Monday 12/22/2008

WOD
CrossFit Firebase, Orlando, FL
AMRAP in 24 min:
20 Air Squats
10 Tuck Jumps
20 KB Swings
10R/10L KB Snatches

No. of Rounds Completed: 9



WOD
CrossFit Evolution, Longwood, FL
"Fran"
21-15-9 reps of:
Thrusters (65#)
Pullups

Time: 4:25

In the Sunshine State

I'm vacationing in Florida right now, which explains the dearth of posts. So far, I've visited Harbor City CrossFit, CrossFit Palm Beach, CrossFit Delray Beach, CrossFit Broward, CrossFit Affliction, and CrossFit Hardcore -- all in 3 days. Looking forward to hitting up the affiliates in Orlando over the next few days. Will update soon!

Friday 12/05/2008

WOD
From CrossFit Main Site (Thursday 081204):

Five rounds for time of:
50 pound dumbbell, walking lunge, 10 alternating steps
50 pound dumbbell, swing, 15 reps

The instructions for this workout were pretty ambiguous, so I performed the lunges with two 50# DBs (yes, in case you were wondering, they were pretty f%&*ing heavy) at the low carry position. Swings were performed with one 50# DB to full overhead lockout. Perhaps I hadn't noticed the need for torso stabilization as much with lighter weights, but I definitely felt it today. I think weighted lunges are a great exercise for developing core stability! Oh, and heavy weighted lunges beat weighted stepups any day in terms of Ass-Kicking Potential (AKP)*.

*A term created by Keith Wittenstein of CrossFit Virtuosity, and frequently used in the CrossFit circle to objectively quantify the Suck Factor of a particular movement.

Time: 10:42

WOD
From NavySEALS.com:

"Ladder of Death"

Thrusters (Rx'd: 65#)
Pull-ups

Ladder is for thrusters only. Starting with 25, then 20, then 15, 10, 5, then 10, 15, 20 and ending at 25. Do 10 pull-ups between each set of thrusters. Try to do unbroken sets of both thrusters and pull-ups. That is very challenging though, so if you can't then do as many as you can in the first set, then finish them off. Get into the habit of only resting for 3 breath cycles between broken sets.

Time: 17:20

This workout wasn't as daunting as I originally imagined it to be. It's kind of like a Mega-Fran, which was, well, a real treat since I'd done Fran only two days ago. I must say, 65# thrusters definitely feel really light, after using 95# for all my workouts. I was glad that the prescribed weight (for males) on the Navy SEALs site was 65# for this workout, since it allowed me to gauge the progress I'd made via consistent overloading.

Breakdown of Thrusters/Pullups:
25T/10P
10T/10T/10P
8T/7T/6P/4P
10T/8P/2P
5T/10P
10T/6P/4P
8T/7T/8P/2P
10T/10T/9P/1P
10T/8T/7T

If this workout ever reappears in the cycle, I'll try to minimize the number of breaks within sets of thrusters and pullups. I realized that I didn't exactly follow the instructions of performing as many reps as possible in the first set. My strategy instead was to break the entire set down into more manageable sets, which explains sets like 10T/8T/7T. It's probably wholly psychological, but it makes it seem far more doable.

***
"It is difficult to produce a television documentary that is both incisive and probing when every twelve minutes one is interrupted by twelve dancing rabbits singing about toilet paper."
- R. Serling

Thursday 12/04/2008

WOD
10 Pullups
20 Overhead Barbell Walking Lunges
30 Barbell Back Squats
40 Pushups
50 Barbell Push Presses
40 Pushups
30 Barbell Back Squats
20 Overhead Barbell Walking Lunges
10 Pullups

Time: 12:01

WOD
Mod "Linda" @ BW 125#
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of the triplet:
Shoulder Press (65#)
Power Clean (95#)
Deadlift (185#)

Time: 24:03

***
"You can see a lot by just looking."
- Yogi Berra

Wednesday 12/03/2008

WOD
Every minute on the minute for 20 minutes:
4 Barbell "Burpees" (135#)
4 V-Ups

Kicked it up to 5/5 for the last 5 sets.

True to my word, I had to do "Man-Fran" today... And I was pleased as hell with my time, since my initial goal was to finish under 10 minutes!

WOD
From CrossFit Main Site:
"Fran"
21-15-9 reps of:
Thrusters (95#)
Pullups

Time: 8:40

WOD: Starting Strength
Week 1, Day 2 (Workout B)
Squat
1 x 5 @ 45#
1 x 5 @ 65#
1 x 5 @ 95#
1 x 5 @ 105#
3 x 5 @ 125#

Press
2 x 5 @ 45#
1 x 5 @ 50#
3 x 5 @ 55#

Power Clean
2 x 5 @ 45#
5 x 3 @ 65#

Pullups; 3 sets to failure
1: 10
2: 9
3: 8

***
"Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so."
- Douglas Adams

Tuesday 12/02/2008

WOD
With a pair of 30# DBs, perform
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of:
DB Burpee
DB Push Press
DB Front Squat

WOD: Charge
30-20-10 reps of:
Power Clean (95#)
Thruster (95#)

Time: 19:02

I made a commitment to step it up a notch on workouts that call for the typical Rx'd women's weight (65#), by using 95# for these workouts. Now there's no turning back! While not unmanageable by any means, consistently adding 30# of weight to the bar definitely makes a considerable difference, both in terms of length of time required to complete the workout (duh) as well as recovery. I've noticed a little more soreness in the days following such workouts. It's good, I suppose, since I rarely am afflicted by DOMS from CrossFit alone (distance running and gymnastics are separate issues here). So it's good to know that I'm challenging my muscles in a different way and forcing them to adapt to using a heavier load as a baseline.

***
"Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending."
- Author Unknown

Monday 12/01/2008

WOD: Charge
5 rounds of 25 reps each:
KB Goblet Squat (16 kg)
KB American Swing (16 kg)
DB Weighted Step-ups (25# DBs; 20" box)
Elevated Pushups (20" box)

WOD: Starting Strength
Week 1, Day 1 (Workout A)
Squat
1 x 5 @ 45#
1 x 5 @ 65#
1 x 5 @ 95#
3 x 5 @ 115#

Press
2 x 5 @ 45#
1 x 5 @ 50#
3 x 5 @ 55#

Deadlift
1 x 5 @ 45#
1 x 5 @ 95#
1 x 5 @ 105#
1 x 5 @ 115#
1 x 5 @ 135#

Chinups; 3 sets to failure
1: 10
2: 7
3: 7

First actual session of Starting Strength -- dialed the weights way back as per Rippetoe's recommendations, so it was a very easy day. Though I don't think I'll be saying the same thing a few weeks from now! ;)

***
"I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live."
- George Bernard Shaw

Sunday 11/30/2008

WOD: Revolution
25-minute Spin, followed by -
21-15-9 reps of:
Deadlifts (185#)
Wall Ball Shots (14#)
Medicine Ball Situps (14#)

***
"A man is called selfish not for pursuing his own good, but for neglecting his neighbor's."
- Richard Whately