30 June 2009

I rolled down to Clarke Field on UT campus this morning for a workout with the regular Tuesday crew.

WOD: with Austin Unscared

Start with one round (4 minutes, 8 sets) of tabata squats, your highest scoring set = "x"

"x" = your rep count for the WOD

"3 rounds for time"

x dumbell thrusters

3 ten meter sprints

x dumbell swings

3 ten meter sprints

x renegade rows

Felt good on the warm-up, legs still sore from "Angie" but oh well... got a high score of 20 on tabata squats. So for me, x = 20. My legs were starting to complain, but I was thinking "nice round number, lets do this..." HA! Then the pain ensued! With 40 lbs DBs I completed one round, plus the thrusters, swings, and 2 renegade rows of the second round at the twenty minute time cap! Yeah it was a tough workout, but I took too long on this one today. I didn't stay with it mentally... I cupcaked.

cup⋅cake [khup-keyk] adjective 1) to wimp out 2) giving in to the pain

See also: Dutch Lowy on feeling sorry for yourself. I tell you what though, I didn't gaze longingly at those damn dumbells!

mmmmm tacos

A receipe for paleo-friendly chicken tacos by Eat.Move.Thrive! Tasty!

29 June 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central

"Angie"

for time:

100 pullups

100 pushups

100 situps

100 squats

23:06 rx'd. Tanked a bit on squats at the end, but overall feel pretty good about my performance today. Shaved over a minute off my last time! And... my toe didn't really bother me - good to go through the whole warm-up/run!

28 June 2009

"It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

WOD: Rest Day!

27 June 2009

WOD: free indoor Kettlebell @ CrossFit Central

AMRAP in 15 minutes

12 KB American swings

6 sprawl to KB SDHP

12 KB lunge pass

short run (maybe 50m)

With a 16kg KB I finished 6 rounds, 12 swings, and 6 sprawls at time. Fun workout, but I definitely felt the heat (only 9AM I know but it felt seriously hotter than my usual 6AM workout time).

26 June 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central
16 minute partner workout
8 rounds of 30 seconds work, 30 seconds rest:
barbell deadlift @ 135lbs
barbell squat-clean @ 135lbs

1 round = person1 deadlifts for 30 sec, person2 deadlifts for 30 sec, person1 squat-cleans 30 sec, person2 squat-cleans 30 sec

Brian and I teamed up for this one, our combined score was 205 reps as rx'd. The deadlifts weren't too bad, it was the squat-cleans did me in... Brian was much more consistent across both movements. It was a good, tough workout today!

Oh yeah, we wrapped up class with Tabata pushups! My rounds: 22-12-8-6-5-5-6-6. That's a score of 5! Ouch...

Check this out: Do you believe?

the ninja rope climb!

I'm a lighter guy, which is probably why I find rope climbs fun, but when my toe is no longer jacked up I'm giving this a shot.... Toe strength and flexibility!

Video by CrossFit One World. He just steps up the rope!! Crazy...

25 June 2009

"The best of all medicines are rest and fasting."

- Benjamin Franklin

WOD: Rest day!

24 June 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central

I'll call this one "tabata sandwich"

Slice one:

two minutes of tabata squats (20 seconds work and 10 seconds rest, rest standing up)

Meat:

5 rounds for time

run 400 meters

20 dumbell floor press @55#DBs (like DB bench press, only on a med ball)

Slice two:

two minutes of bottom-to-bottom tabata squats (rest position is a below-parallel squat)

On slice one I scored 17.

DNF the meat: completed 3 rounds + 3 press at twenty minute time cap, first round rx'd DB, the rest at 45# DBs, subbed 500 meters row for each run.

On slice two I scored 11.

Performance wise my tabata squats are improving, it was the DB press that killed me. Probably should have scaled to the 45s from the start, so as to keep consistent output throughout the WOD. Just yesterday I listened to Paul "Apolloswabbie" Eich discuss scaling to facilitate ratcheting up intensity - intensity being key to improving fitness - in his recent interview on CrossFit radio.

Oh well. Live and learn... but man did I get my ass kicked today. It's been awhile since I've wobbled out of the gym with shaky legs and arms, wondering if I'm good to drive yet... good stuff!

23 June 2009

WOD: with Austin Unscared

"seven rounds for time"

7 squats

7 knees-to-elbows

7 squats

7 burpees

9:16 rx'd. Fast and fun! Feeling good but still moving slow from the Spartan...

Some good reads:

be conscious of the choices you make

intermittent fasting is good for your brain

tips for eating paleo on a budget

what does a single blood pressure reading tell you? not much apparently

22 June 2009

"If there is no wind, row."

