Friday 12-31

Happy New Years eve!!

Slept in. yeah kind of a lame way to close out the year.
feeling a little run down. hoping this will pass and can get back on track over the weekend.

maybe do a little snowshoeing or take the kids on a snow hike. we'll see.


be safe out there over the weekend!!

peace

Thursday 12-30

slept in.
was a little tired and unmotivated this am. think the holidays have finally crashed down on me.
no big deal.
some kind of flu going around and i would rather rest a day and not get it then come down with it from over training.

all in all pretty happy with where i am at.
been just about a year since i started tracking on the blog and have made some serious progress as well as very healthy lifestyle changes.
the paleo challenge really capped it.
the strength focus from the summer that i am still working on has helped a lot. i have to go back thru and look at where my lifts have gone but serious progress was made.
the 2 months at Ignite were huge.
running the half marathon in April opened my eyes to an old love.
the turkey trot performance, on a bad foot, was another eye opener.

so whats in store for 2011?
maybe another dirty 100 on the bike? sub 10hrs?
maybe go back to cohutta? try to own that course, or shen?
keep crossfitting! thats a definite.
maybe go to the local qualifiers? see what thats all about. think my skills aren't there yet. but...
maybe run a longer race, trail? ultra?......
get stronger! definite. double bodyweight dead and squat. over bodyweight press.

will have to try to lay out some "goals".

here's to 2010! it was a bitch of a year but some good came out of it.
here's to 2011!

peace!

Wednesday 12-29

little warmer this am. supposed to get warmer and melt some of the snow. we'll see.
up and out.
gotta start setting the alarm a little earlier. give myself a few extra minutes in the am. little slower to get moving in the cold.

warm-up
3 rounds
5- walk-outs
20- push ups
30- squats

run 1 mile.

felt pretty good all around. feeling the squats from yesterday which is good. means the form was deep and solid.
run was good. felt pretty light and smooth. thats the goal. the speed will come back its the light and smooth that we want. feet feel much better. little tired/sore but not painful sore.

read "born to run" over the holiday weekend. great read. will post more on it later.

strength
Press
10x45
8x95
5x115

3-3-3
135
155
165(2)

135 was solid.
155 got heavy and i needed a little push off the bottom to get it going.
165 was heavy. glad i went for it. reps 1 and 2 were hard but solid. little drive out of the rack and then a solid push. couldn't get the third.
making good progress here. every once in a while it seems that the press stalls and then it comes back better. definitely a weak point but am working to make it mush stronger.

met-con
10 rounds
5- handstand push ups
5- kb snatch r/l 35lb
5- dips

16 minutes
the hspu's slow me down. got thru them pretty solid again though. want better and more consistent depth. but working them hard and making progress.
snatches and dips were solid.

foam roll
rolled out the back and legs which i was feeling at this point.
good stuff today!!

peace!

Tuesday 12-28

back to the routine.
holiday's past..snow day over.. back at it!

warm up
10 walk outs

5 rounds
5 pull-ups
10 push ups
15 squats

run 1 mile

felt pretty good here. just getting the body back into action.
thru down a mile on the treadmill and i really prefer to run outside.....but do what you have too.
feet a little tight from the runs over the weekend. started at 8:15 pace, casual and sped up from there. got down to around 7:00 for the last quarter. felt pretty solid.

strength
Back Squats
10x45
8x135
6x225

3-3-3
255
275
295

was more concerned with form then weight today. had been a little disappointed last week in the form on the heavier reps. figured i would let the weight come up to where it would naturally.
255 felt good. deep and solid
275 was heavy but still deep and solid
295 was heavy and after 2 i was pushing hard. 3rd stalled a little but went up good.

this was solid work here. need to get heavier but not if my form falters. form first.

met-con
7 rounds
5- racked kb squats w/35lb bells
10- jump squats
10- back extensions

6 minutes +/- on the wall clock
felt real solid here. legd and low back pumping into the last couple rounds but all unbroken and went from station to station quickly.
good stuff.

foam roll
yoga/plyo

felt pretty good on the roller. little tight but no big deal. worked it out fairly well.

back at it for another day. nice and quiet at the gym. just the people who want to get work done there. just a way i like it.

peace!

