Humbling day for me. During a little informal #crossfit competition one WOD was a team test of strength. 1 does 1RM jerk ladder and the other does a snatch. While I matched my PR of 185 it really opened my eyes to how much I have to learn about technique. Strength will carry you a long way but strength combined with technique will carry you much further. All of my snatches were power snatches. I need to work on getting under the bar in a squat and feel confident that I will be able to increase my PR much more then. I am very appreciative of all the coaching and tips today. #crossfit #hurtlocker #hurtlockerapparel @goldsgymhenrycounty @jagganes #fitness #wod #exercise #snatch #pr
13.2 Game Face!
With our girls, it’s really rare for my wife and I to be at the gym at the same time. Sucks during the Open because I would love to be yelling and cheering for my wife. Last night was exceptional because despite not being able to be in the gym, I ended up getting a flood of texts with photos and video from fellow members as my wife took on 13.2.
She went in with a certain number in mind and blew that out of the water. I watched the video sent to me and wanted to yell at the phone to cheer her on. With what she thought was 5lbs under a PR, she banged out reps of 5 with 75# like a freaking boss. In the video I watched her reach a breaking point with the press in the front rack. She had trouble getting a the weight overhead and a trainer got in her face. She dipped and drove and repped it out. Made me wanna go lift some weight right then and there!
Ladies, maybe it is just me running my mouth here because of my own tastes, but strength is just damn attractive. I would much rather my wife be throwing weight around in the gym than trying to be size 0 runway model. Watching her find a limit and break beyond that is attractive. Seeing the expression of confidence and triumph on her face when she came home last night was attractive.
She scored 180 reps and I couldn’t have been more proud of her.
13.2
13.2, as seen on our new “whiteboard” courtesy of Wodify.
When I saw this announced, I immediately thought to myself: 1) Thank you for another week without double unders or toes to bar and 2) This is going to suck the air right out of my lungs. With light weight like this, I figured it was designed to go fast and the most time would be spent on the box.
My strategy going into these is to shut up and do them. I don’t plan on watching 40 hours of video and drafting a plan to be reviewed by a committee. All I want is to go in, hit each WOD as best as I can, and when I walk out I know that I did the best that I could do. If you are reading this and want to do each Open WOD 80 times, more power to you. That isn’t me. I highly respect the athletes during the live announcement that are given minutes to think about the WOD and then do it at such a high level in front of a tremendous audience.
Where was I? Oh yea….
My strategy was to move and not rest. I did not have a number in mind that I wanted to hit. I really just wanted to go. These WODs don’t favor us big fellas and being only 10 minutes I knew I couldn’t rest. I suck at box jumps and figured most of my time would be spent there. Ironically enough, one of our trainers mentioned he hated box jumps too. He showed us that with these standards, we could step up instead of jump, and did a short demo of how it saved time. So that is what I did and I think it helped save my legs some. The only regret I have is dropping the bar after the last push press and not going immediately into deads. Other than that, when I lay my head down tonight I know that I went and didn’t rest and did the best that I could do.
The rabbit I mentioned last week was almost a full round ahead of me. A buddy of mine asked me about our scores and I am glad he did. When I told him he just said “Well that has got to make you feel really good to have been so close to his score.” And it did because I felt like I had improved. In the end, isn’t that what this is all about anyway?
6 rounds + 10 box jumps (205).
PS - Wodify is the business. Seriously. I logged into class on my iPhone and it showed up on our big screens. We could log our score after the WOD at the console or from our mobile devices. I can login later and see how everyone did over the entire day.
My wife, who has only been doing CrossFit for months now, signed up for the Open. I was very proud of her decision to do that. To say she loves CrossFit is an understatement. The girl is eaten up with it. What better way to measure yourself, right?
Last night she went to take on 13.1 and had a great experience. That is all I wanted for her. To push herself and to enjoy the outcome. What she failed to mention on her blog was how well she did, something I am proud of. When our box did a repeat of the 7 minutes of burpees WOD, I think she only got 40 or 50. She has never tested a 1RM on snatch and had no real idea of where she would be or if she could get to the next round of snatches.
