My Story

Before stumbling into CrossFit, my entire life had been a long journey spent doing nearly everything possible wrong. My sport of choice as a child was soccer (one of the most dangerous sports, measured by injuries per hour played), leaving me pretty tyrannosaurus rexish (all leg, no arms). Numerous knee and ankle tweaks later, my legs were also prone to injury, despite their size. I compounded that with ultimate frisbee in college, more running (and shin splints, and twisted ankles, and sore knees)! Let's not even begin to talk diet. I ate like a power-lifter trying to pack on muscle, but without doing any of the work.

Mmmm.... nom nom nom. Sta-puft marshmallow man lurvs ice-cream cake!

I made excuses for myself, that although I was heavy, I was strong. And while that was true, it didn't make me feel any better about my body. I couldn't hang with the team when they went on their warm-up runs, and whenever the shin splints acted up (almost constantly), I was relegated to the sidelines, calling out plays, maybe subbing a point or two to let someone in better shape catch their breath. That point's worth of play would usually leave me panting for 15-20 minutes...

Out of college, responsible for my own shopping and food intake, I ballooned up to 230+ pounds. The one upshot was that I was still pretty strong, especially through the legs. Need someone to lug the drummer's bin of hardware into the club? I got it. Need someone to dance and jump around playing bari sax? I got it. At least for one song... However, I was even MORE unhappy with how my body looked and felt.

My first attempt at fixing the mistakes of the past was to go on Weight Watchers. In fairly rapid order, I dropped about 40, maybe 50 pounds (from 230+ to 180+), but again, without doing any work in the gym (or at home). I shed fat, and for damn sure I shed muscle. By the time I was done, if I ran into someone I hadn't seen in a while, the question I was asked was "Wow, have you been ill?" Yeah, that was the goal... The weight went right back on when I fell off the wagon.

Skinny sax man. Strong? Kinda. But not as strong as yesterday... 

I was finally introduced to CrossFit around 2008 or so. I started picking and choosing workouts off the main site WoDs, eventually bringing in CrossFit Football and Endurance WoDs that looked fun, or (more usually) played to my strengths. However, as the workload increased, so did my food intake. I got stronger, I got faster, but I also got bigger. I tried to eat clean, but was nowhere near what could be called "paleo." Pasta was still a staple, milk still made its way into my smoothies (which were based on whey protein anyways...). I also learned that programming is an art, both for a single workout AND in the log term. I co-created, with the guy who introduced me to CrossFit, a plyometric-based Tabata workout we ended up calling 'Beef Tips Gone Bad.' A funny reference ('Friends') for a workout that basically crippled me with a scorching case of Patellar Tendonopathy (or patellar tendonitis... I never had it officially diagnosed... I just had a lot of trouble walking up and down stairs for about a year...)

After a stressful move to Connecticut, which involved LOTS of time in the car on weekends, time away from my family during the week, the utter inability to find a move-in-ready house in a good school district (with one daughter prone to allergen-triggered asthma-like symptoms, and another little one on the way, there was NO thought of a fixer-upper)... I joined Elm City CrossFit, and have never looked back. Suddenly I had coaches fixing all my self-taught stupidities. Suddenly I had a given WoD to do, and couldn't pick what I wanted from the past week or so. Suddenly, I started seeing real improvements in my strength and endurance. Both are still completely shot from the Weight Watchers era, but they're coming along...

 Along the way, my wife has joined the box and fallen in love with CrossFit, both with the exertion AND the community; my daughter is a constant at the Elm City CrossFit Kids classes, which I co-run and co-coach; and the littlest one, now nearly 2 years old, runs around the gym with a 1# dumbbell throwing down squats like a champ. I've started trying to shed my multiple layers of accrued insulation, and trying to regain the strength I so casually took for granted in my youth.

In the run up to the 2014 CrossFit Open, ECC provided programming specifically designed to make us bigger, stronger, and faster. Opting into the program meant I was at the gym nearly twice as much for my own workouts, not even including coaching the Kids classes. Instead of a few hours a week dedicated to my own fitness, it was nearer to 10+ hours a week. More strength work, more olympic lifting, more endurance, more of everything. I tried to maximize rest time as well, but that part was harder with the kids and work schedule to work around. No child cares how much time you put into the gym that day, or how much rest you need, when they wake up from a nightmare at 3am. And neither do you... until the real alarm clock goes off, and its back to the gym, this time on 3-4 hours of sleep, rather than the intended 6-7 (which would still not be enough...)


