Wednesday, December 31, 2008

20081231

WOD
For time:
21 Pushups
3 Box Jumps, 32 inches
18 Pushups
6 Box Jumps
15 Pushups
9 Box Jumps
12 Pushups
12 Box Jumps
9 Pushups
15 Box Jumps
6 Pushups
18 Box Jumps
3 Pushups
21 Box Jumps

9:55

Once again I've done a workout with push-ups and have found the need to improve. Though I am making progress, it seems the results never come fast enough. The rx'd box height, as listed by CFO, was 24". However, due to the lack of surfaces on which to jump, I ended jumping onto a surface about 32" high. I was happy to scale over rather than under.

While reading on the CFO site, I found that they are starting to train for the Midwest qualifier of the Crossfit Games. I would very much like to pursue this as well and can't wait to get back to Omaha and begin training. I doubt I will be able to be a competitor physically, but I know that through training I can push myself beyond my current limits to find success.

As training begins I hope to record not only exercises regiments but also food intake and results. It would be great to find my ideal zone and use that for the rest of my life.

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

20081230

WOD

7.5 Rounds
10 pull-ups
20 push-ups
30 Sit-ups
40 Squats

29:03

Once again I've adapted the navyseal.com wod to fit the gym I'm working out in. I was tempted t do 10 rounds of this but I ate too much sugar this morning and had some serious gut rot after round five. The pull-ups were all unbroken but I did take some breaks in the other exercises. It felt like push-ups were easier for me today than in the past and I am hoping that I've been improving on them. That's one thing I would like to be able to do more of is push ups.

I got a talking to by one of the staff members at the gym. Apparently I've been leaving too much chalk on the bars and floor and a few of the other members have noticed it. Little do they know I'm doing my best to make their gym better.

47 HSPU

Monday, December 29, 2008

20081229

WOD
30 Thrusters 95#
20 push ups
30 Thrusters 65#
20 Push ups
30 Thrusters 45#
20 Push ups

11:00

I took this workout from part of the navyseal.com wod. There is so mush stuff in each of their workouts that it would take forever to do and the intensity level would be compromised (unless your a SEAL or something). Thrusters have always been a weakness of mine so I liked the idea of this one. And since you can never do enough push-ups I threw those in too. I'm really trying to get the strength to push hard on workouts and think this was a good one for that. I know I could have gone faster, but (insert generic lame excuse here). Looking forward to hitting up CFO and getting the intensity back.

46 HSPU

20081228
45 HSPU

20081227
44HSPU

Friday, December 26, 2008

20081226

Not much time for anything.

43 HSPU

Thursday, December 25, 2008

20081225

WOD

Eat lots of sweets and open presents

All Day

I forgot to do HSPU yesterday so I caught up today. The sets broke down as 17(pr)-10-15-14-15-12

42 (+41) HSPU

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

20061224

WOD
"The Twelve Gifts of Christmas"

12 squats
11 Sit ups
10 Wallballs 20lb
9 Kettlebell swings 55lb
8 Burpees
7 Box Jumps
6 Deadlift 95lb
5 Hang Clean 95lb
4 Thruster 95lb
3 Racked Lunge 95lb
2 Front Squat 95lb
1 Mile Run

Notes:
Begin with your 12 squats, then go back to the top and do 12 squats, and 11 sit-ups. Then back to top and do 12 squats, 11 situps, 10 wallballs...and so on until you get to the 2 front squat. Then you do the whole thing one last time and run 1 mile at end to FINEX (finish exercise). For Rx do all body-weight reps in unbroken sets, and do not put bar down between 95lb weighted sets.

49:50 (subbed 20 lb db, one in each hand, thrusters for wall ball) otherwise Rx'd

This one was tough no doubt about it. You just have to keep telling yourself to do the next thing on the list otherwise it is way to easy to take long breaks. I'm still trying to decide if it's better to do long exercises like this where a lot of work is eing done or short exercises that are done as sprints. These are definately mentally challenging, but at the end I'm so spent that I can't move like after Fran. Perhaps a mix of the two is what Crossfit's intentions are.

I was able to do all the exercises the whole way through without breaking any sets and the mile at the end was about 7:15 or so (8.5 mph pace with time to accelerate). My abs really cramped up on the run but I just toughed it out. All in all a brutal workout.

