Ignition (Remix)

In the words of R. Kelly:

"It's the freakin' weekend
Baby I'm about to have me some fun (fun)"

Pretty excited for Halloween weekend. I usually don't attempt to get a costume until the night before, and end up being something lame/not creative. This year my buddy Dave and I have a pretty good idea--not really too creative but should be a solid costume. I also did not attend the CFC Halloween bash last year, since I had just started Crossfit, but am pumped for tomorrow night. Heading to a steakhouse downtown tonight, which should be delicious. Will do my best to stick to the diet, but may have some dessert.

Friday Workout:

FS 5×3 @ #205

Felt pretty good--may have been able to go +#5. Depth felt decent.

CF Football Metcon:
3 rounds for time,
12 right arm KB/DB snatch (#55 DB)
12 left arm snatch
12 pushups (subbed 12 burpees)
25 double unders

Time: 9:40

This took a lot longer than I thought it would. Just breathing hard the entire time, even with trying to control my pace. Need to start practicing KB snatches more, as I don't have very solid technique here.

Post-WOD:
1:00 on / :30 off x 6
High: 271
Low: 253

This CFE workout was supposed to be 12 rounds, but only had enough time for half that this morning. Tomorrow's workout is going to be pretty long and leg intensive so wanted to save my legs for that.

Friday Diet:
5:30a: shake--whey protein, water
7:00a: shake--almond milk, whey protein
9:30a: 2 scrambled eggs, turkey, 1 sausage, leftover broccoli slaw on top
12:00p: Panera--chicken cobb--2x chicken
3:00p: Think Thin protein bar

Strength Day

Thursday AM Workout, 5:45a @ FFC:

Bench Press
Warmup: 95×8, 115×5, 135×5, 155×3
Work: 175×3, 195×3, 205×3, 215×3

Max is #225, #215 felt pretty heavy, but bar only slowed down on the last rep.

Deadhang Pullups (palms facing each other)
4×5 (1 sec. pause at the top), 5 (+#20)

Trying to add in pauses and pull my hands as close to my chest--muscle up work.

Dips
10 (unweighted) - 6(+#30) - 6(#40) – 6(#50) – 6(#60)

Decline Situps
2×15

Thurs. Diet:
5:30a: shake--whey, water, unsweetened applesauce
7:00a: shake--almond milk, whey protein
9:30a: 2 egg scramble, turkey, 1 sausage
11:00a: handful of nuts
1:00p: Potbelly's farmhouse salad--2x chicken, BACON, hard boiled egg, non-fat vinaigrette
3:00p: Think Thin protein bar
8:00p: 3 egg scramble, meatless meatballs (this was a sad, sad dinner--got home and had no food ready, didn't take the ground beef out of the freezer this morning, and was too lazy to walk anywhere)

No Excuses

Wednesday Diet:
7:00a: shake--almond milk, casein protein, cashew butter
9:30a: 2 scrambled eggs, turkey deli meat
10:30a: handful of nuts
12:00p: Panera--chicken cobb salad, 2x chicken
1:45p: leftover baby apple from panera, handful of nuts
3:00p: Think Thin protein bar
5:45p: pork tenderloin cutlets, nuts (definitely hungry today)
8:00p: shake--whey protein, 5g creatine
9:00p: 2 turkey burgers, broccoli slaw

Tonight's Workout, 7pm @ CFC:

1RM Clean and Jerk
Current PR: #185-#190

Workout:
4 rounds for time,
400 m run
15 thrusters (#65)

C&J: #195 (PR)--failed #205 x 4-5

Metcon: 9:27

Performance Challenge Net Score: 9:27 (567 seconds) - #195 (1 sec / 1 lb) = 372 (if I did the math correctly)

While I was happy to get a PR on the C&J, I still wasn't too satisfied. Getting above #200 has been a goal for awhile, and it's coming along slower than I would like. I know that I need to be in at least the #225 range to compete well. Jerk is at #235 so that's not a problem. When the weight gets heavy I tend to lean back and arch my back, when I should be dropping down under the bar. Really need to work on this, as well as the hitch in between my first and second pulls. I feel that I'm doing a much better job with the first pull and keeping my lower back tight, as well as being aggressive, but need to refine my technique.

