Day 2 in the Zone

So I know it's probably too early to tout any gains, but today I've definitely more alert and vibrant. As for hunger, I felt full all-day with the exception of my post-WOD dinner.

Today's WOD was four rounds:

400m run
50 BW squats.

11:36 as rx'd

Nutrition (P/C/F)

Breakfast - Eggs/Bacon/Cherries/Whole Milk (4/4/13)

Lunch - Turkey/Cherries/Blueberries/Almonds (4/4/4)

Pre-WOD Snack - Egg/Milk/Protein Powder/Orange (2/2/2)

Dinner - Turkey/Cherries/Almonds/Almonds (4/4/4)

Snack - Whole Milk/Protein Powder (2.5/1/5)

New Snatch PR

Today was my first day back to Potomac Crossfit after the 2009 Crossfit Games. This weekend I observed another tier of fitness heretofore never witnessed with my own eyes. The games were simultaneously inspiring and humbling.

Today's workout consisted of 1 rep snatches and then a sit-up/hip extension couplet WOD. The results are as follows:

Snatch
1-1-1-1-1
135-155-185(f)-185(f)-185 (new PR by 20 lbs)

Hip Extension/Sit-up Couplet
50 hip extensions
50 sit-ups
9:19 as rx’d

I suck at sit-ups, so I was happy to do my last set unbroken (albeit slowly).

Morning of the 2009 Crossfit Games Affiliate Cup

I'm excited to be participating to this year's Crossfit Games Affiliate Cup. Last night we visited Crossfit Monterey for skill work. We primarily focused on finding our 3RM weight and proper depth. Then, at dinner last night we determined strategy for each of the three Day 1 workouts. I will be participating in the Stadium and North Pad workouts. The other guy will be Chad and Aaron, respectively. Since 2 men and 2 women participate in each workout, Jenn and Tes will be in all three. The workouts are as follows:

Stadium Workout
30 Wallballs (20lbs/14lbs)
Row 300m
30 Box jumps (24")
30 KB swings (24kg/16kg)
30 DB Push press / Push jerk (40lbs/25lb)
30 Deadlifts (225lbs/135lbs)

Hill Workout
2500m (approximately) Hill run relay

North Pad Workout
3-rep Overhead Squat plus
Max total pull-ups in 3 attempts

The pull-ups are not chest-to-bar so I'm remaining confident that I won't bonk on that movement like I did in the Mid-Atlantic Qualifiers.

Aaron and Pat along with Jen and Tes will be handling the 2500m relay run.

Time to get the game face on.

Conquer or Die!

On the Road Again...

AMRAP 10 Rounds:

30 seconds Squats
30 seconds Rest
30 seconds Double Unders
30 seconds Rest

740.

Today is Day 2 of 1o of my last marathon work trip. Didn't get to workout yesterday due to some nightmare travel. But, today I made sure that despite 2 hours of sleep last night I fit a WOD in.

My friend Ryan, posted a very timely blog post regarding nutrition on the road. I also spoke to him about his strategies on eating well on the road as well. The bottom line: preparation.

In Harrisburg, PA I was hard-pressed to find a Whole Foods to secure some grass-fed jerky so tonight I settled for a meal alone at Applebee's. As you can see below, my nutrition was all over the place today from skipping meals to downing mashed potatoes at lunch. Before I start weighing and measuring I can do a lot better with decisions around timing and cutting out complex carbohydrates such as bread and white potatoes.

B: None
S: 12 almonds
L: Meatloaf w/ gravy, mashed potatoes with gravy, mixed veggies, 1.5 c of whole milk
D: Chicken breast sauteed in peppers, mushrooms and onions, 2 spoonfuls of mashed potatoes and side of broccoli

It's the Little Things

Clean and Jerk
5-5-5: 165#, 185#, 205#
Rest
AMRAP Pushups = 63
Rest
Tabata Situps and Pushups = 185

Today was an average day. I went into the 10AM WOD without a good night's rest or anything in my stomach. Thus, I set myself up for mediocrity. Beyond adequate preparation, today I also learned the value of little things.

For instance, the clean and jerk done fast at light weight looks and feels simple. For someone who possesses above average strength, muscling up 135 pound clean and jerks is not excessively strenuous. However, dial that weight up to 200+, and form and technique make the difference between a finished or failed rep. Olympic lifts are fun because they are violent and aggressive, yet also technical. And the skill is what separates an average lifter from a great lifter.

Similar to life in general, it is the little things that will get you ahead. The olympic lifts require patience, dedication and attention to detail in order to improve. These are all skills that will not only translate into improved general physical preparedness, but general all-around preparedness as well.

