The Diary of K-Valve!

Tell Me...

2009-09-28T07:45:00.000-07:00

I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious.

~Vince Lombardi~

CF is my Life. Live it in Victory!

Sorry SC...

2009-09-26T03:43:00.000-07:00

Here is the email I received after my "catch up" post. I kinda feel like an ass because I did not mention Sarah at all. I must say, for a "newbie" to CF with only a month or so of training at Derby CF in Louisville, KY, she came out to Sicily and KILLED IT! There was some technique adjustment, lots of sweat, and a little bit of me yelling for motivation, but all in all she was awesome! Here you go babe, your 10 seconds of fame! Enjoy. :)

Oh Thanks! After my three weeks of CF with you I get ZERO credit on your BLOG... huh!
After all my hard work... wearing the kit that about killed me! sprints... in the blazing HOT sun... doing squats even with a sore hip flexor burpees out the ass even the reverse! with No bitching embracing the suck attitude! Did I mention having to endure your coaching and pushing... ;) and not even a supporting actor award! WTF... :) LOL!!!
I want my OSCAR!!! GIVE ME!!!

Did I not push you enough not to even get a mention or a credit whatsoever (i would have taken 7 point font) LOL! If you wanna talk about the "Dark SIDE" oh we can go there!! LOL!

I am laughing as I write this... but honestly I do deserve some CF LOVE!!! COME ON BABY!!!

But... YOU just "fueled my fire" to fuck you up.... (LOL) in a WOD next time we meet! HA HA

LOVE YA!! xoxo

Glad I could motivate you...xoxo

Finally...

2009-09-25T12:01:00.000-07:00

So, my posting has been non-existant for about a month now. I have my workouts, and lack of them (due to traveling/vacation?and wisdom tooth extraction) all written down, but I think I'm going to start with Sept. and kinda skip Aug. 1 it will be way too long of a post and 2, not all that much went on in. Aug. I'll high light the good parts though...

Aug.

2nd: "JT" 10:30
9th: DL PR 425#
10th: Bench 245x3
11th: Squats 305# (tied PR)
24th: "Cindy" 20 + 5 (I posted this to prove everyone has bad days, first time ever below 25!!!)

Sep. 1st
6 Rnds
Barbell Complex (95#)
25m Hill Sprints
then...

4 Rnds
Scotty Bobs x5 (25# DB)
Overhead Lunge x6
Slasher x5 (ea side, 1 pood)
Halo x10 (1 pood)
then...

Hill to Flat Sprints x5 (~100m)

Sep. 2nd
5 Rnds (2 min/ea)
Row
Step Ups/Press (45# Bar)

Ab Complex
3 Rnds
10 Ankles to Bar
20 Hollow Rocks
10 Russian Twists (45#)

Seo. 3rd
Tabata
Push Jerk (95#)
Double Unders

Sep 4th
Squat Clean
3-185#
3-205#
3-210#
1-215#
1-225# (missedx2)
1-225# PR!!!

Sep. 5th-6th
Rest Day

Sep. 7th
Military Athlete workout
SHE'S TWISTED, BUT KINDA HOT TOO

Obj: Work Capacity

Warm up: 5 Rounds - wearing body armor or 25# weight vest
Run 200m
30x Step Ups (15x each leg)

Training:

(1) 25-20-15-10-5 for time (wearing body armor or 25# weight vest)
Burpees
Swings x2 @ 24kg Kettlebell or 55# dumbbell
Weighted Situps with 25# plate

Sep. 8th-13th
Vacation

Sep. 14th
Diane
6:09
then...

6 Rnds
8x Back Sqauts (115#)
50 Step Ups
30 Secs. Rest
then...

10x Russian Twists (45#)
10 x Full Sit Ups (from shoulder blades on ground to touching toes w/straight legs)
Shawn Special

Sep. 15th
Warm Up then...

Front Squat
3-185
3-190
3-205
3-210
3-215

Ab Complex
10x Wipers (135#)
10x Full Sit Ups
40 Sec. Front Bridge
10 Hollow Rocks

Sep. 16th-21st
Wisdom tooth extraction and dry socket

Sep. 22nd
AMRAP 15 mins.
5x Dead Lifts (225#)
5x HSPU
5x KB Swings (2 pood)
9 full+5

Sep. 23rd
Uber "Lynne"
BW:180#

Bench: 16/14/11/9/9
Pull Ups: 30/25/20/20/20
Squat: 11/11/11/11/12
Finally figured out the Butterfly Kip! Sweet Baby!!!

Sep. 24th (CF VB WOD)
3 Rnds
400m Row
400m Run
10:50

I said in my last post I was going to talk about the "dark side" of fitness, but for th elife of me I can't remember what the hell I was going to talk about...If it comes to me I will post it.

CF is my soul!!!

How I wish you could see the potential. The potential of you and me...

2009-08-19T09:27:00.000-07:00

Due to the lack of internet service, and traveling, I have not had time to post in August yet, but I will be doing an update post soon...I few more PRs to report and a look at the "Dark side" of fitness...more to come...

The presumed assumption of complacency is fatal. With an adaptive nature, overcome ALL!

2009-07-30T09:02:00.000-07:00

July 22nd
Rest Day

July 23rd
WOD
"DT"
Five rounds for time of:
155 pound Deadlift, 12 reps
155 pound Hang power clean, 9 reps
155 pound Push jerk, 6 reps
14:36...3 min improvement

July 24th
WOD
"Lynne"
Five rounds for max reps of:
Body weight bench press
Pull-ups

Used 190#, and strict pull ups.
18/15
13/16
11/12
9/11
10/11

July 25th
WOD
AMRAP 20 mins:
10 Wall Ball
10 Straight leg Ab mat
10 Straight leg dead litfs (45#)
17 Full+15 reps
then...
5 rnds
5 20ft rope slams
1 rope climb
10 box jumps
5:32

July 26th
Rest Day

July 27th
WOD
30 Wall Ball
300m Row
30 Box Jumps
30 KB Swings (1.5 pood)
30 DB Press (25#)
30 Dead Lift (225#)
7:47

July 28th
WOD
19 Squat cleans (155#)
38 Feet to bar
38 Box jump
19 Thrusters (135#)
8 Muscle ups
38 Burpees
20 Double unders
75 steps Walking lung with 35# plate over head
39:43...felt really light headed and like i was going to black out, it was weird. First time that has ever happen, low blood sugar maybe...

July 29th
Rest Day

July 30th
WOD
Squats
3-225#
3-225#
3-245#
3-265#
3-265#
1-285#
1-295# PR
1-305# PR
First time over 300# on a "real" below 90 squat!

July 31st
Rest Day

Final Rankings amongst CrossFit Games competitors.

2009-07-30T08:36:00.000-07:00

Little late, but here are the rest of the rankings for the CrossFit Games athletes and where I fit in...

Fight Gone Bad: 43rd
Press: 13th
Grace: 38th
Diane: 9th
Squat: 36th
Pull ups: 28th, but never done kipping for a PR, so this is strict.

So, with everything added up and averaged out, (minus snatch) I rank at 24.72...not too bad.

Life's Struggle will only teach you to be stronger...

2009-07-21T09:16:00.000-07:00

...I am intelligent enough to adapt, disciplined enough to achieve, and strong enough to persevere. Are you?

Training

June 28th
Military Athlete
<< 2009-06-26 >>

FARAH FAWCET

Obj: Work Capacity

Warm up: 15-10-5
Burpee Pullup Combo (burpee under pullup bar, on jump, catch bar and do pull up)
Dumbbell Push Press @ 25#

Training:

(1) 30-20-10 for time
Dead Lift @ 185# (dead stop, no bouncing!)
Push Press @ 95#

***** Rest 5 Minutes *****

(2) 10 Rounds
30 seconds Jingle Jangles in Kit
30 Seconds Rest

(3) 5 Rounds
3x Keg Lift @ 80# Sandbag
20m Dumbbell Crawl
Rope Climb
HUG - Hip Mobility Drill

June 29th
Military Athlete
MIKE S.

Obj: Strength

Warm up: 4 Rounds
Barbell Complex (85, 95, 105, 115)
HAM - Hip Mobility Drill

Training:

(1) Work up to 1 Rep Max Squat Clean + Push Press
165#/185#/200#/205#/210#/215# (missed press)

(2) 5 Rounds
2x Squat Clean + Push Press @ 85% of your 1 Rep Max (used 175#)
5x Shoulder Scarecrow

(3) 5 Rounds
6x Bench Press (Increase Load each round until 6x is hard, but doable)
185#/205#/225#x3 205#x3/205#/205#
Rope Climb
SAM - Shoulder Mobility Drill

(4) 5 Rounds
16x Walking Lunge Steps (8x each leg) holding 20kg kettlebells or 45# dumbbells (Used 50# DBs)
8x Jumping lunges each leg
10x Weighted Sit up @ 45#

June 30th
1000m Row 4:16

6 Rnds
400m Run
50 Step-ups (20" Box/20# vest)

1000m Row 4:24

July 1st
Rest Day

July 2nd
Rest Day

July 3rd
Military Athlete
<< 2009-07-03 >>

MARC SMALL * JEREMY BESSA * DAVE HURT * TIM DAVIS * EMAN

Obj: Work Capacity

Warm up: 250 Stepups @ 40#

Training:

(1) 5 Rounds for Time
Run 400m
10x Mr. Spectacular @ 16kg
Rope Climb

(2) 6 Rounds
5x Pull ups @ 25#
10x Back Extensions holding 45# dumbbell
10x Weighted Situp @ 65#
60 second ab bridge complex

July 4th
Rest Day

July 5th
Shoulder Press Warm up
3x135/155/155/165/165

KB Complex x 2
L Sits
Ab Complex
Hollow Rocks 20/20/15/10
KTE 10/10/10/10

July 6th-July 10th

On July 6th 2009, we lost one of our teammates, Tony M. Randolph. I took time off to grieve, and escort Tony's body onto a plane to return him to his loved ones.. Love you bro, keep an eye out for me, and I'll see you someday...

July 11th
KB Complex
L Sits
5 min step-ups (20# vest)
50 Air Squats

July 12th
Perimeter Trail Run 16:14 (~2 miles) Previous time 17:30
Military Athlete
<< 2009-07-10 >>

THE HORRENDOUS

Obj: Stamina, gym based

Warm up: 15-10-5
Burpee Pullup Combo
Dumbbell Push Press # 2x 25# dumbbells

Training:

(1) 15 Rounds
30x Stepups @ 25#
5x Pull ups (strict)
10x Push ups
15x Swings @ 24kg or 55# dumbbell
30 seconds rest

July 13th
CrossFit Main Site WOD
Thrusters
3-135
3-155
3-165
3-175
1-195
1-225 (miss)
1-205 PR

500m Row 1:45
3 Rnds Ab Complex
20 Hollow Rocks
10 KTE
10 Sit ups (45#)

July 14th-15th
Rest Day

July 16th
Military Athlete
<< 2009-07-14 >>

LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO BE LITTLE

Obj: Work Capacity

Warm up: Row 2500m or run 1.5 miles (Row 10:07)

Training:

(1) 8 Rounds
10x Ankles-to-Bar
15x Swings @ 32kg kettlebell or 70# dumbbell
10x Seated Russian Twist @ 35# (20x Total)
20m Dumbbell Crawl @ 55#
29:40

July 17th
4 Rnds
400m Run
50 Air Squats
12:03

6x100m Sprints

July 18th-19th
Rest Day

July 20th
Filthy 50
25:40

July 21st
Dead Lifts
3-315#
3-365#
3-375#
3x385# PR
1x 405# Tied PR
1x 415# PR
1x 420# PR!!!
1x 430# miss

Bench Press
5 Sets x3
225#/245#/265#x1, 245#x2/255#/ 245#

CrossFit Games Ranking

2009-07-03T08:55:00.000-07:00

Jungle Jangles w/kit

The CrossFit Games are coming up fast. The stage has been set and the competitors have battled it out in regional qualifiers around the world. The 77 men who will be vying for the "Fittest Man on the Planet" title get to take an inside look at each other before the competition. The athlete profiles are being posted and now CrossFit is doing something that could be a little nerve racking. The are taking specific lifts and WODs (most of the common ones) and ranking each person based on their best times and lifts.

I figured I would get in on the action, as I'm sure alot of us who either didn't have the opportunity to go to a qualifier or did not qualify, are doing. I have looked at the standings for these amazing athletes and counted out were I fall. Here are my results for the first 6 postings of ranking...

Fran: 43rd (3:27)
Clean & Jerk: 26th (210#)
Cindy: 3rd (32 rounds)
Dead Lift: 35th (405#)
Helen: 39th (8:30)
Snatch: NA (never attempted for a PR)

That's an average ranking of 29th place so far overall. Of course that is not including the snatch, seeing as I have never attempted this lift for weight.

All and all, I would say I'm not doing too bad...Unfortunately, due to current military obligations, I did not have a chance to go to a qualifier, nor will I be around for the Games in a couple of weeks. I am still training hard, and I am going to attempt to qualify for next years games, as long as I will be around. In the mean time, I am going to keep training hard, reading what I can, and preparing myself for the each and every day at hand...

2 of the "fittest" people in the Stan. Guaranteed!!!

What a long strange trip it's been...

2009-06-27T10:00:00.002-07:00

CrossFit Pull Up hands!

June 9th
Military Athlete
GOD BLESS JOHNNY CASH

Obj: Work Capacity

Warm up: 5 Rounds
Mini Leg Blaster
5x Scotty Bob @ 25# dumbbells
HUG - Hip Mobility Drill

Mini Leg Blaster = 10x Air squats + 10x in place lunges (5x each leg) +
10x jumping lunges (5x each leg) + 5x squat jumps

Training:

(1) 10 Rounds
1x Barbell Complex every 1 minute, 40 seconds (Use same load as 5/21/09)

1x Barbell Complex = 6 reps each of:
Dead lift
Bent over row
Hang power clean
Front squat
Push Press
Back Squat

(2) 8 Rounds
10x Weigted situps @ 45#
10x Back Extensions
10x Seated Russian Twists @ 25#
30 sec overhead slosh pipe hold

June 10th
CrossFit Main Site WOD

Squat
3-225
3-235
3-245
3-255
3-260
3-265
3-245

I'm having a problem "sticking" from below 90 to about 80 degrees. I think I need to engage my posterior chain more. I'm going to do some squat research...

June 11th
CrossFit Main Site WOD

AMRAP 20 mins
Hang Clean x 15 (115#)
Ring Dip x 12
Sit Up x 21

7 full + 13 reps

June 12th
Rest Day

June 13th
Rest Day

June 14th
Rest Day

June 15th
Military Athlete
WIDGET ENVY

Obj: Stamina

Training:

(1) 400 yards "Rob Shauls" @ 65# (38:42)

(2) 5 Rounds
8x Pull Ups
20x GHD Situps

June 16th
Rest Day

June 17th
Rocky Mtn Reg. WOD #1

3 Rnds
Deads x 8 (315#)
400m Run

6:19

Ab Section of Mil. Athlete June 17th
5 Rounds
10x Ankles to Bar
10x Back Extension
5x Sandbag half moons @ 45#
10x Weighted Situp @ 45#

June 18th
CrossFit Main Site WOD

For time:
50 Wall-ball shots
50 Pull-ups
35 Wall-ball shots
35 Pull-ups
20 Wall-ball shots
20 Pull-ups

Use 20 pound medicine ball launched to a target ten feet above the ground.

13:30

June 19th
CrossFit Main Site WOD

Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:
Handstand push-ups 5 reps
Bench press 135 pounds, 10 reps
Push press 95 pounds, 15 reps
Dips 20 reps

5 Rnds

June 20th
Rest Day

June 21st
Rest Day

June 22nd
Rest Day

June 23rd
Self-Program

10 Rnds
5 Pull Ups
10 Burpees
15 Lunges (20# ea)

5 min. Set-ups

Ab Complex
3 Rnds
5 incline weighted sit ups (45#)
10 incline sit ups
10 Half Moons (25#)
10 Slashers (45#)

2 min. Step-ups (40# ea)

June 24th
Self-Program

5 Rnds
10 Deads (225#) (no bounce)
10 HSPU
10 KB Swings (50#)

5 min. Step Up

Ab Complex
3 Rnds
5 incline weighted sit ups (45#)
10 incline sit ups
10 Half Moons (25#)
10 Slashers (45#)

5 min Step Up

June 25th
Self-Program

10 Rnds (1 min. Rest between Rnds)

100m Row
10 Pull Ups
10 Dips

1-:57
2-:57
3-1:06
4-1:12
5-1:19
6-1:21
7-1:19
8-1:23
9-1:15
10-1:14

June 26th
Rest Day

June 27th
Rest Day

Post this about 2 weeks ago in the shop...I can not take credit for the quote, but put together the artwork...Think about it...

I know, I know

2009-06-26T01:58:00.000-07:00

I have not posted in forever, but I will this weekend...been lazy with it...

Know and understand ones-self

2009-06-08T08:55:00.000-07:00

Humility

Hu*mil"i*ty\, n.; pl. Humilities. [OE. humilite, OF. humilit['e], humelit['e], F. humilit['e], fr. L. humiliatis. See Humble.]
1. The state or quality of being humble; freedom from pride and arrogance; lowliness of mind; a modest estimate of one's own worth; a sense of one's own unworthiness through imperfection and sinfulness; self-abasement; humbleness

1hum·ble
Pronunciation:
\ˈhəm-bəl also chiefly Southern ˈəm-\
Function:
adjective

1: not proud or haughty : not arrogant or assertive
2: reflecting, expressing, or offered in a spirit of deference or submission ~a humble apology~
3 a: ranking low in a hierarchy or scale

I just received the CrossFit movie, "Every Second Counts." This is a must watch for anyone who is into fitness. Especially fitness on an intense level. It shows a behind the scenes look at 5 athletes in their preparation for the 2008 Games. It is a very emotional, educational, and motivational movie.

So, you are probably wondering why I started this blog with the definition on "humility" and "humble"? There are a few reasons for this...the first being, watching OPT in this movie shows me how humble someone can be with the most amazing amount of intensity maybe ever seen. Second, I have finally gotten to a point in my life where my "attitude" has taken a back set and I can honestly say the arrogance I use to have is subsiding. I wouldn't say it is gone, per say, but I think you need a little bit of arrogance to survive. CrossFit itself "teaches" a slight arrogant attitude in that you are always competing against yourself and others, but at the same time it humbles you. And I'm not really talking about it kicking your ass and putting you in your place, but that helps.

Find yourself, remember where you come from, understand that no matter how much of an attitude you have, humility is the key. Use your arrogance to motivate you when it is needed, if it is needed. Find your humility and use that to help, and teach others.

June 1st
Military Athlete
SPEARMINT

Obj: Work Capacity

Warm up: 3 Rounds
10x Goblet Squats @ 20kg
15x Swings @ 20kg
30/5/30 Sean Special (30 sec side bridge, 5 pushups, 30 sec side bridge)

Training:

(1) 5 Rounds
8x Front Squat @ 115#
2 min step up, unweighted
30 sec. rest

(2) 5 Rounds
8x Power Clean @ 115
Run 400m
30 sec. rest

June 2nd
Military Athlete
YOU FUCKIN' DISAPPOINT ME

Obj: Work Capacity

Warm up: 5 Rounds
10x Goblet Squat @ 12kg or 25# dumbbell
8x Push ups

Training:

(1) 6 Rounds for Time (25:13)
5x Curtis P @ 95#
15ft Rope Climb
10x GHD Situps
5x Scotty Bob @ 25# dumbbells
Run 200m

(2) 3 Rounds
HUG - Hip Mobility Drill
10x Back Extension

June 3rd
CSMS WOD
800m
40 "L" Pull Ups
800m
40 Strict Pull Ups
800m
40 Kipping Pull Ups

22:12

June 4th
Rest Day

June 5th
CSMS WOD
Dead Lifts
1-315
1-345
1-365
1-375
1-395
1-410 (Miss)
1-405 (Miss)

400#s is still alluding me, but my strength is steadily increasing across the board, and soon enough 420+ will be possible...I WILL NOT STOP!

