Year: 2012

“Rockin and A-reelin Barbara Ann Ba Ba”

It was a little tough getting out of bed this morning at 9am. My neck and back are a little off, but they did loosen up after moving around. I went in for the 11am class.

Warm-up

3 rounds

  • 30s Jumping Jacks
  • 30s Plank
  • 30s Jumping Jacks
  • 30s Bottom Squat Hold

WOD

“Barbara”
5 rounds

  • 20 Pull-ups
  • 30 Push-ups
  • 40 Sit-ups
  • 50 Air Squats
  • 3m Rest

This was my first time meeting “Barbara”. She sounded like a real bitch before I got to shake her hand, but after we got to know each other a little bit, she’s an alright gal. I like workouts like this where you can have 3-5 minutes of hard work followed by a rest and then do it over again.

My goal right from the start was not to go out too fast, because I’ve done that too many times in a WOD like this one. I also didn’t want to get to the point of fatigue in my push-ups because after that it’s almost impossible to knock out any good amount of reps. I did 10 and 10 pull-ups in round 1, but then went 10-5-5 every other round. Did about 10 push-ups to start each round and then broke up the rest into smaller sets as my arms tired. Sit-ups and air squats were all unbroken except for the first round of squats. I wasn’t sure how I was going to be able to do with 50 of them so I took 2 short rests. I was feeling better than ever with my air squats so for the last 4 rounds I was able to do them unbroken. In the last round I was actually able to bang out the last 20 at an even faster pace, which felt good.

My times for each round were very consistent:

  • 4:23
  • 4:26
  • 4:26
  • 4:33
  • 4:27

Everything within a 10 second window. I’ll take that type of consistency every time. Total time of 22:15.

Tweaked My Back Again

Went in to open gym today at 5:15, but did the WOD on the board and then a little extra after.

Warm-up

  • 300m Run
  • PVC Shoulder Work

Strength

5×5 of 3″ Deficit Deadlifts

Started off with a warm-up set at 135#, then went 185, 225, 275, 295, and 305. I had a little more left in the tank, but that felt good.

WOD

  • Tabata Over the Box Jumps (24″)
  • 2m Rest
  • Tabata Ring Rows
  • 2m Rest
  • Tabata Plyo Push-ups
  • 2m Rest
  • Tabata V-ups
  • 2m Rest
  • Tabata Pistols

My over the box jumps were solid and I got 82 there. Ring rows always suck and I only could get 59. I started out way too fast, getting 20 plyo push-ups in the first 20 seconds, but it killed me. I only managed to get 48 more for a total of 68! V-ups felt good and I got 87. I was doing real pistols, but then at the end of the 2nd round I felt a tweak in my back. I tried to keep going in round 3, but only managed 2 reps because it hurt! I was thinking about calling it quits, but then did the rest of the rounds on a low box and managed to get 47 reps. Tied for 2nd place all day in the gym with 343 total reps.

Strength #2

I haven’t bench pressed in probably a good 5 years. The most I had ever done was 205 pounds. I’ve been wanting to work it into my schedule somewhere and today was the first day of that.

  • 10 @ 65#
  • 10 @ 115#
  • 5 @ 135#
  • 5 @ 155#
  • 3 @ 175#
  • 1 @ 195#
  • 1 @ 215#

I tried to go again at 225# and had nothing left in the tank. I’ll take a 10# PR without working on it at all. If I hadn’t done all of those plyo push-ups I think I would have been able to go higher. Doing so many reps before the 1 rep tests probably wasn’t the greatest idea either.

I sure hope the tweak to my back isn’t anything serious and it’s fine tomorrow. I can’t afford to take it easy with this competition coming up in 2 weeks.

A Night in the Garage

Brian came over and we did some work in the garage tonight. We’re both doing the beginner competition in two weeks so want to work on some stuff we don’t do much of in our normal WODs at Survival Fitness.

I was thinking to do some EMOTM for 10 minutes but Brian had a good idea to do Death By instead. He did cleans and I did thrusters. I used 115# for my thrusters because I wanted to get in some heavier work. Made it through the round of 7 and then got in my 7th rep of 8 just as the minute expired.

The first WOD in the competition is an 800m run with 25# of weight. They won’t say if it’s a sandbag, plate, DB, KB, or anything else, so I guess it’s a good idea to prepare for anything. I wanted to keep up some intensity, so we did the following:

5 rounds

  • 200m Weighted Run (25# bumper plate)
  • 1m Rest

I finished each run in almost exactly 1 minute and the clock hit exactly 9:00 as I finished my last run. The 200m was a good distance for this. Obviously it’ll be impossible to keep up that kind of intensity, but this word should make the longer run a bit easier. It’s really awkward carrying a plate, but I think a DB and a KB would be even worse. I think I’ll try it with a DB next week.

