Taking some time on Monday morning to reflect on the prior week. I was real pleased with my work in the box last week. I made it in each day Monday through Thursday. Solid strength improvements and cardio on the metcons. I bailed on Friday to recover from the workouts and to build my strength up a bit for Saturday morning's FGB.
FGB Saturday
We had a huge showing of folks from not just our box but from a few others (primarily the South Metro Crossfit team which is the Crossfit community for fire fighters in Douglas County). There were some really high scores posted (all of the fire fighters were mid 300's plus which made me feel very confident of the guys who save lives) with the highest score coming from Jon M. (trainer at our box who is leaving in the next few months for the Air Force Special Operations group). We had 2 lanes setup and ran through 5 heats total with 2 to 3 people per lane.
My score was 191. My goal for the day was 200+ (prior score was 166 back in May). Although I didn't reach my goal (9 shy) I was real pleased with the 25 point gain. I started with the wall ball station per the normal flow. Eric N. was my counter and we discussed the strategy before hand. His suggestion and I agreed was to shoot for 15 points per station. That would get me to 225 total for the round. Strategy is one thing but reality is another. I made the same mistake I always make on workouts with multiple rounds. I went out strong real early. First two stations (wall ball and SDHP) I scored a 22 and 21. Used up way too much gas early on and the box jumps smoked me. I ended up just moving through them stepping up and down. I did catch up on the push press (22) and gamed the row a little bit to catch my breath. My first round total was 81 and I fell off on rounds 2 and 3 in the mid 50's. Regardless, I am real pleased. Eric pushed me quite a bit in rounds 2 and 3 yelling out for 1 more here and there and telling me to stop and move to the next station to take a few deep breaths. As I look at things I think I could have found another 9 reps somewhere in there if I had a running total of where I was at.
I'm traveling quite a bit this week and next so will miss a few days but I'll be in San Fran and will do my best to make it into Lalanne fitness for a day or two. I'll at least put my gear on and run / walk the streets of San Fran.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Helen in the rain...
Just read John's post about how much you push yourself if no one is watching. It's a good question and one that I'd like to say I push myself just as hard but I'm honest enough to say I don't. It's not that I'm trying to skate by or get away with anything but I find that when I work out and count reps or do a movement I will either forget my count entirely because I'm not paying attention or that my form goes to complete crap. I think that is also why I prefer the smaller class sizes so that I know the coach is looking at me more often. Perfect example was tonight's WOD.
Helen was on the menu tonight:
3 rounds for time
400m run
21 1.5 pood KB swings
12 pullups
To start with the weather in Denver is starting to turn a little bit giving us a taste of fall. Weather for tonight's WOD was rainy and cold (~55 degrees). I was geared up for the cold (long sleeve under armours are great) but not for the rain (I had expected it to slack up).
3-2-1 go.
Round 1
First 400 was great. Happy with my time of 2:35 which for our course is great (not flat at all). Moved right into the box for the KB swings and made a huge mistake by not wiping my hands dry. It was a slow steady drizzle outside and I was drenched. Knocked through 5 fairly aggressively (I was a bit concerned that I would not have the gas to do 1.5 pood but stuck it out) when Eric (guy from box who stayed around for fun) suggested I stop and wipe hands dry. It was great advice. Knocked out the remaining 16 without issue (set of 10 then 6. Jumped up to the bar pullups using just the black band. I need to put some serious thought into moving down the color of the band. I'm kipping pretty hard now and I'm almost hitting my chest on the bar each time. Knocked my pullups out in 3 sets of 4.
Round 2
Rain picked up a bit but was not that concerned by it. Started out my 400 (which starts with a steep 50m or so. Made it to the top and had zero breath so walked for a little bit to catch breath but kept moving. Walked in total on the 400m about 100m. Not good but I could not catch my breath. Time on this run was right at 3 minutes. Straight to KB swings but this time had a stop to dry my hands and chalk up (helped also). Knocked KBs out in a set of 10 then 5 then 6. Pullups were next and knocked them out in sets of 4.
Round 3
No change in rain. Still falling pretty heavy. Same issue on the run. As I made the first climb my back started to twinge a little bit. Pretty much the same amount of walking. Time on the last 400 was just north of 3 minutes. Straight to KBs. Knocked them out in a set of 10 and a set of 11. On to pullups which I knocked out pretty quick in sets of 4 with minimal rest.
Total time - 17:56
As I reflect on the time I can say that I am pretty happy with it. First time doing Helen so it's a good benchmark (I can't find my WOD book which is not cool but haven't checked in my Dreamforce stuff which is where I think it is). If I had my game face on more I think I could have done sub 17 at a minimum. I do think I did as good as I did because the coach and Eric (who stuck around) kept pushing me. Any time I put the KB down they would say "take a deep breath and jump back on" or "let's pick it up, 3 2 1." That's the kind of thing that I would not get if I were doing it all on my own.
I'll get day 4 in tomorrow which I'm pretty lucky to do given that I'm at home this week because the recovery is much faster. Travel does make working out more difficult for me at least. I'm gearing up for a good FGB score (goal is 200) so may plan to skip Friday's WOD. I'll look and see what it is.
Helen was on the menu tonight:
3 rounds for time
400m run
21 1.5 pood KB swings
12 pullups
To start with the weather in Denver is starting to turn a little bit giving us a taste of fall. Weather for tonight's WOD was rainy and cold (~55 degrees). I was geared up for the cold (long sleeve under armours are great) but not for the rain (I had expected it to slack up).
3-2-1 go.
Round 1
First 400 was great. Happy with my time of 2:35 which for our course is great (not flat at all). Moved right into the box for the KB swings and made a huge mistake by not wiping my hands dry. It was a slow steady drizzle outside and I was drenched. Knocked through 5 fairly aggressively (I was a bit concerned that I would not have the gas to do 1.5 pood but stuck it out) when Eric (guy from box who stayed around for fun) suggested I stop and wipe hands dry. It was great advice. Knocked out the remaining 16 without issue (set of 10 then 6. Jumped up to the bar pullups using just the black band. I need to put some serious thought into moving down the color of the band. I'm kipping pretty hard now and I'm almost hitting my chest on the bar each time. Knocked my pullups out in 3 sets of 4.
Round 2
Rain picked up a bit but was not that concerned by it. Started out my 400 (which starts with a steep 50m or so. Made it to the top and had zero breath so walked for a little bit to catch breath but kept moving. Walked in total on the 400m about 100m. Not good but I could not catch my breath. Time on this run was right at 3 minutes. Straight to KB swings but this time had a stop to dry my hands and chalk up (helped also). Knocked KBs out in a set of 10 then 5 then 6. Pullups were next and knocked them out in sets of 4.
Round 3
No change in rain. Still falling pretty heavy. Same issue on the run. As I made the first climb my back started to twinge a little bit. Pretty much the same amount of walking. Time on the last 400 was just north of 3 minutes. Straight to KBs. Knocked them out in a set of 10 and a set of 11. On to pullups which I knocked out pretty quick in sets of 4 with minimal rest.
Total time - 17:56
As I reflect on the time I can say that I am pretty happy with it. First time doing Helen so it's a good benchmark (I can't find my WOD book which is not cool but haven't checked in my Dreamforce stuff which is where I think it is). If I had my game face on more I think I could have done sub 17 at a minimum. I do think I did as good as I did because the coach and Eric (who stuck around) kept pushing me. Any time I put the KB down they would say "take a deep breath and jump back on" or "let's pick it up, 3 2 1." That's the kind of thing that I would not get if I were doing it all on my own.
I'll get day 4 in tomorrow which I'm pretty lucky to do given that I'm at home this week because the recovery is much faster. Travel does make working out more difficult for me at least. I'm gearing up for a good FGB score (goal is 200) so may plan to skip Friday's WOD. I'll look and see what it is.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Sept Front Squats
Rolled from a good solid week in the box last week into a new one this week.
Monday's workout - Tabata
8 rounds each (20 on / 10 off) of:
pullups
pushups
situps
squats
Did not score well at all. Ended up with a 166 which is a 5 point improvement over my last time back in June. I'm more fit now but still had expected a bit more than this. It did not help that I had zero gas in the tank.
Tuesday's workout:
Front Squat 5x3 - 185, 225(2), 185, 205, 225
This is by far my worst lift as I consider form. I have poor mobility in my wrists and this is key for this lift (and thrusters which I also struggle at). Depth is great though as I'm really working on getting below 90. Need to look into something to strengthen my wrists and forearms as I believe this will help this lift. Still had pretty low energy. A great highlight to the workout was the 800m warm up run. I'm pretty happy with my running lately. I'm still slow but I'm not sucking major wind when I am done. I plan to hit the track at the high school this weekend to run 4 distinct 800's for time. Our 800m course at the box has some pretty challenging hills.
Diet is something I'm really going to focus on for the remainder of this month and into October. Going to try the primal route and see how that works.
Monday's workout - Tabata
8 rounds each (20 on / 10 off) of:
pullups
pushups
situps
squats
Did not score well at all. Ended up with a 166 which is a 5 point improvement over my last time back in June. I'm more fit now but still had expected a bit more than this. It did not help that I had zero gas in the tank.
Tuesday's workout:
Front Squat 5x3 - 185, 225(2), 185, 205, 225
This is by far my worst lift as I consider form. I have poor mobility in my wrists and this is key for this lift (and thrusters which I also struggle at). Depth is great though as I'm really working on getting below 90. Need to look into something to strengthen my wrists and forearms as I believe this will help this lift. Still had pretty low energy. A great highlight to the workout was the 800m warm up run. I'm pretty happy with my running lately. I'm still slow but I'm not sucking major wind when I am done. I plan to hit the track at the high school this weekend to run 4 distinct 800's for time. Our 800m course at the box has some pretty challenging hills.
