“Back Squat”
5-5-5-5-5
155-165-175-180-185
Then:
“Terror Effect” - 6 rounds + 6 kbs
8 min Amrap
4 Handstand Push-Ups
8 Kettlebell Swings, 24kg
12 GHD Sit-Ups
Felt I needed to push the redline today since yesterday was a craptastic performance on my part. Definitely pushed myself here. I usually wait to re-set or catch my breath..but I went straight from GHDs to HSPUs without hesitating. Surprised myself
Metropolis 1.0 - be mindful of what’s around you, especially when there are multiple stations in a WOD
In lieu of my last post, I thought of a few other important things to keep in mind when you’re at the gym :)
Max C&J: 115
Max Snatch: 95
Not my finest moments today. When I blogged about having good/bad days, today was a BAD day. Nothing felt solid. I couldn’t quite get to lockout. My max C&J is 135 and I basically am 20lbs off today. I didn’t count lifts where I shuffled around. My snatch is about right since it’s still one of those lifts we don’t do very much of.
Today it became SUPER APPARENT to me that being in the proper mind set is so key. Today I just became angry and could not focus my energies correctly. It was pretty frustrating and quite honestly I just wanted to cry at being so craptastic.
But hey..I’m human..leaving this in the past and moving on tomorrow.
“Christine” - 11:54 rx’d
3 Rounds for Time of:
500m Row
12 Deadlifts (BW @130)
21 Box Jumps (20″)
then
50 GHD sit-ups (was able to go unbroken)
Coach B told us to jump up and step down from the box, since a lot of high volume jumping can tear up an athlete pretty bad. Deadlifts I did unbroken and same for box jumps
I absolutely despise the ROW! I’m 5’2” and while it’s not an excuse for my slow row time, I need to figure out a way to get more efficient and powerful. I am feeling it..glutes and hams are sore. Shoulders are toast from yesterday’s WOD…whew..
*tomorrow I’m going to the gym to figure out my maxes for my C&J and snatch. Going to incorporate these into my training!!
TIP OF THE DAY
Never be embarrassed to scale. Scaling is an art. Check out this article from the CF Journal Scaling. No matter how long you have been doing CF, there may be a time where you’ll need to scale a WOD. Whether it be the actual exercise or the load you’re using. Think of the stimulus you’re trying to achieve and not be the one stuck chipping away at reps while everyone is blowing past you.
Working without a goal is like the blind leading the blind.
When was the last time you re-evaluated your goals? Did you write down goals in the new year that you’d like to accomplish? Have you been actively trying to pursue them? Have you completely forgotten what you’ve set out to accomplish?
CrossFit is such a challenging outlet for athletes because there are so many facets that you can always continually build upon. I’ve had instances where people will say, you’re doing so well and you can beat person xyz. While it’s a nice way to gesture a good performance, my mind set is completely in a different arena. I’m not focused on beating person XYZ. I want to be the person that is always pushing the envelope to be better than I was.
As my journey with CrossFit began, it was awesome to hit PR after PR with my lifts - with no real goal but to get better. The movements became less awkward and I was feeling comfortable moving the loads. You also start to PR with your benchmark WODs - mostly because now you’re building upon your athletic capacity and have become stronger. My continued blanket goal is to make every effort to grow stronger and become more efficient in everything I do. That means, not wasting movements..but I do have more specific goals. I think as athletes, and in life in general, your trajectory should be to move toward something. What exactly that is relies solely on you, but you should create a S.M.A.R.T. goal.. see below
I’d like to challenge you to create 2 or 3 SMART goals to achieve in the next 60 days starting on MAY 1. Post your goals below and in 60 days I’m going to follow up to let you know if I have been able to reach mine.
My GOALS:
5 Rounds Of:
1 Shoulder Press
1 Dead Hang Pull-Up
3 Push-Presses
3 Dead Hang Pull-Ups
Max Split Jerks
Max Dead Hang Pull-Ups
Rest 90 Seconds
- only got through 4 rounds because I needed to coach class - #67 reps
The Rx was 95 for gals; still frustrating that I still have yet to be strong enough to press 95..what’s worst is that I got through 3 rounds at #85, but on round 4, I couldn’t press and had to drop to #80.
Def didn’t feel too good about my performance here. I think the added pressure to rush through this in 25 minutes probably made me less efficient since I was trying to hurry through this.
Shoulders are pretty toasted from this and the HSPUs yesterday..ah well..live to fight another day..tomorrow’s a fresh start..
