October 24, 2009

October Monthly Update

So, I’m still on my monthly update schedule. Here’s what’s been up for the last month in my fitness and nutrition world:

  • Bodyfat 7-location pinch test says 12.6% body fat. That’s the same thing it said before the hydrostatic test last month.
  • On October 12th, Betsy and I started a fairly strict paleo zone diet. We’ll be sticking with it at least until Thanksgiving.
  • First “Jackie” as Rx’d @ 9:23
  • A new “Filthy Fifty” PR @ 27:08 (down from 30:00)
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September 21, 2009

Monthly Updates? Sheesh!

So, I’ve kinda fallen off the wagon in terms of food and exercise tracking. The good news is that it’s not because I’ve gone off the deep end and started eating for crap and skipping workouts.

A few highlights:

  • Hydrostatic Body Fat Testing Says I’m 16% body fat. That’s +3% compared to 7-point pinch
  • New Grace PR: 4:00 (down from 4:51)
  • New Annie PR: 7:30 (down from 8:53)
  • New FGB PR: 348 (up from 324 in March)
  • New “400m” PR: 1:09 (down from 1:1?; this is the around the block 400m, which is really about 380m)

Also, Betsy has started working out with me and it’s been a lot of fun to have her at the gym.

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August 21, 2009

Catching Up + Progress Update

Catching Up

So, I haven’t posted anything in a week. Frankly, posting here daily was a lot more critical to my success early on. Now that I’ve been CrossFitting for just over 15 months, daily posting isn’t quite as critical to my success. I’m still tracking my numbers, but I’m just not posting them all quite as religiously.

  • 8/14: Max Effort Deadlift — 365lb, 1 rep. 10 lbs below PR of 375. This feels really low for a guy my size and I’m really read to see this number go up dramatically.
  • 8/17: An untimed snatch technique building workout & a “400m” run around the block. New “400m” (it’s really more like 380m) PR of 1:09.
  • 8/18: Jogo Lab Stuff: Walking OHD KB Press [16kg], Walking lunges w/ KB in rack position [2x16kg], Split Jumps, Romanian Deadlifts
  • 8/19: Mojo: More snatch technique. Then, attempted 45 consecutive 1/2 bodyweight thrusters (got 23).
  • 8/20: More Jogo Lab: Lateral lunges w/ press, kb swings, suitcase deadlifts, etc.
  • 8/21: Fight Gone Bad prep workout:everything scaled down one level.65#/14#/18in — 366 reps

Progress Update

Got body composition tested again on Wednesday and I’m now down to 12.6% bodyfat (7 point caliper test). Getting hydrostatic tested tomorrow morning.

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August 13, 2009

FGB Prep Workout

Fight Gone Bad, Unbroken Reps Only

Similar to fight gone bad, except that you only work for 30 seconds per station (resting the other 30 seconds) and you can only count your longest unbroken set of reps (so if you do 10 wall balls, stop, then pick up the ball again and do 11, only the 11 count).

Score: 240 (WB: 42, SDHP: 53, Box: 39, PP: 65, Row: 41)

Notes

She set targets of 60 reps per non-rowing movement and 30 calories on the rower. I’m not really sure how I could’ve gotten more wallball shots. I can’t make the ball come down any faster and I cycled at the bottom as fast as I could (which is reasonably fast). That leaves the box and the SDHP, both of which are opportunities for serious improvement.

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August 11, 2009

Lab In The Rain

Lab Workout

AMRAP in 12 minutes of:

  • 10 lunge w/ KB press R/L [16 kg]
  • 10 rotating recline pull/row R
  • 10 squat jumps (w/ TRX)
  • 10 rotating recline pull/row L

Score: 2+4

then, AMRAP in 10 minutes of:

  • 10 lateral lunge (suitcase style) R [16 kg]
  • 15 american KB swings
  • 10 lateral lunge (suitcase style) L [16 kg]
  • 15 american KB swings

Score: 4+2

Notes

It was pouring down rain at 6am this morning and there were leaks a plenty in the roof. It was fantastic.

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August 10, 2009

Back Squat + "Triple Nine"

first:

  • 5-3-1-1-1-1-1 back squat

Score: 305#

then, AMRAP in 15 min, of:

  • push press [95#]
  • pullups
  • burpees

Score: 5+1

Notes

Also walked up to the top of the Arboretum at a pretty good clip at lunch time. Took about 45 min round trip.

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August 6, 2009

Lab + CrossFit = Soreness

Jogo Lab

I haven’t previously posted a lab workout, so it’s probably worthwhile to provide some additional info.

Warmup

The lab’s warmup goes like this, as best as I can remember:

Outside: * Jog forward 10-15 yards/backpedal 10-15 yards (repeat) * skip w/ big arm swings 10-15 yards (repeat?) * side shuffle 10-15 yards/sideshuffle opposite direction 10-15 yards (repeat?) * carioca 10-15 yards/carioca opposite direction 10-15 yards (repeat?) * walking lunge w/ torso rotation and “scary arms” 10 yards forward/backwards * a kind of squat side shuffle movement (Em calls it something else; basically stay as low as you can into a squat while shuffling sideways) 10 yards each direction.

Inside:

  • while standing on one leg, bending at the hip with one leg back, move your arms in a “Y” then a “T” then a “W” and then an “L” (which doesn’t actually look like an “L”, but whatever). Thumbs should be pointed to the sky for the “Y” and the “T” and toward one another for the “W” and the “L”, I think. Do this 5 times on each side.
  • Using a 24 or 16 Kg kettlebell, repeat the following circuit for two minutes:
    • 5 russian swings (eye level)
    • 5 right-arm swings (eye level)
    • 5 left-arm swings (eye level)
    • 5 high-pull swings
  • butterfly sampson stretch 12 right/left (or, that’s how many I do, anyway)
  • 10 squat + pull on the TRX (or t-rex, if you prefer).

So that’s the warmup as best as I can remember it. We do that every time.

Workout

The lab is usually broken into two time-oriented workouts (AMRAP in 12-15 minutes) with a bonus following.

First workout:

10-9-8-7…2-1-2-3-4…8-9-10 pyramid, with a 15 minute cutoff, of:

  • russian kb swings
  • recline pulls on the TRX
  • burpees

Second workout:

AMRAP in 12 min of:

  • 10 leg (hamstring) curls w/ heels in the TRX (on your back, in a bridge, hips in the air)
  • 5 walking L sits w/ heels in the TRX (walking on your hands)
  • 10 squat jumps (this is just like jumping from a full squat, using the TRX to help control the movement a bit)
  • 10 knee tucks (from a plank w/ toes in the TRX)

Score (Lab): 6 burpees short of completing “9” on the way back up (99 swings, 99 pulls, 93 burpees in 15 min); 3+1

CrossFit

So, because there is only a 6 am class a the lab, and I was feeling a bit sore after 4 consecutive days, including two lab days (which always makes my glutes sore), following a week off, I thought I’d stop by Jogo on Grand to hit the foam roller and do some stretching while the 7 am class did the WOD. Instead, with a bit of encouragement, I decided to do the WOD.

15-12-9, for time, of:

  • double unders
  • abmat situps
  • handstand push ups (or pike pushups for most, myself included)
  • ring dips (3 days this week)
  • pushups

Score: 13:3? or 13:5?

Notes

Needless to say, my shoulders and triceps were toast after doing ring dips Monday, a fair bit of shoulder stuff at the lab on Tuesday, doing some extra ring dips on Wednesday after FGB and having done 93 burpees and 15 L-sit walks at the lab earlier that morning.

It’s been a good week, though. I’ve felt good, and I’m really enjoying the Jogo Lab workouts. They’re something a bit different and they’ve exposed some imbalances, etc, when doing unilateral movements (i.e. the fact that I want to fall over any time we do anything on one leg.)

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August 5, 2009

Jogo WOD #1??

“Fight Gone Bad”

Score: 319 (75# PP & SDHP, 20# WB w/ 10ft target)

Notes

So, I’m not counting anymore. I’m probably approaching 200 WODs at Jogo and, at this point, the numbers aren’t as meaningful. It’s been over a year and frankly, the results I’ve achieved astound me.

I’m stronger and leaner than I ever believed I could be and I have the audacity to believe that I can continue to get stronger and leaner for some time.

Today’s FGB score is inline with my PR of 324, so I’m content.

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July 17, 2009

Jogo WOD #180

HSPU/KB Swing/GHD Situp + Wallball/Snatch

AMRAP in 8 min of:

  • 8 hspu [scaled to pike]
  • 8 kb swing [24 kg]
  • 12 GHD situps

rest 2 min, then:

AMRAP in 8 min of:

  • 30 wallball shots
  • 30 hang power snatch [75#]

Score: 6, 1+1

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July 16, 2009

Catching Up (Jogo WODs #175-#179)

A Weak Recap

O.K., so I’ve become complacent about recording my workouts. I got sick over Fourth-Of-July weekend and the effects dragged on for the better part of two weeks. I finally got back into the swing of things this past Monday, but hey, I’m a busy guy. So here are some highlights.

  • Karen [150 wall ball shots, 20#, for time]: 6:36 (first time ever doing this WOD; could easily shave 30-45 seconds off just by resting less)
  • 5-3-1-1-1 snatch: 145# (technique, technique, technique)
  • “Celebration of the Games” which was like 30 pullups, 30 burpees, walking lunge w/ 45# overhead and a 2 mile run: 21:56
  • Today we did a deadlift workout at 85% of 1 RM, 10 reps, one every 30 seconds and then a team MB slam/row 500m workout.

I’ll try to keep things more up-to-date from here on out.

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