Today we did "Thompson", named after David Thompson, a special forces officer killed in Afghanistan back in January. It was a cool and challenging WOD, and I was happy to give this one my all in officer Thompson's memory, and in the general spirit of getting after it.
10 rounds for time of:
15 ft Rope Climb, 1 ascent
95 pound Back squat, 29 reps
135 pound barbells Farmer carry, 10 meters
I scaled the rope climb by grabbing two rings (pushed together in the center) above my head, then jumping up touching alternate shoulders each rep (x15). Man that farmer carry can be a serious bitch at the end of three rounds. I'm most comfortable with any kind of squat, so while doing 29 reps of back squats was no joke, I was able to get through those OK.
I don't currently have notes on the exact number of rounds I did, but I remember it being in the 3-4 range. I hope to find the paper I wrote these on sometime soon. For now the best I can remember is that I was toast at the end of my last farmer carry, and it would have been dangerous to continue...
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
"Cool Runnings"
One thing I've been petrified of is the amount of time we'll spend running at Crossfit. So when I saw today's WOD on the board I struggled with the thought of even attempting this one:
Run 1600 meters
Rest 3 minutes
Run 1200 meters
Rest 2 minutes
Run 800 meters
Rest 1 minute
Run 400 meters
...but I've also been in a strong mindset of just getting out there and making SOMETHING happen. SO I showed up, and lo and behold we had the option to either run OR row the full WOD. While my rowing form is basically crap, I was far more willing to go the distance rowing vs. running. So row I did, and boy was this a tough one.
Jeff Yan was on hand to coach us in form, and we even went about 500 meters or so going over all of the pitfalls of my form that were causing me to waste excess energy. That warmup combined with my shaky form cause Jeff to scale this one for me, so after we went over form he told me to start at the 1200 interval and skip the 1800. Winded as I was before I even started, I was nobody to put up a fight there. I was still psyched I finished, and it seemed along the way I improved my rowing skill tenfold.
Time:
1200m - 5:35
0800m - 3:55
0400m - 1:53
I have so far to go before my rowing form is optimal, but Jeff's tips really helped me conserve enough energy to get through this one without crushing my arms or my lungs.
word.
Run 1600 meters
Rest 3 minutes
Run 1200 meters
Rest 2 minutes
Run 800 meters
Rest 1 minute
Run 400 meters
...but I've also been in a strong mindset of just getting out there and making SOMETHING happen. SO I showed up, and lo and behold we had the option to either run OR row the full WOD. While my rowing form is basically crap, I was far more willing to go the distance rowing vs. running. So row I did, and boy was this a tough one.
Jeff Yan was on hand to coach us in form, and we even went about 500 meters or so going over all of the pitfalls of my form that were causing me to waste excess energy. That warmup combined with my shaky form cause Jeff to scale this one for me, so after we went over form he told me to start at the 1200 interval and skip the 1800. Winded as I was before I even started, I was nobody to put up a fight there. I was still psyched I finished, and it seemed along the way I improved my rowing skill tenfold.
Time:
1200m - 5:35
0800m - 3:55
0400m - 1:53
I have so far to go before my rowing form is optimal, but Jeff's tips really helped me conserve enough energy to get through this one without crushing my arms or my lungs.
word.
Monday, November 22, 2010
WOD 2010-11-22
Warmup:
20 lunges (forgot name - opposite of spiderman)
10 Overhead PVC Squats
20 double unders (sub singles)
10 chest to bar pullups (sub ring rows)
10 pushups (knees)
10 GHD situps
WOD: AMRAP Push Press (I did a ton at 65 lb. - didn't want to push weight while getting form down)
feelin it...
20 lunges (forgot name - opposite of spiderman)
10 Overhead PVC Squats
20 double unders (sub singles)
10 chest to bar pullups (sub ring rows)
10 pushups (knees)
10 GHD situps
WOD: AMRAP Push Press (I did a ton at 65 lb. - didn't want to push weight while getting form down)
feelin it...
Friday, November 19, 2010
WOD 2010-11-19
Warmup:
10 Kettle Bell Swings
10 PVC Overhead Squats
10 25lb weighted situps
10 pullup (scaled to ring rows)
also practiced w the jump rope
WOD (amrap 15 mins):
5 Deadlifts (135 was good for me)
10 Wall Ball
15 Double Unders (I just did 30 singles)
4 rounds plus a set of wall ball in 15 mins...not horrific, but at least a reference point for next time.