The Open came, and for each workout I tried to map out a goal (with good, better, and best outcomes included) for each. I surpassed many of my own goals, got crushed on at least one workout, and in general felt better than I have in years. I certainly look better than I EVER have. Its nice to finally have pecs, rather than moobs (man-boobs), pushing out my shirts. I very nearly have abs showing, so THAT'S exciting. I don't think I've ever had visible abs! The weights are still going up, the cardio/endurance capacity is still inching up little by little. All in all, its been a good ride.

Additionally, the gym also hosted a Paleo eating experiment: three months of strict paleo, requiring food logs, before and after pics, benchmark WoDs, the whole nine. While I most likely would have fallen off the wagon pretty quickly left to my own devices, I managed to sign the wife up for the challenge, too. She was absolutely my salvation. When the smoke had cleared and the final scores were tallied, we had tied with another couple in a four-way tie for 2nd place! I can't speak for too many other Epic Eating Experiment participants, but we've kept our diets as clean as possible, and are continuing to see Epic results. I just recently bought a few new pairs of shorts, as the potato sacks I *had* been wearing were getting to the point of looking ridiculous. With a waistline reduced by three inches, and still setting PRs in all the major lifts, and just getting stronger and healthier, I'm in better shape in my late 30s than I was in my teens and 20s!

The upshot of the early part of that story is this: I own every part of my fitness now. The coach isn't responsible for my gains or struggles, I am. The person doing the programming is doing it for the entire gym population, not just for me. If I have a weak-point (goat), its up to me to address it. The complaints about CrossFit are myriad, and some actually carry a fair amount of water...if you're lazy and just do what you're told to and don't bother to take responsibility for your own goals and performance. You have to take responsibility for your own rest and recovery. You have to make sure YOU'RE feeding you enough calories so that you're building (or at least preserving) muscle while burning the fat. It all comes down to you. The best program in the world won't work for someone who doesn't OWN the process... and someone who
OWNS even the worst program will probably still get solid results out of it. Its all down to you, just as its all down to me.

No one can make you do it, and no one should waste their breath trying to make you. Either you're happy with your life, or you need to work to improve it. Everything else is inertia, self-deception, and laziness.

What's it gonna be, punk. Do you feel lucky?

Recommended reading:

•  CrossFit's What Is Fitness? - Greg Glassman
•  Strong Enough? - Mark Rippetoe (This may be the greatest fitness article ever written. EVER. You might need to "subscribe" to the Journal to read it, but its free now, so no worries there.)
•  Be Alive. Be VERY Alive. - Mark Rippetoe (yes, I man-heart Rip.)
•  A Letter to Young Jim Wendler - Jim Wendler
•  A Way of Life - Dave Tate
•  Armor Building - Dan John

Other crucial authors: John Welbourne, Martin Rooney, Zach Even-Esh, Robb Wolf, Greg Everett, Tim Ferriss, Kelly Starrett, and probably a BUNCH more I should be including here.

12-06-29: Bench Press 1RM

Elm City CrossFit WoD for Friday, June 29th, 2012

Always funny. Deal with it.

Coach Rippetoe (the Starting Strength guy, aka the Iron Samurai) coaches Eva T. on some of the finer aspects of the bench press. Good stuff MUST have come out of this. (CrossFit)

The benefits of setting up properly for the bench press: By pulling the shoulder-blades back, you get a more stable surface on the bench AND decrease the overall range of motion for the movement. So, improved positioning AND a slight "gaming" of the movement for your own benefit. Chest muscles will still move through the same range of motion, so its not a detriment to the exercise.

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WoD: Max bench press - 3 attempts

My first visit to the gym since the birth of my second daughter, Abigail Grace, at home. Sleep still wasn't great, but my body was rapidly going into decline by not being physically taxed in nearly two weeks. My mind was going with it (we have a LOT going on right now... the new baby is almost the least of it, which you with kids should realize is a huge tell-tale sign. Or maybe just a sign of our experience now that we're on our second! Hmmm...), so my wife basically told me "set your alarm and go to the gym in the morning, we'll make it work." So I did. Just in time for max bench day! Wheee!

