Get it Done

The thing about my job is the fact that I don't work normal hours.  My day today begins at 3 pm and I work until 3 am.  Not your typical 9-5.  I am not complaining because I love my job, which is more than a lot of people can say.  But, my hours don't always coincide with the hours of the gym.  And today that was the case.  I did buy some bumper weights and an olympic bar to have at home.  I have 115lbs that I can work with.  I also have a jump rope.

I wanted to keep is short and sweet today.  WOD for today: 21-15-9 reps of 115lbs ground to overhead and double unders.  After each round, I ran to the end of my street and back, .2 miles (a little less than 400 m).  I did it in a little over 18 minutes.  Not too bad.  My cool down was 30 strict deadlift w/115, working on form, and 150 singles with the jump rope.  The heat played a factor in the workout today too.  It was hot today.

I also have some added incentive for the next 30 days to kick it in to high gear.  My best friend Joe and I have a 30 day contest on who can drop the most percentage of body weight in the next 30 days.  Winner gets 9 holes of golf and a cart, but more importantly they get bragging rights.

The Great Outdoors

The weather here has been amazing the last few days.  Today I went to the gym for the Saturday morning workout and the weather was perfect.  Not humid, about 75 degrees.  Today's workout was 3 rounds of 500 m row/21 burpees/400 m run.  The entire workout today was done outside.  What a world of difference a little fresh air makes during a workout.  Sometimes, just stepping outside of the gym refreshes the whole workout.  Some fresh air makes you feel a little less constricted, confined by the walls of the box.

I also introduced a friend of mine, Tim,  to Crossfit today.  He was pretty athletic already, so this workout was good for him.  He did beat me by 3 minutes, but I had revenge on the cool down.  At the gym, they have a 375 lb. tire.  The owner, Bill, said he had a cool down challenge for us.  Since my friend Tim was new, we would flip the tire back and forth til 1 person quit.  I flip, then Tim flips, I flip, and so on.  We got to the 3 min. mark of flipping and Bill upped the ante.  After each flip, jump up on the tire and jump off, like a box jump.  Tim was done after a few of those, and sweet revenge was mine.  What a great way to end a great workout, with a little friendly competition.  I think today Tim was bit by the Crossfit bug.

The more you go, the less it sucks

The more you do Crossfit, the less it sucks.  Now I'm not saying it gets easier by any means.  I mean that the more you go, it still sucks, just not as bad as when you first started.  Do you still get winded and sometimes want to puke?  Yup.  But you start to get your body used to working in the uncomfortable.  When I first started, I could barely do anything.  No pull ups, ring dips, hand stand push ups.  Yesterday I did 36 pull ups.  That's a huge improvement.  I now can do ring dips and hand stand push ups are right around the corner.  It's those type of improvements that I wouldn't have made if I didn't workout consistently.  Do the workouts still suck?  Hell yeah they do.  But they suck a little less then they did back in March, which is a good thing.

Today's workout:
Grace
135 lbs. ground to overhead-30 reps
4:45

The Girls are Bitches

Some of the worst WODS are named after women.  When you hear the names you know that it is going to suck.  Fran, Eva, Annie, Helen.  All of these workouts have one thing in common, they suck.  Today's workout was Helen.  3 rds of 400 m run, 21 kb swings 55 lbs., 12 pull ups.  My best time was 15:38, and last time I did it was 19 min. and some change.  Today I got it just over 17 min.  A 2 min. improvement from last time, I'll take it.

It's always good when you can see improvement.  That is why I write down my workouts and the times, so I can track my progress.  2 minutes faster then last time I did Helen is definitely a step in the right direction. The only bad part, I ripped my hand doing pull ups.  It hurts like hell, but it will heal soon enough.

Holy Crap It's Hot Out

That was my thought today as I began my warm up.  It was 30 double unders and a 500 m run for 3 rounds.  Double unders are a strong point for me because I am good at jump roping.  The only problem was that it felt like a 120 degrees outside with the humidity today.  It wasn't brutal like FL humidity, but it sucked.  And because the warm up and cooldown were done outside it sucked more than the WOD, which was inside.

Today's workout was as follows:
500 m row
21 push press 115 lbs.
500 m row
18 push press
500 m row
15 push press
500 m row
12 push press

It took me 17:49.  Not too bad for doing rx'd weight.  Now the cool down.  60 walking lunges outside with a 20 lb. db in each hand.  Lunges suck without using any weight, so these suck even more.  This week I will be finishing up my 2nd full week at Crossfit Cleveland.  I can notice a difference already in my workouts.  My intensity is up and I am really enjoying it, which keeps me motivated.  I can't wait to see my progress with my workouts in the upcoming months.

Wall Balls Galore

I decided to take an hour off work early today so that I could workout at the gym.  I normally get off at 7 am and the last class at the gym is 630.  So I got to the gym about 545 this morning.  Today's workout, 150 wall balls with a 20 lb. medicine ball.  For those that don't know what a wall ball is, it is when you take a medicine ball, squat down until your butt goes below parallel to the floor, then stand up and throw the medicine ball 10 ft. in the air off of the wall.  And today's workout called for 150 of them for time.  It may not sound that bad, you think it's only 20 lbs.  After awhile, it gets really heavy.  About halfway through my shoulders were burning.  15:36 and I was done.  Rest 3 min. then 150 sit ups.

The sit ups took a little longer because my abs are still fairly weak, but they are getting better.  Overall, I am glad that I decided to take the hour off to make it to the gym instead of working out on my own.  It is much better to suffer in a group then by yourself.

Working Out on a Full Stomach

I feel like I ate too much food today.  It wasn't that I ate bad, but I felt too full when I went to workout.  Breakfast I had 6 egg whites, 2 slices of Ezekial toast with almond butter.  Before I left for work I had 1 cup of cottage cheese and blueberries.  Dinner was a tuna steak salad.  I had a protein bar a few hours later, then I had some whole wheat, gluten free pasta with lean beef and sauce.  The only bad thing that I ate was a piece of chocolate cookie cake that was at work.

I didn't eat anything about 2 hours before I went in to the gym to workout.  Today's workout I took from my buddie's gym, Crossfit Militia.  It was 4 rds. of 500 m row and 10 thrusters w/95 lbs.  Total time was 14:50.  Not too bad.  The only thing that was bothering me during the workout was that I felt like crap.  I felt that I just ate too much food.  It is all about trial and error.  I am glad that I worked out, just tomorrow I won't eat as much food.