Looking Back...Literally...

Some days you feel like you're running backwards.  Today is a rare exception in that, well, I was actually running backwards.  Folks, meet another of Crossfit's sadistic brethren, "Griff"...

WOD - "Griff"
For time:
Run 800 meters
Run 400 meters backwards
Run 800 meters
Run 400 meters backwards

Um...OK...what the fuck?  Run BACKWARDS?  You want these tree trunks to run a mile forwards and a half mile BACKWARDS?  REALLY?  BACKWARDS?!?!?  Man this shit should get really interesting on the famed streets of NYC.

I was equally intrigued an terrified as I came into the box today to find Jeff, another trainer who joined Sara to teach & time today's WOD.  Jeff put me through a warmup that had me dripping.  I was all prepped to do my typical handstand pushups, ring pushups, OH squats, etc and Jeff throws this at me:

Samson Stretch (both sides) - Inch Worm* - Crab Walk*  - Twisting Lunges* - Bear Crawl*(*Length of the room)

Shit man that's a warmup?  Geesh!  I was warm, that's for sure...drenched as well.  Safe to say I was nice and warm as we hit the street.

3...2...1...go!  I was off at a comfortable pace as I felt great rounding 24th St.  Every time I come back to running I feel better and better as I still run 800m sets unbroken.  Will I do an unbroken mile?  Certainly by the summer I think that's a reality.  Granted I haven't seen a WOD with a mile run in it except for Murph, and, well, yeah let's not hope for that day to come anytime soon...

I finished the first 800 in less than seven minutes, which I thought was a great pace for me...a 12-minute mile for someone who is close to 300 lbs (though not as close as I used to be ;) isn't bad.  Now the real fun began...I didn't have to look over my shoulder nearly as much as I thought.  I think I trusted that whoever I didn't see would just get out of the way.  I turned around at the Starbuck's on 6th and got a few double takes, and a random street guy started beeping as I was going by like the sound a truck makes when you back up.  For the most part though it wasn't so bad...I turned back around for the next 800 at about 10-11 minutes and kept going.  Surprisingly I did the WOD unbroken, so technically I guess you could say this was my first unbroken mile, split into two segments and sandwiched by a half mile of backwards running craziness.  But I hit the finish line with a decent time.

WOD TIME: 20:44

I was surprisingly peppy after I finished, which turned out to be a good thing, because with time left on the clock Jeff & Sara presented the following cashout:

Run the stairs (all five flights)
3 Rounds for Time (10-minute limit)

Richard (who finished the WOD in like 1/2 the time I did) was with me for this one, and while he lapped me again (he always does), we were both slowing down bigtime getting the top couple of flights on the way up.  The way down was cake, even though I didn't know it but my calves were going to be cooked shortly thereafter.

Cashout Time: 8:48

Man that was definitely a massive day.  Between the warmup, the WOD and the cashout I'm TOAST.  Not sure if tomorrow's a reality.  If so I'll need to hit the sack super-early tonight.  We'll see.  For now I'm psyched I got through it.  It's not every day you can start off with some backwards running and keep a smile on your face.  Today was a pleasant, rare exception :).

Peace...

Jeremy's Spoken

I guess if you do Crossfit long enough your expectations for intensity go through the roof. So it's no wonder that when they posted today's WOD I assumed it was 3x as brutal as it actually was going to be. Here it is as posted:

In honor of “Jeremy”
Three rounds, 21-15-and 9 reps, for time of:
95 pound Overhead squats
Burpees

So while the 21-15-9 rep scheme is the most common (and cool I must say), I still thought by "three rounds" they meant three rounds of 21-15-9, yielding 63, 45, and 27 reps of each exercise respectively. I called Scott and told him I expected to not be able to move after this one. Lo and behold I walked into the Black Box this morning and found out that it was just straight-up 21-15-9. OK...back to reality...

I told Sara because I expected it to be so brutal I was thinking I was going to use the bar for the OH Squats.  She said "well it's good for you then, since now you're lifting 95 lbs".  I guess that settled it.  RX'ing a WOD is a ton of fun, and while this one wasn't brutally heavy I knew the burpees were going to crush me.  Sara was laughing as I put big band aids on my knees to stave off the bleeding that typically happens when i do tons of burpees, but I was sweating enough from the warmup that this was a fruitless effort.  We set up the bars and got ready to...

