Thursday, December 31, 2009

Kaizen.

In the spirit of some old-fashioned New Year's Eve reflection, I've been thinking recently about what I have and haven't managed to accomplish in 2009. On balance, it's been a pretty good year: I quit a job I didn't love and have spent the last 9 months getting much closer to actually applying to grad school. I got engaged in September and finally feel like my fiance and I have time to plan for the big day. I joined Potomac Crossfit in February and over the last 11 months--despite a few self-inflicted setbacks--have become a fitter, healthier, and happier person. I've made some mistakes (overscheduling my life and not prioritizing my well-being being chief among them), but I've learned a lot about nutrition, fitness, and self-motivation, and am looking forward to continuing to improve and learn in 2010.

Now, onto a few short-term goals. As I mentioned, I signed up for sectionals, which will take place at the end of March. Like I said, I have no illusions about doing well, but I think that I can make a reasonable amount of progress from now until then, and I like the idea of having something to work towards. In any event:

First, January 1 to February 16 I will conduct my own personal Paleo Challenge: Zone-proportioned lean protein, no caffeine or artificial sweeteners of any kind, 2 or fewer servings of fruit a day, and a daily dose of Carlson's fish oil. I'll take before and after photos for the sake of having an additional metric for comparison, and I'll look for support from the other PCF folks doing the real challenge.

Second, except for during my overnight ambulance shifts, I'm aiming for 8-9 hours of sleep every night. Except for a 10-day period a few weeks ago, I was pretty close to this goal in December, and my spring schedule will be even more conducive to making it happen.

Third, I am shooting to average 4-5 WODs per week, and I plan to periodically evaluate whether I need to cut back on other commitments if they start to interfere.

Last, each month I will choose a goat (or goats) to work on, with an aim for raising my competence in a few critical arenas. I have 2 goats for January: stringing kipping pullups together (5 is my goal) and doing the same with double unders (25 is my goal). Both are technique-dependent moves that would be perfect for me to work on at the 1100 skill hour at the box several times a week.

Ok, if you've made it through this post, it's your turn. These seem like reasonable aspirations, but I would love to hear thoughts, comments, and suggestions if anyone has any. Happy New Year, everyone!

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Push jerks weren't good today. I managed to get 100 up before failing on 105 two times, egh.

Metcon afterward was

42 wall balls (8 ft, 12 lb)
21 pullups
30 wall balls
15 pullups
18 wall balls
9 pullups

8:27 as Rx'd, really am looking forward to learning how to string kips together, as that would greatly improve my time. Broke the wall balls once in each round more than I wanted to.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Did a modified version of gymnastics warmup 1:

5 rounds
3 HSPU negatives
5 pushups
10 sec tripod/frog stand

and

3 rounds
10 squats

I then went down to the treadmill and farted around on it for a bit before doing a fast-as-I-can-manage-two-days-after-Christmas mile. My treadmill math is a little fuzzy, but I think I ended up in the vicinity of a 7:30 pace. I didn't expect much more after what I've eaten the past few days, and it'll be interesting to see how I might improve after a few weeks on a clean diet. Stretched a little afterward, and did some myofascial release this evening while watching the Redskins get stomped once again.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

The overeating and drinking to activity ratio has been pretty pathetic the past few days, but I can report that I did about 5 hours of downhill skiing the day before Christmas Eve and today I did

50-40-30-20-10

Squats
Pushups
Situps

in 18:45

A few hours later, I then did 5 x 1 minute (unbroken) handstands.

Felt pretty crappy throughout the morning's workout, I'm sure as a result of the carb-fest that's been happening the past two days, but I was glad to get moving. Sleep has been for the most part fantastic for the past week - I think I have finally eliminated any sleep debt that may have accumulated during exam time.

Signed up for sectionals a few days ago. I have no illusions about placing well (or even finishing, for that matter), but I like the idea of having something to work toward over the next 90 days. More on this later.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Wednesday was an all-day study fest, Thursday was a 16-hour work day, and Friday and Saturday were spent travelling and spending time with family. Not being able to do anything but stumble from obligation to obligation is not the way I was hoping to spend the last week, but sometimes life happens. In any event, I am now caught up on sleep and am hoping to regain some sense of routine (or at least personal time) in the coming days.

This morning I did

5 rounds
100 m sprints on the minute

Then

Tabata handstands and Tabata situps (94 situps)

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

I was hoping I could finish my exam in time to make the 7 pm WOD, but that was not to be. Alas. Instead, later I did a modified gymnastics warmup 2 (only 3 sets of pullups) and the WOD from a few days ago:

5 rounds
Max reps bench press (65 lb 1st round, 75 lb for the rest)
Max reps pushups (with no rest after bench press)

Totals were 18/7, 10/10, 8/7, 6/10, 5/10. This was pretty hard, especially considering I have no idea what my 1 rep max is.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Wasn't feeling it on the way to the box today, but I'm glad I went in. Group warmup today, and WOD was

Find 1 RM Back Squat

Rest

3 rounds

1 min DU
30 sec rest
1 min box jumps
30 sec rest
1 min row
30 sec rest

I ended up with 170 lb on the back squat, which is a 10 lb PR! Props to Dan for pointing me toward an actual low bar position, which I think helped. Oddly enough, I feel like I maybe could have thrown 5 to 10 more on, but I'm happy with what I got considering my crappy mood before the WOD.

Met con was another matter. I ended up with 155, which is extremely low considering my rows were solid for me (even though the damn damper kept falling from 6 to 4) and I got about 20-24 box jumps per round. In retrospect, it would have been better for me to do single-double-single-double; I likely wasted a lot of time regrouping after each failed set (of which there were many).

