Coldbore Athletics

I'm Batman

2010-04-07T18:25:00.000-07:00

4.5 Mile Road-march w/ helmet, 45# rucksack, ACH, Helmet

Boxing / Standup and some Jiujitsu

Speed Jab

Power Jab

Slide Jab, Cross.

Slide Jab, Cross, angle-cut to weak side, and Cross.

Slide Jab, Cross, angle- cut, Cross, Hook, and Cross.

Jiujitsu 1 x 10-min, 75% skill-building round.

rolled to stalemate. Obtained a rear-mount w/ body triangle.... and.... yeah I have no submissions from the rear-mount.

Korean Clap Trap

2010-04-06T19:59:00.000-07:00

2 Reps of the warm up:

15 GHD Situps

10 KTE, side to side

- Close range elbows

- Working from the muy thai clinch:

- Elbow Combinations

- Elbow, punch, drop knee combinations

- elbows from the mount

- elbows as a way to set up an arm-bar in the mount

Overhead Squat (x5) :

1. 95

2. 95

3. 105

4. 105

5. 115

Saturday, 27 March 2010

2010-03-21T17:04:00.000-07:00

Defensive Tactics Basics

Jab

Cross

Overhand from back foot

Combination work

Elbow and Knee Combinations from the clinch

Kettlebell instruction

GHD instruction

Overall, a light day.

Friday, 26 March, 2010

2010-03-21T16:51:00.000-07:00

1st BN PT Competition Since our Return:

20 Man Team

1. Move 2x 300# Railroad Ties 3/4 of a mile.

2. 6 Men, 300m swim relay race while everyone else hold the ties above their heads.

3. Move the ties another 3/4 of a mile.

4. Complete, as team 300 pull-ups

5. Move the ties 2 miles

6. As a team flip a tire 200m

7. Move the ties 2 miles

Finish when you complete your team layout.

Thursday, 25 March, 2010

2010-03-21T16:16:00.000-07:00

Deadlift (1 Rep Max)

1. 275

2. 315

3. 335

4. 345

5. 365 (PR by 5lbs)

Staggering to The Honey bucket...

2010-03-16T20:13:00.000-07:00

Rest Day

Dogs on Roofs (re-post due to a expired link)

http://www.guidespot.com/guides/funny_dogs_on_roofs

Booze Fueled Badness

2010-03-15T13:37:00.000-07:00

Sunday, 14 March, 2010

"To be Certain is to be uncomfortable, but to be certain is to be ridiculous"

Evening:

Muy Thai Warm Up:
Straight Knee, Round Knee, Muy Thai Clinch work, Single Arm Clinch, Switch foot rear kick sequence work.

2, 3 min rounds with random BJJ students at McGrath.

Weighted pull-ups
1. 45
2. 55
3. 65
4. 65
5. 45 x 2
6. 45 x 2

CNY MMA

2010-03-14T15:15:00.000-07:00

Fiddling While Rome Burns

2010-03-13T18:23:00.000-08:00

Holy Crap. It's been fifteen months, 1 war, two trucks, and whole long series of terrible Army meals.

Warm-up: Muy Thai Basics

Jab

Jab while moving to strong / weak side

Jab, cross

Jab, cross, hook

Left / right rear kicks

long leg / short leg jab

As Many Reps As Possible (AMRAP) in 20 minutes

350m Run

40, 20 lb wall-ball shots

Goal: 5 rounds

Total: 4 rounds, with 1 minute to spare.

The King of Cool

2008-12-22T16:49:00.000-08:00

Warmup

16Kg Kettle-bell tapping circuit, just getting back into the "swing" of things

Cindy

AMRAP in 20 minutes

5 pullups

10 pushups

20 squats (wait.. WHAT! isn't it 15 squats ?!? )

PR: 20

Today's Goal: 15

Performance: 14 (with 45 seconds left, but 70 extra squat! sonofabitch)

On a personal note, saw some guy doing supersets of muscle-ups, squats, and deadlifts. Kudos to him, and others like him! Also, lets here it for rotoscoping: The best thing to happen to Kanye West since Auto-tune. Sigh...

A Winter's Day by Paul L. Dunbar:

... "O icy mantle, and deceitful snow!

What world-old liars in your hearts ye are!
Are there not still the darkened seam and scar
Beneath the brightness that you fain would show?
Come from the cover with thy blot and blur,
O reeking Earth, thou whited sepulchre!"

CLIMB TO GLORY MOUNTAIN INFANTRY

2008-12-20T18:21:00.000-08:00

GO FOR A RUN

Warmup:

3 Rounds

10 pullups

30 pushups

30 situps

5 Rounds: Run 800m

3:38

3:49

3:34

3:33

3:27

Blog about it.

Refocus.

Blinded By the Light

2008-12-05T16:54:00.000-08:00

Thursday 4DEC2008:

4.5 mile long, slow distance... long. slow. distance.

Friday, 5DEC2008:

SNOW SHOE PT!

It's important to try new things. Took the entire team snow-shoeing.... 12 hours before the snowiest day of the winter to yet. Wow.

Sure. It wasn't as successful as we wanted it to be. But we all learned something new, and got out of the office, not running around in a circle, not under body-armor. It was actually fun! We actually got them to work with the assault packs!

Your Frenemy

2008-12-05T16:49:00.000-08:00

Ruckmarch

2 miles, full kit. Gah.

Not For The Faint of Heart

2008-12-02T17:44:00.000-08:00

Warm Up:

24Kg Kettlebell

3 Rounds for warmup

6 cleans

6 Front Squats

6 burpees

"Shattered Glass"

5 Rounds for time

400m Run

10 24Kg Kettlebell highpulls

15 24Kg Kettlebell swings

20 plyometric pushups

Time to Beat: 23:30

Time: 22:31

Improvement: 59 seconds

Goal: 20 minutes

70's Porn Star

2008-12-02T17:42:00.000-08:00

4 mile run, 30F, through snow and ice.

The time was immaterial. I was sucking wind behind the two people who accompanied me. The snow was almost 2' deep and seriously smoked my calfs and quads. But, it WAS fun....

The Shadow Of The Bird

2008-11-25T12:56:00.001-08:00

Turkey meat and drowsiness

One widely-held belief is that heavy consumption of turkey meat (as for example in a Thanksgiving or Christmas feast) results in drowsiness, which has been attributed to high levels of tryptophan contained in turkey.^[47]^[48]^[49] While turkey does contain high levels of tryptophan, the amount is comparable to that contained in most other meats.^[14] Furthermore,postprandial Thanksgiving sedation may have more to do with what is consumed along with the turkey, in particular carbohydrates and alcohol, rather than the turkey itself. This is demonstrated in a popular episode of the sitcom "Seinfeld" when characters of the show drug a woman using turkey and alcohol in order to play with her toy collection.

It has been demonstrated in both animal models^[50] and in humans^[51]^[52]^[53] that ingestion of a meal rich in carbohydrates triggers release of insulin. Insulin in turn stimulates the uptake of large neutral branched-chain amino acids (LNAA) but not tryptophan (trp) into muscle, increasing the ratio of trp to LNAA in the blood stream. The resulting increased ratio of tryptophan to large neutral amino acids in the blood reduces competition at the large neutral amino acid transporter resulting in the uptake of tryptophan across the blood-brain barrierinto the central nervous system (CNS).^[54]^[55] Once inside the CNS, tryptophan is converted into serotonin in the raphe nuclei by the normal enzymatic pathway.^[50]^[52] The resultant serotonin is further metabolised into melatonin by the pineal gland.^[9] Hence, these data suggest that "feast-induced drowsiness," and in particular, the common post-Christmas and American post-Thanksgiving dinner drowsiness, may be the result of a heavy meal rich in carbohydrates which, via an indirect mechanism, increases the production of sleep-promoting melatonin in the brain.^[50]^[51]^[52]^[53]

Capitalist Gone Wild

2008-11-21T14:03:00.000-08:00

4 Mile road march with 35# IOTV and 40# Assault pack.

Mentally this is about the limit of my tolerance for the assault pack. If we're going more then 4 miles, or rucking more then 40 pounds, I want a real-deal rucksack so I can put at least SOME of the weight on my hips.

Uncle Cracker

2008-11-20T16:25:00.000-08:00

2.5 mile run, done more to work out the kinks then for any other reason. Oh, that and to prove I'm not a pansy about the cold. It was 17 degrees and it felt fine.

Wait for it....

2008-11-19T17:48:00.000-08:00

"Iron rusts from disuse, stagnant water loses its purity, and in cold weather becomes frozen, even so does inaction sap the vigors of the mind." -Leonardo D.V.

Road march (glad this cold weather crap is inspiring SOMEONE, cause the distances have fallen to the point where it ain't doing NOTHING for me)

Short Course, less then 2.5 miles 37# vest and 40# assault pack.

Meanwhile the good news is that we're learning how to beat the cold. Silk-weight underwear is a no-no when moving under 32F, as once your body temp falls, you'll frost up like a snow-man. If it's cold enough that you have to wear it, be able to change immediately after movement is concluded, or suck it up 'till it's so cold you won't sweat.

The IOTV does an admirable job of insulating the body's core. Think of Kevlar like the exact opposite of Gortex. It'll trap everything on the outside out, and everything on the inside in. Including heat, sweat, and hate.

I'm also learning how to more effectively pack an assault pack. 40 pounds of sand laying at the bottom is less then optimal. The higher the weight up on your shoulders the better.

Coach B Warmup

Overhead Squat 45 -45 -45

Back Squat 240#, 5 - 5 - 5

-This was much, much easier coming off of Monday's workout. My muscles are learning again. I'd like to hit 255 by friday.

Press 135#, 5 - 5 - 5

less then optimal. The last one definitely stuck in the middle. This one isn't going anywhere fast.

Ruler of The Roost

2008-11-17T15:23:00.000-08:00

Cold is toying with the north country. It's here one day and gone the next. Flurries fall, but don't stick.

You smell the snow before you ever see it. Turn north and you can almost see it gathering its' forces just over the horizon. True cold will arrive months later, and you know this on an intellectual level. But there's nothing intellectual about 30 degrees. It hits you in the base of the skull, the animal brain, that tell you to get your happy-ass back inside and do something else. But, there's no growth without adversity, and no change without challenge.

Run / Jog Warmup: 2.1 miles

Back Squat, set of five: 45 / 135 / 185 (Warmup). 240 (4 reps and ditch), 235, 235.

This was almost strictly a muscle activation problem. I had Core to Extremity violations as well as over activating with my hips in the bottom. I chalk this up to talking a week off an exercise I'm still not proficient on.

Strict Press: 135, 135(4), 135(3)

The weights are starting to get heavier, no doubt. Now the improvement can begin.

"Many of the phenomena of Winter are suggestive of an inexpressible tenderness and fragile delicacy. We are accustomed to hear this king described as a rude and boisterous tyrant; but with the gentleness of a lover he adorns the tresses of Summer. ~ Henry David Thoreau, Walden"

Marginalized by the Media

2008-11-16T14:34:00.000-08:00

I've been absent for the last week or so, and although I rarely explain my dissapearances, this one directly relates to fitness.

