Training Summary

Monday, October 31, 2011

Snatch Work

Strength/Power: Hang Squat Snatch 5×1 @ same weight
 Warm -Up - 95 (3) 95(3)
115, 115, 115, 115, 115, 135

WOD
21-15-9
Hang Power Snatch 75/45
Box Jump


3:23

Messed up and went to the floor on my first 3 snatch reps

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Split Jerk & DU Chipper

Strength: Find your 1 rep max Split Jerk

  96, 135, 155, 175, 185, 205, 215 (New PR) 225 (Fail), 225 (fail)
The last two attempt at 225 was better i just didnt get under quick enough.   Happy to see things improving.


WOD
500 Meter Row
50 Double Unders
35 Kettlebell Swings
50 Double Unders
35 Overhead Squats (95, 65)
50 Double Unders
35 Burpees
50 Double Unders
500 Meter Row

I was hoping I could blast through this unbroken and without sucking wind.  That was me living in a fantasy word.

Time:  19:06  Way too many pity party break

Red Eye and Rest Day

Got home early Friday morning on the redeye - planned rest day. probaby slept about 4 hours on the plane. 

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Finisher at Lalanne Crossfit

Woke up at 3am and had a real hard time falling back to sleep, ie I didnt.   Got a lot of work done and then ran over to Lalanne.   Couldnt get into the St Regis or the W so was staying a lot further away at the Meridian.  I also discovered another crossfit gym less than a block from Lalanne, Crossfit SOMA.  Class times arent ideal but I would like to check them out.


Warm Up 3 rounds
400m
15 pass throughs
15 OHS

Strength
15 OHS
95(3)
125(3)
145  (15)

"FINISHER"
RUN 400m
21 OHS (95lbs)
21 Box Jumps
Run 400M
15 OHS
15 Box Jumps
Run 400M
9 OHS
9 Box Jumps

Time - 10:21

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Early WOD

Warm-Up

3 Rounds
15 Pass Throughs
15 OH Squats
15 Situps

WOD
3 rounds for time
Run 200
15 Swings 70/53
15 Pushups
15 Pullups
Time 9:07


Had a much harder time with the pullups than expected

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Strength and Cardio

______________________________
Strength: Thruster 3rep max
20min cap

95, 115, 145, 165, 175, 185, 205 (fail)

______________________________
WOD
2 mins to complete
Run 200m
AMRAP Wallballs in remaining time
Rest 1 min
Repeat for 4 rounds
Score = total no of Wallballs

Rd 1 = 38
Rd 2 = 28
Rd 3 = 28 
Rd 4 = 25 

Total = 119
______________________________

Forced Rest Day - Travel

Round trip to NY - left the house at 5:15 home by 9pm

Sunday, October 23, 2011

East Dedham 5 Miler

Still a bit tired this morning even after a rest day but since I couldnt make a class decided to see how I would hold up on the old 5 miler course.  Felt pretty good

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Faberge at the Frick

Faberge Logo illuminated on the floor
Quick trip to Pittsburgh for the Faberge Exhibit Opening celebration. The terrace of The Frick Art Museum was transformed into a Russian-inspired party. The opening night party featured a strolling dinner, and the first private preview of the extraordinary exhibition, Fabergé: The Hodges Family Collection. It was amazing to see all of the treasures these master craftsman created.  What was also interesting was the blog one of curators was posting to share what goes into putting on one of these exhibits.

I only wish we had more time to enjoy Pittsburgh but we had left the kids at home so it was a quick turnaround,



Friday, October 21, 2011

AMRAPs

Dont particularly like AMRAPs which is a good reason to continue to do them.

Warm Up @ rounds

400 M
20 OHS with PVC Pipe
10 Pushups


WOD
10min AMRAP
10 Thrusters 95/65
10 Pushups

Started out strong and faded quickly 6 Rounds plus 9 reps

Thursday, October 20, 2011

6am Class

Chris King and Dennis joined me at the Craic house as they were in town for a meeting.  Power, Dave C, Jarod all kinds of people in the house today

15mins to find a Heavy 1 rep Power Clean


135, 155, 175, 195, 205, 215 (pr) as far as I can tell


____________________________
WOD
21-15-9
Power Clean 95/65
Burpees – lateral jump over the bar – no clap required
10min cap

Results 4:53 Power beat Dave c and I by a 1 sec.   Luigi supposedly took a minute off that!


