Outdoor Desert Punishment

This morning before my first shift at work I decided to do 500 pull ups for time.  Why, I have no idea.  I did it in just under an hour.  About 59: 20 something.  My hands are in some serious pain but not too bad.  A lot of blisters but no tears which was good.  I did them in pyramid sets starting at 1-10-1 X 5.  I felt pretty damn good afterwards too.

This afternoon after the Dust Storm settled, it was time to get outside for some of the good stuff.  I had my crossfit newbie who has literally never run outside, so I had to break her of such a horrible habit.  I had to get rid of the treadmill/elliptical regimen that world and worst of all the American Heart Assoc. thinks is healthy.  My goal is to instill and bring back hard work in the gym instead of this low to no impact crap.  Minus some minor running problems, she did awesome and pushed herself harder than I thought she would.  For her 1st outdoor WOD I had her do the following.

3Rds for time of:  

500M Row

800M Run

50 Sit Ups

I did the same wod but kept rowing till she finished, ran with her, and did V-ups instead of sit ups and jumped on the rower right away.

Snoops Time:  19:41

My Time was the same but I did the following.

1000M - 1500M - 1500 Rows

800M Run

50 V Ups X 3

OH, The Horror:(

Let me start off by saying WTF.  I did Jeremy Thiel's workout from the crossfit mainsite video or atleast I thought I was.  So instead of doing thrusters, I started doing clean and presses.  Either way, that shit put a hurtin on me like no other.  I did it outside in the 90 degree weather which has been a complete dust storm for the last two days which made it feel like a super inversion day X10 in the Salty.  I should have worn a mask or respirator.

Gasping for air thru each and every squat clean and press. I struggled to gut thru them and get them over with.  Burpees have never been a problem for me.  I've actually gotten faster at them for some reason.  I just changed my mechanics a bit and I've just been killing it.  I guess mechanics are everything.  After finishing, I just layed on the dust and sand covered concrete and made mud angels.  The time that Jeremy put up on that is ridonckulous.  I am gonna do it again next week and actually do thrusters to see if it will improve my time which I think it will.  I'm hoping by atleast 3-4 minutes.  These movements are so much harder when you don't got bumper plates.  Boo Hoo, I know I'm whining.  I got cheese to go with it.

WOD: 3Rds for time

10 Squat Clean & Push Press @135

10 Burpees

Time: 10:14

I conned a newbie into doing this wod with me and she toughed thru it like a champ.  It was hard to get her set up because they don't have the lighter trainer bars out here and no bumpers making it miserably low.  Other than that, we rocked it.  Great Job Snoop!

WOD:  5Rds For Time

21 SDHP @ 95/40

21 Ring Dips / Jumping Dips

TIME:

Vi-12:47

Snoop-17:41

Just in case you were bored of looking at the same old stuff.  Here is a pic of my favorite crossfitter and complete firebreather Jolie Gentry.  So if you are a female.  No!  You don't become large and manly if you lift heavy doing crossfit.  You become stronger and more fit than you were previously.  So hit it hard and don't be scared of being too big because it won't happen.

Today was a strength day and I felt pretty strong for the most part.

WOD: 5X3 Bench Press

1. 195 X 3

2. 205 X 3

3. 205 X 3

4. 205 X 3

5. 210 X 3

WOD2:  Heavy Pull Ups 5X5

1. 5 w/53lb KB

2. 5 w/53lb KB

3. 5 w/53lb & 20lb KB's

4. 5 w/53lb & 20lb KB's

5. 5 w/53lb & 20lb KB's

6. 4 w/53lb & 20lb KB's

I definitely feel a little stronger in the upper body but my lower body is still feeling a little off but not injured in any way.  All in all, I feel great though.

Not much to say cause I am so tired from all huge dog and pony show.  I saw Hillary D-Bag Clinton today and she looked as haneous as ever.  I basically drove the sweetest hopped up ford excursion ever today and when I got done, I was fired up to do some speed work.

