MONDAY OCTOBER 31ST, 2011

MONDAY OCTOBER 31ST, 2011


REST DAY


Today marks the 4th and final rest day in what has been a surprisingly nice break from my standard 3 on - 1 off / 2 on - 1 off cycle. It is surprising because this is probably the longest intentional break I've taken from CrossFit in over three years. 


That's not bragging on myself as much as it is telling on myself. If you are driven to excel and preform then off days can be murder on the psyche. For me one of the most frustrating things I deal with are rest days after crushing three straight workouts. The drive to continue the "winning streak" is only natural, but we've got to also take a step back and look at long-term, big picture details. 


Most people aren't aware that improvements don't happen while you are training, they happen while you are recovering. Let me explain, yes, the work you put in does amount to improvements in strength, power, flexibility, stamina, conditioning, etc but only if you allow your body to heal from that work in the form of rest. 


And while a 3:1, 2:1 protocol has, for me, allowed more rest over a period of weeks and months, my body is only partially recovering before I throw it through another round of intensity. Over time, the body sustains little micro-tears and injuries that aren't fully healing and won't until you give it a window outside of the standard 48 hour rest cycle. 


So in essence, that is what I've done since Thursday night. Of course, that doesn't mean that I've been sedentary. There's been yard work (raking, sweeping, moving heavy stuff, lots of bending), handstand walk practice, and lots of mobility drills to keep me active and get me ready for the coming week.


Overall, I'm really excited to get back to a workout and see how my body responds.  

SATURDAY OCTOBER 29TH, 2011

WOD

Rest day 2.


Spend 10-20 min with skill specific work. I choose the handstand walk.

FRIDAY OCTOBER 28TH, 2011

FRIDAY OCTOBER 28TH, 2011

WOD

Rest day. I highly recommend the following read.


Rest and Why it Matters by Blair Morrison

THURSDAY OCTOBER 27TH, 2011

THURSDAY OCTOBER 27TH, 2011

WOD

For time:

10 Squat Cleans, (m: 135lb, f: 85lb)20 Pushups30 Deadlifts, (m: 135lb, f: 85lb)40 Double Unders50 Kettlebell Swings, (m: 1 1/2 pood, f: 1 pood)60 Situps70 Squats


John: 9:00
Louis: 13:42


In looking at my log book I did this WOD in 8:45 with front squats because of my wrist last fall. Squat cleans are immeasurably more difficult so I'm somewhat happy with my time. I think Louis and I both felt like there were areas we could have sucked it up a little more, but I'll give Louis a hand for shredding  the double unders. With an eye towards transition time and rest on the swings this is probably an 8:30 WOD on a good day.

WARM UP

- 200m row (1:15)

- 15 box jumps (singles, slow)

-  Dynamic Stretching

- 200m row (1:00)

- Push Press, 5 reps (3 rounds)

- 15 box jump burpees

- 200m row (0:50)

- Hang Squat Clean & Jerk, 3 reps (3 rounds)

A note about warming up. You'll find a number of methods for pre-WOD warmups or even small mini-WODs. I've heard pretty much every strategy, so I'll toss mine out to make things even murkier. 

Generally, the warm ups are WOD-specific, skill-specific, and recovery-specific. If the preceding day's workout was particularly tough on one area of the body or beat the body up in general, I like to work with an eye towards loosening up that group of muscles. For example, if a workout calls for 150 pullups the chances are very good that we'll spend extra time on the band and PVC pipes mobilizing our shoulders and maybe even rolling our lats. 

However, most of the time the formula is pretty simple. I start with a moderate monostructural movement (rowing, running, biking, rope work) for 2-5 minutes. This just tells the body what the mind already knows - "we're about to do some work". Once that is finished I like to go into dynamic stretching. We try to hit the entire body but if nothing else a strong focus is put on the two main power centers of the body - hip and shoulders. 

One we are loose and ready to start sweating I recommend skill and technique work. Why? Most people don't get enough of this and warm ups are a fantastic time to try and improve your lifts and other skills without the pressure of clock or heavy weight. Emphasis should be on the integrity of movement during this time. 

The final element focuses on strength. I let the looming WOD dictate rep scheme and load. A good rule of thumb for choosing your lift is simply this - think about the thing that needs the most attention or that you do not want to do. Outside of that, write down every Olympic lift or Power lift and variation thereof (yes, clean and jerk and snatch, then break down the elements of those) on a board somewhere, then write down the date you worked on that lift. That will give you a great visual cue for neglected movements. 

