6 Months of Crossfit/ Zilla 1:1

I was extra pumped about today because I've reached the half way point of my original mission. Today is exactly six months since I started crossfit, and the mission to drop 100 lbs. in one year's time. I'm currently down 56 lbs. with another 44 lbs. to go. No doubt in my mind that come August 29th I'll be at 186 lbs. I just need to continue to put in the work in the box and in the kitchen & at the dinner table!

Ninjow - Juanita aka Don "the magic" Nita - Zilla (these are my Ninjas)

I went in this morning for my weekly medicine with Zilla. That's what I call these now, my weekly medicine. HA! I feel like I need some sort of drug or drugs afterwards to help me recover from the 30 minutes of P.T.A. he puts me through.

Workout

10:1!

OH (overhead) Weighted Lunges - 45#

Push-up Position Lateral Foot Drills with 45# Plate

400 meter runs at 8, 5, and 3

So I basically started with a 45# plate over my head (arms locked out) and did 10 lunges, dropped the plate, put my feet on the left side of the plate while the rest of my body was in a push-up position (not at rest at the top of the push up), as quickly as I could I went left, middle, right with my feet and back over the place (without touching) to the left where I started driving my hips down into the ground.

I did this all the way down to 1 like a countdown, but at the 8, 5, and 3 mark I was out the back door to run a 400. Zilla ran these with me and was in my ear the entire time. Saying things like breathe, lol, he's always telling me to control my breathing, relax and lean forward. He was also saying things like "there's someone else always working harder" "doing 600's instead of 400's" "waking up earlier than you" "training harder than you". As freaking tired as I was this really helped motivate and drive me to go harder and faster (or at least as fast as I could).

I read a tweet earlier this morning from @crossfitgames that read "Start conditioning your mind." - Dawn Fletcher. This is exactly what we are trying to do on these WOD's. Push ourselves physically beyond our pain thresholds, but also mentally try and break through the wall. If you've ever worked out or you do crossfit you know what I mean by the wall. Sometimes it's the Great Wall. This is all I kept thinking about, and saying to myself during the workout.

Aftermath

2 Minute Drill

I've posted about the 2 minute drill before on the blog. I still have nightmares about this. It's flat out balls to the walls of me trying to punch, knee, kick, head-butt the punching bag. All this while Rod and Heath aka Heat were pulling on me, pushing on me, tackling me trying to keep me off the punching bag.

At one point I got so exhausted and was grabbing whatever I could I grabbed Zilla and was trying to get him down to the mat.

I was spent after this, and made my walk out to the back for my weekly puke action. Something I've just gotten used to with these WOD's. I've never been a big puke guy in the past not even when I was in shape back in my skinny days in high school or college. For whatever reason these WOD's just tax me physically unlike anything I've ever done before. Zilla says it's because with drills like the 2 minute drill or the pummel drills we did last week he sets the pace not me.

All I know is if you aren't ready to pass out or throw up after this drill you simply aren't doing it right. It took me a good 30 minutes to recover from today's activities above!

Sorry Heath about catching you in the chin!

Crossfit Games Open

I've had a lot of family and friends asking about the Open for the Crossfit Games since I first posted about the Burpee workout we had to do last Friday.

Let me start by explaining the Crossfit Games first. Who is the fittest? How do you know? Since 2007, the CrossFit Games have evolved to answer these questions. Each year the event is a more comprehensive test of fitness, and the athletes raise the level of competition to unprecedented heights. The average Games athlete in 2012 will be dramatically more capable than the world’s best in 2007.

Several unique characteristics define the CrossFit Games. The Games change every year, and the details are not announced until right before each event. Athletes train year-round for a competition that is almost completely a mystery. When they reach the Home Depot Center, they put their training and mental fortitude to the test and take on a rigorous, broad-ranging test of overall physical capacity. After three days, the Fittest on Earth™ will have clearly distinguished themselves.

You can check out more on this at http://games.crossfit.com/about-the-games/history .

Now am I going to make it to the games and is that my goal. Absolutely not. I'm still focused on the original mission that started almost six months ago, and that is to drop 100 lbs. within a year. I'm currently down 56 lbs. since I strated the mission back on August 29th of last year (six months tomorrow).

What I am using the Open as is a good bench mark for myself to see how far my fitness has come along in the last six months. It's also cool and humbling to see where I stack up to some of the fittest people in the country, my region, and the world. I think over 55,000 people registered for the Open this year. That tells you how much crossfit has grown in popularity since the Crossfit Games first started.

