10 Components of Complete Fitness


CrossFit workouts train your body in all 10 of these components of complete fitness:
Cardiovascular/Respiratory Endurance- The ability of the body systems to gather, process, and transport oxygen.
Stamina- The ability of the body to process, store, deliver, and utilize energy.
Strength- The ability of a muscular unit, or combo of muscular units to apply force.
Flexibility- The ability of maximizing range of motion at a given joint.
Power- The ability of a muscular unit, or combo of muscular units to apply maximum force in minimum time.
Speed- The ability to minimize the time cycle of a repeated movement.
Agility- The ability to minimize transition time between one movement pattern to another.
Coordination- The ability to combine several distinct movement patterns into a singular distinct movement.
Balance- The ability to control the placement of the bodies’ center of gravity in relation to its’ support base.
Accuracy- The ability to control movement in a given direction or at a given intensity.

"Failure"

Monday, June 30, 2008

Burpee thrusters and "Michael"

June 28th was a rest day, and then back to killin it again!

June 29th
Warmup: 500m Row
Cooldown: 1000m Row

WOD:

13 burpee squat clean thruster (35lbs) dumbbell's
20 pull ups (chest to bar)
13 overhead walking lunges each arm (35lbs)
20 pull ups
3x

Last time I did this in 24+ mins, and this WOD is a good one...I improved my time to a 19:38! I seem to be improving in all of my repeat WODs and I am less sore, and feel as if I can still easily improve in all areas.

June 30th
Warmup: 500m Row...5 pulls/10 pushups/ 15 squats x3

WOD: Michael

Run 800 meters
50 Back Extensions
50 Sit-ups
x3

17:30...Good WOD, first time doing it. I hate 800's, but the only thing I hate more it 800's after any other excercise! So, this WOD was a good one, and the guys liked it too. I think it was a little easier then we have been doing, but it was good to go out and run, and working the lower back and the hamies nice! 1 more then rest day again! Thank God!!!

Video from Siracusa


Sunday, June 29, 2008

Siracusa Lido, and rock jumping!

Most of my week consisted of the same old crap. Indoc. Although, I did finally get over toe the Unit and got part of the check in process rolling. I found oout I'm headed to San Diego next week for static line jump school for a week and hope to get free fall too. And also found out it doesn't look like I'm "deploying" till around March of 2010, but that could change. For now I will be here throughout Europe training and going to schools.

Hinder played a free concert on Thursday night here on base in Midtown. It was pretty cool. I went with a few buddies, seeing as it was right near our rooms, so we wouldn't have been able to sleep anyway! I knew 2 songs, they are pretty good though, change of pace around here. Friday I went to the Unit for some paperwork and got my first taste of being the "new kid". I love when people bring you tools you have never seen before and ask you what they are (knowing you don't know). Then tell you to go look it it and get back to them. Well, after hunting down a computer, which "cost" 3 more "name game" tools to use, and about an hour and a half of struggling, we got all 5 tools, and could finally be on our way...fun:)

Yesterday was cool. We took a road trip (about an hour) south to Siracusa (Syracuse in english) to a Lido (beach) where there were rocks to go cliff jumping. I was pretty sweet. I got some good picks and video I'm going to post with my waterproof camera. I workout out well, I just swam out to the rocks with it and took pics of the guys jumping off and what not. Very Cool! And I also go my first taste of the European style at the beach. Speedos, Speedos, Speedos for the guys, and Thongs, Thongs, Thongs for the girls! I must say, 99% of the Sicilians are skinny and can wear those types of bathing suits. It would never fly in the US. Americans are too white and out of shape to pull it off! Every women here has the perfect butt and pretty much every guy has abs!

We swam in the Mediterranean, cliff jumped, layed out to "bronze", and watch "soccer volleyball" all day. It was a very relaxing time and was much better then hanging out on the base all day. I'll definetly have to take family and friends to one of the Lido's if it's nice out when you guys come visit! Just be prepared for very little clothing and some very tan skin!!!

I fit right in! Especially when I get my speedo!! :)

Week in Review...