...3...2...1...Go!  I knew the overheads wouldn't be too bad.  I start to struggle at around 150 lbs, but 95 lbs was well within my capability.  I fired off the round of 21 unbroken and we were off to the races...the burpee races, that is.  And that is by no stretch a fun race to run.  I was sloppy by rep # 10 and just getting through them was a mess.  I really need to work on these, as brutal as they are.  Despite the tough time the burpees gave me I cranked through the sets of 15 and 9, only breaking up the overheads in the round of 15 (5-5-5), and blasting through the last set.

WOD Time: 11:12

It feels good to RX a WOD and put up a sub-15 minute time.  Granted this one is in the realm of Fran and other workouts that CF superstars can do in 5 minutes or less.  But hey this is absolute progress, and I felt great afterwards...need to work on those burpees though...sheer brutality for sure.

Peace...

The Front Squat - Reunited and it Feels so...

Monday rest days simply kick ass.  Ease into the week after a weekend of recovery with some strength coaching from Kevin P.  Solid.

BLACK BOX WOD (current skill: front squat):
front squat 5-5-5-5-5

Today I reunited with the front squat for the first time on a strength day since February.  Back then I did triples and got to 200 lbs.  Today was sets of five, so I treated this like uncharted territory, not knowing or expecting where I would go with this amount of reps.  Sure I've had months of training, but every strength day is different, so I was happy to just get something on the bar and lift without expectations.

Warmup – 45×5 – 65×3 – 95×3 – 145×3

I felt pretty damn good once I got some decent weight on the bar, so I figured I would just go for it and hope for the best.  I felt like it wasn't out of the realm of possibility to hit my 3-rep max PR on my first WOD with sets of 5.  Here's how it went:

WOD (sets of 5) 145 – 165 – 175 – 185 – 200*

Fail on #5 at 200, but that was essentially the goal...reach your max set of 5, and getting four solid reps was good enough for me at 200 lbs.  I think honestly once my shoulders get more comfortable in the rack position I'll be able to really get into front squats more.  But I can't expect them to be as productive as back squats, so I feel pretty good about where I'm at.

Ready for tomorrow...

Moore and More

Nothing caps off a week at Crossfit better than a hero WOD.  It's a shame we have to do them at all, as they are created in tribute to either a fallen soldier or man/woman of service.  Today I felt like I was going to put up a good showing in tribute to 29-year-old David Moore of Indianapolis, who sadly was shot to death as he approached a pulled-over stolen vehicle this past January.

WOD: "Moore"
Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:
15 ft Rope Climb, 1 ascent
Run 400 meters
Max rep Handstand push-up

I've been steadily progressing with handstand pushups, and I was psyched for today because I hadn't run in a while, and it's been some time since I've been able to do a metcon with handstand pushups.

We did the standard sub for a rope climb, which was three two-handed ring pullups.  I lowered the ring just enough to be able to jump into it, as I'm definitely not ready for dead-hang ring pullups yet.  All in due time...the rope climb started the WOD.  We got set up and we were ready to...

3...2...1...Go!  We were out the door and down the stairs in a pack, and as is typically the case my immediate pace out the door found me many steps behind the pack.  I didn't want to gas myself too early, because I wanted to really give the handstand pushups my best effort.  That said I was running pretty much as fast as I can without sprinting...

I came charging back into the box and already had my plates set up against the pole...one 45, one 25 and one 10 pounder.  OK so that only gives me like 3-6 inches of depth, but it's what I need to gain the strength and confidence to develop this exercise.  As it is I'm amazed that I've been able to hold handstands for as long as I have, so any significant amount of reps at this point is a bonus.

I cranked through the first set and felt like I could keep going, but I didn't want to make this WOD like others where I've pushed too far on handstand pushups and almost messed up the workout (and myself in general).  I stopped after 14 reps.