Tuesday, October 18, 2011

! rep Max

So I felt great last night and turning around to do another strength workout less than 24 hrs later is not a recipe for hitting PR's.



Competitors
1.  Squat Snatch, 1 rep Max
2.  Clean and Jerk, 1 rep Max
3.  Back Squat, 1 rep Max

Squat Snatch - 95(2), 115, 125, 135 (ugly)
Clean and Jerk - 185 easy , 205 clean(x,x) jerk(f,f)
Back Squat - 185, 225, 275, 295, 315

Monday, October 17, 2011

Feeling Better

So im feeling better.  Not 100% as my stomach is still not quite right but not sapped of all energy like someone had a 18 wheeler full of kryptonite right next to me.   Pressed for time I had to blast through the CFNE Competitor Strength WOD.  Challenge for me is that I dont have a good 1 rep max to go off.

Power Snatch 5x1 (80%)

95 (5)
115(5)
135(1)
135(1)
135(1)
135(1)

Power Clean 5x1 (80%)
185
185
205
205
205
Front Squat 85% Didnt have rack so power cleaned to rack
205 (2)
205 (2)

Done - short and sweet

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Under the weather

No training just resting and work.  I will spare you the details

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Run over by a truck

My plan in the run up to the games qualifiers is to treat my Saturdays as a game day.  Everyone at the Craic house was planning their week so that they were well rested for Grace.  My approach was quite the opposite.    I was planning on hitting the Crossfit New England Sweatfest WOD: 

” Paleo Whiskey”
5 Rounds For Time:
200 Meter Run
20 Pull Ups
200 Meter Run
20 Push Ups
200 Meter Run
20 Sit Ups
200 Meter Run
20 Squats

It is essentially Angie with 2.5 miles of running.  Even though I had been up since 4am (woke up and couldn't get back to sleep) I felt this would be a good workout for me.   As always its great to see all my old pals and to train with some of the new studs.     First run felt good as well as the first set of movements.  By round three i was getting passed and the wheels were starting to come off.   I felt nauseous to the point of almost throwing up.  This never happens.  Worse was that I was getting dizzy and my head was pounding.    I ended up getting through it, finished 4th in the class but the time was nothing to write home about.  Total time 36:38    

I have never felt so bad after a workout in my entire life.  I needed to get home quickly as my heat for "Grace"  was only 45 minutes away.   At this point I wasnt even sure I was going to do the WOD.  I was nt recovering.   Usually I feel better withing a few minutes.   I tried to hydrate and get some caffeine in me so I had some spark.   Susie and I walked over and I was debating whether I had it in me or not.  I finally decided that I would bail out if I wasnt feeling it.  

I had check my score in the morning and I have never broken 7 minutes.  That is pretty slow compared to the big boys.   Derek and Daigle have sub 1:30's



I did one warm up and decided it didnt feel too bad and decided to just pace myself and come in under the 10 minute cutoff.   I was matching Glen's time and finished in sub 4. I think it was 3:56.  Happy considering how bad I felt after the first wod.

I spent the rest of the day in bed with a fever and utter exhaustion.  Feeling a little better this evening but no where near 100%. 

Friday, October 14, 2011

Modified WOD

Super busy day.   Took the kids to school so I wasnt able to wod in the am.   All for good as I was able to join Susie in the evening class.  

WOD
5 rounds for time
10 Pullups
30 Air Squats

 The workout didnt seem that bad until John walked over and said you should do muscle-ups instead of pull-ups.  I was completely game as I really need to continue to work on them.   They are finally coming around and I have a lot more confidence in my technique.  Im actually not scared of them anymore.

Modifed WOD

5 Rounds of
5 Muscle-Ups
30 Air Squats

I tried to pace myself on the squats so I could have enough recovery before the next round of muscle ups.  I was very happy as i did the first 4 rounds unbroken on the muscle ups and then got 4 in the last round before failing.   Final time 6:35  Pretty happy with that.  For the day I did 29 MU's i think the most I have ever done in  a day.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

River North Crossfit


I have been training at Atlas Crossfit when I have been in Chicago but noticed a new box River North Crossfit.   I checked out the WODs and saw that RNCF had a better wod for me as it included a strength element.

