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CFCP Total Finals

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The finals for the CFCP total challenge were today. I have to say that I was really apprehensive about it as I didn’t get 6 full weeks of working out in due to travel. Also, I haven’t really been working these lifts. On top of that, I slept horribly last night.

Anyway, I decided that I would just give it my best and do whatever I could do.

We started with back squats, my least favorite of the three lifts. I started with 335# which was where I ended last time. No problem. Then, I went up to 345#. Again no problem. For my last set, I was going for 355#. I grabbed the bar, racked it, stepped back, got down, the as I started pushing back up, I heard a very loud POP in my lower back.

Ouch.

Josh helped me dump the weight and I immediately laid down. Robin came over pretty quickly and had me do a few stretches, press ups, etc.

It didn’t feel horrible, but I was pretty sure I was done for the day. I could probably have done the strict presses, but there’s no way I was dead lifting 445# in that condition. I would have just injured myself further.

The worst part of this all is that my mother and grandmother came to watch this. In being a member of this gym and doing this stuff for about a year and a half, I have rarely injured myself. The worst that’s really happened to me thus far has been muscle soreness.

Oh well. It’s a sport, after all and sports will have injuries from time to time. I guess we will just need to see how long this one takes to get better. Right now, it’s iced.

I was really disappointed that I had to leave. I am really proud of the rest of
my friends that went on, finished, and showed incredible progress over the course of the 6 week challenge. You guys rock and inspire me.

Rest Day

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I am taking a day off as we have the finals for the CrossFit Total challenge tomorrow. I will talk more about that later, but for now, here’s what we did last night:

3x

  • 20 push press
  • 400m run

Time: 9:23

I had Chris on my ass the entire time during this WOD (congrats on your first Rx, buddy!), so it was really good incentive to push through when I really just wanted to chill out for a few seconds. I’m going to do the good, bad, overall thing for this one b/c it was short and sweet. I knocked out as many push presses as I could at a time (first round unbroken, 2nd and 3rd broke at 10). I pushed on the runs to stay ahead.

After these past 3 days, I am pretty sore. I am already setting myself up mentally to not do so well tomorrow on my total. “I’m sore”, “I’m tired”, etc… suck it up.

Last time, it was 945# (445# DL, 335# back squat, 165# press). I will hopefully go up a bit on each. The other part that is making me nervous is that in 6 weeks, I have had to travel quite a bit and I haven’t really worked any of these movements in that time. I guess it will be an interesting experiment to see if any of the other training has made these numbers go up.

Diane

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I had mixed feelings when I walked into the box last night and saw this one. Dead lifts? Yay! Hand stand push ups? No!

Before all that though, we did a bunch of stuff which goes to show you that “our warm up is your workout”.

Warm up:

  • Jog 400m
  • Lunge Stretch
  • Lunge Cross
  • 10 burpees
  • 3x {6 power cleans, 10 GHD sit ups, 10 GHD back extensions}
  • 10 burpees

Skill:

“Death By Double Unders” – 10 – 20 – 30 – 40 – 50 unbroken. I PR’d again on these and did 20 consecutive. I never did make it to 30 though…

 

WOD:

21 – 15 – 9

  • Dead lift (225#)
  • HSPU (Green + Blue Bands)

Time: 9:24

There’s not really much to write about this one. The dead lifts were OK. I took breaks as needed and watched my form closely. The HSPU were interesting as it was the first time I had done them on the bands. I almost fell forward a few times, but eventually got used to catching the band with my feet.

More WODs

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Saturday 10/9/2010

I really didn’t think I’d make it to open gym as I had gotten in really late from Nashville on Friday night. Luckily, my beautiful wife stirred me from my slumber and I was able to muddle through the workout that Nikki planned for us, which was:

  • 5x – Weighted, whatever you want to carry; Run to Krispy Kreme, do 13 squats, run back.

I chose the weighted vest. I was just going to use the vest, then caught crap from the class. I then picked up a 10# medicine ball and used that too.

