30 October 2009

"If you wish to be a lawyer, attach no consequence to the place you are in, or the person you are with; but get books, sit down anywhere, and go reading for yourself."

- Abraham Lincoln, from an 1858 letter to William H. Grigsby

I like what the quote above says about initiative. Just do it.

WOD: Yet another rest and recovery day. Headed to my family's ranch in the hill country for the weekend. I know it's not spring but I dig this photo... reminds me of the drive out of town. Have a great weekend y'all!

(courtesy of flickr)

29 October 2009

"I drink coffee black for the caffeine.
I drink tequila on the rocks for the alcohol.
I eat beef, barely cooked and with little seasoning for the nourishment.
I lift heavy weights so I can be strong."
- Dutch Lowy, from the most recent post on his blog

Reading the entire post is worth your time. It's titled Cheating... Seriously, go now.

WOD: Rest day. Back is coming along. Should be training again on Monday.

28 October 2009

"Life is only doin' what you think is worth pursuing."

- from a song by Jerry Jeff Walker

WOD: Rest day. Yet again.

27 October 2009

"Believe deep down in your heart that you're destined to do great things."
- Joe Paterno

Like fight zombies! Mel's got a WOD for us with Halloween almost here... besides, you never know when you'll have to defend yourself against a zombie outbreak! Between the ZAP WOD and all the helpful hints in Shaun of the Dead there is no excuse to not be prepared....


"Bash 'em in the head, that seems to work."

WOD: Rest day. My back is getting better, just slowly. The cure? Trigger point, stretch, rest, rinse, repeat...

26 October 2009

"The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts his sails."
- William Arthur Ward

WOD: Rest day. Lower back still jacked up. Trigger point and rest has helped though. Visiting the chiro tomorrow to spur things along.

Had a fun and laid-back weekend despite having to occasionally move around like an old man. I also finished a good portion of Apache Gold and Yaqui Silver by J. Frank Dobie - it's folklore that reads easy and gets your imagination going. Also watched the Yankees clinch the AL pennant Sunday night!

23 October 2009

"Restlessness and discontent are the first necessities of progress."
- Thomas Edison

WOD: Rest day.... I forgot to set my alarm and I slept about 12 hours... 10pm to 10am today. Lack of sleep catches me again. It's OK though because my body is broke down right now. The month of Girls and Heroes was fun but phew... after Jason several days ago my lower back has been nagging me... always felt OK once I warmed up, then I did Diane rx'd and now it's sore. More trigger point, several rest days (with solid sleep every day) and I'll be back at it!

Random awesome-ness: check out this SMU freshman's crazy goal from across the field:


SMU Freshman hits 95-yard Soccer Goal @ Yahoo! Video

22 October 2009

"Every human being is the author of his own health or disease."
- Buddha

WOD: Rest day. Isabel on deck. Watch as Josh Everett crushes this WOD!

21 October 2009

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

DNF. In 20 minutes I only completed the 21 and 15 rounds with the rx'd weight and an ab-mat under my head during HSPU. Talk about a bad day. I started feeling light-headed during the 15 round... It wasn't "I'm inverted doing HSPU lightheaded", more of a "seeing stars I may pass out" kinda feeling. It took about 30 minutes to get back to feeling normal (a la Helen)... lack of sleep strikes again...

It's time to asses what I am doing wrong and fix it.

Kris K posted about this today. It's an excellent list of questions to ask yourself.

20 October 2009

"Whatever you would make habitual, practice it; and if you would not make a thing habitual, do not practice it, but habituate yourself to something else."
- Epictetus

WOD: Rest day. Here's some reading for ya:

Another poignant Michael Yon dispatch.

Jon Gilson's Don't Quit.

19 October 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central

"Nicole"

AMRAP in 20 minutes of:

400 meter run

max rep pullups

Phew. Nicole was a brutal as I recalled...

33-15-15-13-14-11 = 101 pullups

That's a PR of 9 pullups from last time! A PR and no rips in my hands means it was a good day!

