Overhead Squats / "Power Elizabeth"

A. OHS 5-5-5-3-3-3

135-155-165(3)-170(PR)-175(PR)-180(F)


B. 21-15-9 reps of:
135lb power cleans
Ring dips

8:44.

HPS and Jackie

A. Hang Power Snatch 3333111

115-135-140-145f-145-150f


B. "Jackie"
Row 1000m
50 thrusters using 45lb bar
30 pull-ups

8:35

Saturday Team WOD: “The Hundreds”

“The Hundreds”
100 Thrusters – 115/75lb
100 Push-ups
100 Hang Power Cleans – 115/75lb
100 Ring Dips
100 Overhead Squats – 115/75lb
*In teams of 4, with 2 people working at a time


We actually had a team of 5, with Allanah, Sarah, Jarrett and Steve. Steve was hurt, so he modified the weight stuff and we had to do 125 of each. Our time was 15:52, I think.

The OHS were tough. I managed to do it as RX'd, but there were a couple of times when I had to ditch the bar before doing one squat.

Bench press and 5 minute AMRAP

A. Bench press 3-3-3-1-1-1

135-155-165-170 (PR, I think)-175(F)-175(F)

On the second fail, I bounced the bar pretty good off my chest because I sometimes like to do things that are both inefficient and painful.

We were supposed to do singles of deadlifts, too, but time was getting tight and I didn't want to test my back too much after just coming off an injury. Plus, I always seem to puss out on Strength days.


B. AMRAP in five minutes:
5 Chest-to-bar pull-ups
5 Burpees

Six rounds plus five C2B PLUs and one burpee.

Front squats and "Annie"

A. Front squats 3-3-3-1-1-1

165-185-205-210-225 (PR)


B. "Annie"
50-40-30-20-10 of double-unders and sit-ups.

8:53 (PR)

"Pearl Harbor"

I had been out of commission for almost two weeks after hurting my back by TURNING AROUND.

Fuck, I'm old and frail.

This was a surprisingly bad injury. Moving my arm or head the wrong way would send a bolt of pain across my back so intense that I would literally drop to my knees. It kept me away from the gym and torpedoed my participation in the Burpee Challenge. Once I fell more than 500 behind, that was pretty much the point of no return.

Over the last few days, I finally felt like I could start back up again.

A. Row 1000m then, five rounds of:
20 pull-ups
7 push jerks of 135lbs

I had thought about doing the intermediate weight of 95lbs, but did a couple reps at 135 in the warm-up and it felt okay, so I went with the Rx'd weight. The real challenge on this WOD wasn't the push jerks, anyway. It was the ridiculous number of pull-ups. (I regard any WOD that demands more than 60 pull-ups as being excessive. If you'd like to know why, see the name of this blog.)

My time was 20:09, which wasn't stellar, but probably a little better than I expected.

B. 75 box jumps (20") in as few sets as possible.

There were some people who did these in one set. All I know is that I felt like I was going to pass out after 30.

I did it in three sets (30,25,20).

"One month 'til Christmas"

A 6am workout, coached by Harlan. Only other person doing the WOD was Michele C.


A. Buy-in is one minute of burpees, rest, one minute of burpees.

21 and 20


B. Five rounds for time of:

15 calorie row
15 med ball clean wall balls (surprisingly awful in a spirit-destroing way)
15 pull-ups.

Took me 18:18.

Dot Com Metcon: Bell swings, burpees (or wall balls) and pull-ups

I got to CrossFit Regina too late to do the first part of the WOD, which involved hang power cleans. So instead of doing three rounds of the following metcon, I had to do five rounds of:

30 bell swings
25 wall balls (or burpees if you're in the challenge, which I am - dammit)
20 pull-ups

Doing burpees for the first three rounds and wall balls for the last two, this took me 31:23.

Tyler falls for "Build-a-Fran"

Run 200m
Run 200m with 45lb barbell
Run 200m
Run 200m with 25lb plate
Run 200m
Run 200m with 25lb plate.

It was during the final run, at the turnaround point, that I wiped out slip-on-a-banana-peel-style in the icy alley that swerves as our running track. Christian saw it and was torn between trying not to be an ass and laughing hysterically at my clumsy spectacle. Fortunately I was largely unhurt.

Still, what is the deal with me falling down during Fran-related WODs?

Oh, hey, by the way, this WOD isn't over yet.

Put together a 95lb barbell.

Do "Fran."

21-15-9 reps of thrusters and strict, chin over the bar pull-ups.

Took me 11:32.

Holy crap, did my forearms burn after this.

"Build-a-Fran"

Swings, Squats and Strokes

A. 100 Kettlebell Swings 55lb/35lb (to shoulder height or Russian Hard-style) with
7 Goblet Squats at start of each minute.

Took me 3:52.



B. 50 Strokes on C2 Rower for distance and time. (Maximize each stroke, but do not let flywheel stop completely. Farthest distance in shortest time would be top score).

Went 611m in 2:13.


C. 4 minutes Hip Flexor Stretch

Yuck.

Death by Pull-ups

A. 1km row for time.

3:30.2.

My grip and forearms were killing me after this. Good thing I won't need them for the rest of the WOD... oh, wait. Shit.


B. Pull-ups on the minute (first minute, do one, second minute, do two, etc. until you can't complete the required number)

12 rounds, plus eight.


C. Three rounds of 15 unbroken burpees, resting 120 seconds between.

Done.


D. Accumulate four minutes in the bottom squat position.

I did sets of 1:20, 1:00, 1:00, and :40.

"Jack Hammer"

For time:

60 bell swings (55lb)
50 24" box jumps
40 wall ball
30 pull-ups
20 GHD sit-ups with 10lb plate behind head.
10 115lb) squat snatches (or, in my case, power snatch + OHS)
40 45lb walking lunges

Time was 20:56

During the home stretch, right after I cursed aloud about my own inadequacy Mandy says "I love watching you work out, Tyler.".

I briefly took this to mean because of my incredible sexiness and was flattered, but soon realized it was due to the entertainment value of my spazzy outbursts.

Besides, she's dating Nolan, which means she's into Vikings, not leprechauns.

Overhead squats then AMRAP

A. OHS 3-3-3-1-1-1

135-155-165-175(fail, hurt arm, DNF)


B. AMRAP in 10min

3 handstand pushups.
5 deadhang pull-ups
7 knees to elbows

6 rounds, plus 3 HSPU

Power snatch, then AMRAP DB thrusters and fucking rope climbs

Power snatch
3-3-3-1-1-1

115-135-145-155(f)-145-150(fail-FUCK; aw,come ON!!)

I need to get my head on straight when it comes to doing lifts.



AMRAP in 12 minutes

9 DB thrusters with two 35lb dumbells
1 rope climb

5 rounds, plus 9 thrusters. I had lots of time left after the last round of thrusters, but couldn't haul my ass up the rope anymore. FMSH.

Shoulder press / Row/Wall ball

Shoulder press 3-3-3-1-1-1
105-115-135(2)-135-140(f)-140(f)


Metcon:

Three rounds of 200m row and 20 wall balls. Rest three minuts between and record your time for each.

1:26, 1:22, 1:27

Overhead squats and metcon

OHS 5-5-5-3-3-3

135-155-160(4)

I wussed out on the 3's.

Metcon:

Three rounds, for time, of

5 deadhang pull-ups
10 burpees
20 bell swings (55lbs)
40 double unders

10:25.

Hang Power Snatch and Javorek Complex 2

A. :00 STRENGTH = Hang Power Snatch
3-3-3-1-1-1

HPC
3′s: 95-115-135
1′s: 140-145(f)-145(Got it overhead by sort of walking it out, but that’s not good enough)





B. :30 METCON = Javorek Complex 2
As many rounds as possible in 10 minutes:
5 Pendlay Row
5 Clean Grip Snatch
5 Back Squats
5 Shoulder Press (THE WORST PART)
5 Deadlift
*Rounds are unbroken, just like in The Bear; Rx = 95/65lb; Int = 75/55lb


6 rounds plus 20 I used 75lbs. Next time, I will try doing the rx'd weight, even if I only get two rounds.

"Grace"

30 x 135lb Clean and jerk for time.

4:36 as rx'd.

Plenty of room for improvement.

Burpee sprints

So "Karen" kinda fucked up my legs for the following three days.

I didn't do any burpees for the last three days. Including today, that's a total of 182.

I decided to do four timed sets of 46, resting in between sets for the amount of time the previous set took.

1. 3:04
2. 4:09 (kinda lollygagged on this one, BSing with some other CrossFitters.
3. Forgot to start the stopwatch.
4. 4:05. So glad to be done. Until tomorrow.

Burpee sprints

Burpee sprints

Bench Press / "Karen"

Part A: Bench press 3-3-3-1-1-1

The good thing about bench press is that it keeps my self-esteem from getting out of hand.

3's - 135-155-165(1)
1's - 175(f)-170-175(f)


Part B: "Karen"

150 wall balls for time.

Karen: 8:15 (PR)

That's actually a hell of an improvement since the last time I did Karen. Of course, before I start puffing my chest out too much, I should keep in mind that Nolan finished two minutes faster

DLs/T2B and Sled Drags

Part 1

For time, do 21-15-9 reps of:
225lb deadlifts
Toes to bar.

I hate my sissy hands. 11:36


Part 2

In ten minutes, accumulate as much distance as possible dragging a 185lb sled.

I hate sled drags. 380m.

Team WOD: Burpees, Bell Swings and Sled Drags

Given yesterday's DNF, I opted out of the Paintstorm today. The team workout wasn't really a walk in the park, though.

For time, teams of four do five rounds of;
30 bell swings
15 burpees
145-lb sled drag to the first power box
Rest.

Halfway through, two members of "Team Sweetass" (Giles and Derek) went down to injury, so Kim Fe and I had to soldier on, no more rest breaks.

29:29

Burpee catch-up and "Jackie" aborted

After a few days of illness-induced absence, I went back to CFR this morning.

First priority was catching up on three days worth of missed burpees. I figured I was about 105 behind, so I did 10:30 of 10 burpees per minute.