Tuesday was another rest day for working out. We took 2 days this week because our sceduale tuesday went way late. Wednesday was a great day though. decided to do more of a strength/core block for this week. it went as follows.

Wednesday June 25th.

Warmup: 500m row

WOD: Lynne...
5 Rounds
Body Weight Bench (185#)
Pullups
Max reps of each...we did not rest between bench and pulls.

Rnd 1: BWB...22/Pulls...30
Rnd 2: 15/27
Rnd 3: 11/22
Rnd 4: 13/25
Rnd 5: 11/22

The first set was a new PR for me in this WOD. Last time I did it I did 18/23 for my first set, so it was a huge improvement! Very taxing WOD though, even though it is not timed. I was sore for days...

Thursday June 26th.

Warmup: 500m row

WOD:
5 Rounds
25 Kettle Bell Swings (55#)
25 Back Extensions
25 Situps (used incline, no Glute Ham Machine)
25 Knees to Elbows

27:15! This WOD was a smoker! God, I really did not think it would be sooo hard. My buddy Nick wanted to "work abs" and I found this WOD and trust me, it really, really worked abs! I'm still sore today! I am going to definetly make this a part of my routine, but will be using the GHD for the extentions and situps whenever I can. Killer midline stabilization WOD!

Friday June 27th.

Warmup: 500m Row 3rnds 5 pulls/10 pushups/15 squats
Cooldown: 5 Turkish getups (eachside) 30#/1000m row
WOD:
"Ulysses" (given by Nick after the workout)
15-9-6
135# Thrusters
225# Deadlifts
Burpees

10:23. Every second of it was a grueling struggle to move the heavy weight as fast as possible and still keep control without totally "bonking"! I love doing timed WODs with heavy weight every once in awhile to remind myself I am totally human, and have so much more strength/muscle endurence combination training to work on and develope. Most of the WODs don't go really heavy, but when they do, they are killer. We are in the process of developing a few and naming them after Greek and Roman mythological Gods or people, seeing whe are in the area around which most of this thought was developed...they should be some fun ones, hope everyone tries them!

Monday, June 23, 2008

Buona sera. Good Afternoon.

My mom says that I don't talk enough about what's going on here and all I talk about is working out. Well, that's because, that's about all that's going on! I'm still in Indoc, and it's boring and sucks, then I go workout and then go to the pool! LOL. I'm getting an awesome tan, have not found a place to live yet, and am learning all of the bad words in Italiano...like Finocchio, which is the fruit/vegetable "fennel", but the Sicilians' use this for "gay" cause the fennel is confused what it is! Anyway, there are more, but I'll spare you all the language lessons for now. I had Cavallo for the first time the other night, and it is very good. This is horse meat. It is very similar to deer, very lean (high in iron and protien) but taste like beef. Also, the Nero d' avallo is a vino rosso (red wine) which is only made here on the island and is also very good. It comes from "black" grapes, which are grown here in the very fertile "lava soil". Basically the sicilians can grow anything except real grass out here. Mt. Etna has provided for a very fertile land. And speaking of the volcano, it was "weeping" on Saturday night, which was very cool, because it is dark out and you can see the red lava running down the side of it, letting off pressure. This is good, it means that it won't be erupting anytime soon, cause a mass exacuation of the eastern part of the island where we are. We should be finishing up Indoc this week and will be checking into the unit soon. I'm hoping to be back in the states around July 5th for about a week for jump school out in San diego, but no official word yet. Anyway, now to the working out!

Yesterday was the end of our Crossfit "Hell Week" experience, and it was a good one. Nothing like saving one of the best WOD's for last...Murph. Here is a little background:


"In memory of Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, N.Y., who was killed in Afghanistan June 28th, 2005.
This workout was one of Mike's favorites and he'd named it 'Body Armor.' From here on it will be referred to as 'Murph' in honor of the focused warrior and great American who wanted nothing more in life than to serve this great country and the beautiful people who make it what it is." ~Crossfit FAQ~
(If you want to know more, paste this link into your browser. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_P._Murphy. He was an amazing person, leader, and warrior, and I hope and strive to be like he was.)