- Latin proverb

Or run! Check out this story from journalist Michael Yon. There are some great things going on around the world that will never make the nightly news... glad I got to see this one.

WOD: Rest day. Overslept. I didn't even hear the alarm going off two feet from my head this morning! I'm usually a light sleeper, so I suppose I needed to snooze...

21 June 2009

"Any man can be a father, it takes someone special to be a dad."

- unknown

Happy Father's Day!

WOD: Rest day!

20 June 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central

"Spartan 300 Challenge"

for time:

25 pullups

50 barbell deadlift @135

50 pushups

50 box jumps

50 floor wipes @135

50 KB clean and press

25 pullups

18:43 rx'd. Other than substituting step-ups for box jumps and smacking my toe on the plates for the first couple of reps or floor wipes, it went pretty well!

Then, I got to count reps for Kris Kepler during his turn at the 300, and he crushed it (11:24 I believe it was)! Some other awesome performances - Jen Cardella finished just under the twenty minute cap her first time ever doing the workout! Mel's hard work and enthusiasm paid off: she waltzed in and finished under the time cap as well this morning!

The whole crew this morning put out some serious effort! What an awesome way to start Saturday! CrossFit Central builds rock stars I tell ya... rock stars.

19 June 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central

two person team

"for time"

50-40-30-20-10

push jerk @95lbs

pullups

Brian and I completed it in 18:22 rx'd. Felt good today. The team aspect helps a lot... that little rest you get while your teammate works makes all the difference. Still not totally optimistic about tomorrow, but my dark mood from yesterday is gone! It's Friday after all!

A read worth your time: Seven Habits of Highly Effective Athletes

funny

Just one more reason to run outdoors...

Go tell the Spartans...

The benchmark 300 workout is Saturday, and I'd like to say I'm confident... Overall I've missed two weeks of training out of the last six due to injuries. The most recent being last week. I've been training this week on my gimpy big toe, and I'm thrilled to be back, but my performance has been lacking. But, I'm showing up on Saturday and giving it my all. I'd love to improve on my time, and but right now I'm just not feeling it.

So my goal is, even if I end up puking, I will finish under the time limit again. It's just a workout after all, it can't kill me right?

Sticking with the theme I thought I'd share this. It's dark, but I think in an inspirational kind of way... this photo is of the Spartan burial mound at Thermopylae.


My favorite translation of the epitaph by Simonides reads:

"Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here obedient to their laws, we lie."

18 June 2009

"If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it."
- William Arthur Ward

WOD: Rest day!

17 June 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central

"3 rounds for time"

10 barbell squat clean to overhead @ 155lbs

run 400 meters

My time was 17:49 scaled to 115lbs barbell (substituted 500 meter row for the run, gotta stay off the toe). Didn't feel like I had much in the tank today... still, happy to be training.

There's some good stuff on training for the light weight guy in this interview Dutch did with Chris Spealler (who at 5'5" weighs in at 139lbs and is a seriously badass athelete). Speal is one of my CrossFit heroes. Here is an example of why...

16 June 2009

"Thought is the sculptor who can create the person you want to be."
- Henry David Thoreau

WOD: Rest Day!

Some train the brain nuggets:

Here's part two of Kelly Starrett on training with injuries.

Chris Spealler's (CrossFit Park City) blog on food label verbage.

Lastly, check out "When Sleep Leaves You Tired" curtosy of the Wall Street Journal.

15 June 2009

WOD: @ Crossfit Central

"2 rounds for time"

50 goblet squats @ 1.5 pood

10 one-leg burpees

15 kettlebell swings @ 1.5 pood

My time was just over 15 minutes for that one. Toe felt OK during that one, shoes and all. Then while the rest of the class did some running I did what I'm calling my second workout...

WOD 2:

"for time"

row 2,000 meters

My time on that was 8:43. Rolled off the rowing machine directly to the floor. Don't know if that's a good time, I've never rowed 2k before... but it was a blazer.

Rest day manana!

Oh yeah, my escapist reading was River of Ruin by Jack Du Brul.

Mix the hero (a sarcastic geologist who always seems to find himself in the wrong place at the right time), with Chinese assassins, French spy's, and hidden Inca treasure... throw in some intrigue over control of the Panama Canal... and you've got an entertaining little ride for your imagination, if you dig this kind of trash novel.

14 June 2009

WOD: @ Pure Austin

"for time"

50 ring dips

3:15 rx'd. Took too long, didn't push through mentally today... still, glad to be training. My toe is getting better, not limping too much anymore, but wearing shoes still hurts. Improvement is good.

