Still healing, but getting better

I modified the WOD this morning to remove running and jump rope to allow less impact on my ankle.  Those movements are still painful.  Yet other movements, such as KB swings, where my feet are pretty much locked down, feel fine.  So I am going to keep going as I have been so that I can get back to 100%.  That said, here was the WOD I did:

20 minute AMRAP:

  • 15 kettlebell swings @ 70lbs
  • 500m row

I had two goals with this, the first being to keep every 500m row under 2 minutes and second, to do all of the swings unbroken.  I made it through 5 1/2 rounds and accomplished both goals.  Moving the 70# KB is starting to feel more natural and as crazy as this is going to sound, it didn’t really totally challenge me until the last set.  Of course by then the row felt like someone was tugging on the other end as well.

Post-WOD:

  • 10-10-10 GHD situps

Deadlift:

  • 275# x 10
  • 275# x 8
  • 305# x 6
  • 315# x 4
  • 345# x 2
  • 375# x 1
  • 405# x 1

And with that, I am officially tired of deadlifts this week.  Taking the pressure off my ankle with certain movements has really helped.  Figure I will keep that trend going this week and late next week try going for a slow run and see how that goes.

Warm-up: 500m row (1:45) WOD: “Randy”75 power snatches for time.  Got 6:01, which is a 45 second PR for me.  PR’s are a wonderful thing, except when you miss breaking into another bracket by 2 seconds like this.  I wish now I had paced differently as I could have easily broken into the 5 minute mark for this. Strength: 10 rounds, untimed:5 Hang Cleans (75#)5 Push Presses (75#)5 deadlifts (245#) Did not time this, but focused on moving as quickly as I could through each round and doing everything unbroken.  None of the weights were heavy so it wasn’t really a problem.  I tried to go fast to where I was winded after each round. Overall, great day at the gym.  You got to pick your own hero WOD or do what was programmed from the gym.  A few others were doing Randy I felt like it would be good to try it out again since it had been a while.  Thankful for the ability to get in the gym.  Just thankful in general today, as we all should be.
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Warm-up:
500m row (1:45)

WOD: “Randy”
75 power snatches for time.  Got 6:01, which is a 45 second PR for me.  PR’s are a wonderful thing, except when you miss breaking into another bracket by 2 seconds like this.  I wish now I had paced differently as I could have easily broken into the 5 minute mark for this.

Strength: 10 rounds, untimed:
5 Hang Cleans (75#)
5 Push Presses (75#)
5 deadlifts (245#)

Did not time this, but focused on moving as quickly as I could through each round and doing everything unbroken.  None of the weights were heavy so it wasn’t really a problem.  I tried to go fast to where I was winded after each round.

Overall, great day at the gym.  You got to pick your own hero WOD or do what was programmed from the gym.  A few others were doing Randy I felt like it would be good to try it out again since it had been a while.  Thankful for the ability to get in the gym.  Just thankful in general today, as we all should be.

Eat Real Things

I have had this on my mind for a while now but it keeps coming back up for some reason.  As any of you out there can attest to, the minute you lose enough weight for people to notice one of the very first questions asked is “How did you lose the weight?”  At first I was always really excited to answer that question but as time goes on it gets a little frustrating.  The answer is a lifestyle change through a change of how I eat coupled with exercise as well as more active life in general. 

But nobody wants to hear that.

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This morning was just one of those workouts. I think we have all had them. You know, where you are just out of sync. Nothing that required strength, just lungs and capacity, an area I really need work in.

Can’t wait for my feet to get back to normal so I can start on this cardio plan I have waiting on me. In a way, I’m quite thankful for workouts like these. They serve as a reminder of what I feel like I need to improve upon. And I will improve. Just have to trust the process.

Going to hit CrossFit again in the morning and hope for different and better results.

