400 Club

Today was a workout that I have been wanting to do for a couple weeks now and I was glad to see it on the blog last night. We did 10 rounds of 1 rep deadlifts with the goal of setting a new 1 rep max weight PR. I have never done 1 rep max deadlifts but about 2 months ago we did 5 rep max and I was able to get to 308 pounds. So today I started with the goal of hitting 350.

I did: 174-194-218-242-264-284-308-328-352-374-384-401

I used 12 rounds to get there but I decided after 10 rounds I wanted to try to go a little heavier. I struggled with 384 and I decided to call it a night but a couple of the guys convinced me to try get in to the 400 club, a newly created achievement club for CrossFitters here in Omaha.

Yesterday I wasn't able to make it in to CrossFit due to a conflict with work. My CFO is in town for the week and he wanted to take some of the accounting department out to dinner. I look up to him so much and I have a great deal of respect for him so this was an opportunity for me to be around him in a social setting. The meal was great and the conversation was, for the most part, not work related. Sure I missed a day of CrossFit and volleyball but I am glad I was able to be there. I hope to work with him more in the future so I can learn from him and, hopefully some day, be as successful as him.

What is Talent?

Today I was sent an article to read entitled "Why Talent is Overrated" by Geoff Colvin. It is an article that hit pretty close to home with me because I have never been overly talented at anything. Don't get me wrong, I am good at many things, but I have never had an innate ability to be great at any one thing.

When I was young I took martial arts. I went to class and I practiced from time to time and I became very good, a black belt, in fact. But I had many weaknesses that others did not. Then in high school, I joined the diving team because I was really good at doing tricks on a big trampoline. Once again I practiced everyday with the team and I became very good. I made state all fours years, I had the highest degree of difficulty of anyone in Nebraska and I was one dive away from possibly being state champ my senior year. But I wasn't the best, probably not even close to it. Was I just not talented enough?

Talent is an interesting topic. Obviously those individuals who have an innate ability to do something well have an advantage over those who do not. But in this article Geoff Colvin explains that talent does not necessarily translate in to greatness, and even those with no talent at all, have the potential to be great. What explains those who attain high achievement, he says, is deliberate practice. Deliberate practice meaning signaling out your weaknesses and striving to make them better. It means consistently stepping out of your comfort zone and pushing the limits of your body and mind. It's taxing, it's brutal and it's never ending. But it has to be, because if it were easy, then everyone would be great and if everyone was great, then we would all just be normal.

Why this article hit so close to home for me is because I know how great I could have been at martial arts. I knew I could be much better if I practiced more at home or if I spent time visualizing my techniques instead of playing video games. I know I could have been an even better diver. But again, I never gave myself fully to the sport and I always came up one dive short.

It was the same with my school work. I went to class and did the homework, but I never truly tried to learn a lot of what I was going to school for. Success to me was an A in the class, not the knowledge I should have been gaining. This article opened my eyes to the way I have been going about my life. I have always thought of myself as someone who can achieve great things but up until this point I haven't put in the work greatness demands. Now it's time to stop thinking and start doing.

It's going to be a long road of small steps but I know I have do it if I ever want to be great.

No Hand Rips!!!

WOD: 7/10/08
Ten rounds for time of:
10 Pull-ups
20 Sit-ups
30 Air Squats

I was really excited and worried at the same time for this workout. Excited because I wanted to try my new butterfly technique on the pull-ups and worried because it was going to be 100 total pull-ups and a hand rip seemed very likely. Luckily for me, Ricky had some special tape he wrapped my bad hand in and I was pretty solid from there. The only problem left was the fact that we now have a new pull-up standard. No longer is getting your chin above the bar good enough, we now have to touch our chest to the bar for it to be a non-scaled pull-up. This put a damper on my ability to do the butterfly kips.

As for my total time; I actually DNF in the 25 minutes we were given. I got through 10 pull-ups on round 10 before time was called. I took too many break, mostly with the pull-ups to rest my hands. I am disappointed that I didn't finish but I am very happy my hands made it through! Hopefully they are just getting stronger and stronger so eventually they won't tear at all anymore.

