Recovery

Back to single day workouts this week which feels like nothing compared to the last couple weeks where I was extremely busy with a double day almost every day.  I feel my body recovering which feels great.   Plus I started doing ice baths for 10 min every other day.  While this is one of the more painful things I have to do (feels like Fran), it only lasts a few minutes then you go numb.  I used to do these in college football and they truly help.  I feel so much better afterward.  I think it is my favorite thing to help recovery, better than anything else I have ever used.  If you have not done it, try it!

Here have been my workouts this week so far.  All have felt good, and feeling very recovered!

Airdyne sprints:

30 sec @ 90% effort
30 sec 50% effort x 10
rest 3 min off bike
repeat x 3

Heart rate was between 165 and 179 after the 30 sec sprints for the last two sets of ten.

5 sets:
10 split jerk - 135#
15 KBS - 2pd
30 double unders
20 sit ups anchored
rest 4 min 

A. Squat Clean - build to a tough 3 but NOT a 3RM
B. FS @ 30X1; 4 sets of 2 - tough but perfect form; rest 2 min
C1. Squat CLean Thruster - 5 sets of 5 unbroken heavy - work on speed and form; rest 20 sec
C2. 25 chin ups unbroken x 5; rest 5 min

Post Christmas program

After a little testing day I took two days off over Christmas.  It was good to relax some, hang out with family, and eat some good food.  I ate some bad things, mixed in some good healthy foods, and had a couple desserts.  For the most part I stayed away from desserts but I did have a quite a few beers.  It tasted good and I needed it as I was a little broken down.  This next week will be tough right before New Years as I have a lot of dinner parties to go to.  I plan I continuing to work hard and relaxing here and there this next week.

This next cycle of workouts mixes in a lot of squats with speed work.  Just planning on plain and simple work slowly adding some volume  with no surprises.  There are also a lot of power endurance and endurance workouts mixed in as well.  Some of these involve swimming, hiking, and biking.  These will add some diversity to my workouts and should be fun.  Todays wod involved this:

A. Back Squat with light bands @ 20X1; 10 sets of 3; rest 45 sec b/t sets - 135# barbell plus bands per side
B. Back Squat - build to a tough triple on the 2 minute timer 
C1. DB High bench step ups @ 3121; - 24" box - 12/leg x 3; rest 1 min
C2. 15 CTB chin ups x 3; rest 1 min

Here is a video of a couple sets of band squats and step ups.  The band squats felt good and should be a way to add more speed and strength to my squats.  Step ups were hard to hold tempo but felt them right in the hammies so I know they were working.  Looking forward to this next cycle and the New Year!

OPT wod 12/26/10 from Joseph Warren on Vimeo.

Testing Day

I did a triple day yesterday testing some areas.  I have felt really good the last few weeks and then this week caught up with me.  A lot of volume has caused some aches and pains going into this triple day, so didn't feel great going into it.  But I guess it's like the last day of any competition, you are going to be sore and not feeling great but have to find a way to push through.  Not completely happy with my numbers but all in all I felt pretty good throughout the day.

Wod #1:

run 1 mile for time

t= 5:25

felt pretty good doing this on track, maybe a little more in me right now and I would like to get that a little faster through the next year.

Wod #2

3 rounds for time of:

12 Squat Cleans 155lb

12 HSPU

20 Box Jumps 24"

OPT triple day wod #2 from Joseph Warren on Vimeo.

This killed my hammies and didn't feel much pop in the legs.  The funny thing was that all the leg burn took out my HSPU, those never felt so hard.

Wod #3:

"jackie"

t=5:50

OPT triple day wod #3 "Jackie" from Joseph Warren on Vimeo.

First time ever doing this and I definitely had more in me, felt too easy at the end.  Need to make up time on rower and maybe a little quicker on thrusters.  I just didn't want to lose time by breaking.  Now I know to push harder on rower.

These testing day always are a good learning experience.  I will take a lot with me from this one.  Now off to relax, ice a little, and eat some good food over Christmas weekend.

Happy Holidays!

Keep Working

Here is my workout from last night.  Everything felt fine but wanted to do the ring dips unbroken but I knew that would be a struggle trying to keep up a good pace.  The last round they really broke down.  Need to keep working hard to get stronger!

Untitled from Joseph Warren on Vimeo.