Simply put I've been sick. Coupled with a extremely hectic work schedule I just havn't put the time in the gym I should be. When situations become stressful I become sedentary, and it's exactly the wrong attitude to have. It's hard to change a personality trait, but it IS possible.

Last week I was able to reconfirm my deadlift at 315# for 3, and prove that taking breaks to cough really slows down my roadmarch time. I also laid out my next week, and while ambitious I think it's doable.

The Help

2008-11-08T23:41:00.001-08:00

I AM A MAN

2008-11-07T20:00:00.000-08:00

Holy heck, "Shattered Glass" almost made me vomit.... didn't really expect THAT one.

Back Squat: 235 x 5 , 235 x 5, 235 x 5
Bench Press: 205x5, 205x5, 205x5 (PR, never did 5 rep sets at this weight)

Snatch ( form practice): 111, 111, 111, 111, 111, 121, 121
funny, I don't really seem to get "under the bar" when I think I can muscle it.... I need to start working in snatch balances, heaving snatch balances, and overhead squats.

Abs by steve. Another wonderful go-round with Steve's oblique ab routine. Someday, I'm going to get really strong in my core and smoke the crap outta that guy...

Black Enough

2008-11-06T16:47:00.000-08:00

Warm up

3 rounds

5 pullups
5 knees to elbows
15 squats

Shattered Glass
5 rounds for time

400m Run
10 50# KB Highpulls
15 50# KB Swings
20 Plyometric Pushups

Time 23:30

Something about these metcon circuts brings out the monster in me:

Bloodless Transfer of Power

2008-11-05T18:16:00.000-08:00

Warm up

3 Rounds
10 Pull ups
15 Push ups
15 Squats

Squat: Warm ups, 135, 135 // work sets, 225, 225, 225
Press: 45, 95, 111, // 121, 121, 121
Power Clean: 141, 141, 141

I Declare JiHAD!

2008-11-03T15:42:00.000-08:00

"Use the pain as fuel, as a reminder of your strength.”- August Wilson

Testing your Strength:

"warmup with the bar, then add a bit of weight and do a set of 5. The bar speed will be identical from set to set. Continue to add weight and do sets of 5 until the speed of the barbell begins to slow.. Keep the weight there and perform 2 more sets with this weight. That is your first "3 sets of 5" workout for that exercise. Yes, this is low. It allows for a certain fudge factor that is present when dealing with a novice's ability to evaluate his own technical performance."

(Sets of 5)
Squat: 205, 205, 205
Bench: 195, 195, 195
Chin Ups, dead hang: 10, 5, 4

In Crisis Mode

2008-10-27T15:50:00.000-07:00

Quasi-CF Total

All I did different was take more warm-up pulls then Rx'd

Backsquat: 270 (PR: 285 performed on 4/6/2008)
Strict Press: 160 (PR: 165 performed on 4/6 & 4/10/2008)
Deadlift: 335 (PR!)

Total 770 (PR is 775)

Could I have made up or exceeded that 5 lbs? Maybe. Maybe there was some room on the strict press. But I am not upset by this at ALL! Why you ask?

Because every year has that day. That day when the temperature is between 45 and 58 degrees, when there's little humidity. The air is crisp with the smells of dried leaves freshly fallen from the trees. What is this day? It's the first day of strength season. WOOT! Time to get stronger!

... it's also the first day of hot cocoa season, but as this is a fitness blog, we'll get excited about the former.

What you want has nothing to do with it

2008-10-17T18:13:00.000-07:00

"Failure is not a single, cataclysmic event. You don't fail overnight. Instead, failure is a few errors in judgement, repeated every day."

"Make measurable progress in reasonable time." - Jim Rohn

Bench Press Set of Three:

185

205

215 (PR)

225 (f)

215

215 (f)

2008-10-16T20:16:00.000-07:00

Village Overwatch

by Paul Turnan

Situation
Your battalion is conducting economy of force operations across a broad, thinly manned front. In the event of enemy attack, the commander’s intent is to engage the enemy well forward with indirect fires, and to fight delaying actions without becoming decisively engaged in order to trade ground for time until friendly forces can be assembled to counterattack. The battalion’s area of operations is rural, wooded, and dotted with small villages. The region is criss-crossed by roads, logging trails, firebreaks, and footpaths. All-weather hardtop roads are few. The local population counts just as many who favor the enemy as welcome the US forces. Most of the locals remain impartial, trying to stay out of the line of fire. Enemy activity has been limited to small, meek reconnaissance patrols. Weather has been terrible—stormy and foggy. Low cloud cover and limited visibility have grounded aircraft.

You are a squad leader. You have a Javelin team attached (two soldiers with a single launcher). For the past 3 days you have been outposted overlooking a village and road junction. You mission is to provide security for an artillery forward observer (FO) team collocated with your squad. Your Soldiers are in well-prepared two-man fighting positions with overhead cover and good fields of fire toward the village and the road. You have posted two reliable troops in the village with a field phone as a listening post. Your company occupies a village 2 miles to the west. Friendly forces on both flanks are unknown. Yesterday afternoon four gun trucks from Weapons Company drove eastward through the village.

Your day begins cold, wet, and foggy. It is the same as the day before. Suddenly an artillery barrage slams into your squad’s position. You race to your fighting position. Artillery rounds impact on your squad’s position for 10 minutes. When the firing lifts, you check the lines and are relieved to find no one injured.

“We were pretty lucky,” you say aloud. “Luckier than the FO team,” replies your medic. “Their hole took a direct hit. Nothing left but smoking crater. People, gear, radio—all destroyed.”

The FO’s radio was your only communications link to your company. You look up in time to see three Weapons Company vehicles racing west on the road leaving the village. You ring your listening post in the village. They answer immediately, “We’re OK for now, but I can see at least a dozen enemy grunts walking into town, and I think there are more where they came from.”

It is now 0720. You can hear enemy artillery impacting farther behind you. You notice about half of your squad gathered around you, eager for you to take charge.

Requirement
In 5 minutes, issue orders to your squad. Provide an overlay of your position, placement of weapons, and plan of action. Include the rationale for your intended actions.

Let This Grove Get You To Move

2008-10-15T18:29:00.000-07:00

Cash In - Put Out

25 Dumb-bell thrusters, 30#

50 Situps, extended range of motion
50 24Kg / 53# Kettle bell swings
50 Frog Kicks
50 pushups
50 24'' box jumps, heels all the way on the box
50 30# push press

25 dumb-bell Thrusters

"Pain is a relatively objective physical phenomenon; suffering is our own psychological resistance to what happens. Events may create physical pain, but they do not in and of themselves create suffering. Resistance creates suffering. Stress happens when your mind resists what is..."

"The better work men do is always under stress and at great personal cost."

Fearless Leader

2008-10-15T13:22:00.000-07:00

Perform the following:

5 pullups
10 pushups
15 squats

once a minute, on the minute for as long a possible.

Deadlift

3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3

10 rounds
225, 225, 225, 275, 275

2008-10-13T16:47:00.000-07:00

Testing Tababa
Tabata Situps: 15

Put on a 30# vest or IOTV. Perform 1 Squat the first minute, two squats the second minute, and three squats the th third minute... and so on and so forth for 30 total minutes or as long as possible.

Goal: 25 minutes, 325 total reps.

Easy Oatmeal Muffins
1 cup milk
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 egg
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup splenda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1.Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
In a small bowl, combine milk and oats; let soak for 15 minutes.
2. In a separate bowl, beat together egg and oil; stir in oatmeal mixture. In a third bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir flour mixture into wet ingredients, just until combined. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups until cups are 2/3 full.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

1 Block Protein
3 Block Carbohydrates
3.5 Blocks Fat

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 102 g
Amount Per Serving
Calories 280Calories from Fat 105
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 11.6g18%
Saturated Fat 2.2g11%
Cholesterol 34mg11%
Sodium 224mg9%
Total Carbohydrates 35.9g12%
Dietary Fiber 2.0g8%
Sugars 10.3g
Protein 6.2g
Vitamin A 2% • Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 13% • Iron 10%
Nutrition Grade B+
* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

You Betcha!

2008-10-10T05:42:00.000-07:00

Wensday, October 8th

4 mile Ruck-march

74# total pounds, 35# IOTV, 35# Assault Pack, Helmet.

I'm trying out my new luggage scale. It's accurate and repeatable.

New Radical

2008-10-07T18:34:00.000-07:00

Steve's Victory

5 Rounds for max reps

245# Deadlift

Ring Dips

Total Reps:

Ray: 80

Steve: 125

Steve then takes Ray through a punishing Oblique ab workout. Ray doesn't do obliques. Ray does midline stability. Ray proceeds to flop around like a dead fish with no balance. Ray's going to have his revenge. Oh yes, his revenge.

Unfolding Worldwide Turmoil Could Reverse Years of Prosperity

Rocking The Casbah

2008-10-06T19:00:00.000-07:00

Kettle-bell warm up,

Circles, Snatches and tapping drills.

5 Rounds for Time:

5 L-Sit Pull ups

50 squats

14:42

TDG-01 Courtesy of the Marine Corps Gazette:

Set a timer for 45 seconds:

Children Bearing Gifts

by Andrew H. Hershey

Situation

You are the 1st Squad leader, 2d Platoon, Company A, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines. Your battalion has recently taken over the area of responsibility (AOR) from a U.S. Army battalion operating in east central Irab, a country in which the dictatorial regime was terminated by U.S. and coalition forces. However, insurgent and mercenary fighters remain as active combatants.

Your AOR is in an urban environment characterized by densely but haphazardly arranged mud brick houses of one and two stories with flat roofs, with the occasional taller building—usually a mosque or other religiously associated structure. The main roads are paved and two lanes wide. Side roads are also paved but only one and a half lanes wide. In addition, there are numerous narrow dirt alleyways only suitable for foot traffic.

The enemy you face wears no standardized military uniform and often appears in civilian dress, uses Soviet-era style infantry weapons (AK–47s, light machineguns, and rocket propelled grenades), and has the occasional command of 82mm mortars and 12.7mm machineguns. Their main tactic is the ambush, initiated by tripwire or command detonated improvised explosive device. The enemy rarely stands to fight, even after such ambushes. When they do it is often the signal of a major engagement. S–2 (intelligence) believes such battles center around religious sites.

The U.S. Army unit operating prior to your arrival had been relatively successful in matters of civilian affairs and civil-military relations. They had initiated a “weapons buy back program,” paying on a sliding scale in U.S. dollars for each weapon turned in depending upon its lethality. Despite such gains, the AOR still had a share of insurgent attacks.

Currently, your platoon is on its second patrol. You are moving from south to north, your squad on the left flank, 2d Squad in the center with the command element, and 3d Squad on the right. You have only your organic weapons and are in radio contact with the other squads and command element, though such contact is not always 100 percent due to the urban environment.

The 2-hour patrol is broken by the sound of yelling and screaming kids coming at you from your left through an alley. You turn to see four young boys, 8 to 10 years old, each with different types of ammunition. One boy has a belt of 12.7mm around his neck; two boys hold 82mm mortar rounds like dead fish, from their fin-tails (you note one is fused); and to your horror, the fourth clasps a grenade, spoon in place, like a dead frog, but from your angle you cannot see signs of the pin.

