Tuesday Travel Day

My flight this morning was cancelled and rebooked for this afternoon so I'm pretty much dead in the water on getting a workout in.  Trying to get my work queued on my laptop so that I can do something on the plane.

Lots of Shoulder Work

Purely a strength WOD today.

WOD
Shoulder Press 1-1-1-1-1
Push Press 3-3-3-3-3
Push Jerk 5-5-5-5-5

Ended up with 195# on shoulder press which is a 10# PR for me.  Will help me hit my CFT Goal this year of 1100+.  Push Press was 175# and Push Jerk was 155#.  I just lost major steam when I got to Push Jerks.

Time to get some protein and fish oil in the body.  Feeling strong and healthier now on day 7 of Paleo.

Row Row Row Row Row

Per my earlier post I set my eyes on a row WOD today. Ended up with a 5x500 with a 3 min rest between each interval. Times were between 1:52.9-1:55.7 so ended with an average of 1:53.7. Good little workout overall. Signd up for my 9:30 am class tomorrow morning then off to San Fran fairly early on Tues. will dedinitely hit LaLanne on Wed morning.

Week in Reflection

On day 7 of Paleo so I thought I would write a few things about what I am experincing.

1. There are a ton of cookbooks out there and other sites with recipes so I cannot use lack of variety as an excuse to not eat Paleo (I did actually just find 2 Paleo cookbooks that I have acquired over the years.
2. It is a really bad idea to cheat with a slice of pizza. I had a slice on Friday and felt rotten. Not only did I go into a carb coma but I tossed and turned all night long.
3. Yes, it is more expensive to eat this way but based on how I feel it is worth it. The bloated feeling has gone away and I do look much slimmer.
4. Coconut pancakes rock! Made them for the first time this morning and really enjoyed them.
5. Traveling and staying on Paleo is really not that hard. Just stick to salads and soups and meals without rice and potatoes (more vegetables please).

Travel mid week so I am going to get a workout in later today. Think I will go for 5x500 on the rower and some dumbbell / KB work.

Clock Malfunction

Planned to knock out the NEW Year's Eve WOD with 3 rounds of row 1000/500, pullups 20/12, double unders 20/12 and SDHP 1 pd 20/12.

Row was solid and then as I started pullups I noticed the clock was sruck at 3:00. Looks like I never reset it from my last round of 3 min double unders. Never could get it set so I went ahead and kept moving. Got downstairs to start my 2nd row and I just could not get the clock malfunction out of my head so I bailed on the remainder.

I think I was roughly at 8:30 on my first round which would have meant I would have blown out the last time score I got of 31:52. Next time.

On a happy note I did get my clock reset properly so I am all happy with that. Day 6 on Paleo is going well.

1 Slice Pizza = The Devil

Girls decided that they wanted to order pizza last night so I thought "why not?"  I have been 90% Paleo since Monday and while I had a nice flank steak cooking I decided to have a slice of pizza.  WOW  What a mistake that was.  Ate the slice then my flank steak and sat on the couch.  I immediately started to go to sleep.  Decided that I would head on into bed where I promptly went to sleep at 8 pm.  Woke up at 8:30 am this morning but tossed and turned most of the night thanks to Mr. Gluten.  If that doesn't tell me that I'm eating the right way and to never go back then I don't know what will.

Off to Whole Foods later today.

Power Cleans & Broad Jumps

Back in the box today. Got qnothe a.m. WOD in. Ms. Courtney was the trainer (always fun).

WOD1
Power Clean 3x5

Had a solid warmup and then jumped into the heavy weight. Sets of 185,205(3),205 were solid. Need to work on speed and focus on the shrug.

WOD2
6 rounds
3 KB clean (each arm)
3 broad jumps

Took the 1.5 pood out and ran through that. Jumps were all 24' with my best at 26'.

Got some news from Courtney that Verve has 100# plates so I will drop in on an open gym day to Get a slid day of deadlifts in.

Squats / Bench & Object Thrusters / Fran Style

It was great to get back in the box today.  Two full days of rest in San Fran with meetings and good food (yes, still sticking to Paleo) have really energized me.  Same schedule with a strength WOD and then a MetCon.

