Family Thanks

It's been a week to the day now that I've blogged even though I've been at CF610 Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of last week. All were challenging workouts but still fun indeed.

It's no question that you can't CF without family. Not direct family members but just friends that are family. I have family in Cincinnati, with Northwestern Mutual, my real family and also my CrossFit 610 family. Without their constant support and encouragement, especially through today's WOD, I couldn't have made it. Thanks to Adam for running the last 800M with me, thanks to Karen and Evan for pushing me through WallBalls, thanks to Dennis, Justin, Jax, Heather, Courtney and everyone else for pushing me through the Box Jumps. Without the encouragement and support I got, it wouldn't have been a successful day.

This was by far a WOD that could have been cherrypPicked by people. Cherry picked meaning "oh let me check out what Saturday's WOD is...oh there's no way I'm going to that!!". Big ups to all that showed up today and brought their all.

WOD "KELLY"

5 ROUNDS

30 BOX JUMPS (24 for first 2 rounds...20 for last 3 rounds)

30 WALL BALL (20)

400M RUN

Completed in 50:33 (I think...results not posted yet).

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. See you readers next Tuesday!

12 DAYS OF CF610 CHRISTMAS...

Just like the damn song...

1 Christmas Power Snatch (95 lbs)
2 Ring dips (jumping)
3 Burpees
4 Pull-ups (jumping)
5 Toes-2-Bar (on ground)
6 Push-ups
7 Air-Squats
8 Jumping Lunges (each jump = 1)
9 Box Jumps (20")
10 Wall-Balls (20)
11 KBS (24KG)
12 Thrusters (95 lbs)
WOD completed in 38:35. It was fun to watch the competitors complete the WOD after us. Mike did an astonishing 11:51...sub 12:00 just like he said. Job well done for all who were there!

LONG LONG TIME AGO...

Sorry all...it's been way to long (almost a month) since I last blogged about the struggles, good times, intense workouts and sweat angels all at CF610. Figured I was so frustrated throughout today's workout that it would be good to indulge you all on the crazyness tonight. I feel myself getting stronger and the clothes are fitting better...need to start writing things down so that I have benchmarks of where I'm at and where I want to go.

STRENGTH

15 MINUTES TO FIND 1 REP MAX SNATCH BALANCE (125 lbs - was impressed with the flexibility in my hips but still need work on my shoulders)

 

WOD

50-40-30-20-10

SINGLE ARM OVERHEAD KB SQUAT (24KG/16KG)

    *1/2 WITH RIGHT-1/2 WITH LEFT*
EXAMPLE: 25 LEFT/25 RIGHT...20 LEFT/20 RIGHT...15 LEFT/15 RIGHT

DOUBLE UNDERS

 

Completed in a whopping 33 minutes. Started at 24kg and then my left arm killed me as I frequently lost balance and couldn't withstand it. Hence the frustration starting very early in the workout. Dropped to 20kg, frustrated again and finally ended with 16kg. Still in "singles" mode (both in CF610 and with the ladies...go ahead and LOL) so my singles were 100 - 80 - 60 - 40 - 20.

 

I had that feeling in my chest that I was tensing up and getting short of breath due to the frustration. Deep breaths led to me calming down (if that's even possible during a WOD). Even told Evan I was close to stopping and I was glad to hear that he wouldn't have let me. Thanks agin to Adam and Evan for the continuous support throughout the WOD.

I'll leave you with this for all of you out there that still ask yourself "What the Hell is that CrossFit stuff?".

Eat meat and vegtables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar.  Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat.  Practice and train all major lifts:  Deadlift, clean, squat, presses, C&J and snatch.  Similarly master the basics of gymnastics:  Pull ups, dips, rope climb, push-ups, sit-ups, presses to handstand, pirouettes, flips, splits, and holds.  Bike, run, swim, row, ect, hard and fast.  Five to Six days per week mix these elements in as many combinations and patterns as creativity will allow.  Routine is the enemy.  Keep workouts short and intense.  Regularly learn and play new sports.

