Well that was a good workout.
The first half was way better then then second.
Warm up was a 4min 5 shuttle runs + 20 double unders followed by dynamic stretching.
WOD:
part 1: 5 rounds 15 min cap
- 10-8-6-4-2 bench press 205#/115#
- 5-4-3-2-1 rope climb
rest 5 minutes
part 2: 5 rounds
- 10 sumo dead lift high pull 95#/65#
- 10 wall balls 20#/14#
Women's Rx again. Wish I could scale my body weight for those rope climbs though!
Probably could have done 135# for the bench, but the goal was to move fast.
Started 20 seconds after Kamil, we shared a bar and I let him go first, rather than starting on rope climb I just waited for him to finish his 10 reps and remove 0:20 from my score.
Finished the first half in 13:09, minus 0:20 = 12:49 a minute ahead of Kamil :)
Part two... sucked. Should have used women's med ball. Kamil started part two a minute behind me and finished before me!
Finished at 26:14 minus 0:20 25:54, after Kamil, but with the 20 second adjustment just before him.
Showing posts with label Coaching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Coaching. Show all posts
Tuesday, 6 September 2016
Saturday, 24 January 2015
Crossfit log for Saturday, January 24th
Posted Monday.
Don't often do weekend WODs, but wanted to go and partner with Clarisse.
It was a rough one, and we were supposed to be teams of 3, but we were 11 participants, so Clarisse and I teamed up and did 2 thirds of the work, with less rest.
The WOD was an 18 minute AMRAP of:
-50 thrusters, we did 32
-9 rope climbs, we did 6
-40 thrusters (23)
-6 rope climbs (4)
-30 thrusters (20)
-3 rope climbs (2)
-30 snatches (20)
-9 rope climbs, we did 6
-40 thrusters (23)
-6 rope climbs (4)
-30 thrusters (20)
-3 rope climbs (2)
-30 snatches (20)
-30 chest to bar pull ups, scaled to regular pull ups (20)
-21 snatches (14)
-21 pull ups (14)
-15 snatches (10)
-15 pull ups (10)
-9 snatches
-9 pull ups
Rx was 115# for men and 75# for women. I scaled to 95# for the thrusters and after my first 5 snatches at 95# I further scaled to 75# (women's Rx). Clarisse did 45# for the thrusters, she could've gone heavier.
She initially took the plates off for the snatches but it was way too easy, I made her put them back on after her first 5, and that was much harder on her, but she managed. We only had 10 each that round. Pull up weren't a problem for either off us.
The big deal was the rope climbs. Clarisse can climb a rope, barefoot, but she had no notion of gripping the rope with shoes. I gave her a bit of a tutorial, then coach Alex gave a more complete lesson as we prepared for the WOD. Enough that she could hopefully do the 3 pull rule and get part way up the rope for each rep. (I had told her to do 2 pulls, then just before the WOD started coach Alex came over and told her to just to 3 pulls, ha! So that's what she did).
She did great for round 1. Round 2 she had trouble and decided to try the scale of ring rows, but she'd never done those before and couldn't figure them out on the fly. So she went back to the to rope. Faced with no alternative and the clock ticking, she really attacked the rope from that point on.
On the last climb of round three, she went right to the top. It was pretty epic. Having climbed before in gymnastics, there was no fear. She just needed the confidence in the new technique. Once she committed to it, she found it.
Really proud.
Wednesday, 7 January 2015
Crossfit log for Tuesday, January 6th Clarisse's class
Last night I went back to Crossfit, this time to register Clarisse for her first adult class.
She did really well. The workout changed sometime during the day to remove the 3 minute rest between rounds, so it essentially became heavy Fran.
She did really well. She did the 5 jerks at 72#. She looked good. She wasn't landing like a ballerina, it was fast and I could hear her feet landing. Much better than before. She was lowing the bar too quickly, before she completely stood it up and I called her on it, but got a scolding from coach Frank.
a) I'm not the coach! and b) he didn't want to worry her about technique on her first day, it was about fitting in, and getting to know the routine and flow of adult classes.
Fair enough.
She settled on women's empty bar (35#) and regular pull ups. After she did the first 21 thrusters unbroken, I thought she'd gone too light.
