Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Monday & Tuesday Training

Yesterday (Monday 11/28/11):

Strength

Front Squat 5 x 3. I reached 285lb
Push Press 5 x 3. I reached 245lb

Conditioning:

"Fat Fran"

21-15-9 Thusters @ 135lb & Pull Ups while wearing a 45lb weight vest. My time was 8:45. Never done it before so I guess that makes it a PR. 135lb Thrusters were tough with the vest. Broke at 16 and then did 5 on the 1st set, 10 reps and then did 5 on the second. Last 9 thrusters I went 4-3-2. I do think I can better my time on it without the same volume of strength work being done prior to the WOD.

Today (11/29/11):

Snatch 1-1-1-1-1. I hit 155-185-215-235(PR)-245(Miss). Didn't have a ton of time so I went with an aggressive progression in loads. Was pumped about the 235lb lift but really wish I'd have stuck that 245lb lift. It was CLOSE. I'd like to get 250lb before 2012. Here is a video of the effort:


Afterwards I did 30 Muscle Ups for time in 5:01. Then this evening I did 3 Rounds for time of:

12 Bar-Facing Burpees
Row 400m
12 Overhead Squats, 135lb

Time was 9:31. Great gasser. Great past couple days of training.

CHEERS!

Friday, November 25, 2011

First Time's A Charm (Sometimes the 5th or 6th)

I know this sounds weird, but my best ideas always come to me in the shower. The other day, whilst (yes, I said, "whilst") suds-ing it up, I had a thought: I'm going to make it a point to shoot for a PR in something EVERY time I train; not just whenever I'm "feeling it". Not only when I'm having a great day and all is well. But EVERY. D@MN. DAY. It's only been a couple of days since I implemented this new policy for myself but so far it's been working as I bested my 2 rep max hang power clean by 20lb on Wednesday (275lb), totally pillaged and plundered at least 3 more full plates worth of Thanksgiving dinner this year than I've ever eaten on Thursday, and beat my previous best "Filthy 50" time by like 3 minutes today (18:24). I'm not saying that from now on I'm gonna PR on all my benchmark WODs or crush my record numbers on the primary lifts every day. But if I routinely make it a point to find something- anything- to improve on each day, I know I'm going to continue to see progress. L-Sit for time? Yes. Today I'm gonna beat my previous best time. Consecutive double unders? I'm jumping rope til my arms fall off. Squat 2.5 more pounds than I did last time? You betch'ya. And why not? Why not attack every training session with the mentality that I'm going to guarantee myself a victory somewhere, somehow? Whatever it takes. At my CF Football cert last year, CFFB founder, John Welbourne said something that has always resonated with me. He said, "I hate it when I hear people say they can't do something. Whenever one of my HS or college football athletes starts whining about how they just can't squat this or deadlift that amount of weight I tell'em, 'I bet you'd lift it if I put you in a cage, threw a padlock on the door, and said you can't come out until you've lifted it.' " Along the lines of this type of thinking, during my workouts I'll sometimes imagine myself having to fight for my life or lift a heavy object off of a loved one. Here recently, during the final 400m run of a hero WOD I actually imagined myself trying to escape from the enemy in order to survive. Trust me, it made me run faster. I've had people tell me this kind of emergent thinking isn't healthy because it elicits emotional stress. Poppycock, poopypants. Life is all about how you condition yourself to respond to emotional and physical stresses. I, for one, like the idea of placing a ton of pressure on myself in my daily training environment so that on game day or in an actual emergency, I'm prepared. My point is: Don't sell yourself short or cut yourself off at the knees by placing limits on your potential in any aspect of your life. You want to start winning? Start thinking like a winner, wiener. Don't think, "Gee, I hope I'm able to pick up that bar, run that mile, finish all 5 rounds, etc..." Rather, think, "I'm GOING to do it." B-b-b-b-but what if I don't do it?!? What if I fail? First off, stop giving yourself the option of failure. Secondly, whether it's right now, tomorrow, or three years from now, it's only once you've stopped TRYING that you have you successfully FAILED. Keep swinging, slugger...the greatest breakthrough's in life and in sport sometimes come right after the times of greatest adversity.