A Big Storm

I did hill sprints 45 sec up/ 2:15 down x 12.  It was a glute/hammie burner, but felt good and consistent especially considering the awful conditions.  It is storming pretty good today.  After the first couple sprints my legs started feeling heavy and I got drenched making my shoes and shorts weighing about 3lb each.  

This 3 day cycle has been a lot of power endurance and shoulders/scapular strength.  A couple days ago I did a 30 min jog and then max strict pullups mixed with back squat for 6 sets.  Highest rep strict pullups was 27 and lowest was 16.  Squats felt a lot better than last week.

Yesterday I did airdyne sprints 1 min 90%/1 min 50% for 20 sets.   4 hours later I did 60 muscle ups in 16min plus some ring stability work of L-sits and front leaning rest or plank on rings.  My core is pretty sore.  

Hill sprints this morning was a production in the rain and later Im going back to the gym to do another burner.  I will film it and post later...

  

Light week

Only have done two workouts so far this week, a little bit of a lighter week before I do some testers next week right before Christmas!  One of the tests is "Jackie", so I'm looking forward to that.

Here are the wods for this week.

A1. Front Squat @ 30X1; 3,3,3,3; rest 2 min
A2. CTB Chin Ups - 25 x 4; rest 2 min
B. BB forward lunges - 10 total steps x 4 sets; rest 90 sec
C. gh raises - 15 x 3; rest 90 sec

Front Squat felt ok, still losing my glute activation where it starts to roll underneath with heavier loads.  Pullups were easy and lunges are to work on my glutes around 170lb for each set.

A1. Power Snatch - 3,3,2,2,1,1; rest 3 min
A2. Ring Dips + 20# vest - amrap x 6; rest 3 min
B. KBS - 1-13 breathing KBS ladder - 2 pd - breathe 5 breaths b/t reps

Power snatch I started at 165lb and then did a couple ring dip sets at 24 each set.  When I went up to 175lb I failed, had no tri's left.  I dug in a little deeper and got 175lb but a little sloppy form.  I finished at 180lb x 1.  Rind dips dropped to around 15.  The KBS ladder was fun, interesting to concentrate on breath, especially in later sets when it got harder which made the rest shorter.

Why give 100%

I have written a little on here about how to give 100% (check it out here)

The benefits of giving 100% are remarkable, a huge difference compared to 99%. Giving 100% comes from every aspect of life, not just during a workout. Being 100% in all aspects of life take commitment and will help to take your fitness to the next level. These are things like eating perfect, sleeping, recovery techniques, and stress management whatever that may be for you. These things all go hand in hand. I had a bad night of eating recently and thought it didn't affect my workout, but during the workout I didn't really achieve 100% and I probably did not recover like I should have. I just got through the workout. I noticed the night I ate bad that I slept terribly, making me more tired and stressed the next day. You see how they all are connected? People always try to get better by doing more, but why not try doing better? Ever heard of quality, not quantity? I truly believe in this and it is something I have learned over the last year or two. Try making every aspect of your life 100% and getting the absolutely most out of your workouts. What's the difference between taking 1 sec off of your wod time? Well at the elite level it can be huge, it can make all the difference in the world. So every workout that I do, I start with that mindset; it's the Crossfit motto of "every second counts!"

Here is an excerpt from a very good coach pushing Olympic athletes to reach their limits. It comes from OPT's blog back in February 2010.

Q: If an athlete hits a personal best, you usually stop the workout, regardless of what's left on the paper. Why is that?

CF: Well, it's dangerous. The time people get hurt is the next session after they've had a tremendous performance.

Q: Because they're trying to top themselves?

CF: Not just because they're psyched up and trying to beat their PR, but because their bodies haven't recovered from it. With very heavy weights it can take ten to twelve days to get over a maximal lift, same thing in sprinting. There's a huge difference between 95 and 100% performance. So instead of the 100 meters in 10 flat, it becomes 10.45 or 10.50. The difference in output and effort is unbelievable. Even though it's in the 95th percentile and qualifies as high intensity work, it's a joke. Keep in mind this only applies at the highest levels. If a kid gets a personal best, so what? We're talking about world record levels.

Q: In your book, The Charlie Francis Training System, there's a picture of Mark McKoy benching 315. The caption reads, "This is an indication of the upper body strength required to be a 10.19 second 100-meter sprinter and the number three hurdler in the world in 1987." Can you clarify that? Does a person need to bench a certain amount to be a contender?