She started her pull ups with 6 unbroken, coach Isabelle's jaw dropped. "How old is she"? Yeah, that's my14 year old.
The round of 15 hurt more, she broke up the thrusters 11 and 4, and then did the 9 unbroken.
Finished in 9:23.
Proud papa.
She did really well. The workout changed sometime during the day to remove the 3 minute rest between rounds, so it essentially became heavy Fran.
She did really well. She did the 5 jerks at 72#. She looked good. She wasn't landing like a ballerina, it was fast and I could hear her feet landing. Much better than before. She was lowing the bar too quickly, before she completely stood it up and I called her on it, but got a scolding from coach Frank.
a) I'm not the coach! and b) he didn't want to worry her about technique on her first day, it was about fitting in, and getting to know the routine and flow of adult classes.
Fair enough.
She settled on women's empty bar (35#) and regular pull ups. After she did the first 21 thrusters unbroken, I thought she'd gone too light.
She started her pull ups with 6 unbroken, coach Isabelle's jaw dropped. "How old is she"? Yeah, that's my14 year old.
The round of 15 hurt more, she broke up the thrusters 11 and 4, and then did the 9 unbroken.
Finished in 9:23.
Proud papa.
Wednesday, 5 November 2014
Strength log for Wednesday, November 5th
Bring your kid to work day meant bring you kid to the Y at lunch day for me.
She warmed up on the treadmill while I did my physio homework.
We had a great time working on cleans.
I wanted to give Clarisse a chance to try cleaning 65#. This is a key weight for working out at home since the lightest bar I can set from the floor is 65# (10# plates plus 45# bar).
So unless we work from the hang, 65# is bare minimum.
She cleaned 65# like it was nothing. So naturally she wanted more. We did clean plus front squat. Still easy. So tried 70#. Bam. Even adding the front squat.
This time, after the squat she said that was hard. But she still wanted to try 75#. So we did. And she nailed it. No front squat this time but still awesome.
I made her do it again so I could film it. Nailed it again. Her catch was a bit off on the second, but it was a solid clean.
She went off to work on some of the machines while I did bench.
After this morning's dips I wasn't feeling 100%, the goal of 3 reps at 215# didn't happen. Struggled at 205# so I called it a day.
Really enjoyed it.
She warmed up on the treadmill while I did my physio homework.
We had a great time working on cleans.
I wanted to give Clarisse a chance to try cleaning 65#. This is a key weight for working out at home since the lightest bar I can set from the floor is 65# (10# plates plus 45# bar).
So unless we work from the hang, 65# is bare minimum.
She cleaned 65# like it was nothing. So naturally she wanted more. We did clean plus front squat. Still easy. So tried 70#. Bam. Even adding the front squat.
This time, after the squat she said that was hard. But she still wanted to try 75#. So we did. And she nailed it. No front squat this time but still awesome.
I made her do it again so I could film it. Nailed it again. Her catch was a bit off on the second, but it was a solid clean.
She went off to work on some of the machines while I did bench.
After this morning's dips I wasn't feeling 100%, the goal of 3 reps at 215# didn't happen. Struggled at 205# so I called it a day.
Really enjoyed it.
Thursday, 11 September 2014
Strength log for Thursday, September 11th
I guess 2 PRs will have to do for this week.
Bench day. Aggressive plan. Going for 225#
Short warm up. 8 reps empty bar, 6 reps @ 95#, 4 @ 115#, 3 @ 135#, 2 @ 155#, 1 @ 185#, 1 @ 205#, then go big time.
Obviously didn't happen, but it was closer than ever before, butt came up almost right away, got it three quarters of the way up, but alas, it wasn't to be.
I might have actually hit 220# if I had tried that instead. Maybe I'll do that next week.
Then I was done. Helped René with his dead lift PR attempt. Same deal as me, he made 405#, but 425# was just too much. Next week.
Bench day. Aggressive plan. Going for 225#
Short warm up. 8 reps empty bar, 6 reps @ 95#, 4 @ 115#, 3 @ 135#, 2 @ 155#, 1 @ 185#, 1 @ 205#, then go big time.
Obviously didn't happen, but it was closer than ever before, butt came up almost right away, got it three quarters of the way up, but alas, it wasn't to be.
