Tabata Fun

Sorry for the lateness here. I've been a bit swamped, and Jaidon has been kind enough to share yet another one of his colds with me. I really hate being sick...

Box practice on Saturday. Beautiful weather and a good turn-out. Was a lot of fun and we all really felt like we got some good practice on our plays and such. Took J along with me as well. He had a great time playing with the other kids there for 5-a-side soccer, and even joined in on our shooting practice. the kid's a natural I tell ya. :-)

Monday's WO:

CF Warm-Up
Tabata Squats: 18, 20, 19, 18, 18, 19, 18, 19
Tabata Push-ups: 17, 15, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7
Tabata Sit-ups: 14, 13, 10, 11, 8, 8, 7, 7
Tabata Row: 55, 58, 53, 60, 63, 63, 61, 66

Not sure how to score that. I'll have to look up the CF site and find the formula. Was completely wrecked afterwards though. Stumbling in to work just in time for my morning meeting. Next time, I think I might go for an easier warm-up though, or at least skip the dips from the Cf warm-up as I had a real hard time real quick on the push-ups. :-)

Tuesday was supposed to be a 3 x 500m row day, but one thing after another happened and I couldn't get to the gym. Was feeling pretty lousy anyway, and as today's a rest day I'm taking it. Need to get rid of this cold as tomorrow is a deadlift and pull-up 'test' day. Want to hit it hard and get a decent result.

Three Weeks Gone

Already three weeks since I started the new WO program. A bit more than 2 inches gone on the waist, and a couple pounds added, mostly up top, and feeling great. Box practice tomorrow, and a field scrimmage afterward. Should be a good test and I'm looking forward to it.

Yesterday was a rest day. Today's WO:

CF Warm-up Front Squat 5x5 - 60kg
Shoulder Press 5x5 - 40kg

For some reason my camera was empty after the St. Paddy's day game. :-( The Hamburg lads posted up a whole bunch of pics on their site though! :-)

Hamburg Warriors St. Patty's Day Trip

Deeeadly

Today's WO:

CF warm-up
Dead-Lifts: 8x3 - 85kg
Max Sit-ups in 1 minute

Great workout today. I'm really liking the CF warm-up. Really gets me going for the 'real deal' Focused on keeping good form and really exploding up with the deads. Took as little rest as possible between each set as well to try and keep the intensity up. Sit-ups: 44 in 1 minute. Thought I'd be able to hit 50 on that one. Ah well, goal for next time!

CFES Getting Some!

A HUGE congrats to the ladies and gentleman over at Crossfit Eastside!! On Sunday, they participated in the Big Climb for Leukemia, with a total of 24 people involved! Great work folks, you're an inspiration!!!


Not much to report today. After reading the CFES blog earlier, I just had to get some exhausting leg work in. :-)

CF Warm-up
4 x 800m Sprints, 80-85%%

No box training tonight, as it's been rescheduled for Saturday morning. Feeling pretty good after the runs. Beat this little cold I picked up last week from J pretty quick thankfully. Lungs getting stronger and endurance improving each week. Steady progress is a healthy motivator. :-)

Last night's WO:

CF Warm-up
Back Squat: 5x5 - 85kg
Push-Press: 3x5 - 50kg

Really had to push that one. Squats are feeling great. Really focusing on exploding up on them. It took me a couple weeks, but I think I finally have the push-press form down. I'm quite suprised I was able to get all three sets out without stopping, albiet just barely. Still improved overall from last week.

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

Well, pretty full weekend here. Played in the inaugural St. Paddy's Day lacrosse tourney up at UCD on Saturday morning against the Hamburg lads who very kindly came all the way from Berlin to enjoy the weekend with us. I had to leave during the fourth quarter though, as we needed to get Jaidon back down to Bray for the parade. After running full field for three 20 minute quarters, I actually felt pretty good. A whole lot better than I did in the last game just a few weeks ago. My hits where harder, cutting much quicker, and passes dead on again, so the training is definitely getting me back in shape. I've gained a few pounds, up to 158, but have also lost nearly 2 inches on my waist! Gotta keep at it and get some more sprint work in, as I'm still sucking air like a fish outta water.

Jaidon had a great time in the parade. All dressed up in his karate gear with the other kids, they got a huge applause from everyone along the route. I actually left the camera at home when taking J to the meeting point, but Chris ran back to the house and picked it up just in time to grab a few pictures of his group as they came down the seafront. I also snapped a couple on my phone while walking along the route with him. I'll post them all up to the gallery tonight.

