31 July 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central

"for time"

15-13-11-9-7-5-3-1

barbell deadlift @225lbs

1-3-5-7-9-11-13-15

wall-ball shots @18lbs medball

DNF. Completed 11 wall-balls and one rep of the 5 round of deadlifts at cutoff. Good and tough workout but frustrating. I hate having to stop when I'm nearly done with the workout. I mean, I know it's time to stretch out and all, let the next class go, etc. Still it's frustrating. Guess I should've worked harder. Oh yeah- weights as rx'd.

Go read Mind Over Matter.

30 July 2009

WOD: with Austin Unscared

AMRAP in 20 minutes

20 Kettlebell snatch @ 16kg

10 sprawl to KB sumo deadlift highpull

100 meter run

7 rounds at rx'd KB, left shoulder kinda gimpy so I subbed 10 KB snatch right arm and 1o left-arm russian KB swings for the 20 KB snatch. My legs aren't totally recovered from Tuesday's 400m walking lunges... otherwise feeling all right. Fun one!

29 July 2009

"It is better to sleep on things beforehand than lie awake about them afterwards."
- Baltasar Gracian

WOD: Rest day. Apparently. I slept right through my alarm this morning. Guess I needed some sleep!

Two good reads:

Kris K's post on taking responsibility for your actions.

Michael Yon's latest dispatch from Afghanistan.

28 July 2009

WOD: with Austin Unscared

400 meters walking lunges with 20lbs weight vest

17:42 rx'd. It's only been an hour and a half and my legs are already getting sore! Woohoo that was a good one this morning!

new fitness goals

"You are never too old to set a new goal or to dream a new dream."
- C.S. Lewis

By September 1st:

ten pistol (one-leg) squats
ten hand-stand pushups

Adrian Bozman performing the pistol. (CrossFit.com photo)

27 July 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central

press 1-1-1-1-1

push-press 3-3-3-3-3

push-jerk 5-5-5-5-5

My numbers today:

press 95-100-105 -110 (PR tie) -115 (PR)

push-press 115-120-125-130F-130

push-jerk 125-135F-end class

Class ended before I had time to complete all the lifts, but my shoulders were done by the start of the push-jerk sets. Good stuff today, just what I need to be working on!

Got a question about the zone? Paleo? What's a block anyway? Go to the Robb Wolf FAQ. It's all there.

26 July 2009

WOD: @ Pure Austin

3 rounds for time:

15 barbell deadlift @155lbs

15 burpees

15 dumbell thrusters @50lbs

15 pullups

20:28 scaled to 45lbs DBs. The weight wasn't a problem, but I was just gassed at the end of this one. Tough.

25 July 2009

"A man is a product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes."

- Mohandas Gandhi

WOD: Rest Day!

Having a tough time convincing someone to stop eating so much bread? Have 'em read this nutrition syllogism.

GET FIRED UP!

Josh Everett pulls 505lbs at the 2009 CrossFit Games! This video fires me up!

Visit sicfit.com for more Videos

24 July 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central

"Annie"

for time"

50-40-30-20-10

double-unders

situps

13:59 as rx'd. Took waaaay too long on the 50 round, located my double-under skills in the middle of the 40 round, and from there on out things went well. Still, my double-unders need more work. After that, everybody did 50 chest-to-bar pullups. Good start to Friday!

23 July 2009

WOD: with Austin Unscared
"4 rounds for time"
400 meter run
50 squats

14:47 rx'd. Sadly that's an improved time for me on that WOD. Jassin smoked me on this one! Leg strength is still my (biggest) weakness. Well, that and HSPU...

Here's a good read for those of us inclined to get a little obsessed with our CrossFit performance (that's me).

“Give It A Rest”
Written by Mike Hom

I recently returned from a 3-week vacation full of sunshine, adventure and relaxation. I didn’t get a chance to train very much, which initially had me over the edge the first week – amazing to think withdrawals from training could really occur in these circumstances. But as the trip neared the end of the second week, I finally got around to doing some bodyweight stuff while my buddies were sleeping off the previous days’ activities. As I was doing some post-WOD mobilization, I was thinking to myself that while it was good to get in some training, I was glad that it had not been sitting in the back of my mind the entire time. In fact, I nearly forgot about working out while I was ziplining, riding elephants, and doing whatever else we tourists were doing.

