Nutrition Challenge: Day 3

Today is a rest day physically, but mentally it's been draining. I've spent the entire day prepping for tomorrow's neuroscience and neuroanatomy exams. Supposedly occasional food deprivation (aka intermittent fasting) is good for the  bod. Tonight we'll find out if intermittent sleep deprivation is equally as beneficial. Clearly, I know the answer but the amount of material intertwined with mounting aboulia is going to make for a long night.

For the sake of consistency (and a study break) I wanted to post an update regarding the nutrition which is turning out to be quite a coup. Today is the 3rd day in a row without eating out or succumbing to the temptation of fast food.  I can't say I haven't thought about it. But, I have stayed true to plan. One other added benefit is that aside from $1 coffee I have not spent any money on outside food.  

I don't want to get too excited to early. But, the "before" pics that CF Cville has and will post to the web inevitably will serve as motivation. That said, before departing this morning I packed up enough food in pre-pakaged portions to last me all-day. 

I wish I could detail the recipes. However, studying calls. I will post the details on the tumeric chicken and microwave sauteed broccoli on a another day.

Nutrition Challenge Day 2

Today is the 2nd day of the CF Cville nutrition challenge.  I've been logging my daily intake into my fitday journal. Though yesterday was only day 1, I was surprised how full I felt even though I only consumed about 1,900 calories. Granted, my macronutrient ratio was not zone which is supposed to be 40-30-30 (C-P-F). I ate 23-29-47. The trick will obviously be continuing on since I've started diets/lifestyles many times and never stuck with it.  Today was also the second of three mid-terms. With the most difficult and stress-inducing exam ahead (neuroscience and neuroanatomy), if I can go the whole week without stress eating, it will be a success. 

Today's WOD:

AMRAP in 20 minutes of:

• 5 Hand Stand Pushups (scaled to 24" box HSPUs)
• 10 Push Press (89#)
• 15 Box Jump (24#)

9 rounds, 5 BHSPUs, 7 PPs


This was a difficult WOD that went right at the core of my weakness: sustained high intensity movement over a time domain greater than 10 minutes. Additionally, it incorporated two weak movements: HSPU and box jumps. In hindsight, I should have went up a level of difficulty in the HSPUs scaling as they were never the limiting factor. Instead, box jumps were killer. About four rounds into the WOD, my lower back began to cramp again. Interestingly, the last time this happened was with explosive opening and closing of the hip with kettlebell swings. I'm not sure what the culprit could be, but poor core strength would be a good guess. The good news is that I was able force myself to do all PP sets unbroken.  There is always a silver lining.

Deadlifts & Annie

WOD:
Deadlift 1x5 @ 353#


"Annie"
50-40-30-20-10 
Double Unders
Sit-ups

7:12

CF Cville is experimenting with a starting strength cycle. This a programming methodology made famous by one of the crossfit coaching "deities", Mark Rippetoe (Although, apparently he has left CFHQ. I'm not sure if this departure has anything to do the the recent controversy regarding Rob Wolf and Greg Everett, two other former crossfit deities. But, I don't have time to research this.)  This program focuses on barbell lifts to (as the name suggests) start develop adequate baseline strength.  This explains the successive days of heavy lifts.

Interestingly, the cycle leads right up the the crossfit games sectionals scheduled for late March. That said, it is still a must that incorporate some additional metabolic conditioning in preparation. The squats, deadlifts and power clean will undoubtedly be good to improve my form and strength, however, the lack of attention to my weaknesses does give me pause.  

Regarding the deadlifts, I should have gone heavier because the last rep was not too much of a struggle.  However, I was able to push myself in Annie to reach a PR time of 7:12 (versus a previous time of 7:40 on 8/28/09).  I did the DU's barefoot so that the pain of the rope hitting my toes would be negative reinforcement to get me to jump higher. I only broke DU's twice and sit-ups once.  

Tomorrow will be a metcon day (reserved for Wednesdays and Saturdays at CF Cviille). It will be a nice break after my human behavior exam and before cracking down for the Friday's Neuroanatomy/Neuroscience exam.

Back Squat, Clapping Push-ups and KB Swings

WU:
5 min farmer's walk (40#/45#)
3 max time handstands

WOD:

Back Squat 5x5 w/ 60 secs rest between sets
309# (62% of max)


3 rounds of max rep clapping push-ups
30 45# KB swings


18/4/7
6:14


Cool-down
Alphabet Leg Raises
2 min plank hold
Stretch


Workout was humbling. It doesn't look intimidating on paper, but after a few laps of the farmer's walk my forearms were burning. Additionally, I didn't feel very strong in the handstand holds.


The back squats were too bad given that it's one of my two strongest movements (in addition to the dead lift) and we were were only lifting at 60% of max. I could definitely feel a twinge of pain in the posterior left knee (the surgically reconstructed one) in full squat depth. Thus, I concentrated on: 1) ensuring that I had good alignment of my knees in the plane above my toes and, 2) that I was not compensating my pushing more with my right leg. I also tried to get full-depth such that my hamstring touched my calves at the bottom of the squat.


The squats were followed by the push-up/KB swing WOD. I struggled with the KB swings after the first round as my back began to tighten up. The last round I could only do sets of 5 likely indicating that form needs to improve, core strength needs to improve or both.

Karen and Interval Rows

"Karen"
150 20# wall balls at 10" foot target

7:05

C2 Rower
40:20x5
40 seconds on, 20 seconds off for 5 rounds. All out Efforts.

941 meters

Today's prescribed WOD was short, but a good for gauging intensity. During Karen I tried to minimize any rest by counting 5 seconds aloud and then returning to work. I find this helpful because once one is in a hypoxic state, the brain tells you to rest until you can return to work comfortably. By counting aloud, it gives you a set rest and then forces you to return to work even in the midst of discomfort. Ideally, over time one will be able to lengthen the amount of time between these rest intervals. For today, I am pleased with my intensity.

I followed this workout with the prescribed crossfit endurance WOD. Again, it was short, but a good test of mental and physical endurance.

Superfit Games and New Priorities

3 Rounds:

50 double unders
20 32" box jumps
50 double unders
5 111# snatches

13:35

The winner at Saturday's Superfit games finished at 10:16, more than three minutes faster than my performance today. However, the good news is that guy who finished in 4th place finished this WOD in 14:14. Granted, Saturday times were after made after three WODs, but to know that I am in the range of other top performers is a well-timed confidence boost after DNFing the burpee-thruster-HSPU WOD on Saturday.

After being knocked out by default I had a lot of time on my hands which allowed me to determine the five priorities that I must work on during games prep:

Pull-ups
HSPUs
Running
Rowing
Body weight movements (i.e., burpees, K2Es).

While I am behind the 8-ball when it comes to preparation, a little work will put me in a better spot to compete once the sectionals arrive in late March.

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