This guy: Heart, motivation, determination. And proof that you can overcome anything you wish to overcome, it just takes the desire to do it. christwalk: Today I turn 30. Three years ago I was headed down a spiraling road leading to a uncertain future. At 360 pounds, I was at a major tipping point. Something had to change, I had to change. It wouldn’t be until two months after I turned 27 that I finally woke up. Three years ago… I had high blood pressure. Had no energy and was depressed. Couldn’t walk a mile. Wore size 52 pants and 4XL shirts, couldn’t shop anywhere that didn’t have a big n tall section. Couldn’t do the things I wanted to do.   Now… Just recently finished my first marathon. Training for my first triathlon in June. Weigh 195 pounds. Size 34 pants and large shirts. Can do things with my family that I couldn’t do before. Enjoy being outside. One of the greatest things is now I can pretty much do anything I want, if I set my mind to it. I now have confidence in myself, really for the first time. If I set a goal, I can achieve it. I pray that I can take what I’ve learned about myself over the past 3 years and continue to use it to push myself harder for family and myself. Can’t wait to see what the next 30 brings…  All is know is that I am going to keep pressing on toward the goal and NOT GIVE UP!!!
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This guy: Heart, motivation, determination. And proof that you can overcome anything you wish to overcome, it just takes the desire to do it.

christwalk:

Today I turn 30. Three years ago I was headed down a spiraling road leading to a uncertain future. At 360 pounds, I was at a major tipping point. Something had to change, I had to change. It wouldn’t be until two months after I turned 27 that I finally woke up.

Three years ago… I had high blood pressure. Had no energy and was depressed. Couldn’t walk a mile. Wore size 52 pants and 4XL shirts, couldn’t shop anywhere that didn’t have a big n tall section. Couldn’t do the things I wanted to do.  

Now… Just recently finished my first marathon. Training for my first triathlon in June. Weigh 195 pounds. Size 34 pants and large shirts. Can do things with my family that I couldn’t do before. Enjoy being outside. One of the greatest things is now I can pretty much do anything I want, if I set my mind to it. I now have confidence in myself, really for the first time. If I set a goal, I can achieve it. I pray that I can take what I’ve learned about myself over the past 3 years and continue to use it to push myself harder for family and myself.

Can’t wait to see what the next 30 brings…  All is know is that I am going to keep pressing on toward the goal and NOT GIVE UP!!!

Strength - Split Jerks from the rack (5-5-5-3-3-1-1): 5 x 135lbs 5 x 155lbs 5 x 165lbs 3 x 185lbs 3 x 205lbs 1 x 225lbs 1 x 245lbs I have never done the jerks from the rack like this so it was fun.  I just wish we had more time during class to have worked on these because I wanted to keep going.  The last one, while heavy, did not feel close to my max. WOD: As you can see in the photo, not a lot of foot action.  I was not going to run so that I would not push my feet but was worried a bit about the swings and wall balls.  I am good as long as there is not too much stress and movement on my feet and want to keep it that way until they don’t hurt at all.  I figured if I was doing the movements correctly, my feet would be planted and not moving so it was good in that sense as it made me focus on my form.  Did all of the wall balls unbroken and then split up the KBs, situps, and DB snatches.  I felt gassed through the end and during the last row my arms were on fire.  Time was 16:50. I am battling a head cold and it has sucked the life from me this morning.  It was hard to get going.  On top of that we are making some changes in our diet which required grocery shopping and making of the meals last night, meaning I was up later than normal.  Going to bed as early as I can tonight and taking tomorrow as a rest day.
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Strength - Split Jerks from the rack (5-5-5-3-3-1-1):

  • 5 x 135lbs
  • 5 x 155lbs
  • 5 x 165lbs
  • 3 x 185lbs
  • 3 x 205lbs
  • 1 x 225lbs
  • 1 x 245lbs

I have never done the jerks from the rack like this so it was fun.  I just wish we had more time during class to have worked on these because I wanted to keep going.  The last one, while heavy, did not feel close to my max.

WOD:
As you can see in the photo, not a lot of foot action.  I was not going to run so that I would not push my feet but was worried a bit about the swings and wall balls.  I am good as long as there is not too much stress and movement on my feet and want to keep it that way until they don’t hurt at all.  I figured if I was doing the movements correctly, my feet would be planted and not moving so it was good in that sense as it made me focus on my form.  Did all of the wall balls unbroken and then split up the KBs, situps, and DB snatches.  I felt gassed through the end and during the last row my arms were on fire.  Time was 16:50.