Warmup: 500m row, and stretching

"Murph"
1 mile run
100 pull ups
200 push ups
300 squats
1 mile run

31:58

This is not a PR for me I don't believe. I don't recall my last time, but it's pretty close and would have been faster if the run was not on the small indoor track we have here. The exercises went very well, I was around 8 mins for them, and somewhere around 7/9 mins respectively for the two 1 mile runs. My 2 partners in crime finished in around 41 and 47 mins which is good for their first times, and all of us were very happy to have today as a rest day! I am going to hit up the yoga class tonight as long as they still have it. The next "Murph" I do will be with my "kit" on which is around 20#s of armor plates. This is hot Mike use to do the WOD and makes it much harder and more intense.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

New Fran PR!!!

First off, we all had a very nice rest day on the 19th, it was well worth it. My legs were very sore even when it was time to go back to work on Friday with the dead lift WOD, and I know the other 2 guys felt the same way. They really attacked this WOD. Having never really trained with deads before I gave them a little technique showing and then turned them loose, coaching and encouraging when needed. Both did very well and are excited for Fran and Murph. I've never heard of anyone being excited for either of these WOD's...well, except from these 2 Crossfit rookies! LOL...

Warm up: 500m Row/ 3 rnds...5 Pullups/10 puchups/15 squats

Dead lift WOD: 10,8,6,4,3,3,3,3

10-185
8-225
6-275
4-295
3-315
3-315
3-325
3-335

Cool down: 10-135 (for tech)

I love dead lifts, they are a total body workout when done right and done heavy and will help you develop in every avenue of training. I was sweating, breathing heavy, and my heart was racing during this WOD. And that was with taking break time in between sets. I was afraid this might hamper my Fran time the next day, guess not...

Saturday June 21 FRAN!

Nick went first, scaling down to 65# thrusters. He was off to a good start, and then the laughing task of ripping through Fran started to get to him. His grip was going, and each rep became a struggle, but he is a trooper and finished in the mid 7's. Not bad for his 1st one. "Chappy" (as we call him) went next, also scaling to 65# thrusters, and again got off to a good start. By the time he was finished with the first 21 pullups he was gasping and trying to squeeze out "I really can't catch my breathe!" LOL, no, really? That's the idea! Anyway, he barreled through eh rest of the WOD, struggling with pullups (he has not really learned the kip yet) but finished in an ok time of low 7's. Like 7:07 or so. My hat's off to both of these guys for goings balls out at one of the easiest (on paper) yet hardest and most terrifying WOD's Crossfit has to offer. Now they know what they have in store the next time it comes up...The line of the day was Nick saying 15 mins later..."I still can't close my hands!" Thanks Fran. Now it was my turn...

Warmup: 3 rnds 5 pullups/10 pushups/15 squats...some stretching, and plenty of motivation after watching the other 2 go...

Fran:

21-15-9
Thrusters (95#)
Pullups

NEW PR! 3:52

I finally broke 4 mins on Fran! And I have it on vid, so I will post that as soon as I can. It has been over a year in the making, and after posting a PR of 4:10 and then a dismal 5:23 on my last 2, I wasn't sure if I had it in me....I felt good before hand, but got of to a shaky start, I got a little forward (pushing with toes and no heals) on my first few thrusters, but was able to recover and press on. Then the first 21 pulls were a little rough too. I think I was amped up, and got swinging back and forth too much, instead of a nice strict kipping rhythm, and had to stop to slow myself, as you can see in the vid. After that, it was all business. I did have to break up the pulls in the 15 and 9 set and the thrusters in the 9 set. A few little places where I'm sure to improve and will be cutting Fran to mid 3's shortly and then, maybe, just maybe, someday...under 3 mins!

Dedication really does pay off, and that PR is sure to be broken in the near future. Keep in mind, that this is true in everything, not just Crossfit. If you believe, prepare, train, and practice, pretty much anything is within grasp!

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

WODs for the week...

