Do Two Goats Make A Right?

When I saw this workout posted I wasn't exactly rushing to get into the CraicHouse to do it.

"Nancy"

5 Rounds

400 meter run

15 Overhead Squats @95#

19:27

Let's see, running and overhead squats. Two of my worst Goats. A "Goat" once again is any exercise or movement you dislike doing or like doing but are weak at, or both. Yep. I suck at running and I really suck at OHS. Not to long ago I would have "conveniently" skipped this WOD, but since I am hell bent on getting better at everything I knew I couldn't resort to my old ways.

Sometimes when I run my legs just kill for days afterward. My recovery time can take forever and it does affect future WODS which really pisses me off. To be fair though I have been getting somewhat better with my running. I am still trying to find that happy running pace that won't crush me when I transition into my other movements. It's getting there.... slowly.

Now OHS! Ha Ha Ha Man do I hate these things. Not too long ago I could barely do them with a PVC pipe.  I was embarrassed that I was so bad at them. So what did I do? I avoided them for months. Well, that didn't work out so well.  After watching some of the CraicsHeads crush their overhead squats while competing at the Garage Games I became determined to improve them. The path is long and hard, but doable of course. I sucked hardcore at Double Unders and now I can rock them pretty much anytime I want.  I did not do this WOD as Rx though. I had to drop the weight down to 75# so I would be able to manage the weight and be able to string together my reps.  It actually worked out well.  By looking at other people's times I knew my goal would be to finish in 20 minutes.  I was happy with my time.  It was also pouring out. Cold rain. That sucked. 

Looking forward to the Halloween WOD tomorrow along with the Halloween Craic party.
Should be fun.

Energy Levels

Today I went to a 5:30pm class for the first time in a long time. I prefer the noon class where my energy levels seem to be at it's highest. It's funny how your body can get use to a certain time. I don't know if it's more physical than mental, but I look at it like this. There are morning people and there are nocturnal people like myself. There are people that thrive at all times of the day. Everyone is different. I used to feel great around the 5:30 to 6:30pm class, but I trained my body and mind to an afternoon mentality. Can you see where I am going with this???

I am looking for any excuse to why I wasn't better than I was at today's WOD.

3 rounds for time

200 meter run

15 Kettle Bell Swings 70#

15 Push Ups

15 Pull Ups

11:50 Rx

Who knows? Maybe it's because I expected to do better. Maybe it was because I saw the run as only 200 meters and figured it wouldn't crush me. GOAT! Maybe it's because I had to work out next to Paul T.  Maybe it was because I didn't get enough sleep. Maybe it was because the moon wasn't aligned with Pluto. Maybe it was because I stepped on that ant earlier and it gave me bad karma... 

It really doesn't matter what it was. I just didn't have it today. You know what? That's okay. You can't be a rock star every time you come out.  Not like that happens to me too often anyway. I did everything Rx. My time wasn't really that bad. Just disappointing to me, but I did it regardless of how I was feeling and that's okay.  Everything is a gain. I gained confidence in myself knowing that I can still be there without that extra something and if it was simply because my energy levels weren't there than that's fine. I will crush this WOD next time around.

P.S. I heard someone is going to the Halloween Party as TNB. I think that's fantastic. 

P.P.S. I still need a costume!

I should buy this!

Unintentional Rest Day

There is always an excuse to not workout.

The key is to find the reason why.

Strong yet Weak

Today's WOD looked simple enough on paper, but as some of us know that when it comes to CrossFit nothing is as easy as it seems.

21-15-9

Deadlifts @225#

Ring Dips

12 minute Cap

6:51 Rx

Not a bad time when compared to the board. I was one of the few that did it Rx and that's mostly because my Deadlifts are definitely a strength for me.  Blasted through the first 21 straight through, broke up the 15 @ 10 and 5 and finished the last 9 straight. My reasoning with breaking up the 15 was to save some strength with the ring dips. I really don't know if it helped. Ring Dips do not like me.

