kettlebellguy

Archive for May, 2009

Still under the weather but a bit better than the day before. Did not go to class this morning. Starting to suffer from Crossfit withdraw.

Along with being sick on my vacation the weather has been cloudy and wet this week. I guess that is a good thing. I would probably feel even worse if the weather had been wonderful and I was stuck in the house feeling like crap.

I am hopeful that I will be able to go to class tomorrow even if I just walk through the class.

Car is still in the garage getting worked on. I am going to have to lay a big chunk of money to get it all back to 100 percent. Brakes, A/C issues, steering issues, engine flush and a broken coil spring. I still think this is the better option over laying out 25-30K for a new car. I have the cash available to make the repairs so that is what I have decided to do. Hopefully we will get the car back this afternoon. Then the only thing left to do is the yearly detailing and it will be like having a brand new car.

The other advantage of being sick this week is that I should be feeling good for the Northeast Ohio Crossfit Challenge on the 6th. I hope we have good weather for that event.

Here is a cool picture from last Saturday when we were outside. We were doing swings and I thought I was doing great and as I counted 7 Charlie was done with his 15 and off and running. I don’t know how he moves so fast. Everyone enjoyed being outside that morning.
Click for larger image

Sick as a dog.

Hoping I have just caught a 24 hour bug as I suffer with a sore throat, pukey stomach, headache and congestion.

I also have an overwhelming desire to roll in mud and root around for food with my snout.

Missed Crossfit this morning so you know I am feeling poorly. Hoping this is just a 24 bug that crawled up inside me and will not stay long.

Here is a link to the flyer for the Crossfit Challenge on Saturday, June 6th.

On vacation this week and I am going to try to get some things done around the house. We will see how successful I am.

At Crossfit at 6AM. Charlie showed up. Doug, Charlie, Stacia, Steve, Tomas, Eric and John with Brian coaching.

Actually had a half way decent sleep last night. My left shoulder is not acting up as much so maybe I will have a couple of days without something waking me every five minutes….at least until I mess something else up.

Brian let us know that Dave actually fractured a bone in his foot last Friday and will be out for several weeks. Apparently he hurt it Friday but did not think it was a big deal until it started swelling up. He went to the emergency room where the X-Ray’s showed the damage. Get well soon Dave.

We worked in teams of 2 this morning on working up to a 3XMAX on the push press. I was teamed up with John and I think we did a great job, working up to a max of 155. Of course we were overshadowed a bit by the two gym mutants, Charlie (200) and Doug (215).

I was really slow on the 1/2 Cindy this morning.

Eating—Today will be a good eating day.

What hurts today?—Feeling good, just slight discomfort in left shoulder.

It was Free Saturday Crossfit Class this morning at Crossfitlegacy.

We had Chris, Charlie, Jerry, Monique and Justin with Brian coaching.

I recovered OK from yesterdays workout. I thought I might not be able to walk today but recovered well.

Everyone got excited, just like a class of Kindergartners going on a field trip when Brian announced we would be doing the workout outside. I know that some people get to workout on the beach with the ocean breeze or in other exotic locations everyday but for a bunch of Cossfitters in NE Ohio the idea of an early morning workout outside can really get you excited.

Brian has really been pushing the running the last couple of weeks, now that we can actually get outside on some mornings. After our running yesterday I was not thrilled to see we would run again this morning. I was not built to run and unless being chased down by a man eating animal I really can’t see any purpose for it. As I have mentioned before, if yesterdays run had been a real case of the tribe being chased by the dinosaur I surly would have ended up being the sacrifice.

For what ever reason Brian had me row instead of run and I was not about to question his wisdom. We took the rower outside so I could row while the others ran.

I knew that Charlie was fast but when we started out with our Kettlebell Swings I thought I was doing pretty good. I have good form and I stay consistent. I was on about number seven when Charlie was done and started running. I have no idea how he goes so fast. Even through I thought I was moving at a good pace I was the last one done with the swings.

Continuing to get more and more tense about the NEO Crossfit Challenge on June 6th. They will be announcing the WOD’s on June 3rd. Hopefully there will be at least of the the WOD’s I can participate in without risking death. I think I will be happy with doing one of the three that will offered that day and cheering people on for the rest. It would be great if one of the mutants from Crossfitlegacy would win.

After getting home from the workout I mowed grass for an hour and then worked on cleaning carpet for a couple of hours. I hate for Sable and Heidi to have to piss on a dirty carpet. Finished that off with a 2 hours “Fourty Winks” WOD. Was able to catch up a bit on my lost sleep this week.

On vacation now until June 1st.

Eating—-Maybe I am at my ideal weight and I just don’t know it.

What hurts today—Only issue is the left shoulder. Trying to be satisfied with only one body part hurting.

In the coolness of early morning I provide scientific proof that heat escapes the body through the head.

Crossfit at 6AM. Eric, Tomas, Dave, Kelly, Steve, Angie with Brian and Jerry coaching.

Was looking forward to Friday as our “Fun Team Day”. Wow, I got suckered into that. There was nothing Fun or Team this morning.

We did something brand new for our warmup, “The Bear Complex”. I found a youTube video with another group doing this routine. We did ours with just a 45 pound bar and did 3 reps of each movement in the complex as one round. We did five rounds and never let the bar touch the ground. I imagine we will see this warmup again.

Then we moved to the WOD. This was a unique WOD in that it combines the two things that I really, really don’t care for. I was not made to run or squat.

