6-20-11: Wheelhouse

Back Squat Intermediate 4×6 @ 75% 1RM - 150#

Tough but never felt like I was going to fail.

30-20-10
Pull Ups
Box Jumps, 24"

4:41

Good to have something right up my alley after the CrossFit Total which favors the bigger guys. Really was hoping to get the Pull Ups unbroken but only got like 24-6 and then don't remember the last sets. None really unbroken. Would have liked to have gone a little faster on the box jumps. Hadn't done them in a while so found it hard to get a rhythm. I need to work on staying mentally tougher through these and just getting them done.

Post – 5×8 GHDs

6-18-11: Runs, Snatch, Power WB

4 Rounds
800m Run
10 Hang Power Snatch, 65#
20 Power WB, 16#
22:45

Runs felt awesome… kept a good pace throughout. Could have easily gone 75# on this one but felt good to keep moving the whole time. All the snatches were unbroken, PWB were 20, 13-7, 10-10, 10-7-3… I think. Somewhere around there.

Post – 50 Ring Rows

6-17-11: Crossfit Total

Back Squat, 1 RM - 200#
Press, 1 RM - 105#
Deadlift, 1 RM - 255#
Total - 560

PR in both Back Squat and Deadlift... maybe in Press too. Never felt so bad about a day where I PR'd in so many things.

Back squat... could have probably gone heavier but once I got above 200 I took way too long getting down into the squat and can't get myself back up. Overall, I felt best about this one though... 200# was right where I was aiming for. Previous was around 175.

Press... I just suck at this one. Not my favorite move. 105 was pretty good I guess.

Deadlift.. this was where I thought I could do a lot better. Previously got a 5RM of 245 but just couldn't get 275 or 265 off the ground... not even close. 255 felt pretty damn heavy... so it goes. Looking forward to working off these numbers in the upcoming weeks and just getting stronger

6-13-11: 10-8-6-4-2

A late post... I forgot to write one on Monday I guess.

10-8-6-4-2 (10min Cap)
Overhead Squat, 75#
CTB Pull Ups
Push Press
Toes To Bar
9:56

Rx'd was 135.. for women it was 95. I'd like to think I went too light but since I just barely made the cap... maybe not. OHS felt alright... kinda failed on the set of 8 when I just lost the bar overhead. CTB felt worse than usual... had a pretty gnarly sunburn on my arms and felt like they were a little tight.

Push press actually felt pretty good... was able to really bounce them up and down pretty well. This will really help in FGB. TTB were all kinda lamely split into singles... can't control myself well enough on the way down.

Having 4 beers with lunch and then going to Crossfit... not recommended.

Post - 10-10-10 Good Mornings... I think 45-55-65... maybe ended 75?

6-12-11: Fran/Paleo Challenge Finale

Fran
21-15-9
Thrusters, 95#
Pull Ups
7:34

A 61 second PR over last time (just about a month ago). Fucking A this felt good. Thanks to Andrew's tips about really popping the hips forward (almost over exaggerating them) I was able to get more thrusters than I ever had before. Managed to get my first 12 unbroken. They really slowed down to the end (something like 4-2-2-1 in the last round) but I'll take that for the overall time improvement. I still couldn't get the longer sets of pull ups unbroken but managed to get them all in two sets. Last nine, I just powered through like normal.

I've got the crossfit cough now and a scratchy throat. I think a milkshake will help though.

6-10-11: Medball Runs Are Terrible

2 Rounds:
400m Run
15 KB Snatch, left arm, 1.5p
400m Run w/ 20#med ball
15 KB Snatch, right arm

14:59

Had just an awful time with this one. Kind of stuck in between weights for the snatches. 1 pood felt way too light and easy... 1.5 felt pretty heavy. Decided to stick it out rx'd and go with 1.5. Glad I did but it really slowed me down. I also had nothing left on the medball runs... had to walk on the second one and felt like an ass about it. I just cannot find a comfortable way to carry that thing. Snatches got pretty heavy and failed a few... probably from not using my hips enough. Need to really pop them out more.

Post- 50 back extensions

That's it til Fran on Sunday... bring it on

6-9-11: 20 Min AMRAP

20min AMRAP
30sec Handstand Hold
5 Strict Pull Ups
30 Double Unders

7 Rounds + ~30sec HSH

Felt good to have a WOD where you're just constantly moving. Handstands felt pretty decent, managed to keep my ass/back off the wall the entire time.. so that's improving a lot. Focusing on keeping the core tight really helps. It was a lot easier to hold it when I could actually see the time. If I was straining around to check my time I feel like I fell off the wall easier.

Pull Ups were fine.. towards the end they were broken 3-2 or 3-1-1. Probably could have gone a little harder on them.

Double unders continue to improve. I feel like I'm thisssss close to stringing together a large amount. May have gotten around 8 or so in a row a few times. Used my own rope for the first time and while it may still be a little long it felt pretty good. Find some time to work on these outside of the box and I'll be rocking these easily by the end of summer.