TIP OF THE DAY
MAINTAIN THE HIGHEST STANDARD OF INTEGRITY WITH YOUR MOVEMENT. YOU WILL GO NOWHERE FAST BY PERFORMING MOVEMENTS HALF ASSED. YOU NEED TO FOCUS ON EXECUTING YOUR MOVEMENTS AS BEST AS POSSIBLE. EFFICIENCY, STRENGTH AND SPEED ARE ALL IMPORTANT AND COME INTO PLAY BY DOING MOVEMENTS CORRECTLY. HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE AND UNDERSTAND THAT IT’S OK TO SLOW DOWN IF YOU’RE HOLDING THE GOLD STAR STANDARD FOR YOURSELF. CHECK OUT THIS ARTICLE ON PERFECTION FROM AGAIN FASTER .
Top Left: Jared during FGB6; Top R: Ladies @ Second Annual Hail to the Queen; Bottom L: Amylynne @ NYC Subway Series; Bottom R: Dave during FGB
How do you react to the word “Competition”? Does the thought of it make your heart race? Do you tense up or do you get fired up? I think that CrossFit has brought competition to a whole different level. It wasn’t until the last two years that I’ve recently immersed myself with CrossFit and seen the ability of the human body to do things that I once thought unimaginable. I mean, who thinks that someone can perform 100 pull ups and follow that by a succession of high volume exercises? Not only that, but the CrossFit community is unique in that competition truly brings out the best in people, both in their performances and the camaraderie between all the competitors
I think competition is great way to test yourself. Both physically and mentally. Are you holding yourself accountable to the highest standards and do you have what it takes to persevere through a workout when things get rough? You can compete with yourself and try to PR (assuming you’re writing your workouts down), you can compete against friends/athletes in your affiliate, you can also participate in events or local competitions. Competition is a healthy way to raise the bar with yourself and create a tangible means to achieve. Competitions are NOT about failureor celebrating other’s failures. Competitions are events that make us work harder, inspire those around us to not give up, inspire those who are watching us to do different things, and a celebration of the hard work you’ve put in. Competitions reward your coaches to see you at your best!
*So I took yesterday as a rest day and am sure glad I did. I felt awesome today doing the WOD.
“Deadlift”
20 rep max
#155
*up #20 from 4/12 - felt better, can probably go up #5
*really focused on the pause at the bottom
Then:
“Disincarnate” - 4 rounds + 5 HSPUs
12 min amrap
20 Sumo Deadlift High Pulls, #65
10 Handstand Push-Ups
20 Double Unders
the SDHP were my limiting factor. Unbroken everything in round one. HSPUs felt good. I hit nothing less than 6 reps @ all my first attempts. This is a sign of progress for HSPUs. The other day 50 HSPUs for time was 12:51. This is an AMRAP in 12 minutes and I knocked out 45 HSPUs (performed comp style). YAY!
TIP OF THE DAY
AWESOME DAYS, GOOD DAYS, BAD DAYS, AVERAGE DAYS. HALF THE BATTLE IS SHOWING UP - THE NEXT IS KNOWING THAT YOUCAN’T ALWAYS DOMINATE YOUR WODS..(THANKS TO MY BF, KELLY FOR GETTING ME TO REALIZE THIS!). SO TREAT EACH DAY WITH THE SAME TENACITY AS THE PREVIOUS ONE, AND ACCEPT THAT SOME DAYS ARE BETTER THAN OTHERS.
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If only I knew how to change the formatting of my tumblr without having to worry about my comments disappearing!
In any case, I wanted to highlight my favorite websites, that I’ve found useful or just read for fun
What are your favorite websites?
What distinguishes your affiliate from another one? What do you envision when you think of a CrossFit gym? Is it the sweaty bodies and people swearing and grunting? Are shirts optional? Are there fist pounds after every one finishes the WOD? I would say that these are some pretty typical things you’d see on a daily basis at any affiliate. But what builds a strong community? I believe that they are the standards that the coaches put in place that foster a community of respect, good sportsmanship, and support.
Gym Etiquette you should follow - Not in any particular order:
There are tons of other tips of etiquette, but I thought these were the main ones that really make a difference. Do you have any etiquette tips for people at the gym?
L.- Amylynne during FGB6;
“Push-Press”
5-5-5-5-5
90-100-105-110-115(x1)
*My shoulders are feeling beat up this week. I didn’t fail at 115. I stopped because my right shoulder felt a tweak.
Then:
“Tight Pants Midnight” - 4:44
21 Burpees
Sprint to 3rd and Back
15 Burpees
Sprint to 3rd and back
9 Burpees
Sprint to 3rd and back
Accessory work
Huge kudos to Amylynne today for doing HSPUs with me. It only gets better from here. My shoulder were really toast from the push press. I’d say I feel a bit disappointed I didn’t finish the 115 PP, but I’m glad I walked away instead of getting hurt.
There have been lots of questions and buzz about nutrition as of lately. Here’s a summary of our lecture with Coach B in addition to some links that our Nutrition Challenge participants found useful.
