Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Crossfit Football

It's a pretty cool site.  It's a crossfit site with a purpose other than GPP.  It's sole purpose is to get you to perform your best on Saturday's, and if you're lucky, Sunday's.  Pretty cool, huh?
But what's really cool are the short, heavy, body-breaking WoD's.  Wind sprints, OHS at 135#, DL reps at 315#, pretty cool, huh?  I've decided, for the time being, that I will be doing these Metcon's in addition to the strength work from Mikes Gym.  I don't think that I can go too wrong with that combination, so long as the Qualifiers don't have a 5k.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Bickity Bam Mutha F@%$er

The qualifier WOD's are tough.  Really tough.  They're heavy, fast and they push hard.  Run faster, row further, lifter heavier... handstand pushupier?  Luckily, because the Power Barn has pretty awesome open gym hours I've been able to hit the qualifier WOD's as a way to see where I am as compared to others.  I'm not gonna lie, but I've been doing pretty solid, placing in the top 10, and 1st in a couple others (Europe and Australasia, so that almost doesn't count).  I guess what I'm trying to say is that, like Coach Rut says, the Max Effort Black Box method works.  I'm stronger and the short metcons have kept me in good enough shape to at least fake it.  
Unfortunately, today's WOD at the power barn was an endurance type that took me nearly 25 minutes.  True story: it was tough.  Mainly the thrusters.
The WoD
4rounds
25 Thrusters (65#)
25 Box Jumps
25 Back Extensions
25 KB Swings (45#)
25 Double Unders
For those people keeping track, that's 500 reps.  I haven't done 500 reps since my last filthy fifty and that sucked.  Note to self: maybe endurance is a good thing... nah.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Wedding Part 2

I hope they play MJ




Wedding

I hear wedding bells.  They're all the way in Philly and they're not mine.  Carlee and I are heading down to PA to see our friend from UVM Swimming, Allison, get married.  It should be a fun time with a lot of people that we both know so it won't be an awkward, "don't leave me alone with these people" event.  I'm happy to go, I really am, but seeing as we're (probably) the next in line to get married, it's going to be a lot of ooh's and aah's, a couple of aww's and the same question over and over again; When's the date?  I might grab a name tag at the church and just write "July 3, 2010."
Because of the wedding, however, I got to take off of work today.  Fantastic.  I also, hit up the Power Barn for a 5:15am workout.  Super Fantastic.  Larry put me through this gauntlet of a workout:
10 rounds
1 full squat snatch @185#
40 yard Farmers Walk @ 2x55#
18:45

This workout put all different stressors on my body that I haven't done in a really long time.  Heavy snatches are never fun, but they're especially bad when the grip is starting to tank.  I might not be able to shake anybody's hand tonight as my thumb is still giving me fits.  Thanks Larry.  I may have been able to move a little bit faster, but I had to bail on a couple of snatches so rest became imperative after the farmers walks.  It's workouts like this that are going to help me prepare for the qualifiers but also the mini competition on May 2nd in Milford.  

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Whatchya Got

Two qualifiers have come and past.  Both the European Qualifier and the Australasia Qualifier have closed up shop and the results are in.

Euro

‘Heavy Helen’

3 Rounds

400m run

21 KB Swing 32kg (2 pood)

12 Pullups – Chest to Bar

Best Time = 7:49

 

15-12-9 Reps of:

Clean and Jerk 60kg

Handstand Pushups

Best Time = 8:14 (My time on 4/7 = 7:27)

 

AMRAP 20 Minutes

Row 250m

10 Burpees

10 Ring Dips

Best = 10 rounds

 

 

Australasia

3 Rounds

10 Clean and Jerk (60kg)

15 Ring Dips

20 KB Swings (24kg)

Best = 5:49

 

21-15-9 Reps of:

Burpee

Pullup

Row 400m

Best = 8:06

 

1200m Sand Dune Run

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Beat

The beauty of Crossfit is that no matter how strong you are, how athletic you are and what great shape you're in, it will crush you.  Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but some day it will put it's foot into your sternum.  Focus becomes key in those situations.  
It's easy to chalk it up to a bad day.  Maybe you ate too much yesterday or you didn't get a good enough warm up, you might have warmed up too much, or possible not enough sleep or maybe, and this could be true, this is your goat.  Now, what I want you to do is against human nature, but as crossfitters we should know this, embrace your goat.  Think Tom Brady.  You ought to be going full boar into what ails you.  Are you really good at metcons but lake the strength to place well in a CFT?  Well, my friend, it's time you dust off the squat rack, get under the bar and start hitting some triples.  Double unders not your friend?  Work on it.  Make a WOD 300 double unders for time.  By the end you're either going to have to string a couple together or have bloody shins, either way, everybody wins.  Failing is a good thing in crossfit.  Becoming a better athlete is all about getting humbled, again and again until your goats become strengths.  So, the next time you walk into your gym and see on that damned white board a workout that you know you'll come in last place, suck it up and think to yourself, this is what brought me here in the first place and this will take me to where I want to be; in first place.