I literally paced in the living room waiting to hear from her. I kept looking out of the window waiting to see the headlights of her car. The suspense killed me. When I talked to her on her way home, I was so happy to hear about her experience. She got 100 reps, making it to the 75lb snatches. While she had time to do a few reps, she said she just couldn’t get under the weight to make it happen.
Despite that, it was a success. She did far more burpees than before (this time more difficult by being required to hit the target overhead) and also did 30 snatches. In my opinion, that right there is what you call measurable progress. Very proud.
It is just so cool to see her doing this, to see her change, to see her outlook change, to see her goals change. And it is also cool to get emails and texts from friends who took pictures of her in the process.
13.1
When I watched the live announcement I was immediately looking at the equipment. I got so excited to see a barbell. I was mentally prepared for a crap ton of burpees. But still, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Instead of hitting a WOD on Wednesday like normal, I opted for a swim at the pool.
Anyway, watched the videos, etc. and thought my goal would be 1 rep at 165. Late last night one of the trainers texted me and told me he and another trainer just did the WOD and got 154, or 4 reps into 165. They both have much stronger cardio engines than me so I knew right then that 165 would be hard. My strategy would be to just work.
The 40 burpees were not horrible. I went out too fast, something I told myself not to do. Slowed it down a notch and just tried to keep pushing. Got to the first set of snatches, broke them up, and got through them. The set of 30 burpees was the worst and felt like it took me way too long. Big guys ain’t fast at burpees, son. It was here that I changed up my goals and just wanted to get through the set of 135. I made it to 26 before hitting the cap.
So here is the thing… I met neither of my goals. Failure? Oh heck no. This WOD was a combination of the first 2 Open WODs from last year. In 12.1 I got 72 burpees in 7 minutes and in 12.2 I got 56 snatches (26 reps at 135) total in 10 minutes. This morning, I did 40 burpees and 30 snatches in just under 8 minutes. I was able to do 30 more burpees and 26 snatches with the remaining time. To combine the two WODs and hit the numbers I did, I am more than pleased.
One of the guys that was doing the WOD with me has been one of the rabbits I have chased for a long time. When I started he was always lifting heavier and moving faster than me. He got to the barbell first each time this morning. In the set of 30 he was about 8-10 burpees ahead of me. All I could think about was getting to the barbell. When I did, I was able to catch him and pass him. Next week will most likely be some WOD where he will slaughter me. But we need to remember these moments as they drive us. They show us that by working at something and having a goal, we can get there. That is what I took away from this morning.
Legit WOD from CrossFit Harlem that our box did today. I was fully expecting to hit the time cap on this. No lie. Got to the last set of 10 on the clean & jerks and realized I would make it in plenty of time. As expected, the burpees and box jumps were the worst. 33 and some change @ RX.
Weekly Training Log - 02/11/13
This week is going to look a little different than previous ones. This past Saturday evening, I felt like I had been hit by a truck. Seriously. I have not been in that much pain after a workout. That same soreness continued through Sunday and Monday morning, despite foam rolling and mobility. I felt sluggish, tired, and just beat down.
My wife told me that I have never really taken a break since I got started with CrossFit. That was 2 years ago. At the urging of her and some close friends, I opted to take it easy this week.
MONDAY - 2/11/13
Rest.
TUESDAY - 2/12/13
Pool (Lunch): Slow paced freestyle 800m (16:31); 4x25 breast stroke.
WEDNESDAY - 2/13/13
Pool (Lunch): 10x100m freestyle
THURSDAY - 2/14/13
CrossFit (5:00am)
WOD - “Grace”: 30 clean & jerks for time. New PR with time of 2:30 (Previous time was 2:43). Guess the rest paid off. Felt so refreshed going in to this that it actually felt strange.
