Today I decided to start following Crossfit Endurance programming. Hopefully this will help get my running up to where it should be in comparison with other athletes.
Strength:
DE: Sumo Deadlift 12 sets of 2 reps @ 65% of 1RM on 0:45
Post loads and reps to comments.
5-10 minutes then CFE S&C WOD
CFE Strength & Conditioning WOD:
“Litvinov Sprint”
3 rounds, each for time, of:
8 Front Squats, 75% 1RM
300m Sprint
Rest as needed between rounds. Post time to comments.
Endurance:
3+ Hours Before or After CFE Strength & Conditioning WOD or Strength & Conditioning Recovery
Choose ONE of the following sports:
Swim (SS Tue, 3S Mon): 10-15 x 50m on 1:00, hold efforts within 2-3 seconds
Bike (SS Tue, 3S Wed): 6-8 x 1k, spin/rest 1:00, hold efforts within 2-3 seconds
Run (SS Tue, 3S Tue): 4-6 x 400m, rest 1:00, hold efforts within 2-3 seconds
Row (SS Tue): 4-6 x 500m, rest 1:00, hold efforts within 2-3 seconds
Monday, October 3, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
Sept. 12, 2011
MONDAY!
With Fight Gone Bad 6 coming up this Saturday, and my lower back still reeling from squats, I decided to forego the class program (hang snatch, ohs, front squat) and do a long amrap.
After some deliberation I decided to go with:
20 min. amrap
5 hspu
10 wall balls
15 box jumps
As I creeped up on the 20 minute mark I was feeling great, so I decided to hold on for 10 more minutes. Ten minutes later I still felt awesome so I decided to turn it into a 40 min amrap.
When I started the amrap my main goal was to not fail on any of the hspu, wall balls, and to stay super fast on the box jumps. I maintained my goal the entire wod so I was super happy. My rest between rounds increased as I went along, but I wasn't worried about that so much.
With Fight Gone Bad 6 coming up this Saturday, and my lower back still reeling from squats, I decided to forego the class program (hang snatch, ohs, front squat) and do a long amrap.
After some deliberation I decided to go with:
20 min. amrap
5 hspu
10 wall balls
15 box jumps
As I creeped up on the 20 minute mark I was feeling great, so I decided to hold on for 10 more minutes. Ten minutes later I still felt awesome so I decided to turn it into a 40 min amrap.
When I started the amrap my main goal was to not fail on any of the hspu, wall balls, and to stay super fast on the box jumps. I maintained my goal the entire wod so I was super happy. My rest between rounds increased as I went along, but I wasn't worried about that so much.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Sept. 9, 2011
Today was a good, but rough, day at the gym. Chris was in town and we decided to do the regular class wod before the afternoon classes showed up. The wod was:
8 rounds for time:
5 front squats - clean from ground @165
10 wall balls
15 box jumps - 20"
Time: 11:56
The wod itself was pretty rough. The other day we ended up finding our 1rm back squat and after still being super tight from the Faction Games, my lower back was trrrrrrashed. The most miserable part about the wod was the first pull on the cleans. After that it wasn't so bad.
Fortunately, Chris was there, otherwise I may have not done anything at all today. My back is still pretty tender. Last night I did some mobility work for 30 minutes during the Saints/Packers game so that helped with the tightness.
We pretty much paced off each other, which is good. It came down to the last few reps and Chris beat me out by 1 second. It's always fun to do a hard wod with just you and your bud. Especially when you don't get to train together too often.
My body seems to feel pretty back on track. I felt rested all day, and after the wod. Which is good, with Fight Gone Bad 6 a week away!
8 rounds for time:
5 front squats - clean from ground @165
10 wall balls
15 box jumps - 20"
Time: 11:56
The wod itself was pretty rough. The other day we ended up finding our 1rm back squat and after still being super tight from the Faction Games, my lower back was trrrrrrashed. The most miserable part about the wod was the first pull on the cleans. After that it wasn't so bad.
Fortunately, Chris was there, otherwise I may have not done anything at all today. My back is still pretty tender. Last night I did some mobility work for 30 minutes during the Saints/Packers game so that helped with the tightness.
