Back at it this morning.
Dynamic effort back squats. 75% of 1 rep max. 12 sets of 2 reps in explosive rapid succession on the minute
WOD was straightforward.
4 rounds for time
20 double unders
20 kettle bell swings 20kg
10 prisoner squats
9:02
Double unders slowed me down a lot as usual. Got a couple of good streaks of 7-8 in a row. So not all bad.
Monday 30 April 2012
Friday 27 April 2012
Year One - My Crossfit experiment
After Dexter was born I found myself faced with a serious lack of time available for training.
In 2008 I did my first Ironman, spent an enormous amount of time training, did a Marathon, a half-marathon, sprint, Olympic distance and half iron distance triathlons as well.
Then Delilah was born. In 2009 I did very little training or racing.
In 2010 I bounced back with higher mileage run focused year that saw me beat my previous bests at 30km in Hamilton, run a 43:30 10km at Fall Colours and a blistering 20:33 5km at the Cookie Run. A banner year.
Dexter arrived the following January and suddenly, not only was there a new baby, but there was still a toddler at home. There would be no bounce back year this time. I had to get creative.
Enter Crossfit.
In order to minimize the impact on the rest of the family, most weekday mornings I quietly slink out of bed at five o'clock in the morning, dress, make a coffee and drive to Physics Crossfit to face the unexpected at the 5:30am class. One hour, that's it, and the actual workout part is only a fraction of that. But what a workout.
Constantly varying, short, intense, full body workouts focusing on full range of motion, with the best exercises from Olympic Weightlifting, gymnastics, plyometrics, calisthenics and kettle bell will be thrown at me in unknown and unpredictable combinations.
One year ago today, I took my first Crossfit intro class and leaned things like "thrusters", "sumo dead lift high pull" and "over head squats" (which I was completely unable to do).
Through Crossfit I discovered that I had some pretty serious mobility and flexibility issues that I always kind of knew I had, but didn't fathom the extent or impact. Now I could see, and it wasn't pretty.
One thing Crossfit has done is identify my weaknesses, and as the year progressed, those weaknesses became stronger, and exposed other weaknesses. On this one year anniversary of my experiment I feel that I'm finally at the point where I've worked through all the peripheral weakness and am finally focusing on the the core abilities and building strength where it counts.
Over the past year I've done things I had never dreamed of being able to do, and in some cases, had never even heard of. I have emerged at the other end stronger, fitter, more flexible and mobile than ever before in my life.
I've done workouts that have included 100 pull ups. I've climbed a rope 15 feet into the air. I've dropped a really heavy barbell from my shoulders, and loved the sound it makes when it hits the floor.
I've also made some really great friends. Friendships bound in shared suffering and shared accomplishment. Friends you don't want to let down by bringing anything less than your "A" game to the workout.
I like what Crossfit is doing for me. I am a new man. Bring on year two. I expect it to be a banner year.
In 2008 I did my first Ironman, spent an enormous amount of time training, did a Marathon, a half-marathon, sprint, Olympic distance and half iron distance triathlons as well.
Then Delilah was born. In 2009 I did very little training or racing.
In 2010 I bounced back with higher mileage run focused year that saw me beat my previous bests at 30km in Hamilton, run a 43:30 10km at Fall Colours and a blistering 20:33 5km at the Cookie Run. A banner year.
Dexter arrived the following January and suddenly, not only was there a new baby, but there was still a toddler at home. There would be no bounce back year this time. I had to get creative.
Enter Crossfit.
In order to minimize the impact on the rest of the family, most weekday mornings I quietly slink out of bed at five o'clock in the morning, dress, make a coffee and drive to Physics Crossfit to face the unexpected at the 5:30am class. One hour, that's it, and the actual workout part is only a fraction of that. But what a workout.
Constantly varying, short, intense, full body workouts focusing on full range of motion, with the best exercises from Olympic Weightlifting, gymnastics, plyometrics, calisthenics and kettle bell will be thrown at me in unknown and unpredictable combinations.
One year ago today, I took my first Crossfit intro class and leaned things like "thrusters", "sumo dead lift high pull" and "over head squats" (which I was completely unable to do).
Through Crossfit I discovered that I had some pretty serious mobility and flexibility issues that I always kind of knew I had, but didn't fathom the extent or impact. Now I could see, and it wasn't pretty.
One thing Crossfit has done is identify my weaknesses, and as the year progressed, those weaknesses became stronger, and exposed other weaknesses. On this one year anniversary of my experiment I feel that I'm finally at the point where I've worked through all the peripheral weakness and am finally focusing on the the core abilities and building strength where it counts.
Over the past year I've done things I had never dreamed of being able to do, and in some cases, had never even heard of. I have emerged at the other end stronger, fitter, more flexible and mobile than ever before in my life.