-Greg Glassman-

MORE MENTAL THAN PHYSICAL

How come every time I look at the WOD and see something that looks semi easy (is there ever an easy WOD) it is crazy intense? Yesterday was exactly that. I struggled through the entire workout but Evan was there coaching me on and the support of the 7 pm group helped as well. He said at the end to me that if I come in and give it my all, try new things, push myself, that by doing those things, it's the only way to get better. The WOD that took some people 5 minutes to do yesterday, took me 17...but damn it I did it. The movements may seem easier than others that we do at 610 but for a 370 lb man (ashamed of it yes, but working on it none the less) all 4 movements put together in a speed challenge was the hardest thing about it.

WOD:

2 ROUNDS

20 WALL BALLS (20)
20 KNEES TO ELBOW-ON RINGS
20 BOX JUMPS (24 for first 10 / 18 for the last 30)
20 HAND RELEASE PUSH UPS

CASH OUT: 5 MINUTES TO FIND MAX SINGLES

Completed the 2 Rounds in 17:00. Max Singles after the WOD was 59.

Still a grind working on the doubles, I think I got one during a warmup but didn't continue jumping after it so it wasn't complete.

10/20/11 Brutalness Yet Still Success

It seemed like a 2 a day WOD. I'm not the runner but sure enough when we kicked it off with 10 100 M sprints, I sucked it up and let it go.

PRE WOD

10 MINUTES OF 100M SPRINTS

-ONE ON THE MINUTE, EVERY MINUTE

WOD

5 ROUNDS

7 SQUAT CLEANS (155/105)

14 KETTLEBELL SWINGS (24KG/16KG)

 

Completed all 5 rounds in 20:41 with Squat Cleaning 95 lbs and using 20kg for the KB Swings

 

It's key in life, working out, work, relationships, whatever it may be to focus on the positives. We as humans focus on the negatives too often. The media concentrates on them and it seems like it's always the easiest thing to bring up in discussion and talk about. No! Focus on the positives! Ask yourself "WHAT WENT WELL TODAY?" and I can assure you that there will be more smiles and laughs then frowns and groans.

 

"When you say, "I can't" and expect the worst, you become weak and unhappy.When you say "I can", and expect success, you fill yourself with confidence and happiness." - Unknown Genius

HE'S BAAAACK!!

Went to Wednesday's CF610 7:00 pm class none other to see above. BOOM!!! Good to have him back for the rest of the week until Sunday morning. Best wishes as always to the little big fella.

I needed to get back to CF610 after an extended 4 days in Cincinnati for Homecoming over the weekend. Evan always says you get a cheat day because if you didn't you would literally go insane but how about a cheat weekend? Does that count?

WEDNESDAY WOD

AMRAP 30 MINUTES

10-1-10 SNATCHES (75/55)/19 DOUBLE UNDERS/8 RING DIPS/1 ROPE CLIMB

*1ST ROUND=10 SNATCHES, 2ND ROUND=9 SNATCHES, 3RD ROUND=8 SNATCHES...CONTINUE TO 1 AND THEN PROCEED BACK UP, DEPENDING ON HOW MANY ROUNDS YOU COMPLETE!

COMPLETED 8+27 IN THE ALLOTTED TIME.
-SNATCHED 65 LBS
-38 SINGLE ROPES TO THE 19 DOUBLES
-JUMPING RING DIPS
-5 JUMPING PULL UPS FOR THE 1 ROPE CLIMB

As for the quote to get you thinking...

Get in to CF610...think positively...have the right mental attitude of a successful workout and goals will be accomplished!

Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.
Thomas Jefferson

IT FELT LIKE A 3 WOD DAY

Since I left you all with a quote from Jobs yesterday which was very inspirational (at least I thought so), figured I'd start with another one today.

The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.
Paul Valery

I woke up about 2 months ago when I got back in the gym at CF610. I woke up to know that I could fulfill my dream to change myself physically. I knew that this was the way to go and where dreams could come true. Whether you dream to change the world, to make new friends or hell even to jump rope 120 times with out stopping (new PR!! - working on the Doubles soon), your dreams have to start with reality first and I found my reality 2 months ago.What do you feel like after a WOD...better yet what do you feel like after 3?!? The title says it all. Big ups to everyone working on their goats (what you suck at) and also that everyone got through the WOD yesterday.
Stretching and jump rope led to the strength warm up

SKILL

AMRAP 10 MINUTES

5 T2B ground

7 KB swings - 1.5 pood

5 Jumping Pull Ups

GOAT = SOMETHING YOU SUCK AT!

