Wednesday, September 29, 2010

"Sept. AF3"...

"Sept. AF3"
AMRAP 16 of:
8 C2B Pull ups
8 Pistols (4/side)
8 Deadlifts (185)

7 rounds - (Rx C2B & DL but used pole for pistols)

Monday, September 27, 2010

400 Meter Sprint, 3 Position Snatch & Back Squat

1. 400 meter Sprint - 1:09...Sweet!
Working towards a sub 6 minute mile!

2. 3 Position Snatch
3 sets of each - 85#

The three positions are working from the top down; 1 - High Hang (Pockets), 2 - Above Knee, 3 - The Floor.

3. Back Squat
3 sets of 5 reps - 185#

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Death By Kettlebell Clean & Press...

On the first minute complete 1 Clean and Press. On the second minute complete 2 Clean and Presses. Continue to add one C&P every minute for as long as you are able to complete the prescribed reps within the minute.

Death By KB Clean & Press - 24kg bells - 7 rounds (28 reps)

I finished with: Swings - 24kg bell - 50 reps

Saturday, September 25, 2010

"Big Running Cindy"

"Big Running Cindy"
AMRAP 30 of:
3 rounds of Cindy
200 meter Run
Complete as many rounds as possible in 30 minutes of 3 "Cindys" and 200 meter Run. 1 round of "Cindy" is 5 Pull ups, 10 Push ups, 15 Squats
 
I got 6 rounds plus 5 pull ups and 5 push ups.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Clubbell Training...

Clubbell Training...




After the last week of training @ CFNE my shoulders, back and forearms are wrecked. I did a very short and light clubbell workout today as an active recovery.

My training looked like this:

Gama Cast - 15lb clubbell - 100 reps

Hammer Swings - 15lb clubbell - 100 reps

Hammer Throws - 15lb clubbell - 100 reps

How Do Kettlebells And Clubbells Differ?





As I have begun to train with clubbells in addition to my kettlebell training I have been getting questions about the difference between the two and how they compliment each other. I found a series of articles that deals with that very question.



"Kettlebells and ClubbellsTM do tend to emphasize different parts of the body as you use them. The kettlebell, as used in exercises advocated by the party, works the body in more of a "ground up" fashion. The clubbell works more from the hands down. When you pick them up, they are very clumsy to handle, you constantly try to balance them ".



Read the entire article here - Kettlebells & Clubbells


Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Jerk - 1-Rep Max & "Arrogant Bastard"

1. Jerk
1 rep Max - a questionable 185# (up from 165#)

2. "Arrogant Bastard"
5 Rounds for time of:
3 Presses (115)
5 Push Presses (115)
7 Push Jerks (115)
9 Box Jumps, 30"
14:31 Rx
Brutal - just happy to do it Rx!

Monday, September 20, 2010

Rack Pulls & "East Canada"...

1. Tabata Squats
8 sets of: max reps in 20 seconds, 10 seconds rest.
Score is the low score for any of the eight intervals. - 17 reps

2. Rack Pulls
5 x 5, bar set at knee level. - 315#

3. "East Canada"
21-15-9 Reps for time of:
KB Swings (53)
Burpees
4:09 Rx

Sunday, September 19, 2010

"What is Fitness?" by Greg Glassman....Interview with Girevik Magazine

Interview with Greg Glassman

by Tyler Hass

Greg Glassman is the founder of CrossFit, an exciting training protocol and way of life that is rapidly gaining popularity in a wide variety of sports. He also publishes the CrossFit Journal. I am excited to offer a free issue to all of the readers of Girevik Magazine, entitled "What is fitness?". It is an incredible read and will surely change and challenge your views on the topic.

Greg, thanks for agreeing to do the interview.
First of all, what is unique about your Crossfit approach to training?

I think we are unique in both the efficacy of our regimen and our methodology. In terms of approach, I don't know of another program utilizing gymnastics skills and drills, Olympic Weightlifting/powerlifting, and multi-mode sprint work. Our hallmark of combining these elements in single workouts may be globally unique - we're still searching.

In terms of efficacy, of course our results are due to our methods - this is true of every program, but more to the point we have spent literally thousands of hours honing our definition of fitness. It is our definition of fitness that has refined our approach, and, in turn, forged our results. For CrossFit the specter of championing a fitness program without clearly defining what it is that the program delivers combines elements of fraud and farce. The October 2002 issue ("What is Fitness?") of our magazine, CrossFit Journal, is an eleven-page manifesto of our view and standards of fitness.