I've done workouts that have included 100 pull ups. I've climbed a rope 15 feet into the air. I've dropped a really heavy barbell from my shoulders, and loved the sound it makes when it hits the floor.
I've also made some really great friends. Friendships bound in shared suffering and shared accomplishment. Friends you don't want to let down by bringing anything less than your "A" game to the workout.
I like what Crossfit is doing for me. I am a new man. Bring on year two. I expect it to be a banner year.
Crossfit log for Friday, April 27th
Friday Morning Chipper:
Row 500m
30 push presses
30 front squats
30 dead lifts
20 pull ups
20 hang cleans
20 jumping squats
10 knees to elbows
10 air squats
10 reverse burpees
Brutal. They call it a chipper because you just chip away at it until it's done. Was off the rower in 1:50, solid. Had women's Rx on the bar (65#)
17:54
Row 500m
30 push presses
30 front squats
30 dead lifts
20 pull ups
20 hang cleans
20 jumping squats
10 knees to elbows
10 air squats
10 reverse burpees
Brutal. They call it a chipper because you just chip away at it until it's done. Was off the rower in 1:50, solid. Had women's Rx on the bar (65#)
17:54
Thursday 26 April 2012
Crossfit log for Thursday, April 26th
Push press today.
I need a massage. I'm getting a sharp pain in the middle of my deltoid when I put my right arm overhead and externally rotate my shoulder, with a complete loss of strength. Once it's warmed up and I can manage, but it ain't fun.
We did 3 sets of 4 at 95# then 2 sets of 8 at 65#.
WOD was 6 rounds of 10-8-8-6-6-6
- Plate push ups (alternating hands on plates, jump to hands between plates, jump back on plates, etc...)
- Bar bell rows Did 65# (could have gone heavier)
- knees to elbows.
6:38
I need a massage. I'm getting a sharp pain in the middle of my deltoid when I put my right arm overhead and externally rotate my shoulder, with a complete loss of strength. Once it's warmed up and I can manage, but it ain't fun.
We did 3 sets of 4 at 95# then 2 sets of 8 at 65#.
WOD was 6 rounds of 10-8-8-6-6-6
- Plate push ups (alternating hands on plates, jump to hands between plates, jump back on plates, etc...)
- Bar bell rows Did 65# (could have gone heavier)
- knees to elbows.
6:38
Wednesday 25 April 2012
Crossfit log for Wednesday, April 25th
Another character builder today.
Strength work was sumo dead lifts 5 sets, 5 reps, did 155lbs (probably could have gone a bit heavier)
WOD was a straightforward affair
Row 1000m
10 ropes climbs (or 10 rope get-ups plus 20 ring rows)
40 thrusters (yay! my favorite! not.) thankfully only 45#
My plan was to do the rope climbs. I had great success last time in the team WOD with Nat. Apparently after a 1000m row, rope climbing is a more challenging that I expected! I got 2 ascents before I had to switch to plan B. Thankfully for each ascent I subtracted 1 get-up and 2 ring rows leaving 8 and 16 respectively.
Thrusters were brutal, even at 45#.
Took me 13:14. Hams are gonna be a mess tomorrow!
Strength work was sumo dead lifts 5 sets, 5 reps, did 155lbs (probably could have gone a bit heavier)
WOD was a straightforward affair
Row 1000m
10 ropes climbs (or 10 rope get-ups plus 20 ring rows)
40 thrusters (yay! my favorite! not.) thankfully only 45#
My plan was to do the rope climbs. I had great success last time in the team WOD with Nat. Apparently after a 1000m row, rope climbing is a more challenging that I expected! I got 2 ascents before I had to switch to plan B. Thankfully for each ascent I subtracted 1 get-up and 2 ring rows leaving 8 and 16 respectively.
Thrusters were brutal, even at 45#.
Took me 13:14. Hams are gonna be a mess tomorrow!
Tuesday 24 April 2012
Crossfit log for Tuesday, April 24th
Wasn't sure how I'd feel today after yesterday's cleans, but turns out I was good to go.
We did back squat for strength. Haven't done these in a while.
Did 5 sets of 5 reps at 145#. Chose weight well, it was challenging right through to the end.
The WOD was a killer:
10 rounds, 1:00 plus 0:20 rest
-5 box jumps at 85% of max (did 30")
-5 heavy kettle bell swings 24kg
-AMRAP with whatever is left of the 1:00 wall balls 20#
Score is the total number of wall balls. Got 62 would've been closer to 70 if my shoulder hadn't spazed out in the first round. I guess I need a massage, once it's warmed up, it's okay, but just putting my arm over head sometimes it goes weak and hurts. Something is in a knot around my scapula or maybe my lat on that side.
This WOD was crazy intense, heart rate was through the roof the whole time, 20sec rest was just enough to get your bearings but not much of a recovery.
We did back squat for strength. Haven't done these in a while.
Did 5 sets of 5 reps at 145#. Chose weight well, it was challenging right through to the end.