Going back to class at CrossFit Central tomorrow morning. There's only one week left of a Spartan Challenge that was (for me) littered with injuries and setbacks... and next Saturday is the benchmark workout! Gotta buckle down and do what I can to be totally capable when Saturday rolls around.

13 June 2009

WOD: @ Pure Austin

5 rounds:

20 squats

1 rope climb (legless)

5 one-leg burpees

I didn't time it, just wanted to get some work in and stay moving. Man it felt great to be back at it!

Yesterday I watched a journal video by Kelly Starrett (San Francisco CrossFit) that covered training with injuries. It snapped me out of the "I'm hurt, shouldn't train" mindset I let myself fall into. My toe still is a bit swollen and shoes are painful as hell, so I trained barefoot. It's amazing how a little bit of exercise buoyed my spirits.

12 June 2009

"Dig within. There lies the well-spring of good: ever dig, and it will ever flow."
- Marcus Aurelius

WOD: Rest day. Another day of limping around with a swollen toe. Frustrating.

Good things are on the horizon though....

Today I donated to the CrossFit Risk Retention Group. July 4th and 5th I'll be in San Diego to take the CrossFit Level 1 Certification! Can't wait!!

11 June 2009

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill

WOD: Yet another rest day.

Working at staying focused on the opportunities presented by being less active due to my little injury.

10 June 2009

"It is better to light a candle than to curse the gathering darkness."
- Zen saying

WOD: Rest day. Again.

It's amazing how much you rely on your big toe just to balance and walk around in everyday life.

09 June 2009

"Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart give yourself to it."
- Buddha

WOD: Rest Day.

Still limping around like a goofball...

Some GREAT news: the new Trigger Point foam roller is available! It's called "The Grid" and it's an excellent recovery product. In late April Cassidy and crew came to CrossFit Central and let some classes try 'em! I was in class that day, and got to play! There isn't a better foam roller on the market.

Go get one at: tptherapy.com/the_grid.php

Since I've rested the last two days, I'm reading more. I finished an interesting book today...


"Warrior Politics" by Robert Kaplan was a good but I think awkwardly named book. Quite thought provoking though, it's mostly about using the lessons of ancient history to guide American foreign policy. A quick read, if you're into the subject matter. He covers a lot: Churchill, Machiavelli, Kant, Hume, even Roman emperor Tiberius! It's a book that I think will challenge your notions of idealist and pragmatist politics, no matter where you stand on the spectrum.

Now in the on deck circle, I'm going to read something light and escapist!

08 June 2009

"Champions aren't made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them; a desire, a dream, a vision."
- Muhammad Ali

WOD: Rest Day.

For some reason I've been accident prone lately. It's all been minor clumsiness like dropping things, bumping into doors, and one spectacularly missed box jump... until yesterday afternoon on Lake Austin. I've been around boats long enough to know better but, I was stupid for a couple of seconds and let my right foot get between a wake-tossed boat and the wood dock... ouch.

All things considered I was lucky. I saw it coming, but my ninja-like reflexes weren't quite up to the task... I ended up with a smashed big toe. Of course if I actually had ninja-like reflexes I wouldn't be whining about my big toe injury. Anyway, nothing is broken, just some bleeding and swelling, and the doc says I may or may not lose the nail. Either way, for the next couple of days I'm resting.

On the upside, I'll get some more reading in!

07 June 2009

"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

- Howard Thurman

WOD: Rest Day!

The group after Murph. Saturday's event raised over $1000 for the Naval Special Warfare Foundation!

06 June 2009

WOD: Murph Day Challenge hosted by CrossFit Austin

"Murph"

For time:

1 mile run

100 pullups

200 pushups

300 squats

1 mile run

Partition the pull-ups, push-ups, and squats as needed. Start and finish with a mile run. If you've got a twenty pound vest or body armor, wear it.

A lot of the CrossFit Central crew showed up and wrecked house! Carey Kepler, Kris Kepler, Jeremy Thiel and Andy Lewis were some top performers. I'll post a photo or two shortly...

My time was: 59:33 rx'd! That's with the 20 lbs vest. Maui wowee that was tough. There really aren't words. The CrossFit Austin gym was a getting warm by 10:30AM when my group started... felt like training in a sauna but I enjoyed it... of course the Coors Light and burgers afterwards helped!

