Back at it: Power Snatch and Running

I think the leg injury is mostly behind me now.  Standing up at my desk at work seemed to accelerate the healing, even if I couldn't go to CrossFit for two weeks due to getting snipped.

I'm not lazy.  I'm just not taking any goddamn chances. 

I wasn't completely inactive during this time, though.  Just this past week, the Boy learned to ride his bike without training wheels, so there was some light jogging beside him, mostly to make sure he didn't crash into a car or a tree while he was bragging about how awesome he was doing.

But, my leg and my junk have now healed to the point where I can go back to CrossFit Regina and give "not taking it easy" a shot. 

A. Power Snatch 3-2-1-1-1


95 x 3, 115 x 2, 125 x 1, 135 x 1, 145 x 1(FAIL), 145 x 1

I could feel a bit of tightness in my leg, but I don't think it really hampered anything. 


B. For times:

Run 800m, 400m, 200m, 100m

800m - 3:25
400m - 1:34
200m - 0:45
100m - 0:19

Running felt good.  I didn't think about my leg at all while I was doing it. 

It was pretty dark in the alley, so I wasn't sure about footing and may have been a bit more tentative because of it.  I don't think it made much of a difference in the times. 

I didn't set any PRs, but it feels pretty good to be back. 

Clean & Jerk / Run & Burp



Warming up with the Boy



A. Clean + Jerk 3-2-1-1-1

3×145, 2×165, 1×185, 1×205, 1×220 (PR)




B. Run + Burpee

Every 2 min for 5 rounds complete:

100m sprint

5 speed burpees

Record each round time. Use a continuous clock and start every 2nd min.


30s, 30s, 29s, 28s, 30s
        Photo courtesy of Drew Fossum.

"O Canada 2013"

In teams of 3, with only one athlete working at a time,

Perform the following for time:

146 Jumping Squats

146 Kettlebell Swings – 55/35lb

146 Abmat Situps

146 Hand-Release Push-ups

146 Double-Unders

I teamed with Carter and Victor.  The Boy hopped in on this one, too, doing work and resting at the same time as me. 

For the first three exercises, we did sets of 15.  On the push-ups, we switched to 10s after the initial set of 15. 

For double unders, we just did what we could.  I did sets of 50 and 30. 

We finished in 15:55. 

 

Overheard at the Gym

"Dad, when are we gonna take off our shirts?"

(later)
"How come no one has taken off their shirt yet?"

"Nothing good happens in a back alley"

2 rounds for time:

10 Thrusters (115lb)
shuttle run (20m, back, 30m, back)

15 Push Press (115lb)
shuttle run (20m, back, 30m, back)

20 Kettle Bell Swings to Shoulder Height 70lbs
shuttle run (20m, back, 30m, back)

25 burpees
shuttle run (20m, back, 30m, back)

The Rx'd version of this calls for dumbbell thrusters, using 55s.  We had a shortage of those so I volunteered to do a barbell version with a slightly heavier weight.  Even though the weight was heavier, not having to do this with dumbbells means this was an easier version.  Not that it was actually easy, mind you. 

15:26. 



Overheard at the Gym

The Boy accompanied me to the gym, and did the workout in the back alley with the rest of us.  He followed the pace set by Shae, rather than his old man, who was considerably slower.

My son is a very inquisitive little boy. You don't so much have conversations with him as you get interrogated by him.  He just constantly asks questions.  While I love my son as much as one human being can love another, this habit can be somewhat maddening.   I've developed a few coping mechanisms (don't worry, bleeding hearts, none of them involve electroshock training) but have somewhat gotten used to it.

For people who aren't around my kid very much or aren't forced by the laws of nature to love him, his habit might be considered either mildly amusing or insanely annoying. 

Leya, God bless her, seemed to fall in the former camp, and she temporarily immortalized a few of the Boy's questions on the CFR whiteboard.

(To me) "Is she stronger than you?" "Yes, she is."