I might have actually hit 220# if I had tried that instead. Maybe I'll do that next week.
Then I was done. Helped René with his dead lift PR attempt. Same deal as me, he made 405#, but 425# was just too much. Next week.
Thursday, 15 May 2014
Stength log for Thursday, May 15th
Worked on snatch.
Wasn't very focused. Regular crew wasn't there. Didn't have a solid plan.
Did some power snatch and some split snatch at a variety of weights. 65#, 95#, 115# back to 95#.
Just didn't feel energized. Maybe that Wendy's burger last night is to blame. ;)
As I was leaving a couple of the girls I sometimes chat with were gathered round one of the newer instructors, with 3 other members. One was going some air squats. I missed the instructor's demonstration.
A quick chat with Line and Steph and I learned it was a "Cross Training" class.
Now I have to keep in mind that it is an introductory class, much like the one I took 3 years ago, and this exposure might encourage some of them, as it did me, to seek out a real Crossfit gym and discover what it really is about.
But man, it was like watching a train wreck. You don't teach cleans with a squat if they can't squat. Teach power clean first, work on the squat independently, then combine the two later. At least Kenny, my instructor from 3 years ago had his level 1 certification. This guy clearly does not.
I'll have a chat with the girls next time I see them. Find out their thoughts on it, and maybe give them some better instruction, especially on the lifting technique.
Wasn't very focused. Regular crew wasn't there. Didn't have a solid plan.
Did some power snatch and some split snatch at a variety of weights. 65#, 95#, 115# back to 95#.
Just didn't feel energized. Maybe that Wendy's burger last night is to blame. ;)
As I was leaving a couple of the girls I sometimes chat with were gathered round one of the newer instructors, with 3 other members. One was going some air squats. I missed the instructor's demonstration.
A quick chat with Line and Steph and I learned it was a "Cross Training" class.
Now I have to keep in mind that it is an introductory class, much like the one I took 3 years ago, and this exposure might encourage some of them, as it did me, to seek out a real Crossfit gym and discover what it really is about.
But man, it was like watching a train wreck. You don't teach cleans with a squat if they can't squat. Teach power clean first, work on the squat independently, then combine the two later. At least Kenny, my instructor from 3 years ago had his level 1 certification. This guy clearly does not.
I'll have a chat with the girls next time I see them. Find out their thoughts on it, and maybe give them some better instruction, especially on the lifting technique.
Monday, 27 January 2014
Crossfit log for Monday, January 27th
I should be getting my new lifting shoes today. (on a side note I really really hate UPS).
Today Coach Alex didn't make it, with the horrible road conditions, he wreck into a curb and damaged his car. Sucks.
His replacement? Coach Frank. The boss. The head coach and inventor of our torturous programming.
It was actually a fun workout. Similar to one they had to do this weekend at the Firebreather competition (which he and teammates Anne, Alex, Michelle, Tim and Nathalie took first place!!).
Initially a 14 minutes AMRAP, he allocated an extra 3 minutes, in hopes we'd make it to the end. We where shy 16 double unders.
In teams of the 3, share the work (reasonably equally)
-200 wall balls
-100 toes to bar
-150 box jumps
-200 double unders.
It was difficult to share equally, one of us was stronger than me the other weaker, but I think it worked out fairly balanced.
Double unders killed me, I got 3 turns, the first one I barely got 5, then I got a good string of 30 something, and third time like 6. Ugh.
Wall balls and box jump were solid. Toes to bar, I worked really hard, and managed to get a couple of good sets in.
Because Frank was late, we (those of us that could stay) did the strength work with the 6:30 class.
We worked on clean and jerk at 75% of max (I used 135# instead of 139#)
- 2 cleans + 1 jerk
- 1 clean + 2 jerks
repeat.
Did okay. Frank gave me some good pointers.
Today Coach Alex didn't make it, with the horrible road conditions, he wreck into a curb and damaged his car. Sucks.
His replacement? Coach Frank. The boss. The head coach and inventor of our torturous programming.
It was actually a fun workout. Similar to one they had to do this weekend at the Firebreather competition (which he and teammates Anne, Alex, Michelle, Tim and Nathalie took first place!!).
Initially a 14 minutes AMRAP, he allocated an extra 3 minutes, in hopes we'd make it to the end. We where shy 16 double unders.