NUTRITION HIGHLIGHTS FROM COACH B (courtesy of Jen G.)
Paleo v Zone
Need to weigh and measure for at least 2 weeks, if not throughout challenge, so you can see what portions should look like
BE CAREFUL! Paleo does not mean you can eat tons of these foods…….people make mistake of eating tons of nuts and not enough protein and veggies
If you take out starch but don’t replace with enough veggies, some fruit, and fat, performance and energy will plummet!
TO DO LIST:
1) Clear out Cupboards and Fridge
- should only have whole foods, nothing processed
- take out starch, wheat, dairy, processed foods if you want to see massive change in performance, how you feel and how you look
***if you are going to ‘cheat’ it should be on a meal by meal basis……..’junk’ should NOT be kept in the house….only enough for the one cheat (ie, if you want beer, buy 2 beers, not a 6 or 12 pack to keep in house; buy 1 slice of pizza, etc)
2) Stock kitchen with the “good stuff”
- only lean meats, vegetables, fruit, nut, seeds
- whole, natural, preferably organic foods only!
3) Be Prepared
- Have a dedicated cupboard for containers that is neat and organized
- tupperware, (pref glass containers), measuring supplies, food scale
- Plan meals for following day the night before
- know how long you will be gone, how many meals you will need in order to eat every 3-4 hours; prepack in your tupperware and grab in the am
EVERY DAY TO DO LIST:
If you do just these things, you will lose weight, increase energy and get a performance boost!
SPECIFICS for EACH MEAL:
***: if trying to lose weight, fruit should be limited to 1 time per day, and ideally post workout. Think of fruits as dessert now - go to www.Marksdailyapple.com for recipe ideas for desserts.
*** Monitor fats closely with very specific amounts……these amounts will change depending on body composition (ie, if leaning out, but performance is suffering, then increase fat amounts a little bit - getting too small will kill performance! so, you might be doing a 5-6 block meal, but your fats may be 7-8 blocks…..
REMEMBER: you are now using fat for energy rather than carbs. If you are going from a high carb (grains) diet, and change to Paleo, you need to have a plan
Q&A Session with COACH
- Inflammation, contracts capillaries
-some people are more sensitive than others, but just about everyone has some level of intolerance, which affects energy and performance
-if you are going to do it, make sure it is organic, grass fed; drink whole milk; use heavy cream for coffee
-empty stomach or if really hungry, have a 1 block meal before. if ok with dairy, couple spoonfuls of yogurt and a little fruit
- Eat within 1 hour of workout
- best time for higher carb meal/fruit
*******high carb/normal protein/ZERO FAT (increase in carbs replaces the fat) - for post workout meal ONLY!!
- there is usually a deli; ask them to measure out meat for you; pick a few veggies, take a fruit and buy some nuts.
- go to a grocery store and do same thing instead of going to restaurant
they will weigh out meat for you
carbs will be easy once you get the block chart and can eyeball veggies
get nuts
- Steve’s paleo kits for convenience…or make your own kit
- limit to 1-2 times per week
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COOKBOOKS
Some cookbooks that many people use and love include:
Paleo Comfort Cooking: Julie Sullivan Mayfield
Everyday Paleo: Sarah Fragoso
The Paleo Diet Cookbook: Loren Cordain
ADDITIONAL WEBSITES/RECIPES
High Intensity = More post-WOD carnage
Here’s part two. I realized I ramble a lot and my posts can be pretty verbose, so I thought I’d break it down into something more manageable. :)
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INJURY/PAIN/SORENESS
The theory of taking rest after high intensity workouts goes hand in hand with preventing injuries. Don’t forget that CF is hard work. What you’re doing is far more intense than what a typical American does. However, if you don’t take proper care of yourself at the outset, by not resting enough or paying attention to pains, you may shorten your CF Journey. There’s a big difference between being sore and pain. Pain is acute, uncomfortable, and it prevents you from moving with safe mechanics. If this is the type of pain you are experiencing - don’t push yourself through a workout! Let a coach know and take it easy for a few days. I know it’s hard to take time off, but wouldn’t you rather miss 3 days instead of 3 months. On the flipside, if you’re talking about that discomfort/soreness from yesterday’s workout, that’s just your muscles saying thank you for pushing them through a brutal workout. You’ll be as good as new in a few days.