At this instant there is the sound of an explosion, and a large dust cloud forms to your front. “Sergeant,” yells your 1st Fire Team leader, “Watson is down hard. Perez is hit too, but maybe not as bad.” One kid drops his mortar round and flees, followed by the kid with the 12.7mm. Then, AK–47 fire erupts from a nearby building behind you.

Requirement
What now, Sergeant? In a time limit of 45 seconds, determine what actions you would take, what orders you would issue, and what reports, if any, you would make.

Post Solutions and criticism to comments

Rest Day

2008-09-28T19:20:00.000-07:00

The Warrior's Prayer by Paul L. Dunbar

Long since, in sore distress, I heard one
pray,

“Lord, who prevailest with resistless might,
Ever from war and strife keep me away,
My battles fight!”

I know not if I play the Pharisee,
And if my brother after all be right;
But mine shall be the warrior’s plea to thee—
Strength for the fight.

I do not ask that thou shalt front the fray,
And drive the warring foeman from my sight;
I only ask, O Lord, by night, by day,
Strength for the fight!

When foes upon me press, let me not quail
Nor think to turn me into coward flight.
I only ask, to make my arms prevail,
Strength for the fight!

Still let mine eyes look ever on the foe,
Still let mine armor case me strong and
bright;
And grant me, as I deal each righteous blow,
Strength for the fight!

And when, at eventide, the fray is done,
My soul to Death’s bedchamber do thou
light,
And give me, be the field lost or won,
Rest from the fight!

Post thoughts or criticism to comments

Your Boy Friday

2008-09-26T19:12:00.000-07:00

Ring around the Rosy

Spin a Kettle Bell around your body, attempting to keep your upper body tight and vertical.

10 Laps around your body

10 Snatches

10 Laps

10 Cleans

10 Laps

10 Snatches

Lynne:

Bodyweight Bench Press (185)

Pullups

Five rounds for max reps:

1 - 8 / 14

2- 7 / 15

3- 8 / 15

4 - 6/ 10

5 - 5/ 10

Total: 98

TGU's !!

16Kg KB 3 on each side. Sweet.

We Die Hard

2008-09-25T15:09:00.000-07:00

Deadlift

135 x 5 - 225 x 5

291 x 3 291 x 3 291 x 3

Turkish get up practice

Squat form practice

Too Big To Fail

2008-09-24T19:39:00.000-07:00

7.5 mile ruck RUN, 35# ruck. Urban / rural land navigation, 2:12:11.

Your Arch Nemisis

2008-09-24T06:18:00.001-07:00

Morning: 2 mile job
Evening: 1/2 Cindy
9 1/3 rounds

I can't help but feel disjointed and wrong when I airsquat. gah.

ALSO Platoon PT COMP. photos have been posted! Check em!

Under Pressure

2008-09-22T19:26:00.000-07:00

Morning:

Urban land navigation. about 3 miles under a 40# rucksack. 1:30 hours.

Evening:

Forced March, 40# pack, 4.3 miles, 1:02:25 total time over trails and road surfaces. 14:29 min / mile, 4.3 miles per hour.

On a side-note, it's started to get a might bit brisk up here. Hot Cocoa season is almost upon us.

Bursting Your Bubble

2008-09-20T05:25:00.000-07:00

Friday, 19 September, 2008

Ruckmarch 2.5 miles with 45# pack and IOTV

I'm Squishing Your Head

2008-09-18T16:39:00.000-07:00

Body Armor Smoker

Dynamic Warm up w/ IOTV (~30#) and helmet.

100y Shuttle Run
100y grapevine
100y high knees

Leg Smoker

4 rounds of
25 calf raises
15 squats
15 alternating lunges
10 squat jumps

100 yard team tire flip
100 yard tire carry
100 yard tire roll / sprint
100 yard 5gal water can farmers walk.

The limitations of the IOTV are staggering. Today was supposed to be a day to learn what you can do while wearing an IOTV. I watched a 30# weight vest totally smoke some very hard people.

Out of Touch

2008-09-16T05:51:00.000-07:00

The Daily Grimes

8 rounds, as a team, for time

400m sprint
15 burpees
20 pushups
30 situps

The team cannot progress from one run to the next until everyone is finished with the cals. So you move as fast as the slowest person.

2008-09-15T16:40:00.000-07:00

Kettlebell Monday:

So they're refinishing McGrath Gym. What kind of shit is that?!?

44# Kettlebell

1TGU
7 one handed swings L/R
7 Snatches L/R
7 Clean and push presses L/R

time: 11:45

At some point the during the week I'm going to hit the "Chief"

Anecdotal Evidence

2008-09-12T16:13:00.000-07:00

7 Mile Road march, 30# IOTV, 45# ruck-sack, weapon... yadda yadda..

Heavy weight, moderate distance, suffocating vest. Obstacle course at the end.

Here's the straight dope. They say if you can muscle up, they you can lift yourself up onto any structure or surface where you have established a finger hold. I've so far found this completely true.

Speaking softly and carrying a big stick

2008-09-11T19:06:00.000-07:00

4.25 Mile run in 35:55 a 8:30 min/mi pace. Not fast, but not overwhelmingly slow. I was able to talk throughout the whole thing.

Grunt Work
5 rounds for time with a partner

5 pull up (deadhang until you can't)
10 push ups
20 situps

Best time: 8:59

Okay, the workout of the day was a Hero's workout in honor of 9/11. Crossfit has named several workouts in honor of fallen soldiers and sailors who loved the program and dedicated themselves to physical fitness. My particular favorite of these workouts is "Murph", as it was the first hero workout I finished.

Today I was going to tackle "Griff", but instead got the opportunity to workout with a hero that's still serving. CPT BIG was working late at the office and we went for a little run and then hit the above.He embodies "warrior spirit" in everything that he does. CPT BIG will be soon going on his fourth deployment in the GWOT and it's an honor to work, workout, and go to war with him.

The One you've been Waiting For

2008-09-10T19:23:00.000-07:00

3.66 Mile Road March with weapon, 27# IOTV and 25# assault pack.

Time: 1:00:00. We're getting faster.

The First Dude

2008-09-09T16:58:00.000-07:00

Run 3K

Goal: 12:36
TIme: 14:19
Difference: 1:43

Intelligent Designer

2008-09-09T05:28:00.000-07:00

Getting back my squat:

The tweaked squat last week really spooked me. So in order to get some of my muscle memory back, it's the RETURN OF THE TABATA SQUAT!

Held it at 15, in order to make each rep right. Boy, are my hamstrings killing me.

Kettlebell Quickie

3 rounds for time of the following with a 44# Bell:

1 TGU
7 Snatches L/R - switch in the air if possible.
7 Clean and push presses

Time: 10:41

I forgot how easy Kettlebells could be. Not easy in the sense of ability, but easy that you can grab one and just rip a routine on the spot. After the extended clean up and tear down of the last workout this is really no muss - no fuss. For setup, grab one bell and there's nothing to clean up afterwards, Keep It Simple!

CILF ('Crossfitter' I'd Like to...)

2008-09-06T17:54:00.000-07:00

I have a new least favorite workout.

As this was my first time through this one I learned something:

1. Scaling is awesome.
2. Do this workout late at night on a off-day, as using three bars and six clips pisses EVERYONE off.

8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 of
245# Deadlift
185# Bench Press
135# Hang Power Clean

Time: 25:31.

Can't wait to see this again.

Party Unity My Ass

2008-09-05T18:14:00.000-07:00

Led the Platoon PT Competition. List of Events included:

3KM Ruck Run / Jog, 35#'s each. Portions in the wood-line / off road.

Mine came in at EXACTLY thirty five pounds thankyouverymuch. For anyone thinking they're going to go out and war game the ruck weight on comp. day - take some advice - don't. Pack 45 pounds, and leave yourself a 10# buffer. It's not going to slow you down too bad, and trying to hit the exact weight is almost impossible as you've got to deal with margins of error left and right, hinky scales, and non-standard weighing methods. Pack 45# and save yourself the worry.

Mortar Baseplate Carry. We had a team of 39 people carry a 120mm and 81mm mortar baseplate 1Km up and down a hill. Designate a haul team with enough people to spell each other. 4 people can haul a 120mm, 1 highly motivated hard charger can haul a 81mm. Uphill, the usual trade-out pace is every two minutes. Designate the teams in advance, and everyone else is responsible for keeping up.

Water-can Carry: Same distance, each person carries a 5 gal can of water, 39 cans total. My least favorite event by far. FAR. There is no easy way to carry a USGI water can. Time penalty because not everyone carried a can of water. Lesson learned, headcounts are important, so is a couple of hard NCO's ensuring everyone hauls the load.

Run another 2KM to the base of a big hill. 10-line Medical Evacuation on three casualties. Load casualties, run them up a hill. Inevitably the biggest dudes go in the litters. Up the hill, down the hill, around the hill, grab some Machine Guns.

Run 2 x M240B Machine Guns (28#) w/ tripods, 1 M2 .50 cal w/ tripod, T&E and spare barrel (128# total), and a sizable amount of ammo, up the other side of the hill. At the top, place the guns into action, give squad fire commands, and call for fire on a known target. It's great to have a SM on your team....

Back down the hill. Run, Run, Run until you hit the hit the path that leads to the pond and grab a life vest, you're going swimming. Once everyone is vested, grab a boat, and prepare for portage to the dock. Weak swimmers aboard, and push, pull, or otherwise cluster-buck the boat 250m around some buoys.

... Run to the finish line and you're finished.

Time: 1:31:58

Pictures to follow

Rise Up and Change It

2008-09-03T18:18:00.000-07:00

Roadmarch

IOTV 32# + 25# assault pack

4.4 miles, misfired on the clock, did not get an accurate time

Back Squat (Set of Three)

135 - 135 (warm ups)

205 - 225 - 245 - 255 (1, f)

Screwed up the form, really, really quad dominant and twerked my knee somewhere. Stopped while the stopping was good.

Push Jerk was my nickname is high-school

2008-09-02T19:05:00.000-07:00

Too busy to blog. Will report back once the life is under control.

Four mile run, long, slow, slow, slow distance. Gotta love that army 9:30 / mile pace!

Push Jerk (set of 3)

135 - 155 - 175 - 155 - 155

Really dialing in form matters. When you're going for a true push jerk and not some sort of press out, you must hold yourself under a microscope.

Totally Simpatico

2008-08-22T16:46:00.000-07:00

Alrighty,

Crappy week. Not cause I didn't workout, but cause I worked out poorly.

Monday: Rest Day

Tuesday: 3 1/2 Mile road-march, 55# pound MOLLE ruck on top of a 30# vest. Awesome amounts of suck.

Wednesday: Spent the entire day tooling around the Ft. Dix ranges. I'm becoming well acquainted with my armor and cutting excess weight. I hope to get it below 30#s.