I am battling a head cold and it has sucked the life from me this morning.  It was hard to get going.  On top of that we are making some changes in our diet which required grocery shopping and making of the meals last night, meaning I was up later than normal.  Going to bed as early as I can tonight and taking tomorrow as a rest day.

Yea.  Nasty.  The original WOD was 150 for time with 100m run every time you have to stop/rest but that was changed on the fly due to time constraints this morning.  I think the hand-release push-ups helped me get through as I paced myself pretty good.  Time was 11:22. My highlight for the day was the shoulder work.  I worked on strict press and push press working up to 3x185 on the push press.  I felt pretty good with the weight and had we worked to a 1RM I feel confident that I would be 200+.  Getting seriously close to all of my lifts being body weight plus.
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Yea.  Nasty.  The original WOD was 150 for time with 100m run every time you have to stop/rest but that was changed on the fly due to time constraints this morning.  I think the hand-release push-ups helped me get through as I paced myself pretty good.  Time was 11:22.

My highlight for the day was the shoulder work.  I worked on strict press and push press working up to 3x185 on the push press.  I felt pretty good with the weight and had we worked to a 1RM I feel confident that I would be 200+.  Getting seriously close to all of my lifts being body weight plus.

Our box has cranked the intensity up a notch lately, specifically with the warm-ups.  This morning was no exception.  We had 1 minute of all out effort at 3 stations: row (for calories), thrusters (45lbs), and hand release push-ups.  Great warm-up! The WOD called for box-jumps, which is where we could catch our breath, and 2 reps of heavy cleans.  I figured heavy for me would be around 175 lbs as my last 1RM was 190.  A buddy of mine (I call him Textbook because not only is he super strong but has flawless form) setup his bar a little heavier than me and I had to try it.  195.  I was pretty stoked because that was a PR for me.  A minute later he upped the weight and told me to try it. “Come over here and get a second PR.”  200! Finally was able to nail that.  According to Textbook I lifted 200 easier than 195.  Either way, I couldn’t have been happier.  Only catch was that meant my weight for the workout needed to be a little higher. WOD - 5RFT: 20 box jumps (24”) 2 power cleans (185lbs) Pretty challenging workout.  Seems so simple, with just the 2 exercises, but with the heavy weight it made it challenging.  We don’t get to do a lot of workouts where we are working with weight that close to our 1RM so this was pretty cool.  The power clean has been a tough movement for me to progress up in weight for some reason.  Working with 185lbs was a huge accomplishment for me.  Finished in 12:00.
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Our box has cranked the intensity up a notch lately, specifically with the warm-ups.  This morning was no exception.  We had 1 minute of all out effort at 3 stations: row (for calories), thrusters (45lbs), and hand release push-ups.  Great warm-up!

The WOD called for box-jumps, which is where we could catch our breath, and 2 reps of heavy cleans.  I figured heavy for me would be around 175 lbs as my last 1RM was 190.  A buddy of mine (I call him Textbook because not only is he super strong but has flawless form) setup his bar a little heavier than me and I had to try it.  195.  I was pretty stoked because that was a PR for me.  A minute later he upped the weight and told me to try it. “Come over here and get a second PR.” 

200!

Finally was able to nail that.  According to Textbook I lifted 200 easier than 195.  Either way, I couldn’t have been happier.  Only catch was that meant my weight for the workout needed to be a little higher.

WOD - 5RFT:

  • 20 box jumps (24”)
  • 2 power cleans (185lbs)

Pretty challenging workout.  Seems so simple, with just the 2 exercises, but with the heavy weight it made it challenging.  We don’t get to do a lot of workouts where we are working with weight that close to our 1RM so this was pretty cool.  The power clean has been a tough movement for me to progress up in weight for some reason.  Working with 185lbs was a huge accomplishment for me.  Finished in 12:00.

