MAN! A whole MONTH has gone by since I've posted anything! How do you mega-bloggers do it?
Anyhow: Here's what I've been up to since my last post:
I did some NASTY volume work:
Yowza. Was definitely a bit sore for a few days after that...
Got to do some MC-ing at the NorCal Masters event (which was multiple levels of RAD),
Then, I Established a SEVEN rep-max on my high-bar back squat (330. I'll take it):
A few days later I played around with some barbell step-ups:
Established another 7RM (135, in the press this time):
And wore my weight vest for a yucky lunge/ball-slam couplet:
Played around with some heavy rack pulls (these are gross, and NOT easier than regular deadlifts. Counter-intuition at it finest):
Got in some much-needed skill work:
And then DOMINATED a Squat piece in a competition:
(and then proceeded to get my ass handed to me on a metcon later that day)
The next day, I attempted (and failed) a PR Frontsquat:
THEN RALLIED BACK AND TOOK THAT FUCKER TO THE BANK:
Then played around with some agility drills in an EMOM:
Getting really excited for The Open and to get back out on the gridiron! I will do my best to post more often. This once-a-month thing is wreaking havoc on my patience with iMovie.
Even though I have developed a gross icky cold, I am wicked pumped to start my final ramp-up to my next competition in 3 weeks. I got up on the bright, blew my nose, and got some WERK done in the gym. Squats and a met con!
Squats felt good. The last set of 5 at 340 was around 82% of 410. So I was pleased with that. I felt like I could have managed a set at 85% (350), but decided I better take it easy given the short window I'm working within, the cold issue (literal and figurative: it was around 35 degrees up in there!), and there was a little seam in the concrete where my feet were set so my technique was not the awesomest (Toe pitching a bit). There was a severe cliff on my"wind" during the conditioning around my 7th rep of Hang Power Snatches; regardless of the wall I smacked into I was pretty pleased with my time/performance there. A bit rough, but hey, I did it and I'm movin' on.
In other news: My Track and Field kids have been doing great things and really answering the call during our (rapidly ending) off-season conditioning program. We are doing really basic, sound stuff (Back Squat, Hang Power Clean, Bench Press, Deadlift) with a handful of assistance work (Lunges, Box Jumps, Plyo Pushups). In just 4 weeks, all of my kids movement in the 4 basic lifts has improved to a point where I have started all of them on either a Linear Progression model (for my noobs) or a 4-week progressive load cycle (for my returners). I'm excited to rub some tasty data in your faces in a few weeks!
Also: I've decided to put in one more season of semi-pro football. I'll be playing either offensive or defensive line for the Golden State Giants. I figure I want to put all this sport-strength I've developed over the last 2-3 years to good use before it starts to slide away. I'll keep you posted on any exciting developments there.
Don't forget to punch your email address into the thingy on the upper left of the page so you can get email alerts when I post! That way you can read all my posts like RIGHT AWAY after I post them, which you know I know is incredibly important for you to lead the life you are trying to live. And stuff.
(oh, also, using the zone diet has been working great so far! I'm still working on creating better habits and routines to get the right number of blocks per day but it's getting easier/smoother each week!)
Hi, Folks! I'm back, with a plan to post at least once a week (even if I don't have any videos or nothin'!) to create better blogging habits and give me something to look forward to.
I apologize for the long lay-off: I was feeling pretty down-and-out about my fitness after my Power Lifting meet, especially after drastically under-performing at the Diablo Deuces Wild competition, and I was really struggling to motivate to post, or eat properly, or exercise, or be in a good mood, or ANYTHING.
But, as usual, the New Year, arbitrary though it may be, gives us all an opportunity to re-assess where we are, where we've been, and where we want to go....So, my Strong in will to Strive blog is back.
Let's get caught up a bit, shall we?
So: A scant 2 weeks after my power lifting meet, I competed in a CrossFit competition involving partner (male-female teams) workouts. I partnered with a client at our gym, Bridget, who had recently won our "in-house" gym competition. So obviously, she is a bad-ass. She had a lot of fun, and performed really well, and was a GREAT teammate. However, on my side of things, I performed VERY poorly. The weeks of poor eating and lack of conditioning that I excused away by hiding behind my training for the PL meet showed up early and stuck around all day to remind me that I made some really very poor decisions regarding my fitness during the fall. I ran far slower than I know I am capable of, I lifted far less than I know I should have, I broke mentally early in one of the workouts, and my avoidance of practicing technical proficiency on a personally frustrating skill (fkn DOUBLE UNDERS!!!!) prevented me from helping Bridget blow the final workout away (it had prowler pushes in it). Bridget is awesome and would never say this to anyone, but I let her down. Big time.