Check out this video of CrossFit Park City's Chris Spealler doing 106 pullups in considerably less time than twenty minutes. Some serious bad-assery right there:

Texas - OU weekend recap

Saturday morning kettlebell WOD: @ CrossFit Central

AMRAP in 15 minutes

3 turkish get-ups

6 squat cleans

9 American swings

I completed 6 rounds with 16kg kettlebell. Here's a shot of the kettlebell action Saturday morning. I'm right under the "media" portion of the whiteboard, cleverly concealing my identity with a KB... sorry no press please... no press ;)

Fun way to start the day! Then I went and watched Texas beat OU! Not exactly convincingly, but a win is a win. Followed that up with a Yankee victory in the 13th inning of a great game against the Angels. It was a sports filled Saturday!

Sunday was an "active" rest day.

gridtastic

I stopped by the Trigger Point office (yup, they are based here in A-town) on my lunch break and picked up a "grid" foam roller. Just took a break and rolled out on my office floor. Seriously, this thing is saa-weet!


Psst: if you haven't given the orange one "on display" at the gym (under the keycard swiper) a test drive, you should.

While I'm on the recovery soapbox, check out Kelly Starrett's post: be nice, your wrists work hard. They do. Think about the last week: Fran, the Bear complex, Jason, all those burpees for forgotten logs and birthdays... so be nice.

16 October 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central

"The Chief"

AMRAP in a 3 minutes of:

3 power cleans (from the ground) @ 135lbs

6 pushups

9 squats

* complete total of 5 cycles, 1 minute rest between cycles

* score is total number of completed cycles

I completed 23 rounds as rx'd. This was fun one!!

It's Friday boys and girls, and OU still sucks!

15 October 2009

"To hell with circumstances, I create opportunities."
- Bruce Lee

WOD: Rest and recovery day = trigger point. It hurts so good.

Check out shugyo, via the crossfit.com affiliate page today. Good stuff.

14 October 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central

"Eva"

5 rounds for time:

800 meter run

30 kettlebell swings @ 2 pood (32kg or 70.5 pounds)

30 pullups

DNF. Completed 2 rounds + 800 meter run rx'd at the 25 minute cutoff. Ouch. Yeah I'm still feeling Monday's WOD, and the humidity makes it hard to keep a grip on the KB, but really "Eva" is just freaking tough! This month of benchmark WODs has been both fun and humbling.

13 October 2009

"Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence."
- Vince Lombardi

WOD: Rest day. My legs are incredibly sore. As in it hurts to move sore. Using my trigger point set in this condition was a whole new... experience.

Why trigger point? You feel better and recover quicker (after using the trigger point that is).

What is trigger point? Check out this explanation of myofascial release from wikipedia:

"Myofascial release is a form of soft tissue thereapy used to treat somatic dysfunction and accompanying pain and restriction of motion. This is accomplished by relaxing contracted muscles, increasing circulation, increasing venous and lymphatic drainage, and stimulating the stretch reflex of muscles and overlying fascia.

Fascia is the soft tissue component of the connective tissue that provides support and protection for most structures within the human body, including muscle. This soft tissue can become restricted due to psychogenic disease, overuse, trauma, infectious agents, or inactivity, often resulting in pain, muscle tension, and corresponding diminished blood flow. Although fascia and its corresponding muscle are the main targets of myofascial release, other tissue may be affect as well, including other connective tissue.

As in most tissue, irritation of fascia or muscle causes local inflammation. Chronic inflammation results in fibrosis, or thickening of the connective tissue, and this thickening causes pain and irritation, resulting in reflexive muscle tension that causes more inflammation. In this way, the cycle creates a positive feedback loop and can result in ischemia and somatic dysfunction even in the absence of the original offending agent. Myofascial techniques aim to break this cycle through a variety of methods acting on multiple stages of the cycle."