WOD

7 ROUNDS

6 HANG SQUAT CLEANS (155/95)

5 HSPU

4 MUSCLE UPS (8 GET OUT OF THE POOLS)

Completed WOD in 24:14 by doing 95 lb hang squat cleans and HSPU in the pike position on a 24 inch box.

**WHEN DONE WITH 7 ROUNDS GO WITH THE NEXT CLOSEST FINISHER TO YOU, AS PARTNERS YOU MUST COMPLETE 4/100M RUNS WITH 1:00 MINUTE BREAK BETWEEN EACH**

10.10.11

I've determined that anytime I ever have a somewhat bad day in my career, that I have to get to the box for a WOD. It's the only place that I can put everything on the line and let go of my frustrations my hard work and determination. Along with listing what I am grateful for, which CF610 is always on, a WOD at the end of the day is one of the other ways to put it all on the line.

WOD- AMRAP 12 MINUTES

12 TOES TO BAR (ground)
5 UP AND OVER BOX JUMPS (18)
200M SANDBAG CARRY

Completed 3 Full Rounds and 17 extra (the 12 toes to bar and 5 up and overs) in the alotted time.

I'll be ending blogs from now on (until I get re-motivated and amped up about my career and the positives that come from it)

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary." - The late Steve Jobs.

100 JUMP ROPES...GET OFF ME

I know...it's been 2 weeks now that I haven't blogged about my CF610 workouts. I still have been going though and it's been great! bumped it up to 4 times a week and waiting for my buddy to join so we can make it 5 times.

When I got serious with CrossFit back in the last week of August and early September I couldn't jump rope. I struggled with a lot of other exercises but jumprope was by far my worst. Well last night I hit the century mark. 100 god damn jump ropes. It was nuts!! I knew that Molly was watching out of the corner of her eye while carrying on a conversation but i just closed my eyes and kept counting my "sets" of 20's. 20 - done, 40 - done, 60 - done (let's pass my previous PR of 69), 80 - done (omg my calfs are feeling it) (keep the same tempo), 100 - DONE! and I dropped the rope with glee. The big 100 was achieved...now I need to get 25 doubles to get on the wall!

WOD:

WOD "PYRAMID TENS"

10 RING DIPS (jumping)

10 RING ROWS

20 AIR SQUATS

20 BOX JUMPS (18)

30 ANCHORED SITUPS

5-10-15-15-10-5M SUICIDES (sprints)

30 ANCHORED SIT UPS

20 BOX JUMPS (18)

20 AIR SQUATS

10 RING ROWS

10 RING DIPS (jumping)

 

WOD completed in 14:55.

EVENTFUL AND EMOTIONAL

What a week so far. Started with a great half day on Monday (19th) and then the New York "Football" Giants home opener which was Monday Night Football. Absolutely phenomenal kick off to the year with fun tailgating with Wayno as well as the highlights of the game.

Wednesday and Thursday morning blog WODs to come later today...just been swamped with some things at work. Once my buddy Boorse is back from his vacation next week, he's hopefully signing up for Elements I, II, and III with Molly and then we'll get on a workout schedule closer to 4-5 times per day. I'll leave you all with a great quote that was on the whiteboard one day at CF610...something I have to wrap my head around...

"NO WORKOUT CAN OVERCOME A BAD DIET".

2 A DAY SUCCESS

WOW!! Yesterday was a hell of a 2 day...a successful one indeed. Morning WOD was posted earlier but when I talked about the workout yesterday at work, my colleague and good friend Brian Boorse was interested. I convinced him it was better than riding the bike or running on the treadmill. Indeed, I picked him up at 6:40 for our 7 pm open gym workout.

It was his first time there, astonished with how much could be accomplished in the 4 car box we're in. None the less it was a great experience...his exact quote "glad it wasn't full of guys screaming and showing off".

I wanted to work on a couple things last night (kettlebells, toe to bar, wall balls and box jumps). As always, started with dynamic stretching and jump ropes (didn't get my PR of 29). Molly put together an interesting WOD...almost like 2 mini WOD's.