Well, no Murph on Monday. Instead, since the 2 guys I am working out with right now are new to Crossfit, we decided to do the "Hell Week" WODs from the Muscle and Fitness article. 1 I wanted to get a base of where these guys were and what they were comfortable with, and 2 I have never done the "basline" WOD, and though it would be cool to push these guys and work up to ending the week with Fran and Murph! So...Monday June 16

Warmup: 3 rnds...5 Pulls/10 Push ups/ 15 Squats

Baseline:
500m Row
40 Squats
30 Situps
20 Pushups
10 Pullups

3:40...which I guess falls into the Advanced group.

This WOD was easy, but I should have went faster. We did Turkish Get ups after, which I just learned and love. Much harder then you might think. Anyway, I used 40# and just did 5 reps each side to get use to it. Way too much weight...

Tuesday June 17th

Warmup: 500m Row

Helen
400m Run
21 55# KB Swings
12 Pull ups

Well, I'm no OPT! Lol, and the track is jacked up here...it's 9.9 laps around the outside for a mile and 10.2 on the inside. WTF? Anyway, we figured about 2.5 on the outside was 400m, but if we finished the .5 we would be at the far end of the gym and have to run/walk/crawl that .5 back to the pull up bar and kbs...so...we started on the far end of the track and ended on the near, making it probably about 350m...sucks, but whatever...so with a blistering time of 7:49! I finished, it hurt, but I feel cheated, adn when I get to the Unit, I will measure out 400m and do Helen again...

After we did more Turkish Getups...This time I used 30# and did 3 sets of 5 reps each side. Feels awesome for my shoulders, which I tend to have a little trouble with. My buddies like them too, lol, not really, but they do them becasue, slowly but surely they are starting to believe that Crossfit can transform you into a monster in the gym. Then I showed them a little kipping pull up tech. and a lite overhead squat tech.

Wednesday June 18th

After spending all day! Way too long, driving around the "Aci" region of Sicily, looking for housing and feeling exhausted, we chilled for an hour at the pool, re-focusing (bronzing)LOL. Then hit the gym for the 3rd day of "Hell Week".

Warmup: 3 rnds 5 pulls/10 push ups/ 10 squats

WOD
4 Rounds
400m Run
50 Squats

11:35

This is a pretty easy WOD, well kinda, it really taxes the legs though, and after a day of no water and walking up and down stairs and hills, it hurts! Finished with a 1000m Row and 5 reps each side 30# Turkish Getups...then 21 kipping Pulls as I was walking out of the gym...preperation for Fran!

Rest day tomorrow, and I know my legs need it! Then we end the week with a Dead WOD, then Fran and Murph to round it out! Should be fun...

Monday, June 16, 2008

Chillin by the pool...

Ciao. The weather here in Sicily is so absolutely amazing that you can't always be training...more on the in a minute...as for the training. Saturday I decided to go back in the week and do the dead lift WOD. Warmed up first with some rowing and also cooled down the same way.

Warm up:
1000m Row 3:56
DL 135x10

WOD: DL 3-3-3-3-3
225-255-270-290-290

Cool down:
DL 5-5-5
225
50 45# Push Press
1000m Row 3:54

I couldn’t go very heavy with the deads, I had no chalk, and it was a little hot in the gym, so my grip wasn't very good, so I did a nice workout that made me sweat and then a little extra reps for an extra boost. I think adding rowing into the WOD is a great way to warm up and cool down the legs, not to mention rowing is an awesome total body workout. I think everyone should throw in some rowing from time to time. And not only that, but transitioning from the rower to other explosive exercises is a great way to help transform the body.

As for chillin by the pool...after my WOD, I made sure I gave myself ample "me time" to just re-focus and relax. This is as important to a total body transformation as working out is. You mind and body need to be pushed to their limits and beyond, but at the same time, make sure you give yourself some time to chill out. Whatever your pleasure, indulge in it from time to time. This is very important!

Sunday was my rest day, so that's exactly what I did. Some of my buddies and I "stole" a car for a few hours and went down into Catania to check out the local Ducati dealer, and then I hit up the pool again. Just laid out, soaked up some sun (bronzing, as we call it) and relaxed. It really prepares your mind and body for the riggers of everyday life, and gets you ready for your next intense WOD. Some of the guys want to do "Murph". The talk like they think it will be hard, but I think they might see it as a little easier because there are no weights involved. Boy are they in for it! Lol. I'm going to try and set a new PR for it, previous being somewhere around 28 mins I believe. I don't recall exactly, I never wrote that one down. Anyhow, hope everyone checking this out and everyone back in the states is enjoying themselves and training hard! Ciao!