We pretty much paced off each other, which is good. It came down to the last few reps and Chris beat me out by 1 second. It's always fun to do a hard wod with just you and your bud. Especially when you don't get to train together too often.
My body seems to feel pretty back on track. I felt rested all day, and after the wod. Which is good, with Fight Gone Bad 6 a week away!
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Sept. 8, 2011
5 sets; rest 3 min
20 sec amrap ring dips
Rest 0 sec
18 heavy kb swings
+
Knees to elbow- 3 x 15; rest 60 sec
Today was a good day back at the gym. After the Faction Games I was pretty run down, and still am to an extent. My lower back and hamstrings have been super tight since I got back home.
Tonight I spent 30 minutes doing some good mobility stretches while I watched the Saints/Packers. Hopefully this will have me feeling a little more fresh tomorrow. I already feel a ton more loose. I need to focus on doing this 3 or more times a week.
20 sec amrap ring dips
Rest 0 sec
18 heavy kb swings
+
Knees to elbow- 3 x 15; rest 60 sec
Today was a good day back at the gym. After the Faction Games I was pretty run down, and still am to an extent. My lower back and hamstrings have been super tight since I got back home.
Tonight I spent 30 minutes doing some good mobility stretches while I watched the Saints/Packers. Hopefully this will have me feeling a little more fresh tomorrow. I already feel a ton more loose. I need to focus on doing this 3 or more times a week.
Monday, September 5, 2011
2011 Faction Games
I decided I would resurrect my dead training blog with a post about our recent trip to Memphis for the 2011 Faction Games. Chris Grothe, Lauren, and myself made the trip North to Memphis Friday afternoon. Chris and I competed, and Lauren volunteered as a judge (she got $200 in free Crossfit Reebok gear! Not too shabby!)
The Faction Games is a yearly event held at Faction Strength and Conditioning in Memphis, TN. The Faction Games is part of The Garage Games series. The Garage Games is a series of Crossfit competitions throughout the year where athletes accumulate points based on scoring similar to that of Nascar. As you can imagine, a lot of top-tier athletes attend these events.
Going into the weekend, I had no intention of placing very high. That may sound negative in the spirit of competition, but from a realistic standpoint, there were some ridiculous guys at this event, as there are at all of them. I have done a few of these events, and while I do go out and try to do my best, that is the main reason I attend them. Chris and I talked the about the competition the night before and we both just wanted to go out on both days, give all we had, and leave it out on the floor. Or in this case, the floor and also a very wet, muddy field.
One of the great things about these competitions is that it's much different than a typical wod at your gym. For one, you do multiple wods both days. We completed 3 wods on Saturday, and 2 brutal wods on Sunday. It completely shows your glaring weaknesses that you can overlook training once a day, on a regular schedule, following a regular diet, and under regular circumstances. It forces you to push past any threshold you thought you had broken. Couple that with even better competition, and you have a whole different monster.
As I said, the competition at an event like this is further amplified by the fact that everyone there has the same mindset as you. They want to fight to the end. They want to put everything they can into the task at hand, and beat you and every other person there. I enjoy the atmosphere at our gym as it does get competitive, and we all motivate ourselves to do our very best. I LOVE it, both from a training standpoint, but also watching you guys while I coach. The energy at an event like this is just something else.
Some of you guys at the gym have asked about doing these events and whether or not you should. I think the experience is absolutely worth it! Most events offer different divisions such as Rx, Advanced, Intermediate, and beginner. This allows for you to do workouts you are capable of, against people of your same skill and strength.
Not only do you get to experience a whole new level of competitiveness but you get to see all the aspects of what makes the Crossfit community so great.
I feel like I am rambling on, so I'll skip forward to more about the events!
Day 1
WOD 1:
In 15 minutes, find your 1 rep max of: Snatch - Clean & Jerk - Front Squat
Snatch; 135-185-195, pr! (attempted 205, failed
Clean & Jerk; 225-235 (attempted 245 twice, failed)
Front Squat; 275 (got greedy and attempted 305, failed)
This was a fun, tough one! I managed to fight my way to my 195 lb snatch pr so I was excited. I felt I could have done better on the other two lifts, but I am happy with my attempts. Chris pr'd on this wod, too, with his clean and jerk, so we were both pretty stoked after the event.