Thursday: Deadlift 3 rep sets: 275 - 285 - 305 - 315

Friday: Warmup, 3 rounds: 5 dips / 5 burpees

50 Pull ups

50 Push ups

50 Sit ups

50 Squats

Time: 10:31

Shame and Loathing

2008-08-17T18:13:00.000-07:00

For Time:

15 -12 - 9

110# Thrusters

Muscle Ups

Ahh... a lesson in scaling. I bumped back the Rx'd weight from 135# to 111 pounds. Then, half way through the workout, I cut the muscle ups in half. so my ACTUAL workout looked something like this:

15 110# Thrusters

15 muscle-ups

12 110# Thrusters

6 muscle-ups

9 110# Thrusters

1 muscle up

Yes, you read that right... I crapped out on the last set. DNF. My own, scaled workout. Wow. I'm not gonna post a cat, because I don't find anything particularly funny about this.

Happiness on The Medal Stand

Legend of Adult Entertainment

2008-08-16T19:43:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to come up with a solution for this for quite some time. I never knew it could be so FRICKIN' simple. Other then that, rest day...

He MUST be Stopped

2008-08-15T05:49:00.000-07:00

Warm up

3 Rounds for Time:
400m Run
25 18#, 10' wallball shots
10 Ring Dips

Time: 15:07

Slow, slow, slow.

"Long since, in sore distress, I heard one
pray,

Lord, who prevailest with resistless might,
Ever from war and strife keep me away,
My battles fight!”

I know not if I play the Pharisee,
And if my brother after all be right;
But mine shall be the warrior’s plea to thee—
Strength for the fight.

I do not ask that thou shalt front the fray,
And drive the warring foeman from my sight;
I only ask, O Lord, by night, by day,
Strength for the fight!

When foes upon me press, let me not quail
Nor think to turn me into coward flight.
I only ask, to make my arms prevail,
Strength for the fight!

Still let mine eyes look ever on the foe,
Still let mine armor case me strong and
bright;
And grant me, as I deal each righteous blow,
Strength for the fight!

And when, at eventide, the fray is done,
My soul to Death’s bedchamber do thou
light,
And give me, be the field lost or won,
Rest from the fight!"

OFFICAL CHOSIN OFFICER MUSCLE UP CLUB ROSTER
- Ray K (6)
- Steve K (1)

Death-Defying Stuntman

2008-08-14T16:37:00.000-07:00

CF Total
Backsquat
255 - 265 - 275 (f)
Press
135 - 155 - 160
Deadlift
275 - 295 - 315

Total: 735

Why So Serious?

2008-08-13T17:02:00.000-07:00

Strict Press 3- 3 - 1 - 1 - 1

95 - 135 - 155 - 165 (f) - 160# (PR)

Death Proof

2008-08-13T15:53:00.000-07:00

Monday 10 August, 2008

10 Mile Road March.

13.4 lb vest (?!? Shenanigans! ?!?)

Rifle

25# Assault Pack

First six miles in 15min / mile pace.

Last four miles spent policing up fall outs and stragglers.

Final time: 3:15 min.

That's way, way to long to spend walking around slowly. Crossfit has weaned me off the intellectual need to suffer longer then needed, so I got a bit miffed being on the road for that long. Meh, at the end I shot some guns so no harm no foul.

The armor on the other hand gets a declaration of 'shenanigans'. Allow me to explain.

There is no way the IOTV weighs 13.4 pounds. I inferred 13.4#'s from the wikipedia spec sheet that says it's 3.5 pounds less then a comparably outfitted IBA (older vest). I'd call shenanigans on THAT, but I don't have an IBA I can compare to it. Let it just be said that 13.4#'s would be a infantryman's wet dream. This beast weighs 25# if it weighs an ounce. As a matter of fact, allow me to defer to my bathroom scale.

Crossfit is all about validity testing. The SCALE OF TRUTH says the IOTV, stripped of all it's contents (i.e. my first-line load, the stuff that keeps me alive for the next 15 min) tips the scales at 25 pounds, roughly. Add in the basic must-haves, 180 rounds of ammo, multi-tool, first aid kit, tiny flash light, 'random pouch no. 1', and a toothbrush.... and you get 30 pounds.

Ahem. Discourse aside it took too damn long and screwed up my feet.... I really need to toughen them up. There's only one way, more road-time.

Gettin' Punchy

2008-08-10T13:53:00.000-07:00

Run 5K for time

Total Time: 00:23:54:88, passed 21 minutes right before a crazy uphill.

Goal Time: 21:00
Previous time 27:28 (11/29/07)

21 minutes has long been my target for the 5K, and I felt pretty close to it today. I think once more around this course can get me there. I just need to learn where to stride it out and when I'm in for a gut check.

Apes that write, use tools, and Start Fires

It's Only Me

2008-08-09T19:33:00.000-07:00

Wrist-Strap

5 Rounds for Time:

9 110# Barbell Thrusters

3 Muscle-ups

Time: 16:56

Was it slow? Sure it was slow. Did I weight-gaze? You bet I did. But I finished it! And it's more then I've done lately. One step closer to getting out of my funk.

Also happy to see Crossfit.com's main page finally following MY linking trends. You may have remembered the piece I posted on "Why You Should Never Talk to Cops". Well, it made it to the Main Page a few days ago. Somehow I feel vindicated, and partly responsible. SO THERE!

The Half-Blood Prince

2008-08-07T16:41:00.000-07:00

AKA Crossfitters make great team-mates!

I'll admit it. I was a little smoked from the whole Certification thing. When I heard Pete was going to be out of commission for a few days with a pre-existing injury, I was kinda looking forward to the lightened week. Maybe a chance to sleep, eat, and pick up the shattered pieces of my life.

Then I found out that the Battalion was having it's Officer PT competition. Of course I found out this at 9 pm last night. But, I got a good night sleep for once, and took the bull by the horns!

For Time:

Three man teams, all team members must remain in visual contact at all times.

1 mile rucksack run (1/3 body weight pack, for me, 60#)

400m Water Can carry (~45#'s)

200m SKEDCO litter pull

Half mile Trail run

Firstly, I'd like to talk about a beautiful, supportive lady that's always been there for me. Her name is ALICE. We've slept together, eaten together (sometimes off one another), lived together, walked EVERYWHERE together, and sometimes run back and forth again. We climbed a few mountains, seen a few swamps, and spent more then a couple hours laying side-by-side. She's even in Wikipedia! :

"The [ALICE] field pack is made of water repellent treated nylon duck and webbing, spacer fabric, and metal hardware. The main compartment closes by means of a drawstring secured by a plastic cord clamp. A radio pocket is located against the back on the inside. Three pockets on the outside with strap and buckle adjustable closures and with snap fasteners for quick access are provided for miscellaneous items. The top flap has a pocket with a hook and pile fastener tape sealed closure. Equipment hangers are located above each outside pocket and on each side. Drainage eyelets are provided in the bottom of the main compartment and the outside pockets. An envelope pocket is located at the top, back of the pack and padded with spacer cloth, into which the field pack frame is inserted when the field pack is used on the field pack frame. Buckles and straps at each side near the bottom are used for anchoring the field pack to the field pack frame. Two rectangular wire loops located at the top back of the field pack and D rings on each side at the bottom of the field pack are used to provide shoulder strap attachment when the field pack is carried without the field pack frame. A waterproof bag is located in the main compartment and each of the three outside pockets for keeping the equipment dry."

Sure, we've had our disagreements. She can get a bit heavy, a bit awkward, but what good relationships don't have their issues? Today, she truly saved my bacon. ALICE might not be the newest, shiniest, prettiest girl on the block, but she is reliable!

My team, who I met five minutes before the race, consisted of MAJ Zippy, and CPT D. Today, while my team members were having endless equipment malfunctions with the new "high-speed" backpacks and frames, ALICE ran with me like a champ. I was fast off the line, and didn't have to stop for gear issues. Because of, and only because of our issues, we ended up in second to last place during the first lap of the ruck-run. Our team leader, MAJ Zippy, is a competitive race biker. When I say competitive, I mean he takes losing personally. Really personally. It's actually one of his endearing traits. Under his guidance we jockeyed for position, drafted, and just plain out bad-assed our way to the front 1/3rd of the pack.

I was feeling awesome coming out of the ruck run. Moving heavy loads, quickly, over distance, across broad modal pathways is kinda what crossfitters are good at, and happily I led the team through what could have potentially been the toughest event. I gassed myself a little bit on the water-can carry. There is nothing, repeat NOTHING (physical) I hate more then trying to run with a US Army Water can. It's awkward, leaking, and stupid. Gah. SKEDCO was SKEDCO. There's really only so fast you can pull someone. Being quick in the transitions allowed us to get neck and neck with the second place team, led by the Commander. Well... we just HAD to pass.

And we DID. We slowly but surely overtook TEAM COMMAND. Now we thought TEAM COMMAND was in first place, and paced ourselves accordingly. We overtook, and defended our place... Without seeing the first place team at all. Yeah, they were THAT far ahead. We crossed the line around 33 minutes, about two minutes behind the first place team. Frustrating, but honestly, we were just happy to be able to gain near 8 places and come from behind. We overcome faulty gear to really show what were we capable of, and I was walking on air all day. Of course that could just be because I didn't have 60 pounds strapped to my back.

The Boy Who Refused To Grow Up

2008-08-04T07:02:00.000-07:00

DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT

VA Beach Cert. AAR

I've been training Crossfit off and on for about two years now, at varying levels of intensity. I've been to a wide range of affiliates, from the very, very best, to the average, tried my hand at the Globo gym environment, and finally on my own. I've trained the core movements and been well trained on the advanced skills. That being said, I STILL got my money's worth out of a level 1 cert. You're not there to "earn" something, you're there to get a comprehensive foundation in the fundamentals and a beginners insight teaching the skills to groups. If you're looking for it to be 'hard" or a gut-check, or some other right of crossfit passage, you're going to be disappointed.

I can't say that I ever felt "rushed", but time was definitely a constraint. Certain things like nutrition, weren't covered to the depth I would have liked, but I would gladly sacrifice them for more time on the hard skills like overhead squat. I get the feeling that each affiliate and trainer brings their own flavor and mix to the basic Crossfit education. As one observer noticed, the VA crew was all to eager to crack beers after our Fran! The San Diego crew stuck to water. To each their own

Our Cert was very LEO/MIL centered, as one would expect at Blauer's facility. That was a positive for many people, but may have been a negative for others, I don't know. I, and many others were less then pleased with the pull up bar setup. At some point you can blame almost any performance gap or failure on the client, but I saw too many torn up hands for it to be all about callus grooming, and not about bar texture. I saw too many athletes kip off the bar for it to be about grip strength and not bar diameter. About 50% of the athletes were satisfied with the bars. The one unconditional recommendation is bolt them suckers to the floor if it's going to be a permanent part of a facility.

Sweat control is a big problem. Rags, towels, some kind of sanitizer would have been awesome. It's a non-climate controlled facility and it was HUMID in there. By the end of Fran the third and forth heats found the bar very slick. By the end of FGB the wallballs were nigh uncatchable. Let me just say, it's a particular brand of suck catching a wet, sweaty, slippery dynamax in the face. If that doesn't make you shiver just a little, you should think about competing on fear-factor.