WOD1
Squats 3 x 5

Warmed up with 135# then knocked out sets at 185#, 225# and 275#.  Depth is getting better but Ryan suggested to go ahead and drop weight and get more used to the depth.  So, I dropped for a final set at 225# and bottomed out essentially.  A few more sessions of that should help a lot.

WOD2
Bench Press 3 x 5

Warmed up with 135# then knocked out sets at 185#, 205# and then a final set at 215#.  PR for me by 10#'s so I'm pretty jazzed about that.

WOD3
12-9-6-3 Object Thrusters (I used a 45# bar)
90ft Shuttle Sprint

I am not that great at thrusters with a bar so I opted to go with it for practice.  Depth was real solid as again this is something that I need to work on.  Knocked out 12 in a row and then did the run.  Essentially knocked out the remaining thrusters in sets of 6 or 3 with a very small rest in the rack position.  Final time was 3:45 which I was real pleased with.  Could have gone heavier but I need the form work.

Paleo & Feeling Good

Traveling over past few days in San Fran. Decided to rest on this trip instead of hitting LaLanne. Have been following Paleonnow for 3 full days and I am feeling good. Plan to keep it up this time. Just got home at 10 pm and made an omelet with some guac.

Rest Works / Squats, Presses and AMRAP

I was quite sore all last week from a session of OHS which were a complete failure for me.  My left shoulder (behind and below my shoulder) was tight all week.  Today I went in 20 minutes early to do some stretching.  Traveling tonight so I was looking to (and able) to hit the 10:30 am WOD between meetings.  Still on the same type of scheduling where we have a strength WOD and metcon.

WOD1
3x5 Back Squats
3x5 Press

Squats felt good and Ryan (owner / trainer) jumped in and lifted with us today.  It was really instructive watching him do the lift and gave me a good goal to shoot for in depth.  Real pleased with my final squat which was 295#.  Depth was right at 90 or just a hair below so I'm getting better on that.  Presses were about the same with a final at 155#.

WOD2
AMRAP
6 Pushups
6 Squat Jumps
6 KTE

I did this same AMRAP in April of last year and it was not fun.  However, this time I did it Rx (no knee pushups or bands for KTE like last time).  I ended up with 5 rounds and 4 pushups.

Real pleased.

It's a Row Day

It's been a really tough week of WODs for me this week. Started with OHS which I confess I am not good at.  I didn't pull a muscle in my left shoulder area but I sure did get sore.  Following that WOD up with Barbara (only completed 4 rounds) didn't win me any points.  Add to that last nights 2RM Push Press (stuck at 205 which I think is a mental block) and then 3 rounds of KB, bear crawls, pullups, bear crawls and box jumps and I think I deserve a day of rest.

Let me rephrase that a bit and take into account that I rolled over in bed last night and came awake due to a whole body muscle cramp and say that I think I have a body mandated rest day.

So, I will drink my coffee and take my fish oil and bear down to get some work done.  I believe I'll get a row in later today but nothing major.  Just enough to finish breaking in my rowing shoes and get a little sweat going.

Olympic Lifting Cert Here I Come

Just completed registration for the Crossfit Olympic Lifting Trainer Course to be held at LaLanne Fitness on 3/3-3/4.  Pretty excited about this.  Ryan recommended tonight that I do a lot of work over the next few months on my hip flexors as it will help me get more out of the class.  Need to chat with him on what he would recommend I do.

Push Press and Bear Crawls

Another day for a strength WOD and then a Metcon.

WOD1
2RM Push Press

Had a good warm up with 5 reps or so with the bar and then some weight. Progressions were: 45,95,135. Then went to 185 for 2 reps and then 205.

WOD2
10 KB swings 2pd
25' Bear Crawl
10 strict pulups (I used the black band)
25' Bear Crawl
20 side box jumps 24"

Round 1 was pretty solid. Right around 5 minutes. The box jumps were pretty rough. Ended up with 16:38 as a total score.

Pain pain go away...

I am not a fan of pain of any kind (I think sinus headaches are the worst) but I can say that I really like the pain I am experiencing now.  "Barbara" smoked me last night and my upper body is sore from all of the pullups and pushups.  I'm pushing my Pure Pharma fish oil like an addict to get ready for tonight.

Found a great recipe on Juli's blog for Jambalaya.  Will try that this weekend.

