FITBOMB

Catching Up

2013-09-12T20:39:00.001-07:00

Last Wednesday:

Zercher Squats (5-5-5-5-5), then:

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 of hang power snatches, bar hops, and 100-meter sprints

Result: 12:46

This was not awful.

Last Friday:

Strict Pull-ups (5-5-5-5-5), then:

In 8 minutes:

Row 500 meters and then AMRAP of:

2 wall balls and 2 candlestick-to-tuck-jumps
4 wall balls and 4 candlestick-to-tuck-jumps
6 wall balls and 6 candlestick-to-tuck-jumps
8 wall balls and 8 candlestick-to-tuck-jumps, etc.

(Result: 62 reps)

I hate wall balls. Especially after rowing.

This Monday:

No babysitter. I slept in.

This Wednesday:

Scaled "Collin":

6 rounds for time (with 30 minute cut-off) of:

400-meter sandbag carries (50lbs)
12 push presses (95lbs)
12 box jumps (24 inches)
12 sumo deadlift high pulls (95lbs)

I made it through just 5 rounds before time was called. Argh.

Monday's Workout

2013-09-02T18:30:00.000-07:00

Skill:

Jerks (2 reps every 2 minutes for 16 minutes)

Metcon:

20 kettlebell swings (24kg/16kg)
40 double unders
15 kettlebell swings (24kg/16kg)
30 double unders
10 kettlebell swings (24kg/16kg)
20 double unders
5 kettlebell swings (24kg/16kg)
10 double unders

Result: 3:39 as RXed

A nice short one today.

Wednesday's Workout

2013-08-28T21:58:00.000-07:00

No babysitter on Monday meant no visit to the gym—which, in turn, meant missing the 1-rep max front squat and press workout. Thankfully, I made it to class this morning for deadlifts.

20 minutes to establish 1-rep max deadlift

Then:

2 minutes max double-unders
Rest 2 minutes
2 minutes max burpees

My back felt fine when I popped out of bed at 5:15 this morning, but 15 minutes into my deadlift sets, I started feeling my erector spinae seizing up again. I hadn't expected to best my deadlift PR, but I topped out well under it, crapping out at 275. It was probably for the best, but I'm not happy about it.

On the other hand, the double-unders felt okay, and the burpees were miserable but doable. Result: 137 double-unders and 34 burpees. Blargh.

Friday's Workout

2013-08-23T13:20:00.000-07:00

Metcon:

For time:

Row 1000 meters
21 push jerks (115 lbs / 85 lbs)
21 power cleans (115 lbs / 85 lbs)
21 back squats (115 lbs / 85 lbs)
15 push jerks (115 lbs / 85 lbs)
15 power cleans (115 lbs / 85 lbs)
15 back squats (115 lbs / 85 lbs)
9 push jerks (115 lbs / 85 lbs)
9 power cleans (115 lbs / 85 lbs)
9 back squats (115 lbs / 85 lbs)

Result: 20:26

A few observations:

Rowing continues to be my nemesis. I've been doing my best to squeeze in some rowing at home—mostly because I don't want my erg to become an oversized clothes hanger / towel rack, but also because I'm determined to embrace the suck. And boy, does it suck.

I scaled down to 95 pounds today, and didn't try to sprint through the workout. I can't say I'm not tempted to load up the barbell and go balls-to-the-wall, but in the end, I'm glad I decided not to destroy myself today.

Something tells me that self-destruction is overrated, anyway.

Wednesday's Workout

2013-08-22T21:48:00.003-07:00

Skill:

Pistol (freestanding one-legged squat) practice: 5 reps each minute, on the minute, for 10 minutes, and then max reps (alternating legs) for one minute.

I did 'em as gingerly as possible, but my lower back didn't particularly like 'em.

Metcon:

3 rounds for time:

Run 400 meters
20 one-armed Russian kettlebell swings, alternating hands (24 kg)
10 pull-ups

Result: 12:24 as RXed

Best moment: Getting through each set of the pull-ups unbroken
Worst moment: Hopping off the pull-up bar. This was something else my back didn't like. (Surprisingly, though, the kettlebell swings felt just fine.)

Monday's Workout

2013-08-20T18:26:00.002-07:00

Skill:

Snatch practice (1 rep every minute, on the minute, for 15 minutes)

I felt rusty, but after a string of lingering injuries (wrist, back, etc.), it was nonetheless good to get back into lifting shoes without also having to strap on my wrist brace or belt. I'm tempted to try to lift the same weights I used to, but for now, I'm still sticking with my plan to take things slow and easy until I'm feeling fully recovered. (A little more sleep would be nice, too.)

Metcon:

"J.T."

21 handstand push-ups
21 ring dips
21 push-ups
15 handstand push-ups
15 ring dips
15 push-ups
9 handstand push-ups
9 ring dips
9 push-ups

Result: 15:56 as RXed

Best moment: Getting through the first set of 21 handstand push-ups unbroken.
Worst moment: Realizing that I couldn't string together even 2 consecutive handstand push-ups after the first round. I started laughing mid-workout in disbelief over the utter uselessness of my arms. (It won't be the last time.)

Soreness, here I come.

Monday's Workout

2013-07-08T21:38:00.001-07:00

Overhead squats (5-3-3-2-2-2-2) and then another metcon featuring nothin' but sevens:

7 rounds for time:

7 power snatches (95lbs/65lbs)
7 box jumps (20")

Result: 7:31. And very, very sore legs.

Best Tattoo Ever

2013-07-06T12:27:00.004-07:00

[Source]

Friday's Workout

2013-07-06T12:27:00.002-07:00

Yesterday's class consisted of gymnastics practice (L-sits, skin-the-cats, and muscle-up progressions) before moving on to a quick metcon:

7 rounds for time:

7 dumbbell push-presses (45lbs/30lbs)
7 chest-to-bar pull-ups

Result: 7:34

After the first two rounds, I was no longer able to string together the chest-to-bar pull-ups. By the final round, I was down to singles.

On the plus side: there was no rowing.

Sounds Familiar

2013-07-03T13:31:00.001-07:00

Pretty sure I’ve tried a half-dozen of these. At least.

(But seriously: get a standing desk.)

I'm Baaack

2013-07-03T13:27:00.003-07:00

Recess is over.

Deadlifts (5-5-3-3-3-3)

Then:

240m farmer’s walk (45lb dumbbells)
45 wall balls (20lb)
240m farmer's walk (45lb dumbbells)
45 burpees

Result: 13:10 as RXed

Sleep quality continues to be less than awesome, but with the book off to the publisher, let’s see if I can finally get myself back on track.

Hello, Delhi!

2013-03-06T10:28:00.000-08:00

This morning, as I peered out my window overlooking the city, I knew this was going to be a good day. Know why?

Because I had plans to go break a sweat at CrossFit Himalaya after work. I'd reached out to Piyush Pandey, the head trainer at the box, and arranged for my visit. I'd printed out the address for my driver and asked him to be ready to ferry me through rush hour traffic. It's been five days since my last workout, and I was getting antsy.