WOD 2:
12 min. amrap, with a 10 hspu buy-in
7 chest to bar pull-ups
14 med ball throws over the bar
21 double unders
5 rounds + 23
This wod was a lung-burner. I could have pushed a bit harder, but the med ball throws over the pull up bar was an energy consumer due to it being very awkward. I was able to make up time thanks to all my double unders being unbroken.
WOD 3:
5 minutes to complete:
20 squat cleans @ 155 lb
20 toes to bar
Row for max distance
I was pretty tired at the start of this wod, which made the squat cleans slow. I managed to pace myself well and got through them at a decent pace. The toes to bar were rough due to my grip being shot. I finally got on the row, but I wasted time because the straps wouldn't cooperate. I ended up having to kick off my shoes, which, total, wasted 20 seconds or so.
20 squat cleans + 20 toes to bar + 271m rowed - terrible compared to the rest of the field
This concluded day 1. At this point I was sitting in 20th place out of almost 60 athletes. At one point after wod 2 I was ranked 8th, so I was pleased with the day.
Day 2
WOD 2: AKA "My worst nightmare"
Run 1 mile, Row 2000m, Ski 2000m, Run 1 mile
Time: 38 minutes and 40 seconds or so
This wod completely ruined the whole weekend for me. I finished horribly compared to everyone else. I was very impressed how well all of the athletes ran during this event. Really showed me I need to work on my distance running. I always joke about hating to run, which is true, but this showed me how serious I need to focus on it if I want to improve overall.
The first run really was the most important part of this wod. Everyone easily beat me back in on the run, as I jokingly predicted. So, naturally they got a huge lead on me in the row and ski. After that, my focus was just to not break on anything, and to finish the wod.
For this event I finished 49th. Yep, 49th! I felt pretty bad after this event, but at the same time I never broke on the runs, and I only broke on the rows and ski to change stations, as everyone did to try and not burn out. I pushed myself as best as I could, but I realized just how much I have to start running more.
On a super positive note, Chris destroyed this wod, as I predicted he would. He got 9th overall for this one. He smoked both runs, and killed it on the row and ski.
WOD 2: The final event!
4 min amrap
15 deadlift @ 275
15 bar burpees
rest 1 minutes; unload bar
3 min amrap
10 power clean @185
10 bar burpees
rest 1 minute; unlaod bar
2 min amrap
5 OHS @ 135
5 bar burpees
Rest 1 minute; or in this case, walk up the field to the sandbags.
200m uphill/downhill sandbag run for time.
On the amraps, I felt I did very well. I pushed myself as hard as I could despite extreme fatigue, soreness, and insane tightness in my lower back. I believe I got 76 total reps. Nothing too crazy, but at the end of the event, I believe I had a decent score considering the conditions.
The Sandbag run...
On 3, 2, 1, GO! we had to clean a sandbag to our shoulders and carry it uphill and back down, 200m. They never told us the weight of the bag, but I feel like it was around 100 lbs, at least.
On go, I cleaned the bag to my chest fairly easy, and pressed it overhead and onto my shoulders. I watched people in previous heats take off in a run, only to die out on the first bit of incline, and get passed. My strategy was to stay strong and walk it at a steady pace.
I felt good as I started my ascent. My breathing felt great, and my pace was perfect. Out of the ten in my heat, I was 3rd on the way up. Then, suddenly, my calves started to get shooting cramps. I fought through them for about 25m or so, then my right calf completely cramped, locked up, and I collapsed to the ground.
I tried getting up 2 or 3 times but as soon as I flexed my calf the slightest, it locked up I fell right back down. At this point I was trying not to scream in complete agony. One of the gym owners ran up the hill to find out what was wrong. I told him what happened and he immediately tried rubbing the cramp out, but it didn't help. I laid in pain and defeat for what seemed like eternity.