This lesson was further reinforced by my outing at the track this afternoon with with Aaron M-J, Jon M, and Ryan P to do 10 100m sprints. I felt slow on round one and pulled up lame (a la Michael Johnson vs. Donovan Bailey) at the 70m mark. I'm still humiliated.

Again the little things came into play. I still have lingering muscle strength imbalance in my legs from knee surgery about 7 years ago. I attribute this injury to this because the exact same thing happenned during the last time I tried to sprint 1oom at full speed about 3 years ago. To this day, my left leg (on which I had knee reconstruction) is significantly weaker than my right leg. On most WODs, this doesn't impair me or my right leg compensates. However, in a sprint there is no masking weakness. Similar to the olympic lifts, it will take patience, dedication and persistance to improve the strength of my left leg. But, if I want to attain a higher tier of fitness, it is the little things that will get me there.

Train harder,

Ian

Back (Squat) Pain

Back Squat
5-5-5-5-5

225-315-365-405-425

Finished with 1 round of the Tuesday 06.09.09 Workout: Tosh

C2: 3x( 250m +500m+ 700m)

5 mins flat

Upon entering PCF today I was greeted with a couple remarks to the effect of "ohhh of course Ian shows up on squat day." The sarcasm was all in good fun and well-played because the back squat is one of my strongest lifts. But, it's all one of my least favorite.

Why? Because squatting heavy hurts. Anybody is who thinks loading 400-500 lbs of steel on your back is fun, must be on some nice painkillers. Lifting heavy is uncomfortable, and it should be cause it's a signal that you're a pushing your body to it's upper limits. If you approach a heavy set and a thought questioning your ability to complete the set never enters your mind, then you need to step back to rack and add more iron.

If it feels good, you're not lifting heavy shit.

Back in Effect

Been MIA at the box lately (and on my blog for that matter since my first post), but I showed up for the 9am park WOD on Sunday only to get thoroughly embarrassed on the 400m repeats. That wake-up call in addition to the ass-whooping I received at Day 2 Mid-Atlantic Crossfit Games Qualifier should has equated to some new found motivation. Plus, let's be honest... I need to look at the pool in Vegas in about a month.

Today I worked out from the Westin Pasadena in Pasadena, CA. I was going to check out Crossfit Monrovia, but I thought I’d do some skill work and make up a WOD of my own. Fortunately, Westin gyms (or Westin Workouts) are as fairly well-equipped as most hotel gyms come. Amidst a sea of nautilus equipment, beached on outskirts of the workout room I found dumbells, and pull-up bar and the requsite cardio equipment. A treadmill would suit me just fine.

Skill Work:
2 Rounds: Max Rep Dead Hang PUs: 12,7
2 Reps of ~30-40 sec negative pull-ups
2 Rounds of 10 Pistols (to work on some lingering muscle imbalance issues in my left leg)

WOD:
.25 mile treadmill run at 1.5 incline
21 50 lb DB SDHP
21 50 lb DB Push Press
.25 mile treadmill run at 1.5 incline
15 50 lb DB SDHP
15 50 lb DB Push Press
.25 mile treadmill run at 1.5 incline
9 50 lb DB SDHP
9 50 lb DB Push Press

11:21

Will be back at the box this Friday/Weekend.

Excuses Don't Solve Problems

If I had to attribute the shortcomings in my training program to one factor, it would be my travel schedule. When traveling the excuses are innumerable: fatigue, the work that needs to get done, the need to get up at 5AM for a 7AM on-site, the lack of a hotel gym, etc.

In reality, none of these excuses apply. They are merely mental games. As my mom once said, "excuses don't solve problems." And now, with the Crossfit Games Qualifiers quickly approaching, my problems include chest-to-bar pull-ups, met con endurance and running endurance. These issues are not going to be solved by enabling mental excuses creep into my mind.

When excuses rear their ugly head, it is a blaring signal indicating that I need to train because someone else is out there training harder than I am. Furthermore, once I give in, I've diminished the mental toughness required to perform in the Crossfit Games Qualifers (or any Crossfit WOD for that matter).

Today I did a modified Tabata workout from the Potomac Crossfit program. A Tabata workout (named after the Japanese scientist who discovered the protocol's effectiveness) is eight rounds of 20 seconds of max effort followed by 10 seconds rest. Typically, a Crossfit Tabata WOD groups four exercises together for 16 minutes (or 32 20/10 intervals) of pain. Once can also perform a single Tabata to improve endurance or performance on single movement such as pull-ups or push-ups.

This type workout is timely because it can be applied to just about any movement and can be done anywhere. Thus, it's perfect for road warriors. And, perfect for overcoming excuses.

Knees to Elbows - 49
Squats - 159
30 lb Dumbbell Squat Clean - 60
(using one dumbbell to simulate to the Medball clean)
Burpees - 48

316 total