Thursday, June 30, 2011

A Hot Day For a WOD

It was hot today. Way hot. In fact, when I started working out at 9:00pm, it was still over 90 degrees. When I finished, I left beautiful sweat angels. (What's a sweat angel, you ask?! See below)

I took this WOD from Crossfit Terminal Velocity.

3 Rounds of:

400m run
20 KB swings 45#
400m run
20 pull ups
400m run
20 burpees

For time

This was a good one, and I did the entire WOD unbroken. I actually measured it out, however, and the run was 430m, not 400. I know, this is menial, but after 9 rounds, it's 270m (or .17 mile  which - if I were running 7 min miles - added 1 min and 11 sec.) I haven't thought much of this, though..



This is a sweat angel.




I bet the Black Knight was a CrossFitter

Clean and Jerks!

I really really really like power cleans. I really do! Putting that bar over head, on the other hand..... Well, it's like double unders and handstand push-ups: I'm working on 'em..

That being said, I tweaked my shoulder on the last set of the lift portion of the clean and jerks, so instead of implementing them in the AMRAP, i swapped them out for power cleans!


Clean and Jerk
3-3-3-3-3

THEN

8 min AMRAP of:
5 Power Clean (70% of the max today)
10 Box Jumps 25"

2 mins on, 1 min rest.


These are the reasons I get nervous going overhead with the weights
(I do like how the announcer states that it was "no lift". ha ha!)

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Double Unders (Bested Me Today)

Double Unders bested me today. The metal cable wore through, and everytime I missed, it stung especially bad. Not until later, did I notice how bad it was:

Double Under / Wall Ball Passing Ladder:

10 Double Unders
50 Wall Ball 20#
20 Double Unders
40 Wall Ball
30 Double Under
30 Wall Ball
40 Double Under
20 Wall Ball
50 Double Under
10 Wall Ball

It was a good one, and you know I had to put a pic of my leg up!








Really, it wasn't that bad.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Jason Holbrook - No "Easter Eggs"

I needed a WOD that would beat the tar outta me, so I planned on a Hero WOD. To add to "suck fest", I did it head-to-head with a few beasts from CF Terminal Velocity, which took it to the next level.

Jason Holbrook

10 rounds of:

5 Thrusters 115#
10 Pull-Ups
100m sprint
Mandatory 1min rest.

It sucked, and I thought I was going to puke, pass-out, and die.

That's it. No Easter Eggs today... okay, maybe one.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Two Rest Days - A Tad Strange

I took Saturday off, and (as always) took Sunday off. The two days I really hate to miss a WOD is Monday and Saturday! I do take Sundays off, yet still feel that I get a great weeks worth of WOD-ness. (I shoot for 5-6 WODs/week).

Anyways, I had "Jason Holbrook" or "The 100's" planned,(both seemingly killer WODs... my hands will hate me!)but will have t tackle them this week. (details to follow)

Gotta love Rest Days!

Friday, June 24, 2011

A New "Toy" - Enter the Sandbag Era

I put together a a sandbag, and just HAD to put it to good use tonight. So, I threw this baby together:

"Sand Bag Chipper"

21 Pull-Ups
21 Sand Bag (SB) Burpees
21 Double-Unders
21 SB Squats
21 KB Swings 1.5 pood
21 SB Cleans
21 Sit-Ups
21 SB Press
21 Push-Ups
21 SB Front Squats

*This WOD is performed in two locations. After every exercise, run 50m with the sand bag to the other location.


This WOD was surprising to me because I didn't think that it'd be as tough as it was. Sandbag WODs are funny because  everytime you pick up the bag, the weight distribution is completely different! For example, on the front squats, most of the weight was on the right arm - until I dropped, then it all moved to the center of the bag.

All in all, I liked it, and I'm definitely going to use sand bag training more often. The funny thing is that I really don't know how much the bag weighs! I've estimated that it's anywhere between 80 and 110lbs. She's a bear regardless of how much she weighs.


A bag, a ball, and an extra 25#

The clip's on there to show the gynormous-ness.

















Here's a sandbag burpie demo.. I've seen about a dozen variations, but this was the range of motion I used.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Daniel

A couple days ago, I posted pics of a friend that tore her hands apart. She did that whilst doing Daniel. I was planning on doing this WOD for about a week now, and I have to be honest: I was excited to do it -- that is until I got those pics. After all, I'm STILL sore from Linda on Monday (yeah, she beat me to a pulp).

