Why Didn't I?

It's the beginning of round 4 and all I can think about is my burning lungs, my weakening muscles and the 3 full rounds I still have left to complete. As I pick up the dumbbells the two 'fitters next to me are already finished and hitting the run. 1-2-3-4-5, ok stop, legs tired, lungs can't keep up... rest is good, just a couple breaths and I'll get back to it.

Sound familiar? It does to me, almost like a broken record playing in my head. This one just happened to be playing on Sunday. Don't get me wrong, this WOD was another one of Ricky's "fun" little metcon concoctions and I worked my ass off to finish in the time that I did. But as I lay there panting and squirming on the ground I can't help but wonder, why didn't I push harder? Sets of three to five reps at a time on the last round? Seriously? It's the LAST ROUND!! Git 'er done!! What good are three rest breaths anyway? I'm still going to be gasping for air and now ten seconds slower.

Obviously we all have a limit to what our physical abilities can achieve, but I believe it is a lot higher than what most of us think it is. I believe that our minds hold us back because that is what we have trained them to do all our lives, to avoid discomfort in all possible scenarios. And that is exactly what a CrossFit workout puts our bodies right in the middle of. There comes a point in every WOD where you (by you, I mean me) CHOOSE to stop and rest knowing full well that you can still do another one, two or even ten more reps. Why? You're scared. The certain discomfort you will experience if you do just one more rep isn't worth it to you. Besides, after the rest you have to do the reps anyway, right? Wrong!

Let me ask you, what do think would yield better fitness results? 100 burpees that have to be completed in 8 minutes or less or 100 burpees that you must complete throughout the entire day? It's the same amount of reps, shouldn't both give you the same results? The obvious answer is no! I don't know much about the physiology of the body but I do know one thing. At rep 62 when your legs start feeling like jelly and your lungs are three breaths behind, yet you keep going, you are pushing your entire body past the point of discomfort. And it is only at this point that you can achieve anything more than mediocre results.

I want more than mediocre results and I know you probably do to. The trick is learning how to be stronger than that fear of discomfort. It's kind of like being scared of the dark basement, each stair you take gets you closer to the scary figure in the corner. And when you finally reach the bottom, there wasn't a monster waiting to take you was there? Well I am on the second stair and every hair on my body is standing on end. Hopefully tomorrow I can muster up the courage to take another step and maybe someday I will get to the bottom and realize there was nothing to be scared about after all.

Holy Hell!!

That's really all I can say about what the previous two days' WODs have been on my legs. And after yesterday, it felt like my legs could give out with every step I took for the first full hour after the workout. Let me show you why:

WOD 3/25/09
7 rounds for time of:
15 ball cleans (20#)
15 CTB pull-ups
17:49

WOD 3/26/09
8 rounds:
250 meter row under 50 seconds
1:30 rest between rounds
My times were - 46.6, 46.7, 46.9, 49.5, 49.9, 50.8, 50.6, 49.5

The first WOD included a total of 210 squats since each ball clean has two squats. I tried to power through the muscle fatigue and I kept pretty consistent but had to break up almost every round. The yesterday was rowing. I was pretty psyched for this since rowing is becoming one of my strengths. Well apparently not yesterday. I went hard but not all out on the first three to try to conserve my energy. Then on the 4th I hit a wall on the last 100 meters. My legs were thrashed already... I was screwed. The next two rounds I tried using my arms more cause my legs were done and I ended up going over 50 seconds. Luckily, it was "decided" earlier in the day that as long as the time wasn't 51 or higher you were ok. On the last row I just closed my eyes and pushed as hard as I could. I literally had nothing left in my legs. I flopped down on the floor and laid there for a couple minutes trying to find a comfortable position for my legs. Apparently there is no such position in that situation. It probably looked funny to anyone who was watching because I was pretty much laying on the floor squirming around like a child with ADD forced to take a nap.

How am I today you may ask? Sore as F**K!!

As for my little experiment I am doing, I haven't seen much of anything in terms of results or side effects yet. After the first two days my carb cravings went away for the most part. After three days I started getting tired of eating meat, cheese and nuts. And now, after five days, I don't feel any different than I did this time last Friday. I weighed myself this morning and I haven't even lost any weight. Granted I haven't gone through the weekend yet, which is where I would usually consume about a case of beer in two days. So I guess today and tomorrow are going to be the real tests. Can I make it through without drinking a single beer? And if so, will it really bring on any results?