One key thing I wanted to bring your attention to is the ever popular - let’s just take an ibuprofen to help alleviate the pain. Unless you are suffering the ACUTE pain I mentioned above, DO NOT pop those pills. I’ve copied a link below to San Francisco CF where they get into detail as to why you should stop doing that - basically bask in your soreness :)
How much CF via CF South Bay
http://www.crossfitsouthbay.com/2011/04/how-much-crossfit/
Ibuprofen - why you should think twice via San Francisco CF
http://sanfranciscocrossfit.blogspot.com/2009/06/get-off-ibuprofen-peoples.html
“Front Squat”
3-3-3-3-3
145-155-165-175-180 (PR)
Holy cannoli - the last rep at 180 was rough. Trying to get closer to the big boys! Actually, what inspires me is this video of Elyse Umeda . I listed this in my phone in October and am aiming to hit these numbers. The reason I picked Elyse is because we’re the same height/weight and there’s no excuse why I can’t be just as strong! Kris Clever probably falls in the same category, but she’s crazy beastly, LOL
Elyse v. Me
OHS: 185 v ?? - I haven’t tried singles in a while. My problem is jerking heavy to try
FS: 195 v. 180
BS: 255 v. 215
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“Last Caress” - 7:23 rx’d
3 rounds for time of:
10 C2B Pull-Ups
20 Strict Push-Ups
30 Kettlebell Swings, 1 pood
-C2B felt good. I didn’t get any no reps. Push-ups SUCK! Did all my KBs unbroken.
accessory work: 45 GHDs
TIP OF THE DAY
Not sure what all the acronyms in CF Lingo are? Curious to see all the benchmark girls and Hero WODs? All your answers can be found on the CF main site webpage. Click here to access CF FAQ
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CFM Group Mobility - Jim foam rolling before Fight Gone Bad 6
It’s Friday afternoon and you’re ready to kick off your weekend by doing a WOD. You took a look at the WOD and are mentally ready to get after it. You manage to get out of work early, the timing of the subway is impeccable and it approaches as soon as you get to the station and you get to your affiliate with 15 minutes before class starts. What do you do when you arrive?
a) put your stuff down and chat up some of the other athletes
b) listen to some music to fire you up and check out current class finishing up
c) work on your mobility issues and stretch out based on the WOD
d) work on some of your GOATS
Hopefully you answered ALL OF THE ABOVE.
In an ideal scenario, before you get into your WOD, you’ve had about a good 30 minutes to get your body warm and work on some of the magic that KStarr talks about on his MobilityWOD. But not everyone has the luxury to get in super early. And all WODs are not created equal. There are some days where the warm up + demo + set up eat away at your prep time. As your coaches, our main objectives are to lead you through as thorough a warm up as possible but leaving enough time to walk you through the workout, answer questions, get you set up, and then watch you cut loose. Some times I wish there was more time to do the warm up, but then we’d end up having SUPER long classes…no bueno.
This is where you come in. While we definitely get the basics done pre-WOD in class, take some time to whip out the foam roller and loosen yourself up. Grab a PVC pipe and work on perfecting your OHS. If you’re trying to master a skill, why not take this opportunity to practice your DUs? If you’re trying to get your first pull up, it’s not going to magically appear tomorrow if you don’t put in any practice - work your negatives or do some ring rows. Why not do some hollow rocks?
Mobility WORK suggestions
There are so many things you can do before your WOD to make it productive. What do you do before class? Would love to hear your ideas.
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Burgener Warm Up - this will help your oly lifts!!! -via CF Paradiso
BIG CONGRATS to MELISSA!! She reached her goal of kicking into a handstand !! YEAA!!
KUDOS to TEAM METROPOLIS for their kick ass performances at CF Hoboken’s Pump and Run! Mike Cohen gets props for coming in 3rd Overall and Second in his division! Angela gets props for coming in first for the women in the 5K. Big thank you to Coach Lauren for leading the troops with her training program!
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“Empty The Clip” - 22:11
3 Rounds For Time Of:
500m Row
20 Box Jumps, 24”
15 Handstand Push-Ups, comp style
10 L-Pull-Ups
-I need to get better at rowing! Although my short legs can only eek out so much power. And I need to work on my L-Pull ups. I can’t string any together. Seems like my hip flexors are working against me! HSPUs felt great. Strung 10 the first round then no less than 7 every other
1.5 hour break (since I took yesterday off)
“Jacking Iron” from CFNE - 11:04
15-12-9-6-3
Power snatch, #80
Burpees
- I haven’t done the snatch since CF Open WOD 12.2. I realize I need to start incorporating snatch a little more often in my GOAT training. On CFNE, competitor rx’d was #95 for the ladies! Need to get more efficient with this lift. I had to break this WOD down into sets of 3-4 for the snatches.
TIP OF THE DAY
When doing a squat or deadlift, wear thin hard soled shoes so you can really shift the weight back into the heels. Running shoes are a bit cushy and will prevent you from being able to adequately stabilize. If you don’t have a pair, you can perform the lifts in your socks. (Check out the link below on shoes)
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Performing WODs at high Intensity may lead to post- WOD carnage!
