new way

"To get to the next level we've got to see ourselves in a new way"
- Tony Robbins

I woke up with painfully sore legs this morning. I discovered that they still worked once I crawled out of bed, so I went to the gym fully intending to cupcake. Visions of trigger point and mobility work danced in my head. I even cleared doing so with coach Mike Winchester... especially once I saw the whiteboard!

REDBLACK GYM 20Jan2011
A. 20 minutes to warm-up (athlete's choice)
B. 20 minutes to establish a 1RM clean
C. 20 minutes to establish a 1RM snatch

But, I decided that after warming up I'd use the time as skill practice for the two lifts, staying with light weight. Funny thing is, once I warmed up, my legs felt good! So I started working on cleans...

B. cleans
165-175-185PR TIE-195F-195F

Tied my PR. Happy with that. Not thrilled that I could hit 195 solid in the bottom of the front squat, but couldn't stand it up...

So then my legs were really toasted! I decided it was time to play it smart and went light on the snatch for technique work. Never went above 115, but got in some much needed practice.

Then I chowed on recovery tacos and coffee with Mark, Firas, and Dr. Sam Sneed. Great way to start the day!

Friday is next! Stay warm y'all. Peace.

I AM the decisive element

“I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration, I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and a person is humanized or de-humanized. If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming.”
— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I saw this quote posted by CrossFit L.A. yesterday. Very timely... for me anyway... recently I've been struggling to stay focused in the moment. This quote was the right reminder at the right time! Stay focused y'all. Stay conscious that you are the decisive element...

WOD
for time:
21 L-sit pull-ups
20 pistol (one leg) squats
18 L-sit pull-ups
16 pistol squats
15 L-sit pull-ups
12 pistol squats
12 L-sit pull-ups
8 pistols

22:54 rx'd

Holy one-legged squats Batman! I'd like to blame my slowwwwwww time on my legs still being sore from Monday's back squats, but that's just wimpy. The L pull-ups weren't too bad, but the pistols just plain smoked me. At least my reps were legit, similar to this shot of Adrian Bozman's pistol squat. Though in my version I'm rocking a sweet pain face...

(CrossFit.com photo)

It's hump day y'all! We're at the summit - the apex - so it's all downhill from here! Peace.

details

"It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen."
- John Wooden

SICFIT AUSTIN is now being called the RED BLACK GYM.

GarageGymRX @ RED BLACK GYM
WARMUP:
mile jog
inchworm with scorpion
kettlebell mirror game

3 rounds, not for time:
handstand walk 20 feet
15 chest to bar pull-ups

250 yard carries:
slosh pipe in Zercher rack position
dual plate hold @ 25#
dual kettlebell rack @ 24kg
barbell overhead
sandbag @ 90#

Glad for a "light day" this morning, my legs are tore up from yesterday's back squats.

brothers

"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools."
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.



STRENGTH
back squat
Wendler cycle 1, week 2

Set 1 70% x 3 @ 145lbs
Set 2 80% x 3 @ 165lbs
Set 3 90% x 3+ @ 185lbs (completed 11 reps)

First two sets felt easy, like a warm-up. Set three was a fight! Happy with hitting 11 reps though.

dumbbell press
5x5

40lbs DBs-40-45-45-45F(x4)

It's a new week! Make it a great one! Peace.

fly

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."
~ Leonardo Da Vinci

I've done freefall before, but this $h!t is on a whole other level... thanks Elliot for posting the video.

Wingsuit Basejumping - The Need 4 Speed: The Art of Flight from Phoenix Fly on Vimeo.

gratitude

The only people with whom you should try to get even are those who have helped you.
~ John E. Southard

Thanks Ben for showing me this video, cracks me up!



I didn't have enough time for the split jerks at the gym yesterday, so I knocked 'em out today.

OLY/STRENGTH
split jerk
5x2

155-165-175-175-175

WOD
10 minute AMRAP
15 in & outs
9 burpees

6 rounds + 12 in & outs

Did the first round of in & outs "no-touch" (without my feet touching the ground), went standard after that. Good stuff. My shoulders, arms, and core were on fire!

Have a great weekend y'all! Peace.

awaken

"Your vision becomes clear when you look inside your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens."
- Carl Jung

Ginny from CrossFit 321 playing in the latest Maine snowfall:

I love Texas winters!!!

SICFIT AUSTIN 13JAN2011
WARM-UP
2 rounds:
20 one-arm DB floor press
20 DB renegade rows
10 strict pull-ups
10 sandbag power cleans
20 sandbag lunge
20 squats

OLY SKILL/STRENGTH
5×2 snatch-grip deadlift
5×2 deep clean deadlift (on 3″ platform)
5×2 snatch balance
5×2 split jerk

BONUS
2x10 rotator cuff/external rotations
2x10 bat-wings

Friday is on deck! Peace.

goals, 5-3-1

We've started the I Am CrossFit challenge, and so I thought I'd throw out my fitness goals for the next 8 weeks.

1) I will complete two cycles of Wendler's 5/3/1 back squat program as rx'd, and add a minimum of 10lbs to my back squat 1 rep max.
2) I will complete 10 strict handstand push-ups unbroken.
2) I will complete the I Am CrossFit benchmark (@ 155 lbs power cleans) one minute faster than on Saturday.

I started 5/3/1 today.

STRENGTH
back squat
Wendler cycle 1, week 1

Set 1 65% x 5 @ 135lbs
Set 2 75% x 5 @ 155lbs
Set 3 85% x 5+ @ 175lbs (completed 10 reps)

Have a good one y'all! Peace.

Tuscon

"We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions."
- Ronald Reagan

The Tuscon shooting has been all over the news lately, and I can't help but notice one thing is missing from the coverage: that the shooter is the one who chose to pick up a gun and attack innocent people last Saturday.

More importantly though, you should know about a guy named Dorwan Stoddard. His final act on this earth was to use his body to shield his wife from the attacker's bullets.

Another man, retired Army colonel Bill Badger, was wounded but helped three other bystanders disarm and subdue the shooter.

“Make yourselves sheep and the wolves will eat you.”
- Benjamin Franklin

The actions of these sheepdogs should be a larger part of the media coverage in my opinion.

Last, and certainly least, the Pima County sheriff needs to start acting like a professional or recuse himself from the case. There has been no evidence that points to political rhetoric having an impact on this wacko's choosing to shoot up a Congresswoman's meet-and-greet. That the sheriff - an elected official - is using this heinous crime as an opportunity to espouse his own political opinions is as pathetic as it is unprofessional. His statements are in fact the very rhetorical practices he supposedly decries - the kind of rhetoric that indulges our demons, rather than appealing to our better selves.

That's my two cents. And for a closing, I'll repeat what Bob Holler used to say:

"Take care of yourselves and each other. Peace."