So Close...

Mine doesn't have a bow though

Today was exactly the type of workout that I love; heavy metcons. I was pumped to do it when I read it this morning and I couldn't wait until 5:30. Then I talked to some of the people who had already done the workout and I got a little nervous. Jello for legs and a lower back that felt like someone was pushing the end of a baseball bat in it. Great, I have weak legs to begin with and we all know about my problem keeping my back straight in deadlifts and cleans. I all about psyched myself out before we even started warming up. But then I started warming up on the cleans and they seemed to go pretty well. Ricky even gave me a tip to keep more of my hand on the bar so the press was easier to transition to at the top. I tried it with 132# and it felt awkward because it felt like the bar wasn't really resting on my shoulders on the catch. But, when I went up to 154# the heavier weight forced the bar down and then the hand position really helped (thanks Ricky!).

For me the hardest part of the WOD was squatting up out of the clean but that wasn't a surprise. My legs did feel like jello during the runs and my lower back was killing me the last two rounds so no one was lying about that. I pushed through all that and finished third tonight behind Stacy (who has been killing every WOD) and Neil. I finished in 10:04, just four seconds after my goal I thought was a bit unrealisitc. Two rest breaths short of a goal I would never have thought possible a short few months ago.

WOD:
5 rounds for time:
155 lb Clean & Jerk, 5 reps
200 meter run
Rx'd in 10:04


I think I am progressing well, especially with the format we have been doing the past month or so. Upper body strength has always been a, well, strength of mine but my legs continue to be a big weakness; probably a result of my my old workout style in which I had one "leg day" a week and partly because of my knee injuries. Maybe I just need to do some kind of leg work after every other WOD so I can stop complaining about it finally :)

On a side note, I went shopping with my Mom tonight to get some plants for around my house. She has been trying to get me interested in them for a while so I figured I would give it a shot. I have never been a plant lover so I was looking for some plants that I thought were cool but we also pretty low maintenance. I think I did pretty well in achieving that. And actually, the plant I put on my desk in my office at made me smile when I walked in to write this. It's a Bromeliad with a cool red leaf / flower thing coming up from the center of it (similar to the one up top). Who knows, if I don't end up killing the ones I got tonight, I might just become a plant guy afterall.

New PRs

I missed the first strength day of this cycle due to work (again...) but the other two days were pretty successful. Sunday was split jerk and deadlift. My previous PR was 208# and I knew I could beat that. Unfortunately I wasn't feeling the greatest due to a late night filled with bad decisions :) However, I was able to put up 218# and I just missed on 228#. For the deadlift I worked up to 374# x 3 reps which was also a PR. Today we did one rep max hang power snatches. I don't remember what my last max was but I know that I beat it tonight. I struggled with 142# for several tries but I finally started getting it and was able to sloppily put up 154# on my last attempt.

Tomorrow is a rest day but I think I am going to go in anyway since I will be gone Saturday through Wednesday. I am going up to Breckenridge with some of my good friends for pretty much a last spring break trip with "the guys." I am really looking forward to the trip because we all get along really well and its a pretty good group of guys to be stuck with for 120 hours. This is actually the 4th time we have gone on this trip (some guys have gone every time, some not) so we are all fairly decent skiers. I am more careful (they call it slow, ha!) because I blew out my knee in the second year. The third year my knee held up fine but then I hurt it again last February while moshing at a concert. So it looks like I am going to have to be careful (slow) again this time so I don't ruin my chances of competing in Denver. Its going to be a weekend of little sleep, lots of leg work and hundreds of 12 ounce curls. I can't wait!!

Neil and I rowing while Addi recovers

Today's WOD was n0thing new or flashy, just 5 quick 500m sprints on the C2 rower: 5 all out, leave nothing behind 500m sprints on the rower, yeah... These were tough. After the first one my hamstrings were on fire, a side effect of yesterdays deadlifts I am guessing. The second was my slowest time because I was playing around with the resistance setting on the rower and I didn't like the one I used this round. The last three rounds were pretty consistent and I am happy with my performance. I'm thinking that with some more work these could become a strength of mine!

5 x 500m rows
1:37.2 (5)
1:41.2 (3)
1:40.4 (7)
1:41.1 (6)
1:40.3 (7)

The number in parenthesis is the level I had the rower set to.

On a side note :) I was thinking the today about one of the first things I remember from what Ricky and Joe told me about fitness. But before I get to that, I'm going to tell you a quick story.

Ever since I can remember, most of my motivation for working out was to "get ripped so I could get the ladies, oh yeah," so pretty much the same as reason 90% of the other guys you see at the gym. My version of working out included chest and biceps one day, back and triceps another and so on. I might throw in some treadmill work from time to time too. I was making strength gains, but at a slow pace ans I was getting bored.

Finally my Dad convinced me to check out CrossFit. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made. In less than a year I have gone from 190 pounds and about 20% body fat to 180 pounds and around 12% body fat. I am stronger than I have ever been, I am eating much healthier and I genuinely feel better throughout the day. Which brings me back to what I first remember hearing about fitness from Joe and Ricky. They said that if you want the body of an athlete, then you have to train like one. Now, I am no where near where I want to be in terms of fitness but I am closer than I have ever been. I now look forward to every workout no matter how hard it looks. And my main motivation is no longer about getting ripped but about improving myself in all areas of fitness. I even eat better so I can perform better. The ironic thing is that "ripped" look I always wanted is becoming (not there yet) a side effect of my CrossFit training. Now if I could just find a way to get all the ladies ;)