WOD:

500M Row For Time:  1:32

5k Run For Time:  18:09

5K Bike For Time:  13:43

30 Power Clean & Jerks For Time:  3:56

Wassup Annie...

Being that my lower back was quite sore from the last wod and the work day seemed to just keep dragging on, I decided to get a quickie with Annie.  She loves it fast, bouncy, and with rhythm.  So thats what I did.  Hahaha.  I hope no one reads this.  My mind is in the gutter.

Warm up w/ 3 rounds of:

20 Push Ups

20 Sit Ups

20 Air Squats

15 Pull Ups

Then 500M Row.  1:55

WOD: "ANNIE"

50-40-30-20-10 of,

Double Unders

Sit Ups

Time: 5:14

Finish with 500M Row.  1:48

THE TRUTH ABOUT TRAINERS 

Here is a great article about high priced running shoes and how they've caused more injury than not.  Check it out.   ARE RUNNING SHOES A WASTE OF MONEY? 

PUMPED ABOUT FLYING

Today was a pretty exciting day for me all in all.  I got to cruise the countryside hanging out of a little bird aka Helo and get a birds eye view of the city which was cool.  My NVG's broke off my helmet and I caught them which was the luckiest thing that could happen to me.  I almost pooped my pants at the thought of losing them.  I got backed pumped and just want to get a quick workout in before I put some beers down.

WOD:

4 rounds of :

7 Deadlift @ 275

30 Air Squats

7 HSPU's

Time: 20:18

Everything was easy except for the DL's.  I just had no juice left.  Another day...

Sleeping in:)

Well, today was the first day that I've slept in, in such a long time and it felt so so good. I woke up today, and it was supposed to be a rest day, but instead I did a crossfit endurance WOD on the C2. I felt pretty good albeit a little slow. The front of my legs have been so tight that I have been a little worried as of late about them. Just grabbing my foot while standing is actually so tight that it is painful. I think they might have a little strain to them. I think i should have given them an actual break after the Moab race.

WOD: 3 X 1500M Row w/ 2min rest between rounds.

1. 6:06
2. 5:33
3. 4:51

HSPU's 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 

with the movements below between each round of HSPU's

20 - Sit Ups

20 - Hip Extensions

No Time Recorded but it felt pretty fast.  I'm guessing around 15minutes.

I FEEL MUCH BETTER NOW

Today was a day where I sat on my ass in a vehicle for 9 hours straight literally. Its one thing to drive nine hours, but to sit in one with full kit for nine hours is a complete misery on the back. There is no comfortable position at that point. After finishing that, I had to do something to feel like I accomplished something. On top of it all, I devoured a huge piece of cheesecake. I felt the need to crush myself with double wod back 2 back. I have never been known to be the best with my diet but I have never had a shortage of ways to crush myself.

WOD: AMRAP in 20 Minutes.

20 - 30in Box Jumps
20 - Push Press 115lbs
20 - Burpees

Total: 4 Rounds

Finish with 4rds max effort of:
50 Double Unders/ Then 1min of jumping mixture.
25 Sit Ups
250M Row

Today I felt a little tired. I'd ate too large of a steak and potatoes dinner before my WOD, and I was definitely sluggish because of it. Still a fun WOD all the same.

5 rounds for time:

10 - 155LB Power Cleans

50 - Air Squats

Time: 15:11

I was thinking of taking another day off cause my legs have some weird soreness to them that has been there a while now.  Maybe a strain, but not quite sure.  So I couldn't just sit around cause I'll just eat, so I went on a nice long run.  I felt pretty good but my feet have been killing me lately.  They have a sweet pain to the touch feeling just above the arch and I'm wondering if I put a stress fracture in it again!  It wouldn't surprise me, but the train stops for no man.  I'll play it by ear and may stop running and sprinting for a bit.  I think I may just focus on strength wod's for a couple weeks and then revisit the foot issue with a run.  Other than that, the training has been pretty good out here, minus a lot of equipment issues and lack of creativity.

Time: 85minutes

Miles: Approx. 10 miles.

DOG MENTALITY.

