Me Getting Strong

If there is one thing that I always excelled at right away when I came to CrossFit it was lifting heavy shit. Throwing around hundreds of cases a week at my work has probably help build build that foundation. Almost out of the gate I was rather shocked at the amount of weight I could throw around. I never really lifted when I was younger and when I saw Olympic movements on TV it was always intimidating. Plus they make that shit look easy. By no means am I the next Louie Simmons, I prefer to have a neck.

I'm gonna hire him to crush Teehan

Today's WOD:

5 Rounds for time:

5 Bench Press

5 Deadlift

Increase Weight each Set

Rest as Needed Between Sets

BP 225 / DL 375

Oh Baby! I felt strong today. I don't know if it was because of the extra rest or the aligning of the planets, but I had it today. I knew that my 5 rep max on the bench would be at 225.  I have done that rep scheme twice recently and I always struggle with the 5th rep at that weight. This time I had no problem. Probably could have gone a bit heavier, but I wasn't sure. Next time I will attempt to establish a new 5 rep PR.

My Deadlifts felt incredibly strong. I played around on the board trying to figure out my sets with the weight. I came up with 2 plans depending upon how strong I felt after the 2nd set. My main goal was to take the board. Sorry Johnny D.  I had a bit of trouble trying to figure out where my 5 rep max would lie. My 10 rep max was @315# but that was a while ago. When I finished @375# I knew I had more in me. I am thinking that I might have been able to hit 395# if not real close to it. I told John afterward that I could have PR'd my 1 rep max that night. 425# I wanted to try, but after 25 reps and a lack of time I really couldn't. I just hope I feel this way again soon so I can attempt it.  

Good day. With no TapeFactory anymore and Teehan as a no show I had the board. Dave C put up a strong number as well @345# Sic!  All I could think of was I was in a Conan the Barbarian Movie. This scene kept running through my head.

Have Barbell. Will Travel

I saw today's WOD and was somewhat excited to do it.

3 Rounds for Max reps

1 minute each station

Air Squats

Push Press 45#

Sit ups

Ball Slams 

Rest 1 minute between rounds

These are the type of WODS that I need to help improve my speed. I am cardio challenged and anything that doesn't allow me to rest too long in between movements and sets is hugely beneficial for me. I should do Fight Gone Bad style workouts more frequently. 

Unfortunately I had some issues today trying to get to the CraicHouse.  I couldn't make the noon class like I prefer so I decided to sign up for the 6:30pm class. Hoping that I could sneak out of work for an hour. It is literally only 2 minutes away from work so it really couldn't be anymore convenient, but little did I know that it could be....

Because of the holiday I had an overflow of salesweasels at my store today. Those who played hooky on Monday where seriously interfering with my ability to crush WODS today so now I wasn't going to be able to make the box at all. I settled in at work and starting sampling some potential future products. I remembered something about Caveman Steve telling me a story about how he signed up for a 6:30 class and he was glad he did because he was the only one there. I knew that Glen was pulling doubles for the past week while John was on vacation and I didn't want to make him stay any longer than he needed to.  I texted him  the following.

Me:  I signed up for the 6:30 but all these salesmen keep coming in so I can't make it. Drop off a 45# bar later and a ball and I can do it tonight.  :) 

Glen: Are you drunk or serious?

Me: Serious. Not drunk yet.

And who shows up at my store with a 45# bar and a 20# med ball, Glen, Coach Condor and Pete.  Oh shit! What did I just get myself into?

It seems at home.

After having a brief chat and a quick quality control session it was time to get to work. I knew going in that my kryptonite would be air squats. My legs suck and when I have to do a ton of air squats my knees start to kill me. I am not fan. The push presses shouldn't be too bad early on. 45# doesn't seem like much but I know with history that that shit is gonna get heavy at some point. Sit ups, should be fine and slam balls will hurt later. 


1st round 156 reps


2nd round 128 reps


3rd round 121 reps

=405 reps


I was right, my knees started to hate me. This time though I could feel them in the other rounds doing sit ups. That definitely affected me more than I thought because sit ups I can usually breeze through. Push presses were exactly as I thought. That shit got heavy toward the end.  Halfway through I had to pull a Teehan and take my shirt off. I was dying. 


This is exactly what I needed! I really can't thank Glen enough along with Coach Dizzle and Pete for showing up and making my night. This just proves to show how much of a community we are and what we are willing to do for each other. Although I was miserable at the end I was glad I accomplished it. At 9pm after sampling tequila, wine and beer. Who knows how many reps I could have gotten clean, sober and at noontime. 


Here are some videos The Condor took.


This is Glen's demonstration of Slam Balls. Priceless! By the way, Pete is a born Quality Control Expert!

Glen yells at me. If you listen I believe you hear me telling him to F off around the 8 second mark! Ha Ha

This video is only great because around the 10 to 12 second mark someone knocked a beer over. You can hear it and see me look to my left. 

This is me doing my best Teehan impression minus the chiseled body, natural good looks and speed. Bastard!