The WOD was a killer:
10 rounds, 1:00 plus 0:20 rest
-5 box jumps at 85% of max (did 30")
-5 heavy kettle bell swings 24kg
-AMRAP with whatever is left of the 1:00 wall balls 20#
Score is the total number of wall balls. Got 62 would've been closer to 70 if my shoulder hadn't spazed out in the first round. I guess I need a massage, once it's warmed up, it's okay, but just putting my arm over head sometimes it goes weak and hurts. Something is in a knot around my scapula or maybe my lat on that side.
This WOD was crazy intense, heart rate was through the roof the whole time, 20sec rest was just enough to get your bearings but not much of a recovery.
Monday 23 April 2012
Crossfit log for Monday, April 23rd
1 rep max clean.
I've been waiting for this one. One of my goals for this year is to clean my body weight. An arbitrary goal, but seems to be a common beginner milestone. I've only recently become able to do a full clean, receiving the bar in a full front squat, so today was the first time I'd put it to the test and see just how much work I have ahead of me.
Managed 123.8lbs. At 115lbs, no problem, first try. Added a 10lbs plate to each side for 135lbs. This was my goal, I felt, for no tangible reason that I should be able to clean 135lbs (looks badass to have the 45# plates on the bar ).
I could get it high enough with a fairly good explosive pull and shrug, but I couldn't get under it fast enough. I tried 5 or 6 times, no dice. So I went back down to 115# and did it again, no problem. I was kinda disappointed, and ready to call 115# my max, but coach Isabelle told me to put a couple of small 2kg plates. Again, first try, no problem. Add two more she says. This one was tougher, but I got it, also first try. I really should've tried for 125lbs, but I was getting fatigued.
At least now I have a starting point.
The WOD was fairly easy. Since I can't really do a push jerk very well, I went lighter and did push press.
5 rounds for time:
5 push jerks (press) 85#
5 pull-ups
5 v-snaps
5:26
Solid start to the day.
I've been waiting for this one. One of my goals for this year is to clean my body weight. An arbitrary goal, but seems to be a common beginner milestone. I've only recently become able to do a full clean, receiving the bar in a full front squat, so today was the first time I'd put it to the test and see just how much work I have ahead of me.
Managed 123.8lbs. At 115lbs, no problem, first try. Added a 10lbs plate to each side for 135lbs. This was my goal, I felt, for no tangible reason that I should be able to clean 135lbs (looks badass to have the 45# plates on the bar ).
I could get it high enough with a fairly good explosive pull and shrug, but I couldn't get under it fast enough. I tried 5 or 6 times, no dice. So I went back down to 115# and did it again, no problem. I was kinda disappointed, and ready to call 115# my max, but coach Isabelle told me to put a couple of small 2kg plates. Again, first try, no problem. Add two more she says. This one was tougher, but I got it, also first try. I really should've tried for 125lbs, but I was getting fatigued.
At least now I have a starting point.
The WOD was fairly easy. Since I can't really do a push jerk very well, I went lighter and did push press.
5 rounds for time:
5 push jerks (press) 85#
5 pull-ups
5 v-snaps
5:26
Solid start to the day.
Saturday 21 April 2012
Crossfit log for Saturday, April 21st
Went to Crossfit today.
Not the same as mornings, without my crew its not as fun. I only knew on person.
No strength work. Did Turkish Get-ups for a warmup. Yuck.
WOD was a 15 min AMRAP
5 hang squat cleans did 75lbs
10 toe to bar (did knees to elbows)
15 wall balls 20#
20 double unders.
Had a speed rope today, so I actually didn't suck too badly this time.
Started doing toe to bar, but was sucking so I switch.
Cleans went really well. I should've gone a bit higher, maybe 85lbs but didn't feel like I needed to break any records.
Wallballs went well.
Managed 4 rounds and 6 knees to elbows.
Not the same as mornings, without my crew its not as fun. I only knew on person.
No strength work. Did Turkish Get-ups for a warmup. Yuck.
WOD was a 15 min AMRAP
5 hang squat cleans did 75lbs
10 toe to bar (did knees to elbows)
15 wall balls 20#
20 double unders.
Had a speed rope today, so I actually didn't suck too badly this time.
Started doing toe to bar, but was sucking so I switch.
Cleans went really well. I should've gone a bit higher, maybe 85lbs but didn't feel like I needed to break any records.
Wallballs went well.
Managed 4 rounds and 6 knees to elbows.
Friday 20 April 2012
Crossfit log for Friday, April 20th
Fourth day this week at Crossfit and third in a row.
I'm wiped.
For strength we did strict (shoulder) press, which given my recent lack of success putting weight over head, is exactly what I needed (albeit not what I wanted).
Did 5 sets of 10-8-6-6-5 65#-75#-75#-75#-75#
Shoulder press is just not fun. But it's done.