Today I realized that I'm not actually human, and that I am an actual pack animal, a sport dog of some sort.  Not sure.  People say why do you train so hard all the time.  What are you proving.  Then I hear people say screw this, screw that, I'm too old for this or that.  Like a dog, I got nothing to prove and have no excuses.  My mind is more like a dogs and is cued up on doing.  For all you dog owners, you know what i'm talking about.  A dog could be in a complete exhaustive state passed out and if you woke them up and asked them to go play, hike, wrestle, or swim.  They are always game.  To be a part of something and make their owner/pack leader happy, and to prove themselves till their last breath is what they live, are born, and bred to do.  On a dogs last breath, they will still go for that long walk with you no matter how old or painful it may be.  Because its their life quest in being happy.

I believe I have similar DNA.  I'm not forced to do anything.  I choose to do them.  I choose to do all the things I do,  no matter how crazy it may seem to most, because it is bred into my personality or DNA.  For me, its just a thing that keeps me living.  Take these things from me and I cease to exist as a person.  I punish and push my body to limits cause I enjoy finding out things about me I didn't know before I put myself under such stresses.  It forces me to be a better person in all aspects of my life.  I'm not a thrillseeker, its just about me knowing everything about me, my limitations physically and mentally, and enjoying my entire life.  Learning, and knowing yourelf completely frees you and allows nothing but growth.  Hold yourself back from things and you widdle away.

Since opening up the box a short time ago.  Last September to be exact.  I've met clients that I see as friends and seen them grow mentally in a way that they may not see yet!  Pushing themselves harder in a single workout than they have their entire life.  I've seen people hit their mental limit and think about stopping and then someone tells them they can do and then they continue to push with everything within them.  Its hard to imagine but I've seen it.   If you happen to know me when I'm beyond ripe and just a wrinkled, old  and grouchy man telling stories.  Ask me if I want to go ride, hike, swim, skydive, board, surf, or do a WOD.  You'll probably see a grin on my face as I get up to lace my shoes and say lets do it.

WOD:

7X3 Back Squat

1. 205

2. 225

3. 225

4. 225

5. 245 X 2

6. 245 X 2

7. 245 X 1

Dead Lift

135 X 10

225 X 10

245 X 10

275 X 5

305 X 1

Peeled Blisters, and Alcohol Soap. WTF!!!

I woke up today with some tight legs and the first thing that came to mind was all upperbody.  Such a baby.  So I did a good warm up and decided to do 30 muscle ups for time on a pull up bar cause we have no rings out at this location.  Good idea gone bad.  In my gym I could do them all day but out here not so much.  The bar I used had old tape all over the bar with wind blown sand stuck all over it.  I started off pretty good, knocking out 10 in just under a minute.  With that came a massive blister that ripped right off after number 12.  I finished in discomfort and a appalling 12 minutes.  The good news is the the blister is on my palm which heels faster and still allows me to do pain free pull ups.  

From there I went into the gym and did a pull up / double under WOD, followed up by a tabata row fest.  I finished all this work off by polishing off 5 pieces of delicious Baklava and a Latte.  By the way.  Do not wash your hands with the anitbacterial alcohol rubbing soap with open blisters before eating.  The cursing and whining that ensues shortly after puts all eyes on you making you look like a complete douche.  Yup, that was me.

WARM UP:  3 rds of.

10 push ups

10 sit ups

10 overhead air squats

10 supermans

Finish warm up with 1 mile run.

WOD 1:  30 Bar Muscle Ups 

Time: 11:58

WOD 2: 10 Rds For Time.

10 Pull Ups

30 Double Unders

Time: 10:04

Finish with Tabata Row: 20sec work/10sec rest for 8 rounds.

Forced Rest

Ok, I'm actually gonna force myself to rest today cause body is not happy.  My lower half and midline is sore as can be.  It must be from the sprints the day.  I'm not quite sure.  With this rest in mind.  I'm really gonna have to focus on eating good cause with boredom, I tend to start eating everything in site which is why I hate resting.

