CrossFit Games 2013!

I will be competing in the CrossFit Games Open for 2013.  Today the schedule was released and they have started dropping some teasers...

http://games.crossfit.com/article/welcome-2013-season

I've been training very hard since last year's games and my decision to get serious...I am really looking forward to this...not because I feel I'll be uber competitive, but because it'll be great to put my training to the test while competing with other CrossFitters from the area!

Fat? Get rid of it!

It has been 20 days since my last confessi blog post.  I've missed you all.  What propelled me back into my writer hat?  Fat. 

Huh?

People want to lose it.  It makes people uncomfortable in their own skin.  It makes people ashamed of how they look.  It makes people slower.  It makes people less agile, mobile, flexible...

So, why are so many fighting it...or at least saying they WANT to fight it?  An even better question, why are so many failing in their struggle against it?

The answer is not easy...or is it? 

I checked out several claims to the fattest/most obese countries in the world...and this is a problem in many countries.  America, God bless us, is right up there on all the lists.

The problem that I see really comes down to people wanting a quick fix.  Guess what?  You didn't get fat overnight, and you're certainly not going to lose it any quicker than you gained it.  There is no miracle "cure", no FAD shake or diet that will miraculously melt the weight off, no one certain exercise or gimmick piece of equipment to make you skinny.  It's going to take hard work and discipline. 

Discipline is the key ingredient.

It is the most valuable part of any diet or workout.  Discipline.

Discipline to eat healthy.  Discipline to control portions.  Discipline to workout.  Discipline to stay consistent in your workout.  Discipline to push yourself beyond your limits.  Discipline to stick to your plan.  Discipline to do all this.....even when those around you are not.

Now before I start getting an inbox full of hate mail telling me that I don't understand, or that it's not as "easy" for some people as it is for others, or that it's genetics and can't be helped...I want you to visit two people (via the interwebs).  One man, one woman who have chosen to fight genetics and being content with being overweight and are winning.  Both are chronicling their journeys on a blog to promote changing your lifestyle, because that's what this is all about.  If you want to change it cannot be short term.  You can't go on a diet for 6 weeks, lose 20 pounds, and then go back to the way you used to eat.  You can't do a 90-day challenge and then return to your former way of life.  You must make a permanent decision to change from here on out.  Check out Fat Boy Crossfit and the ongoing story of Holly, who is on the road to losing 300 pounds!

2 workouts to try

Back to back awesome workouts!!!

Yesterday, we did:
Strength-
Back Squat 5, 5, 4, 4, 3
(My weights were 165, 175, 185, 205, 225)

Metcon-
In 9 minutes:
Row 500m then
AMRAP of
3 TALL box jumps (go up one size from what you normally use, but no higher than waist-high)
6 burpees
10 situps

I scored - 7 +3 burpees

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today, we did:
Strength-
Hang Power Clean @ 90% x 3 reps
EMOM for 5 minutes
(I used 165 lbs.)

Metcon-
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
KB Swing (55)
Box Jump (24")
Pushups
Situps

I scored a time of: 7:40

Both of these were very taxing and also very fun!  The short workouts are the ones to fear.....these will always be the most intense!

Speaking of Chuck

Speaking of Chuck Norris...

Jeff and I did a killer workout this morning that was dreamed up by a friend of mine several years ago...and I would suggest it to anyone who enjoys doing Crossfit or metcon workouts.

It's called - "Chuck Norris"

3 rounds for time of:

5 Handstand Pushups
10 Ring Dips
15 Strict Pullups
20 Pushups
25 Hip Extensions
30 Situps
35 Air Squats

If you push yourself, you should be feeling this one at the end...or at least feeling like you're gonna puke.

If you want a score to beat, my time was 17:43 this morning as Rx'd.

Contagious!

A friend of mine just joined John and I at the Lake County YMCA to do Crossfit workouts with us this week.  He has been active and in-shape for many years, but has never done anything like Crossfit before.  That being said, as the three of us finished our workout this morning, apparently we caught the attention of a couple other people.  On our way out we were stopped by two guys in their mid-twenties who wanted to know if we were doing Crossfit!  They were very interested and are going to come do a workout with us this Thursday.  They both said they were tired of doing the same boring stuff in the gym and wanted to do something that was functional, purposeful and "not boring".  The fever is catching and people are starting to notice a difference between Crossfitters and everyone else all over the world.  If you still don't know what Crossfit is, follow this link and find out.