Brian did take some mercy on me and Steve and had us use the PVC pipe for the overhead squats while others used the 45lb bar. The idea was to do your max number of overhead squats, do them until you could not do anymore. We got started and I could hear Jerry say to the group “Don’t be the first to stop” over and over. So….I held out until Dave stopped and I got to 23 reps and started the run. Thank goodness that Dave is recovering from a case of the shingles which might be why he stopped. Who knows when the first one would have stopped otherwise. (BTW, Eric held on and did 80 squats for his first round. Clearly, he has no hip joints).

I was feeling a sense of freedom doing the run, leaving Jerry behind in the gym…..until he ran up behind me. He was helping us all along with encouraging and motivating words. So between Jerry outside running and Brian inside coaching squats….I could not get a break.

I truly doubt that I will be able to move come tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow is a free class so I will have to do that but then we will have Sunday and Monday off.

Eating—It could always be worse.

What hurts today—Actually slept some last night. Not sure if it was the result of exhaustion or just feeling better. Shoulder pain is getting better each day. If I can just get rid of that before I rack something else up I will be feeling good.

Called the dentist to try to get an appointment next week while on vacation. Something is going on in a tooth on the upper right. I am smart enough to know this is only going to get worse.

Here is a picture of the class doing our farmer carry on Wednesday morning.

Crossfit at 6AM. Ralph, Tomas, Stacia, Gretchen, Steve and John with Brian coaching.

Looks like I am back on a spell of no sleep. In bed at 9, awake at 12 and that was it. My shoulder was not hurting but my mind was racing around like it actually had something to do. The only thing to do in that case is just get up. I stumbled down to the couch and the TV and tossed and turned, until about 4:30A when I felt as though I could sleep for a week. Of course, that was only a half hour hour before I had to get up. All I want is a good nights sleep.

This was another good workout morning. We lifted heavy things again so I am happy. We did power cleans which does not require the dreaded squat, just start in a deadlift position and get the weight up to your shoulders. Had to step the box jumps this morning but did good on the kettlebell swings.

Fivefingers My new pair of fivefingers arrived. I was disappointed because they do not fit. They enclose your foot and come up the ankle and my foot is too “full figured” to fit. The length is perfect but they are not wide enough. These shoes do not come in “wide” so they are not going to work for me. On their website they say that perhaps in the future they will make a “wide” width model. I guess I will need to find another way to spend 85 bucks.

Eating—Just shoot me.

What hurts today—I have to be in store for a good nights sleep tonight. I only got 3 hours last night. The left shoulder is slowly getting better so I am actually feeling good…..just sleepy.

Crossfit at 6AM. Eric, Kelly, Conner, Jason, John, Steve, Angie, Tom, Tomas with Brian and Jerry coaching.

Had another bad night with my left shoulder. In bed at 9, awake at 12, tossed and turned until 5. Very sharp pains in my shoulder woke me over and over. Used up a lot of BioFreeze. Back was OK. Makes for a long night.

Today’s workout was a longer workout than we have had for a few days and we went outside for the long farmers walk. You could see the steam coming off my head in the cold morning air.

Eating—Did well yesterday. No Tums so things are better.

What hurts today—Left shoulder and arm. This is getting old.

At Crossfit at 6AM.

Eric, Gretchen, Jason, Conner, Steve, John and Stacia with Brian coaching.

Had a rough night sleeping. Went to bed at 10, up at 1 and tossed and turned for the rest of the night. Lots of lower back pain and left shoulder pain kept waking me.

Stomach has been upset but I know that is because of my eating. Going to stay on track today. Feeling this bad is not worth the food I am eating.

We lifted heavy things today so I felt good. Lifting heavy things is something I can do. Eric and I worked together and got up to our max of 235 on the front squat.

It was really fun to see Steve get excited about his lifting this morning. He was doing back squats because of some issues with his arms that prevented him from doing front squats. At the end he said “I can’t believe I did that!” in reference to the weight he lifted. One of the cool things about Crossfit is that you can get excited for your own accomplishments and the accomplishments of others. Steve has only been with us about 2 months and it was cool to see his excitement.

I did OK on the WOD. I was next to Eric and I knew he would pull ahead of me quickly on these movements. I tried to keep up as long as I could but soon just had to focus on myself. I did “real” push ups, no knees on the ground. I don’t know that my shoulders will ever allow me to go down to the deck on my push ups but they have improved. My Med Ball Cleans were solid.

When the WOD was over I was surprised to see that I was right in the middle of the pack. I had not done as bad as I thought I had.

Eating—I can feel that my recent period of bad eating is coming to an end. I have not felt well. I have been using Tums. That is a sure sign that my eating is impacting me. Looking forward to a good eating day.

What hurts today—Very bad night. I think the burpees from yesterday might have set off my back. I had a really hard time getting up from them yesterday. The continual ache in my left arm is getting better. I don’t notice it as much. The left shoulder is still a big issue. When I was putting on my t-shirt I moved the wrong way and really got a stabbing pain in the shoulder. Just lasts for a moment but is quite severe.

Brian is going to be in charge of the judging for the NEO Crossfit Challenge on June 6th. I am starting to get a little concerned about the Challenge. I just don’t want to look to ridiculous. Of course, if it were not for people like me there would be no way to determine the fittest person in NE Ohio. They have to have someone to come in last.

New pair of fivefingers I ordered another pair of fivefingers. They are in transit to me now so I expect them tomorrow or Thursday. I went for the KSO style. Settled for plain black. They look strange enough without going with the wild colors. The reason I went with the KSO style was because on occasion my heel will slip out of my classics. Does not look real cool having to pull your shoe back on while doing pull ups.

The KSO’s are $85.00 + $4.95 shipping.