My only goal was to get to a clean "bodyweight" bench.  Admittedly, I haven't weighed myself in some time, so I'm not entirely sure what to shoot for, but I know that at my heaviest (pre-adding on CrossFit Muscle), was around 230#, so 225# really ought to do it. I warmed up with the empty 45#, 135#, 165#, 185#, and 205#, the last of which was my previous PR. I did it for two reps, which meant I definitely had gas in the tank for a new PR.

215# proved to be pretty easy, so after a few minutes, I jumped up to 225#. While this lift was definitely tougher, I got it to lock out, still feeling like it was "too easy." So, I shot for my 3rd PR on the day, but rather than being conservative and just putting 5 more pounds on the bar, I went up to 235#, and earned my first failed rep of the day to close out the session. No real worries, I increased my bench PR by 20 pounds, and will be whining the next time we have to do reps with a percentage of that...

Weight	# of Reps	notes
45#	20
135#	10
165#	7
185#	3
205#	2	Previous PR
215#	1	PR
225#	1	PR
235#	Fail

12-06-13: 1 mile time trial

Elm City CrossFit WoD for Wednesday, June 13, 2012

As long as I stayed out in front of Homer, I was doing ok. 

Camille Leblanc-Bazinet running in the CrossFit Games.

And the reason why I do CrossFit rather than just running exclusively. Though, to be honest, that's as much total bullshit as the woman who doesn't want to lift weights because she's afraid she'll look like Arnold Schwartzenegger. To be honest, NEITHER of us is in much danger. I could run 20 miles a day, and with my diet and sleep, probably wouldn't lose a pound. Likewise, with some very rare exceptions, the likelihood of a woman becoming 'too ripped' is nearly zero, and those women who DO get there did it with some SERIOUS work, and SERIOUS dietary restrictions that the rest of us are NEVER going to impose on ourselves.

---

Rain. Running. ARGH!  Small turnout for this class (did I mention the rain and running combo), so it was me, two distance runners, and a newer athlete (to me), who's distance work I'm unfamiliar with. My only goal? Keep up.

Straight out of the gate, Woodie took off, never to be overtaken by any of us. I managed to keep on Andres' heels, and even pushed the pace a little after the 800m turnaround point, and stayed a few steps ahead of Jessa, the unknown quantity.  In our recent Army PT test WoD, we had to do a 2 mile run, and I knew that my first leg of that was more than a mile, so I knew that I should be able to hit this one unbroken. I managed... but man did I ever want to stop around the 1,200m mark. Still, knowing Jessa was just a few steps back, I pushed on. Andres, Jessa and I all finished within about 10 seconds of each other... Woodie smoked us by a minute or two. Jerk.

Mile Run = 8:47 (PR?)

12-02-29: Deadlifts, baby!

Elm City CrossFit WoD for Wednesday, February 29th, 2012

Heather Bergeron deadlifting at last year's games.

Jolie Gentry deadlifting at the '08 CrossFit Games. Or '09? '10? I'm not sure.

Camille LeBlanc-Bazinet deadlifting.

Josh Everett lifting 100#s MORE than today's PR. Read on to see how awesome that makes Josh.

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Max: Deadlift

• 3 attempts/post warm-up

Attempts must be declared

Time once again to try for a one rep max. My last, set on December 28th, was 365#. Two months ago, 365# was brand new and terrifying. Since hitting it, I've been dying to hit 400#. Let's face it, I'm human, I wanted a big-sounding round number.

After a roll-out and warm-up that felt good for the first time in a week since the Leg Catastrophe last Wednesday, we reviewed the basics and standards for the deadlift. After warming up at 185# for 10 reps, I started jumping up in weight. My one big concern was over-warming up and being shot by the time I got to my max attempts, so I did 5 reps at 225#, 4 at 275#, 3 at 315#, then singles on up. After re-confirming that I could, indeed, lift 365# off the ground, it was time to put up or shut up.

One thing about max rep days: We get three attempts, but if you set a new record on the first attempt, you can consider yourself good for the day, if you want. For my first attempt, I went for a 20# PR at 385#. Boom. The weight came up pretty easily, though my form was less than perfect. My butt came up a bit before the bar, meaning I lifted the weight more with my back than I needed to. Lame.