Sunday was mother's day here in Europe, so we hung out with Chris all day. Jaidon got her a nice 'Fabulous Mum' coffee mug, with a spinning medal in the side. We all went out to the movies together, catching a sneak preview of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. :-) Then had a nice relaxing dinner together at home.

Today's a Bank Holiday here in Ire, so I'm off work and J is off school. We're going to head down and check out the last bits of the carnival on the seafront and probably all head into the gym together later.

On Yer Boat!

Today's WO:

5km C2 Row : 29min 50sec

Set the C2 to 6 today and didn't use the foot straps. It's whole difference experience I tells ya! Took me a few minutes to setting into a groove where I wasn't about to fly off the back of the machine and able to hold form. Once settled in though, I was able to keep a pretty steady 30rpms for the distance. Continued with the CF warm-up today. It's like doing a mini-workout before you start the real workout. The sense of accomplishment afterwards is much improved though.

3-day weekend starting tomorrow! St. Paddy's day on Sat, Irish Mother's Day on Sun, and recovery day on Mon. Of course, this nice weather we've had lately is expected to turn downright arctic tomorrow...

What A Difference A Day Makes

Yesterday was a rest day, and I needed it. Quads were still sore this morning when I got to the gym. I also added the 'official CF warm-up' routine to today's WO, and it really did make a difference. Felt much more pushed during the whole WO. Shoulders were on fire!

Front Squat: 5x5 55kg
Shoulder Press: 5x5 35kg
Hip/Back Extension: 3x15

Lucky me the gym just recently got in a new piece of equip just for back extensions, so I was well set there. I actually pushed out a few extra shoulder presses, as I forced myself to do one more for each time I stopped for rest, so the total was: 5, 5, 5, 6, 8 reps. Those last few were agony, but the sense of accomplishment far outweighed the temporary discomfort. :-)

So That's What Those Numbers Mean

Found this great post on the CF forums detailing what exactly those settings on the side of the C2 rowers at the gym mean.

http://www.crossfit.com/discus/messages/22/13650.html

Personally, I've always used level 10, just because it felt like there wasn't enough resistance when I used the machine. He also points out not using the foot straps, which I would think would be pretty difficult as I can feel my feet grabbing them each time I pull back. I'm keeping good form, with straight back and all, but the force of pushing off tends to make me catch the straps. I'll have to try out the recommendations tomorrow and see what the difference is.

Warm Slack

(Rest day today)

So, I'm feeling like I've been slacking on my warm-ups. I usually just stretch and then hit the treadmill for 10-15 minutes or the C2 for the same. Now, I'm not just cruising along on them, but pushing a bit to get good and warmed up, but I don't think I'm properly warming up the whole body.

So, a quick search finds me the 'official' Crossfit warm-up. I'm adding it to my plan and will start using it going forward and see how it goes. I'm still going to make sure I get some real running in whenever possible, because I 1) need to keep working the lungs, cleaning them out real good and 2) improve my overall endurance. While box lax may be short quick sprints, I'll be playing multiple games over a few days time in Prague and Canada. I don't want to be bonk out after the first game of the tourney. :-)

Advise? Criticism? Violent Rebuttals? Bring 'em on!

Yeah, that's the stuff

Today's WO:

Tabata Squats (20sec x 10sec Rest - 8 rounds)
Max Pullups

Yeah, so when I'm in a game and my legs go to lead and I can hardly run? Yeah, that's how Tabata squats make them feel. Just wrecked. Was a bit ticked though when I went upstairs to get some pullups in. Yet again, the local PT has some guy doing lightweight deadlifts 'inside' the squat cage. Now, this annoys me no end because he'll keep the cage in use the whole time, so I can't get in to do any pullups on the upper straight bar (why is he doing deadlifts inside the squat cage anyway you ask? I have no idea..). So, over to the only other pullup bar in the gym. A wobbly 'pullup station' with those lame angled foam bars. Cranked out as many as I could, rested for a bit and pushed out a few more. I know I could have done more on a proper straight bar though.

Anyway, apologies for the rant. I'm just hungry I guess. I seem to be starving all the time lately. Woke up about 3am this morning dying for some food, even though I had a shake just before bed. I'll have to up the calorie intake asap.

Doh! Results:
T-squats: 146 total - 24,23,20,19,17,16,14,13
P-ups: 13, rest, 7 (weak i know..)

Monday Update

Alright, slacking just a bit on the updates, so I'll try to catch up today.