Depending on how this weekend goes, I might add some more carbs to my diet next week. I'm thinking about adding something like an apple or orange in the morning, some broccoli for lunch and a mix of salad greens for dinner. I am still going to stay away from grains and beer though. And if the whole not drinking doesn't prove to ruin my social life on the weekends, I might extend that part of the experiment even further. It should be interesting...

A Little Experiment

You can just call me Mr. Guinea Pig for the next two weeks because I am attempting a little experiment with my diet. Two weeks, virtually no carbs. And here’s why:

When I first started CrossFit I probably lost 15-20 pounds of body fat in the first 4 months. Obviously results like that cannot be sustained for an extended period of time, and for the last 6 months I haven’t had the same results. I have made massive gains in strength and in my metabolic conditioning but I can’t shake this whole beer belly thing I go going on around my mid section. I have been training harder and eating better but it’s still here. Then this huge revelation came over me… what happens when you drink massive quantities of beer on a consistent basis? Oh wait, is that why it’s called a beer belly?

So I decided to speed up the elimination process and give up virtually all carbs for two weeks. That means no chocolate, no bread, no fruits, no veggies and especially no beer. So pretty much all the things I love. My one exception and my only vice for the next two weeks is milk. There are carbs in Milk but I don’t think I can go without it for two weeks.

I started the diet yesterday and it has already been tough. I was hung over from going out Saturday night and I had to refrain from consuming all my normal comfort foods like Arby’s or Fazolis. Today was a little easier but I did have a constant desire to stuff my face with any carb I could find. Luckily I made it through and supposedly the first two days are the hardest. I don’t know how it is going to effect my training but I am hoping that even if my performance falters for the next two weeks it’ll be worth it in the end. Hopefully I am able to shed some of the LB’s my 12 ounce friends have left me with and my performance goes up because of that.

Well I weighed myself this morning and I rang in at 179#. My goal is 170. Will this experiment work? Only time will tell.

New Shoes!!

Before you get the wrong idea, let me make one thing clear. I love my Vibram Five Fingers, I do, but as of late, it seems as though the three of us are growing apart. I would say it's me but that would be a lie. It seems like I have been trying so hard to make things work and no matter what I do things just keep getting worse. And as of late I noticed that my eyes have been straying towards other footwear more and more. Yesterday I even went out looking for something to fill the void I have been feeling. In an ill advised move, I decided on a spur of the moment to head to the store by myself. So there I was, without a wing man, trying to figure out what it is I really want in life. Here on one hand I have this amazing pair of shoes that I've had a great time with and on the other, the possibility of having anything I want. I was in a pickle. But life has taught me that should never make decisions under that kind of pressure nor with out advice from someone you trust. So I just went home empty-handed. Then today I went out with my brother and after a few failed attempts I think I found a pair that I could really see a future with. I'm really excited but nervous all at the same time. I still haven't worked out in them yet and I am hoping that once we finally do get to that point I am hoping that my performance is up to par. Wish me luck!!

But seriously, the Vibrams were awesome to work out in and they all but cured my arch problems I was having. I would recommend them to anyone. However, I hated running in them and there was just one other small thing that I couldn't get over, the smell. I have naturally sweats palms and feet and once you combine a couple months of sweaty feet with a rubber insole you get well, something bad. I tried everything from washing, to febeezing, to freezing, to baking soda and vinegar. Nothing seemed to work. So I found these new shoes, Nike Sparqs. They are a minimalist type of shoe so I am hoping they work for me. And I hope they don't bring back my arch problems.

If everything works out the way I think it can, this could be it for me. I could officially take my self off the market and commit to one pair... at least for a little while :)

Good Times! Good Times!!

Yesterday was a fun day. It was sort of like recess in a way where we were all just messing around seeing what our last couple months of training has accomplished. I attempted max pull-ups and got 36 before my grip gave, I tried weight push-ups and was able to get 12 reps with 99# on my back, and then I played around with handstand walks and holds. It was a fun day and a nice sort of rest style day while attempting some fun performance feats. Next time, 50 pull-ups and 135# weighted push-ups...