Strict Paleo Really Works

My legs are almost back to normal, but my upper abs are still sore today. Not sure that I’ve mentioned it in a post yet this week, but on Monday I went back to eating strict Paleo. I have a competition on October 7th so I want to go in as the best Nick I can. I’m competing in the beginner’s division, so hopefully I can be competitive. As a result of the diet changes, I’m feeling the results in only a few days.

Warm-up

Tabata Mash-up

  • Plank
  • Bicycles

I could really feel these in my sore upper abs. Definitely helped loosen them up though.

Strength

Take 90 second of rest between each set.

Side Bends, 3×12 (each side)

  • 62# KB
  • 71# KB
  • 80# KB

Russian KBS, 3×12

  • 71# KB
  • 80# KB
  • 88# KB

WOD

  • 21-18-15-12-9 Box Jumps (24″)
  • 21-18-15-12-9 Burpees
  • 5-4-3-2-1 Renegade Man Makers (40# DBs)

In case you’re confused on how that WOD works, there are 5 rounds. In round 1 you do 21 box jumps, 21 burpees, and 5 renegade man makers. Then in round 2 all the reps decrease to the next number.

I finished in 12:12. Box jumps and burpees were all done unbroken. Renegade man makers were a little slower with some very short breaks, because DAMN! if you’ve ever done them you know how much they crush your soul.

Finisher

  • 50 Suitcase Deadlifts (88# KB)

Done for quality and weight. I took the heaviest KB we have and knocked them out by doing 5 per side at a time.

A Pressing Rest Day

Still pretty sore in my lower body from Sunday and Monday. Upper abs are sore from the 210 sit-ups yesterday. Went out and walked 18 holes of golf this morning. As planned, no going in to Survival Fitness today for a WOD. I had to get in the strength work though, especially since my upper body is feeling fine.

Shoulder Press

At SF they called for a 5×5. I did the following in my garage, with about 2-3 minutes of rest between sets.

  • 10 @ 45#
  • 5 @ 85#
  • 5 @ 105#
  • 5 @ 115#
  • 5 @ 125#
  • 3 @ 135#
  • 4 @ 135#

I was very disappointed with what was supposed to be my last set, by only getting 3 reps at 135 pounds. So I took a breather and came back to do 4 quick reps.

Upright Row

The accessory work usually calls for Kroc rows, but I don’t have anything heavy enough for low reps. I could try to balance the bar in one hand and do them, but that doesn’t sound like fun. So I decided to do upright rows.

  • 10 @ 45#
  • 5 @ 85#
  • 5 @ 95#
  • 5 @ 105#
  • 2 @ 115#

Going in, I had no idea what I was capable of. The two reps at 115# were fucking ugly, but now I have something to go off of for next time.

Back to Survival Fitness tomorrow.

Sort of Like “Cindy”

I haven’t been this sore since the competition a few months ago. Who would have thought doing gymnastics (specifically back tuck flip progressions) for an hour could beat up on your body this much. I’m sure Sunday’s WOD and the work I did yesterday have a little to do with it as well. I’ve been using the rumble roller a few times a day and it’s painful as hell! My IT bands have never felt like this before.

I’m getting a hot stone massage this afternoon and making tomorrow a rest day so I figured I better get in to the 9am today for a WOD.

Warm-up

  • 100 Butt Kicks
  • 100 High Knees
  • 50 Jumping Jacks
  • 50 Zombie Kicks
  • 25 Lateral Hops (left)
  • 25 Lateral Hops (right)

Strength

Weighted Pull-ups, 5×5

  • 5 @ 8#
  • 5 @ 10#
  • 5 @ 12#
  • 5 @ 15#
  • 5 @ 15#

I was able to complete each set today!

WOD

20:00 AMRAP

  • 5 Burpees
  • 10 Wall Balls (20# MB, 10′ target)
  • 15 AbMat Sit-ups

Remind you of the benchmark girl “Cindy” a bit? Same style but tougher in the long run. My strategy was to keep an even pace so I didn’t burn out early. Twenty minutes is a long time. I went unbroken right up until the end of the WOD and even had a little in the tank to speed through my burpees in the last couple of rounds. Finished 14 rounds plus 5 burpees and 5 wall balls. That comes to 75 burpees, 145 wall balls, and 210 sit-ups!

