A Step Towards the Dream

Today I took my first step towards my dream of opening up a box.  I signed up for my Level 1 Crossfit Certification.  It is the end of Sept. in Ann Arbor, MI.  Being Level 1 certified means that I can teach Crossfit and more importantly, need it to become an affiliate.  I am nervous and excited at the same time.  Will I be ready?  Will I pass the test?

The certification is 10 weeks away.  I now have a timeline for my goal.  I am hoping to go to the certification about 20-30 lbs. lighter than what I am now.  That means busting my ass and making it happen.  It is a little scary to think that in only 10 weeks, I will be 1 step closer to what I have been working for.  I know it is going to be 2 days that are well worth it in the long run and I can't wait to be there.

2 WODS, 14 hrs. apart

I could only imagine how hard it is for people that do 2 to 3 workouts in a day.  I squeezed in my workouts for wed. and thurs. in to 14 hrs.  I went in to work an hour early to complete the first WOD.  It looked a lot easier on the board then it really was.  It called for 21-15-9 reps of the following:  double unders, thrusters w/95lbs, ab mat sit ups, burpee box jumps and slam balls w/16 lbs.  The double unders are easy for me, so those weren't a problem.  Neither were the thrusters.  It was the burpee box jumps that suck.  I hate burpees to begin with, but adding a box jump with each one makes me hate them even more.  I managed to push my way through in 25 min. and some change.  Then it was time for work, 12 hour shift.

After I was done working, I headed to the gym at work for my Thurs. workout.  It was Sumo Deadlift High Pulls (SDLHP) for max effort. 1-1-1-1-1 reps.  First set was 155, pretty easy.  I jump to 185 and fail.  Try it again, got it.  Now 190.  First time fail, second time I got the rep.  I was pretty happy with that.  So for a quick workout after, I decided that I would do 250 kettlebell swings with a 35lb. kettlebell.  That sucked.  It took me 17:55.  Not too bad.  I had wanted to stay under 20 min. and I accomplished that goal.  Now it was time to head home and rest.

How's your Snatch?

How is your snatch?  That is something you have to ask yourself before performing the olympic lift.  Today's workout called for power snatches, which is lifting the bar from the ground to overhead, without a full squat.  Form and technique are more important on this lift then the amount of weight.  Once your form becomes second nature, strength gains will happen.  But it is the technique that prevents injury.  You can't let your ego get in the way of what people will think if you don't have a ton of weight on the bar.  I was fortunate enough to find Crossfit Hardcore when I was in FL.  They always made sure that technique and form took priority over weight.  This allowed me to become comfortable with the olympic lifts.

Here is today's WOD:

5 rounds

10 Power Snatch-105 lbs

200 m run

20 push ups

It took me 22 min. 58 sec.  It was a great workout.  I got some strange looks at the gym from people that spend more time talking then working out, but I don't have time to worry about that.  I was just trying to finish my workout.

This is a video of a proper Power Snatch

A Little Rain Never Hurt Anybody

This morning when I woke up, it was raining.  I had wanted to do a track workout concentrating on sprints.  I could have easily said, "Forget it, I don't want to run in the rain."  But it wasn't raining that hard and a little rain never hurt anybody.

In my line of work, I need to be able to sprint.  So today I decided to do a track workout that concentrated on sprinting.  I had done this workout a long time ago back when I was in college and I really liked it.  It started with a 1/2 mile warm up run.  Now on to the fun stuff.  2x400 m sprints, 4x200 m sprints, and then 6x100 m sprints.  The warm up took me 5 min., not too bad.  My goal was to keep the 400's under 2 min, 200's under 1 min, and the 100's under 20 sec.  My first 400 was 2 min. exactly.  The second one was 2:13.  The 200's were 56 sec, 58 sec, 56 sec, and 58 sec.  Nice!  And now the 100's.  All but 1 of my first 5 were 20 sec. with 1 being 21 sec.  My last one I knew that I wanted sub 20 sec, so I gave it my all.  17 sec. I'll take it.  The workout was over after about 45 min.  It was a great workout.  There was also a 200-300lb tractor tire at the track.  What a better way to cool down then do 120 yards of tire flips for time.  8 min. 16 sec.  Done!

Today's workout was awesome.  And the light rain during the majority of the workout was actually pretty refreshing.

Completely Wrecked

That is how I felt during and after my workout.  Today was much better than yesterday.  I was not the recipient of a DNF again.  It took me longer than I wanted, but I finished.  The workout today had 3 of my better/favorite exercises-Power Cleans, Double Unders (2 revolutions of the jump rope every time you jump), and Kettlebell Swings.  I was hoping to complete the workout in about 35 minutes, but I'll take the 42:35 from today.  The workout was as follows:

Power Cleans-Dubs-KB Swings
5-15-25
10-15-20
15-15-15
20-15-10
25-15-5
20-15-10
15-15-15
10-15-20
5-15-20

95 Lbs. was Rx'd for the Power Cleans and 53 Lbs. for the Swings

This workout wrecked me.  I was smoked after.  It took me about a half hour to gather my bearings and return to a normal state....I love that feeling

DNF

Did Not Finish.  Those are the 3 letters you never want next to your name as a Crossfitter.  Today I had a big, fat DNF.  The workout wasn't that bad, but I think the lack of working out these past few weeks combined with my crappy diet lately are 2 big contributing factors.  I was going along during my workout and when I got on the treadmill for the run portion, I started to get light headed and didn't feel good.  That was when I knew it was time to call it quits.  After a 3 week layoff, it was too much too soon.

My diet has been put back on track.  I will probably do some other activities tonight, like walk the dog and take a bike ride.  That is the big thing with Crossfit.  It promotes a healthy lifestyle.  You can't just workout and eat a crap diet.  Your entire lifestyle needs to be healthy to make you the best you.

Today's workout:
3 Rds.
30 reps 75 lb. squat clean
30 pushups
1/2 mile (800 m) run

I did 1 round then DNF.  That will not happen again!

3 rounds

That was my workout today, 3 rounds.  3 rounds of jump rope, 3 rounds of shadow boxing, 3 rounds of the heavy bag, and 3 rounds of the double end ball.  12 rounds total.  Each round is 3 minutes, followed by 1 minute of rest.  48 total minutes.  My goal is to continue with the 3 rounds of everything this month, and then bump it up to 4 rounds next month and 5 rounds in Sept.

I will be working out after work tonight, at 3 am.  I have found it easiest to just bring my clothes with me and force myself to go to the gym after work.  Once I warm up, the tiredness goes away and I wake up.  After the holiday weekend and a little too much indulging, today was just what I needed.  Now it is off to work to plan my workout for tomorrow morning.