June 6th
CSMS WOD
"Lynne" BW 180#
Bench: 18/14/13/10/10
Pull Ups: 25/20/21/17/20

Warmed up with a 2k Row: 7:33...Last 2K was in 8:27...Huge improvement, and I have not rowed since Feb. 22nd. It's obvious my over-all work capacity has increased even without sport specific training.

June 7th
Unscheduled Rest Day

June 8th
Rest Day

The winds of adversity are merely the breath of past warriors culling the weak from the strong!

2009-05-31T21:25:00.000-07:00

"Culling"
Wikipedia:
Culling is the process of removing animals from a group based on specific criteria. This is done in order to either reinforce certain desirable characteristics or to remove certain undesirable characteristics from the group.

Dictionary:
cull |kəl|
verb [ trans. ] (usu. be culled)
select from a large quantity; obtain from a variety of sources : anecdotes culled from Greek and Roman history.
• reduce the population of (a wild animal) by selective slaughter : he sees culling deer as a necessity | [as n. ] ( culling) kangaroo culling.
• send (an inferior or surplus animal on a farm) to be slaughtered.
• poetic/literary pick (flowers or fruit) : [as adj. ] ( culled) fresh culled daffodils.
noun
a selective slaughter of wild animals.
• [usu. as adj. ] an inferior or surplus livestock animal selected for killing : a cull cow.

The process of "culling" seems like a horrible and crude process, but is very realistic in life. Maybe not to the extreme of slaughtering animals, but definitely in the "weeding" out process of such things as athletics. Take for example, Wikipedia's version: "the process of removing animals from a group based on specific criteria." Is that not what is going on at the CrossFit Qualifiers? In the Olympic trials, or any playoff situation leading to the championship game?

Every day we "athletes" in this "sport of fitness" that has become CrossFit (or Military athlete, or whatever program you may follow) attack our workouts with a vigor not seen in normal everyday activities, and maybe not even seen in professional sports! We do this to become better, more fit, fast, stronger, more powerful, and less likely (when the time comes for a competition) to be "culled".

For some it's just an attempt to be better then they were yesterday, for others (like us military types on the front lines) it is an attempt to increase our over-all fitness and work capacity in order to hopefully (barring a huge mishap) extend our lifeline. The winds of adversity blow everyday, whether it be in our next workout, or our next mission, but the better prepared we are physically, mentally, and emotionally, the less likely we are to be "culled" out.

Whatever it might be you are faced with, attack it. CrossFit has taught me to go balls out, even when shit hurts really bad, find a way to finish, because in the end, pushing yourself to the limit won't kill you. I might just give you the edge you need to continue on, in a workout, a qualifying heat, or in life...

"Adversity is like a flame; it melts the weak, but tempers the strong." ~Thorin~ (Title quote by Thorin also)

May 27th

REMEMBER

Obj: Work Capacity

Warm up: 10 minute Sandbag get up @ 80# or Turkish Getup @ 25#

Training:

(1) 5 Rounds (Time-ave...1:19 ea)
300m Shuttle every 2 min 30 seconds

***** Rest 5 Minutes *****

(2) 13 Rounds (Burpees-11/11/11/10/10/10/10/10/10/9/9/9/10)
30 seconds burpees
30 seconds rest

(3) 5 Rounds
10x Weighted Situp # 45#
10x Russian Twist @ 25# (20x total)
10x Back Extension
HUG - Hip Mobility Drill

May 28th
CFMS WOD
Thrusters
1-155
1-165
1-175
1-185
1-195
1-185
1-190
Could have done more here but had no rack, so power cleaning the weight every time got to me a little.

May 29th
TEMPLE SQUARE

Obj: Strength

Warm up:

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3--2-1
Squat Jump
Bench Press @ 115#
Romanian Dead Lift @ 20kg Kettle bell

Training:

(1) 8 Rounds (Clean weight-135/145/150/155/160/165/170/175)
3x Squat Clean (increase load each round until 3x is hard, but doable)
30 second plank walk up
Frog Stretch

(2) 6 Rounds
Sandbag Double Eagle @ 80# Sandbag or 8x Goblet Squats @ 24kg + 6x Jingle Jangle
5x Weighted Pull ups @ 15#
10x Weighted Dips @ 15#
5x Shoulder Dislocates

May 30th
Rest Day

May 31st
Rest Day

After this 4 day stint of training I decided (after waking up on the 30th sore) that 2 days of rest were needed. Push yourself as hard as you can, but make sure you are giving your body proper rest. Listen your what your body needs, sometimes it's more advantageous to take an extra rest day and come back super hard! Be smart about your training.

How much of your heart are you willing to give?

2009-05-26T09:20:00.000-07:00

In the desert
I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it.
I said, "Is it good, friend?"
"It is bitter -- bitter," he answered;
"But I like it
Because it is bitter,
And because it is my heart."

Stephen Crane, The Black Riders

Fri. May 22nd
Military Athlete Workout
THE ECLIPSE

Obj: Strength Maintenance

Warm up: 5 Rounds
Mini Leg Blaster
SAM - Shoulder Mobility Drill

1x Mini Leg Blaster =
10x air squats
10x in-place-lunges (5x each leg)
10x jumping lunges (5x each leg)
5x squat jumps

Training:

(1) 8 Rounds (Weight Used...70/75/80/85/90/95/100/105)
3x "The Exercise" (increase weight each round until 3x is hard, but doable)
30m Sled Push, 8x jingle jangles, or 8x standing broad jumps
HUG - Hip Mobility Drill

(2) 8 Rounds ( Weight Used...225/275/300/320/345/345/365/380PR)
3x Dead Lift (increase weight each round until 3x is hard, but doable)
5x Kettlebell Floor Press @ 2x 24kg kettlebells
3x Shoulder Scare Crow

Sat. May 23rd
CrossFit Ne Qual WOD 1
AMRAP 12 mins
5x135# Thruster
10xBurpee

7 Full+7 Burpee...Legs were absolutely fried from the day before...

Sun. May 24th
CrossFit NE Qual WOD 3
10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1
155# Power Clean
Chest to Bar Pull Ups
1.5 pood KB Swing

16:07...really shitty, but with the heat, dry air, and the last 2 days of training I was dead tired! Can't wait for sea level again!

Mon. May 25th
Rest Day (TGIRD)

Tues. May 26th
"Barbara"

Five rounds, each for time of:
20 Pull-ups
30 Push-ups
40 Sit-ups
50 Squats

Rest precisely three minutes between each round.
1-3:35
2-3:29
3-3:36
4-3:48
5-3:55
Total-18:13

When the path is dark, follow your heart. Give all you have...bleed what you love!

Train like a Spartan Warrior!

2009-05-21T08:43:00.001-07:00

The Greeks and Persians arrived at the battlefield at roughly the same time. The Persian king sent his spies forward and found out exactly how small the Greek force was. He sent an emissary to negotiate surrender. The terms offered amounted to the Greeks being able to retire unmolested back to their homes in return for laying down their arms.

The response from the hopelessly outnumbered Spartan leader was recorded by the scholar Herodotus. The response was simple, "Molon Lebe" translated to "Come and Get them."

I have decided to change pace a little and mix in some Militaryathlete.com workouts...They seem to be a little more extended then CrossFit WODs, but maybe not quite as intense since you kinda need to pace yourself a little or you will get way burned out before you finish. They are a good mixture for this climate to build the essential muscle endurance and lung capacity needed to function at higher altitude. Check it out and work it in a few days a week...

May 15th
Military Athlete May 13th Workout
ENERAL MCCARTHUR

Obj: Strength/Work Capacity

Warm Up: 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
"The Exercise" @ 45#
SAM - Shoulder Mobility Exercise

First round = 10x "The Exercise", then SAM
Second round = 9x "The Exercise," then SAM, etc

Training:

(1) 6 Rounds (Used Chuck's weight)
8x Dead Lift @ body weight, then immediately (225#)
8x Broad Jumps
30 seconds rest

(2) 6 Rounds
5x Bench Press @ 85% body weight (185# BW)
5x Clapping push up
30 seconds rest

(3) 6 Rounds
5x Front Squats @ 85% body weight (155#)
5x Squat Jumps
30 seconds rest

(4) 6 Rounds
5x Push Press @ 75% body weight (135#x3 115#x3)
5x Whip Smash with a fast rope, or 5x strict pull ups, fast as possible but don't kip
30 seconds rest

May 16th
Military Athlete May 14th Workout

OVER SOLD, UNDER BOUGHT

Obj: Work Capacity

Warm up: 5 Rounds
20m Overhead Lunge Walk holding 12kg
10x Alligator push up
5x Pull ups

Training:

(1) 4 Rounds
300m Shuttle every 2:30 (averaged about 1:50)

********* Rest 5 minutes ************

(2) 10 Rounds (Finished with 99 total Burpees)
30 seconds burpees
30 seconds rest

(3) 3 Rounds
90 second ab bridge complex (30 sec. side, 30 sec. front, 30 sec. other side)
HAM - Hip Mobility Drill

May 17th
Diane
5:30...No lunch and on a call for 6.5 hours...no excuses though...

May 18th
Rest Day

May19th
3 Rnds

5x Clean & Jerk (155#)
10x Box Jump
15x KB Swing (1.5 pood)
6:17
2 Mile Run in PM. 16:37
May 20th
Military Athlete May 19th Workout
PUSHING. SHOVING.

Obj: Work Capacity - Extended

Warm up: 10 minute Sandbag Getup @ 80#

Training:

(1) 15-14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Thrusters @ 95#
GHD Situps
Slasher to Halos @ 16kg (each direction)

1st Round = 15x Thrusters, 15x GHD Situps, 30x Slasher-to-Halo (15x each dir.)

(2) 6 Rounds
10x Box Jumps
10x Dips
5x Pull ups (Strict)
30m Tire Drag or 8x Jingle Jangles (Did JJs)
43:30

May 21st
Rest Day

Maybe self-improvement isn't the answer.... Maybe self-destruction is the answer. ~Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club, Chapter 6~

2009-05-14T10:20:00.000-07:00

Have you "torn yourself down today"? So that you can come back stronger each time you do! In order to "self-improve", one must first be content with destroying oneself. Tear down your walls of belief of physical fitness...and build up something Indestructible!

indestructible |ˌindiˈstrəktəbəl|
adjective
not able to be destroyed

No fear. No distractions. The ability to let that which does not matter truly slide. ~Fight Club~

2009-05-14T08:22:00.000-07:00

Mon. May 4th
AMRAP
10 Wall Ball
10 Box Jumps
10 Dead Lift (205#)
10 Burpees

7 Rnds+3 Reps...This was from the Canada West Quals, WOD 1 "Every Rep Counts", and good enough to get 14th place for the WOD. Not awesome, but not bad...It was a really hot day, although that is not an excuse...

May 5th & 6th were unscheduled Rest Days followed by a Main Site Rest Day on May 7th. Needed to recharge a little, and work got busy.

Fri May 8th
Grace
3:49...New PR by 1 sec...but this was at altitude, not sea level.

Sat. May 9th
4x800
1-2:51
2-2:52
3-2:52
4-2:50

Sun May 10th
Back Squat
5-225
5-230
5-240
5-245
5-250
Max Reps of 135# 50 Reps

Mon. May 11th
Rest Day

Tues. May 12th
Power Clean
155# Working sets
185# x 1 Bad Form, dropped back down, should still pretty sore

Wed. May 13th
Great Basin Reg. Qual WOD 2
5 Rnds
7 DL (275#)
30 Air Squats
7 HSPU

7:38...Good enough for 4th among the times for this WOD...

Thurs. May 14th
Unscheduled Rest Day

"Prescribing thirty minute bouts of monostructural cardio (bike, run, swim, row, elliptical walker, etc.) in the hopes of maximizing fitness for a fight of five rounds of five minutes each is the epitome of incompetence."

Incompetence
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Incompetence is the inability to perform; lack of competence; ineptitude. "

"First, second, third, dead f-in' last." (on the motivating properties of keeping score)

2009-05-02T09:09:00.000-07:00

If you don't keep score, you are just hurting yourself. Record, Record, Record...even if you aren't trying to beat anyone, you should try to beat yourself every time you go out and train! Trust me, if you do this, you will get stronger, faster, and better at what ever you are willing accomplish!

"Training for a fight by running twenty minutes everyday makes perfect sense if you plan on running away from your opponent and know you will be getting a ten minute headstart."

The longest I have run here is about 2 miles...and the only thing it has done for me is given me knee pain and ankle pain. As for the adaption to the altitude and the dry heat, the running as done nothing to help overcome that. You know what has...here's a shocker...CrossFit!

I will admit, I have never been much of a runner, and probably never will be, but CrossFit has given me the lungs to be able to run whatever distance I want...Of course I have never ran a marathon (I have ran a 1/2 though) and, don't ever really desire too, but hey, I'm sure I could!

April 25th
Rest Day

April 26th
Perimeter run about 2 miles. 17:30
Lynn

Bench Press (185#)
17
15
12
10
10

Pull Ups
25
17
20
20
22

April 27th
MS WOD
5 Rnds
21 SDHP (95#)
21 Ring Dips
15:40

April 28th
Should Press
1-135
1-145
1-155
1-165
1-175
1-180 (Fail)
1-180

April 29th
Rest Day

April 30th
Elizabeth

Squat Cleans (135#)
Ring Dips
10:38

2 mins faster the the last time in Jan. in VA Beach.

May 1st
Tabata Something Else
Total: 398

May 2nd
Perimeter about 2 Mile Run
16:21

Skinny "Hanson"
3 Rnds
30 KB Swings (1.5 pood)
30 Burpees
30 Sit Ups
14:16

We're designed to be hunters and we're in a society of shopping. There's nothing to kill anymore, there's nothing to fight, nothing to overcome, nothing to explore. In that societal emasculation this everyman is created.
~David Fincher, director of Fight Club, interview with Gavin Smith

What have we become? Do a favor to yourself, Kill some CrossFit WODs!!! Fight for more weight, faster times, and better health. Overcome the things in life that you physically thought you never could! Explore everything!

Everyday you train, do it like it is your last WOD ever...Trust me, in the end, you will thank me for it! Then, if you do well, go out and buy yourslef sometihng nice, like a Zone friendly dessert!

Celebs in The Stan

2009-04-24T10:08:00.000-07:00

We had a few visitors here at work. The Ambassadors of Hollywood came into town, so we took them to the range to shoot for some excitement! Pics to come later...

CrossFit Time!

April 19th
Kettlebell Complex

April 20th
Squats
3-225
3-245
3-265
3-265
3-270

Ab Complex
3 Rnds
20 Ab Mat
20 Hollow Rocks
10 KTE (rock climbing grip)
15 sec L sit on Rings

April 21st
Rest Day

April 22nd
5 Rnds
5 Dead Lift (225#)
10 Burpees
5 Ring Dips

5:09

April 23rd
5 Rnds
Max reps for 1 min. at each station, then 1 min rest=1 rnd. Like FGB but with 3 stations...

Push Press (75#)
Tire Flip/Jump Through (flip tire, jump into then out of, repeat)
Ring Pull ups

Score 229

April 24th
Clean & Jerk
5x5 (135#)

A New Battle...

2009-04-18T11:11:00.000-07:00

“When the fight begins within
himself, a man's worth something.”
- Robert Browning, 1855 -

Here is a run down of April as it has worked out...from here on out, I'm going to try and post every week...we will see how that goes...

April 3rd
Bench 3 Rnds
5-185
5-205
5-225
then...

10 rnds
12 pull ups
12 push ups
then...

3 rnds
15 GHD
15 Back Ex.

April 6th
5 Rnds
Dead lift 5 x 275
50m walking lunge
10 Burpees

April 7th
AMRAP 20 min
15 OHS (75#)
10 KTE
5 HSPU
8 Full + 2 OHS

April 10th
Bench
3-225
3-225
3-225
3-225
3-225

21-15-9
Wall Ball (20#)
KB Swing (1.5 pood)
Box Jump

April 11th
Main Site WOD
3 Rnds
500m Row (subbed SDHP 50-45#)
21 Burpees
400m Run
17:40

April 12th
MS WOD
30 Muscle Ups
11:37

April 14th
MS WOD
"DT"
5 Rnds (155#)
12 DL
9 Power Clean (didn't do Hang PC)
6 Push Jerk
17:31

April 16th
MS WOD
AMRAP 20 mins
"Danny"
30 Box Jumps
20 Push Press (115#)
30 Pull Ups (subbed 15 Ring Pull Ups)
3 Full + 5 Pulls

April 17th
Kettlebell Complex Warm up
Dead Lift
3-285
3-315
3-315
5-335
3-315

Bench Press
5-225
5-225
5-225

April 18th
Aussie Qual WOD 1
3 Rnds
10 Clean/Jerk (135#)
15 Ring Dip
20 KB Swing (24K)
10:49

My New Battle, my struggle, my inner and outer fight is now to become more then I ever thought I could be. I am in a situation where altitude is kicking my ass. Every workout, my lungs burn, my muscles gasp for O2, I feel like I'm going hypoxic! Since the decline of my eating and hairy training schedule I have taken a few steps back in my training, but this opportunity, if I choose to take advantage of it, will make me stronger, faster, more powerful in the end. This altitude, the struggle to overcome the lack of O2 my body has grown accustom to over the last 31 years, this will be my New Battle. This will lead me to push myself like I never have before, and in the end will pay huge dividends to the overall athletic ability I am in search of!

See Jeremy Thiel's Warrior or Wannabe Post from Tuesday April 14th... I quote "Do you train or live with all of your heart mind and body..... with PASSION?"

Gettin it done in the Desert...

2009-03-31T04:59:00.000-07:00

Well, I took about a week off since my last workout. Part of it was to just relax a little and part of it was time, like I had said. Anyway, we have been trapped in the southern middle east en route to our final destination, so it was about time to get some working out done.

Tues. Mar. 29th
Lynn
5 Rounds
Max Body Weight Bench
Max Pull Ups

Bench 185#
15/11/10/9/9
Pull Ups
28/23/19/19/18

Mon. Mar. 30
Lay around in Airport for 12 hours.

Tues. Mar 31st
Squat
5-185
5-225
5-245
5-255
2-265 then dropper to 3-245

Dead Lift
5-225
5-270
5-315
5-315
5-270

Can't wait to get to our final destination to get the CrossFit gym set up so I don't have to workout in gay Air Force gym and have the little Aitman stare at us...Keep up the biceps curls boys! lol...

Prayer to St. Michael on the eve of deployment.

2009-03-26T08:16:00.000-07:00

I am not necessarily a "religious" man per say, but I would call myself a "spiritual" person. On the eve of my first deployment I would like to post a prayer that has been written in many languages; Greek, Latin, and English to name a few, and has very deep meaning to me...So deep in fact that the first 2 lines are tattooed on my arm along with an image of St. Michael...

Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle;
be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray:
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen

To all the men and women who are in harms way right now, I pray you all come home safe to your loved ones and get to enjoy a humble life. To all of my fallen brothers and sisters in battle, and those that may fall in the future...go with peace, strength, love, honor, and courage. Know that you have done a great deed sacrificing your life for our nation and that you will never be forgotten in the hearts of all...Be Strong.

I apologize...

2009-03-26T05:05:00.000-07:00

Casey and I in Taormina

I have been very busy with pre-deployment stuff and have not had time to blog let alone workout or eat right. So here is what I figured out.