The WOD was okay, but I was sore and tired, so I just chipped away at it.
12 min AMRAP
18 med ball twists
15 kettle bell swings 16kg
12 air squats
9 toe to bar
6 ground to overhead (essentially clean and jerk) 75#
3 pull ups
Made it through 2 full rounds and up to 2 ground to overhead. After the should press, I had nothing for the ground to overhead. But it's done.
Now I can rest until Sunday.
I'm wiped.
For strength we did strict (shoulder) press, which given my recent lack of success putting weight over head, is exactly what I needed (albeit not what I wanted).
Did 5 sets of 10-8-6-6-5 65#-75#-75#-75#-75#
Shoulder press is just not fun. But it's done.
The WOD was okay, but I was sore and tired, so I just chipped away at it.
12 min AMRAP
18 med ball twists
15 kettle bell swings 16kg
12 air squats
9 toe to bar
6 ground to overhead (essentially clean and jerk) 75#
3 pull ups
Made it through 2 full rounds and up to 2 ground to overhead. After the should press, I had nothing for the ground to overhead. But it's done.
Now I can rest until Sunday.
Thursday 19 April 2012
Crossfit log for Thursday, April 19th
Decided at the last minutes to go to Crossfit this morning.
Maybe I should've stayed in bed! Putting the plates on the barbell, I failed to notice one was a 45lbs plate and the other was only 35lbs! I kept thinking I was grabbing the bar off centre because one side felt heavier. Well that's because it was heavier! Idiot!
Well, needless to say, I'll be more careful from now on!
So we did max height box jumps. Although I've done 37" before, I couldn't seem to get past 36" today. No biggie.
WOD was 5 rounds
-5 heavy dead lifts - 185# (which turned out to be 175# since one side was 10# lighter)
-30 double unders
-10 burpees.
Stupid double unders slowed me down a lot. Dead lifts were good, doing much better at bracing my back (despite the off balance bar)
17:36.
Maybe I should've stayed in bed! Putting the plates on the barbell, I failed to notice one was a 45lbs plate and the other was only 35lbs! I kept thinking I was grabbing the bar off centre because one side felt heavier. Well that's because it was heavier! Idiot!
Well, needless to say, I'll be more careful from now on!
So we did max height box jumps. Although I've done 37" before, I couldn't seem to get past 36" today. No biggie.
WOD was 5 rounds
-5 heavy dead lifts - 185# (which turned out to be 175# since one side was 10# lighter)
-30 double unders
-10 burpees.
Stupid double unders slowed me down a lot. Dead lifts were good, doing much better at bracing my back (despite the off balance bar)
17:36.
Wednesday 18 April 2012
Crossfit log for Wednesday, April 18th
Rough morning at Crossfit.
No strength work. 20 minute AMRAP
- 5 pull ups
- 10 thrusters 65# ( Scaled was 75#)
- 1 length 15# overhead plate lunges (12 steps)
- 10 sit ups
- 10 mountain climbers
I hate thrusters.
Managed only 4 rounds plus finished the thrusters on the 5th. Still sore in the shoulders and triceps from Monday's overhead work.
No strength work. 20 minute AMRAP
- 5 pull ups
- 10 thrusters 65# ( Scaled was 75#)
- 1 length 15# overhead plate lunges (12 steps)
- 10 sit ups
- 10 mountain climbers
I hate thrusters.
Managed only 4 rounds plus finished the thrusters on the 5th. Still sore in the shoulders and triceps from Monday's overhead work.
Tuesday 17 April 2012
Running log for Tuesday, April 17th
Today I had the run I wanted yesterday.
10min warmup @ 5:46/km
5x 1km repeats on 2:00 rest @ 10:00/km
(4:15, 4:13, 4:11, 4:10, 4:08)
Took a lot to finish the last one.
8:00km in 41:51 (5:13/km)
10min warmup @ 5:46/km
5x 1km repeats on 2:00 rest @ 10:00/km
(4:15, 4:13, 4:11, 4:10, 4:08)
Took a lot to finish the last one.
8:00km in 41:51 (5:13/km)
Monday 16 April 2012
Crossfit log for Monday, April 16th
Well today's workout brought me back to reality.
No climbing ropes like a champ today, oh no, heavy thrusters like an old lady.
My heavy is apparently 95#! Ugh. No wonder I can't do Fran at Rx!
Did 4 sets of 4.
More over head work for the WOD:
10 min AMRAP
5 push press
5 push ups
5 hang power cleans
10 prisoner squats
5 rounds + 5 power cleans
Triceps are gonna be sore for a couple of days.
I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but I really suck at over head stuff, need to work on that.
No climbing ropes like a champ today, oh no, heavy thrusters like an old lady.
My heavy is apparently 95#! Ugh. No wonder I can't do Fran at Rx!
Did 4 sets of 4.
