30 September 2009

WOD1: @ CrossFit Central

"Grace"

30 clean and jerk (ground to overhead) for time @ 135lbs

My time was 7:18 rx'd. This was my second time at Grace and my first time with the weight as prescribed. So chalk up another PR (technically but I'll take it). Just when I was starting to feel normal again, the Mikes hit us with a follow-up...

WOD2:

"Jeremy"

21-15-9

overhead squat w/PVC

burpee

My time on this one was 3:48.

On Saturday October 10th, at the RunTex location there's a Fran challenge going down. Check out CrossFit Central's website for details and sign up. I'll see y'all there for the 9am heat!

Check out coach Big Mike's "Grace" in 89 seconds:

29 September 2009

"You're working real hard in the gym. Don't let your diet work against you."
- Dr. Barry Sears

The CrossFit Journal recently posted part 6 of the Dr. Barry Sears nutrition presentation. This one is all about how your diet affects your performance. It's definitely worth your time, and it's a free download. Seriously, go watch it. If you've got the time to read my ramblings, you've got the time to watch a twelve minute video.

WOD: Rest day. My whole body is wrecked from Angie coming on the heels of Fight Gone Bad. Staring down a month of Girls and Hero WODs has me thinking I will be taking a few more rest days than usual... hopefully this will help keep my performance up (along with eating zone/paleo-ish and getting enough sleep of course). At least that's my plan for now!

28 September 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central

"Angie"

100 pullups

100 pushups

100 situps

100 squats

*for time, complete movements in order before moving on

My time was 21:04 rx'd (PR). Shaved just over two minutes off my last time! The month of benchmarks has started... and I'm feeling good with PRs on Fight Gone Bad and Angie. This is going to be a tough month, but its of to a good start!

27 September 2009

"The power of imagination makes us infinite."

- John Muir

WOD: Rest day. Put the book down today and watched some TV. Caught some football and now I'm watching part one of Ken Burns' film The National Parks on PBS. Very cool. Check it out.

26 September 2009

WOD: Fight Gone Bad 4 at the Long Center

"three rounds for points"

one minute at each station

one minute rest between rounds

score is total number of reps

push-press @ 75lbs barbell

row (calories = points)

wall ball @ 20lbs medicine ball

sumo-deadlift high-pull @ 75lbs barbell

box jump (20" box)

My score was 299 rx'd (PR). It's a PR so I'm happy, but oh so close to 300.... that part is frustrating. Next time.

What's truly important is that this morning's event raised over thirty thousand dollars for cancer research and the Wounded Warrior Project. Just awesome! Not that I'd expect anything else from a gathering of over 200 crossfitters! We had the CrossFit Central crew out in force, as well as athletes from CrossFit Westlake and CrossFit Austin. All great people working their tails off for two great causes. Great way to start your day!

25 September 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central
"5 rounds for time"
15 overhead squats @ 95lbs barbell
30 ab-mat situps

DNF. Completed 4 rounds as rx'd at the 20 minute cut-off. This one turned into a fight. The ab-mat situps were cake, it was the OHS that did me in. The Mikes said my form was solid, good depth, etc... this WOD just put my main weakness (leg strength) on display. The upside? It's what I need to be working on!

Here's a little Friday bonus: Nicole Carroll performing a beautiful overhead-squat. No need to thank me.

(crossfit.com photo)

24 September 2009

"Not the glittering weapon that fights the fight, but rather the hero's heart."
- proverb

Since Fight Gone Bad 4 is this Saturday I thought this quote was apt. I, alongside about one hundred and fifty other atheletes in Austin will be participating in this event to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project and cancer research via the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

If you are free Saturday morning, come to the Long Center and be a part in this great event. Come cheer on these athletes as they display their determination, grit, and heart! See you there!

WOD: Rest day. Trying to stay fresh for Saturday!

23 September 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central
"tabata mashup"
20 seconds: max rep pullups
10 seconds rest
20 seconds: max rep KB SDHP @ 1.5 pood
10 seconds rest
20 seconds: max rep pushups
10 seconds rest
20 seconds: goblet squat @ 1.5 pood

After 8 rounds: my score was 5/11/7/4. Felt kinda blah during the warmup, but wasn't worried 'cause when that happens after I'm warmed up things usually go well. Not so much this morning. Felt great the first round, but everybody feels great the first round. This format of tababta gets tough fast with your "rest" period basically being the transition from one movement to the next.

Not too happy with my results today... especially scoring 5 on pullups... then 7 and 4 on pushups and goblet squats respectively. Days like this just fuel my motivation to improve!