1) If you stop Zoning for about 10 days you might put on about 10 lbs and feel like absolute crap! I "took a break" from the zone before heading out the door to enjoy some of the things I use to really love. For instance, peanut butter pie, cadbury eggs, and bread/pasta. Although this was fun, it has really set me back in my nutrition and training. I feel pretty crappy and have grown weaker and fatter!

2) If you stop a 3 on 1 off schedule and don't do any strength training you might gain 10 lbs and feel like crap! Along with not zoning I have not had the time (really bad excuse) to keep with my workout schedule. This has caused me to lose the edge. When we get settled in in country I should be able to get back to it. We brought 2 sets of bumper, 3 med balls, various kettlebells, 3 barbells, and various pull up attachments.

3) If you get 3 infectious diseases put into your body in 1 day you are going to feel like crap for awhile.

4) All of this can be fixed so that you don't gain 10 lbs and feel like crap very simply. Embrace the SUCK and just keep plugging away. No matter wheat the schedule, the time, the place, be prepared to go all out whenever you are able too. Train like you fight and never ever quit!

Tomorrow I leave for deployment so there might be less and less blogging in the near future. Although I will have a an internet connection not sure how much time I will have to keep up with it. If there is anyone out there who actually reads this, I apologize ahead of time, but I will still be killin it as much as I can and you should too!

Sarah showing off in Cefalu

Me messin around in the pool!

The Man Comes Around

2009-03-11T13:46:00.000-07:00

"And I heard as it were the noise of thunder
One of the four beasts saying come and see and I saw
And behold a white horse"...

This is CrossFit! We come around like thunder, and people come and watch and they behold the power and are hooked!!!

Sun. Mar. 8th
Rest Day

Mon. Mar. 9th
5 mile ruck run in the am with ~55#

WOD
Complete as many rounds as you can in twenty minutes of:
5 Handstand Push-ups
10 L Pull-ups
15 Steps, Walking Lunge

14 full + 1 HSPU

Then...
CFSB
Dead Lifts
3-315
3-315
Working sets
3-225
2-225
3-225

Metcon went very well, felt good, awesome ROM on all movements. Nose to ground and full lockout on HSPU, and have bruises on my knees from the lunges! Deads on the other hand, not good. Hammies were really really tight, just worked on form.

Tues. Mar. 10th
Rest Day...

used today as a rest day instead of doing the total cause I have been doing the CrossFit Strength Bias along with Main Site WODs and have no need right now to know my 1RM.

Wed. Mar. 11th
WOD
Complete as many rounds as you can in thirty minutes of:
Five pull-ups
Five ring dips
15 Sit-ups

33 Full + 4 pull ups

This WOD was pretty killer, my hands are sore and my abs were killing me by like round 5! I did sit ups un-anchored and did chest to knees ROM as to not "cheat" and do crunches. Didn't break up any sets till around 30, then had to break rings dips a little...

Thurs. Mar. 12th
Rest Day

...Whoever is unjust let him be unjust still
Whoever is righteous let him be righteous still
Whoever is filthy let him be filthy still
Listen to the words long written down
When the man comes around

Make up Post: Random Training

2009-03-07T07:39:00.000-08:00

Sun. Feb. 22nd
2 K Row
8:27.2

CFSB
Presses
5-135
5-155
4-165

Mon. Feb, 23rd
5K Ruck Run w/~55#
46:10

4 sets max
Pull ups 10 (w/~55#) then 3 set w/kit ~20# 15/10/10
Dips 12 (w/~55#) then 3 set w/kit ~20# 15/12/10

Tues. Feb. 24th

WOD from the 23rd
For time:
Row 500 meters
115 pound Push press, 21 reps
Row 500 meters
115 pound Push press, 18 reps
Row 500 meters
115 pound Push press, 15 reps
Row 500 meters
115 pound Push press, 12 reps

13:19

Wed. Feb. 25th.
Rest Day

Thurs. Feb, 26th

Navy PST

500 yd Swim 9:33
Push ups 91 (2 mins)
Sit ups 122 (2 mins)
Pull ups 28 (strict)
1.5 mile run 12:15 (w/Team)

Then we drilled and did not get another workout till...

Fri. Mar. 6th
FAT Cindy
20# weight vest

19 full + 4 pull ups

Sat. Mar. 7th
"Jackie" Mar. 6th WOD
6:58

CFSB
Back Squats
3-225
3-235
3-245
2-255
3-225

To Chuck...Ruck this crap, I'm going home, and I'm taking my ASS with me!!! LOL

2009-03-06T13:14:00.000-08:00

As a Tribe Called Quest put it...

Watch, as I combine all the juice from the mind
Heel up, reel up, bring it back, come rewind
Powerful impact BOOM! from the cannon
Not braggin, try to read my mind just imagine
Vo-cab-u-lary's necessary
When diggin into my library

I'm going to rewind, and come back with a powerful BOOM!

I must apologize to myself (cause I'm pretty sure no one else reads this or even cares for that matter)for the last few weeks. We have been extremely busy at work, like 13-15 hour days of drilling and getting our team ready. Some of this has been PT in the am, and not all of that PT has been bad. I have not however been following the main site WODs and have not continued with my "strength bias" WODs that I started.

Here is the thing...I am not very good at doing the "group/team" PT sessions that we do at work, even if they are CrossFit "style" workouts. I am a "ME" person when it comes to working out. I like to follow a "routine" (like the main site) and not deviate from that too much in order to log my progress and be able to compare myself to myself (I sound like Austin Powers) and others that post. When we do Ruck runs, group CrossFit "style" circuits, or various other workouts, I get "out of the grove". Put that together with not being able to workout at all for around 5-6 days and I am ALL JACKED UP!!!

I feel like crap (in context, still better then most "normal people I'm sure), I have not made any progress, I have nothing "real" to log, and now it will take at least a week to get back into the "grove" again. Not to mention, I do NOT have the discipline at this point to sustain a strict diet on this type of schedule. I am currently watching a CrossFit video on Chastity Slone and here dieting, and now I feel like a failure for not being able to be strict. Anyway, on a side not, no one can be perfect all the time, and I think realizing that, and being able to get back on track is very important...

So, with that said, here is the deal. It's time to start over, rewind a few weeks, or maybe a few months, forgive myself, but not forget this "major" F-up in training and eating and get my ass back on track!!!

I took my "Cheat" time and now it's time to get back to work. I will still have to be on a slightly modified schedule (we did "Fat Cindy" today, with 20# vest on) and Monday is suppose to be a "rest day" for the Main Site, but I will be training with the team, but other then that it's back to 3 days on 1 day off, and the strength bias integrated into it all.

O, and Chuck, if you read all of this, I'm just kidding man, well, kinda...F those ruck runs, they SUCK!!!!

This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time. ~Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club, Chapter 3

2009-02-21T13:22:00.000-08:00

The title for this blog came from the book/movie "Fight Club", seemingly about the struggles of breaking free from this mediocracy, sheep mentality of a life most people have become accustom too...Here is what I have to say about that S@%T!!!

DO Something About It!!!! CROSSFIT

I have come full circle in my CrossFit thinking. I'll admit, in the beginning it was all about me. My times, My weights, My performance...and don't get me wrong, it has everything to do with making ME better. I have come to realize though, that by making myself better, I will be more capable of making OTHERS better.

CrossFit, initially starts out as a performance enhancing functional fitness program. I hate to use the word program, as it's much more of a community of determined people who are willing to make themselves better one step at a time. Anyway, when people look at CrossFit from the outside in, they see this "crazy", really hard workout thing that will kill them and is way too hard for most people to do.

It is totally not like that. I have been to a number of CrossFit Boxes and in every one of them there are a few guys who are awesome athletes and kill the WOD and bring huge amounts of intensity to the Box. Although, what I have noticed is that there are actually more mom's, wives, older men/women, corporate people, kids, and even elderly (over 70) then there are athletes. This community is the most amazing community when it comes to catering to EVERYONE!

I have seen, read, and listened to more "confessions" from CrossFitters about losing weight (lots of weight), feeling more healthy, or getting their 1st pull up! This community is made up of individuals who are go getting, no holds barred, committed, kick ass people who really love life.

It is not just a "fitness program" that a Globo Gym tries to rip you off with. CrossFit is a lifestyle of bettering oneself physically, mentally, and emotionally. It starts with the physical WOD and probably you as a big glob of crap on the ground after. Then the next WOD, then all of the sudden you feel yourself getting strong, see the results on the scale, and notice how much better you feel emotionally.

CrossFit is not a weight loss program. It's not psychologist session. It's not a "weight lifting program". CrossFit is a (by definition) constantly varied combination of functional movements, performed at high intensity across broad time and modal domains. We specify in not specifying in general all inclusive fitness...That's the version that most people don't really understand in the beginning...

CrossFit, however, is also and weight loss program, a fun place to "workout", a better health/better emotional felling place, a goal getting, WOD killing, mac loving, burpee doing, bloody hand getting, amazing community of people. CrossFit is soo many more things, and to each individual, possibly something different.

CrossFit starts out as something most people are afraid of and only "elite" athletes can do. If that's what you think, then you are totally wrong, and should look more deeply into this community.

I have drank the Koolade and people have even gone as far as to say I bathe in it, or that I am obsessed with it. And I'd suffice to say they are pretty much correct in that, by way of CrossFit I have become a better, stronger, healthier person and am on a quest to make others see and feel what I have. We have been called a "movement" or a "cult" by those in the fitness industry that don't understand how to make people better people, and only want to make a quick buck on fade fitness programs or machines.

I am here to say, this is a movement, and my be semi-cultish, and that we are here, as a whole, to not make a quick buck, but to, in the words of Coach Glassman, "not be satisfied with anything less then total domination of the fitness industry." While this quest goes forward so do the number of people out there who get strong, lose weight, feel more heathy, and even some who will become "elite" athletes.

But, as I hope you either understand, or will come to understand, CrossFit is not just a "Fire Breathing", kill yourself, balls to the wall workout scheme that only athletic people can do. This thing, this community of astonishing people is something that everyone can do in some way shape or form. It has something to offer (not just physical) to everyone, not matter your background or goals. It is not something to be "afraid" to try, and I know more and more people will come to see that and understand what WE (CrossFit) is about above and beyond the WOD.

I myself will continue to forge a new me, and transform myself into the best overall fitness monster that I can, who is knowledgeable in this "movement", not to try and scare none athletic individuals away, but to make them see and know that I will do anything to help them improve their lives and well being through this thing we call CrossFit...

Check out Jeremy Thiel's contribution...

I Am CrossFit from CrossFit Central on Vimeo.

Tues. Feb 17th
WOD
Squat Clean
1-135
1-155
1-175
1-195
1-200
1-210
1-220 PR!

CFSB
Back Squat
3-225
3-235
3-245
3-250
3-255 PR!

Wed. Feb. 18th
WOD
With a continuously running clock do one pull-up the first minute, two pull-ups the second minute, three pull-ups the third minute... continuing as long as you are able.

Use as many sets each minute as needed.

19 Rnds

Thurs. Feb 19th
WOD
50 Ring Dips
400m Run
50 Push ups
400m Run
50 HSPU
400m Run

29:38...HSPU Suck!

Fri. Feb. 20th
Rest Day

Sat. Feb 21st
WOD
"Joshie"

34:42

CFSB
Front Squat
5-135
5-175
5-200 PR

should have started heavier, but till a PR, never done 3x5 before...

CF Strength Bias...My Version...

2009-02-16T11:30:00.000-08:00

I also have been toying with the idea of more strength work. With that said, Jeff Martin's article "Strong Medicine" (http://journal.crossfit.com/2009/02/crossfit-strength-bias.tpl) couldn't have had better timing. I am going to do a modified CFSB routine for the next 6 weeks at least. I am going to follow their program for back squats, deads, front squats, and presses, but will mix in some split jerks, and jerks, and some cleans also. I am going to try a formate more like 2 heavy sessions in each 3 day period, and maybe 1 if I'm felling crappy. It will look something like this

Week 1

Day 1: Main site WOD + Back squats (5x3)
Day 2: MSWOD + Deads (5x3)
Day 3:MSWOD
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: MSWOD + Front Squats (3x5)
Day 6: MSWOD + Presses (3x5)
Day 7 Rest

Week 2

Day 1: MSWOD + Back Squats (5x3)
Day 2: MSWOD + Deads (5x3)
Day 3:MSWOD
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: MSWOD + Cleans (3x5)
Day 6: MSWOD + Split Jerks (3x5)
Day 7 Rest

Week 3

Day 1: MSWOD + Back Squats (3x5)
Day 2: MSWOD + Deads (3x5)
Day 3:MSWOD
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: MSWOD + Front Squats (5x3)
Day 6: MSWOD + Presses (5x3)
Day 7 Rest

Week 4

Day 1: MSWOD + Back Squats (3x5)
Day 2: MSWOD + Deads (3x5)
Day 3:MSWOD
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: MSWOD + Cleans (5x3)
Day 6: MSWOD + Split Jerks (5x3)
Day 7 Rest

All WODs will be proceeded by the Burgner Warm up and finished with a gymnastics/skill development...

After a 4 week preiod I will evaluate my #s and go from there. Chances are I will do at least 2 more weeks to make it a 6 week cycle. The goal here is to become stronger overall, but at the same time stay steady on the Main Site WODs and my overall general fitness as a whole. With the proper nutrition (Zone, although maybe modified) and enough recovery this prgram should develop better overall strength while still increasing an overall general fitness level.

Saratoga to Sicily...Train when you can...

2009-02-16T10:51:00.000-08:00

Sat Feb. 7th
Rest Day

Sun. Feb. 8th
WOD Albany CrossFit

5 Rnds

16 KB Swings (55#)
16 Inverted Burpees
16 DB Hang Squat Clean Thrusters (40#)
16 DB Front Squats (40#)
16 Pull Ups

45:10...Well, This was one of the WODs I was just not ready for! Granted a few of these movements are slower movements, but this WOD killed me. I'm not sure what was up, although my nutrition hasn't been the best and due to training my schedule has been sparse, but those are no excuse. Coach speaks of "general fitness" and being "constantly varied". These 2 statements are the reason I am very upset about this one...everyone has a bad day though...stash this one away and move on...

Mon. Feb 9th
WOD
Cindy (YMCA)
27 + 10 push ups

This felt a lot better, but Cindy has always been one of my better ones. Still can't reach that 31+ that I hit awhile back...I'll get 32 or 33 though.

Tues. Feb. 10th
WOD
Dead Lifts

1-315
1-335
1-340
1-340
1-335
1-345
1-350

Scaled this one back a little. Worked a lot more on form and training Eric.

Wed. Feb. 11th
Rest Day

Thurs. Feb. 12th
WOD (Albany CrossFit)

750m Row
21 KB Swings (55#)
21 Pull ups

500m Row
15 KB Swings
15 Pull ups

250 m Row
9 KB Swings
9 Pull ups

9:32...This one went pretty well. I had a better time then everyone at Albany CrossFit, but I wonder how Kahlipa, OPT, Speal, and guys like that would do.

I was talking with one of the guys there and telling him how I believe the NE Region is the weakest region for qualifying for the games, and that a guy like him or me on the right day could easily get in. At the same time though, we would have no shot at winning the Games in 09. The NE is weak yes making the dream a possibility for guys like us, but the reality is, there is sooo much more training (physically and mentally) to be done before being able to compete with the "Fire breathers".

Can you tell who has more stamina, better form, and gets the faster time?

Fri. Feb. 13th
Travel Day...Rest

Sat. Feb. 14th
Arrival day back to Sicily, slept all day. Rest.

Sun. Feb 15th
WOD

3 Rnds
500m Row
21 Burpees
400m Run

16:56...Did this one at the local gym, used a treadmill for the runs. Felt pretty good, a little weak in the lungs. OPT did it in 14 and change, as was expected, and I might have been under 16 out on a track. The treadmill takes abotu 20 secs to speed up.

Mon. Feb. 16th
Rest Day

Still jet lagged a little. Didn't wake up till 1pm. Decided to take the day off so that I can get back on the Main Site tomorrow.

This Is Why I'm Hot! I'm Hot Cause Your Not!!!

2009-02-06T15:27:00.000-08:00

Welcome the the local Globo Gym in Utica NY! LOL...as you can see these people are really killin it!!! I had to spend the last week CrossFitting here and getting stared at by a bunch of people who basically walked around and chatted with each other.

On Monday my brother Grant(finally got him to Drink the Koolaid, and he is addicted) went in to do a dead lift WOD. As we were working out and being extremly critical on form and keeping our lumbar curve "locked" into place we looked around. What did we see? A bunch of retarded Globo Gymers wasting there time! These people seriously think a 2 inch ROM on bench press with 315# for 3 reps is a workout!!! Its so annoying!

And then some kid with a college football shirt on was doing squats...well, they weren't squats actually I'm not sure what they were. I really wish I had a pic. He had 225# on the bar, high bar squat position, and then he wrapped elastic bands around the ends of the bar that were attached to 100# dumb bells on the ground. I'm guessing these were for extra resistence. So far, I'm ok with this, although I'd rather see a low bar position. Anyway, here is where it gets interesting! He put a box under where his ass would squat too, but then he put a piece of foam on the box. ??? Hmm, now what? Umm, well, I guess it was so he could sit down on while he was doing his squats...as he lowered the weight he actually sat on the box (which was above parallel) like he was resting for a few seconds and then would stand up! LOL, I just looked at my brother and laughed (out loud) and shook my head. I really had no clue WTF was going on...There was so much more I could rant about but I'm sure we all understand where I'm coming from. These people are mice and have no clue what they are doing. I put the blame on the trainers here. No one even realizes these people are not doing themsleves any good, and that is why the same people for the last 10 years have made no gains, have gotten fatter, and have not gotten any stronger! I wish I could shut the place sown and free everyone of these people from the lies they are living! Somone needs to hook up a Koolaid fire hydrant outside and hose this whole place down!!!!

The pics that follow are from the website of this gym...they really look like they are motivated, and really working hard! I love the last one of the weight room...Globo Gymers, does this look firmiliar? GET A LIFE! LOL

Chillaxin on Leave

2009-02-06T15:04:00.000-08:00

Sun. Jan 25th-Fri Jan 30th
Team Training...Rest Days

Sat Jan 31st

For time:
25 Walking lunge steps
20 Pull-ups
50 Box jumps
20 Double-unders
25 Ring dips
20 Knees to elbows
30 Kettlebell swings 1.5 pood
30 GHD Sit-ups
25 Back extensions
20 Slam balls 20 pound ball
30 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball
3 Rope climb ascents

17:30...Thanks to Thomi for a great WOD that I was sore from for like 4 days!!!

Sun Feb 1st
Rest Day, Flew to NY

Mon Feb 2nd

Deads
1-315
1-335
1-355
1-355
1-360
1-365
1-370

Felt Good to finally go heavy on Deads again...Still losing a little lumbar curve with the heavier weight. I need to strengthen my mid line more in order to "lock" in and hold the weight...until this happens I'm afraid I won't be up in the 400 range...

Tues Feb 3rd

Back Squat
5-225
5-225
5-235
5-225
5-225

no bumpers plates so I chose to stay a little lighter so that I would have to drop the weight at Globo Gym Utica and get kicked out...

Wed. Feb 4th

Five rounds for time of:
2 pood Kettlebell swings, 25 reps
25 GHD Sit-ups
25 Back Extensions
25 Knees to Elbows

around 35 mins...forgot my watch so kept time on the wall clock...I was just talking about strengthening mid-line...lol, well, I got my wish! Although this killed my mid-line more then anything, and it was also a killer leg workout too. I felt mortal on this one, as I have on most of them lately. I think the few weeks of only getting 2-3 WODs in has definitely hurt me. This was an OPT type WOD and it showed, since he killed it in 27:12...He is an animal!