"Why am I so sweaty?"

(To me) "He's better than you!" He ould've been referring to Lance, Shae, Justin or just about any dude who was there on Sunday, really.  I think he meant "better at CrossFit," but could have been referring to my moral fiber, my contributions to society, or my potential usefulness in the event of a zombie apocalypse.

(To Leya) "Were you born here?" "Yes." "Do you live here?" "Sometimes it feels like it." "Where do you sleep?" "I pull those crash mats up over the bathroom and sleep up there."

Father-and-son Jackie

A. Jackie

1,000m row
50 thrusters with a 45lb bar
30 pull-ups

When I got to CFR today, Kim Fly told me that everyone else had already started Jackie, so I'd be in a heat of one. 

The Boy was tagging along with me so I figured I'd make him do the workout alongside me, just modified with PVC thrusters and jumping ring pull-ups.  He wouldn't have to worry about counting reps, he could just switch when I switched. 

It was fun. I figured that I wouldn't PR this today, given that I'd be paying a bit of attention to him and not going up against anyone, but as it turned out I got a 20-second PR. 

7:56 (PR) 

B. 1 km run

Yeah... after doing Jackie, I wasn't going to be setting any records on this.  It was a nice little cool-down, I guess. 

5:04



The Boy didn't join me on the run, but did do a little sprint in the alley.  When I told him it was time to go home, he protested, "But I'm not sweaty yet!"

So he did a bunch of other stuff:
-headstands on an abmat, and handstand push-ups (his head comes up about 2 inches, but still);
-"atlas stone" lifts and carries with a 20lb medicine ball; and
-more jumping pull-ups.

I guess he got sweaty at some point, because he took off his shirt.  As Kim Fly noted, "You can do that here."

Finally, he and I also did a race to 10 burpees. He managed to eke out a win on that one and it was almost completely legit.

I was very proud of him... not just for the burpee win.

Earlier at home, I told him I was heading to CrossFit.  He had had a busy day already playing with some neighbourhood friends and looked like he was ready for a nap.  He told me he wanted to come to CrossFit with me.  I told him I wasn't sure he was up to it, but he insisted.  He said if he needed to nap, he could nap there.  (He's done it before.)

I'm proud that he seems to be grasping the idea that physical fitness is important. 

In the era he's living in, there are so many things that can derail a kid's happiness.  It would be great if one thing he and his little sister didn't have worry about were self-esteem problems stemming from weight, body image and athletic ability. 

It's a lesson I wish I had taken to heart a lot earlier in my life.   As I've noted here before, for most of my life pre-CrossFit,  I was overweight.  Maybe not obese, but ranging from chubby to fat.  It wasn't my parents' fault. They enrolled me in sports and prepared reasonably healthy meals.  But when left to my own devices, I'd spend hours playing video games or watching TV and consuming way too much junk food.  Genetically, I'm not predisposed to being able to eat whatever I want and still be lean. 

The results were predictable.  And I wrongly felt they were inevitable, that this was just the hand that I've been dealt.  I bought into the belief that I didn't have the capacity to change myself, because it was easier than getting off my ass and doing something about it. 

It definitely impacted how I saw myself, and not in a good way.  I'm not saying I spent every waking hour mired in a deep depression because I was carrying 20 or 30 extra pounds, but I wasn't always as happy or as confident in myself as I could have been.  Starting CrossFit five years ago definitely helped change that, though a lifetime of thinking of yourself as the fat kid is hard to completely undo. 

My goal for my kids is to encourage and enable them pursue healthy and active lifestyles.  If they achieve that through CrossFit, great.  I'd be just as happy if they did it through soccer, dancing, swimming, basketball, gymnastics or martial arts... or all of the above. 

Whatever activity they choose, they don't have to be the best.  I just want them to try hard and have fun being active. 

They shouldn't have to go through life thinking of themselves as the fat kid who can't. 