The workout was decent, and I was able to post one of the better times. I spent about 15 seconds mid-way through tying my shoes. Thrusters were unbroken. Had a solid heat, as I was chasing Nathaniel and had Rob V. on my heels the entire time. Just lost too much ground when I bent down to tie my shoe, and it prevented me from catching Nathaniel on the last round. I'm going to start incorporating more timed intervals on the treadmill to get my 400m times down, as I have a tough time pacing these. First run was around 1:40, didn't see the rest. If I'm able to get these to around 1:30 for the first few rounds that would be good, but don't want to sacrifice my energy for the rest of the workout.

Back when I boxed in college, our Bengal Bouts club had a motto--"No timeouts. No substitutions. No excuses." Whether we were at practice doing endless sets of pushups or sparring in the ring, this motto prevailed. I think I enjoy Crossfit so much because it's pretty similar to boxing--there isn't anyone to rely on even in your toughest moments, and it's those moments that you find out what you're truly capable of achieving. While it's true that in both sports you have other supporting you, if things aren't going your way there's no sideline you can go run to and take a rest, and there's nothing and no one else you can try to blame for coming up short. After each workout I try to take a step back and reflect on what I could've done better. Each time I'll have some trivial excuses about why I wasn't able to quite finish faster or lift heavier, but usually am able to push these aside.

For example, I thought I did decent on yesterday's workouts. My legs weren't feeling 100%, as my hamstrings were tight from 49 back squats @ #185 the day before. All day I was thinking I wouldn't be able to pull as hard off of the floor for the clean, but when it came time I pulled it high enough, just couldn't get under the bar. My legs still felt tight for the metcon, which I thought would affect my time. However, when the timer starts, there isn't really any more time to dwell on these excuses. I'm finding that I'm improving at working harder when I think I'm fatigued, and it's interesting to see how much of this is mental.

One last comment is that I've found that Crossfit has translated into improvements in other parts of my life. In terms of work, being able to handle a difficult or seemly time-consuming task doesn't seem as much of a burden when I've pushed myself in the gym. In terms of myself personally, I'm finding that I'm able to do take more risks and do things that would normally be out of my comfort level. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't, but I'm seeing that some risks are worth taking versus not doing anything at all.

Plus, nothing feels as heavy or challenging as pulling #405 from the ground!

Tuesday Squat Day

Tuesday Diet:
5:30a: shake--water + whey protein
7:00a: protein shake--almond milk, whey protein, unsweetened applesauce
8:30a: 2 scrambled eggs, sliced turkey
10:00a: muscle milk shake
12:15p: chipotle salad--2x barbacoa shredded beef, lettuce, peppers, pico de gallo
2:30p: Think Thin protein bar
4:30p: bag of jerky, nuts
8:30p: pork tenderloin cutlets, sauteed broccoli slaw

Tuesday Workout, 5:45a @ CFC:

Feeling pretty tired Tuesday morning, dragging.

Warmup for the workout:
Back Squat
45x8
95x5
115x3
135x3
155x3
185x2
205x2
225x2

Old Mainsite Workout:
20 min. AMRAP
7 back squats (#185)
10 overhead walking lunges, right hand, #45 dumbbell
7 burpees
10 overhead walking lunges, left hand, #45 dumbbell

6 rounds + 7 back squats

I've done this one before, and think I got about the same number of reps this time around--just feeling tired Tuesday morning. This went slowly, but good workout–-long time domain and moderately heavy loads. Having some flexibility issues with getting my knee to the ground on the lunges, as well as feeling comfortable at the bottom of the squat. First and last rounds of back squats unbroken, split the rest into 4-3.

Slept from about 10:30p-6:30a on Tuesday night, so feeling pretty good today. Performance challenge workout #2 tonight, hammies are tight from the squats yesterday but should feel okay once I get warmed up.

Pushing the Pace

Monday night dinner--picture inspired by the Great Suz--definitely not as cool as a gong though...


Monday, 8/25

I'm usually not a big fan of Mondays, but was busy at work all day (which I like) and had a good diet and workout, so looking forward to the remainder of the week. Pretty pumped for Halloween this weekend.