The two-part WOD was bench presses for 5's and 3's, then Jackie. I figured I'd join in the fun on Jackie, but halfway through the opening 1k row, my lungs told me I wasn't quite as recovered as I thought. I tapped out.

Hang power snatches (A fuckload of FAIL) / Squat cleans, PLUs, DUs

New format for workouts at CFR splits one hour into two 30-minute sessions, one is strength and the other is metcon.


Strength:

Hang power snatches: 3-3-3-1-1-1

115-135-140(2)-145(F)-145(F)-145(F)


Metcon:

AMRAP in 10 minutes:
6 121-lb squat cleans
12 pull-ups
24 double unders

I got 4 rounds plus 4 squat cleans.

Deadlifts and Toes-to-bar

I hardly ever go to CrossFit on Sundays and I am rarely sorry about that. The workouts always seem a little sadistic.

Today, I did go in, and the WOD was from CrossFit Football.

AMRAP in 15 minutes of:

7 deadlifts of 225 lbs
10 toes to bar.

The rx'd weight and rep scheme on the DLs was 315 and 5, but there was no way I was
gonna do that. 315 is still my official one-rep max.

Did I mention that I hate toes to bar? I do. They are murder on my sissy hands.

Because of that, I only managed 6 rounds plus 4 deadlifts.


I should probably mention the 47 burpees I di as a warm-up.

"Double Take"

First, I had to make up three days' worth of burpees. 63 in total. Not a bad warm-up, as it turns out.

Then it was time for a two-part WOD

A. Tabata push-ups and box jumps.

Tabata is usually awful, but I concentrated on my breathing and didn't find this to be absolute hell. I mean, it was awful, but not exceedingly so. My push-ups faded on me pretty fast, but I managed to find a decent rhythm on the jumps.

Total of 212 from 97 push-ups and 115 box jumps.

B.Using a 75-lb barbell do 15-12-9 of front squats and hang power snatches.

My goal was to get sub-5 minutes on this. That seemed like a reasonable time, looking on the whiteboard.

I did the front squats without putting the bar down, but I did pause for breath a couple of times.

I couldn't do any of the snatches unbroken, but Shae was coaching and wouldn't let me leave it on the ground for long.

Finished it in 3:32.

"Kelly"esque

For time:

A 1km run followed by 6 rounds of 20 box jumps and 10 wall ball.

Took me 12:56. I wish I could have been more Brad Flood-like on the box jumps but that's still a time I'm happy with.

"Helen"

Three rounds, for time, of:

400m run
21 55lb bell swings
12 pull-ups

Took me 9:24 (PR)

I wanted to beat my year-old PR of 9:42 SO bad. I figured the key would be to attack each run with a sense of urgency and not waste time with unnecessary breaks on the swings and pull-ups.

That strategizing was all well and good, but what really got me through this in a hurry was having Leya right on my ass the whole time. There aren't many WODs I can match her on these days, as she has taken her dedication to fitness and nutrition to a whole other level (23 rounds on Cindy; I mean, that's just insane). However, Helen is short and stocked with runs and pull-ups, so it's as well suited to my strengths as any of the benchmark girls.

Tonight, every time I thought I'd opened up a bit of a lead on the runs, she'd come in and close the gap right up on the bell swings. I got so pre-occupied with wondering how she was able to do them so fucking fast, I lost count during the second round, so I may have done an extra one (I try to err on the side of caution).

Afterward, my forearms and grip were totally shot for close to 20 minutes. Thank God the feeling came back because I was starting to worry about how I'd drive home.

“Team Murphie”

In teams of 4:
1 mile run w/ball
200 Pull-ups (50 each)
300 Push-ups (75 each)
400 Squats (100 each)
Repeat 1 mile run w/ball

Coaches notes: For each 1 mile run, your team has to carry two medicine balls, alternating as you all run together; for the calisthenic work, accumulate the numbers with 2 working at a time; Finish all 200 pull-ups before moving on to push-ups, etc.

I teamed with Gerald, Giles and Nolan. We finished in 37:51. The runs sucked.

“Friday Detention”

4 rounds for time:
500m Row
400m Run

I made it to CrossFit at 6am, along with Shawn and Harlan, for this little bit of cardio hell.

Since it took me 16:54, I must have been damn slow on my runs. The reason for that, is that when you're on a rower, you're constantly seeing your pace and time, so you're not going to let yourself go too slow. When you're slogging along by yourself in our back alley 400m course, we have nothing keeping us accountable.

“Bye Bye Post-Competition Cheat Food!”

500m Row (included in overall time)
Then 3 rounds of:
11 Pull-ups
11 Overhead Squats – 65lb
11 Push-up Burpees
11 GHD situps


The WOD at CrossFit Regina was the final one from the Saskatoon competition, so I decided to do this workout (dreamed up by Robin and Kim Fly) instead.

Except I somehow missed the "500m run" part, so I did the three rounds of four exercises in about 8:31. I rested for a moment, then headed over to write my results on the whiteboard. That's when I saw that I had missed the row.

It took me a few seconds to find out if I had to do just one row, or one row at the start of each round. Once I figured it out, I did it and finished up at 11:35(ish)

The Prairie CrossFit Challenge

The short version:

Division 1 was a bunch of animals. I finished 14th out of 21 dudes (that includes one guy who got his leg broke) which is lower than I wanted but as high as could be reasonably expected.

I met a UFC fighter (and finished ahead of him in one WOD!!), flipped a tire that weighs more than three Oprahs, grazed my nuts on a kettlebell clean, learned what an angry spider is, was witness to Robin’s first time in a nightclub in more than a decade, and almost saw Angdesj get into a fight.

Great time.


The holy-cow-is-this-guy-ever-a-long-winded-self-obsessed-douchebag extended version:

I got there about 7:20am, which felt ridiculously early. I figured I’d register, and, like last year, have a couple of hours before I actually had to compete. Nope. This year, Division 1 men were going on FIRST, instead of last. My heat was scheduled to start at 8:08am, but fortunately, things were running about 30 minutes late all day, so it gave me some time to get my head in the game.

WOD #1 -The crazy obstacle course

The run was fine, though I may have started out a little fast. Thanks to some ill-timed advice from a volunteer, I ended up causing a bit of a traffic jam near a fence. I was ducking under it right as she yelled “Jump over the fence!” so I stopped, and went to go over it, then she added meekly “… Or go under it.” Meanwhile, I just caused the six dudes behind me to have to slam on the brakes.

The run to the park included a couple of trips up and down a bridge staircase. Shae says he doesn’t know how I got ahead of him on this, and I only remember passing one dude (not Shae) on my second trip up, so I don’t know either. I’m wondering if he went up the stairs three times? Two times was plenty for me, I’ll tell you that much.

Upon getting to the park, we had to do a lap around it before starting. While doing so, I did a Hulk Hogan-esque ear cup to encourage the handful of CFR supporters cheering for me.

I am such a fucking dork.

After getting some horrible pre-race advice from Paul, I was going to try logrolling under the military camo netting, but ended up getting tangled, and taking it down. I then decided to crawl, which was easy on the wet grass. I just used my legs and slid along braced on my forearms. Still, I felt pretty good by the time I had to pick up a 70lb sandbag, but nearly missed a pylon (thanks for yelling at me, Shae!).

As we were throwing the sandbags over the traffic obstacles, then crawling under them, I got passed by a huge, cyborg-looking man named John (I think) from Red Deer. He was being coached on how to pass me by none other than UFC fighter Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald. MacDonald owns a CrossFit in Red Deer and was competing in Division 1. He had gone in the first heat.

Jason: “John, you’re doing great. You’re gonna pass him. Go ahead and pass him.”

Tyler, to Jason, (offended): “Dude, I’m your biggest fan.”

Jason: “I have to ride back with him.”

At least he didn’t throw the sandbag on the back of my leg and give me a severe break, which is what happened to one of the other competitors.

Running through the tires isn’t easy as the football players make it look on TV. I have short legs.

As I was doing the farmer’s walk carrying two buckets full of heavy, wet dirt, I couldn’t go that fast, so I commented to the crowd “There is no part of this that does not suck.”

I got to the burpees and was seven in when a dude from Winnipeg named Harvey Woo (WHOOO!) arrived after me. Homeboy starts doing burpees like he’s getting paid $100 each, and almost catches up to me. He ends up finishing something like one second behind me.

I came in 13th with a time of 17:10 (I think)


WOD #2 - 3x3

Three minutes each of rowing, KB clean and jerks, and wallball.

This was scored by taking the distance rowed, divided by ten, and added to the number of KB C&Js and wallballs.

I hate rowing like Jen hates Angelina, but I was determined to do well on the rowing portion. I concentrated on technique and breathing, and not blowing myself up three minutes into a nine-minute WOD. I ended up with just over 850m, so a score of 85-point-something.

I hate kettlebell clean and jerks. I hated them before I started this workout and I hated them even more after I grazed myself in the nuts on my second attempt. It wasn’t enough to drop me, but it did make me step back from the KB. At one point, I yelled “I hate you!” at my kettlebell.

I am such a fucking dork.

Anyway, my judge was really sticky with the locked out arms on the jerk, constantly warning me. I don’t think I got called for a bunch of no-reps, though. In three minutes, I only managed 23 or something like that.

That wasn’t the case on the wall balls. The judge said I didn’t get low enough on my squats, which I’m pretty sure was BS, but I was too exhausted to fight it. At one point, things were not going well for me and I had kind of resigned myself to only getting over 30 WB. However, Harlan kept yelling at me (along with a bunch of others) so I managed to get 43 (I believe). I was satisfied with that.

That WOD destroyed me. I got 12th place.


WODs 3, 4 and 5

This was one, long 15-minute segment, but they were scored separately, so it was a twisted mindfuck along with a punishing body breakdown.

WOD #3 – Sled drag and tire flip

was a five-minute segment that started with a 135lb sled drag loaded with a. How fast you went in the sled drag didn’t really matter, but it determined how much time you had to do the tire flips. The number of tire flips you got determined your score.

Did I mention the tire in question weighed 675 fucking pounds?