And as luck would have it, my evening workout would, in fact, coincide with the 6 a.m. class at CrossFit Palo Alto half a world away -- the one I'd be attending if I weren't on another continent.

Despite my plans, I was thisclose to missing the class tonight. After leaving my office, I had quickly changed into my workout clothes and headed straight for the gym, but the chaotic jumble of cars and buses and pedestrians and bikes and three-wheeled taxis had already choked the dusty roads. By the time we made it to Chatturpur Hills -- just a few miles away! -- it was dark.

And my driver was lost.

It took another half hour and a couple of phone calls for him (actually me) to locate CrossFit Himalaya. Located down a flight of stairs from a busy stretch of 100 Foot Road, the box is a true basement gym, with equipment that Piyush proudly described as being entirely sourced from right here in India.

I'm a big fan of all different kinds of CrossFit gyms, but those that strip everything down to the essentials are among my favorite. CrossFit Himalaya has a whiteboard, a clock, pull-up bars, barbells and weights, kettlebells and jump ropes -- nothing cutesy, nothing extraneous to the mission of improving fitness.

Today's workout was a doozy. After a quick warmup, and skills practice (double-unders and wall balls), it was time to jump right into the metcon:

For time:

100 wall ball shots (10kg / 5kg)
100 double-unders
50 plate overhead walking lunges (15kg / 5kg)

That's right: One hundred wall balls -- two thirds of Karen! -- was just the start of the workout. By the time I finished heaving that damned medicine ball up the wall, my legs were fried. With numb legs, I stumbled and tripped my way through the double-unders. It wouldn't be accurate to say that I couldn't feel my legs anymore, though, 'cause I sure felt 'em during the walking lunges.

Result: 15:36.

Okay -- so my less-than-blazing time isn't going set any records, but I had a blast anyway. Plus, my goal of sweating buckets was achieved in spades. Can you tell?

[For more about my time in India, check out this post on Nom Nom Paleo.]

Lazy Saturday

2013-02-24T11:26:00.003-08:00

I'm proud to be raising two budding nerds. Wait -- I mean FILMMAKERS.

(By the way, this is the iPhone app the boys used to make their little stop-motion LEGO snuff film.)

Workout, Interrupted

2013-02-22T22:06:00.000-08:00

Wondering where I've been?

I've been up to my eyeballs with work these days, having recently shifted my responsibilities to cover international markets at work (on top of my existing workload). Practically speaking, this means my days are spent emailing people in the Middle East at 5 in the morning, tackling my U.S.-based workload during the middle of the day, rushing home to take calls from Hong Kong in the early evening, and talking late into the night with business partners in India. My free time's devoted to daddy duty and helping Michelle with Nom Nom Paleo-related stuff. Meanwhile, this blog has gotten the short end of the stick.

I'm still heading to CrossFit Palo Alto in the wee hours of the morning to work out, though my day job has managed to intrude upon even my sacrosanct exercise time. The most stark example came this morning, when my WOD was interrupted by an unexpected (and unexpectedly frantic) 45-minute cell phone call from overseas about an urgent work matter. Fun times.

This was particularly frustrating because I'd been looking forward to getting back into the gym this morning. This was likely my second-to-last CrossFit class before heading off on a three-week business trip to Asia, so I was hoping to get my sweat on. The first half of the class delivered, with a workout of 10 strict ring rows every 2 minutes for 10 minutes, interspersed with max height box jumps.

The ring rows felt fine, though the fatigue set in by the final couple of rounds. It didn't help that I'd gotten four (count 'em: FOUR) shots in my shoulder in preparation for my travel to India. I'm used to feeling sore, but not this kind of sore.

And then: The metcon. It involved rowing, which meant I automatically hated it:

Row 1000 meters
Rest 5 minutes
Row 1000 meters

"Go all out," Tim advised. I did, and it hurt. The first 1K took me 3:47 to complete, and my stubby little Asian man legs were on fire. I logged my time into my iPhone, gritted my teeth, and stumbled back to the erg. Let's get this over with, I thought. My five minutes of rest were almost up when I heard my phone start ringing. It was an urgent work call from Egypt.

Being on call at all hours of day can be...challenging.

As much as I detest rowing, I wasn't exactly a fan of delaying the inevitable, either. Instead of resting five minutes between the two 1K rows, I ended up with over an hour in between. After a lengthy phone conversation, a short drive home, a half-hour spent making breakfast for the kids, and a few business-related emails, I grabbed my water bottle and headed into the garage to (finally) finish the workout on the rower in my garage.

"How was it?" Michelle asked when I staggered back into the kitchen a few minutes later. "3:58," I said. "I sucked."

But at least I finished it.

And then I showered, popped my typhoid fever vaccine pills (yum?), and went to work. Whee!

Back on the Horse

2013-01-31T21:24:00.004-08:00

Other than going on a run* every other day while vacationing in Hawaii, I've been laying low to give my wrist the time it needs to recover. It's still not 100 percent, but there've been signs of improvement, and I've been slowly reintroducing some light barbell work in the past week. Last Friday, I did a workout at CrossFit Palo Alto that involved overhead squats (I used an empty barbell), and yesterday, I practiced light (very light) split jerks before cranking out "Helen."

For what it's worth, the OHS workout consisted of:

50 reverse lunges (or jumping lunges)
20 overhead squats
20 toes to bar
50 reverse lunges (or jumping lunges)
15 overhead squats
15 toes to bar
50 reverse lunges (or jumping lunges)
10 overhead squats
10 toes to bar

It was my first workout in a couple of weeks, and I felt a bit more sluggish than usual, but was happy that I was able to get a barbell overhead without discomfort. Result: 13:03.

Yesterday's "Helen" was an eye-opener, though. Helen, as you'll recall, consists of 3 rounds of a 400-meter run, 21 kettlebell swings (24kg), and 12 pull-ups. In August of last year, I completed this workout as RXed in 10:14 -- a new PR. No such luck this time around. Instead, I finished in 11:23 -- more than a minute slower. I'd like to blame my less-than-healthy wrist, but the truth of the matter is that I'm de-conditioned right now -- I was out of breath sooner than expected and got a side-stitch for the first time in forever.

This doesn't feel good. I need to jump back into the saddle.

*One time, I went running with Michelle. Before heading out, I asked her if she wanted to grab a pair of earbuds and listen to music while we ran. She said no. "I want to talk to you while we run," my wife said. I shrugged and we began our run through Kilauea. Michelle spoke throughout our run, but the only words that came out of her mouth were: "I HATE RUNNING. I HATE RUNNING. I HATE RUNNING."

The Need for Speed

2013-01-31T21:01:00.000-08:00

I know nothing at all about rugby sevens, but this Carlin Isles guy is fast.

[Source: Kottke]

Heavy Eyelids

2013-01-24T00:25:00.004-08:00

This is what weightlifting with your eyelids looks like.

[Source]

Not Fast Enough

2013-01-07T22:23:00.001-08:00

My wrist is improving, but not fast enough.

During our warmups in class this morning, I managed to do a few push-ups from my palms for the first time in months (huzzah!), which made me think I could join the rest of the class in practicing barbell cleans.