Saturday, June 14, 2008

On My Signal...Unleash Hell cont...(ECCFC Hopper vids 1-4)

Vid 1



Vid 2



Vid 3



Vid 4

Crossfit Sicily...well sorta...

So, I have been here in Sicily for 4 days and have started to workout again, after takng a 4 day break due to travel and all. The is no "Crossfit" gym per say, so I'm just making up my own stuff right now. I guess there is a set up of some sort over at the Mobile Unit, but I'm not on the base yet. It's on NAS II and is about 7.5 miles away, so without a car or the time right now, I'll stick to doing what I'm doing. 2 days ago I did:

10 Rounds
12 Burpees
12 Pull ups
16:54

I was a bit tired and out of "shape", getting use to the hot dry climate and not doing anything for 4 days, I think the time was a little slow. This is one of those WODs where you look at it on paper and are like "that's easy". Then you get to about round 5-6 and your like, wow, my hands hurt and my legs are tired! It was a good one, I'll definetly do it again.

Yesterday I made up a WOD to do with a couple of the guys here, just a quick simple one to get them into it.

3 Rounds
21 KB Swings (55#)
15 Thursters (75#)
9 Burpees
7:41

I think I just love thrusters, cause almost every WOD I make up I throw this movement in there. It's so dynamic and powerful. Anyway, the guys like it, one said his legs didn't agree with me right now, and the other enjoyed it so much he fell down into the every present "Crossfit position" when he finished. I scaled it for both of them (to there liking), and both re-adjusted the thrusters weight half way through, underestimating the movement a little. It's all good though. We live and learn, and that's part of the process. Both did well, gave it there all and were done in somewhere around 9-11 mins.

Today I think I'm just going to go do the Deadlift WOD. 5 sets of 3, heavy...It's only 10:15 here, and it's already like 80 out and very very sunny. Wishing I had a car to get to the beach right now! Can't wait for my stuff to get here and find a place, I hate being stuck on base. Maybe a little run and then the pool...I need to get a tan!!!

Just an update, the last 3 sections of my ECCFC Hopper video are done. Even though I can't watch them here (these stupid computers at the library are secure and won't do video) I going to upload them in succession so hopefully they come out...hit me up if they don't...

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Welcome to Sicliy!

Benvenuto! So, after my rather relaxing weekend in San Diego, I was off to Sicily for my 2 year stint with no real idea what to expect. I boarded a plane in San Diego around 8am and flew to DC where I sat around for about 3 hours in the International wing with a tons of high school kids and smelly Euros! Hopped on a plane, about a 9 hr flight, to Rome and then a quick 1hr juant into Catania, Sicily, arriving around 2pm on June 10th.

I was greeting a a guy from the base to take my to check in and finally get some much needed sleep! After running around from NAS 1 to NAS 2 seeing the Mobile Unit and filling aout some paperwork, my fellow EOD tech, Nick, and I grabbed a quick bite and were off to bed by about 7pm...

Nick's friend is here on the island for another few weeks, so we hooked up with him and his wife to get the tour of some of the island before indoc started the following day. I have to say, this is Europe! It is rather dirty, the Sicilians drive like absolute maniacs, the roads are horrible, and I'm sure I will get lost at least once a day for the next 2 yrs I'm here!!! Went went up to Motta first. A quaint little town just north of base where alot of Americans live. In fact it use to be part of base housing, but since then 2 housing complexes for the married folks have been built closer to base, and now a lot of single sailors and the like live in Motta. Not a bad spot, up in a steep hill, very narrow roads, and a little bit of theivery...

From there we ventured off to Aciterreza, just north of Catania right on the Mediterranian ocean. This is where I am going to look mainly for housing. It is a nicer area then Motta, right on the water, and very close to Catania. A much younger more ecclectic crowd lives here, and even though it's about 30 mins from base, the "Aci" region is where I'd like to call home for the next 2 yrs. That is when I'm not deployed to Germany, Africa, Iraq, Afganastan, Sweden, Switzerland, France, yada, yada, yada, or one of the many other areas we either opererate or just train in.

