Total Devastation

That was the title of today's workout.  So, as you can guess, it was.  The workout was 40 min. long.  10 minutes of squats with 135 lbs., 5 min. rest.  Then 10 min. of 95 lbs. strict press (standing military), 5 min. rest.  Last exercise was 10 min. of deadlifts with 135 lbs.  I did this workout back in jan or feb and I was looking to improve.  From what I remember, since I didn't write it down, I did 50 squats, 30 presses, and 50 deadlifts.

I started out with sets of 10 on the squats.  10 min. seemed like an eternity of squats.  I got 60 reps.  10 more than last time, nice.  After the 5 min. rest, I push through the presses.  52 reps.  A 22 rep improvement, awesome.  5 min. rest and on to the deadlifts.  83 reps.  Holy crap, I improved by 33 reps.  I was pretty pumped about that.  I was spent after that workout, especially after taking a week off.  It felt good to get back in the gym and I remembered why I loved Crossfit.  That exhausted feeling, knowing that I gave it my all.  This workout was exactly what I needed to get me back on track.

Life Happens

I have been in a funk lately.  I don't know what it is, but I have not had any motivation to do anything this week. Life happened this past week.  I went out of town to visit my sister and then went out with some friends this week.  I have absolutely no excuse for not working out.  Even more so, I don't have an excuse for straying off my diet.  I don't know what it was, but I slipped back to some old habits.  The important thing is, I realized what I was doing and I am making sure that I don't fall too far.

I think a big part of it was my lack of preparation.  I didn't prepare my food ahead of time.  Not preparing my meals is just preparing to fail.  I didn't make working out a priority.  I didn't make myself a priority.  That is a big problem.  The fact that I am conscious of what happened and am making sure that I get back on track now is a step in the right direction.  Before, I would have just kept slipping back to my old habits.  I know that this journey will have ups and downs.  It is learning from my mistakes to make sure that they don't happen again. Life will happen, and I just have to adjust to it accordingly to make sure that I continue to have success. 

A Good Investment

A few months ago I bought a home boxing gym to put in my basement.  It is a great way for me to add some variety to my workouts and gives me no excuse for not working out.  I didn't have time to get to they gym before work, so I decided to do a quick half hour boxing workout before I had to leave.  Fairly simple workout, 3 rounds of each of the following; jump rope, shadow boxing, and the heavy bag.  A round is 3 minutes with 1 minute rest in between.  Short and sweet.  A great investment to help keep me on track during the journey.

A bit too much

Today's workout I bit off a little more than I could chew weight wise.  It was kind of like a bear complex with dbs today.  That means you perform all the reps without ever letting go of the dumbbells.  5 rds. of 5 reps each of the following; deadlift, hanging cleans, push press and squats.  I thought I would start out at 50 lbs. and work my way up.  You are supposed to increase the weight each round, and rest as needed in between rounds.

I got the first round done with 50's and it was pretty brutal.  I went up to 55 for the next round, fail at 3 push press.  3rd round fail again, but this time at 4 push press.  So I dropped down to 45's and did round 4, and 40's for the final round.  I should have started lighter, with 35's and gone up from there.  So now I know for next time, start a little lighter.  I burnt myself out with the heavier weights first.  But that is the great thing with Crossfit.  I still got a great workout and I learned from it too.  This was the first time that I did all of those exercises with dbs.  The form got easier as the workout went on because I was getting more comfortable with the dbs.  After the workout, I decided to to add a half mile cool down jog this week to my workouts.  I figured hey, a little extra cardio won't hurt.  Hopefully that will help even more lbs. melt away.

The Ladies

It seems that the worst Crossfit workouts are named after women.  Fran, Cindy, Barbara, Eva, Angie, and many more.  These workouts strike fear.  I know that when I do one of these workouts I am going to be smoked.  Today was no different.  Today was Cindy.  Cindy is 20 AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) of 5 pull ups, 10 push ups, and 15 air squats.  The most rounds I have done is 11.  That was when I was in much better shape.

Elite Crossfitters usually do 20 + rounds of this workout.  I am nowhere near that level.  I am not even near 15 rds.  My goal today was to get at least 9 rds.  20 minutes go by and I had done 10 rds.  1 rd. short of my PR (personal record).  I was pretty happy with that.  My cardio is starting to come back around.  I know that the next time I do this workout, 12 rounds is not unrealistic, if not more.  Today's workout was very encouraging for me.  I felt much better after today's workout then I did 5 weeks ago when I started this journey.  I didn't have to lay on the floor nearly as long as before.  My recovery time has decreased. 

After Cindy there as another short workout.  Perform 1 squat clean on the minute for 10 minutes.  Use about 70% of your 1 rep max.  I am right around 200 lbs. for the squat clean so I used 135 lbs. to work on my form.  10 minutes go by and I was done.  The feeling after a great workout is indescribable.  That is how I felt today because I knew it had been a great workout.  I can't wait to revisit this workout in a few months and see how I have improved. 

Progress Pics

Here are pics from Day 1 to today.  5 weeks have gone by and I have lost 13 lbs.  A litlle over 2 lbs. a week is fine by me.  While the amount of weight I have lost is not unbelievable, it is healthy.  These last 5 weeks I have been changing my lifestyle with Crossfit and a good eating plan.  I don't look at it as a diet because I plan on keeping this type of eating as a lifestyle.  I am hoping to lose just as much, if not more weight in the next 5 weeks.  By adding some extra cardio to my regiment should help me with that.

As I head in to week 6 I am pleased with the results so far.  I am hoping to continue with the success I have had and am excited for the weeks to come.

Time to step it up

I am very happy with my progress so far.  In a little over a month I have lost around 12 lbs., give or take a pound depending on the day.  I also have dropped a notch in my belt.  My energy levels are up and my cardio is coming back around.  Also my strength is returning.  I have been following Crossfit workouts pretty regularly, meaning at least 4 times a week.  I think that if I increase a few things I may see some bigger gains.

My diet is pretty good.  I haven't really fallen off the wagon to an extreme, so I will continue on the Paleo/Zone path.  I am going to be following the recommended 3 on/1 off workout regiment that is suggested for optimal results.  On my rest days and non-work days I am going to add some other activities.  On top of a little running, I am going to throw in some boxing and swimming.  And also work on some of my weaknesses on my off days, like ring dips and hand stand push ups.  I am excited and can't wait to see what the next month has in store.