Final shot: I'm obviously not a representative of Crossfit Inc, but I figure if they will transfer your tuition from one cert to another if you fail to meet the standard, they probably will accommodate someone if they feel that they were in any way unsatisfied with the instruction they received at a particular cert. I for one was very pleased, I had a great time, and I can't wait to apply the lessons and tools that I've learned. My congrats go out to Pete, Andy, Chris, Andrea, Andrew, Jeff T, and EVERYONE who helped make this such a wonderful and motivating weekend!

Look Ma! Top of The World!

2008-07-31T05:17:00.000-07:00

PETE LEARNS TO CLIMB A ROPE!

Easy day in the Gym. Feeling tired? Stiff? Well the solution's simple: Kick someone's ass.

3min round Brazillian Jujitsu

- Maintain the Guard / Escape the mount (Which I didn't, "Arm Trap and Roll" still escapes me.)

1 - 15' Rope Climb (or 15 plyometric pushups)

2- 50 Air Squats

3min round BJJ

- Submit your opponent

1. 15' Rope Climb

2. 50 Air Squats

3min round BJJ

-Submit / Strike your opponent

1. 15' rope climb

2. 50 Air Squats

Pete's been dialing in his rope climb form for some time now. It finally clicked on the second round, and he flew up the rope like it wasn't a thing!

Meanwhile, it's been raining pretty much non-stop the last five days or so. Not that the weather has stopped us in any way, we still did Helen outside. Hey, at least it's not snowing.

Lightning Strikes Twice

2008-07-30T15:57:00.000-07:00

Hit this one in the evening, and honestly I think it went better. It's unfortunate that our time schedules don't match up, I was a lot more awake and coherent for this workout then I am for most of our morning sessions and I probably performed better. On the other hand I can see the benefits of being barely conscious for the event. Eventually, the exercise induced pain and suffering blends into a pre-dawn haze of half remembered trauma and hurt.

I personally liken it to getting punched in the genitals. If I was going to be physically assaulted by some large neolithic man who had a severe distaste for my reproductive organs... Maybe I'd want to take that shot laying down, before I had my (Misha's Brandtm)coffee. I wouldn't remember as much, it'd be a surprise, and I'd have a delicious, warm cup of the best coffee you'll ever have to sooth my bitter soul. (SPONSORSHIP PLEASE!).

1. Warm up, light stretching. Pete does some kind of weird thing for his back that looks a lot like yoga / laying around.

2. Warmup couplet:

15 - 12 - 9, no time constraints

25# Goblet Squats

Dips

3. Helen

400m Run (200m out and back, typically a little bit slower then a circle track, Pete would also like me to mention that it was the RETURN trip that was up hill. I also added about 50 extra meters.... shhh)

21 50# kettle bell swings

12 pull ups

Pete: 14:24

Ray: 12:06

Pete came in under 15 min which was EXACTLY what I wanted to see. He REALLY pushed himself and really cranked out the kettle bell reps!

I was trying to break 12, and didn't quite get there. We WILL see this routine again, probably about a month from now or so. Helen is a great bench mark and I think we'll see some major time gains.

Programming note: This week there were two big days, Helen and the Monster-Lite. I think is probably a step up in programming for us, and it might be interesting to see if we can sustain the workload.

And:

China Censors Web Access at Olympics

Motive and Opportunity

2008-07-29T16:40:00.000-07:00

GAAAAAAH!

Fell apart on the programming today. I changed this day's program about 50 different times. Okay, maybe sixty. Good point: An easy day after the monster-ish performance yesterday. Good Point: We started dialing in on the power clean. Bad point: indecisiveness. Bad Point: Drift away from programming scheme.

30 Second Squat Hold X 2

Med-ball clean warm up

Introduction to the Burgener Warm up

400m Repeats

Pete: 1:32 , 1:45, 1:35

Ray: 1:34 , 1:34, 1:27

Professor James Duane, and Detective George Bruch, explain why you should NEVER talk to police.

Disclaimer: I love cops. I love law enforcement. Some of my best friends AND family are cops, agents, or LEO support operations. That being said I'm not sending myself to jail. You talk to the police, there's a 86% chance you'll send yourself to jail. End. Of. Story.

Added some additional links

Change You Can Believe In

2008-07-28T12:22:00.000-07:00

Ray's back Programming:

Warm-up

2 Rounds:
10 Medicine Ball Cleans
200m run / stretch

We've lived in fear of the "monster" workout for some time. That workout that's so long, so hard, that it smokes you just to write it down? Well, let's welcome the MINI-monster...

Mini - Monster

400M Run

30 Pullups

30 28" Box Jumps

30 50# Kettlebell Swings

30 Pushups

30 Squats

30 77# Kettlebell Highpulls

30 Burpees

30 18#, 12' Wall-ball Shots

30 Sit-ups

400M Run

That's 270 reps of various variety. Nothing repeated, and if you get creative with the pacing you can crank a block of the exercises quickly and efficiently. Some, like 30 burpees, you're just gonna have to gut through.

Pete: 26:28 (SORRY PETE!)

Ray: 24:00

A Metaphor for Big Dicks

2008-07-27T12:34:00.000-07:00

Friday, July 25 2008

Muscle - up practice, Rope climbing 101, and AAR

Pete is a HARE's BREATH from his muscle up. I'm convinced at this point it's shoulder flexibility issue. He's not rolling his shoulders over far enough because putting his hands in his armpits is difficult. There are a great deal of ring dips in his future.... Mark my words Pete... Ring Dips.

Rope climbing is strange. Some people take to it like a fish to water, I needed detailed instruction before I dialed in my form. We're going to see it again next week, it's too easy to set up, the ropes are right there in McGrath and they're begging to be used. Before the rope-climb was eliminated from the olympics the world record for the 20' climb was 2.8 seconds. Any contenders?

Rope Climbing 101

It's Not Serious

2008-07-27T12:03:00.000-07:00

3 Rounds:

25# Waiters Walk

5 Minutes of Combatives:

Round 1: Fight for position

Round 2: Fight for Submission

Round 3: Fight for Submission with light striking

I showed up for this one pre-smoked, but I was chomping at the bit to get a little more time on the mat with Pete. He's a great teacher and really knows what he's doing. I did a fair enough job maintaining positions and fighting for advantage, but given any opening Pete takes his chance and places me at a disadvantage.

Combatives will DEFINITELY see a reappearance next week!

Warren Buffet's Best Friend

2008-07-23T17:59:00.000-07:00

Pete's THIRD day of Crossfit programming. Pete discovers field expedient Crossfitting

AMRAP in 20 minutes:

25 M (big ass) LMTV Tire flips

50M sprint

10 air squats

Pete: 9

Ray: 8 2/3

Woah, Pete damn near dragged me through this workout. I don't know, maybe I was just having one of those days, but the funk failed me hard. It's so much easier to put out hard when someone else is cheering you on. There are a few among us that can motivate us to our physical limit every day, all day. They are rare. The rest of us must rely on the positive atmosphere and influence of the people we choose to surround ourselves with every day. This is fact, with little room for debate. As vital as a flat back is to a deadlift, we will only excel when challenged and the most efficient way to achieve is in an environment where success is already underway and results are expected.

I'm the originator of few original thoughts. This particular one owes it's heritage to:

"If a traveller does not meet with one who is his better, or his equal, let him firmly keep to his solitary journey; there is no companionship with a fool." -Dhammapada

"My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me." -Henry Ford

Hood Mounted Hardcore

2008-07-22T18:09:00.000-07:00

Pete's SECOND day. We're getting proud of him, we are.

5 Rounds for time:

10 Box Jumps

45# suitcase walk (half a farmers walk, dumbell in one hand, alternate sides as your grip gets tired)

Pete: 23:39

Ray: 22:27

Eventually you're sprinting to get as far as you can before your grip gives out. As long as you keep alternating sides, one side really doesn't get any more fatigued then the other. We both started thinking we would walk this one out like a farmers walk... yeah-no. Run. RUN! Run like the zombies are coming. (Anyone who's done a 300lb 4 man stokes-litter carry for distance will recognize this particular burning in the forearms)

Gotta Be The Shoes

2008-07-22T16:31:00.000-07:00

Pete's First day of Programming

Shoulder press, big set of 5

Pete: 95 - 115 - 115(f, 3) - 110 - 110

Ray: 95 - 115 - 125 - 130 - 135 (f, 4)

Core tightness is such a big issue with the overhead press. I'll just echo the common point here, but the wrong thing to be thinking about while you press the bar is if it's going to come down on your head or not. Sure, it passes close to your face on the way up. Hey, it may even take the skin off the underside of your nose with the center knurling. Only start thinking about the bar when you screw up the bottom of your chin.

No, when you strict press you should really only be thinking about two things. Your bellybutton and your butthole. This is probably the last time I'm going to use such illiteration, but that core tension and midline focus is VITAL if you're going to get that bar anywhere efficently. Jerry calls it "anal lock". Now, I saw that film and it has more to do with hip drive then core tension, but the point's still valid. Core tension keeps you vertical. Core tension keeps you from pitching forward or leaning too far back. When things get heavy, the body gets wobbly, and it's that you need to fight.

Rip will show you a eccentric little hip movement that allows you to lift more weight by getting a few more muscles into the mix earlier in the lift. Awesome and good on ya' if you can do it . I do and it helps, but for people just learning, focus on keeping everything ROCK solid from you toenails to your tonsils. Drop your elbows out of the rack, getting a good vertical position on your forearms and press like your life depended on it. Seeing as how, if all goes right, you're going to be lifting a serious load DIRECTLY overhead, it just may. Meh, the brain can't lift weight, who needs it?

Rip Talks All About Tightness

Spite Speckled Splendor

2008-07-19T14:50:00.000-07:00

Friday, June 18th

Dynamic Warmup

Running day, I decided sprinting was needed in the mix.

"Virginia Protocol"

400m sprint every three minutes, clock never stops.

Split times:

Pete: 1:16 - 1:30 -1:40 - 1:38

Ray: 1:10 - 1:24 - 1:32 - 1:26

WEEKLY After-Action Review (AAR)

No good deed goes unpublished. Our first 5 /2 week, and this needs some post-mordem analysis.

Task: What we set out to do was do 5 straight days of Crossfit style workouts, monday through friday from 0600 - 0655.

Purpose: An experiment more then anything. Could it be done? Secondary goal was to increase our overall fitness level. Tertiariay goals was to learn new skills and use them later in our routines; as well as practice effective CF programming for soldiers.

Endstate: Conduct a complete, challenging week of CF, using new exercises, protocols, and routines.

What worked well:

-Discipline: We made it every day, with no time delays.

-Frequency: The discipline allowed us to hit our outlined schedule perfectly. Comments from Pete echoed exactly how I was feeling... On friday we were spent! Not sore to the point of exhaustion, but definitely feeling the contrast between our 1:3 off again on again routine.

-We can use rings. We mounted the rings to the power-rack quickly, taking less then 5 minutes. If we can rig rings, we can use anything!