By the end of the trip, I could count the number of times I trained with one hand and still have some fingers left over. Did I feel any worse? No. Did I lose some of my fitness? Most likely. Did I have an awesome trip with friends and make great memories? Sure did! Even better, I came back feeling refreshed and ready to do work at the gym after being gone from my CF family.
It’s great to be an animal in the gym and let a good portion of your life revolve around increasing your fitness, living healthy, and sharing your experiences with like-minded individuals, but don’t let it dictate your life.

Read the rest of it at the CrossFit Invictus blog.

it's raining!!!

"Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby."
- Langston Hughes

22 July 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central

"for time"

20-10

burpee-box jump

dumbell thruster @ 45#

My time was 8:25 as rx'd. Thrusters kicked my butt today, took too long with those, but the burpee-box jumps were fun! Then we worked on GHD situps. Followed by rounds of:

15 wall ball shots (20# medball)

25 walking lunges

5 pullups

200 meter run

I had finished two rounds when JDP and Lance called everybody to stretch out and wind down. Another great morning in Austin, Texas!

21 July 2009

"There is nothing noble in being superior to some other person. The true nobility is in being superior to your previous self."
- Indian proverb

WOD: Rest Day.

Check out CrossFit at the office!

Sometimes a picture truly is worth a thousand words. Buzz Aldrin on the surface of the moon 40 years ago yesterday. Too cool. NASA photo.

Also in space news: Anthony Wesley, an amateur astronomer in Australia, tipped off NASA this morning that something (a comet is the latest guess) hit Jupiter recently.

20 July 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central
"Diane"
for time: 21-15-9
deadlift @ 225 lbs barbell
handstand pushup

17:32 at the rx'd weight, got one real HSPU before several failures. Switched to modified HSPU with feet up on the 32" box for the remainder. Even with modified HSPUs, it took forr-evv-errr. Finished DFL in the class.... but that's better than a DNF!

19 July 2009

warmup- 3 sets of 5 OHS at 95lbs barbell

WOD:

"Texas Cardio"

every minute on the minute for fifteen minutes perform 5 front squats with 115lbs barbell

Performed as rx'd.

Inspiring

Keith Zeier runs the Keys 100 utlramarathon. His story was featured on CrossFit.com in May.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Chris Spealler's 106 pullups!

That's one hundred and six without dropping off the bar! Freaking. Bad. Ass.

17 July 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central
"NorCal qualifier WOD1"
for time:
500 meter row
30 burpees
10 shoulder to overhead @ 165lbs barbell

My time was 8:26 @ 135lbs barbell. That one was a fight. Seriously. After several attempts at rx'd weight (I could clean it but didn't have the push-jerk) I stripped the bar down to 135 and finished the workout. Also added a seriously sweet scrape on the back of my neck! Safety tip kids: focus on controlling the weight down when lowering the barbell from overhead to across the shoulders! Good times...

Also: Check out Byers, err make that: Moxy-boss's paleo check-in writeup starring Austin's own Melicious!

16 July 2009

"A person who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."
- Albert Einstein

WOD: Rest Day!

Links worth a few minutes of your time:

Michael Yon's latest dispatch from Afghanistan. Find out more about what's really going on over there.

More on Dutch's blog discussing the 2009 CrossFit Games.

Wanna geek out nutrition-wise? Frustrated because Robb Wolf updates his blog as intermittently as he fasts? Check out PaNu.

And, just for fun: How Paleo Are You?

What I'm reading now:


The last book I read by Robert Kaplan was quite the thought-provoker so I got my hands on this one. It's a 2001 release (and pre-September 11th) so a little dated but the subject matter still applies. Good so far.

15 July 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central

"Elizabeth"

for time:

21-15-9

barbell squat cleans

ring dips

My time was 12:14. First 14 reps at 135#, completed the remainder of the WOD at 115#. Followed up with walking lunges for a lap of the parking lot holding a 45# plate overhead.