The reason I do Crossfit is to get stronger, faster, and more agile and set that precedent for my family.  So far, I have seen stellar results.  Crossfit, combined with a healthy lifestyle (healthy diet and proper amounts of sleep/rest) will transform your life, and that is a guarantee you can take to the bank.

Today's workout was:
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Power Cleans (135/95)
Push Press (135/95)
Run 200m
(Got this one from the Crossfit 440 website, which is a local Crossfit box in Mentor, OH)

I did the power cleans and push press at 115 after going to almost failure the first round with 135.

And finally a shout out to my boys Henry and Ronnie for getting their Crossfit Level 1 certs this past weekend!  Way to go fellas!

EMOMs, the new thing

Until I watched a video on Froning and Bailey and how they were training...I had never heard of this style of training.  What is an EMOM?  EMOM is an acronym for Every Minute On the Minute.  So, at the start of each minute you complete whatever the EMOM workout is and you continue this for the prescribed amount of minutes.  For example, this morning my workout consisted of the following:

20 minute EMOM
3 Power Cleans (135 lbs)
5 Toes-to-Bar

So, as my timer beeped the top of the minute I did the power cleans and toes-to-bar and then you "rest" until the timer beeps the top of the next minute and do it all over again...20 times.

I usually use this design for my strength workout (before my metcon).  For example, I'll do EMOM 7 minutes of 5 Back Squats at 80% max....or..... EMOM 10 minutes of body weight bench press by 3.....or..... EMOM 8 minutes of 135 lb Hang Power Cleans x 5 reps.

I have really enjoyed this new twist to my morning workouts and I think you might to! Try it out!

2 different viewpoints on Crossfit

I got both of these through the Crossfit Journal...

First, earlier this year, Lynne Knapman writes that Crossfit is for everyone.

Then, just recently, Craig Nelson writes that Crossfit is NOT for everyone.

I understand and agree, at least partially, with both articles.  Crossfit in and of itself CAN be for everyone.  All exercises CAN be scaled to accomodate everyone...even children.  However, the "Crossfit lifestyle" is NOT for everyone.  Nelson describes the WOD's or "workout of the day" that we do causing DIS/GFB (which naturally stands for "drenched in sweat/gasping for breath").  I am one of the "sickos" that doesn't feel I've had a great workout unless I reach DIS/GFB...and many times feel on the brink of puking.  It wasn't until recently that I upped my game and started to adopt the whole philosophy of healthy living.  I've been doing Crossfit for 5 years now, but not always at the intensity that I am now, nor had I ever really paid much attention to what I was ingesting.  Back in the beginning of May of this year, my wife and I made a conscious effort to eat healthy and set the precedent of a healthy lifestyle for our children.  I have seen amazing results including leaning out, many PR's and just feeling better overall since this life change.  And the most positive thing is that our children will grow up in this kind of culture instead of HAVING to make a lifestyle change in their early 30's as I did.

Great (but long) Workout!

On Saturday morning, I had an awesome workout.  After limbering up and doing my warmup I headed into what proved to be a very tough (and long) workout.

The workout was:

4 rounds of -
Run 800m
40 pullups
70 pushups

This took me 53:57 to complete, which was a horrible time, but I can only improve from there.  Needless to say - I was "Crossfit sore" this morning yet, but lessened that a little by my workout this morning, which for the life of me I can't remember where I found- so sorry, but I can't give the credit our for this one.


*EMOM for 8 minutes
135 lbs.
1 - power clean
3 - front squat
3 - push press
(without putting the bar down)

5 minute rest

For time:
Run 800m
then...
3 rounds of 15 KB swings (55 lbs.) and 15 (20 lb.) dumbbell thrusters.
My time: 10:13

(*EMOM = every minute on the minute)

Results!