What could be improved:

- Programming length: It could have been better. We need more longer routines in the neighborhood of 20 -30 minutes. I totally missed the "AMRAP to time" method. I have a sneaking suspicion that Pete's gonna correct this next week when he gets a chance to program.

-Volume: We need to work in mini-warmups, or something similar. This may provide an opportunity to work skills and new exercises. We did very little instruction or incorporation of new techniques.

-Intensity: We can move faster and lift heavier. I know it!

Not In Season

2008-07-17T14:45:00.000-07:00

Pete shows us all what a flat back looks like!

Gabe gets his first ring dip! (Followed shortly thereafter by number 2!)

"Grunt Work"

5 rounds for max reps, as little rest as possible between lifts and dips, unlimited rest between sets.

125% x Body-weight Deadlifts

Ring Dips

Name rounds

Pete 11/11 - 7/9 - 8/6 - 7/7 - 7/5 TOTAL: 78

Ray 7/7 - 7/7 - 6/7 - 7/7 - 7/6 TOTAL: 68

Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral

2008-07-16T19:48:00.000-07:00

PROGRAMMING SCREWUP This was supposed to be a longer, harder evolution that took between 25 and 30 minutes. Hm. It looked longer on paper.

21 - 18 - 15 - 12 - 9 - 6 - 3

Box Jumps

50# Kettle bell Swings

Pushups

Pete: 12:52

Ray: 14:11

Tabata Sit-ups:

Pete: 8

Ray: 13

The First Black President

2008-07-16T19:16:00.000-07:00

The Second Biggest Coldbore Fitness class yet!

15 JULY 2008

We all met up at the track for some good ol' fashioned METCON. I was debating how long this circuit should be, and decided on a high intensity, medium duration evolution. Monday was a longer event, and I wanted something more sensible.

Bottom Squat Holds

4 rounds of 20/10

3 rounds for time

800m run

10 77# KB SDHU (Sumo-Deadlift High Pulls)

15 Deck-Squats

Pete: 17:27

Ray: 15:34

and the newest addition: Brian! 17:11

A great effort by all. Running and deadlifts are natural enemies so way to gut through, everyone. Deck squats continue to be a powerful exercise for BJJ and ground fighters.

Eight Legged Freak

2008-07-14T17:44:00.000-07:00

Another morning with Pete. Getting up at 0500 isn't so bad when you know you'll be missing something.

Workout of the Day:

10 rounds for time:

10 pull ups

10 burpees

I finished in 27:02, and Pete finished in 29:22. I learned that grabbing a tilted bar with your palms in an effort to avoid stressing your calluses is a poor idea. You end up digging pits into your soft girlish likes palms.

Pete learned substitutions suck, in any shape or form. Especially when mean people make him substitute 3:1 jumping pull ups with standard.

Never Speak of This Again

2008-07-11T13:44:00.000-07:00

Woke my ass up at 0500 and was out the door by 0545. Met Pete at 0600 and we dived right in to medicine ball clean instruction.

The med-ball clean was how I was introduced to the clean, and I've come to think there's a natural progression to getting there. The clean, and it's little brother the power clean rely a little bit more on timing then the slower lifts and the athlete's got to be slightly more body-conscious then others. I'm certain the path to the clean starts at the solid, weight-on-heels, chest high, deep squat. Once the squat form is dialed in instruction can progress to squat variations, and not before. If the athlete cannot move down or pick him or her self out of the squat in as near a vertical line as possible (for the body type), the instructor has already started to send the athlete down the wrong path.

Now we can start to introduce the slam ball. Slam ball will introduce the athlete to the vicious attitude needed to get under the bar. Attention must be paid that he or she maintains a vertical back and the satisfactory squat form developed earlier. Form and intensity are of course antagonists and the decision needs to be made on what's more important at this stage... Ass kicking attitude, or the development of muscle memory.

Then, in an ideal world, I introduce the medicine ball clean. Slow and steady, with attention drawn to timing, timing, timing. The timing is critical both when applied to the med ball, and the bar. For some reason when people go from the the weighted ball to the bar, they want to fucking over-pull. The athlete pulls the ball MAYBE four to six inches utilizing hip function, why the hell do the arms enter the picture moments after the fingers touch the bar? Regardless, fight this, and impress the importance of the third pull and from there it becomes a matter of prudently adding weight and stopping the over-eager athlete's fatigue from becoming a factor. I've used this method on... sheesh, gotta be three athletes now... and I've seen good results.

Today's Workout:

Med-ball clean and holds: Clean the ball, hold for ten seconds in the bottom. Pete's med-ball cleans were looking GOOD, and he admitted he had been practicing. He also pointed out that a good med-ball clean starts with a loose grip that allows you to move around the ball. The cue I use is "soft hands", Jerry sees good results by allowing the students to bounce the ball in their hands at the start. An alternate technique is, when just starting out, the student places hands underneath the ball and just works pulls "one-and-a-half" and "two". When done correctly the ball demonstrates momentum and elevation well. The athlete then moves the hands from underneath to the side of the ball, keeping them soft all the way. Regardless of the note that works, if the athlete keeps a death grip on the ball they'll screw it up every time.

Pete's cleans looked good enough that I moved him to a unloaded bar. A better move would have been the Coach B warm up. He's at the stage where prudent addition of weight will make a big difference. He hit Angie yesterday... hmm Sounds like a big single rep effort is the cure to what ails him (if you're wondering what that might be, it's his lats, quads, biceps and triceps)

Max 1 rep deadlift

1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1

Pete

255 275 295 305 315 (PR?)

Ray

255 275 285 295 305

We wanted to work in weighted dips, but I had to run to formation. Damn my timing.

Dirt Clods and Dust Bunnies

2008-07-10T15:29:00.000-07:00

A little jump, a little run.

Monthly 4 mile run. Company standard 32 minutes. My June time 30:28, My July time 32.21. My legs are STILL fucking smoked from monday. My monday in the blue room destroyed my entire quad region.

Meanwhile I'm getting a good read on my running pace. I know exactly where I lost my time. The first mile, when I was moving slow and working out kinks. Miles two and three I was flying, hitting my poses, mid-foot striking, and kicking high in the back. A gentle grade kinda got it's hooks into me on the last three-fourths, but I finished strong with a good sprint. I was left with the feeling that I could have gone faster, but I'm not depressed about it.

I met with Pete at lunch. We're going to try our damdest to get this whole Crossfit thing to work. It's going to take a lot of mutual motivation but I think we can do it. I'll let you know how it works out.

Armchair Amature

2008-07-08T18:14:00.000-07:00

Monday, 7 July, 2008

A brief return to the blue room.

A. Do one pull up the first minute, two pull ups the second minute, and so forth... Until you can no longer finish a set in the assigned one minute interval. (Reached 11 reps )

B. Using the same protocol, perform weighted front squats. (Reached 18 reps)

C. Using the same protocol, try not to die.

First of all, it was so awesome to see how much progress has been made by people who were essentially rookies when I left. So many people have changed their lives through exercise and fitness. Just as our eyes adjust to the bright lights or dark corridors, it's interesting to see what happens, to gain some perspective on, what's continually happening at Crossfit Old Town. The Blue Room, and the people that take it over for hours a day, are essentially a self-esteem factory.

People who were seemingly silent introverts are active coaching participants. People who's vocabulary seeming included no other words then 'Can't' and 'no' have found an entire new languages of success and achievement, with which to express themselves. Bodies have been recomposed through deliberate application of effort and diet, but minds have been expanded through continuous positive reinforcement and operant conditioning. Jerry, Andrea, Chriss, Adrienne, Danny, Katie, and endless others are putting in the leg work that change lives DAILY.

Meanwhile I managed to DESTROY myself while putting up middling numbers. Meh, I'm really not that upset about it. I was too busy being overwhelmed by the positive atmosphere. Of course I've fallen off pace and lost some ground. But it's not THAT bad. It CAN be turned around. It just takes the right attitude, or set of attitudes.

Tuesday, 8 July 2008

As my peers in the Blue Room went back to work, I refereed the 1st Annual Amateur Chosin Dodgeball Tournament. It was an interesting event. Six teams played a single elimination bracket of fast paced dodgeball in body armor, helmets, and boots. There are few things in the world more entertaining then watching a soldier take a dodgeball to the groin. As a matter of fact, ANYONE taking a dodgeball to the groin is a laugh riot. Ahem. Support our troops.

Look Alike

2008-07-03T13:52:00.000-07:00

Tuesday Morning PT Validation Run: Before you can run / judge a fitness competition you've got to run it yourself! Me and about twenty judges ran a five mile course that included a road portion carrying awkward 35 to 45 pound loads, an off road portion consisting of a mud run, a hill climb, a building climb, a HMMVW push, a litter carry, and finishing with a standard army obstacle course. Coaches ran un-timed, but we came in around an hour and twenty minutes.

Tuesday evening: Here's where it gets special! Met Pete to go back and hit Fight Gone Bad together. I ran into a friend Dennis who's a BJJ guru working out on the second floor of McGrath Gym. He had to cancel the FGB appointment we'd made last week, so he was ready to hit it too. Three people is a strange number for a workout like FGB so while we were setting up we were delighted to have Gabriel ask "Hey, I've seen Crossfit and I've been doing some workouts... ". We had our fourth.

Fighting McGrath

36'' Box Jump

25 or 35# DB Push Press

65# Barbell High pull

Burpees (Burpees suck so very very much more then pull ups)

Wallball 12LB / 10 ft.

We all spent sixty seconds at each station with a clock that never stops between exercises. One lap of the above circuit is a five minute round. One minute rest is permitted between rounds. Three rounds for points, each rep counts as a point.

Gabriel: 255
Dennis: 226
Pete: 257
Ray: 320

(EXCEL Spreadsheet to follow with breakdown of each exercise and reps completed)

Wensday morning:

Battalion PT Competition. Props to 2/A Company, and 2/B Company. 2/A turned in a great time of 1:11, and 2/B finished in first place with 1:08:55. I had the pleasure of running with 2/B, and they're a great group of studs who really pushed themselves all the way through, despite injury and exhaustion. Pictures to follow. Meanwhile:

Bar Bucking Bastard

2008-06-30T14:30:00.000-07:00

Muscle up practice with Pete. He's close. SO CLOSE. He just needs to get his elbows a LITTLE bit higher. I've found stringing together three muscle ups is now a feat. Gah....

Back Squat
5 Rep Sets
225 - 225 -215 -215 - 215

Bench Press
5 Rep Sets
135 - 185 - 195 (f)

I wanted to hit 205 as my starting weight, but unfortunately I'm not as well dialed in as I thought I was. I should be somewhere sub body-weight. I'll have to pick it up on friday. Meanwhile, I've got to pick it up sometime on friday. Time to learn, again, the lesson that where I want to be and where I am are two different things, and it's important to not confuse them.

Run and HIde

2008-06-29T18:35:00.000-07:00

Two posts in one day ?!? Unheard of!