On I went through the next few rounds...feeling great entering round four, as I wanted to at least get four rounds under my belt.  I finished the handstand pushups and we had 30 seconds, so Sara said to run the stairs and try to make it back up.  We heard her yell "Time" as we hit the bottom.

WOD Results: Four Rounds - Handstand Pushup Reps: 14 - 12 - 12 - 10

Wow...48 handstand pushups.  That's no joke.  Sara said it was time to take out the 10-lb plate.  I was pretty psyched.  I felt great to hit another benchmark with an exercise that a lot of people dread.  I kind of love these, so I look forward to getting more depth in the future.

Yet another great week at Crossfit NYC.  See you Monday!

Games Finale 2011 (for me anyway)

I am truly humbled.  I've been waiting for the chance to do Fran again, since I've gained some ground on pullups with bands, and I feel like RX'ing the weight is very doable now.  But today had a bit of a wake up call in store for me, as I truly battled through this one to get what I would describe as a meager result at best. 

CrossFit Games Open 11.6

Complete as many reps as possible in 7 minutes of the following rep scheme:
Thruster, 3 reps (men: 100# / women: 65#)
3 Chest to bar Pull-ups
Thruster, 6 reps (men: 100# / women: 65#)
6 Chest to bar Pull-ups
Thruster, 9 reps (men: 100# / women: 65#)
9 Chest to bar Pull-ups
Thruster, 12 reps (men: 100# / women: 65#)
12 Chest to bar Pull-ups
Thruster, 15 reps (men: 100# / women: 65#)
15 Chest to bar Pull-ups
Thruster, 18 reps (men: 100# / women: 65#)
18 Chest to bar Pull-ups
Thruster, 21 reps (men: 100# / women: 65#)
21 Chest to bar Pull-ups…
This is a timed workout. If you complete the round of 21, go on to 24. If you complete 24, go on to 27, etc.

OK so it's seven minutes.  I'm treating this one like Fran because I am doing the pullups the same way I would do them in Fran.  My original Fran time is 8:08, and that was with ring rows subbed for pullups and light weight.  Now I know that the difference between 95 lbs and 100 lbs is more significant than people think.  After 30 reps that's an extra 150lbs of aggregate weight moved overhead...so I'm not being fair to say it's exactly the same, but I do feel like this is a valid test of my ability to improve my Fran time.  Completing the round of 15 on this WOD will be the same amount of reps as Fran, so I know where I need to get to if I think I stand a chance of improving next time I face the 21-15-9.  I was on a sole mission this time.  Most people did the WOD yesterday, and the official WOD (since today was a rest day on the CF Main Site) in the gym was more deadlifts.  I think we can agree I blew my load on those a couple days ago ;).  Anyway I got set up, got psyched up, and was as ready as I'll ever be...

3...2...1...Go!  The thrusters felt heavy, but I still felt solid in the first few rounds.  I was using both bands for the pullups, so I didn't really slow down until after the round of 6.  I think the explosiveness of the thrusters took away from my ability to cruise through more than a few pullups at a time.  But as the minutes left morphed into seconds left I was attacking the round of 12 as best I could.  I finished the thrusters and was really pulling from the depths of my soul on the pullups, but I was only able to get two at a time, then one at a time.  And inevitably my end came just after I hit eight reps into the set.

Could it have been the end-of-week shred on my shoulders?  Maybe.  I've certainly done more pullups than this in plenty of WODs before.  But likely time domain is the main issue here.  Anytime I've put up higher numbers of pullups it's been in far longer time domains than seven minutes.  In that respect this was a fantastic exercise to show me how far I still have to go to link a serious amount of pullups together.

Before any major regrets set in I had the pleasure of watching Sara do the games WOD just minutes after I finished.  She did chest-to-bar chinups and (in my opinion) crushed it by making the full round of 15 at the buzzer.  I was psyched for her, but also realized that she hit the goal I had set for myself.  If Sara, who is years into her Crossfit journey, hit 90 reps in seven minutes, all of a sudden I don't feel so terrible about my meager score of 56.

I'm learning every day, but I'm finding encouragement around every corner.  I'm psyched to work harder on making the most of my Fran time, but coming away from this WOD I realize that there are far more telling benchmarks than beating my 8:08 time.  At this point a tie would be nice.  We'll see soon enough ;).