When asking anyone from the globo gym world how often they go to the gym, chances are they’ll reply 5-6 times a week. Now, ask a person who does CrossFit - what do you think their answer will be? Is there an optimal set of times you should be going? Well there’s no exact answer to this, but the key component to answering the question relate to what are your goals, how’s your diet, are you sleeping enough and what is your current fitness level.
The suggested CrossFit schedule schedule is 3 on 1 off/2 on 1 off. Keep in mind the intensity levels during you workouts are pretty high so our goal as athletes is to know/learn about our body to know when to back off and get adequate rest. The last thing you need is to put in 120% and get diminishing returns because you’re not allowing yourself to recover appropriately. Remember, this is for the long haul - as my coach Eric would say, “It’s not a sprint to the finish, it’s a marathon”. Going to the gym more than 3 days in a row can lead to lower intensity WODs and poorer performances. Not to mention, possible injury. If you recall, one of the tenants of CF is to perform at full intensity, so it seems logical that taking a day off will do you more good. (Check images above for the visual effect!!)
I know when I first started , I made the false assumption that more is better and would come in maybe 5 days in a row. (What the heck was I thinking?!) It’s no wonder I was dead tired and did crappy on the 5th day. My body was still in the process of recovery and adjusting to the new movements!
As a new CF’er, I’d definitely suggest trying to come in at least 3 times a week. The more seasoned you become, the greater you’ll understand your thresholds. Some of the more elite athletes can WOD 5 times a week and and hit double sessions - pretty impressive! If you’re still unsure, don’t hesitate to ask a coach.
So - what exactly do you do on your rest day? Make some time to enjoy the other pleasures of life - hang out with friends (unless all your friends go to CF, that can be hard if your schedules are different, lol), go on an easy swim, bike or run, watch a movie, or as CrossFit suggests, try a new sport! You can choose to spend your day off however you like. Taking a day off will leave you itching to get back and ready to hit it hard the following day!
Now, another thing to keep in mind is that life is unpredictable. So there are some days you might not make it to the gym. Don’t freak out! Remember to be flexible. The gym will not abandon you.
Remember, days off from the gym are not you being LAZY. It’s your way of preserving yourself for the challenges that lie ahead. While the answer to this question is rather subjective, I suggest trying out a schedule and jotting down notes about how you feel over the course of a month. Your work capacity differs from any other athlete at the gym, so take charge and figure out what works best for you.
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Shoes - which pairs/when to use them
Yesterday night is the very reason I write a post like this - I have never been more proud of my ladies. Alicia, Yasmin, Steph, LB, Mary and Katie did our version of “Fa-Ran” at the rx’d weights! I had the chance to watch some of them and watching you ladies fight through the reps and the smiles and feelings of accomplishment afterwards make coaching you guys such an amazing experience! Cannot wait to see how you gals progress.
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So you’ve been doing CF for a little while and you’ve promised yourself to make one of your goals to do AS MANY WODs AS RX’D. BUT how do you know when to make changes? Well, let’s go over why we scale. CrossFit’s beauty is the ability for us to modify workouts so that people of all ages and skill sets can perform to the best of their abilities at their work capacity.
WE SCALE because:
Keep in mind, there is a small caveat here, if your goal is to get the maximum intensity of the workout, then this person needs to scale their load. But when is it ok to go a little heavier and a little slower.
2 mats (Nov’10) - 1 mat (Apr’11) - rx’d (July’11)
How do I find that happy medium between scaling and rx’d?
I think that as long as your mechanics are sound, you can start to think about your load. Understand that adding a little more weight can feel like night and day and you WILL STRUGGLE. Struggle should not be confused with IMPOSSIBLE. Obviously the new weight you’re using is comparatively going to feel a lot more difficult. BUT don’t let this get to your ego. Remember, we checked our ego before we got to the gym. You should see this challenge as progress, even though you might have to break up the working sets a bit more. Congratulations, you have just made a SCALE UP towards Rx’D!
Now that you know it’s ok to struggle, keep these other things in mind
Hope that helps some of you graduate up towards Rx’D!
Split Jerk
10x3 with 45 seconds rest in between
#115
felt good - I could probably go up another 5lbs. After reading up and watching videos to prepare for coaching class today, it’s finally clicking with “pulling under” the bar. Such an easy concept to envision, but seeing and doing are so different! On the road to getting stronger!! My goal of #165 jerk is in my sights!!
NEWBIE TIP OF THE DAY
keep log of your workouts! I don’t care if it’s in a notebook, on your phone, on a blog, your notes will help you stay on course with your training and allow you to see progress. otherwise, why bother coming into the gym if you have no direction. a coach’s guidance can only take you so far - if you really want to succeed, you must be accountable for yourself.
