12.4 Karen is PMS'ing

Ew.  Yeah.  This was a hard one.  I feel like I say that a lot but this one I'm still hurting from.  Here is what it entailed.

12 min amrap

150 Wall Balls - This is where you throw a 20lb medicine ball at a 10 foot target...oh and you have to do a full squat each time.

90 Double - Unders - The rope must pass under your feet twice

30 Muscle ups - yeah...didn't get any of these.

Dude really doesn't have a neck.

It was a really tough workout.  150 wall balls is a classic crossfit workout named Karen.  I always have trouble cracking 10 minutes...my PR on this is 9:50.  So assuming I did that, it would have only left me 2 min for double unders and hopefully some time to TRY a muscle up.

RECAP

I started with 34 straight wall balls.  BAD IDEA.  I was cooked after that.  I then broke them up into sets of between 5 and 10.  I was hurting bad.  My shoulders were on fire.  But I finished stage one in about 9:25ish.  WOO new Karen PR (well the workout named Karen PR...I've def done Karen (the person) faster).  ;-)

Double unders...no problem.  Broke them up into sets of 30.  First 30 went fine.  Second 30 went ok.  messed up during the third 30 and did 15-9-6.  But regardless was done them in just a lil over a minute.  Leaving me about 1 minute to attempt a muscle up.  I failed.  I was really upset I failed, but looking at the scores being submitted made me feel better.

Looks like finishing the DU's gets me into around the top 50%...that makes me very happy.  But obviously a lot of improvement to be made.  I gotta get y motor up to try and get Karen completed in under 8 min.

I CAN do a muscle up..kinda.  Still can't do one from a dead hang, but I'm getting there.  See video below!


I decided NOT to try this one again.  My quads are burning big time and my shoulders are shot.  Instead I did my normal programming.

I'm heading to Myrtle Beach this week so I might be a little distant on posts, but I will get one or 2 up next week.  I make no promies on the content...I will likely not be sober while typing.

WODS

12.4 : 240 (all the wall balls and double unders)

Sunday

10 min amrap as a team


one person carries 2 dumb-bells 200m while the other does push presses
I did 4 walks/runs with 45lb dumb-bells

then

10 min amrap

20 box jumps
while other person is jumping then am-mats are being completed

I did 7+19 rounds of box jumps.

A little like a car accident

Whiplash from a WOD?  yup.  only me.

12.3 is now behind me, but it did its best to make sure I don't soon forget the torture.  It was everything I thought it would be, but I persevered and got through it beating my goal by a good amount.

RECAP

As I mentioned in a previous post, I decided to go one and done on this WOD because of the length and the relative heavy weight.  I took a rest day on friday to make sure I was at 100% for the workout and looking back, it might have been the best decision I could have made.  Saturday morning was upon me and I woke up and had a great ham omlet breakfast early enough that it would be digested before the WOD.

I did a pretty good warm-up well before the WOD of a 1000m light row and then some double unders to get my achilles adn calves loosened up for the box jump (I even did some triple unders, unstrung, just in case they were to pop up in a WOD).

Time to do the WOD.  My strategy was simple, keep moving through the box jumps and do as many toes to bar as possible.  Break up the push presses when needed.  Simple.

Round one..got no-repped on the third box jump...could not hold it at the top.  Stupid me.  But then the push-presses.  Adrenalin must have gotten a hold of me because I was able to do the first two rounds un-broken.  I surprised myself a bit on that.  Then, as if that wasn't enough of a moral victory, I did the first 9 toes to bar unbroken.  This was the first time I was able to string toes to bar together in a wod.  I was through the first round in about 1:20.

I was through about 4 rounds at the half way point when things started to unravel.  I could no longer string toes to bar, I had to do 6 and 6 of the push presses with a long break in between.  I was gassed.  I kept moving on the box jumps but took a very long break during the push presses and could only do toes to bar 1 at a time.

The aftermath

I finished with a total rep cound of 251 (6 rounds +35 reps). 1 toe to bar short of 7 rounds.  It was a strange feeling at the end.  I was elated that I got 6+  but was really angry with myself for not being able to get that 7.

Then afterwards I realized something else...My neck hurt....bad.  Like really bad.  I have no idea WHEN I hurt it but there was no doubt it was hurt.  Today (Monday) it is still hurt....bad.  Feels much better but I'm still in a lot of pain, and sleep is an issue.  I self-diagnosed a sprained neck, or more commonly called..whiplash.  I'm really hoping that I am heeled by next week as I'm going on a golf vacation and I kinda need to be able to move.

Oh well.  Here are the stats

Standings

Region
WOD 3: 1058/2338 (better than 55%)  WOO HOO!  I'm in the top half!
Overall:  1398/2350 (better than 41%)

World
WOD 3: 12358/28284 (better than 57%)
Overall:  16794/28441(Better than 41%)

#BEATBOB

I FINALLY beat Bob Harper in a WOD.  I got him by 9 reps.  Not a huge victory, but a victory none the less.  He is still destroying me in the standings though.  Gotta really go balls to the wall for the final two WODS to have a chance.