I am excited because I am getting my diet back in order and I am feeling a lot better throughout the day. And looking forward to tomorrow's WOD I am pumped and can't wait for 5:30. Tomorrow's metcon includes middle-weight thrusters which addresses my glaring weakness I discussed in my last post. Hopefully the work day flies by!

It's interesting to see how much CrossFit has become a part of my life. At first it was just a great workout. Then it became a fun competition between colleagues. You start getting to know the people work out with and instead of feeling like going to the gym, its like going to hang out with your friends. Soon you start talking about the day's WOD to pretty much everyone. They don't understand what the obsession is until they try it and suddenly they find it is a great workout, then a fun competition, and before you know it, they are talking to everyone about the day's WOD. And I get to say, I told you so.

So here's to many more I told you so's!!

A couple new PRs and one very apparent weakness.

Working on some weighted push-ups
I stole this from Megan. Thanks for the great pic Megan!!

I have grown to love strength days, I feel that I get more out of them than when we do metcon WODs. Today was no exception. We did deadlifts, front squats and strict shoulder presses and I set two new PRs. Two new PRs even though I was extremely sore still from Saturday's run in with "Grapplers Tabata." My quads we on fire, my shoulders and upper back were stiff, and pretty much my whole body was not happy with me. So when I got to the gym I used the roller to try and work out some kinks.

First was the deadlift. We were supposed to work on sets of one up to our previous max and then try to set a new PR. My old PR was 401 and I was confident I could beat that tonight. I was working with Neil and our last working set was with 396. We jumped to 411 for our PR attempt. I actually had no problem lifting the weight off the ground although my form was horrible. The only time I struggled was finishing the lift at the top but I was able to get it. I actually think I could have gone heavier but I was happy with that. For the shoulder press my 1 rep max was 160 and we were doing sets of 4. My goal was 145 but I was feeling confident and tried 150. The first three went well and I struggled with the last but I got it. So two new PRs in one night!!

Then comes my weakness. I just don't understand how I can deadlift over 400 and I can barely break 200 for a front squat. I struggled a lot and just barely got up 213 two times. I desperately need to address this problem. Not only can I not squat much weight, but this also affects my ability to clean, jerk, snatch or thruster heavy weight. Looks like I need to focus more energy on improving my leg strength.

On a side note, I am extremely happy for everyone at the gym tonight who set new personal records and I can't believe how much our group has improved in just a couple months. I am looking forward to the next two months of training and I can't wait for us to show the rest of the CrossFit world what CFO is all about!!!

A Little Vacation Never Hurt Anybody...

...especially me. This was a much needed break from everything. For the past few months it feels like I have been floating through the weeks waiting for the weekends to come so I can unwind and let loose. Work has been crazy for the last two months. I was promoted this past year and January and February are extremely busy and stressful for my new position and I had no idea what I was getting myself in to. My job required me to do things I had no idea how to do and I spent a lot of time trying to figure out even the smallest detail. I am unbelievably relieved to have made it through.

Then there's CrossFit. CrossFit has been both mentally and physically demanding and a much needed outlet for the stresses of work. However, it has also been a point of an internal struggle for me. I think this was epitomized by my no-show the morning of the CrossFit Regional Games registration. I knew this day was coming and instead of staying in and getting a good night’s rest, I went out with my friends and stayed up all night drinking. Because of that I was the only person who didn’t get registered before all the spots filled up. Then it hit me, the realization that I missed out on something that I was actually really excited about. I was so mad at myself. Luckily I was given a second chance when they opened more spots and I jumped at the opportunity. Ever since then I have been getting better with my diet and I have become more serious with my training. But I still have been “enjoying” my weekends too much and I know that is keeping me from achieving better results in my training.

That’s where this vacation comes in to play. This was literally 5 days of drinking with a couple days of skiing mixed in somewhere. I loved every minute of it. This was a much needed recharge away from everything. Now, hopefully I can focus more at work and that I don’t just float through the weeks anymore. I know I am not going to be able to give up my weekend night life but I know I can tone it down and start focusing on being more healthy so I can perform as well as I possibly can at the regional games.

So here’s to a great vacation with some of my greatest friends. Let’s hope I didn’t lose too much ground in my training by eating horribly, drinking heavily and sleeping sparsely.