As we drove through the outskirts of Catania we saw 2 car accidents in about a 1 mile distance, and probably saw about 50 more potential ones. It is unbeleivable how these people drive and don't kill everyone the pass! In the states, beeping your horn is usually in anger, here it's liek they are saying "hey, I'm here, I'm goign to pull off some 5 lane swirve power change to pass you, just so you know"...with a smile and not even a glance in your direction! The cities of Aciterreza and Catania are actually very beautiful and riddled with a ton of history! I took a few pics and will be taking a great deal more and will upload some when I can.

The food is very good, but very different, especially since most of the menus are in Italian so it takes a bit of thought to figure out wheat you are ordering, but most of the people here do speak some english and are very helpful. The wine is amazing, much better and stronger then in the states. There is one particular red wine that you can only get on the island that is very good... Nero d’avola.

We started indoc today, which was the most borring thing ever! I'm going to rest a little and the do a Wod, since I have not done anything since Saturday! I will post more probably this weekend and am going to try and get out and about some more so i can learn some more Italian, visit some beautiful places, and meet some great locals!

San Diego WOD.

On Friday, June 6th I flew out of Upstate NY on my way to San Diego for a weekend stop before flying out to Sicliy. It was a very low key weekend, 70s and overcast, but I got in 2 awesome WODs at Coronado Crossfit on Saturday morning. The class Wod was: 3 Rounds

5 Burpees
10 Ring Pushups
15 Squats
45# Farmer's Carry ( about 100m)
400m Run

This was a nice (fun) warm up I guess you could say, seeing that when I was done (in 11:12) I asked Steve if I could either do it again (smart choice) or do another Wod that he made up (dumb choice). I'll give you one guess on what the sadistic Team guy chose...he made one up. And as he described it, "I love making up Wods I don't have time to do to see what the outcome is." So, in essence, I was his guinea pig. It was too bad, but wasn't easy, and as I found out the next day, I was much more sore the expected.

Row 1000m
20 Body Weight Dead Lifts (177#, it was in kilos, so that was close enough)
Slosh Pipe Carry (about 200m)

Row 750m
15 BW DL
SPC (about 150m)

Row 500m
10 BW DL
SPC (about 100m)

Time 22:24...and my legs were shot by the end of the 1st row/DL...For those of you who don't know a Slosh Pipe is a piece of PVC pipe about 8 ft long and maybe 12in in diameter filled with some water that weights around 45#s and is virtually impossible to keep lifted straight above your head without wobbling or "sloshing" it around. Even more impossible to do this while walking with it extended over your head. I will include a picture as soon as I can upload one.

It's really a pretty amazing little way to tax your shoulders, lats, traps, abs, and legs...Great wod Steve, thanks man...

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Farewell WOD at Albany Crossfit

Today was Jason's 30th at Albany Crossfit, and he joined me in the ranks of the new 21 year olds! In honor of his B-day, I got 2 participate in the "Dirty 30" WOD. It was my last one there until sometime after I return from my 2-3 year stint in Sicily.

30 Calorie Row
30 KB Swings 55#
30 Wall Balls 20#
30 Pull ups
30 Burpees
30 Lunges
30 Glute Ham Sit ups
30 Sumo Dead lift High Pulls 70# KB
30 Box Jumps
30 Double unders

My time: 18:32

Then outside for a quick cool down! (yeah right)Jason said it would be a quick 5 mins.
800m
100 squats
800m

After finding out what it was going to be, I said, if anyone finishes in 5 mins, I'll buy dinner! No one did, I finished first...and still had to buy dinner, as it was my dad's 55th B-day!
My time: 8:14...

This is my last night in the North East. Tomorrow I fly to San Diego for the weekend, and then off to Sicily on Monday morning. For the 1st time since all of this started about a year and 6 months ago, I felt sad, anxious, and a little weird. I'm going to be gone for awhile, and I going to miss all of my friends and family very much, but this is the path I have chosen! And I will do my very best to do it well, and return safely.