I got a new PR this morning!  On June 8th I did a workout for the first time.  It was a scaled version of the Crossfit Amanda workout.  I used 95 lbs. and completed the workout in 9:55.

This morning, I bumped the weight up to 105 lbs. and completed the same workout in 8:03!  That's almost a 2 minute PR with 10 lbs. more weight!  Holla!  Super happy with this one as I have been concentrating on increasing my Snatch abilities with vigor!

On that note, the 2012 Crossfit Games begin today with some insane changes!  For the last 5 years the games have been a Friday, Saturday, Sunday thing.  Well, in keeping with shaking things up (last year they added a swim), this year they announced at the competitors meeting on Monday night that there would be a couple of new events.......on Wednesday!  That's right, they will be starting today with a crazy triathlon, followed by a military obstacle course, and then finishing up with standing broad jump.

At lunch, I ran with 3 buddies from work, and we did a 40 minute trail run out at Big Creek Park and on part of the Buckeye Trail.

For lunch I have some leftovers from last night, which was a homemade black bean salsa comprised of: black beans (obviously), black eyed peas, corn, green peppers, tomatoes, and onions.  I am of course, eating them with some corn chips! :)

Eat Right, Train Hard, and Never Give Up!!!

P.S. Here's my sweat angel from yesterday's workout:

Grace did this to me!

No, not my daughter...

At lunch on Thursday I did the Grace workout from www.Crossfit.com.

In all actuality, I did a partner workout with my buddy Dan.  We did power clean and jerk at 135 lbs. for 30 reps for time.  (This is a significant mod to the listed version of Grace but we were short on time and knew we could go faster if we did Power Cleans versus Squat Cleans.)

How do you do a "partner workout" with Grace?  We simply alternated every rep.  We both still did 30 reps each.  Our time was 9:50.

"Sooooooooo, Josh, how'd you get that bruise from Grace?"  I have a bad habit of "bumping" my quad as I return the barbell to the ground for my next rep.  Now I have never bruised this bad before so I'm not sure why it was so bad this time, but I will be making a conscious effort to not let the bar hit my leg.....or atleast not as hard.

Get out there and get after it!

Eat Right. Train Hard. Never Give Up.

Who needs Atlas Stones?

My parents had about 6 or 7 trees come down in a wind/thunder storm last Friday.  On Sunday my family and my sister's family went down to help with the clean up.

Here's just a couple of pics of the damage and the cleanup:

And, as the title of this post suggests, Who Needs Atlas Stones?  A lift by me and then one by my Pops! :)

What a goofball!

On Saturday, I did Cleans for 7x3.  My weights were 135, 135, 135, 145, 155, 175, 185 (*PR*)
For MetCon, I did a real fun one.  Run 1 mile, stopping every minute to do 10 air squats, 10 pushups, & 10 situps.  My time was 12:58.


This Monday morning I worked on the rings with John a little then started learning the Butterfly Kip per Jeremy Kinnick.  For our workout we did the Minute Pullup Ladder.  This is 1 pullup the first mintue, 2 the second, 3 the third, etc... until you can't do any more! I got 16, not a PR, but I'll take it after all the hard work we did helping out Mom and Pops yesterday!

Tough one

I think I would rather do Death By Squats than what I did this morning...

The workout was 5 rounds for time of:

75 lb. push press x 75 reps (yeah, you read that correctly, it is not a typo)
50 double unders (for which I substituted tuck jumps)

My time was a whopping 34:32 and to top it all off, I chached out and cut it short by a round!

In the very near future, I plan to order a jump rope from Again Faster.  I'm looking at this one.

Until, next time...

Eat Right. Train Hard. Never Give Up!

Pullups with torn hands - a how to...

This is a follow-up to my post the other day about hand/callous tears and how to prevent them by trimming your callouses.  Sometimes, as was the case for Henry, you will still tear whether it was just a hand-tearing type of day or you waited to long to perform maintenance on your callouses.  In this instance, you don't have to wait 2-4 days for your hands to heal before you can get back on the pullup bar.  I found the video below which describes how to make the type of hand protecting tape wraps that you will see some/many of the Crossfitters using in the Games in a few weeks.

Video Source

Eat Right. Train Hard. Never Give Up!

