cup walnuts

-6 oz. blueberries

-small organic pink lady apple

-2.8g epa+dha

11pm

-1 cup organic whole milk

-1.2g epa+dha

-105 oz. water on the day

Nutrition-1/10

Sunday

sleep: 6 hours on the night (awful, but I'll be resting/napping today)

11:30am (fasted until this meal)

-3 organic eggs fried in organic evoo

-3 links isernio's extra lean all natural chicken sausage

-6 oz. organic baby carrots

-small organic pink lady apple

-2.8g epa+dha

5:30pm

-4 oz. chicken breast

-1/4 cup walnuts

-small organic pink lady apple

-2.8g epa+dha

9pm

-6 oz. chicken breast

-1/3 cup walnuts

-2 oz. dried apricots

-1.4g epa+dha

-1/4 pint ben and jerry's peanut butter cup ice cream (leftovers)

-116 oz. water on the day

Fitness-1/9-bench press, snatch, deadlift, deadlift tabata, "Chips Ahoy"

Saturday

Big one at the little gym today. Here's right to it:

Bench Press

2 x 5 @ 95#

2 x 5 @ 135#

2 x 5 @ 185#

Hang Squat Snatch

1 x 5 @ 75#

2 x 5 @ 95#

2 x 5 @ 115#

Deads

2 x 5 @ 155#

2 x 5 @ 185#

2 x 5 @ 235#

This was all sub-max, continuing on in our de-load week. It felt nice and light and was a good warm-up for what was to come.

From here, we went after a tabata. A "tabata" is performed by doing 20 seconds of work (going for maximum repetitions) followed by 10 seconds of rest for 8 consecutive rounds on one exercise before switching to another. Generally, a tabata wod will consist of 4-5 exercises, and your overall score will be the combined total of your lowest round scores for each exercise . Today we just went after one exercise and there was no high or low round. Every rep counted:

Tabata Deadlifts @ 275#

score=50

This was my first deadlift tabata and it was tough. I was shooting for 80 and didn't even come close. I'd no idea how tough it would be in the later rounds. My high round was 11 and my low was 5. I'm aiming to average 8 a round next time out.

We were given exactly 10 minutes of rest before getting after "Chips Ahoy," a chipper performed AFAP:

400m farmer's walk, 24kg kb's

30 pull-ups

30 push-ups

30 box jumps, 24"

30 sit-ups

400m run

time=10:57

I went after this one pretty hard and was certainly feeling the deads. The pull-ups after the farmer's walk, as well as the box jumps, were the major hang-ups in this one for me. My grip, and my body too for that matter, is pretty beat after this week and I'll look forward to rest tomorrow.

Nutrition-1/9

Saturday

sleep: 8.5 hours on the night

9:45am

-2 organic hardboiled eggs

-2 links isernio's extra lean all natural chicken sausage

-large banana

-1 cup organic whole milk

-1.4g epa+dha

10:15am

-double 16 oz. americano, black

12pm (post wod recovery)

-"Recoverite"-15g prot, 49g cho, 4.5g glutamine

1pm

-2 organic scrambled eggs

-4 oz. chicken breast

-1/3 cup walnuts

-mixed grapes, pine apple, pears, apples (app. 6 oz.)

-2.5g epa+dha

-double 12 oz. americano, black

5:30pm

-4 oz. chicken breast

-1 organic hardboiled egg

-1/4 cup walnuts

-1.4g epa+dha

8pm-10pm (Chuckanut Brewery Cheat Meal)

-1/2 plate (shared) of chicken nachos w/sour cream, guac and salsa

-4 pints Strong Ale

10:30-12:30am (Uisce's)

-3 single Red Breast Irish Whiskey

1am

-2 oz. bbq potato chips

-2 oz. cheddar cheese

-1/2 pint Ben and Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream

-140 oz. water on the day

Fitness-1/8-"357"

Friday

The body was feeling pretty good when I got into the gym today but the intensity just wasn't there. I had a hard time getting fired up and even though my body wasn't necessarily sore, it was tired. But I still made the most of it and went through this one. I just went at a "lower" gear and if felt good to get a sweat up but go sub-max. "357" was 7 rounds AFAP of:

3 x handstand push-ups

5 x hang power cleans, 185#

7 x pull-ups, chest to bar

time=15:30

I moved through this one pretty slow and steady. I was happy with the hspu's as I was able to make it through the entire wod using only 1 abmat under my head. I had to kip, but it was still a huge step in the right direction. Nice and quick session in the gym today. Getting ready for a good one tomorrow.