Thurs. Feb 5th

Rest Day

Fri Feb 6th

Shoulder press
1-155
1-165
1-175 fail
1-165
1-165
Push press
3-165
3-175
3-180
2-190
3-185
Push Jerk
5-155
5-155
5-155
5-155
5-155

No Bumpers again, so again went a little lighter as to not have to drop the weight and cause a CAT A situation in Globo Gym! Felt a little burned out and weak though. Presses were definitely weaker then usual, Push Presses weren't too bad but my shoulders were fried. Push Jerk was very very light for me. I stuck with a working weight and still had trouble locking out in the right timing sequence...shoulders were donzo!

Too much time off makes me feel like crap!!

2009-01-24T11:41:00.000-08:00

Tues Jan 13th-Friday Jan 16th

Team Training, which means no time for CrossFit, or anything else really...

My Zone Diet has kinda gone to shit since I have been in the US. It's more because work days are going from like 530 am to 7 pm or so then just falling off the wagon. I have been eating ok for breakfast and lunch and maybe one snack, but dinner is out the door!! I have put on a little more weight and lost some of my leanness, but Thomi says thats a natural "winter" thing.

Sat. Jan 17th Happy 31st Bday to me!!!

CrossFit Alexandria

Weight Lifting WOD
Squat Clean
1-95
1-135
1-155
1-175
1-205 miss
1-205 PR
1-215 miss

Split Jerk
3-135
3-155
3-185
1-205
1-225 PR
1-245 PR

Felt strong after 4 days off, but if this was a Metcon WOD my lungs would have suffered...Overall, very vert happy with this. I PRd on both exercises...The little extra weight I put on and the "rest" I got definitely helped out. For my 31st Bday I feel much more fit then ever!

Sun Jan 18th
CrossFit Alexandria

5 Rnds
250m Row
15 Squat Cleans (95#)

17:07

Mon. Jan 19th
CrossFit Alexandria

3 Rnds
21-15-9
Box Jumps
Ring Dips
Burpees

8:52

Tues. Jan 20th-Thursday Jan 22rd

Team Training...Rest Days...not really

Fri Jan 23rd CrossFit Va Beach
Elizabeth

12:35 Squat Cleans

First time ever doing this WOD, and after an extented rest period, it hurt!!!!

Sat. Jan 24th CrossFit Va Beach
3 Rnds
50 Double Unders
2 Rope Climbs (15 ft)
50 Squats

10:27

I really hate Double Unders!!! I'm much better then I use to be, but I still suck at them. My last set of 50 must have been like 3 mins!!! If I was better this WOD could be done around 7 mins!!!

Killed some WODs in 2 countries this week!!!

2009-01-12T17:18:00.000-08:00

Thurs Jan 8th
WOD

1000m Row
21-15-9
Front Squat 135#
Back Ext.

8:31...Woke up at 315 am (Sicily time) and the main page WOD was not posted yet, so I pulled a card from the Hopper Deck. It was pretty good, the front squats were a little harder then expected after the row.

Fri. Jan 9th
WOD CrossFit Va Beach
AMR in 20 mins:

100m Run
12 KB Swings 55#
10 Pull Ups

10 full + 6 Pull Ups...great grip killer!!! and it was could as hell outside. Did this WOD at 7 pm and my buddy Casey and I were the only 2 there. He got me by 2 pull ups, but he is also 11 years younger! LOL, not an excuse, but definetly a slight advantage after my recovery from the Thursday WOD was a 9 hour trans-atlantic flight!!! Legs were a little tight.

Sat. Jan 10th
WOD CrossFit Va Beach

Tabata:
Jumping Pull ups 137
Wall Ball 75
Burpees 50
Box Jump 74

Total 336...Tabata's are always hard as hell! This WOD proved that my endurance and stamina has come along way. I didn't gas as bad as i would have in the past and finished strong as hell!!!!

Sun Jan 11th
Rest Day...kinda

Went in with Thomi and worked on some light weight Oly lifts. Did the Burgner Warm-up a few times and then went into cleans. Used 75# for about 30-40 mins of work and then went up gradually, ending at 135# for a few reps working only on explosiveness, timing, and technique.

Mon Jan 12th

Started training today for work and ran late and did not make the WOD at Va Beach. So, I used today as a rest day. Going to try to make it back in tomorrow...

USA Bound

2009-01-06T12:46:00.000-08:00

With a Rest Day coming tomorrow, Thursday will mark the beginning of my trip to the states. I'm hoping to get some time in a CrossFit Affiliate while I am there, but only time will tell...

Sun Jan 4th
WOD

Dead Lift
3-315
3-335
3-365
3-370
3-375

3 sets of 5 with 225# working on lumbar curve, shoulder girdle position, and breathing. This WOD felt good, form got a little shoty up around 370. Back and shoulders aren't really strong enough to hold the nice tight lumbar curve body position at this weight. The weight still goes up, but my back is slightly rounded...

Mon Jan 5th
WOD

Hang Power Clean
1-135
1-155
1-165
1-165

I stopped there because my form and timing was all off. I then did 3 sets of 5 with 135, full hang squats to depth working on the catch and lower portion of this exercise. I then went home and watch some instructional videos on hang power cleans and realized what the problem was. Instead of going dow slowly from start to just above knee (or mid-thigh) I was going down quickly like a push press and the downward momentum was really screwing me up!!! I file this day away as a good learning experience and will be looking forward to trying this one again...

Tues Jan 6th
WOD

4 Rnds
400m Run
15 HSPU
15 ft Rope Climb x2

18:05...I think this was very slow, but I', not sure why. I did have to wait around the rope quite a bit because 6 of us (staggered, but still got bunched up) were doing the WOD at the same time. Regardless, I felt slow on the runs, and like my wind just wasn't there. I also really struggled with the last set of HSPU. I did cut my Zone fat back from 5x to 4x for a few days after feeling a little "bloated" after meals, but all this did was kill my energy and make me irritable. I have gone back to 5x and feel much better...looks like that's where I am staying...

Wed Jan 7th
Rest Day

10 Days to my 31st B-day...CrossFit Warrior even as I age!!!!

I Am CrossFit!!!

2009-01-02T14:49:00.000-08:00

CrossFit Central is starting their "I Am CrossFit" Program tomorrow, so I decided to explain why I am CrossFit...

Still Bloody!!!

I Am CrossFit...

Because I enjoy PAIN!

Tues. Dec. 30th
Rest Day

Wed. Dec. 31st (New Year's Eve)
WOD
Fight Gone Bad!!!
327

Not a Pr, but finally head back in that direction. My last 2 were 309, and 305. I want 380 for 2009...I know it's a lofty goal, but it's a long long year!!!!

Thurs. Jan 1st 2009
WOD
"Murph"

No Better way to start the New Year then with a Hero WOD for an amazing Navy Operator!!!

33:47...No Kit, it's packed away for shipment to the states, next time I promise!!! Also, no a PR, last time was in 31 and change, but a I said then, I felt cheated on it. It was an indoor track and I'm not convinced it was actually a mile around the track...I actually measured this one out with 2 different GPS units....Still an ok time. 1st run was in 6:30, not sure about the 2nd, but it was around 7 mins. The last .5 miles was in 3:47...RIP Brother...

Fri. Jan. 2nd
WOD
Clean and Jerk
With a continuously running clock do one 135 pound Clean and Jerk the first minute, two 135 pound Clean and Jerks the second minute, three 135 pound Clean and Jerks the third minute... continuing as long as you are able.

8 Full rnds...did not start 9, but I slacked cause I should have at least done as many reps as I could have even though I would have not gotten 9, I probably would have gotten at least 6. So, I punished myself and did 4 sets of 5 with 1 min rest between sets, to work on technique, and make sure I did more of my potential! Felt kinda crappy about 8 rnds but POT only did 10, so no too bad I guess...

After my workout, I went to get my new tat. My B-day Present to myself as I will be turning 31 on the 17th. Not getting any younger, but it feels that way!

I Am CrossFit because I'm in better shape now then when I was 20!!!!

Sat. Jan. 3rd
Rest Day

School's in session Bitches!!!!

2009-01-02T02:38:00.000-08:00

Got this idea off a fellow CrossFitters blog...Makes me feel like a bad ass!! Who's next???!!!

27

Created by OnePlusYou - Free Dating Site

2008-2009...

2009-01-01T01:50:00.000-08:00

I was going to reflect on 2008 but to tell the truth, I don't even remember where I was on New Year's last year...so...I just want to say that 2008 changed my life. In more ways then one. First, my career actually started on Feb. 13th when I graduated and chose to be stationed in Sicily for the next 2-3 years. Still wondering if it was the right choice, but I guess the grass is always greener. I has enabled me to travel and see things I would have never seen, and gave me the oppertunity to be part of CrossFit history.

I was at the first Level 1 Cert in Europe's history, got to meet Coach, and Nicole and changed my out look on CrossFit, nutrition and ultimately life. As many have said, CrossFit is a way of life, not just a hobby. Because of it, I don't party and drink hardly ever, I am more healthy, and I have been given a tool that someday will help me lead and teach others in the ways of this amazing lifestyle.

My father is a very devout Christian and has always said my name mean, "The Chosen One". I'm sure he always meant it in a Godly way, which may not be my exact calling, but I feel CrossFit and the heathy and conditioning area is my calling. After I am done with my current career in the military (whether it be 5 yrs or 20 yrs) I am going to work at and eventually open a CrossFit Box. As Jeremy Theil said in his blog, "Changing the world is a big task and I am still up to it one step at a time.".

CrossFit Personal Goals for 2009

Zone Better
Shoulder Press-190
Push Press- 210
Push Jerk-225
Split Jerk-240
Squat-300+
Over Head Squat-200+
Squat Clean-225
Fran-Sub 3 min
Fight Gone Bad-380+
Double Unders-50 straight
Murph-Sub 30 mins (no armor) Sub 40 mins (with armor...never done it this way)
Helen-8:30
Dead Lift-425
Diane-Sub 3 mins
Filthy 50-Sub 20 mins
Cindy-32+ Rnds
Prepare for a chance at the CrossFit Games!!!!

This is the start of my list, I'm sure I will have more, plus personal, and career related goals...2009 is going to be an amazing and interesting year!!!

CrossFit is a battle...

2008-12-29T06:12:00.001-08:00

Αγίου Μιχαήλ ο Αρχάγγελος, μας υπερασπιστούν στη μάχη...

(Saint Michael, Archangel, protect us in battle...)

Tues Dec 23rd
WOD
"Eva"
Five rounds for time of:
Run 800 meters
2 pood Kettlebell swing, 30 reps
30 Pull-ups

39:55

This WOD is a very hard one! 72# KB Swings are no joke!! Pretty good time though...OPT definitely got me, I think he was around 35 mins...soon...

Wed Dec 24th
WOD
Squat:
5-225
5-230
5-235
5-245
5-250...4 re-rack then 1

Felt strong, seeing that 275 is my 1 rep PR, 5 at 250 makes me happy...I need to be above 300!!!

Thurs Dec 25th
Christmas...Rest Day

Fri Dec 26th
Diabetic Coma, Xmas dinner recovery day...Rest Day

Sat Dec 27th
WOD
Complete as many rounds as possible 20 minutes of:
95 pound Thruster, 5 reps
95 pound Hang Powercleans, 7 reps
95 pound Sumo Deadlift High-pull, 10 reps

8 Full

This WOD was a grip killer....I was still sorta recovering from eating every sugar filled sweet in site 2 days earlier, and I could tell. Next time I do this one I'm shooting for 11! OPT did 14!! He is a machine!

Sun Dec 28th
WOD
"Michael"
Three rounds for time of:
Run 800 meters
50 Back Extensions
50 Sit-ups

17:02

Subbed treadmill for running outside in the ran. Did regular back extensions and incline sit ups with feet anchored. PRd by 28 seconds, but last time was done on a track. Back extensions and sit ups where done the same.

Mon Dec 29th
WOD
Press:
1-145
1-155
1-175
1-185 (miss)
1-180

Push Press:
3-155
3-165
3-175
3-185
3-190

Push Jerk:
5-135
5-155
5-175
5-185
3-195 Didn't get last 2 reps...

Felt really good on this WOD. Much stronger then normal. Little shy of my 1 rep PR on Press (185). My previous 1 rep PR on Push Press is like 195, so 3 at 190 is awesome! And my previous 1 rep PR on Push Jerk is 200, so 3 at 195 is awesome too! I will be over 200 in PP very soon, and I hope to be over 225 in PJ also!

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the Gift."

2008-12-22T08:15:00.000-08:00

Sat. Dec. 20th
WOD

4 Rnds 800m Run (rest as needed between)

1) 3:20
2) 4:14
3) 3:17
4) 3:15

Did this in a very hot (stuff) indoor gym on the treadmill. Incline of 2 and a ave top speed of 9.5...Treadmill took about 20 secs to get up to speed. Still a pretty good WOD...

Sun. Dec. 21st
WOD

"Cindy"
26 full + 10 pull ups

Not me best effort, but pretty solid...elbow tendonosis acted up again and slowed me down a little. It's better but not healed I guess.

Mon. Dec. 22nd
Rest Day

"An athlete diminished by excessive aerobic training is slow and weak. At CrossFit we call that state, 'spun-down.'"

2008-12-19T09:04:00.000-08:00

Some aerobic, some anaerobic, and all Intensity!!!
Don't use excessive aerobic conditioning to get fit! It does not work! Why do almost all Officers in the Military always say "Let's go for a jog/run" when you ask them what they want to do for a workout? LOL, too funny, I say let's do some dead lifts and OHS at a lighter weight and high intensity, and then we will see what your aerobic capacity is. If you can still walk sir, then lets go for a run...

Mon. Dec. 15th
Rest Day

Tues. Dec. 16th
WOD X2

#1 5 Rnds
400m Run
25 Burpees
250m Row
1 min Rest between Rnds
1) 4:15
2) 4:27
3) 4:47
4) 4:53
5) 4:41

#2 Split Jerk

1-135
1-155
1-175
1-195 (miss)
1-195
1-210 PR

Wed. Dec 17th (1 month till my B-day! 31)
WOD
AMRnds in 20 min
400m Run
15 L Pull ups
15 Hip Extensions

6 Full+ 200m

Thur, Dec. 18th
Rest Day (unscheduled)

Fri. Dec. 19th
WOD
Filthy 50

20:50!! PR

PRd by about 6 or 8 mins, can't remember, but either way, it was a big jump!!!

Heeling the elbows...killing the legs!!

2008-12-14T13:47:00.000-08:00

After my little run in with some elbow tendonosis the last few weeks I decided to take the advice of the marvelous minds of the internet world and rest my arms a little...what follows is the 3 day leg WODs I have done to rest my elbows and kill my legs!!!

Fri. Dec. 12th
WOD
Squats...

Front
3-185
3-205
2-215
1-225

Back
3-225
2-245
3-245

Over-head
3-133
3-135
3-145

Sat. Dec. 13th
WOD
3 Rnds
15 Deads (225#)
30 Back Ex.

9:09

Sun. Dec. 14th
WOD

"Kelly"
24:22

My legs are shot!!! I'm glad tomorrow is rest day...I felt a little weak in all of these WODs. Not really sure why...my squats are down, but I'd say my form is better, deeper at least...my max OHS is 185# and I know I can't get that right now...I'm going to do more power movements, and strength training movements...even the 225# deads felt heavy. That's just not right! I need to be squatting 300#, OHS 200#, Deading 450#+ and then these other movements will be "easier" if you will.

There is no reason, and no excuses why I shouldn't be around these weights for maxs, and my Fran should be below 3 mins, and Helen below 8 mins etc etc...This is something I am really going to try to work on while I have the time. In the very near future time is not something i will have the luxury to be blessed with for working out...

Fighting through the pain!!!!

2008-12-10T09:16:00.000-08:00

Since last Friday I have had some serious elbow pain in both elbow joins. I have done a little research and it looks like and "over use" injury and is elbow tendonosis. Not tendonitis. It is easily fixable, by taking up to 3 weeks off! LOL, yeah right! So here is what have done instead...

Sun. Dec. 7th
Rest Day due to elbow pain

Mon. Dec. 8th
WOD

As Many Rnds in 20 mins of

15 Pull ups
15 Ring Push ups
15 Back extentions
15 GHSUs

7 full + 5 Ring push ups

Tues Dec. 9th
WOD

"Annie"
50-40-30-20-10
DUs
Sit ups

9:47...Much better then the last time I did this WOD when I did it in 18:41!!! WOW, cut off 9 mins! Practicing DUs makes this much easier!!!

Wed. Dec. 10th
WOD

Clean and Press
1-155
1-165
1-175
1-180
1-190 PR
1-195 miss
1-195 miss

Form was not great, but I had really bad pain in my elbows, it was hard to use my arms at all. I am happy with this PR, but I really should be able to do over 200#. Practice makes perfect!

Parkour ROCKS!!!

2008-12-07T11:57:00.001-08:00

"Simply awesome trailer for an upcoming documentary, MY PLAYGROUND by Kaspar Astrup Schröder, featuring the Danish performance freeruners Team JiYo. It is a film about movement, tricking, freerunning and parkour engaging fully BIG’s recent project the Mountain Dwellings as backdrop. The Mountain Dwellings were recently awarded the Best Housing Project in the World at the World Architecture Festival in Barcelona. (via Coudal)"

This video is simply amazing, not just for the ability of human movement, but for the backdrop that it is expressed in. Can't wait to see this moving when it comes out!

The "Catch Up" Post

2008-12-06T09:13:00.000-08:00

Halloween Mash Up!

"Be impressed by intensity, not volume."

This is going to be a quick run down of my WODs from Oct 30th through the present...

Thurs. Oct 30th
WOD
"Linda" aka 3 Bars of Death...
Dead Lift 265
Bench Press 175
Clean 135
24:44

Fri. Oct 31st
WOD
3 Rnds
25 Wall Ball
30 Pull Ups
Time: NA

Sat Nov. 1st
WOD
Tabata Mash Up CrossFit Va. Beach
Push Jerk (95#)
Double Unders
61/61=122

Wed. Nov. 5th
WOD
100 Kit Burpees
100 Squats
Time: NA

Tues. Nov. 11th
WOD
5 Rnds
20 1 arm KB Swings (35#)
20 Double Unders
20 Burpees
10:59

Wed. Nov. 12th
WOD
As many Rnds in 20 mins
10 DB Thrusters (30#)
10 1 arm KB Cleans (35#)
20 Tire Flips (~150#)
7 Rnds

Fri. Nov. 14th
WOD CrossFit Va. Beach
45 mins Snatch work (65#)
Isabel
75# 4:39

Sat. Nov. 15th
WOD CrossFit Va. Beach
"Fight Gone Bad"
Reps...305

Wed. Nov. 19th
WOD Rota, Spain
100 Burpees
100 Squats
100 Box Jumps
100 Lunges
Time: NA

Thurs. Nov. 20th
WOD Rota, Spain
~1.5 Mile Run
75 HSPU
Time: NA

Back to the Unit
Mon. Nov. 24th
WOD

Three rounds for time of:
21 Knees to elbows
1 1/2 pood Kettlebell swing, 21 reps
21 Push-ups
15 foot Rope climb, 3 ascents (Subbed 15 Towel Pull Ups)
20 inch Box jump, 21 reps
21 Back extension
Walking lunge, 150 ft
31:07

Tues. Nov. 25th
WOD
Row 1000m
21 Thrusters (85#)
15 Pull Ups
6:14...2 min rest

Row 750m
18 Thrusters
12 Pull Ups
5:06...2 min rest

Row 500m
15 Thrusters
9 Pull Ups
3:35

Wed. Nov. 26th
WOD
As many Rnds in 30 mins
21 1.5 BW Squat Cleans (270#)
15 BW Dead Lift (180#)
9 Pull Ups
7 Rnds

Sat. Nov. 29th
WOD
3 Rnds
21 Push Press (95#)
15 SDHP (95#)
9 Box Jumps
Time: NA

Sun. Nov. 30th
WOD
"JASON"
22:23

Mon. Dec. 1st
WOD
Shoulder Press
1-135
1-155
1-160
1-165
1-170
1-175
1-180 Miss x2

Tues. Dec. 2nd
Rest Day

Wed. Dec. 3rd
WOD
"FRAN"
3:27 PR

Thurs. Dec. 4th
Rest DAy

Fri. Dec. 5th
PT Test

4 count Flutter Kicks in 2 mins 73
1 min rest...
Push Ups in 1 min 64
1 min rest...
Sit Ups in 1 min 75
1 min rest...
20' Rope Climb w/20# vest PASS
1 min rest...
Dips 30
1 min rest...
Pull Ups 17 (Dead Hang)
1 min rest...
Bench Press (BW minus 30#=155) 14
1 min rest...
80m shuttle run, stacking 3 blocks 18 secs
5 min rest...
5 mile run 41:05 (ran as a group till last mile)
2 mins rest...
100m Swim (Full uniform and boots) PASS

Sat. Dec. 6th
Rest Day

"Endurance, stamina, strength, and flexibility are developed through training, and these adaptations manifest as measurable changes in the body. Coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy are developed through practice and these adaptations come about through changes in the nervous system. Power and speed have equal requirements for training and practice."