Peace...

Deadlifts...We Meet Again

I should've shown up to the gym today in warpaint.  The deadlift singles would stop eluding me today.  This was the day.  The day we turn the dial from "heavy" to "fuckin heavy".  I told Sara I was going to start with a few warmups with the bar and then some light weight before I really got to work.  With this being my first foray into deadlifting after my hip issue, there was no reason to get stupid.

WOD
Deadlift 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

Sara paired everybody up, but she let me have my own bar.  I had a little talk with the bar about playing nice, and I got started setting up.  I threw a couple of 25s on just so I could review some form and get comfortable, then start the jumps toward heavyland.  My last deadlift singles were on January 26th and I pulled 315 lbs, so I was ready to see what a few months of Crossfitting was going to do to that PR.

Warmup: 95×1 – 185×3

Feels good...check.  No hip weirdness...check.  Time to get going.

WOD: 235 – 275 – 295 – 325* – 345* (*1-Rep Max PR)

The first five sets were pretty much a breeze.  No problem dusting my former PR by 30 lbs with two pulls to go.  My jumps in weight up until this point were anywhere from 20 to 40 lbs.  Hmmm...345 felt pretty damn good.  Time to turn the dial a bit.  Let's see if 30 more lbs would bury the needle...

375*

Wow.  That was sick.  Came up feelin great, full extension, but I felt my grip slipping on the way down.  I needed to pay super-close attention to that for the next pull.  We can't drop weight at the Black Box so we need to put the weight down as carefully as we pull it up.  But man I did it...375.  The question remained, was I able to pull heavier?  I didn't feel strained, and 375 didn't feel like it took absolutely everything I had, though we were definitely in the fuckin heavy zone.  I grabbed a couple of 5s and slipped them onto what was left of the bar...I made a comment that it was comical how many plates there were on the bar and here I am throwing on a couple of 5s.  I think I took a little too much time setting up.  A few extra breaths and all of a sudden here comes the CF Endurance team up the stairs...now I've got a crowd, a ridiculously heavy bar, and sudden pressure to pull this quite insane amount of weight.  I blocked it all out, grabbed the bar, tightened up, and pulled....

385*

Up it went, I pulled, pulled more, got up...further up...grabbed with everything I had and shot my hips up for full extension.  People were clapping as I searched for that full standing position...

...I blinked and I looked up.  The weight was on the floor and there were smiles all around.  I searched out Tim in the crowd of folks at the top of the stairs.  I asked him if I got full extension and he winced a little as if to say "not really".  Then everyone was hi-fiving me and congratulating me and I still didn't know if I actually lifted this weight.  Sara said there was no doubt I made the lift.  Hari, co-owner of CFNYC said he wouldn't have called the rep back if it was competition...he didn't see why I would question it at all.  Frankly I was just so in the moment that I had no idea how far up I really got.  It definitely didn't feel as solid as 375, but I'm not going to argue with Sara and Hari.  Hari said "How do you feel about adding those 5s now?"  He was so right.  Once you get into the zone of your PR every added pound of weight can be the difference between feeling like a superstar and getting your soul crushed.  It's pretty amazing.

What a great day.  I'm psyched to have the confidence and the training to make these big breakthroughs.  It's so obvious how huge regular Crossfit training is for major fitness gains.  I can't imagine what I'll be deadlifting by the end of this year, but something tells me there's going to be a 4 in front of the number.

Until then...

Not-So-Gently Down the Stream

I completely get it when even elite Crossfitters complain about running.  Long runs are brutal...hell, even sprints aren't much of a party.  But I can get into some rowing bigtime, and I'm surprised that so many CFers also hate to hit the rower.

It was a pretty mellow Friday at the Black Box.  I was excited to see what rowing a 2k would be like.  I walked in to five empty rowers and a few folks milling about, either doing strength work or recovering from today's WOD:

WOD: Row 2K

I was lucky to see Tim, who clued me in on some tips for pacing.  He helped me visualize the WOD in steps.  I knew I was going to pace myself right out of the gate, but breaking it up in my mind into four separate 500M rows helped me gain some perspective on when to cut loose, when to keep a steady pace, and for the last 200M just go balls to the wall.