So Girevik readers can get some sense of our method, here from that issue of the CrossFit Journal is "World-Class Fitness in 100 Words":

"Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. Keep intake levels that will support exercise but not body fat. Practice and train major lifts: deadlift, clean, squat, presses, C&J, snatch. Similarly, master the basics of gymnastics: pull-ups, dips, rope climb, push-ups, sit-ups, presses to handstand, pirouettes, flips, splits, and holds. Bike, run, swim, row, etc, hard and fast. Five or six days per week mix these elements in as many combinations and patterns as creativity will allow. Routine is the enemy. Keep workouts short and intense. Regularly learn and play new sports."

I'm curious about your background. How did you get started in fitness and how did your experiences gradually evolve into the Crossfit methodology?

My first training job was in 1974 as a gymnastics coach at the Pasadena, California Y.W.C.A. I wan an 18-year-old college student. Over the next fifteen years I trained in dozens of great Southern California gyms finding success with a highly efficient, high intensity workout and a celebrity/athlete clientele. It was my work with cops, though, that was so formative of my training. It was easy to see what was lacking in both body builders and endurance athletes when it came to the demands of arrest and control. Over the years it became abundantly clear that combining elements of traditional body building (curls, leg extensions, lateral raises, etc.) with extended aerobic efforts while producing results paled to mixing heavy fundamental movements with high intensity "cardio" efforts. Trainers, athletes, coaches, and gym goers watched in stunned disbelief as my athletes alternated heavy deadlifts with 400-meter sprints - that is, until they tried it. To this day you are about as likely to win the lottery as you are to find someone mixing heavy fundamental resistance movements with sprints in single workouts in a commercial facility. This won't be the case if strength and conditioning are going to advance.

By 1995 CrossFit had been featured on TV and radio, and in print for its contributions to police fitness and our athletes achievements and dominance. But it was the launching of our website in February of 2001 with a daily workout that gave us regular interaction with thousands of athletes worldwide. We have had the honor and challenge of putting our beliefs to worldwide test with thousands of athletes from every walk of life. It would be rough to overstate the value of this feedback, experimentation, and exposure with a global audience.

Today, we are a leading force in elite physical conditioning with a growing influence in military, police, and martial arts communities and a growing roster of national, world, and Olympic champions from more than a dozen sports.

You have established a solid reputation in the mixed martial arts community. Do you practice any martial arts yourself?

No, I've no formal martial arts training. The martial arts community found us; we've made no direct overtures to that community. A few of our martial artists elevated themselves from regionally significant to world dominance and had the grace and good nature to publicly thank us - one after an eleven second UFC rout.


If you know martial arts, especially MMA/NHB, and understand CrossFit, it is fairly obvious that I would hold these athletes in the highest regard.

What kinds of people have you been working with?

Literally, all kinds. I wouldn't know how to begin to characterize our typical client. We've got a 70-year-old author of a standard reference in cardiology, the only American black belt BJJ world champion, and terrorist hunters.

It is our work with military special op's teams and police that has won our hearts and for which we are most proud. To get emailed testimonials from soldiers returning from Afghanistan who've been awarded Silver Stars Nominations, Bronze Stars with "V" devices, Bronze Stars, Joint Service Commendations Medals with "V" devices, ARCOMS, Air Force Commendation Medals, and CIB's and Overseas Bars due to their "high levels of physical fitness in preparation for the conduct of combat" is, for me, an honor I will never forget. The U.S. Department of Justice's National Police Corps Training Specialists became our first certification clients this year, and helping these fine men and women create a new standard for police training is the culmination of my nearly thirty years of studying human performance.

The most amazing thing about your program is that it is designed as a one-size-fits-all workout, regardless of the needs of the individual. I was shocked to hear so many success stories from such a variety of people. What makes this possible? How does Crossfit work for so many different types of people?

It has long been our contention, our observation, that people's needs differ by degree not kind. Olympic athletes and our grandparents both need to fulfill their potentials for cardiorespiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, speed, power, coordination, accuracy, balance, and agility. One is looking for functional dominance the other for functional competence. Competence and dominance manifest and optimize through identical physiological mechanisms. We scale our program by altering rest, load, intensity, etc. while utilizing the same tools (exercises) for everyone whenever possible.