I go to bed super early on Sundays and started sleeping in and working out at night, so slept from about 9am-6am--definitely needed after a late night out on Saturday.

Monday Diet:
7:30a: got to work and was starving. 1/2 lb. ground beef, 2 scrambled eggs
10:30a: handful of nuts
12:15p: Einstein Bros. chipotle chicken salad--not very many good Paleo options as my firm went here for lunch, but made do with this. Tasted pretty terrible.
2:00p: Think Thin protein bar
5:30p: bag of jerky, bag of nuts
8:00p: protein shake
8:30p: pork tenderloin cutlets, sauteed broccoli slaw

Workout, 7pm @ CFC

1RM Close Grip Bench Press (tempo 30X0): #200

About what I expected, as my 1RM regular bench press is #225 or so.

Metcon,
5 rounds for time
10 burpees
10 box jumps ("24)
10 pullups

Time: 5:00

Bryce challenged me to do this sub-5, and even made me push it from the start by saying I had to complete my burpees and box jumps before Tim R. did his burpees. My legs and achilles weren't feeling great after 90 box jumps on Saturday and a run on Sunday, but once the clock started I went at it the best I could. Glenn, Rudy, Chris and Bryce yelled me on the entire time, so I didn't have the luxury of taking much rest. My movements at the end slowed down but was happy to get one of the top times, as the workout was pretty much in my wheelhouse. I feel that I'm getting better at pushing workouts even when I'm not feeling exactly solid beforehand.

Weekend Recap

Saturday, 10/23:

10am @ CFC:

Strength:

Unbroken power snatch, 3x10

95-95-105

Felt pretty good, but still trying to get rid of the hitch in between the first and second pulls.

Metcon,
4 rounds for time
400 m run
10 pullups (subbed 15 ring dips)
20 wall balls (#20)

Time: 14:40

My hands were torn up and Rudy wanted me to incorporate a more challenging movement in order to push me more on this workout, so I subbed a higher number of ring dips for the pullups. I'm pretty sure I could have done the pullups unbroken without too much trouble, and the ring dips got tough by the end. I wasn't able to get all the wall balls unbroken but I didn't rest for too long in between sets.


5:00p @ Fitness Formula:

Went in to the gym by my place for a second workout Saturday afternoon. Was going to get in some heavier squats but the one squat rack was being used, so just did Friday's metcon with some modifications.

Workout:
10 minute AMRAP
3 handstand pushups
6 sumo-deadlift high pulls (subbed #40 dumbbells each hand)
9 box jumps (~"24)

10 rounds + 3 HSPU

I was shooting to try to beat the 12 rounds posted by Bryce and some other guys, but the dumbbell sub was pretty awkward and I started to get tired during the last half of the workout. This was a good one to do under a fatigued state, as I had to push through at the end.

Post-workout, 2 minute AMRAP of burpees: 49

So close to 50. I've done 50 burpees under 2 minutes before when fresh, and came up just short. I kicked myself afterwards because I told myself I wasn't going to stop to look at my timer, but I did and ended up not getting that last rep. Was running on fumes by the end of the day, but happy with Saturday's workouts.

Saturday Diet:
8:30a: protein shake, black coffee
11:00a: protein shake, coconut milk, creatine
12:30p: omelette w/ bacon and avocado, fruit
6:00p: protein shake, coconut milk
8:00p: burger w/ bun, side salad subbed for fries
3:30a: 4 slices of pizza

I went out pretty early Saturday night not expecting to stay out that late, but ended up doing so, which led to the pizza craving. I'm not sure what it is whenever I go out, but by the end of the night I want some sort of pizza/burrito/Mickey D's pretty badly. I stuck to light beer all night. I wasn't too happy with myself for eating the pizza, but knew I had worked out pretty hard that day and allowed myself that one cheat for the weekend.


Sunday, 10/24:

Ended up going to bed around 4:30 and was going to the Bears game on Sunday, so woke up pretty exhausted Sunday morning.

Sunday Diet:
10:45a: Potbelly's salad
Bears Game: 2 beers
4:00p: Think Thin protein bar
8:30p: ground beef over sweet potato chips

I felt pretty bad about letting my Paleo Teammate Tara down Saturday night with the pizza, so when I got back from the Bears game I tried to make up for it.