Friday's WO:
1000m C2 Row (Take note of time)
Rest for total effort time
Repeat for 3 cycles.
Times: 4m 58s, 5m 19s, 5m 20s

Friday's WO was pretty fun. Pushed for 35rpm (lev 10) to keep my times consistent and it worked really well. Nice end to a great week.

Spent the weekend cleaning around the house and enjoying the first warm, sunny day of the spring mowing the lawn, etc. Got about 2 hrs in each day on the rebounder as well. Working on making my lever range shorter and really getting a 'pop' out of the pocket for short, fast passes and quicker, harder shots without the heavy windup.

Today's WO:
Back Squat: 5x5 @ 80kg
Push-Press: 3x5 @ 45kg

Upped the Back Squat by an extra 5kg as I didn't feel I was pushing very hard last week. 45kg on the Push-Press was just right though. Just baaarely pushed out the last 5 out of the 3rd set. My shoulders where wrecked! Goal is 5 more kilo next week. :-)

I'm really liking these early morning sessions, which is weird because I'm Not a morning person. I usually find it very difficult to get up early, but lately I've been waking up before the alarm and out of the house by 7:30ish. Chris has been waking up earlier too. Maybe it's just the extra early sunrise or something. Either way, it's a great way to start the day as the gym is nearly empty and I can get as intense as I want without bothering the 'normal folk'... ;-)

3/8/07

Into the gym early again today. Nice to miss most of the traffic in the morning. Nothing exciting to report today. Just a WO update:

Front Squat: 5x5 50kg
Shoulder Press: 5x5 30kg
40 Situps w/ 15kg DB.

Good WO all-around. Really had to push the last few shoulder presses out, keeping very strict form. I'm wondering, should I time all my WO's? I find that when I'm running against the clock, it's a lost easier to keep the intensity up.

Kung Foo!

Jaidon attended his very first karate class yesterday afternoon. Chris said he was suprisingly attentive to the instructor, even with most of the other kids messing about. He was very very excited about it and can't wait for the next class on Thursday. We wanted to see how well he did before signing him up for the full three months, but it looks like he's 100% sold, so he'll be going to class twice a week now. He'll be a full-fledged ninja before we know it!!

Today's WO was a bit of a mess to get started. Did a 10 min warmup run and then started the clock. Right near the end of the second round I heard them calling my name to the reception desk. Went down and found out that they were calling the maintenance guy, also named Don. So, back upstairs and decided to start fresh to get a solid time.

8 Rounds:
250m C2 Row
10 Pushups
Time: 14m 31sec (prev time 17m 34sec!)

Early Riser

Got the news last night that tonight's practice has been cancelled, so..

Decided to try something new today. The goal was to get into the gym by 8am, which would give me 90 minutes to get a workout in, shower and over to the office. Allllmost made it to plan, getting to the gym at 8:30. Nice and quiet that time of the morning too. :-)

Decided to work on clearing the lungs a bit more again this morning. I was also feeling yesterday's squats in my hamstrings and didn't want to push them too hard with sprints. So. did a timed run of 30 min, distance of 4.45 miles. Goal for next time will be 5 miles in 30 min.

Man with a Plan

Alright, after a nice weekend with the family, I'm back to the gym with a new WO plan and a lot of motivation. Feeling really good today and ready to really hit it.

Today's WO:
10 min warm-up run, lev 9
Back Squats: 5x5 70kg (butt to ankle)
Push Presses: 3x5 40kg
20" box jump (20 reps) & 10 pullups combo x 3

I was initially thinking that the weight was going to be too much, but it felt great, a little light even. Tried hitting every rep with as much intensity as I could, really exploding up. Finished up with some box jumps and pullups because I felt amp'd, and for once the area around the squat cage was empty (the only one in the gym, and the only place for straight bar pullups).

Heard a rumor that practice may be cancelled tomorrow. If so, I'll probably get in some sprints. I can really feel my lungs working hard, but they're getting better. Need to increase the lung capacity if I'm going to be able to hang with the young pups on the pitch..

Back in Action

I think I've finally kicked this cold to the curb. Back to the gym today and felt pretty good. Used the off-time to get a workout plan in place for the next few weeks with a buddy of mine. Also trying to think of a way to raise funds to pay for the world games. Chris and I are thinking of a fundraiser. Stay tuned for details..

Today's WO:

15 minute warm-up run
8 Rounds: 17m 34sec
250m C2 Row (strict form)
10 Push-ups