In teams of the 3, share the work (reasonably equally)
-200 wall balls
-100 toes to bar
-150 box jumps
-200 double unders.
It was difficult to share equally, one of us was stronger than me the other weaker, but I think it worked out fairly balanced.
Double unders killed me, I got 3 turns, the first one I barely got 5, then I got a good string of 30 something, and third time like 6. Ugh.
Wall balls and box jump were solid. Toes to bar, I worked really hard, and managed to get a couple of good sets in.
Because Frank was late, we (those of us that could stay) did the strength work with the 6:30 class.
We worked on clean and jerk at 75% of max (I used 135# instead of 139#)
- 2 cleans + 1 jerk
- 1 clean + 2 jerks
repeat.
Did okay. Frank gave me some good pointers.
Thursday, 9 January 2014
Crossfit log for Thursday, January 9th
No trouble getting up this morning.
Added a d-aspartic acid, fenugreek, maca supplement. I'll take this for the next 12 days. So now my daily regime includes the above, ubiquinol (Q-10), vitamin D, zinc citrate, fish oil and creatine. And protein of course. We'll see how things feel in 2 to 3 months.
More than a little surprised to be doing back squats again, after Monday's 5x5 heavy and Tuesday, 150 air squats in "Nasty Girls" I wasn't expecting any additional leg work this week.
So 5 sets of 3 reps, at 95% of 5 rep max or more. I worked with Kamil who is usually stronger than I am, but after his 3rd child's birth in early December, this was his first day back.
We warmed up with empty bar, the right to 135#, then 185# (had I known at this point that it was his first day back I might have gone up more slowly, but he's young, he'll recover).
Working sets were 205#, 215#, 215#, 225# and 225#. Kamil did 215# on the fourth set and saved the 225# for the last only.
Was happy with that. I had no trouble at 225# for 3, I think I need to retest my 1 rep max.
Naturally having done heavy dead lifts yesterday, the WOD had heavy dead lifts.
10 minute AMRAP:
6 toes to bar
8 dead lifts 205# barbell
12 wall balls 20# med ball
Opted for 185# on the barbell instead of 205#. Glad I did. First round was okay. Two first wall balls didn't hit the stupid wall. Second round, the t2b were impossible to string together.
Finished with 4 rounds plus 1 toes to bar.
Good workout.
Talked to Seb at the Y to see if I could get some coaching. He was power lifting expertise, so could be useful in the stage from my training.
Added a d-aspartic acid, fenugreek, maca supplement. I'll take this for the next 12 days. So now my daily regime includes the above, ubiquinol (Q-10), vitamin D, zinc citrate, fish oil and creatine. And protein of course. We'll see how things feel in 2 to 3 months.
More than a little surprised to be doing back squats again, after Monday's 5x5 heavy and Tuesday, 150 air squats in "Nasty Girls" I wasn't expecting any additional leg work this week.
So 5 sets of 3 reps, at 95% of 5 rep max or more. I worked with Kamil who is usually stronger than I am, but after his 3rd child's birth in early December, this was his first day back.
We warmed up with empty bar, the right to 135#, then 185# (had I known at this point that it was his first day back I might have gone up more slowly, but he's young, he'll recover).
Working sets were 205#, 215#, 215#, 225# and 225#. Kamil did 215# on the fourth set and saved the 225# for the last only.
Was happy with that. I had no trouble at 225# for 3, I think I need to retest my 1 rep max.
Naturally having done heavy dead lifts yesterday, the WOD had heavy dead lifts.
10 minute AMRAP:
6 toes to bar
8 dead lifts 205# barbell
12 wall balls 20# med ball
Opted for 185# on the barbell instead of 205#. Glad I did. First round was okay. Two first wall balls didn't hit the stupid wall. Second round, the t2b were impossible to string together.
Finished with 4 rounds plus 1 toes to bar.
Good workout.
Talked to Seb at the Y to see if I could get some coaching. He was power lifting expertise, so could be useful in the stage from my training.
Monday, 22 July 2013
Sinus infection update.
Treating with a cortico steroid nasal spray and
advil/decongestant has been effective at making me feel normal, but my
instructions were if it isn't better 7 days after onset (aka tomorrow)
start the antibiotics. I guess that's the next step. I was hoping to
not have to resort to more antibiotics.