Warm Up

500m Row
line drills - bounds, but kicks, lunges etc...


Strength 
DEADLIFT 5 X 5 X 5 X 5 X 5

135 (10) Warm Up
225
255
275
305
325


WOD:  10 – 8- 6 – 4 – 2
  • SNATCH (95/65)
  • TOES TO BAR
  • FRONT SQUAT (95/65)
  • BURPEE 
Total Time: 7:08

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Travel Day to Chicago - Rest Day

Travel to Chicago - Early trip to airport and then late night dinner.

Monday, October 10, 2011

CDG to BOS Travel Day but a WOD

Finally a travel day with a WOD.  We left Paris this morning and landed at Logan around 3:20pm. We should have carried our bags on as we cleared customs and then stood around for 45 minutes waiting for our bags and then handing our passport control in. 

Craic workout
Warm-Up
Band Squats
Pistols

___________________________________
Strength:
Bar Dips
3x Max Effort

15, 15, 15 - good depth every time

___________________________________
WOD: for time
21 – 15 – 9
Front Squat (115lbs/85lbs)
Burpees

*10 Minute Time Cap

The time on the board to beat was Paul's sub 4 minute mark.   Since I know that I wouldnt be able to do my strength building stuff I decided to scale up to 135LB.

Time 4:38

 Happy with that time. all unbroken but some breaks at the bar before I began

Post WOD

Snatch and Snatch Balances

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Day 3 Paris



Eglise de la Madeleine
Finally getting used to the time change and got up around 9am I time to make mass at Église de la Madeleine This Church is enormous by US standards but not that noteworthy compared to Notre Dame de Paris or Basilique du Sacré-Cœur.

The mass was quick so I decided to get a run in regardless of the rain as it was only a mist. I had no idea where I was going to run as I was hoping to make it an exploratory run. Along the run I found a race course which I later discovered was the Paris 20k race. The link which can be found here.

I joined the course at the 16km and for kicks tried to see if I could stay with the leaders even for 400meters. No way these guys were flying. Just to be clear I was on the sidewalk not on the course so I didn't get in their way, I ran to the finish at the Eiffel Toerless peeling off before the finish and then taking a bridge over the river to pick up around the 13km mark. Now the run was fun but I was running way behind as we were meeting friends for lunch who were coming over from London via the train. got in around 8k 30 plus minutes.



We had lunch at Brasserie Bofinger. 7 rue de la Bastille, Paris. Another very good meal.
Susie, Martha, me and the kids split a bit early and headed over to to Musée du Louvre. We spent more time outside than I inside as it was super crowded and really really hot inside.


We convinced the in laws to cancel our reservations as we were all very tired and decided to have group room service night in the in laws suite.



Saturday, October 8, 2011

Day 2 Paris

After 3 or 4 hours of sleep I was wide awake from midnight to 5am. At 5am I feel back asleep and would have slept through noon if it was for a call from the in laws. With the better part of the day gone we snapped into high gear and started day 2. Again the priorities were sites the kids wanted to see.
1. The Arc de Triomphe
2. Eiffel Tower

By this time the kids were wearing out and wanted to go back to the hotel or hungry for lunch. We put the kids and HC on a Batoboat back to the hotel. We would find out later that there was a detour to a famous chocolate/candy store.

Susie and I were excited to stroll about a little more freely. We decided to walk back to the hotel hitting as many parks as we could.



1. Champ de Mars
2. École Militaire
3. L'Hôtel national des Invalides
4. Esplanade des Invalides
5. The Pont Alexandre III arch bridge
6. Grand Palais
7. Marcel Proust park
8. Église de la Madeleine



















By this time it was late and we had promised to take the kids for a swim.
The gym was right next door so I popped in to hit a quick workout. I hit a old stand by dumbbell WOD. MONDAY 110214
Five rounds of:
5 Dumbbell deadlifts
5 Dumbbell hang cleans
5 Dumbbell push presses
5 Dumbbell squats
Increase the load each round. Rest as necessary between rounds. Josh Everett 50-70-90-90-100lbs.