Barbara

Went to the box today because the posted WOD said we were going to do a 1RM clean the do Barbara. So, essentially I went in to do the 1RM. Needless to say we did not do the 1RM and stuck to just Barbara. What an evil woman she was.

WOD
Barbara
5 rounds
20 pullups
30 pushups
40 situps
50 air squats
3 min rest between rounds

Went with the green band. Final score was 39 minutes but I only did 4 rounds. I was just gassed. Need to really push the fish oil as I am very sore.

Rest Day

Busy day at work and no time to make it to the box. Add to that no energy to row at home and I ended up with a rest day.

My Pure Pharma fish oil shows up tomorrow.

The Train Derailed

Felt much better today so headed to the box. In hondsight after my performance I wish I had stayed at home. OHS tomight at the box. Something I need a ton of work on.

WOD
OHS
5-10-5-10-5

Had a good warmup and threw some weight on the bar. I can do singles quite well but when I try to string multiples together I fall apart. My balance is for s€#*. over the next few weeks I need to get in a few minutes early and work on form.

Getting a cold = Forced Rest

Woke up Saturday morning with a bit of congestion and before the day was out had a bit of a sore throat.  Things did not improve to Sunday morning.  Definitely wishing that I had that steam shower in place already because it is time to get all over that.

No workouts this weekend at all.  Zero energy.  I believe that is a good reason to take a break so I'll hopefully be recovered by mid week.

Cleans and Pull-ups

WOD1
Power clean 3x5

This was my favorite lift in college and my max at that point was 345. Warmed up with a few reps at 135 then 3-2-1 GO. Round 1 I started with a nice 185 on the bar. Felt solid so I then moved up to 205. Decided that it was my day for 225. Loaded up the bar and got ready. Pulled out 2 reps and lost all sense of balance and had to drop. Got ready for the next set so stuck with 225. Again only 2 reps. Ugh! I can do more than that.

WOD2
Max pull-ups x 3

Decided that it was time to go to the blue band. Did sets of 6,5,5. I think I can definitely have gone more on the first round. This is definitely something that I am getting better at.

Rough one tomorrow to give Jon a sendoff. 5 rounds of lots of wall balls, wall climbs, burpees and cleans.

Breakfast - Great start to the day

I went to bed on a big endorphine high last night real pleased with the WODs in the box.  Woke up early this morning to get a crack in my windshield fixed.  I lived with the crack for about a year.  May as well given that I don't really drive all that much (home to airport and back, home to box and back, grocery...).  The crack finally went from the lower right to the lower left of the windshield so I figured it was time.  Service technician showed up early so I had to be up and ready.

Took advantage of the early rise to knock out some admin and focus on a good breakfast.  3 egg omelet with the right combination of salt and pepper and a good 30g of cheese.  A nice solid 3 block zone meal to start the day.  Pot of coffee is brewed and I'm starting to drink that.

I did get a new order for fish oil placed last night.  I decided to go the route of a product from Pure Pharma.  I've heard a lot about it and read a lot about it from Juli's paleomg.com blog.

Back at the box tonight.

Squats and Floor Bench and Sprints

Long week of meetings on site with customer. Essentially I had 3 days of rest so even though I landed at 2:30 I made sure to get to the box for the 6 pm class.

WOD1
Back Squats 3x5

Did a few sets of 135 for warmup then jumped into things. 225, 275, 295.

WOD2
Floor Bench 3x5

First time that I have tried this one. Lift was just what it says. It was a bench press without the bench. I lay flat on the floor and went to work. 135, 185, 225.

WOD3
10 sprints up to the stop sign and back carrying a sandbag

This one was a lot hard than it sounds. It was dark and the run was ice and snow covered. I also ended up carrying the monster Rogue sandbag which was easily 40 lbs. I also did not have a partner so I went up and back then a little rest times 10. Last rep was 22:04.

I was really focused tonight because I was working a bit of anger out of the system. Focus was great and I need to continue to find that.

Rest Day from WODs / Going Skiing

Headed to Vail late tonight so I'll pass on tonight's WOD as well as tomorrow morning's group WOD.  I'll get my workout on the mountain.