I was shitting my pants (not literally… but only barely) about this one since it was announced. Seeing the massive tires in the alley pre-competition did nothing to make me feel better.

During the extended break we had after WOD 2, I went out to give it a shot. The first two times I tried to lift it, it wouldn’t budge. “Well, that’s that,” I thought.

Then, with some coaching from Harlan and especially Gerald, I gave it another shot.

Lo and behold, I flipped the fucking thing.

So I knew I could do it. Once.

The way I figured, doing it even once in the actual competition would put me ahead of at least SOMEONE in Div-1. I figured there’d be three or four guys who couldn’t do it.

When it was time to do the actual WOD, I got it up once. And then a second time. I was feeling good, so I went for a third time.

Nothing.

I re-set myself, and went for it again.

Nothing.

Okay, well, two ain’t bad, I thought. It’s twice as many as I was shooting for. I figured the time was about to run out and I wanted to be fresh for the next WOD (we didn’t get any break in between).

But there was more time than I thought, so I figured I’d give it another go. The alley we were doing this in had a slight incline to the one side, so I went on the high side of the tire, and figured it would be easier to do it this way.

I was right. The motherfucker went over! That felt awesome.

Now, the massive cyborg I mentioned earlier managed to throw that thing over something like 22 times. Shae, working with one leg he can’t squat on, did it 12 times. But I don’t care, those guys are on a different level from me. What’s important I set a goal for myself and I smashed it.

It was only good for 15th place, but whatever. I ‘ll take it.


WOD #4 – Maximum triple squat clean

We had four minutes to determine our max triple squat clean. We’d have 30 seconds to get all three lifts in. I’m more comfortable with power cleans than squat cleans,

I went with 157 for my first one, to get some numbers on the board. Then I added 20lbs and did 177, though they were basically power cleans followed by a front squat. I had hoped to get more, but the third front squat was fucking tough, and I was pretty tired. And I needed to have something left for WOD #5.


WOD #5 – AMRAP in 5 minutes: Pull-ups, jumping squats, prowlers

We had a minute between #4 and #5 for this one. I chose a judge who I thought looked lenient. Nope. She had an Australian accent, and she was tough.

The standard on the pull-ups was that you had to get your chin over the bar so that it was visible on the other side. That’s hard. I had a LOT of “no reps.” At one point, I thought to myself, “I thought all the Nazis fled to South America after the war. At least one went to Australia, had a daughter, and sent her to Canada to kill my chances of doing well on this WOD.”

Jumping squats were fine. I just made sure not to jump more than an inch off the ground. Why waste the effort or the time?

I’d never pushed a prowler in a WOD before. It is not easy.

I’m not even sure how many rounds I got on this one. At least 2+ and maybe (but I don’t think so) 3+. I do know that I managed to finish just ahead of Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald, because I came in 10th and he got 11th. Sure, he’s coming off a horrific ankle injury from his last fight, and entered this for fun, and he finished way higher in the total standings than I did. But I’m still going to bring it up to my UFC-watching Neanderthal buddies every time we see him on pay-per-view. I may even make a drinking game out of it. Of course, he’s not paying to watch me on PPV or making a Tyler drinking game, so there’s only one conclusion we can draw from this:

I am such a fucking dork.


Other notes:

Blair was the highest finisher in Div 1 for CFR males with fourth. The guy is an uber-athlete, tall, handsome, nice, modest, a snappy dresser, and he has a very pretty wife. Would it kill him to display one fucking flaw?

Angdesj finished in first place in Div 1 women, and Leya nabbed third. Another awesome showing from an awesome pair of chicks. Even more awesome was the display of handstands interacting with mural art displayed by our fearless champion at the sports bar later that night. Leya went to Fuddruckers and ate something with a spoon. That’s weird because they have forks there.

I had a great time with my CFR peeps and seeing some folks I’ve gotten to know from other gyms, and I’m looking forward to what kind of insane torture that Aaron is going to dream up for the competion in the spring.

Pre-Gaming

I went to CFR yesterday to practice some Kettlebelle clean and jerks (I suck at them still). I threw in some double-unders for fun, but mostly took it easy.


The first event for the Prairie CrossFit Challenge this weekend has been unveiled:



We'll start with a 1.3km run, including through a culvert, up and down some stairs, to a park where we'll crawl or log-roll (probably crawl) under 115 feet of military grade camo-netting. Then we'll grab a 70lb sandbag, take it around some pylons, and heft it over a series of hurdles, which we have to crawl under. Then loading a pair of 60lb buckets with dirt for some farmer-walking action, finished off with some burpees. YAY FUCKING BURPEES.

UPDATE: Here are video descriptions of the other events.






So... what are YOU doing this weekend?

100 burpees/Javorek complex/dips and jumps

Before I did today's WODs, I wanted to finally do my 100 burpees for time. I even convinced Simon to join the fun. Took me 8:58.

Javorek complex
Five rounds, using 95lbs, for time of
5 Pendalay rows
5 Snatches
5 Back squats
5 Shoulder press
5 Deadlifts

There was a time limit of ten minutes and you weren't allowed to set the bar down during a round. This was awful. After round 1 I switched from shoulder presses to push presses, which cost me an Rx'd star, and this shit still took me 9:20. The whiteboard says 9:21, but I know the truth.


Then

9-12-15 ring dips
15-12-9 box jumps.

My ring dips have fallen off, plus my arms were toast from the burpees and Javorek so this was brutal and frustrating. 5:29.

"Fran": The clock doesn't lie

5:03 (PR)

Beat my previous time (when I fell off the bar) by three seconds.

I'm not depressed about this or anything. It's a pretty good time. Normally, I'm happy with any kind of personal record, and once you've been doing CrossFit for a while, the margins of improvement inevitably decrease, especially with a quick WOD like Fran.

Having said that, I would have liked to get sub-5. I believe I am capable of doing better than I did this morning. But I'm not going to start listing reasons why I didn't live up to my own expectations because they would be nothing more than excuses.

Bottom line: the clock doesn't lie. My Fran time is 5:03.

"Kelly"

I believe this was my first time doing the regular, non-rowing version of this benchmark girl, which consists of five futhermuckin' rounds of:

400m run
30 24" box jumps
30 wall balls.

That's a lot of stuff. My legs still hurt from yesterday's disasterpiece of a WOD, but I can't say it really affected my performance. I finished this one in 30:28, which was a bit faster than I expected for myself, but not an amazing athletic performance or anything.

"Team Trevor"

In teams of 4, perform the following:
300 Pull-ups
400 Push-ups
500 Sit-ups
600 Squats

*Only 2 can be working at a time.

With BrianB, Robin and Kim Fly, this took us 30:05 or something. Damn, this sucked HARD.

My push-ups need a lot of work. Why am I not working on my push-ups more? It's something I can do while I watch TV. I should be doing 100 a day when I'm not at CrossFit.

"Little Diane / 1km run

"Little Diane"

15-12-9 of:
225 DL (rx'd was 275, I had to scale)
Handstand pushups
200m run after each round.

Took me 10:23


Next up was a 1km run. I ran right behind the fastest girl for three-quarters of the way, and I passed her on the home stretch to finish in 4:01, which is a new PR. Without her setting the pace, I would have been way slower.

Overhead Squats and 10 Minute Cindy

A. Overhead Squats 5-5-5-3-3-3

135-145-155(PR)-160-165(FAIL)-165(PR)


B. 10 Minute Cindy
As many rounds as you can in 10 minutes of:
5 Pull-ups, 10 Push-ups, 15 Squats

I got 10 rounds, plus five pull-ups and three push-ups.

Push-ups continue to slow me down.

"Uncle Jimmy"

25 225lb deadlifts
50 95lb thrusters
75 55lb bell swings
100 45lb overhead walking lunges

This was not one of my stronger efforts.

27:53.

Spring Fling WODs 2 and 3

Spring Fling WOD #2 “Pull Through”
For time: 45 Pull-ups
Then 21-15-9 reps of
Power Snatch – 95/65lb
Row Calories

Time was 12:52


“Rain or Shine”
3 rounds for time:
400m Run
20 Push Press/Jerk – 115/80lb
20 Box Jumps – 20″

Time was 13:53

My times today were slower than they were when I did these in the Spring Fling, (10:28 and 3:20 respectively). That can be attributed to a number of factors, but mostly due to the fact that the competition atmosphere is so crazy that it pushes you to your absolute limit. It's hard to take much of a break when you've got a gym full of people screaming at you to pick up that bar or jump on that box, and you've got a counter right with you keeping track of your results and coaching you through. Plus, if you're chasing someone or trying to stay ahead of someone, it gives you a heck of a push.

Plus, I hadn't eaten. I had woke up about 5:45. I didn't warm up. AND it was 6am in the morning and I didn't even have my pre-morning WOD meal of a spoonful of Nutella (note to self: buy more Nutella). Finally, I knew I'd have only a 10-minute break to do these WODs, not five hours so I paced myself a bit more on the first one.

If I'm being honest with myself, I could and should have pushed myself a little harder. Lesson learned.

Strength: Deja vu FUCK!!

I was getting warmed up for today's session. I was pretty psyched for my first-ever attempt to squat 5 x 275 lbs.

After two warm-up sets of 225 lbs, I got a pain in my back, the kind of pain that tells me that squatting is going to have to take a backseat for now.

Fuck!

The worst thing? This is exactly the same thing that happened last time, right down to the warm-up weight.

Next time, I will do a more gradual warm up than empty bar, 135, and 225. Still... fuck.

Team Okotoks

In teams of 4 (2 men and 2 women):
600m run by both males in tandem
25 OHS 65# by both females, each (men rest)
25 OHS 95# by both males, each (females rest)
80 burpees in 8 sets of 10, each athlete does sets of 10 in order i.e. 1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4
25 SDLHP 65# by both females, each (men rest)
25 SDLHP 95# by both males, each (females rest)
600m run by both females in tandem

I teamed with Darren, Kim Fe, and Kat for this one, and it took us 18-something.

Everything felt good, probably because there was lots of rest. I felt like I had a pretty good pace on the 600m run. I did the 25 OHS unbroken. I actually should have done them in smaller sets to make it easier on Darren, who is nursing an ankle injury.