WOD:  5 Rounds Not For Time of.

Doing absofrickinlutely nothing!!

Rest Not Beer Needed..

I miss my little red gym monster and the daily morning wet wash wake up call she likes to do to me so much.

Man, everytime I get time off to rest it gets all screwed up by beer.  My rest days are more like recovery days from boozing and not restful at all.  The last few days has been pretty cool though cause I've picked up a crossfit newbie out here and showing her the ropes.  There is a heavy lack of equipment out here but more so for females which makes it challenging for programming but shit is getting done.  Its nice cause it keeps my training up to speed and keeps things in perspective for me.  Todays WOD is gonna be a strength day.  I'll keep you posted on that shortly.

5 X 3 Bench Press.

1. 185 X 3

2. 195 X 3

3. 195 X 3

4. 195 X 3

5. 205 X 3

After that pathetic performance, I will be ordering benches for the gym Fo Sho!

30 Squat Cleans @ 155

Time: Too slow to post.  7:55 + 4 minutes of feeling sorry for myself.

Who is this Jeremy character.

With my legs a little or a little more than a little tight from the sprints yesterday, especially after racing Musky on the quad for a 75m sprint.  I couldn't think of anything so I looked at my catalog of WOD's on my computer and found good ol Jeremy.  It was a lot tougher than it usually is for me.  Normally, I breeze thru anything with OHS's in it.  But today I had a problem keeping my shoulders activated even after watching the video on shoulders with Kelly Starett.  I finished in a reasonable time but by no means a PR.

WOD:  "JEREMY"

21-15-09 For Time of:

OHS w/95lb

Burpees

Time: 6:04

Evening workout:  13 mile run

Time: 88 Minutes

Things that make you Yak:(

This is seriously probably the only bodyweight movement that I can think of that can cause you to be nauseous, utterly parched for air, possibly break ribs from the lungs expanding too quickly, and vomit with violent intent.  I'm talking about sprints.  

So I'm out at high noon here in the sandbox, and I know its not peak summer but its pretty F#$%ing Hot!  Why I decided to sprints I have no idea but the guy that told me the pool would only take 10 minutes to clean was off by 45 minutes which pissed me off.  So off to sprinting, and there the pain train began.

Warm Up:  500M Row @ 1:42

5 X 100M Sprint - Walking back to starting point for rest.

1. 14.20

2. 14.03

3. 13.74

4. 13.65

5. 13.67

6 X 50M Sprint - Walking back to starting point for rest.

1. 6.20

2. 6.70

3. 6.72

4. 7.08

5. 7.01

6. 7.14

Finished with 20 X 30in box jumps.

Today, it was time to get it on.  My lower back has still been a little off so I did some upper back. Nice..

5 Rds of:

3 - Weighted Pull Ups

5 - Dead Hang Pull Ups

7 - Kipping Pull Ups

Followed by 21-15-9 of:

KB Swing 53lb

Box Jump 30in

HSPU's

Time: 7:05

REST DAY.. Kinda..

Well, today was supposed to be a rest day but ended up being some light oxidative training with a 6mile run, some admin paperwork interuption, 30 minutes on a stationary bike maintaining 95 RPM's and traveling 13.8 miles, and last but not least; A little Annie for time. 5:25 A little slower than pr but not bad.

Not having bumpers is scary.

Its been 2 full days since I did Linda and my back is Ripe full of soreness.  WTF...

So I did a heavy (In my mind it was heavy, but its all relative) shoulder day, and it wasn't looking great.  You never really appreciate stuff till you don't have it.  Everything is harder knowing you don't have bumper plates cause you can't drop it without looking like a total toolbox which was almost the case for me on a few separate occasions on this mildy heavy day.

Strict Press  5 X 3

1. 115 X 3

2. 115 X 3

3. 120 X 3

4. 125 X 3

5. 125 X 2 - 1 MA

Push Press 5 X 5

1. 125 X 5

2. 130 X 5

3. 135 X 5

4. 135 X 5

5. 140 X 5

Split Jerk 5 X 1

1. 140 X 3

2. 155 X 1

3. 165 X 1

4. 170 X 1

5. 180 X 1

2k Row - 8:02

Sore and Whooped!