Things you aren’t too thrilled to see on the whiteboard after a week off from CrossFit: Filthy Fifty. I knew it would suck.  It sucked.  K2E was a major slowing point for me and I had to break them into sets of 5.  Wall balls, something I don’t normally have trouble with, really winded me.  And burpees, well, not all of us like them as much as others.  Time was 33:46.  I felt like I was moving in slow motion this morning and was just happy to get through it.  This was the first time I have ever done this WOD and will be anxious to give it another shot in the future when I am more in rhythm.
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Things you aren’t too thrilled to see on the whiteboard after a week off from CrossFit: Filthy Fifty.

I knew it would suck.  It sucked.  K2E was a major slowing point for me and I had to break them into sets of 5.  Wall balls, something I don’t normally have trouble with, really winded me.  And burpees, well, not all of us like them as much as others.  Time was 33:46.  I felt like I was moving in slow motion this morning and was just happy to get through it.  This was the first time I have ever done this WOD and will be anxious to give it another shot in the future when I am more in rhythm.

Getting better, even if it is just a little bit at a time. Strength: 7x3 - Overhead Squats 75 x 3 75 x 3 95 x 3 95 x 3 115 x 3 125 x 3 145 x 3 The last time we maxed on these I was around the 155 mark, if I recall.  Today I worked on form and with some coaching, think that I finally got my shoulders positioned correctly, which completely alleviated any and all worries about keeping the weight locked out overhead.  All I had to do was worry about sinking the squat low enough.  Nailed 3 reps at 145lbs without struggling.  Feeling much more confident about this movement now than I ever have before. WOD - 7RFT 10 pull-ups 10 medicine ball cleans (20lbs) You know, I freaking hate pull-ups.  No, seriously, I despise them.  I suck at them.  And I literally hate any WOD that has pull-ups.  Which means I need to love every WOD that has pull-ups.  I need to want these things and in volume.  I absolutely cannot improve without conquering them.  And the only way to conquer them, is to do them. That being said, in the later rounds I broke them up into sets of 5.  I felt like it was one of those mornings where I stood around catching my breath for too long.  I want to try and change that and start to count to 5 every time I need rest and then get back to work so that I am not resting too long. Time was 12:32 @ RX. Post-WOD: 150 abmat situps. PS - I was going to give Ben a hard time about rowing instead of hitting the WOD but he made up some sick and twisted form of punishment on his own, rowing 10K and then doing situps.  Twisted.
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Getting better, even if it is just a little bit at a time.

Strength: 7x3 - Overhead Squats

  • 75 x 3
  • 75 x 3
  • 95 x 3
  • 95 x 3
  • 115 x 3
  • 125 x 3
  • 145 x 3

The last time we maxed on these I was around the 155 mark, if I recall.  Today I worked on form and with some coaching, think that I finally got my shoulders positioned correctly, which completely alleviated any and all worries about keeping the weight locked out overhead.  All I had to do was worry about sinking the squat low enough.  Nailed 3 reps at 145lbs without struggling.  Feeling much more confident about this movement now than I ever have before.

WOD - 7RFT

  • 10 pull-ups
  • 10 medicine ball cleans (20lbs)

You know, I freaking hate pull-ups.  No, seriously, I despise them.  I suck at them.  And I literally hate any WOD that has pull-ups.  Which means I need to love every WOD that has pull-ups.  I need to want these things and in volume.  I absolutely cannot improve without conquering them.  And the only way to conquer them, is to do them.

That being said, in the later rounds I broke them up into sets of 5.  I felt like it was one of those mornings where I stood around catching my breath for too long.  I want to try and change that and start to count to 5 every time I need rest and then get back to work so that I am not resting too long.

Time was 12:32 @ RX. Post-WOD: 150 abmat situps.

PS - I was going to give Ben a hard time about rowing instead of hitting the WOD but he made up some sick and twisted form of punishment on his own, rowing 10K and then doing situps.  Twisted.

