Recap of the last 3

Thursday


I decided that Thursday was going to be my day off from CF.  Notice how I said from CF.  I decided to go and take Carmen's Body Step class.  I have not seen her since the last release!  It was very nice to see her and take her class.  The new Ashburn Gold's is right next to CF.  I will have to steal some of their customers to go to CF hehehe.

Friday


Friday was the last CF open WOD, 11.6.  They did not disappoint either!


Complete as many reps as possible in 7
minutes following rep scheme below:
3 Barbell Thrusters
3 Chest to bar Pull-ups
6 Barbell Thrusters
6 Chest to bar Pull-ups
9 Barbell Thrusters
9 Chest to bar Pull-ups
12 Barbell Thrusters
12 Chest to bar Pull-ups
15 Barbell Thrusters
15 Chest to bar Pull-ups
18 Barbell Thrusters
18 Chest to bar Pull-ups
21 Barbell Thrusters
21 Chest to bar Pull-ups

Total Reps: 75

With Coach Nate's help, I managed to complete the 15 thrusters.  As soon as I finished them though, I was DONE.

Saturday


We had a lot of new faces today which is great.  I'm still trying to get more people to go.  I will not give up!

Today for our warm up we did a CF Kids workout.  We played musical chairs, CF style.  Instead of chairs in the middle, we had med balls.  Rather than walk around and around in a circle, we did exercises ranging from walking lunges, bear crawl, and crab walk!  When the music stops, you had to get to a med ball and squat.  I won!

400 m run
20 pull-ups
30 wall ball
40 sit-ups
50 burpees
400 m run

Total Time: 11:37

Tosh

Today at CFI we did a CrossFit Endurance WOD.  I have done this WOD before on a treadmill several times but this time it was going to be different.  For one thing, this was going to be outside.  I prefer to run outside over a treadmill.  Second, this was not about running fast.  This was about running correctly using the POSE Method.  As far as my form, I need to work on not running on my toes and to pull my legs.  I realize that this will not happen overnight.  You can't expect to change your form of running in one session when you have been taught how to run incorrectly for years.


3x (200m + 400m + 600m)
Rest the exact time it takes you to complete the interval in each set
(Ex: 200m Run takes 35 Sec, Rest 35 Sec, then Run 400m, Rest 400m time, etc...)

Time: 28:50

Overall this was a great session!

kettlebells!

Today was the final Hero WOD for the month of April.

‘ARNIE’
Los Angeles County Fire Fighter Specialist Arnaldo “Arnie” Quinones, 34, was killed in the line of duty on Sunday, August 30, 2009 during the Station Fire. His emergency response vehicle went over the side of the road and fell 800 feet into a steep canyon during fire suppression activities protecting Camp 16 outside the City of Palmdale, CA. He is survived by his wife Lori and daughter Sophia Grace, born three weeks after his death.



21 TGU (left)
50 KB Swings 35lb
21 OH Squats (Left)
50 KB Swings 35lb
21 OH Squats (Right)
50 KB Swings 35lb
21 TGU (right)
Time: 19:22 (all performed with 1 pood/35 lb)

I learned that I should have used the 1.5 pood for the swings.  It was a bit easy and I should have pushed myself more.

CrossFit Open week 5

Happy Friday!  It took a long time to get here.  Actually these last three days I have not had a lot of sleep.  Getting only about 5 hours of sleep is not good at all.  Since it is just me in the house (dog is on vacation), I don't have to get up early tomorrow.  Well my definition of early I should say.

I realized that I slacked and did not write the WOD from yesterday!  So I will start with that one.

AMRAP in 15 min. of:
max push-ups
400 meter run
Total rounds: 6

Since it was AMRAP, we did not count the reps.

Today we did the 5th WOD for the CrossFit Games.  I wasn't sure if I would be able to do it Rx'd but I wanted to challenge myself.

AMRAP in 20 min. of:
5 Power Cleans 145lbs/ 65kg
10 Toes to bar
15 Wall balls 20lbs
Total rounds: 6 +5

Attack!

Ah wonderful Tuesday with no rain how happy you have made me.  No rain today meant hockey for me!  Of course I had to get some exercise in before hockey.  For that I turned to Body Attack with Kristin.  As always she gave us all a good workout.  If you happen to be a member of Golds (Sterling, Ashburn, Herndon), I recommend you give her class a try.  While you are there, you should also check out Body Step with Dara or Carmen.  All three of them are really great instructors and make the classes a lot of fun and I promise you will get a workout!  If you have never tried Body Attack or Body Step fear not, the classes are meant for beginners, intermediate or advanced clients.  They will show you different ways to scale as needed. Come on and check them out!