22 September 2009

"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other."
- Abraham Lincoln

The more I learn about "honest Abe" the more I want to learn. So I've bumped up his biography up to my reading "on deck" circle. This one is supposed to be one of the best out there:

WOD: Rest day. Still not getting enough sleep lately. Since I want to PR at Fight Gone Bad on Saturday, and I keep hearing that 9 is the new 8, I slept in a little this morning. Going to make sure I'm in bed early tonight as well.

Congrats to Coach Mike Gregory on achieving his Level 2 cert this weekend!

21 September 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central
5-5-5-5-5
squat-clean & jerk

Good stuff this morning! Even though I feel solid with most of my olympic techniques, there are always little things to improve on. Ran outta time in class, didn't get all five sets in, so my numbers were:

95-115-135

I felt solid at 135lbs, and am pretty sure I'd have been good for 145lbs, maybe 150lbs... still though, Monday is done!

20 September 2009

"The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will instruct his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease."

- Thomas Edison

Forgive the pun, but here's some good "food for thought" by Dr. Michael Eades: Are we meat eaters of vegetarians?

Another good read by David Brooks: No, it's not about race

WOD: Rest day!

19 September 2009

WOD: by CrossFit Central at RunTex

AMRAP in twenty minutes

teams of five had to complete:

10 ring dips

20 dumbbell thrusters

30 dumbbell swings

40 abmat sit ups

50 double-unders

*teammates start at a station, complete their required reps, and then rotate to the next station once every team member has completed their reps

*one round is completed when every member completes all stations

I got on a kick-ass team for this one! In twenty minutes Devon, Georgia, Wes, Jonathan and I completed 2 rounds and 1 station as rx'd I believe. Different but fun workout today. The double-unders were not exactly "fun" and my slowness with them in the second round definitely held the team back some, but overall it was a good one this morning.

And now.... it's tailgate time! Since I'm not drinking until after Fight Gone Bad, it will be sans alcohol, but it's still going to be fun watching Texas beat Texas Tech! Hook'em Horns!!

18 September 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central

"5 rounds for time"

400 meter run

100 foot overhead lunge with 45lbs plate

16:50 as rx'd. Wow. Tough one. Fun too though in that masochistic kinda way. Then we followed up with a round of tabata ab-mat sit-ups. My sets were 11-11-11-10-10-10-10-11 so I scored 10. Kick ass Friday workout!

What the heck is an overhead lunge? Here's CrossFit Central coach Crystal McReynolds winning her heat with overhead lunges in the 2009 CrossFit Games. (crossfit.com photo)

17 September 2009

"The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor."
- Vincent Lombardi

WOD: Rest day!

Here's a thought provoking read I found today: Yale Law School professor Bruce Ackerman's op-ed piece about abolishing the position of White House Counsel.

"Obama should return to the traditional system in which presidents depended on the Justice Department for their legal advice. The White House Counsel dates only to 1943, when Sam Rosenman became the first to have the title - and he was President Roosevelt's principal speechwriter, not a legal advisor. Succeeding presidents followed FDR's model. Before Richard Nixon was faced with impeachment and then-Counsel John Dean hired five assistants, the White House Counsel didn't even have a staff."

Interesting stuff. Read it in it's entirety here.

16 September 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central

"for time"

50-30-15

kettlebell sumo-deadlift-high-pull @ 24kg

box jump

push-up

12:13 rx'd. Fun one today! Feeling good!

Independent correspondent Michael Yon recently posted a new dispatch from Afghanistan.

Also, European astronomers have discovered and measured the mass and density of a "rock exoplanet." Which in english means there is now evidence of a solid planet outside our solar system that's mass is "earth-like." It's too close to it's sun to possibly sustain life; it's surface temperature being 3,600 degrees Fahrenheit.

15 September 2009

WOD: with Austin Unscared
"4 rounds for time"
10 dumbbell push-press right arm @ 45lbs
10 walking lunge w/DB
10 dumbbell push-press left arm
10 walking lunge W/DB

I met up with Mike and Wes at the AHS track this morning for a quick workout. 7:36 rx'd. Fun one - my shoulder is feeling good again!

Here's a good read from CrossFit NYC called "my sentiments exactly." How much do you practice your oly lifts? I know I need some serious time on several.

14 September 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central

"5 rounds for time"

10 barbell thrusters @ 95lbs

10 chest-to-bar pullups

7:24 rx'd. I'm baa-aack! Felt pretty good today, shoulders and back still a little stiff, but nothing that some more trigger point can't fix. After the WOD, Lance had 3 rounds of 12 GHD situps waiting for us, followed by three 400 meter sprints at a 90 second interval. My "sprint" times were 1:29, 1:20, and 1:27. On the first and last sprints my legs felt like jello...