Post was 10x10 push ups. Tried to work on the tips Andrew gave me and the first 5 rounds or so were really good. Felt nice and quick on them all. Work on keeping the weight forward on them. Rotating my arms/elbows really made them easier.

6-7-11: Day 2 @ DCF

4 Rounds
5min AMRAP - Thrusters, 85#*
Every minute on the minute, 5 burpees
Rest 3 minutes between rounds
*scaled down from 115

This one SUCKED. Thrusters continue to be tough on me.. but I guess they're tough on most people. Couldn't string together 3 in a row continuously like I was hoping.. but I guess 20 minutes of thrusters will do that. Burpees felt pretty solid actually and was going faster than the guy doing the WOD with me til he hurt himself... he was also going rx'd though.

Good tips from Andrew - slow and controlled out of the bottom of the squat on the thruster then explode on the top and really drive my hips/ass forward. Really felt the bar pop up when I was able to focus on this. Keep this in mind for Fran.

Kinda tweaked my elbow and it really hurt for most of the day.. then was fine when I got off the plane back in Chicago. Going to take it easy tomorrow and go in to CFC on Thursday and Friday.

6-6-11: Two A Day At District CrossFit

First ever real class with Andrew at DCF to open up his new box. Naturally, it was the same one I did with the family when he opened the initial location - Half Cindy

10min AMRAP

5 Pull Ups

10 Push Ups

15 Air Squats

10 Rounds + 4 Push Ups

Two rounds (or so) better than my last attempt (I need to go back and look that up and add it here... that is the point of this afterall). A little disappointed by that actually. My pull ups are much quicker and the air squats aren't really a problem. Push ups continue to hold me back though and there's no reason for it... I should be knocking these out at home more often. Andrew showed me an interesting technique. Set myself up more out over my hands with pressure right on my knuckles. Think of rotating the elbows outward (like twisting a screwdriver). WORK ON THIS! It could make so many WOD's with push ups so much easier. I need to get better through the chest anyway.

Post - 3 unbroken power cleans. Worked up to 115. Tried 125 but couldn't quite string them together. Still probably pulling too early... need to work on getting full hip extension first then getting under the bar.

WOD #2

1RM Clean and Jerk

120#.

Cleaned 130 but couldn't get the jerk. I had trouble moving my hands in and around to get them ready for the jerk. Might have just been overthinking this a bit too. Took way too long to transition and wasted lots of energy. I can do better.

Post - 2 Mile Run

15:37

Had to deal with traffic lights in DC so I lost a lot of time.. maybe a minute or more. I'd like to go for more runs too... work on endurance. I'm pretty good at running so again.. it could help in a lot of upcoming WODs now that the weather is getting warmer.

Good times at DCF... looking forward to tomorrow and all the times I'll be back in the future. Andrew is running a great box.

6-3-11 - Deadlifts, HPC-Burpees-DU

5RM max Deadlift - 245#

5 Rounds (12 minute cap)
10 Hang Power Clean, 95# (scaled from 115)
10 burpees
15 Double Unders (scaled from 30)

11:47

Deadlifts - previous 1RM was 245... this time got 5 in row and probably could have gone heavier. Form was absolute shit though for the last 2-3 reps. Worried too much about lifting that I just roll out my back. Bryce and Rudy had a good laugh at it.... I'm just pumped to get all 5 reps relatively easily. Got to work on keeping back straight though...

Metcon - HPC were heavy and form may have suffered a bit... not sure I fully got my elbows around on some reps. Managed the first two rounds unbroken... but slow. Burpees were whatever... I still feel really slow on these. Probably something I should be practicing at home... same with double unders. 15 was a good choice to scale down to. I need to work on actually stringing them together... enough of this single-double-single stuff. I managed to get a few late in the rounds when running low on time.

Had to run out on the post-wod to get to Amanda's Happy Dog performance.

Are green beans paleo? I hope so because evidently I might be starting to like them again

5-26-11: North Central Regional WOD - 100's Chipper

100 Pull Ups
100 KBS (1.5 Pood)
100 Double Unders
100 OHS (65#)

39:04

Pull Ups felt really smooth, felt like my hand was starting to rip somewhere in the 90′s so did the last 10 mostly as singles with very little kip. KBS were mostly in sets of 10 until broken up more late. Double unders felt pretty good actually. Still did single-double for most but managed to string together 5 or 6 a few times. OHS were slow but steady… probably could have even gone a little faster but still working on keeping my balance. Took way too long on the OHS, should have done higher reps.

Legs absolutely killed me for days after this one.

5-30-11: Hero Wod - Daniel

Did this one solo - kind of felt lost during an open gym warm up, especially since there were lots of guys doing Murph or other long WODs and all kinds of movements around me.

Daniel
50 Pull Ups
400m Run
21 Thrusters, 95#
800m Run
21 Thrusters, 95#
400m Run
50 Pull Ups
27:07

It was pretty damn hot outside and the box was a sauna... you could feel the humidity in the hallway walking in. First thruster was heavier than expected and it threw me off balance. Got all of the thrusters in at least sets of 3. I want to get higher sets for the Fran finale. Couldn't get more than 10 pull ups on the last set.