Cash-Out: Rack pull deads - 3x315, 3x315, 3x275, 3x315, 3x315; 5x10 pull-ups.
FRIDAY - 2/15/13
Rest.
SATURDAY - 2/16/13
Rest. (Out of town working the Garage Games One)
SUNDAY - 2/17/13
Rest. (Out of town working the Garage Games One)
Weekly Training Log - 2/4/13
MONDAY - 2/4/13
Pool (Lunch): 10x100m w/1 min. ri. 28:43.
TUESDAY - 2/5/13
CrossFit (5:00a)
Warm-up: Don’t normally log these but thought this was good. 1500m row (4:43) followed by 6-5-4-3-2-1 of stretching mountain climbers, wall balls, and situps.
WOD - EMOTM for 12 minutes: 3 burpees, 3 push jerks (155lbs; bring weight from the floor), 3 burpees. When you fail to make it through the round, rest 1 minute, then cut the reps and finish. After this weekend, I just didn’t want to do another freaking burpee. I believe that I have narrowed down my knee pain to this movement, so I focused on bringing my feet out wide as I come off the floor and it really seemed to help a lot. I got into round 8 and just wiped out. No gas and no desire to take it to that dark place required to keep pushing.
Cash-Out: Wanted to keep working on pull-ups so I skipped the GHDs and did 5x10 pull-ups.
WEDNESDAY - 2/6/13
CrossFit (5:00a)
Strength - Overhead Squats: 3x135, 3x135, 3x155, 3x175, 3x185 (PR), 1x200 (PR)
WOD: 15-12-9-6-3 of overhead squats (scaled to 115lbs) and T2B. Time was 9:08 and not as bad as I thought it would be, but took it’s toll on me. Got some help on the kipping/rhythym of the T2B after the WOD which really helped.
Pool (Lunch): 20x50m w/30 sec ri.
THURSDAY - 2/7/13
Pool: Active recovery? 50m freesyle, 4x25m breast stroke, 50m freestyle, 4x25m breast stoke, 50m freestyle. Untimed; Just to keep moving.
FRIDAY - 2/8/13
CrossFit (5:00a)
WOD - “Wittman”: 7 rounds of 15 KB swings (53lbs), 15 power cleans (95lbs), 15 box jumps (24”). Perhaps my friends are right and I am overtrained right now. All I know is that in round 4 I found myself standing there unable to do a box jump. I just stared at everyone and felt guilty for not moving, for not pushing through. I snapped out of it and finished the WOD, but this was absolutely horrible. I did all of the swings unbroken, which was good for me, but smoked my forearms for the cleans. On the cleans I did 10/5 the first round, 5/5/5 each additional round, and then singles in the last round. For box jumps, I tried to keep going. I was 29 minutes and some change. Absolutely horrible. This thing wiped me out for the rest of the day.
SATURDAY - 2/9/13
CrossFit (7:00a)
Strength: In pursuit of 5 bills on my deadlift, I worked the rack pulls which is the weakest part of my lift. After Friday, I wanted to work on things but also wanted to do something that I wanted to do to help get some confidence back. I thought it was amazing that I couldn’t pull 500 from the ground and lock it out but could bang out reps of 505 off the rack. 5x315, 5x375, 5x415, 3x475, 3x505, 3x505, 3x505, 3x505.
Conditioning: Untimed (but not resting) I did 5 rounds of GHD situps and 10 pull-ups. After the 5th round I did an extra set of pull-ups. All pull-ups unbroken. Started to really feel it on rep 8 and the last 2 were hard, but this was a major thing for me to be able to do.
SUNDAY - 2/10/13
Rest day.
Rack pull deads from today. Couldn’t stand up and lock out 500 from the ground last week but worked up to several sets of 3x505lbs from the rack. The next time I test a 1RM dead it won’t be 500 I’m shooting for, it will be 515.
Pull-ups
Today I used open gym pretty well. Only weaknesses were worked. I started with rack pulls and worked up to a decent weight, doing sets of 3.
