Why does Fran hate me?

Fran sucks.

Anyone who knows her understands.

21-15-9

95# Thrusters

Pull Ups

I almost quit after the first round. I was thinking 'today is not my day'.

I pulled it together and squeaked out 5 of the 15 Thrusters... then grabbed another 6... then convinced myself to do 4 more.

The pull ups are easy for me - so I got through that with minimal down time.

At that point, I could not just stop - I completed the final 9 of each and hit the timer.

6:19 - a personal record!!!

I spent the next 10 minutes just sweating and breathing - passed out on the floor.

As much as I dislike Fran - she makes you stronger.

thank you, Fran.

Monday and Tuesday

Memorial Day Monday was a BUSY day.

After teaching class at 5:30am, I came home and was on a 4.5 mile walk with my wife and the dog by 10am. By 12 non I was deep into Power Washing the deck - that took FOREVER. We made it to a 4:20 showing of Terminator and by 6:30 I was out for a 3 mile RUN!!! The run felt AWESOME. I should have timed it, but I thought I was taking it easy. I ended up sprinting up hills I usually take in low gear. I finished the 'workout' with a set of 15, 10, 5 Push Presses using 95# and some Jump Rope work.

Tuesday - today, so far - I did the workout from the CrossFit Santa Cruz site.

21 Deadlifts (165#)

21 Shoulder Press (75#)

Push Up Complex - 2 Push Ups on the minute for max number of rounds. First minute, 2 PU. Second minute, 4 PU. Third minute, 6 PU. etc...

I was able to get through 8 full rounds and failed on number 10 in the 9th round. That was a total of 82 Push Ups.

My arms are still a little shaky.

Squat n Run

Today - 4 rounds for time

50 Squats

400m Run

Last time I completed this workout, it took over 12 minutes.

Today - 11:03. I was shooting for under 11, which I might have had if I didn't have to walk to the timer to start it and stop it... but that counts - so tough luck :)

I have been busy. My last post kind of mapped out what I had been doing over the last couple of weeks, but it just doesn't slow down.

Last week I had done a Main Site (www.crossfit.com) workout which consisted of:

30 Glute Ham Sit Ups

25 Back Extensions

5 rounds for time... it took about 15 minutes

My Abs finally stopped hurting YESTERDAY (6 full days of ouch)

Saturday I ran 8 miles and did 4 hours of Yard Work

Sunday I laid out on the couch ALL DAY

Monday was a rest day :)

Tuesday I ran 3 miles... gotta get ready for the 1/2 marathon in June!

As I get closer to June's 1/2 Marathon, you will see more miles adding up. 

So, in true CrossFit fashion, I had my wife take a couple of pics while we were on vacation in Monterey, CA.

The last 2-3 weeks have been a whirl-wind tour of 'BUSY' activities. I built a pull up station for CrossFit Hillsboro, packed for vacation, road trip to Monterey (13 hours), spent 5 days in my old stomping ground, road trip home (13 hours and 1 speeding ticket:( ), re-organized my garage, and cleaned up the yard. This last Monday was my first day back to work and back to my old routines. I am now teaching 4 days a week at CrossFit Hillsboro! Along with my M-F job and other activities, I am lucky I find time to sleep.

While I was in Monterey, I got so observe the CrossFit Regional Qualifiers in Aromas. What a RUSH!!! It got me very excited about participating next year. Although I do not believe I would be a true competitor for the CrossFit games, it would be awesome to be involved in a qualifier!

I have been keeping up on my workouts, although I have not posted them here. I will get back into the practice of doing that... I can say that I am mighty sore from pushing myself over the last few days. I am planning on running 8-9 miles this weekend. June 13th (or 14th?) is the Helvetia Half Marathon. I am registered to run... I expect to complete it under 2 hours (preferably closer to 1.5 hours) so I better get my miles up.