Burpees are burpees. I can do sets of 10 pretty quickly. The sumo deadlift high pulls felt better than they usually do. I think I was getting a better shrug than I ever have before.

Strength - Workout A

You know that rotten smell that clothes get when you left them in the washer for too long before drying and then they get a little wet when you sweat in them? My T-shirt today had a faint whiff of that smell going on. I'm pretty proud of myself for doing all my lifts successfully, despite this adversity.

Back squats - Three sets of 5 x 270 lbs

Effing heavy. This is the most I've ever successfully done for three sets of five. I did my best to warm up well at 6am, but I came pretty close to failing on the first set. Actually, I came close to failing on all of them, I'd say, but you could probably say that for any of the squats I've done since about 240 lbs.

On Monday, I'm going to set a PR when I get 5 x 275. Gravity can go fuck itself.


Shoulder press - Three sets of 5 x 120b lbs

Small increases of two or three pounds for this reset. Perhaps I should have warmed up better, because I failed on my fifth rep of my first set. I decided to set that aside as a practice session, concentrate on my breathing and do three more sets, which I was able to do.

Power cleans - Five sets of 3 x 180 lbs

Coach Jeff noted that my feet tend to travel backwards as I lift, but the bar looks like it's going fairly straight vertical. He wasn't sure if that was a problem, seeing as the lifts have been successful.

"Power Cindy"

AMRAP in 15 minutes

1 Power Clean – 135 lbs
1 Round of Cindy
2 Power Cleans
1 Round of Cindy
and so it goes for 15 minutes, adding one Power Clean each round.

I actually prefer this WOD to regular Cindy. Power cleans may be my favourite lift, and the fact that you have to do them in this WOD slows things down enough that it somewhat hides my true weakness when it comes to Cindy: push-ups.

This time out, I got 9 rounds + 2 power cleans.

I desperately wanted to beat my score of 9 rounds even from last time, but wondered if I'd even be able to come close. At the end, I had about 10 seconds left after finishing the 9th round, so I hustled over to the bar and got it up. I looked at the clock and still had 4 seconds left, so I did it again.

And then it was time to lie down.

.

Moo-Cow Fuckmilk

Strength - Workout B

Back squats - Three sets of 5 x 265 lbs

Nasty. I nearly lost it on the last rep of the second set. Third set felt great, though.


Bench press - Three sets of 5 x 160 lbs FAIL!

Got it up four times in the first set, five times in the second and three times in the third.


Deadlift - One set of 5 x 285 lbs

Fucking heavy, and I lifted too much with my arms. But it went up. I used the hook grip and that was not pleasant on the thumbs, let me tells ya.

Elizabeth, plus Tabata

“Elizabeth” for time
21-15-9 reps of:
Cleans 135/95lb
Ring Dips

Took me 12:49 as rx'd. Considering that's more than a nine-minute improvement over the last time I did this, I'm pretty happy about it. Basically, it's a result of me that me getting over my fear of 135-lb cleans following the strength work that I've been doing.

That's not to say there isn't room for improvement here. I still took too many breaks during the cleans and my ring dips could be better. But I'm in a really good mood (about this WOD and some other stuff not related to CrossFit) so I'm not going to dwell on the negative for once.

Speaking of negative, we also had to do a Tabata mash-up with pull-ups and 20" box jumps. Tabata is alternating exercises, 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest.

Here's how it went for me:

12 PLU
rest
11 BJ
rest
9 PLU
rest
11 BJ
rest
7 PLU
rest
10 BJ
rest
5 PLU
rest
9 BJ
rest
6 PLU
rest
10 BJ
rest
5 PLU
rest
8 BJ
rest
6 PLU
rest
12 BJ
rest
8 PLU
rest
11 BJ

Total: 58 pull-ups and 82 box jumps for a combined score of 140.

Tabatas... they're just awful. 15 minutes after I was done the workout, I still felt like I might puke.

Strength - Workout A

Back squats - Three sets of 5 x 260 lbs.

Heavy. Very tough. On the third set, I lost count, so I may have done an extra one.


Shoulder press - Three sets of 5 x 117 lbs.

This was a 10 per cent reset from my failure at 130.


Power cleans - Five sets of 3 x 175 lbs.
I love power cleans, I really do. Though, I doubt I'll be saying that 20 lbs from now.

Games WOD #6: Epic fails abound

6a. 3 rounds of
30 Push-ups with hand release
21 Overhead Squats – 95/65lb
*7 minute cap

This one wasn't bad, except for the push-ups. I didn't finish in the time limit, though. I got two rounds plus 19 push-ups.

2 minute rest

6b. 3 rounds of
30 Toes to Bar
21 Ground to Overhead – 95/65lb
*7 minute cap

Toes to bar just suck. Because I spent so much time trying to convince myself to get back on the bar, I didn't come close on this one. One round, plus one extra T2B.

2 minute rest

6c. 3 rounds of
5 Burpee- Bar-Muscle-up (Mod = jump over 24″ box)
3 Rope Climbs
*12 minute cap

Another suck-fest for me. I can't do bar MUs so I subbed the jumps. Those weren't the problem. Thanks to my sisssy hands, I couldn't get any rope climbs in the second round, so I did 15 pull-ups instead (equal to one climb). I ended up with one round plus 15 PLUs.

Strength - Workout B

Back squats - Three sets of 5 x 255 lbs

These felt heavy, but fine, especially considering it's been more than a week since my last Strength day. The squat-focused WODs in Calgary probably didn't hurt, but it's still a long time between gym visits.


Bench press - Three sets of 5 x 160 lbs

Got the first set (PR), but then failed on the next two. Second set: four reps. Third set: ONE measly rep. Damn.


Deadlift - One set of 5 x 275 lbs

Got it, but it felt pretty ugly.

Time to eat something.

Another CrossFit Calgary WOD

It was split into two parts. These WODs weren't timed, but we were supposed to record loads.

FIRST PART:

Five rounds of:

2-4 x 3211 overhead squats.
-The idea was to control your descent and ascent (three seconds on the way down, two at the bottom, up in one, rest for one) using a weight that would make this challenging.
Rest 90 seconds
50 double unders in as few sets as possible.
Rest 90 seconds

For the overhead squats, I used 115 for the first two sets, 125 for the third, and 130 for the last two. I did four reps on all of the sets except for the last one.

For the DUs, I never did 50 unbroken. My best sets were 39 and 48 in rounds 1 and 4 respectively.


SECOND PART

Four rounds of:

25 bell swings (unbroken)
Rest 90 seconds
25 wall balls (unbroken)
Rest 90 seconds

I used a 40 lb kettlebell and a 20 lb medicine ball for all of these. I did manage to do them unbroken. I feel like I sort of copped out by not using a 55 lb KB, but I don't think I could have done more than one set unbroken.

Toes to Bar / Back Squats

Stopped into CrossFit Calgary for the WOD:

For time:

30 toes to bar
20 back squats (205 lbs)
20 toes to bar
15 back squats
10 toes to bar
10 back squats

Took me 13:30. The worst part was trying to convince myself to grab the bar for more T2B after my sissy hands started hurting.

Strength - Workout A

Back squats - Three sets of 5 x 250 lbs

Shoulder Press - Failed at 130 lbs again. Only got sets of 4, 4, 3.

Power cleans - Five sets of 3 x 170 lbs.

Bell Swing Breathing Ladder - Note to self: Always listen to Aaron

Using a dumbbell or kettlebell, do one rep, one breath, two reps, two breaths, all the way up to 20 reps, then back down again to one. You must take the required breaths, and ONLY take the required breaths during the “rest”; extra breaths are okay during the work portion.

For "Advanced," it was 20 reps with a 55lb kettlebell, which amounts to 400 swings. Since I had never done a breathing ladder before, Aaron suggested that I only do the "Intermediate" version, that goes up to 15 reps and back down, which is... uh, a lot fewer total swings.

Against his advice, I went for the Advanced version. Amazingly, I started regretting it right around 16 reps on the way up.

There was a lot of downtime during sets, as I tried to convince myself to pick up the KB and finish the set.

Final time was 39:16

Back Squats

Today, the WOD at CFR is Back squats 5-5-5-3-3-3.

I wasn't going to do this, because my plan was to do a metcon today, Strength WOD tomorrow, and metcon the day after. But then I figured this would be a good chance to test myself on the squat outside of the linear progression of the Strength work.

We were supposed to start the reps of 5 with 75% of our one-rep max, which I don't know. So I started at 255lbs, which is 10lbs more than what I squatted on Monday, but 15 lbs less than the most I've ever done for five reps. It may have been a bit high to start, but I compensated by keeping the increases low.

So it went like this:

5's: 255, 260, 265 (on this one, I actually didn't go low enough on the fifth one, so I did an extra one that was low enough)

3's: 270, 275(PR), 280(PR)

I've never squatted more than 280 lbs, even for one rep, so I'm pretty satisfied. This actually restored a bit of my confidence in doing squats for the Strength workouts.

Bonus work was to "Skin the Cat" x 15. I did it in sets of 5, 4, 3, 3.

Mine did not look nearly as controlled or graceful as this.

Who's Who: Who, Me?

CrossFit Regina has started posting profiles of its members on a weekly basis. Mine is up today.

Here's a link to the list of Who's Who profiles.

Strength - Workout B

Back squats - Three sets of 5 x 245 lbs


Bench press - Three sets of 5 x 155 lbs (PR!)


Deadlift - One set of 5 x 265 lbs

Super Happy Fun Ball

It's a team game involving medicine balls and running and it is neither super, happy or fun. Christian and I took on Nolan and Steve and lost decisively, putting the first ever blemish on my record.

Always throw the ball closest to you. Always!

We lost two points when we failed to do that. We still might have lost, because Nolan and Steve are collectively stronger than Christian and I, and not appreciably slower, but I don't think we would have lost by 4-1 or 5-1, whatever the final score ended up being.

Dot Com WOD

For time, five rounds of:

40 double unders
30 24" box jumps
20 55lb bell swings

This was nasty. Particularly the box jumps.