Sunday Workouts:

4:30p--30 minute run along the lake, steady pace

5:45p--75 minute hot yoga @ Core Power

I hadn't done a class over 60 minutes at hot yoga yet, and I think I was pretty close to passing out at the end. I was pretty terrible at all of the poses that class, which was more fast-paced than I'm used to. That said, the class definitely helps with my flexibility and soreness, as well as teaches me how to breathe efficiently under duress.

Friday

Fridays are probably the best day of the week.

Friday AM Workout, 5:45a @ Fitness Formula:

Nothing too crazy this morning.

Press 5x5

135-135-135(4)-125-125

With all of the clean & jerks last night I knew my shoulders weren't too fresh, but think I could get these all at #135 if I was at 100%. Focused on staying tight from my core down to my legs, which helped tremendously.

Treadmill Run:

A.
0.5 mi @ 7:30/mi pace
1 min rest
0.5 mi @ 7:00/mi pace

B.
3 x 1:00 on / 1:00 walk
1) 6:00/mi
2) 5:45/mi
3) 5:30/mi

Total: 1.75 mi

Supplemental work: DB curls, dips, situps

Friday Diet:
5:30a: whey protein shake
7:00a: shake--coconut milk, whey protein
10:00a: 2 eggs over paleo chili (no one at work has noticed I eat chili at 9-10 am in the morning yet, which I'm happy about)
12:30p: our firm randomly ordered in lunch today from Bar Louie (this is why Fridays are the best). Got a salad with chicken, hard boiled egg, avocado, shredded carrots, and cucumber. Ginger-peanut dressing. The salad came with a bread stick that was covered in melted cheese. It was wrapped in a paper bag, and the grease was making a little sweat stain on the paper. I threw it away before I even tried to take a bite.
3:00p: Think Thin protein bar

Pretty good weekend coming up, although it may be tough to strict diet-wise--will probably have one or 2 cheat meals. One of my cousins is moving to Chicago next summer for his surgical fellowship, so I'm heading to dinner with him and my aunt tonight. As always, college football all day tomorrow, and going to my first Bears game on Sunday. One of my old roommates is pulling my teeth to go to Fogo de Chao, so I'm trying not to cave--would not actually be too tough to stay Paleo there, but their rolls are delicious. Trying to keep it together since I have a feeling Halloween next weekend could be bad news.

Going to try to fit in at least 2 workouts as well this weekend.

Back on Track

Feeling much better this morning after 10 hours of sleep.

Thursday Diet:
7:00a: shake--coconut milk, casein protein, cashew butter
9:45a: paleo chili
12:30p: Whole Foods hot bar--two slices of pork loin, chicken breast, zucchini and broccoli. I think the box weighed in at 1.2 lbs today. I have come to the realization that is it nearly impossible to spend less than $10 at WF, but it is delicious.
3:00p: Think Thin protein bar
6:30p: ready to drink protein shake
8:30p: paleo chili over sweet potato chips

Thursday Workout:

7:(15)p @ CFC:

Was finishing up some stuff at work and missed the Metra train so made it in a little late to class last night. Commuting to and from the box during the week gets a little frustrating since I don't have a car, but I enjoy it so much that I usually don't mind. Also have a number of good friends who offer me a ride home, which is pretty awesome.

Workout:

Clean & Jerk ladder @ #135

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

In between each round of C&Js do a round of Cindy (5 pullups, 10 pushups, 15 squats) for 10 rounds of Cindy total.

Time: 19:58

Really shooting to get sub-20, and happy I got it. PR of about 6 min from the last time I did this in February. These longer metcons with a strength element are great mental challenges, as it gets tough to keep the intensity as the 15 minute mark passes and I start to get fatigued. My Cindy rounds were not as fast as usual, but after getting called out by Rudy on my squats at the start I went slow and made sure to get full depth. I think the issue for me there is still the tight hip flexor, which is probably why I start my air squats by not going down all the way.

Coming off of a sick/rest day, this felt good. The rounds of 8-9-10 were a battle, and though I wasn't cycling the C&J as fast as I would have liked, I pushed through them to hit my target time.

Hump Day

No workout this morning, heading to CFC tonight. May do a longer time domain workout on my own.