We get requests from athletes from every sport looking for a strength and conditioning program for their sport. Firemen, soccer players, triathletes, boxers, and surfers all want programs that conform to their perceived specific needs. While admitting that there are surely needs specific to any sport, the bulk of sport specific training has been ridiculously ineffective. The need for specificity is nearly completely met by regular practice and training within the sport not in the strength and conditioning environment. Our terrorist hunters, skiers, mountain bikers, and housewives have found their best fitness form the same regimen - CrossFit.

What type of planning goes into the routine? What is your method for selecting the exercises each week?

Our view of what fitness is and isn't creates, in effect, a theoretical template that guides the selection of exercises, their rep range, frequency of occurrence, length of workout, etc. Come to know our standards and aims and the rationale behind our workouts' architecture becomes somewhat self-evident. The workouts themselves are a near perfect expression of our vast experience building the world's toughest athletes. This question is great but somewhat like asking Tiger Woods, "How do you do it?"

That being said, the process is without a doubt part art. In fact, the National Strength and Conditioning Association, that august non-profit arbiter of exercise science admits in its Essentials of Strength and Conditioning that exercise programming is still more art than science. At CrossFit we call it the choreography of exertion. Our routines display balance, symmetry, theme, composition, and an aesthetic cultivated over decades of experience - including successes, and failures. The workouts are designed to maximize human physical capacity, period. That being the case, they are universally regarded as being the toughest workouts in every athlete's experience.

Finally, I cannot discount the utility of posting workouts to the site and getting feedback from hundreds of elite athletes around the world. This would prove invaluable to any strength and conditioning coach or program.

What is the best way for a person to get started in Crossfit?

It is imperative that someone new to CrossFit takes the first month to learn the movements, if they're not already intimate with them, and establish consistency before increasing intensity. If you can get through the workouts for one month straight without falling apart, then we recommend that you up the intensity a little the following month. If you throw yourself at this task 100% from day one, these workouts will chew you up and swallow you whole. I promise it. Don't be misled by the workouts' brevity. The tougher you are the harder you'll go down, guaranteed.

Based on the experience of friends doing the Crossfit program, I have heardmany reports of new PR's and other feats of strength in specific lifts.

This happens despite the fact that the particular lift only comes up on an occasional basis. This completely flies in the face of conventional training wisdom, so I must ask: how is this possible?!

If you come to us with a 4-minute mile, six months into it you are going to be 30 seconds slower but a whole hell of a lot fitter. Similarly, if you come to us with a 900-pound squat, in six months it's going to be 750 pounds, but you, too, will be much fitter. A 4-minute mile and a 900-pound squat are both clear and compelling evidence of a lack of balance in your program. This doesn't reflect the limitations of our program but the inherent nature of flesh and blood.

But here's the fascinating part. We can take you from a 200 pound max deadlift to a 500-750 pound max deadlift in two years while only pulling max singles four or five times a year. We will though work the deadlift, like most lifts, approximately once per week at higher reps and under grueling conditions. It may intuit well that if you can pull a 250 pound deadlift 21 times coming to the lift at a heart rate of 180 beats per minute, then 500 pounds for a single at a resting heart rate is perhaps manageable.

Now, I know there have been studies done that seem to demonstrate that regimens that combine resistance training and endurance training in a single workout do not develop strength or endurance as well as regimens that develop them separately. It is true that if I train for the deadlift on some days and the mile on others, I will when tested for the deadlift on one day and the mile on another show better results for both than if I had trained with the deadlift and run combined - I'm sure of that. But what if I tested both protocols by running 400 meters then immediately deadlifting and repeating this four times without rest? Promise yourself that the mixed protocol will beat out the separated. The real point, though, is that running 400 meters followed immediately by deadlifting, repeated four times has dramatically greater application to sport, combat, and survival than superior performance for both performed on separate occasions.

Also operative in the phenomenon you mentioned is the nature of our exercises. We work with a cast of about thirty exercises where about fifteen account for 80% of the workouts. The cast of characters that comprise are routines are so potent in increasing strength from head to toe that regular exposure to any of them nearly guarantees improvements in the others. Improve your deadlift, bench, and pull-ups and your squat, dips, and rope climb will come up. The neuroendocrine response of the major lifts is so potent that they alone will increase your strength measured by any other exercise so that seemingly infrequent exposures to some exercises is not a certain disadvantage.