Over the past 10 years, I have frequently toyed around with my diet. My diets ranged from eating what I “perceived” as healthy, having a personal trainer put me on a diet, to experimenting with the Zone Diet and Paleo. My weight has yo-yo’d and to make things even more complicated, I was diagnosed with a slow metabolism (hypothyroidism). My weight has definitely been on a roller coaster but what I had failed to look at over the years was how my diet altered my mood, my thought processes, and my relationships. Dieting/Food is a sensitive topic for many, and people usually create an emotional reaction to eating certain things (e.g. good food v. bad food; bad food = guilt) - what I hope to instill in this post is that food is a necessity and you not feel bad about it!
Over the last several years, I have participated and organized nutrition challenges. The main take away is that these are unique EXPERIMENTS for everyone on a variety of levels (physical, mental, emotional) .The challenges allowed people to tinker with the thought of fuel and the way the body would respond to picking foods that are richer in nutrients than the processed stuff . Take the analogy of a Ferrari fuel dilemma. If you had an awesome Ferrari, would you fill it up with the cheapest gas possible or quality gas? Obviously you’d choose quality! And this is what we wanted our athletes to realize when choosing their food.
The goal of the challenge was never to get you to abide by it 100% but to get you at about 80/20 - that’s enough to get you results and from there you can play around with the other factors. The question most of you are thinking is, ok so what should I do?
Well, from personal experience,this past January I tried my own experiment and lost 8lbs, went from 18% to 15% bodyfat and my performances in my workouts skyrocketed. I never get the dreadful 3pm slump and I was sleeping like a baby. After this experiment, I realized that I had nutrition all wrong. Food is NOT black and white. I really had no clue what I was putting into my body.Everything is fair game in proper moderation. Initially I was miserable because I couldn’t shove all the carbs I wanted into my body. In the end though, I realized how much crap I was putting in that did absolutely NOTHING for me. I did the Zone Diet for about two weeks and then switched over to Paleo. I’m happy to report that I’ve been able to maintain my healthy eating habits and follow the 80/20 rule. And for those of you wondering, yes I enjoy my pizza and candy every so often. While you want to be healthy, YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE! So be sure to get your proper nutrition in, but I’m telling you, it’s ok to eat food that you enjoy - or have a few margaritas
So now you’re thinking, wow, the proportion sizes Americans ingest is pretty insane! But how exactly do you know if you’re eating in proper proportion?
My initial suggestion is that you keep a food diary for a week to see what you’re really putting in your body. While you’re keeping log, take a look at the link below on the Zone Diet from the CrossFit Journal. I would suggest trying Zone for at least 2 weeks so you can get a sense as to what an appropriate portion size is and then I’d suggest a modified paleo/zone diet. Remember, everything is fair game in moderation, so don’t cut your favorite treats out. Allow them in without beating yourself up about it. Get a buddy to try this experiment with you. Keep a journal about how you feel and most importantly TAKE MEASUREMENTS!! After a few weeks, your clothes will fit better, and people will be complimenting what how much sexier a fox you are!
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WOD
“Overhead Squat”
10-10-10
95-105-115
*surprised myself with the 115. It actually felt pretty solid!
Then:
“The Exorcist”
Buy in:
30 GHD situps
followed immediately by this 10 min amrap:
10 Weighted Sit-Ups,#25
12 Toes 2 Bar
15 Weighted Hip Extensions #15
3 Rounds +12 reps (ripped in round 2, so it was hard doing T2B); did an extra 30 GHD situps in the beginning
GOAL SETTING -
Make a list of goals for yourself this year. Make a few short term goals and some long term goals and hang them up somewhere. I have my goals hanging on my fridge. What are your goals? Feel free to comment :)
This year my goals are
NEWBIE TIP OF THE DAY
Get yourself a subscription to the CrossFit Journal! For just $25 a year, you’ll have full access to everything from nutrition, rest cycles, coaching, and topics such as today’s on Mental Toughness
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I got into this conversation with my friend Mike the other day after we had finished doing a chipper. What is it exactly that allows some athletes to plow through a long WOD, while others take breaks. How is it possible that work capacity differs so much and how can we get better at being able to embrace the pain?
Each athlete has a different threshold, but it’s truly that inner voice that dictates the whole mind-body reaction. Before coming to a WOD, are you thinking about your performance? Are you thinking how bad the workout is going to suck or how kick ass you’re going to be? That miniscule bit of negativity can trickle into your whole WOD. You can spend your energy fighting for every rep or waste it complaining about how much the WOD blows. Why waste more energy cursing and getting frustrated, as opposed to taking a second, and re-focusing.
BUT WHAT ABOUT HIGH VOLUME EXERCISES/LONG WODs?