Daniel

50 Pull-ups
400m Run
21 Thrusters 95#
800m Run
21 Thrusters 95#
400m Run
50 Pull-ups


I actually 1) didn't trash my hands, and 2) shaved about 5 mins off of my time from when I did this one in October


Some Random Thoughts:

Some of the most annoying "injuries" (if you will), are those that spawn from menial movements. Two Examples.
  1. I was warming up before my WOD. My wifie left a bar with 65# on the floor, so I decided to use it to do a few overhead squats and thrusters while warming up. As I pulled, I nicked my shin, and began bleeding all over the place. Yeah, I know, right?
  2. (And certainly not least) My father was doing lawn work, and stepped wrong on a rock. doing so, he fractured his ankle. He wins.


My nasty shins















I'll stick to the compression sleeves.




Also,  I made myself a heavy sandbag and a lighter one that can be used for lighter-weighted wods, or can be stuffed in the other one for added weights. I probably should have weighted them, but the smaller is roughly 25#, and the bigger one is probably between 75# and 85#. Total price for everything - 12 bucks.

I'll post details later. Oh, and I'm definitely open to ideas for sandbag WODs!

My wife hates taking me to Whole Foods because all I do is "make fun of all the hippies" (her words, not mine).

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Reebok and CrossFit: The Road Less Traveled?

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both..."

CrossFit has a reputation for being the "anti-globo-gym". Methods implemented in CrossFit, and in their "boxes" (gyms) are vastly different than that commonly found in any given chain-type gym. Treadmills are rarely found, and elliptical machines are virtually non-existent, yet the results CrossFitters see are second to none. CrossFit truly is a vehicle in "Forging Elite Fitness". While this philosophy is a catalyst that makes CrossFit truly special, there's something more..

CrossFit started roughly a decade ago. Steadily, and  while staying underground, the CrossFit philosophy forged and molded proverbial monsters. Equipment, while essential, was secondary. CrossFitters would improvise equipment and rummage to build boxes - whether it was building squat stands from 2x4s, hanging pull-up bars made from steel pipes, or making medicine balls from old basketballs and sand, people became fit. Very fit.

CrossFitters would work out where they could find space. Garages, warehouses, basements, and driveways, some very confined (ergo the nickname "box") were common improvised gyms. WODs were (and are still) posted daily. People are free to follow the Main Site, or to make their own programing - doing all sans the bells and whistles of that found at the globo-gyms. Fitness is what mattered. that's it.

Today, CrossFit is becoming more and more popular (I hesitate, to say "commercialized - less lack of a better term). To support this claim, CrossFit, recently consummated a groundbreaking partnership with Reebok.

Reebok is propelling CrossFit to a whole new populist level. Amongst other things, Reebok is sponsoring CrossFit events - including the 2011 CrossFit Games (renamed the 2011 Reebok CrossFit Games), is developing a clothing line (Delta) which will be their "top of the line" - geared toward CrossFitters, "implemented CrossFit values" in their business model, and even opened their own box on their New England Corporate campus - named Reebok CrossFit One.

This partnership is obviously bringing more money, publicity, and notoriety to CrossFit. All good things, right?  

"Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back."

This is obviously a business venture for Reebok, and rightfully so - CrossFit has huge potential for their company in so many different ways! For example, CrossFit has 130k+ fans on Facebook. This is a HUGE pool of potential customers. Furthermore, the comradery
and unity felt in a CrossFit community is a unique force to be reckoned with. I don't blame Reebok for wanting to gain from CrossFit, but in their zeal, a major element of CrossFit may be lost.

CrossFit gyms aren't put in warehouses for the look. The "bare bones" ambiance is not a gimmick. Boxes look like this because CrossFit is about the programing, period. The bells and whistles make unneeded white noise that easily get in the way of true fitness potential.

This year, the CrossFit took revolutionary steps to actually find the best competitors in the world for the CrossFit Open. It didn't matter if a competitor had a state of the art box, or a piece meal el cheapo box comprised of yard sale junk, Craig's List fodder, and DIY projects from Home Depot. It was all about the WOD, not the sponsorship "If there's a guy in nowhere Idaho that is a monster, we'll find him."

"Then took the other, as just as fair, and having perhaps the better claim, because it was grassy and wanted wear..."