Wednesday Diet:
7:00a: shake--coconut milk, casein protein, cashew butter
9:00a: 2 egg scramble w/ roast beef, chicken sausage. Carrots and coffee.
10:45a: handful of nuts
12:30p: 1 skewer of steak kabob, 2 skewers of roasted veggies, 1/3 of a pita (yes I know the pita wasn't Paleo. When we usually go to the Mediterranean place by my office I get a chicken or steak pita sandwich along with everyone else, since the other options aren't too solid. I got a steak kabob plate, but nixed the rice. It wasn't very much food and 2x the price of what I normally get, so I took a few bites of the pita...)
3:00p: bag of jerky and nuts
7:45p: paleo chili over sweet potato chips

I woke up Wednesday morning feeling a little sick, and felt worse as the day went on. Felt like I had a fever coming on, so didn't go to the box last night. Instead, ended up going to bed around 8:30p and waking up around 6:30a. I think in the past I would've attempted to workout, but getting better at listening to my body to know when I need to rest. I need to do all I can to prevent soreness and injury during this training season.

Weight was at #156 Thursday morning, already down from starting weight of #163. Obviously a lot of factors go into this, and I'm not really watching my weight right now, but pretty eye-opening in terms of seeing how Paleo can affect body composition.

Squats

Headed in to Fitness Formula early this morning. Didn't fall asleep until about 11:00 or so and woke up around 5:20, so I was definitely dragging. I can't make it to the box everyday and don't know how late I'll be at work usually, so I have to get these training sessions in during the morning. Unfortunately, my strength numbers usually suffer compared to when I lift in the evenings.

Back Squat 3-3-3-3-3

185-205-225-245-255(2)

Not feeling great today, legs weren't sore but the weight just felt heavy. Need to start lifting heavy on a consistent basis so that the higher weights don't feel as much of a shock to my system.

CF Endurance Workout, on the rower
C2, 5x1000m, 1:30 rest in between intervals

1) 3:59
2) 3:59
3) 4:04
4) 4:08
5) 4:10

Brutal. Wanted to keep a sub-2:00/500 m pace for all the intervals but my legs felt smoked. Contemplated quitting after round 3 as I felt like I had no energy, but finished off the workout. While I don't excel at these workouts by any means, they are probably the best mental workouts I've done, since 1) I suck at rowing 2) I fatigue during rowing more than other movements and 3) I get bored easily. Pushing myself on these should help when competition time comes.

May try to make it back to Fitness Formula tonight for more lower body strength work. Planning on sending in my list of training points to Coach Rudy today, so it will be great to see what he prescribes.

Tuesday Diet so far:
5:30a: whey protein shake, few bites of unsweetened applesauce
7:00a: coconut milk, whey protein, casein protein
9:30a: 2 egg scramble w/ roast beef, chicken sausage, coffee (black)
12:30p: potbelly's Farmhouse salad--2x chicken, greens, tomatoes, bacon, non-fat vinaigrette (I switched to this dressing last week--for about the last 4-5 months I have eaten this salad with everything on it (bleu cheese) and a roasted garlic vinaigrette--there were times when I ate this for lunch as much as 5x per week. Found out last week that the vinaigrette push the fat content of this salad to more than 50g, which is insane. Obviously made the switch as soon as I saw this).

I've been pretty good since the last challenge has started with cutting out some of the non-natural foods from my diet (Think Thin protein bars), but still have some in there (protein shakes, jerky) for convenience. I'm also trying to eat larger snacks/meals so that I don't eat every 2 hours, but I try to bring enough food for the day so that I can do this if needed. Since I'm not overly concerned about my actual weight and more focused on my performance and body composition in terms of gaining lean mass, I basically eat whenever I'm the least bit hungry, albeit with clean foods.

Rest of Tuesday Diet and Workout:
3:30p: pulled chicken breast, 1/2 sausage
6:00p: 1 hard boiled egg, 1/3 avocado, 1/2 sausage
9:00p: chicken breast, carrots

Tuesday PM Strength:

Bench Press 3-3-3-3

155-185-195-205

Front Squat 10x3 @ #200 (80% of 1RM @ #250)

Day 1

Monday wasn't the first day of CFC's Team Paleo Challenge, but marked my first day of training for Sectionals. While my exact training plan should come together during the week, I've already identified the areas I need to work on over the next few months. I'll give a quick recap of my weekend and Monday.