I knew going into this workout that the ring dips would kill me. Bar dips are too easy for me so I couldn't scale down. Plus, I need the work regardless. It's not that I don't have the strength. I know it has more to do with my stabilizer muscles and maybe a little bit with my shoulders. My plan was to break up the first 21 in 10/6/5 which actually worked out. After I was done with that round I immediately knew that I was screwed going into the next two rounds. I have dabbled with kips on my ring dips before, but I am nowhere efficient enough for those yet.  I was setting a good pace before that second round of ring dips.  It became singles pretty quickly. I gave myself a bunch of no reps as I wasn't going down far enough and then locking out at the top on others. My arms were toast afterwards. If I work on these a little bit more I definitely feel like I could get my time down around 5 minutes or under.  Another one to revisit at a later time.

If you have noticed lately I've started to link the movements of the workouts and some of the terminology. I did this because a few of my friends who read this blog don't CrossFit and it was confusing to some of them. Part of the reason I started this blog was to help win a challenge, but it has become more than that. As I've continued this process it has helped me in numerous ways with chronicling my WODS and motivating me to go each day. I also noticed that it has helped or maybe inspired others to work harder or even start to think about changing their lives. If this blog helps one person to get off their ass and make a change then I have done more than I ever expected with this. That would make all of this even more rewarding.

What Has Two Thumbs and Overtrains?

This guy!

I've been working really hard lately and this week was no exception. I am starting to see some pretty good results and I gotta tell ya, it's getting extremely addictive. So I took Johnny Deadlift's advice and decided to take Friday off. I usually take the weekend off anyway, but the extra day is much needed. I hit the CraicHouse pretty hard all week, but Thursday was crazy. I basically did four workouts in two and a half hours.

Strength Work 

Establish a 1 rep Power Clean in 15 minutes

215#

My previous one rep max on the Power Clean is actually 215# so I am not too surprised here. The difference was that I only had 15 minutes to establish this and strip the bar down. Previously I think I spent around 45 minutes to get to that same weight. After a few warm ups I cleaned 215# in around 9 minutes. It felt pretty light which gave me visions of a PR(personal record) I put on 225# and went for it. For some reason I started to over think the movement and I could tell that I wasn't jumping enough. I tried 225# twice and failed. I think I can achieve this weight if I had more time. 

We then hit a quick WOD right after this.

21-15-9

Power Cleans 95#

Burpees Lateral jump over the Bar

 10 min Time Cap

7:23

My time was a little slower than I would like. With the extra work of late and my continued hatred of burpees I mentally checked out in round two. I did however blast through my last 9 burpees. Mostly because I just wanted to finish. If I only did that earlier. I need to figure that out.

I was getting ready to leave when Jack walked in. He mentioned that he was looking to grab some lunch, but John and Glen needed to workout first.  Jack decided to join in, which made me join in as well as the Catdoggg.

3 round for time 

10 OHS 

50 Double Unders

6:42

Not a bad time. I love the fact that I can now do double unders in a WOD. Everyone scaled appropriately and we all finished around the same time. It was hard, but really fun. I was getting ready to leave again and I heard some mumbling about another workout. Maybe doing Friday's today or something. Catdoggg left, smart girl. Jack yells out Angie! I hear an okay and I join in. Oh Shit! Angie...

100 Pull Ups

100 Push Ups

100 Sit Ups

100 Air Squats

27:55

I should have left with Catdoggg, but I'm not one to back down. So we get into it. The 100 pull ups were tough. I felt like they were never going to end. I wish I could have butterflied them but I have been having some issues with my shoulder and that movement lately so I just kipped the whole time. It was exhausting. If I was fresher I could have been faster of course. The push ups weren't too bad. I almost caught up to Glen on those, but when I hit 85 he finished and I lost my motivation for a bit and the last 15 took forever. 100 sit ups were next and I cranked the first 50 out quick. The other 50... Not so much.  They sucked! Between our regular WODS and those extra 100 Toes to Bar I did the other day my flabs were toast! Air Squats, a 100 of them. Not one of my favorite movements, but I wanted to bust through them as fast as I could. Halfway through both my legs cramped up badly. It hurt, a lot! I felt like I was at the Tough Mudder again.  My goal was to finish in under 30 minutes and make the board which I did. I was happy, but in pain and extremely exhausted.  John said to me that I better not come in the next day and be stupid. I said I needed the work on thrusters and I wanted to be like him minus the funny accent. He said, "If you wanna be like me bro, then do what I do and rest."  Gotta do what the doctor ordered.  Plus to tell you the truth I could barely move the next day.