To be candid, when I heard about this partnership, I was cautiously optimistic. I saw the amazing potential, yet also saw immediate threats to the CrossFit I know and love. I was excited to see CrossFit being viewed in such high regard, yet with such a close partnership, the "corporate influence" is bound to (even if unintentionally) infiltrate the status quo. Now, I fear that the status quo may be uprooted. For example:

  • The CrossFit Games was subtly, yet oh so noticeably was branded as the "2011 Reebok CrossFit Games".
  •  The "Delta" clothing line is to be the "top of the line" from Reebok, yet "price would be reflected in the quality".
  • While Reebok CrossFit One looks like a typical box, the look seemingly was made for that reason - to look like a typical CrossFit box. This is a multi million dollar company with top of the line facilities, yet their Crossfit gym appears "bare bones".
  • Last, but not least,  traditional CrossFit attire has been taken off of the crossfit.com online store. It's been replaced exclusively with Reebok attire. Furthermore, athletes at the 2011 Reebok Crossfit Games will not be allowed to wear their affiliate attire, but Reebok a "uniform". (This set off a firestorm on the 'net.)

Let me be clear; I'm certainly not advocating the dissolution of the Reebok / CrossFit partnership, nor am I condeming Crossfit HQ or Reebok. These two businesses undoubtedly  have a vision of the future, and a path to accomplish these goals.  However, the simple fact of the matter is that the draw to CrossFit has been that it has different from it's inception, it is different than any other athletic community, and it should remain different in it's future endeavors.

I simply hope that those "grassroots" CrossFitters aren't forgotten in the path chosen by Reebok and CrossFit, and the essence of what makes CrossFit great will not give way to Reebok-CrossFit, Inc.

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference".



Ricky Bobby's Sponsor





A Bit -O- Full Disclosure: 


1) I have a home gym which is all but fully furnished - and spent less than $400 for everything in it. Yes, I am one of those who used Home Depot for DIY projects, and Craigslist to build my home-gym.

2) My favorite two pair of gym shorts, and my favorite warm-up pants are all Reebok. Furthermore, while I normally wear Vibrams when I work out, my alternative pair are Adidas - the parent company of Reebok.

3) Excerpts from The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost were used.

4) The photo is a screen grab from Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Thrusters!

Today was a lift day. I was up much too late studying, so I made it short and sweet.

5-5-3-3-1-1-1

Thrusters

I wasn't happy because I was only able to match (not beat) my PR for 1 RM. I did beat my 3 RM and 5 RM thought. Ah well!




I'm so stoked for this!!




And this makes me laugh every time. I love how the two CrossFitters are so unassuming - "I like CrossFit.. I think it's good..." ha ha!

Linda (aka "The 3 Bars of Death")

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Linda - perhaps the summit of all named WODS "as Rx'd". I've done this WOD several times, yet it is always a) a tough S.O.B. and b)was impossible to do as Rx'd - until tonight! I tend to shy away from my personal WOD stats, but for Linda, It's basically contingent on my weight, so IF you do this one, and dare to do it as Rx'd, for the love, use your own bodyweight!

Linda
10, 9, 8... --> 1 of:


1 1/2 B.W. Dead Lift (295#)
1 B.W. Bench Press (190#)
3/4 B.W. Clean (155#)
For Time.

I was all by myself tonight, so I was deprived of the confidence of a spotter. It makes the bench a little more nerve wracking.




In other News:
I had a tube of superglue blow up all over my thumb today. The worst thing about having super glue explode is the clean up! I mean, really! How do you even begin to clean up super glue?!

(I was going to put a hilarious video, but I couldn't find one without a massive amount of expletives)


Oh yes, and a friend sent pictures of her hands after doing a bunch of pull-ups on an el cheapo bar. Lesson here? I think so. Heal quickly, Jen!







We've had over 200 visitors! Wow!

Saturday, June 18, 2011

I Got Around to It

I finally got around to the WOD I was going to do on Wednesday, and I gotta say - it didn't dissappoint! I changed a couple things.


3 Rounds of:

30 KB Sumo Dead Lift High Pulls (2 Pood)
30 Toes to Bar
800 m run

I don't know if it was because of the WOD last night, or the heat, but I was having the toughest time recovering from this one. It took me a couple hours, but I'm good! My hands are pretty tore up as well. I haven't ripped in about 5 months, and didn't tonight, but I have some gnarly calluses. Just Glad I didn't pass out... 


Wittman - You'll Lose Your Grip!