So what is the Open and how does it work?

The CrossFit Games season is a three-stage test of fitness. It is comprised of the Open, Regionals, and the world championship, the CrossFit Games.

The season kicks off with the Open, the most inclusive competition in the world. It's a test of 5 workouts over 5 weeks that will push you physically as well as mentally. Each week the workouts get harder and harder.

The top athletes and teams in each region from the Open will move onto Regionals. The best athletes and teams at Regionals will compete at the CrossFit Games from July 13-15, the world’s premier test to find the Fittest on Earth™.

Below is a detailed explanation of the Games season for Individual athletes, teams, and Masters.

http://games.crossfit.com/about-the-games/the-games-season

Now I know I'm not going to make it to Regionals, but maybe one day. I can dream right? You'd be amazed at some of the stories of the athletes who have competed and made it to Regionals and some to the Crossfit Games. Keep an eye out for a friend of mine from Benedictine College. His name is Guido Trinidad, and he's a BEAST! He owns Peak 360 Fitness down in Florida. If you are ever down in Miami I highly recommend you go and check out this box! He's also one of the reasons I gave crossfit a try. I'm hoping I can make it out to CA this July and watch him throw down with the best in the world!

You can check out my athlete profile at http://games.crossfit.com/athlete/82092 and keep up with my progress through the rest of the Open workouts. The next one will be announced tomorrow, and my box www.westplanocrossfit.com we will be doing the workout on Friday.

There are some real bad asses at my box also doing this. Checkout our team profile at http://games.crossfit.com/team/1191 . I'm just doing everything I can to not let them down, and do my absolute best to represent my box!

Outlaw WOD 02.28.12

Kelp and I did another Outlaw Way workout today at the box. She and I were talking, and I think we are going to try and work two of these in a week moving forward. For about the next 12 weeks. They are very humbling as they make us feel so freaking weak, but in the long run it's making us better.

Outlaw Workout
Strength
1) Back Squats: 1X5 @ 60%, 1×5 @ 65%, 1X5 @ 70%, 1X5 @ 75% – rest 2 to 3 minutes between sets.

2a) 4X5 STRICT Weighted Chest to Ring Pullups – heaviest possible, rest 60 sec.

Notes: These should be performed with a false grip, even if you do not normally use a false grip for Muscle-Ups. Also, try to pause for 2 counts when the ring makes contact with the chest. If you cannot perform these with weight just use BW. UB sets are not necessary. Use a band if necessary to complete all reps.

2b) Front Squats: 1X5 @ 60%, 1×5 @ 65%, 1X5 @ 70%, 1X5 @ 70% – rest 60 sec.
Conditioning
*The 3 AMRAPs (as many rounds as possible) should be performed as one continuous WOD.
4 minute AMRAP of:
30 towel pull-ups
8 Hang Squat Snatch (75#/ 65#)

Chick Norris - 1+3
Juanita - 1

2 minute AMRAP of:
Row for Meters

Chick Norris - 499 m
Juanita - 419 m
6 minute AMRAP of:
6 Strict HSPU
12 KBS 32/24kg (70#/ 50#)

Chick Norris - 3+2
Juanita - 3

*Rest 10 minutes.

Run 1 mile.

Outlaw WOD 02.27.12

It's been about a week since I did the last Outlaw WOD at the box, so I was looking forward to do this one. Not real sure why because these are "kick yo ass" hard!!!

Kelp aka Chick Norris did this one with me today.

Workout
WOD 1
1a) 4X3 Halting Clean Deadlift – heavy (not maximal), rest 60 sec.

Kelp - 185/ 215/ 245
Juanita - 215/ 245/ 275

1b) 4X3 Power Cleans off blocks – heavy (not maximal), rest 60 sec.

Kelp - 95/ 105/ 120
Juanita - 135/ 155/ 175
WOD 2
4 rounds for total working time of:
40 Double-Unders
12 Thrusters 95/65#
12 C2B Pullups
*Rest 3 minutes between each round.

Kelp - 13:40 (blue band)
Juanita - 14:15 (green band)
WOD 3
1a) 3X10 GH Raise – heavy, rest 45 sec.
1b) 3X10 Reverse Hypers – heavy, rest 45 sec.
1c) 3X10 STRICT Toes to Bar – rest 45 sec.

2nd Attempt Open WOD (12.1) 02.26.12

Yes Kelp and I went back on Sunday to attempt the Open 12.1 burpee workout. We wanted to try and beat our previous attempts. We figured with a day’s rest in between we should both be able to improve our scores.