This was how I felt.

Mental blocks need to be Broken to become the Unbroken!

I've been pretty sore for the last few days. As always my shoulders are tight, but I keep plugging away regardless and I continue to show improvement everyday. Today's WOD looked simple in theory, but I learned a while ago that WODS that look easy usually kick your ass.

5 Rounds for time

20 Kettle Bell Swings 53#

20 Wall Balls 20#

15 minute time cap

Rx is weight, but also Unbroken

Unbroken. Ugh! Meaning that every 20 reps of the two movements above have to be done unbroken. Can't split them up. Cant's drop it at 17 reps. Well you can, but then it doesn't become an Rx workout unless you start that set all over again. No way am I doing extra reps if I don't have to. It's funny because Sara C and I were discussing before class that sometimes we have to get past that mental hurdle of stopping short of your goal because you just feel the need to. Sometimes I call it being mentally numb. Ok I will shoot for 15 reps and then see if I can finish. Well that doesn't work sometimes because there are times you hit 15 and stop just because. You get to that point and you get mentally numb and stop. You really don't know why, but you just do it. You become numb to your surrounding and tend to feel enclosed in your own box. It's a weird feeling for me. Fuck that! You gotta just keep going. It's only 5 more reps. Sometimes you just can't because you're not physically there or your skill work on a certain movement isn't so great, but at this point for myself I am and I shouldn't really have too many excuses.

My goal was to do it unbroken. I decided right before we started that I was going to use the whole 15 minutes to accomplish this. Now I know I could have gone out there and blasted through the first 2 to 3 rounds, but I know what would have happened to me. I would have gassed myself out and I would not have had the strength to continue the sets unbroken. Plus it would have fucked with me mentally. I've been trying to set a consistent pace lately to help stop my over gassing of WODS. It seems to be working as of late and I'm not too concerned if I am using most of the allotted time. Just get it done.

I felt really good about myself after this WOD. I accomplished my goal of doing it Rx unbroken. It wasn't easy towards the end. The last two sets of wall balls around the 14/15 rep mark my shoulders reminded me how much they hate me sometimes. They were screaming. I was really happy with my wall balls for once though. I felt that I had good depth on all of them and I'm slowly starting to enjoy them. Who knew... The kettle bells weren't too difficult. My hip drive was on point. My only issue towards the end was that my hands were getting sore so it made it difficult for me to hold on.  I have been known to almost drop the bell on my head a few times. Overall I was really happy with my time today. Gonna get after it tomorrow again.

14:13 Rx Unbroken

That Little Extra Kick

Today's WOD was a 5 rep max Push Press. Strength days are fun and more my style. I usually walk away feeling good about myself and towards the top of the board. I know that my one rep max was 205#, but that was a long time ago. I feel like we have done a 5 rep max set before, but I had changed notebooks a while back and I didn't transfer a lot of things over. I looked at the board and scanned for that one name....... TapeFactory.

Tapefactory's weight was 185# for 5 reps. Realistically I thought I could match it. I was paired up with Afghani Steve and we went right into it.

95# for 5
115# for 5
135# for 5
155# for 5
175# for 5
186# for 4

I was so close. I did the old 1/2 pound plate trick to get him by one pound again. Unfortunately it didn't work out for me this time. My last 2 reps, 4/5 felt more like a shoulder press at that point. A third of the way up on my 5th rep I could feel my lower back straining so I just dropped the weight. I actually think I can make this weight. Normally I would have warmed up with my 1st set @ 135#, but Afghani Steve is relatively new to the movement so we made sure we worked up slowly so we could get his form down. Next time.

Right after our strength workout we had a quick WOD.

21-15-9

Push Press @95 Rx

Box Jumps 24' Rx

5 min time cap

Box jumps... We don't get along very well. The push presses at this weight was light, but a little more difficult then I expected after lifting heavy earlier. I had two goals in mind with this quick burner.