Daddy's new toy

We got a C2 rower for the basement. 

It's actually mostly for my wife, Tracey.  Due to some insanely flat feet, she can't run without getting shin splints.  Back when she went to CrossFit, she usually substituted rowing for running, except when she was goaded by a well-intentioned but misguided coach (who no longer works there).

Right now, she doesn't feel like she could commit the time to a gym membership, but she wanted something effective she could do at home without a huge time commitment.  So we decided to buy one of these bad boys as a birthday present for each other (our birthdays are pretty close). 

I figure even if Tracey loses interest (she's a self-professed "dabbler"), it's something I can use, even if it's once or twice a week.  It shouldn't gather dust.  Heck, even the Boy hops on the rower when we go to CFR, and sometimes I make him do burpees if he is being a little hyperactive.  Every so often, I'll probably make him row a few hundred metres before he plays Wii. 

Last night, I rowed my first 2km on it.  It took me 7:44.6 

There's definitely some room for improvement there.  My first 500m took longer than 2:00, because I paused to turn off the space heater that was right next to me (plan better next time, dumbass) and I thought I'd just take it easy on account of my legs not working so good from 13.3. 

By the end, though, I was going pretty hard, as I wanted to finish well under 8:00.  As normally happens when I row hard, I make some sounds that would be considered a bit bizarre by non-CrossFitters... and also CrossFitters who are non-weirdos. 

Did I mention my in-laws live in my basement? 

What the hell is a deck squat?

A. Sandbag 800M 65lb

Running with a 65lb sandbag gets old real quick.  I suppose it's a good example of a functional exercise (carrying something awkward and sort of heavy over a medium distance as quickly as you can), but that's not the F-word that was going through my mind as I was doing this.

5:04


B.  Unnamed metcon

6 rounds for time of

10 One Arm Kettlebell Swings (to shoulder height, 5L+5R)

10 Deck Pistols (5L+5R) (sub 10 Deck Squats)
What's a deck pistol, you ask?  This:


Seeing as I can't do regular pistols, I had to sub this for deck squats.  It's the same thing, with two feet.  NOTE TO FUTURE SELF READING THIS FOR TIPS: I found it was easier for me once I took off my shoes.    I also rolled as far back onto my shoulders as I could and helped push myself back up with my hands, sort of like I was kipping up. Y'know, without the athleticism. 



I used a 55lb kettlebell and got done this in 6:53 


C. Sandbag 800M 65lb

The second one was far worse than the first.  I took multiple walking breaks.

5:34


Today was the first time The Boy came to a 6 a.m. workout with me.  He had fallen asleep way early last night and was up at 4:45 this morning.  Because he's a busy kid* and I didn't want him waking the entire house, I thought I would bring him along.

*"Busy kid" being a politically correct term for "refusing to ever just calm the fuck dow and let other people get some sleepn." 

As I noted on the Crossfit Regina blog:  The only thing less fun than a second 800m run carrying a 65lb sandbag at 6am in the morning is doing all of that while your 5-year-old yells “You’re supposed to run faster, Dad! That guy (Dana) is beating you!”

Monday restfulness: Pre-Valentine's Day Snatch

The Boy accompanied me to the gym... sort of. He fell asleep in the car and spent my entire workout snoozing on the futon in CFR's front entrance.

A. Snatch Deadlift + Snatch from just below knee 1x3 with 75-80%1RM
Then, 3 snatch attempts to a heavy single

Did the DL + Snatch with 125.

Then did 135 and 145. The 145 felt really good going up, so I thought I'd put 160 on the bar, since my listed PR is 155. I utterly failed on the first one.

I tried a couple more times. It went up, with a fairly significant press-out on the first. Then it went up a bit better on the second. A bit of a press-out but Nolan still counted it, so I will too.
160

Still, there's a bit of an asterisk there. I think I'll make sure that I can confidently and consistently snatch 160 before looking to add to that number. I just need to remember to drop a bit lower.