Endurance run day:

3.25 miles in around 10/min per mile. 31:41 minutes, trail run. Ran up and around Remington Pond, a beautiful area. I can only really engender some enthusiasm for running is my surroundings interest me. I find the whole enterprise somewhat boring and annoying, but if there's some pretty things to look at, and I'm trying to outrun a herd of mosquito, I can somehow rationalize it better.

I'm still trying to find my pace. I need to spend a little more time working the track and I'll dial in exactly what speed I'm moving at.

Back from the outback

2008-06-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

Wow, been a while since I updated, but it's been a crazy week and I'm still picking up the pieces from Spain and everywhere else. July's going to be a good month for me, I can tell already.

A few workouts I've hit in the last few days

-- Ruck-march, 55 pounds, 3.5 miles, roughly one hour and thirty minutes. Way, way under pace, but I didn't have any say over how fast we go.

-- Thursday was a rest day

-- Friday saw my powerlifting come back. I've lost serious ground with my back-squat, but that was to be expected. It was never really dialed in permanently. Max 5 rep lift.
Back Squat : 215
Deadlift: 275 (And I hit 295 for 1, which I'm really happy about. Tried to jump up to 315 was it was too ambitious and I never got it off the ground)
Press: 95, and I got 115 for 3, but the wheels fell off the core tightness equation and I was pretty exhausted.

I've been voulen-TOLD to represent my company in the summer powerlifting competition in a few weeks (or is it days? when the hell is this thing?!?). My workouts up until then are going to resemble starting strength more then anything else. I'll supplement with Crossfit and help Pete out. I recently tried and failed to organize a big 'ol Fight Gone Bad. Everyone cancelled at the last minute, so it didn't come off. I'll plan the next one a little more in advance and let people accommodate for it better.

Foundational Findings

2008-06-24T17:35:00.000-07:00

WOD: Snatch

111#'s is about the most I can snatch before my form completely falls apart. So I decided to hit 7 across at 111 and see what fatigue shows me

111 - 111 - 111-

The thing I found on rep four was hip speed. The third pull, and how FAST I get down is directly related to how solid I feel in the bottom. If I'm slow, it turns into at best a muted and funky overhead squat. If I DO go into full extension, and manage to get down in a hurry, then my bottom is rock solid and the weight feels weightless...

111 - 111(f, muscled it) - 111

A morning well spent. I'm left wishing I had a video camera. My hip speed was slowed by my back-squats and my lower back is a might bit tight, but wall squats and snatch balances are powerful therapy. I loosened up quick...

In the evening I took a few moments to review my Certification study materials. It's easy to get wrapped up in the bright lights of the snatch, the muscle up, etc.. etc... LORD knows I'm guilty of it. I tend to go on skill "benders" one month I'm into KB's... One month I'm into rings, and so forth. But, one thing I'm certain of is periodically it's vital to revisit the idea of proficency in the basic skills.

Evening

Warmup:

30 kipping pull-ups. I've totally lost my kip. I found a semi-stable bar, and the most I was able to string together was 5. Oh well. Tonight, I'll shave my callus and hit seven tomorrow. I'm more then willing to fight to get these back.

30 Parallel bar pushups. 3 Sets of 10. One CF Journal asks the question "Can you do 100 perfect pushups? 50?" Once you introduce perfection as the standard, no. No I can't. As a matter of fact I can hardly do 30 perfectly. Easy solution: Hit as many as you can, extend the range of motion, and make sure they're spot on. Get better.

Light jog

400m Repeats w/ a 1:1.75 work:rest ratio

Lap 1: 1:31
Lap 2: 1:43
Lap 3: 1:36
Lap 4: 1:45

I wasn't smoking them, but I was pacing pretty hard. The rest period was spent jogging, not standing around, so it counts as an active rest.

Now if you excuse me, I've got a date with a ice-bath.

Have it Your Way

2008-06-23T19:09:00.000-07:00

GOAL: GET STRONGER

First day back under the bar. Again. Back to our big three, for a set of big three. Pete showed up, and even though I got the sense I was boring him, he proved surprisingly powerful! Pete brought serious game today!

Backsquat, set of three:

Ray 205 225 225 255

Pete 205 225 225 225

Deadlift, set of three:

Ray 225 275 295(f) 225

Pete 225 275 295 315(!)

Then we finished up with a little something I remember as "The Virginia Blend"

Max strict press, no rest, just go straight into push press, and finally, push jerk.

95# barbell

Ray: 15/3/2 Total 20

Pete: 10/4/1/ Total 15

Then we spent well on two hours going over the basics of the ground-game in army combatives / brazilian jiujitsu. We reviewed dominant positions, a basic guard pass, and a basic escape from mount.

Okay, here's an side... I've been doing and teaching the push-press wrong. It's definitely more from the knees then I was giving it credit for. Apparently, a good drill is to stand flat against a wall and go straight up and down. It doesn't allow for any hip dip at all, it's purely a vertical plane movement. Ooops.

2008-06-22T07:07:00.000-07:00

One more time around the fitness concept. I was supposed to go to the cert this weekend, and I was assigned reading in advance. It covered a whole bevy of issues and general knowledge that has, at least temporarily, convinced my of a thought. Fitness is relative to your desired objective. The trick is the proper definition of what your goals are. What do YOU want to do, and how willing are you to specialize in order to be good at it? From what I understand, Crossfit is the leader in broad, inclusive, and general fitness. Basically, casting the net as wide as possible, in order to maximize ability across as many pathways and models as possible. Crossfit's appeal to the military and law enforcement community may be in large part due to both theoretical and practical feedback that shows this broad-based approach positively correlates to success and survival in a combat environment.

I can't help but wonder if, when preparing for participation in, or selection for, a combat organization, there's a model that provides a more targeted approach. One of the Crossfit Journal articles remarked to the effect " [You] should be able to run long distances, fast; lift heavy things, quickly; and move heavy loads, far." This is not an exact quote, but generally addresses the theme of the models and pathways active during preparation and selection for the above groups.

So how do we get there from here? I'm in the worst shape I've been in since I left CFOT. I've watched illness and distraction rob me of intensity and metabolic conditioning. Fitness used to be easy, and now it's not. I used to stroll in to the blue room to a group of supportive peers all focused in a central objective, smoking the shit out of ourselves that day. Hell, I could do it in Khakis! Now, I've got to deal with a host of other issues, where fitness is a top priority, but how I want to do it refuses to be accommodated.

So, if my lifestyle in the line military isn't going to provide barriers what becomes important is the removal of barriers to execution. It needs to become "easy" again. It needs to become fun, and regardless of frustration or emotion, in the big picture it's important to keep trying. Something is ALWAYS better then nothing, and forward progress, even if redundant, is vital. Execution, i.e. working out in order to improve fitness is does in these circumstances, provides a means and an end. But on the other hand, I would argue that goals are still necessary. We still need to find a place we want to be, and identify a path to get there.

I've identified what I think is a logical goal based path to physical success in several models that are important to me:

1. The Expert Infantry Badge trials are coming up. I'm not an infantryman, and I won't pretend to be, but there's a 12 mile road-march component, as well as several other physical trials. I intend to smoke that shit, end of story. Many soldiers end up taking the physical prep lightly, and focus on the knowledge and skill tests. I'm blessed with something of a sharp learning curve (at least when it comes to the operation and maintenance of machine guns), so I feel I can safely focus on the physical elements and eventually excel overall. 12 Mile Roadmarch in 3 hours with 45 pound rucksack.

2. Running was recently exposed as a serious issue. My 4 mile time was a dismal 31 minutes. That's almost an eight minute per mile pace. Inexcusable.... except it's almost always been that way. I was a little bit faster at CFOT due to the metabolic conditioning I was in, but not much. 5K run in 21 minutes or less.

3. Ever since I met Jerry Hill, and heard his online discussions centered around strength, strength has been a foremost concern. I'm intermediately strong in several ways... but in others I'm just starting out. My deadlift, that king of functionality, still has some room to grow. I was still dialing in my back-squat.

3. 345# single rep deadlift,

4. 301# back-squat,

5. 135# snatch with flawless execution.

And of course Crossfit WOD's will have a place a supplementary workouts on alternate weeks. I would like to be able to complete the WOD, as prescribed 3/4th of the time... better yet I'd like to crank Angie in around 17 minutes, and keep my Fran around or below 7 minutes.

Five goals? impossible? I doubt it. Now if you excuse me, I'm going to enjoy my last rest day, cook some zone food, and blow some little orange clays out of the sky. Ballistic stress relief is always entertaining.

The Hardline

2008-06-20T15:19:00.000-07:00

So I've spent the last nine days or so in spain. I probably went up every hill and berm in Barcelona. I got a lot of walking in, and a lot of eating. The Barcelonaians are wonderful people, and the city was a bit quiet. Our trip fell on a strange time, between spring and summer events. I didn't get much crossfitting done, but rather I spent a lot of time eating. I was relishing my relief from the zone, when I got some sort of stomach bug for my efforts.

I spent a great deal of the second part of my trip in bed, attempting to kick this vile illness. I was on the mend until the stress from the plane ride, lost luggage, and work kicked my ass. I knew my timing for the crossfit seminar in Maine was tight. I was banking on good health and luggage.

I intend to get the most out of my certification, not show up messed up, out of shape, and with half my clothes. I'll move the cert down the line until I can train up for it, be healthy, and make it my number 1 priority.

Merry-Go-Round Broke Down

2008-06-10T14:44:00.000-07:00

My computer is dying. It's interfering with my blogging.

The Love Guru

2008-06-05T21:09:00.000-07:00

An interesting day to say the least.

In the morning I worked snatch grip deadlifts, highpulls, and finally power snatches. My XO gave me some dead-on form notes. He noticed the bar coming away from my body during my first pull. The only thing I can think of is that I'm bending my knees too much ( this used to be a problem with my deadlifts) in order to generate too much leg drive. This is impatience, trying to get too much speed too early. Instead I should be really cranking my second pull and getting a full extension. This generates my momentum and elevation and creates that space I'm supposed to dive under.

While we're on the subject, I'm not diving under at all. My third pull, strictly speaking doesn't exist. Instead I'm landing really, really wide in my stance in order to get under the bar. I need to do about a MILLION snatch balances with PVC and get back to my Coach B warmup. I need to make my primary focus "dragging" the bar up my shins and keeping it as close to my thighs as possible, and then my sole mission in life is getting my ass DOWN, under the bar, where it can generate some force for me. I'd have posted video, but my camera is busted.

This was GOING to be it for the day. Then Pete showed up at lunch.

We were both very, very pressed for time so I cut the deck down to two cards that I thought could be cranked out in under 15 minutes. He pulled Karen, 150 wall-ball shots for time. We used 12lb medicine balls and a 12 -14' wall in McGrath gym. Now here's where I'm missing my camera BAD. The 12 -14' target we used is actually the cross section of the track that makes up the second story of the McGrath basketball court. Basically, you've got several courts next to one another just like a typical gym on the first floor, but around the perimeter runs an elevated track. Well, the edge of the track is painted blue, has a railing around it that's perfect for mounting rings to, and is periodically inscribed with motivational phrases. "Climb to Glory" being the most common. Another thing it's got tons of is the unit emblem placed regularly in a handy, Frickin' HARCORE, wall-ball target size. I wish I had some video of Pete cranking away at the crossed knives under a giant "Climb to Glory" sign. It couldn't have been more American if he was eating apple pie, swilling a miller lite, on top of a Cadallac Escalade cranking out Springsteen. Rock on.