Took me 26:05

Run/Thrusters

5 rounds for time:
400m Run
10 Thrusters – 135/95lb

I harboured illusions of doing these sets of thrusters in two sets of five. It ended up being 4-3-3 for most of them. And to call them thrusters is a bit generous. For the most part, they were a front squat followed by a push press, rather than one fluid motion.

It took me 19:35. I managed to avoid getting lapped by Blair... until near the end, at least. The worst thing about Blair being such an uber-athlete is that he is such a nice and humble guy. If I turned in his results, I would be an insufferable prick. ("Uh... would be an insufferable prick, Tyler?") Real funny.

I convinced Franz to do this one after a nine-day layoff from CrossFit. He was going to do "Helen" instead. There are at least four benchmark WODs that I've missed recently that I would like to make up, but I told myself that I'm doing the Workout OF THE DAY unless I have a really good reason. So I pestered Franz until he agreed just to keep me from annoying him.

Strength - Workout A

Back squats - Three sets of 5 x 240 lbs
Heavy. 'Nuff said.


Shoulder press - Three sets of 5 x 130 lbs.

I went into this thinking that I would probably fail and, guess what? I was right. I got two reps in the first set, four in the second (had to take a step forward on the fourth, though), and two in the third set. Lame.


Power cleans - Five sets of 3 x 165 lbs.

This was okay. I'm getting more comfortable with the hook grip. I bashed my collarbone a couple of times.

Paul's Balls

Paul made this partner WOD up.

With a partner:
1200m medicine ball run (take turns carrying ball on all runs)
30 med ball cleans (each)
800m med ball run
30 wall ball (each)
400m med ball run
30 med ball push-ups (each)
200m med ball run

Nathan and I did this in 23:28.

Fight Gone Bad

This was part of a fundraiser for the CFR team that is going to California for the World Games.

Every time I do FGB, I try not to think about the numbers while I am doing it. I am rarely successful, but my score has always been better than I expected going in.

Not this time. I ended up with 291. It's not a bad score, but it's significantly lower than the last time I did it (319).

I wasn't surprised, though. I think I gassed myself out after round 1. In the second and third, my sumo high pulls were brutal and so were my box jumps. I could barely will myself to do anything. Really, the only thing that I was satisfied with were the push press.

I am not sure what the problem was. I was going head-to-head with D3, which is plenty of motivation. I warmed up pretty good. I was fired up to do it. But when the bell rang for the second round, I barely wanted to get off the stool. Just one of those things, I guess.

I know it's not a bad score. I just know I am capable of better.

I'll have the chance to prove it in a rematch in six months or so.

Strength - Workout B

Back squats - Three sets of 5 x 235 lbs

The first two sets were tougher than I'd like. The third set, I focused more and went at it a little more agressively, and it felt a bit better.


Bench press - Three sets of 5 x 155 lbs. (4,4,3)

I failed on the fifth rep on the first two sets and the fourth on the last one. This was not unexpected, since 150 was tough for me.


Deadlift - One set of 5 x 255 lbs.

I feel like my technique degraded on or just after the second rep. But I'm still walking upright, so it couldn't have been too bad.

Strength - Workout A

Back squat - Three sets of 5 x 230 lbs

Still heavy. The idea that I will one day be able to do 5 x 300 lbs seems almost absurd to me at this point.


Shoulder press - Three sets of 5 x 125 lbs

I failed on the fifth rep of my first set. I'd like to say that I did it to make Kurt happy, but that would be untrue. It did make Kurt happy, though. He received an extremely warm and satisfying feeling from watching someone else struggle with shoulder press; I wish I could find an appropriate metaphor that would accurately describe how happy this made Kurt. I was just unable to get my head forward on the last rep. I but got all five up on the next two sets. So I did an extra set and got all five reps on that, too. While exhaling on the last rep of the third set, I accidentally hocked a loogie six feet in front of me, which was pretty funny.


Power clean - Five sets of 3 x 160 lbs

These felt pretty good, too. I'm getting more comfortable with the hook grip.

"Hip to be Square"

21-15-9

Wall ball
20" box jumps
Burpees
35lb overhead lunges.

This was a team workout. "Team Sexy" (Kim Fe, Mandy, and me) did it in 14:25.

Strength - Workout B

Back squats - Three sets of 5 x 225 lbs

Bench press - Three sets of 5 x 150 lbs (PR!)

Came very close to failing, but didn't.

Deadlift - One set of 1 x 245 lbs


Overheard at the Gym:

RHM: "Suck it, haters."

"Throw 'n Run"

A. Strength = Hang Power Snatch 3-3-3-1-1-1

Here's what a hang power snatch looks like. I'm pretty sure mine aren't anywhere close to this explosive.

95(3), 115(3), 135(3). Pressed it out on the third rep of the 135.

145(1), 150(F), 150(F). Wish I would have got that one.

B. Metcon – “Throw ‘n Run” for time:
25 Wall Ball – 20/14lb
Run to start of grass and back (100m)
20 Wall Ball – 20/14lb
Run to 2nd power box and back (200m)
15 Wall Ball – 20/14lb
Run to 3rd power box and back (400m)

I wanted to get sub-6:00. I did it in 5:25. It was good having Blair, Franz, John and Danny doing this at the same time, because I think it pushed everyone harder. I was out front until the last set of wall balls. I got back to the wall first, but Blair was right behind, and had the wind to pick his ball up immediately, while I lollygagged a bit. He opened up some distance between us on the run, and finished at 4:58, which is a pretty great time.

C. Skill = 3 sets of 15 Box Jumps unbroken – 20″

Did it. I may have done 16 on one or both of my first two sets. Hey, they don't call it CountFit.

Strength - Workout A

Back Squats - Three sets of 5 x 220 lbs.
Still heavier than they should be. Perhaps it's time to start drinking milk again. But I just got some semblence of ABZZZ back! Dilemmma!


Shoulder press - Three sets of 5 x 120 lbs.

On the last rep of the second set, I had to walk forward a bit. I think that would have disqualified me in competition. Not that I'm planning on completing, because I'm pretty sure there are 12-year-old girls who can press more than me. On the last rep of the third set, I also took a step forward, but I had already locked out.


Deadlift - One set of 5 x 235 lbs

Felt good, even with no DL warm-up. Jeff even complimented me on my technique, and he knows a thing or two about deadlifts. Of course, it's easy to look good when the weight isn't heavy. Talk to me 40 lbs from now.


Deadhand pull-ups (unweighted) - Three max sets

9, 7, 7. These have fallen off a bit, probably because I haven't been doing them. I will start adding weight next time and going for three sets of 5-8.

Strength - Workout B

Given what I said in yesterday's post, I decided that I was going to do some Strength work today, no matter how "fun" the WOD looked.

Aw, damn, it's Filthy Fifty. I haven't done that for a year, and my 33-plus-minute time from back then is just begging to be improved upon. Oh well, a promise is a promise.

Back squats - Three sets of 5 x 215 lbs

I continue to be amazed at how heavy this feels, when I was at one point squatting 265 for fives. It goes up, but... damn.


Bench press - Three sets of 5 x 145 lbs

Heavy. Reaching the upper limits of my capability there. I wonder if I should still be going up by five lbs each time, or change it to 2.5 lbs? Maybe I'll wait until I actually fail.


Power cleans - Five sets of 3 x 155 lbs.

Still pretty good. The hook grip hurts.


I did five snatches of 135 lbs for fun afterward.

Tomorrow's workout may involve back squats and running. Maybe I can do Filthy Fifty then.


Overheard at the Gym:
(Discussing what the hook grip has in common with a condom)
Christian: "You know you should use it, but it just doesn't feel right."

This guy makes me feel like such a wuss

So, I've been on-and-off with the Strength stuff, and feeling mildly guilty about it. Really, the only reason that I don't feel much worse about only doing squats once last week is that there was some snatch-centric workouts, so I'm still doing some kind of lifting.

But, at some point, I need to show a little more dedication. I need to focus. I need to get serious about squats.

Take this guy, for example. This guy fucking wants it.

Hero WOD "Randy" and must-see snatch video

For time:
75 power snatches, using 75 pounds.

I did this almost exactly one year ago, right before I started this blog. Back then, it took me 8:55.

Today, it took me 6:29. I'm pretty happy about that improvement. I wanted to take at least a minute off my time, and was hoping for a bit more. I figured I'd end up somewhere between 7:00 and 7:30.

I started off pretty fast, and did the first 30 in a little more than a minute. I slowed down a fair bit after that. I did the first 15 unbroken, and then did them in sets of five or less after.

Afterward, I did the 30 knees-to-elbows that was part of yesterday's workout, which I didn't have time for. I needed three sets (12, 13, 5) to do it.

Here's a video of some LAPD SWAT team members and CrossFitters doing the "Randy" WOD. The snatch technique ranges from good to not-so-good. Some guys are doing hang power snatches, but I think that's because they don't have bumper plates.

After the group workout is done, at 4:44 into this, there is an INSANE display by Josh Everett, who even I've heard of, so he is one of the top CrossFitters in the world. I'm gonna ruin it for you and tell you that he does the first 45 UN-FUCKING-BROKEN.

Clean and Jerk / 800m runs

Clean and Jerk: 1-1-1

Then, 4 x 800m runs, resting as needed between.


C&J
I really enjoyed re-acquainting myself with the clean and jerk. The most I had ever cleaned was 195. The most I had ever put over my head was 185, last fall at the SCFC in Saskatoon, but then we got to take the weight from the rack, and I used a push press because I wasn't confident in my jerking ability. I remember failing to do 185 in a WOD a little while after the SCFC,

Today, I started out at 145, then 165. Then I put 185 on the bar, which was a little intimidating, just because it's bodyweight and it would be tying a PR.

But I told myself it was gonna go the fuck up, and it went the fuck up. And then some.

185(PR)-195(PR)-200(PR)

I'm optimistic that I've got a bit more in me, but time was short and I still had to do the 800m runs.

3:03
3:17 (I think)
3:28
3:33

Strength - Workout A and training for an Isabel rematch

Back squat - Three sets of 5x 210 lbs

Why are these so heavy for me now? Oh, that's right, because I haven't been doing the fucking work.