B. 3 rounds with 10 minute limit of 50 Double-Unders and Max Pull-Ups

The deal here was that it wasn't for time, just for max pull-ups. As long as you could get all three rounds in under the 10:00. It allowed for a bit of rest between the DUs and each set of max pull-ups.

First set: 22
Second set: 16
Third set: 12
______________
Total: 51


C. 1 set Max Push-Ups

29. Ugh, that is not good.

Saskatchewan CrossFit Challenge

It was held at CrossFit Saskatoon on Saturday and it was a hell of an event. I started shitting bricks about Thursday.

There were more than 80 athletes from Regina, Saskatoon, and a handful from Alberta.

WOD 1
800m run
50 45lb sandbag thrusters
30 burpee pull-ups to an 8'5" bar.

12 minute time limit.

Here's a video explaining in detail.



I just wanted to get done this. With the time limit, there were plenty of good athletes who didn't get done in the earlier rounds, and I really didn't want to get a DNF. 12 minutes isn't a lot of time for this. There's no shame in a DNF, but I really, really wanted to finish this one.

I was one of the first ones in from the run, did the thrusters in sets of 25, 10, 5 and 10.

The last part was the worst. Burpulls to a fucking 8-foot-5 bar. That's like Nature taunting me for being short. I'm 5'9" with no vertical, and actually missed my first fucking jump, and at least a couple others.

I finished in 10:57, I think. That was good for 9th place out of the Division 1 men.


WOD 2
Anyway Overhead

You get three lifts. The heaviest weight you can take from the rack, onto your shoulders and then overhead counts, whether it's press, pushpress, push jerk or split jerk.

Demo video:

I haven't done enough weightlifting to know my max, and I didn't warm up because I'm an idiot who doesn't pay attention enough to know when it was almost our time. First lift was 135. Second was 165. I almost asked for 180, but went to 185 on the third and got it. I may have been able to do a bit more, but not much. There were some really strong dudes in Division 1, so 185 was only good for 14th in that event.


WOD 3
Three rounds of
1 minute Row for Calories
1 minute 95lb Snatch
1 minute Double Unders
1 minute 75lb KB swings
1 minute Rest

Demo video:


It's scored like a Fight Gone Bad, so maximizing reps was everything. The way this was structured, if someone is good at DUs, they were going to do well... as long as they had something left in the tank by the time they got there. Good news for me, who can do them, bad news for awesome athletes like James who just don't do them that much. I borrowed Hardcore Ange's speed rope and did okay on them.

Those 75lb KB swings were just inhuman. See the picture at the top of this post. The rest was basically just enough time to get back into the rower. It was good for 5th place in this round.
After everything was said and done, I finished in 8th place out of 19 guys. I have absolutely no problems with that, and feel lucky to have finished that high. Hell, Robin and Flood finished in 8th in their divisions, and I'm flattered to be in the same company as them.

Christian was the top CFR rep in Division 1, coming in fifth place. We had five guys in the top 10, though. Kelly and AngDesj were 1 and 2 in the women's podium. BrianB got third in Division 2, though he should have been in Division 1, and probably would have finished higher than me.

I was so grateful to have my wife Tracey and the Boy cheering me on in events 1 and 3, taking pictures and making sure I got plenty of good nutrition before and after. I am sure that I wouldn't have done nearly as well without her coming with me. Tracey was completely supportive and she was on "Mom" duty for the better part of the weekend so I could focus on the SCFC events (and then the afterparty). Yeah, I'm not sure what I did to deserve someone so awesome, either.

The Boy (two years old) even showed off his burpee technique in between events and won a few fans.

I also consider myself fortunate that I was able to go to this great event with an awesome group of people from CrossFit Regina. There were no assholes and no egos, just strong, supportive people who cheered on their fellow athletes. We even got visited by Nick and Christine, awesome CrossFitters themselves, who drove up just to cheer us on.

It was a great weekend.