Ego Check

One of the things I like about Crossfit is that it will force you to check your ego.  I have been used to doing most of the wods rx'd.  I just read a great article on what rx'd really means.  It means to use the weight that is right for you.  That doesn't always mean that it's the recommended weight, but a weight that is good for me on that given day.  For example, I did a workout the other day that was 10 rounds of 10 hand release pushups and 10 deadlifts with 225 lbs.  I got 6 rounds in and realized that the weight was too heavy for me.  Instead of sacrificing my form, I ended the workout at 6 rounds.  In retrospect, I should have used a lighter weight and I would have been able to get all the required rounds.  It is always good to be able to learn from each workout, and sometimes, it is better to use a lighter weight.

How Bad Do You Want Success

As bad as you want to breathe?  I just saw this video recently, and it is very true.  This video put things into perspective for me.  I have been pretty disappointed in myself lately.  I have been slacking in the gym and my eating habits, well let's just say they are terrible right now.  And this time of year is not the easiest to get through when it comes to eating.  If I can be successful now, I can be successful in the long run.

He says how some people only kind of want it, but not as much as they want other things.  So it isn't a full commitment.  That is how I have been.  In order to achieve success, at least for me, I have to want it as bad as I want to breathe.  The holiday season is upon us, and that means Thanksgiving Day feasts and holiday parties, which usually means crap food and alcohol.  For me, it means a chance to test out my dedication and discipline.  I have decided to stop consuming alcohol.  It isn't drinking that is a problem, it is the bad food choices that go with it, plus the empty calories.  I have only kind of been wanting to reach my goals.  And when I am lacking some motivation, all I need to do is watch this video to get me back on track.

It's Been Awhile

It has been quite some time since my last post.  It doesn't mean that I haven't been working out, it just means that I haven't been writing about it because I have been doing a half ass effort.  I am good about working out for a week or so, then fall off the wagon, and so on.  I am very disappointed with myself.  I am not trying to lose weight for anyone but myself, and basically, I have let myself down up to this point.  Like most people, I have lost and gained the same 10-20 lbs for the last year.  Not gaining past where I started, but not keeping off what I lose either.  It is all part of my journey, and how I move on from here is up to me.

I am going to try and start doing 2 workouts a day, meaning some cardio and olympic lifting practice for one workout, and a crossfit wod for the other.  Now this won't be every day, but if I can do this 3 days a week and just one workout the other days, whether it be crossfit or cardio, I will be on the right track.  My buddy asked me to do a strong man competition with him in April, so the oly lifting will help with that.  I have no intentions of winning, but I think it will be fun to compete in it and from what he has told me, it is a team competition.  This gives a purpose to my training, which might be the push that I needed.  We shall see.

I Repeat...Burpees Suck!

Today's workout once again had burpees in it.  I HATE BURPEES.  And these weren't regular burpees.  They were bar facing burpees.  Meaning, you do a burpee facing the bar, and then jump and turn so you land on the other side facing the bar, hence the name.  There is nothing like burpees in a wod to wear me out so fast.  And why should this one be any different.  The workout was 5 rounds of 15 push press (95lbs) and 15 bar facing burpees.  My original goal was to finish under 30 min.  About halfway through, I realized that was going to be very reachable.  I finished in 23:40.  Better than I had thought, but still not where I want to be.  The only way to get better with the workouts and burpees is to do them.  My body is pretty worn out from the last 2 weeks of wods.  The programming from Crossfit Militia has been great and really kicked my butt.  I am thinking 2 days rest for the holiday weekend.  Or maybe just a light jog on Sat.   A little R & R will be a good thing.

AMRAP = Oh Crap

Today's wod, an AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible).  15 min of 20 double unders and 225 lb deadlift.  These type of wods always suck, and today was right on point.  I was fairly sore/worn out from the last few workouts, so today was pretty tiring.  I was hoping for 8 to 9 rounds.  I got either 6 or 7, I am not sure because I lost track in the middle.  So, I am going with that I got 6 rounds rx'd.  The deadlifts definitely got heavy by the end of the 15 min.  The double unders weren't really a problem.  I am good at jumping rope, so those usually aren't a problem.  I have noticed that my endurance has been getting better.  My recovery time after a workout has been getting shorter my wind is getting a better.  I still collapse in a puddle of sweat gasping for air, just not as long as I was.

Lions, Tigers and Oh S**t, a Bear Complex

Today's workout was a bear complex, meaning it is a sequence of exercises done with one barbell.  It was a power clean, front squat, push press, back squat and a push press.  That is 1 sequence, done seven times for 1 round.  Take a minute rest, add 20 lbs, and do it all over again 4 more rounds, adding 20 lbs. each round.  You start with just the bar, and end up doing 125 lbs for the last round of 7 reps.  If you drop the bar or let it rest on the ground, it is not rx'd.  I did the first 3 rounds without a problem, rx'd.  Then the 4th round hit and so did the wall that goes with it.  I had to put the bar down, so my workout was not rx'd.  The weight was, but I can't claim rx because I had to set the bar down.  I finished in 20:09.  Not good, not bad. While it wasn't rx, at least it wasn't a DNF (did not finish), which is worse.  I love the bear complex workouts, even if it nearly ate me alive.