#BEATBOB

In a little less than one week the first workout of the 2012 Crossfit Games Open will be released.  I have no illusions of grandeur. I'm not making it to the regionals, but I do need a goal.  After thinking about it, and doing a little research into his current abilities, I think my goal will be to be Bob Harper of the Biggest Loser.

Abs are for show.  Put them away.

Why choose Bob?  Well, although he's in incredible shape and is a world renowned trainer he is also fairly new to crossfit.  He states constantly that he loves crossfit and that he is going to compete in the opens so his scores will be public. Another big reason is cause he is better than me at Fran, but only by about 30 seconds and some of his lifts are on the same level as me.  I think if I really push myself I can compete with and possibly even beat Bob!

Another reason is so I can tell family members who don't understand crossfit or what I get out of it, that I have beaten the celebrity Bob Harper.  I might even garner a little bit of respect from them rather than a cynical look.

So Bob...whether you know it or not...I'm gunning for you.  I WILL push myself each week to beat you.  A reformed fatter WILL beat the master trainer.  For every other beginning crossfitter I encourage you to gun for Bob.  If you're in use the #BEATBOB hashtag!  

Yeah, that is the look you'll have when I beat you.

Are you game?


WOD's

Monday

5 rounds w 20 min time cap
20 - 95lb push press
20 - 25lb half moons
20 - burpees

4+28 (just missed finishing)


Tuesday

"baby king kong"
1 - 300lb DL
2 - Musleups (or 4 get out of pools)  * I DID 1 MUSCLE UP in the WOD*
3 - 125lb squat cleans
4 -. HSPU 1 abmat

Cash-out: 500m row for time  1:35.7 *NEW PR*

Wednesday

7 rounds
7 2 pd KB swings
7 air squats
7 T2B

8:26

Can't say Can't

Today I wanted to quit crossfit.  Really.  For about 3 seconds during the workout I could not for the life of me figure out why I was doing it.  Then I got the 4th rep and those thoughts disappeared.  Let me explain...

I was in the middle of our workout which was 7 rounds of 7 front squats and 14 get out of the pools.  I am terrible at front squats.  I hate them more than any other weight movement.  So that is one mental stumbling block.  Stumbling block #2 was that the Rx weight was 165...I did 135.  So I'm already feeling weak.  Then on top of that, it is 6am and I haven't had a chance to wake up yet.  So my mind was just not prepared for this.  Which leads to this little mental battle in my head sometime around the 3rd or 4th round.

Angel: "You can do this, it's not that bad"
Devil: "you are so weak, why even do crossfit, you're never gonna win anything..what's the point you can't do it"
Angel:" come on you've done 3, only 4 more"
Devil: " You're not even half way through this round, just quit, no point in going on, You can't finish in a good time.  This time is going to be embarrassing for you."
Angel: "4.  Ok only 3 more to go"
Devil: *silent*

This battle rages on during really tough workouts.  How do I deal with it?  I don't know.  Really, I just keep moving.  I don't ignore it but I don't let it destroy me either.  I want to get into the mind of Froning or trainer Mike when they are in a tough workout.  Do they have negative thoughts?  My bet would be on "no".  

I have a feeling that the word "can't" just not in their vocabulary during workouts.  It's such a destructive word.  "I can't do a 30" box jump"  or "I can't lift that weight 20 times" .  If you plant the seed of failure it's going to grow into a disaster.  Whether you're running a 5k or doing the filthy 50, you just can't say the word can't.  I heard Stephanie from Crossfit LBC saying she hated hearing the word from people going through elements and she wanted to institute a penalty for saying it in relation to a workout.  I LOVE this idea so I'm going to try and run with it.

How to deal with the word can't

1.  Every time you say it you should penalize yourself.  For instance, if you say "I can't do 20 push-ups"  then guess what, you're penalty is 10 burpees after the WOD.  Make it known that the gym is a place for can's and not can'ts.  Call me out on this one if you hear me saying "can't"  I'll do the penalty until I eliminate this way of thinking.

2. Try to think positively.  If you're in the middle of a race, keep telling yourself you can run to that next telephone pole, it will seem less daunting.  Say things that build you up, not take you down.  Say "I'm going to push myself at 135 pounds" instead of "I can't do prescribed at 165 pounds".  They mean the same thing, but you mentally will be better off.

3.  Try to stay in the moment.  Don't look too far ahead.  If you're at rep #1  there is no point in thinking about rep#10.  Get each rep in.  Then look back at what you did.

WOD

Thursday
Had to do it in the company gym cause of social plans

800m Sprint (treadmill set at 10)
6 rounds of Tabata
35lb dumb-bell push press: 24-25-10-10-7-7=7
Sit-ups: 15-14-13-12-12-11 = 11
HRPU: 10-10-10-10-9-9 = 9

Worked up a great sweat so I'm just happy to get something in.


Friday

Strength: 2 front squats on the minute for 10 minutes at 75% weight.  (165 lbs)
WOD
7 rounds
7 front squats (135 lbs)
7 muscle ups (14 gotp)

Time: 19:49

Cash out:
20 Wall Climbers
Time: 4:40

I Got the Magic Stick

No...not that magic stick..if only...

No, I have something that makes all my muscles feel at ease. Or at least a little in a little less pain.  It is creatively called "the stick" and using it for about 10 minutes after a tough workout really helps to alleviate some pain and can help keep me loose.  Combining this with a foam roller can really get some of those knots out of the body.

the magic stick

This was just one part of a fantastic Christmas gift from my wife.  It included the stick, a rev. x jump rope (which I attribute to me getting 114 double unders the other day), an abmat, inov 8 shoes (which are awesome, another post later), wrist wraps, a life as rx wod bag (which is really small), a shaker,  and hand protectors.  All were things I had wanted and are really great.  Totally unexpected and completely appreciated.  Will any of it make me a better crossfitter....well no, but at least I'll look the part. She got it all from again faster which is a great site for the odds and ends for crossfit equipment.

Finally my schedule is slowing down and I'll have a lot more time to try and entertain all of you with my crossfit skillz...or lack there of.

This morning WOD

20 get out of the pools (in leui of 10 muscle ups which I still can't do)
100 75lb push press
1000m row

Time: 12:50

Which I thought was an ok time...then I watched Fronning do it.  He got 6 something and did the 100 push presses unbroken.  Monster.  But for us non beasts, the way I broke the 100 up was a set of 20 then sets of 10.  I really tried to focus on limiting my rest once I got to about 70.  I wish I focused on less rest more for the entire set of 100.

Crossfit Problems

I see a lot of press about the harmful effects of crossfit.  I don't like it.  I feel like it comes from those who do not think too much, or who are too stubborn to get out of their own comfort zone.  I want to try and let people know the results I have seen, and what my take on their comments are.  So over the next week or so, I'm going to go into some of the common criticisms of the CrossFit program and give my take on the criticism and where I think it may have originated.

So here is one I hear from people who are into the traditional go to the gym and do 10 reps of like 5 different exercises.

"Doing high reps at such heavy weight is really bad for you"

Yes...Yes, you are right, doing extremely high reps of a heavy weight CAN be bad for you.  But let's clarify 2 things real fast.

1.  Not every workout is high reps and high weights.  In fact, if you have a trainer who knows what they're doing, then they will carefully look at the number of reps before choosing the prescribed weight.  Here are 2 examples of that.  First is a dead lift example.  In a workout with 15 reps in a row for 5 rounds, my trainer at the time (Mike) had a prescribed weight of 225lbs.  BUT he MADE each person do 5 reps of whatever weight they chose to make sure they kept their form..if he thought you could not keep your form through the workout  he MADE you take weight off.  He was very careful not to hurt you and hurt your form.  It kicked me down to 185 lbs, which as I'm sure you know is not an extreme DL weight.  The second example is a recent workout.  Molly created a workout where there were a large number of snatches.  The prescribed weight...75 lbs for males.  Surely it could be made heavier, but again, there was a large number of reps done so to be safe it was kept moderate to light.  And during that workout, the presiding trainer (Evan) was all over me to make sure my form was solid.  And that is a good thing.

2. When there are heavy weights involved, they are usually done separate from the WOD.  We start most workouts with a strength session in which we practice our movements.  Sometimes we do weights that are close to out 1 rep max, but the number of reps is low (usually 3).  So we practice our form at low weights and higher reps.

Now, I should have prefaced this with "If you have a good trainer" then this should be the case.  Crossfit is not just about lifting heavy weights as fast as you can.  It's about becoming fit.

There is one exception to this.  The pro's.  The guys you see on ESPN.  They are at a whole different level than those of us that are simply trying to become as fit as we possibly can.

So please, no more about how crossfitters are doing things all wrong.  Because I can walk into any gym across the country and show you 10 "normal" weight lifters who do way more wrong than we ever have.


WOD

Strength: 5x65%; 5 x 75%; 5+ x 85% Back squat.  Then 3 x 70%; 3 X 80%; 3+ x 90% push press
WOD

500 m row then 2 rounds of:
35 DU's
30 Jumping Lunges
25 DU's
20 KB Snatches
15 DU's
10 Turkish Get-ups

Time: 18:57  (I think I did too light a KB)

cash out: 500m Row  Time: 1:42.9 (PR by 0.1 seconds)

Old Habits Die Hard

Since I've returned from Vegas my health has just crashed.  As I mentioned, im recovering from a nasty cold but beyond that I've let my diet go to shit.  I've had fast food just about every other day for the past week and a half, ate about 2.5 dozen donuts in the past 2 weeks and have let my love of fall beer start to take over.