That is all for now... I will post regularly from this point out

Dead....lift

It has been a BUSY couple of weeks. I am getting ready to take 2 weeks off from work - so that adds a lot of items to my 'To-Do' list.

Still teaching 2 classes in the morning at CrossFit Hillsboro (Monday and Wednesday) along with taking friends from work through some exercises on Mondays at the office. Another friend of mine comes by my house on Tuesday and Thursdays for her workouts - she is progressing nicely! I am creating workouts for my wife and coming up with my own for me!

Basically I think about 2 things - Coffee and CrossFit. There is not even room for my VW's right now. It is very exciting - but very time consuming. I am having a great time - and seeing HUGE results.

Today I focused on my Deadlifts. I  shot for my 1 Reps max, which if you have read this BLOG over the last couple of months, I am able to hit TWICE my body weight! I successfully lifted 320lbs today. As I tried for 325lb, I could tell my form was QUICKLY degrading. Although I am strong enough to get it up and not hurt myself, I don't want my body to think it is 'ok' to lift with poor form. I am going to work on GREAT FORM with lighter weight until I know I can push past that 325lb mark.

Outside of Deadlifts, I have been working on my handstands - which are getting MUCH better. The Yoga lady (Bradi) at AliveMMA showed me some pointers that have made a huge difference in my stability. Now it is a matter of practice.

A couple of the workouts this week have worked me over... Sunday was a tough one - 100 Pull Ups, 100 Push ups, 100 Sit ups, and 100 Squats for time... I completed it in about 27minutes. That was tough. I think I am still feeling the effects of it.

Monday was crazy because I worked out with my class at CrossFit Hillboro (it was a partner workout and we had odd numbers - so I jumped in) and then I worked out with my friend at the office before our busy day started.

Luckily Tuesday was a rest day... I am still sore.

Overhead

I used my workout time to focus on moves that I am less than comfortable with... specifically the 'Snatch'. The Snatch is a very fast move. You start with the weight on the ground in a deadlift type stance and in one quick move, you violently pull it from the ground to a position up and over your head. No pause. No catching it on your shoulders. Straight from the ground to overhead. Once caught, you stabilize and stand straight up.

I completed about 20 of these total. I built the weight up to about 120# which I could complete 3 reps with. I recorded some video so that I could assess my form. There is quite a bit to work on, but the main pieces are there. This is where I wish I had a trainer to help coach me through. I might start looking for someone to team up with. Until then, the video camera will do.

Previous Post from MARCH 1st 2009:

Today was a benchmark workout... From the CrossFit main site, I decided to do 'Helen'.

Workout:

3 Rounds for Time:

400M run

21 Kettle Bell Swings (54 pound KB/1 Pood)

12 Pull Ups

In November, I completed this work out with a personal record of 10:32.

Today - I completed 'Helen' in 8:13!!! I beat my previous PERSONAL RECORD by over 2 Minutes!!!!

I can't believe how awesome I felt. The only area I could significantly improve is the run. If I could get faster splits and complete the pull ups a little quicker, I should be able to get this under 8 minutes.

Today I completed Helen in 7:51!!!! I felt GREAT during the run and moved through the KB Swings and the Pull Ups with no problem... here are my thoughts on why I have improved AGAIN:

I have been extremely focused on pushing myself at each workout. I have consistently been working out 5-6 days a week (3 days on, one day off) and I jacked up my food intake. The scale has barely moved and I honestly think I am losing body fat - but I am eating nearly 21-23 ZONE Blocks A Day (previously was 17). Even though I felt uninspired at the start of todays workout, I dug deep and pushed - I seriously thought I was going to post a very slow time, but the run was SOLID. It took me about 5 minutes of rolling around on the floor feeling like I was going to pass out before I recovered. But once I was up and moving around, I felt normal and refreshed! Talk about a 'SHORT' recovery time.

If I had to, I could do Helen all over again - right now. That is how well I have recovered. Crazy stuff, this CrossFit.