No dice. A single rep with an empty bar was all I managed before my wrist started screaming bloody murder at me. (On the plus side: It's not screaming quite as loudly as it did just a couple of weeks ago.)

So: I practiced kettlebell cleans instead. Again. (I'm tired of kettlebell cleans. Can you tell?)

I had to lay off the barbell for today's metcon, too, which consisted of 7 rounds of:

7 thrusters (75lbs / 55lbs)
7 sumo deadlift high pulls (75lbs / 55lbs)
7 burpees

I used dumbbells and did the push-up portion of the burpees from my fists. Happily, I still got my butt kicked.

Result: 11:38.

I'm not happy that this wrist is taking forever to heal. But I recognize that my recovery's taking longer than expected because I've been stupidly trying to do more than I should. I only have myself to blame. Argh. Self-knowledge drives me crazy.

Scoreless

2013-01-04T22:33:00.000-08:00

I don't think I've ever done a workout at CrossFit Palo Alto that hasn't been scored -- until today.

Here's what we did:

4 rounds of:

3 minutes to complete a 12-calorie row, 10 overhead kettlebell swings, and 10 ring dips; and
3 minutes to complete a 12-calorie row, 10 wallballs (I did thrusters instead), and 10 chest-to-bar pull-ups.

The faster you crank 'em out, the more rest you get before the 3 minutes are up. And going balls-to-the-wall obviously yields a more intense interval workout. But after the first couple of rounds of this 24-minute workout, I finally figured out that it probably made more sense to pace myself, and to strike a better balance between speed and form. Knowing there was no score to target made it easier for me to focus on what I was doing.

But to be honest, I was still trying my damnedest to finish as fast as possible.

Gone Fishin'

2013-01-02T22:16:00.000-08:00

I came down with a cold on Sunday, but with a steady infusion of bone broth and a couple of long stretches of sleep, I got (mostly) better in record time. This morning, when the alarm went off, I was ready to go.

After a relatively long break from the gym, it felt good to be back -- and it was also a relief to learn that the workout wasn't a grinder, but rather a skills-focused session that brought us back to basics.

Post-warmup, we worked on handstand holds and hollow rocks. Specifically:

8 rounds of:

20 seconds handstand hold
10 seconds rest
20 seconds hollow rock
10 seconds rest

Ow. I'm kind of terrible at hollow rocks. I'm no Carl Paoli, sadly.

Next up:

Kettlebell swing practice, followed by band-resisted kettlebell swings. Band-resisted swings look like this:

Amazingly, once the bands were removed and we did regular old swings again, the kettlebell felt like it was floating up in the air. Seriously: FLOATING -- almost like there were enormous helium balloons attached to the bottom of the kettlebell.

Last but not least, we pulled out the ergs and played some Fish Game.

I'm not very good at Fish Game, but when I play, I forget that I'm rowing. And that's a very, very good thing. I got a score of 795, which is a new high score for me.

Naturally, I went and rang the gym's PR bell.

Happy New Year

2013-01-01T22:34:00.002-08:00

Okay -- I’m back.

New Year, new commitment to logging my workouts (at the very least). Yes, it’s been busy, but I really have no excuses. It's been a while since I popped my head in the gym, but I've been doing stuff at home. Sort of.

Time Trials

2012-12-18T19:04:00.003-08:00

We did time trials a week ago, and I feel like I'm still recovering. As you may recall, time trials at our gym consist of six movements -- all done with maximum effort and speed -- with a few minutes of rest in-between. The point is to establish -- and beat -- our own benchmarks.

We've done time trials three times before, and these were my results:

On Wednesday, however, we substituted 50 overhead kettlebell swings at 24kg in place of the 400-meter run. Fine by me, I thought. But why couldn't we do away with the rowing instead?

Despite my wrist (which ain't 100 percent yet, but is improving), the pull-ups felt great -- I didn't beat my previous time, but I got through the first 35 uninterrupted, and it didn't take long to finish the rest. I had no trouble with the squats, and the sit-ups were okay.

But I pretty much killed myself trying to fly through the kettlebell swings. By the time I finished them, I had a double ass cramp, and I hadn't even gotten on the erg yet. After the 500-meter row, both quads were seizing up, too. It took a good half-hour of rolling around on the floor in agony before I managed to stumble to the car and drive home.

In other words: Fun!

Results:

Pull-ups: 1:33
Squats: 0:44
Push-ups: 1:05
Sit-ups: 1:13
Swings: 1:42
Rowing: 1:50.9

Total: 8:07.9

Not as fast as my last go-round in August, but I think I've learned my lesson. The next time we do this, I'm going to try to leave enough in the tank so I can actually stand up after the workout.

Crazed

2012-12-11T16:40:00.000-08:00

It's been more than a little crazy lately.

The holidays are a busy time for all of us, but things are especially hectic in our household. Both of our kids have December birthdays, as do both of my parents. And my nonagenarian grandmother, too. There's a lot of celebrating (and gift-wrapping) to do.

Also: I'm taking on a new role at work, which means a lot of learning and juggling -- and prepping for international travel. (Hello, New Delhi, Mumbai, and Hong Kong. I'll be seeing you soon.) And I'm interviewing and hiring someone new for my team at work.

Oh, and we're in the thick of working with our developers to prep a new update to the Nom Nom Paleo iPad app in time for Christmas.

And the kids are sick. As is Michelle.

So it's kind of nice to enjoy the luxury of an extra hour of sleep on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Our class is full to bursting, but working out at 6 a.m. instead of 5 a.m. has made me feel a little more human lately. Here's what we've been up to at the gym:

Result: 4 rounds + 10 reps.

Result: 6 rounds + 2 reps.

Result: 1 round + reps.

Unfortunately, my right wrist is still -- STILL!!! -- giving me fits, so I'm nowhere near back to RX form. I have to be honest: My patience had been wearing thin, but now, it's completely gone. It pains me to watch my classmates crank out snatches and cleans while I sulk in the corner with a couple of kettlebells. I know I should just relax, chill out, and recover, but I'm going stir-crazy over here.

All Good Things...

2012-12-04T17:53:00.001-08:00

So after two and a half years of waking up in the middle of the night to get ready for 5 a.m. CrossFit classes, our merry bunch of early birds is abruptly disbanding. Turns out the gym has residential neighbors who aren't super-jazzed about being woken up by the sounds of barbells and grunting.

When I joined CrossFit Palo Alto in the summer of 2010, Steph was the only other person crazy enough to stick to a 5 a.m. schedule. But after a few months, we were joined by the Terminator. And then Mint came (and left). And Jackie joined, and Jason, and Jay, and Jake, and on and on, until there were 15 of us "regulars" in the class.

Three days a week, these were the folks with whom I'd start the day. Half-asleep, I'd stumble into the gym, bedheaded and bleary-eyed, and spend an hour sweating alongside my fellow sleep-deprived nutjobs. It's not like we spent a lot of time chatting in class -- I'm not nearly awake enough to engage in intelligent conversation before 5:30. But our class had a great, supportive vibe, and the friendly competition kept me on my toes.

Could I have attended class at a later (and saner) time of day? Sure -- but I always looked forward to seeing the 5 a.m. crew. It's hard not to like the people with whom you've spent hundreds of hours over the course of the past 30 months, and it's the primary reason why I always set my alarm clock for 4:20 a.m.

But at least for now, the 5 a.m. class is kaput. Most of us are ~~moving to~~ crashing other classes, and the rest are finding other ways to lift heavy and move fast. I'm joining the 6 a.m. class along with a handful of other 5 a.m. refugees, so the silver lining is that I'll get three extra hours of sleep each week. And hopefully, we'll get to drop our weights without fear of the cops getting called.

Last order of business? The 5 a.m. class's two final workouts:

Wednesday

On Wednesday, we practiced Zercher squats -- a favorite of mine. Even better: This is a strength skill that doesn't require the use of my wrists, so my injury was irrelevant. (And yes, I'm still -- STILL! -- on the mend.) We also got a metcon that I didn't have to modify: AMRAP in 7 minutes of burpees.

The workout required that we jump and stand atop of a 45-pound bumper plate at the end of each rep. I did the burpees on my fists, and kept a fairly steady rate throughout. I was aiming for 100 burpees, and despite my best efforts to accelerate towards the end, I ended up one short.

Result: 99 as RXed. So close! Still, I'm pretty happy with my score -- especially given that it took me almost a minute longer to complete 100 burpees last year.

Friday

I had much more trouble with the assigned movements in our final 5 a.m. workout. While the class practiced strict barbell presses, I had to settle for kettlebell and dumbbell presses. And the metcon looked like this:

15 chin-ups
10 wall balls (20lbs / 14lbs)
12 chin-ups
15 wall balls (20lbs / 14lbs)
9 chin-ups
20 wall balls (20lbs / 14lbs)
6 chin-ups
25 wall balls (20lbs / 14lbs)
3 chin-ups
30 wall balls (20lbs / 14lbs)

I can't yet catch a wall ball without destroying my wrist, so I did thrusters with a pair of 15-pound dumbbells instead. And I did the chin-ups from a pair of Olympic rings to reduce the strain on my wrist, too. Looking back, I'm glad the chin-up ladder was descending; by the end of the workout, my chin-ups were ugly and slow.

Result: 7:48.

With any luck, the 5 a.m. diaspora will be short-lived. But who knows? I suspect I might get used to the extra sleep...

More Awesome

2012-11-27T22:30:00.000-08:00

[Source: BuzzFeed]

Whine, Whine, Whine

2012-11-27T21:59:00.000-08:00

So when the doc said it would take "six to eight" weeks for my wrist sprain to heal, I chalked that up to him being a pessimist. Despite having zero medical knowledge or training, I was confident that I'd recover much more quickly. (See? I'm all about positive thinking!) It'll take four weeks tops, I told myself.

Not so much.

It's been over four weeks since my sprain (though it feels like four months), and I still can't put pressure or weight on my flexed wrist. Olympic lifts, push-ups, handstands, wall balls are all still on my no-go list. Consequently, I've had to modify ~~most~~ all of the gym's programmed workouts to accommodate my stupid, stupid wrist.

Here are our most recent workouts:

No snatches for me. I did kettlebell cleans and presses instead. Result: 10:29.

"Holleyman" looked like a fun one (well, except the wall balls). But I wasn't able to do any of the movements in this workout. I subbed out dumbbell thrusters for the wall balls, ring rows for the HSPUs, and a 70-pound kettlebell clean for the power clean. Result: 27:27.

On Monday, I attempted this run / ring dip / overhead reverse lunge workout as RXed, but after the first round, my wrist was aching. For the final two-thirds of the workout, I did ring rows (again) in place of the ring dips, and for the reverse lunges, I held a light kettlebell up overhead instead of a barbell. Result: 12:13.

I recognize that I'm overly impatient, and that in my eagerness to get back into the swing of things, I often bite off more than I can chew. (Also: I'm an annoying whiner. Obviously.)

But is it really going to take another two to four weeks for my wrist to heal? Really? Because I'm going to be totally insufferable until then.

Awesome

2012-11-27T08:00:00.000-08:00

'Tis The Season for Brown Candy Canes

2012-11-13T22:39:00.001-08:00

Available on Amazon.com:

Mark my words: Next year, we'll be seeing Doritos Locos Tacos-flavored candy canes.

Bottoms Up

2012-11-13T22:32:00.002-08:00

I'm still here.

This past week has passed me by. I've been meaning to post, I've been busy with the kids while Michelle was at the 2012 Weston A. Price Foundation Conference. Blogging is fun and all, but so is running around the house playing Batman versus Iron Man and singing Weird Al Yankovic tunes at the top of our lungs.

Anyway, here's the latest rundown on my gym activities.

Friday

Strength Skill:

Bottoms Up Kettlebell Cleans (5-5-5-5-5-5, one set every 3 minutes)

The rest of the class continued working on barbell cleans, and I wish I could've joined 'em. I've been feeling sharp pangs of envy whenever I watch other people practice cleans. So I did my bottoms-up kettlebell cleans in the back of the gym, and tried my best not to watch my classmates heave their barbells around.

Metcon:

"Jackie" - for time:

Row 1,000 meters
50 thrusters (45lbs / 35lbs)
30 pull-ups

It's only been a few months since we last did "Jackie," though this time around, I wasn't able to do the thrusters with a barbell. Instead, to ease the pressure on my wrist, I did double kettlebell cleans and presses, which approximated -- but didn't equal -- the experience of thrusting the barbell overhead.

Jackie still wrecked me (per usual). But the first squat after getting off the erg is the hardest, and once I pushed through the KB cleans and presses, the pull-ups went fairly quickly.

Result: 8:22 -- significantly faster than my 9:51 from June, but I did it RXed that time.

Monday

Strength Skill:

Back Squats (3-2-1-1-1-1)

I was happy to hit a new PR at 245 pounds -- though I suspect I had some left in the tank.

Metcon:

21 burpees
21 overhead kettlebell swings (32kg / 24kg)
21 Abmat sit-ups
15 burpees
15 overhead kettlebell swings (32kg / 24kg)
15 Abmat sit-ups
9 burpees
9 overhead kettlebell swings (32kg / 24kg)
9 Abmat sit-ups

Pretty straightforward stuff -- and a workout I didn't have to modify to accommodate my wrist injury! (Well, I did have to do the push-up portion of the burpees from my fists, but that doesn't really count, does it?)

The overhead kettlebell swings slowed me down a bit. Seventy pounds is half my bodyweight, and every time I swung that iron ball, it threatened to pull me off my feet.

On the plus side: No Abmat ass-crack rash!

7:49 RXed

Change-Up

2012-11-08T22:40:00.000-08:00

I still can't put any weight on my flexed wrist, which has put me in a sour mood. It's been more than a little frustrating; I can't even lift the strap of my work bag over my shoulder without discomfort, let alone clean a barbell up to my shoulders. I've done what I can to keep pressure off my wrist -- recovery requires rest -- but I'm also determined to keep going to the gym. After all, just because I can't perform certain movements right now doesn't mean there aren't a host of other things I can still do to stay active.

For example, last Friday, while the rest of the class at CrossFit Palo Alto practiced barbell cleans, I worked on bottoms-up kettlebell cleans. I had to modify the metcon, too. Here's what everyone else did:

21 chest-to-bar pull-ups
15 dumbbell thrusters (45lbs / 30lbs)
Run 400 meters
15 chest-to-bar pull-ups
12 dumbbell thrusters (45lbs / 30lbs)
Run 400 meters
12 chest-to-bar pull-ups
9 dumbbell thrusters (45lbs / 30lbs)
Run 400 meters

No chest-to-bar pull-ups for me -- too much wrist flexion. Instead, I did chest-to-ring pull-ups, using a set of Olympic rings set high. I didn't have to twist my wrists to get all the way up, though generating any sort of momentum was a challenge. (You can't push off the rings horizontally like you can with a bar to start a big kip.)

Result: 11:36.

I rested on Monday (mostly because I didn't have a babysitter to watch the kids in the morning, but also because everyone at the gym did "Nutts," and I was too damned tired to attempt it in my garage).

On Wednesday, the strength skill was weighted pull-ups. My doctor said that pull-ups are a good exercise for my wrist, so I did 'em, though I didn't load up with as much weight as I did in previous sessions. Better safe than sorry.

The metcon:

4 rounds:

10 overhead squats (95lbs / 65lbs)
12 hang power cleans
14 lateral bar jumps

No barbell for me. In place of the overhead squats and hang power cleans, I did single-arm overhead squats with a kettlebell, and double-kettlebell cleans. It bugs me that I can't do the same workout as my fellow 5 a.m. nutjobs. It's weird how much I miss being able to just grab a barbell and clean it. Yet at the same time, I was happy to be able to join the gang in doing something -- and feeling just as exhausted and sweaty as I normally do after one of our workouts. The kettlebell OHSs and cleans were surprisingly good approximations of their barbell analogs, and I enjoyed a fine, ass-kicking workout without exacerbating my wrist injury. Win-win, right?

Result: 7:15.

How Do Superheroes Stay In Shape?

2012-11-02T18:36:00.004-07:00

Calisthenics!

Luke Cage's workout gear looks particularly uncomfortable, though I have to admit that his chain-link belt is pretty kick ass.

[Source: BuzzFeed]

Survey Says...

2012-11-01T21:59:00.001-07:00

...Grade 2 wrist sprain!

Or so says the doc.

The bad news? The recovery time's approximately six to eight weeks -- during which I won't be able to put weight, strain, or pressure on a flexed wrist. (That means no explosive barbell movements, handstand push-ups, wall balls, etc.)

The plus side? Provided my wrist remains in a neutral position, I can continue exercising.

I suppose this is a good time to work on my running.

Hallow-Bata 2: Revenge of the Screwed-Up Wrist

2012-11-01T21:41:00.000-07:00

Perhaps if I'd dressed up as a superhero for our Halloween workout, I would've fared better.

At CrossFit Palo Alto, we were treated to (tricked with?) our second annual Hallow-Bata -- a Tabata-style workout that looks like this:

8 Tabata rounds of "green, slimy" grasshoppers
Rest 30 seconds
8 Tabata rounds of "headless horsemen" (a variation on kettlebell palm presses) (24kg / 16kg)
Rest 30 seconds
8 Tabata rounds of "cauldron jumps" (jump on/over a plyo box and onto the floor on the other side for each rep)
Rest 30 seconds
8 Tabata rounds of "deadly" double-unders

Score = Total reps.

With a dozen of us in class, we split up into groups to start at different stations. I opted to hit the cauldron jumps first -- mostly because it was the least crowded station, but also because I knew I wanted to tackle the jumps while my legs were still fresh.

Cauldron jump results: 11 / 12 / 10 / 8 / 8 / 8 / 7 / 8

Next up: Double-unders. I got tripped up more than I'd care to admit, and with my swollen right wrist, I had trouble whipping the rope. Needless to say, I got nowhere close to my performance last year, when I managed to crank out 34 double-unders in 20 seconds. Argh.

Double-under results: 20 / 21 / 15 / 19 / 22 / 14 / 16 / 15

Then, it was grasshopper time. From my experience last year, I knew it was better to go at a steady clip rather than explode right out of the gate -- but even if I'd tried to hustle through the grasshoppers, my right wrist would've held me back. I can't flex it right now, so I did the grasshoppers while gripping dumbbells. Done this way, the grasshoppers felt fine at the beginning, but by the third set, my wrist felt like it was going to give out. You can see the drop-off in my reps:

Grasshopper results: 13 / 11 / 7 / 8 / 7 / 6 / 10

Last but not least: Headless horsemen. Tim and I agreed that I shouldn't do 'em with my right arm -- but that my left arm still works fine. I did all the kettlebell presses from my left side. Let's just say it was slow going.

Headless horsemen results: 5 / 5 / 5 / 6 / 5 / 5 / 5 / 6

Total: 326 (compared to 335 last year). My goal for next year (assuming I'm not injured): 350 or bust.

I'm Hating My Wrist Right Now

2012-10-29T22:49:00.000-07:00

I don't know what I did to my right wrist, but for over a week now, it's felt like crap every time I flex it. On Friday, we were supposed to work on touch-and-go cleans at the gym (five sets of five, one set every three minutes), but when I attempted to warm up with just an unloaded barbell, my wrist started screaming at me to stop.

Tim suggested that I ditch the barbell cleans and work instead on bottoms-up kettlebell cleans to help rehab my wrist. I kept the weights light -- this was the first time I'd attempted bottoms-up cleans, and the last thing I wanted was to exacerbate my mysterious injury. It was a bummer that I wasn't able to practice touch-and-go barbell cleans, but on the plus side: New skill!

Next up: The metcon.

3 rounds:

1 minute max effort calorie row
1 minute max effort toes through rings
1 minute max effort wall balls (20lbs / 14lbs)
1 minute rest

The calorie row and toes through rings weren't a problem. With my right wrist wrapped tightly with a wrist strap, the calorie row and toes-through-rings weren't a problem. Neither required much wrist flexion. I actually had a fantastic time with the toes-through-rings -- I found 'em to be much easier on the hands than toes-to-bars, and it was pretty easy to maintain a good kipping rhythm throughout.

The wall balls, on the other hand, were murder. I plodded along slowly, relying on my left (weaker) arm to toss and catch the medicine ball. Note to self: One-armed wall balls are not a good idea. Each minute yielded fewer than 10 wall ball shots.

Result: 123 as RXed.

I was hoping a weekend of R&R (and a mind-blowing meal) would fix what ails me, but alas: No dice. My wrist isn't any better. When my alarm clock started buzzing at 4:20 a.m., I briefly considered turning over and going back to sleep. But I thought better of it: There would be something I could do at the gym that involves no wrist flexion. And after a sedentary weekend, I was ready to get off my butt again.

The strength skill was front squats. To save my wrists, I did back squats (five sets of three, one set every three minutes) instead. Again, I took it easy, going only up to 185 pounds. I focused instead on maintaining proper form -- in particular, keeping my knees from collapsing inward during my ascent from the bottom.

More good news: The metcon didn't involve a whole lotta wrist action.

For time:

10 dumbbell burpees (45lbs / 30lbs)
Run 240 meters
20 dumbbell burpees (45lbs / 30lbs)
Run 400 meters
30 dumbbell burpees (45lbs / 30lbs)
Run 800 meters

Before the workout, I'd planned to go with the women's RXed weight, but Tim gave me a skeptical look. "Way too light," he said. He was right. I went with a pair of 40 pound dumbbells, but I probably would've done fine with the 45s. In fact, the dumbbell burpees were more fun than I'd anticipated, though my quads were burning by the third round.

Even all that running felt good in the cool, misty darkness.

Result: 13:23.

Wednesday's Workout

2012-10-24T21:56:00.001-07:00

In the five days since my last workout, the pain in my right wrist has persisted. It's more than just sore, and I'm beginning to suspect that I may have mildly (or not-so-mildly) sprained it. I can't do push-ups with my right hand flat against the floor -- though I can do 'em fine with my hands balled into fists. It hurts to clean a barbell right now, and I can't throw or catch a medicine ball worth a damn. Still, I was itching to get in the gym and get sweaty, and figured there was other stuff I could do.

Like pull-ups. And renegade rows. And dumbbell snatches. And double-unders.

It turns out I could do all of today's movements (though I scaled down the weight of the dumbbells in the metcon). We did one set of 5 weighted pull-ups every three minutes, which was a great way to keep us moving and in the groove. And the metcon was nice and fast; I got through everything without pausing (except to disentangle myself from the jump rope a few times).

Result: 8:09. Or 8:15. I think. Oh, hell. I think my brain's melting.

A Couple of Paleo Meals in Philly

2012-10-24T21:45:00.001-07:00

Things have been nutty at work. I just flew back from Philadelphia yesterday (and boy are my arms tired! Wocka wocka wocka), where I spent 36 hours -- mostly in a courtroom and my hotel room.

But I did sneak in some Paleo-friendly chow while in town. I even took photos with my phone. See?

On the advice of my buddy Joe Petrusky of CrossFit Love, I hit Rouge, where I tore into a Bibb and endive salad with apples, tomatoes, and spiced cashews -- and a huge hunk of burger patty blanketed with cheese. (Okay, the cheese wasn't so Paleo. Whatever.)

And among the restaurants recommended by Leigh of Paleo at Penn was Marathon, a farm-to-menu joint near my hotel. The pork chop with asparagus and chutney hit the spot.

Wish I had more time in Philly -- it's a beautiful town and the weather was perfect these past couple of days. But work beckons...

Last Friday Feels Like a Million Years Ago

2012-10-24T21:25:00.000-07:00

Honestly? I can't remember how long it took me to finish last Friday's workout. Guess I should blog more frequently, huh?

I do recall, however, repeatedly attempting bar muscle-ups prior to our metcon, and failing over and over again.

I've done ring muscle-ups, but bar muscle-ups are terra incognita for me. I almost managed to crank out one -- on my last try, I got my upper body over the bar, and my left arm was in position to push up, but my wonky right shoulder gave out and I flopped back down. Argh.

I'm so close to getting a bar muscle-up that I can almost smell 'em. Sadly, my right wrist has been sore and swollen since the weekend, which means I've gotta take it easy for a little while. But I've got my eye on you, bar muscle-up.

CrossFit Total (Or, The Barbell Method)

2012-10-19T21:53:00.000-07:00

According to Mark Rippetoe, "[t]he CrossFit Total reflects an athlete's functional strength capacity more accurately than any other test."

The CrossFit Total is the sum of the best of three attempts at the squat, the press, and the deadlift. All three lifts are done while standing on the floor. They require minimal and inexpensive equipment. They are not technique- dependent to the extent of the Olympic lifts, yet they require technical proficiency beyond mere passing familiarity. They are safe when performed correctly, since they can all be performed without spotters—alone in a garage if necessary.

We did the Total for the first time at CrossFit Palo Alto on Wednesday -- with a couple of slight modifications. Instead of having an indefinite period of time to establish a one-rep max for each of the three movements, we were allocated 15 minutes for each. And we subbed front squats for back squats.

Front Squat:

I was excited by the prospect of tackling this workout, but it didn't start auspiciously. My eagerness got the best of me, and I totally squandered my opportunity to set a new PR on my front squat by loading up too much, too soon. After matching my previous PR of 205 pounds with a couple of minutes left, I stupidly added another 20 pounds on the bar -- which I ended up dumping, of course. I'd like to blame it on the lack of sleep and the early morning hour, but frankly, I just got greedy.

Strict Press:

Thankfully, by the time I got to the strict presses, I had my head screwed on straight(er). With one eye on the clock, I managed to work up to a new PR of 130 pounds -- 10 more than my previous best.

Deadlift:

But the achievement that made my week? A new deadlift PR of 305 pounds! Okay -- objectively speaking, 305 pounds ain't much. But call me what you will (shrimp, weakling, lightweight, whatever); I'm still proud I FINALLY got over 300 pounds off the floor. My prior best was just 285 pounds, and it was set back in February of 2011. You can imagine how much I enjoyed smashing it in the face.

My CrossFit Total: 640.

Everyone had a blast doing the Total, and setting tons of PRs, too. After our post-workout coffee, I returned to CFPA in time to catch Kevin setting a new deadlift PR of about a gajillion pounds.

By the way, if you've done a Total and want to see where you stack up against Rippetoe's basic strength standards, check this out.

More Sobering Crap About Sitting

2012-10-17T22:33:00.002-07:00

We all keep seeing reports about the dangers of sitting (and clearly, I can't stop blogging about it), but everyone keeps their butt cheeks glued to the couch anyway. According to this new article in the New York Times, most of us spend "50 to 70 percent" of our lives sitting -- mostly at work or in front of our television sets.

Is TV really that good? Perhaps. I, for one, have spent many an hour planted in front of the boob tube, gazing slack-jawed at the glowing images on the screen. But check this out:

Every single hour of television watched after the age of 25 reduces the viewer’s life expectancy by 21.8 minutes. By comparison, smoking a single cigarette reduces life expectancy by about 11 minutes, the authors [of an Australian research study] said.

Looking more broadly, they concluded that an adult who spends an average of six hours a day watching TV over the course of a lifetime can expect to live 4.8 years fewer than a person who does not watch TV.

Those results hold true, the authors point out, even for people who exercise regularly. It appears, Dr. Veerman says, that “a person who does a lot of exercise but watches six hours of TV” every night “might have a similar mortality risk as someone who does not exercise and watches no TV.”

Guess I'll have to catch up on episodes of The Walking Dead while standing up.

Monday's Workout

2012-10-17T22:02:00.000-07:00

Strength Skill:

Push Presses (5-3-3-1-1)

I was still sore from Saturday's lifting class at Catalyst, but oddly enough, I found myself looking forward to getting more practice lifting a barbell overhead. Push presses have never been my forte, and I didn't come close to my max weight today, but it felt good to get in the groove anyway.

Metcon:

Row 500 meters
30 burpees
10 shoulder-to-overheads (165# / 95#)

Result: 6:23

This was a quick one, but not quick enough. We last did this workout a year and a half ago, and I finished in 5:52 -- half a minute faster than my time today. I have no idea where the time went; my 500-meter row time didn't vary much, my burpees were steady and unbroken, and I used the same weight as before. Perhaps I'm just getting slow in my old age.

I'm Still Here

2012-10-14T22:47:00.004-07:00

Argh. I've been a terrible blogger. Work, family, and frankly, the other blog in the house have taken priority in the past few weeks, and though I've been meaning to drop by and post an update here, I simply haven't. No excuses. My bad.

And now, it's bedtime, and I plan on getting up at 4:20 a.m. to make it to CrossFit Palo Alto for the 5 a.m. class, so once again, I'm going to flake and simply memorialize my recent workouts.

Wednesday at CFPA:

The five minutes were done before I knew it. I loved this one.

Result: 5 rounds + 22 reps as RXed.

Friday at CFPA:

My running sucked (as usual), but it was the kettlebell steps-ups that really killed me. I used a 24kg kettlebell, which -- in hindsight -- was just kind of stupid of me.

Result: 15:50 as RXed.

Saturday at Catalyst Athletics:

Yesterday, Kevin drove us over to Catalyst for the Saturday morning drop-in lifting class, where we worked on heavy singles of clean-and-jerks, and finished with some back squats. I got some great pointers from Greg and Aimee, and it was fun watching the pros throw the barbells around.

Now, to bed.

This Week's Workouts

2012-10-05T22:44:00.000-07:00

Upon returning from the Rockies, I figured I'd kick some butt in the gym. After all, I did all sorts of high-altitude training, like carrying our luggage from our room to the trunk of our rental car, and slowly walking to breakfast. Returning to an oxygen-rich environment should make me a beast, right? Right?

Wednesday's workout began with touch-and-go deadlifts, which felt pretty good. But then came the metcon:

5 rounds for time:

12 kettlebell cleans and presses (6 with each arm - 24kg / 16kg)
12 box jumps (24")
Row 200 meters

I probably shouldn't have gone with the 24 kilogram (53 pound) kettlebell, because I spent the duration of the workout suffering. The box jumps and rowing didn't bother me (too much), but the presses left me gasping for air. And we're at sea level.

Result: 15:47 as RXed. I'm pretty sure I came in last in my class -- in large part because I bit off more than I can chew with the heavy KB cleans and presses.

Today's workout was much more my speed -- well, most of it. Here's what Tim wrote on the board:

800 meter run

Then, 7 rounds of:

7 burpees

7 pull-ups

After that? Another 800 meter fun run.

Sounds like a blast, right?

Actually, I was fine with the burpees and pull-ups; after all, bodyweight exercises are my bread and butter. But sadly, my running remains atrocious, and I nursed a side stitch throughout my final 800 meters. Fun!

Result: 15:43 as RXed.

Okay -- no mas. Must. Sleep. Now.

Before I Forget...

2012-09-30T09:53:00.002-07:00

I've neglected to post about my last two workouts, so before we embark on another jam-packed day, here's the rundown:

On Wednesday, the 5 a.m. class at CrossFit Palo Alto practiced touch-and-go deadlifts. Using lighter weights, we worked on getting into the rhythm of stringing together reps in quick succession, while still properly bracing ourselves at the top of each lift. I'm guessing this is meant to get us better prepared for competitive situations that call for quick deadlifts in a metcon, though even for those of us who aren't planning to compete, this was a welcome change of pace.

Then, the metcon:

AMRAP in 10 minutes of:

20 double-unders
15 toes-to-bar
50' walking lunges

I'd been hoping to see double-unders in a workout, and my wish was granted. I was careful not to blow out my Achilles, so I made a conscious decision to keep from jumping too violently. Also, at long last, I think I managed to whip my wrists the way I'm supposed to, and found it much easier on my shoulders and arms.

The toes-to-bar were a little more dicey because my hands are still ripped up from Mary, and the walking lunges (done in the parking lot) were murder on my knees, but those are minor quibbles. The workout was fast and fun, and I enjoyed every second of it.

Result: 6 rounds as RXed.

On Friday, Michelle and I showed up at CrossFit Estes Park here in the beautiful Rocky Mountains. Having arrived the night before, we weren't at all acclimated to the thin oxygen up here. (We're one-and-a-half miles above sea level -- just walking to my car from our room makes me stop for air.)

With Holly, Mel, and Dave, we met up with CFEP's owner/trainer, Eric, who put us through a bunch of warm-up movements (rowing, pull-ups, sit-ups, etc.) and a terrific mobility series using bands and kettlebells.

For our strength skill, we worked on cleans and jerks, but with a very specific timing pattern: We did 1 hang clean & jerk every 30 seconds for 7 minutes, using 70% of our PR weight. I loved it; the quick succession of lighter (115 pound) lifts was perfect for drilling the movement into our heads.

The metcon was next:

4 rounds of:

18 pushups
18 overhead kettlebell swings
Rest between rounds the amount of time it takes to do each round

I used a 35-pound kettlebell and sped through this one, though I was gasping for breath throughout. The crisp mountain air is invigorating, but I think I needed an oxygen tank.

Result: 6:13.

Okay -- we're off to play tourist with the gang.

I think I love Colorado.

Bloody Good

2012-09-24T16:45:00.001-07:00

I didn't know what to expect at the gym on Friday. Tim kept saying that I was going to "love" the workout, but I can no longer tell when he's being sarcastic. (Especially after he once promised a workout I "LOOOOOOVED" -- only to spring a 2K row on us.)

Still, love it or hate it, I knew I'd have a strong reaction to the WOD, so I showed up hoping for the best, but expecting the worst. Thankfully, it was indeed a good one:

"Mary" - As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:

5 handstand push-ups
10 pistols
15 pull-ups

All bodyweight stuff I genuinely love -- even if I still favor doing pistols on my right side over my left. I was so excited, in fact, that I completely overlooked the following pertinent details:

There are a crapload of pull-ups in this workout.
I hadn't been keeping up with my hand care.
The last time we did "Mary," I entitled my post "Bloody Mary" for a reason.
That reason? I ripped my hands open and bled all over the place.

Without bothering to tape up my hands, I jumped right in with gusto.

Now that I'm doing a one-legged kipping handstand pull-up, I wasn't getting fatigued on the wall, so I expected to do better than my last attempt. After flying through the first four rounds unbroken, I glanced at the clock and saw that only a little more than seven minutes had elapsed. I can complete 10 rounds, I told myself.

The pistols betrayed me first. After five or six rounds, I was losing steam, and my weaker left leg was buckling. To complete the workout as RXed, I'd have to do the majority of the one-legged squats on my right leg.

With a few minutes left in the workout, I still felt fresh on the handstand push-ups and pull-ups, but my sweaty hands were starting to snag on the bar. I chalked up before my ninth round of pull-ups -- but realized too late that I'd over-coated my hands. I felt the skin of my right palm rip. The skin on my ring finger followed. A few pull-ups later, I felt the wetness of blood on the bar. Distracted, I slowed my pace to a crawl.

Result: 10 rounds as RXed. I hit my goal (and PRed!), though I'm kicking myself for not taking better care of my hands. Despite taking care not to kip wildly, I'd neglected to file down my calluses or to tape up to prevent rips. I need to be better about practicing what I preach.

Still: I love Mary. Bloody or not, I can't wait to meet her again.

[Previously: CrossFit Hand Care]

Wednesday's Workout

2012-09-20T21:43:00.000-07:00

The workout started off just fine. I'd gotten a decent amount of sleep, and during the first half of class, I matched my previous Zercher squat PR.

And then I saw Tim write the day's metcon on the board:

Row 2K.

I'm not exactly sure what happened next, because my brain was preoccupied with this thought:

No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no.

Before I sat on the erg, I could already predict what lay ahead: Roughly two minutes of solid rowing, followed by two minutes of oh-crap-we're-not-yet-even-halfway-done, and then two minutes of extreme mental and physical anguish, and lastly, two minutes of just-a-few-hundred-more-meters-before-I-can-fall-off-and-die. And afterwards, I knew I'd be in for a good five minutes of rolling around on the floor, wincing in pain, and trying (and failing) to stand up.

I was right.

Result: 8:01. I've done worse. But I've also done better.

Catch Up

2012-09-17T17:30:00.000-07:00

Crap. I forgot to post last Friday's workout. I wish I could blame it on work (which has, in fact, exploded recently), but I had all weekend to write. It just slipped my mind -- probably because I was busy teaching the boys to dance Gangnam Style.

Come on -- I know you want to watch it again.

Anyway...

Having been knocked down with a fever and sore throat for a solid week, I was looking forward to getting back in the gym on Friday. We practiced weighted ring dips before the metcon was announced:

15 toes to bar
15 hang power cleans (115lbs / 85lbs)
15 box jumps (20")
12 toes to bar
12 hang power cleans (115lbs / 85lbs)
12 box jumps (20")
9 toes to bar
9 hang power cleans (115lbs / 85lbs)
9 box jumps (20")
6 toes to bar
6 hang power cleans (115lbs / 85lbs)
6 box jumps (20")
3 toes to bar
3 hang power cleans (115lbs / 85lbs)
3 box jumps (20")

Forty-five reps of toes-to-bar and hang power cleans? My wrists started weeping before the workout began. I decided to stick with the women's RXed weight because: (1) I am weak, and (2) I am not altogether stupid.

Result: 11:05.

This morning, I returned to the gym feeling like myself for the first time in ten days. (My voice still sounds terrible, but I feel fine.) Good thing, too, because I love me some kettlebell snatches. We practiced until my arms felt like they were going to pop off, and then:

"Elizabeth"

21 power cleans (135lbs / 95lbs)
21 ring dips
15 power cleans (135lbs / 95lbs)
15 ring dips
9 power cleans (135lbs / 95lbs)
9 ring dips

Remember how I said I'm not altogether stupid? Well, that means I'm still somewhat stupid -- which explains why I decided to do Elizabeth as RXed today. The last time we did Elizabeth, I used a 115-pound barbell -- a smarter move. Cranking out consecutive reps of 135 pound power cleans is doable for me...for about a dozen reps. After that, I had to eke 'em out in mini-sets of two or three.

(Clearly, my math skills are nonexistent. On Friday, I blanched at the thought of doing 45 reps of 115-pound cleans, and opted for 85 pounds instead. But today, I decided that 45 reps of 135-pound cleans sounded just fine and dandy. I'm an idiot.)

In the second round, I started no-repping. Twice, I failed to get my elbows down and around the bar fast enough, and ended up splashing the bar. Strange sounds started coming out of my throat.

On the plus side? All the ring dip practice we've been doing paid off -- I got through those fairly quickly.

Result: 10:28 as RXed.

But Can He Put On A Jacket?

2012-09-13T22:27:00.001-07:00

Each of us has our own goals for health and fitness, some more specific than others. Moustafa Ismail's aim? To develop the biggest guns on the planet. And according to the Guinness Book of World Records, he's hit his target with his 31-inch upper arms.

Don't you feel better knowing there's an organization that hands out awards for body dismorphic syndrome?

[Source]

When Else Am I Supposed to Blog?!?

2012-09-12T20:44:00.004-07:00

According to the Well blog on the New York Times website, when we stare into our computer monitors and iPads before bed, the artificial light that emanates from our screens may reduce our bodies' melatonin levels, thereby disrupting our sleep and "rais[ing] the risk of obesity, diabetes and other disorders."

Increasingly, researchers are finding that artificial light from some devices at night may tinker with brain chemicals that promote sleep. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute showed that exposure to light from computer tablets significantly lowered levels of the hormone melatonin, which regulates our internal clocks and plays a role in the sleep cycle.

In the study, published in the journal Applied Ergonomics, the researchers had volunteers read, play games and watch movies on an iPad, iPad 2 or PC tablet for various amounts of time while measuring the amount of light their eyes received. They found that two hours of exposure to a bright tablet screen at night reduced melatonin levels by about 22 percent.

The researchers recommend putting away electronic devices well before bedtime, "or at the very least dimming your screen as much as possible."

Sheesh. What else are we supposed to do before bed? I mean, are we really expected to engage in conversation with our spouses or read books (printed on paper) or something? OUTRAGEOUS.

[Source]

A Long, Long Time Ago...

2012-09-12T20:26:00.001-07:00

Friday's workout seems like a lifetime ago, but I've been so swamped with work (and, frankly, sick with a bad cold) that I haven't been able to summon the motivation to post about it. Still, I feel like I ought to jot down what we did before the details are completely lost to the fog of memory.

As I recall, we did a bunch of weighted ring dips as our strength skill before moving onto a quick-and-dirty metcon:

3 rounds for time:

12 power cleans (95lbs / 65lbs)
400-meter run
12 pull-ups

Result: 10:15 as RXed.

The power cleans were fast and fluid, as were the pull-ups (which I did unbroken). My running, though, was another matter entirely. Every time I hit the run, I was passed by several of my fellow 5 a.m. nutjobs.

I've never been much of a runner, though my gut tells me that in the past year, I've gotten a lot worse. When we lived in San Francisco, Michelle and I used to run regularly (okay, semi-regularly) through Golden Gate Park or around Lake Merced, and just a few years ago, I was logging as much as ten or fifteen miles a run. No, I wasn't fast or light on my feet, but I'd built up enough endurance that I didn't feel like keeling over every time I ran for a few hundred meters.

But these days, it feels like I'm dragging.

So my new goal? Run more. Not a lot more -- but enough to get my butt in gear again.

Of course, all of this is going to have to wait until I get over this damn cold. I hate, hate, HATE being sick.

Corny Corn Corn

2012-09-07T21:16:00.000-07:00

'Tis the season for limited-edition candy-corn-flavored, corn-syrup-sweetened, corn-starch-laden Oreos.

Barf.