A) To finish under 5 minutes

B) To do all my Box Jumps without any step downs.

Time 4:44

I did all my box jumps without doing any step downs and I was happy about that. I did my first two rounds in 4 minutes so I knew I had plenty of time to finish. Funny, because John totally called me out on that.  Yea I could have finished a bit quicker, but my knees were killing me from the jumping. I gave myself just enough time to finish. My box jumps are improving, but it's still a huge goat for me.  A "Goat" is any exercise or movement you dislike doing or like doing but are weak at, or both. All of the above for me on that movement.

I hung around for a bit afterward and was poking around for a little extra work. Glen came up with 100 Toes to Bars for time. Sure why not. I then threw in a cash out of a 100 Double Unders. What the hell was I thinking? I was able to convince Afghani Steve to join in and then Catdoggg jumped in at that point. Afghani Steve and Catdoggg modified the workout, but I was going straight after Glen on this one. Glen and I talked and we figured 10 rounds of ten. How hard could it be? Ha Ha Ha. Right after 20 reps we both knew this was gonna suck. At one point we both stopped and looked at each other and smiled. We were only at 40 and 41 reps. Fortunately for Glen a client walked in and he had to stop. I could see him smiling as he dropped off the bar and walked by me because he knew he didn't have to finish. I continued through though and although it was not easy I did find a rhythm that made it a little less evil.  My split time before I had to cash out with the Double Unders was 100 Toes to Bars  @12:27. It then took me 4:10 to do a 100 Double Unders. I was gassed. 16:37 overall. Not too bad of a time for something that was on the fly. I had a lot of fun with it even though it was pretty tough.

Until tomorrow.

Suck it up and Go!

I have to admit, today I was hurting. I drank a little too much last night and was feeling the repercussions this morning. I looked at the WOD for the day and wasn't exactly thrilled about it. Not because it seemed hard, but because my energy levels weren't there.

"Anniversary WOD"

20 Minute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible)

10 Body Weight deadlifts

16 Double Unders

9 Pull Ups

This is Johnny Deadlift and his wife Sara's concoction to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Gee, thanks guys! Actually, congratulations to you both for making it to year two.  You only have another 70 plus years left to go. Get after it!

I really didn't have any delusions about crushing this one. The workout wasn't terribly difficult. I just wanted to set a good pace and take my time. I went into it thinking that I just wanted to sweat the night befores fun out of me. I do believe John said he could smell the booze on me. YUMMY! I chose 205# for my deadlift weight and I know I weigh a little less, but my head was pounding and it was too much math to figure out. 205# was easy to set up. For some reason they got real heavy, but the main problem was I thought my head was gonna burst every time I picked it up.  Double Unders.... This was my first WOD I did that I was able to do double unders. I felt like Buddy Lee out there.... Not!  For the pull ups I ended doing kipping instead of butterfly. When I warmed up I could feel some pain in my shoulder when I did a few butterfly's. Didn't want to do any more damage. It's nice to be able to do both and switch between them like John said. Advantage.

I did 7 rounds + 2 reps Rx. I was surprised I did that many. I really took my sweet ass time out there. Might sneak this one in sometime soon for my extra work to see how many rounds I could actually do on a normal, non hungover day.

There are a few positives I can take out of today's WOD. First was that I was able to do DU's in a workout. It's so weird knowing that just a few weeks ago I really couldn't string more than 2 in a row and now I'm looking forward to the next WOD that has them in it. I never thought I would ever say that. Secondly, I dragged my ass into the CraicHouse to do this WOD. Normally if I felt like shit I wouldn't even think about coming in and working out, but I knew if I didn't I would be thinking about it all day. This is a huge mental hurdle I jumped. I'm not going to get any better if I avoid a WOD because I have a hangover. Any work is better then none. So I am giving myself huge kudos for that.

PR'd Double Unders after "Grace" on Saturday @ 56 in a row. 

Would you like to say Grace before we eat? No I want to do Her!