The Tingling means that it is Working

So I recently decided to try a pre-workout supplement.  I started taking Jacked, which I like.  My friend Man-baby, the one who the bet is with, sent me some RSP Fast Fuel and Beta Alanine and told me to try that.  I must say, I love that stuff.  The first time that I took it, I kind of got freaked out because I have never taken anything like that before.  I got a tingling feeling in my arms and back, almost like it was itching.  I asked my buddy about it, and he said that is normal, because it is opening up your blood vessels.  I have now come to grips with that and it lets me know that the supplement is working.  My workouts have been great since taking them and I sweat like no other.  Also I have been taking some fish oil pills and a multi vitamin.  It all seems to be working as I am feeling great all day and recovering well from my workouts.  I think I'll keep using it.

As the Chalk Dust Settles

As the chalk dust settles, I am lying on the ground gasping for air.  That is how pretty much all my workouts end it seems.  Like many crossfitters, I use chalk to help with gripping the bar instead of hand wraps or gloves.  It really helps considering that during the workouts I am dropping pools of sweat.  The chalk helps to keep my hands dry and keep my grip on the bar.  And it helps to keep my hands from ripping.

Today's workout was no different.  3 sets of 3 reps for DL and then on to the wod.  I was able to do 315-365-385.  Not great by any means.  The workout was 21-15-9 reps of Power Cleans, Burpees, Power Snatch.  The rx'd weight was 95lbs, not bad.  I didn't have an issue with the cleans or snatches, but when you add burpees in the mix it absolutely kills me.  Today's workout should take me less than 15 min.  I did it in 22:23.  Terrible!  It's the burpees in the middle that get me every time.  As I finished, the chalk dust settled around me, like a chalk dust outline.

Expose Your Weakness

That is the great thing with Crossfit.  With it being constantly varied, there will come a time when you find a big weakness.  Then, it will get exposed for the entire workout.  Today was that day for me.  It was finding a Snatch 1 rep max in 10 min.  I have done power snatches, but I haven't really done full squat snatches.  Today that all changed.  I was able to get up to 135 lbs.  I failed twice at 145 because my balance was off.  Before I knew it the 10 min. was up and I hit a disappointing 135 max.  Take a 5 min rest then the wod was 15 min AMRAP with 70% of your snatch max, 105 lbs.  The main focus was to concentrate on form and making sure I get a deep full squat.  20 reps is where I ended up at, but my form and squat depth were kept in tact, which is what I was really going for.  Form is more important for me with movements that I am not used to or good at.  The weight will come.  Today I had a big weakness of mine exposed.  The only thing to do now is to practice it to make it a strength so that I can move on to the next weakness.  And believe me, I have plenty of them.

Adapt and Overcome

For the most part, I have everything I need between the gym at work and the gym I am a member at.  The only thing I really don't have is a 20 lb wall ball and a 24 inch box.  So when a work out calls for these, I have only one choice, adapt and overcome.  The wall ball that we have at work is 16 lbs and the box for jumping is 20 inches.  I could just do the recommended reps but with less weight, or do more reps.  I chose option 2.  For example, today's workout was 150 wall balls w/a 20 lb ball.  Since I have 16 lbs, to even out the weight, I needed to do 188 reps.  And when box jumps are in the wod, I just put a bumper weight on top of the box to make it about 24 inches.  The nice thing with Crossfit is that you can adjust things to make them work.  The important part is to make sure your form is not compromised and that the intensity is there, which I can do with those tweaks.  It is all about how you adapt and overcome.

Make up Day

There is not a Sat. workout posted for my buddy's gym, which is the one that I am following.  So I decided to make Saturdays a make up a missed wod day.  I didn't get a chance to do the workout from Thu.  Today was a great day to make it up.  And the workout was something I have never really done before, which made it a great wod for me.  It was a 15 min. AMRAP of 50 m farmers walk w/45lb plate in each hand, 5 burpees, 50 m overhead plate carry w/45lb plate, 50 m sprint, 50 m overhead plate carry w/45lb plate.  That is 1 round.  I was pretty disappointed with my performance.  4 rounds + 50 m farmers walk.  The overhead plate carry was harder than I thought because you have to keep your arms completely straight up over your head.