Kelp killed it her 2nd go round and ended up with 94 total burpees, 10 better than last Friday. Now you know why we call her Chick Norris.

I on the other hand only improved by three burpees and got 80. I'll take it, it's an improvement over the 1st try. I just couldn't keep my pace, I hit a wall at 2 minutes, and hit the great wall of China at 5 minutes.

Kelp is currently tied at 383 in the South Central Region, and 5,234 in the World.

Check out her athlete profile http://games.crossfit.com/athlete/17429 .

I'm tied for 2,046 in the South Central Region and 27,612 place in the World after the first workout of the Open. <<< I got some work to do!

My athlete profile http://games.crossfit.com/athlete/82092 .

Open WOD (12.1) 02.23.12

I went into the box this morning with my partner in crime Kelp aka Chick Norris to do the 1st of the Open workouts.

What are the open workouts? These workouts are the competitive events of the 2012 Reebok CrossFit Games season. Each year, event, and stage of competition has unique workouts. All athletes will compete in the same Open, Regionals, and Games workouts.

Now Juanita is not registered, but I'm doing these with Chick Norris as moral WOD support if you will.

I'm really using this as a good benchmark for my fitness to see how far I've come in the last 6 months. She's registered and competing in this year’s Open. Maybe with another year or two into crossfit I'll register, but for now I'm still sticking to the 1st mission.

Workout 12.1
7 minute burpee AMRAP (as many reps as possible)
Yes that's right seven minutes of agony!

BEFORE

AFTER

Kelp = 84

Juan = 77

My goal was 90-100. I started off at a good pace 20 in the first minute, but I hit a wall really fast about the 2 to 2.5 minute mark. Jumping that 6 inches makes all the difference in the world, and so does 7 minutes!

Zilla 1 on 1 WOD 2.23.12

I normally do these on Wed. w/ Rod Zilla, but couldn't make it work schedule wise yesterday. I went into the box today with the intension of doing the crossfit WOD, but last minute change of plans w/ Zilla, so we did a skinnified WOD.

Here is the PTA that followed!

We definitely need this on a wall somewhere in our box at www.westplanocrossfit.com .

Workout of the Day
1:15!

Ball Slams - 15#

Broad Jumps - 4 ft.

Tractor Tire Pulls - 10 yds. <<< the biggest & heaviest one we have out back

100 meter run

So for those of you who don't know the 1:15 format here is an example of what Don Nita had to do today. 1 ball slam, 1 broad jump, 10 yd. tractor pull, and a 100 meter run. Repeat all the way to 15.

I know I always talk about how these kick my butt, and they do, and today was no different. To the point where I think Zilla felt sorry for Juanita and called time at the 20 minute mark. At that point I was on the verge of passing out. Juanita was seeing stars, dizzy, and everything started to turn that yellow/ green color.

I laid on the concrete for a while trying to catch my breath, once I did I stumbled into the box. Once I started to recover, I was getting more and more pissed at myself for not being able to finish the WOD. To the point where I told Zilla lets go I want to finish the last 5 rounds.

It took me a little over 30 minutes total. The tractor tire pulls were f'ing BRUTAL!!!I can't wait for next week!

I did what she's doing but without the straps, just grabbed with my hands and pulled like hell!

KDUB's Bday WOD 02.22.12

Today we celebrated a WPCF members birthday today. This is the crossfit/ box way of saying happy birthday.

Had I know what Kimberly's WOD was going to be I may have skipped it. J.K! It was a tough one today.

Workout of the Day
Happy Birthday KDUB

4 rounds for time:

2 mins for max calories

22-turn in pushups <--- SUCKED!

12-wall balls

Aftermath: 27 GHD sit-ups

20:49 was my time. 129 total calories burned. 20# on the wall balls.

http://www.westplanocrossfit.com/wod/wednesday-22nd-of-february-2012

WOD 02.21.12

After yesterday's shitty performance/ attempt at the Helen benchmark WOD I was looking forward to today's WOD. That is until I woke up this morning. My left knee has been sore since last Thursday, and killed me on the 400 meter runs yesterday. This morning it was talking to me again. It's like a dull constant ache right under my left knee cap. I'm going to definitely need to scale on the WOD's the rest of this week, until I can get an MRI on it next week.

Hopefully it's nothing more than just inflammation from all of the extra cardio I've been doing on Tuesday's and Thursday's, and the hugified workouts.

I learned the hard way with crossfit to be smart and listen when my body is talking to me, so I'll tread lightly with this the rest of the week.