The aftermath. Miserable while everyone else enjoys a beverage. Caveman Steve randomly stopped by towards the end and was able to watch the final round of carnage.

I'm still trying to figure out if they really stopped by for my benefit or for a beer. Maybe a bit of both, but in the end we were all happy. Well everyone was happy. I was miserable. They did leave the bar behind. Do I smell future back room WODS....

Yuck

So today I finally made it back into the box. It has been over a week.  11 days to be exact. That is an eternity for me.  Besides when I tweaked my back this has been the longest layoff I've had besides those multiple years leading into CrossFit when I became a manatee.

I wish I was this cute

I knew coming in today my ass would be handed to me a bit. My cardio sucks anyway so with the extra time off I knew I could potentially be miserable. I haven't exactly been taking care of myself too well as of late. I haven't been able to get enough sleep. My diet has been shit. I'm not eating bad, but more of a lack of eating. I could tell something was up. My body has been in slow motion as of late and I feel like I have lost some muscle. I had to get my ass back in there. I blame Johnny Deadlift for going on vacation. Hey, I gotta blame somebody. He always lights a fire under my ass!

Don't Fart

Todays' WOD,

Row 250m

21 Box Jumps 24in

21 KB Swings 53#

Row 250m

15 Box Jumps 

15 KB Swings

Row 250m

9 Box Jumps

9 KB Swings

Row 250m

13:34

I started off well, but somewhere between my first 21 KB Swings and my 2nd Row I got wicked dizzy. I wouldn't say I was seeing stars, but I felt like I was gonna pass out. I think the lack of care toward my body caught up to me today. I also forgot my water bottle so I had to go into the bathroom and drink from the faucet. That didn't help much.  I got the sweaty pale look going on. It sucked. A WOD that I realistically should have finished within 10 minutes took longer than anyone. I was hugely disappointed, but wasn't surprised. These layoffs tend to do more harm to me than good. I felt like I got punched in the face. 

This was how I felt.

Tomorrow is another day.

Slacker

I'm sorry for being a lazy bum. I promise I will start updating again. I got my hands on a macbook air and I am now available to write with ease as often as I want.  Be afraid! Be very Afraid!

CrossFit Florian

Last Saturday I went over to CrossFit Florian for their Grand Opening.  I was hesitate with my back still being pretty tender. I knew it wouldn't be easy when I saw the WOD.

3 Rounds

21 Box Jumps

15 Thrusters @95#

9 Pull ups

I don't remember my time maybe 10 minutes

I knew I would have some issues with my back with those fucking box jumps mixed in with thrusters. My thought process was to move as fast as I can before the pain would seep in. That worked out well for one round at least. Ha Ha

I burned through the 1st round pretty quickly. Everything was unbroken. About 5 or so jumps into my second round of box jumps I could feel my back getting angry with me. I slowed it way down, but that didn't seem to help. When I finally got to my thrusters I had to switch my weight halfway through so I could finish. Once again people were telling me I should have gone lighter because of my back, but per usual I did not listen. I wanted to impress my friends at their opening. I have come a long way, but as it goes to show I have an even longer way to go. On another note the pull ups were fun. I decided to do butterfly's so I could show off. Unbroken on all of those.  Too bad it wasn't a pull up WOD. I would have dominated. Well, maybe done okay...

Bill and Beau's place is great. Great energy and a fantastic atmosphere. It was so great to be around so many positive and like minded people. I loved hanging out with my fellow CraicHeads and seeing former members for the first time in a while. The highlight of the day was watching Johnny Deadlift vs Paul Teehan battle each other in the final WOD.  Until they ripped their shirts off it wasn't official. Oh Baby!

Congrats to Bill and Beau on the opening of their box. I wish them nothing but success and can't wait to go against them in the years to come. Big shout out to all the the CraicHeads, Florians and future Crossfitters who participated in the event. It was a tough WOD which made those after beers oh that much more enjoyable. Stay thirsty my friends.

Here are some pics from the day.

Me, Jack, Paul, Sean and Thom. Jack always laughs in the face of WODS!

Hey Box! F U!

Bill watching me struggle. I need blue Inov-8's!

John and Paul after what they do best!

Last Week's Recap

 11/11/30

I had a tough time getting back into it last week after that competition. Yes my back was still tender, but emotionally I will admit that I was bagging it a bit. I was joking around about my pussification with Johnny Deadlift. I wasn't serious about anything, but there was definitely a moment where I thought I was done with it. It sucks when you know you should be better, but your body just isn't there yet. I told him I was having a tough time focusing again. He showed me no mercy and called me out on it.  He told me to get my ass into the gym. Listen to him and he'll take care of the rest, but he can't help me if I don't come in. He's right. I am too far along to just quit. Christ I am Tony No Bread! What kind of an example would I be if I did that? He was right. Next WOD... I'm there!

Oh Shit! Box Jumps. Of course....

WOD
10 mins to complete
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Pullups
Box jumps -pause at the top
 

Rest 3mins then
 

10mins to complete
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
KB swing 53#

Situps

6:35 WOD 1

4:24 WOD 2

Total: 10:59 Rx 

Really???  Box Jumps on my first WOD back? My back isn't fully recovered yet and I was hesitate to come in and do this one, but I had to get my ass back in there. No excuses. Just take the Box Jumps slow. That's exactly what I did. 