At CrossFit we endeavor to blur the lines between "cardio" and strength training simply because nature frequently does not recognize the distinction and will on average punish those who cannot see past the distinction. We've often noted that the demands of survival, combat, and life look more like running up five flights of stairs with a keg of beer on your shoulder for time than running a mile on Tuesday and deadlifting on Friday.

Conventional training wisdom is - like most popular notions - frequently at odds with reality. That is the nature of things.

Outside of the gym, what other recommendations do you make for your athletes in order to maximize benefits from the Crossfit program?

We could never have accomplished what we have without keen insights into nutrition. We allied ourselves with Barry Sears, author of the Zone books, long before he published his first book. Much of our athlete's results have been greatly magnified by realizing the deficiencies of the low-fat, high-carb, fad diet that characterizes conventional training wisdom. Here again following the masses is to miss the truth.

hWat is the Neuroendocrine response and what kind of exercises stimulate it the most?
Neuroendocrine response is a change in the body that affects you either neurologically or hormonally. Most important adaptations to exercise are in part or completely a result of a hormonal or neurological shift. Current research, much of it done by Dr. William Kraemer, Penn State University, has shown which exercise protocols maximize neuroendocrine responses. Deadlift, squat, presses, and cleans all have a demonstrated potent neuroendocrine response.

Among the hormonal responses vital to athletic development are substantial increases in testosterone, insulin-like growth factor, and human growth hormone. Exercising with protocols known to elevate these hormones eerily mimics the hormonal changes sought in exogenous hormonal therapy (steroid use) with none of the deleterious effect. Exercise regimens that induce a high neuroendocrine response produce champions! Increased muscle mass and bone density are just two of many adaptive responses to exercises capable of producing a significant neuroendocrine response.

It is impossible to overstate the importance of the neuroendocrine response to exercise protocols. This is why it is one of the defining themes of the CrossFit program. Heavy load weight training, short rest between sets, high heart rates, high intensity training, and short rest intervals, though not entirely distinct components, are all associated with a high neuroendocrine response.

Lastly, we should discuss your magazine, the Crossfit Journal? How did the magazine come about and what types of material you cover?

We've long puzzled over the fact that there are dozens and dozens of commercial fitness magazines available and none contain any material that would be of use to the serious or professional athlete. The peer reviewed exercise science journals hold even less value for the hard-core athlete. (We've repeatedly and publicly challenged the exercise science community to name a single major contribution to sport coming from their ranks - steroids don't count!)

We decided in September of this year to launch "CrossFit Journal" a monthly electronically distributed fitness magazine chronicling the methods of the CrossFit program. The response has been overwhelming!

Thanks a lot for doing the interview. Be sure to check out the Crossfit website where you can read more about the program, see the daily workout and find out more about the Crossfit Journal.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Squat Cleans & Front Squats...

1. Squat Cleans
5 x 3 reps
worked up to 135#

2. Front Squat
7 x 3 reps, across at 75%

95#, 115#, 135#, 135#, 135#, 135#, 135#!!!

I was supposed to do 75% but felt good and wanted to push it. I plan on taking the next two days off so effected my mindset.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Jerks & "Hocus Pocus"...

1. Jerk - 165#
5 x 2 reps

Work up to a 2-rep max.

2. "Hocus Pocus"
3 Rounds for time of:
500 meter Hill Run
15 Bench Press (135, 85)
15 Ring Rows
15 Box Jumps, 24"
15 GHD Sit ups
 
17:59 Rx - (17:18 Rx on 7/12/10)

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Snatch Balance & Back Squat - CFNE Video

1. Snatch Balance
1-rep Max - 95#

2. Back Squat
5 sets of 3 reps - 225# Pr
Below parallel....now time to increase weight!



My gym is different from other gyms........ My gym is Crossfit New England. Click link to see video.


Tuesday, September 14, 2010

3 Position Clean & "Heavy Helen"

1. 3 Position Clean
5 sets of 3 reps - 95# (need to work on triple extension, getting elbows up and squat depth...it is a mess!)

The three positions are working from the top down:
1 - High Hang (Pockets)
2 - Above Knee
3 - The Floor


2. "Heavy Helen"
3 Rounds for time of:
400 Meter Run
21 KB Swings (70)
12 C2B Pull ups

12:15 Rx
Pumped...last time I did Regular Helen it took me 12:19...nice!