Shoulder press - Three sets of 5 x 115 lbs

The last time I did these, this was supposed to be my warm-up weight. Then I failed trying it. Time to work my way back up.


Deadlift - One set of 5 x 225 lbs

This was okay.


After not being confident in my ability to do Isabel as rx'd, I kept 135 lbs on the bar and did some snatches. Not for time, just to do them. I did about 15, maybe averaging about three a minute. I think I was helped by the fact that I was pretty warmed up from the strength work.

I want to do a little work on my snatches at least once a week.

Doing 15 tells me that I can definitely do Isabel rx'd, but my time will probably be closer to 10:00 than 5:00.

Painstorm

Run 1/2 mile w 1/2 bodyweight.

As Many Rounds As Possible in 20 min of:
5 deadlift, 1/2 bodyweight
5 hang power clean, 1/2 bodyweight
5 front squat, 1/2 bodyweight
5 push jerk, 1/2 bodyweight
5 back squat, 1/2 bodyweight

Run 1/2 mile (no load)

This morning, I weighed 183 lbs.

I used about 90lbs for the weighted run and 95lbs for the barbell work.

I got 10 rounds + 5 DL + 2 HPC during the AMRAP and my total time was 29:06.

Isabel and 400m "sprints"

Isabel rx'd is 30 135lb snatches for time. A couple warm-up snatches at that weight helped convince me to drop to 115.

With 115, it took me 5:13.

Next time, I will do this with a heavier weight, even if it takes longer.

Afterward, we had to do 3x400m sprints, resting between. The rest was as long as the previous run.

1:22
1:37
1:47

“Kryptonite”

AMRAP in 20 minutes:
10 Wall Ball – 20lb
10 Push-ups
200m Run

It looks like Superman is going to have to DNF his pull-ups.

I actually did used to be a mild-mannered reporter (well, the "mild-mannered" part is disputable) but I don't recall splitting my time as a superhero in red and blue long johns. So why, then, did Kryptonite fuck me up?

Oh, that's right, because it was an AMRAP WOD, where the only reward for doing well is MORE FRICKIN' WORK before the clock runs out.

I did every set of wall balls unbroken, but the push-ups started to slow me down, especially toward the end. And I wasn't running all that fast after the first round.

It was raining pretty bad at lunch, I'm not sure if I would have been able to do the runs a little faster without it, but I doubt it made much of a difference.

I got 9 rounds + 10 WB + 10 PU + approximately 97m.

Ten rounds would have been nice. Next time.

Front Squat / Snatches

Front Squat 5-5-5

I did 185 lbs, 205 lbs, 215 lbs. I came really close to failing on the 215 .

Then for load(not time): 15-12-9 reps of Snatch. Select a weight and each set must be unbroken with no rests. Increase weight for each set. Penalty for broken set is immediately do 7 burpees, adjust weight if needed and repeat set.

Burpee penalty? REPEAT SET? Eff dat.

95 lbs, 105 lbs, 115 lbs.

Canada Regional Team WOD #3:

Teams of four:
600m run - Two members do this
25 95lb OHS - Everyone does the 25 reps, two members working at a time
80 Burpees - Teams split the work, one at a time, in sets of ten
25 95lb High Pulls - Everyone does the reps, two members working at a time
600m run - The two team members who didn't run at the start run now

I worked with Giles, Sarah and Giles's bro Warren.

Our time was 16:08.

Individuals Event #4

For time:
50 double unders
10 speed burpees
40 DUs
10 speed burpees
30 DUs
10 speed burpees
20 DUs
10 speed burpees
10 DUs
10 speed burpees

I got 7:49


Then I did three sets of 5 x 210 lbs. Surprisingly heavy.

Individuals Event #4

Rowing Sprints

5 x 500m, resting four minutes between.

1:38.8
1:41.5
1:45.3
1:43.8
1:43.2

SCFC - "Spring Fling"

57 competitors, three events, one freaking crazy day.

Read about it on the CrossFit Regina website here.

See the final results here.

See pictures from the event here.

My voice was hoarse from screaming at other competitors. There was a great energy in the gym all day, and there were some incredible athletes gathered in one place. But just as inspiring were the regular people who pushed their bodies and spirits to the absolute limit, cheered on by friends and people they had never even met. I am not exaggerating when I say that there were a few times that I almost teared up just watching.

WOD 1 "Bottoms Up"
Concentric back squat (one rep max) plus ring dips.

This was like a max backsquat, except the bar was racked low and you start from that position. Your score on this one was the weight that you lifted plus five points for every ring dip.

You get four attempts at a lift. I did 245 and then 265. I failed on 285 and 275. After the fail on 285, I had a brief but entirely ridiculous spaz-out episode, which subsequently embarrassed me way more than actually missing the lift. That may have messed with my concentration when I went for 275. I didn't even lock the bar down properly on my back before standing up, so it rolled back and was ruled no lift.

I got 15 ring dips, which I think was a PR. I thought that was pretty good, but nearly every other guy in Div 1 beat it.

Total score was 340, which put me at 10th out of 14.

Even though adding the ring dips hurt me as far as the standings went (I would have finished a couple of spots higher if only squat numbers were counted), I thought adding them to this event made it a good balance.

WOD 2 "Pull Through"

45 pull-ups, then
21-15-9 of:
95lb snatch
Row for calories.

I did 26 pull-ups off the start, then finished it off with a few more sets in the 4-6 range. I had a couple of blisters, one on each ring finger. But I taped them up and I don't think they slowed me down on this one.

My strategy was to go as fast as I could though the snatches and not kill myself on the rower. Having said that, the 21 snatches were pretty awful.

There was a guy next to me who could pass for a marine and I figured he'd pull away from the pack, but going into the 15 snatches, I was right on his tail. I think I passed him around the ninth rep. Having someone to chase, and then someone to stay ahead of, really helped me push through this one. And it was nasty.

I did this in 10:28, which was good for 4th out of all the Div 1 men, and moved me to 7th overall. I was definitely surprised that I finished that high (because I went in one of the earlier heats, I was briefly in first place) and I think there were a few other people who were, too.


WOD 3 "Rain or Shine"
Three rounds:

400m run (in the rain)
20 115 lb push press or jerk
20 20" box jump


Because I was in 7th, I got to go in the final heat of the day. That was a blessing and a curse. It was good, because we got to see what worked for the other athletes.

It was bad because I got to see how this wod destroyed people. See, until then, I didn't think it was gonna be that bad.

It was THAT bad.

We had to run in the rain, which was probably better than doing it in oppressive heat. But running at the start of a round instead of the end always presents a bit of a pacing challenge.

On the first 400m run, I wanted to keep a good pace, but leave something in the tank for the push press. My thinking was that it was going to be the push press that really determined who would do well on this one. I had seen the push press just absolutely wipe some people out in earlier heats and I had also seen some freakishly strong people, like Hardcore Ange, crank them out like she was pressing a PVC pipe.

The key would be to put the bar down as little as possible. As I came in from the run I was thinking that I would have to break up the push press into sets of 7, but on the first set, I was able to do 12 straight. I then did eight straight to finish off the set. My technique must have been a bit iffy, because I heard Aaron telling my judge Shae to make sure I locked out at the top and straightened my legs. From what I had seen earlier, Shae didn't cut people a whole lot of slack, so I couldn't have been too bad.

My box jumps were painfully slow. In the previous heat, I saw Brad Flood crank out 20 straight box jumps in his third round to finish before the time limit ran out. Flood was exhausted, but jumped on and off quickly as the entire gym counted in unison. Flood was awesome and that was one of my favourite parts of the day.

I did not provide any box jump-related heroics. I jumped up and stepped down for the vast majority of mine. I just wanted to keep going and not burn myself out.

I don't remember too many specifics about the next two rounds. I think I did pretty good on the push press and when I did set the bar down, I didn'tleave it on the ground for long. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't. I had Shae urging me on and dozens of other people yelling at me. The atmosphere alone probably shaved a good two minutes off the time I would get if this were just the workout of the day. The box jumps were slow and steady, but I did deviate from my stepping down to throw in about four up-and-downs. I'm no Brad Flood, but it was the best I could do.

I finished in 13:20, good for 7th in the event.

After the results were posted, I I was in a three-way tie for 7th overall, which is better than I expected.

I had a great time, and it showed me that I still have a lot of room for improvement, both in my CrossFitness and to how I respond to adversity.

UPDATE:

Here's a cool video focusing on one of the athletes who competed that day. It looks really professional.

Sask CrossFit Challenge: Taryn Romanowich from Colin Tulloch on Vimeo.

"Lift Off"

For time:
20 Snatch (squat or power) 95 lbs
Then 10 rounds of
10 Thrusters 45lb
10 Toes to Bar (sub = straight leg raises)
200M Run

The rx'd weight for the snatch on this is 135 lbs, but the competitors in this weekend's "Spring Fling" were told to do it with 95 lbs. I was going to go ahead and do 135 lbs anyway, because I am so fucking badass.

Then I looked on the whiteboard and saw a bunch of times that were all north of 30 minutes, and many that were 40-plus. So much for being so fucking badass.

Even scaled down, it took me 32:54.

The good: Did all the thrusters without dropping the bar. (Pretty lame, I know.) I was also able to string together a number of T2B before dropping off the bar in each round.

The not-so-good: Toes to Bar just absolutely suck. We were told not to tear our hands, and I didn't, but my Sissy Hands were hurting pretty bad pretty early into this. I do have a nice big blister on my right hand ring finger, so we'll see if that hampers me on Saturday.

Strength - Workout B: Taking the "progression" out of "linear progression"

Back squats - Three sets of 5 x 205 lbs

After the last time out, I figured I should start a little farther back from my max than I did since this reboot. 205 was challenging but doable.


Bench press - Three sets of 5 x 135 lbs One set of 5 x 135 and two sets of 5 x 140 lbs.

Kat was spotting for me and said that 135 looked too easy. It really wasn't, but she threw five more pounds on there anyway and I know better than to say no to Kat. Hopefully Christian does, too.


Power clean - Five sets of 3 x 150 lbs.

I've been trying to use the hook grip for these. It seems to be going well.