Monday 12-27

Snow day!
dumped on. easy 30 inches!

no gym this am but made it to work. this will be torture.

going to get a good workout later with the snowblower.

stay inside and stay warm!

Sunday 12-26

post xmas day. good lazy day. big snow coming. get ready!!

run.
ran 2.5 in the falling snow. awesome. ran over to the golf course and ran on the cart path. mix of pavement, gravel, and grass. awesome!

feeling good in the vibrams again.
think that my stride is coming along.

good stuff!!

get the snowblower ready. gonna get dumped on.

Saturday 12-25

Merry xmas!!

happy day! santa was good to all!!

got out for a run in the chillt air in the vibrams.
3 miles.
not timed but felt great. mix of road, grass, and old sidewalks.
awesome!

3 rounds
20 push ups
30 squats

just a finisher.
good stuff!!

Friday 12-24

XMAS eve!
hoorah!

great day in the city with the family. walked a lot. saw the sights and the radio city Christmas show.

awesome day!!

Thursday 12-23

almost there? still not ready? me either!!

warm-up
3 rounds
5 walk-outs
10 push ups
20 squats

used this to get the blood flowing. like the walk outs as they stretch me out.
good stuff moved thru quickly.

no strength today as per the ignite program.
ok by me. hit it hard the last couple days.

met-con
run 800m
50 kettlebell swings
50 sit-ups
run 400m
40 kettlebell swings
40 situps
run 200m
30 kettlebell swings
30 situps

14:00 +/-
all rounds unbroken
runs were all sub 7:00 pace with the 400 and 200 being 6:15ish.
swings with 35lb bell and sit-ups on decline anchored but full rom.

good stuff.
felt great.

stretch
roll
plyo

spent some time doing a little yoga, foam rolling and mobility work.
felt great to spend some time working it out. quads packed up from the squats yesterday and the upper shoulders are still a little crappy from all the work the other day.

off work tomorrow. will get some kind of workout in. we'll see what it is... hmmm.. maybe a run and park wod? figure it out.

peace!

Wednesday 12-22

almost Christmas! are you ready? me either!

warm-up
3 rounds
run 400m
24 kettlebell swings
12 pull-ups

felt good to run again. runs were 7:30,7:15 and 7:00 pace. surprisingly the faster pace feels better. again just let the body run and don't over think it.
all swings and pull-ups unbroken
not a timed wod just wanted to use something different to get the body moving.

Squat
12x45
10x135
6x225

5-5-5
255
275
285

255 was good depth strong form. felt solid.
275 was heavy and the form was a little slack. solid depth though
285 was heavy and i lost a little on the bottom.
need to use the ball as a gauge and go in with no pre-set weights. just work it out.
still much better than where i was. much better form and can feel that transferring over to over exercises.

5x225 super deep. last set just to finish the body and reset the depth. good stuff.

no met-con today. took a little extra time on the squats.

foam roll
stretch

body feels pretty good.

get ready for Christmas!!

peace

Tuesday 12-21

Lunar eclipse! well i saw a little of it. it was cool.
up and out into the semi-cloudy chilly dark.

warm-up
run 800m
50 kettlebell swings
50 goblet squats

felt good on the run. 8:00 pace. easy warm up pace.
swings were solid. squats were a lot of reps....but got em done.

Press
12x45
8x75
6x95

5-5-5
115
135
145 (3)

115 went up solid. 135 was a little heavy on the 4th and 5th but still pretty solid.
145 went up twice and the third was a struggle. no 4 or 5 on that set.
think i rushed it. should have rested another minute or 2. oh well.

Met-con
21-15-9
handstand push-ups
dips
push-ups

12:00 +/- on the wall clock.

yikes! thats a lot of handstand push-ups. got 11 in a row on the first set. then had to do reps of 3. the dips and push ups following the hspu's were brutal.
struggled thru but glad i got all the HSPU's. awesome. used same protocol as last time. put down the mats and touched forehead to them.
shoulders are blown out.
great workout.

stretch
roll
plyo

focused on the shoulders. did a little mobility work and tried to roll them out a little.

back to the grind!

peace!