I know you might be surprised to hear me talk about other workouts outside of CrossFit.  Don't get me wrong I love CF and would never give it up but I enjoy the classes.  I CrossFit so I can do other things such as play hockey, rock climbing (when I have a thumb that works), dodgeball (though probably won't go back to this!), swimming, or any other type of class I want to try.  In addition, I have friends that are members of Gold's that I want to support/motivate any way I can.  Of course I would love nothing more then for them to join CFI, but if they are not ready yet or just prefer a gym like Gold's that is fine.  I'm happy that they are working out and I will be happy to support them!

No scraped shins for me!

I got new socks!  I picked them up to protect my shins from certain lifts (deadlift, cleans) and also climbing the rope.  They worked very well!  Yes I intentionally got this color just in case you were wondering!  In continuing the weekly Hero WOD at CFI.......

"The Seven"


Seven rounds for time of:
7 Handstand push-ups
135 pound Thruster, 7 reps (mod to 95)
7 Knees to elbows
245 pound Deadlift, 7 reps (mod to 185)
7 Burpees
7 Kettlebell swings, 2 pood (mod to 1 pood)
7 Pull-Ups

Time: 36:53

A suicide bomber killed seven CIA officers and one Jordanian officer at a remote base in southeastern Afghanistan on December 30, 2009 after posing as a potential informant reporting on Al Qaeda. Seven new stars will be etched onto the memorial wall at the CIA where every star represents grieving friends, family and colleagues dedicated to fight against the enemy, forever in their name.

Killed in the attack were CIA officers Jennifer Lynne Matthews, 45; Scott Michael Roberson, 39; Harold E. Brown Jr., 37; Darren LaBonte, 35; Elizabeth Hanson, 30; and security contractors Jeremy Jason Wise, 35, and Dane Clark Paresi, 46.

This is by far one of the most challenging WODs I have ever done but it was a great way to honor the Heroes.

Weekend WODs

Hey all!  It has been a busy weekend.  I'm getting ready to head to bed but needed to post the two WOD I did for the weekend.

Friday:


AMRAP in 10 minutes of:
60 Bar-facing burpees
120 pound Overhead squat, 30 reps
10 Muscle-ups

Total:  0.444 rounds (60 burpees and 10 OHS)


Saturday:


AMRAP in 15 minutes of:
25 Box Jump (20 in.)
25 Push-ups
25 Air Squats
Rest for 25 seconds

Total rounds:  5  +25

WOD for Thursday the 14th

I spaced on not writing last nite.  A couple of friends of mine are moving so a few of us went to Jimmie's to hang out for a bit.  Plus I took the ASVAB yesterday (which I did well on!).  Since I knew all of that was going on, I hit up the box in the AM.  It was a great workout with Coach Jerry.


As many rounds as possible in 12 minutes of:
8 Power Cleans 115 lbs
8 Wall Balls 20 lbs
8 Knees-to-elbows
Post total rounds.
Total Rounds: 5 + 8 wall balls

While the workout was going on, I could see how one of the other athletes were performing their KtE.  They were able to do them without swinging.  That is what I need to do.  I wasted so much time swinging.

Tonite's WOD is going to be a killer.  It is the 11.4 WOD from the CrossFit open.  I have two other friends that came over from CA which I will be hanging out with tonite.  I will probably update the blog tomorrow after the WOD unless I can squeeze it in tonite!

Callus be gone!

So remember the picture I posted yesterday showing that I had a blister underneath my callus?  Well today when I was warming up with kipping pull-ups, the blister decided to rip open along with my callus.  With the suggestion from Coach Nate, I picked up a callus shaver.  Too bad I didn't get to use it before this callus got ripped off!  I was able to use it on the rest of my calluses and it did shave them down.  So long as I keep up with it, I should be fine.  Today I did not go to CFI (shocking!)  I actually went to Les Mills Body Attack.  It was a new release today.  The instructors were Kristin and Julianne.  They keep the class fun!  I do enjoy going to a cardio class every now and then.  Along with Attack I also like Body Step and Extreme Effects.  I haven't decided if tomorrow will be a day off or a CFE day.  Time will tell!  Thursday and Friday are reserved for CFI.