There was no timing for this WOD, but Nikki gave me an “A”. It was a good workout.

 

Tuesday 10/12/2010

Starting my week of unlimited WODs, I started out with this little number in Fio’s class.

4x

  • 35 Double-unders
  • 25 Push ups
  • 15 Pull ups

I got this one done in 18:52.

The good.

The double-unders (??). My first and last rounds were rockin’. I am finally starting to get these stupid things. People have been telling me over and over that I am jumping too fast but I never really got it. I think last night, I just got tired and started jumping slower. Just like that, I PR’d with 18 in a row.

The push ups and pull ups were fine. I worked through them as needed. My only frustration was that I couldn’t find a comfortable spot on the bar to do my pull ups.

The bad.

The double-unders (!!). My second and third rounds outright sucked. I was getting one and two at a time because I was getting frustrated and watching Trevor smoke me. Damn you, Trevor!! =) Just kidding.

Overall.

As you will probably notice, I have been dialing back a little bit on the WODs. I am trying to focus more on consistent sustained movement and not so much stressing my body out all crazylike. After reading the “Cortisol” chapter of Robb Wolf’s book, I am wondering if this level of intensity is what I specifically need for my “situation” read: fat & need to lean out.

I have started writing in my food log again. I want one of the CFCP coaches to take a look at it sometime soon after I accumulate more days in there. I have to say, that I really haven’t been eating AS much as I used to. I think over the past 6-8 months, I have been falling into that “hoover” mentality and eating tons of stuff. I have found recently, that if I really pay attention, most of the time, I’m not hungry anymore about 3/4 of the way through, so I’ve been stopping. Hopefully, with working out, creating a bit of a caloric deficit, sleeping better, and being not so stressed out, some of this weight will start to go away.

Additionally, I have have dropped my carbohydrate intake for the day. For a while, I was focusing on staying in the 50g/day range, which is what people like Mark Sission recommend for sustained fat loss, and not seeing any results, I decided to drop it down to about 20g. I find that, to stay in this range, I need to eat a lot more green vegetables (instead of tomato saucy type things which have WAY more carbohydrate than I had previously realized). Also, I have been focusing more on eating leaner cuts of meat rather than bacon every morning.

Out of sheer curiosity, I went to Walgreen’s and purchased some ketone test strips. I know that these aren’t the most accurate things in the world, but I was curious to see if I was producing ketones (Ketones are the water soluble part of fat molecules. After your body cleaves the fat molecule up, you are left with different pieces, ketones being one of them. Lots of tissues in the body can run on ketones as fuel instead of glucose i.e. sugar). If I understand Robb and others correctly, if you are in ketosis, it’s a pretty good indicator that your body has used up whatever sugar stores you had and is now operating/running on fat. This is a good thing for losing fat and leaning out.

Last week, when I was in Nashville, I checked and there weren’t many. I was pretty surprised to see a really low ketone count. I mean, I am keeping my carbs around 50g/day, what gives?! Apparently, I was not being careful enough. Since paying WAY more attention to how much I am taking in, the test strips indicate a much higher ketone count. I am hoping that keeping my carbs relatively low like this will help. Basically, I am eating tons of veggies and a good amount, but not as much as previously, meat. NOM.

I have been trying really hard to control my stress and get better sleep. I think I am doing OK on both… as best as I can be doing, anyway, given my current situation.

3 x 800 = 1.5m

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Last night, I hit up CrossFit Music City again for my last WOD there. I brought along a guy that I have been talking about CrossFit to in the office here. They put him through a short 3-rounder and he loved it! Another convert… my work is done here.

As for our WOD, all we had to do was 3x 800m run with 2 minutes in between for rest. My times were as follows:

  1. 4:17
  2. 4:28
  3. 4:30

Not too bad, I think. In total, that’s 1.5 miles in 17:15. I tried to push my pace when I could, but there were definitely times where I needed to back off and not overload myself to the point where I would have to walk.