Monday 12-20

back to the grind today.
up and out into the full moon and chilly air. sweet!

warm-up
5- walk outs
10- pull-ups
20- push-ups
40- squats
20- push-ups
10- pull-ups
5- walk outs

no run this am. did this instead. rest the feet although they feel good.

Deadlift
10x135
8x185
6x225

5-5-5
265
285
305

back to the strength phase after the deload week.
felt good this am. solid all the way thru.
went for 305 on the last set and nailed it. good stuff!!

met-con
5 rounds
10 chin ups
10 sit ups
10 95# sumo-deadlift highpull

8:30-9:00 +/-
the chins were a nice change but coming off the sdlhp in the later rounds my grip was definitely compromised. sit-ups were cake although was feeling it a little from yesterday.
sdlhp were argh. not sure i dig that move. i used the thin short bar which i think was a mistake. should have used an olympic bar instead oh well.

feeling pretty solid for a monday.

short week. getting psyched for xmas!!

peace!

Weekend wrap-up 12-18/19

Saturday was another off day.
had to be in the office early and then had scouts later in the day. to be honest wasn't feeling on top of my game anyway. maybe a little cold coming on? took action with some extra vitamins etc..

Sunday
got out for a little work-out outside.

run 1.5 miles
amrap
15-1
push ups
burpees
sit-ups
run .5 miles

modified a bodyweight wod from Ignite. added the runs on either end. ran in the vibrams and felt good. think i am coming to terms with my stride.
the descending ladder was tough. had to fight thru the top rounds and then just tick away at it. had no clock on it but did all the rounds unbroken with no rest between. just set a solid pace and held to it.
good stuff.

felt great to get back in action.

Friday 12-17

Slept in.
out late last night. rolled over this am.
boo.

oh well.
in the big picture its all good.

Thursday 12-16

rest day.
rolled over. maybe the cold. maybe just needed a day off. who knows.

deload week seems to be going well.

after the little run yesterday the foot feels good so will be moving back into that a bit. nice!

peace.

Wednesday 12-15

brrrr.
chilly but no more snow at least.

still working the deload week which is going pretty well. getting psyched to come back to lifting heavy again but enjoying the change up and the body can use the rest.

warm up
3 rounds
5 walk outs
10 yoga push ups
20 squats

digging the yoga push ups. definitely adds an element to the warm up.
all rounds solid.

crossfit ignite gymnastic warm up
5 rounds
3 strict chest to bar pull ups
10 second L-hold
10 kettlebell swings

all rounds solid. pullups were good, slow and controlled
l-holds were good. little shaky on the last 2 rounds but still solid.
swings were cake with the 35# bell.

treadmill
foot was feeling good so decided to have a go at the treadmill
run 1 mile
easy pace. started way slow and worked on the form. just let it come natural. no over thinking it. brought the pace up to a 8:00 by the end. nice and relaxed.
will see how the feet respond.

stretch
yoga
foam roll
spent some extra time rolling and doing mobility work.

good stuff.

happy wednesday!!

Tuesday 12-14

snow?
really? well winter is here apparently. oh well.

warm up
3 rounds
5 walk outs
10 hindu push ups
20 squats

added the hindu or yoga push ups as these are a more full body centric movement. hard. they get rough quick especially moving from the walk outs right into them.
good stuff

Turkish Get ups
warm up
3 progressions each side with 45# dumbell
used these to get used to the movement again. felt pretty good. little rusty at first but got it back

3 heavy singles R/L
60
70
70

60 was good. solid.
70 was good on the right and shaky on the left
70 was solid both sides. did left first this time as its my weaker side or so i thought. think it is the back to back progressions that wear you down.
70 was good but i can get more. it was heavy but more is doable.

met-con
15 min AMRAP

10- kettlebell swings
10- burpees
5- r/l kettlebell snatches

10 rounds
this was a smoker. first 5 rounds were quick and solid. paused to take a drink and wipe off the sweat and back at it. the last five rounds were a little slower.
used the 35# bell. need a heavier bell. although the snatches were getting tough toward the end but all unbroken.

stretch
yoga/plyo
foam roll

feeling pretty solid.
did a few sprints on the turf field and the foot feels pretty good. definitely ready to start runnign on it again. maybe work in a few 400's and then some 800's. we'll see.

go play in the snow!!

peace.