Yes that's me

Today our box hosted BarbellsforBoobs in support of Mammograms In Action which is a non-profit breast cancer organization with the mission to provide funding for qualified low-income and uninsured women and men who need screening and/or diagnostic procedures in the prevention of breast cancer. Let me just start off and give a big shout out to Johnny Deadlift and Glen for doing an amazing job organising this event. Thanks to all the CraicHeads who participated and came to together in support of one another for this cause. It never ceases to amaze me how supportive everyone is at the CraicHouse. We rock!

The workout for the event was Grace. A CrossFit Benchmark workout which consists of 30 Clean & Jerks for time. The prescribed weight for a male is 135#.  I did this workout three weeks ago so I could see where I would fall time wise and so I could work on a few things so today's WOD wouldn't be so foreign. My time when I did it three weeks ago was 4:10 Rx. Not bad, but I really wanted to go sub 4 minute. Figured today I would make it.

Not sure if it was the early start time(I'm an afternoon WOD guy), my shoulder, Paul Teehan and TapeFactory ribbing me or what, but my time was 4:33 Rx. 23 seconds slower. Look it, people and their families and friends who have to go through the evils of cancer really shouldn't have to hear me complain about 23 seconds. It was a great day, a great event with great people for a great cause. Enough said. Great job everybody!

A rare photograph of Tapefactory and I together. 

Apology Issued

It came to my intention that I may have upset a few people in my last post. Let me just say that I would never ever, ever, say anything or do anything to make the CraicHouse, Johnny Deadlift or Glen look bad. God knows that without them I would be a fat disgusting pig writing a blog on what to make with leftovers found under the couch. I would never question them or their programming at all. What the fuck do I know about any of it? I just come in and do what they tell me to do and the results speak for themselves. My hatred toward bench pressing was by no means a reflection of them and what they do. They take their business very seriously and a great deal of work is in involved in maintaining that business while improving all of our lives who have been willing to commit. I could see where my words could have been misinterpreted. That was never my intention and I truly apologize. I immediately removed the part that was in question and discussed everything with John and everything is cool. You guys are a part of me and I would never put that in jeopardy. I apologize again.

In regard to today's workout. 5 rounds for time of 10 pull ups and 30 air squats. I really liked this one and was psyched to do it, but when I woke up my right shoulder was killing me. I don't know if I slept on it wrong or what but with Barbells for Boobs tomorrow I didn't want to tweak it any more. I just hope it's okay for the workout. Doing clean and jerks with a painful shoulder is not fun. Until then...

GloboGym. Turn that Frankenstein into Frankenfine!

I wasn't looking forward to today's WOD. It reeked of GloboGym. 5 rep max Bench Press. I had a really difficult time convincing myself to go, but forced myself regardless. How else am I supposed to become the complete package? Oh Baby! One of the many reasons I came to CrossFit though was to get away from these types of workouts. Albeit, this is only the second time we have done them this year, it's still a turn off for me. Part of the reason as well is that I generally suck at bench press. Even when I walked around aimlessly at a globogym I avoided this movement as often as I avoided farting in private.

• A) I could never do any heavy weight.
• B) It was intimating lifting next to a bunch of meatheads glaring you down because they lifted more than you. Dude, your roided chest is huge but the chicken I ate last night had bigger legs than you.
• C) Yea it's great to promote shoulder stability, but it by no means is the determiner of performance.
• D) Give me core strength and working from the middle out any day of the week.  

I walked in and checked out the board. Jack put up 275# for 5. No chance there. Crazy Mike did 245#. No way! Rico put up 235#. Nope. TapeFactory 225# Ugh I could shoot for a tie, but it's gonna be tough. Honestly I felt I could do 205# for 5 and that was it. So here I went.

• 135# for 5. Easy
• 165# for 5. Keeping it light still.
• 195# for 5. Getting heavier, but manageable.
• 215# for 5. I jumped higher than my intended 205# figuring that I still had energy and shoot for it now.

I was then going to do 225#, but Johnny Deadlift convinced me to put the 1/2 pound plates on like he did with Paul T last night. This would be the second day in a row that TapeFactory would be done in by one more pound.