Because I was unhappy with my performance, I decided that an active cool down was in order.  We have a tractor tire at work that is probably around 300 lbs.  What better than a 10 min. cool down of tire flips.  So that is what I did.  10 min. I flipped the tire somewhere around 110 m or so.  This week has been a good week for me.  I didn't stray from my diet, and I worked out 4 days.  To top it all off, I even dropped 9 lbs.  I know a lot of that weight is water weight, but it's a start.

From the Way I See it Shooter...

We've only just begun.  That is what I had to tell myself after today's workout.  I didn't think that it would take me as long as it did, but I quickly realized that I was sadly mistaken.  It wasn't so much the cardio portion of the workout, but the muscle endurance.  The workout started with a strength wod, followed by a short rest then 4 rounds of 25 reps each of 135 lb. deadlift and push ups (hand release).  The hand release push ups are chest to the ground and you lift your hands up off the ground before pushing back up.

First part, strength wod.  5-5-5 shoulder press.  135 was good, but I failed at 140.  4 reps and 3 reps.  Discouraging, but it will only improve.  After a short rest, it was time for the DL/pushup wod.  I was hoping to finish in 15 min. or less and quickly realized that probably wouldn't happen.  First round wasn't too bad, but then muscle fatigue set in.  It just made me realize that I had lost a lot of strength.  I managed to finish the workout rx'd in 19:50.  While I am not anywhere near where I want to be, just changing my eating and working out has made me feel much better, which is a step in the right direction.

That's a Heavy Snatch

Today's workout consisted of Power Snatches and running.  I am not the most efficient at the snatch, which is an olympic lift, and today it called for using 135 lbs.  It was 5 rounds for time (RFT) of 5 power snatches w/135 lbs and a 400 m run.  My goal was to just finish it rx'd.  Just getting back into eating right and working out, I am not so much worried about my times as I am with doing the movements right and just finishing a workout.  My times will improve the more consistent I am with eating healthy and doing Crossfit.

The first round wasn't too bad, but I wasn't used to that much weight.  My form was not the prettiest for that round, but I made some adjustments and it got better.  Overall, the wod took me 25:13.  Not great, but at least I finished it rx'd.  My times will get better.  Making sure I am doing the movements correctly will only make me more efficient, which will lead to faster times.

And So It Begins

This morning after I got off of work, I began my slap bet challenge.  I am transitioning my diet into a paleo eating lifestyle.  The problem right now, I don't have the right foods at home.  So I had a seared tuna steak salad for dinner last night, but that was about it.  Without packing my lunch, I didn't have anything with me to eat, and I didn't want to hit the drive thru.  Today, breakfast was a little better.  I had 2 whole eggs, cut up chicken breast, asparagus, a hand full of walnuts, a few apple slices, half a grapefruit and a big glass of water.

What was the workout you ask?  It was 6 rounds of 250 m row and 15 push press w/115 lbs.  While the workout wasn't terrible cardio wise, it made me realize how weak I have gotten.  During the push press, I can't get all 15 reps at once because my shoulders fatigued.  I had to break the first 2 sets into 8 and 7 reps.  Then after that, 3 sets of 5.

This workout should take about 15 min. or so. It took me 22:42.  Not a great performance, but you have to start somewhere.  And the motivation not to get slapped is enough for me to keep moving forward.

It Starts with a Slap Bet!

So today I was talking to my friend Man-Baby.  That is a nickname bestowed on him back when I worked in Hollywood.  He is one of the owners of Crossfit Militia and he is a freak of nature.  We were talking about how I haven't really been giving this journey my full 100 %.  He said something that put it in perspective for me.  He told me to stop making excuses and start making sacrifices.  That got me to thinking.  What is the reason that I haven't given it my all?  Am I not worth it to myself?

It has been a year since I started this journey, and I am exactly at the same point I have always been.  I have lost and gained the same weight numerous times.  I needed some new motivation.  Why not make a bet that involves physical harm?  A slap bet seemed to be in order.  The bet we made is that I will follow the workouts everyday from crossfitmilitia.com., paleo diet and maybe some supplements.  If I am not in better shape when my wife and I go back to FL to visit, which is hopefully this summer, Man-Baby gets to slap me.  And for those that don't know Man-Baby, I have seen first hand how hard he hits.  I do not want to be on the receiving/losing end of this bet.  Maybe this is the extra push I need, a little Slap Bet.

Sunday=5k fun day

I have decided that Sundays are going to be referred to as 5k fun days.  This means either run or row a 5k.  Today I decided that I would row.  My original goal was to finish in under 25 min.  This meant that I needed to average under 2:30 for 500 m.  Shouldn't be too bad.  I ended up finishing in 22:02, just about 3 min. under my original goal.  I now have a baseline to judge for the future.  This should be my slowest time.  I am hoping that it only gets better.  Next Sunday will be a run.

Nancy is an S.O.B.