Finisher

7:00 AMRAP

  • 150m 1-arm Farmer’s Carry (53# KB)

I completed 6 laps (I think! Lost track on the 2nd or 3rd lap) and was about 30m away from finishing the 7th lap. Never had to stop and switched hands around the halfway point of each lap.

I can’t wait for my massage!

Front Squats with OLY Shoes

I didn’t sleep very well last night. Was actually up, rolling around in bed at 5:20 and thought about going to the 5:45am class. That didn’t happen though so I went to the 9am. My lower abs have a weird soreness that I can’t really explain. I’m pretty sure it’s from over an hour of back tuck progressions and attempts.

Strength

Front Squats 5×5

It’s been a long time since I front squatted heavy. My 1RM is 215# and it was set way back in May. Since the number was so old I figure I must have improved quite a bit, which made me go higher than I should have in my last set. I’ll know for next weeks sets of 3 though. Here are my warm-up and working sets:

  • 7 @ 45#
  • 7 @ 95#
  • 5 @ 135#
  • 5 @ 155#
  • 5 @ 175#
  • 5 @ 195#
  • 2 @ 215#

I probably could have fought for the 3rd rep on the last set, but I gave in too easily and bailed on the weight. I knew it wasn’t going to a 4th or 5th rep, that’s for sure. Next week I’ll hit that 215# for 3 reps easily. This was the first time wearing Olympic lifting shoes and they felt good with the squats.

Accessory

4 rounds

  • 12 Weighted Step-ups (18″)
  • 30s Rest
  • 45s Plank
  • 30s Rest

For the first 2 sets I held 45# DBs and then used 53# KBs for the last 2 sets.

WOD #1

In 10:00…

  • 21-15-9
    • Thrusters (75#)
    • Burpees
  • AMRAP: 150m Run

This was sort of a new format. The 21-15-9 portion was like a buy-in for the runs. I did all of the burpees unbroken, as well as rounds of 21 and 9 thrusters. In the round of 15 I broke it down into sets of 8 and 7. I finished that first part in about 6:05 and then got through 5 runs with about 10 seconds left on the clock.

Finisher

Wall Facing Hand Stands

Yesterday at Gym Jesters they showed us a way to walk up the wall while facing it. The goal is to get your face, chest, hips, and feet all touching the wall. This works on the hollow body position, which is the foundation of most gymnastics movements. I could really tell a difference in how this felt compared to kicking up the a handstand hold and not facing the wall.

WOD #2

After mowing the lawn I was in the mood for another workout. With the Every Second Counts competition coming up in less than 3 weeks it’s time to start working on the movements in the WODs. One of them is a 95# “Grace” so I want to work on heavier stuff.

10:00 EMOTM

  • 3 Clean & Jerks (135#)

This felt good. I getting them done in about 25 seconds each round. I’m unable to cycle them, so it wastes quite a bit of time when I have to drop the bar from overhead and get it steady again before doing the next rep. In the final minute I did 6 reps instead of 3 and finished with a few seconds to spare. Total of 33 Clean and Jerks in 10 minutes.

Adult Gymnastics at Gym Jesters

Traveling home from San Diego made for a long day yesterday. I got up at 7am to have some breakfast, was picked up from the hotel at 8:30am (Pacific) and the plane landed in Saginaw just before 10pm. I was in bed by 11pm. Today I went to the 11am class and then at 2pm we had an adult class at Gym Jesters Gymnastics Center

Warm-up

4 rounds

  • 15s Jumping Jacks
  • 15s Air Squats
  • 15s Mountain Climbers
  • 15s Jump Squats

WOD

Today was a long partner WOD. I was teamed up with Cora and Michelle, the two best women we have at Survival Fitness. We all pushed each other really hard in this one.

    • 30 Sandbag Over the Shoulder (40#)
    • 900m Weighted Run (35# Place)
    • 150m Burpee Broad Jump
    • 50 DB Snatches (40#)
    • 50 KBS (53#)
    • 100m Prowler Push (90# of the heavy sled, 50m high push, 50m low push)
    • 30 Deadlifts (225#)
    • 50 HR Push-ups
    • 100 Air Squats
    • 30 Pull-ups
    • 50 AbMat Sit-ups
    • 2m Plank

We had 40 minutes to do this. I was 8 squats short of getting through the 5th block (did all of the pull-ups). Everyone on the team had to complete both parts of a section before the team could move on to the next area. The team could break things up however they wanted, so in #5 I did rounds of 5 pull-ups followed by 10 air squats until I was all done with the pull-ups. Then I tried to finish off the rest of the squats and couldn’t make it even though I went all out for the last 30 seconds.