But today it all goes back to pre-vegas Dennis.  Today Karen and I got up at 5am to go to the 6am crossFit class.  I hated every second of getting up...but I'm loving every second since the class ended.



WODS

I tried to come back to crossfit late last week (Thursday) and do the WOD.  I finished, but just about died.  This cold didn't wanna die!

100 Burpee to pull up  - 17:37 (multiple flem spit up breaks...yeah hows that visual)


Today (10/10)

Strength:

40% 50% 60% all x 5 Back squat
75% x 5; 85% x 3; 95% 1+  on the push press.  I was able to do 2 at 95% then jerked on the 3rd.

WOD

AMRAP 12 minutes

12 T2B
5 over the box jumps
200m sandbag carry

4+17  (and only about 15 meters LEFT on the run.  So pissed)

Felt decent for the WOD, it was clear I have been gone for a while and lost a few steps.   May return tonight for some work on stuff.  

Warm up!

I completed the Fight Gone Bad workout yesterday and learned something very quickly...YOU HAVE TO WARM UP WHEN IT'S COLD OUT!   I should note here that common sense is not so common to me.  I will write a longer summary of FGB once I have the pictures but to say I was huffing and puffing after the first row is an understatement 

It's funny though, cause this is not the first time this has happened to me.  While competeing in my first 2 triathlons, I would always bust it to the first buoy in the swim portion and then be just cooked for the rest.  Then in my most recent triathlon, I biked the run course as a warm up about an hour before the start of the race.  Then during the swim, I never hit that wall that I had in the previous tri's.  

So my advice is the following:

• About an hour before the event, work up a sweat.  Get your heart going by going for a light jog, rowing, biking...something.  
• Don't make it too intense, something light is more than enough.  Just get your heart rate up.
• STRETCH.  Before you warm up and then after.  Loose muscles are less likely to get injured.  
• Make sure you are hydrated for the event.  

I assure you that before my next "competition" I'll be ready for whatever comes first!

WOD

09/17

"Fight Gone Bad"

3 rounds  - 1 minute break between rounds

1 minute - AMRAP of:

20# Wall Balls

Rowing for Calories

Sumo Dead Lift (75#)

Push Press (75#)

20" box jump

My Score: 263 Reps

09/18

Partner WOD

111 Wall Ball Sit-ups

222 HRPU

333 Double Unders

3000m row

While one partner is doing the movement, the other is running 200m.  

Time: 37:48

Is it possible to get Diabetes from one weekend?

Holy sugar overload. This past weekend was a vacation weekend for Karen and I and boy did I take it easy. It was super relaxing to just sit on hte beach and do nothing and I needed it. I could not have asked for nicer weather. But taking 3 days off of crossfit was a mistake. A big one...

Oh so worth it.

What didn't I eat this weekend? Well if it was good for you then I prolly missed it. Here is a list of some of the stuff I ate.

Salt Water Taffy
Gummy Dollar Coins
Ice Cream (3 servings)
Cooke ice cream sandwich
Caramel Pop-Corn
Pancakes (twice)
Sausage
Lobster Tail (drenched in butter of course)
Steak (may have been the healthiest thing I ate)
and a few beers.

Yeah...over indulge much? My body hates me. My mind hates me. But my tastebuds love me. :-)  (oh and my skin hates me...sun burn OWWWW!)

What advice do I have to give today? Do as I say...not as I do. I am not happy about what I did, but being strict for so long led me to it. Because of this failure of a weekend I decided that I need to set a goal for myself.

Early Morning Walk on the Beach

GOAL: I WILL BE UNDER 160lbs before my 30th birthday.

Leaves me about 1 month ot lose about 5-10lbs. Doable? YES! Easy? NO!

Tomorrow I will go into how I plan on accomplishing this goal.

WOD

Strength: 75% x 5; 85% x 3; 95% x 1+ of both back squat and push press
WOD:  Helen- 3 rds of 400m run, 21 kb swings, 12 pull-ups

Strength:  Killed it.  Ended up doing 4 of 205lbs (215 is my 1rm) on the back squat.  and doing 3 of 100% of my 1rm push press.

WOD  Did ok here.  Was able to do the first round unbroken and then rarely rested on the second and third round.  My Time was 11:37

I also went back for a second round of working out this evening and have some great news to share!  First off...I was able to do a 165 squat clean!  I tried 170 but failed so I know my new 1rm for that.  I also banged out 61 DU in a row!  I was just trying to get to my previous pr of 38 and just kept on going.  Felt great to breat the half century mark...100 here I come!