WODrrific!

Between yesterday and today I've had two sick, nasty workouts!  Yesterday's WOD was as follows:
Row 500m, Body Weight Bench Press - 30 reps
Row 1000m, BW Bench - 20 reps
Row 2000m, BW Bench - 10 reps

This was a very difficult workout and took me 42:57 to complete.  One of the longest Crossfit workouts I've ever done.
For strength training this morning I did 165 lb. power cleans x 3 on the minute for 7 minutes.

Today's conditioning WOD was an AMRAP 20 minutes:
5 - Chest to Bar Pullups
5 - Ring Dips
15 - Squats
My round count was 14 + pullups

And, I finished up with 100 lb. weighted situps x 10 reps.


At lunch today I will be doing a track workout with Jeff.  5 rounds of 200m run/sprint, 10 squats, 10 pushups.

Breakfast today was 4 hard-boiled eggs, Dannon Greek Yogurt, and a cup of Sheetz coffee (mmmmmmm).  Break time (about 2 1/2 hours later) I'm eating a cup of whole grain old fashioned oatmeal and a banana.

As Bob Harper always says, make sure you get your protein at every meal!

Eat Right. Train Hard. Never Give Up!!!!!

Sunday Morning MetCon

I got up this morning (yes on my day off) at 5:15, stretched and went outside for my workout.

Today's workout was of the MetCon variety.  It was 5 rounds for time of: 7 Handstand Pushups (HSPU's) and 400 meter (1/4 mile) run.  My time was: 12:45.   I know, I know, "What is MetCon, Josh?"

Here's a couple of answers from the Crossfit Forum:

Eugene R. Allen (Affiliate) says: The meta part of the word is for metabolic and that has to do with your energy systems. You have certainly heard and used the word metabolism and have a sense for slow and fast metabolisms. Some people walk by a bakery and gain two pounds and others shove everything they can get their hands on down their pie hole and never gain a pound. Metabolic - energy systems.

The con is easy, that's just conditioning and the contraction metcon is shorthand for the CrossFit methodology for improvement of the cardio vascular and cardio respiratory systems through a variety of functional exercises executed at high intensity. The program does wonders for much more than just your CV/CR systems but were just discussing metcon here.

Short energy systems course:

Creatine Phosphate or Phosphogen up to about 10 seconds of pedal to the metal, all out exertion. One rep max sort of thing.

At the other end of the spectrum is the Aerobic system which (assuming you are not working out as you read this) you are using right now. You can be in this energy system for the rest of your life. In an exercise sense it is at an effort level you can sustain for about 90 minutes before you exhaust your glycogen supply and have to refuel. How hard you can go is influenced directly by training and there are many endurance athletes who can do 5:30 miles and still be aerobic. I hate those people. The term LSD (Long Slow Distance) is the typical protocol for aerobic work where you are working at a low output for a long period of time.

The CrossFit arena is the Glycolytic energy system where you hammer your way to and through your lactate threshold at an effort level sustainable for only 2 minutes or so. The CF protocol has you change the demand on the failing musculature after some number of reps or time by moving to a new exercise while the CV/CR system is still being taxed. This allows for metabolic conditioning at a far more intense level than you could ever hope to achieve through a single mode of exercise because of the predictable onset of muscle failure at high levels of exertion.

If you go to the FAQ's and look up the notes from the CrossFit seminars the subject of energy systems is covered in far greater detail and ought to answer your question better than I did here.

Barry Cooper says: What Eugene said, plus a somewhat shorter (and less informational) answer: The metcons are the ones where you want to puke, and lay around for a while on the floor afterwards. 

Kevin Burns says: Metcon doesn't have a strict definition. Its about intensity. Intensity is about power output over time. You might consider checking out the CFit Journal #31: Fooling Around With Fran. Fran has got to be one of the most painful metcon workouts because of the power output. It requires many of the things I mention below, not to mention stability and balance.

If i had to define metcon i would do it like this

1. High Heart Rate
2. Simultaneous Use of Many Muscles
3. Continuous Movement
4. Short to Medium Time (5-30 min)

and the best way to tell if your doing a metcon workout.....