Workout of the Day
AMRAP in 15 mins:

3 - Clean & Jerks

15 - Double Unders

10 rounds completed w/ 155# on the clean & jerks. I started of doing double unders, but by round 4 my knee was bothering me, so I went to 50 singles.

http://www.westplanocrossfit.com/wod/tuesday-21st-of-february-2012

Helen Benchmark WOD - Round 2

Well had I known today's WOD was going to be a benchmark WOD and Helen at that, I would've taken my ass to bed at a descent hour instead of going to bed after 3:00 in the morning. Oh well no one to blame for that dumbness other than me.

What is a benchmark? This question came up this morning during our warm-up. By definition benchmark workouts are the “…most challenging, formative, and expressive of the CrossFit fitness ideal.” Greg Glassman (CrossFit founder) has also said “This convenience and logic inspired our granting a special group of workouts women’s names, but anything that leaves you flat on your back and incapacitated only to lure you back for more at a later date certainly deserves naming.” Benchmarks can be used as a gauge for progress, a way to be challenged physically and mentally, and as a way to bring the CrossFit community together.

02/20/2012

BENCHMARK: Helen WOD
3 rounds for time:
400 meter run
21 kettle bell swing - 55#
12 pull ups - blue band

My time today was 14:02.

09/30/2011

BENCHMARK: Helen WOD
3 rounds for time:
400 meter run
21 kettle bell swing - 35#
12 pull ups - black band

My time was 20:13.

So it wasn't quite the 9 minute improvement I first thought. Once I went back and looked up my previous time, it was only a 6 minute improvement. I also went down from the black band the first time around to the blue band. I also went up from 35# on the KB swings to 55#.

The part that was the most frustrating about today was the cardio and the 400 meter runs. I've been working in at least two extra days of cardio for about the last month and a half, and I sucked today on my runs.

This is what I love about crossfit. I got better with this benchmark WOD, but still lots more room for improvement. This is not even close to where I want to be, I've got to get 14 minutes under 10 minutes. Maybe in another 5-6 months.

http://www.westplanocrossfit.com/wod/monday-20th-of-february-of-2012 

Hugified The Outlaw Way

Went into the box today for a different kind of WOD. I've been doing the hugified work the past four weeks with Justin aka Ninjow on Friday's. I got a tweet last night from him saying be ready for the Outlaw way.

For those that don't know what the Outlaw way is check out http://outlawcoach.wordpress.com/ .

This is taking the crossfit WOD's to another level of fitness. It's 4, 6, and 12 week cycles. They mostly focus the 6 weeks on a main lift (Clean and Jerk or Snatch), a main gymnastic (ring work, HS work, or bar work), and some sort of squat percentage wave. Also programmed is at least some of our met-cons to help develop any of the things we’re working on. If it’s a HS Walk cycle, I might program Shoulder Touches as part of a daily WOD, or if it’s a Snatch wave, it might program Muscle Snatches as part of the metcon or something along those lines. It's more games/ competition format training, and is freaking hard! I loved it!

I got to do my first Outlaw WOD with Ninjow and Jason Gear two absolute bad asses. I had to go balls to the wall to try and keep up with them.

OUTLAW

WOD 1 - 8 min AMRAP
12 wall balls - 20#
12 pull-ups - blue band
50 double unders

Rest 12 minutes.

WOD 2 - 15 minute establish a 3 RM Hang Squat Snatch

Rest 5 minutes.

WOD 3
7 muscle ups - jumping
21 box jumps - 24 in
35 KB swings - 35#
35 push-ups
5 muscle ups
21 box jumps
35 power cleans - 95#
35 burpees
3 muscle ups
21 box jumps
35 GHD - regular sit-ups
35 push jerks - 95#

WOD 1 - 2 rounds
WOD 2 - 85# 3 rep MR
WOD 3 - 25:46 time

Airport WOD 2.17.12

I didn't get a chance to go and check out Baltimore Crossfit this morning, so I had to make up for this at the airport today. We had a ton of time to kill, so I threw on the gear and did a mini WOD at BWI International Airport.

It was greatness. I had a few "WOD Watchers" (cough Chad) lol, and even had a kid join me at the end.

Workout of the Day
10 min AMRAP

10 push-ups
10 air squats
10 sit-ups
10 burpees

I got in 5 rounds plus 20 reps.

WOD 2.16.12

I went in early at 5:30am to get this WOD in before I headed out of town on a trip to Baltimore. I was hurting from the 1 on 1 the previous day with Zilla.