Great start to a new week!

September 11th 2009

Eight years ago... and so many names... here are three I'd like to tell you about.

Jim Giberson "started slow" in the morning and would take his coffee on the street in front of his firehouse, smiling and greeting people as they walked by (which you know, if you've spent time in Manhattan, is not a common occurrence). After the 11th a young woman would walk by in the mornings, look at the pictures posted outside, and burst into tears. After several days of this, the guys approached and asked her had she known anyone in the firehouse? She pointed and Giberson's picture, but said she didn't know him. She said they exchanged "good mornings" so often that she came to think of him as her personal fireman. He was one of twelve men lost from the Engine 40 Ladder 35 firehouse.

Terence Hatton, known as Terry, was the Captain of Rescue 1, one of the FDNY's specially trained units. He was known as a methodical and tireless worker. His saying was: "It's either outstanding or it's unacceptable." Almost immediately after the 11th, his wife Beth announced she was pregnant. Months later she gave birth to a healthy baby girl - and named her Terri. Captain Hatton led ten men from his firehouse into the World Trade Center. None of the eleven from Rescue 1 survived.

Patrick Brown was the Captain of Ladder 3. Known as Pat or Paddy - at 48 he had become a legend in the FDNY - the most decorated member in the history of the department, always able to be in the right place at the right time to save someone. Still, those who knew him personally described him as exceptionally humble. He was a Marine, Vietnam veteran, a golden-gloves boxer, a marathon runner, a 2nd degree black belt in Seido karate who taught self-defense classes for the blind, a dedicated practitioner of yoga... the list goes on and on. And yet a list doesn't seem sufficient. My friend Sharon Watts put a book together that paints a vivid picture of Paddy's exceptional life. Her book tells "Pat stories" better than I can (but if you ask me in person I'll do my best to recount one or two). Captain Brown led eleven men into the World Trade Center. All twelve were lost.

10 September 2009

WOD: with Austin Unscared
400 meters walking lunges
*back knee must touch ground every rep

14:24 rx'd. This has to be one of my favorites. Maybe I'm a glutton for punishment? It could also be that with my shoulders and neck still jacked up, I'm thrilled to still be able to train. Paid another visit to my chiro today. After another round on the e-stem and more active-release stretching, I'm not back to 100% yet, but I'm closing in.

09 September 2009

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."
- Dr. Seuss

Or as Mel put it in her blog today: be yourself loudly!


WOD: Rest day. My shoulders, neck and back still very sore. Went to my chiro today; got hooked up to the e-stem and had some active release done. I can turn my head all the way left now! Getting better, albeit slowly.

08 September 2009

"Formulate and stamp indelibly on your mind a mental picture of yourself succeeding. Hold this picture tenaciously. Never permit it to fade. Your mind will seek to develop the picture... Do not build up obstacles in your imagination."
- Norman Vincent Peale

WOD: Rest day. My back and shoulders are very sore. Getting extra sleep this morning was great.

Go watch Part 5 of the Dr. Barry Sears CrossFit nutrition presentation. It's available as a free download in the CrossFit Journal.

07 September 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central

"for time"

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

barbell push-press @ 135lbs

knees to elbows

I'm pretty sure my time was 20:36, I didn't write it down before I left. I completed it as rx'd through the 7 round, but was taking too long so I scaled it back to 115lbs to increase my power output, and really just to finish up. Tough one today...

A good read: Product of Your Desires

06 September 2009

WOD 1: @ Pure Austin

"for time"

15 barbell deadlifts @ 225lbs

5 rope climbs

12 deadlifts

4 rope climbs

9 deadlifts

3 rope climbs

6 deadlifts

2 rope climbs

3 deadlifts

1 rope climb

32:31 rx'd. Fun! But too slow... still don't feel like I have much gas in tank. And with no bumper plates at Pure Austin downtown, having to carefully lower the barbell every time kinda sucked.

Then about two hours later I met my buddy Mike down at Barton Springs.

WOD 2:

"swim continuously for twenty minutes"

Completed as rx'd with freestyle, breaststroke, and sidestroke. Felt great to be back in the water! I haven't been swimming enough this summer... will be doing more of it before it gets "cold" out.

05 September 2009

"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure."

- Colin Powell

WOD: Rest day! I slept in today. It was awesome.

Rest In Peace Lance Corporal Bernard

First off, I want to convey my sincere condolences to the family and friends of Lance Corporal Joshua Bernard, USMC. You can as well right here.

I've avoided commentary on a lot of topics here mainly because the stated reason for this blog is as training log.

