Friday, February 19, 2010

BroMANCE

Let me first start out by saying that my last post must have taken a lot of "blogging energy" out of me, because I definitely have not been staying on top of it. But, now I'm back!

Today, after coaching my 5:30am coed class at RunTex and assistant coaching the 6:15am class with JDP, I came home, made breakfast, and sat down in front of the computer to check emails, etc. Being the avid CrossFitter that I am, I have crossfit.com as my homepage. This morning there is a video interview of one of my biggest inspirations in the CrossFit world - Todd Widman.

Todd has been an instructor at every certification that I have attended, and I have had the pleasure of talking to him briefly outside of the certification realm as well. I do not claim to KNOW him on a personal level, but I do know that he is a truly inspirational human being, as this is the effect that he has had on me as both a CrossFit coach and now as a CrossFit athlete.

His form of coaching(every coach has a unique form) is built on a foundation of PASSION for what he does, GRATITUDE for what he has been given, and living with INTENSITY! - A lesson anyone can take home and use.

Let me be clear here. I LOVE being a CrossFit coach!!! It is my calling in life to introduce people to a lifestyle of FUNctional fitness that allows them to discover their untested human capacities and untapped inner strengths. This is my PASSION!...

Sometimes you just need an inspirational moment to reignite that passion...Today, Todd's passion has done that for me. Thanks!

Friday, February 12, 2010

FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS, FOLKS.


OK...So before I start, I want to warn anyone that is reading that this blog is going to be a full-speed ride through my psyche. You've been warned!!! Proceed at your own risk!!!

So, here at CC, the staff is always striving for self-improvement and raising the bar in the CrossFit community, which I love and what attracted me to this group in the first place. In doing so, some of the coaches(including myself)have dedicated themselves to a Tony Robbins Workshop and Peer Group. Basically, we are taking time each day to individually listen and absorb the "heavy" content that Tony shares. Not only are we just listening, we are also taking notes during each session.

I will be honest, since first hearing about Tony Robbins from a friend in Colorado and the success he gained by incorporating one of Tony Robbins' products, I have wanted to get started with one of his programs. So this opportunity to join this peer group at Central was very exciting!

Today marked the 5th day of our listening itinerary, which also meant that we had our first meeting as a group to discuss what we have experienced thus far. During one particular section of our discussion, I was asked, "What disturbs you?" My response, in short, was that, "I take myself too seriously and, that in turns, sets me up for failure and constantly leaves me unfulfilled." Pretty deep stuff, right? If you want to stop now...I understand. For the brave...a new paragraph.

Let me back up just a bit and explain the question of, "What disturbs you?" Tony teaches that if you are to make a powerful change in your life, and make a turn for the better, you must first become deeply disturbed by the issue. This disturbance causes a powerful/painful emotional feeling that essentially drives the change. So, now that we have the context, it should be clear that I am disturbed by the fact that I am consistently "beating" on myself for any and all mistakes made, as well as under-performing in all the aspects of my life. NOT the best way to go about living your life!!!

Once I thought I had THE issue figured out, I started to make a conscience effort to steer my mind from the negative, and rather focus on all that is positive. (BTW...I encourage everyone to try this for just one day...it is remarkably difficult!) I found myself doing a pretty good job of staying in the positive, and was pretty damn excited!!! BUT...when it came to my personal performance as a CrossFit athlete, I found it extremely difficult to control my mind in a positive direction - a battle I have been fighting lately. I became completely frustrated and overwhelmed today during the .COM WOD when I was unable to complete a muscle-up! For those that know me, muscle-ups are not a difficult task for me. So, obviously, this was a huge blow to my esteem and in that moment I lost faith in my abilities as a CrossFitter. I hit rock bottom as an athlete, and because of it, I realized that I had NOT found the true "root" of my problems.

It took sitting down in front of a steak salad at Central Market(very good, BTW)in a complete oblivious fog, and evaluating my situation...THIS is it...I don't really like myself, and more importantly, I don't LOVE myself. I know this is the root because I was able to talk about the many reasons why I don't truly love myself with my girlfriend, Crystal for nearly 30minutes straight, and the many ill-effects this causes in my life. I would have ran out of fuel if this was not a major issue.

So there it is. The BIG ONE. It makes a sort of sick and twist sense to me now, and without getting in too deep(too late...?), I have now created a game plan to reverse this complex. The best way I can describe it is a long-ass METCON WOD for my mind. I am going to train it and strengthen it to the point that I will have complete control over the direction of my thoughts. I will also be spending time in solitude to focus on ME, as well as joining a yoga studio to further accomplish the end goal of a peaceful, positive, iron mind.