You know how after an especially tough WOD, your hearing kinda fades, and your vision kinda blurrs, and you get a nasty "manure" taste in your mouth? Yeah, that was my night.

Today was definitely a Hero WOD day. I was feeling pretty good after yesterday, so (naturally) I let my ego get the best of me, and told myself that I'd kill a Hero WOD. That was an error.

Wittman

7 Rounds of:

15 KB Swings (1.5 pood)
15 Power Cleans 95#
15 Box Jumps 24"

I did 25" box jumps

This was tough! I lost my grip around round 3, and am still feeling it. I also missed the box on rep 97ish. Fortunately for me, I had compression sleeves, and was saved gashes in my shins!

I wonder why a person would have their hearing fade... hmmm


Due to my LOST post last night, I thought I'd post another.



This got me off on a tangent, and found another.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Nancy!

This was the Main Site WOD. I actually was planning on doing another WOD; however when I saw this one, I had to do it!

"Nancy"

5 Round of:

400m Run
15 O.H. Squats 95#

For time.

I actually did this one completely unbroken! I'm guessing this is part in partial the reason i cut my time on this WOD in more than half from three months ago.

The other reason is a bit more... "wordy"?

CrossFit is a program for all ages, people skill level... bla bla bla... While I believe this, a magical thing happens when several CrossFitters of similar skill go head to head. It normally ends up with everybody on their back - due to the competition. Tonight, a good friend / fellow CrossFitter did the WOD with me. While she was notoriously weak with her OH Squats, she seemingly got over her proverbial OH Squat phobia, and killed it. Naturally, I couldn't get beat by a GIRL, so I kept on keeping on - and beat her my a measly 2 seconds.



Now, contrary to my "schpeal" above, I actually shy away from the routine head-to-head competition. I find that I'm way too competitive, I tend to let my form go in order to gain several seconds, I boast when I beat others, and demean those who beat me.

Rather, I choose to compete against myself. I find that I'm my best friend, and my worst enemy while in the middle of a crapfest - aka a WOD. I'm the only person that I can truly gauge myself against. It's a battle - me against me. Will I fold, or prevail?



Think about it, I may be pretty darn awesome at power lifting, but may suck at double-unders. Because of this, I'm probably going to get killed doing Annie head to head against a jump rope extraordinaire, but would be able to smoke them on Linda (Three Bars of Death). Who is the better CrossFitter? What do I gain by gauging myself against that person? Truly, I'm the only person to truly gauge growth. "Better than yesterday"...

All that being said, it's still kinda fun going head-to-head..



I can't believe I actually found a decent edited version!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Oh, The Unplanned "Rest Day"

I WAS planning on doing a work out, but due to many consecutive late nights and (relatively) early mornings, my bod decided to make me take a three-hour nap.... So, I guess it was a good time for a rest day!

I WAS going to do the following:

3 Rounds of:

800 m run
30 2 pood Sumo Dead Lift High Pull (W/ a KB)
30 Knees to Elbows

I'll save this little gem for later.




Napping at our house is "at your own risk"


In other news:

My wifie is now kipping on our thick pull-up bar! (A little background - I chose to get an extra thick pull-up bar when putting together our home gym. It's tougher, but translates into crazy results on a "regular" bar.) She also did Fran at the Rx'd weight, and PR'd her Front Squat by 25#! Monsta!

Also:

I've recently noticed that Crossfitters are generally obsessive with their health - specifically their diet, yet  when it comes to alcohol, they are all about having a good time! Yes, we "know" that grass-fed cows from Whole Foods is the only acceptable type of steak,  and grains in any way, shape, or form are evil... Here's a thought: What exactly do you think ferments to make pretty much any type of alcohol? Barley, rice, potatoes, etc.. Translation: Carbs Carbs, and ... oh yes, Carbs!

So, when I crack open a sugar free AMP, or a Coke Zero, I can rest a little easier knowing that the "elites" also have their own vices... at least that's what I'll be telling myself the next time somebody inevitably busts my chops.



Wonder if HE'S a CrossFitter? Thank's awkwardfamilyphotos.com! 

Front Squats - The Wrist Killer

I love Front Squats - I really do, and I love them even more since I discovered that taping your wrists is not the sissy way out. That being said, I still bought black tape - just to alleviate any outliers that may otherwise think I'm a wuss.

That being said, It was a plethora of Front Squats today!