However, this goes so freaking below and beyond anything I've seen the press do lately, I was literally shaking with anger earlier. Now, in full disclosure, I've got a lot of good friends serving in the US military, and several currently deployed, so yes this is personal. That said, I still cannot fathom how any decent human being could think that publishing the photo of a mortally wounded Marine (against the wishes of his parents by the way) is an "OK" idea. The associated press even has their "excuse" in the first paragraph of their page about this story.

"...choosing after a period of reflection to make public an image that conveys the grimness of war and the sacrifice of young men and women fighting it."

What a stinking pile of bull***t. If they had to take "a period of reflection" to decide then 1) they were actually not sure if this would be appropriate, but displayed a serious lack of judgement by choosing to ignore common decency anyway or, 2) they knew this would cause an uproar, which would in turn result in all kinds of publicity and a ton of hits on their website.

And by the way - anybody in this day and age who does not understand the "grimness of war" isn't going to be reading the associated press in the first place!! They're going to be paying attention to who's dancing with the stars.

I commend Secretary Gates for his "strong objection" to this. If you'd like to tell the associated press what you think, you can contact them here:

450 West 433rd street
New York, NY 10001
tel: 1-212-621-1500
email: info@ap.org

I sent an email. No reply. Imagine my surprise.

04 September 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central

"3 rounds for time"

400 meter run

15 squat-cleans @ 155lbs

My time was 22:33 scaled to 135lbs. I completed 1 round + 9 squat-cleans, and then started failing reps like it was going out of style... what sucks is my technique felt great: flat back, shins vertical, good speed, big shrug, elbows around fast, I was catching the bar smooth, elbows up, I just couldn't stand up out of the frickin squat. I'd fail rep after rep after rep. If the workout had been static front-squat holds, I'd have smoked it! Anyway, I kept on failing reps until the sometime in 19th minute when Lance (taking what had to be pity on me) said to switch to power-cleans. I finished the remaining 6 reps of round two and all of round three in the next 3-ish minutes with power-cleans (pulling from the ground).

What I learned today:

1) Power-cleans are waaaay easier than squat-cleans, even when you're smoked.

2) Leg strength is still my biggest weakness.

3) When you look at a WOD and think: "That doesn't look too bad." It is bad... really really bad.

Happy Friday y'all! Phew... what a week.

a new generation!

Congratulations to my cousin Jolyn and her husband David on the birth of their boy Colin! He was born Friday morning at 7 pounds 1 ounce. I was just told about their blog, which has a lot of photos (where I stole these from). Take that cute overload...

Jolyn and her son Colin Wesley Peden.

My grandmother with her great-grandson.

03 September 2009

"The soul that has no established aim loses itself."
- Michel de Montaigne


WOD: Rest day. Reviewing goals. Assessing progress. Keeping on target!

02 September 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central
"CrossFit total" continued...
1 rep max deadlift

285 (PR tie), 290F, 290F

Frustrating. After a solid warm-up (135lbs x 5, 225lbs x 3, and 275lbs x 1), I pulled 285lbs solid and quick. Then... I ended up at the bakery... I cupcaked.


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

It's been three months since the last total, and I know I'm stronger than I was then. Very frustrating. Doing it to myself though. It wasn't just Monday's mess-up, it started Saturday night. I drank. I drank a lot. I was exceptionally hungover Sunday. Felt blah all day Monday (and nearly injured myself that morning), and started feeling like myself again on Tuesday. I felt pretty good going into today's workout, but I let my sore back and Monday's stupidity get in my head. Thus... it was over before it began today.

On a positive note, I did make my goal of 10 consecutive pistol squats. However, I didn't make the 10 consecutive handstand-pushups. I got one. So... I left some room to improve on my HSPU!

So... it's time to refocus. JDP mentioned this on his blog today. Ask yourself the questions in his post... thanks John.

As for me:

I will not have one drop of alcohol until after FGB4.

I will PR at FGB4 with a 300+ score.

I will CrossFit 5 days a week. 3-on 1-off, 2-on 1-off.

I will continue to maintain my diet: zone-paleo(ish), 4 block meals, 3 block snacks, 3 to 5x fat.

I will not fail.

warm-up

Warming up your body before a workout is important not just for enhanced performance, but for preventing injury! These are two great warm-up routines packed with moves worth adding to your warm up.

The Catalyst Athletics standard warm-up:



Dutch Lowy's warm-up:

01 September 2009

WOD: with Austin Unscared

"5 rounds for time"

20 dumbbell hang-power snatch

400 meter run

16:43 as rx'd with 45lbs DB. Good one this morning! My back is a bit sore from my back squat shenanigans yesterday... otherwise feeling good.