On a sad note, I won't be at CrossFit until next Wednesday and more likely Thursday of next week. I am going to San Francisco this weekend and I don't get back until midnight Tuesday and then I am going to have to mow on Wednesday. Hopefully I am able to do something in San Fran, perhaps even a WOD or two if possible.

Shoulder Presses

WOD: 7/9/08
Press 1-1-1-1-1 reps
Push Press 3-3-3-3-3 reps
Push Jerk 5-5-5-5-5 reps

The object of this workout was to find your 1 rep max with strict shoulder presses by starting at a lower weight and working up through the 5 rounds. After that you would go back to your original weight and perform the push presses with 3 reps and build up to your previous 1 rep max. And finally you would start again except with the push jerk and do 5 reps per round. Below is what I lifted:

Press: Push Press: Push Jerk:
105# 105# 110#
115# 115# 120#
125# 125# 130#
135# 135# 140#
145# PR 145# 150#

I was happy to get a new PR with my 1 rep max shoulder press but I only beat it by 5#. The push presses were pretty easy and I only struggled on the last round. On the push jerks we switched to bumper plates so we could drop them if we needed which is why I was 5# higher each round. Good workout overall and I hope to get another PR next time!!

Hang Power Snatches

WOD: 7/8/08
Rest Day

This was actually an official rest day but since I hadn't worked out in 4 days I needed to go in and do something. Ricky had us work on our snatch technique. In my opinion, the snatch is one of the hardest and most technical of the Olympic lifts. Last time we did this lift I believe I got to 88# and that was it. This time I got to 110# but it wasn't pretty. I definitely still need a lot of work on the snatch.

I Hate Double Unders!!

WOD: 7/3/08
6 Fifty yard shuttle sprints (25 yards & back)
25 Double Unders
4 Fifty yard shuttle sprints
50 Double Unders
2 Fifty yard shuttle sprints
75 Double Unders

Rx'd at 9:07. I was the last of 4 of us to finish this workout because I suck at double unders... ugh. This was also my last workout of the whole week. Not good because I didn't work out at all the whole weekend and I definitely consumed at least a thousand adult beverages. Tomorrow is going to be rough.

Weighted Pull-ups and Push-ups

WOD: 7/2/08
Weighted Pull-ups 3-3-3-3-3 reps
Bench Press 3-3-3-3-3 reps

For the pull-ups I did:
10# x 3
15# x 3
20# x 3
25# x 3
30# x 2 (failed at 3)
9 strict pull-ups

Push-ups:
55# x 3
77# x 3
88# x 3
99# x 3
110# x 3

After this WOD a couple of us did another short workout. We did one pull-up then two push-ups for the first round and then 2 pull-ups and 4 push-ups the next and so on with as little rest as possible between rounds. I did strict pull-ups through 4 rounds and switched to kipping. I made it through 10 rounds before I decided to call it a night. This short workout alone included 55 pull-ups and 110 push-ups. Once again my shoulders were dead, but in a good way.

My Poor Shoulders

WOD: 7/1/08
Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:
12 Wall Balls (20)
12 KB Swings (1.5 pood)

I finished exactly 12 rounds with 5 seconds left on the clock and I called it good. This workout was brutal on my shoulders. After 4 rounds I had to break the KB swings in to 6 and 6 reps but I kept all the wall balls together until the last round when my shoulders were about to give out after the first 5 shots. I went in to class aiming for 12 but when we started I was thinking more like 10 because the workout was much harder than it looked (as usual). I was happy to get through 12 though. I actually had just finished round 11 when they called one minute left so I pushed as hard as I could through the last round to finish. I didn't even break up the KB swings in the round. Afterwards I couldn't even lift a bottle of water to my mouth to take a drink. Next time I am shooting for 14.

Tire Flips

WOD: 6/30/08
4 rounds of
10 tire flips
20 push-ups
25 box jumps (24" box)
200 meter run
2 minutes rest

I was thinking the same thing as you, that doesn't look all that hard. Believe me, it was intense and the rest breaks just forced you to work that much harder during each round. I started in the second wave and had to wait a few times for an open tire but my total time was 23 something. I wasn't very happy with my effort and I wish I would have started at the same time as Matt so I could try to keep up with him. I know should have pushed myself harder on the runs because I used them more to catch my breath cause the box jumps were killer.

After the WOD I did some work on my butterfly kipping pull-ups again. I was able to string 7 together this time with out losing my rhythm so I am getting better! They still look a little sloppy but that will come with more practice. My goal is to be able to do 30 pull-ups the next time we go for our 1 set max. I know I can do it if I just keep working at it.

Slapping Push-ups

WOD: 6/27/08
5 rounds of
10 walking lunges (25# DB's)
10 push-ups
Immediately followed by 5 rounds of
10 jumping lunges (24# DB's)
10 Slapping push-ups

Friday was going to be my skip this day and go Saturday workout but I looked at it and I really wanted to do it. So I took off work 2 hours early to make it in to the 3PM class. I finished the first 5 rounds in 3:16 and the total work out in 11:39. I was pretty impressed with my time and my ability to stick to slapping push-ups the entire second half and not have to drop to clapping ones. The jumping lunges were killer and I barely made it through the last round. I was definitely sore all weekend and even some today.

Band Running?

WOD: 6/26/08
7 rounds:
30 Seconds of band running
7 full hang cleans (135#)
30 second rest

The prescribed workout was originally for 10 rounds but Ricky could tell we were getting worn out by the 4th so he cut it back to 7 for us. Thank god, I think I might have died, ha! I also had to scale the load on the cleans to 115# partly because I am still not very good with my technique and partly because I am just not strong enough yet, soon though hopefully! There were only two of us tonight because it was technically a "rest day" so Matt and I had a side bet for who got the most band runs. The loser had to do 50 jumping pull-ups. Luckily he finished his cleans quicker than me so he finished his last band runs before me, and then he made the mistake of saying how many he ran. I was 7 behind at the time so I pushed harder and I tied him. So we both did the pull-ups. All in all, I'd say it was a good rest day :)

Filthy Fifty -- DNF :- (

WOD: 6/25/08
For time:
50 Box Jumps, 24 inch box
50 Jumping Pull ups
50 Kettlebell Swings, 1 pood
Walking Lunge, 50 steps
50 Knees to Elbows
50 Push Press, 45 pounds
50 Back Extensions
50 Wall Ball shots, 20 pound ball
50 Burpees
50 Double Unders

We were given a 30 minute time limit on this workout and I definitely did not finish (DNF). I got to 24 burpees when Ricky called time. I was flying through the box jumps, pull ups and kettlebell swings but when I got to the knees to elbows I got stuck. I probably spent 7 -8 minutes alone on just the KTE's. This was definitely "filthy" and I was feeling pretty woozy for the first 5 minutes afterwards. I was planning on going in again tomorrow but I will have to see how sore / worn out I am tomorrow.

1 RM Deadlift

WOD: 6/24/08
Deadlift 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 reps

This was my first attempt at 1 rep max deadlifts so I didn't really know what to expect. About a month ago we did 3 RM deadlifts and I believe I got to around 260# before my form began to break down, so I dropped the weight down to work on that. This time I worked up to 321# and all but my last attempt had pretty good form. I wish I would have gone up a little more but I stopped there. It is still a personal record (PR) and it is a good gauge for what to beat next time!

After we were done with the WOD I decided that my hands had healed enough to work on my butterfly kipping pull-ups. I have been getting better at them and this time I got 4 in a row before I lost my rhythm. I am hoping to be able to use them in the next workout that includes pull-ups.

My First Post!!!

WOD - For time:
800 meter run (campus x 2)
7 rounds of:
12 DB Bench Press (50#)
12 Med Ball Cleans (20#)

For this workout we were given a 20 minute time limit. I started with the prescribed weight of 50# and I made it through 4 rounds before I decided to step down to 45# dumbbells. Unfortunately I was still unable to finish the work out. I made it through 9 presses on round 7 before time was called. On a brighter note, the 800 meter run was much easier than I was expecting. It's hard to believe that just over a month ago I was struggling much more with workouts that included running. This WOD was brutal and my arms felt like jelly the entire drive home. I am pretty sure I am going to be extremely sore tomorrow.