Reason #4586 why I love our gym: They see a problem and fix it. This morning I was a little shocked to see snatches as the strength before the WOD.  A lot of us did the snatches during the 12.2 workout.  But what the trainers realized was that overall, most of us were unprepared for the heavier weights.  As the trainer put it this morning “That is on us”.  Great news, because now they are going to start working in some heavy stuff.  And I love that.  We were told to go 8 x 1 until we failed and then stop there. Strength - Snatches: 75 x 4: Warmup 95 x 1 115 x 1 135 x 1 145 x 1 155 Fail WOD - 5RFT: 5 deadlifts @ 95lbs 5 hang cleans @ 95lbs 5 push presses @ 95lbs 5 front squats @ 95lbs The WOD looked interesting, mainly because of how the positioning of the weights would transition from one exercise to the next.  My goal was to go unbroken through each round and never drop the bar until the end of the round, rest a few seconds, then get back on it.  I managed to do that and felt great through the entire round.  My weakest area was the push press.  My shoulders just need the work. Time was 5:36 @ RX.
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Reason #4586 why I love our gym: They see a problem and fix it.

This morning I was a little shocked to see snatches as the strength before the WOD.  A lot of us did the snatches during the 12.2 workout.  But what the trainers realized was that overall, most of us were unprepared for the heavier weights.  As the trainer put it this morning “That is on us”.  Great news, because now they are going to start working in some heavy stuff.  And I love that.  We were told to go 8 x 1 until we failed and then stop there.

Strength - Snatches:

  • 75 x 4: Warmup
  • 95 x 1
  • 115 x 1
  • 135 x 1
  • 145 x 1
  • 155 Fail

WOD - 5RFT:

  • 5 deadlifts @ 95lbs
  • 5 hang cleans @ 95lbs
  • 5 push presses @ 95lbs
  • 5 front squats @ 95lbs

The WOD looked interesting, mainly because of how the positioning of the weights would transition from one exercise to the next.  My goal was to go unbroken through each round and never drop the bar until the end of the round, rest a few seconds, then get back on it.  I managed to do that and felt great through the entire round.  My weakest area was the push press.  My shoulders just need the work.

Time was 5:36 @ RX.

Deads! For the first time in a month, I woke up today with nothing hurting.  I have not wanted to blog about it, but I have been fighting a really sore right foot.  Then shredded hands.  Then lower back pain so bad I couldn’t bend over to get my shoes.  Then most recently, left foot pain requiring a brace.  So it felt great to get up and actually move somewhat like normal.  That said, everything still felt heavy this morning and I was moving slow. Strength - Power Cleans: 3 x 115lbs 3 x 135lbs 3 x 155lbs 2 x 175lbs WOD - 4RFT: 16 deadlifts @ 185lbs 32 abmat situps. As I said, I felt slow.  I broke the deadlifts up to 8 at a time and that seemed to work good for me.  Situps were great the first 2 rounds but slower the second two, most likely from the hour of core work at the Globo gym yesterday morning. Time was 9:37.
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Deads!

For the first time in a month, I woke up today with nothing hurting.  I have not wanted to blog about it, but I have been fighting a really sore right foot.  Then shredded hands.  Then lower back pain so bad I couldn’t bend over to get my shoes.  Then most recently, left foot pain requiring a brace.  So it felt great to get up and actually move somewhat like normal.  That said, everything still felt heavy this morning and I was moving slow.

Strength - Power Cleans:

  • 3 x 115lbs
  • 3 x 135lbs
  • 3 x 155lbs
  • 2 x 175lbs

WOD - 4RFT:

  • 16 deadlifts @ 185lbs
  • 32 abmat situps.

As I said, I felt slow.  I broke the deadlifts up to 8 at a time and that seemed to work good for me.  Situps were great the first 2 rounds but slower the second two, most likely from the hour of core work at the Globo gym yesterday morning.

Time was 9:37.

Welcome to the Games

I am sure some folks looked at my registration in the CrossFit Games and laughed, writing it off as “why is that guy doing it?”  And part of me felt that way at first, too. 