Rory and I were the only ones who showed up for the 7:00 class (very rare for a non-rest day).  Sara didn't have much to impart as this was a straight-forward as it gets.

3...2...1...Go!  I started out at a solid pace, just ahead of Sara's recommended pace of 2:00 (the rower paces according to 500m increments, and I've done as well as 1:45 when I'm all-out shredding).  I recalled Kelly Starrett's video on rowing technique, and his emphasis on staying "tall" and only hinging on the hip...no upper body motion.  I got so much more out of my strokes on this one piece of advice alone.  I felt an efficiency on the rower for the first time.

The combination of Tim's advice, my choice of pace, and Starrett's gems really put me in a confident space that I would oblierate my expectation of 10-15 minutes for this WOD.

Wod Time: 7:47

Whaaaaat???  I mean that is just a bit silly.  Rory and I actually clocked in at exactly the same time.  I couldn't believe it.  I mean I'm no firebreather but that is far above my expectation for this (or any other rowing) WOD.  I ended up doing five sets of five thrusters as a cashout because I had so much time left after I was done.  Craziness...

Well sometimes I surprise myself...today was definitely one of those days.  I'm happy that one man's goat is another man's strength, and it seems when it comes to both handstand pushups, thrusters and rowing, I'm having a much better time than most.

See you next week :)

Games WOD 5 - Getting Crushed on Film

So there's a reporter who's taken some interest in Crossfit, and he's writing a story that will feature my recent fitness escapades (not sure when it's coming out).  He came by the Black Box today to check out Games WOD #5; my first competition WOD in three weeks.  I missed #3 because I tweaked my hip, and I missed #4 because I was working late, and AMRAP Clean & Jerks on two hours of sleep is likely less than healthy.  So here I was...ready to take on another Games WOD and put up some numbers for the team.  Safe to say those numbers figure to round out the lesser end of the spectrum, but I was giving it everything I got, and would hopefully be in for a surprise.  Meantime the reporter requested to see a handstand, and it just so happened that today's warmup was Gymnastics Warmup #1:

5 Handstand Pushups
Frog Stand (10 secs)
5 Ring Pushups
10 Overhead Squats (PVC)
10 Kettlebell Deadlifts

I ran through the warmup a few times amidst conversations with the reporter, and we got to talking about today's Games WOD:

Crossfit Games Sectionals
WOD #5

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 20 minutes of:
5 Power cleans (145# for men / 100# for women)
10 Toes to bar
15 Wall balls (20# to 10′ target for men / 14# to 9′ target for women)

The Power Clean

Power Cleans?  Not a problem, but not at that weight.  I think it had been too long since I did a bunch of them in a WOD.  I decided to do women's weight.  Toes to Bar?  More like a very spirited knees to elbows...I'd give it my best but that one figured to look a little ugly.  Wall Balls?  That's my shit baby...no problem.  Squats, Thrusters, Wall Ball, Deadlifts...you name an exercise that uses my lower body and I'll sum up my strengths in Crossfit.  This one was gonna be fun.  Load the bar?  Check.  Chalk the hands?  Check. Set up the ball?  Check.

3...2...1...Go!  OK so maybe I went a little light on the cleans.  These were fine...I should have made them a little tougher.  Toes to bar found me getting my knees up to just above parallel.  I broke these up into two sets when I could, but eventually I'd be doing 3-4 at a time.  Wall Balls were cake, even with the caveat that we had to hit the ceiling because of the height requirements from the Games folk.  I powered through the first few rounds without a problem.  Being a 20-minute amrap I just wanted to keep a decent pace but not gas myself too early.  I noticed the reporter snapping pictures of me...can't imagine he got too many ideal shots, as I was doing knees to elbows and that likely didn't make for good photo...we'll see I guess.

Before I knew it six rounds were in the can and I had to do the toes to bar six at a time.  If I only got through those a bit quicker I would have maybe nailed seven rounds...that would have been sweet, and was so attainable...BUT...with the countdown fast approaching I hit the wall balls hard, but still came up four reps short of seven rounds.