I was more or less willing to let it go with that. A 20# PR is nothing to shake a stick at... but writing 385# in my book, circling it, jotting "1RM PR" next to it, and writing it up on the last page... it felt empty. I wanted that 400#, dammit. After rejiggering the weights on the bar, I declared an attempt at 400#. The only insanely stupid thing was that I was adding another 15# to an already 20# PR... sort of a lot of weight to be adding on at the raggedy edges of my abilities...

10 seconds later, I had an even newer PR to write in the book. 400#, and it came up off the floor smoothly. I *think* my form was better than on the previous attempt, but I'm not entirely sure. All I know is that the lock-out was solid, there were no grip issues, all in all it felt like a great lift. So great, I decided to quit while I was ahead on this one. All in all, I'm going to be whining like a little kid with a stubbed toe the next time we have to do a workout involving percentages of 1RM. I'll have to do reps on a weight that, until about 6am, was my 1 rep max. Ugh.

11-12-23: Max Bench

Elm City CrossFit WoD for Friday, December 23rd, 2011

Mark Rippetoe coaches Eva T. on proper bench press form. Nothing but awesome here. (crossfit.com)

Halp!!

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For Jesus Newton: Max Bench

Bench press. Fairly simple, though I'm sure there are "classic" CrossFitters who have no idea what the hell it is or how to do it correctly. I would refer them to the Iron Samurai, Mark Rippetoe's crucial "Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training" for all the necessary information. As luck would have it, I had a bench and rack to myself, which was great, since I was moving weights far lighter than the two super strong guys, but a bit higher than the two smaller guys (but not nearly 'higher' enough given the size difference... either they're super strong, or I have a LOT of work to do!)

After warming up under the empty bar, then 95# and 135#, I started backing off on the reps. My goal was to hit 205# for a 1RM, which would be the first time I actually hit a weight that heavy. Having just done a quick search of the last time I did bench presses, I aimed a bit south of my calculated 1RM (I did 4 reps at 185#, which is 87% of @212#), but the 185# marked the biggest weights I had moved at all, so 205# was still an impressive benchmark for me.

The only real notes from this workout were the final two lifts. At 195#, the bar shimmied a LOT from left to right on its way up, which made me a bit worried for the next lift, but I knew I wanted it. At 205#, the bar totally stalled about a 1/3rd of the way up, but I managed to get it going and completed the lift. I definitely thought there was a possibility of failing at that instant. Coach Vin asked if I was going to shoot for the next weight, but I had hit my goal, with difficulty, and decided to stop while I was ahead of the game. Knowing (now) that my calculated 1RM would really have been 7-10# higher, I kind of wish I had kept going, but I'm ok with that for now. Next time, I'll destrominate that weight.


1RM = 205# PR

11-12-19: 1RM Cleans and Front Squats

Elm City CrossFit WoD for Monday, December 19th, 2011

The clean. Floor to shoulders, using just about every muscle in the body EXCEPT the arms (other than just for control). If you're using your arms a lot, you're doing it wrong.Note pictures 2-3... the weight hasn't moved much, only the lifter has. And his arms are STRAIGHT in the 2nd pic.

Brett Marshall (AFT) demos awesome front squat form. The weight is out of the hands and riding on the delts. Knees are out, feet are flat on the floor. Perfection. (crossfit.com)

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Strength: 1 Rep Max

• Clean
• Front Squat

Pretty simple prescription: Work up to 1 rep maxes on the clean, then on the front squat (ie, NOT in the same move; a full clean (which includes catching the bar in a full squat) does NOT count as the front squat attempt.) After a good amount of warm-up and review with empty bars, we set to work. Despite all of my recent complaining and whining about my own shortcomings and goats, especially the olympic lifts, including cleans, today felt really good. I felt like I was really popping the bar up to my shoulders using mostly the triple extension of hips, knees and ankles, and I was having some pretty good success dropping under the bar, rather than just relying on firing up to full standing height in a power clean. So that was all good.  As I climbed up in weight, I just trying to keep my head fully in the moment, only worrying about the deadlift "yellow light" portion of the lift, then the explosive pop, then the catch, and not getting all flustered by dealing with everything at the same time. 

