Today's Horse Race

Today was the first training day with a partner, and it turned into quite the horse race.

Today's WOD:
Row 1150m
95 situps
75 squat
55 pushups
35 pullups
15 burpees
13:19

At 7am this morning Russ and I strapped in to the rowers, got the 3...2..1..GO and off we went. I held a steady pace of 2:03-2:05 for the first 800m and picked it up to 1:58 for the last 350m. As I was closing in on 1050 Russ unstraped and was on to situps. I finish my last 100m and quickly head into the situps. I slam through 95 situps straight making up time, and heading into the squats second ahead of Russ.

We're neck and neck like mad squating fools, but being 5'3" I have a clear advantage over his 6'+ frame. I head into pushups knowing they're my goat. I break them into 10s and do my best to maintain my pace. Russ heads into pushups like speedy gonzalez and finishes while I'm completing my last 10. I start into pullups a good 10 seconds behind, but pullups are a strong suite for me. I quickly get through my pullups and head into burpees seconds ahead of Russ. I knew I had it at this point. I love burpees and again...I'm 5'3". I yell time finishing with a 13:19 with Russ right on my heals at 13:21

There's something about going head to head that makes you push that much harder than a group wod. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Everyone's got a goat

My goat...pushups. Over the last year I have worked on pushups, and while they still remain my 'goat' I have improved GREATLY! When I started crossfit almost 3 years ago now a pushup was out of the question, pretty much laughable. Over the years I have gone through the scaled versions to reach my ability to tackle high volumes of pushups with proper form. In fact, I do a mimimum of 30 reps a day in the cf warmup.

The key to a pushup is proper form. It's not the sagging center that you see high school football players, or the mt. peak you see so often. It's a hollow plank, leading to chest to the deck and full extension at the top.

I do what is known as 'thumping' at our box. I want there to be no mistake that I'm using proper pushup form, so when I reach the bottom you can literally hear my chest hit the deck. There's nothing worse in a competition than hearing 'no' from your judge. My goal in competition is to have perfect reps. It may take a few more seconds, but not nearly as many as you'll lose both physically and mentally from missed reps that you have to redo.

Yesturday's WOD #1: Chris's 29th BDay WOD
Row 29 calories
then....
29 Pushups (CTD)
29 DB Squat Cleans (25lbs)
29 Calories on the Row
3 rounds
19:11

Yesturday's WOD #2:
50m walking lunges
100m broad jump
200m sprint
3 rounds
10:19

Filthy Fifty.....ish....

So today I did the make up for missing the Filthy Fifty being that if fell on a rest day for me. I quickly wrote the list on the white board, gathered equipment and dove into the WOD. My goal, sub 25. Well I hit that and then some...Finished in 17:28. I was stoked! I barely took any breaks, and never did less than 25 of any exercise before taking a rest, except for wallballs, because they SUCK!!!

As I sat down to write today's entry I realized I missed the KTE's OPPS! So I guess I really did a filthy fifty..ish today. I would hope that I'd still be able to hit that sub 20 mark with the 50 KTE's, but I guess we wont know until I do it again....CORRECTLY.

The funny part....I thought about NEVER letting anyone know, but then I got a feeling in the pit of my stomach that said to me "how can you feel stoked about a wod that you didn't even do right?" So I decided against keeping my mistake in the closet.

Today's WOD: Filthy Fifty..ish
50 box jumps 20"
50 jumping pullups
50 KB Swings (36lb)
50 walking lunges
(missed 50 KTE's)
50 push press (45lb)
50 back extension (ghd)
50 wallball (14lb to a 8' target)
50 burpees
50 double unders
17:28

Sometimes even coffee can't fix it...

Today is my first day of post school no sleepingness. Getting out of class at 10:10 I hit my bed about 10:45pm, and that alarm still went off at 4am. I knew I might drag today, and boy was I right. I'm functioning just fine as long as I keep moving, but I'll tell you, when I stop tonight I will be out for the count.

I think there's a part of 'constantly varied functional movements' that is missed. It's more than changing the wod everyday. Have you ever worked out on 5 hours of sleep, like I did today, or no sleep. Worked out on an empty stomach? Worked out in the morning instead of night? Play around with it and see what happens. You'll never know what really works for you if you don't experiment. What's the worst that happens, you try something and fail miserably? You'll learn more from failing then you ever will succeeding.

Today's WOD:
15 deadlifts 1x body weight (135lb)
15 toes to bar
AMRP in 20min
8rounds +15 deadlifts

Next Rest Area 00 Miles

I do a little happy dance inside, and sometimes out, when a rest day comes around. But I try not to completely abuse them. I am on a 3-on-1 off schedule, and have been for sometime, so my body is used to pushing hard. I don't want to lose that momentum or lose my focus, so I do something, anything on my off day so that I keep my body and mind focused on the prize.