On the good side, I'm loving my home gym setup. I made it for training my son and his buddy to earn my Olympic Weightlifting Coaching certification, but a fringe benefit is that I get to use it myself.
Worked on snatches last night in anticipation of this evening''s Olympic lifting class where we'll be aiming for a 1 rep max in the snatch. Wednesday will be 1 rep max Clean and Jerk.
On the good side, I'm loving my home gym setup. I made it for training my son and his buddy to earn my Olympic Weightlifting Coaching certification, but a fringe benefit is that I get to use it myself.
Worked on snatches last night in anticipation of this evening''s Olympic lifting class where we'll be aiming for a 1 rep max in the snatch. Wednesday will be 1 rep max Clean and Jerk.
Monday, 24 June 2013
Crossfit log for Monday, June 24th
Olympic lifting Platform is coming along nicely. Just need to install the rubber to absorb the weights impact when dropping.
Workout today:
Power Clean complex: 1 power clean, 1 hang power clean, 1 power clean.
3 sets @ 75%-80% Did 125#
Back squats 3 sets of 10 at 60-65% of max. did 150#
WOD:
400m row
15 thrusters @45#
10 pull ups
15 thrusters @ 45#
10 pull ups
15 thrusters @ 45#
20 kettle bell swings
8:18
Did really well in the row, held under 1:40/500m pace the whole time. Kettle bell was rough, grip strength was toast.
Workout today:
Power Clean complex: 1 power clean, 1 hang power clean, 1 power clean.
3 sets @ 75%-80% Did 125#
Back squats 3 sets of 10 at 60-65% of max. did 150#
WOD:
400m row
15 thrusters @45#
10 pull ups
15 thrusters @ 45#
10 pull ups
15 thrusters @ 45#
20 kettle bell swings
8:18
Did really well in the row, held under 1:40/500m pace the whole time. Kettle bell was rough, grip strength was toast.
Thursday, 20 June 2013
Home Gym
Feeling sick yesterday and today, but thankfully to keep me in the spirit I received my Olympic lifting bar and bumper plates.
Project: "Home Gym" initiate!
Très cool.
Project: "Home Gym" initiate!
Très cool.
Monday, 3 June 2013
Becoming an Olympic Lifting Coach
It was fascinating. Exhausting. 12 hours of alternating lifting and coaching, plus 2 hours of a mock competition.
As scary as that was, the real scary part is the next step in certification: coaching an athlete and having them compete under my supervision in an open Olympic lifting competition put on by coaching evaluators.
I feel nauseous just thinking about it.
As scary as that was, the real scary part is the next step in certification: coaching an athlete and having them compete under my supervision in an open Olympic lifting competition put on by coaching evaluators.
I feel nauseous just thinking about it.
Tuesday, 28 May 2013
Coach James?
Okay. I had a feel good moment at the gym.
I guy I met at the gym has been curious about Crossfit, so I gave him one of the simpler standard WODs to do last week (Cindy. 20min AMRAP 5 pull ups, 10 push ups, 15 air squats). He did really well and wanted something more challenging to try.
I know it's not a good idea to coach Crossfit when you aren't certified, and at the Y no less, but I didn't want to curb his enthusiasm, so turns out this morning's workout seemed like a good fit.
21-15-9
Push Press 95#
Pull ups
Kettle bell swings 20kg
He'd never done kettle bell, so I gave him a rudimentary intro course, it was just swings and I only gave him 16kg, so it wasn't so bad. He's a strong guy so we put 95# on the bar and he went at it.
Now he would've gotten "no rep" for most of his pull ups, but man he was doing them strict! and not all the push press were locked out, but he wasn't driving the bar from his shoulders, and the kettle bell I only told him to be over eye level. But still he did it in 8:10!
I thought he might puke. But he was really happy with the workout.
So afterwards in the locker room, some random guy asks me:
-are you a personal trainer?
-me? no.
-ex military?
-ha! Noooo.
-cause they know their stuff.
-uh...
-I saw you giving that guy a class...
-oh, yeah, I do Crossfit, he was just curious, so I gave him a sample
He pretty much ask if he could ask me for pointers on technique. Felt pretty good.