Fuck it! I'll go for it. The first three reps weren't that bad. The fourth rep was tough and then I made a mental mistake...I paused at the top for too long before I attempted my fifth rep and I barely got it up a quarter of the way. Fail! That sucked. I also tweaked my hamstring a bit. The worst part was that Johnny Deadlift was taking a video of this so he could potentially post it up and we could antagonize TapeFactory again. Damn. I was thinking about attempting it again, but I wasn't there mentally until guess who walked back in???  TapeFactory! He immediately starts to give me shit. Oh I can't do it and if I do he'll do 230# right after. Blah Blah Blah. That fired me up and I start to prepare. Johnny Deadlift starts yelling at me to focus, Tapefacory is still giving me shit and then I hear Sean Curry out of my left ear calling me a Pussy and to just do it.  It was go time!

• 1st rep - Done
• 2nd rep -Done
• 3rd rep - Done
• 4th rep - Heavy
• 5th rep - Oh Shit! Puuuuuuuush!

I struggled badly, but I fucking did it. It felt so good to complete that 5th rep and not fail again. Yes, it was on video and TapeFactory did attempt to beat it, but he didn't have anything left in the tank. I'm not sure if the video will be released, but if it is I will definitely post that shit.

I Lift Things Up and Put Them Down!

Today's WOD was a 2 rep max Deadlift. After yesterday's let down I knew going into it that I would be able to bring back some of my confidence.  Deadlifts are one of my better movements. My 10 rep max is 315#, my 5 rep max is 365# and my 1 rep max is 425# So going in I knew I would fall into the 400# plus mark. Just wasn't exactly sure where. Lifting heavy shit is always a huge condfidence builder for me. I'm usually at the top or close to the top of the board when it comes to heavy weight. Unless of course my arch nemesis Luigi is there and he was and he was waiting for me!

I must break you

Usually TapeFactory(Luigi)and I crush these movements. I knew that he would be the man to beat or tie. Somedays you have it and some days you don't. I felt pretty good today so I knew that I would be right there with him. When I showed up today he was sitting there waiting for me. I tried to extract as much info from him as I could, but he refused to give up his weight that he did earlier. All I knew was that it fell between 400# to 425#. That's a pretty big gap when you get up to that weight. So here I went....

Right off the bat, BOOM 135# like if it was a PVC pipe. Next, 225#. Snore... 315#. Let me know when I gets heavy. 365# was next. Shit! What the Fuck!?!? That was heavier than it should have been. Right there I felt I was in trouble. Now here is where I think I made a tactical error. Instead of going right to 405# I went 10 pounds less @395#. My thought process was that I will slowly work my way into the heavier weight. Oops. At 395# it got heavy real fast. That first lift is always the hardest and for some reason it killed me. Once I got it up though my second rep went down and up. BOOM like nothing. Funny I said later that if someone just handed me the weight I could rep them all day. Picking it up off the floor can be so tiring. Back in the day I would jerk the weight up or round my back, but I made it a point to keep me form as much as possible before it turned to shit where then I would just drop it and save myself a week in traction.

405# sucked! Right there I could see TapeFactory smiling. Here comes the talk. I will give him this though he did try to talk me into 410#, but I went straight to 415#. Thinking process was to use as much energy I had left and just go for it. I got halfway up and then nothing. I could feel myself losing my form so I let it go. Gently of course. I tried one more time, but that was it. Spent. In the end I expected to do better, but considering we haven't worked on deads in a while my main goal was over 400 and I hit it. As far as TapeFactory goes... I'll be there next time. He pushes me as much as I hope I push him. That's another great thing about CrossFit. Yes we all compete. We compete with ourselves and with each other, but in the end we are a family and we will all support each other till the end. I love my CraicHouse and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

On a side note. Johnny Deadlift sent me a few texts today in regard to my running issues that I discussed yesterday. He was right. Who the fuck stays after class and works on 400m runs? No one. I have been so hell bent on my double unders that I wrecked my legs to the point that they became useless for other aspects. He put it in perspective for me. If I did a 100 pull ups everyday my shoulder and hands would be just as sore. That connected. Lets work and focus in on a few goats and spread them out over a time period. Makes sense. Sometimes it takes an outside perspective and one with as much knowledge as John to get you in that place. Thank you John for your never ending support and friendship. I'm glad you rowed your little boat over from Ireland and landed here. Just wish you drank more...