Afterwards we got Pete jamming on some high quality medicine ball cleans. He's once again shown an impressively sharp learning curve, nailing intermediate skills after 5 - 10 min of pointers and hints. He knows what he's doing, that's for sure, and his execution is getting better and better.

Karen 12# ball, 14' target
Pete: 8:00
Ray 7:28

Vrooom

2008-06-04T15:11:00.000-07:00

Today was the PT competition by platoon for my unit. On an individual level it was essentially a 5 mile run, and I carried a 150lb dude a quarter of a mile uphill. Ran through some mud. Got filthy. Pretty cool.

Then I ate a big lunch with the rest of the guys. Crashed hard around 1600, and called it quits. I wanted to crank some muscle up practice and maybe train some ring skills. But then the insulin crash hit me, and the wheels fell off.... I turned into a big pansy, and quit.

I told myself it was because the shoes I was going to wear were caked in mud and wet. Never mind I had a spare in the car (next to the rings). I didn't have any socks (also in the car) , blah, blah, blah. Whatever. (I should add it's a 150m walk to the car)

Today deserves a great big:

Muscle Snatch was my nickname in high-school....

2008-06-03T17:08:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is a PT competition for various folks. I'm supposed to take part. It'll be awesome.

Coach B warm up (now with ACTUAL PVC)

Muscle Snatch
1. 111
2. 126
3. 135 (serious form faults)
4. 135 (better)
5. 145 (landing wide)
6. 145 (still landing wide)
7. 150 (failure to get under the bar, core stability)

Not enough mass at lunch, FOOOD!

Al Qaeda's Gender Debate:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/06/01/alqaeda.women.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

The Man Who Was Thursday

2008-06-02T17:23:00.000-07:00

Met up with my a fellow crossfitter named Peter who found me via Tom Brose's suggestion. We got together for some mutual instruction and a quick once around a CF old town painstorm.

Muscle-up instruction. About thirty minutes of the muscle-up study reveals I am badly out of practice, but there are some much better mounting options then to the top of a squat cage. It seems the rings can be hung from a railing to form a beautifully elevated setup at just the right hight. Look to see a lot more muscle up and ring work from THIS guy. As for Pete, he's almost there, he needs to work his transition. His false grip's spot on and he can maintain it all the way through a negative, so he's got the hard part done. A little kip, and a little hop, and he'll be landing them in no time.

I thought I'd do something different. I've been feeling sore and slow as I get back into thing. I wrote down a few of my favorite workouts, a few of the girls, and a few of the Big Bad Blue Room Specials. I put them all on index cards and had my new partner pick one. He came up with a speedy little circuit from the folks at Crossfit Old Town. Lesson learned here: We tended to bunch around the kettle bell.. when you're dealing with less then fiver exercises, you really need to have one piece of equipment per person.

Peter was kind enough to show me his buddy lee jumprope, and I think I need one. I'm not going to mention the maneuver that shall not be named, or attempt to learn it, but perhaps if I had a superior jumping tool, I could develop some sort of enthusiasm for the pursuit. Thanks Pete!

Circuit Express
20 Push ups
20 KB Swings
20 Walking Lunges

5 Rounds for time

Peter 15:43
Ray 14:38

A fun and productive time had by all.

bun onions for your carb uncle

2008-06-01T16:29:00.000-07:00

I've got a workout buddy scheduled for tomorrow and I don't plan on taking a rest day. I'm clawing my way slowly back to the WOD, so I decided to take today slow.

Strict Press work up to a big set of three
Warm ups: 95 - 95 - 95
Work Sets: 135 - 145 - 145f - 135 - 135f

I'm wondering if there's some technique to safely lower the weight from overhead back to the rack without losing that normal loridotic curve. I end up hollowing my back and over-arching.

Deadlift, work up to a big set of three:
Warm ups: 135 - 135
Work sets: 225 - 245 - 265 - 275 - 285

I was happy with the deadlift. I haven't lost that much form, and my three rep max will slowly come back as I work these in twice a week.

Apparently, from last time, no one turned off my rant button. Here comes the word flood.

The Zone Diet is once again at work recomposing my body. I'm keeping strictly to weights and measures, not allowing any subjective "eyeball" measurement. It seriously makes a difference in how I feel and live.

My energy levels are more stable and the meals flow into one another nicely, with short four to six hour gaps. As long as I keep up my mass intake - by which I mean stick to positive, bulky carbohydrates that afford me the ability to have huge portions - I can stave off hunger.

Even when I don't manage to keep the monster at bay I somewhat enjoy the feeling. The hunger keeps me on edge and alert. I might be going out on a limb here, but I think that's the way it's supposed to be.

I don't think that man is designed to be "full" or feel "satiated" for the majority of our day. I don't want to go too "paleolithic" here, but when you think about the hunter-gatherer mindset, really being "full" is a momentary, transient feeling that highlights a canvas mainly composed of feelings of hunger. Hunger was the motivator to roll out of the shelter in the morning and leave the warm embers of the dying fire. Hunger drove that hunter to nap the first stone knife or fashion the first spear.

Something inside us sleeps when we're "full". Something rests, checks out, takes the day off... Whatever you want to call it. Either way, that spark that drive so much human innovation and upheaval -- at least in me -- goes to bed when I'm full. I want to sit and watch football and take a nap. Not lay patiently in wait for my prey, or genius my way to faster-easier gazelle meat via some new fangled wonder spear. I'm not a nutritionist, or some fitness guru... so take it for what you will. But try being hungry for a little while, embrace it, and see if you come up with something innovative.

Enchanted

2008-05-31T18:12:00.000-07:00

"Frequent administration has a high potential for causing addiction and may quickly lead to tolerance. If a continual, sustained use of Crossfit for as little as three days is stopped abruptly, withdrawal symptoms can appear."

I changed one word in the quote above. The excerpt above is from the Wikipedia.com entry on heroin. In my mind the same thing goes for Crossfit. We use once, maybe because we thought it was the "cool" thing to do. We've all got our reasons, but we've jumped on the bandwagon at least once. Now we're addicts. So of us are hardcore users.

Many heroin users report they get seriously ill the first time they use. Not Dope-sick in the traditional street sense of withdrawal issues, but "sick in a wonderful way". I know for me Crossfit was similar. I got my visit from "pukie" more then once or twice. Drug users overcome this initial sickness and keep using. So did I. I'm left wondering if it's a flip-side of the same coin somehow...

The analogy is of course somewhat inverse. Drug use will probably, all things not being equal, tear down your body. Crossfit, when applied properly recomposes what you are and makes a stronger athlete. The method is similar. When you adapt to something, and that something happens to be a drug, science calls that "Tolerance". You develop a tolerance for Crossfit as well. After a while the same stimulus doesn't produce a metabolic response. In the case of recreational, unregulated drugs you've got to go out and score more just to obtain a similar feeling. When Crossfitters develop a tolerance it means they have gotten stronger, faster, or harder; and they need to increase the weight, go faster, or both in order to make similar progress.

This is of course painting in BROAD brush strokes, and the exact addiction and exercise thresholds (two subjects extensively studied, and you can easily research both issues) vary greatly. It's not as simple as I make it out in either case, but my analogy does serve to illuminate a point --- It doesn't matter if it's coming off an addictive drug, or trying to go back to Crossfit, it's gonna hurt. Being off the wagon sucks, because an addiction requires maintenance, and if you've neglected it, it's gonna hurt to learn your lesson. The lesson, I'd dare to speculate, in the case of opiate drugs, is they're probably best left alone. The lesson with crossfit appears to be "if you stop, or seriously slow down, you WILL become weaker, slower, and it's going to hurt more just to get back to where you were."

So that brings us to here. Here I am, walking the same uphill path I walked before. Trying to get back to the level of fitness I was at. I know I'll do it, and I know I'll eventually be performing at the level I'd like to be at... It's just a hard road when you've seen all the sights once before.

GOOD NEWS is I met a guy named Dave cranking through a workout of the day. He gave me some double-under pointers, and confirmed that I've been jumping way, way too high on my jump roping. I'm not sure he's aware of my sordid family history with the double under.

Workout of the Day:

For Time

10 135# Barbell thrusters (scaled to 95# after this set - 135#'s was a big thruster for me, even when I was at the top of my game)
50 ~30'' box Jumps
8 95# Thrusters
40 Box Jumps
6 95# Barbell Thrusters
30 Box Jumps
4 95# Barbell Thrusters
20 Box jumps
2 95# Barbell Thrusters
10 Box Jumps

Final Time: 13:31

Tabata Situps: High: 12, Low 10 SCORE: 10

The Zone Diet is going well. I haven't lost any weight, but my energy levels have stabilized and that's worth being on a block plan all by itself. More awesome music for your listening pleasure:

Mentally ill From Amityville

2008-05-31T07:35:00.000-07:00

Interesting day yesterday, I'm actually starting to feel somewhat better... I was expecting it to be like a switch that gets thrown, but instead it's bee a gradual return to something close to normal.

BackBreaker
For Time:
21 - 15 - 9
60# sandbag cleans
Pull ups

Final Time 14:54

Holy crap I'm slow. SLOW! I've got to get my metcon feet back under me before the cert next month. I almost forget the best thing about yesterday. I was contacted by a cross-fitter at Ft. Drum who sounds just as excited as I am. I may be spending my lunch hours for the time being cranking away at Metcon...

Now that the winter thaw is behind us, I found a horizontal pull up bar! Ow, my back. A few months of crappy pull ups shows just how crappy my pull ups have become. In the words of Chriss... "my whole back-strap is killing me", but mostly my upper back and my lats. Where's that motrin bottle?

Wanna Go For A Ride?

2008-05-29T19:32:00.000-07:00

A effort in vain to try and work some of the kinks outta my lungs.

1 Mile Run, 9 min / mile pace

Tried to crank out 10 sets of "cindy" 5 - 10 - 15, but my boss decided that "cindy" time was mentor time... we needed to "bond"... and there were serious issues that needed discussion. I made it to 7 rounds before I gave up trying to balance the two. Sorry Cindy.

second mile run canceled for above reason.... I've got to find a more secluded pull up bar.

Meanwhile, Atmosphere dropped a new album and announced a new tour without telling me. I call shenanigans on that. Here's a single called "Guarantees". Reminds me of neo- Bruce Springsteen, crossed with "Eat at Whitey's", if Everlast actually had hip / hop talent.

Paintown population YOU, bro!

2008-05-28T14:50:00.000-07:00

Getting Back Under The Bar

Back squat x 3: 135 135 185 185 (SERIOUS form check) 185

Press x 5: 135 135 135

- got kinda "sleepy" on the last set, once I realized it was the blood emptying out of my head and I almost fell over, I called it quits. tomorrow I hope to be feeling miles better (I'm already recovering well) and I'm going to attempt a scaled WOD.