5-5-3-3-1-1-1-1 Front Squat

THEN

Max Rep Front Squat at 70% of your 1rm


THEN

AMRAP - 3 rds of:

2 min Bear Complex 95#   *
1 min rest
2 min Lift Progression 95#   **
1 min rest
1 min Bear Complex
1 min Lift Progression

You start in the complex / progression where you left of the prior round


* Bear Complex = Power Clean to Front Squat to Push Press (or Thruster) to back squat to push press with out setting the weight down (see vid)


** Lift Progression = 5 dead lifts to 5 hang cleans to 5 Strict Press to 5 Over Head Squats with out setting the weight down. (I wish I had a video, but I took a couple ideas and came up with it myself).


Oh yeah
I whipped myself in the face doing DUs tonight! Really! how does that even happen?!

And - apparently, being 30 is too old to be in the military unless you write a letter to explain that you'll be able to keep up with the younger crowd. I was thinking my letter would go something like this:  

"To Whom This May Concern:

In regards to your inquiry regarding my age - a detailed explanation  of my daily workout routine: 5-6 times a week - at either 5:45am, or 9:30pm - and sometimes both in the same day, I perform a warm up comparable to 90% of the applicants to the USMC's actual work out. After this warm up, I commence a workout where I'll run, jump, push, pull, lift, throw, squat, grip, swing, row, and lunge - for a set amount of time or sets - often performing several of these movements in concert with a goal of minimal time, maximum weight, or as many sets in a given amount of time.

While my my actual workout rarely takes less than twenty minutes, the amount of power excreted exceeds that what an average person performs in several hours of the gym. I often have sore muscles, tender hands, and bruised legs the next morning after an especially tough workout [See Attached], however, these issues are seemingly menial, and have yet to keep me from working out the next day.

While I understand your concern of my age, the bigger question you may wish to ask is: 'how is this old man vastly outperforming so many of the rest of the candidates?' 

Sir, I am confident that I will be able to not only withstand, but thrive within the rigors of your programing. I am a CrossFitter.


Jeremy K. Anderson
Applicant


[ATTACHED]





"


I dunno - maybe a little over the top?

 Oh! and here's the bear complex video (I didn't forget)

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Gotta Love Main Site!

There are some days that I don't want to do a Hero WOD, don't want to do one of the Ladies (the Benchmark WODS are lady names - for the newbs), don't want to lift, and don't have the energy to make up a WOD. Instead of doing nothing - which may or may not be the better alternative - our saving grace is the Crossfit Main Site! This magical place allows people who don't give a rip, find a killer WOD. This is what happened today!

21 Dead Lift 225#
50 Squats
21 Push Press 135#
15 Dead Lifts
50 Squats
15 Push Press
9 Dead Lifts
50 Squats
9 Push Press

I don't exactly know how, but I somehow miscalculated my weights on Dead Lifts, and only did 205#. (Yes, I know, 2 45s on each side.. bla bla...) I was not happy. At least I didn't drop anything on my head! Second day accident free!


I'm still sore from Saturday, especially my abs!




Oh, and this is why people should ever use machines to work out... and they say weights are dangerous..



And another reason..

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Rabbits and a Hefty Endurance WOD

Today was a great day for a hefty endurance WOD. Ergo:

3 Rounds of:

1m Run
50 Pull-Ups
100 Push-Ups
150 Sit-Ups
200 Squats

Immediate Cash-out of a 1m Run

*Can't Partition Rounds 1 & 3

This was as BEAR, and took me well over an hour. It was weird, though because about half way through the second round, the suck-fest turned to a not-so-bad-fest. When the adrenaline wore off (about 30 minutes after I finished), I crashed! So, beware.








Yeah, so when I was cutting the grass today, I stumbled upon six baby rabbits hiding in my yard. I'm REALLY happy that what happened in the clip below didn't happen to me!


Lookie Lookie What I Found...

I was doing Bar Review, stewing on my otherwise weak Press, and I stumbled upon THIS page. I looked over part of it, and it's really helpful as far as technique. I haven't looked over the entire page, but from what I saw, it looks pretty good.

Thoughts?

Also, today, the blog was visited by it's 100th person! I'm actually a little shocked because I didn't think anybody would visit, I have NO idea who is visiting.. But I'd be nice to find out? (hint hint)

Friday, June 10, 2011

A Modified Annie!