European Regional WOD (Partnered) / 1km Run

With a partner (mine was Harlan), taking turns, do 20 reps each of:

Pull-ups (managed to do 20 straight)
Box Jumps – 24″
Situps (I did toes-to-bar because that's how the 9AMers did it.
6×10m overhead carry together – 135/95lb (The height difference between Harlan and I was good for a few laughs on this one)
Situps (no toes to bar this time)
Box Jumps
Pull-ups (No 20 straight this time; probably 10-5-5)

Took us 13:33


Then the group did a 1km run. Took me 4:17.

Strength - Workout A (sort of)

Back squats - Four sets of 5 x 255 lbs.

The extra set was because Aaron said I didn't get low enough on a couple of reps in the third set.

Shoulder press - FAIL. It took me three attempts to get five reps on my WARM-UP weight of 115 lbs. I did three reps of 130 before failing.

Deadlift. Three reps of 275lbs. I wanted to do five reps, but my back was sending me some warning signals.

Strength - Workout B - Here I go again

Let's try this again.

My plan is to hit CrossFit Regina four times a week. Two of those days will be Stength work, two will be the scheduled WOD.

I've also got Ultimate Frisbee at least one day a week, so that should keep me pretty busy.

With the Strength stuff, I'm starting a bit below where I was before I hurt myself in mid-March. I should be back in the swing of things in a couple of weeks.

Here's what I did today:


Back Squats - Three sets of 5 x 250 lbs

That's 20 lbs under my max. And it still sucked.


Bench Press - Three sets of 5 x 135 lbs

Five pounds under my max. Plenty heavy.


Power Clean - Five sets of 3 x 145 lbs

Ten pounds under my max. These weren't exactly light for me, but they weren't as concerning as the other two.

Shoulder Press / OPT WOD

Shoulder press 5-5-5:

115, 125 (old PR), 130 (PR)


Then, instead of the scheduled metcon, the sadistic deadlift and clean & jerk-filled “Heavy Duty,” I did the OPT WOD from 11am Saturday alongside Blair, because I believe it’s important to stay humble and there are few things more humbling than working out alonside Blair.

For time, three rounds of
12 115-lb power snatches
12 speed burpees (or "lazy burpees" as Robin likes to call them)
12 30-inch box jumps

Blair got 6:30-something, I think. I got 11:39.

Two-a-day Saturday

A lot of folks were doing two workouts on Saturday. Most of the ComTeam opted for the 9 and 11 a.m. workouts, but I couldn't stay that long, so I did 9 and 10.

9 a.m.: "The Newport Crippler"

For time
30 bodyweight back squats (used 185lbs)
Run one mile.

I did it in 10:03. It's not a bad time at all, but, honestly, that extra three seconds pisses me off SO BAD. And I wouldn't have done even that good, except Leya (who started a full minute after me) was breathing down my neck on the last part of the run.

For the squats, I did them in sets of 15-10-5, although I took a good rest with the bar on my shoulders in the first 15.

10 a.m. "Summer in the City" chipper:

For time
400m run
20 wall ball
30 burpees
40 pull-ups
50 bell swings (35 lbs)
60 sit-ups
70 box jumps 24"
400 m run

I partnered with Nathan. We split the work, except for the runs, which we do together. For the other stuff, only one partner works at a time.

Took us 14:30

Back Squats

I woke up at 5:42 this morning and made a spur of the moment decision to go to CrossFit. I was very glad I did. Not only was my big German CrossFit life-partner Harlan coaching, the WOD was back squats (5x5)

I haven't done heavy back squats since hurting my back warming up for strength work a while ago. I also failed to do much in the way of high-rep, low-weight squats to rehab, because I am a moron.

So today, I decided it was time to get back on the squatty horse, but to do so with caution.

So my sets of five looked like this:

135-205-225-245-255.

My max is 270, but 255 was plenty heavy and I thought I would quit while I was ahead.

Overheard at the Gym:
Janimal: "Hi Dan. I'm Jan. I rhyme with you."

Pull-up Cluster / Wall Ball Run

Part 1:
1 minute max Pull-ups, 1 minute rest
45 seconds max Pull-ups, 45 seconds rest
30 seconds max Pull-ups, 30 seconds rest
15 seconds max Pull-ups.

I got 34, 15, 12, 7

I consider this to be good, though I suppose I should have gotten a few more in the 45-second round. That's a pretty significant drop-off. I was going for a PR in consecutive pull-ups in the first round, and I got it (33), then I added one more before the minute was up.

The pull-ups were supposed to be strict gymnastic pull-ups (this sort of stuff happens whenever Robin gets back from a certification, and she just went to a gymnastics cert). I didn't realize until I had to change that I do more of a frog kick, with my own spazzy flair.

Part 2:
As many rounds as possible in 15 minutes:
200 m Run
20 Wall Ball – 20/14lb

Blair got 7 rounds and something, so I was hoping to get within sniffing distance of that. My runs were pretty damn slow from round 2 on.

I got 6 rounds, plus 200m, plus 2 WB.

Kelly Overboard

Five rounds, for time, of:

500m row
30 24" box jumps
30 wall balls

Today at 6am, I got to do the Kelly WOD with CFR firebreather chick Kelly, among others.

I did this last December in 33:16. Today, I got 33:33. Obviously, I would have liked to improve, but I did it today without remembering my previous mark and was happy with what I got, so I'm not going to bitch about it now.

The good: I kept a good pace in rounds 2-5 and broke the work into reasonable sets. Jumps in sets of 10, WB in a 12-10-8 pattern.

The bad: I missed my very first box jump. That was embarrassing.

Squat Snatches

3-3-3-1-1-1

I hadn't done these for a while, and wasn't sure where to start.

Sets of three:

105, 115, 125


Sets of one

135, 140(f), 140.

The success at 140 felt good, so I thought I'd try a single 145. FAIL.

Squat Cleans then Box Jumps and Pull-ups Metcon

Squat cleans

3-3-3-1-1-1

I had never done max squat cleans before, so I started low, but the sets of three kept coming, so I would erase the early sets.

Ended up with

155x3, 175x3, 185x3

The singles didn't go so well.

195x1, 205x1 (FAIL).

I didn't try a third one. My elbows were threatening mutiny.

Then it was time for a little metcon.

30 20-inch box jumps
10 pull-ups
30 20-inch box jumps
20 pull-ups
30 20-inch box jumps
30 pull-ups

I kept up with Blair for exactly one round.

6:46 as rx'd.

I ran out of gas a bit on the box jumps. I'm going to blame some noxious fumes I inhaled when I first got to CrossFit.

On a completely unrelated note, AngDesj, if you are going to DO THAT like a guy, you're going to have to do the guys' weight on future WODs.

.

"Saturday with Jeff"

Not to be confused with "Tuesdays With Morrie."

AMRAP in 15 minutes:

5 one-arm 55-lb dumbell thrusters (left)
5 one-arm thrusters (right)
7 push-ups
9 24-inch box jumps.

I got 8 rounds, plus 5 thrusters.

Overhead Squats and Box Jumps

OHS 5x5

115-135-145-155(f)-155

On the failed set, I spent too much time with the bar over my head and my right arm decided it was done for the moment. I coaxed it back to work for the fifth set. I feel like I probably could do a bit more. My one rep max late last year was 165, and since I did the strength work, I find that the weights on a lot of my five-rep maxes are my pre-Strength work old one-rep maxes. But since I stopped doing strength work, I may have regressed a bit. Still fat, though!

24" box jumps for one minute x 3, resting four minutes between.

27-28-29. Just trying to keep up with the Janimal.

In the second and third sets, I had a smoother rhythm going for the first 15 or so. Then fatigue would kick in.

Power Cindy

AMRAP in 15 min:

1 power clean (135lbs)
1 round of Cindy

Each round, you add another power clean. (Round 2, do two PC then a round of Cindy, Round 3, do three PC and a round of Cindy, etc.)


I got nine rounds even.


Overheard at the Gym:

Ang(3&4)Desj: "My favourite is a skin sandwich dipped in gravy. And I'm not even talking about KFC."

Heh

Courtesy of Kat.

Double Unders in sets of 10

In order to somewhat attone for yesterday's gluttony at the KFC buffet in Weyburn, I grabbed my skipping rope and headed into CrossFit Creekside (the totally unauthorized and woefully under-equipped rogue affiliate that doubles as my garage) last night for a quick sweat.

My idea was to do 200 double unders. I have misplaced my stopwatch, so I wasn't going to worry too much about the time it took (another blatant flaunting of a core tenet of Crossfit; geez, no wonder this place is a "rogue affiliate"). Then, when I got started, I decided that I would only count sets of ten, sort of similar to the "Fran will not be broken" WOD from a few days ago.

All was well and good, until I hit 40, and then I couldn't put together more than seven DUs in a row. I couldn't figure it out. It may have been the fact that I wasn't using my new speed rope, or some kind of a mental block or something else. But it took me several minutes and numerous attempts before I could get another set of 10.

Eventually I got my act together and managed to string together some sets of 10 and 20.

The effort expended probably wasn't enough to completely undo the damage I did to my body in Weyburn, but hopefully it mitigated it somewhat.

"My Pet Rock"

Partner up and each person perform
3 rounds for time:
15 X Bear Complex -95lb/65lb
30 pull-ups
60 push-ups
400m run

The “pet rocks” are a pair of 45# plates for men, 25# plates for women. One partner holds the pets while the other does the exercise. You may switch when necessary, but they must not touch the ground. Pets hate to be left alone or worse yet dropped. If the “pets” are dropped or set down on the ground each partner must add 5 reps to the exercise they are doing.

Brief Rest

Partner Rutman Mile:
Pass the sandbag back and forth without touching the ground.

I originally did this WOD with Harlan like a year and a half ago and we only got through two rounds. It was awful, mostly due to the sheer volume of work and the requirement to hold those plates off the ground.

I've been wanting to erase the DNF off of my conscience for a long time, but the two or three times this WOD has come back up, I have not been able to go to CrossFit, much to Harlan's chagrin (although he did get paired with BrianB at least one of those times, so he actually traded up on the deal).