I started Zoning the week of Thanksgiving. Bad week to start, but I did pretty well with the exception of Thanksgiving day. As of Dec. 1st I started actually measuring everything that I eat. True Zone.

I am going with Nicole Carols recommended 16 Blocks. I started that 1st week at 2x fat and was starving and felt tired, so I went to 5x fat after that. That feels pretty good. I get a little hungry every now and then, but not too bad. I have done 1 day at 9x fat just to see how it feels. I think that might have been a little much. I have a feeling I'm going to be happy somewhere between 6-8x fat. Only time will tell. I did PR again on FRAN even though it was only 1 sec. but I was a week after getting back from not really being able to train. I felt weak and my lungs burned that whole week, but I really think the diet kicked in and I stated feeling better and stronger after about a week. FRAN didn't really feel any easier (guess it never does) but it felt smoother, and I had much more in the reserve tank after completion. I recovered much faster. If you have not tried Zoning...try it...now!

Seville, Spain

HSPU Seville, Spain

"Intensity!"

SO, SO SORRY

2008-12-02T13:18:00.000-08:00

I have really slacked off on posting, it has been forever. I will put up a bunch of WODs very soon, and I started zoning, so I will post some of that too.

"Your Anger is Your Gift!"

2008-10-28T09:37:00.000-07:00

I have begun to understand this quote from a very popular Rage Against the Machine song...Freedom. Anger is something that is given to certain individuals that when harnessed in the right way, can lead to immense power! I'm not talking about that type of anger that is harbored by criminals, killers, and the ignorant. I'm speaking of the type of anger it takes to bust out a killer workout, or force yourself to do one more rep, or work at a higher intensity.

I have never puked from a workout...never. In doing CrossFit, that may be hard to believe, but I speak the truth. I have become exhausted, and light headed, and thought I was going to die, but never puked! I am harnessing an anger it will take to push myself to the extreme when it comes to each days WOD. I find that the intensity level is increasing and I can feel myself creating an atmosphere in my workouts that might lead to to finding Pukie! I'm not saying I will attain a level of fitness great enough to win the CrossFit Games or even place in the top 50, or 100, but I believe that by gathering this anger (passion) for training I can improve my fitness to a level far superior to where I have been in the past, or even where I am now!

Mon. Oct 27th
WOD

"L" Pull ups: 18-15-12-9-6-3
Turkish Get Ups (16k) 2-6-10-14-18-22

18:50...Done for time, but really more of a over-all strength type of WOD. Take your time and make sure your form is good, but explode into the movements and get the met con rolling! My buddy, not a CrossFitter, (he is training for a marathon) did it in 34 mins...what's that tell you about cario? He is bigger then me, and can probably ran farther, but as for strength to met con ratio...no match!!!

Tues. Oct 28th
WOD

Hopper Deck: 7 of Spades:
Row 1000m then...

21-15-9
Front Squat (135)
Back Ext.

11:25...The row was just under 4 mins, like 3:55 or so. I had to break the squats up 10-11 first set 10-5 second set. My legs were shot from earlier this week, but I powered through and it was a good WOD. After that I did

5 sets of 5
Squat Clean tech (95#)

3 sets of 5
Muscle up tech (little bounce to help head through, rest of movement unassisted)

Wed. Oct. 29th

Rest Day (possible sort run for command PT)

"I felt like destroying something beautiful!" Fight Club

2008-10-26T07:05:00.000-07:00

Sat. Oct 18th
WOD

Back Squat

5-225
5-235
3-245
3-255
1-265
1-265

Felt good, but I should be stronger I think...Not sure what's up with the whole squat thing, but I need (must be) be over 300 soon. That is my goal, and I will reach it!!!

Sun. Oct. 19th
Rest Day

On Monday myself and the PLT I am with departed really really early to go do some camping and training for the week. I brought some kettlebells and a couple dumb bells with me so that I could train while i was there. Unfortunately I only got in 2 workout due to rain and long days. They are as follows...

Tues. Oct 21st
WOD

50 x 1.5 pood KB SDHP
40 x 1 pood KB Swing
30 x 8kg 1 arm KB clean and press
20 x 25# DB Burpees
10 x 15# DB Thrusters

Thurs. Oct 23rd
WOD

3 Rnds
21-15-9

1.5 pood KB Swing
25# Squat Clean Thrusters
15 # Burpee

After getting back to civilization I ended up taking Friday and Saturday off. Not really by choice, but kinda. Anyway, I made up for it today. I drank on Friday night and had to get the "poison" out of my body after recovering on Sat...

Sun. Oct. 26th
WOD

"Grace"
30 x 135# Clean and Jerk

3:50...This is actually the first time I can say I have done this WOD. It has "scared" me in the past. More of a form thing then a weight thing. I have been working on my Oly lifts and was in an unusually bad mood, so this was the perfect warm up WOD! I think I did very well. On a good day, sub-3:30 is definitely possible. I followed it up with this....

WOD #2

21-18-15-12-9-6-3

GHSU
OHS (75#)
KTE

15:15...Killer WOD, loved it! Hit this one hard but pace yourself slightly since it tapers off, finish twice as hard as you started!!!

"The cost of regular extended aerobic training is decreased speed, power, and strength."

2008-10-18T09:44:00.000-07:00

The quote I chose for the title of this set of blogs is a great description of Navy PT and why it doesn't work!

WOD
Tues. Oct. 14th

"Nancy"
5 Rnds
OHS x 15 (95#)
400m Run

14:08...This was basically a PR for me since I had never really done it before. I compared my times to others online adn I was pretty happy with it. If I was a faster runner this time could be more like 12 mins. I did not break up any sets of the OHS doing all 5 rnds of 15 straight through, even though my legs were killing me from Mons. WOD.

Wed Oct. 15th
Rest Day

Navy PT, 3 mile run

Thurs. Oct 16th
WOD

3 Rnds
Box Jumps x 50 (24")
SDHP x 21 (135#)

14:08...Sound firmiliar? It was the same time as the "Nancy" WOD! Weird. This one was difficult. It was a met con type WOD but with heavy weight for the SDHP make them go a little bit slower and really taxing the legs so the Box Jumps were harder.

Fri Oct. 17th
WOD

"Helen"
3 Rnds
400m Run
21 x KB Swings (1.5 pood)
12 Pull Ups

8:50...This is a huge PR for me down from 9:15! And this was after doing the GAY Navy PRT. 100 pushup in 2 mins (although they made me stop after 1:15), 100 sit ups in 2 mins (although they made me stop at 100 and I had like 30 secs left), and a 1.5 mile run in 9:37, which is down from an average of around 10:15 or so.

Basically I used the PRT for my warm up to Kill "Helen"!

I have noticed a HUGE increase in work capacity, recovery, and overall stamina since modifying my diet. Basically I read the book Enter the Zone, and modified it (not measuring everything) into a Paleo type diet high in protein, fat, and low in carbs and sugar. I will admit I do eat zone bars and an occasional snickers which are not good, but I have a chocolate craving that I need to fulfill. I also love cappuccinos, so as far as cutting out all dairy...not going to happen! All in all though my total carb and sugar intake are way way down, and I feel amazing!

If you want to improve your performance, you must improve your diet! Basically, STOP eating like an american!!!!

Check out Nick and I sporting a little CrossFit attitude at the Teatro Greco in Taormina!!!

Nick in the Discobolos pose, and me in the Zeus pose..

Be Intense & Transform yourself!

2008-10-13T13:09:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have not posted in awhile, I have totally been slaking off. I did create a video for my new "FRAN" PR the other day, so that will be at the end of this posting. I have to cover a lot of ground, from Oct. 4th-13th so bear with me. Here it goes, enjoy...

Sat. Oct. 4th
WOD
3 Rnds for time:

50 Double Unders
75 Squats

18:58...My nemisis! Double Unders! God, I hate them sooo much I love them! Anyway, did this one at home in the back yard with 2 really crappy jump ropes. I say 2, cause about 1/4 of the way through the first one was broken. Well, I actually broke it by throwing it against a wall1 I was a little mad at it. Actually got it on tape too, it's pretty funny. So, neddless to say I am still working hard on them and hopefully will be a lot better before I go to CrossFit Va Beach, cause Thomi is going to make me do them so she can make fun of me and beat me in a WOD!

Sun. Oct 5th
Rest Day

Mon. Oct 6th
WOD
"Biosh"

400m Run
21 DL (225#)
42 Pull Ups

400m Run
15 DL
30 PU

400m Run
9 DL
18 PU

400m Run

19:26...This WOD was a killer! I really need to do more 400m sprints! I'll work on that.

Tues. Oct. 7th
Rest Day (Needed to stick with my schedule)

Wed. Oct. 8th
WOD
5 Rnds

20 Turkish Get Ups (35#)
21 Knees to Elbows
21 KB Swings (1.5 pood)

29:21...Great GOD TGU suck! This WOD was interesting cause the TGUs kinda go slow but get really hard, and just makes the rest miserable!

Thurs. Oct. 9th
WOD
Dead Lift
5-225
5-285
3-315
3-340
3-365
Missed 385 x 2

Everyone has a bad day, this was mine! But mentally it made me a stronger person, which like Andy Stumpf says is why we do heavy days! Sometimes you need more of a mental workout then a physical one...Killin this one next time! New PR of over 405!

Fri. Oct 10th
WOD
"FRAN"
21-15-9
Thrusters (95#)
Pull Ups

3:28!...NEW PR baby! Killed this one...went down from 3:52. Like I said having a bad day only makes you stronger, boucing back to PR on this WOD proves that.

Sat. Oct. 11th
Rest Day

Sun. Oct. 12th
WOD

10 Rnds
100m Row
10 Double Unders
10 Ring Dips

17:55...This one really hurt! Jay finished 1:30 ahead of me and again my double unders suck! I also realized that my ring dips are not as good as they use to be. Something else to work on!

Mon. Oct. 13th
Happy Columbus Day!
WOD

5 Rnds
1 Tire Pull & Reset
(Pull truck tire toward you with climbing rope about 30ft, run back)
20 Squats (135#)
10 Burpees

18 and change...Wrote it down at work, I wasn't going for time per-say on this one, but I pushed through it hard. I did all sets unbroken including squats and that sucked! Took a little rest between sets to catch my breath. Did want to rush the squats though, did them for technique and power not speed.

Nancy tomorrow! Can't wait, OHS baby!

Indestructible...

2008-10-10T08:52:00.000-07:00

I will post the WODs I did this week probably tomorrow. Today I was suppose to do a row/double under/pull up WOD, but my boy Jay wanted to do FRAN! So...FRAN it was! and 2 PRs were set! I will post the video of mine soon. Unfortunately, he did not want his filmed! Although, after finishing in 4:54, about 2 mins or so faster then his PR I bet he is wishing it was on video now!

This is what I listened to while doing FRAN...thank you Andy Stump for introducing me to this song! Many a WOD in Coronado has been done to this very inspirational tune!!!

Another mission,
The powers have called me away.
Another time,
To carry the colors again.
My motivation,
An oath I've sworn to defend.
To win the honor,
Of coming back home again.
No explanation,
Will matter after we begin.
Another dark destroyer that's buried within,
My true vocation.
And now my unfortunate friend,
You will discover,
A war you're unable to win.

I'll have you know,
That I've become...

Indestructible.
Determination that is incorruptible.
From the other side.
A terror to behold.
Annihilation will be unavoidable.
Every broken enemy will know,
That their opponent had to be invincible.
Take a last look around while you're alive,
I'm an indestructible master of war.

Another reason.
Another cause for me to fight.
Another fuse uncovered,
Now, for me to light.
My dedication,
To all that I've sworn to protect.
I carry out my orders,
Without a regret.
A declaration,
Embedded deep under my skin.
A permanent reminder,
Of how we began.
No hesitation,
When I am commanding the strike.
You need to know,
That you're in for the fight of your life.

You will be shown,
How I've become...

Indestructible.
Determination that is incorruptible.
From the other side.
A terror to behold.
Annihilation will be unavoidable.
Every broken enemy will know,
That their opponent had to be invincible.
Take a last look around while you're alive,
I'm an indestructible master of war.

I'm...

Indestructible.

Why CrossFit? You can try this...

2008-10-07T11:36:00.000-07:00

Watch this video...it is the new, high speed training sweeping the nation!

Who needs a constantly varied, functional, intense, multi-domain based training regimen when you can train like this! (I tried to upload the vid, but it wouldn't work, so just use the link)

http://www.cathletics.com/wod/video/rebuildingAimee.mov

Aimee, you are a beast and a true testament to American fitness! Keep up the hard work!

LOL...Right!

Killin WODs one day at a time...

2008-10-04T02:42:00.000-07:00

Sun. Sept. 28th
WOD
Push Jerk
5-5-3-3-3-3
135-155-165-175-185 (missed)-185

I used this WOD to work on my form a lot. Even taped it and sent it out for some rigorous scrutiny from a trainer and friend. Works very well to tape workout and then take a look and see what you are doing wrong or right. I have started bringing my camera into work and taping myself and other and then reviewing it in real time and in slow motion. This has gotten very good feed back from the guys. They (and I) love that instant feedback of being able to watch yourself and correct the problems. I can see why a video camera is one of the gear items on the Garage Gym list! Awesome training tool.

Mon. Sept 29th
Rest Day

Work wise today was kinda cool. A group of us went out and did some HRST training (rappeling) off a tower near base. I had not done it in like 6 months, so leaping backwarks from a 60 ft tower with a little rope attached to you is fun!

Tues. Sept 30th
WOD

3 10 min Rnds with about 2 mins in between. Perform each excercise to MAX effort in the time frame as evenly as possible to keep in constant motion. Total workout equals 30 mins. Keep track of reps for each exercise and then add up for total.

1st 10 mins...Burpees/Box Jumps 80/85=165
2nd 10 mins...Pull ups/HSPU 90/70=160
3rd 10 mins...GHSU/Back Ext. 120/140=260

Total overall reps = 585

I invented this WOD, follow more of an unconventional design a la CrossFit Coronado. It was a good one. Sustaining max effort of a longer duration tends to work different aspects of fitness and is something I think CrossFitters may not do enough. WE are a very powerful and explosive group, and tend to bank on the shorter more intense WODs then anything over 20 mins. I will be designing more WODs similar to this that are timed out at 30-40 mins of sustained intense max effort...stay tuned.

Wed Oct. 1st
WOD
First of al, I had to actually run today cause the Command was doing a maditory PT run. I told them the only time I want to run is either when getting shot at or chased by a tiger! Not sure that worked though. Anyway, did a very, very light 3 miles for a warmup

3 Rnds for time
500m Row
21 KB Swings (1.5 pood)

9:31...I love rowing, so throwing this WOD together made me happy. It should be the primary Mono-structural movement for "cardio" in my belief. Total body, low impact, yet varying in intensity depending on what you are looking for.

Thus. Oct. 2nd
WOD
"Diane"

21-15-9
225# Dead Lifts
HSPU

3:33...PR BABY!!!!! This was a huge day for me. I had been feeling good, but a little slow and weak. The last time I did Diane was about 3 months ago and I got a 5:23, and far cry from my previous PR at 4:12 about 8 months ago. I blew this WOD out of the water and felt awesome after! I finally think my modified Paleo diet is starting to pay off. Even they I am getting yelled at by other CrossFit trainer to go Zone and weigh and measure...I'm working on it...until then, just trying to cut out sugar (for the most part) and not eating pasta, bread, or a lot of other starchy foods has really paid off. I am leaner, stronger, and faster.

Fri. Oct 3rd
Rest Day

Some little work tidbits. WE got to jump this week also, which was very cool. I only did 2 jumps, bith on Wed. 1 from 10,000 ft and 1 from 13,000 ft. They were both group jumps out the back end of a C130, so I was locked together with 2 other guys, creating the "base" to the formation. Good times though. Sicily is really very beautiful from the sky

Video of Myself (QDZ) and Chip (HOUSE) PRing on "Diane"

"Performance is directly correlated with intensity. Intensity is directly correlated with discomfort."

CrossFit Sicily?

2008-09-27T10:01:00.000-07:00

Well, after a much needed rest day, I ended up going out a little too late and drinking a little too much, so Sunday Sept. 21st was used as a recovery day. I ended up moving everything back a day, which isn't too bad. The problem, which ended up being a blessing, came later in the week...

Mon. Sept. 22nd
WOD
"Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" (courtesy of CrossFit Coronado)

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:

15 x Deadlift Men 95#, Women 65#
10 x Back Squat Men 95#, Women 65#
5 x Over Head Squat Men 95#, Women 65#

9 Full Rnds + 10 Squats...This WOD is a serious leg workout! One might look at it and think, 95# Deads and Back Squats are easy...yeah, they kinda are, till you throw in OHS and then do as many rnds as possible in 20 mins! Then this WOD definitely earns it's name! My legs were sore for at least 3 days after, and I think my thighs grew almost instantly! Do this one, and make your clients do it! It's awesome!

Tues. Sept. 23rd
WOD
12 Rnds
10 Pull ups
10 Push ups

10:12...This was pretty much a repeat WOD. Back in June I did 10 Rnds 12 pull ups and 12 push ups. Same amout of reps, little different setup. Anyway, I got a 16:54 in June...so, even though it was a slightly different equal WOD, I'd say a almost 7 min. swing is pretty impressive!! I'm happy with that..lol.

Wed. Sept. 24th and Thurs. Sept 25th
Rest Day?

This day turned into a disaster, seriously. I was going to do a WOD in the afternoon after work, but around 130 the Aquious Film Forming Foam System (fire sprinkler type) decided to set itself off and spray enough foam to fill the entire high bay more then once! It was crazy! We spent about 4 hours with brooms and squeegees pushing foam outside so that the damage would be minimal. All in all it took 3 days to clean up and everything in the high bay (there is a lot of stuff) had to be forklifted out and hosed down with fresh water and then moved back in.

This did however enable us to snag an area just for the setup of our CrossFit gym, and the unofficial beginnings of CrossFit Sicily at MU 8 have begun!

Fri. Sept 26th
WOD
4 Rnds
Thrusters x 15
SDHP x 15
95#s

10:59...Today was the unofficial 1st day in the new CrossFit gym area at the Unit. 4 of us tackled this WOD. 1 only got 3 rnds RXed, one got 3 rnds scaled to 65#s and the other finished, RXed in 13 mins.

I felt pretty good, well, not during, but after, I fe;t good about this time seeing how everyone else faired. The other RXed guy is about 270 and in pretty good shape, so beating him was good. Seeing as he killed me in FGB last week 390 to 309. And he also did Grace in 3:03. With a little bit of training I will transform him into a Big CrossFit Monster, literally and figuratively.

Sat. Sept 27th
Warm-up 1000m Row...Cool-down 500m Row
WOD
"Cindy"

28 Rnds + 5 pulls...Bumped this one up from Mon. to today due to gym access. I felt ok, just didn't move as fast as normal. A little shy of my PR of 31 Rnds + 5 pulls, but still respectable. Mono-structural WOD tomorrow for strength. Push-presses.

MU 8 Workin hard!
CrossFit Sicily the Infancy.
Little KB work after the WOD

Gotta Clean to get ready for the Fight!

2008-09-20T06:07:00.000-07:00

I returned to Sicily on Monday and it was nicer then usual. It had actually rained so the temperature was a lot cooler! IT has been very nice.

Monday Sep. 15th
Rest Day (Traveled from UK to Italy)

Tues Sep. 16th

Rest Day (Actual)

Wed. Sep. 17th
5 miles run with the command.

44:59...This run really sucked! I hate running more then anything and have decided, unless you are getting chased by the cops, a tiger, or an alien lifeform, there is no need to run more then a 5K! All it does is ruin your knees, hips, and ankles, and sets you up for a failure! I totally recommend sprints, 5K's, and CrossFit WODs that have 400s or whatever in then as your form of "distance" training.

Thurs. Sep. 18th
WOD

Cleans
5-115
5-135
3-155
3-165
3-165
3-170
1-185
1-185

This is not an exercise I am totally abreast in, but I have been working on my technique. I believe, and so do others, and it is one of the foundations for building great power and strength in an overall capacity! Along with Dead lifts and Snatches, these are the exercises that will make you a true beast in power output! Learn them, do them, use them, and always try to fine tuen them!

Nicole Carol Demonstrates Med Ball Cleans

Fri. Sep. 19th
WOD

"Fight Gone Bad"

Total Reps 309...I was really disappointed in this effort. I felt ok, but it is a far cry from the 334 I put up last time I did FGB. I think the way the exercises where setup was part of the issue. WB, Box Jump, Row, SDHP, PP. Not that it's an excuse, but afterward the 6 of us that did it realized we should have split up the pushing and pulling movements. All that said, this WOD is always a killer, and a great one to repeat every month or 2 in some form or variation. I challenge you to "invent" new FGB variations and see what you can come up with. Stay tuned for one that I came up with involving some of the oly lift movements and some pretty high weight!

Sat. Sep. 20th
Rest Day

Stand by for tomorrows WOD, it's one that Andy Stumpf did in Coronado, and I know it's going to hurt!

Nicole Carol demonstrating the Sumo Dead Lift High Pull! Awesome!

I met "Satan" at the Manchester Level 1 Cert!

2008-09-14T14:17:00.000-07:00

Friday Sept. 12th
3 Rnds for time

500m Row
12 HSPU
8 Pull ups

10:08...This one was made up on a whim. Good though. Rows really get to my legs, I feel the burn every time! HSPU and pull ups went easy. This one would have been better with 21 HSPU and 15 pull ups!

After the workout I hopped on a plane anf flew to Manchester, UK for a weekend of fun. CrossFit Level 1 certification, Gotta say, it was awesome! I was sooo surprised to see Coach Glassman there. He is an amazing human. I have a total passion for what he says, teaches and believes in! He brought along a great training crew from the states too. Todd (CrossFit Flathead), Jimmy (CrossFit Laguna Beach), Nicole (CrossFit Santa Cruz), and my buddy Andy (Crossfit Coronado).

The weekend started off with Coach speaking about What is CrossFit. Nicole spoke on squats, front squats, and over-head squats. Then we worked on our functional movements in these areas. Coach again came up to lead us on a journey of What is Fitness! Andy got pretty deep into presses, push presses, and push jerks followed again by functional movements workshop in these areas. Then came the WOD! All of the trainers were trying to scare us (succeeding by the way) with FRAN, but alas they had something else in store for us.

Saturday Sept. 13th
WOD
Teams of 3 working at the same time, but each member must finish his exercise before moving on the to next.

3 Rnds
200m Run
Air squats
KB Swings (62#)

11:32...all I have to say is 30 KB swings at 62#s is really heavy! x 3...lol...sucks!!!

After the WOD we all got together at the local pub for some beer, food, and great conversation. This turned into me, with the trainers in downtown Manchester getting absolutely wasted till 4am!!!

Day 2 started with Todd talking about dead lifts, sumo dead lift high pulls, and med ball cleans. Again followed by functional movement workshop. Then we had Q & A with Coach, Nutrition with Nicole, and Programming with Todd. Just before the programming we split up into groups and did stations for review on med ball cleans, presses, muscle ups, and kipping pull ups. Mixed into that was "Satan"! Lol, kinda an inside joke from one of the lectures, but anyway, Andy decided that we need to do a thruster burpee WOD!

Sunday Sept. 14th
WOD

2 man team, both working simaltaneously

30-20-10
Thrusters (95#)
Burpees

9:50...This WOD was killer! 1st of all I was sooo hung over...stupid! And 2nd of all, that combo of movements really sucks! lol. Went ok though, it actually made me feel like shit, but then I ate a few almonds and it cured my hang over!

CrossFit Level 1 Cert. Manchester UK Day 1

CrossFit Level 1 Cert. Manchester UK Day 2

Nicole and !

The calm before the STORM!

2008-09-11T10:51:00.000-07:00

After a few days off traveling back to Sicily from Germany, it was business as usual! I decide to go on my new friend's (Thomi, CFVB) word and do the WOD on the Va. beach site. Annie!

Sunday Sept. 7th
WOD
50-40-30-20-10
Double Unders
Sit ups

This WOD was much more difficult for me then it should have been, only because I am not very good at DU. Actually I really suck at them! It took me about 6-7 mins (the time it took Thomi to finish) just to do the 1st 50 DUs! Well, after struggling through the entire WOD only counting true reps, I looked at me watch and it was a horrible 18:41! Guess I really need to work on my Double unders!

Monday Sept. 8th
WOD
Betty
12 Push Press (135#)
20 Box Jumps
5 Rnds for time

14:03...I can't tell, but I think my push presses are getting a little weaker. They were harder then I wished they would have been, and I had to break up every set. I also need to work on my technique in order to make the push presses go a little faster and smoother. Box jumps always suck, but they went well...Like this one, I was sore the day after.

Tuesday Sept. 9th
WOD
Back Squat
10-135
8-160
5-225
5-235
3-245
1-265
3-265
1-285

GOD, I have not done squats in forever! And I am paying for it. I'm really sore...

Wednesday Sept. 10th
9/11 Memorial 5K at a 10 min pace

I call this active recovery

Thursday Sept. 11th

Rest day

PLEASE READ

Today is the reason I ended up joining the NAVY. On September 11th, 2001 I woke up and was getting ready for college. I walk down the stairs and my mom was in the kitchen on the phone. I turned to look at the TV and there is was. The 1st attack on the Twin Towers! The building was smoking and they were speaking of the situation and the possibilities the were occurring. At this time, the "cause" was not known. After being fixated for a little while, I left, because I didn't want to be late for class. On my way in, I was listening to Howard Stern and he was covering the tragic event. About this time the 2nd plane struck the towers and they were going crazy. Screaming, "Oh my God, Oh my God, it's an attack, it has to be terrorists!" I arrived at school and rushed into the common area to catch the news, and put a vision to the horror I had been listening to.
As I reached to TV there were a ton of people sitting there crowded around gazing on in awe. Just as I ran up the 1st building started to come down! JEASUS! Are you serious I thought, what the hell! And then the 2nd...

We all know of the horrific and devastating events that followed. In the days, months, and years to come we would all wake up a little more leery. Wondering when the next "attack" was coming. I work up everyday wishing I could help, wishing there was something I could do. My best friend Eric and I even spoke of driving down to the city to help. Being only 4-5 hrs away we thought maybe, just maybe it would make a difference. More time past, I graduated, move, and was working, but I was hollow inside. After going about my business as usual attitude for the next 3 yrs I finally decided I had had enough. I decided to join the NAVY and "help" with the fight against terrorism and our freedom as a nation!

In joining the US Military I knew I didn't want to sit by in a idol position, I wanted to be in the middle of it. "Boots on the ground" as they say. After going through 3 yrs of various training, some good, some bad, with failures and successes, I can humbly say I have found my home. I am with an EOD unit that does anything and everything possible to make our country safe for us, our loved ones, and even the strangers we have never met to go about their lives however they may choose. We are on the front lines of an "epic battle" (if you will) of proportions and guidelines not even we understand. Day in a day out our brothers in the community are downrange, face to face with the terror that struck NYC 7 yrs ago on this day. I too, soon enough, will be there with them doing the deeds of our great nation so that those among us may go on (usually ignorant) with their lives.

I ask only, that if you read this, please, take a moment to morn those who have lost theirs lives. The innocent, and the soldiers that on this day and since, have died for this great nation...

Crossfit Level 1 cert in Machester England this weekend. The STORM is coming baby!

Back from the DEAD Zone!

2008-09-07T05:14:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile since I have posted, and I apologize. I was in Germany doing some training with the Army! Fun, fun! I did get to do a few workouts up there even though their gym really sucked, and they didn't even have a real pull up bar. I did a lot of workouts with my "kit" on. For those of you who don't know that is body armor. It weights about 30-40 lbs probably so it adds another dimension to any workout. This post will be a little long, I am just going to run down all of what I did up there.

Friday Aug. 22nd

100 Burpees w/full kit 10:16
50 Burpees w/ full kit 5:08

Saturday Aug. 23rd

Deads (225#)/KBS (50#)/Pull ups

3 Rnds 10-10-10

6:13
...then...Deads (135#) / Sit ups (incline) x 5

Monday Aug. 25th

Thrusters (65#) / Push ups / KTE
10x10x10 as many Rnds in 20 mins. 11 Rnds + 10 Thrusters

Tuesday Aug. 24th

Rest Day

Wednesday Aug. 27th

7.6 mile Trail run 1 hr 10 mins

Aug. 28-30

EOD Stuff (Rest Days?)

Sunday Aug. 31st

5 x 10 Handstand Push ups
...then...put on kit (1:30)

3 Rnds of 10 Burpees/ 25 Squats/ 10 Turkish Get ups (w/ about 10 lbs)

16:57

Sunday Sept. 1st

Rest day

Monday Sept. 2nd

3 x 50 Box Jumps/ 50 Squats/ 50 Walking Lunges w/ full kit
22:57

Sept. 3-6

Rest/ Travel Days

"Be impressed by intensity, not volume."

2008-08-19T12:47:00.000-07:00

Crossfit WOD

Monday August 18th

"Jackie"

1000 meter row
Thruster 45 lbs (50 reps)
Pull-ups (30 reps)

7:52...First time ever doing this WOD. 45# thrusters are much harder then one would think when you have to do 50 after a 1000m row! I did the row in 4:04, a little slow, but I always fear totally crapping out on whatever is after then row, so I try to pace myself.

Tuesday August 19th
“300”

25x Pull-up
50x Deadlift @ 135#
50x Push-up
50x Box Jump @ 24” box
50x Floor Wiper @ 135# (one-count)
50x KB Clean and Press @ 36# (KB must touch floor between reps)
25x Pull-up
300 reps total.

18:07...I don't even know if that is good, but it wasn't as "harsh" a WOD as I thought. FGB, Fran, or Cindy leave me more winded. Next time I'm going to go a little harder. KB clean and press were the slowest, but not hard...Good workout though.

Off to Germany tomorrow for some training for a few weeks. Not sure what the workout situation is going to look like there. There should be some PT, but Crossfit might be hard. Should get some great military training though. Although we are working with the Army, and that's never fun...

If You Are Going To Beat Me...You Are Going To Have To Suffer!

2008-08-16T08:15:00.000-07:00

Finished up the Tactical Electronics class this week. It was definitely cool but a little above my head for some of it. The last 2 days were sweet. We learned the very, very basics of bypassing car alarms, house alarms, and hot wiring older cars. LOL, watch out if you have and older vehicle, I might just move it on you! Just kidding, but I can see how alot of this stuff could come in handy in our line of work. Next week I'm off to Germany to play GI Joe with the army. It's going to be like a big camping trip with a bunch of retards! The training we get should be very good though. We are running just like it is the real thing, full up gear and weapons. I'm looking forward to it, it will be the 1st time I get to be all decked out like this is really my job. I hope to get a few pics, so we will see.

As for CrossFit, the last 3 days were good. I can tell I'm still not acclimated to the climate here. It's very hot, but not real humid, but I can tell my performance suffers slightly from it. It's kinda hard to tell since I have not really been going head-to-head with anyone, but in knowing how my body functions, I fell a little weaker and slower. Not really sure how true this is...

I'm trying to get to the CrossFit Level 1 Cert in Manchester England September 13-14th. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to go, since the command is trying to get another school or something for me, but I don't know what it is yet.

WOD's: "Performance is directly correlated with intensity. Intensity is directly correlated with discomfort."

Thursday August 14th

As many rounds as you can in 20 mins of:

10 OHS 70#
10 KB Swings 53#
7 Pull-ups

10 onds + 5 OHS...I had not done a 20 minute WOD in awhile so this one was fun. Well, not fun, OHS are never fun, but they are awesome! For all of you who only do back squats (cause you are a globo gymer and lift BIG weight! lol) you must get good at these. They are a total body workout: forearms, traps, tris, shoulders, traps, back, abs, and of course legs! You don't even know until you try them! Do it.

Friday August 15th

Warm-up: 500m Row

3 rounds for time of:
9-15-21

Push Press 155#
SDHP 90#
Double Unders

11:44...This WOD took me a lot longer then I though it would when I made it up. I reversed the order of the reps to play around a little, doing it as a met con workout, but with heavier weight. Working to concept (Friday's word of the day!) of moving more weight over a shorter time. Obviously this is the formula for more power. Power=force x distance / time. I think by incorporating these types of WOD's and more Oly Lifts into my regimen my power output must go up exponentially.

These section from Brendan G.'s Blog says a lot: We get really caught up in making our workouts go faster and faster to rate our progress. I love measuring our power output ( Force distance time) to rate the intensity of what we do but for some reason we seem to get stuck on only decreasing our time to keep moving forward. Training only by this method is a mistake. Its a mistake because all though yes our power increases with going faster there will come a time when we can no longer go any faster and the only way to keep pushing is to either increase the load and or the distance. Not to mention that by avoiding these we miss out on building more straight up raw strength, mobility, and athleticism.

I want to bring up that we need, as crossfit athletes, to sometimes let go of the get faster and faster with the exact same loads and ROM's attitude. We need to think about the importance of going heavier and running through even bigger ranges of motion. Yes intensity as a whole will increase your strength so yes getting faster at Fran will get you stronger as well as more conditioned but nothing will get you stronger than applying more load to your workouts. We are always trying to add more weight to our heavy lifting days but when it comes to our circuit and interval training we only seem to concern ourselves with how fast we go.

Saturday August 16th

5 rounds of:
21-18-15-12-9

KB Swings 35#
Squats
KTE

Perform sets as follows: 21/21/21-18/18/18...and so on...

6:15...Powered through this WOD with no stopping and no break in sets. Felt good. KTE are always a killer, everyone should do more of them! Fun met con type workout, will definetly do this one again in the future.

Sunday August 17th

REST DAY

Wait…I forgot. There is no REST in Combat. Please do NOT ever say again that the 35lb Kettlebell is heavy…

Given your fitness ability today, could you survive in Combat? (From www. teamcrossfitacademy.com)

Intensity, Drive, Pain, Pleasure! Welcome to the real GAMES!

2008-08-13T13:43:00.000-07:00

This isn't the Olympics...CrossFit Games 2008...KILLIN IT!!!!!

Finally got the Net at home...

2008-08-13T12:58:00.000-07:00

So, it's been a few days since my last post. I have been in a pretty cool electronics class at work. We have learned a few really cool things about circuits, some really boring math, and so new and cool ways to use kitchen timers! Next week I we be heading to Germany for a few weeks for some drills with a few teams. It should be fun, but we are going to be way off in the middle of no where and my nutrition is going to go to hell! i have a feeling I'm going to be eating MRE's for 2 weeks! That is really going to suck! I finally have been reading "Enter the Zone" and have figured out mu #'s for it, and have been "watching" what I eat. I have not given in to the "dark side" yet, but probably soon enough. It's not easy to measure out everything you eat, so it will really be a problem for me to totally go with this kinda of diet. I have seen results in my energy and some of my performance. I figure it can only get better.

Now on to my latest workouts.

Sunday August 10th

Garage Gym WOD at my house...

30 135# Hang Clean and Jerks

Kinda took my time with this one, but tried to go without very much rest. 13:08...worked more on technique rather then rushing through it. I'm going to work on creating a nice little Garage Gym out here. Looking into an Oly Lift set, and a few other things.

Monday August 11th

Row 1000 meters
85 pound Thruster, 21 reps
15 Pull-ups

Row 750 meters
85 pound Thruster, 18 reps
12 Pull-ups

Row 500 meters
85 pound Thruster, 15 reps
9 Pull-ups

Rest 2 minutes between each round. Time each round separately and post times to comments.

I kinda blew it on this by not keeping time of each round, but I went at a high intensity. I did have to break some of the sets up of thrusters, but not much. My row times were much slower then I would have liked, but for those of you who have done this WOD I'm sure you felt the same thing...

Tuesday August 12th

5 rounds for time of:
275 pound Deadlifts, 5 reps (185 pounds for women)
10 Burpees (with clap overhead while airborne)

Very disappointed with my turn out on this WOD, especially after looking back at the times from the Games. I did a 5:58, and I'm not sure why, but I know that time can go down drastically.

After the WOD I did:

3-3-3-3 Deads 315 #s

3 rnds 15 sec L-sits and 10 GHSU

Wednesday August 13th

Rest Day

SWCC Out of Control!!

2008-08-09T11:27:00.000-07:00

Back in Sicily!

2008-08-09T11:10:00.000-07:00

So, I took Saturday-Tuesday off from Crossfit due to the travel back to Sicily and being kinda tired and getting into the swing of things at work.

Wednesday August 6th

WOD

5k run.

"Diane"
Deadlift 225 lbs
Handstand push-ups
21-15-9 reps, for time

My PR on the is 4:12, and I have not been doing deads very often, but I did this WOD in 4:53. A respectable time, but not a good time. I definitely want to break 4 mins, and I know I can do it. The deads were the hard part, the handstand pushups are easy. This time will go down once I start to do heavy deads again. No worries

Thursday August 7th

Run/Swim with the command in Aci Castello. We did around a 5k and then a 1500m swim in the Med. Did not keep time, but it was a pretty good pace and was a lot of fun. After we sat down at a little bar (cafe) and had a capo and chilled out.

Friday August 8th

WOD

30, 20, 10, 20, 30
Front Squat 115#

10, 20, 30, 20, 10
Push Ups

First Round looks like this:

30 x Front Squat
10 x Push Up

2nd Round:

20 of each, etc...

17:23...Never done front squats before, and I have to tell you, they are pretty rough! My legs and knees are very sore today, but nothing serious. Great workout, but I think I'll chill on the front squats for a bit. Not a WOD I would want to do all the time...

Saturday August 9th

Rest Day.