I kind of messed this one up and forgot you couldn't put the weights down between movements and I couldn't change weights because of a limited selections I decided to hit 20kg for all rounds. Got it in around 8 minutes.

Dinner was at Pierre au Palais Royal. Roland and his girlfriend joined us.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Travel Day - Day 1 in Paris

Overnight flight to Paris for the long weekend. Travel had gone smoothly - easy drive to Logan, we all had seat assignments. Sadly I was not near Susie and the kids as the plane was full and we couldn't get seats together. Easy boarding, looked to be on time......then the pilot comes on "we are pulling back to the gate". That sound you may have heard was the jet bridge malfunctioning and it poked a hole in the plane". Massive groans..... Shockingly they were able to round up a new plane - clean it, fuel it, stock it re board us in 2 hours! Better a few hours late than a day late.

Usually I have no problem sleeping but I only managed 2 hours or so. Ended up taking a 30 minute nap while hanging out in my in laws room waiting for our room. It was great to see Mike and Helen Clay. Martha and Emma arrived a few hours after us.

Given everyone was operating on minimal sleep and the typical jet lag we kept it laid back.










1. Walk from hotel to Place de la Concorde
2. Musée d'Orsay
3. Bateau Mouche - short boat ride to next destination
4. Cathedral Notre Dame de Paris
5. Walked past the Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville on the way to the subway back to hotel Excellent first day.

Weather went from overcast to sunny to rainy. Staying at the Hotel Costes. Quite the scene. Seems to be well liked by the celebrity and model crowd. Here is what the guide books say "The bar, restaurant, and hotel have in turn become a favorite among Paris fashionistas and entertainers. Most, though, come here to see and be seen The bar at Hotel Costes is a den of opulence, dedicated to detail, intimacy and the expectations of the frighteningly wealthy. Fun but not my kind of hotel.

Tonight I figured out that I won't be able to visit Crossfit France as it's way out in Villeparisis. About a 35 minute drive if I had a car. The other trouble is I can't pull up the website to confirm the class times as it needs flash which my iPad doesn't support. Hotel gym and run most likely.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Kettlebell Complex

I was happy to get this workout in before we set off for the long weekend. These wods were you pick a weight and have to hold it for 5 rounds are always a a good challenge. Pick to light a weight and it's too easy, too heavy and you can't complete it.
Warm-up 60 pushups 60 sit-ups Partition as needed Did them straight thru WOD KB Complex 5 Rounds 5 Swings 5 Cleans 5 Front Squats 5 Push Press The goal with this complex is to complete 5 rounds at the same weight. Once you begin a round you may not put the bells down until you complete all 4 exercises. You can take as much rest between sets as you need. 55lbs - last set was easier than first few as I got more efficient in my movement.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Weighed Pull Ups

Strength: Weighted Chin ups 5-5-5-5-5 (increasing)

My lats are sore from Fran so this is a little evil. Worked in with Power and he was making all the weights look easy.
25lbs (5)
30lbs (5)
35lbs (5)
50lbs (4 good 1 really sketchy)
55 lbs (3 - is all i could muster)


1.  Power Snatch, 1×2 reps at 75%   115lbs
2.  Power Clean and Jerk, 1×2 at 80%  165lbs
3.  Back Squat, 2×3 at 85%  265, and then 275lbs

Rest Day Travel Day

Flew to Chicago for a day trip - NO Workout.  I should check to see how many rest days are actually just travel days.

Monday, October 3, 2011

WOD #2 Fran-tastic 2


Fran - I'm not sure quite how this became the gold standard bench mark.  In fact I think too many people freak out over this WOD.   Even though I have been chipping away at Fran for years, what is burned in my mind is an epic fail on a PR attempt at Crossfit New England back in 2009.     See the footage here - Fran Disaster .  Not only are my pull ups ugly but I'm rolling around on the floor like I have been shot.