Monday 12-13

back at it on Monday am!!

deload week after a couple weeks of heavy strength work. cool.
good to mix it up a bit.
feet almost 100% little sore from time to time but much better. will be back running on them this week! yeah.

warm up
3 rounds
5 walk outs
10 push ups
20 squats

good to get the blood flowing. all rounds steady and controlled.

hip mobility drills
spent a few minutes opening up the hips and generally working mobility. nice after the weekend of rest to open it up a little.

strength/skill work
HANDSTANDS
spent 15 minutes working on handstands up against the wall. tried to get a 1 hander but no go.
did a few rounds of handstand push ups as well. was getting good reps. starting to like this a lot. much more comfortable kicking up to the wall and standing in the that position.
good stuff

Met-con
20 AMRAP
3 deadhang pullups
6 deadlift 135#
9 sit ups
12 double unders

15 rounds!
did the pullups on the square bar on the top of the squat rack. this made me have to do them strict as i couldn't really swing and forced a different grip. cool
135# deads were excellent. good form and rep speed thru all the rounds
sit ups were on the floor with full extension and feet flat
double unders were smooth today! man they were excellent. couple rounds unbroken and must were broken once. was stringing them together well. very fluid. excellent. maybe from the practice last week?
had a rough goal of 15 rounds and hit it right on the nose. no rest between rounds. just tried to keep moving.
unbroken! was the key. if i can get the double unders a little faster that would be sweet.

good stuff for a Monday am!!

looking forward to a good week!

peace

Saturday/Sunday 12-11/12

Saturday
up a little late as i was out late the night before. big Christmas party at work. weird vibe this year. should have skipped it in my opinion but whatever. had fun in spite of it.
out running errands on Saturday. got our tree and stood that up in the the house!!
it's starting to look like Christmas!!

Sunday
wash out
torrential rains all day. yuck
stayed inside and decorated the tree and hung with the kiddies.
nice relaxing day!!

Friday 12-10

brrr.
12 degrees this am. nice.

felt good to get up and get moving. need to keep the motivation level high. tough time of year for it.

warm-up
still no running but am getting closer. left foot is great. right foot was a little sore. weird. maybe from compensating for the other?

jump rope.
7 minutes of rope jumping
mix singles, doubles, running, etc
was able to get a couple of good double unders strings. 20, 10 etc. but still not consistent.
felt ok. foot bothered me a little during and i think that hurt the double unders.
thru in a set of pullups at one point just for kicks.

snatch complex
w/u with 45# bar

3-rounds
3- snatch grip deadlifts
3- hang power snatch
3- overhead squats
3- full snatch

75
95
105

all good sets. the weight was manageable and kept the focus on the form.
felt good. took a little longer to get thru these. the 105 set was a gasser.

met-con
adapted from Ignite
3-rounds

30- kettle bell swings
10- burpees
15- r/l kettle bell snatch
20- mountain climbers
10- r/l kettlebell thrusters
rest 1 minute between rounds

this was a gasser. definitely got the heart rate up and the blood pumping.
the kettlebell thrusters were hard. snatches were good. 15 was a long set of reps.

stretch
foam roll


good stuff for a friday am.
overall the body is feeling good. once i get the foot issues sorted out i will be rocking and rolling.

so happy friday!!!

Thursday 12-9

back at it after the rest day yesterday. using today as a make up.
can't say i didn't feel like staying in bed this am. brrr...

warm-up
still no running as the foot in much much better but want to let it come back 100%
3 rounds
5 walk outs
10 pull ups
15 push ups
20 squats

all unbroken and good stuff.