Check out Dutch's take on this year's CrossFit Games. What do you think?

14 July 2009

WOD 1: with Austin Unscared
"10 rounds for time"
7 dumbell hang power clean
7 pushups

11:46 with 45lbs DBs. Fun one this morning! I was feeling good so at lunchtime I decided to try my own spin on a CFE style workout...

WOD 2:
"for time"
10 strict pullups, 20 parallel bar dips
begin 4 mile run
at the end of miles 1, 2, and 3 complete 20 pushups
at the end of mile 4 complete 10 strict pullups, 20 parallel bar dips

My time was 35:29. It was only about 90 degrees during my run, but I felt the heat for sure! Very different from working out at 6AM!

13 July 2009

"It is time for all of us to stand and cheer for the doer, the achiever - the one who recognizes the challenge and does something about it."
- Vince Lombardi

Congratulations to all the competitors from CrossFit Central on everything you achieved at the 2009 CrossFit Games! Y'all rock!

Carey Kepler is the 2009 3rd fittest woman in the world!
Lindsey Smith was 5th.
Crystal McReynolds was 9th.
Jeremy Thiel finished 16th.
Lance Cantu was 34th.
The CrossFit Central Affiliate team took 2nd out of 90+ teams!

Today's WOD: Rest Day!

12 July's WOD:
"5 rounds for time"
9 barbell hang squat cleans
3 rope climbs (legless)

DNF. In 29:59 I completed: 2 rounds as rx'd, the 3rd round using my legs on the rope climbs, and rounds 4 and 5 with only 1 rope climb per round. Simply one of the toughest workouts I've done in awhile! My grip was gone after two rounds! I scaled the squat cleans down to 115 lbs, and they became the easy part. I will be back for this WOD again... with heavier weight and all the rope climbs legless!

11 July 2009

"Competition is a process or variety of habitual behavior that grows out of a habit of mind."

- Willard Beecher

WOD: Rest day!

The stage is set... individual competition begins today! Good luck to Jeremy, Carey, Lance and Crystal!


EDIT
Going into the last workout (of five) today: Carey is in 4th, Crystal 20th, Jeremy 14th, and Lance 36th!

Games Update!

With one final team WOD on Sunday the CrossFit Central affiliate team is in second place overall, 5 points behind Northwest CrossFit!

Big Mike, Kris, Andy, Jess, Jen, and Tyler: way to go y'all!!

Jen and Big Mike finishing the deadlifts in today's last event. (photo from CrossFit Central's twitter)

Game Day!!

Today is the first day of the 2009 CrossFit Games! Thought I'd channel some good luck to the CrossFit Central Team... so here's the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team performing the haka (Maori war dance typically performed before going into battle)!

Go get after it CrossFit Central!!!

10 July 2009

WOD: with Austin Unscared

"for time"

21 dumbell snatch right arm (full squat snatch)

12 burpee-pullups

21 dumbell snatch left arm

12 burpee-pullups

15 dumbell snatch right arm

12 burpee-pullups

15 dumbell snatch left arm

12 burpee-pullups

9 dumbell snatch right arm

12 burpee-pullups

9 dumbell snatch left arm

12 burpee-pullups

32:40 with 25lbs DBs. Wow. This morning humidity is brutal. Took me waayyy too long. Tough one.

09 July 2009

WOD: with Austin Unscared

"Cindy"

AMRAP in 20 minutes of:

5 pullups

10 pushups

15 squats

My score was 13 rounds. Weak. Definitely had better days. Feel like I cupcaked in the middle of it, let the humidity get in my head. On the upside, my neck/left shoulder felt ok this morning!

08 July 2009

"He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how."
- Friedrich Nietzsche

Good luck to all the CrossFit Central coaches and athletes headed to Aromas! Have fun and kick ass!

WOD: One more rest day. Visited my chiro doc again this morning. Got an adjustment and did some stretching on my left shoulder/neck. Feeling better; hopefully tomorrow I won't wake up with twinges of pain and muscle spasms. My neck wasn't too much of an issue throughout the cert last weekend (so long as I warmed up properly each morning). I've gotta get healed completely so as to get back to a consistent training schedule! I've also gotta do my best to not be glued to the CrossFit Games site all weekend!