Monday, September 13, 2010

CFNE Team Throwdown - Results & Video...

Final results are in for Staurday's team throwdown and we finished 6th!...... Nice!

FINAL RANK Team Athlete 1 Athlete 2 Athlete 3

1 8 Big John Dunlap Dan McGinley Kim Phillips

2 21 Craig Brisebois Chad Messina Vin Forde

3 2 Mat Frankel Dan Dretler Kevin Jay

4 7 Daigle Sam Burman Chandler Winchester

5 3 Ben Bergeron John Doole Peter Simmons-Hayes

6 26 Eugene Lee Rob O'Brien Sarah Atwell

7 17 Steve Crane Paul Bevilaqua Julie Ambrosino

8 16 Sean Rockett Greg Scott Tori VanNederynen

9 27 Marc McBrian Loren Werner Mike Doiron

10 15 Glen D'Avanzo Josh Keefe Katrina Shafer

11 6 Billy Nelson Bern Prince Lisa Ronner

12 4 Mel Ockerby Matt Maloney Zach Ambrosino

13 20 Will Nystrom Will Berry Allison Lewitus

14 24 Bob Keefe Rich Persons Lisa Heavey

15 1 Derek Mohamed Scott Wolff Tsui Huang

16 5 Lisa Mikkelson Eric Hagan AnnMarie Decker

17 13 Jason Caldas Harut Arutyunyan Nicole Mohamed

18 9 Jenna Gale Jack McCallion Betsy Hayes

19 12 Pat Smulligan Renee Bazinet Gabi Lentini

20 23 Elaine Polito Mike Giorgio Trina Foster

21 19 Jen Lawrence Joe Assencoa Alison Carothers

22 22 Eric Brisebois Jule Slootbeek Chris Mondor

23 25 Brian Stark Ali LeBlanc Megan Brooks

24 10 EC Synkowski Carolyn Beckedorff Davis Foster

25 11 Ronda Rockett Thorp Foster Sandy Smith

26 18 Pete Sarmanian Susan Singer Erin Porter




Below is a video of WOD #2: "Barbell Up Ladder"
10 minute up ladder of:

Athlete 1: Deadift

Athlete 2: Power Clean

Athete 3: Ground to Overhead

Each team will have one 75# barbell. Athlete one will complete 1 DL, Athlete two will complete 1 PC and athlete three will complete 1 GTO. The team will then repeat the same order, but will do 2 reps each, then 3 reps, and continue as high as possible in 10 minutes. Once the team starts the bar is not allowed to rest on the ground till the wod is over (all reps are touch and go and you must pass the bar from athlete to athlete when transitioning). If the bar rests on the ground there is a 2 burpee penalty for all team members.
 
I did clean and push presses. We ended getting 11 rounds plus 10 reps. (We are in the video from 4:15-6:30)

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Twitching with Twight...

TWITCHING


BY MARK TWIGHT

What's your problem? I think I know. You see it in the mirror every morning: temptation and doubt hip to hip inside your head. You know it's not supposed to be like this. But you drank the Kool-Aid and dressed yourself up in someone else's life.
You're haunted because you remember having something more. With each drag of the razor you ask yourself why you piss your blood into another man's cup. Working at the job he offered, your future is between his thumb and forefinger. And the necessary accessories, the proclamations of success you thought gave you stability provide your boss security. Your debt encourages acquiescence, the heavy mortgage makes you polite.

Aren't you sick of being tempted by an alternative lifestyle, but bound by chains of your own choosing? Of the gnawing doubt that the college graduate, path of least resistance is the right way for you - for ever? Each weekend you prepare for the two weeks each summer when you wake up each day and really ride, or climb; the only imperative being to go to bed tired. When booming thermals shoot you full of juice and your Vario shrieks 7m/sec, you wonder if the lines will pop. The risk pares away life's trivia. Up there, sucking down the thin cumulus, the earth looks small, the boss even smaller, and you wish it could go on forever. But a wish is all it will ever be.

Because the ground is hard. Monday morning is harsh. You wear the hangover of your weekend rush under a strict and proper suit and tie. You listen to NPR because it's inoffensive, PFC: Politically Fucking Correct. Where's the counter-cultural righteousness that had you flirting with Bad Religion and the vintage Pistols tape over the weekend? On Monday you eat frozen food and live the homogenized city experience. But Sunday you thought about cutting your hair very short. You wanted a little more volume and wondered how out of place you looked in the Sub Pop Music Store. Flipping through the import section, you didn't recognize any of the bands. KMFDM? It stands for Kill Mother Fucking Depeche Mode. Didn't you know? How could you not?