Diet is something I'm really going to focus on for the remainder of this month and into October. Going to try the primal route and see how that works.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Deadlift PR
Great night at the box. WOD played to my strengths (no pun intended).
Deadlift 1-1-1-1-1
Great warmup then started into the weights. 405 / 455 / 475. Last rep was ugly but good. Decided that I could not go up in weight and even if I did I could not put anymore weight on the bar.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Good to get back in the box
Solid WOD on the agenda for today:
3 rounds for time
15-12-9
Thrusters 135#
Plyo Pushups
My score was 19:51 but had to bail on 135# after rep 18 and drop to 95#. My grip strength is really hurting me on all things front squat related. Need to look into what I can do to increase this. Plyo pushups on knees. Seeing noticeable improvements in the pushups though so I am happy there.
Decided to go the primal 30 day challenge. Bought the book et. al. My weight is what is holding me back on all of the crossfit endurance related WODs. Need to try whatever I can to drop weight so I will give this a shot. I'll traxk it here when I get it started.
Need to also try to get some extra lifting in on days that I take a break from crossfit. Squats and cleans are strong mocements so I will see about ramping up my strength there.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Long blog hiatus...
It's been 2 solid months since my last blog entry. Lots to update but I'll focus on the ones that mean the most to me. I've had some great improvements over the past 2 months. I'm most proud of my 915 crossfit total score. I will confess that I could have added another 60 pounds or so to that total if it were not for 2 things:
1. I was paired up with a guy that I have not worked out with before. I had a final weight of 385 on my back squat (had just finished 335 with no issues) and as I was going down I felt the guy right behind me (he was trying to spot). This unfortunately freaked me a bit and I blew the lift. I decided to go ahead and move to the next movement.
2. I was pushed for time and had to move quickly through the press where I stopped at 155 so that I could move on to deadlifts. I've done 155 for sets of 3 in the past so I felt I could have easily gone up another 15 or so pounds. This is by far the hardest lift for me of the 3 because I always want to cheat but I stayed strict this round.
3. Ended up with a 425 deadlift (could hit almost 6 in college so this is an area I can work on).
Overall very satisfied with my 915 but I can break 1000 by year end.
Other things that I've been pleased with is my cardio capacity is much greater. I'm not out of breath after the 800 m warmup runs and running in general is not something I cringe at. If only I could take the same attitude with burpees.
I finally made it in to LaLanne Crossfit in San Fran. It is a nice gym and I no longer have an excuse for not going in. Was able to work out with Sean again and John D. for the first time. Both of those guys are animals (John D. by far at the top) and in my opinion it's good to work out with guys like that to keep the drive going.
Lastly, I did my first hero wod (31 heroes wod) this last weekend. It was a grueling workout but as I sat and reflected at the end it was a great experience because the money all went to a worthy cause and regardless of what the hero wods turn out to be I need to get with it and do it.
Fight Gone Bad is coming up in 2 weeks so I'll double down and get some good workouts in. Just need to focus on diet and be serious about it this time around.
I'll commit to keeping my blog a bit more up to date going forward.
1. I was paired up with a guy that I have not worked out with before. I had a final weight of 385 on my back squat (had just finished 335 with no issues) and as I was going down I felt the guy right behind me (he was trying to spot). This unfortunately freaked me a bit and I blew the lift. I decided to go ahead and move to the next movement.
2. I was pushed for time and had to move quickly through the press where I stopped at 155 so that I could move on to deadlifts. I've done 155 for sets of 3 in the past so I felt I could have easily gone up another 15 or so pounds. This is by far the hardest lift for me of the 3 because I always want to cheat but I stayed strict this round.
3. Ended up with a 425 deadlift (could hit almost 6 in college so this is an area I can work on).
Overall very satisfied with my 915 but I can break 1000 by year end.
Other things that I've been pleased with is my cardio capacity is much greater. I'm not out of breath after the 800 m warmup runs and running in general is not something I cringe at. If only I could take the same attitude with burpees.
I finally made it in to LaLanne Crossfit in San Fran. It is a nice gym and I no longer have an excuse for not going in. Was able to work out with Sean again and John D. for the first time. Both of those guys are animals (John D. by far at the top) and in my opinion it's good to work out with guys like that to keep the drive going.
Lastly, I did my first hero wod (31 heroes wod) this last weekend. It was a grueling workout but as I sat and reflected at the end it was a great experience because the money all went to a worthy cause and regardless of what the hero wods turn out to be I need to get with it and do it.
Fight Gone Bad is coming up in 2 weeks so I'll double down and get some good workouts in. Just need to focus on diet and be serious about it this time around.
I'll commit to keeping my blog a bit more up to date going forward.
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