After the WOD, I headed over to Ted’s Montana Grill and got a delicious buffalo rib eye with some broccoli, asparagus, mushrooms, and onions. Absolutely delicious.

Thanks again to CrossFit Music City for letting me get some WODs in this week. As with most CrossFit boxes, everyone was super nice, welcoming, and supportive. If you are ever in the Nashville area, make sure you go check them out and get a WOD on. Ask for Mario.

Just keep moving…

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I am here in Nashville again this week. I resolved that I would hit up CF Music City 2x this week sot that I can get my WODs in. I really didn’t feel like going tonight, but I felt better once I got to the gym and started moving.

People are really nice there and tonight, I finally got to meet Mario, the owner who was also a really nice guy. The WOD was:

5x (22 minute cap)

  • 7 thrusters (115#)
  • 7 burpees
  • 7 GHD sit ups
  • 1 suicide*

My time was 15:11.

The good.

I kept moving. I didn’t have any intention of breathing fire on this WOD. I kept a relatively consistent pace and did 4 of the 5 sets of thrusters unbroken.

The bad.

My “sprints” weren’t really SPRINTS. They were more like speed-walking.

Overall.

I had no intention of breathing fire during this WOD. All I wanted to do was keep moving, and that’s what I did. I finished well before the cut off and actually had one of the better times of the people that were in class.

*Place 4 cones down the length of the gym. Sprint to the first, then back to the starting line, then the second, etc.

Open Gym

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I have been exhausted lately. Just really fucking tapped out. I few months before I got married, I felt this same way. Tired, exhausted, dragging. Well, I have been super stressed and that feeling of tired death feels like it’s hung around my neck with every workout. A little dramatic? Maybe, but just trying to get the point across.

Jody had what I thought was going to be a fun (aren’t they all before you start doing them?) WOD today. She called it “Tag Team Running Cindy”. You team up with someone and while one member is running a 400m, the other does as many rounds of “Cindy” as possible. She said to make it harder, you could run with a plate, to which I replied “I have to carry my fat ass 400m… I don’t need a plate thankyouvermuch”.

Anyway, I teamed up with Sonny and we got to work. All in all, we finished 17 rounds + 2 pull ups. Not great, not horrible. I did the best that I could given my current situation.

I have been feeling lots of “I used to”‘s lately which I will probably go into in an entirely different post, but today, I guess what’s important is that I went, I did something, and I didn’t quit even though I really wanted to.

Jody followed that WOD up with 5 minutes of fun to which I scored 102. That sucked.

Kelley… again.

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Dam you, Fio. Damn you.

Today’s WOD was, yes, Kelley. Good lord. I did this WOD a few weeks ago in Nashville at CrossFit Music City and it just blew.

Warm up

4x

  • 20s hand stand hold
  • 12 GHD sit ups
  • 12 GHD back extensions
  • 3x push press at 75-80% 1RM (135#)

Skill – Snatch balance – Did this with PVC, 45#, 65#, then 95#.

WOD – Kelley

5x (yes, 5x)

  • 400m run
  • 30 wall ball (20#)
  • 30 box jumps (I stepped, 22″ box)

Time: 35:26.

The good.

Well, I came in 20s quicker than last time and I used a taller box. I guess that’s good. The first part of most of my 400s were really good as they are down hill. The return, not so much.

The bad.

I took less walk breaks than last time, but I still had lots of times where I just had no air and really wanted to quit.

Overall.

I had much better sustained energy than I did last time. It was still killer, but I felt overall better than last time. Maybe it was just the type of day that I had last time. I don’t know. Either way, it was 35 minutes of suck, but a great workout nonetheless.

FGB 5 and others…

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Friday 9/24/2010 – CFCP

I was expecting heavy metal night, but was somewhat relieved when I walked in and didn’t have to lift a barbell. I was really tired and felt, as I have been more often, completely drained on a Friday night. The WOD that we had to do was everyone’s favorite; “100 burpees for time”.

My time for this was 8:07.

The good.

I felt pretty good for the first 40 – 50 burpees. After that, it was more of a mental struggle.