Tuesday you look at the face in the mirror again. It stares back, accusing. How can you get by on that one weekly dose? How can you be satisfied by the artifice of these experiences? Why should your words mean anything? They aren't learned by heart and written in blood. If you cannot grasp the consciousness-altering experience that real mastery of these disciplines proposes, of what value is your participation? The truth is pointless when it is shallow. Do you have the courage to live with the integrity that stabs deep?

Use the mirror to cut to the heart of things and uncover your true self. Use the razor to cut away what you don't need. The life you want to live has no recipe. Following the recipe got you here in the first place:

Mix one high school diploma with an undergrad degree and a college sweetheart. With a whisk (or a whip) blend two cars, a poorly built house in a cul de sac, and fifty hours a week working for a board that doesn't give a shit about you. Reproduce once. Then again. Place all ingredients in a rut, or a grave. One is a bit longer than the other. Bake thoroughly until the resulting life is set. Rigid. With no way out. Serve and enjoy.

"You see your face reflected there in a sweating brow, you hate what you see, but what can be done when there's no way out, no way out?"

The Chameleons, "Intrigue in Tangiers"

But there is a way out. Live the lifestyle instead of paying lip service to the lifestyle. Live with commitment. With emotional content. Live whatever life you choose honestly. Give up this renaissance man, dilettante bullshit of doing a lot of different things (and none of them very well by real standards). Get to the guts of one thing; accept, without reservation or rationalization, the responsibility of making a choice. When you live honestly, you can not separate your mind from your body, or your thoughts from your actions.

"If you really want to hurt them and their children not yet born tell them the truth always". - Henry Rollins, from the book See a Grown Man Cry

Tell the truth. First, to yourself. Say it until it hurts. Learn the reality of your own selfishness. Quit living for other people at the expense of your own self, you're not really alive. You live in the land of denial - and they say the view is pretty a long as you remain asleep.

Well it's time to WAKE THE FUCK UP!

So do it. Wake up. When you drink the coffee tomorrow, take it black and notice it. Feel the caffeine surge through you. Don't take it for granted. Use it for something. Burn the Grisham books. Sell the bad CDs. Mariah Carey, Dave Mathews and N Sync aren't part of the soundtrack where you're going.

Cut your hair. Don't worry about the gray. If you're good at what you do, no one cares what you look like. Go to the weight room. Learn the difference between actually working out and what you've been doing. Live for the Iron and the fresh air. Punish your body to perfect your soul. Kick the habit of being nice to everyone you meet. Do they deserve it? Say "no" more often.

Quit posturing at the weekly parties. Your high pulse rate, your 5.12s and quick time on the Slickrock Trail don't mean shit to anybody else. These numbers are the measuring sticks of your own progress; show, don't tell. Don't react to the itch with a scratch. Instead, learn it. Honor the necessity of both the itch and the scratch. But a haircut and a new soundtrack do not a modern man make. As long as you have a safety net you act without commitment. You'll go back to your old habits once you meet a little resistance. You need the samurai's desperateness and his insanity.

Burn the bridge. Nuke the foundation. Back yourself up against a wall. Have an opinion one way or the other, get off the fence and rip it up. Cut yourself off so there is no going back. Once you're committed the truth will come out. You ask about security? What you need is uncertainty. What you need is confusion; something that forces you to reinvent yourself, a whip to drive you harder.

"I never try anything - I just do it. Want to try me?  - White Zombie, "Thunder Kiss"

In Dune, Frank Herbert called it "the attitude of the knife," cut off what's incomplete and say "now it has finished, for it has ended there." So finish it, and walk away, forward. Only acts undertaken with commitment have meaning. Only your best effort matters. Life is a Meritocracy, with death as the auditor. Inconsistency, incompetence and lies are all cut short by that final word. Death will change you if you can't change yourself.

"If I can change one, then I can change two. If I can change two, then I can change four. If I can change four, then I can change eight. If I can change eight, then I can change."

One Minute Silence, "If I Can Change"

Friday, September 10, 2010

Clubbell Training...

