Thursday, January 19th, 2012

Back Squat  3-3-3-3-3 reps

I am officially a low bar back squatter. Yay!!!! I think for the past 2 years I was scared of that feeling of the bar so low on my back, it was a very vulnerable feeling. Well, I've figured it out, and yes i can vouch that the lower the bar is the more weight you can put up. 

There is no way that I would have have been able to do 15 total reps of 120# in the high bar back position. 

Really happy with the weights I put up that day.  I love back squats. I want to attempt a a new 1RM with the new low bar positioning soon. 

Challenge myself

For time:
155 lb Power Clean, 10 reps
1 Rope climb
155 lb Power Clean, 8 reps
1 Rope climb
155 lb Power Clean, 6 reps
1 Rope climb
155 lb Power Clean, 4 reps
1 Rope climb
155 lb Power Clean, 2 reps
1 Rope Climb

75# is my 3RM for Power Clean. I couldn't even put up 80#s once. So 70#s is 95% of my max. I was on the fence about doing this weigh just cause 10 and 8 reps is a lot... It was but 2 weeks prior that there was 3 Power Clean EMOTM for 7 mins WOD that I did 70#s, but that is only 21 reps total with some rest between sets. This 32 reps of just GO! GO! GO!

Black Lara told me to do 70#s even though I had reservation about it. A few weeks back there was a couplet WOD of Power Cleans/ GHD sit ups 21-15-9 that I did 60#s at that time and it wrecked me, so I thought 10# jump would be ludicrous. But I did, and I'm glad. And I feel stronger. AAAAAANNNND, Francisco, who was cheering me on during my last couple of minutes of agony, came up to me and said that my last reps were in perfect mechanics as my first in the WOD. I think he said something like "Your form is always perfect from beginning to end." A couple days prior, he was also witness in my Fran WOD, and he had commented on how my pull ups were legit all the way until the end, that my chin was always over the bar, leaving no room for doubt. I'm proud that I uphold those standards for myself. I definitely give credit to Zeb and Diso, whom were always on us from the early days back over 2 years ago about keeping good technique and not half-assing reps. Do it right or don't the waste the energy. Mechanics, consistency, intensity. It took up a year and half to finally bring the intensity into my WODs, and in some movements I'm still not there yet... Like my box jump. I still don't feel confident at 20" so I take it slow and make sure that I stand all the way up at the top. Do my times "suffer?" But I want to things properly first, there will always be time to ratchet it up...

I super love Crossfit. 

Oh, and being part of OnRamp, and at times having to demo movements for Zeb and Diso, I realize how far along I've come. I think I was demo'ing the back squat/OHS and rope climb, and as 14 pairs of eyes were on me and watching my technique, Diso commented to the group, "Guys, Assassin has been doing this a long time, you'll get there, too." 

It warmed my heart... and it makes me want to go after my goals more aggressively... This Crossfit shit really does work! 

Thee Total

“The CrossFit Total“
Back Squat, 1 rep
Press, 1 rep
Deadlift, 1 rep

Woohoo! Woohoo! Woohoo! Woohoo! 

What more can I say? Woo hoo! 

I'm really glad that I was able to PR on both the back squat and Press, but I am even more elated that I was able to deadlift 195 AGAIN! I set that PR in April of this year, then hurt my back in May-- compounded in June-- so I have been working to get back to that level of strength. In April I was 10# heavier at 105. So, I'm sooooo stoked that I am markedly stronger across all lifts and sub 100#s.

I'm soooo happy. Not to mention my upper body is trying it's best to catch up with the strength of my lower body. Just set that bench press PR 2 weekends (70#)... And pull ups and dips are done with ease now. 

These small improvements has totally blown away the argument that I have to gain weight to get stronger. This entire time I believed that I would have to get back to 105# to be as strong as I was prior to a.) my whole 30 cleanse b.) my back injury. Well, now that I'm even stronger than when I was 105#s then that just makes me fully embrace the possibility of loosing weight... To be specific, I currently eat like shit, yet I still hover at about 95#s. Come Jan 2, I'll more that likely embark on another strict 30 day cleanse (just eating meat, veg, high fat, minimal fruit, no alcohol, no sugar, dairy ok), which could equate to more weight loss. I'll accept it knowing that it doesn't mean a strength set back. I would just have to train harder (and slower) to have strength gains. 

So many words and theories, I know. 