PERSONALIZED WOD:

300 M ROW
AMRAP IN 6 MINUTES - 5 WALL BALLS (20 LBS) AND 3 BOX JUMPS
300 M ROW
AMRAP IN 6 MINUTES - 5 TOE TO BAR (ON GROUND) AND 3 RING DIPS
50 KETTLE BELL SWINGS (1 POOD - 16 KG) CASH OUT

My Results:

300 M ROW - 1:06
AMRAP IN 6 MINUTES - 5 WALL BALLS (20 lbs) AND 3 BOX JUMPS (18 inches) 6 rounds + 5 wall balls
300 M ROW - 1:12
AMRAP IN 6 MINUTES - 5 TOE TO BAR (on ground) AND 3 RING DIPS (jumping but getting maximum extension) 8 rounds...got a good workout too in going from ground to rings
50 KETTLE BELL SWINGS (1 pood - 16 kg) CASH OUT

I hope Boorse comes back and joins CF610.  I think that if he did, WE would make it more of a committment in going Monday through Thursday or even Monday through Friday depending on weekend plans.

Boom!!

6 AM YET AGAIN

Doing a double session of CF610 today as I did the WOD at the 6 am class and am bringing a friend and colleague of mine Brian Boorse to the 7 pm class tonight to introduce him to this new world of elite fitness.

DYNAMIC WARM UP/AFTER WOD MOBILITY - stretching

WOD

5 ROUNDS

10 DEADLIFTS

ELITE (225/165)

RX(185/135)

200M RUN

 

Completed the 5 rounds in 11:30. Dead lifted 155 lbs. The run was by far the toughest part for me today and probably is on most of the WOD's when it's included. It seems like running hates me and I hate running.

 

For tonight...probably will do one of two things. Either put together a workout with Molly or do a couple of things on my own. I'm thinking to work on things I struggle with (jump ropes (make the push to double unders?!?!), toe to bar, wall balls, row and maybe box jumps).

 

First "open gym" tonight so I'm looking forward to it.

 

PR of 29 jumpropes in a row today. Just closed my eyes and kept on counting. Making the move to attempt double unders soon!!

BACK IN THE GAME

For some unexplained reason I took a week off last week from CF610. Maybe because the weather, maybe because I was (and still am sore) but it was good to get back there yesterday. It's crazy how the hour of working out, seeing friends, getting and giving encouragement and the comraderie that is amongst all at 610 really gets you pumped back up and energized.

As for Wednesday's WOD...didn't go to the 6 am workout as I had something come up but none the less got there for the 4:15 session.

ENDURANCE:

 

500K ROW

100 FLUTTER KICKS

500K ROW

100 FLUTTER KICKS

500K ROW

100 FLUTTER KICKS

 

WOD:

 

AMRAP 12 MINS

7 DEADLIFTS (ELITE:315/225) (RX:225/185) (135 LBS)

14 PISTOLS

21 DOUBLE UNDERS (SINGLES STILL)

100M RUN

 

Of course it decided to pour right as we started the WOD so running the 100M was more of a cool down on the body temperature, only to get back inside and be sopping wet.

 

Complete 3 full sets + 15 (7 deadlifts and 8 pistols) in the alotted 12 minutes.

 

PR* of 20 jump ropes in a row which previously was a PR at 7

FRONT SQUATS AND JUMP ROPES AND SIT UPS...OH MY!

So I prepped myself to at least know what I was walking into by checking out the CF610 blog out earlier yesterday to see what the WOD was today. "Annie" was in store for us today, a combination of sit ups and jump ropes...not to bad...or so I thought.

It seems like every time I go in to CF610 there's always jump rope in the equation of the workout and for as coordinated I am to be athletic for a big guy, it's the hardest thing in there for me to get good at. Practice does make perfect! I'm still doing single jump ropes and I have to pick my jaw up off the floor when I see some of the other members doing 10-20-30 or 40+ double unders in one try. PR is still at 7 in a row...always trying to up that even by 1 a day.