Once all of that is considered and programmed, there is nothing left but to strap on and hit the WOD! 

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 26TH, 2011

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 26TH, 2011 

WOD

Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:

3 Wall climbs

10 Up-downs

5 Parallette pass-throughs (forward + back = 1)

10 Grasshoppers (right + left = 1)

For the wall climbs, toes and chest touch the ground to toes and chest touch the wall. For the up-downs, thighs touch the ground then stand up fully. For the pass-throughs, the hips open at the front and back. For the grasshoppers, the shin contacts the opposite forearm.


That was pretty awful from start to finish...but the programming was brilliant. The more I thought about this WOD the more I saw the genius not only in training things that weren't run-of-the mill CrossFit, but in forcing the athlete to think and adapt to new skills and challenges under stress. 


Louis: 5 rounds plus an extra Grasshopper
John: 6 rounds plus wall climbs, up/downs, and 3.5 pass-throughs. (16.5 reps)


Prior to the WOD we worked in Squat Clean thrusters. Nothing heavy - 3 sets of 5 (65#, 95#, 135#)

Warm Up

Due to the complex nature of the movements and the fact that they are mostly new to us, we will be mainly warming up with the same movements prior to the WOD. I generally do not like to do this but it should ensure a better flow during the WOD.

TUESDAY OCTOBER 25TH, 2011

MONDAY OCTOBER 24TH, 2011 

WOD

800m splits x 4
Run 800m for time. Rest 2 min between efforts. Hold splits within 15 seconds.


Split results (low-hi)
Stephen: 2:40 - 3:04
John: 3:05 - 3:27
Louis: 3:28 - 3:47


Louis actually managed a negative split on his last round which is pretty impressive but also may be due to the fact  that he downed about 6pz of meat an hour before the workout.


For my part, I felt really slow. We all agreed that the deadlifts from Sunday had our legs feeling heavy, but the last few mono-structural days have been a little disappointing. The odd thing for me was that I felt like I could hold that pace for a while, but couldn't press to go significantly faster.

Warm up

- 400m run
- Stretch
- Money bars
- 50m bear crawl
- Stair Work (broad jump up bleachers)
- Burpees (number of burpees corresponds with number of jumps - if it takes you 7 jumps, do 7 burpees)
- 50m backwards run
- 10 Knees to Elbows
(preform above x3 after stretches)

MONDAY OCTOBER 24TH, 2011 Rest Day

MonDAY OCTOBER 24th, 2011 

WOD

Rest Day

SUNDAY OCTOBER 23RD, 2011 (8:30PM - GUNTOWN)

SUNDAY OCTOBER 23RD, 2011 (8:30pM - GUNTOWN)

WOD

"Bradshaw"
10 rounds for time of:

3 Handstand push-ups
225 pound Deadlift, 6 reps
12 Pull-ups
24 Double-unders


John:  17:35 (185# DL)
Stephen: 20:22 (185# DL)
Louis: 7 rounds at 28 min. (6 elevated pushups sub for HSPU)


U.S. Army First Lieutenant Brian Bradshaw, 24, of Steilacoom, Washington, assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, based in Fort Richardson, Alaska, died in Kheyl, Afghanistan, on June 25th, 2009, from wounds suffered when insurgents detonated a roadside bomb near his vehicle. He is survived by his parents, Paul and Mary, and brother Robert.


Hero WODs are a different animal entirely and set apart from the standard CrossFit Workout of the Day (WOD). Always difficult, these workouts take on a different tone and require that the athlete separate themselves from the immediate, pressing difficultly of a workout in favor of a nod to the Hero, his sacrifice, and a world that is larger than the pain of the moment.

Rest In Peace Brian, thank you for your service.

Warm Up

- 25m duck walk
- 25m toe touch lunges
(repeat ^ 3x)
- 2 min shoulder work (dislocates w/ PCV, band distraction, floor rolls)


- 15 box jumps
- 5 hang power snatch w/ bar
(repeat ^ 3x)

Strength

Back Sqauat 5-5-5
185-205-225

SATURDAY OCTOBER 22ND, 2011

saturday OCTOBER 22nd, 2011 (7:30am - Guntown)

WOD

"Grace" 30 Clean and Jerks for time (#135 Rx'd)


Awesome morning! Everyone crushed Grace. Times are as follows:


Louis: 3:48 (rx'd)
John: 3:02 (rx'd - PR)
Stephen: 3:00 (115#, PR)


After the WOD, Louis made up the row sprints from yesterday. Range went from 17.9 - 18.9. That's about a full second better than my results.

Warm Up

- 800m run (1st 400m 60%, 2nd 400m 80%)
- Dynamic Stretching (20 Samsons, 20 Squats, 10 Swings, 20 Mountain Climbers, 20 V-ups x 2)
- 20 Double Unders
- 5 Hang Power Snatches
- 5 Hand Stand Push Ups
- 2 min Buddha Stretch

Grace Demo - it helps to be a giant

FRIDAY OCTOBER 21ST, 2011

Friday OCTOBER 21st, 2011

WOD

100m sprints for time - 10 rounds
1:30 rest between rounds


Amended this to Rows for two reasons. 1 - it was literally freezing outside, which isn't a great excuse not to workout but I'm calling it acceptable for all out sprint work. 2 - I really need to work on my row and 10 short splits could tell me a lot about how to improve technique to maximize power output.


My times ranged from 20.3 to 18.7 for 100m rows. I also used this opportunity to play with damper settings at 10, 7, and 5. Fastest split was my last.


Warm Up

- 800m run
- 7 min Hamstring/Glute streches
- 50 box jumps - 20"



Strength

- 3-3-3-3 Strict Press
95-115-125-135 - weight went up very easy this morning. 


Today's WOD seems pretty easy on the surface. I can tell you from experience, it is not. Last time I ran through this workout I really underestimated the recovery and the footwear. I'll wear a more supportive shoe this time and socks that don't slide around in my shoe. 


Try to keep your splits within 1 to 1.5 seconds and make sure you pay close attention to the prescribed rest. 

thursday 111020 - Rest day

Some Rest Day wisdom

Wednesday October 19th, 2011

WEDNESDAY 111019 - Hospital track 8:30

2010 Northwest Regional Event 1

Three rounds for time of:
135 pound Overhead squat, 10 reps
50 Double-unders


I've honestly been looking forward to this WOD for some time now. In fact, I've come really close to programming it twice but went for something more outside of my comfort zone. I predict the key to be arm fatigue and coordination in the double unders.


John: 4:11 (rx'd)
Louis: 8:32 (mix 95# OHS and front squats)


Louis pr'd his DU at 15! This work is AFTER he ran a 5k. Way to go!


I was surprised by this one. The issues described above came into play but not until the third round. I'm sure that a sub 4 min time on this WOD is very doable but I was pleased that I went unbroken on the OHS and only one break on the DU. After a trainwreck Tuesday, the Wednesday session was nice. 


Warm up

- Burgener warm up with unloaded bar

- 15 kipping swings

- 15 bar-facing burpees

- 15 toes to bar

- 15 double unders

- 5 bar muscle ups

- 5 min stretch focusing on shoulders and hips

- Man test

TUESDAY OCTOBER 18TH, 2011

Tuesday OCTOBER 18TH, 2011

WOD

500m row for time - max effort

In the remaining time, after the row and after warmups, work on 1 RM Overhead Squat

(for the overhead squat, weight must be locked out overhead and squat must move past parallel in the bottom and extend to open hips at the top before the lift is considered complete - see tutorial below) 


John: 1:37 (3.3 sec off pr)
Louis: 1:47 (1st 500m row - pr)


CrossFit never fails to humble. Actually, CrossFit is just the name we give to this activity in which boundaries are pushed on a daily basis. Living on the margins means that sometimes you will fail. It is also much easier to fail when you haven't dedicated time to that entity. 

Check out your log book and dust off things you haven't picked up in a while!

Warm Up

- 25 burpees
- Iron cross/Scorpion stretches/band shoulder work
- 10 Hand Stand Push Ups
- 10 sec on/5 sec off V-ups (1 min)
- 50 double unders

Overhead squat tutorial

MONDAY OCTOBER 17TH, 2011

monday OCTOBER 17TH, 2011

Rest Day

Coach B knowledge

Stephen marathon report

Stephen's marathon training - long day 111015

As part of Stephen's prep for his first workout it was decided that a long run was in order in addition to the standard CrossFit Endurance protocol that he has followed for approximately a month now. With the race being 6 weeks out this was a good time to run a good distance and see how the training was preparing him for the run. We also wanted to get baselines for fluid, electrolyte, and nutrient needs. We programmed 2 miles splits with varying elevations. Below is a pace/result of the splits and the nutritional information.

After 2 miles: 7:40 pace (water/poweraid)

4 miles: 7:40+ pace (water/poweraid/apple sauce/gu-V8)

6 miles: 8 min pace (w/p/asgu8/banana/salt tab)

8 miles: 8 min pace (w/p/apple sauce/quarter gu) - 1 hr 8 min (16-20 oz water loss)

10 miles: 8:30 pace (w/p/a s/ quarter gu)

12 miles: 8 min pace (w/p/ a s/ quarter gu)

14 miles: 8 min pace (w/p/ a s/ salt tab/ gu) - 2 hr 5 min

16 miles: 8 min pace - 2 hrs 20 min total time

Overall pace 8:52 for 16 miles. Includes breaks to discuss nutrition/weigh/etc.

Stephen looked strong during the entire run. The one hiccup in pace happened after the banana which sat heavy and most likely took some blood away from the muscles to digest. While that was a great dose of K, we'll most likely look for another, lighter K supplement for the actual race or come up with a blended banana option. 

Great job Stephen! 

Sunday OCTOBER 16TH, 2011 (hospital track 7:30pm)

Five rounds for time of:
- 200m run
- 20 pullups
- 200m run
- 20 pushups
- 200m run
- 20 sit ups
- 200m run
- 20 squats


RESULTS:
John: 30:30
Stephen: 32:02
Louis: 41:04
all rx'd

Warm up: 
- 300m front/back run
- box stretches (couch, l-stretch, super couch, external hip)
- knees to elbow all fours (10 sec on/5 off for 1 min)
- jumping squat (10 sec on/5 off for 1 min)
- 10 knees to elbow bar


- Team box jump (GS jumps - open at the top) to 100 jumps

Louis' first round from Saturday's WOD

SATURDAY OCTOBER 15TH, 2011

SATURDAY October 15th, 2011

Five rounds for time of:
155 pound Squat clean, 7 reps
14 Kettlebell swings, 1.5 pood

Warm up: 
- Sled drag 45# - 100m
- Gymnastic warm up from Friday
- Sled drag 90# - 100m
- 10 overhead squats 45#
- 10 squat cleans 45#
- 10 wall balls

Strength:- Back squat 3-3-3-3

Gymnastic Warm Up

Warm up: 
Louis: 14:52 (2 rounds rx'd, 3 rounds 135# squat cleans)

John: 9:47 rx'd

Austin: stopped watch in 5th round but finished - 125# squat cleans

After the WOD Louis and I hit max push ups - Louis 40, John 54 (pr)

Friday October 14th, 2011

Friday October 14th, 2011

Deadlift 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

Hit a few working sets prior to your first recorded lift. Ideally with this rep scheme you would like to hit your previous PR (or exceed it) in the 3rd or 4th set, depending on how the weight feels that day.

Deadlift setup

Warm  up: 
Box Jump complex, gymnastic warmup (inchworms, supermans, hollow rocks, crossleg pistols). 
10 toes to bar - 200m row at 80%
10 handstand pushups - 200m row at 90%
Max weighted pullups (55#) - 200m row at 100%


Post WOD: 
Work on double under PR for 5 minutes

Thursday October 13th, 2011

Thursday October 13th, 2011

Rest Day

No excuses. An exhaustive list of body weight exercises to be done anywhere.

Wednesday October 12th, 2011

WOD - AMRAP 30 (As Many Rounds As Possible in 30 min)

each round consists of:

- 400m run (1/4 mile)

- 10 L-Pullups (feet held out front at 90 degree angle, full extension to lock out at bottom)

- 15 Good Mornings - 55#

- 20 Situps with 25# plate

John: 6 rounds + 400m + 9 pullups
Louis: 5 rounds + 400m (Louis misread and did 25 sit ups per round. Reading = important)

This workout was deceptive. I spent all evening worrying about it, the entire workout thinking it wasn't so bad, and I have a feeling 4 hours post finish that the WOD will have the last laugh...because I won't be able to laugh at all. Abs and hips are pretty fried. 

With long, light WODs the key is to keep moving and stop as little as possible. I wanted to keep all runs under 1:45 which I did for the most part. All L-pullups were done in sets of 5 which is my standard for that movement. Confession on the good mornings was that due to my back I had to abbreviate them slightly and use a slight knee flexion to transfer load to my hamstrings and away from my back.