Squats / Bench & a Run

Felt a good surge of energy this afternoon and add to that my body felt recovered I decided to head to the box for the 6 pm class.  For a good stretch of time the schedule showed 10 had signed up which is the cap but when I checked back around 4:15 or so it was down to 7.  Guess other people were feeling tired.

Schedule of WODs is still following the strength WOD first and then some type of Metcon.  My only complaint on this is that I feel rushed through the strength WOD but recognize that speed is part of it.

WOD1
Back Squats 3x5

Felt good on this one.  Did a number of warmups then knocked out sets at 225 and 275.  Really focusing on going below parallel and as I was about to rack up 315 I looked at the time and had only 7 minutes to get in WOD2 so I bailed on the 3rd set.

WOD2
Bench Press 3 x 5

Arguably one area that is a weakness and has been for life.  The most I benched in college was 315 and that was when I was squatting 650.  That was a good 19 years ago.  Was warmed up from the squats and additional movements so jumped right in at 135.  Felt solid so went for sets at 185 and then 205.  Wanted to at least do 1 at 225 so I knocked that out.  Chad helped me a bit on that one because I was pretty spent.

WOD3
Run 1 Mile

Needless to say it is pitch black in Parker, CO after 5:30 and it was at least 6:45 when I started this WOD.  I'm not the best runner.  It's a movement that I really dread.  3-2-1 GO.  Ended up scoring 12:03 on this one.  Yes, I admit it was really bad but it's my best time in 18 years so I'm happy with it (just shows you how much I run).  I ran the first 800 entirely and walked about 150 meters of the second.  Per Jon, the course we ran is a little over a mile.  He was going to drive it to verify.  If the weather holds (and I think it will) I'm going to head to the track at the high school on Saturday to get some 400 repeats in.  I'll plan to go for 4 x 400 with a 2 minute rest between.

Changed my mind and headed to the box...

Changed my mind and headed to the box. Squats and 1 mile run here I come.

Rest Day 2

Had my feet up the entire time yesterday and was loving life.  Body was recovering and it was great.  Girls and I went to dinner at Red Robin and aside from their not having the chili burger anymore with garlic fries things were all good.  I ended up going with the patty melt.  It's about as healthy as I was willing to go.

Went back home and sat on the couch and started to snooze.  Alexandra still had to finish her homework so I kept the TV off and kept snoozing.  She finally got done at 10 pm and I decided to catch the weather (it's 61 today for a high in Parker) and then hit the bed.  Fell right asleep but woke up around 1 or 2 and couldn't get back to sleep that well.

So, I decided given that I would take another rest day to try to get my sleep back in line.  Today will most likely not be a complete rest day though.  Just a rest day from the box.  I think I'll squeeze a row in later this afternoon if my schedule permits it.

Rest Day

Complete and total relaxation day. Zero WOD. Zero row. It was awesome. It is now 8:30 and I am battling to keep my eyes open

Wednesday - Planned Rest Day

Schedule on Wednesday is not going to allow me to WOD at the box so I will take a much needed rest day. If anything I will do a short row just to stretch out the kinks and hang from the bar a little bit. While feeding the dog tonight I tried a little bar hang and I can already tell that my shoulders are tightening up.

I think on any downtime tomorrow that I will plan out some new meals.

Deadlifts and wall climbs

Programming this week (and expcted for rest of the quarter) is really great. Looks like we are going the crossfit football path which is a strength WOD then some type of Metcon. I am sure we will have some Metcon only days in there but I am energized by this change.

3 WODs today.

WOD 1
Deadlift 5RM

We had a 10 minute time cap on this one so I was really rushing. Ended up with 405 for 5 reps. I think if I had 5 more minutes I could have hit 455 which was my goal.

WOD 2
Max reps chinups x 3

This was harder than I thought it would be. No kipping here and the reverse grip really bothered me. I ended up using the green band (tried blue but couldn't make it work) and had reps of 3-2-1.

WOD 3
30 KB swings 2 pd 1 min
1 min rest
200m row in 1 min
1 min rest
10 sandbag wall tosses and climb wall in 1 min
1 min rest

This one was a lot of fun. Wall climbs were great. I ended up with reps of 26 and 24 of the 2 pd in 1 min.

Ouch...