From CrossFit.com: "Murph" is named in memory of Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, N.Y., who was killed in Afghanistan June 28th, 2005. This workout was one of Mike's favorites and he'd named it "Body Armor." From here on it will be referred to as "Murph" in honor of the focused warrior and great American who wanted nothing more in life than to serve this great country and the beautiful people who make it what it is.

05 June 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central

"7 rounds for time"

7 barbell squat snatch @ 95lbs

4 muscle-ups

200 meter run

I completed 3 rounds, 7 snatches, and 2 muscle-ups (rx'd) at the 15 minute cutoff. My snatch technique needs work, it definitely slowed me down on this one. Still a fun one though!

Check out this video crossfit.com posted today: Pat Sherwood explains "Why Functional Movements"

And here's some food for thought... about food:

It's the carbs, NOT the calories

There are NO essential carbohydrates

Lance Corporal Tim Waldron USMC

While surfing CrossFit webpages earler (yes at the office, shhhh) I clicked on a link from CrossFit South San Clemente: 

http://timwaldron.blogspot.com/

Tim Waldron is a Marine Lance Corporal who was recently wounded while training in east Africa. He's now at Bethesda National Naval Medical Center. Please take a minute, click the link, and leave him and his family a nice comment. I'm sure they'd appreciate it.

04 June 2009

“Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.”
- William Jennings Bryan

WOD: Rest Day!

A head's up for this weekend: "Murph" day is Saturday June 6th starting at 9 A.M. and hosted by CrossFit Austin. The entry fee is a donation in any amount to the Naval Special Warfare Foundation.

I've decided to do the WOD with the 20lbs weight vest! Stand by for a pain and suffering report afterward... gonna be fun!

03 June 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central
"CrossFit Total - continued"
1 rep max deadlift (3 attempts)

After warming up, my deadlift attempts were 275 (PR tie), 285 (PR), and 305F.

I'm dissapointed that I didn't get over 300 lbs on deadlift, but I am getting stronger. Just need more strength training. No complaining though, a PR is good way to end six days in a row of training! Rest day here I come!

bye bye Advil... hello ice bath?

Ibuprofen? NO. Below is an excerpt from Kelly Starrett's post on why an athlete should NEVER take ibuprofen...

Ibuprofen has no place in the life of the athlete obsessed with chasing performance.

Taking an anti-inflammatory drug of any kind makes tendons and ligaments weaker, and stops muscles from getting stronger.

Is this clear enough? Yes, we used to call it Vitamin I. Yes, we used to say that RICE should have a second "I" in it (Rest, Ice, Ibuprofen, Compression, Elevation). We used to also do "21's" on back and bi's day too. It's not ok.

Here's the low down. Ibuprofen is an NSAID (Non-Steroidal-Anti-Inflammatory-Drug) which is believed to work through the inhibition of cyclooxygenase (COX), thus inhibiting prostaglandin synthesis. Prostaglandins, are like hormones in that they act as chemical messengers, but do not move to other sites, but work right within the cells where they are synthesized. Prostaglandins are vital mediators of the inflammatory cascade. The swelling and subsequent prostaglandin production signals all of the important cells circulating in your body to come and fix/reinforce the challenged tissues. That's right, all that soreness you feel after Fran is the resultant swelling from all the micro-damage you've done to your muscles. It's this very inflammatory response that is responsible for making you a BETTER ATHLETE. The Worst thing you can do is to go through a horrible workout like Fran and then not reap the resultant gains from the training stimulus.

No good coach should allow their athletes to take ibuprofen at anytime. Even if they are hung over...

Read the full post here.

Thank you Kelly Starrett and Adrian Bozman! I learn something new every time I read the San Francisco CrossFit blog.

Bye bye Advil, we had some good times... hello ice bath.

02 June 2009

WOD: with Austin Unscared

"4 rounds for time"

400 meter run

20 pullups (unbroken, don't drop off the bar)

14:03 was my time. Tough one! First round of pullups was rx'd/unbroken and chest to bar, second through fourth rounds I fell off the bar... dammit... on the upside, all my pullups were chest to bar. So I didn't totally suck haha! Great start to the day... and looking forward to finishing the total with deadlifts tomorrow.

01 June 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central
"CrossFit Total"
1 rep max back squat (3 attempts)
1 rep max barbell press (3 attempts)
1 rep max deadlift (3 attempts)

Back squat: 165 (PR tie), 175 lbs (PR), 185F
Press: 105 lbs (PR tie), 110F, 110F
Deadlift: to be done in Wednesday's class

Still weak numbers, but I'm improving. I have to keep reminding myself that less than a year ago just going for a run would make my knees ache for days... I've come a long way since then, and I'm just getting started!