Hero WOD Ledesma (variation)

Another day with great weather!  It is a shame that we have to waste a good amount of it in a cube.  Well, most of us do.  Most people have that one hour during the day where they can break free!  I took my hour and went on the w&od and roller-bladed (with the weighted vest of course) for 6 miles.  That is all I can really get in because I have to take in account, getting ready, going, then getting back, shower, etc. all within an hour.  I still had a blast.

Tonite our WOD at CFI was

Ledesma (variation)

Narcotics Detective and Special Assignment Unit Operator Carlos Ledesma, 34, of the Chandler Police Department, Chandler, Arizona, was shot and killed by drug dealers on July 28, 2010, during an undercover operation in Phoenix, Arizona. He is survived by his wife Sherry and sons Luciano and Elijo.


Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:


5 Handstand push-ups
10 Toes to bar
15 Medicine ball cleans (or Dumbbell Cleans)
Rounds complete: 7 + 5 HSPU not Rx'd

On a side note, I have a blister right underneath my callus!  That's a new one on me.  Thank you rings!

Brambleton 5k race

Yesterday was absolutely a great day for a run!  I would say the temperature was on par with the race a couple of weeks ago so I had to break out the cold gear again.  The way I could tell I needed to do that was when I went to walk my dog I noticed that I could see my breath lol.

I arrived around 0630.  CrossFit Impavidus had a table (as they were one of the sponsors) so I wanted to get over there before the race.  There were three of us running, Stephanie, James, and myself.  This race started very differently than any other race I have been in.  For one, they started both the 10k and the 5k at the exact same time.  How strange is that?  Usually the 10k runners start first then the 5k runners go 15 minutes later.  That is how they initially set it up but for some reason they changed it.  That was a downside because that meant there were a lot more people starting out.  Which brings me to my next point.  I literally walked over the starting line (where the chrono tag starts timing you).  People were going so slow!  It didn't make any sense to me.  The first 3 minutes of the race were all about trying to break from the pack so you could get in your stride.  Of course this does have an impact on your time.

Time: 24:51
Pace: 8:00
Place: 50
Div/Tot: 5/21

Overall it was but I would love to see what it would have been minus the first 3 minutes.  Either way, it was a fun race for a great cause!

Squat clean/Jerk

Today since I was going to work a little later, I decided to go to the 0600 class.  This is only the second time I have ever gone to CFI in the morning.  While I could make the 0500 classes sometimes, I shy away from them.  I have a mental block if you will.  I think that because it is the morning, I will not be able to lift as well as I would in the evening because I have no food in me, it's first thing in the morning, stuff like that.  As you can see from the workout, this was not the case.  I have to admit it is nice to get a great workout in first thing in the morning.  Today the WOD was the week 3 workout from the CrossFit Games.  More cleans!  This time it was a full clean not a hang power clean which is different!


5 minute AMRAP of:
Squat clean (135lb / 61kg)
Jerk (135lb / 61kg)
(Rx'd was 165lb/75kg)
Total: 18

I was thinking about trying Rx'd and I asked the coach what he suggested.  He said that unless I have the form down, it would be better to keep the weight lower to make sure that my form is on point (arms locked, full squat, shrug, etc...).  Based on the amount of reps I had, I think I should have increased the weight by about 10.  Good to know for next time.  The coach did see my form and he said I was doing it correctly which is great!  Tomorrow is my 2nd 5k of the season, the Brambleton 5k with Team Crossfit Impavidus!  If you are not doing anything tomorrow morning, come on out and support the cause!

Damn those L Sit Holds!

I knew going into the WOD today the most challenging exercise for me was going to be the L Sit Hold.  For those of you that do not know what an L Sit Hold is, check out the video below.

If there is one thing that has been a constant struggle for me I would say without a doubt that is my core.  The only way to improve it is to work it out!  I would say today the core was worked.


20 minutes AMRAP:


30 second Handstand hold
30 second Squat hold
15 second L-sit hold
15 second Chin over bar hold
Total: 8 rounds + Squat hold

I would be lying if I said the other exercises were not challenging as time went on.  The squats were the easiest.  My arms were getting a little shaky from the handstands as well as the chin over bar.  The L Sit Hold was by far the worst.  You know what that means..... more work for the core!