Things I've done on a 'rest day'
CrossFit Warm up x3
Run a mile or two
Row 1000-2000meters at a moderate pace
Skill work (muscleup/handstand pu/double unders)
Play soccer of volleyball

Today's WOD:
REST DAY
so I rowed 1000m at a 2:15 pace and stretched out

What do you find at the end of a 'rainbow'....

Today's leson: What do you find at the end of a 'rainbow'? An ugly and sometimes painful Clean & Jerk.

Today's WOD:
3 Clean and Jerks (105lb) on the minute for 15 minutes

I did this last week at 95lbs and found it quite simple, not so much with 105lbs. I'm amazed how quickly adding 10lbs pulled out my form breakdown. The breakdown, what I like to call "The rainbow" When your pull leaves your body making a nice little arch forcing a nice little hop forward like a "bunny hop"

Not only did my form seem to breakdown, so did my mental state. All I could think about was form....form....form....and how badly I was f*cking it up! At round 7 I wanted to throw in the towel and walk away. By round 8 I wanted to cry, and by round 11 I was determined to finish.

Coach Russell was able to capture a few of the rounds on video that I reviewed afterwards, and realized how prevalent the rainbow into the bunny hop was. It doesn't feel that dramatic when you're in the heat of the moment, but boy was it noticeable on the video. Unfortunately video doesn't lie.

I try to tell all our newbies....you'll NEVER master it all. Today's wod is the perfect example. Even after 3 years of crossfitting, I'm still perfecting and learning everyday. It's the sticking with it for 3 years that can make it seem sometimes effortless.

My new favorite quote: "Don't wish it was easier, wish you were better" -Jim Rohn

Perparation is key to success

There are 1000 reasons why you can't eat healthy, and in my opinion non of them are valid. I open the gym at 5am, head to work at 8-5, and then go to school til 10pm, and yet I still eat a perfect paleo zone amongst the chaos. How? Preparation!

Every Sunday I schedule 2 hours to cook and pack all my meals and snacks for the week. This removes any excuse you have about not having time during the week.

This weeks menu:
Salmon lunches: 4.5 oz salmon, 2 cups peppers, 3tbsp avocado
Chicken lunches: 3 oz chicken, 2 cups peppers, 12 almonds
Salmon dinners: 6 oz salmon, 2 cups broccoli, 18 almonds
Chicken dinners: 4 oz chicken, 2 cups broccoli, 18 almonds
Snacks: 5 slices dried apple, 9 almonds, 1 pepperoni stick or 5 dried apricots, 9almonds, 1 oz beef jerky,

Today's Wod:
Dirty Dozen- Partner wod
12 pushups
12 squats
12 pulls on the rower
12 rounds
(1 person works at a time, each partner completes 12 rounds)
16:27 with Coach Russell

You know you worked hard enough when.....

you can leave a sweat angel on the floor. CFer's are a truly strange group of people. Where most people are grossed out by sweat left behind, CFer's high five and chest bump over a good sweat angel. ha!

Today's WOD: (and cause of today's sweat angel)
50 wallballs (14lb ball, 8'target)
25 pullups
5 rounds
18:46

Working out with 'The Toddler'

No.....not a child, a weight vest. I can thank Feng Yi Chew for the phrase "the toddler". She used to post on Facebook that she was working out with 'the toddler' and one day I had to ask, you have a kid? She said, "no, it's my weight vest. It weighs about as much as a toddler."

Today I did the CF warm up with 'the toddler' and boy did it make a difference. It's amazing to see what 20lbs can do to you pullups, dips, situps, really all of it. Just wearing it I could feel the added pressure on my bones. If you've got a 'toddler' at your box give it a try, it's an interesting feeling.

Today's wod:
21-18-15-12-9-6-3
Handstand pushups (feet on bar)
Snatches (17.5)
Situps (ghd)
13:45

And my cool down was really a second wod.
3 Clean and Jerks (95lb) on the minute for 15 minutes.

THANK GOD TOMORROW'S A REST DAY!

Are you using your ass?