After the last two days off and as I prepare for tomorrow's CFNE Team Throwdown I wanted to do a light and easy workout to get the blood flowing.

My training looked like this:
Gama Cast - 15lb clubbell - 50 reps
Hammer Swings - 15lb clubbell - 50 reps
Hammer Throws - 15lb clubbell - 50 reps
Figure 8/Hold - 15lb clubbell - 50 reps
Slingshot - 15lb clubbell - 50 reps

Thursday, September 9, 2010

CFNE Internal Team Throwdown - Saturday, September 11, 2010 at 3:00




Event 1: "Get it Done"
2,000 meter Row
5 x 200 meter KB carry (single KB: 53, 35)
100 Burpee Box Jumps, 20"
100 Pull ups

All team members will work at the same time to finish the above tasks. Each team can split the movements and reps up as they see fit.

Event 2: "Barbell Up Ladder"
10 minute up ladder of:
Athlete 1: Deadift
Athlete 2: Power Clean
Athete 3: Ground to Overhead

Each team will have one 75# barbell. Athlete one will complete 1 DL, Athlete two will complete 1 PC and athlete three will complete 1 GTO. The team will then repeat the same order, but will do 2 reps each, then 3 reps, and continue as high as possible in 10 minutes. Once the team starts the bar is not allowed to rest on the ground till the wod is over (all reps are touch and go and you must pass the bar from athlete to athlete when transitioning). If the bar rests on the ground there is a 2 burpee penalty for all team members.

Event 3: "Relay Race"
9 x 200 meter Run
The start of the "Relay Race" is the end of the "Barbell Up Ladder" event (when the 10 minute mark of event 2 sounds, that is the "GO" for this wod). One team member will run 200 meters and then tag the next team member. Continue "relay-style" until all team members have run Three 200 meter sprints.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Snatch Complex & Back Squat...

1. Snatch Complex
Power Snatch + Hang Squat Snatch + Squat Snatch
1 x 3 reps, 65% - 75#
2 x 3 reps, 70% - 95#

The three reps are the three pulls, in other words, 1 snatch complex. Percentages are base off 1 rep max snatch

2. Back Squats
3 x 5 reps, across - 185#

Monday, September 6, 2010

"Sweet Jesus!"...

1. "Sweet Jesus!"
1 round for time of:
Run 1 mile
75 Double Unders
50 Abmat Sit ups
25 Back Extensions
Run 800 Meters
75 Double Unders
50 Abmat Sit ups
25 Back Extensions
Run 400 meters
75 Double Unders
50 Abmat Sit ups
25 Back Extensions
Run 200 meters
75 Double Unders
50 Abmat Sit ups
25 Back Extensions
 
25 attmepts @ DU's and 50 singles
Ran 400m last round by accident

Sunday, September 5, 2010

I Hate Rest Days...

So today was going to be my FIFTH DAY in a row training. I get on a roll and see the next WOD and think..."cool! I gotta do that one". Luckily I woke up all banged up and thought about it. Sometimes we get caught up in the excitement and rush of training and forget that rest is as important if not more important than training. I need to keep telling myself that. I have been following a 3 day on, 1 day off schedule for a while but sometimes get off track.

If you are locked in on your training, locked in on your nutrition, doesn't make sense to be locked into your rest? That would be the rational way to think but once again most of the people that are wired like us are not the most rational people anyway when it comes to over-training....I admit that I am not.

Happy Labor Day!

Saturday, September 4, 2010

"Hurricane Earl"...

I did a whole body WOD using kettlebells and clubbells.

"Hurricane Earl"...
5 rounds - NOT for time of:
10 KB Deadlift (40kg )
10 KB Military Press (20kg bells)
10 Push Ups
10 Clubbell Swipes (15lb club)
10 One-arm Mills (15lb club)
10 Hammer Swings (15lb club)

Friday, September 3, 2010

Kettlebell & Clubbell Training...

My training looked like this:

One-arm KB Incline Press - 28kg bell - 25 reps each arm
Military Press - 28kg bells - 25 reps
Double KB Row - 28kg bell - 25 reps
Shrugs - 40kg bells - 25 reps

I finished with: Gama Cast - 25lb clubbell - 50 reps

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Eugene's CFNE Paelo Challenge Experience...

As I embark on a four month Paelo Challenge I wanted to share the experience of one of my peers at Crossfit New England during the last Paelo Challenge. Eugene killed it...and here is his story!