Sunday, December 13, 2009

December 11-13

Been a long, workout-free weekend, unfortunately. Looking forward to getting back in the gym on Monday!

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Did a hybrid of gymnastics warmup #1:

3 rounds
3 HSPU negatives
5 parallette pushups
10 second tripod work (actually got a few seconds without any pressure on my head at all)

Then

3 rounds
10 OHS
10 KB deadlifts (1 pood)

WOD was

Deadlift 5x5 (125-145-160-180-190)

I actually felt like I had another 10-15 lbs in me, but it was cold (I did this in my carport) and I decided to call it a day while my form was good. As a result, my back feels great right now!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Combination of studying and family concerns put me in a don't-wanna-workout-today mood, but my better angels prevailed and I managed to get something done. Tonight I started things off with a modification of the PCF WOD (partly because I was too lazy to bring the rings inside, but also because didn't read it properly) and did

On the minute:
1 parallette pushup
1 situp
1 goblet squat (1 pood KB)

Add 1 rep for each exercise after each minute.

I ended up getting 7 rounds/minutes done. Limiting factor was of course the parallette pushups. I then felt guilty for not doing my gymnastics warmup beforehand (or any warmup, really), so I did a modified version of warmup #2:

3 rounds
3 kipping pullups
3 deadhangs

Then

3 rounds
10 sec tuck L-hang
10 KB swings (1 pood)

So not an ideal day by any means, but I'm glad I did something, if only because I felt better afterward.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Monday was

Gymnastics warmup #1

Then

Back Squat 5x5 (105-115-125-135-145[2])
Shoulder Press 5x5 (55-60-65-70[3]-70[3])

Back squats actually didn't feel super heavy, I just couldn't focus like I wanted to. Shoulder press sucked, mostly I think because I lower the bar too slowly, causing unnecessary fatigue.

When I got home, did 8 sets of 2 deadhang pullups before calling it a day.

Monday, December 7, 2009

On Sunday morning I had my first myofascial release massage. Oh my, that was painful, but nearly all of the lower body tension that I've been feeling is gone. Sunday evening I went into the box, and did

Gymnastics warmup #2 (with only 3 rounds of upper body stuff instead of 5)

then

"Hey Boo Boo"

Which is basically 3 rounds of 5 sets of the Bear Complex. I proceeded cautiously and did the first round at 65, the second at 80, and the third at 85. All went well until the third round, when I accidentally dropped the bar after the first set (trying to regrip). I ended up performing the rest of the movements except for the last 5 push presses, as my shoulders were pretty tired and sore by then.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Friday I worked a 16 hour shift on the ambulance, so no WOD. I brought my jumprope in the hopes that I could spend a little time on double unders in the afternoon, but we were busy, so alas.

Today was the Lumberjack 20. Holy cow.

20 deadlifts (155 lb, scaled down from 185 lb)
400 m run
20 kb swings (1.5 pood, Russian instead of American)
400 m run
20 OHS (9 at 65 lb, then 11 at 35 lb)
400 m run
20 burpees
400 m run
20 pullups
400 m run
20 box jumps (20")
400 m run
20 DB cleans (20 lb each hand, down from 35 lb)
400 m run

29:36

Disappointed with my OHS performance, mostly because I know I can do 65 lb. I was tired, though. Probably should have done 25 or 35 lb DB cleans, but my tired self won out on that argument too, and those things were murderous at the end of the WOD. Despite all this, given the terrible mood I was in when I woke up this morning, I consider finishing a victory!

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Thursday was a rest day. Did a little work on double unders tonight, but had to stop a few minutes in after my right calf tightened up big time. Got the tightness massaged out, but it's still a little sore. Weird...

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Warmup at the 5 pm WOD was a dynamic group warmup, so I didn't get to do my gymnastic warmup 2 today. WOD was

AMRAP 15:00

20 box jumps (20")
20 push presses (55 lb)
20 situps

4.5 rounds completed as Rx'd

Box jumps weren't so bad, but I really need to work on not breaking them (or at least doing 10 at a time). Push presses were ok but hard, partly because of some lingering soreness; I need to work on not breaking them as often too. When I focused on good form, though, I really felt them fly up. Situps were all unbroken. Overall, I tried to get right into the next exercise after a set was completed, but I still felt like I wussed out in terms of my breaks, especially at the end.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

I got inspired by all the different "focus on a good warmup" blogs/articles out there and decided to give the gymnastics warmup in the CFJ a try. Am starting at the beginner level there given all of the upper body strength I sorely need to develop; when I can, I'll be alternating between the following two warmups for awhile, with slight modifications or additions depending on the day's WOD:

Day 1

5 rounds

10 sec handstand (working on staying off the wall as much as possible)
5 parallette/ring pushups
10 sec tripod

3 rounds

10 OHS
10 KB deadlifts (1 pood)

Day 2

5 rounds

3 kip attempts
5 dead hang pullups

3 rounds

10 sec tuck L-hang
10 KB swings (1 pood)

The goal is to be able to get through the warmup effortlessly before proceeding onto the next level. Day 1's warmup did not go effortlessly, only really because of the parallette pushups, but I have hope for the future.

After the warmup, I did

Back Squat 5x3 (115 lb)

Then

6 rounds on the minute

7 deadlifts (145 lb)
7 box jumps

Was supposed to do 7 rounds, but back tightened up at the end of round 6, so I decided not to press it. Should have put more space in between back squats and deadlifts.