Went to Etnaland today. Sicily's version of a water park. it was pretty cool, small, but we had fun! it's really hot out here, so the water is nice! I got lots of sun and maybe got a little burnt. And I gotta say, there are much better looking women at the beach!

Graduated MFF then back to Sicily

2008-08-03T00:37:00.000-07:00

Wednesday was a rather long day. We did 3 jumps, including 2 night jumps. The last one was pretty cool. the Marine Layer of cloud cover was rolling in, so we got to jump through the clouds. Thursdays jump was better though. For 1 it was the last jump we needed in order to graduate and 2 we did it right at sunset so it was still kinda light out. I got to see the sunset over San Diego from 10,000 ft fall toward the earth, and then watched it set under canopy at 4,000 ft. All in all it was an awesome school and a great time. Miss it already, and I just got into the Rome airport!

MFF Class Video..

SWCC kid, Out of Control Vid...coming soon...

Crossfit:

Wednesday July 30th

Rest day

Thursday July 31st
WOD

5 x 400 Meter Run/Row

Rest 2 Minutes Between Each Round

Then....

Pick one of the below exercises and complete 100 Reps for time:

Ab Mat Situps
Hollow Rocks
Knees to Elbows

Slits for the run...120-120-117-117-118 and then KTE 7:09
This WOD was interesting. It was nice to have some rest in order to go balls out for each round. Oh yeah, and 100 KTE SUCK! My abs were really sore the next day. I also did a 500m row for warmup and cool down.

Friday August 1st

WOD

2 Man Teams

5 Rounds

50 x Wall Ball Men 20#, Women 10#
30 x Burpee
20 x Hand Stand Push Up

Only team member can work at a time, and each team member must do an equal share of the work.

Team WODs are cool. I did mine with Dave, and we worked hard, finishing in 24 mins flat. As Dave said, we would have done better but he was lacking on his handstand push ups. Oh well, I went hard and got a little extra rest so I could push harder the next round.

Saturday and Sunday Off. Traveling back to Sicily. I'm sure I'll be too tired on Monday, but we will see...

New OHS PR! "I'm a fitness whore, I don't care how you feel, only about performance."

2008-07-29T08:05:00.000-07:00

To be successful in any training program, there is a less tangible element that must be present, commonly called “heart” or “spirit.” This is what differentiates true warriors from posers. The Samurai called this element kokoro, loosely defined as “indomitable spirit,” or the refusal to accept defeat. It represents the inner warrior, forged through intense training under masterful instruction. (Exert from CFJ Dec. 07)

Well, as I said, I took Sunday off so I could hit it hard the rest of the week before heading back to Sicily on Saturday.

Monday July 28th

WOD

OverHead Squat

3, 3, 3, 1, 1, 1

I'm not exactly sure what weight we used to work up to our 1 rep max, but it was somewhere between 95# and 155#. These strength days are so awesome. It really shows who believes in the Crossfit concept and who is still a little "fragile". Andy says these days are more important then met con days, and I'm starting to believe him. Anyway, after putting 185# on the bar and having 3 failed attempts... 1) not even getting over my head to start the motion, 2) then getting it up but not squatting all the way, and 3) finally getting all the way down and not being able to get back up...I finally grew a sack, got the weight up, and busted out a nice full OHS! Trying to balance 185# above your head while you are squatting below 90 and then trying to keep it balanced on the way up is rough! You don't believe me, try it!

I realized I had a long way to go when Andy said his PR was 255! And then mentioned he was shooting for 280 for this years PR! Holy Crap! I guess I still have a lot of training to do to get there....

Tuesday July 29th

WOD

Max Rounds in 20 Minutes of:

15 x Pull Ups
30 x Push Ups
45 x Squats

7 rnds + 1 Squat...I started with squats cause of the # of people there.

Can you say "Cindy on ROIDS!" 7 rnds is a far cry from my PR of 31 on "Cindy", but still very respectable. I put up the high # for the morning and that should stand for the day. Not that it matters if I score higher then everyone else, trust me, I have had my ass handed to me in plenty of WODs, but when competing against yourself, you are also "competing" against everyone else, so it's nice to be "top dog" every once in a while! I recommend this WOD to anyone who hates "Cindy". You will hate this one just as much, trust me!

631 total reps! You do the math! Here is the breakdown of the power output I had for this WOD. Pretty cool...

Work & Power Output Calculator
Height
177.8 cm
70 in

Bodyweight
83.92 kg
185 lb
Movements

Squat
Reps - 316
Travel, Body - 0.44 meters
Work, Body - 85169.21 joules
Total Work - 85169.21 joules

Pull-up
Reps - 105
Travel, Body - 0.57 meters
Work, Body - 45063.17 joules
Total Work - 45063.17 joules

Push-up
Reps - 210
Travel, Body - 0.37 meters
Work, Body - 63061.83 joules
Total Work - 63061.83 joules

Duration
20:00
1200 seconds
Work Performed
193294.21 joules
19710.21 kg-m
142573.81 ft-lbs

Power Output
161.08 watts
0.22 horsepower
118.81 ft-lbs/sec

Andy posted this pick on the Crossfit Coronado site from last weeks WOD. Knees to Elbows Baby!!!

"Functional strength is the successful application of force along productive lines." Greg Glassman

“Make pain your ally. The more familiar it becomes, the easier it is to manage.” ~Phil Emory~

2008-07-26T20:24:00.000-07:00

Crossfit Coronado

Saturday July 26th

The "Free Saturday WOD" is usually ok, but caters more toward individuals new to the Crossfit concept. This morning was not really that different, except for the fact that Steve made it harder based on a tall blonde young women who got a little cocky in saying (when asked what her fitness level was) "Well, I play basketball at "such and such" college, so I'm in really good shape"! LOL, bad call! Even as she was answering I saw the look on Steve's face change, and then he said, " I have a "good" felling about the fitness level here, so the workout should be good." I knew right away this WOD was going to be harder then most! Not a killer WOD for people use to Crossfit, but for people not use to it...let's just say, blondie and her male friend didn't even finish! LOL, so much for being in great shape!

3 Rounds

30 Box jumps (varying heights scaled to fitness level) I used the highest box, around 30-36"
20 Jumping Pull ups ( I did regular kipping pulls)
30 Burpees (full jump w/overhead clap)
400m run

22:12...I made this WOD as hard as I could, even though it was hard to begin with! I was just going to work on technique for the 1st hour and then do a WOD with the members class at 11, but when I saw what Steve put up, I had to do it, and let me tell you it was worth it!

After this blistering leg workout (the combo of box jumps, burpees, and running sucks!) I was convinced the Steve reached his goal of making the "newbies" look like crap! It was actually kinda funny, they left without saying bye, but that's what you get for entering a Crossfit gym all cocky and underestimating this amazing fitness level! Afterward I stuck around to listen in a some kipping pull up teaching and did a quick deadlift workout.

1-1-1-5-5-5-5-5

226-236-250-226 (for the reps of 5)

Love deads! Hands and grip were shot after this, so it ws time to stretch and get the hell out of the gym before I puished myself more! But, not before I got a very quick (about 3 secs) lesson on the ring muscle up, and then did my first 1 ever! Steve said it was his fastest and easiest lesson ever! Made me very happy!

Probably do a rest day tomorrow, so I can hit up Coronado on Monday, but we will see how I feel....

Another week of falling, and killin Crossfit!

2008-07-25T19:16:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday we started jumping in groups and getting "stacked" after we pulled and were under canopy. This is considered "Canopy Grouping". It is really pretty boring, but good practice at exiting the plane and getting in a "free" jump basically. We did 4 on Wed. (it was a really long fast paced day!) and 2 on Thursday. In out last jump the 5 of us nailed it pretty good. We were about 50 yrds apart on landing and landed in a 6-7 sec interval between the 1st guy hitting and the last guy hitting. It was one of the best in the whole class and the instructors were very pleased!

Today we went into "Ruck" jumping. This is basically a jump with a 40-50 lb pack between our legs. It is a little interesting getting stable with the extra weight, and the way you have to "fly" it to be under control. We did 2 jumps and it was a pretty easy day. I caught on quickly making it a good day! Weapon and O2 next week, then night jumps and graduation!

Crossfit Coronado

Wednesday July 23rd

WOD

Push Jerk

3, 3, 3, 3, 1, 1

This was an interesting WOD. Once again, Andy came up with a strength movement I have never done before. He seems to love watching me struggle with the technique on these olympic lift movements! More so then watching me kill myself on a metabolic conditioning WOD. Anyway, the weight for the sets of 3 was not really important. They were basically technique and warm up for a 1 rep max. I think we did around 135-185 for those sets. I reped out at 200 lbs and missed 221 lbs 4 times! I was so pissed and very intimidated by the weight! I was more scary then jumping out of a plane at 13,000 feet believe it or not!

Thursday July 24th

Rest Day

Friday July 25th

WOD

"Lori"

40 x Turkish Get Ups Men 35#, Women 12.5#
10 x Knees To Elbows
10 x Turkish Get Ups
40 x Knees To Elbows
10 x Turkish Get Ups
10 x Knee To Elbows
40 x Turkish Get Ups

18:00...I finished with the fastest RXed time of the day at the gym, but Tusch did it in 25 something with 40#s and I'm sure I wouldn't have beaten that. Anyway, I love/hate TGUs! I started ding them consistantly about a month ago as a "cool down" exercise, doing somewhere around 2-3 sets of 10 with like 30-40 lbs. I'm glad I did, cause it really helps when WODs like this are thrown at you.

It is always good to be well rounded and even though you may have just killed the WOD for the day, work technique, or row, or go for a run afterward. Being "good" at everything and not "great" at just a few things is kinda what Crossfit is all about. The more exercises and techniques you work at the better you will get at the overall WODs! Don't get me wrong, if you can be "great" at everything, strive hard for that! but in the mean time, learn as much as you can, and work to be well rounded! This will help you be a monster in anything that can be thrown at you!

"Now, here, you must leave all distrust behind: Let all your cowardice die on the spot." ~Dante's Inferno~

Free Fallin, like a ROCK!

2008-07-22T19:16:00.000-07:00

I say like a rock, and not like a bird because when you are hurling toward the earth at terminal velocity (around 120 mph+) you definitely don't feel like a bird! I also say this because with the killer crossfit training I have been doing while here in San Diego, I am building a rock for a body! As always, it is a work in progress...there is always a faster time to post, one more rep to complete, and even more weight to lift or move faster across a distance. All of this solid training leads up to more lean muscle which tends to accelerate toward the earth faster! Here are my latest WODs which are helping me achieve this rock solid, super accelerating body!

Saturday July 19th
Party In The Park!
I joined Crossfit SoCal, who do their Weekend Warriors WOD in Mission Beach Park every saturday. I wasn't sure what I was in for, but I was informed thar there would be some hotties there, so I figured why not.

WOD
800m run
then: as many rnds in 20 mins of
25 KTE
50 Squats
100m Beck's Burpees (basically, a burpee with a broad jump instead of a vertical jump)

2 Full rnds and 25 KTE, and 30 Squats...I thought Prision Burpees were bad! Beck's are much worse and very time consuming! This WOD was not overly hard, but it was a slow process to go from squats to the Beck's really hit the hip flexors! If this was a full 3 rnd or 5 rnd WOD it would take like 40-50 mins and would really be a killer. Maybe next time! lol, not!

Sunday July 20th

Rest Day

Monday July 21st

WOD "Angie"

100 Pull-ups
100 Push-ups
100 Sit-ups
100 Squat

For Time
Complete all reps of each exercise before moving to the next.
16:11...This was actually my first time doing Angie, therefore I didn't really know how to pace myself. Basically went as hard as I could and only rested when truly needed. I still the reps up into reasonable, workable sets and just tried to hit it hard! This is a great WOD if all you have is a pull up bar and not much room.

Tuesday July 22nd Back to Crossfit Coronado

WOD

15 x Burpee Box Jumps
1 x L Pull-up
13 x Burpee Box Jumps
3 x L Pull-ups
11 x Burpee Box Jumps
5 x L Pull-ups
9 x Burpee Box Jumps
7 x L Pull-ups
7 x Burpee Box Jumps
9 x L Pull-ups
5 x Burpee Box Jumps
11 x L Pull-ups
3 x Burpee Box Jumps
13 x L Pull-ups
1 x Burpee Box Jumps
15 x L Pull-ups

13:05...L Pull-ups Suck! Especially when you finish the WOD with the higher amount! The workout went very well though. I posted the 3rd fastest time at the gym behind Tusch (11:50ish) and Dutch (13:01...yeah, the same Dutch who finished 4th at the Games this year). Burpees Box Jumps are interesting. They are basically exactly how they sound. You do a burpee and then jump up onto a 24" box instead of just vertical. Make sure you get full hip extension at the top of the box. On the L Pull-ups, You should go chin above the bar and then full extension at the bottom. A reverse grip actually helps with the position better, but taxes your biceps much more. If a L Pull-up can't be done. Do a jump into the L and let yoursef down slow. If you can't get all the way to the L, do a jump and bring your knees to you chest and then let down slow! This slow negative will help you develop your back and biceps muscles enabling you to work toward the RXed L Pull-up!

"Fran" PR Vid...finally...

2008-07-19T20:57:00.000-07:00

This is a video of me in the Sigonella, Sicily gym, setting a PR on "Fran"...enjoy!

And hear is the the output & power breakdown of this WOD...check out the link, it's really cool!

Height
177.8 cm
70 in

Bodyweight
83.92 kg
185 lb
Movements

Thruster
Reps - 45
Travel, Body - 0.49 meters
Work, Body - 13506.77 joules
Travel, Weight - 1.11 meters
Work, Weight - 21106.87 joules
Total Work - 34613.64 joules

Pull-up
Reps - 45
Travel, Body - 0.57 meters
Work, Body - 19312.79 joules
Total Work - 19312.79 joules

Duration
3:52
232 seconds
Work Performed
53926.43 joules
5498.88 kg-m
39776.13 ft-lbs

Power Output
232.44 watts
0.32 horsepower
171.44 ft-lbs/sec

From Free Fall to Fight Gone Bad...what a week!

2008-07-18T23:25:00.000-07:00

This week was pretty amazing! I has a few firsts in my life. The coolest being jumping out of an airplane at 13,000 ft! Even though I have yet to exit the plane without being held on to, the rush is truly awesome. We have complete levels 1-4 of the AFF process. Level 4 is where we finally get to stabilize alone in free fall and do some 360s and pull without the instructor holding onto us. Rushing at the ground at around 120 mph goes by really fast! I recommend it to anyone searching for a great thrill. Even if you have to do it tandem. I wasn't really all that nervous, at little when you look at the ground on the way up, but as soon as I step to the door to jump out, there are no butterflies...nerves of steal baby! LOL. Or just so scared that it doesn't feel like it! Level 5 is monday where we have to try to do a backflip while in free fall. That should be interesting!

Crossfit Time...

Monday

Rest day

Tuesday July 15th Crossfit Coronado

WOD

4 Rounds for Time

400 Meter Run
15 x OHS Men 95#, Women 65#
9 x Thrusters Men 95#, Women 65#

15:03...This WOD was a smoker! But, as with everything we do, practice does pay off. I have been working on OHS technique for about a month now, and it showed in this WOD. While everyone else was struggling with form and weight, I managed to power through them, and transition into the Thrusters fairly easily. The run was actually the hardest part. I hate 400s, but the one thing I hate more is, 400s + anything else!

Wednesday July 16th Crossfit Coronado

WOD

Hang Power Snatch (WMV)

3, 3, 3, 1, 1

Squat Snatch (WMV)

2, 2, 2

I did not record weight for this workout. Mainly because I worked on technique and did more then the prescribed # of sets. Snatches in any way shape or form are such a dynamic movement. I believe at the end of HPS we were up around 115#s or a little higher, and then around 95# or so for the SS. I was actually really sore the next day after this WOD.

Thursday July 17th

Unscheduled Rest Day. We only had 1 plane at free fall so the jumps went till around 6 pm and by that time I was actually exhausted from sitting around all day...I'll get the next 3 days hard!

Friday July 19th Crossfit Coronado

WOD

"Fight Gone Bad"

Three rounds of:

Wall-ball, 20# Men 10# Women, 10 ft target (Reps)
Sumo Deadlift High-Pull, 75# Men 55# Women (Reps)
Box Jump, 20" box (Reps)
Push-press, 75# Men 55# Women (Reps)
Row (Calories)

In this workout you move from each of five stations after a minute. The clock does not reset or stop between exercises. This is a five-minute round from which a one-minute break is allowed before repeating. On call of "rotate", the athletes must move to next station immediately for best score. One point is given for each rep, except on the rower where each calorie is one point.

334 Reps Total...This was my 1st FGB and as the pics show, it was not easy! After my rest day yesterday I wanted to hit it as hard as I could...The whole group turned out to do every well. The high rep count from the morning was 333, so I put up 1 more rep then Jason to take the days high! I was pretty proud of that being my first Fight and all.

I can really feel my body accelerating to new levels everyday. I'm less sore, stronger, faster, and my ability to utilize O2 is higher then every! I firmly believe that this is due to diet, not drinking, and following Crossfit as close as possible. I'm to the point where every WOD I do I believe I can set a new PR!

Keep pushing till you die, then rise again and push harder!

2008-07-13T11:46:00.000-07:00

So, Friday I completed Static Line jump school here in Cali at TAO in Otay Mesa. A much better, more relaxed, more professionally run place then Ft. Benning! And I didn't have to be up at 3 am on jump days! After finishing up we took a few class pics, chatted a little and then it was off to Crossfit Coronado for me!

Friday July 11th

Warmup: Stretch, SDHP technique

WOD: "Amanda"

3 Rounds for Time:

21, 15, 9

Sumo Deadlift High Pull Men 75#, Women 55#
Knees To Elbows

This workout is structured just like "Fran", 21 of each, 15 of each, 9 of each and then start at 21 again.

15:04...Myself and an Ensign for the SQT SEAL class we are jumping with did the last 9 KTE together to finish at the same time, besting the other great athletes in the class. This WOD really taxes the forearms and by the time you get around to the 3rd round your grip is pretty much shot! Not to mention when I woke up the next day my abs felt like I got hit repeatedly with a baseball bat! Love it!

Saturday July 12th

5 hrs Wind Tunnel practice for Free Fall School. No official WOD today, but I'm not counting it as a est day, since getting beat around and flexing/relaxing every muscle in my body for 5 hrs is not considered rest to me...

Sunday July 13th

Warmup: 2x 500m row, 3 rnds 5 Pull ups/10 Push ups/15 Squats

WOD:

3 Rnds for time: 21-15-9

Over Head Squat (75#)
Kettlebell Swing (55#)
Burpees

Performed by doing 21 OHS, 15 KBS, 9 Burpees x3 rnds...

8:45...Wanted to hit something quick, and have been working on OHS technique. This was a good workout. It really stresses the legs and abs. Next time, I'll probably do it like 21 OHS, 21 KBS, 21 Burpees, 15 OHS and so on for 3 rnds, making it a much longer much harder WOD...no off to the beach!

Living Life Southern Cali Style!

2008-07-10T20:06:00.000-07:00

Quick note on training...Ran 6 miles on Tuesday, and then took Wed. and Thursday off! Now the explaination...

Or the excuse if you will...I'm too tired, I jumped out of a plane at 1500 ft 3 times today and hit the ground so hard I think I broke my ass! Blah, Blah, freakin Blah! Actually, we got back late from jumping and I am a little sore and we have to jump tomorrow, so I took an extra day off. Sometimes it's better to read your body and understand that you might need an extra dat here or there to recover. I could have worked out, but my ass and legs are a little beat up, so and extra day will be good. I will hit it extra hard tomorrow I promise! I might even stop by Crossfit Coronado for the 5 pm WOD. And those guys love to punish me! I think its cause they are SEALs and I'm just and EOD Tech! lol...