Louis had great form through the entire workout which is no easy feat considering pretty much every movement was less-than-his favorite. 
Warm Up
- 500m row

- stretch

- 20 air squats

- 5 wall walks

- 20 samsons

- 5 wall walks

- 20 box jumps

Strength
Hang Power Clean 5-5-5-5 focus on form and eliminating the early arm pull
95-106-1115-126

Tuesday October 11th, 2011

Front Squats 2-2-2-2-2-2-2


John: 145-176-196-216-221(1)
Louis: 145-176-185-196-216

The 221 set a 1RM PR for me and the 216 x 2 was a 2RM PR. I got 221 twice but the depth was not there on the second squat in my opinion. Louis established a good working PR.

Big lesson today was high elbows. Achieving a proper rack position is everything in the front squat. Without it the weight pulls on your wrists, throws off your balance, and makes it impossible to drive from the proper position in the bottom of the squat (the hole).

Warm Up
4 rounds Tabata (2 min total) of:
- mountain climbers
- double unders
- jumping lunges
* between each Tabata set we worked on various dynamic stretches specifically targeted for the front squat

Strength
Push Press: 3-3-3-3
95-115-137-165

Monday October 10th, 2011

111010: Rest day

The last cycle was pretty shoulder intensive for me at least. Let's work on that with a few simple and easy mobility tricks.

Stay active, move about, mobilize and let's get ready for another cycle tomorrow.

Sunday Oct 9th, 2011 WOD

Sunday 111009 (Hospital track)

Run 800 meters
15 Hang squat snatch
Run 800 meters
15 Squat snatch from mid-thigh
Run 800 meters
15 Squat snatch


WARM UP
Single rope skips to POSE rope run
Snatch Balance x 5/Dynamic Stretch
Car Push

What can you expect from this blog? Hopefully a consistent output of the progress of a small but growing fitness movement here in the Tupelo, MS area. 

I will attempt to catalog workouts, warm ups, ideas, information, articles, and other generally useful information about real fitness and nutrition. 

We'll start off with a post that I feel perfectly captures the spirit of those who wake up each day to feed the dog of courage rather than the dog of fear. Thanks for stopping by and I sincerely hope that you contact me if you have questions or would like to set yourself apart.

Become the minority

Grabbed from a post over at CrossFit Huntsville. I'm not going to attempt to sum it up because I would not do the idea justice. Please read when you have a moment:

This was my first day really back to working out since Regionals and taking about a month off. I had a lot of fun the first set of part 1 and then my body reminded me that you can’t just take a month off from ALL physical activity and be just as in shape as you were before. This hurt.

As many of you guys know I was extremely displeased with my performance this past year at Regionals. Even before the competition I was pretty burned out and could have really cared less to workout at all. I was sick of CrossFit (from a personal training aspect not a coaching aspect). Period.

Over the past month I have had to take a step back and reevaluate my training, my goals, and remind myself the reason why I fell in love with CrossFit in the first place. One thing I have failed to remember lately is that before CrossFit is anything at all it has to be personal. I remember the first few weeks I began CrossFit. I did it by myself at the South East YMCA. It was me, a stopwatch, and a barbell. That was it and it still remains to be my most enjoyable experience and memory of CrossFit thus far. My only goal was to be a better CrossFitter. Not a games athlete or champion but simply a better athlete.

My point is if you are always comparing yourself to other athletes and not YOURSELF you will continually be defeated day in and day out. Success is measured by you and only you. If you are continually making improvements and gains then whatever you are doing is working and you should care less about what the guy or girl in the gym next to you is doing. I’m not saying don’t be competitive. Far from it. I’m saying be competitive with yourself and others. If at the end of the day you pushed yourself to YOUR limits then it’s a victory regardless of the outcome. The moment you let yourself believe that you’re a failure as an athlete because you were slower than Joe Schmoe is the moment that you have missed the point of why you do what we do.

What makes CrossFit unique from so many other sports is that it’s all on you. If you don’t perform there’s no one else to blame but you. The bar didn’t make you stop. The rings didn’t cause you to fail. You did. This is also why CrossFit will never be for everyone. Many people can’t handle that responsiblity and never will. Every time you walk into the gym remember that you are setting yourself apart from the majority of people in the entire world and choosing to accept the responsiblity that success or failure all falls on you. Every day you continue to accept this fact is a another day you set yourself apart from the majority and become the minority.

As I laid in a pile of sweat, gasping for air, between the sets of wall balls and double-unders today I was reminded of why I CrossFit. I fell in love with it all over again and re-lit that fire to be a better athlete that I’v been missing for so long.

I’m happy to be back.