Nutrition-1/8

Friday

sleep: 9.25 hours on the night (brilliant)

9am

-3 links isernio's extra lean all natural chicken sausage

-2 organic hardboiled eggs

-large banana

-1 oz. dried apricots

-1.4g epa+dha

9:30am

-double 16 oz. americano, black

12:30pm

-6 oz. pork loin

-1/3 cup walnuts

-6 oz. carrots

-small organic pink lady apple

-1.4g epa+dha

4:45pm

-4 oz. chicken breast

-1/4 cup walnuts

-2 oz. dried apricots

7:15pm(post wod recovery)

-"Recoverite"-15g prot, 49g cho, 4.5g glutamine

8:30pm

-4 oz. chicken breast

-2 organic hardboiled eggs

-1/4 cup walnuts

-1 cup blackberries

-small organic pink lady apple

-1.4g epa+dha

9:30-11pm (out with some friends)

-single Laphroig single malt, 12 year

-2 single Red Breast Irish whiskey

12am

-4 oz. chicken breast

-1/3 cup walnuts

-2 organic hardboiled eggs

-1 cup organic whole milk

-3g epa+dha

-130 oz. water on the day

Fitness-1/7-press, "Daniel"

Thursday

Started the day out with some light press work, continuing on with a sub-max/de-loading week. Sets looked as follows:

-2 x 5 @ 65#

-2 x 5 @ 95#

-2 x 5 @ 115#

Even though this was light, I felt strong today. Likely because my shoulder felt better today than it's felt in months after I tweaked it doing weighted pull-ups a while back. It's not 100% just yet but it's close. I'll look forward to loading the press back up next week.

After the press, went after "Daniel," one of the brutal Hero wods. I hadn't done this one before and was excited to give it an inaugural run. I was also stoked because this is the first week I've been really disciplined with my rest and nutrition in months and I was feeling good going into this one, especially after the rest yesterday. "Daniel" is the following performed AFAP:

50 pull-ups

400m run

21 thrusters, 95# (went @ 115#)

800m run

21 thrusters, 95# (went @ 115#)

400m run

50 pull-ups

time=17:05

I was pretty jacked up with this performance and I felt it affirmed what I'm doing nutritionally/rest wise. There were certainly places I could've rested less, mostly on the thrusters, but overall I pushed pretty hard and had good gas in the tank. Thrusters do continue to get easier too and going at 115# didn't seem like too much trouble. The extra work is paying off.

After I recovered a bit, I put a little 5 round triplet together to work through un-timed:

max rep strict ring-dips (no kip)

10 GHD sit-ups

10 GHD hip extensions

My reps on the ring-dips were 7, 6, 5, 5 and 4 respectively. They're a nemesis of mine but they continue to improve. Looking forward to tomorrow.

Nutrition-1/7

Thursday

sleep: 8 hours on the night

7:15am

-2 organic hardboiled eggs

-3 links isernio's extra lean all natural chicken sausage

-large banana

-1 cup organic whole milk

-1.4g epa+dha

-650mg ca, 250iu vit d3

8:15am

-triple 16 oz. americano, black

12:30pm

-4 oz. pork loin

-2 oz. chicken breast

-1/3 cup walnuts

-small organic pink lady apple

-3 oz. dried apricots

4:30pm(post wod)

-"Recoverite"-15g Prot, 49g CHO, 4.5g glutamine

-2 oz. chicken breast

6pm

-4 oz. chicken breast

-1/4 cup walnuts

-small organic pink lady apple

-2 oz. dried apricots

-1.2g epa+dha

9pm

-6 oz. pork loin

-1/3 cup walnuts

-1 cup raspberries

-8 oz. carrots

-1.4g epa+dha

10:15pm

-1 cup organic whole milk

-1.5g epa+dha

-130 oz. water on the day

Fitness-1/6-Rest-"Sisu"

Wednesday

I took it nice and easy this evening and really concentrated on some good rest. And I think my body is already starting to thank me for it. I'm looking forward to getting after some work in the gym Thursday.

About a week ago, during a similar rest session, I took the time to watch "Sisu," a documentary shot over in Finland about Mikko Salo, winner of the 2009 CrossFit Games. If you've not watched it, I strongly encourage you to. Right now, it can only be watched with a subscription to the CrossFit Journal. But trust me, it's completely worth it, and almost for this video alone.

"Sisu" is a form of stoic courage and unwavering perseverance in the face of long odds and hard challenges. It is intrinsic to Finland and its people. And perhaps, as CrossFit claims, no man captures the word better than Salo himself. The man is an absolute specimen.

This is a free clip of him from that documentary performing the chest-to-bar "Fran" workout from the 2008 CrossFit Games in a time that would have put him tops on the board. And afterwards, he doesn't even go to the ground. When asked he explains why. Pretty hard not to root for this guy.