"What we do in life...Echos in Eternity!" ~Gladiator~

On My Signal...Unleash Hell! (part 1)

This video is from the East Coast Crossfit Challenge in Albany. It shows the 1000m row and 6 sumo deadlift high pulls into the 2nd round. Notice I was totally last off the row! LOL, the pace I went was planned, I just didn't realize everyone else, including the females, were going to pace faster then me! It didn't matter though, my plan worked, I placed 2nd in my heat and 8th in the overall hopper completing 4 full rnds. Rounds 2-4 will follow when the vids are edited.

I'd like to thank my brother Nate for filming, my dad and best friend Eric for some of the vocal support, and my sister Maggie for doing the dirty work behind scencs to get it edited quickly! Enjoy...




"The basic difference between an ordinary man and a warrior is the warrior takes everything as a challenge, while the ordinary man takes everything as a blessing or a curse." ~Carlos Castaneda~

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

The Countdown Begins...




Like most of the athletes that competed in the ECCFC I took Monday as a much needed rest day. I wasn't as sore as I thought I would be, a little in the hammies. I honestly believe it's due to the better diet I have been on. I have been taking in more protein for muscle growth and repair, and since I have been taking fish oil my recovery has been easier.
Tuesday I decided to do a repeat of a track WOD I did with my brother about a month ago.
3 rnds
400m
25 Burpees
50 Crunches
50 Squats

The 1st time I did this wod was in like 17:30...well, I found out, my legs were shot still, and my quads and hammies were so worn out and tired. Despite the soreness I pushed hard and busted out a 15:30! 2 mins faster then the last time. Again, I truly believe that a better diet, and smart supplementation have a great impact on breaking PR's! Not to mention that ECCFC really help me to understand (once again) what it's like to push through the pain. 100% passion in all that you do, that's all one can ask for!
Today, looks like my friend and I are going to travel out to Crossfit Syracuse for the WOD. I'll update the post later on this.

My friend Janna and I went out to Crossfit Cuse tonight. It went very well. Scott is a very cool guy. WE did a quick warmup, 3 rnds 10 squats/pushups/situps and 2 sets of 15 pullups. Then we went into the Turkish Getup. It's an interesting movement, one I have never done before. We only did about 10 mins of familiarization work on it to get the general concept. Then we went into the Snatch! lol, love that word. We did single arm dumbell snatches. Again just some familiarization work to get the movements down. The WOD was fast but good

KB swings (52# men/35# womnen)
Wall Balls (15# men/10# women)
21-15-9-6-3

I finished in like 4:14 and Janna finished in like 4:43. Exact times were a little different, but I can't remember, I was to busy recovering! lol...
So, I officially began the countdown in my head! 6 days till my flight leaves to Sicily! I'm nervous, excited, and a bit trepidacious...
"NO EXCUSES" Video!