This time, I was able to make it, though Harlan couldn't come. Instead, I was in a trio with "The Yeast from the East" Kat and Leya. I basically did whatever Kat did at the same time as her, alternating work with Leya.

Due to a smarter way of holding the "pet rocks" off the ground (basically, squatting with the plates resting on our legs), this wasn't so bad this time. I mean, it was still absolutely awful, but it was something that we could deal with.

We were done the first part at 70:57

We rested a few minutes and headed out on the Rutman Mile. Because I didn't have a dude to partner with, I carried a 45lb sandbag the whole mile, rather than splitting the work on a 90lb sandbag. Kat and Leya split the work on their own. When we got back, the clock read 87:56

Overheard at the Gym

"That's enough Vagisil talk. It's making me itchy."
-a trainer we'll call "Sparrow" in order to protect her anonymity.

"Fran Will Not Be Broken”

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes:
10 Thrusters – 95/65lb – UNBROKEN
10 Pull-ups – UNBROKEN
*To a max of 10 rounds

If you get 8 for example, start over until you get 10 in a row.

Rest 5-10 minutes, then 1K Run for time.

When I first looked on the CrossFit Regina website saw this horrible variation of Fran from the twisted mind of Robin, my first reaction was to cancel my plans to go at lunch.

Then I remembered that being scared of a workout is not a valid excuse to skip it. Actually, I believe one of the unofficial tenets of CrossFit is that if the workout doesn't scare you, it's not hard enough.

So I went. My plan was to attack this workout at a reasonable pace and rest when necessary so I didn't have any broken sets, which would just demoralize me and waste energy. I figured five or six rounds was a reasonable goal.

As it turns out, my strategy worked better than expected and I exceeded my goal.

8 rounds + 7 thrusters.

I don't think I rested unnecessarily all that much, but I may have been able to squeeze a bit more out of myself on this one.

The 1k run totally sucked afterward. About halfway through, my calves were threatening a mutiny and I thought I might have to start walking. Then, on the home stretch down McDonald St. we were running against a strong wind and that was just brutal.

Time was 5:16, which is slower than my 1k average the last time I ran a 5k.

"Gates of Fire 2"

For time:
50 Situps
50 Push-ups
25 Front Squats
25 Back Squats
25 Overhead Squats
25 Front Squats
50 Pull-ups
50 Situps

Rx'd weight for the squats for dudes is 65lbs.

Time was 14:40... unless I miscounted on the sit-ups, in which case I did it in 15:12. But I'm pretty sure it's 14:40. It's more than a two-minute improvement from the last time I did it, and that's probably the first WOD where I've seen tangible benefits from all the strength work I did.

Back in September, it sounds like I was slowed down a bit by the results of the previous day's workout. Today, I was actually wondering if I should even go, as my shoulder is a bit tender. In the end, I decided to go for it rather than gorge myself on the delicious Indian buffet at Spices of Punjab.

The good: Squats. Oh, and I did 15 pull-ups straight to get off to a good start for the set of 50. It was mostly sets of five after that.

The not-so-good: Push-ups. But you already knew that.

"Ride the Lightning"

5 rounds for time of:
200m medicine ball run – 20/14lb
9 Ring Dips (4 for women)
12 Pull-ups
15 Wall Ball – 20/14lb

In my case, it was more like being "Raped by Lightning." Man, that was awful. I worked out beside Kelly, and kept up with her until the third round of ring dips. She ended up finishing a whole round in front of me, and that's not just because women had to do fewer ring dips. I was sucking wind early in the second round.

Time was 20:45.

The good: I did my last two sets of wall balls unbroken. Hey, I realize that's not a momentous feat, but I'm trying to stay positive here, okay?

The not-so-good: Plenty of things to choose from, but I'm going to have to go with ring dips. After taking them down for the winter, I am putting my rings up in CrossFit Creekside TONIGHT.

Partner workout

I can't remember the name of it.

With a partner, AMRAP in 25 minutes:

50 wallball
40 double unders
30 55 lb bell swings
20 push-ups
10 pull ups.

I was actually in a trio with James and Nathan, so we just increased all the required numbers by 50 per cent (75, 60, 45, 30 15). The good thing was that any two of us could be working at the same time.

We got five rounds done, plus James and Nathan got an extra 10 wall balls.

The Bear - Aw... F**K!!

The Bear calls for five rounds of seven repetitions of this sequence:
Power clean
Front squat
Push press
Back Squat
Push Press

It's not done for time. You go for max weight. The weight cannot rest on the ground, just touch and go.

I started with 95, and increased to 105, then 115.

Of course, looking across the gym at Blair and Shae tossing around 165 with ease made me feel like Kung Fu Panda on his first day of training with the Furious Five. Shae was shirtless and shoeless because, as he said, "I feel stronger when I'm naked." I guess he's eventually going to replace his gym shorts with a loin cloth.

Round four with 125 was going well and I had visions of 135 dancing in my head. Then I felt a strong pinch in my lower back. I ignored it and went down into my front squat in the sixth sequence repetition, and felt it again, worse, and knew that I had messed up what was apparently a still-healing back.

DNFF. You can probably guess what the other "F" stands for.

Saturday Happy Fun Time

I can't remember what this WOD was called.

I partnered with Nathan and we split the non-running stuff, one partner working at a time.

21 pull-ups
200m run
21 push-ups
200m run
21 135lb squat clean and jerks
200m run
21 burpulls
200m run
21 handstand push-ups
200m run
21 calorie row
100m run.

The 9am class did this solo. I would like to give it a shot when I get my mojo back. It doesn't seem that much harder on paper, but then you remember that you get far less rest time and are doing a lot more work.

I couldn't get a smooth rhythm going for my pull-ups, so I probably looked like a spastic monkey up there. Thankfully, I only had to do 11.

I was a bit worried about how my back would handle the C&Js but it was good. My first three reps, I didn't get under the bar with a squat (I basically power cleaned it, front squatted, then jerked), but I got my shit together for reps 4-11 and it felt awesome.
Burpulls were better for my second set than they were for my first. I think I was just trying to keep up with Kurt and John.

My HSPUs have fallen off a bit, but I can still do them. Kipping ones anyway.

Time was 18:07 or 18:09. Can't remember.

DUs/PLUs

I was getting sick of being so inactive while waiting for my back to feel better, so I went out to CrossFit Creekside (my garage) to do a little workout while my kid had a nap.

For time, four rounds of:

50 double unders
15 pull-ups.

Took about 11:30.

I did manage to get 45 DUs in a row for my first set. I had originally written here that I thought that was a new record, but the sidebar tells me that I did 50 in a row in December.

Strength - Workout B - Well, sort of

Went to CrossFit Regina on Saturday morning to attone for a week of ice cream cake eating.

I'm not sure what happened, but when I was doing some warm-up squats at 225lbs, something didn't feel right in my lower back. It hadn't been bothering me before then, and I didn't squat any differently than I otherwise do.

I decided against doing heavy squats. Harlan suggested doing a lighter weight at more reps so the work would be the same. I agreed and instead did:

Three sets of 10 x 140lbs.

It wasn't easy, but I can't say it was nearly as challenging as doing three sets of 5 x 275 would have been.

Afterward, I did bench press:

Three sets of 5 x 140lbs.

And that was pretty much it. Lame, huh?

The worst part is, my back is still bothering me as I write more than two days later. Fuck.

"Angie"

100 Pull-ups
100 Push-ups
100 Sit-ups
100 Squats

The last time I did this, it took me 22:20-something. Today, I was about a minute slower with a time of 23:24. It's sort of disappointing, but could be chalked up to a number of things:

-I'm heavier than in November, which is more weight to pull over the band or push off the ground
-decreased metcon capacity due to strength training focus
-less-than-ideal nutrition over the last couple of days
-a shitty night's sleep last night
-stress

I actually don't feel bad about my efforts today. I don't think I took a lot of breaks or half-assed it, and I got a new PR for consecutive pull-ups (32). Although, now that I think about it, I should have held on and done a couple more, since it's my 34th birthday. Dumbass.

Strength - Workout A

Back squats - Three sets of 5 x 270 lbs

At the risk of sounding like a total dork... Yay!


Shoulder press - Three sets of 5 x 125 lbs

This was a do-over from last time, when I failed. This time, I got 5, 4, 5.


Deadlift - One set of 5 x 305 lbs

Only got one up. Switched the grip and got another. Tapped out.

“The 16 Ton Toolbox”

As a team, members must accumulate to a total number of reps, calories, and pounds in the following exercises:
Pull-ups 120
Burpees 160
Rowing 200 calories
Deadlift 32000 lbs with 185lb bar

I teamed with Christian, James, and Jordan. I dubbed us "Team SexyFuck" for reasons I can't quite explain.

I came up with the idea of splitting the work into four rounds of:

-8 or 7 pull-ups
-10 burpees
-11 deadlifts
-12.5 calorie row

The advantage to this is that we were able to work in short bursts, with rests built in, because the rowing always took the longest.

We finished in 14:01. It was my fault that we didn't break 14 minutes, because the way that the rotation worked, rowing was my final station. I was the shortest guy, which is a slight disadvantage when you're rowing.

Afterward, we did a tire-dragging relay. Wow, did that suck.

Spirit Away

The backstory on this one is that I did it last year on my birthday and was considering requesting it for this year. As it turns out, it came a week early, so my scheduled rest day was put off.

Five rounds of:

15 overhead squats (115 lbs)
25 burpees
20 weighted sit-ups (30 lbs)
10 snatches (115 lbs)

Last year, I did it with 95 lbs in about 45 minutes. In what is still one of my all-time favourite CrossFit memories, I was the last one still doing the WOD, and had a bunch of fellow CrossFitters cheering me through the last reps. (Update: here's a picture of the final snatch from last year, provided by Robin)


Tonight, I rx'd the fucker and it took me 50:43. I would have liked to get it done around 45:00, and I did spend a lot of time resting, but this is just a nasty little bitch of a workout.

Oh, and once again I was the last person done, and once again, I had a bunch of CrossFitters cheering me on.

That's one of the (many) things I love about CrossFit.