NOV 30 2009 - Press Progress

Squat 3 sets of 5 reps (85kg)
Press 3sets of 5 reps (47kg)
Rest
5 Rounds As Quickly As Possible:
. 7 L-Pullups
. 14 Ring Dips
. 100m Sprint

I was able to complete all 15 reps of the press at 47.2kg today! Last time I only got 11 reps. My squat feels strong, but heavy. I come up slowly. The conditioning workout took me 14 minutes, 30 seconds. The ring dips really slowed me down.

NOV 28 2009 - "Death By Tabata"

Another fearsome named WOD!

Alternating Tabata intervals of Deadlift (85kg) and Burpees for max reps.
8x[20 sec DL, 10 sec rest, 20 sec Burpees, 10 sec rest] for a total of 8 minutes.

Crushing workout! I was pooped after this one. 106 total reps.

NOV 26 2009 - Sluggish Turkey Day

I lacked motivation. The squats went well, but the split jerks and conditioning were less than my best.

Squat 3 sets of 5 reps (81kg)
Split Jerk 5 sets of 3 reps (55kg)
Rest
As Many Rounds As Possible in 15 minutes:
5 Pullups
7 Push-Press (45kg)
9 Knees-to-elbows

I managed 7 rounds, plus one pullup.

NOV 25 2009 - REST

After the past two days, it felt like heaven just to sit around today. Just a reminder, rest and recovery is when we get stronger. It's the calm after the storm in which our bodies rebuild. In the spirit of recovery, here's links to a few sites that have influenced my current nutrition and recovery:
(Side note, there's some drama in the community right now; don't let it overshadow the quality of the information you use. Seek excellence.)

CF FootBall's Nutrition page.

Robb Wolf.

CrossFit Invictus.

Mark Sisson's "Daily Apple."

Enjoy.

NOV 24 2009 -

Here's video of the first two reps of my deadlift. My butt rises a half second before the bar moves. This means my starting position is not right. Heavy deadlifts are great for pointing out flaws in technique. The bar doesn't come off the ground until you get it right. I'm in the habit of a more upright back from pulling cleans and snatches. But when it gets heavy, you have to be in an efficient position. Bar over the mid-foot, shoulders just in front of the bar, back set, chest up, and butt no lower than the tight torso dictates. If you pause the video right when the bar starts up, that's what you'll see. So all the movement before that is inefficient.



Deadlift 5 rep Max (129kg)
3 sets Pullups for Max Reps (13,10,9)
REST
As Quickly As Possible:
. 20 Thrusters (45kg)
. 100m Sprint
. 15 Thrusters
. 100m Sprint
. 10 Thrusters
. 100m Sprint
. 5 Thrusters
. 100m Sprint

The deadlift reps were HARD. If I can keep progressing on CF Football's linear progression I'll be back to setting PRs in a month. I'm looking forward to the chance to try a one rep max the next time the CFFB Total comes around.

I don't have dumbbells capable of holding 23kg each, so I used 45kg on the barbell. I missed out on some coordination & balance components in the workout, but was happy I got to go heavy. Not during the workout, of course. Any day that includes both deadlifts and thrusters is difficult. But it's great programming. If my nutrition and rest are dialed in, I can't help but get stronger in a hurry.

My finisher today was Tabata knees-to-elbows.
For knees-to-elbows hang from the pullup bar and touch knees to elbows. Try to keep from swinging. It's great for the abs & back.
Tabata intervals are 8x[20sec work, 10sec rest].
I got a total of 55 reps, spread between 8 and 6 reps.

NOV 23 2009 - Security

The workouts after rest days are always special. Today's was no exception:

Squat 3 sets of 5 reps (79kg)
Rest
3 Rounds As Quickily As Possible:
. 4x 53m Sprints (out,back, out,back)
. 12 Power Cleans (55kg)
. 6 Push Jerks (55kg)
Rest
As Many Rounds As Possible in 3 minutes:
. Medicine Ball Throw (20#)
. Broad Jmps to Med Ball
. Return to start carrying Med Ball Overhead

I finished the conditioning workout in 10:55. Looking at the CF Football site, maybe I scaled it too light. I chose 55kg because 65 seemed too close to my 1 rep max (70kg). If I'd used 65kg it would have turned into a 20 minute strength workout. At 55kg it was good for power production. I only had to set the weight down during the last round of push-jerks. Overall, this was an excellent workout. Lots of power production, a pull, a push, and sprints. Hits everything an athlete needs.

Today I added my first "Finisher" workout. I made a deck of cards with very short workouts that address one of my limiters or add core work. Today's turned out to be a fun combination of medicine ball throws and broad jumps.

Midway through my first round of power cleans a couple of door-to-door salesmen started asking me questions. I had no inclination to slow down my workout in order to more politely shatter their dreams of making a big sale. One guy was shouting what I think was encouragement as he approached. Fortunately (for them), before they could get within throwing range of my barbell, my lovely fiancee explained what I was doing and fielded all their questions. After I was done with the workout, I asked her what they were selling. Security systems. "Does it look like we need a security system?" she asked. I agree, it's much more fun to chase down criminals and beat them with a kettlebell. I wonder if there's a "Beware of CrossFitter" sign I can put up in the yard?

Mark Rippetoe on Cheese & the Feds

"Yes, it is the law here that un-aged cheese must be made from pasteurized milk. I mean, really, what good is having a federal government if it can't make eating cheese safer for everybody? Imagine the landscape littered with the corpses of innocent children whose immune systems were not up to the challenge. Is that what you really want?"

- Mark Rippetoe