Welcome to the northwoods Part 1
Not sure if there will be more than one part to this segment, but I thought I'd record some of the funnier things I see in the gym. Today a middle aged man with a bit of a beer gut, glasses, and a mustache was working out. He was wearing jeans and a muscle shirt and when I came in he was doing squats. At least that's what he thought. He was wearing his weightlifting belt and had 405 lbs on one of those squat racks where the bar is on a track. Anyways he was doing maybe a quarter squat, his legs weren't even going to 45 degrees. I thought yup that's about right. I wish I had taken a picture but I didn't want to upset him in his natural environment.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

20081223

WOD
"Eva"
5 rounds for time
800 meter run
2 pood KB swings 30 reps
30 pull-ups

4 rounds in 46:40

I think I've fallen into my old routine of doing less intense workouts for longer times. It's just different not being around crossfitters while working out. It also doesn't help not have kettlebells and having to use a treadmill on another floor. Oh well better to work with what you've got. I subbed a 2 pood kb with a 75 lb. db. Those swings are starting to get easier for me. I remember them being a lot tougher when we did them a while back in that man-maker workout. I broke the swings and pull-ups into sets of 10 and luckily didn't rip my hands. As I said the workout was leisurely compared to my usual pace; not sure why. Maybe it's old gym old habits or something. I'll keep at it though. I look forward to doing this one in the future in a proper gym.

40 HSPU

Monday, December 22, 2008

20081222

WOD
AMRAP in 20 min
5 dead hang pull-ups
15 push ups
25 sit ups

10 rounds

This one is an adaptation of today's navyseals.com WOD which is
100 dead hang pull ups
250 push ups
500 sit ups
3 mile run
I figured I would be there for a while if I did everything so I just broke everything down into about the same ratio for sets and set a 20 minute cut off. Once again push-ups were the only thing really holding me back but I split them up into 10 after the pull ups and 5 after sit ups. I didn't have to really break anything up other than a breather every now and then. Forgot my camera again today. Maybe I'll remember it tomorrow.

39 HSPU

Sunday, December 21, 2008

20081221

WOD

Invisible Fran - narF elbisivnI
21-15-9
Push-ups
Air Squats
Rest 1 Minute
9-15-21
Push Ups
Air Squats

4:55 (1:32-1:00-2:23)

This one was a nice little rest day workout. I was able to get to the second set of 15 before I had to break up the push ups. It wold have been great to get through it all without breaking anything up. I need to work on push ups.

38 HSPU

Saturday, December 20, 2008

20081220

WOD
Rest Day

13:17

I've been thinking about a post Ricky had the other day and it's finally making sense. Here's my logic. If a newcomer to the gym was getting fast times on workouts but was using weight less than Rx'd what would you say? Probably something like "I think you're ready to move up in weight." or along those lines. Well what about people who are posting fast times at Rx'd weight? Shouldn't they be moving up in weight as well? I think yes. Doing wod's a little slower but at a higher weight will not only make you stronger but will also make your times on Rx'd weights faster. On the other hand working at Rx'd weights will make you faster at that weight but might not make you better quicker than working at those higher weights. I'll give this a try and see how it pans out.

37 HSPU


Friday, December 19, 2008

20081219

WOD
5 Rounds for time
135 lb clean and jerk 5 reps
10 burpees

10:58

Today was sort of a modification of the navyseal.com wod. The only difference being 5 rounds instead of 7 and 135 lbs instead of 155 lbs. I had all the intentions of doing the workout as Rx'd. However, I overslept and got to the gym after my friends had already lifted and where on to racquet ball. I played about 5 or 6 games with them before I got a chance to lift. I hadn't eaten anything all day which makes a difference when it's 1 o'clock. I was just gassed so I toned down the wod a bit and went after it. I'm still having trouble keeping the intensity up on my own hopefully it will click here soon. The gym is not equipped with bumpers so I was a little weary of doing 155 anyways since if I dropped it, well it wouldn't be pretty.

I'm really feeling it today so I think tomorrow will be my rest day and I'll just back into it on Sunday or Monday.

36 HSPU

Thursday, December 18, 2008

20081218

WOD
AMRAP in 20 Min.
7 Pull-ups
7 KB Swings (75 lb. db)
7 Burpees

12 rounds + 7 PU

I took yesterday off and drove for 11 hours instead. I also missed the HSPU so I'll double up today. This workout was a good one I used a 75 lb. dumbell since I don't have kettlebells. I know I could have/should have hit 15 rounds today, but it just felt weird working out in a different gym by myself. I will try and keep the intensity up over break but it will be hard without a class struggling along side me. I was able to work through this one without breaking any sets and the swings felt a lot better than they have in the past (maybe it was from using a dumbell). Also I was able to butterfly kip every pull-up which was awesome. I'll try and post some pictures of the gym I'm working out in. Bench press and bicep curls are huge out here and I'm sure I get some funny looks.

34+35=69 HSPU 

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

20081216

WOD
5 Rounds for time
110 lb. thrusters 10 reps
20 lb. ball slams 25 reps

12:00

Before the workout Joe (or maybe Ricky) said this was a 1 in 25 workout that really kicked your butt. And they were right. Thrusters are always brutal to me and I think this is because my body doesn't know how to react. The thruster attacks the legs, knees, shoulders, elbows, and back. Afterwords I have to walk around with wobbly knees and a burning chest. These workout really challenge me mentally and I need to keep pushing and get better at them.

This was my last workout at CFO for a while as I'm going home for the Holidays. I've got a gym at home to workout in, but it won't be the same I'm sure. Hopefully I can stay consistent and keep improving so I won;t have to make up for lost time in the new year. I'll try and keep posting what I'm doing until I get back on the 5th of January.

33 HSPU

Monday, December 15, 2008

20081215

WOD
Rest Day

Today was just a rest day, but I figured I'd go in anyways. I knocked off the 32 HSPU right off the bat, but they seemed much harder than yesterday's. After that I did some DU and monkeyed a little with shoulder press and thrusters. I would do 5 shoulder press then 5 thrusters. Once I couldn't shoulder press I just did the thrusters. I only got up to 108 with the press and 128 with the thrusters. Could have gone heavier on the thrusters, but (insert lame excuse here).

Note to self: don't eat before a morning workout. I felt sluggish and unmotivated (could be other things too).

32 HSPU

Sunday, December 14, 2008

20081214

WOD
10 rounds for time
30 Mountain Climbers
10 Push-ups

7:12

I was debating whether to do 1 or 2 count mountain climbers and after due consideration I chose 1 count. The reason being that we were doing 10 rounds of 30. Once again the push-ups are what were slowing me down. I have no endurance on them and need to work on that.

On an up note I pr'd on hspu's: 15 in a row (previous pr was 13). Lately I've been trying to max out my first effort and it's been paying off. That's a tip I got from Ricky and it really shows progress well.

31 HSPU (15-14-2)

Saturday, December 13, 2008

20081213

WOD
3 Rounds for time
400 meter run
30 Burpees (no push-ups)
2 rope climbs

11:18

This was my first wod with rope climbs and ended up being a pretty good one. I took minimal rest between exercises and didn't rest at all on the burpees. I was tempted to try the rope climb without wrapping my feet around it, but opted not to for the sake of time. The workout ended being a nice little lung burner.

30 HSPU

Friday, December 12, 2008

20081212

WOD
Back Squat
5-5-5-5-5

174-198-198-208-220

These felt pretty good for me. It was the first time I did some serious back squats here in Omaha and I was much more comfortable than I have been in the past. Before I would get a shooting pain in my lower abdomen (from poor squatting form in my past) which would hinder by ability to go big and really piss me off. Now with the proper form I don't get the same thing at all. Another improvement is the full squat. Before I would pile on the weight and try to full squat but I doubt I was getting down as far as I am now. All in all I am pleased with today's progress (though next time I'm going to push it more and go heavier).

29 HSPU

Thursday, December 11, 2008

20081211

WOD

21-15-9
Box Jump (20")
KB Swing (2 pood)
SDHP (2 pood)

5:04

Today was a rest day, but everyone at the gym was motivated and working, so as it is said "when in Rome..." This was a fun little one. The only weight that was specified was the 2 pood SDHP. I knew I needed work on 2 pood swings so I chose that. I also should have done a higher box jump, but as I said today was a rest day.

I spoke with Ricky a little about shoulder press form and now have a few ideas to help me break past the 120 wall that I hit yesterday. Looking forward to making some pr's.

28 HSPU

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Quotes

I added a text gadget entitled "Something Profound" where I will be listing some meaningful and inspiring quotes and sayings. Feel free to comment with a few of your own and I may just add them.

20081210

WOD
Shoulder Press 1-1-1-1-1 reps
Push Press 3-3-3-3-3 reps
Push Jerk 5-5-5-5-5 reps

SP: 108-118-123(f)-118-120(Fx2)
Push Press: 110-120-130-135-140
Push Jerk: 132-142-152

Shoulder press has always been a huge weakness for me. I always seem to hit a wall right about eye level and don't know how to push through. 118 isn't terrible for me, but I've been at about that point for a long time and need to find a way past that.

I couldn't help but get inspired this morning since I was working out next to some monsters. Jeff set a 12 pound pr at 162. Now that's something to shoot for. All I need to do break down the wall at 120 and I'll be there in no time.

27 HSPU

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

20081209

WOD
"Tabata Something Else"

Complete 32 intervals of 20 seconds of work followed by ten seconds of rest where the first 8 intervals are pull-ups, the second 8 are pushups, the third 8 intervals are situps, and finally, the last 8 intervals are air squats. There is no rest between exercises.