I have been getting back into the swing of things by doing workouts on my own again.  I recently have left going to a Crossfit gym and joined Powerhouse Gym, solely based on money.  It's $12/month.  So between that gym and the one at work, I have everything I need to do pretty much any crossfit workout.  Today I decided to revisit one of the benchmark WODs, Nancy.  The female named wods have a tendency to be horrific.  And let me tell you this about Nancy, she is a bi**h.

Here is what Nancy entails, 5 rounds of 400 m run and 15 Overhead Squats (OHS) w/95 lbs.  I told myself that no matter how long it took, I was going to do it prescribed.  I am not a fast runner, and my best time ever has been around 25 min.  Round 1 and 2, not so bad.  I ran at 6 mph on the treadmill and broke the OHS into 2 sets, 8 reps and 7 reps.  Round 3 is when it started to kick my butt.  I had to drop the speed down to 5 mph, but the reps were the same for OHS.  The last round I bumped the speed back up to 5.7 mph and was going to try and do the last set of OHS unbroken, meaning without stopping or putting the weight down.  I got to my 11th rep on OHS and my arms started coming forward and I couldn't bring the bar back, actually dropping it on my head.  Not hard, but just enough to annoy me, not hurt me.  I let out a four letter word, dropped the bar and picked it back up to finish the last 4 reps.  Time!  31 min 25 sec.  Not my best, but hey, I finished and that is all that matters.  And in usual form, I fell over onto the floor, lying there in my sweat angel and catching my breath.

I've Been Hit by a Train!

Today, as I walked into the gym, I realized that the WOD that was on the board was going to suck.  My legs still hurt from Tuesday's squats, and today called for medicine ball cleans, a lot of them.  First though, there was a skill/strength WOD.  It was snatch balance for 3-3-3-3-3, working your way to a 3 rep max.  The snatch balance is something I have never done, so it should be interesting.  For those that don't know what a snatch balance is, it is when you take the bar in a snatch width grip from off of your back.  As you press it up over your head and lock out your arms, you drop into a full snatch catch, going below parallel.  Then you stand up in an overhead squat with your arms still locked out.  That's 1 rep.  I was very pleased, because I got my last set of 3 with 135 lbs.  My pr in OHS (overhead squat) was 95 for 1, so today was starting off great.  A huge PR!

Now, onto the WOD, where I got run over by a train.  It was a couplet, meaning 2 exercises paired together, of 30-25-20-15-10-5 reps of medicine ball cleans (20 lb ball) and push ups.  While you may think that a 20 lb med ball isn't that bad for the cleans, let me reassure you that it is.  I made it through the workout rx'd in 20 ish or 22 ish minutes, I can't remember.  It was the first time in a while that when I finished the workout and was lying on the ground that I felt like I was run over by a train.  I was on the floor in a puddle of sweat, gasping for air to catch my breath.  Some may think, "Holy crap, you shouldn't put yourself through that kind of torture.  Don't go as hard and you won't feel like that."  It is the opposite though.  That is a great feeling for me, because I know that I am pushing myself to be better and pushing myself to be in better shape.  So, getting hit by a train is not necessarily a bad thing.  Choo Choo!

Ain't so Bad.

When you think that about a work out, it usually means the opposite.  Today was a perfect example.  First part of today's workout was Hanging Power Cleans, 3-3-3-3-3 reps, working up to your 3 rep max.  Previously, I had only done 200 lbs. for 1 rep.  I started with 135 and ended my last set with 210 lbs.  That is a huge PR for me.  I was happy with that.

Now it was time to move on to the WOD.  On the white board it didn't look so bad, 21-15-9 reps of Bodyweight back squat and KB swings.  I modified the squats to 205 lbs. and the swings were rx'd at 55 lbs.  I got about 10 reps into the workout and realized that 205 was a bad idea.  It felt fairly heavy.  But here's the deal, you pick the weight, you are married to it.  I would do my workout with what I had chosen, no matter how long it took me.  There is no dropping the weight half way through because it is too hard.  I made it through, and my time was around 12min, 12 sec.  Then I collapsed in a puddle of sweat and tried to catch my breath.  Lesson learned, it is always bad, even if it appears to be not so bad.

There May be Something to This Diet

The holidays have come and gone, so now it is time to get back on track.  Like everyone else, January is t time for me to get myself back in the swing of things of eating well and working out.  It has been a week since I went back to a paleo/healthy eating style.  I have worked out once this week, and will be working out another 3 days.  With that being said, diet plays a crucial role in losing weight.  I got up this afternoon (which is my morning because I work nights) and stepped on the scale a little nervous.  I have been feeling a ton better lately because of the changed eating.  So, after a week of eating healthy, I have lost 9 lbs.  I know that majority of it is water, but hey, 9 lbs. is 9 lbs. and I'll take it.  It is the encouragement I needed to keep me moving towards my long term goal.  Do I expect to lose this much every week?  Of course not.  But hey, it's a good start.