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...

Getting Fed Through the Chipper

"Chipper"

You hear the word and it conjures up equal parts fear and excitement.  Two syllables and the average Crossfitter knows they're about to face an opportunity to blaze a new trail in their fitness.  It's the ultimate test of both the physical and the mental.  The chipper is in its own category of metcon...large amounts of reps, and an array of exercises that do not repeat...you just have to do a shit ton of each of them.  Some days you get fed through the chipper.  Other days the chipper feeds through you...

My first chipper was the Filthy Fifty.  I was happy to scale it to the "Dirty Thirty" at the time, but I know next time it comes around the days of scaling reps on something like that are done.  I've arrived, and instead of not even registering on the performance spectrum I feel like I've earned my place, regardless of how buried I am in the "novice" category.  Today's chipper was a beast, and I knew I'd have to bring my A+ game to make it through this one:

WOD
For time:
70 Burpees
60 Sit-ups
50 Kettlebell swings, 1.5 poods
40 Pull-ups
30 Handstand push-ups

I went to the store within an hour of seeing the WOD posted, as I had to find something to protect my knees.  The last time I did more than 50 burpees my knees were literally bleeding...something about the way I hit the deck scrapes away at the skin until the last 20 or so are excruciating.  I found some knee pads but they were too tight.  I ended up grabbing some big, flexible band aids that covered my knees...turns out they work like a charm.

I didn't know what to do for the warmup...I didn't want to waste an ounce of energy...so I did a modified version of Sara's gymnastics warmup day 1, which is:

Kick up to a handstand (3x)
5 ring pushups
frog stand (10 secs)
10 overhead squats (pvc)
10 kettle bell deadlifts (12 kg)

I usually do 5 handstand pushups for step 1 of the warmup, but I wanted to save every bit of those for the WOD.  So I just held the handstand for like 10 seconds and kicked back down.  We didn't do too many rounds of the warmup before it was go time.

3...2...1...Go!  You could feel everyone blazing out of the gate for this one...those initial bursts from a full class can be pretty powerful.  Once people settled into their pace everyone started getting a bit more methodical.  My approach, as always, was slow and steady.  I kept it going, the band-aids were holding out, and before I blinked I was halfway done with the burpees.  The last 20 or so were challenging, but I got some encouragement from some folks and kept at it. 

Soon enough I was on to the situps, realizing only then that I was a full round behind the pack...pretty standard (shrug). I asked Sara if I could do butterfly situps, and she was completely cool with it.  So I cranked through that set...my biggest problem with situps is keeping my mammoth legs together, so butterfly made it a lot easier for me.  Those probably took the least amount of time out of any of the exercises.  By far the kettle bell swings were my strongest exercise out of the lot, and I might have put the KB down 3-4 times during the set.  I love this exercise, and even though my form was messier than most other times, I was able to crank through this set without much trouble.  Pullups were just a matter of breaking up the reps so I was able to maintain explosive energy and momentum from the resistance bands.  The last 15 or so were tough, and a cool guy Matt who I've seen around the gym came over to help get me through them.  Sets of five became sets of four, became sets of 3.  Somehow I got there, and I was onto what became a WOD unto itself...the handstand pushups...

Matt is a fucking hero...I cranked out like 7 or 8 of them without much of a problem, but with 22 to go, and very little gas in the tank, we started with sets of three.  That quickly became sets of two as I fell out a couple of times.  I was breathing heavy, staring down the bumper plate that dictated my depth in this exercise.  With like 18 to go I was averaging two reps every 2-3 minutes, and I think while we were both determined, a distant cloud of doubt was floating into the room as to whether I was going to finish.  Very long story short, after what seemed like an eternity I got there.  HUGE props to Matt for sticking with me through that absolute mess.

WOD Time: 41:04

My reps weren't pretty, but I got full (scaled) depth and full extension.  I would say MOST of the WOD was challenging but very doable.  But that final hill of the handstand pushups was a vertical climb.  After launching into the chipper with strength and confidence, I got spit out the other end...shredded, in pain, but alive, well, and more fit than yesterday.

I like the chippers.  They don't quite like me yet...they'll warm up to me over time, I'm sure of it :).

Over and Over and Over the Bar...

I didn't even realize today was my fourth day at Crossfit this week.  I guess mostly that's because we started out the week with a skill day.  Those aren't too taxing on the body the way a metcon or heavy lifting day is, so I had no reservations about coming in and attempting this one:

WOD

Self-Portrait

With a continuously running clock do one pull-up the first minute, two pull-ups the second minute, three pull-ups the third minute... continuing as long as you are able. Use as many sets each minute as needed.

