Category: Personal
Last post
The Spartan Race has come and gone, and I wasn’t part of it. My ankle was simply not healed enough. Many told me of the steep muddy hills that were on the course, so that might’ve actually broken it.
I could say this was wasted, but it’S not really. I learned a lot about myself while training and writing this blog. It has been an interesting journey, one that I will continue.
Well, this is it. I think this might be my last post. I’m not sure if I should go on writing posts, now.
It’s been fun, thank you all for reading (thus far, maybe) and sharing my travels on the road to Sparta(n). Keep training, have fun and never let go.
Chris
Sprain
As the swelling in my ankle didn’t go down as much as I thought it would, and because a bruise appeared yesterday, I went to see a doctor to see what’s the story. Seems I have a slight sprain. Ice, elevation and compression are prescribed… and obviously no running or activities that involve impact on the ankle. I can still lift, but no double unders, burpees or box jumps. It should heal on its own.
I did ask about running – I have the Spartan Race in 2 weeks. Doctor told me to use my judgement. That means that, in a week, I’ll have to assess my situation and see if I run or not.
You know, I’m getting sick and tired f this. Every time there’s a competition coming up, I seem to injure myself and miss it. I want to do those competitions! It stinks. This one most of all, as it’s the very reason behind this blog.
‘Guess we’ll see in a week how things stand.
New Move – New Coach
Back at the box after a weekend of celebrating and going back to school. I now have less time now that the summer semester has started – Mondays and Wednesdays are out.
Things have change at the gym; we now have more classes available to accommodate the growing number of athletes. Instead of having one 1h class after another, we we have more options, but staggered to start every half hour. That way, we got more training time all the while making it possible to finish earlier. They’ve also added an open gym period on Sundays, for those who want to practice anything – trainer(s) will be present, of course. To make this possible, as I have alluded Sunday, we’ve hired a new coach. She’s a regular at our gym and a newly minted level 1 trainer. I didn’t see much of her training while doing my Bday WOD.. pick your poison day is pretty much do as you like. Today, she was leading our class. The fact that she’s a regular takes the awkwardness of first time teachers out of the way. She’s motivated, pays attention to details and sees things differently than the main coach. Combining those multiple point of views – they are not conflicting so far – help better understand some tricky things for movements. My first impression is a good one, but only time will tell how she’ll develop as a trainer. She’s got a good model in our main coach – that’ll help, too.
Today’s skill was shoulder mobility, something I’m always happy for, while the previous class was doing the WOD. 🙂 Then we switched to the WOD while the next class was warming up and preparing for the skills’ portion. Here’s what was on the menu today: 3 round for time – 15 ring dips, 20 KB Snatch 1.5 pood and 30 OH walking lunged 45lbs. The KB snatch was a new one, but fairly simple: You do a snatch with the kettlebell, with one hand – that’s it. The trick is not to let the KB hit your wrist/forearm too hard as it swings back at the top of the movement. I tried 1.5, but couldn’t do it… 1pood was good enough for me. Waling OH lunges are still a horrible thing to do. It took me 14:21. Demanding, but not too much, and you work out a good sweat. A good workout.
Summer is also coming along, with it’s heat and humidity. That should help me – I thrive training in that weather!
They’re also adding a competition workout/team – commitment is needed, sweat, pain and soreness are the price to pay, greatness the reward. It seems to be pretty much invite only/talk to the coach about it. It’ll be an intensive thing, for sure… not that I’ll be joining them. I’m aware of my current flaws and weaknesses and crazy schedule. I’m not there yet, but I plan to be.
Supplements
1 scoop (10g) Beyond Yourself AMRAP (BCAA) with 12oz water – during training, 1 scoop (30g) Beyond Yourself Whey ISO in 500ml water – after training
End benchmark 2
Poison Friday, but I had to do my second paleo challenge benchmark. Had to if I want to win.