10 Kettle Bell Swings
10 PVC Overhead Squats
10 25lb weighted situps
10 pullup (scaled to ring rows)
also practiced w the jump rope
WOD (amrap 15 mins):
5 Deadlifts (135 was good for me)
10 Wall Ball
15 Double Unders (I just did 30 singles)
4 rounds plus a set of wall ball in 15 mins...not horrific, but at least a reference point for next time.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Paleo and Me
(typed in December 2010, but placed here as I want the blog to be chronological)
It's pretty simple...fruit, vegetables, lean meats, nuts/seeds, seafood. That's it. That's my fuel, and as long as what I'm taking in is fuel, my body will process what I do at Crossfit on an optimal level. I've seen and read a lot of information about the workout not ending when you leave Crossfit. Without the nutritional component you basically cheat the intensity of the workout, and deprive your body of its ability to optimally recover, strengthen, hydrate, and nourish itself properly.
The super-basic premise of the diet is that for thousands of years the human body was genetically set up to run on the above food groups. Only in the past couple hundred years have we flipped the food equation in favor of processed carbohydrates. Grain-based diets have slowly but effectively brought our population's health to its knees. Paleo is a way to get the body back to its roots.
I'm now a month into combining Crossfit and Paleo, and I've made huge strides in my energy level. A few months back I was drilling my body daily with up to 4 cups of coffee...a very necessary amount to take me out of my lethargy. I'm already down to 1 cup every couple of days. My pants are loose and I feel great. I know I have a lifelong journey ahead of me, so I purposely haven't stepped on a scale or taken any measurements. It's quite pointless. For all I know I've gained weight with the amount of strength training I've been undergoing at Crossfit. But who the hell cares? I'm on my way to being as healthy as I've ever been...
I'm fortunate to have a Trader Joe's one block from my office. I stock up for the week on fruit and nuts, and I've been eating salads daily that usually combine meat like grilled chicken, buffalo or a turkey burger, and a healthy amount of greens. At first I was munching down the nuts almost all day long. It seems lately I've calmed down the snacking and I only go through a couple of handfuls a day.
It feels great to be back on the horse. I'm so excited about this significant life change...let's see where it takes us.
peace...
It's pretty simple...fruit, vegetables, lean meats, nuts/seeds, seafood. That's it. That's my fuel, and as long as what I'm taking in is fuel, my body will process what I do at Crossfit on an optimal level. I've seen and read a lot of information about the workout not ending when you leave Crossfit. Without the nutritional component you basically cheat the intensity of the workout, and deprive your body of its ability to optimally recover, strengthen, hydrate, and nourish itself properly.
The super-basic premise of the diet is that for thousands of years the human body was genetically set up to run on the above food groups. Only in the past couple hundred years have we flipped the food equation in favor of processed carbohydrates. Grain-based diets have slowly but effectively brought our population's health to its knees. Paleo is a way to get the body back to its roots.
I'm now a month into combining Crossfit and Paleo, and I've made huge strides in my energy level. A few months back I was drilling my body daily with up to 4 cups of coffee...a very necessary amount to take me out of my lethargy. I'm already down to 1 cup every couple of days. My pants are loose and I feel great. I know I have a lifelong journey ahead of me, so I purposely haven't stepped on a scale or taken any measurements. It's quite pointless. For all I know I've gained weight with the amount of strength training I've been undergoing at Crossfit. But who the hell cares? I'm on my way to being as healthy as I've ever been...
I'm fortunate to have a Trader Joe's one block from my office. I stock up for the week on fruit and nuts, and I've been eating salads daily that usually combine meat like grilled chicken, buffalo or a turkey burger, and a healthy amount of greens. At first I was munching down the nuts almost all day long. It seems lately I've calmed down the snacking and I only go through a couple of handfuls a day.
It feels great to be back on the horse. I'm so excited about this significant life change...let's see where it takes us.
peace...
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
My "come to Crossfit" moment...
(typed in December 2010, but placed here as I want the blog to be chronological)
So back in the spring my buddy Scott in Miami starts telling me about this insane place where our buddy Gerson runs until he drops, works out with weights, and does handstand pushups...HANDSTAND PUSHUPS!! "WTF was he thinking" I thought to myself. I mean I was happy as a clam working out sometimes twice daily back then...doing up to an hour on the elliptical machine then fumbling my way through the circuit workout at Planet Fitness (i.e. a dance club with exercise machines near my home in NJ).