Looking forward to my Olympic Lifting Coaching certification this weekend. This may be the start of something big.
I guy I met at the gym has been curious about Crossfit, so I gave him one of the simpler standard WODs to do last week (Cindy. 20min AMRAP 5 pull ups, 10 push ups, 15 air squats). He did really well and wanted something more challenging to try.
I know it's not a good idea to coach Crossfit when you aren't certified, and at the Y no less, but I didn't want to curb his enthusiasm, so turns out this morning's workout seemed like a good fit.
21-15-9
Push Press 95#
Pull ups
Kettle bell swings 20kg
He'd never done kettle bell, so I gave him a rudimentary intro course, it was just swings and I only gave him 16kg, so it wasn't so bad. He's a strong guy so we put 95# on the bar and he went at it.
Now he would've gotten "no rep" for most of his pull ups, but man he was doing them strict! and not all the push press were locked out, but he wasn't driving the bar from his shoulders, and the kettle bell I only told him to be over eye level. But still he did it in 8:10!
I thought he might puke. But he was really happy with the workout.
So afterwards in the locker room, some random guy asks me:
-are you a personal trainer?
-me? no.
-ex military?
-ha! Noooo.
-cause they know their stuff.
-uh...
-I saw you giving that guy a class...
-oh, yeah, I do Crossfit, he was just curious, so I gave him a sample
He pretty much ask if he could ask me for pointers on technique. Felt pretty good.
Looking forward to my Olympic Lifting Coaching certification this weekend. This may be the start of something big.
Wednesday, 10 October 2012
Crossfit log for Wednesday, October 10th (part 2)
Before last workout done, one more before the Prince Edward County half marathon.
Olympic weightlifting class, with Dan Robitaille, Canadian national level coach. Went through power clean and power jerk series.
Since I couldn't do a the jerk very well he told me to do a split jerk but very shallow, so that you aren't dropping so much under the bar as powering it up over your head and just locking it out.
It was good. I felt solid even though we didn't go heavy.
Tomorrow after noon we have a relay race for the United Way, 2 loops around the front lawn at the parliament full tilt. Can't wait.
Olympic weightlifting class, with Dan Robitaille, Canadian national level coach. Went through power clean and power jerk series.
Since I couldn't do a the jerk very well he told me to do a split jerk but very shallow, so that you aren't dropping so much under the bar as powering it up over your head and just locking it out.
It was good. I felt solid even though we didn't go heavy.
Tomorrow after noon we have a relay race for the United Way, 2 loops around the front lawn at the parliament full tilt. Can't wait.
Monday, 11 June 2012
The dangers of bad coaching
So one of my crew mate’s sister in-law when to a
different Crossfit Gym, her first time (there's a guy, it's a story)
and the workout was one that I wouldn't even do.
He had his beginner class to 3 rounds with 30 GHD sit ups (with dumb bell thrusters). Even the Crossfit founder Glassman, despite is many faults, only prescribes 5 to 10 reps for beginners and only to parallel, not to the ground.
Well she ended up with severe Rhabdomyolysis, (the breakdown of muscle fibers that leads to the release of muscle fiber contents (myoglobin) into the bloodstream. Myoglobin is harmful to the kidney and often causes kidney damage) like DOMS but too much for local immune response to handle so you kidneys essentially process muscle tissue. Not good.
The coach should know not to prescribe such a workout to beginners. This kind of thing give Crossfit a bad rap when it's the programming of this particular coach that was at fault.
Naturally he is denying all responsibility, claiming the athlete should know their limitations. I was thankful for a friend of mine's resent post on Facebook about Dunning-Kruger effect, which this is clearly the case here.
So if you or anyone you know is thinking of trying Crossfit stay away from Groupon promotions. Go to L'Usine in Gatineau or Physics Crossfit in Orleans or Crossfit 613 in the west end.
He had his beginner class to 3 rounds with 30 GHD sit ups (with dumb bell thrusters). Even the Crossfit founder Glassman, despite is many faults, only prescribes 5 to 10 reps for beginners and only to parallel, not to the ground.