After one of the longest WODs ever!
Let’s be honest, without a doubt, they are brutal. Take for Games WOD 12.1 (7 min AMRAP of Burpees). Honestly, it’s WHATEVER IT TAKES TO GET YOU TO FINISH. I try to occupy myself mentally by breaking down rep schemes or aiming to hit certain targets; or I look at a WOD and think about where exactly am I going to hit that wall, that way when I’m mid-WOD trying, I can think the hardest part is almost over; Or the ever popular ” every rep counts”. Eeking out a rep or two can often help out with movements that require very little thinking (e.g. lunges/burpees). However, for more technique based movements (e.g. pullups/HSPUs), take a few seconds to compose yourself, instead of getting the dreaded “NO REP”.
In short -
The mental toughness you gain is by your PERSONAL experience and pushing yourself through the mental challenge. Not listening to that lactic acid build up and your brain saying, just take a quick break. I think the beauty of CrossFit is that you’re constantly fighting to perform at your full potential. What CrossFit allows us to do is, as the Spice Girls would say “Two Become One”… With repeated experiences, you become more attuned with both your mental and physical threshold and know how to push towards that red line. The more you train, the greater you can expand your threshold.
Additional References
PART 1
“Nail Bomb” - 21:07 RX’D
400m Sprint
50 Kettlebell Swings (16kg)
40 Walking Lunges
30 Pull-Ups
20 Burpees
10 Pistols (alternating)
5 Handstand Push-Ups (comp style)
400m Sprint
5 Handstand Push-Ups (comp style)
10 Pistols (alternating)
20 Burpees
30 Pull-Ups
40 Walking Lunges
50 Kettlebell Swings (16kg)
400m Sprint
This WOD is mostly mental toughness. Finished the first chipper at 8:35 and then I got into my final run at about 18 minutes and change. I SERIOUSLY need to work on my running. I have one speed and one speed only, so the 400s took me forever. Everything else felt solid! HSPUs, Pistols, Burpees, and the first round of KB swings were unbroken.
PART 2 - TBC
PRESS 5-5-5-5-5-5
55-60-65-75-80-85(4)
12min AMRAP12 HSPUs50 DUs
Instead, did 50 HSPUs & 21-15-9 GHD situp/back ext
If you could get the recipe to becoming a phenomenal athlete, would you want it? What are some things that separate a good athlete from a superior athlete? What’s their secret??
I think the straight forward answer is, there’s nothing too different between yourself and being a stellar athlete. There are the Rich Froning and Annie Thorisdottir’s of the world who just have an insane capacity to perform (genetics), maybe having extra time to train on the side, BUT the other key ingredient is something we’re all completely capable of - and that’s our desire to want it bad enough and taking the steps to get there.
By looking at competitive CF Games athletes, it’s obvious that they spend a lot of time in the gym, focus on technique (watch Annie Thorisdottir during the Games. As she fatigues, her technique gets BETTER!), watching their diet, resting and getting that mobility in. It’s pretty straight forward.
So whether you’re just starting out or ready to get yourself to the next level, here are my top 10 things that I think have helped me continue to progress.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT (in no particular order)
FINALLY and MOST IMPORTANTLY
ENJOY YOURSELF! By choosing to do CrossFit you are in a much better position than most Americans! Enjoy your journey and remember that this is something you want to continue to do in the long haul. Don’t take your workouts too seriously!
As an athlete and a coach, I can easily relate to my beginnings at my affiliate. So you’ve decided that those people at the CrossFit gym aren’t so scary and now you’re ready to get yourself immersed in all that it has to offer. Those people are looking bad ass in their knee high socks, compression sleeves, 2 pood shorts and lifting shoes. But what do you really need?
SHOES
Do you really need to get a pair of oly shoes? People have varying opinions on this. Let’s get things straight - oly shoes are NOT very cheap. Sure they look cool, but in my opinion, I think that as new athletes, you shouldn’t worry about getting those sweet looking shoes when you’re main concern is your ability to PROPERLY MOVE - and I think it’s a little silly to have $$$ shoes and all you’re really moving is fairly light weight. As you gradually get into heavier weight territory, an investment in a good pair of oly shoes may actually pay off.
An alternative to the oly shoes would be thin soled shoes (e.g. Converse, Inov8s, New Balance Minimus). These shoes are terrific alternatives and are multi-functional since it allows you hit those oly lifts during the WOD and perform your runs/box jumps, etc. without issue. The reason you want a thin soled shoe is because a lot of our movements require us to shift our weight into the heels and wearing shoes with thicker soles (e.g. running shoes) can off set your balance, often making it very difficult to get yourself into those prime positions.