So sleepy. Oh, which reminds me... I've been sleeping like 11 hours a night. I guess my body needs it. I wonder if this equates to my strength, or at least lends to it.... I definitely believe that since I no longer work in that shitty job I rest better. 

Ok, bedtime 

Not Manion at all

"Manion"

Seven  Four rounds for time of:

Run 400 meters

135 pound Back squat Push Press, 29 reps

My time- 25:50

We all know I hate running. With that in mind, I didn't really suffer as much as I'd like to dramatize. The runs were not so bad. The last round, my legs felt sooooo heavy, but I never stopped running. The Push Presses were deceivingly tiring. 29 is a lot. 6:30 per round? I don't know how I feel about that. 

Alyssa did her first WOD today. Same as me but 3 rounds with a 15# bar. 

Alyssa- 17:03

Alyssa says she loves Crossfit already and wants to continue to do it in a box near her. I will find a way to finance it, even if it means splitting it with my Mom. She couldn't stop talking about how cool and nice and friendly everyone... And how hot all the guys were. Oh, 13 year olds. Also, I showed Alyssa how the kip and she picked it up right away. I was super impressed. Kids have such malleable brains. 

Last night I slept for over 9 hours. And it was deep. I guess I needed it. My body is healing. We swam in the afternoon, then the WOD, then we went for a night swim. I'm going to sleep soooo good tonight, as well. 

 

Love is a verb

2010 Northwest Regional Event 1

Three rounds for time of:

135 pound Overhead squat, 10 reps

50 Double-unders

I have had the most amazing day! I am soooo blessed and happy and fulfilled. Spending time with Alyssa reminds me how the simple things are what matter. 

This WOD has fun. I liked it. My squats felt solid. The weight was still challenging. The DUs were maddening. My arms wouldn't turn in the 3rd round. I'm happy with my time. 

Soooo sleepy. The good kind of tired. 

Healing and revealing

Three rounds for time of:

50 Double unders

25 Wall ball "2-fer-1s", 20 pound ball

Wowsers this had me in a vice grip. I did this WOD way scaled back last August. I really happy with my time. I did look at the average times on the board throughout the day, and they were mostly in the high teens, so ya I'm happy. 

This was the first WOD where i used my NEW ultra speed cable jump rope that I got shipped on my birthday! I still am not use to the rope. It definitely turns faster so my jumping cadence has to adjust, and also I feel like the handles (with screws) weighs more than the other rope I was using. My wrists also can tell that one handle weighs more than the other, and it definitely has to adjust in turning the rope. 

The 2fer's were really taxing. The first 2 rounds I broke up the 25 in sets of 5 reps. In the third round, I was soooo gassed that I had to do them in sets of 2 each. Kareem and I were pretty much pacing the same the entire time, except that I would get my DUs done about a minute advance... but he would make up ground in the 2fer's. So last round, I finish the DUs, and manage to get eight 2fer's by the time Kareem finishes the last of his DU. He makes up ground so quickly that I call time only 10 seconds before him. 

I didn't feel like I had to puke my afterwards, but lungs were really burning. I had that heady, euphoric feeling for quite some time... Probably more than an hour. I'm glad I ate clean today. I plan to all week. Sunday I felt like lethargic shit. I only ate 1 meal on both Sat and Sun and they were not nutritious. 

Glad to be back in the box. I feel fresh. I really needed that rest. 

Ringling College Commencement Address

Here is a portion of Ringling College Commencement Address given on May 6, 2011:


Speaking of habits: take care of your body. Your physical condition affects your mental and psychological state in profound ways. Wherever you end up, run a Google map search for CrossFit and check it out. CrossFit is a way of organizing compressed, high-intensity workouts that make you incredibly strong in less than 30 minutes a day. More importantly, doing CrossFit makes you psychologically capable of tackling things that are challenging and out of your comfort zone, with a kind of psycho glee. CrossFit gyms tend to attract an interesting assortment of characters, who, in addition to spurring you on to mind-blotting sequences of box-jumps, pull-ups and, will be different from the people you work with. And it’s important to socialize with different groups of people, especially if the little girls among them can clean your clock. Also, CrossFitters love to make fun of themselves using XtraNormal animation, and posting those videos online. It’s a good sign when people take their pursuits seriously, but themselves, not so much.




This is exactly what I was trying to express on when I wrote CROSSFIT IS IT.  The best line has to be "Crossfit makes you psychologically capable of tackling things that are challenging and out of your comfort zone."