My second benchmark was the classic dirty girl, Fran. After doing the Super Fran in the Open, I wasn’t really scared of it. Again, because of the healing shoulder in January, I did the WOD scaled, at 65lbs. Super Fran was 105lbs…
In January, I did it in 6:34. This time around, I crushed it, at 4:45. I shaved almost two minutes off my time!
Next time will be Rx, but will most likely take more time.
And even though it rains outside, I’m also very happy, and proud to say that I’m slowly getting my head wrapped around the mechanics behind the butterfly pullup. I can do two in a row, but not 3. I tried, and tried, and tried – before and after Fran, so muscle fatigue doesn’t quite play a big role in there – but I just can’t seem to string a third one in there. I’ll practice on my birthday resent from the Mrs, a pullup bar. 🙂
Supplements
1 scoop (10g) Beyond Yourself AMRAP (BCAA) with 12oz water – during training, 1 scoop (30g) Beyond Yourself Whey ISO in 500ml water – after training
Body Metrics and End benchmark 1
The 90 days are done, now we collect our winnings or bragging rights. Sort of. First we have to redo the benchmark we first did before the challenge started, in January.
According to the rules, I had to do at least 2 benchmark WODs at the beginning and redo them at the end. In my case, it was Jack and Fran – you can check the January 7 and 10 posts. The results were used as a baseline to determine the winner and improvements, among other things. In my case, I’m number 1 equal with another athlete, so the benchmark will separate us. Obviously, for the comparison to be fair, it means I have to do this week’s WODs at the same weights as last time. Those that I’ve been reading my blog for a while will remember that I got a shoulder injury at the end of October that left me on the bench for a while, and that it took forever to heal and regain my strength. At the benchmark time, I wasn’t back up to full strength for Jack.
After the skill, we went straight on to Jack: 20min AMRAP – 10 push press 115lbs, 10 KB swings 1.5pood and 10 box jumps 24in. In January, I scaled at 75lbs and finished with 7 rounds and 2 push press. This time, with the same weight (no choice), I finished with 11 rounds and 2 box jumps! Holy crap! It’s a 50% improvement, more or less.
I guess the paleo, the training and the Open help. 🙂 Pretty proud of myself.
Speaking of pride, we also took my measurements to compare. In January, I weight 199lbs and had a body fat percentage of 20.1. Today, at about the same time, I weight 180lbs and had a body fat percentage of 15.1. 15.1! Again Holy crap! I think back then I was aiming at 10% body fat loss and some 20lbs. Half of my goal – not too bad. 🙂
And yes, the Mrs is happy with the results. 😀
Supplements
1 scoop (10g) Beyond Yourself AMRAP (BCAA) with 12oz water – during training, 1 scoop (30g) Beyond Yourself Whey ISO in 500ml water – after training
P.S. My thoughts are prayers go to the runners and folks of Boston.
Tabata That
Friday is upon us, and again I get to actually chose my hurt. I went with yesterday’s WOD: A tabata. I wanted to do the Murph, but it’s really crappy outside, and I’d rather not run in snow/freezing rain/hail.
Tabata is many rounds of various exercises for short periods of time, and with even shorter periods of rest. After a while, though, the rest seems even shorter and rounds longer.
So tonight, eight 20s rounds of each of the following, with 10s in-between: pull ups, push ups, sit ups, squats. I started pretty strong, but as rounds went on, it got harder. Most of my reps I actually made in squats. I finished with 65, 70, 66 and 133 reps for each respectively, for a total of 334Rx. I’m pretty happy with the results, though I think I could do better. Got to learn the butterfly pull ups!
Also, tomorrow is my last day of the paleo challenge! 90 days without even cheating once! The only points “lost” were bonus for training or sleeping. And I’m still neck to neck with a fellow athlete at the gym. We both know we’re not going to give up at this point. 🙂
It also means I can have 2 coffees Sunday, and waffles! I still have the benchmarks to go through, though. Jack and Fran next week, taken at the same weight/settings as when we first did them in January. Because of that, I’m hesitant about cheating, or cheating a lot at the very least. I want to perform for the benchmarks, get a real reading of my progression. Guess I’ll stick to almost strict for that week.