How this WOD works is you do 10 Pullups then 10 Box Jumps. Then 9 and 9 and 8 and 8 and so on. My only focus on the first WOD besides not destroying my back anymore was to do all of the pull ups unbroken.  Unbroken! Yea Baby! The pull ups weren't hard, but sometimes I lose focus and just drop off the bar for no apparent reason. I needed to stay focused which I did. Now the box jumps started to hurt a bit toward round 7. I just took my time with them and I finished with an okay time. 6:35.

I knew I would fly through the second WOD. Kettlebell swings and sit ups are not a problem for me. I was able to transition between the both pretty well. As I got closer to the end I went beastmode and finsihed, had a cigarette, milked the cow and brushed my teeth by the time anyone else finished. 4:24.

I made up some serious time here which helped my overall time @ 10:59.  Besides my back being a bit sore. I felt pretty good after this one. It was good to get that first WOD over with and to tell my psyche to go fuck itself!  Again...

12/1/30

This one didn't look so bad. Ha Ha 

WOD
Row Your Wallballs Off
 

Row 500m
25 Wallballs
100 Double unders
25 Wallballs
Row 500

10:40 Rx

Oh the joys of rowing. Actually the last time I rowed I felt pretty good afterward. Good as in barely able to breath and flopping on the floor good, but nothing was sore afterward. Bonus!  The 1st 500m row went exactly as I planned. I took it easy and finish around 1:40. Unfortunately the second 500m row killed me! My knees swelled up and I think I added another 15 seconds to my original time. My knees and thighs were on fire for hours after. I don't think the swelling went down til the next day. I never know what's going to happen with me and the mighty rows. Less swelling would be nice though.

I was worried about the wall balls here. I wasn't sure if they would affect my back or not. Especially when the day before where those Box Jumps reignited that burning feeling in my lower back. I ended up having no real issue with these. I went unbroken on the first 25 and I think I almost went unbroken on the second 25. No pain!  

Double Unders. I felt those would hopefully seperate me from the group. Not! I had a tough time finding a rhythm early on. It was extremely frustrating. By the time I reached 50 I was pissed. It took way too long for me to get there. The second 50 I crushed. 35 and then 15 I believe. I should have had that done in a minute tops! I think I need to put a little extra time back into the DU's again. Just so I can stay comfortable with them on a consistent basis.

Overall this WOD was hard. I couldn't believe how gassed I was halfway through. Even though it crushed me it felt good as well. Trying to stay consistent here. Next time I will blow through those double unders and finish under 10 minutes. 

12/2/30

My schedule wasn't really working for me today. I texted Mr. Deadlift to see if he was around in the afternoon so I could sneak in. That didn't work so he suggested 10am. That also didn't work. Shit, I really wanted to keep this going.  Finally he just texted me, "Make Time!"

I don't know if that last text had a subconscious affect on me or not, but for some reason that may never be understood, I woke up at 5am. I tried to fall back asleep, but that was a no go. I walked around the house like zombie, trying to figure out what to do. I looked at the clock. Do you know what it said?

Make Time!

I quickly ate something, played with my son real quick and left for Glen's 6:30am class. I walked into the middle of the 5:30am's WOD and Glen just pointed to me to spot The Condor. He looks up at me on the bench and the first thing he said was, "Is that TNB? It's like seeing Santa Claus!"  Ha Ha  Lets just say that I rarely go to any early morning classes.  Afterward, Glen brings me over to the 6:30am group and introduces me.

Glen: "This is Tony No Bread. You probably won't ever see him this early ever again."

TNB: "Hi"

Glen: "Did you pull an all-nighter?"

TNB: "Not this time."

The WOD....

WOD
4 rounds – each scored separately
Max rep bench press in 1 min @ 100#'s
Sprint 400m
10 burpees

score = reps/time

post best and worst round

This WOD was brutal! I underestimated how difficult this would be.  My times for the rounds are the following. My best is is green and my worst is in red. Pretty easy to figure out.

1. 43 reps and 3:24
2. 26 reps and 3:44
3. 24 reps and 3:40
4. 21 reps and 4:05 

When I came in after my first run I could barely lift myself off the ground for my first burpee. My arms were toast form the first 43 reps. WTF did I get myself into here? I actually thought I could do more than 43 on the first set. I was flying. I think I had 30 in 30 seconds, but all of a sudden it went to shit real quick. That got heavy! I was wondering why everyone needed a spot. It's only a 100 pounds.  Geez...

As usual my runs sucked ass. Like I had on cement shoes. My times weren't that bad, but if I could ever get that leg transplant I would be all set. Fun WOD, but my chest was sore for days afterward. Glen even made us do a 5th round for shits and giggles.  Thank Glen.

By the way, I love you guys and I love Glen, but you can keep your Craic O'Dawn classes to yourselves. Way too early for me. My ass was dragging later at work. I still need a nap!