Thanks for playing.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

WOD LOG #4

Thursday 2.11.10

WOD:

"Rotating CrossFit Total"
*Not for Time*
10 sets of the CFT, alternating between 1 rep of each:

Back Squat - Shoulder Press - Deadlift

Round 1 - 225 - 115 - 315
Round 2 - 245 - 135 - 365
Round 3 -275 -145 - 365
Round 4 - 295 -150(F) - 385
Round 5 - 305 - 140 - 395
Round 6 - 310 -145- 395
Round 7 - 315 - 145(F) - 395(F)
Round 8 - 315 - 135 - 365
Round 9 - 315 - 135 - 365
Round 10 - 315 - 135 - 365

-THEN-

5x10 Hip Extension using a 25# plate
3x10 Hip Extension @ BW

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

REST DAYS 101

Today was a rest day for me. I am pretty wrecked today, so it would have been silly for me to have seriously attempted any sort of WOD and expected to come out of it feelin' like it was beneficial.
We all need those rest days! They are, in fact, just as important, if not more important, than our actual training days. Rest days serve many purposes, but to name just a few:

Days off allow the body to "catch up" to all the punishment and stress you have inflicted on it. This period is a MUST if you want to see gains and PR's. Otherwise, you will just be tearing your body down further and further, and the overall fatigue that follows will surely cause a decrease in work output.

And the other benefit of a rest day is in regards to your mental health. This may sound a little funny, but exercise is also a very stressful MENTAL game...if you're doin' right! The mind games and mental battles that go on during a crazy metcon WOD are intense! We have all been there at one time or another....Your body is sending your brain pain signals that would otherwise stop a person in their tracks, but as CrossFitters, this is the goal of each workout. We want to push that hard each and every time we hit a WOD! This is extremely stressful, as we know. Rest days give us a chance to "operate" normally.

Finally, when we love something so much that we actually do it too much, it can obviously become a bad situation. Rest days are sometimes hard for me to take because I feel like there are people out there training and getting stronger and faster while I'm resting. But, if I hold back from training just one day, the result is a excitement to get back in the gym after that rest day! This excitement keeps us motivated and keeps us coming back for more!

So, take those rest days when your body tells you to. You will come back refreshed and revived, ready to hit it hard!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

DOIN' THE WORK & WOD LOG #3









Today, in the 7am Coed class at RunTex, the WOD was "Karen"...150 Wall Ball shots for time. By now, many of you have had the joyous experience of "Karen", and know that it is not a workout that should be taken lightly.


Ideally, this is a fast WOD that can be done in under 5min., as I saw yesterday in a video. For most of us, it is closer to double that time. That is exactly what we did. We decided that we would cut "Karen" at 10min. Obviously, this left ample time to work on other skills.



Sooo...the 7am class did 3x5 Deadlift prior to hitting "Karen"!!! This additional exposure to the "Heavy Lifts" will surely improve the CrossFit Total numbers when we test next month.


Also, I wanted to point out the dedication of just a few of my team. Ben and Reid have been consistently working on individual skills and tasks before and after class. Ben has been hard at ring dips and has decided to add the kipping pullup to his "homework". Look for big things from Ben.

Reid has been hitting the Trigger Point set each day, and has seen a decreased knee pain because of it. Also, Reid, due to the encouragement of Ben, decided to do a little ring dip "homework" of his own - knocking out 2o ring dips.


This is the kind of dedication needed to make big things happen!!! These two guys are great examples to follow. Excellent work to the 7am RunTex crew!!! I appreciate the effort and intensity you all bring! Keep it up!



WOD LOG #3


Tuesday - 2.9.10


10x2 BACK SQUAT

*60sec. rest btwn sets*

265-285-295-305-310-315-320x1-300x1-300-270


-THEN-


3 Rounds for Time:

10 "Atlas Stone" Lifts and Reset(130#/60in.platform)

15 HSPU's

*15.50*
















Monday, February 8, 2010

WOD LOG #2

DAY #2 - Monday 2.8.10

-1pm-

7x5 DEADLIFT
265-335-335-345-345-315-315

-THEN-

"KAREN"
150 Wall Ball for Time
*7.41*

NOTES:
Not nearly where I need to be right now. I HAVE to figure out what is hindering my performance lately. TRAINING HAS TO BE BETTER...AND I NEED TO GET STRONGER!!!


Saturday, February 6, 2010

ACCOUNTABILITY


I talked to two of my very best friends and training partners from Colorado - Russell and Sam - a couple days ago, and one of the many things discussed was the fact that I need to be held accountable for my training days. So.....in an effort to dial my training in even more, I am going to start posted my training days on my blog. Stay tuned....and feel free to comment!!!


DAY #1 - Friday 2.5.10


- 7am -

BACK SQUAT

3x5: 275-295-295


- 12.15pm -

"HELEN"

3 rounds

-400m Run

-21 KB Swings(1.5pood)

-12 Pullups

*8.03 as rx'd(PR by 10sec.)*


- 1pm -

21-18-15-12-9-6-3 (not for time):

-SDHP(135#)

-Inverted Hang to Negative lower

Thursday, February 4, 2010