More over head work for the WOD:
10 min AMRAP
5 push press
5 push ups
5 hang power cleans
10 prisoner squats
5 rounds + 5 power cleans
Triceps are gonna be sore for a couple of days.
I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but I really suck at over head stuff, need to work on that.
Saturday 14 April 2012
Crossfit log for Saturday, April 14th Monster Team WOD
I don't often go to Crossfit on Saturdays but since my mother inlaw was in town, I had a morning pass on parental duties.
Saturdays they usually do a team WOD. The tricky part is teaming up with someone of similar skill level. I was going to ask Jodi, she's stronger than I am, but I'm faster at some things, but she got snatched up by another team. So I volunteer to partner up with Nathalie Connors, one of our top female athletes. I'm not too far behind her in terms of weight I can lift, but she's speedier and more intense than I'll likely ever be.
Well let me tell you, I've never worked so hard in a workout in my life. It was a great workout. When you team up with someone like Nat, you don't want to let her down, so you give as much as you've got and more.
The workouts was four separate five minute AMRAP workouts strung together. Each started with a 400m run (more like 350m, but no matter, we all did the same distance) and with whatever time you had remaining in the 5 minutes you had to do as many reps as possible of the exercise portion.
Both team members do the run, and you can't start the other exercise until both team members are back from the run (some teams had three members so all three had finish the run before they could start the next part). When not running, only one team member works at a time. This was to the advantage of the three member teams as they had more rest time while one of the other two was working. For Nat and me, it meant that if Nat wasn't working, I was.
The four workouts were:
1: 400m run + bear complex (power clean + front squat + push press + back squat + push press = 1 rep). 85lbs.
2: 400m run + rope climb 15'
3: 400m run + Turkish get ups, 16kg kettle bell
4: 400m run + farmerwalk run with 2 24kg kettle bells
Holy Hannah! Bear complex was doable at 85lbs (but in hind sight, 95lbs would've been also doable). We took turns doing two reps each (once you had some momentum, doing the second one was easier and quicker than taking the time to switching team members). We did eight each for sixteen reps.
Rope climbs, I just learned to do these, we both did great. We managed ten climbs alternating one at a time.
Turkish get ups suck, no matter how you spell it. We alternated doing two reps, one each hand before switching, she did six, I did five.
Running with a 24kg kettle bell in each hand is not fun or easy. Each rep was one way from the door to the next building (approx 50m away), if you only had two team members, you had to follow each other to take over at each end. We really didn't consider doing two reps each, it was too hard at that point of the WOD, I think. We managed fifteen reps.
Score was 52.
The best part was I never felt like I was holding her back, I pulled my weight. (and I climbed that damn rope like a champ)!
Saturdays they usually do a team WOD. The tricky part is teaming up with someone of similar skill level. I was going to ask Jodi, she's stronger than I am, but I'm faster at some things, but she got snatched up by another team. So I volunteer to partner up with Nathalie Connors, one of our top female athletes. I'm not too far behind her in terms of weight I can lift, but she's speedier and more intense than I'll likely ever be.
Well let me tell you, I've never worked so hard in a workout in my life. It was a great workout. When you team up with someone like Nat, you don't want to let her down, so you give as much as you've got and more.
The workouts was four separate five minute AMRAP workouts strung together. Each started with a 400m run (more like 350m, but no matter, we all did the same distance) and with whatever time you had remaining in the 5 minutes you had to do as many reps as possible of the exercise portion.
Both team members do the run, and you can't start the other exercise until both team members are back from the run (some teams had three members so all three had finish the run before they could start the next part). When not running, only one team member works at a time. This was to the advantage of the three member teams as they had more rest time while one of the other two was working. For Nat and me, it meant that if Nat wasn't working, I was.
The four workouts were:
1: 400m run + bear complex (power clean + front squat + push press + back squat + push press = 1 rep). 85lbs.
2: 400m run + rope climb 15'
3: 400m run + Turkish get ups, 16kg kettle bell
4: 400m run + farmer
Holy Hannah! Bear complex was doable at 85lbs (but in hind sight, 95lbs would've been also doable). We took turns doing two reps each (once you had some momentum, doing the second one was easier and quicker than taking the time to switching team members). We did eight each for sixteen reps.
Rope climbs, I just learned to do these, we both did great. We managed ten climbs alternating one at a time.
Turkish get ups suck, no matter how you spell it. We alternated doing two reps, one each hand before switching, she did six, I did five.
Running with a 24kg kettle bell in each hand is not fun or easy. Each rep was one way from the door to the next building (approx 50m away), if you only had two team members, you had to follow each other to take over at each end. We really didn't consider doing two reps each, it was too hard at that point of the WOD, I think. We managed fifteen reps.
Score was 52.
The best part was I never felt like I was holding her back, I pulled my weight. (and I climbed that damn rope like a champ)!