EUGENE

Having just finished my 14th month at Crossfit, it really has been an amazing and life-changing experience. Many thanks obviously to Ben and the coaches number 1...you guys are truly the best. I just hope to be able to keep all this up. But I thought I'd also share some things I've learned firsthand over the last year for those people who are starting where I started. So here goes.


1. Crossfit CAN improve your overall health. Just got back from my physical from my doctor, and he was truly shocked at the change over just one year. In addition to losing over 50 lbs, all my other health metrics were dramatically improved. Blood pressure went from 128/90 to 108/76 and resting heartrate went from 56 to 42. But more importantly, he was amazed at the change in my cholesterol levels. Overall cholesterol went from 190 to 165, HDL went from 43 to 80 and LDL went from 127 to 75. He said it was the most impressive change he had ever seen.

2. If you want to lose weight, Crossfit needs to be combined with a change in diet (like the Paleo Diet). For my first two months at Crossfit, I certainly did get more fit (albeit off a low base). But I remember talking to Pete S. and Joe about being frustrated at my lack of more noticeable progress on the weight front. They said it would take time, but also said that changing the diet was critical. When I started the first Paleo challenge in September 2009, it only took a month before the weight really started to come off. And so far it's been great...still losing weight although on a slower pace. But I can't stress enough how important the diet is to overall healthy living and losing weight (if that's your goal), or just getting leaner. And losing weight does help out in the workouts!

3. Any change is gradual...you just need to be patient. I've seen so many people get frustrated with how long it takes to lose weight or get fitter. But I've noticed that you just need to be patient. If you come to the gym and follow the diet, results WILL come. I've also noticed that many of my changes came in step functions. For instance, I would lose 5 lbs, then stabilize. Then another 10 lbs and stabilize again. I felt like it was my body adjusting to the new weight, saying "hey, this feels pretty good", then deciding it's time to resume the march down. Same with fitness. You go from no pull-ups, to 1, to 6, to 12 to 20+. Being patient, not giving up and keeping up with the workouts and diet is critical.

4. Crossfit is (in my view) the best way to increase overall fitness. Here are a few representative stats from last September to June. No way I could have done any of this without Ben and the team at Crossfit. I still have a long, long way to go, but certainly getting there every day.


Sep-09 Jan-10 Mar-10 Jun-10

Pullups 1:02 hang 8 12 24

Mile Run 7:31 NA 6:36 6:14

2K Row 8:30 7:46 7:45 7:46

Fran 10:19 (75#, jumping PU) DNF 7:14 (RX)

Helen 12:17 (45#, PU w/band) 11:42 (45#) 10:22 (RX)


5. Crossfit can even dramatically improve other sports without specific training. For instance, running is one area where I've seen huge improvements, even though I haven't really supplemented the running we do in class (other than the occasional 6 mile run). After running a 7:01 pace 5K in March and a 7:17 pace 10K in April, I ended up running a 7:03 pace 5 Miler this past July. All faster times than I've run in the past when I ran all the time (albeit a long time ago), and without anything other than our daily workouts. Next up is the Boston 1/2 Marathon in October which I plan to run also without any serious long distance training. I also play tennis and golf. Needless to say it's improved my tennis game as I can move around a lot quicker and hit the ball better. Golf...well, if Crossfit could improve my putting, that would be amazing.

6. We are all fortunate to train at CFNE. This goes without saying, but Ben and the coaches have created an amazingly supportive environment with fantastic programming and coaching that helps each of us individually succeed. Ben, I owe all my results to you. Heather, amazing performances and I always learn something from you when I see you. Mat, we both have come a long way since that day last July with you and Harry (I will always remember that)...it's been fun seeing you turn into a machine and an amazing coach. Mel, you are kicking butt every day, and love seeing you in the 5:30 am class pushing us.

Max Pull Ups & Clean/Burpee 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1...

1. Paleo Benchmark No. 3
Max Pull ups - 23 (full hang and chin over bar)

2. "Paleo Benchmark 1"
10.9.8.7.6.5.4.3.2.1 reps for time of:
Power Cleans (1/2 bodyweight)
Burpees

7:09 Rx

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

1-mile Run for time & Deadlifts...

1. Paleo Bench Mark #2
1-mile Run for time - 6:59
fastest in years.....next stop: 5:59!

2. Deadlift - 315#
Work up to a heavy 3 rep Deadlift