For me, the best part was the pull-ups I did after. Untimed, I did 5 rounds of 10 GHD sit-ups and 10 pull-ups. All pull-ups were unbroken. I did an extra set of 10 at the end. That felt so good.
Yesterday’s hero WOD beat me down mentally and physically. Today I wanted to do something that I enjoyed but needed. Not too long ago pull-ups totally wrecked me. Today I did 60 of them. Some people can bang these out without trouble, but I have had to work on them. Doing 50-60 a week has paid off big time in my mind.
Today was a much needed refresh and recharge.
“Wittman” is 105 suffering reps of box jumps, 105 KB swings (1.5P), and 105 power cleans (95lbs) to honor U.S. Army Sergeant Jeremiah Wittman, 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, based out of Fort Carson, Colorado. At the age of 26 Sgt. Wittman made the ultimate sacrifice for his Country when he gave his life. During an insurgents attack on his unit, he was killed by a roadside bomb in Zhari province, Afghanistan.
In round 4, I felt as if my feet were rooted in the ground. I did not want to move. I stood there looking at everyone else. I kept thinking that I was resting too long and had to move. It was a miserable feeling. While I was able to go unbroken on all of the KB swings, my forearms were smoked for the cleans. Though a light weight, 105 reps of anything gets heavy. So I suffered through this. My personal feeling on any hero WOD is that if at all possible, it should never be scaled. They are designed to suck. You just have to grind through it.
This one took me a while. Can’t lie. And just as I did with that competition over the weekend, being slow today hit me pretty hard mentally. But compared to 2 years ago I was pretty fast. 2 years ago I couldn’t do 15 unbroken swings. 2 years ago I couldn’t do a 24” box jump. Perhaps this was a great time to do this WOD as it offered some much needed perspective. I am able to continue about my day, though most likely sore, but Sgt. Wittman never got to go home.
GEX Throwdown: CrossFit Competition
This is probably going to be a mass jumble of my thoughts spilling out. Read it if you want, but this is here more for me than you.
I had been invited by a friend who is one of the trainers at GEX and a really awesome athlete. He is strong and fast and typically has great technique on all of his movements. He is at a different level of fitness than me and there is really no way I could expect to keep up with him. But the thought of an informal competition was interesting to me, at least enough to tell them I would do it.
Weekly Training Log - 01/28/13
MONDAY - 1/28/13
Rest.
TUESDAY - 1/29/13
CrossFit (5:00a)
WOD: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 of dips, box jumps (24”), and GHD situps. Wanted sub 10 and came close (10:30). Dips slowed me down. If I could do those unbroken all the time this would have been sub-10.
Cash-Out: 6x8 pull-ups
WEDNESDAY - 1/30/13
CrossFit (5:00a)
WOD: Row 350m, 21 thrusters (95lbs), 21 K2E, row 350m, 15 thrusters, 15 K2E, row 350m, 9 thrusters, 9 K2E. Basically some twisted version of Fran. I thought that this would take a lot longer than it did. Sticking point was K2E for me. Somehow in the set of 15 I lost my freaking mind and got out of rhythm. Row felt good and caught my breath there. 12:30 @RX.
Cash-Out: Hang power snatch work (3x5 @ 95lbs)
THURSDAY - 1/31/13
Pool (Lunch): Active rest, what? LOL. 4x50m hard freestyle; 2x25 breast stroke, 2x25 back stroke.
FRIDAY - 2/1/13
Pool (Lunch): 10x50m w/30 sec ri. 5 minute partner sprint (7x25m). 2x25m breast stroke.
SATURDAY - 2/2/13
I am going to write up some details about this later, but this was an informal CrossFit competition I did and it was certainly a new and challenging experience for me.
Workout #1: 21-15-9 of overhead squats (95lbs) and pullups. Workout #2 was 12 minutes to establish a 1RM deadlift. Workout #3 was 2 rounds of 4 laps (just under 600m), 15 ground to overhead (115lbs), 20 burpees, 30 situps, 250m row. Time cap on the first WOD was 10 minutes and the time cap on the second was 20 minutes.