Friday 13 April 2012
Crossfit log for Friday, April 13th
Another "looked easier on the board" workouts.
Strength was barbell lunges. Stepping back into a lunge, knee does not touch the ground, explode up to stand.
8 reps per leg x 3 sets.
WOD:
7 rounds for time:
5 box jumps (did 30")
5 power clean (did 85#)
5 burpees.
10:57
Box jumps are killer (Rx was 36")!!!
Strength was barbell lunges. Stepping back into a lunge, knee does not touch the ground, explode up to stand.
8 reps per leg x 3 sets.
WOD:
7 rounds for time:
5 box jumps (did 30")
5 power clean (did 85#)
5 burpees.
10:57
Box jumps are killer (Rx was 36")!!!
Wednesday 11 April 2012
Crossfit log for Wednesday, April 11th
The workout looked easy enough on the board. But wow, it was crazy
But first, for the strength work, we did dead lifts: 4 sets 5 reps. I chose 145#, did well, Isabelle said my form improved dramatically. Gotta be happy with that.
The WOD was 5 rounds for time.
10 pull ups
10 wall balls 20#
10 kettle bell swings 20kg.
By the end of round 2 I felt queasy! But found a groove in round 3. Finished in 9:38.
The big news is that I did it almost completely unbroken, in the last round the first 2 wall balls were off, first one I was too far from the wall, so it didn't hit, and the second one I was too close and hit on the way up while it was still in my hands! Other than that, all pull ups, 5 rounds of 10, unbroken, all kb swings and the rest of the wall balls without stopping.
I am really proud that I was able to string together 10 straight pull-ups even on the fifth round when I was dying. I really didn't want to, but when I got the sixth one, my mind just said, "come on! Last round, you can do this".
This is where the mental toughness of Crossfit comes in.
But first, for the strength work, we did dead lifts: 4 sets 5 reps. I chose 145#, did well, Isabelle said my form improved dramatically. Gotta be happy with that.
The WOD was 5 rounds for time.
10 pull ups
10 wall balls 20#
10 kettle bell swings 20kg.
By the end of round 2 I felt queasy! But found a groove in round 3. Finished in 9:38.
The big news is that I did it almost completely unbroken, in the last round the first 2 wall balls were off, first one I was too far from the wall, so it didn't hit, and the second one I was too close and hit on the way up while it was still in my hands! Other than that, all pull ups, 5 rounds of 10, unbroken, all kb swings and the rest of the wall balls without stopping.
I am really proud that I was able to string together 10 straight pull-ups even on the fifth round when I was dying. I really didn't want to, but when I got the sixth one, my mind just said, "come on! Last round, you can do this".
This is where the mental toughness of Crossfit comes in.
Tuesday 10 April 2012
Crossfit log for Tuesday, April 10th
My coach said I should take more time off.
My form on my back squat has apparently improved dramatically since my 2 week hiatus for ATB. I have been working my upper thoracic mobility a lot lately, I guess it's paying off.
I felt good. We did 4 sets of 8 reps. Could have gone heavier, but I hadn't done back squats in a while. Settled on 115#
The WOD was frustrating.
12min AMRAP of
5 x ground to overhead (however you want)
3 burpee pull ups.
Finding a weight is always a challenge, but man, last month I did Grace (30 Clean and Jerks for time) @ 95# in 14ish minutes, so I started with a 95# bar (even though scaled blue was 105#). There was no way. Dropped it to 85# which was more manageable.
Managed 5 rounds + 4 clean & jerks (more like clean and push press). I need to do more work on putting weight over head.
My form on my back squat has apparently improved dramatically since my 2 week hiatus for ATB. I have been working my upper thoracic mobility a lot lately, I guess it's paying off.
I felt good. We did 4 sets of 8 reps. Could have gone heavier, but I hadn't done back squats in a while. Settled on 115#
The WOD was frustrating.
12min AMRAP of
5 x ground to overhead (however you want)
3 burpee pull ups.
Finding a weight is always a challenge, but man, last month I did Grace (30 Clean and Jerks for time) @ 95# in 14ish minutes, so I started with a 95# bar (even though scaled blue was 105#). There was no way. Dropped it to 85# which was more manageable.
Managed 5 rounds + 4 clean & jerks (more like clean and push press). I need to do more work on putting weight over head.
Running log for Tuesday, April 10th
Solid run on the treadmill at lunch
10:00 wu @ 5:39/km
1km @ 4:17/km
90 sec rest
1km @ 4:13/km
90 sec rest
1km @ 4:10/km
90 sec rest
1km @ 4:06/km
6.36km in 31:40.
10:00 wu @ 5:39/km
1km @ 4:17/km
90 sec rest
1km @ 4:13/km
90 sec rest
1km @ 4:10/km
90 sec rest
1km @ 4:06/km
6.36km in 31:40.
Monday 9 April 2012
My dog is dying.
I've never faced death.