The bad.

Last time I did this WOD, I did them all strict and I came in at just under 10 minutes. I didn’t do them strict this time.

Overall.

I skinned my knees pretty badly dropping on the ground, but other than that it was 8 minutes of suck.

 

Saturday 9/25/2010 – Plucker’s Parking Lot

Unlike many of my friends, I was not dreading FGB. Lots of my friends get nervous about this stuff, but really, in the end, it’s just working out and boy, did I get a good one. So, if you don’t know, the WOD was “Fight Gone Bad”, which is:

Spend one minute at each station doing as much work as possible followed by one minute of rest. Repeat 3 times:

  • Wall ball (20#)
  • SDHP (75#)
  • Box Jumps (24″)
  • Push Press (75#)
  • Row

Your score is your total number of reps plus the amount of calories burned on the rower.

My score this time around was 216. Not awful, but not great.

The good.

My first round was pretty good. In fact, so good that I think I tired myself out.

The bad.

I took a lot of breaks. When you only have a minute at each station to get reps, you can’t really break a lot. Due to the heat and just being really exhausted, I took lots of breaks.

Overall. 

I think I did OK overall. Not great, not horrible. My last score on FGB was 218, but also, I started on the rower and knocked out 23 calories to start. This time was different.

 

Monday 9/27/2010 – 609 Box

I won a month of unlimited classes through a random drawing at FGB so, I started taking advantage of it immediately. Yesterday, Fio kicked our ass with the following:

 

Warm up

Death by Double Under

10 – 20 – 30 – 40 – 50 unbroken

This didn’t really go well for me. I got through 10, but never got to 20, although I tried quite a bit. I think the most unbroken I got was 13. I tried to do the single, double, single, double thing but couldn’t get the timing down.

 

Skill

4x (not for time)

  • 10 GHD Sit ups
  • 10 GHD Back extensions
  • 4 ring dips (2 sets with a kettle bell necklace)
  • 5-10 kip swings (last set on rings)

 

WOD

3x

  • 15 KB swings (1.5 pood)
  • 20 OHS (95#)
  • 25 push ups

Time 15:55.

The good.

I started off strong. The KB swings were good and my OHS were good in the first 2 rounds.

The bad.

The push ups KILLED. As I can barely touch my head at this point from muscle soreness, the push ups were NOT fun. On the third round, I was having some real problems keeping my stability on the over head squats. I think I must have snatched that barbell up 7 or so times to get through 20 reps.

Overall.

Tired and sore. That about sums it up. Obviously, my time would have been better had I not failed on so many OHS reps. Again, being that I can’t straighten my arms, it was really freakin’ difficult to hold that bar up there.

Kelley

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Wow, this WOD sucks.

I am here in Nashville (again), so I decided to drop in at CrossFit Music City. Boy, did they have a nice welcome gift for me…

“Kelley”

5 rounds

  • 400m run
  • 30 box jumps (18″, I think)
  • 30 wall balls (20# medicine ball)

My time was 35:45.

The good.

I kept moving. I took breaks here and there, but I kept moving the entire time. Whether I was walking or stepping up, I tried my best to keep moving.

The bad.

I took lots of walk breaks after the first 2 rounds. After finishing 30 wall balls, I could barely catch my breath to start running again.

Overall.

The WODs with 5 rounds are always mentally challenging for me. When you are exhausted after the first round, the rest of the WOD just seems insurmountable at times. I am proud that I finished this one and didn’t give up in the 2nd round like I really wanted to.

I was completely wiped out after the WOD.

After talking to some of the people there and paying my drop in fee, I sped over to Whole Foods and got a delicious post WOD meal. I should have taken a picture of it because it was beautiful, but it was about 1/2 of a sweet potato along with a plate filled 2/3 with meat (1/2 taco beef and 1/2 taco chicken), and 1/3 sautéed peppers and onions.

Thanks CrossFit Music City! Your people are really nice and I am looking forward to coming back next week.