Sunday, June 1, 2008

East Coast Crossfit Challenge




All, I have to say is WOW! If you have never been to one of these events and want to see some amazing athletes, you need to go! Around 65 competitors gathered in Albany NY over the weekend to participate in the event. Day 1 was the Crossfit total, and a 5k (flat, yeah ok) trail run, and day to the a Hopper (impossible by the way! lol)
So, we all gather to start the Total and I must say, some amazing amounts of weight were put up! The girls were very amazing, squatting up around 225, 2 getting 100 in the press, Tanya Wagner the girl who would be the over-all winner pulling 300 lbs in the dead lift! Are you kidding me? 300! No joke.
The men followed right along in impressive fashion, with numbers in the 400's for squat, 200's for press and 3 guys hitting the 500+ mark! Joey from Va Beach hit 500, Dan had the biggest lift of the day (and he made it look easy) pulling 525 on his last dead! But, probably the most impressive feat was Jeremy Ficsher (177 lbs) pulling 520 lbs in the dead! And he actually led after this event with and impressive total of 1080 lbs! Jesus!
My best friend Eric and I did fairly well for our 1st time coming in with 800 and 865 totals respectively. Eric finished 2nd in his weight class for the Total! That was awesome!
Then on to the 5k in the afternoon, which was the only 30 mins of the day the sun came out and it was obnoxiously humid! And that really sucked! The girls again were very impressive, winning with a very fast 19 min run, and my boy Alex (from Boston) taking the top spot for the guys at just over 20 mins. This launched him into 2nd place in the overall for the end of day 1, just behind John Alanis (the ex-Army Linguist) was was very fast for a large dude pulling up 2nd place for the men! Running Results. Keep in mind there are a few runners that did not compete in the challenge, Sara Scholl was the first Challenge participant to complete the run and Alex Morrison was the first male to complete it.
http://www.albanyrunningexchange.org/results/searchResultsSQL.php?ID=859
Afterwards, we watched "Fire Fighter Fran" by Fred (Albany) who did and amazing job in finishing in just over 8 mins with an extra 47 lbs of gear on and despite running out of air about 3/4 of the way through, he pushed on. Then came the food. We were blessed with an awesome BBQ meal brought in to us, cracked a few beers about bonded with some great people. I'll never forget the midget stories from the Boston guys, Spider Chicks laughter, Jon searching the net on his iphone for rent-a-midget, and just kicking back (in pain) and enjoying everyones company.
Then came the PAIN! As soon as I found out what the Hopper was going to be early on Sunday morning, I said, wow, I'm not sure anyone will finish! And NO ONE did! LOL...so here it is...
1000k row
5rnds
21 95 lb Sumo Dead Lift High Pulls
15 Burpess
9 95 lb Thrusters
cut off 20 mins...

There were only 7 guys and I think 1-2 girls to even make it into the 5th round at all. The farthest anyone got was 4 thrusters away from finishing, which was truly amazing! I challenge anyone to try this WOD and report back. If you finish in less then 20, I want to see the video!
After everyone was done it was unclear who the men's winner would be, and it was time to crunch the numbers!
I will post the official results as soon as they are available, but John Alanis held on to the number 1 spot for the men, and our 300 lbs dead girl Tanya Wagner won the women over!

As for me, I did ok...
Total
185 Press (10# PR)
275 Squat (Tied PR)
405 Dead (30# PR)

865 Total
22:57 5k
4 full rnds Hopper

I had the heaviest press in the 198 lb and below groups, only getting beat by the big boys there, and not by much. You guys better watch out, I'll be above 200 soon enough! Squats, I killed myself mentally because my 2nd attempt at 265 was wobbly cause I was too far backward coming up, so I only went up 10 lbs for my 3rd lift. Then I hammered the 275 with no trouble (by keep form strict) and could have gone to 285 at least if not 295! I was very happy with my dead, I felt very strong, but again, played the game wrong. I got 405 on my 2nd lift, and let me ego get to me a little and shot for 430 on the 3rd lift. This would have gotten me to 890 overall...well, I missed it, but I gotta tell ya, it was only by about 2 inches, and I have the pics and vid to prove it! 430 is well within reach, and from there 450 and on to the shoot for 500!!!
After the total I was in 28th place. Finished the 5k in 22:57, not a PR, and definitely not my best. The combo of being tired and the humid sun got to me a little, but I still managed to make it up to 17th place after day 1.
As I explained, the Hopper was Hell! I finished 4 full rnds, and the 9th thruster came in right on the final second of the 20 mins! I tied in this event with 2 others in 8th place, and moved myself into a 14th place overall finish, and only about 7 points from top 10!
All and all, I had the most amazing, competitive, friendly, weekend in a long time. I made many new friends from Crossfits all over the east coast and now have a broad family to stop in and train with anytime!
To all who came and competed, volunteered, or just watched, thank you for a great weekend, keep training hard and can't wait to do it again! Eric, thanks for killin it with me, your total was amazing for a 165 lb man, and even though you had a little trouble on the run, you finished strong on the Hopper! Thanks for the support, and you are going to kill it next year man!!!
Check out Albany Crossfit for some pics and results...and more info, and if you have myspce, I posted a ton of pics...



Here is me missing, yes, really bad form, and I missed 430 deadlift by a few inches!

And here is Dan, with the lift of the day, 525 lb deadlift!