The months roll on and Scott keeps telling me about this place, called "Crossfit", where his daily workouts brutalize him into a pulp of heavy-breathing sweaty madness. I have to admit it was kind of annoying...every day he calls and tells me about these freakish workouts that have him doing ridiculous routines of high-rep, high-intensity exercises. Jesus dude, you're not in the army...take it down a notch!
Then I saw Rosemary's pictures...
I used to cross paths every once in a while with Rosemary Mackintosh, back when I had time to follow one of my favorite bands around the country. Then one night in October 2010 I came across a photo album on Facebook that showed pictures of "Crossfit Tribe". It clicked that this Crossfit was no fanatical Miami thing. This was an international movement, one that obviously had great impact on Rosemary, and maybe one I should contemplate for myself. I mean these people were RIPPED. How could I hope to ever keep up? But I think I knew almost immediately I had to at least try...
The best thing I ever did for myself was take the leap of faith to start "Elements", a set of introductory Crossfit classes at the "Black Box" - also known as Crossfit NYC. My elements classes were from October 25th to November 11th. After that I was hooked.
Since Elements ended I've been going 3-4 days a week, getting up at 4:00 AM so I can hop the 5:00 train to NYC. It's the only time of day that works for my schedule, and frankly I LOVE starting out my day with a heavy workout. Classes have been great and I think I might even be more addicted to Crossfit than my buddy Scott (who I have to thank for all of this).
The best thing about Crossfit is the supportive atmosphere. Everyone from the trainers to the other Crossfitters are always there to help me through the last few rounds of my workouts (naturally most of them have long completed theirs before I even hit the home stretch). Everybody answers questions, and there's a tangible shared excitement among everybody there.
As with any successful training program, there is a huge nutritional component that goes hand in hand with the exercise. I'm excited to have added the Paleo Diet to my daily regimen, a favorite among hardcore Crossfitters, and so far an absolutely amazing experience. I'll save those details for the next post though.
It's great to be here...much, much more to come...
peace.
So back in the spring my buddy Scott in Miami starts telling me about this insane place where our buddy Gerson runs until he drops, works out with weights, and does handstand pushups...HANDSTAND PUSHUPS!! "WTF was he thinking" I thought to myself. I mean I was happy as a clam working out sometimes twice daily back then...doing up to an hour on the elliptical machine then fumbling my way through the circuit workout at Planet Fitness (i.e. a dance club with exercise machines near my home in NJ).
The months roll on and Scott keeps telling me about this place, called "Crossfit", where his daily workouts brutalize him into a pulp of heavy-breathing sweaty madness. I have to admit it was kind of annoying...every day he calls and tells me about these freakish workouts that have him doing ridiculous routines of high-rep, high-intensity exercises. Jesus dude, you're not in the army...take it down a notch!
Then I saw Rosemary's pictures...
I used to cross paths every once in a while with Rosemary Mackintosh, back when I had time to follow one of my favorite bands around the country. Then one night in October 2010 I came across a photo album on Facebook that showed pictures of "Crossfit Tribe". It clicked that this Crossfit was no fanatical Miami thing. This was an international movement, one that obviously had great impact on Rosemary, and maybe one I should contemplate for myself. I mean these people were RIPPED. How could I hope to ever keep up? But I think I knew almost immediately I had to at least try...
The best thing I ever did for myself was take the leap of faith to start "Elements", a set of introductory Crossfit classes at the "Black Box" - also known as Crossfit NYC. My elements classes were from October 25th to November 11th. After that I was hooked.
Since Elements ended I've been going 3-4 days a week, getting up at 4:00 AM so I can hop the 5:00 train to NYC. It's the only time of day that works for my schedule, and frankly I LOVE starting out my day with a heavy workout. Classes have been great and I think I might even be more addicted to Crossfit than my buddy Scott (who I have to thank for all of this).
The best thing about Crossfit is the supportive atmosphere. Everyone from the trainers to the other Crossfitters are always there to help me through the last few rounds of my workouts (naturally most of them have long completed theirs before I even hit the home stretch). Everybody answers questions, and there's a tangible shared excitement among everybody there.
As with any successful training program, there is a huge nutritional component that goes hand in hand with the exercise. I'm excited to have added the Paleo Diet to my daily regimen, a favorite among hardcore Crossfitters, and so far an absolutely amazing experience. I'll save those details for the next post though.
It's great to be here...much, much more to come...
peace.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)