CF: It's not a formula that says, you've got to be able to bench this and squat that. What it means is that high-quality performances are the result of high-quality training. There's nobody who can go out there, for example and say, "Oh, I want to beat Michael Johnson in the 400, well, I'll just go do what he does." Look, if you can't beat him in the race, you can't do his workouts! It would take years to build up to those things, so who cares what he does in his workout? You can't do it, so don't worry about it!

love it...

Saturday Double Day

Saturday and Sunday double days are always a little tough for me, it seems that the workouts consume my entire weekend and then I feel like I don't have much weekend at all.  Well last night I had a couple beers at a social networking event and ate pretty bad.  I woke up regretting that as I did not feel very good at all, salt and alcohol did not sit well with me.  But my workouts didnt seem to suffer, I just had a little bit of a headache and my stomach was sensitive.  Not gonna do that again for a while, it really sucked.  Well here are my workouts, tomorrow is rest day, and I'm gonna take it easy and eat healthy.

AM
hill runs - 45 sec up @ 80% grinder pace
run downeasy 2:15 x 5
walk rest 10 min
repeat 5 more times 

alll felt good, got a little hammie burn but not too much at 80%

PM
7 sets; 
Power Clean - 90 kg x 5
Row sprint 200 m @ 95%
rest 3 min

cleans @ 200lb - all unbroken tap n go

rows all at 1:30 pace or slightly below

workouts!!!

Yesterday AM:

row for 20 min z1 - almost got 5k meters, started off feeling great slowed a lot and then held a consistent pace around 2:05.  I was going to try to keep my HR at 145BPM but the damn thing didnt work on the rower.  When I stopped after 20 min and looked at my HR it was between 130-135

Yesterday PM

Back Squat 5,3,5,3,5,3 - worked up to 275lb - felt like crap, back was tight

Strict Pullups- 23 /21/19/ 16/ 14/ 13

GHD situps - 25 x 4

Today AM:

Airdyne sprints - 1 min @ 90%/ 1 min @ 50% for 30 min

PM:

10 min of Ring HSPU - all triples - 13 sets - 39 total

100 Turkish Getups 53lb - this sucked and took 35:33

Primal philosophy

Rest Day for me today

I read a lot of stuff on primal living, Paleo eating, and how to be as healthy as we were designed to be. I really like Mark's Daily Apple because it is all about primal living in modern society which is very practical. Here is another excerpt taken from Erwan Le Corre found on the blog Conditioning Research. I really like it because it is a very practical approach:

Let me be a bit provocative here, purposely: I do not care about my ancestors. They’re all dead!

An evolutionary approach is only interesting if it helps us, people of today, people that are still alive. In that sense, I am not interested in a so called “truth”, but in what we can experience today, and how understanding our past may help us improve our present lives. I am not living a caveman lifestyle, I’m sorry. I am a man of today, I’m in the here and now. I am not “sprinting and lifting heavy things” thinking that I am mimicking a caveman lifestyle. That is BULLSHIT. I am sprinting and lifting heavy things (among many other things I train) in order to be ready to do so in today’s world when the need arises. It’s about real-life preparedness and not role playing. MovNat is about connecting to reality, not to a reality that does not exist anymore.

...are there any particular guidelines you follow or approaches you endorse.

Paleo, 100%. Well, 70-80% is probably best and more practical though. I know some people argue that humans can be okay with a variety of diets, and that diet is only one component of health. I still believe that an evolutionary approach to nutrition is essential. Without intending to hurt anybody’s feelings, to me natural does not mean yoga and tofu. Talking about what’s “natural” to us means understanding biology. Well, nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.

What are the movement and nutrition patterns that we have collectively inherited from millions of years of life in the wild, and that are not social or cultural patterns? That is the answer to what “natural” is to a human animal.

Getting stronger... and sore

A couple days ago I felt really good after a day off from FGB. I did 3 sets of 3 reps front squats @ 225/235/235. I mixed in 3 sets of 25 unbroken chest to bar pullups with the last set going to 28. This all felt fine but I was sore from it.