Had issues sleeping last night.  I don't think I'm going to bother getting in my bed until I have at least fallen asleep on the coach or the chair two or three times.  This has been going on for the past week or so.  When I finally do get to sleep I want to stay in bed until 11 or so but now that work has picked back up that's not realistic.

Woke up this morning and my body is feeling a little rough.  Joints and muscles are chatting with pain right now.  Decided to brew my coffee and as I was hunting for breakfast I saw a little pack of smoked salmon in the fridge.  44 grams of protein is essentially 6 1/2 blocks on the zone so while it is greater than the 5 that I shoot for salmon is not something that you can eat part of then save for later.  So, down the hatch.  Holy cow! This was the best salmon that I've bought.  I got it at Whole Foods.  It is Norwegian Center Cut Premium Smoked Salmon.  I remember paying right at $5.50 for the pack and I'm definitely headed back to get more.  It was as tender as biting through warm butter.  This extra boost of fish oil will help recovery.

Multi WOD Programming

Strength WOD and a timed WOD tonight.

WOD 1
3x5 Back Squats
3x5 Press

225, 275, 315(1) on the back squats. I just wasn't feeling it on the squats. Press was feeling really solid. 95,135,155 on the press. This felt strong.

WOD 2
5 x hanging cleans (70% 1 RM)
20 Double Unders
10 Pullups

9:28 total time. Went with 185# on the cleans. I had to pull a few from off of the floor in the last round. After round 1 I was just gassed. Double Unders were a breeze. I think I am getting the feel of my rope. Went Round 1 with an immediate 18 then failed and had to do the final 2. Round 2 was straight 20. Round 3 was 10 then sets of 3 and 4 to complete it. I lost my rhythm. Pullups were good. Started out with sets of 5 then dropped to sets of 3 and 2. Definitely sticking with the green band. I need to do a few with the blue band to see how that feels.

Good 2 days starting the New Year.

Juli's BLOG

Took a quick read through Juli's blog this morning. If you don't follow I highly recommend it. An interesting reflection on being single that I can relate to. Also reminded of an article in teh Crossfit Journal that Crossfitters should really only date Crossfitters. Sounds about right. I guess I need to start visiting a lot more boxes since the women at mine are for the most part married. Perhaps I should also consider yoga.

She did have a really good looking recipe up there with a stuffed pumpkin. Not really a pumpkin fan so I am going to try that with squash (my favorite).

Looking forward to tonight's WOD. Programming is different per Ryan for the next month so I am going to hit it hard. strength and timed WOD tonight. Squats and Presses for strength whoch I can rock.

So much for rest weekend...

As the title says so much for resting this weekend. Did a short Rowing WOD yesterday and I felt about getting after one today. Plan was to utilize what I have at home which on reflection is quite a lot. I have:

Rower
1 pd KB
Pullup bar
Rings (for bar)
Jump rope
25 and 35 lb dumbbells
24" box (not put together yet)

Add to that anything that I can do with body weight (ie. pushups, air squats...). I have added an ab mat to the above list but it is not here yet. One thing I do want to pick up is some kind of rubber mat that I can put down on the ground (will look into that).

Taking into account all of the above I asked for a few suggestions and got the best one from Eric N. The plan was to find something that I can do in 30 min of good intense work.

WOD
3 rounds for time (alternating)
1000 / 500 m row
20 / 12 pullups (used black band because that is all I have)
20 / 12 double unders
20 / 12 SDHP 1 pd

Total time was 31:52. Overall I was pretty pleased. Music was rocking which helped and I ended up stripping off my long sleeve shirt in last round. A few key learning points. I lost some time going up and down to the basement and garage (rower in basement due to cold). I believe strongly that if rower was in garage I would have been sub 30. I need a heavier KB. A 1.5 or 2 pd would have been perfect here. Double unders are getting solid so I could probably up that for this WOD. I also need some chalk. I did lower the bar on my pullup bar to the bottom spot so it is eaiser to grasp but my hands are all chewed up. I ended up with 3 blisters on my fingers. I also need to put my jump box together because that is a better platform to get my foot in the band. Also need a band down from my black band.

Felt real energized when done so decided to do some double under work. I went for a second mini WOD.

Mini-WOD
3 min Max Double Unders

Total number of DUs = 86. Think I can get above 100 next time.