Saturday:

Ran the Urbanathlon (9.75 mi) in 1:31. Finished in the top half of about 500 guys in my 20-24 age group. I hadn't run anything over 7 miles leading up to the race and wanted to just have fun the first time around, so I was content with my performance. Didn't have much trouble with the obstacles, which I was happy about since a lot of them weren't designed for the vertically challenged (jumping over marine hurdles that were taller than me, climbing over walls).

Saturday was my cheat day, and had a number of beers throughout the day, a few burgers for lunch, and McDonalds on my way home from the bar. I know this seems like a big cheat, but I hadn't gone near 10 miles in awhile and the meals help me reset for the week ahead. In the grand scheme of things, as long as I don't go too crazy the non-paleo weekend treats should be ok.

Sunday Workout:

Did some light strength work in the morning. Deadlifted and worked up to #275x3 for three or four work sets. Mixed in deadhang pullups and dips. Legs were pretty sore from the race on Saturday so just wanted to move around a bit.

In the afternoon went to Core Power by my place for an hour of hot yoga. I'm planning on doing this either every Sunday or every other Sunday to help out with one of my major weaknesses--balance/flexibility. I find that my hip flexors end up feeling much better after yoga. Also helps to unwind after the weekend.

Sunday Diet:
10:30a: protein shake--coconut milk, whey protein, casein protein
12:30p: Whole Foods--salad w/ greens and hard boiled egg, lean cut beef brisket (the stuff is delicious and I am convinced it has something akin to nicotine in it, which is not good because it is expensive)
6:00p: brisket, 2 egg omelette w/ mushrooms


Monday Workout:

7pm @ CFC

OHS 5RM 5-5-5

#135-155(3)-155-165

Still not where I'd like to be on these, but getting better. My leg strength is fine, but I get weak and lose my tightness in the bottom position.

Metcon, Performance Challenge #1:

3 rounds
15 hang power clean (Rx'd @ #135)
15 burpees

Time: 4:20

This was one of those workouts where I was both excited/dreaded to do it. It was a Fran-type workout where you wanted to hit it as hard as you could. #135 is not a super-light weight for me, but one that is pretty doable for 45 reps. I was happy with my performance, as I did the first round of cleans and all of the burpees unbroken. Failed my second to last clean. I broke up the cleans too much in the second and third rounds but think that when I get stronger I could definitely do this in sub-4. Rolled on the ground for a few seconds after this one.

Monday Diet:
7:45a: 2 egg scramble w/ roast beef, mushrooms, chicken sausage, coffee
9:45a: muscle milk, small handful of nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans), green tea
12:00p: chipotle--salad w/ 2x steak, salsa, fajita veggies
2:00p: bag of trader joe's jerky, nuts
5:30p: slices of roast beef
8:30p: brisket, chicken, 1/2 avocado

Prep Week

Just a few days until the Urbanathlon on Saturday. I'm excited since I've wanted to do this race for the last few years but haven't been able to due to it being the week immediately following marathon. On the other hand, I am also itching to get firmly into training mode for Sectionals next year. As Rudy has pointed out, my programming has been pretty erratic. As the next few months progress, I'm going to map out a more structure plan with the coaches that hones in on my weaknesses while at the same time trying to maintain my better movements and overall conditioning. The start of the Paleo Challenge also couldn't come at a better time, as I've been slacking on diet (on the weekends big time) and gained what feels like some pretty unnecessary weight.

Monday Workout, 7pm @ CFC:

Did Tuesday's workout as I had just done a 50 minute run on Sunday afternoon:

Power Snatch: #135

Pretty terrible. Well off my PR of #150-#155. I also squat snatched #140 just the other week, and have hang power snatched #140-#145, so it's evident the the Olympic lifts will be a central focus over the next few months.