Yesterday morning I jogged for 25 min, longest I've gone in a while. The only thing that got hard was my calves tightened up, just think its been a while. In the PM I did:

10x:

5 x DL 315lb

10 ring dips

15 DUs

rest 2:30

This felt very easy but again I was sore, especially my back, hmmm, weird easy but sore.

Today I did:

5x3 bench press

3x3 split jerk 80%

3x3 push press

Last 3 sets of bench were at 275lb but needed a spot. Split jerk I worked up to 205lb and push press worked up to 210lb which was just about my max. Good last few days. Everything felt easy but Im really sore! Day off tomorrow, Ill get fully recovered and get back on it through the weekend.

Paleo Challenge foods!

My gym just did a Paleo diet challenge through Thanksgiving that just ended today. It entailed adding up points for everything eaten in the last month. Small splurges equated to 1 point while worse foods were 2 points. Alcohol was 3 points and an entire cheat meal was 4 points. The most points you could get in a day was capped at 12 points and considered a cheat day. We also subtracted a point for every workout that was completed.

My total was 38 points. Not great, but felt pretty good. The majority of points came Thanksgiving week and the rest of the points came from dairy, protein bars, and paleo desserts. So I feel it is not as bad as it looks especially considering it was Thanksgiving. I think the most important part of eating healthy is how you feel and perform. I know when I eat unhealthy as my body will tell me, I sleep worse and my stomach gets upset from not being used to "bad" foods. The last month I felt good and I topped it off with a PR in Fight Gone Bad a couple days ago. So I guess I need to learn from this that I dont have to be absolutely perfect. I want to strive to eat as healthy as possible but have an occasional worse food to keep me sane. I just want to keep those worse foods to foods that are not that bad. I feel when I try to eat absolutely perfect, the stress that comes with it is not worth the effort.

I want to include my food and workout log of the last month so you can see what are some splurges to me. In between all of these cheats were typically a perfect Paleo/Zone meal consisting of lean meat, veggies, fruit, and healthy fat. The healthier I eat the more that some simple every day foods for most people are big splurges to me such as dairy or dark chocolate, and that is how I want it to be. Raising the Bar!!!

Month Paleo Challenge

Day 1 11/8

dinner = homemade pork chile from client (delicious) = (+ 1) point

Day 2 11/9

workout x 2 = (- 2) point

Day 3 11/10

workout = (-1) point

Day 4 11/11

homemade marinara sauce w italian sausage from same client (even more delicious) - (+1) point

Day 5 11/12

workout x 2 AM & PM = (-2) point

dinner = (one of my birthday meals) Gardinos cheat meal (fried calamari, beer, scallops battered, chocolate covered almonds) = (+4) points

Day 6 11/13

workout = (-1)

Day 7 11/14

cheat meal (day spent in San Fran, a planned cheat day) = wine taste, chips & guacamole, crap chalupa, hot fudge sunday = (+4) points

Day 8 11/15

0 points (YES!!!) - back on track

Day 9 11/16

workout x 2 = (-2)

butter on cauliflower (lots of it) = (+1)

Day 9 11/17

workout x 2 = (-2)

Day 10 11/18

half n half in coffee = (+1)

candied walnuts in very healthy salad with tons of veggies = (+1)

Day 11 11/19

2 x wods = (-2)

1/2 think thin protein bar = (+1)

Day 12 11/20

2 x wods = (-2)

think thin protein bar = (+1)

cheat meal = thanksgiving party with friends = sweet potatoes, gravy, stuffing, 2 x beers = (+4)

Day 13 11/21

cheat meal (not ready to start the week) = Willow Street restaurant - chicken pesto 1.5 beers, cookie, fudge, paleo pumkin ice cream = (+4)

Day 14 11/22

think thin protein bar = (+1)

yougurt w berries = (+1)

Day 15 11/23

workout x 1 = (-1) (back on track the next couple days before the big Turkey Day)

Day 16 11/24

workout x 3 = (-3)

Day 17 11/25

workout x 2 (-2)

cheat meal - thanksgiving - mashed potatoes, 1 glass wine, stuffing (+4)

Paleo Ice cream, (+1)

side note - today was not too bad, considering the Thanksgiving the year before I ate so much I threw up - read about it here

Day 18 11/26

ommellete with cheese = (+1)

Vallerianos dinner of asparagus salad, pork, veggies with mashes potatoes = (+1)

yumi yogurt = (+1)