AMRAP in 10 mins:
5 box jumps - 24 inch jumps
100 m sprint
Add 5 Box Jumps after every 100 m runs

This was a good one. I got through 30 box jumps and I was on 12 of 35 on the box jumps when time ran out. I did 24 inch box jumps. Since I had 18 box jumps left I did those at 33 inches for shits and gigs. Back and shins were cussing me afterwards.

http://www.westplanocrossfit.com/wod/thursday-16th-of-february-2012

Zilla 1 on 1 WOD 2.15.12

You know I just really never know what to expect on Wednesday's anymore with Zilla when we do our 1 on 1 session. These are a twist on what we do with the daily crossfit WOD's. We only workout for 30 minutes, but these have been some of the most brutal 30 minutes I have every put myself through physically. This past Wednesday was no exception, but mentally it did push me unlike anything we've ever done in the box.

We started off with a rope jump rope warm-up. Yeah that's right rope not jump rope but rope. This kets me sweating in a hurry, and is flat out a kick in the junk. Next time you are in the box and see one of the ropes hanging from the back pull-up bar, grab one and do 100 singles going forward and backwards, then side to side, and then repeat with one leg. Feel that burn baby!

Once we were done with the jump rope warm-up we started working on the movements we were going to do in the WOD. I didn't know what these were called at the time, but what we were working on are called Pummel Drills and Over & Under Transitions.

Example of the pummel drills.



Workout of the Day
3 Rounds

Round 1
Pummel Drill for 3 minutes followed by Over & Under Transition Drills down and back 5x the length of the floor ladder.

Round 2
Pummel Drill for 2 minutes followed by Over & Under Transition Drills down and back 5x the length of the floor ladder.

Round 3
Pummel Drill for 1 minute followed by Over & under Transition Drills down and back 5x the length of the floor ladder.

Every time Zilla was able to get position on me during the pummel drill (basically he was able to get both arms hooked under my arms) I owed him a burpee. Every time I got position on him I got that burpee back (meaning I didn't have to do). Zilla won 14 to 3. What can I say he's strong as a MOFO!

After the first set of pummel drills in round 1 I was out back trying not to die and throw up. Zilla came outside and said lets go get up we ain't done. He wouldn't even let me throw up, tough love.

At the end of rounds 2 and 3 when we stopped I literally slid off of Zilla and hit the floor from pure exhaustion. Like I said these WOD's are a completely different ball game, because he sets the pace not me.

I can't wait for next week!

02.11.12 Sat. WOD

I wasn't really wanting to go this WOD, not after Friday's hugified workout with Justin aka Ninjow. I got a text from Kelp that night asking if I was going, so of course I had to say yes. I can't wuss out on Chick Norris. Turns out after talking to her she was hoping I'd say no, so she wouldn't have to go, lol. She also went in Friday for extra work after the regular crossfit WOD that morning, AND she played in two soccer games that night. Now you know why she is Chick Norris!

After the Sat team WOD we were both glad we went into the box.

Team Workout of the Day
In teams of 2-3:
For reps:
4 min up & over box jumps
rest 2 min
4 min rowing (meters)
rest 2 min
4 min push-ups
rest 2 min
4 min rowing (meters)
rest 2 min
4 min air squats
*rowing 250 meters = 1 rep

Team Bad Ass which consisted of Don Nita <-- my new nick name, Chick Norris, and Lauren rocked this one! We got over 500 reps.

I really like the team format WOD's, in the very beginning I hated them, because I was that DUDE! You know the kid that gets picked last cause he sucks. Well that was me when I first started my early Juanita crossfit days.

Not that I'm a crossfit superstar by any means, but I'm definitely better than I was yesterday, and especially since September.

Kelp and Lauren did awesome, and it helped push me to do just as good, so I would let them down!

WOD 02.13.12

It's been awhile since I've done hand stand push-ups (HSPU), so I was kind of dreading this WOD a little bit.

I've been doing the hugified workouts on Friday's, and feeling pretty good about my strength gains. Then I have a day like yesterday where I feel like such a vajajay, because I struggled just getting up on the wall, and could barely do a HSPU. Again this is why I love crossfit so much. There's always something to work on and get better at. I obviously need to get better at HSPU's.

For time:

21-15-9

Handstand pushups

Snatch Grip Deadlifts - 145#

Aftermath :

3x5 - 135#/ 145#/ 155#

Snatch pulls

My time was 7:13.