My Strengths

During the last metcon cycle we had a WOD that I thought should have been called "I Hate Mark" because it contained high rep legs exercises which are my nemesis. Well today was a workout that I felt was almost geared to my strengths. It was deadlifts and push-ups, both exercises I am pretty confident with. I started running out of strength on the push-ups but it didn't slow me down too much. I was pretty sure that I was right on the heals of both Alison and Brandon but they both called time as I was finishing my 9th round. Maybe it was my 10th round but I thought I had one more so I did it. Metcon #1 this week:

10 rounds
135 lb deadlifts - 15 reps
15 push-ups
Rx'd in 12:22

As for my diet, I haven't been very stringent about portions but I have been eating a good breakfast every morning and I am taking a protein and carb combination shake after I workout. Throughout the rest of the day I try to eat healthily and portion closely to Zone standards. Today I felt great prior to and during the workout and I think my diet played a big part of that. My body needs more of the grain style carbs and I can tell a difference when I eat them. I have never really paid attention to how what I eat affects how I feel and perform but now that I am it is interesting to see how much of a role it actually plays. Hopefully I can keep learning more and continually change until I find what works the best for me.

On a side note (by the way, I am a big fan of side notes), I have been playing volleyball at Digz for the past few years and I can tell a dramatic difference in my game since I started CrossFit. I am quicker, I can jump higher, hit the ball harder and overall I just feel like I am a better player. So, another area of life, outside the gym, that CrossFit has positively affected my life.

Thanks Ricky and Joe!!

Catching Up

The latest three days of strength were pretty good. Friday Ricky and Joe were closing the gym at 3PM because of the snow so I was mad cause I was probably going to have to miss Saturday due to work. But, my work closed at 1Pm on Friday so I went in at 2PM and worked out with Joe C and Ben. Then on Saturday I was able to get out of work in time to make it to the noon class!! And I went in for the noon class on Sunday so I was able to get all three strength days in. Here is what I did:

Friday
Power Clean: 174 lbs x2
Front Squat: 194 lbs 4

Saturday
Push Press: 184 lbs x2, 198 x 1
Deadlift: 340 x 5

Sunday
Box jump over 5 reds then on top of 24 inch box and 5 reds ( I think?)
Power Snatch: 132 lbs x2

Today was a rest day and I am looking forward to some tough metcons for the next 3 days.

Ahhhhh, Rest!!!

As today rounded out the last day of our first cycle of metcons, I can't help but be glad tomorrow is a rest day. All three WODs have been physically and mentally demanding in completely different ways. I can say with 90% certainty that if tomorrow wasn't a rest day, I would take one anyway. I guess that's probably the point of the programming though.

I have nearly finished my book and I have a pretty good idea of what I want to do with my diet for the next few weeks. Dr. Willey calls it the Isocaloric Diet, which pretty much means eating the same amount of calories from carbs, protein and fats. Sound familiar? It is very similar to the Zone Diet which is why I am going to still use my Zone prescription but instead of eating the same amount of blocks from each for every meal or snack, I am going to experiment with the timing of each type. The majority of my carb intake will be breakfast and the two hour window around my workouts. The rest of the day I am going to focus more on protein and fats along with eating "free"carbs, or "favorable" carbs as the Zone calls them.

As for my workouts yesterday and today, I feel pretty good about them. I am no where near where I want to be but I can tell that I am making progress. Tuesday was a heavy metcon, which are my favorite workouts, and I was pretty excited to see how I could perform. I wanted to get 7 full rounds completed but I fell short by 2/3 of a round. Today was my nemesis, high rep with lots of legs in a metcon. I was shooting for under 20 minutes and missed but I am happy that I was able to keep my breath and I was able to push the limit a little further finishing this WOD.

Tuesday (2/10/09):
AMRAP in 20 of
2 rope climbs
4 thrusters (154 lbs)
6 box jumps (36 in)
I completed 6 full rounds, 2 climbs and 1 thruster

Wednesday (2/11/09):
3 rounds for time
50 SDLHP (65 lbs)
50 burpees
Time: 21:22

It's Been Awhile...

I haven't posted in a while partly because I am lazy and partly because I haven't been impressed with my training as of late. I experimented with the Zone diet for a little over 2 weeks and I felt great throughout the day; I wasn't tired and I was able to think clearly all day long, but when it came time to workout, my energy level wasn't really there. I wasn't tired but I wasn't "psyched up" to workout. And as a result, I had decent workouts but nothing spectacular.

For the past week and a half I haven't stuck to any type of diet plan and for the past week and a half my energy levels have had many peaks and valleys. My ability to concentrate, especially at work, varies throughout the day. I never really feel great but I don't feel bad either. However, I have had more energy when I get to the gym and I feel more ready to compete in each day's WOD.

This paradigm has driven me to learn more about how diet affects us both throughout the day and while working out. Over the past month I have seen how much your diet can affect everything you do and I want to find, not only what works best for me, but something I can actually stick to. Early last week I started reading a book I bought about a year ago but never finished called "Better Than Steroids" by Dr. Warren Willey. The book is geared more towards nutrition for body builders but the concept is basically the same for anyone who wants to burn fat and build lean mass. It also follows closely to the Zone in terms of type and quantity of food. What interests me the most so far is the food timing aspect of diet. Dr. Willey spends several chapters discussing the importance of what you eat and when, and how controlling your insulin levels is key in performance gains.

I haven't finished the book yet but I plan on finishing it this week and starting my new diet plan on Monday. The two meals I will be focusing on the most will be my breakfast and my post workout meal / shake. These are the two times in the day when your body needs the most nutrients. I hope that by dialing in on these, as well as eating healthily throughout the rest of the day, my energy levels will no longer peak nor valley, but I will also have the "psyched up" feeling I need when working out.