I was so close to finishing one of the toughest things I have been apart of. I had almost reached my goal of going out and giving everything I had. All I could think was that I came so close to my goal, only to fall short. Very short. I was, and still am, very upset. When I was laying in the grass in unexplainable pain, I found myself almost in tears. I'm not sure if it was from the pain, or realizing how close I had come to the end.
As a result of the final day, I dropped very low in the rankings to 36 or so. As I said before, I didn't come into the event expecting to win or place super high. I just wanted to go out and give all I could in the events and do myself proud. I wanted to push myself harder than I had before. Part of me realizes I did what I set out to do. Ultimately, my goal was to finish the entire event, and complete all the workouts. Coming up short because of something as stupid as a cramp just frustrates me.
On the bright side, I know I never gave up. I never stopped because I was tired. I pushed myself as hard as I could. That's what these competitions are about. That's what Crossfit is about. In a normal day, we can push ourselves harder than we thought we could, but are we pushing ourselves as hard as we possibly could?
The Faction Games is a yearly event held at Faction Strength and Conditioning in Memphis, TN. The Faction Games is part of The Garage Games series. The Garage Games is a series of Crossfit competitions throughout the year where athletes accumulate points based on scoring similar to that of Nascar. As you can imagine, a lot of top-tier athletes attend these events.
Going into the weekend, I had no intention of placing very high. That may sound negative in the spirit of competition, but from a realistic standpoint, there were some ridiculous guys at this event, as there are at all of them. I have done a few of these events, and while I do go out and try to do my best, that is the main reason I attend them. Chris and I talked the about the competition the night before and we both just wanted to go out on both days, give all we had, and leave it out on the floor. Or in this case, the floor and also a very wet, muddy field.
One of the great things about these competitions is that it's much different than a typical wod at your gym. For one, you do multiple wods both days. We completed 3 wods on Saturday, and 2 brutal wods on Sunday. It completely shows your glaring weaknesses that you can overlook training once a day, on a regular schedule, following a regular diet, and under regular circumstances. It forces you to push past any threshold you thought you had broken. Couple that with even better competition, and you have a whole different monster.
As I said, the competition at an event like this is further amplified by the fact that everyone there has the same mindset as you. They want to fight to the end. They want to put everything they can into the task at hand, and beat you and every other person there. I enjoy the atmosphere at our gym as it does get competitive, and we all motivate ourselves to do our very best. I LOVE it, both from a training standpoint, but also watching you guys while I coach. The energy at an event like this is just something else.
Some of you guys at the gym have asked about doing these events and whether or not you should. I think the experience is absolutely worth it! Most events offer different divisions such as Rx, Advanced, Intermediate, and beginner. This allows for you to do workouts you are capable of, against people of your same skill and strength.
Not only do you get to experience a whole new level of competitiveness but you get to see all the aspects of what makes the Crossfit community so great.
I feel like I am rambling on, so I'll skip forward to more about the events!
Day 1
WOD 1:
In 15 minutes, find your 1 rep max of: Snatch - Clean & Jerk - Front Squat
Snatch; 135-185-195, pr! (attempted 205, failed
Clean & Jerk; 225-235 (attempted 245 twice, failed)
Front Squat; 275 (got greedy and attempted 305, failed)
This was a fun, tough one! I managed to fight my way to my 195 lb snatch pr so I was excited. I felt I could have done better on the other two lifts, but I am happy with my attempts. Chris pr'd on this wod, too, with his clean and jerk, so we were both pretty stoked after the event.
WOD 2:
12 min. amrap, with a 10 hspu buy-in
7 chest to bar pull-ups
14 med ball throws over the bar
21 double unders
5 rounds + 23
This wod was a lung-burner. I could have pushed a bit harder, but the med ball throws over the pull up bar was an energy consumer due to it being very awkward. I was able to make up time thanks to all my double unders being unbroken.
WOD 3:
5 minutes to complete:
20 squat cleans @ 155 lb
20 toes to bar
Row for max distance
I was pretty tired at the start of this wod, which made the squat cleans slow. I managed to pace myself well and got through them at a decent pace. The toes to bar were rough due to my grip being shot. I finally got on the row, but I wasted time because the straps wouldn't cooperate. I ended up having to kick off my shoes, which, total, wasted 20 seconds or so.