Well she ended up with severe Rhabdomyolysis, (the breakdown of muscle fibers that leads to the release of muscle fiber contents (myoglobin) into the bloodstream. Myoglobin is harmful to the kidney and often causes kidney damage) like DOMS but too much for local immune response to handle so you kidneys essentially process muscle tissue. Not good.
The coach should know not to prescribe such a workout to beginners. This kind of thing give Crossfit a bad rap when it's the programming of this particular coach that was at fault.
Naturally he is denying all responsibility, claiming the athlete should know their limitations. I was thankful for a friend of mine's resent post on Facebook about Dunning-Kruger effect, which this is clearly the case here.
So if you or anyone you know is thinking of trying Crossfit stay away from Groupon promotions. Go to L'Usine in Gatineau or Physics Crossfit in Orleans or Crossfit 613 in the west end.
Thursday, 17 May 2012
Crossfit log for Thursday, May 17th
Interesting morning at Crossfit, the first time I've had one on one coaching since my "on-ramp" sessions.
We tried to get a hold of Kamil, as he was the only registrant for the 6:30 class, if he could make 5:30, we be two and Isabelle, wouldn't have to have a 6:30 class, but alas, he wasn't checking his Facebook at 5am!
We did strict press, and the one-on-one really paid off, I wasn't going heavy, since it was higher rep, 10-8-6-6, and even then I stayed at 65# the whole time, but we really worked my form and body position. It was a break through. By the end it was feeling easier, than the beginning, despite the fatigue, thanks to improved form and position.
The WOD would've been much MUCH better with company. It was a rough one to motivate on your own.
10 min AMRAP
-5 burpee pull ups
-10 one arm kettle bell swings (5 each arm).
The first two rounds I did 10 burpee pull ups, because that was what the "red" workout called for, (10 burpee pull ups, 10 kettle bell snatches). My right shoulder was giving me grief on the snatches, so went heavierbut just did the swings.
I managed 6 rounds plus 2 burpee pull ups, plus the 10 extra I did the first two rounds. Happy with that.
We tried to get a hold of Kamil, as he was the only registrant for the 6:30 class, if he could make 5:30, we be two and Isabelle, wouldn't have to have a 6:30 class, but alas, he wasn't checking his Facebook at 5am!
We did strict press, and the one-on-one really paid off, I wasn't going heavy, since it was higher rep, 10-8-6-6, and even then I stayed at 65# the whole time, but we really worked my form and body position. It was a break through. By the end it was feeling easier, than the beginning, despite the fatigue, thanks to improved form and position.
The WOD would've been much MUCH better with company. It was a rough one to motivate on your own.
10 min AMRAP
-5 burpee pull ups
-10 one arm kettle bell swings (5 each arm).
The first two rounds I did 10 burpee pull ups, because that was what the "red" workout called for, (10 burpee pull ups, 10 kettle bell snatches). My right shoulder was giving me grief on the snatches, so went heavierbut just did the swings.
I managed 6 rounds plus 2 burpee pull ups, plus the 10 extra I did the first two rounds. Happy with that.
Monday, 27 February 2012
I really like volleyball
Friday last I reluctantly volunteered to attend my daughter's grade 6 volleyball tournament at a neighbourhood school.
I should have known. I loved every minute of it.
It brought me back to my days as a volleyball player in high school. The one sport I was ever any good at.
I brought the best from my coach to the court side. Encouraging, forget that bad play, focus on the next one, be ready, get into position. Praise the opponents for well executed plays.
My daughter was embarrassed at first because I was so vocal, especially to the "strangers" on the other team, but when my enthusiasm became contagious and was praised by her peers, she came around, and started being more vocal herself.
Over lunch I told them that the best game they had play during the morning session was the one they had lost. This piece of news shocked them.
I explained that sometimes it's better to lose to a stronger team than beat a weaker one, as long as you give them a run for their money, and play your best, which was what they had done. I told them they should thank the other team for pushing them to play their best and congratulate them for a hard won victory.
I think they got the message. Or at least the gist of it.
They tied for first among the 4 schools in attendance. They were pretty pumped about that.
Facebook was abuzz with celebration and a couple of posts mentioned me.
"I hope he comes back"
"It's because of him we won"
"He really help by saying - it's okay" [when they missed], to which one of the boys replied "You're lucky, madame just yelled at us". ;)
So now I have to go back.