Overall, it’s been a great experience. I was amazed at how easy it was to “quit” the bad stuff. Having a meal plan, planing ahead and a very comprehensive Mrs (also 5 years with her today) helped a lot. At time, it was a pain to stay strict… birthdays and special events made things complicated. I got funny stares, but generally, people around me were very understanding. Some told me they admired my willpower. The funniest comment remains my mothers: “You managed to do this with easy, yet you struggled so much to quit smoking”. I plan on keeping the paleo diet lifestyle; it’s given me great results and a nice body, I guess. It won’t be this strict – I’ll cheat every now and then… 😉
Thanks to all who supported and encouraged me. Tanks to my box, coach and fellow athlete for pushing me.
Supplements
1 scoop (10g) Beyond Yourself AMRAP (BCAA) with 12oz water – during training, 1 scoop (30g) Beyond Yourself Whey ISO in 500ml water – after training
Last Week
This week is my last week for the paleo challenge. Last score sheet is handed next Saturday, and we redo the benchmark WODs next week.
It’s been quite fun, and surprisingly less hard than I thought it would be. But it’s time to end it. I think this week will be the hardest, your mind knows you’re almost done, willpower could slip, and fried food smells awesome.
Nonetheless, I have the Mrs and my friends who support me, and I find comfort in that.
Today, I ended up training at home, with Bodee fit. I’m still sweating from it. The dirty dozen: 12min AMRAP – 12 squats, 12 burpees and 30s push up holds. I ended up doing 5 rounds and 3 burpees. And yes, I still hate them. 🙂
6 days left!
Supplements
1 scoop (30g) Beyond Yourself Whey ISO in 500ml water – after training
13.5
At last, the long-awaited fifth Open WOD came out. And once again, Dave Castro, the cruel insane genius behind the WODs, didn’t disappoint.
Last year’s 12.5 was a Fran ladder. This year, we got a Super Fran, or Frankenstein. It’s a 4 min AMRAP of 15 thrusters 100lbs and 15 chest to bar pull-ups – chest MUST touch the bar. You’re probably thinking “huh, fast paced, but not too bad”.
But wait! There’s more! If you managed to do 90 reps in the 4 minutes (so 3 full rounds), you earn an extra 4 minutes of time! That’s right, you’ve now 8 minutes to get AMRAP. Now you thinking “ok, it’s nasty, because endurance kicks in now”.
But wait! We’re not done! If you manage to do ANOTHER 90 reps in the now 8 minutes, you earn another 4 minutes to do more reps. And it goes on and on until time runs out or your body gives out. That’s where the mental games kicks in. How much will you push, knowing you’ll have more pain coming as you perform.
Granted, I’m not at that stage at all. Keeping with my new-found state of mind, I went in with an achievable goal. My thrusters are not the best in the world – heck, I haven’t done Fran Rx – though this will change in two weeks. Chest to bars, weeeeelllll, I sort of could do some, that is get the required height. But they have to touch the bar, which makes things complicated. My goal was to get to the first set of 15 C2B, and get a few reps in. An awesome achievement would be for me to complete an entire round. Remember, you only have 4 minutes.
I ended up doing 37 reps, surpassing my awesome achievement by 7 reps. 🙂
I’m happy with what I did. I gave it my all, and left it all on there. No shame, just sweat and PRs. The Open pulled me in, chewed me and spat me out in the deepest corners of my mental hell, but I managed to regroup, refocus and push through to finish a better athlete than when I started. The 5 WODs have exposed big flaws – mental and physical alike – and that what I think it’s for. I know I will not win the Open, or get to the Regionals, but I still consider myself a victor after those 5 weeks – it’s the journey that matters most, not the destination or goal.