Day 19 11/27

cafe latte = +1

milkshake from Great Bear coffee (AWESOME) = (+2)

cheat meal 1 slize pizza and 2 beers (+4) playing poker (not very good)

Day 20 11/28

lunch = (+2) gluten free sandwich

dinner = (+1) some paleo ice cream + 1/2 paleo brownie

Day 21 11/29

3 x wods = (-3)

Day 22 11/30

2 x wods = (-2)

lunch = feta cheese in salad = (+1)

dessert = few bites of greek yogurt plus 3/4 think thin = (+1)

Day 23 12/1

lunch = feta cheese in sald = (+1)

butternut squash sauce w butter ingredient on spaghetti squash = (+1)

paleo ice cream - (+1)

Day 24 12/2

(lots of dairy today hmmm)

wod = (-1)

breakfast = paleo coffee cake = (+1)

lunch = goat cheese in salad = (+1)

coffee w milk = (+1)

dinner = gorgonzola in salad = (+1)

yumi yogurt= (+1)

Day 25 12/3

wod x 1 = (-1)

truffle fudge 1 bite = (+1)

Day 26 12/4

AM = yogurt = (+1)

noon = bloody mary + clam chowder during town parade= (+4)

pinkberry yogurt= (+1)

Day 27 12/5

WOD X 1 = (-1)

think thin protein bar - (+1)

cheese + gluten free tortilla = (+2)

TOTAL = (+37)

Fight Gone Bad

There are times when I hate Crossfit.  Sometimes I feel beat up, stressed for my workout, and it becomes a job making me tired all the time not permitting any kind of social life.  But every once in a while I'm reminded why I love it.  It's like golf, the most frustrating game ever, but it just takes one great shot to keep you coming back.  Today I had one of those great shots.  I was very nervous going into FGB.  I took a few days off the prior weekend due to a small injury and I did not feel like I was prepared.  I thought there was no way I could even come close to my previous best score and started making excuses for myself to not go hard in the workout.  I finally got over my fear somewhat and made a lofty goal for myself of 435.  I went into the workout trying to stick to that pace.  I came out with a score of 440.  That wasn't all that surprised me, I didn't even feel that bad, I think I had more in me.  I felt great!  The previous times I did this I was rolling on the ground for ten min afterward.  I needed this workout to boost my confidence.  I was struggling the past week with an injury, lack of energy, eating poorly through the holidays and all this made me lack motivation and most of all confidence.  This workout was a confidence booster.

  I always say there is a moral to every workout.  Here is the lesson I take from this; there are going to be times when things get tough.  It is inevitable that things will not always go your way, but it is how well you can claw and scratch to get back.  I feel confidence and motivation go hand in hand.  Both were down for me this past week.  I really did not want to do this workout for a million excuses I could have made up.  I told myself to just do it.  I didn't want to give myself a big goal to shoot for because I thought it would be too painful.  But I told myself just stick with the plan and see how long I can hold on, don't let fear hold me back.  I didn't just give up or make excuses of why I couldn't go hard.   It got my confidence up and now Im motivated to keep on going.  It kind of got me out of my slump.  I talked with OPT afterward and he said "learn from this, it has just begun!" Here we go...

I feel you can apply this to any aspect of life.  Don't let fear hold you back, just try it and you may just surprise yourself.  This will increase your confidence and in turn motivation.  Coincidentally on OPT's blog he just put a quote that applies perfectly.

• No one thought it was possible to run a mile in 4 minutes; Bannister does it, then 4 people do it in 1 year, now high school kids do it regularily; how much are we limiting ourselves based upon what we know?
  The athlete I want does not know why they are doing what they are doing; they are just doing!
  

Even more coincidental is on the crossfit mainsite for today, they also have a quote on motivation that applies.  You think that motivation is a big part in achieving your goals?

• "People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily."
  - Zig Ziglar
  

Here's the FGB video!

Fight Gone Bad from Joseph Warren on Vimeo.

KBS / Burpee

Did a very similar wod to the other day and felt good again.  Watching the video I wish I moved a little quicker with more pop, but I always say that after watching it.  I'm happy that I stayed moving at a consistent pace the entire time and felt good afterward.  The wod was:

3 rounds:

25 KBS 70lb

25 burpees

FGB tomorrow!!!

KBS/ Burpee from Joseph Warren on Vimeo.