After a few warm-ups at 95#, I started moving up in weight. I had two good lifts at 115# and 135#, then matched my previous PR at 155#. That felt so good with my improved form, I shot to 175# and nailed it, setting a 20# PR. After taking a few minutes, I tried for a final attempt at 185#, but didn't quite get under the bar properly, causing it to "stack up" on my left wrist wrong. Though I was able to shake it out in time for the front squats, it definitely made me bring my clean attempts to an end!

For the front squat, I picked right up at 185#, banging out two reps easily. I again started climbing, this time gunning for my previous PR of 215#. After a rep at 205#, I went to 225# and nailed it. I tried a rep at 235# and nailed it, putting me at a 20# PR on front squats, too. After nearly deciding to quit (it was time for the next class to come in), I opted for one more lift, this time at 245#. I nailed it, inking in a 30# PR on front squats for the day. Not a bad start to the week, and a welcome change from my usual bitching and moaning, at least in recent posts. Progress. Getting stronger. THIS is why we do this. No, its NOT always fun, but on days like this (or when I got to the top of the climbing rope, or broke 300# on my deadlift), its totally worth it!

One other thing I thought of later: I had NO problems with my grip on this workout. Granted, I didn't do any high reps on the front squats, so there wasn't a lot of time for fingers to slip out.  I also did some triceps work during the warm-up, which I think definitely paid off. Interesting. 

11-10-27: Back Squat 5RM and Tabata Air Squat

Elm City CrossFit WoD for Thursday, October 27th, 2011

Chyna Cho cranking out back squats. (crossfitfootball.com)

Camille Leblanc-Bazinet with a perfect air squat. (crossfit.com)

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Strength: Back Squat - 5 Rep Max: 3 attempts
WoD: Tabata Air Squat

A quick look at my Personal Records page revealed that I had no previously written down maxes, so I ended up having to skim this blog to find any info. My highest previous max (that I could find) was a 5RM of 245#. That was set in a 20 minute effort to establish a new 5RM, which I believe it was at the time. My goal for today was to break it, substantially.

We were told that we would be limited to 6 sets, 3 warm-up and 3 attempts to set a new 5 rep max. Not including an empty bar set just to grease the grooves, I kept to that plan. My goal was to make my previous PR the first work set, then use the final two attempts to set a new PR.

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6
Reps	135#	185#	225#	245#	255#*	265#*

That's exactly what I did. I set a new PR on the 5th round, then did it again on the 6th. Granted, I thought I was gonna die on the 5th round...and thought I HAD died on the final rep of the 6th round. It's a bad thing to just want to stand up so that you can dump the weight and pass out safely. Fortunately, I managed to stand up AND not pass out. w00t!

For all that, then we had the HARD part of the workout: Tabata air squats.8 rounds of 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest. As always, the first round felt downright EASY. The second, a little bit less so. Third through seventh felt like travelling through circles of hell, while the eighth... ah, almost done by the eighth round. Overall, I was pretty happy with keeping my reps as regular as I did. Of course, even after heavy back squats, my ability to maintain reps in a squat tabata are far superior to push-up tabatas, when I usually end up with at least one round of one rep!

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Reps	17	14	13	13	13	10	10	12

11-10-19: 1 Rep Max Clean and Jerk

Elm City CrossFit WoD for October 19th, 2011

Natalie Burgener cranking up some big weights in the clean and jerk. (Looks like 118kg according to the board behind her...260#? Yeesh. Someday, maybe. Maybe.)

Sage Burgener also cranking up some big weights. Strong family!

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Strength: 1 Rep-Max Clean and Jerk

• Complete no more than 10 attempts/sets

Pretty simple. After a bit of review and warm-up, we started in our warm-up sets. After a few reps at 45#, 65# and 85#, I hit my work sets. My previous PR was 125#, set back in June. I had the mental goal of 155#, just based off of setting two 30# PRs back on Friday. Not the sanest plan, but not a terrible one, either. After Monday's fun with power cleans and squat snatches, my right collar bone was a bit bruised up, making me a bit gun shy on the catches. I was also struggling with popping my elbows through quickly enough (picture #3 in the Natalie Burgener pictures, and #4 in the Sage Burgener set). They just felt crusty and slow, especially the left elbow.