"SISU"

Nutrition-1/6

Wednesday

sleep: 8 hours on the night (restless though, think my body's adjusting back to good nutrition and maybe having a few withdrawls or something)

7:15am
-4 oz. pork loin
-1/3 cup walnuts
-large banana
-1.4g epa+dha

8:30am
-triple 16 oz. americano, black

11:20am
-4 oz. wild caught blackened sockeye salmon
-8 oz. carrots
-1/4 cup walnuts
-small organic pink lady apple
-1g epa+dha

3:15pm

-4 oz. pork loin

-1/3 cup walnuts

-3 oz. dried apricots

-1g epa+dha

8pm
-1 organic hardboiled egg
-3 oz. chicken breast/turkey breast (mixed together)
-2 links isernio's extra lean all natural chicken sausage
-6 oz. blueberries
-small organic pink lady apple
-2.8g epa+dha

10:10pm
-4 oz. chicken breast
-2 links isernio's extra lean all natural chicken sausage
-1 cup organic whole milk
-1.5g epa+dha


-110 oz. water on the day

Fitness-1/5-"Plus 3", ring support/rope work, run

Tuesday

Was a big day of work. Started out with a morning wod called "Plus 3." It was 10 rounds of the following AFAP:

-3 x snatch high pulls (bar passes the nipple-line), 175#

-6 x ring dips

-9 x toes to bar

time=24:30

This time was weak. I petered out on the rings about 5 rounds in and I just couldn't get going on the toes to bar, was having a tough time cycling them. Just had to grind this one out.

After, I finished the morning session with 21-18-15-12-9 rep rounds of ring-support knee tucks w/12 ft rope climbs between each round.

I came back in the afternoon, approximately 5-6 hours later, and went after a run. The distance was approximately 3800m, likely a little more.

time=17:28

This was a decent time for just under 2.5 miles, nothing spectacular, but decent. I had a little more left in the tank for this one which was fine, was planning on a sub-max effort. The promising thing about this one was being able to hold a consistent pace in the 7min/mile range. I felt like I finished at the same speed as I started which was the goal of this one.

Nutrition-1/5

Tuesday

sleep: 8 hours on the night

8:50am

-1 cup organic whole milk

-2 oz. pork loin

-1/4 cup walnuts

-medium banana

-1.4g epa+dha

-650mg ca, 250iu vit d3

10:30am (post wod recovery)

-"Recoverite"-15g prot, 50g CHO, 4.5g glutamine

1:15pm

-4 oz. pork loin

-1/4 cup walnuts

-6 oz. blueberries

-6 oz. carrots

-1.4g epa+dha

4:30pm (post wod recovery)

-"Recoverite"-15g prot, 49g CHO, 4.5g glutamine

8:15pm

-1.5 oz. Balvenie single malt, 12 yr

9pm

-4 oz. pork loin

-1/3 cup walnuts

-2 small pink lady apples

-2 oz. dried apricots

-1.4g epa+dha

10:15pm

-1 cup organic whole milk

-3 oz. pork loin

-1.2g epa+dha

-125 oz. water on the day

Fitness-1/4-hang clean and jerk, front squat

Monday

My body was hurting today, a little DOMS from Saturday's chipper. Not to mention I didn't do myself any favors nutritionally or rest wise. Knowing that I was going clean starting today, I didn't hold back much over the weekend in regards to alcohol/nutrition and I could feel it today. But was still good to get back in the gym and I'm stoked to have a new and intense drive to train again, feeling motivated.

Started with some strength work today. This is a de-loading week in our cycle so the weights were light and consequently, I kept rest short. I timed 1 minute active rests between every set in which I'd perform some type of calisthenic to keep myself warm.

Hang Squat Clean and Jerk

-2 x 5 x 95#

-2 x 5 x 115#

-2 x 5 x 135#

Front Squats

-2 x 5 x 145#

-2 x 5 x 165#

I was feeling pretty good and loose after the strength work and it was nice to have 165# feel light on the front squats. In the past, much more than 155# has felt really heavy to me during met-cons but I'm getting to a place where I know I can handle weight like that no problem. It feels like more mental victory than physical.

I finished the session with some productive hspu and muscle-up work.