So if I can impart any wisdom about your footwear, use your discretion. you do not need to spend a ton of money on shoes to perform well. Your ability to move well is determined by YOU, not the magical pair of shoes on your feet.
REVIEW ON DIFFERENT SHOES
http://www.crossfitclothing.org/crossfit-shoes/crossfit-shoes-we-review-the-best-of-2012
NOTEBOOK
Take a trip to the 99 cents store!! I CANNOT express how important it is to maintain a log with your WODS. Keeping records are a sure fire way to help yourself progress, see if you’re working towards your goals, and see where you may need to tweak things. In addition to this, you can add comments so you know if you’re hitting you max potential or if you need to go heavier next time.
A coach’s worst nightmare is an athlete who has been coming to the gym consistently, but has absolutely NO IDEA how much weight they used in a strength WOD or what time they finished a benchmark WOD. *insert whiney noise & eye rolling*
There is nothing better than looking back at a WOD you’ve done, and seeing how far you’ve come. Without any records, it’s like trying to hit a bullseye blindfolded. As a coach, we are there to help you achieve your potential, by pushing you to your limits and watching your technique…BUT remember, this is a partnership and you must be just as accountable for knowing what you are capable of. You can have a kick ass coach that has trained elite athletes - but, if you pair them with someone who remains ignorant to their own abilities - you’re wasting your time. As they say, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Whether it be a notebook, iphone, web blog - DO IT! Keep a record of your WODs, keep consistent and watch your progress! It’ll help motivate you to push harder and enjoy your successes!
EQUIPMENT
Now what should you invest in in terms of additional equipment. My top two items would be your own jump rope and wrist wraps. A third possible investment would be in gymnast grips. Here’s why:
Apparently I’ve left the tumblr for a bit because of lack of time, but I’ve been feeling compelled to write and post things up to help people along the way with their CrossFit Journey. So let me briefly summarize what my journey has taught me thus far.
THE BEGINNING - OCTOBER 2010
Check out our attempts at “Cindy” - green band baby - last year!
Coming into this as a complete newbie, I thought I had all the answers. I thought I was fit, strong, and all that and a bag of chips. By looking at my first few entry posts, obviously I was completely wrong. Over this time frame, I took a hard look at my fitness levels, and trained as wisely as I possibly could. This meant, going to the gym consistently on a 3 on/1 off cycle and getting enough rest. Scaling my WODs but working to get stronger. Some how the diet piece didn’t compel me (at least at the outset). I listened closely to my coach, ELove, watched a ton of oly lift videos on youtube, and found that my conversations consisted of how to prepare for the WOD. As time drew on, I realized I had a deep passion about this sport and engaging with people to learn that there’s more to life than dumbbell curls and mindlessly moving on the elliptical. There is a purpose and fun to working out.
THE MIDDLE
I received my level 1 certification and went for my mobility cert. I competed in my first competition “Hail to the Queen” at CrossFit Queens and placed first in the “scaled” division. I also competed in the CF Open and found out so much about myself through those 6 weeks. I found out that I was stronger than I thought, and that CF is the cumulative effect of the efforts you put in. I started to coach a bootcamp class and am now an assistant coach at our gym.
Screaming my head off in support! Love the camaraderie
During the summer, I decided to continue to step out of my comfort zone and continue with competition. I’m proud to say CrossFit Metropolis showed athleticism and the best team spirit at every event.
In the fall, I organized our Barbells 4 Boobs event. We were snowed out from the event, but we wouldn’t let that stop us from getting our “Grace” on.
PRESENT - 2012
What a difference a year makes. So much has changed - both in my abilities to coach and as an athlete. I finally feel comfortable in my skin and I can truly see that my efforts are paying off. I competed in the second annual “Hail to the Queen” in the rx’d division and placed 9th. I met so many amazing women and that competition truly echoes that “Strong is Beautiful”. This point has hit me so much so, that I’m making it my goal to help the ladies at my affiliate rise to their full potential. What was amazing was that last year there were only 3 women from my affiliate who participated and this year we had almost 10 women! Our ladies also set so many PRs and found out that they were stronger than they thought.
This was my second year competing in the CrossFit Open, and I’m happy to say that I finished 81st in the North East. Just 21 spots shy of making it to regionals. What’s really crazy is how my performance has done a complete 180. There was a repeat WOD consisting of thrusters/C2B pull ups and I went from 27 reps to 102!
I made an effort at the beginning of the year, pre-CF Open , to dial into my diet to see what a difference it makes, and holy cannoli, it’s like night and day. I truly attest increased performance to showing up at the gym, taking care of yourself, eating properly and being a humble athlete. Progress only happens by facing your weaknesses dead on and trying to improve. The misinformed athlete comes in, with no goal, no direction, and no intent.
My intentions of this year and this blog are to