On my road to the Spartan race, I took this side path and followed it to the end. I’m now back on the main road a better man.
Supplements
1 scoop (10g) Beyond Yourself AMRAP (BCAA) with 12oz water – during training, 1 scoop (30g) Beyond Yourself Whey ISO in 500ml water – after training
Paleopdate
It’s Easter morning, and everybody’s asleep here. Since I can’t sleep anymore, I figured I’d take a few minutes to do a small update on the Paleo Challenge.
There are 15 days left in the challenge, and I’m still going strong. I had great results at the beginning, but I seem to have plateau’d for the last month and a half or so. I’ve lost 20lb and about 2% body fat. I’ve grown stronger, too, adding muscle mass. I’ve gained mostly in the back and shoulders – to the point that someof my shirts cannot be closed at the collar anymore! The same goes with my bespoke clothes… They were snug when I got them, now they’re… tight. The Mrs is not complaining. 🙂
To be honest, it’s been suprisingly easy to keep it up and not cheat. The food we’re cooking is great, tasty and filling. There are sweet deserts and snacks that can be made to satisfy my sweet tooth, too. I have had a few cravings, but they were for the most part short-lived. They were more along the line of “Man I wish I had some” when walking in front of a bakery and smelling freshly baked goods. Small upside about quitting smoking: you learn how to deal with cravings.
Going in the challenge, I thought the hardest part would be eating at restaurants or at my parents/in-laws. Well you know what? It’snot that bad. Restaurant staff were very comprehensive about the restrictions. We’re already used to it because of the Mrs and coeliac’s disease. Adding it was due to a training regimen actually got them curious about crossfit and the results – they fussed even less when I asked what was in the food, sauce and when asked to replace potatoes by veggies. At my parents, it took a little more effort and advanced notice, like this weekend: Easter and celebrating 4 birthdays at once. Still managed it, even if a glass of wine would’ve been nice. Point of pride, my parents are impressed by my willpower, and they’re not teasing me or nagging.
Two weeks are left – until April 14, and those will most likely be the hardest. You know the end is near and the willpower might flag a little. It’s when you mind starts whispering that it’s almost done, so cheatig a little won’t do harm, right? I have to be careful, it’s easy to slip.
Happy cocholate day!
13.4
New Open WOD, new mindset.
I took a more zen approach to 13.4. As I mentionned yesterday, I’d never lifted 135lbs, ever. If I could do 1 rep in the WOD, I’d be happy. Completing the round of 3 would be a personal achievement. Getting in the round of 6, it’d simply be awesome. Like I said, every lift done in this WOD is a PR for me.
Btw, 13.4 is the following: 7 minute AMRAP: 3 Clean and jerk (135lbs), 3 Toes-to-bar, 6 Clean and jerk, 6 Toes-to-bar, 9 Clean and jerk, 9 Toes-to-bar, etc.
I also took a smarter approach to the lift, and my expectations. I got at the box about an hour before the WOD, warmed up and started lifting, getting gradually heavier. Plastic to 45 to 95 to 115 to 135lbs, taking rests in between so not to smoke my shoulders and legs. A split-jerked all of them to make sure I was comfortable with the movement. At the end, I was happy. I lifted 135lbs TWICE! That meant I could at least do 1 clean and jerk at 135lbs during 13.4 – my honor was safe. 😉
The toes to bar were never an issue for me – I like knees to elbows, and all I have to do is extend the legs more. 🙂
In 7 minutes, I ended up doing 41 reps – 41 PRs! That’s getting in the round of 12, wouldn’t you know. It was surprisingly demanding on the cardio, too.
Supplements
1 scoop (10g) Beyond Yourself AMRAP (BCAA) with 12oz water – during training, 1 scoop (30g) Beyond Yourself Whey ISO in 500ml water – after training
Road 2 Sparta(n) 