I did a modification on Annie today. I'm so committed to getting the dreaded "Double Under"! To that, I decided to do "Annie" every 1-2 weeks, and I thought that it was a good idea, until it was actually time to do it for the second time. Because of this, I decided to do a Modified "Annie", and make it into a type of "Chipper".

Here it is!

50 Double Unders
50 Sit Ups
40 Double Unders
40 Squats
30 Double Unders
30 Pull Ups
20 Double Unders
20 Box Jumps (25")
10 Double Unders
10 HSPU

I got a record (and met a goal) with 28 unbroken! Extremely excited, but I still beat the tar out of my arms - not as bad as last week, though!

Whadda ya think?!




Thursday, June 9, 2011

CrossFit TOTAL - The Trifecta

AWESOME NEWS! I didn't drop any weights on my head tonight!



If you don't know what CrossFit TOTAL (CFT) is, you are missing out! It's basically a test of the three essential power lifts used in Crossfit.

There is no time element (except that the entire CFT in one sitting. After you are warmed up, you have three attempts to get your 1 rep max in:

Dead Lift
Strict Press
Back Squat

This will give you an idea where you sit with fellow Crossfitters around the whole wide world.

You can get an idea where you fare HERE.

CFT was a little strange to me... I missed my PR on two of the three lifts by 10# each. I don't know if I'm fatigued, or (I'm assuming) if it's more difficult to PR while in the midst of CFT... Hmmmm...

I DO know, however, that if I want to move into the next "category" of athlete, I'll need to either add about 75# on my lifts, or lose about 15# on my person (pardon the legalese).

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Jonas! My Boy!

This WOD is named after my second born son. It is one of the most intense WODs I've done, but also one of my favorites! I PR'd it by over 5 minutes from February, BTW.

21 Push Press 95#
21 Thrusters 95#
21 Front Squats 95#
21 Sit-Ups
21 Double Unders
21 Pull-Ups
21 Overhead Squats 95#
21 KB Swings 1.5 pood

*Between each exercise, you must do 7 burpees.

FOR TIME!

We did this with 6 people tonight Women's weight Rx'd is 65# and 1 pood.

Oh, and yes, I dropped the bar on my head - AGAIN! this time it really did almost knock me silly.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Rest Day - Because I Can

I took a rest day today because I needed one.

I got the urge to do a WOD, however, around 9:30 tonight. Coulda Shoulda Woulda... I'll get one tomorrow..

Some AWESOME news:

Ali got her first three kipping pull-ups tonight! she then decided to do a 15' rope assent! Awesome!

Also:

Check this blog out! I'm totally going to do this to my poor kids when I'm old enough (and especially if I'm missing a leg - awesome!)

http://waveatthebus.blogspot.com/





Josh & Helen - A Two-fer!

Josh (Morning)

21 OH Squats 95#
42 Pulls-Ups
15 OH Squats
30 Pull-Ups
9 OH Squats
18 Pull-Ups


AND

Helen (Evening)

3 Rounds of:

400m Run
21 KB Swings 1.5p
12 Pull-Ups

So, I was able to get through all the OH squats unbroken, but when I went to dump the weights after my second set, I failed on the "dump" - and dropped the bar on my head. I saw a few stars, but came out relatively unscathed (I thank my Red Sox hat - it took the brunt of the fall.)

At least It was relatively minor. Many others had much more epic fails than me.






In other news:

- I was asked, or forced (depending on who you talk to) to go do a WOD with a Marine - so I made him do Helen. Yes, I beat him (although this was a quazi-empty victory. The poor sap had NO idea what he was getting himself into!)


-I saw a huge spider today! Probably the side of a potato chip - a REALLY large potato chip. I still smashed it.

- Due to the impending flooding, our Church asked us to "dramatically" increase our water storage. Me being cheap, but obediant, went an bought a 32 gallon trash can, steralized it, sealed it up, added a valve at the bottom, and a cap on the top. We now can flush our toilet 18.82 times if we ever have a water crisis.

- It broke 100 degrees outside today - and the house's A/C broke yesterday afternoon. I'm so glad we have connections!


- AND FINALLY: 2 PR's!



 And... one more fail - for good measure.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Angie - The Good Sister

Angie:

100 Pull-Ups
100 Push-Ups
100 Sit-Ups
100 Squats

You must complete the entire exercise before moving on to the next.