ENDURANCE:

250 K ROW - 1:08
250 K ROW - :54
250 K ROW - 1:02 (ahh with a 3 second rest in there to get more comfortable on the seat)

4 SETS OF 7 FRONT SQUATS

7 @ 45 to get comfortable with the position and where the bar was to be
7 @ 55
7 @ 75
7 @ 85

It felt good to have Tony and Molly there aiding me in the bar positioning as well as rooting me on when I was down in the squat position and they were saying "up, up, up".

WOD - ANNIE

50-40-30-20-10 JUMP ROPES AND SIT UPS

Completed in 12:49

EXTRA WORK = FARMERS WALK WITH 2 (1.5/1) - WALK AS FAR AS YOU CAN

**PERFORMED RIGHT AFTER YOUR WOD IS COMPLETE**

 

1.5 pood (24 kg) walked for 328 feet

 

Hope everyone stays dry this weekend!!

PAIN IS WEAKNESS LEAVING THE BODY

Another Thursday morning workout session and a fine one indeed. Great to see Mike back today even though he said he was going to be back yesterday afternoon until the weekend. After Karen, the legs were very sore yesterday but we continued to work on them none the less.

I have to give credit to the title to my high school swim coach Kevin Remaly. Before we got to taper, which was a 2-3 week period before one of our bigger meets towards the end of the year, we always had our toughest workouts and this quote was always found on the white board on deck.

A constant reminder that pain is weakness leaving the body continues to remind myself that I am doing this for the right reason, not only to lose weight and to build strength, but ultimately to become more fit all around.

WOD:

21-15-9

CHEST TO BAR PULLUPS

BOX JUMPS (30/24)

 

Completed in 9:10. Jumping pullups and 18 inch box jumps.

 

And I forgot to mention that on Wednesday, the infamous Karen day, I had a PR of 7 single jump ropes in a row!!

I WILL NEVER NAME MY DAUGHTER KAREN.....

Nothing against any "Karen's" out there but I can't stand the workout!! 150 wallballs was insane! I got 20 in at first and then had a little break thinking I would bust out 20 at a time and then it hit me...each time I did 1 I was counting away.

ENDURANCE:

4 SETS OF 10 BATTLE ROPES AND 10 OVERHEAD SQUAT (45LBS) WITH 2 MINUTE RESTS INBETWEEN

WOD:

KAREN - 150 WALLBALLS

Completed in 13:00 and I had the most erratic and unusual but still effective way of tracking on the chalkboard.

THURSDAY - DO I HAVE TO GET UP THIS EARLY TO WORKOUT AGAIN?!?!

After my abs (yes they're there somewhere) were aching with every movement, cough or sneeze, I knew I had to make another appearance at CF610 for the Thursday 6 am workout. I like how at the end of Wednesday's workout, Molly asked "we'll see you tomorrow morning right?" because I knew that I'd hear it if I didn't show. I wasn't 15 minutes early but none-the-less I was there...

WARMUP:

MWOD - (BAND WORK ON LATS)
FOAM ROLL
WOD:

1K ROW
30 MUSCLE UPS - 60 GET OUT OF THE POOLS

1K Row - 5:22 with 4 breaks for about 8-10 seconds
30 Jumping Pull Ups / 30 Ring Pull Ups - 12:22

Obviously personal bests for now but it'll sure be fun to track everything on the blog to identify where my strengths and areas of opportunity to improve are.

In D.C. for the weekend visiting a friend of mine. He is a fan of P90X so it'll be a little break from the CF610 workouts! Back to action either Monday or Tuesday.

BACK TO THE GRIND

So little did I know on my break from CF610 that Mike was now starting another chapter in his CrossFit novel by starting a new facility in Long Island. All the congratulations in the world to him and Molly!!

After a not acceptable month and a half away from CF610, yesterday was my first day back and boy...was it great to be there. I've prided myself on getting up for the Wednesday and Thursday 6 am workouts and it felt great to see the faces again. To know that the people at CF610 are accepting and willing to put everything on the line to help themselves and myself out means a lot.

WOD:

ENDURANCE:
50-40-30-20-10 DOUBLE UNDERS (SINGLE FOR ME) / TOE 2 BAR

I completed the 50, 40 and 30 in the alotted 15 minutes.

WOD:

400 M RUN AND 400 M ROW
30 POWER SNATCHES (45LBS)
400 M RUN AND 400 M ROW

Completed in 17:17.