I was speaking with Kevin Daigle over the weekend on how he approached Fran as he crushed it last week - 2:38!   Kevin said he had asked Mel and she said just take the first round a bit easier and you will have a lot more juice at the end.   When I walked into the Craic house the energy was through the roof! I was picked to go in the first heat with Paul T.  I knew that Paul would  be faster on Thrusters but thought i might have a slight advantage in the pull ups.  John called 3,2,1 Go.   Paul finished the Thrusters about 2-3 reps ahead of me and then I passed him in the Pull ups.  Felt good.  You can see in the photo we finished in just over a minute.   The second round went well.  Was able to do the Thrusters unbroken as well as the Pull Ups.   When I started the last 9 I knew that I would have a good time.  We finished in a dead heat - 2:56!   A huge improvement over my previous PR.

WOD 1 - Strength

 Life's small pleasures - I got to drive my kids to school and we did our usual routine of listening to Science Minute and Stuff you missed in History class in Stitcher radio.    After drop off I stopped at the Craic house to hit the strength training session for the day. 

1. Squat Snatch 5 x 1




 - 95lbs (5) warm-up
- 115lbs (3) warm-up
- 135 (1)
- 145 (1)
- 145 (1)
- 155 (f)

- 155 (f)
- 155 (1)
- 95 (2)

2. Front Squat 5 x 1
- 95(10) Warm-Up
- 185 (5) Warm-up
- 205 (1)
- 225 (1)
- 235 (1)
- 255 (1)

I felt more comfortable in the movements.  The weights were not super heavy as i am trying to dial in my form.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Life Lessons I have learned from Crossfit

I recently had the opportunity to present to a group of my employees on a personal development topic of my choice.   This is the part of my job that I really enjoy, mostly because I get a lot out of putting what I have doing on paper and really trying to reflect on it.    These presentations also give me a chance to let people know more about me and my family.  I always include a slide of photos of my wife and kids so they can see what we do outside of work. 

Most of my employees know I do Crossfit,  I think that is great, but I also worry that it shapes a perception of me that is limiting.  So in this presentation I wanted to share with them that for me Crossfit isnt just about getting fit.  There has been a huge opportunity for me to learn a lot more. 

Life Lessons I have learned from Crossfit
If your not scared its not crossfit

1.  Setting goals improves results
2.  What gets measured, gets better
3.  Limits are all in your head
4. It is about getting better not being good
5. Positive attitude will take you far
6. Focus on the rep you are doing. Be. Here. Now.
7. The thing you dread or fear is what you need to do more of
8. Finishing short isn’t failure
9. Generous listening speeds things up
10. You can do a good job by yourself but a better job when you have the support of others

SDLHP and Burpees

Skill: Sumo Deadlift High Pull

________________________________
WOD: For Time
21 – 15 – 9
Burpees
SDHP (95lbs/65lbs)

Not a lot to say about this one.  Pick the pace that is closest to red line and stay after it.   I did the 10am class so there was a score on the board to chase which is good.  Dave C put up a 4min flat.   Certainly wasnt feeling confident in my burpees after the chipper fail but they felt better in the warm up.   Jack was in the class so the mood was good.   That dude does burpees like he is a human spring.   If I could stay close to him then I knew I would be fine.   He was 2 reps ahead when he hit the bar.  Blasted thru the SDLHP straight.   All reps unbroken.   3:46   There is room for improvement for sure.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

A visit to Crossfit New England to train with some of the old guard who I started down this crossfit path with 5 years ago.  They have a week full of lady benchmark WODs. Fran, Diane, Angie, Kelly   You can tell Ben has hit the reset button and they are beginning their drive for the games.   Im guessing this baseline period will be followed by a strength building phase focused on the OLY lifts.   The idea is that you need to get strong before you focus on conditioning. This is exactly what I need to be doing as well.





” Kelly “
5 Rounds Of:
400 Meter Run
30 Box Jumps (24)
30 Wall Balls (20, 14)

I was back and forth in the middle of the night as to whether doing this WOD was a good idea considering how tired I have been.   I decided to go for it regardless of how I felt and just put the work in.   I plowed thru the WOD but just didnt have any speed on the run.    Way off the PR I set last time I had done this WOD.  

Lap 1 4:04
Lap 2 5:09
Lap 3 5:57
Lap 4 6:21
Lap 5 5:32
Total time 27:06  My worst time in 2 years.