Nutrition-1/4

Monday-Back in the nutrition/rest saddle

sleep: 7 hours on the night (poor, must commit to 8 minimum)

7am

-1 cup organic whole milk

-1.2g epa+dha

-650mg Ca, 250iu vit d3

8am

-16 oz. triple americano, black

11:15am

-4 oz. pork loin

-1/4 cup walnuts

-8 oz. carrots

-small apple

-1.2g epa+dha

3:15pm

-4 oz. pork loin

-1/4 cup walnuts

-large banana

-1.2g epa+dha

5:15pm

-12 oz. double americano, black

7:15pm

-4 oz. lean ground beef

-1 large link isernio's extra-lean all-natural chicken sausage

-1/3 cup walnuts

-2 oz. dried apricots

-1 large banana

10:50pm (post wod recovery, late one tonight)

-Recoverite=10g prot, 33g CHO, 3g glutamine

-3 oz. pork loin

-1/4 cup walnuts

-small apple

11:55pm

-1 cup organic whole milk

-1.5g epa+dha

-350mg Ca, 150iu vit d3

-145 oz. water on the day

Fitness-1/2-snatch, bench press, "The Chipper", deadlifts

Saturday


Today was a big day in the gym. Started with some sub-max strength work. Sets looked as follows:


Snatch
-5 x 140
-3 x 160
-1 x 185


Bench
-5 x 190
-3 x 215
-1 x 235


All of these efforts were sub-max, geared down in preparation for the day's wod. I felt strong coming off the floor in the snatch today, 185 went up pretty easy. The rep at 235 on the bench went up easy but felt heavy, my shoulders a bit sore/fatigued from kb swings the day before. The snatch and bench were a great warm-up for what was to come.

We went after the chipper wod from the 2009 CrossFit Games. It was the final wod to decide the winner and is one bad mother. It is "The Chipper" and it kicked my but. "The Chipper" is the following done AFAP:

-15 squat cleans, 155#
-30 toes to bar
-30 box jumps, 24"
-15 muscle ups (I had to scale: 45 ring pull-ups/45 ring-dips)
-30 db push press, 40#
-30 double unders
-15 thrusters, 135#
-30 pullups
-30 burpees
-300ft walking lunge w/plate overhead, 45#

time=34:34


Brutal and very painful workout. Having to scale to the ring pull-ups and ring dips was painstaking, but I made it through. Everything else about this wod, movement wise, wasn't too bad...except for the walking lunge. 300ft is a long ways. I got to the lunges with the clock @ 27:00 and I thought I'd go the course with only a few rests. Wrong. By the end, I was only ripping off 4-5 at a time. This was the most pain I've ever experienced from one specific exercise. I'll look to start incorporating it into my sessions more often.

I finished the day with some sub-max deadlifts, just to feel some heavy-ish weight.

Deads
-5 x 275
-3 x 315
-1 x 365

Fitness-1/1/10-"New Years Countdown"

Friday

I weighed in at 245 this morning after New Year's Eve celebration. And I felt every pound of it during todays wod.

"New Years Countdown"

-20 kb swings, 32kg throughout

-20 situps

-18 kb swings

-18 situps

-RUN 800m

-16 kb swings

-16 situps

-14 kb swings

-14 situps

-RUN 600m

-12 kb swings

-12 situps

-10 kb swings

-10 situps

-RUN 400m

-8 kb swings

-8 situps

-6 kb swings

-6 situps

-RUN 200m

-4 kb swings

-4 situps

-2 kb swings

-2 situps

-RUN 100m

time=21:55

I destroyed the kb swings and the sit-ups, unbroken on both for the entire wod. And the run destroyed me. At one point I was reduced to mere shuffling. It was a pretty sad scene. It was one of those wods for me and I was pretty thrilled just to finish.

Fitness-12/31-press, 2k row, ring-dip/ghd work

Thursday

After a rest day Wednesday, I came into the gym ready to work. Started with the press after a good and long warm-up. Work sets looked as follows:

5 x 120

3 x 140

6 x 155

The 6th rep at 155 went up slow but I got it. And my press continues to steadily improve. After the press I timed a 5 minute rest and went after a 2k row:

time=6:44

This was a pretty solid time and got me stoked about where my fitness is at. Namely, because I felt like it could've been a good 5-10 seconds faster. It had been some time since I pulled a 2k and when I did, I came in at 6:55. So going into this effort, I had a 1:40-1:45/500m pace in mind that I stuck to with ease. I kicked the last 500m in the 1:30-1:35 range and I felt like I could've kicked longer. Next time I'll look to keep 1:40/500m pace throughout and start to kick with 750m to go.

I finished the session with a 15-12-9-6-3 triplet of the following, no rest between exercises and 1 minute rest between rounds:

-ring dips

-ghd situps

-ghd hip extensions

I started trying to do as many dips strict as I could before going to the kip. Right now I'm only good for 7-8 ring-dips before I've to start kipping. But the work is paying off and considering my where my weight's at with all this holiday indulgence, I'm stoked to see what my performance does now that the New Year is here.