I have to say, as violent as the landings are in static line jumping, and even though you jump at a "low" altitude...there is just a great rush in jumping out of a plane and falling toward the earth! I can't wait to start Free Fall next week, when we will be jumping from more like 12000-15000 feet and hurtling to the earth at terminal velocity!!! I love my job!!!

Drunk, Fly, Cali, Jump! Recap...

2008-07-07T20:13:00.000-07:00

Thursday's Cindy PR warrented a celebration! So, since it was a "holiday" (July 4th) the next day, we went out. Nick, Chappy, and I walked our happy (sore) ass across the street and proceeded to get hammered! Well, at least I did, I couldn't tell you what the other 2 did, but they definetly weren't sober. Needless to say, this lead to the 4th being a "rest day". I was the first time in about a month that I really drank, and now I know why my times and my physical transformation have been steadily getting better...Anyway, after that, Saturday the 5th was also a rest day because I spent more then 19 hours flying from Sicily to San Diego CA...now I remember why I hate traveling. 10 hours on a plane, for a single flight, on American (which is much less comfortable then Delta) is enough to make anyone fing crazy! God, all I wanted to do was sleep...so, landed safe and sound, rested and then it was back to training.

Business as usual...

Sunday July 6th

Warm up: 500m Row, 3 rnds 5 pull ups/10 push ups/15 squats

WOD:
7 rnds for time

7 135# Push Press
7 225# Dead Lift
5 45# pull ups

12:30...I just made this one up on a whim. I wanted to go a little heavier, seems to be a kick I have been on lately. the 45# pull ups were much harder then expected and they are something I am going to do much more of. You sacrifice the intenisty of a kipping pull up, but what you lose you fully gain in the "this really fing sucks" category. Combine those with another grip excercise like deads and you have a great forearm workout without even trying! I like this one, look for it again, but with a sub 1o min time!!!

Monday July 7th

After spending all day at Sky Dive arizona in Otay Mesa CA, going through classroom and practical applications of static line jumping, I drove back to base and looked for a WOD. I felt like doing something with a little aerobic capacity building and got away from the weights for today...

Warm up: Stretch

WOD:
For time:
Row 1000 meters
25 Burpees
Row 750 meters
50 Burpees
Row 500 meters
75 Burpees

23:08...All because of the burpees...This WOD sucks! I hate burpees! The row was actually a little bit of a rest. I paced right around 2 mins and little fast as they got slower, but the burpees were just horrible! Imagine a Murph still WOD with burpees instead of push ups? I'm going to think of a great sadistic one very soon. Beware! something like 800m run /50 weighted pulls/ 100 burpees/ 200 SDHP (with like 45#)/800 m run! This one sounds good, might tweak it a little though, that sounds way too rough right now! lol...WEll, rest time, then more static stuff tomorrow, then a beach run for the WOD tomorrow afternoon...Peace out from Cali!

PS...Just want to say congrats to the new Crossfit Games Champions Jason Khalipa (male) and Caity Matter (female). Check out the full results at http://games.crossfit.com

My Better is Better then Your Better!!!

2008-07-03T12:21:00.001-07:00

Cindy PR!!

2008-07-03T11:05:00.000-07:00

WOD recap...

Tuesday July 1

Tabata Mash Up

Deadlift Men 155#, Women 75#
Jumping Pull Ups (for everyone)

This workout is only 8 minutes....how hard can it be? 20 seconds of Max Deadlift, 10 seconds of rest to move to the Pull Up bars, 20 seconds of Max Pull Ups, 10 seconds of rest to move to the Deadlift. Repeated until each exercise has been completed for eight rounds of 20 seconds.

DL: 11/9/8/9/8/6/7/9 = 67
JPU: 10/9/8/8/8/6/7/8 = 62

Total reps: 129

Cool Down:
Over-Head Squat 45# 3x10
1000m Row 4:15
500m Row 1:54
500m Row 2:10

This Tabata WOD will rock you if you aren't ready for it! Great workout.

Wednesday July 2

Rest Day

Thursday July 3

"Cindy"

NEW PR! 31 Rounds + 5 pull ups...

I have been steadily hitting it hard 3 on 1 off, not really following the HQ site, but rolling through WODs like mad, and even creating some of my own, and it is really paying off! I also have really cut back on drinking, not cut it out, but really cut back. All of my workouts have been improving and I have been setting new PRs left and right. This "Cindy" PR is really one of my favorites because it is right up there with the top of the Crossfitters around the world! I'm not sure what the record is, but I know Dutch has done 32 and he is a F-ing monster! My "Fran" PR is good, but till I get to 2:30 or less I'm not boasting anything... I love "Cindy". It look so easy on paper, and literally will floor you at the end!

One more WOD tomorrow, and then off to Cali on sat. so that will be a day off. I plan on trying to get to Crossfit Coronado as much as possible while I'm out there, and I'm sure Andy and Steve will love to hand me my ass...lol.

Burpee thrusters and "Michael"

2008-06-30T12:23:00.001-07:00

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

2008-06-30T11:59:00.000-07:00

Siracusa Lido, and rock jumping!

2008-06-29T02:26:00.000-07:00

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...

2008-06-29T01:58:00.000-07:00

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!

Buona sera. Good Afternoon.

2008-06-23T05:21:00.000-07:00

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.

New Fran PR!!!

2008-06-21T07:06:00.000-07:00

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!

WODs for the week...

2008-06-18T11:23:00.000-07:00

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...

Chillin by the pool...

2008-06-16T03:15:00.000-07:00

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!

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

2008-06-14T01:09:00.001-07:00

Vid 1

Vid 2

Vid 3

Vid 4

Crossfit Sicily...well sorta...

2008-06-14T01:09:00.000-07:00

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...

Welcome to Sicliy!

2008-06-12T08:01:00.001-07:00

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.

2008-06-12T08:01:00.000-07:00

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...

Farewell WOD at Albany Crossfit

2008-06-05T21:05:00.000-07:00

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)

2008-06-05T06:37:00.000-07:00

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~

The Countdown Begins...

2008-06-04T08:47:00.000-07:00

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!

East Coast Crossfit Challenge

2008-06-01T20:06:00.000-07:00

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!

Live life to the fullest, cause you never know what's around the corner!

2008-05-28T20:05:00.000-07:00

Lee William Sanford
WILTON Lee William Sanford passed away unexpectedly at Saratoga Hospital on Sunday, May 25, 2008. He had collapsed while jogging. Resuscitation attempts were unsuccessful and the cause of death was "sudden cardiac arrhythmia." Born on Oct. 30, 1977, in Glens Falls, N.Y., Lee was the son of Sally and Richard Sanford of Queensbury. Lee was a graduate of Queensbury High School, Class of 1996. He received a B.A. degree from the University of Buffalo, and was employed for several years in Boston as a financial analyst at Dane, Falb, and Stone. He was united in marriage with Alyssa Reisman on March 24, 2007. He and Alyssa returned to this area this year and Lee embarked on a career as an Investment Officer at Glens Falls National Bank. Lee is survived by his loving wife, Alyssa (Reisman) Sanford of Wilton; his parents, Sally and Richard Sanford of Queensbury; his grandmother, Shirley Cleveland; and his in-laws, Jane and Richard Reisman of Queensbury; and a brother-in-law, Michael Reisman, of Brookline, Mass. He was predeceased by his sisters, Laura and Elizabeth Sanford. Lee was a bright, affable, kind, and loving husband, son, grandson, nephew and friend. He was loved by everyone and will be missed by everyone whose lives he touched. His love of sports was supreme. His great passion for and devotion to Alyssa was noted by all.

I went to high school with Lee, played football and basketball with him, and drank a few beers too. He was a good person, and a good athlete. I had not seen him in a few years, but I am greatly saddened by his loss. His family lost his 2 younger sisters a few years back in a tragic car accident, and now they have no children. So, if you think you have it bad, put yourself in there shoes! I'd rather have cancer or die myself then ever have to endure the pain those 2 people have...

Please don't ever take life for granted, do what you love, live "your" life, not some other person's, and do everything with a 100% passion in your heart!!!! I can't stress this enough!

On a Crossfit note, did technique today for squat, deads, press, and kipping pulls...restful day...

Light Week

2008-05-28T09:56:00.000-07:00

I'm going light this week to heal up any sore muscles (and believe me, there are some from the Memorial day "Badger" WOD) and make sure I'm at a good fitness and well being level come Saturday for the ECCFC.

Yesterday I went to the "Y" and did some technique training on push press, overhead press, squat, thrusters, deads, cleans, clean and press, and kipping pull ups. Nothing big, just like 3 sets of each nice and slow (45# bar), working on posture, alignment, hip drive, etc.

Then I did 5000m of rowing. I broke it down to...
1000m warm up
500m sprint (1:44)
500m cool down
500m sprint (1:42)
500m cool down
1000m steady (around 4:00)
500m sprint (1:43)
500m cool down
Here is a cool vid featuring the concept 2. If you have never used it, you are only hurting yourself!
This is 10% luck, 20% skill, 15% concentrated power of will, 5% pleasure, 50% pain, and a 100% reason to remember the name!

Then some mid line work...3 sets 15 GH sit ups, and 24"-32" box jumps (3 sets 10 reps)

Started today with a very easy run. 2 miles at about a 9:00 pace and then a nice hot shower to help the muscles. Looking to do some more technique work at the "Y" later and maybe a yoga class tonight. Rest day tomorrow, and maybe a light jog on Friday just to keep the blood flowing.

I have been eating fairly well, egg whites, oatmeal, and almond for breakfast. Salad with chicken or tuna, cucumbers, almonds, and balsamic vin, for lunch. Kinda whatever is for dinner(my downfall) and yogurt and almonds for snacks.
I do use protein once a day in a shake form, nothing huge, about 24g plus some essential amino acids. I supplement with fish oil, B-complex, L-glutamine, and Mega Man.

Memorial Day WOD @ Albany Crossfit.

2008-05-26T12:08:00.000-07:00

BADGER...In honor of Navy Chief Petty Officer Mark Carter, 27, of Virginia Beach, VA who was killed in Iraq 11 December 2007.

Today I joined around 30 or so fellow Crossfitters in Albany NY to pay our respects for some of the fallen heros of the US Military, and Law Enforcement community. The Crossfitters from the area all took time on there day off to participate (with great intensity I might add) in WOD's like "Murph", "Randy", "Jason", "Nate", "Michael", "Josh",and "Tommy V.". For me this was an especially emotional workout, being part of the US Navy Special Operations. As an EOD Tech. we very often work directly with Seals, Army SF, and even local or federal law enforements agencies.

I was tasked with the honor of doing the "Badger" WOD, one I have never done before, and one that was much harder then I expected. It consists of:

3 Rounds for time

95 pound Squat clean, 30 reps
30 Pull-ups
Run 800 meters

Love this WOD! I tried to attack it with as much intensity as possible, but the squat cleans sorta got the better of me, proving to be the hardest part of the workout. With that said I finished in 35:37 and felt like jello at the end!

Congrats to all who participated, thank you for "playing along" today and thank you for all of your support. Keep up the good work and keep "killin it"!

Ball Buster!

2008-05-25T11:02:00.000-07:00

I got the wod off of Brendan G.'s blog. As soon as I looked at it I knew I wanted to do it, but I knew it would hurt. The movement is such a full body dynamic movement that it trains for conditioning and strength all in one. He used 45# which I figured would be a little too much, but I started with it. It was heavy, but I finished the first set of BSCT but couldn't do the OH lunges, so I went down to 35# for the rest of the WOD. Let's just say this workout hurt much more then I thought. By the end I was breaking up pulls to sets of like 2! I finished in 24:33, which I'm not sure is good or bad, seeing that there are no times for this WOD. I think everyone should try this at least once, and if possible master the BSCT. It's a hell of a ball buster movement! I'm still sore from it, and took saturday off. Plus as he talks about, working with DB's is very important to help isolate muscles and create dynamic strength. Have fun with this one, if you don't it's only going to hurt that much more!!!

13 burpee squat clean thruster (45lbs) dumbbell's
20 pull ups (chest to bar)
13 overhead walking lunges each arm ( 45lb)
20 pull ups
3x

Today I'm just going to go out for a light run, no more then 4 miles at a moderate pace. Have a BBQ this evening and traveled all day so I'm running out of time. Doing the Memorial Day WOD down at Albany Crossfit tomorrow. Looks like "Murph". Hope to set a PR. I'll be rested and hope to blow this one up!

Globo Gym is for @$$y’s (from my myspace blog)

2008-05-22T15:49:00.000-07:00

So, myself, my brother (Grant), and my friend (Janna) went to a local gym in Utica NY that I use to "workout" at years ago. I know the owner, and he is a great man and runs a pretty good gym. Large, lots of weights, machines, etc. even found the equivalent to a glute ham situp machine. What else I saw was depressing. More on that in a second.
We were there to do a WOD. 1st day was "Diane" (for those of you that don't know, look it up). Let's just say, people like to stare at things they don't understand even if it means they stop their "workout" to do so, but I guess I'd rather see them looking at us actually doing work, then see them standing around chatting or "looking for the water fountain". 2nd day was a WOD I made up (5 rnds...5 135 thursters/ 7 pullups/ 10 70 kb swings/ 7 burpees). Awesome workout, same dumb look on everyones faces.
I saw the same people from 7 yrs ago, doing the same thing (nothing), looking the same, and acting the same as they did when I use to go there (lazy). It was seriously depressing and pitiful! The same people that stopped and stared at handstand pushups or what ever we were doing, were the ones that in 7 yrs had not transformed the bodies, strength, attitudes, or functionality...Welcome to "Globo Gym"!
When my friend, who had never done Crossfit before, is pushing herself, grunting, sweating and says later on, "I can't feel my legs", is showing more intensity then the whole gym combined, maybe these @$$y's should ask themselves, "What should I change about my "workouts"? My brother says to me, "The guy at the pull up bar was staring at me like he was 'sleeping' after he did 5 pull ups, and I was killing myself to finish my set. He was probably wondering, 'what is this kid doing'? I say, transforming himself, not wating his time.
So, to all you Globo Gym goers out there, get a life, and try a real workout for once! Crossfit.com in case you didn't know...Mess you up!!!

Congrats to me!!!

2008-05-22T15:17:00.000-07:00

Just found out that I got advanced today to EOD 2 (E 5 non-navy people)! I'm very happy about this, since the exam was very hard, but myself and my 3 boys (1 of them with me here, Danny) that took it with we did well enough to all make E 5! This means more opportunity, and more money, and more discipline. Can't wait to get to Sicily to keep training hard and start work p training for deployment.

As for Crossfit, today was a much needed rest day for me, as the day goes by I get less and less sore, so I will definetly be able to hit it hard tomorrow. I think I might try Brendan G.'s DB squat clean thruster workout for the morning, and not sure for the evening. If I make it to the evening after that workout! lol.

Master Blaster Day!

2008-05-21T18:14:00.000-07:00

The day started with a very hearty breakfast, which I'm sure will change once I get to Sicily and start operating. For lunch I had Lynne...she is tastey, but kinda sucks! I never bench so I felt like a pussy! Anyway, I took 27 mins to do it, I used 185#, and it looked like this...

Rnd 1: Bench 18 Pullups 23
Rnd 2: 14/18
Rnd 3: 15/22 (I rested a little longer before this one)
Rnd 4: 11/21
Rnd 5: 10/18
I know I can improve on that after doing it a few more times, no worries.

Then i went to starbucks and grabbed a tall americano, and read for a bit...6 pm, dinner time, and a WOD that I made up today...

4 rnds for time.
10 75# Push Press
10 75# Thrusters
50 24in Box Jumps
25 Burpees

This was a Master Blaster leg workout, much more then I expected. I finished in 26:24, which is respectable I guess considering I was really sore and tired, but can definetly be done faster. Try this one and let me know how you do!

My best friend and I are doing the 1st Annual Eact Coast Crossfit Challenge in Albany, NY the weekend of May 31st-June 1st. OPT was the 1st to sign up, so I think we all know who is gonna win! LOL. I'm just hoping for a top 20 finish! We will see. I encourage anyone who wants to come watch and learn about Crossfit to show up. Info and be found on the Albany Crossfit site. The link is on my page. Hope to see you there. Train smart, Train Intense!

One last note that kinda pisses me off. I was browsing through Men's Fitness magazine today and they had their 25 fittest people in there. It's obvious these guys have no real clue what "fit" means. Tiger Woods was #1! I mean, yeah he is probably in really good shape, but fitest? Doubt that. Others on the list were Obama, some rapper dude, and various other "not so fit" people! Missing from this list were all Crossfitters, Military Special Ops guys, and even hockey players (well I think Sindey Crosby was on the bottom under "fit for their age"). I mean come on, if you are the editor of a REAL fitness mag, people like Greg A. and Brendan G. should be on there. If OPT was American, he should probably top the list! And I know plenty of people in the Navy EOD field, or Army SF, or AF Pararescue that could out "fitness" over 3/4 of these dudes! So whatever, Men's Fitness has no clue! Just me venting!!!!

5K Day

2008-05-20T15:47:00.000-07:00

Woke up today to a little bit of sun, so I decided to do a 5K in preparation for the Xfit challenge. It was about 60% uphill (which sucks, but was planned). Let me preface by saying I have never been a great runner, and as soon as I get time, money, and a suitable location I will be attending a POSE running seminar! Until then, I get by ok I guess.

So 3.2 miles in 24:55 and around a 7:48 ave. pace. (So, my GPS said) The pace I'm happy with, to a point, but the total time isn't all that good. For the Challenge I'm going to need to run around a 20-21 min race in order to be competative I think, so I'm praying it's going to be more level then what I'm training on.

With that said, hill work is always a great way to improve on overall running. Especially if you are at a high altitude. I spent the last year and a half or so on the Gulf Coast of Fl, so the slight difference in altitude here in central Ny is something I feel when I go out to train.

I decided to forego a Crossfit WOD this afternoon, and decided healing up would be a smarted option. I feel good, and could have trained but there is always tomorrow...

One thing I hate is that there is no track near the gym I'm working out at (which is on the 2nd/3rd floor of a warehouse) so WOD's like Helen, and Murph aren't really an option right now. I'm kinda substituting with either longer runs, or with a track/plyo type workout at the local college. Which by the way has no pullup bars anywhere in site!! Who would have thought? A college with an "athletic" department that has no pullup bars anywhere but in the gym, which is closed for "summer hours". Maybe someday people will catch on.

East Coast Crossfit Challenge

2008-05-19T13:46:00.000-07:00

There are 2 weeks till the East coast Crossfit Challenge and I'm felling pretty good. Even though I posted a Fran time 2 weeks ago of 5:23 (PR is 4:10) I bested my Crossfit Total by 30# in a week. My 1st total was 795...165 overhead press/265 squat/365 deadlift.

Today I did 825...175 overhead press/275 squat/375 deadlift. My allergies are kicking pretty hard, but I feel strong. I know I can do more in all of the lifts, but without bummer plates or any sort of a spotter (for safety) these lifts are pretty good. I'm going to do Cindy later today, and try to get to Murph, Fran again, and Helen this week.

I also did Diane last wed. Not a PR, but I had to walk kinda far to do the handstand pushups, no excuse but I think it made a difference in the 4:16 time as opposed to PR of 4:12.

Other then that, I hate central NY, specifically Utica! the weather and the people here suck! I can't wait to get out of here and off to Sicily!

My Blog Spot

2008-05-19T13:39:00.000-07:00

I just started this blog to keep my friends and family updated when I move to Sicily in 3 weeks and to voice my opinion on life, liberty, and the pursuit of whatever it is I might be pursuing! Feel free to hit me hit on myspace or my email...Enjoy.