It took me some time to try to get back in a groove. I was still making lazy dietary choices and had little to no direction in my training. I started taking regular CF class 2-3 times a week, and started trying to formulate a plan to (finally) not embarrass myself in the CF Games Open that is rapidly approaching. Finally, Gilly (who I love more and more every day, btw.) sat down with me and called both of us out on the key factor that both of us were avoiding: DIET. So we made a plan to start the new year with some serious nutritional organization with an eye on discipline and consistency: Zone portions of Paleo food. We are 4 days in, and I can definitely feel my body adjusting. Training has been icky, my energy has been kinda low, I've been really sleepy a lot. I know this will all start to improve as my body gets used to how it is supposed to be fueled, and as I find the right prescription of Blocks and such for my daily activity level (kinda tricky during a vacation from work). This has definitely helped re-focus my training.
That being said , I have a month to get ready for some low-pressure competition in the peninsula. I will be competing in the "amateur" division, and I'm not even going to worry about placing. I just want to perform and not worry about other competitors. I am going to give myself permission to have fun and enjoy the process and the moment.
I kicked things off on xmas eve with an incredibly poorly programmed gut-punch of a workout with my main homies Bo and Boone. If you are a "CrossFit-er", then you may be familiar with the "12 days of xmas"-style workout. It works just like the song: Round one, you do 1 of the first exercise, round 2 you do 2 of the 2nd exercise, 1 of the first; round three is three of the third, 2 of the 2nd, 1 of the first...all the way to round 12. Well, me being a moron and all I decided to use that programming template to do an "all-barbell" version. It was horrible, it took an hour, and we all technically DNF'd (we agreed that the 1200m row to start round 12 should be the end of it). But I have to admit, it was nice to kinda suffer and slog through something for longer than 15 minutes (something I avoid like the plague in my training) with two of my favorite people. Here is the video of (most of) the workout. Youtube wouldn't let me upload the 45mins worth that I had on my iPad (even my iPad had had enough after 45mins!), so it is what I was able to upload (solely at Bo's request. I suggest clicking around for highlights. Kudos to you if you can make it through the whole 30-or-so minutes straight through {yes, that was a direct challenge})
I was able to spend a few days down in Topanga with Gilly's family which was awesome. I got lots of baby-holding time with my niece Mia, and was able to check out a quality CF gym in the Thousand Oaks area (Live Train Play CF). It's a CF affiliate run by a coach named Jai out of a legit Athletic Performance Center type of facility. TONS of signed NFL jerseys on the wall, if you catch my drift. Their dumb bells went up to 150, wink, wink. They are no Valley CF, but a great experience anyway!
New years eve, Gilly and I continued a tradition she picked up when she was coaching and training at CF Santa Cruz: the NYE WOD. We picked a rep scheme for a 20 minute AMRAP-style workout that incorporated 1, 3, 20, and 13 reps, and started at 11:40, so we finished right as the new year began. I did 1 jumping Muscle-Up, 3 Handstand Push ups, 20' keg carry (100#), and 13 KB snatches (53#). I managed 7 rounds and 7 Snatches.
New Years Day, I wasn't planning on doing any exercise, but with Gilly's coaxing I snuck a little work in (And yes, Dear, you were right: I am glad I did). I played around with some axle work, then did "Death by Continental Clean and Jerk" with 175#. I made it to 4 minutes and 4 reps.
And, I remembered to bring my iPad to the gym today, so here is what I programmed:
Metcon:
6 rounds for time:
50' Yoke Walk 450 lbs.
50' Prowler Push 165 lbs.
1 rope climb to 15'
Then SKWATZZZZ!!!
(Using 415 as 1.0)
5x.75 (310)
3x.80 (330)
1x.85 (355)
I liked this. I think I will stay on this 5/3/1 progression after a heavy met con and slowly increase my percentages over the next 3-4 weeks before my competition (the first event involves a arm back squat! Yay!)
I finished with 5 sets of 10 hollow rocks and 10 reverse hypers with 90lbs.
It feels good to have some direction and a plan again. I know that having nutritional discipline will bring me where I want to go, but I'm excited to see just how far down the road I want to travel it will help me get. This is the most fore-planning I've ever done for my diet, so I'm eager to toe the line, and then of course, relate to you all of my feels on the subject.
I'll leave you guys with this song, which always goes through my head every year about this time:
