May 3, 2017

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Wednesday is generally some sort of run day.  For the last few months, I have been avoiding running due to a calf injury, but I was back at it today with a classic RRL benchmark.

Normal Park Stairs is a workout that we do that is incredibly simple, uses the environment around us and it doesn't take very long...perfection.

Several times, a debate starts in the morning as to whether there are 3 or 5 rounds of stairs on this workout.  After looking back through the results, it is final...this one has 3 rounds.

To complete this workout, simply run to the set of stairs (about a mile) and run to the top.  Do 10 burpees there and run to the bottom where you complete 10 clap pushups.  Repeat that 3 times, then run home.

Alan holds the record on the Whiteboard at 25:25 for this workout, but Mike claimed that he once got it under 25 minutes.  I asked if he documented it on one of the boards in the gym or online and he said no to which I replied..."Then it never happened".  HOWEVER...  I did run across this note in my results

My daughter showed me how to use Snapchat to add some stuff to it.  Congratulations, Mike, you officially hold the gym record. 

Today, however, we both came in a little slower at 27:56.  I feel like I have ALOT of room for improvement.  My running felt slow and there was plenty of walking on the stairs.  I think I could get it under 25 minutes with lots of work, but I see that it is possible.

Have a great day!

 

May 2, 2017

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After a very strong storm yesterday and then 30-40 mph winds yesterday afternoon, the sky is incredibly clear today.  All the dust and pollen has been blown away or knocked down by the rain and the air is so clear that I can see every tree on the mountains.  It is like getting a new pair of glasses.

 

Incredible.

 

Today we did this one and it was tough.  Thanks Mike Burgner and CrossFit Weightlifting

First, 1 rm clean

then

May 1, 2017

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Last night we had a major storm front move through.  I would estimate straight line winds at 40-50 mph which resulted in downed trees and power outages.  Our power went out at 7 pm and was just recently restored.

We had a dark and rainy workout this morning.  I had a jump box in my car that allowed me to plug in a small lamp and then I pulled my truck into the driveway and hit the lights kind of like Vince Papalli in Invincable...well, probably not really like that in reality but it felt like it.

We did this one

Front Squat 3-3-3-3-3

then

"15 strainght"

15 OHS

15 Pullups

15 Thruster

15 Pullups

15 Front Squat

15 Pullups

15 Push Press

15 Pullups

This is all done with 95 lbs, however, there was a kicker.  Kicker= If you drop the barbell, OR drop off the bar at any point that = 15 Air Squats

Then some mobility to round out the day

April 30, 2017

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I always watch what Rich Froning does.  I follow him on Instagram and also his gym, CrossFit Mayhem.  There are always some incredible feats of fitness but occasionally, he blows my mind with volume and the speed at which he and his group can complete tasks.

I came across one a week ago that I couldnt believe.  It is listed in the picture above.  It is a simple workout really and decreasing ladder of Assault Bike Calories and Clean and Jerks, but the Kicker is that the Clean and Jerk weights increase as the reps decrease. 

When I first saw this, I thought it was an individual workout.  Rich did it in 38 minutes.  I looked over the volume and weights and thought that maybe he could pull that off.  So, I planned to tackle this workout one day and began to think about how it might be possible to complete. 

My first thought was obviously to scale the weights.  Doing 90 clean and jerks at 135 lbs is the equivalent of Triple Grace and that is just the first round of this workout.  Then, it continues to increase until 10 reps at 225.  I dont know if I am capable of 10 reps at 225 fresh and I knew that I wasnt going to be able to pull that off after a couple of hundred reps and calories.

As I proposed this to my friends last night, I suggested starting at 75 and going to 155.  To my surprise, some were interested.  However, I received a text from PSC last night asking if I was sure that this wasnt a TEAM workout.  I looked back through the posts and sure enough, it had been a team workout.  Thank God!

So, I decided to go from 95 to 175 on this one with a partner.

I love this format because while working with a partner, you get a great interval workout and you and your partner are pushing each other to decrease the rest time and move faster.

This morning presented some challenges but we handled them well and it is a good example of how you could program something like this and deal with odd numbers and uneven athlete capabilities. 

We had 5 people show up of various levels.  2 guys that were pretty even paired off and did it as a standard team workout.  I partnered with one of our top runners who is not one of our top weightlifters.  I set up a bar and planned on going from 95 to 175 while he set up a bar and went from 45 to 135, which was equally challenging to him as my weights were to me.  Our last guy simply cut all the reps in half and stormed through on his own.

It worked out perfectly.  For me, I was pushed very hard because my partner was able to cycle the lighter weights quickly, so my rest time was minimal. 

My team finished in 41:47 which is sobering when I realize that Rich and his crew did it in less time with far heavier weights.  He IS the best in the world.....so....

We finished up with a 5 minute ice bath which was welcome and needed.

April 27, 2017

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Sorry for the lack of posts lately.  I was down in Florida filming with my son, Turner, Dr. Brian Boxer-Wachler and Olympic Gold Medalist Steven Holcomb. This was an amazing opportunity to get these 3 individuals together.  Steven and Turner had a condition called Keratoconus with is a condition that weakens the cornea and allows the cornea to lose its shape and go from a basketball shape to more of a football shape.  The change in shape degrades the vision badly.

Steven had 20/1000 vision and was able to completely restore his vision through the work of Dr Brian Boxer-Wachler and then went on to win Olympic Gold.  I found out about this procedure through Steven's book, But Now I Can See, which is highly recommended.  I made contact with Dr Brian's office and made our appointment to get Turner to the office. 

We defeated Keratoconus.

I was so happy to see Turner spend a little time with Steven and talk to him about all things associated with the condition and the recovery.  In addition, he was able to head to the gym with Steven.  How many times does anyone get a chance to workout with an Olympic gold medalist?

I hit a bunch of decks of cards while on my trip.  The guys crushed at the garage.

Today was my first day back and the weather was an uncharacteristic thunderstorm at 5 am.  Believe it or not, only one person showed up, Mike Drew.  We tore through this one with thunder, lightning and heavy rain outside.

Power Clean 5-5-3-3-1-1-1

then

Elizabeth

21-15-9

Power Clean

Ring Dips

then

Annie

50-40-30-20-10

Double Under

Abmat Situp

then

Gratitude

6 minutes

 

Ready to get after it tomorrow

 

April 10, 2017

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After a good weekend of rest and some extra sleep, I was feeling really good this morning.

We started off a dark morning with stars visible in the sky.  After my Wim Hof Breathing (3 +pushups) the guys showed up and we had a large group.

Today's workout is a 2 man team, so everyone split into teams and we warmed up then:

Deadlift

5-5-3-3-1-1-1

then

Run, 400 m

100 Deadlifts, 225 lbs

Run, 400 m

100 Hang Power Cleans, 155 lbs

Run, 400 m

100 Shoulder-to-Overheads, 115 lbs

Run, 400 m

This is done as a 2 man team.  Split reps any way.  Run together

Trevor pulled a little more of my weight as he did a few extra deadlifts, and some extra Cleans.  I was able to help on the overhead a bit.

 

I pulled this workout from the CrossFit Mayhem site (Rich Froning).  They had the Cleans at 185 and the overhead at 135.  Beasts up there in Cookeville.

April 6, 2017

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This morning we had some fun with some workouts to music

1. Roxanne-by the Police

Everytime they say

Roxanne=1 burpee

Light= 1 squat

 

2. Bring Sally Down= squat with 53 lb kettlebell

Bring Sally Up= Stand

 

3. Roxanne= pullup

Light=T2B

 

4. Bring Sally Down= down position of pushup with only nose resting on the ground

Bring Sally up= Top of pushup/plank

 

5. Bring Sally Down=plank on elbows

Bring Sally Up= Plank in top of pushup position

 

6. Mobility=

Super Couch

Pigeon

March 31, 2017

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Birthdays are big around here.  It is probably because we are all getting older so we are grateful to be on the right side of the dirt again this year.

 

Today it was Will's.  He wore a Speedo cause he cant let go of his past career.

Today was 1/2 Murph

Run 800

50 Pullups

100 Pushups

150 Squats

Run 800

 

We finished (those who could stick around) with a little Wim Hof breathing followed by 10 minutes of Gratitude practice.

March 30, 2017

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I missed the RRL day last week when they all attempted 17.5 so I scheduled it for today. 

17.5

This was as tough as advertised and I did not feel like i did very well.  I have no doubt that I could do better (I dont know how much) on a second attempt.  I went out a little fast and held both Thrusters and Double Unders unbroken until round 5.  I then slowed WAY down and broke the Thrusters into sets of 5/4 with far too much time spent looking at the bar sitting on the ground.

Great workout!