WOD Results
Six Rounds plus 11 Wall Balls

I'm definitely happy with the results, but you always look back and know that there were extra seconds you could have shaved off the clock by picking up the bar quicker, cranking out just one more rep per set, etc.  But at the end of the day this is what I had in me, and as I lay on the floor recovering I felt like I put up some solid numbers for where I'm at.  I thought this was a great workout...I can see myself doing this one again someday.  Not this week though ;).

Peace...

The Return of the Snatch

WOD

Snatch 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 reps

I've been watching a lot of videos featuring elite Crossfitters, power lifters, and lots of people who have a much greater handle on the Olympic lifts than I do.  The snatch is such an elusive lift.  There are so many things to be aware of when you're in the movement.  Oftentimes I forget one key thing and the end result is shit.  But every once in a while I put up a decent snatch, and, like today, I get encouraged that one day I might actually be capable of doing these.

Sara ran us through the Bergener Warmup, ran through the movement a couple of times, and we got setup and got ready to do our best.

WOD
65 – 85 – 85 – 85 – 95 – 95 – 100

So the last one definitely belongs in the Shit category, but leading up to that I felt like I was on to something.  Needless to say I was pulling a little less than the guys in the above video today. I didn’t feel as lost as I typically do with the snatch…I just don’t think it comes up often enough for me to gain much ground on this lift.

The Outside-Inside WOD

I rolled up to an incredible sight on the sidewalk out in front of the building that houses Crossfit NYC.  People were doing the WOD right there on the sidewalk...pushups, sit-ups, squats and Supermans subbed for back extensions.  Not that I'd be embarrassed to hit the streets with them, but something about the discomfort of pavement and/or cement takes a bit of the charm out of the WOD.  Granted if you're going to do a workout that would make the everyman vomit, you might as well throw in some unforgiving hard ground for good measure.  Safe to say though, if I had the option to do the WOD inside I'd happily take what comforts the floors of the Black Box afford me.

WOD
Three rounds for time of:
Run 100 meters
50 Push-ups
Run 100 meters
50 Sit-ups
Run 100 meters
50 Squats
Run 100 meters
50 Back extensions

Kevin went over the movements and gave us the choice to do the WOD inside.  There were cones set up on opposite sides of the room to measure out the runs.  Three lengths of the room equaled 100 meters.  I knew the volume of pushups was going to be challenging, but I figured at this point if I can't crank out 150 pushups in a WOD, well, I guess I'll just have to do less :).  And that, unfortunately, is exactly what I did...but for reasons other than capacity...

3...2...1...Go! I hobbled a bit through the first run...those lunges weren't letting go of me just yet, but I wasn't in enough pain to slow my pace down.  Either way 100 meters at a time was very doable, even if I needed to warm up through the first round before the soreness subsided.  I cranked out pushups 10 at a time, swung my arms out between sets, and got through them without much trouble.  Round after round the runs got better, the reps more fluid, and I definitely hit my stride, but I realized my pace wasn't to fantastic...

As the clock was in the 50s and I was starting the third round, I did the math and I simply didn't have time to finish and make it to work on time if I did 50 reps of each exercise.  Kevin told us before the WOD started that we could scale to 35 reps, and I didn't consider this for a second until now.  So I figured that's just how it had to be...rounds 1 & 2 RX'ed, round 3 scaled...not a big deal...still more than 500 reps total, and one hell of a workout.

WOD Time: 39:43

A big thanks to Anthony & Tim for continuing their tradition of doing the exercises alongside me for my last round, even though their workout was already done. Shout out to the street people…I’m sure there were plenty of Paleo-friendly snacks on the sidewalk no matter which way you turned your head. If you looked hard enough I’m sure you could see the remains of my quadriceps, which have been MIA ever since International Lunge Day.

And of course, thanks to Kevin P for allowing me to demonstrate back extensions going into minute 40 of my WOD, so the new folks can see what it looks like to lose control of your form, your balance, and your glands after 540 reps and running a 1/4 mile.