In over forty years on this planet, only one person I've ever been close to has died. My uncle Eugene was an important part of my life, but even then, in later years I saw him rarely. When he passed away, it wasn't real to me, every visit, to this day I expect that I might see him.
Sheamus has been in my daily life for six and a half years. Longer than my two youngest children. I don't know how to deal with his imminent demise.
He is suffering. My logical mind knows that it is best for him. Postponing the inevitable would be selfish. But there are moments when I see the young Sheamus look at me, a glimmer of hope sparks in my heart that he won't have to go, that he can bounce back from this and be himself again.
Don't get me wrong, that dog has caused me more trouble than anything else in my life. He is a big oaf, a hair brained, over excited, trouble-making, escape artist. I've cursed that dog more times than I can count. The destruction alone that he's brought down on my yard and house is enough to drive me out of mind.
But he's my dog and I love him.
Dexter likely won't even notice. Delilah will surely wonder where he's gone to. Caleb has more important things on his mind. But Clarisse is taking this hard. Harder than I had expected. I guess she's never had to deal with death either, not since she's been old enough to be really aware.
My emotional mind feels like I'm giving up on him. Maybe if we didn't have young children, or a limited budget, or a million other reasons (excuses?) we could care for him better, longer... give him more time.
But he doesn't need more time. I do. He doesn't plan for tomorrow, his life is in the now, and the now for him is pain and difficult mobility.
There are few things I will truly miss about Sheamus.
But I'll miss him.
In over forty years on this planet, only one person I've ever been close to has died. My uncle Eugene was an important part of my life, but even then, in later years I saw him rarely. When he passed away, it wasn't real to me, every visit, to this day I expect that I might see him.
Sheamus has been in my daily life for six and a half years. Longer than my two youngest children. I don't know how to deal with his imminent demise.
He is suffering. My logical mind knows that it is best for him. Postponing the inevitable would be selfish. But there are moments when I see the young Sheamus look at me, a glimmer of hope sparks in my heart that he won't have to go, that he can bounce back from this and be himself again.
Don't get me wrong, that dog has caused me more trouble than anything else in my life. He is a big oaf, a hair brained, over excited, trouble-making, escape artist. I've cursed that dog more times than I can count. The destruction alone that he's brought down on my yard and house is enough to drive me out of mind.
But he's my dog and I love him.
Dexter likely won't even notice. Delilah will surely wonder where he's gone to. Caleb has more important things on his mind. But Clarisse is taking this hard. Harder than I had expected. I guess she's never had to deal with death either, not since she's been old enough to be really aware.
My emotional mind feels like I'm giving up on him. Maybe if we didn't have young children, or a limited budget, or a million other reasons (excuses?) we could care for him better, longer... give him more time.
But he doesn't need more time. I do. He doesn't plan for tomorrow, his life is in the now, and the now for him is pain and difficult mobility.
There are few things I will truly miss about Sheamus.
But I'll miss him.
Friday 6 April 2012
Crossfit log for Friday, April 6th
Fran.
Last time I did 13+ minutes at 85lbs and decided next time to go back to 75# until I could get under 7:00, my PR at 75# is 9:44.
Today I went 9:16. So improvement, but not dramatic.
3 rounds for time 21-15-9
75# Thrusters
pull-ups.
Last time I did 13+ minutes at 85lbs and decided next time to go back to 75# until I could get under 7:00, my PR at 75# is 9:44.
Today I went 9:16. So improvement, but not dramatic.
3 rounds for time 21-15-9
75# Thrusters
pull-ups.
Thursday 5 April 2012
Crossfit log for Thursday, April 5th
Solid workout at Physics this morning.
Rx had a rope climb. I've tried in the past and it's really hard. But last week I saw a video of an older guy talking about how Crossfit changed his life and all that, but at one point they showed him climbing a rope and the technique he used look very intuitive to me, so I gave it a try and lo and behold in a matter of less than a minute I was twenty feet in the air dangling on a rope. It was pretty cool.
Not to say I did Rx, I'm firmly in the blue camp.
Our workout was 15 min AMRAP:
5 toe to bar
5 jerk press
5 front squat
5 burpees
5 v-snaps (hand to toe sit-ups)
I have trouble with my jerk, well anything over head really, because of my poor should/upper thoracic mobility, so I settled on 65# (tried 75# and it wasn't happening).
Tough workout, went 4 rounds and up to 3 front squats. Toe to bar slowed me down a lot, although I touched the bar with my toes every time (didn't settle for knee to chest or knee to elbow) after 2 reps I'd be swinging too much and had to regain control, or stop and start in order to continue.
All it all it was good.
After we did dead lifts. Little bit of improvement on my form
Did 8-5-5-4 @ 155#
No back issues.