Valentine's Day WOD

It's been a week since my last post. I haven't fallen off the wagon, just a ton going on right now. No excuses though, I'll be back at it starting with today's post.

What a workout today. It was a good one! This is how our coaches say we love you to their crossfit peeps for Valentines!

Workout of the Day

FOR TIME:

100 double unders
80 situps
60 lunges
40 jumpovers
20 pushups
90 jumping jacks
70 Flutter kicks (4ct.)
50 squats
30 burpees
10 ring dips - green band for me

My time was 17:12. I was trying to keep up with Chick Norris the best I could.

Here's what I love about my box West Plano Crossfit. I was exhausted at the end, and when I went to the last station of ring dips I took the easy way out and went to the Green band. One of my coaches Justin aka Ninjow called me out on it, and said those were to easy, and to do 10 more with the blue band. It was definitely harder, and it make me work just to balance and not swing around everywhere.

That's why I crossfit! Even when I mentally and physically don't push myself at times, my coaches ABSOLUTELY will!

Thanks Ninjow, even though I wanted to tackle you at the time. You are only making Don Nita better, and I know that, so please keep pushing me.

FGB WOD 2.7.12

I felt much better for today's WOD energy and strength wise. Makes a huge difference when you get the proper amount of sleep.

Today was my first Fight Gone Bad WOD at the box. What is "FGB"? In this workout you move from each of five stations after a minute. This is a five-minute round from which a one-minute break is allowed before repeating. Your basically trying to simulate the feeling of exhaustion you'd have in a 3 round, 5 minute per round, MMA/ UFC type fight.

The stations are:

1.      Wall-ball: 20 pound ball, 10 ft. target. (Reps)

2.      Sumo deadlift high-pull: 75 pounds (Reps) - used a kettle bell at this station

3.      Box Jump: 20" box (Reps)

4.      Push-press: 75 pounds (Reps)

5.      Row: calories (Calories)

323 reps was my total for all 3 rounds.

This was a really good workout. I came close to throwing up at the very end when I was trying to right my rounds down. I was breathing so hard Zilla came out of his office, and said he could hear me breathing. Of course I look up and he's got that smile on his face.

I can feel the extra cardio WOD's and hugified WOD's really starting to pay off in the workouts. The extra running on Tuesday's and Thursday's in addition to the crossfit WOD's is also paying off. I'm taking as many breaks to rest, and I feel so much strong than I ever have before. That helps in those later rounds on the lifts, and even with things like Wall Balls. The WB's felt easier today than they ever have. All that being said I still almost called on some dinosaurs.

I'm looking forward to my running tonight.

The Before (I was fat) - Juan

After seeing Eric's post last week it made me start digging through some old pictures at the house. This was skinny Juan from 2001, and yes that is the Rock standing next to me. That was back during his WWF days when they were still the WWF.

I'm bringing skinny back!

51 more lbs. to go and I'll be back around that 185lb weight that I was at in the picture above. Man on a mission. 49lbs. already shredded in the last 5 months.

WOD 2.6.12

After a few days off to recover this weekend you'd think I'd be feeling energized and ready to knock out today's WOD. That definitely wasn't the case today for the 11:00am WOD.

The main reason for the severe lack of energy and strength was my whopping 2 hours of sleep I got last night. It wasn't even from partying or drinking etc... for the Super Bowl. I've just been under a ton of mental stress and it's been catching up to me on the sleep. I know this is a huge factor when it comes to working out & recovering and making sure my body is getting the rest it needs. I felt every bit of only having 2 hours of shut eye last night. I've got to be lights out by 9:00pm tonight. I don't think that is going to be a problem.

Workout of the Day
"The Dream"
5 rounds for time:
1 gasser (200m run)
Thrusters 5, 5, 5, 3, 3 - 135#
17 pull-ups - blue band

My time was 21:59

On a positive note with today's WOD I was able to drop down another band level to blue. Only 1 away from doing on my own. Going from green to blue made the pull-ups 10x harder. I need to put in some extra work on this and get better with my form. Going to the blue today definitely made me work on my form during the WOD. Didn't have a choice, I was so exhausted I could just do strict pull-ups. Had to get the kipping movement going if I wanted to finish by Noon. lol

Hugified Workout #3 with Justin

Last Friday I worked out with Justin aka Ninjow at the box. We did another 3 hour hugified session working on technique with certain lifts and strength building.

I was still tired/ drained from the WOD the day before, and the PR lifts on my clean and jerk. I started of crappy with the snatch lifts. Lots of work needed on those, form and technique is still not very bueno.