Until next time TapeFacory!

Bitch Slapped!

Today's WOD was a benchmark workout named "Helen" It consists of 3rds for time of 4oo meter run, 21 Kettle Bell swings @ 53# and 12 Pull Ups. Pretty simple right? Wrong! Last time I did this workout it was back in February and my time was 12:25 RX. 8 months ago. I should crush that time now right?. My pull ups rock, my KB swings are there, my running has improved, I mentally prepare better, I got my liquid chalk and I have my trusty cool headband from LifeasRX on. What more could I need? How about a fucking clue about running??? 12:43RX <--WTF! I am supposed to be getting better.

I don't know if it was because of all the extra work I have been putting in on my Double Unders that crushed me or a residual effect from the front squats. My shins were in a ton of pain, but enough with the f ing excuses. It's plain and simple. My running sucks! My breathing during the run killed me on my second 400m. Seemed to be sucking in a lot of air in my mouth which in turn made me less able to breath. I felt like a fish trying to breath out of water. At one point I ran by a UPS truck as it turned on and engulfed in a sizable amount of exhaust. I almost puked. Awful... I used to be great at running when I was in 5th grade, but I never ran well over long distances as I got older. The only time I ran fast was when I was running from the Po-Po. Even in high school I was the master of the 7 minute mile. Wait, I'd kill for that now. Anyway I need to figure out a way to get better. I need to find that happy medium where I can run at a comfortable pace and maintain my breathing while also being able to transition better and not be so gassed. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Do steroids help with running?

I didn't really work on anything after class today. I was basically punched in the gut. I had an expectation and came nowhere near what I expected. I was disappointed with myself. It's funny because one minute you can be riding high, but the next day you can get slapped right back down. That's the beauty of CrossFit and that's why I keep coming back. Well, that and lulu lemon pants. Oh Baby!



This was how I felt afterward. People celebrating while I die a slow death!

Buck Furpees!

Today's workout consisted of front squats and burpees. 21-15-9 and the front squats as RX(weight) was at 115#. That is a rep scheme so 21 of each to 15 of each and then 9 of each. Two things I am not very fond of personally. Knowing the workout ahead of time I represented with the appropiate shirt, Buck Furpees. Front squats aren't so bad for me. My five rep max is 235# so at 115# that was shit. Usually the only problems I have with them are regarding my shoulders, my legs which suck ass and my nasty ass sweat. Usually the bar rolls off me because I sweat more than Amanda Knox and the threesome she had the night before. I did the WOD in 9:05 with a Ten minute cap. I am comfortable with this. Can do better, but it is what it is.

I did this RX because I knew the weight wouldn't kill me but I knew that the burpees would be shit. Wrist flexibility is still a problem for me regardless how much I stretch beforehand. After my first Burpee after my first round of 21 front squats I knew I was in trouble. Plus the fact that I had to do the WOD behind Jack! He's way too sexy for your love. A) I couldn't concentrate and B) Ummm, Burpees suck!

The coolest thing about today was that I was able to kind of coach/give advice to a few CraicHeads. I might not be the best at these WODS, but I have a pretty good idea about form and the movements. I have an advantage, but also a hindrance. I can lift a ton of weight, but my transitioning sucks. It's getting better but sometimes I feel like I'm rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. What's the point???? Honestly regardless of this competition, if I have advice or I see someone struggling with form or not sure of themselves. I will help them. Feels kind of cool that sometimes people look up to me for advice at times when reality is they are the people the drive and motivate me to become better. Even though my CrossFit experiance isn't that long, it is longer than most and I do have a wealth of information and motivation that I can and should share. We all help eachother in ways we might not ever know and that's the beauty of what we do. Someday I could see myself as a coach.

I stayed late today per usual and continued to work on my Double Unders. I also have made a weekly Goat list. Every week I will work on a few things and get after them. Today's challenge were pistols. I will master these at one point, but Oh Baby they suck ass hardcore. My legs overall are my biggest goat. Recovery time is usually double of people's mostly because my legs hate me. Other goats this week that I plan on playing with are handstands along with handstand push ups again, overhead squats and dips. Until next time CraicHeads and friends. Remember, if you can't Eat it, Drink it! TNB says so...