I can't fathom how I was ever reluctant to go in the first place.
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Crossfit log for Monday, November 29th
I want to get this down before the feeling fades.
I missed Crossfit this morning because Dex was up at around 3:30am to 4:30am and my alarm had been set for 5:30am. Well, when I got back to bed lets just say the alarm was no longer set, but I digress.
I decided to go tonight, but on Mondays the 7:30pm class (the only one I could go to), wasn't Crossfit, it was Olympic Lifting, with professional weightlifting coach Daniel Robitaille.
"Today we'll be doing the snatch". Crap. I've never done a snatch and I can't even overhead squat, a necessary part of the snatch. Thankfully he asked if there was anyone who had never done a snatch before, and sadly I was the only person to raise their hand.
"Okay, I'll keep a closer eye on you", and I suddenly felt like he was in my corner.
The first thing we did was overhead squats to warm up. I just couldn't do them. Not sure if it's a shoulder mobility issue, or a thoracic spine mobility issue, immediately Dan turns to Francois (our Crossfit coach and Dan's protégé) "You know what he needs? He needs to do a split snatch" then he turns to me and says "They don't do it anymore, but I did it in my day and held the Canadian record doing it".
He seemed almost excited by the prospect, like he'd been waiting for some time for an opportunity to teach someone this technique that had fallen into disuse.
So after a few minutes of instruction and a couple of trial lifts with an empty bar, I was doing snatches like everyone else, but in my own special way.
Then we started putting weight on the bar and working parts of the lift, just the catch, just the landing, driving with the bar across our shoulders instead of from the ground, catch it, then squat (or for me lunge), the putting pieces together until we had a bit more weight on the bar and were doing the full snatch.
It started to gel for me, and more often than not I actually looked like I knew what I was doing. To receive praise from a guy like Dan, who's been there and coached world championship bronze medallists says a lot. He asked me three times "Are you sure you've never done a snatch before".
I pulled one really good one off and from across the room I heard him yell out "Now that was a good split snatch".
It was really gratifying to have someone of his experience giving such positive praise for my effort, telling me I was a strong athlete and had great body control. Granted, he's a coach, it's his job to do that, but it felt wonderful. Really wonderful.
I missed Crossfit this morning because Dex was up at around 3:30am to 4:30am and my alarm had been set for 5:30am. Well, when I got back to bed lets just say the alarm was no longer set, but I digress.
I decided to go tonight, but on Mondays the 7:30pm class (the only one I could go to), wasn't Crossfit, it was Olympic Lifting, with professional weightlifting coach Daniel Robitaille.
"Today we'll be doing the snatch". Crap. I've never done a snatch and I can't even overhead squat, a necessary part of the snatch. Thankfully he asked if there was anyone who had never done a snatch before, and sadly I was the only person to raise their hand.
"Okay, I'll keep a closer eye on you", and I suddenly felt like he was in my corner.
The first thing we did was overhead squats to warm up. I just couldn't do them. Not sure if it's a shoulder mobility issue, or a thoracic spine mobility issue, immediately Dan turns to Francois (our Crossfit coach and Dan's protégé) "You know what he needs? He needs to do a split snatch" then he turns to me and says "They don't do it anymore, but I did it in my day and held the Canadian record doing it".
He seemed almost excited by the prospect, like he'd been waiting for some time for an opportunity to teach someone this technique that had fallen into disuse.
So after a few minutes of instruction and a couple of trial lifts with an empty bar, I was doing snatches like everyone else, but in my own special way.
Then we started putting weight on the bar and working parts of the lift, just the catch, just the landing, driving with the bar across our shoulders instead of from the ground, catch it, then squat (or for me lunge), the putting pieces together until we had a bit more weight on the bar and were doing the full snatch.
It started to gel for me, and more often than not I actually looked like I knew what I was doing. To receive praise from a guy like Dan, who's been there and coached world championship bronze medallists says a lot. He asked me three times "Are you sure you've never done a snatch before".
I pulled one really good one off and from across the room I heard him yell out "Now that was a good split snatch".
It was really gratifying to have someone of his experience giving such positive praise for my effort, telling me I was a strong athlete and had great body control. Granted, he's a coach, it's his job to do that, but it felt wonderful. Really wonderful.
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