Fun stuff...I did four rounds of the warmup, which was day one of Sara's two gymnastics warmups:

Kick up to a handstand (x3)
Frog Stand (10 secs)
Tuck L Hang (10 secs)
10 Kettle Bell Swings (16 kg)

Since I've had little problem getting into the handstand, I've been doing 5 reps of handstand pushups instead of just kicking up into the handstand.  I haven't explored much depth, as I keep three abmats stacked on top of each other under my head so I only come down a couple of inches for each rep.  Over time I'll take out the pads progressively, but I'm in no rush...

3...2...1...Go!  We started with one pullup (I used my typical 1.5 thick bands) and, as I'm sure is typical, people were laughing and making light of the fact that there was a minute rest after that.  But the minutes went by quick and one became two, two became three, and before I knew it I was eight minutes in, hoping to get through the round of nine.  I was breaking up all post-5 minute rounds into the first 5, then whatever was left.  It was a decent strategy, but skill (or lack thereof) caught up with me and I found myself one pullup into the 10th round and I was cooked.

So we're watching and encouraging as some of the more impressive CF'ers got into rounds 12, 13, 14, and I think one of them got close to 15 but alas we were all done after that, when all of a sudden Sara says:

"OK...same thing, but Burpees..."

I joked that I could be there all day doing burpees, but I petered out just before the round of 9.  That was a great audible from Sara...I don't think the class before us did that extra workout, and it was cool to get in an extra sweat while we still had time left.

A fun, solid WOD, and happily my last one of the week.  Time for some much-needed rest and relaxation.  Looks like only one WOD next week before the next rest day, so let's hope I come back to something serious.  Either way I'll be there, and that's what counts most of all...

Peace...

One for "Mick"

Some days things just come together.  A lot of the time you could say I'm kind of "chasing it" energy wise during Crossfit workouts.  I feel like I do well, and much better than when I started.  But in general there comes a time in many WODs where I hit the wall and it takes everything I have to push through and get it done.  There's no mystery there...I still have a long way to go before I would say I'm fit, and my sleep during the week is horrendous.  So once in a while when I crush a workout it feels damn spectacular...ESPECIALLY when it's a WOD of this magnitude.  Today was no fuckin joke, and I surprised even myself when I had some breakthroughs along the way.

WOD - "McCluskey"
Three rounds of:
9 Muscle-ups
15 Burpee pull-ups
21 Pull-ups
Run 800 meters

This was a "Hero WOD" - one that is named after a soldier who died defending our country.  This one was for Jason "Mick" McCluskey of Oklahoma who sadly died at the age of 26 in Afghanistan.  I think of where I was at 26...I hadn't even met my wife yet...so much of my life hadn't started yet.  At 38 I have a lot to be thankful for, so I was happy to lay it all on the table for Mr. McCluskey one time.

The scaling for this one was pretty cool.  Sara had us grab a pair of 35-lb dumbbells.  For muscle ups we did a pushup while holding the dumbbells, then at the top of the pushup we did a dumbbell row with each arm.  For burpee pullups I did a burpee then jumped up on a box and did a jumping pullup.  The regular pullups I did with 1.3 thick bands (the .5 was being used so I sucked it up and used a smaller one for my second one)

When you look at this WOD it's pretty crushing.  I love the 21-15-9 rep scheme, and it's very cool how they reverse it here...but adding the run is sadism at its finest.  Being the massochist that I am this one had my name all over it.

3...2...1...Go! I got a solid pace going and purposely didn't go to failure on the first round of pullups.  I broke it up into 6-5-5-5 and it went pretty smoothly.  The huge surprise came during the first run.  I ran out to 6th Ave, kept a steady pace, and by the time I rounded 24th St I realized that I didn't need to stop and walk...I just kept running...and running...until holy shit I rounded back onto 26th and finished the first run UNBROKEN.  How sick is that?  I've never run more than a block at a time in my entire life! I was sizzling on adrenaline and cruised through the second round, that is until the pullups.  By the second half of the set I was doing 1-2 at a time, but I got it done and out I went for run #2.  BOOM!  Unbroken again...what the hell was happening?  What an incredible feeling to run this consistently for this long...I sailed back in after the run and kept plugging away.  I could tell this one was running long, but if the firebreathers were putting up times of 25+ minutes I knew I was going to clock in at about an hour, which was fine with me...as long as I finished.  Somehow I got through the pullups again and I raced toward the door.  Then a pretty crazy thing happened...