Snatch video example below:

Workout:

Full Snatch

3r @ 95# x3s
2r @95# x2s
3r @95# x3s
2r @ 95# x2s

Power Clean

3r @ 180# x2s
3r @ 175# x4s

Split Jerk (from the rack)

3r @ 180# x2s
3r @ 190# x1s
1r @ 175# x2s

Clean High Pulls

3r @ 200# x1s
2r @ 215# x1s
2r @ 225# x1s
2r @ 235# x1s

Front Squat

3r @ 185# x3s
2r @ 205# x2s
1r @ 225# x1s
1r @ 235# x1s PR
3r @185# x4s

Bench Press

1r @ 175# x5s
3r @ 185# x1s
3r @ 205# x1s
1rm @225# x1s
1rm @245# x1s
1rm @265# 21s PR

I got two more PR's during this workout. I hit 235# on the front squat & 265# on my bench press. Ninjow made me work hard! Took the weekend off to recover.

Paleo Meal Plan Week 2

I'm finishing up my second week of my Paleo Meal Plan today. I posted on this last week. Once again the meals were awesome, thank you Amanda Meeker!

I've really noticed a difference in how I feel more than anything vs. weight loss. I'm down 2 lbs. since starting this, but more importantly I just feel so much better. There really is something to eating cleaner and cutting out processed foods. My energy levels are up, I don't feel sluggish after meals, and I don't feel bloated.

My calories levels are down more than before, so Lisa recommended I eat an extra meal to get this up. I've been averaging around 1,300 a day. With as much as I work out now she wants to see that higher. On days where I'm doing cardio and crossfit workouts she wants me eating six meals a day.

Here is what we had on the paleo menu for this week.

Breakfast

· Bacon & Onion Frittata: 305 calories (P-23g, C-6g, F-22g)

Lunch
· Paleo Beef Fajitas: 331 calories (P-16g, C-17g, F-24g)

· Stuffed Cabbage Leaves & Tomatoes, Cucumber Salad: 331 calories (P-15g, C-24g, F-18g)

Afternoon Snack
·Chicken Salad: 275 calories (P-13g, C-5g, F-22g)

We alternated on the lunches between the fajitas and stuffed cabbage leaves. I didn't know how I'd like the tomatoes and cucumber salad, because I hate tomatoes, but I loved it.

Eat the meat!

Super Bowl Time!!

It is that time of year, time for the Super Bowl.  Below you will see our picks and why we are choosing them.  Feel free to comment us with your pick.  At the end of the day Saturday I will run a total, and post who the community thinks is going to win.

Eric (AKA Large Human):
My pick is the Giants.  I have two reasons why and they are pretty simple

1. They are on the hot streak right.  This is simply a stat that cannot be accounted for when looking at stat sheets, but it always makes a huge difference in the outcome of the game
2. Defense: The Giant have been playing shut down defense of late.  If they can stop the Patriots offensive attack their Eli driven offense should be able to score points on the Patriots poor at times defense.

Juan:

I'm also going to have to go with the Gmen. I only have 1 reason DEFENSE wins championships!

Still a Romosexual & Cowboys fan for life! Next year baby! I hope!

Clean & Jerk PR

After today's workout of the day Kelp aka Chick Norris was working on setting a new PR with the clean and jerk movement. It was great watching her set a new PR, and it motivated me to lift some heavy shit. :-)

Last time I had a PR with the clean and jerk was back on 12/9/11. That was 185#. I wish I would've gotten that one on video, so I could compare my form. I've still got lots more to work on with my form after watching the video below, but that's why I put in hugified work with Ninjow. I'll get better believe that, and STRONGER!

New PR 225#! Get some baby!

WOD 2.2.12

Went back for some more at the 11:00am AOM power hour today at the box. I saw a little bit of this one while I was stretching for my morning cardio WOD. I saw some WPCF peeps putting in serious work like Kimberly, Jessica, and Hal. Couldn't wait to give this one a go.

Workout of the Day
Clean & Jerks x3 - 145#
Floor Wipers - 10

Clean & Jerks x3 - 145#
Floor Wipers 9

Clean & Jerks x3 - 145#
Floor Wipers - 8

Clean & Jerks x3 - 145#
Floor Wipers - 7

Clean & Jerks x3 - 145#
Floor Wipers - 6

All the way down to 1 on the Floor Wipers, you get the point.

13:46 was my time.