Cleans cleans clean and burpees

Going into the workout today, I did not have a lot of confidence in myself.  It has only been 3 weeks since I got the brace off and I'm still trying to feel out where I'm at in terms of weights.  Today we had to do hang power cleans.  For Rx'd it was 135 lbs.  While we were warming up I decided to try it out just to see if I could do it.  So I deadlifted the bar and proceeded to clean the bar.  Yeah it wasn't happening.  That really discouraged me.  I tried a few more times and just could not get underneath it.  So I decided to try with 115.  Again, I deadlifted the bar and bam! got right underneath it with ease.  Coach Marc saw this and said that was too easy for me that I needed to to 135.  I was worried that I would not even finish the WOD but he was confident that I would be able to do this without a problem.  So I tried again to get the 135 and this time I got it.  3...2..1..go!  Off we all went.  You know what?  I finished the WOD Rx'd and I couldn't be happier.  I am very thankful that Coach Marc pushed me to do it.  I may have gone a little slower, but it was more important to get the WOD Rx'd.


3 rounds for time of:

15 Hang Power Cleans, 135/95 lbs
15 Burpees
Time 10:32

Perfect weather

Wow today was just absolutely gorgeous.  You could not ask for a better day.  Well unless you have allergies then I guess this was not really a good day for you.  While the WOD today at CFI was outside for parts of it, I really felt like being outside for a lot longer.  So my friend Kiki and I hit the W&OD trail for a nice bike ride.  All in all it was a little over 16 miles.  It was a lot of fun and many more rides will be had!

I'm changing it up a little bit at the end of the week.  On Friday I plan on going to the 0600 class.  I have the day off so I figure why not give it a go.  I have not yet decided on if I will go Wednesday evening or Thursday morning.  It depends on when I take my test.

Is it really a rest day?

So today is my rest day from the box.  Having time for your body to recover is very important.  Now while I did not hit the box today, that does not mean that I sat around plastered in front of my computer the entire day.  I only did that for half the day.  The rest of my time consisted of cleaning the house and also stretching.  Some people don't remember that you can burn calories when you clean.  Depending on how much you have to clean, you can actually burn quite a few!  Why stretch when I am not working out?  Well for one I am far from flexible and is one of many things that I need to work on.  Stretching is one of those thing that you do not have to be at the gym to do (for most stretches).  As you are watching your movies on Netflix, Hulu, or whatever means you watch, stretch while you watch.  Grab that pvc pipe and throw it overhead (arms locked, hide that neck!) and squat!  Do it several times.  Find a wall and work on your Couch stretch as noted by Stephanie.  Once you're done with that, get your bigger pvc pipe for some myofascial release exercises.

Tag You're It

How many places can you say "My warm-up has tire flips in it."  I know of one!  CrossFit Impavidus.  to my knowledge this was the first time tire flips were part of a warm-up but I'm sure it will not be the last time.

Do you remember playing tag in grade school running around aimlessly with not a care in the world?  This is nothing like that.


For Time:
400 m Run
50 Burpees
50 Pull-ups
50 Air Squats
50 Walking Lunges
50 Sit-up (abmat)

With a team of 2:
Team member A runs 400 meters. While they are running, team member B begins with the burpees.
You must keep track of the completed reps between the two team members!
Once team member A returns from the run, they START where team member B left off i.e. if team member B completed 40 reps of the burpees, team member A will start with 41 while team member B runs 400 meters.
Once the 50 reps are completed, begin on the next exercise immediately. i.e. (using the above scenario), team member A finishes the last 9 burpees. They will then start the 50 pull-ups and continue until they are done with the pull-ups or when team member B returns. When team member B returns from the run, team member A will go run and team member B will START where team member A left off.
One person on the team is always running. The other is working on the other exercises.
Time stops when all of the reps have been completed and the runner is back.
Post total time.

Total Time:  15:54

Thanks to Stephanie for being my team member now that I am not broken haha.

Hot CrossFit

It was a bit warm at the box this evening.  The coach said this will be hot CrossFit (like hot yoga) session.  One way or the other, I was going to sweat and I was going to work.  Today's workout came straight from The CrossFit Games.  I almost met pukie tonite.  Almost......that means I need to push harder.


AMRAP in 15 minutes of:
9 Deadlifts (155 lbs.)
12 Push-ups
15 Box Jump (24 in.)
Total Rounds:  7.689

???? 7.689.  Yes that is not an error.  I was able to complete 7 full rounds and was working on the 8th round when time ran out.  I finished the deadlifts and the push-ups (barely) but could only manage to get one box jump.  Next time, I want at least 2!  A great workout as always at CrossFit Impavidus.  Can't wait to see what is in store for tomorrow!