Back squat
10x45
10x135
8x185
6x225

5-3-1
255
285
305- 2
315- fail

255 was good. used a box with a 25# plate to judge the depth.
285 got heavy but got 3 good solid reps
305 got the 1st and went back for another. had maybe 1 more in me but racked it and decided to try a 1 rep
315 got low and just couldn't get out of the hole. had to bail on it.

good stuff on this here. spent some time and focused on the movement and getting low.
much better and the weight is coming back up. the form was much better than last week. deeper and more consistent.

no met-con today as i was basically out of time.

stretch
plyo yoga
foam roll

happy thursday!

Wednesday 12-8

REST DAY.
somewhat intentional. had a late meeting last night and didn't get to sleep till around 11.
4am comes awfully quick....

so i rolled over.

squat day will me made up tomorrow.

Tuesday 12-7

brrrrr
another chilly am.
good news of the am? my foot didn't hurt at all? no real stiffness and no pain. walking down the stairs which had been a chore until the foot loosened up was like normal! yeah!
still not running on it. will give it the rest of the week and see what happens.

warm-up
10 walk outs
20 pull-ups unbroken
30 push ups unbroken
40 decline sit ups
50 squats unbroken

the decline sit-ups were harder than i thought today for whatever reason. i was touching the mat behind my head on each rep to get full range of motion. had to break them after 20. weird.
all else was good.
little sampson stretch and some hip mob drills to get flowing.

strength
Press
10x45
8x75
6x95
all sets strict press. good form and solid reps.

5-3-1
115
135
155-3

115 was solid. 135 was solid as well. little dip on the 1st one to get the bar going.
155 was heavy but got 3 good solid reps at 155 and felt strong. could have gone up. need to reset this a little. felt much better than last time. more solid.

met-con
15 min amrap
5 handstand pushups
7 kettle bell snatches r/l 35lbs
10 knees to elbows

7 rounds.

did not sub the HSPU's! i said f it and put a foam board down that was about 4 inches thick. got into a handstand and touched the board with my forehead each rep. got them done!!! huge!
awesome.
the snatches and k2e were standard. did not kip the k2e so a little slow.
focus today was on the hand stand push ups. tried to get a set where i went about 2 inches from the floor but not there yet.
will be working these in from time to time now that i have some confidence.
7 solid rounds. good stuff. basically crossed a goat off the list here. need to get better rom but major breakthru.
just need to get my muscle-ups!

roll
stretch
plyo.

done.

happy tuesday!

Monday 12-6

up and out into the cold morning. must have snoozed it as i was running a little late.
foot stiff but once moving around it felt good. been working out exclusively in the vibrams and really liking it. wearing my free runs as casual shoes and seems to help the foot.

warm up
no run. resting the injured foot still. argh
2 rounds
5 walk outs
15 pull ups
30 squats
40 push ups

walkouts help to loosen up the foot and work the whole body. great starter after climbing out of bed. pullups were unbroken. squats were good, but the 40 pushups were a chore. need to work longer sets of these into the warm up. the short bursts are fine but need a little muscle endurance here.

strength
Deadlift
10x135
6x185
5x225
5x255

5-3-1
275
305
315-4 reps!

so used the first sets to get warmed up. dropped the reps so as nit to blow out on the warm ups. felt good all the way thru.
got to the work set wanted to work a little heavier than last weeks sets.
275 was solid. good form and easy off the floor.
305 was good for 3. came up relatively easy and pulled well
figured i would go to 315 and see what i had left.
max rep set
315x4!! awesome. only had to put it down after 4 as i lost my grip. 5-6 reps was a possibility.
totally reset my training weights here. awesome!

met-con
21-18-15-12-9-6
165# deadlift
45# thruster

9 minutes +/-
strong thru the sets. the deads were unbroken at 21, had to partition after that but they were solid, fast and strong. all thrusters unbroken.
minimal rest between sets. tried to work straight thru.

good stuff.

out of time after this so no good roll session. will have to make that up later tonite.

feeling good.

happy monday!

Saturday and Sunday December 12-4/5

weekend wrap up
Saturday was an off day. ran around with the kiddies a little doing errands and just chilling out.
fried up a turkey and feasted!! good stuff. started a Cussler book as a goof and plowed thru a couple hundred pages of that in the evening.