The 11:00am class was rocking today. We call it the AOM power hour, but since Tina and Amie have been coming with us it's been freaking awesome. Alex you too bro when you can make it, I know you are on the road a lot with work. Lots of energy, competition, but also lots of encouragement and flat out balls to the walls hard work! As Zilla likes to say "intensity"!

I tried keeping up with Chick Norris aka Kelp the entire time, but when she's in that mode it's hard to keep up, but Juanita tried fo sho!

Going to rest and recover good tonight with lots of ice! Getting HUGIFIED tomorrow! <--- It's paying off!

Cardio WOD 2.2.12

I was supposed to do this cardio workout with Emily last night, but didn't get a chance to make it back up to the box. I was up early this morning so I could knock out at 6:00am.

I stretched for a good 20 minutes this morning. My legs were and still are sore from the last few days of WOD's at the box. I'm going to have to roll-out later today and again tonight. Maybe an Epsom salt bath. Those have pretty much become a regular part of my weekly routine at night.

My morning view during my cardio workout. To the wall & back 3x = 600m.

Cardio Workout
6x600 meter runs

600 rest 1 minute

600 rest 45 seconds

600 rest 30 seconds

600 rest 45 seconds

600 rest 1 minute

600

My times sucked!

My First Benchmark: Susan

SUSAN

5 Rounds

200 Meter Run

10 Push ups

10 Squats

My Time: 11:22

This was my first benchmark workout, and it was way harder than I expected.  We started off the run and I felt great and ready to go.  Then we hit the first set of push ups and squats and powered through those.  By the time we hit round 3 it got very difficult, but we pushed through it.  I would say last set of push ups and squats almost put me over the edge, but when we were done it felt awesome.  All in all this was a great experience and I will be doing this one again in a few weeks to see if there has been any improvement.

The Before (I was fat)

The other day I was digging through my dad's Ipad and I saw it. A picture of me that I am going to use for motivation. This picture is about 8 years old and 80lbs ago. It is from a time when I was about as fit as I have been in my life. As some of you may know, my goal for this year is to be in the best shape of my life. I am going to get back in this shape again. Only this time I am not going to quit. So below you will see my new motivation. Hopefully next year I can have a picture right next to it that are very similar. Minus the hair anyways ;)

WOD 2.1.12

Oh man was I sore this morning when I woke up. I was definitely feeling yesterday's double WOD in one day.

Ninjow had us do a lot of stretching before today's workout to make sure we were nice and stretched. That definitely helped me get ready for the 400 meter runs.

Workout of the Day
3 rounds for time:

400m run

30 Kb swings - 35#

20 pull-ups - green band

3 minutes of rest in between each round.

Time was 14:56

I've decided to move to the blue band moving forward. Even though I still struggled on rounds 2 and 3 with pull-ups. This is the only way to get to where I want to be at the end of the summer. Watching Emily, Josh, and Tina do pull-ups was GREAT motivation.

Hopefully after 2 or 3 months of the blue band I can move away from the bands completely, and start doing on my own. That's the plan!

WOD #2 1.31.12

I went back to the box this evening for the 5:30pm class with Chad, after doing the WOD from yesterday at 11:00am. Not sure if this was smart since the last time I did two WOD's in one day I ended up getting hurt.

My thought process was to try and make up for missing yesterday and having two full days off to rest and recover.

Even though I felt like crap I was able to make it through this WOD, but barely. I just felt like I had 0 energy and no strength behind the lifts. I did better on the double unders, I'm still not perfect but I was able to get through 9 & 15 unbroken. 21 just kicked my butt all the way around on front squats and double unders.

Workout of the Day
9-15-21 reps of:
Front Squats - 135#
Double Unders (or jump tucks)

Aftermath: 400m run

125# on the front squats & my time was 8:52.

2-1-2012 Workout

Today's workout was a pretty simple one.  We did our chest muscle group workout which included:

• Bench: 3 sets of 10
• Flys: 3 sets of 10
• Incline: 3 set of 10

After that was completed (like I said simple I know) we hit the track to run a pretty quick mile.  We paced pretty well considering on the indoor 13.5 laps = 1 mile.  The total time was right at 9 minutes, which I am pretty happy with, because when I started all this running a mile all the way through was no more than a dream.  I am looking forward to running outside again soon.  Having the enviorment around just seems to make the runs so much faster and more effective.

Tomorrow's workout is going to be a crossfit benchmark. We are going to tackle Susan. I am hoping for a respectable time, but to be honest I will be happy with finishing. I will be sure to post my time in the morning.

Oh and yes I need to get back to putting pictures in my posts.  That will be happening tomorrow.