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CrossFit Games WOD 12.1: 7 minute AMRAP: Burpees I knew this would suck going into it.  I am slow at burpees and carry around a little more weight than a lot of the other guys.  I had heard strategy after strategy on what to do and how to approach this.  In the back of my mind, I wanted 70 burpees, which would be a pace of 10 per minute.  Around 20 I stopped counting.  We had the full attention of our trainers and they were tracking reps, so I just focused on breathing and moving. I haven’t mentioned it here too much, but I have been having sharp pains in my right ankle.  My hands were shredded from last week and for some reason my lower back has been hurting so badly that on Wednesday morning I couldn’t bend over to get my shoes.  So I took the previous 2 days off.  Total rest.  I stretched and made sure I was eating right.  While this morning sucked and my legs started to burn half way through, mentally I felt great.  I was happy to be doing something that I could not do a year ago.  While my score is nowhere near the top of the leaderboard, I am proud of it.  It represents an accomplishment for me, further proof of this new life I am living. Welcome to the Games.
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CrossFit Games WOD 12.1: 7 minute AMRAP: Burpees

I knew this would suck going into it.  I am slow at burpees and carry around a little more weight than a lot of the other guys.  I had heard strategy after strategy on what to do and how to approach this.  In the back of my mind, I wanted 70 burpees, which would be a pace of 10 per minute.  Around 20 I stopped counting.  We had the full attention of our trainers and they were tracking reps, so I just focused on breathing and moving.

I haven’t mentioned it here too much, but I have been having sharp pains in my right ankle.  My hands were shredded from last week and for some reason my lower back has been hurting so badly that on Wednesday morning I couldn’t bend over to get my shoes.  So I took the previous 2 days off.  Total rest.  I stretched and made sure I was eating right.  While this morning sucked and my legs started to burn half way through, mentally I felt great.  I was happy to be doing something that I could not do a year ago.  While my score is nowhere near the top of the leaderboard, I am proud of it.  It represents an accomplishment for me, further proof of this new life I am living.

Welcome to the Games.

Pre-WOD Strength - Front Squats: 3 x 95lbs 3 x 115lbs 3 x 185lbs 3 x 205lbs 3 x 205lbs 3 x 225lbs New PR for me on front squats with 225, and 3 reps nonetheless!  Best part was that my form was great, better actually than the first few at much lighter weights.  A friend helped me with hand positioning and I placed a wall ball under me to make sure I was sinking low enough.  So those 3 reps at 225 lbs were on point. WOD - 3RFT 15 Power cleans @ 95lbs 15 Burpees Beast for the WOD was 135lb power cleans and bar-facing burpees.  I could handle 135 cleans, but I went back to last week where our box owner wanted us to focus on form and intensity.  Mentally and physically this was an accomplishment for me.  I had found a workout where I could have gone above RX but opted not to.  I figured with the lighter weight I should have been moving faster, so that was my goal. Felt good to be moving like this again.  My lower back has been hurting, hands shredded, right ankle with a sharp pain, so to get back into the swing of things felt great. 7:51 @ RX.
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Pre-WOD Strength - Front Squats:

  • 3 x 95lbs
  • 3 x 115lbs
  • 3 x 185lbs
  • 3 x 205lbs
  • 3 x 205lbs
  • 3 x 225lbs

New PR for me on front squats with 225, and 3 reps nonetheless!  Best part was that my form was great, better actually than the first few at much lighter weights.  A friend helped me with hand positioning and I placed a wall ball under me to make sure I was sinking low enough.  So those 3 reps at 225 lbs were on point.

WOD - 3RFT

  • 15 Power cleans @ 95lbs
  • 15 Burpees

Beast for the WOD was 135lb power cleans and bar-facing burpees.  I could handle 135 cleans, but I went back to last week where our box owner wanted us to focus on form and intensity.  Mentally and physically this was an accomplishment for me.  I had found a workout where I could have gone above RX but opted not to.  I figured with the lighter weight I should have been moving faster, so that was my goal.

Felt good to be moving like this again.  My lower back has been hurting, hands shredded, right ankle with a sharp pain, so to get back into the swing of things felt great.

7:51 @ RX.