20 squat cleans + 20 toes to bar + 271m rowed - terrible compared to the rest of the field
This concluded day 1. At this point I was sitting in 20th place out of almost 60 athletes. At one point after wod 2 I was ranked 8th, so I was pleased with the day.
Day 2
WOD 2: AKA "My worst nightmare"
Run 1 mile, Row 2000m, Ski 2000m, Run 1 mile
Time: 38 minutes and 40 seconds or so
This wod completely ruined the whole weekend for me. I finished horribly compared to everyone else. I was very impressed how well all of the athletes ran during this event. Really showed me I need to work on my distance running. I always joke about hating to run, which is true, but this showed me how serious I need to focus on it if I want to improve overall.
The first run really was the most important part of this wod. Everyone easily beat me back in on the run, as I jokingly predicted. So, naturally they got a huge lead on me in the row and ski. After that, my focus was just to not break on anything, and to finish the wod.
For this event I finished 49th. Yep, 49th! I felt pretty bad after this event, but at the same time I never broke on the runs, and I only broke on the rows and ski to change stations, as everyone did to try and not burn out. I pushed myself as best as I could, but I realized just how much I have to start running more.
On a super positive note, Chris destroyed this wod, as I predicted he would. He got 9th overall for this one. He smoked both runs, and killed it on the row and ski.
WOD 2: The final event!
4 min amrap
15 deadlift @ 275
15 bar burpees
rest 1 minutes; unload bar
3 min amrap
10 power clean @185
10 bar burpees
rest 1 minute; unlaod bar
2 min amrap
5 OHS @ 135
5 bar burpees
Rest 1 minute; or in this case, walk up the field to the sandbags.
200m uphill/downhill sandbag run for time.
On the amraps, I felt I did very well. I pushed myself as hard as I could despite extreme fatigue, soreness, and insane tightness in my lower back. I believe I got 76 total reps. Nothing too crazy, but at the end of the event, I believe I had a decent score considering the conditions.
The Sandbag run...
On 3, 2, 1, GO! we had to clean a sandbag to our shoulders and carry it uphill and back down, 200m. They never told us the weight of the bag, but I feel like it was around 100 lbs, at least.
On go, I cleaned the bag to my chest fairly easy, and pressed it overhead and onto my shoulders. I watched people in previous heats take off in a run, only to die out on the first bit of incline, and get passed. My strategy was to stay strong and walk it at a steady pace.
I felt good as I started my ascent. My breathing felt great, and my pace was perfect. Out of the ten in my heat, I was 3rd on the way up. Then, suddenly, my calves started to get shooting cramps. I fought through them for about 25m or so, then my right calf completely cramped, locked up, and I collapsed to the ground.
I tried getting up 2 or 3 times but as soon as I flexed my calf the slightest, it locked up I fell right back down. At this point I was trying not to scream in complete agony. One of the gym owners ran up the hill to find out what was wrong. I told him what happened and he immediately tried rubbing the cramp out, but it didn't help. I laid in pain and defeat for what seemed like eternity.
I was so close to finishing one of the toughest things I have been apart of. I had almost reached my goal of going out and giving everything I had. All I could think was that I came so close to my goal, only to fall short. Very short. I was, and still am, very upset. When I was laying in the grass in unexplainable pain, I found myself almost in tears. I'm not sure if it was from the pain, or realizing how close I had come to the end.
As a result of the final day, I dropped very low in the rankings to 36 or so. As I said before, I didn't come into the event expecting to win or place super high. I just wanted to go out and give all I could in the events and do myself proud. I wanted to push myself harder than I had before. Part of me realizes I did what I set out to do. Ultimately, my goal was to finish the entire event, and complete all the workouts. Coming up short because of something as stupid as a cramp just frustrates me.
On the bright side, I know I never gave up. I never stopped because I was tired. I pushed myself as hard as I could. That's what these competitions are about. That's what Crossfit is about. In a normal day, we can push ourselves harder than we thought we could, but are we pushing ourselves as hard as we possibly could?
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