12 October 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central

"Jason"

for time:

100 squats

5 muscle-ups

75 squats

10 muscle-ups

50 squats

15 muscle-ups

25 squats

20 muscle-ups

DNF. I completed all but 8 muscle-ups as rx'd at the 25 minute cutoff. Despite playing all weekend I felt solid until the 15 round of muscle-ups, after that I was reduced to muscle-ups in ones and twos from then on...

Seriously... That. Was. Tough. Just as a hero workout should be.

Special Operator 1st Class (SEAL) Jason Dale Lewis, was killed by an IED while conducting combat operations in Baghdad, Iraq on July 6, 2007. We name this workout "Jason" in honor of his life, family, and courage. (from crossfit.com)

09 October 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central

"the bear"

5 sets of 7 reps without dropping the barbell

*a failed set occurs if you drop the barbell at any point during a set

*rest as needed between sets

1 rep = pulling from the ground;

squat clean

thruster

back squat

push-press

my sets: 95, 115, 115F, 95 105F

An OK day. Not disappointed, but not thrilled with my performance today. Shoulders and legs felt blah, which wasn't good because it's all shoulders and legs in this WOD! Tough one today...

A few links:

The Wall Street Journal on The Missing Debate.

Take the time to read this one from David Brooks at the New York Times: The Afghan Imperative. Check out the three links he refers to as well. Very informative and, in my opinion, worth your time.

Finally, here's the 60 Minutes profile of General Stanley McChrystal:

08 October 2009

"Aut inveniam viam aut faciam."
"I shall find a way or make one."
- unknown

WOD: Rest day. My legs are shot. Mary and her pistols will get ya...

Check out the latest at Eat Clean Live Strong: oven roasted turkey with leeks and dried fruit. I challenge you to look at that picture and not get hungry...

07 October 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central

"Mary"

AMRAP in 20 minutes of:

5 handstand pushups

10 pistol (one leg squats)

15 pullups

I completed 6 rounds rx'd (PR) this morning. Never done Mary before, we always had a choice in class between her and "Cindy." Today there was no choice! It was a tough one, but I'm pretty happy with my performance. Today I did more HSPU and pistols than ever before, and all but my last set of pullups were unbroken! Feeling good!

PS- One day when I grow up, I'm gonna be able to do weighted pistols like Adrian Bozman of San Francisco CrossFit...

06 October 2009

"Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside themselves was superior to circumstance."
- Bruce Barton

WOD: Rest day.

"Mary" is on deck for tomorrow. Check this video of CrossFit HQ original Rob Miller crushing this WOD: See his kipping HSPU? That's going to be useful tomorrow...

04 October 2009

"Believe you can and you're halfway there."

- Theodore Roosevelt

WOD: Rest day. Feeling human again. Eating well and taking it easy, getting ready for another week of the girls and heroes.

03 October 2009

"A hangover is the wrath of grapes."

-unknown

WOD: Rest day. See above.

02 October 2009

WOD: @ CrossFit Central

"Helen"

3 rounds for time

400 meter run

21 kettlebell swings @ 1.5 pood

12 pullups

9:59 rx'd (PR). Helen was a tough as I remember. I didn't feel normal for about the next thirty minutes. My heart rate would rocket back up as soon as I started doing anything more that walk around! The Mikes had us doing some extra kettlebell work after Helen, but I wasn't feeling it. That's the first time in over a year of crossfit that I've half-assed the "extra" work at the end of class.

Feeling great about a week of PRs though! Helloooo weekend!

Check out OPT's sub-7 minute Helen!

FYI- Today is Jeremy and Lisa's wedding day! Show 'em some love today.

01 October 2009

WOD: with Austin Unscared

"for time"

100 meter walking lunge

800 meter run

100 squats

Met up with Devon and Jassin down at the AHS track this morning. My time was 9:38 rx'd. This was a fun one!

Michael Yon's latest: a no-BS assessment of the Afghanistan situation from a guy who's spent a lot of time on the ground there.

If you've got a CrossFit Journal subscription, go check out the recent video on ring dips. They cover technique, scaling, progressions, and then put on a display of freakish strength. The "one Barber" dip... crazy!

This made me laugh when I saw it in an email yesterday...