I failed on my first two attempts at 95#, not due to a lack of strength, but due to a lack of technique. I can easily power clean that weight, which I did both times. However, after feeling myself slowly catch the bar and essentially lower it to my shoulders, I realized my pinkies had popped up into the way of the bar. I couldn't pop the bar back up into a full grip for the jerk, because of those damn pinkies in the way. In checking in with Coach Vin, we had a quick laugh at the fact that I was popping the bar up in front of my face (a several inch bump), but still couldn't get my hands back on the damn bar. At a heavy weight, where the bar would barely move a single inch, I would stand no chance. Technique technique technique. I finally nailed a 95# clean and jerk by not letting the bar actually roll all the way out of my fingers. It meant I didn't actually get my upper arms all the way parallel, but at that weight, I'm strong enough to do it poorly. This isn't necessarily a good thing...

I failed once at 115# (same issues), then nailed it on my second attempt. As there was a lack of 5# plates, I added two more 10# plates, and jumped to 135#, shooting for my first PR of the day. I failed twice, both for the same stupid issues as before. My clean form was getting a little worse, as I had completely stopped bothering to try to squat for the catch, and so was power cleaning the bar on every rep, without even getting my feet into the receiving position (a little bit wider than shoulder width). The only way I could have made it harder would have been to try to catch the bar while standing on my tip-toes. Still, it was all forearm/wrist/finger issues that was making me fail. Again, I finally nailed the 135# rep when I kept the bar from rolling out of my fingers, compromising my form overall. Meh.

I admit to being pretty psyched the whole way through with my jerk form. Though I wasn't overly happy throwing heavy weights over my head, I never once finished the rep by pressing out. Each time, I had a nice good pop, and my splits were all deep enough (and quick enough) that I was able to get completely under the bar. And hold and recover every single rep. As crappy as my cleans were, the jerks were all kind of awesome.

Finally, the time had come. My goal weight of 155#. (Another 20# jump... sheer stupidity, I know, but again, there weren't enough small weights to go around.) I failed once, but again, it wasn't strength that failed me... f'ing technique. F'ing pinkies!! I realized there was a pair of 5# plates, and that I could drop down to 145#... which I considered doing. Then I said "screw it" and tried again at 155#. This would be my 30# PR I was hoping for. All I needed was one good clean... crappy or not.

One crappy clean later, I had the weight on my shoulders. My hands weren't completely out of position. My pinkies weren't in the way. Holy crap, all I needed was one more good jerk. Just one more good jerk. I took a bit of time to gather my breath, trying not to panic at my stupidity for trying to throw 155# over my head. Dip, drive, CATCH! Holy crap, I had 155# over my head! I quickly got my feet back under me, spent a second to make sure the weight was solidly up, then dropped it, having just set a 30# PR on the clean and jerk.

So, though I struggled the entire time with form, and probably looked like an idiot with my crappy form, I still got that damn weight overhead. Can't complain too much about that. What it reveals though, is that I need to improve my form (and quick) if I want to lift heavier weights, and getting stronger will allow me to improve my form. Or, if you're from the 80s like me...

• Bill: Ted, while I agree that, in time, our band will be most triumphant. The truth is, Wyld Stallyns will never be a super band until we have Eddie Van Halen on guitar.
• Ted: Yes, Bill. But, I do not believe we will get Eddie Van Halen until we have a triumphant video.
• Bill: Ted, it's pointless to have a triumphant video before we even have decent instruments.
• Ted: Well, how can we have decent instruments when we don't really even know how to play?
• Bill: That is why we NEED Eddie Van Halen!
• Ted: And THAT is why we need a triumphant video.
• Bill, Ted: EXCELLENT! 

11-10-12:Overhead squats, front squats and running

Elm City CrossFit WoD for Wednesday October 12th, 2011

Hey, it's Robb Wolf! Helping to demonstrate awesome overhead squat technique. (crossfit.com)

Eva T. rocks the front squat. (crossfit.com)

Running. Not jogging. Running. (crossfit.com)

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Strength:

• 10 min to Max Overhead Squat
• 10 min to Max Front Squat

Sellout: 2x

• 400m Run

Rolled into ECC just as sore and tight as could be 24 hours after lifting heavy and often (deadlifts and kettlebell swings). It was bad enough that I couldn't actually roll out the soreness, since touching my back with the roller was agony.

Brownie points if you know WHY this is here.

I tried to stretch it out, too, but well, sometimes there are aches and stiffnesses you just CAN'T work out by yourself. This was one of those times.

