Maximum Ruckus

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Recent Work...

Here are my last few workouts...
I plan on updating this blog more often - I have some very specific goals laid out ahead of me, so this will be a good record keeping journal.

On 12/23 I worked on Deadlifts and Bench Press. I was trying to find my 5 Rep Max.
Here are the results:
Deadlift: 285#
Bench Press: 170#

Both of these are increases over previous attempts, but I expect to see significant improvements over the next 4 weeks.

On 12/24 I worked on Front Squats. Again, trying to find my 5 Rep Max
I got the weight up to 195#'s... not too shabby for a 163# guy :)

I rested on Christmas Day

On 12/26 I worked on some skills that I have recently begun to get the hang of...
The Butterfly Pull Up and the Double Under with the Jump Rope.
I can now do 20 of these Butterfly Pull Ups in a row and 20 Double Unders... Any time a workout calls for Jump Ropes or Pull Ups, I am committing to doing these in place.

Today, I had the challenge of completing a 5000m Row. Most CrossFit workouts call for 250-500m Rows... this is the first time in over a year that I have seen anything over 2000m. I was not looking forward to this at all.

20:34 later, I finished 5000m. That workout turned into more of a mental game than I thought. I eventually figured out that I could pull 10-11 times for every 100 meters... this lead me to analyze how many '100's' I had left before the end of the workout. I don't know if that was good or bad, but I survived.

I sure hope that one does not come up again anytime soon...

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

shoulder press...

Today the workout was finding your
1 Rep Max for Shoulder Press
3 Rep Max for Push Press
and 5 Rep Max for Push Jerk

Mine are 140#, 155# and 135# respectively

The Push Press is almost body weight... I am sure I could do over body weight for a 1 rep max.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Updates...

wow... it has been a long time since I have updated this blog.
A lot has happened - sorry, but I don't have many pictures to prove it.

The Marathon was AWESOME - I finished in 3:48:00 which is 8 minutes faster than my previous time. This is a big deal because as part of my 'test', I did mostly CrossFit workouts and limited my running to 3-4 days a week. Most of my runs were about 5-6 miles long, with the exception of my long weekend runs. I averaged about 30-34 miles a week during the heaviest part of my training. Most marathoners put in A LOT MORE TIME and A LOT MORE MILES... I did this in a pretty condensed version. I personally think my diet change and my CrossFit training had the most to do with my overall performance.

Since the Marathon, I have hit some new PR's on many key benchmark workouts and exercises. I am still blown away by the results.

Fran - old PR 6:13 - new PR 5:07
Deadlift - old PR 340lbs - new PR 350lbs
During the marathon, I hit the half way mark with my fast 1/2 marathon time yet - 1:45:00... I can't wait to see what an actual 1/2 marathon event would be!!!

Upcoming events - December 4th and 5th I will be going through the CrossFit Level 1 Certification again... this is my 'refresh' as I prepare to get ready for the Level 2 Cert later this year.

Very exciting stuff!

I will attempt to post more often, time just slips right by.

If you have any questions or comments - just shoot me an email!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Almost there...

Just a matter of days until the Portland Marathon.
I have not posted much, mostly because I have been running a ton.

A couple of weeks ago I ran my 20 mile run day and it felt GREAT. Took about 3 hours. I could have continued for another 6 miles no problem. I figure if I keep a decent pace and just keep moving, I should be able to get <3:45 on race day. Wish me luck!

The other main event in recent weeks was my attempt at Fight Gone Bad. FGB is a monumental CrossFit workout that really tests and challenges your overall fitness. There are 5 stations set up and a clock running non-stop for 5 minutes. You rotate to the next station at the minute mark trying to rack up as many 'reps' (points) as possible. There is a 1 minute rest between the 5 minutes round and a total of 3 five minute rounds... so from beginning to end, this is only a 17 minute workout (3 sets of 5 minute round plus the two 1 minute rests between round 1 and 2, and 2 and 3).

The stations are:
- Wall Ball (with a 20# medicine ball, squat down and explode upward throwing the ball 10' into the air, off the wall, catch and repeat quickly)
- Sumo Deadlift High Pulls with 75#
- 20" Box Jump
- Push Press with 75#
- Row (calories count for points)

My previous FGB score was in the ball park of 212 point for ALL 3 rounds.
My current FGB score is 266 points... not bad! I want 300.

Once I am done with all of this training for the Marathon, I will be back onto my 3 days on/1 day off workout regimen and start my progress toward strength and power... watch out FRAN... Sub 6 minutes, here I come!!!

Saturday, September 5, 2009

More Running...

So - Friday... out for another Run!

This was a decent, solid pace 5 mile run. I will continue to do 2-3 Five mile runs throughout the week and then a big monster run on the weekend until the Portland Marathon.

Tomorrow (Sunday) I will join my friend, Nicole, and we will chip away at a 15 mile run - rain or shine!

Next week we should attempt 18.

The following week would be 20 miles.

From that point out, nothing more than 6 miles

I am really looking forward to this event. My running has been strong, quick, and pain free. I am really curious on how well I will do this year. Two years ago I set a personal record by completing the marathon in 3:56... I want to take at least 10 minutes off of my time this year.

We will see!

Friday, September 4, 2009

RUN... 5 miler...

Tuesday September 2nd... Main workout was a 5 mile run. It felt strong. Something clicked -

This stuff doesn't get easier - you get more bad-ass. You are able to push aside the discomfort, the pain, the 'negative' self talk, the frustrations, etc a little bit longer. You are able to POWER through your challenge a little bit further. You are able to take on that hill or climb that used to cause you to hesitate, but now you CHALLENGE it to take you down.

Again, it's not that it gets easier... because nothing about this stuff is EASY. It's about eliminating the fear and the obstacle and proving to yourself that you can do ANYTHING.

Below are some still shots of a Muscle Up... it's funny because most people CAN NOT do these. It took me nearly a year to get this down.

In the Gymnastic World - this is one of the most BASIC, entry level moves. In the Real World, it is damn hard. Being able to get yourself from a static hanging position UNDER an object, then transfer your weight to a locked out position OVER the object takes strength, agility, and speed.