07 July 2009

"The road to success is always under construction."
- Anthony Robbins

WOD: Rest Day!

It's great to be back home, but wow... 3 days in San Diego (where the temperature was never over 75!) and I conveniently forgot what Texas in July is like... anyhow, I learned a lot and had a blast! CrossFit Central's Eric Wood and I flew out to the CrossFit Level 1 certification held at the University of San Diego. There's all kinds of things to go on about, but overall this weekend reminded me how great the CrossFit community is, and in particular, how stellar our coaching staff is at CrossFit Central! I was familiar with all the movements covered, but of course found or learned something new in each lecture and skill training session.

It's true that maybe 90% of the lectures from the cert can be found in the CrossFit Journal, but in my opinion nothing can replace the experience of being coached by such quality instructors (all with different coaching styles and insights). I felt strong in my ability to perform the basic movements going into the weekend, but every time, whether it was during the lecture or in skill practice, I saw or learned something new. For instance, while being coached by Jolie on the deadlift, I had that little light bulb go off in my head you get when it finally clicks, ya know, it just makes sense. Almost without exception every lecture or skill practice had little moments like that. There's always more to learn! I love that about CrossFit.

It wasn't all serious, Pat Barber gave the nutrition lecture which for this venue, I will just say was entertaining and educational. Pat definitely has the ability to be concise and funny at the same time... I was impressed with his coaching ability as well.

Andrew "Drew" Thompson was the guy running the show. He's been around CrossFit since the Glassman's opened the original Santa Cruz gym, and has a wealth of knowledge combined with an obvious passion to coach that is a rare thing. Check out his interview on CrossFit radio, truly a classy dude. Oh yeah - he's a Major in the United States Marine Corps who stood up the first? non-profit CrossFit affiliate: CrossFit Quantico. All things he never mentioned. He just introduced himself as Drew. What a badass.

In addition to all the cool CrossFit stuff I learned, I have to say it was just plain fun to be around such an outstanding group of people. After each day, the coaches were happy to hang around, answer questions, clarify anything, or just BS and goof off! CrossFitters are CrossFitters no matter where you are! Oh and they let us take pictures too..

06 July 2009

I just got back in Austin today from San Diego and the CrossFit Level 1 Certification! It was a blast to say the least. More to come, but I just have to brag about the all-star instructor staff that took their 4th of July weekend to come school us newbies.... Jolie Gentry, Adrian Bozman, Andrew Thompson, Pat Barber, Rory McKernan, and Stephane Rochet of USD Strength and Conditioning. Simply an awesome group of instructors!

03 July 2009

"To insure good health: eat lightly, breath deeply, live moderately, cultivate cheerfulness, and maintain an interest in life."

- William Londen

WOD: Rest Day!

My neck and shoulder muscles are still tight and sore, but improving. Trigger point set goes where I go right now.

But now I'm off for a weekend in San Diego and my CrossFit Level 1 Cert! Yeeeah! See y'all in a few days! Have a safe and fun Fourth of July!

02 July 2009

"If what you did yesterday seems big, you haven't done anything today."
- Lou Holtz

WOD: Rest day!

About my left shoulder/neck... it's same thing as before, muscle spasm in the neck and upper back, which makes every muscle around it lock up as a defence mechanism. I went to ATX Rehab for treatment yesterday afternoon and today. Dr. Fluitt and his crew were awesome. I got hooked up to the e-stem, active release stretching, and a few small chiro adjustments. Now I'm going to rest up to make sure I'm good to go for the Level I cert this weekend in San Diego!

Check out this video of CrossFit Central's Lance Cantu: ready for the games!

01 July 2009

WOD: @ CrosssFit Central

hang power clean

1-1-1-1-1-1-1

The idea is to work up to a one-rep max. My numbers today were: 135, 145, 155, and then on 165 my left trap seized up. It feels the same, and in the same exact spot as as almost two months ago. So... off to the doc I go.