...Wayne is the coolest of the cool.  An elder gentleman who started Crossfitting a couple months back.  We've had some pleasant exchanges about the challenge of Crossfit and we've seen each other at the Black Box many times, as we both come several times a week.  Anyway Wayne had finished the WOD already, but as I passed him to head down the stairs he said "I think I'll come along for this round."  I couldn't believe it.  He was DONE.  Something about my taking forever on these WODs possesses people to do extra rounds.  I don't know who is more demented...but obviously I was flattered that Wayne gave THAT much of a shit about me to join me for the final run.  As it turned out my pace was so rocking that he easily walked beside me as I ran, but hey I RAN, and once again...UNBROKEN!

WOD Time - 54:21

The encouragement, feedback, and general comaraderie at the gym has been humbling to say the least.  I'm having a blast with Crossfit...and there's no doubt a lot of the above has to do as much with my progress as any physical gains I've had.  This is turning out to be quite the life experience.

I don't know how well I honored McCluskey's memory, but I'm satisfied that if I had the chance to meet him I'd be honest when I say I gave this one absolutely everything, and it gave me back even more.

Yeah Burpees!

Click for Burpee Fun!

What do you get when you cross two handstands, 75 bent-over dumbbell rows, a 2K run and 100 burpees? Frankly I have no idea what the name for it would be, but let's just say for me this week I call it "Wednesday".

...So I'm limping triumphantly down 6th Ave after yesterday's WOD (most days after a tough metcon I get a little victory limp going) and I'm truly overwhelmed by my morning experience.  I'll set this up by pasting the WOD as RX'ed:

Five Rounds for Time
400m Run
20 Burpees
15 Bent-Over Dumbbell Rows

I get to the typical spot in the WOD where everybody's finished and I'm still truckin my way through round 3 out of 5...and as usual everyone has been encouraging the shit out of me the whole time.  Suddenly I have Anthony on my left doing the burpees along with me, and coaching me through the db rows. Then Anthony and Tim join me for the run in the final round.  We get back upstairs after the run and they both do the final 20 burpees along with me.  I cruise through the last 15 db rows and BOOM...

40:22

Sara asked me before the WOD if I considered scaling.  "It's a lot of burpees" she said.  I waved it off and went for it.  As I was leaving  there were hi-fives all around...such a cool feeling to hit such a benchmark!

There is no way to overstate how humbled I am that these guys invested their time and energy in getting me to finish this WOD. I mean they were fucking DONE. They are not trainers. They could have walked away and still been the nice guys that they are every day.  But there's something about Crossfit that makes people really care THAT much...something that makes us a team even though we're only competing with our individual selves.  I think there's some magic in the combination of someone's excitement as they're hitting their stride with Crossfit and the excitement of others as they watch somebody go through that discovery.  There was a lot of synergy in the room yesterday, and it felt damn fantastic.

Kicking Ass & Braving the Elements

Today's WOD felt GREAT!!!

It was snowing in NYC but that didn't stop most of us from running down to 6th Ave and back for the run portion...got a lot of support along the way and ended up a lot farther than I planned.  What a great end to a 4-WOD week.  Loving it...

WOD: "Rankel"
AMRAP in 20 minutes:
225 pound Deadlift, 6 reps (scaled to 135 lbs)
7 Burpee pull-ups (scale to 7 burpees then 7 jumping pullups)
10 Kettlebell swings, 2 pood (scale to 24 kg)
Run 200 meters

Final Tally: 3.8 rounds (one more run would have gotten me four but I ran out of time with two KBS to go)

You can't help but love the support of the Crossfit NYC crew.  Every time someone passed me on the runs (and they ALL passed me I can assure you) they all had words of encouragement...taking time out of an intense part of their workout to say "keep it up Reis" - "nice work Reis" - "get after it Reis".  It really works in such a big way.  And everyone is so approachable when I have questions about form, or just finding out about them as people and their own experiences with Crossfit.  It's getting tougher to stay away on rest days (but I know those are as necessary as the WODs, and frankly an extra hour of sleep is gold right now).

Excited for a weekend with my family.  I barely see my son during the week, so I'm taking him for pancakes in the morning (Dad gets his egg whites & black coffee :-).  End of the month I'm going on my first snowboard trip in over five years...I feel like CF/Paleo has been an intense training session for the endurance required for three days of solid boarding.  Can't WAIT!!!