Friday, November 18, 2011

Snatch Balance 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

Although it wasn't graceful, I managed to get a 5lb PR on yesterday's CrossFit.com WOD of Snatch Balance 1-1-1-1-1-1-1. I really focused on taking my time with my warm up. It paid off by allowing me to come in on my first attempt at a higher weight. My load progression was 185-205-215-225-235-245-255lb. I'm still working on cleaning up a ton of garbage from a mechanics standpoint but you can see flashes of good technique if you look hard enough. Snatch Balance is an awkward skill transfer movement for me simply because of my arm, torso, and leg length. Anyways, no excuses, no apologies, here it is:

Monday, November 14, 2011

Check Yourself. Fo' You Wreck Yourself.

CHECKERS...

Ahhh, the poor man's chess. I love it. It is, in my opinion, the greatest and most glorious board game of all time - immediately followed by "Shoots and Ladders" and "Monopoly" (joking about the former and dead serious about the latter). For all it's simplicity, the game of checkers can teach us a lot about how to succeed in life. In order to win at checkers it takes a combination of strategy and patience- both noble pursuits. But in checkers and in life, the best players are those who possess a strategic mind, patience, AND the ability to THINK two or three moves in advance. Some call it FORETHOUGHT. I think of forethought as being the more saintly version of premeditation (you just have to get past the Dateline 48 Hours Mystery connotation). Whatever you wanna call it, it means thinking in advance and considering the future or future outcome of any given action. WHAT??? Think before you act!? REALLY!? What a novel freaking idea.

CHECK MY FLOW: Whenever I say or do something stupid and in the moment or have a momentary lapse in judgement, I'll sometimes jokingly say, "I'm gonna let this be future Jeremy's problem to deal with." Funny thing is, there's a little bit of truth in every joke (oftentimes A LOT). "Future Jeremy" typically isn't very pleased with the results of "past Jeremy's" rash decisions. However, when I take time to think through and clearly visualize the finish line or end result of my actions, I usually end up feeling pleased with the outcome. There's merit in visualizing your heart's desires. Why? Because along life's journey, knowing your destination helps to dictate your decisions.

Do me a FLAVOR...Put all of your religious/spiritual biases aside, and just track with me for a moment. What are you pursuing in life? Is your pursuit happiness? Most wouldn't argue "happiness" as their general answer to this question. Those who would argue it are content to be miserable, angry MOFO's and might as well browse themselves off this site if they haven't already done so. L8R, H8R!!! I digress. So, if the goal is to ultimately achieve happiness in your life, then what makes you happy? Think about it. Visualize it. Okay, you can open up your eyes now, cheeseball. Now answer me this: What matters most to you in your relationships with your family and friends? What about your personal life and in your career? What leads you to feeling fulfilled in these arenas? Where are you at now and where will you be five years from now, ten years from now, or twenty years from now based on the decisions you're making? Your headed somewhere...we all are. Is it TOWARDS or AWAY from where you'd actually like to end up at. Just like in checkers, sometimes you've gotta think a few moves in advance in order to get a beat on which direction everything is going.

Hey, and if you don't like the outlook, then guess what you can do? CHANGE DIRECTIONS, JACKHOLE. ABORT MISSION. Throw your stinking sails up and wait for the wind. One brick at a time, your choices will build a stairway to your goal. Think about training for any sporting event. You don't just show up on the day of the event and hope that you'll be able to lift the bar, or hit the ball, or run the race. No, you train for weeks, months, and even years. All for the OPPORTUNITY to win, to compete, or just to simply finish the race. Each day of training is one more move that brings you closer to your objective, your finish line, your destination.

Time to LAND THE PLANE: Although I haven't played a game of checkers for quite some time, I'm pretty sure I'd dominate you if we threw down. Doubtful? Try me, cupcake. It's nothing personal. I just think I'll be willing to sit and out-think you til your thinker is thunked. I know, I know- a victory in a measly game O' checkers isn't nearly as glamorous as crushing your "Fight Gone Bad" score, besting your CrossFit Total, or beating your "Fran" time. No need to worry your pretty little lats off there, princess, I'm already three moves ahead of you...KING ME!!!