Man, I have to say that I feel like a whooped bitch with a super sore lower back, tight upper back, painfully sore cheeks on the lower half.  Linda just beat the piss out of me.  All I could muster up today was a slowwww 3 mile run to loosen up the legs and back, then row 2k with a time of 7:13 which was good but I still feel like shit.  Sitting in a vehicle all day didn't help much either.  I'm hoping tomorrow will be a better training day for me than today.

Back on the Wagon!

I got my 1st WOD in since touching down in the Sandbox and it was a wrecker.  Probably not a wise decision on my part, but I've never been one to do the normal or easy.  It started off pretty good but then my legs said F#$% Off and by the time I got to the 5's my lower back was in Eat a D*&# mode and when I finished, it was like a horror movie.  I couldn't speak and kept falling down as if the bad monster was chasing/walking after me and catching me.

WOD:  "LINDA" aka "3 Bars of Death"

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 of each Movement For Time:

.75 X Body weight Cleans - 95lbs

1.0 X Body weight Bench Press - 155lbs

1.5 X Body weight Deadlift - 225lbs

Time: 25:16

Summary:

I definitely need to put some serious strength work in while I'm out here.  My bench press felt good but not for high repetitions.  My legs might have been a bit weak still from the run or the jetlag.  Not sure, but I'll fix'em soon enough.  There is no place to run out here except for the treadmill so I am gonna have to train my brain to run on one of those things.  We shall see how that goes.

CAN AN 18 HOUR FLIGHT FEEL LIKE 2 HOURS?

It was an easy nonstop flight to DC, but right at landing I had to meet up with the company and burn my brain doing some random psych tests, and a test where I felt like I was on the show "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader". The two best questions on the psych test were do you ever wake up feeling evil, and do you have superpowers that other people don't know about. I walked out of that room feeling like the shortbus was there to pick me up.

Instead, I had a friend Mari take me out to dinner. I had Lobster Bisque, 2 large crab cakes (Amazing), and a grilled chicken and roasted beet salad with avacado with a few Blue Moon's and buzz to follow. I love this job cause I have friends that live all over the world, and they are always happy to see you.

So the question is; Can an 18 hour flight feel like 2 hours? Well it did for me. I got on the plane with a bit of a buzz and dog ass tired for some odd reason. Probably from my brain overthinking itself about the wifey, the gym, and future plans. "The Usual". Before the plane even took off, I fell asleep and didn't even wake up for the refueling. I woke up up with 55 minutes before landing in the sand box and all was good minus the knot I got in the middle of my back from over stretching with a yawn. All is good:)

Now its time to put on the game face and get my train on. I'll keep you posted on my adventure.

Legs in the hurt locker

Today was a bit disappointing to watch my front squat get really weak and my form go to crap.  I'll have a couple of months to work on it though since there won't be bumpers, it will be a lot the standard gym lifts.  I'm excited to get this show on the road and get back to do the Steeplechase with the boys.

WOD:  FS 7X3's

1. 185 X 3

2. 185 X 3

3. 185 X 3

4. 185 X 2 + Dump

5. 185 X 2 + Dump

6. 185 X 2 + Dump

7. Box Squat 135 X 3

2000M Row For Time:  7:31

Rest, rest, rest!

Why can't a rest day be just that.  It always ends up being something else, such as errands, finishing taxes which was a relief to put it lightly, putting up molding.  Getting that thing done was like a never ending fight gone bad WOD.  

Tomorrow is looking like a good strength day with some Rowing that I'm actually excited to do.  I might even get some crosscountry skiing in in the am.  We shall see.  1 more day till wheels up and back to being a nomad.  I'm gonna miss all my new found friends from the gym and training the way I want to.  Soon it will be training with minimalist equipment which can be a bit painful.  Life goes on.  I may be gone but this blog will keep rocking.  So stay in touch everyone.