Rx had a rope climb. I've tried in the past and it's really hard. But last week I saw a video of an older guy talking about how Crossfit changed his life and all that, but at one point they showed him climbing a rope and the technique he used look very intuitive to me, so I gave it a try and lo and behold in a matter of less than a minute I was twenty feet in the air dangling on a rope. It was pretty cool.
Not to say I did Rx, I'm firmly in the blue camp.
Our workout was 15 min AMRAP:
5 toe to bar
5 jerk press
5 front squat
5 burpees
5 v-snaps (hand to toe sit-ups)
I have trouble with my jerk, well anything over head really, because of my poor should/upper thoracic mobility, so I settled on 65# (tried 75# and it wasn't happening).
Tough workout, went 4 rounds and up to 3 front squats. Toe to bar slowed me down a lot, although I touched the bar with my toes every time (didn't settle for knee to chest or knee to elbow) after 2 reps I'd be swinging too much and had to regain control, or stop and start in order to continue.
All it all it was good.
After we did dead lifts. Little bit of improvement on my form
Did 8-5-5-4 @ 155#
No back issues.
Wednesday 4 April 2012
Crossfit log for Wednesday, April 4th
Legs are officially toast!
Started with power cleans @ 70% of max. 3 sets of 1 from the ground, 3 from the hang position, 1 from the ground.
Settled on 105#.
WOD was 5 rounds for time 5-10-15-20-25 reps of:
-wallballs as heavy as you can (settled on 14#, 20# would've been doable, but torturous).
-box jumps 24" (blue Rx, red Rx was 30")
-kettle bell Sumo Dead lift High Pull 20kg
14:17
Kept a pretty even pace. Box jumps were my strength.
Started with power cleans @ 70% of max. 3 sets of 1 from the ground, 3 from the hang position, 1 from the ground.
Settled on 105#.
WOD was 5 rounds for time 5-10-15-20-25 reps of:
-wallballs as heavy as you can (settled on 14#, 20# would've been doable, but torturous).
-box jumps 24" (blue Rx, red Rx was 30")
-kettle bell Sumo Dead lift High Pull 20kg
14:17
Kept a pretty even pace. Box jumps were my strength.
Running log for Wednesday, April 4th
Flushed out the legs on the treadmill 7.4km in 40:00 @ 5:30/km
Started to get bored at 30:00, figured I'd go to 7km, then at 35:00 the treadmill slows down: Time for your 5 min cool down! Great. Thankfully I still had control of the speed and cranked it back up to 11kph and figured I might was well ride out the 5 minute count down. So I did.
Started to get bored at 30:00, figured I'd go to 7km, then at 35:00 the treadmill slows down: Time for your 5 min cool down! Great. Thankfully I still had control of the speed and cranked it back up to 11kph and figured I might was well ride out the 5 minute count down. So I did.
Tuesday 3 April 2012
Running log for Monday and Tuesday, April 2nd and 3rd
Some quick updates.
Ran Monday 6.06km in 30:00
Did 5:10/km for 10 minutes, then dropped it to 4:40/km for 10 minutes then up to 4:55/km for 10 minutes (with a couple of minutes at 4:30 and 4:45 for good measure). Wanted to test the legs. Felt good.
Today did the "Frog" workout, sort of. Started at 10.4kph (~5:46/km) and upped it by 0.4kph every 2:00, ended at 24:00 the last 2:00 at 4:03/km.
It was getting rough at the end, but I felt strong.
Crossfit tomorrow!
Ran Monday 6.06km in 30:00
Did 5:10/km for 10 minutes, then dropped it to 4:40/km for 10 minutes then up to 4:55/km for 10 minutes (with a couple of minutes at 4:30 and 4:45 for good measure). Wanted to test the legs. Felt good.
Today did the "Frog" workout, sort of. Started at 10.4kph (~5:46/km) and upped it by 0.4kph every 2:00, ended at 24:00 the last 2:00 at 4:03/km.
It was getting rough at the end, but I felt strong.
Crossfit tomorrow!
Sunday 1 April 2012
Crossfit log for Sunday, April 1st
Back at Crossfit today.
Rough one. A "hero" WOD (typically harder than most WODs) called "DT"
5 rounds for time:
12 Dead lifts
9 hang power clean
6 push jerks
Blue scaled was 115#, after a little warm-up I knew I wasn't doing blue scaled.
Settle on 95#, but after two rounds, there was no way I was doing another 3 at that weight, so I dropped it to 85# and that went better, but still hard.
Took me like 15 minute, I didn't even look at the clock when I finished.
Rough one. A "hero" WOD (typically harder than most WODs) called "DT"
5 rounds for time:
12 Dead lifts
9 hang power clean
6 push jerks
Blue scaled was 115#, after a little warm-up I knew I wasn't doing blue scaled.
Settle on 95#, but after two rounds, there was no way I was doing another 3 at that weight, so I dropped it to 85# and that went better, but still hard.
Took me like 15 minute, I didn't even look at the clock when I finished.
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