Today's WOD:
Max effort 2 min row for calories
Row 2 min
Rest 2 min
5 rounds
Round 1: 34
Round 2: 34
Round 3: 34
Round 4: 35 (should have been 36, but I stopped pulling at 1:58. I was tired and quit even knowing I shouldn't have...oops)
Round 5: 31 (all ass, no arms)

Rowing= Legs, Back , Arms. Sounds simple, but simple doesn't always translate to easy to execute. I strap in and use the first 2 min to figure out my pacing, and hold a consistent pace through the first 3. During the following rest Bill helps tweak my form. My legs got a great push and my back and arms had a great pull, but it was transition between that was a bit off. So I go into the 4th round focusing on a smooth transition. 3-2-1 GO....I keep a great pace, the wheel is spinning my legs are feeling it, but so are my arms. I reach the end of the row I was exhausted and thought I was going to vomit. Bill is there again to help critique my form.

His proposal: Try an experiment
Drive with your legs ONLY and simply let your back and arms guide the handle. See how much you lose. So I head into the last row, focusing on using just my lower half, and my pace didn't lose too much...for the first minute. Heading into the second minute my legs are SCREAMING!!! Time up, 31 calories, not too shy of my other attempts except for one huge difference. My ass was on fire and cramping. My arms and my exhaustion level were half of what they were on the prior attempts.

Lesson learned: I use WAY TO MUCH arms and not enough ass on my rowing.

Try this experiment and see how your numbers change. I found it quite interesting.

It's Childs Play

Ever drive by a school during recess hour and see kids double-dutching on the playground? Kids Laughing, giggling, skipping, jumping in and out of the moving rope, truly enjoying themselves, yet all you can think is F*CK jump roping?

I know the feeling. There's something incredibly funny to me that a child's toy has somehow been turned into a torture device. Don't believe me? Try jumping rope for 5min straight. If you don't trip on the rope at least 6 times, at minimum your calves will be screaming. And if that's not bad enough, your coach may come to you and say, "now jump once, but spin twice" and you think WHAT!?!?!? That's right.....double unders.

The elusive double under is a skill that requires timing and persistence to master. You jump once and the rope goes under you twice. Doesn't sound so hard, jump once, spin twice. So you step up the challenge, you catch it on you ponytail, trip on your shoe or my favorite, miss completely and whip the back of your arm or leg leaving a lovely red welt. And yet you continue to try. Slowly but surely you figure it out, and you get one..then two...then three....then SLAP (welt). It's the sickness that is CrossFit that gets you to continue trying. It's that persistence that makes a true CrossFitter. We may not get it the frist time, but we're sure as shit not going to walk away.

Today's wod: REST!!!!!
Did do double under practice and strung together 27

Meal timing is important

Not sure when you should be eating? The easiest way to explain it, other than sleeping, you should avoid going more than 5 hours without eating. You want to keep you body from 'starvation' mode. Much like muscle your stomach has memory. If you keep a steady schedule your body will burn the fuel knowing there is more on the way. If you start skipping meals your body fears it wont get food again, resulting in your system to storing the fuel, usually where ever you don't want it to(hips/ass/muffin top).

Here's the schedule I eat on:
4:00am wake up
4:30am 2 block breakfast
9:00am 1 block snack
1:00pm 3 block lunch
6:00pm 4 block dinner
8:30pm 1 block snack
9:00pm bed

Today's Wod: Tabata Intervals
OHS-pvc: 121
Pushups: 65
Situps: 100
DB PushPress (20lb): 81
Squat: 127
Total: 494....stupid 6 reps short of 500!!!!

Accountability....

So it's official...I'm bringing in a new year with a new outlook. Be Accountable!

I am 3 days strong into my new diet and have held strong to an almost paleo zone diet. I had a 1/2 slice of wheat bread this morning. I am also preparing and packing my meals for Mon-Fri on Sundays. It went pretty good today.
I packed 3 different kinds of meals
1. Salmon with broccoli and almonds
2. Chicken with apples and almonds
3. Chicken with fried peppers and almonds
You can see that I use almonds alot for fats, it's easy and I like them.
Chicken lunches are 3oz and dinners are 4
Salmon lunches are 4.5oz and dinners are 6
Broccoli lunches are 2 cups dinners 3 cups
Apple lunchs and dinners are a full apple, for dinners I added more fats to make up for the block carb difference. I've read you can substitute carbs for fat blocks.

For my snacks I've created my own paleo kits using dried fruits with no sugar added, turkey jerky and almonds.

My goal is to track my progress leading to the sectionals in Columbus on March 7th. We'll all see what a strict diet, 3 on 1 off trainig can do in 60 days.

Some starting stats:
Starting weight: 138
Deadlift: 275
Push Press: 135
Back Squat:200
Helen: 9:49
Grace: 4:47
500m row: 146

Today's wod: Josh
21 ohs (75lb)
42 pullups
15 ohs
30 pullups
9 ohs
18 pullups
Time: 9:16