I'm sure I'll have some more ramblings during the weekend...until then...peace...

DON'T THEY KNOW I'M JEWISH?!?!?

This one fucking leveled me.  Plain and simple.  I gave it everything I had...all while scaling five of the exercises.  Here's the WOD as RX'ed:

12 Days of Crossfit

One Handstand Pushup

Two Rocking Pistols, One Handstand Pushup

Three Ring Dips, Two Rocking Pistols, One Handstand Pushup

Four Walking Lunges, Three Ring Dips, Two Rocking Pistols, One Handstand Pushup

Five Medball Cleans, Four Walking Lunges, Three Ring Dips, Two Rocking Pistols, One Handstand Pushup

Six Box Jumps, Five Medball Cleans, Four Walking Lunges, Three Ring Dips, Two Rocking Pistols, One Handstand Pushup

Seven Knees to Elbows, Six Box Jumps, Five Medball Cleans, Four Walking Lunges, Three Ring Dips, Two Rocking Pistols, One Handstand Pushup

Eight GI Janes, Seven Knees to Elbows, Six Box Jumps, Five Medball Cleans, Four Walking Lunges, Three Ring Dips, Two Rocking Pistols, One Handstand Pushup

Nine Wallball Shots, Eight GI Janes, Seven Knees to Elbows, Six Box Jumps, Five Medball Cleans, Four Walking Lunges, Three Ring Dips, Two Rocking Pistols, One Handstand Pushup

Ten Sumo Deadlift High Pulls, Nine Wallball Shots, Eight GI Janes, Seven Knees to Elbows, Six Box Jumps, Five Medball Cleans, Four Walking Lunges, Three Ring Dips, Two Rocking Pistols, One Handstand Pushup

Eleven Barbell Thrusters, Ten Sumo Deadlift High Pulls, Nine Wallball Shots, Eight GI Janes, Seven Knees to Elbows, Six Box Jumps, Five Medball Cleans, Four Walking Lunges, Three Ring Dips, Two Rocking Pistols, One Handstand Pushup

Twelve Kettlebell Snatches, Eleven Barbell Thrusters, Ten Sumo Deadlift High Pulls, Nine Wallball Shots, Eight GI Janes, Seven Knees to Elbows, Six Box Jumps, Five Medball Cleans, Four Walking Lunges, Three Ring Dips, Two Rocking Pistols, One Handstand Pushup.

My Time:  48:54
Scaling (with some help from Sara):

Scaled HSPU to Pike Pushup
Scaled Ring Dips to Jumping Ring Dips
Scaled Pistols to "Ass on the box" or whatever you call it...
Scaled Box Jumps to step-ups
Scaled GI Janes to 4 burpees then 4 ring dips

This was absolutely sick...LOVED it!

Filthy Friday Crushes My Soul

OK...so here's the WOD as RX'ed:
http://crossfitnyc.com/2010/12/filthy-friday.html

For time:
50 Box jump, 24 inch box
50 Jumping pull-ups
50 Kettlebell swings, 1 pood
Walking Lunge, 50 steps
50 Knees to elbows
50 Push press, 45 pounds
50 Back extensions
50 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball
50 Burpees
50 Double unders

I scaled to "Dirty 30" (i.e. 30 reps of everything vs. 50). I had no intention of doing jumping pullups at all, but Sara had me on the box doing them in no time. I was excited to have a WOD with kettle bell swings, as we didn't even do these during Elements. Since my knee is still bruised and a little tender, I scaled to step-ups for the box jumps.

I cruised through the first three exercises like I actually had business being there. I was surprising myself with my pace. Wall balls WERE my favorite exercise, but today, with them smack in the middle of the WOD, they tore me down hard...by the time I got to the burpees I hit the wall. But rep by rep Sara was on me hard to finish. Somehow I found a way, and before I knew it I was done. 35:15!

This is truly an incredible experience. I am so psyched that I'm actually finishing these workouts. I cut a new hole in my belt yesterday, and I'm officially one shirt size smaller. It's the only way I'm measuring my progress. I still haven't stepped on a scale since I started. I just need to keep plugging away...

The knee shows signs of improvement...I'll still wear the brace next week, and I'll keep it to three WODs, or maybe see how I feel by next Friday...I don't want to push too hard, but this Crossfit experience is damn exciting.

word.