Gymnastics

Had a bit of time to rest at home and get some food before heading over to Gym Jesters. Scott and Brent from Gym Jesters started out by talking about the different positions of the back tuck flip and then started putting us through some progressions. First we started out by jumping into the air as well as sitting on the ground and rolling backwards. Next it was up to jumping up, tucking, and landing on our upper back on a high mat.

Some of us broke off to the trampoline, did some progressions, and worked up to doing a back flip while strapped in. After that I jumped into a foam pit from a hit bouncy thing, then into the foam pit just from the wall of the pit. Brent spotted me and I tried a few on just mats. At that point I was pretty good to work on my own. I came close a few times, but I have to work on jumping straight up, making sure to get a fast tuck, and then holding my tuck longer. My biggest problem was coming out of the tuck way too soon.

It was so much fun! I’ve wanted to do a back flip ever since I was a little kid. They just look so badass! Sounds like we might go back twice a month to try different things.

Iliya’s First CrossFit Box

Last year at our company meetup, I was talking to Iliya about how he got so fit. He told me about this thing called “CrossFit” and the next week I started working out at Survival Fitness. Iliya has changed my life through a simple conversation after dinner. Although he’s been doing CrossFit workouts for a couple of years, he has never stepped foot inside a CrossFit box. Iliya lives is Sofia, Bulgaria where there aren’t any CrossFit boxes, so he does his WODs in a globo gym.

I’ve been trying to get him to join me at CrossFit Pacific Beach all week, but the 6am class time wasn’t exactly appealing. Since I wasn’t running the Bootcamp for Automatticians today, I was able to get up a bit later and attend the 7am class. Iliya finally joined me. When we got to the box, you couldn’t get the smile off his face. It was so cool to give something back to him for all that he’s done by getting me interested in CrossFit.

Warm-up

  • 400m Run
  • 6 Skin the Cats
  • 12 Strict T2B
  • 9 Wall Squats

Strength

Push Press: 3, 3, then max reps (85%)

I did some warm-up sets in addition to the working sets. Here are my sets:

  • 6 @ 45#
  • 5 @ 75#
  • 3 @ 105#
  • 3 @ 125#
  • 3 @ 145#
  • 6 @ 165#

The we did a few sets of OHS to get ready for the workout. I used the bar, 65#, and 75#.

WOD

8:00 AMRAP

  • 20 Push Press (75#)
  • 20 OHS (75#)

Started out strong by doing the push presses unbroken. I knew it wouldn’t last. Had to break the OHS down into 10 and 10 in the first round. In round 2, I did the press presses in sets of 12 and 8. I think the OHS were 10, 5, and 5. In round 3 I did 10 and 10 push presses. Then I didn’t get a stable active shoulder before beginning my OHS and had to bail on the first rep. I think I did 8 and 6 before time was up. Finished with 2 full rounds plus 20 push presses and 14 OHS.

My shoulders are fried! Tomorrow I’ll be flying home so it’ll be a rest day

800 Meter Sandwich

Feeling pretty good this morning. My legs are fine and I wasn’t tired getting up at 5:20am. Went in to CrossFit Pacific Beach again for the 6am class.

Warm-up

  • 400m Run
  • 10 Samson Stretches
  • 10 Inchworms
  • 10 Zombie Kicks
  • 10 Air Squats
  • 10 Skater Plyos

We also did a little more stretching. I liked doing a bottom squat hold while putting all of the weight over one heel to stretch out that ankle and calf.

Agility

Ladder drills

These were quick but fun.

WOD #1

  • 800m Run
  • 40-30-20-10
    • KBS (53# KB)
    • Box Jumps (24″)
  • 800m Run

As you probably know, I love box jumps. I’m not used to doing that many American KBS, but I tried to keep to big sets and never did less than 10 in a row. Box jumps were nearly all unbroken. The last 800m sucked ass. I finished with a good time of 16:40.

Then it was back to the hotel to lead the last day of the Automattic Bootcamp at 7:30am.

Warm-up #2

50m

  • High Knees
  • Bear Crawls
  • Zombie Kicks

WOD #2

Partners

  • 50 Broad Jumps
  • 80 HR Push-ups
  • 100 Lunges
  • 80 Tuck Jumps
  • 50 V-ups

I was kind of a 3rd partner in this, so it wasn’t bad. Seemed like people really liked the Bootcamp throughout the week.