YOU'LL KNOW IT !!!

Yeah, you’ll know it alright!  Usually when I’ve completed a good MetCon workout I can leave a “sweat angel” on the ground where I was laying whilst my lungs were heaving and I was trying to do that thing called breathing!

Eat Right.  Train Hard.  Never Give Up!!!

Today's WOD

Today's Workout of the Day was Angie.  Angie consists of:

100 pullups
100 pushups
100 situps
100 squats

My time this morning was: 20:48, which is a new PR for me!

We will be doing some kind of workout at the track in Chardon at lunch.  Probably a one mile run for time - stopping every minute and doing either 10 pushups or 30 walking lunges.

In the meantime:
Eat Right, Train Hard and Never Give Up!

Burn Blisters! Ouch!

Yesterday at afternoon break time, Dan got these babies doing the workout we did at lunch.
At 2:30 break the pavement was so HOT that he actually got burns on the heals of his hands while doing pushups!!!

On a positive note for Dan......he beat my time by 1 second!!!

Body Blasters, NENP's, and Bumpers!!!

This morning we did a new workout as follows:

21 - 15 - 9
of
Body Blaster Burpees (Burpee-jump to bar-do pullup-stay on bar and do toes-to-bar)
55 lb. Sumo Deadlift Hi-pull
Wall Ball Situps
Run 200m between rounds

My time: 14:03

At lunch I did an NENP workout.....specifically #84, which is 10 rounds for time of 50m run and 10 pushups.  My time was 4:55.



Also, these just in!!!!

 We ordered some new bumpers from Rogue Fitness for use at the shop on breaks and lunches!!!

2 each of 10's, 15's, and 25's.

We're pretty excited about this!

FAQ

I've been getting a lot of questions about what I'm doing to get the results I've been getting.  So, to spell it out plain and simple:

1.  Eat right.  By "right" I mean healthy.  Whatever this means to you whether it be zone, paleo, vegetarian, vegan, etc... be strict.  Stick to your plan.  Eventually it will become a lifestyle and it won't take so much to maintain.  Oh, and by the way, I am by no means saying that you can never "cheat".  In fact, it is important to treat yourself about once a week or so to an indulgence.  If nothing else, it gives you something to look forward to.

2.  Train hard.  Give 110%! (Whatever that means.)  Seriously though, give it your all - run hard, push yourself with the weights, get that extra rep.  You won't get any further and start seeing PR's until you push yourself beyond your limits.

3.  Never give up.  This goes right along with train hard...  Push through the soreness - it will go away.  You can complete that workout.  PR's and good times start in your head.  You have to believe you can do it before you actually do.

This morning's WOD (workout of the day) for me was 3 rounds of:  8 rope pullups x 5 sets and 185 lb. back squat by 25 reps.  This was an extremely draining workout and my body starting telling me that two rounds would be enough about halfway through the first round.  This is where you gotta dig down deep and find that extra energy and finish your workout.  By the way, that extra energy is almost always found in eating right!!!

So...

EAT RIGHT, TRAIN HARD, & NEVER GIVE UP!

WOD 6, working out at lunchtime, and camaraderie

Today's workout was a slightly modified version of WOD 6 from the 2012 Crossfit Regional Games:


3 rounds of 225 lb. deadlift x 7 and 7 muscle-ups

then

3 rounds of 21 (20 lb) dumbell thrusters and 21 toes-to-bar

then

100 ft. 100 lb. (each hand) dumbell carry
28 box jump burpees
100 ft. 100 lb. (each hand) dumbell carry
3 muscle-ups

Here you can see the event itself from the Central East Regional where Rich Froning set a new world record.

I scored a 28:48 this morning on the workout.....and I am very happy with my time.



At lunch I did for time: 100 jumping jacks, 75 air squats, 50 pushups, and 25 burpees.  Three of my coworkers and fellow Crossfitters did it with me.  My time was 5:58.  If you don't have a workout partner(s).......get one!!! The camaraderie you get from working out with someone is of the utmost value....not to mention, you WILL go harder if you are going against someone else all the time!

Train hard.  Eat right.  Don't give up!