Metcon:

15-10-5
Power cleans (Rx'd #165, used #155)
CTB pullups
Burpees

Time: 7:33

I felt awful during the workout. Had a friend in town over the weekend and diet as well as sleep were not good at all. Power clean form was sloppy as my elbows were way too slow and I was receiving the bar falling back much of the time. Pullups were broken up all over the place when I can usually get these numbers unbroken. Head wasn't in it mentally, so just one of those ones I trudged through. Good wake up call.

Pre-Paleo Challenge Weigh In: 162.8

Usually have been at #155 but have been at #160 over the last few weeks. Not thinking this is good weight. Planning on having my body comp test with Rudy during the next week or so, as well as talking with Zack on creating some meal plans for myself.

Did back squats and a rowing workout this morning (Tuesday), and plan on getting in yesterday's CFC workout tonight.

Breathing

Finally manned up and started to post some pics. Fight Gone Bad @ Atlas Crossfit, 9/25/10.


Pretty nice and relaxing weekend, didn't train too hard nor did I even go out. It was actually nice to just hang out and relax. The summer weekends were definitely fun, but I felt like I didn't get any down time between the work weeks so they were definitely tiring--also not conducive to training. Will still go out on the weekends (I mean, it is college football season), but probably not as much as in the summer.

Saturday, 10/2

10 min AMRAP of:
6 Cleans (must pass through full squat) (120/65 or 45% of 1RM)
12 Pull-ups
24 Double-unders

5 full rounds + 5 squat cleans

Did this workout alone early in the AM before coaching the 9am class. This was a really fun workout and I think I could have gotten closer to 6 rounds if I had someone else to do it with. The clean weight was really light but the entire workout was just an exercise in controlling my breathing. Pullups were pretty much unbroken, and my butterfly made me a little out of breath so I had to steady myself before hitting the double unders. Will revisit this one in the future.

Was able to help coach all three classes Saturday morning at CFC and it was a good time. With having people in town and FGB the last few weekends, I haven't gotten a chance to get in my hours. Jonny and Rudy let me have a little group of my own during the classes and I was able to attempt to teach the power clean as well as explain the workouts. As I'm still pretty new to coaching, I had a tough time explaining how to power clean the first time around for some new athletes. I'm saving up for the Level I cert, but will continue doing my own homework on teaching the different movements.

Sunday, 10/3

Urbanathlon training run--40 minute training run

Felt pretty good. The Urbanathlon is next weekend. The furthest training run I've done is probably around 7 miles, and I'm really just looking to have fun during the race. Since this is the first time I've done this I'm planning on feeling it out, and then perhaps next year will try to get a more competitive time. Will still go pretty hard though. Can't complain, as about this time last year I was getting ready to run 26.2 miles instead of 9.

Monday, 10/4

AM, 5am @ FFC

20 rep back squat set @ #180

CFE on C2:

3x1000m, 2 min rest, steady pace

1) 3:54
2) 3:57
4) 3:54

Need to start pulling at a faster stroke rate–can’t get any faster when pulling around the low-20s, so will try to get it up to 25/26 strokes per minute. Had a lot left in me at the end so I think I can handle it cardio-wise. I need to have a better strategy doing rowing workouts, as I certainly can't dominate a workout based on rowing but could be more efficient. I'm trying to pull longer and harder, but am still having trouble pulling anything consistently under a 1:55 or so for more than 1K.


PM, 7p @ CFC

Strength:
2 power cleans / minute for 10 minutes

Sets #1-7: #175
Sets #8-10: #185

No fails, felt solid the whole way through.

Workout:
10-8-6-4-2
Shoulder to overhead (#155)
Burpees
KB Swing (2 pood, #70)


Time: 6:46

Bryce said I should be able to get this around 5 minutes or at least the jerks unbroken. Tough workout, as my shoulders were done after the first round. Jerks were the only thing broken up. Jerks went 10, 3-3-2, 3-3, 3-1, 2. Definitely used up time cleaning the bar back up. One of the things I saw I need to work on is being able to pick up and lift the weight when I'm gassed. I realize I spent time each round going from the kettlebell and then taking my time to set up to clean the weight. While I shouldn't rush it to the point where I fail a rep, I know that in order to be more competitive I need to learn how to lift the weight under duress. Games champ Graham Holmberg recently had a video where he talked about learning how to move loads while fatigued, and how it helped him in competition. Just another thing to work on.