TNB 2.0 Has Arrived and Thank You for Your Donation!

TNB 2.0! Its here and it will be better than the sequel! I started this blog for many reasons. First and foremost it's because I want to win the second version of the No Bread Challenge hosted by the future of CrossFit, CrossFit Craic. I guess technically it will be my third time in a challenge against the dreaded bread. Fuck You Bread! Here's a quick back story.

One night a bunch of CraicHeads went out drinking. A few of us decided to hit up late night at my work. Shhhhhh, don't tell.  Glen, one of the owners of Craic questioned me on my eating habits. I proceeded to tell him the gruesome details of my never ending addiction to anything bread. In the most serious inebriated way possible Glen said to me, "I bet you if you gave up bread you'd lose 20 pounds like nothing." I believe my first response was, "I could take a shit right now and I'd lose 5 pounds." I got the Glen look. Fellow Craicheads know that look I am talking about. I was drinking a couple of days later and had gotten drunken recall and I started to seriously think about what Glen had said. What the hell!?!?! I gave it a shot. So I timed my bread less journey during Lent and guess what happened? I lost 24 pounds. That fucker was right! I could take my shirt off now as I workout! Stop staring at me John Back at the CraicHouse, the CraicHeads were so impressed with my results that shortly thereafter the first No Bread 50 Day Challenge started. I continued my journey and by the end I had lost 41 pounds. Yes, it looks bigger now...

So here we are one week into another 50 day No Bread Challenge. Originally I wasn't going to join. Figured I'd have no chance of winning considering I have lost so much weight already. I started to listen to and read the banter between the members on who was gonna win and why. I just couldn't resist getting involved. I love being involved in any way with my fellow CraicHeads whether it's screaming at them at a competitions, helping with WODS, or harassing the fuck out of them during a no bread challenge. Especially since it all started with a Miller Lite Late Night. Hey, that should be a WOD name!

"Fran" is the benchmark workout for the challenge. I have done this Bitch a couple of times and it sucked each time. The first time I did it was 1/10/11 @85# in 13:07. Pathetic. Next was 6/23/11 @75# in 7:38. I remember this one because I did it the day before @95# but hit my chin hard halfway into my first round of thrusters. I literally thought I broke a couple of teeth. I mentally checked out, which I tend to do every so often. <--That would be a mental goat. This time I did it on 10/03/11 in 9:00 RX. My first time doing it prescribed. This was also the first time that I could do any pull ups with my shoulder after a month and a half. I struggled with them even though I did butterflies the whole time.  Butterfly pull ups were less painful for some reason but I had no strength due to inactivity. I expect and I will put up a monster PR on this Bitch.

The rest of the WODS for the week that I did were weighted chin ups for a 5 rep max. 55# for 5rep max and 64# for 3. Couldn't get the last 2 reps. Hows that for a hurt shoulder though? Bite me tendons. We also did a kettle bell complex which sucked because my legs were still toast from "Fran". I did that @53# for 5rds of 5reps of each of swings, cleans, squats and push presses. Then there was a 15 min AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) 10 wall balls @20#, 10 toes to bar and 10 Box Jumps @24"  I did this one Rx and managed 7 rds + 3reps. I struggle badly with box jumps. Still working on them and trying to find ways to improve. Maybe a picture of Obama on the top of the box would inspire me to jump on it faster. I should try that. I have been staying late and coming in early all week to work on a lot of things that need help. My list of goats is longer than my hit list and that's freaking long. I hit a ton of PR's this week. Here is my list.

• 25 butterfly pull ups in a row. PR by 12
• 2 handstand push ups. PR by 2. Always were afraid of these.
• 40 Double Unders in a row. PR by 27 I think. Lucky if I could string 3 together a week ago.
• 100 Double Unders for time. last time was a PR @ 6:33 on 9/30/11 did it on 10/6/11 @2:20

Oh Baby! things are coming along and I have a new focus and drive. Look out CraicHeads. TNB is coming for ya! Thank you for your donation.