I'm not the biggest fan of my own overhead squat form, but this was the first time trying them with my wrists taped, which definitely helped. My previous PR was 95#, but I don't know when I did that, and knowing about my form issues, I almost find myself doubting I did it. Probably NOT to full depth, but I'm not sure now. Doesn't really matter, I destroyed that PR on my way to a 1/2 bodyweight overhead squat, which is pretty cool to me! I was teamed up with Doug, one of our newer athletes, since we're about the same height. We ended up shuffling 10# plates, since I'm a little stronger than him. During the front squats, it got a little funny when we had a 25# plate on each side, and six 10# plates on each side too! After failing out on a few of the lighter lifts, I managed to go heavy all the way up to 125#, a new PR by thirty pounds! ;)

At the end of 10 minutes, we transitioned over to front squats. I jumped right in at 125#, and started going up in 20# jumps, then 10# jumps in the last few attempts. I finally nailed a 215# front squat, again increasing my PR by 30#. After the overhead squats, the front squats were SO easy! Anything's easy after stupid overhead squats.

Overhead squat max: 125# (PR)
Front squat max: 215# (PR)

For the sell-out, we were again running in the parking lot. Oddly, doing two 400s was downright easy compared to several 100m runs. For the second, I tried to keep up with Larry (the collegiate rower...bastage), and even though he smoked me, I came in at 1:23. I have no idea how that measures up to anything, but its interesting to note.

11-06-27: Back squats and dumbbell step-ups

Elm City Crossfit WoD for June 27th, 2011

Dave Lipson and Rob Orlando power through 20 reps with a weight that I could maybe do once. Maybe. (games2010.crossfit.com)

We used plyo boxes. And heavier weights. And chest hair. And shirts to cover that chest hair. (gymworkout.us)

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Strength: 4 rounds

• Back squat 8 reps @ 80%
• 10 Single-leg Step-ups (each leg) 90#

I was happy to make this workout (alarm clock issues nearly precluded an early morning workout, and my work schedule would certainly block an evening one, since I'm writing this at 6:35pm, at work, while exports are running in the background. Yeah not-really-free time!), since it would mark my first time back squatting with squat racks (often featured in the Amazon ads, mostly because I wish I had some!) Formerly, all my squatting involved some manner of getting the weighted bar off the floor, either up to the front rack or overhead, up overhead if it went to the front rack first, THEN down and onto the shoulders. Fun fun fun. Already 1/2 a "man-maker" and I just wanted to squat!  For all that, I was limited in the weight selection by all that precursor work, so I knew coming into squatting from racks that I would be flying somewhat blind on weight selection.

After a bit of discussion with Coach Vin about where he thought I should be (205-225# most likely), I warmed up with the empty bar (45#) , 135#, and 185#. Sadly, that third warm-up set of 5 reps was a 40# PR over my previous attempts. And I opted to go up to 205# for the work sets. Sets of 8 are LONG sets under heavy weights, and since two of my big goats right now are muscular endurance and plain old endurance, I knew I would be sucking wind by the end of each set pretty badly. I didn't need a super heavy weight across my shoulders while struggling just to breathe. Not yet at least. That's some more advanced-type crossfitting!

What I didn't count on was how fast step-ups holding two 45# dumbbells would start sucking. Very fast, it turns out. While I struggled to complete all the sets of squats, I did manage to do them all unbroken, even though the final two reps of each set seemed like I was nearly going to fail. However, every set of step-ups was broken, usually about halfway through, to avoid collapsing across the box in a broken heap. I did try to keep the rest period snappy, so that I could try to spot my squat rack partner on his 255# squats. Show

11-05-04: Close Grip Bench Press and a swing-push-up couplet

CrossFit Garden City WoD for April 28, 2001


Warmup:

• Jumprope/Double-Under practice
• Active Stretching

Strength:
Close Grip Bench Press (30X0)
 - In 15 minutes build up to 1 rep max
Conditioning:

• In the first minute complete 1 KB Swing.
• In the second minute compete 2 Pushups.
• In the third minute complete 3 KB Swings.
• In the fourth minute complete 4 Pushups.

Continue in this manner until you can no longer complete the prescribed number of reps in a given minute.
RX'd weight is 32kg for men and 24kg for women. Scale accordingly.