Sunday
Darkhorse Beercross!
good lord what a hoot! basically a 35 minute cyclo-cross race where between each lap you have to down a PBR, eat 2 sliders, drink an eggnog, or eat a hot pepper! i went the hot pepper route.
it was hysterical. obviously not a serious event as costumes were worn by all and much tomfoolery ensued!
well i did ride my bike around alot anyway. 10 laps maybe? not sure. took a lap on someone elses bike and on a kids bike! it was a hoot!
call it active rest.

foot still getting better. not 100% but getting there. no running right now. take it easy and let it heal.

Friday 12-2

Friday! hooray!
stoked to get back at it after yesterday's rest day. play a little catch up this am.

warm up
5 rounds
5 walk outs
10 push ups
15 squats

extended this to 5 rounds. felt good to get a few extra reps in.

strength- power day!
power cleans
10x45
10x95
6x115

5-5-5
135
155
165

135 was solid. good form. good speed. easy?
155 was heavy but solid. good form. 5 straight reps
165 was heavy and the form started to break down. got 4 and went back for 1 more
got all 5 but no more.
pretty happy with this. form needs some work still. focused on keeping the elbows up, bar tracking straight and getting good second pull.

power snatch
10x45
10x65

5-5-5
95
105
115

95 was solid.
105 was good. little breakdown on the last 2
115 was heavy. form suffered here. wasn't getting under the bar on the last 2. need to work the form. wanted to drop the weight and do a few more sets but running short on time.

double under practice
ripped out a few minutes of double unders to try to get back into the rhythm. got better by the end. its a skill that needs work. will be focusing more on these. really like both the mental and physical aspect of these. you need to stay focused and coordinated while working fast and hard. good stuff.

little stretch and roll and off to the showers

TGIF.

have doctors appt later today. full physical and follow up on the tick bite which was negative for lyme. yeah!

Thursday 12-2

rest day.
just didn't have it this am.
rolled over and called it a rest day.
foot is stiff and a little sore but much better. need to get it loosened up a little. should be back to 100% by next week. will then slowly bring the mileage back up.

happy rest day!

Wednesday 12-1

December? really? already.......
yucky rain too start the month, guess its better than snow...for now at least.
little blah this am. didn't much feel like getting out of bed but rolled over and hit the floor. gotta get up and go!
foot much better this am. still no running. taking the rest of the week off and letting it heal.

warm up
3 rounds
10 pullups
15 push ups
20 squats

opened up with this standard. good stuff. been killing the pullups lately. all rounds unbroken with no rest between. good fast pace warm up.

strength.
Back Squat
10x45
10x135
8x185
6x225

3-3-3
255
275
295

255 was solid. good depth and form.
275 was heavy but solid. still pretty deep and good form.
295 was short and heavy. definitely not all the way down. got 3 but they were only 80% awesome. definitely need to go lower on the heavier sets. maybe drop the weight down again and work the form. drive up and out of the hole.

8x225
finisher. good and deep. reset the form i was looking for.

brought my grip in closer and moved my thumb to the top of the bar. makes a big difference. the bar sits lower and rests on the upper traps. no stress on the shoulders, wrists etc. liking that.
still need to work the depth. may have to start using the ball again to get the depth.

met-con
adapted form the crossfit ignite site

3 rounds
10- kettlebell squat clean 35# each hand
rest 10 seconds
10- kettlebell racked walking lunges 35# each hand
rest 10 seconds
30 second plank hold
rest 10 seconds

had planned to get 5-6 rounds of this in but after 3 i was shelled and was having trouble keeping the squat cleans and walking lunges unbroken. may have bitten off a little too much weight on these? doubtful, think it was just hard and i was a little tired this am..
so 3 rounds.

stretch
yoga/plyo
roll

foot held up good today. definitely a tendon issue. must have stressed the foot a little too much. will start running in the vibrams again, but lower mileage... and see how it goes.
good chance to reset the odometer and start to work toward the half marathon in the spring.

rainy wednesday!
peace.