SUNDAY - 2/3/13
Rest.
Pull-ups
Ever see those graphics that talk about attacking your weakness? I have even made some myself. But it is much different when you actually do it. I have picked one day each week and stayed after the WOD to work pull-ups. I started by doing a few rounds of 5 reps and each week tried to increase. This morning I did 6 rounds of 8 and they all felt really good. No grips, gloves, or tape and my hands are holding without tearing/ripping. I am going to keep working these until they are just another part of a workout and not something that I dread or have a difficult time doing.
Weekly Training Log - 1/21/13
MONDAY - 1/21/13
As it was a holiday, and I had the day off, I planned on going in to open gym and working some strength. Was up the previous night coughing and lots of congestion. Since I slept so little and since Monday is typically a rest day for me, I didn’t push it and slept in. Good call.
TUESDAY - 1/22/13
CrossFit (5:00a)
WOD: 800m run, then 10 rounds of 7 bar facing burpees & 3 front squats (95lbs), followed by an 800m run. Since it was in the low 30s I was not feeling an outdoor run and opted for a row, which meant 1000m. Finished that in 3:35, which was probably too fast for me to start this off, and then went to the 10 rounds of burpees and front squats. A few of us scaled up on the weight from 95 to 135. I don’t think it made too much of a difference, maybe a minute or 2. Trying to fight off a cold, I felt like I was moving through quicksand. After all of that, I really did not feel like strapping into the rower so I ran outside. I felt every step in my left knee and will probably have to stay away from high impact movements for a while. Time was 23:20 @ RX+.
WEDNESDAY - 1/23/13
CrossFit (5:00a)
WOD - 5RFT: 12 push presses (115lbs), 100m run, 8 power snatches (115lbs). Still recovering from this nasty cold and it feels like I am in slow motion right now. Time was 13:45 @ RX and was just happy to get through it the way I did. Push presses got heavy in that last round and wanted to split jerk them as singles. Did well on the snatches and made up time there.
Cash-Out: 5x8 pull-ups
THURSDAY - 1/24/13
Pool (Noon): 5x200m freestyle w/1 min ri. 24:35. Rest 2 minutes, then 6x25m breast stroke w/30 sec ri. The breast stroke totally gassed me. Way more than the freestyle did at nowhere near the distance. Had fun though.
FRIDAY - 1/25/13
CrossFit (5:00a)
WOD - For Time: Row 2000m, 5 deadlifts (225), 25 burpees, 5 deads, 25 wall balls (20lbs), 5 deads, 25 burpee pull-ups, 5 deads, 25 KB swings (70lbs), 5 deads, row 1000m. With my knee giving me issues, I opted to row instead of run. That actually bothered me because I felt like the row would have made this harder than it had to be. Did well on pacing and came off the 2000m row at 7:43. Deads were never an issue and did them all unbroken as the weight was easy. Spent the most time on burpee pull-ups because I just can’t move fast on those. Finished the 1000m row at just over 4minutes, with a final time of 26:56 @ RX+ (scaled up the KB to 70lb).
Pool (Lunch): Did a few 25m laps to warm-up. Then 4x50m hard. Pushed the pace on this harder than I have in 2 weeks. Then did a 5 minute partner sprint (one swims 25 while the other rests). Got in 8x25m in a little over 5 minutes.
SATURDAY - 1/26/13
CrossFit (7:00a)
Strength: 2x155 power snatch EMOTM for 12 minutes
WOD: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 of hang power cleans (165lbs) and GHD situps. I wanted a quick metcon and severly under estimated the hang cleans here. Got too close to the 8am class (when I had to leave) so I stopped in the set of 5 and was about 9:45 into the WOD. Would have been good to test this all the way to the set of 1, but maybe some other time.
Cash-Out: 4x8 pull-ups
SUNDAY - 1/27/13
Rest.