OR

50 Pull-Ups
50 KB Swings
50 Double-Unders (ug..)
50  OH Squats


Unlike "Annie", I very much enjoy "Angie". In fact, there was a time where I tried to do this WOD every month.. I didn't do it since March, so it was fun doing it again - and I improved my time by almost four minutes!

Oh, and yes, it was a blood bath today! Aside from all of the murdered June bugs, I bruised my heel (how? Because I'm stubborn and stupid... 'nuff said), worked on DUs (and have a bunch of whip marks), and did so many sit-ups, I've literally worn my "tether region" raw and bloody! (Yeah, I don't know either - just... just don't ask.)

On the bright side, We cleaned the floor after we were done! That's the power of Pine-Sol BABY!


Rest Day

You know when you "like" a friend's photo on Facebook, but then about a billion people comment and it blows up your texts or emails? Does that constitute "unliking" the picture?

Oh, here's Goofy trying out CrossFit. Enjoy!


Thursday, June 2, 2011

Annie: AKA "The Harlot"

Annie:
50 - 40 - 30 - 20 - 10 of:

Double Unders
Sit-Ups


*I have other names for Annie other than "The Harlot", but fearing sensitive ears are reading this (ears... ...reading... right...) I'll refrain from expounding.

The simple fact of the matter is that I really don't like Double Unders! The "DUs" and I have been at an uneasy truce for several months now, but I'm quickly seeing more and more WODs including them. Ergo - it time to have my own proverbial "Arab Spring" with the that tyrant simply known as "DU".

As of today, the DU is pretty much running the table, although I dropped my Annie time almost two minutes from January ( but don't get too excited, my time was abysmal then, and is still pretty crappy now). Because of this, I'm going to make it a point to do Annie every other week until I drop to a sub-ten time.

Wish me luck. I'm a gonna need it.



This was almost a year ago to the day
This was September - still pretty bad

DIY Kettlebells!

5 Minute Homemade Kettlebell

This is a very simple, and cheap way to make a homemade kettlebell. I designed this one to comfortably hold 1.5 pood (55-ish lbs). I've also gone up to 2 pood (75-ish lbs) for KB swings, and added even more weight for sumo deadlift high pulls. The beauty of this design is that you can change up the weight if / when you want, but you don’t have to.  The whole thing cost me around $15, and I had it put together in the time I had while I waited at three stop lights on the way home from the store.


Materials needed
:

Supplies
  • Steel Piping
  • 1 ½” Floor Flange
  • 1 ½” x 6” Pipe Nipple
  • (2) 1” x 4” Pipe Nipples (you may want to cut these even shorter)
  • 1” T fitting
  • 1” to 1 ½” Adapter
  • 1” connector
  Tools
  • Hack Saw
  • Sand Paper
  • Tounge-and-groove Pliers (2 sets, if you have them)
Miscellaneous
  • Various "Change Plates"
  • 2" Lynchpin or R-Clip (optional)
  • 1-2 Barbell Collars (Optional) 
 
Instructions
    • First, securely connect the connector to the adapter and the bottom portion of the T fitting use the Pliers(s) to fasten them securely
    • Next, securely connect both 4” Pipe Nipples to the ends of the T Fitting. Again, Use the Pliers. Here, use the hack saw to cut off the threading (if you choose). Sand the metal edges  - as they will cut your hands! (you may also choose to tape the entire handle)
    • Then, loosely connect the adapter to the 1 ½” Pipe Nipple.
    • Finally, securely attach the 1 ½” Floor Flange to the 1 ½” Pipe Nipple. Use the pliers


That’s about it! The whole thing weighs roughly five lbs. At this point, I added five – 10lb change plates, and hand-tightened the handle to the weights. The weights should be somewhat snug, and won’t move much while swinging.

If you choose to use less weight, you could either place barbell collars above the weights, or drill a hole through the pipe, and insert the Lynchpin / R-Clip. This will help avoid the weight from moving when swinging.


















Enjoy, and if you have any questions, let me know!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

6-1-11

3 Rounds of:

25 Box Jumps (24")
30 Second L-Sits
10 Strict Pull-Ups
10 OH Lunges (45#)

OR

Back Squat
5-5-3-3-1-1-1

First Post!

This is my first post on this Blog! I'm almost giddy with anticipation!

I've decided to post all my work-outs, and garnish the posts with random thought, opinions, etc. Truth be told, I'm guessing that there'll be a total of 11 people that look at this by the time I eventually lose motivation, and stop posting.

Well, this is for you 11 casual followers! Here's to you!