Total: 425

This is always a grueling workout and really helps point out faults or weaknesses in basic motions. My rep count broke down as follows:
Pull-ups: 15-15-10-10-10-6 (bad transition from butterfly to regular kip)-10-10 Total: 86
Push-ups: (After pull-ups I just counted continuously for a total) tried for 15/round then 10/round and ended at 7 or so/round: 67
Sit-ups: Tried for 15 per round but missed 5: 115
Squats: Tried for 20 per round, missed 3: 157
Total: 425

I really need to work on push-ups as that has always kind of held me back in workouts like this. I feel pretty good about everything else and don;t think I can go much faster in either sit-ups or squats. I don't rest at all for either of those and just make my goal in time. However, I'm sure there is a way to go faster and I have no doubt that in time I will find it.

Grip is always an issue (for everyone I'm sure) on pull-ups. I'm trying not to slaughter my hands when I do them, but find it hard to push it when I don't. Calluses will solve all problems.
Anyways, I feel this will be a good benchmark to build from and look forward to its return.

26 HSPU

Monday, December 8, 2008

20081208

WOD
5 Rounds for time
10 lunges (50# db in each hand)
15 dumb bell swings (50#)

4:15

25 HSPU

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Saturday, December 6, 2008

20081206

WOD

3 rounds for time

40 OHS (125#)
50 Box jumps
60 Jumping pull-ups
70 DU
400m Run (both team members)

Time: 22:58

This was a partner workout and because of shoulder troubles (and a drive for absolute victory), my partner was Paul. We subbed 137# front squats for the OHS because of said shoulders. These team workouts really raise the intensity since you are driven to work as soon as the other person takes a break. We broke the reps up right down the middle and didn't rest at all unless the other was working. However, we did finish first, about 3 and a half minutes before the next group. I think this was partly due to the front squat sub and partly to our drive to win.

I'm going to be making subs like this until the new year in hopes that my shoulder will tighten up and the muscles will hold it in place. I would hate to have to go under the knife for it. We'll see.

23 HSPU

Friday, December 5, 2008

20081205

WOD
10-8-6-4-2
max height box jumps
chest to bar pull-ups

I was able to successfully jump a box that was about 40 inches high and felt I may have been able to go a few inches higher. The reason I didn't was probably because there is no easy way to abort a box jump. The c2b pull-ups were surprisingly easy. I had never done them before and perhaps I expected more. This workout was timed, but the focus was on not falling on the box jumps and making chest to bar contact. Finished in 6 and change.

We did pull a sneaky move today. During the workout set up we measured our boxes and Jeff and Greg were on one that was about an inch higher, so wight before the workout Zach and I sneaked the yellow plates in where the green plates had been making our box the highest. This is irrelevant, but if anyone asks you'll know the truth.

22 HSPU

Thursday, December 4, 2008

20081204

WOD
For time:

The reps for the following workout will be determined by how many double-unders you can do, one set, non stop. The rep scheme is as follows: 0-19 = 18 reps, 20-34 = 16 reps, 35 - 49 = 14, and 50 plus = 12 reps

3 rounds of:
135 pound Hang Power Cleans
Burpees
Plate Raises, yellow(reps each side)

~40 DU => 14 reps
11:08 (137 lb. clean)

This one was interesting and interesting combination. I kept the hook grip on the cleans throughout the entire motion so I wouldn't have to re-grip at all. This was one of my problems earlier when my grip was failing me, so I'm glad to find a way to improve on that. I did however have to break up the last two clean sets and the second plate raises set. I'd like to get to the point where I don't need t break anything up.

21 HSPU

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

20081203

Post numero uno. I'm going to try this out for a bit to chart progress and what not for crossfit. Who knows what it will turn into. We'll just have to wait and see.

WOD
20 rounds
2 HSPU
4 Sit-ups
6 Squats

7:41


This one wasn't too bad and a good rest day work out. After reading Ricky's post on his blog, I am going to try and push it a bit so that my rest days are just that. I've been frustrated recently due to nagging injuries like my shoulder, lower back, and now a pinching feeling in the muscle you shrug with (trapezious?). Oh well, time heals all.

I've been trying to find a diet that works well and through tiral and error have been making progress. I'd like to be gaining some muscle, but am not sure if I should be worried about bulking up as it may adversely affect my crossfitting ability. However, I just want to find the truth in diets. There are so many different ideologies that exist and many have their merits. The trouble is finding what works best for me, and with limited time and moeny I can't monkey too much. Anyways, here begins my blogging quest on the road of life. Wish me luck!