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Second to last time working out with the kiddies (moving to New Haven, CT...WooT!), and it was a classic rock kind of day. I can make my peace with that.  After an uneventful warm-up, I staked out some real estate right in front of the radio and got to work with the close grip benches. As always, lacking a rack of any kind, every set was started with a hang power clean, a squat down to the bench, then lying down with the weight. The worst part (by the end of the workout) was having to do a press to get the weight up to the "start" position, then struggle to get it BACK up there to actually complete the first rep. Both failures at 185# included a perfect close-grip bench press, but failed out AFTER the slow negative that started the rep. Fair enough, but MeMeMeMeMeMeeee!

Close Grip Bench Press:

weight #	105	125	145	155	165	175	185	185
reps	3	3	3	2	2	2	F	F

Since my previous PR on the close grip bench press was 145# (but for a set of 5 at a slower (read: harder) tempo), this was a substantial improvement. Had I not been up against the end of the 15 minute timer, I would have shot for 180# just to put a cap on it. As it stands, I now have a new PR to shoot for!

After resting a bit, I got set up for the dumbbell swing/push-up ladder, using a 55# dumbbell rather than the non-existent and truly impressive 70# weight called for! I knew going in that the first few rounds would be easy, but that it would ramp up quickly. I was a little impressed with how long I managed to keep every set of push-ups unbroken (broke in the 12th minute), and was very happy to beat my goal of 10 minutes. I figured the push-ups were going to catch up with me faster than they did, which was pretty cool. I almost made it out of the 16th minute, but only scored 14 push-ups. Had I gotten those last two, I think I could have easily banged out the 17 swings... but alas, twas not to be.

Dumbbell swing/Puh-Up ladder:
15 minutes plus 14 push-ups ( 64 swings, 70 pushups total)

Cooled down with some extra jump-rope practice, working on both extended single-bounce counts and some double-under work. All in all, not a bad day.

11-03-04: "Helen"

CrossFit Garden City WoD for March 1, 2011

Warmup:
Dynamic Warmup (including Jumps)
Burgener Warm-Up x2

Benchmark!: "Helen"
3 rounds for time of:

• Run 400 meters
• 21 KB Swings - 55# Dumbbell
• 12 Pullups (band assist)

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Hell-In. Note the bars just waiting for those gentlemen to come by and see them AFTER they've run 2800m, done 126 kettle-bell swings, and 72 pull-ups. Much as I fantasize about competing in the games one day, the mere thought of this workout is enough to bring a visit from Pukie the Clown. (games.crossfit.com)

Kristin Clever and Annie Thorisdottir go head to head on the kettlebells. (games.crossfit.com)

Graham Holmberg (2010 Games Male Champion) cranks out pull-ups. I don't *think* this is actually from Hell-In, since he seems to be back in the main stadium, but it still works. He's way better at pull-ups than I am. For Real. (games.crossfit.com)

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Don't do benchmarks when you're tired, in the middle of a head-cold, and poorly fueled.  This wasn't a workout, and I don't expect to see any physical changes as a result of plowing through it. If anything, it was a mental victory, just for pushing through it, but overall, I should have taken today as a rest day. I felt like crap and paid for it.

That said, I did actually PR on it, but considering I last did it a year ago, when I was not nearly as fit, and in the middle of my full on knee agony, its not really *that* much of an accomplishment. I knocked a minute off, but if I was feeling better, I'm sure I could have carved off 5-6 minutes. Not that impressive on a crappy time, but still an improvement. As it is, I've left a time for me to destroy the NEXT time Helen comes up.

Total Time: 17m (PR by 1:00)

By way of comparison, check out the videos from the CrossFit 2010 Games, wherein "Helen" was converted into "Hell-in."  The first round involved running triple the distance (1200m), triple the swings (63) and triple the pull-ups (36). The second round was double everything (800m, 42 swings, 24 pull-ups) and the third round was back to the original distance/rep scheme (400m, 21 swings, 12 pull-ups). Basically, a double-"Helen." After that, the competitors had 90 seconds (I believe) to put as heavy a weight as possible overhead. Always fun in a state of utter exhaustion!

Mens Heat 3 of Hell-In [mov] [wmv]
Women's Final Heat of Hell-In [mov] [wmv]