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Archive for November, 2009

CrossFit at 6AM.

Noreen
Eric (Will’s friend, first time)
Joe H.
Steve
Wayne
Miranda
Dave
Stacia
Will
Terry
Alex
Brett
Brian coaching

Will, Joe H and Brett completed the WOD as Rx’d and everyone else scaled in some way (see the whiteboard).

I was getting no cooperation at all from my back and hips this morning. A successful full squat was not going to happen. The options were less weigh with a poor full squat clean or heavier weight with a power clean. After consulting with Brian I went with the heavier power clean (135lb).

The entire WOD was frustrating this morning. Enough said.

After all the excitement this past weekend with CrossFit 101 with Coach Glassman we are now focused on “Project Lumberjack CrossFit” for this coming Saturday, December 5th.

Many in the CrossFit community were affected by the tragic shootings at Fort Hood, but none as directly as one of our affiliates, Lumberjack Crossfit . Four members of that affiliate were killed.

CrossFit is launching a hero WOD fundraiser for our four fallen Soldiers. On December 5th, we are asking affiliates and individuals to do two things: participate in the workout (as a display of solidarity with Lumberjack CrossFit) and to reach out to family, friends, and strangers to donate whatever you can.

With the help of the CrossFit community, we can assist the men and women at Ft. Hood and Lumberjack CrossFit to raise money for the families of the fallen, and the future needs of the approximately 30 wounded.

The long-term needs of these families and the wounded are significant; many of the wounded are still in intensive care. Most will not fully recover from being shot multiple times at near point blank range with a .357.

Our community clearly has the ability and commitment to make a difference for these folks. Let’s turn out on the 5th and show our support by registering as a fundraiser now.

WOD-Dec 5th Lumberjack 20

Here is the link to the donation page if you would like to participate with us in raising money for this cause.

Eating—Back on track. With Thanksgiving over and things setteling down a bit I have crawled back up on the Paleo wagon.

What hurts today—Pain level for back and hips is very high so I am frustrated with my performance, or lack of.

One Year Ago—The 29th was a Saturday. Chris, Monique, Eric and myself with Brian and Jerry coaching and Charlie providing moral support.

This photo was taken directly after our WOD so a number of people had already left for the day.

I was happy to wake up and see that we would have a nice sunny Ohio November day for our CrossFit 101. Last year this time we were covered in snow.

When I got to the box the parking lot was already full. That was a sure sign of how excited people were about the CrossFit 101 event.

Coffee and juice along with fruit, nuts and cheese were available for the morning social hour. I spent the hour meeting and talking with both old and new friends. The box looked great and we had more than enough room to accommodate everyone.

The morning stayed on schedule as Coach Glassman arrived. Brian did a quick welcome and introduction and Coach Glassman began his talk.

First item out of the box was the recent controversy surrounding the Black Box Summit and Robb Wolf. If you don’t know about this controversy don’t worry, your life will go on unchanged without ever hearing another word about it. Coach Glassman addressed the issue directly and what I came away with is that Robb Wolf is not associated with CrossFit at this time.

Many other items were discussed during the over 3 hours that Coach spoke.

One issue he discussed that made an impact on me was all the shitty affiliates out there. He has had trouble finding them. He wanted to know if we could direct him to any. No one raised their hands. I guess that means we are OK here in Northeast Ohio.

His visit was significant in the fact we know that he knows where Ohio is. He has spoken to us as a group and individually and he has heard the concerns and needs of the CrossFit community in Northeast Ohio. I believe that the 75 people in attendance provided a good across the board representation of the CrossFit community inclusive of affiliate owners, trainers and all levels of CrossFitters.

If you are a CrossFitter and have the chance to attend a CrossFit 101 I urge you to take advantage of that opportunity.

Brian wrapped up Coach’s presentation with a big thank you to CrossFit and Coach Glassman and others associated with the visit. He also made a special presentation to Jerry Wilson for his help with transporting and moving the flooring into the new box. I was honored when he also brought me up to the front to thank me for my help on that cold and rainy night.

After Coach’s presentation we moved on to the WOD.

When I registered in the morning I made the mistake of breaking my “always say NO” rule and said yes to the question of participating in the WOD. My feeling of doom increased as I walked into the main room of the box and saw all the fire breathers in attendance.

Coach Brian announced the specifics for the WOD and said we were all on our own to form teams of 4. In an instant you could see some “dream teams” being formed. The minute I saw Charlie, Sepi, Joe and Doug huddled together I pegged them as the winning team. For some of us the teaming process was more involved. My strategy was to wander around outside long enough that all the teams would be formed and it would be easy to just excuse myself from the entire process. My timing was a bit off and there were still some teams looking for members when I came back in. It was a toss up between the ridicule and harassment I would have to endure for not participating and the pain of the actual WOD. I took the high ground and went with the WOD.

Here is the WOD:
400 Squats
300 Push Ups
200 Burpees
100 Pull Ups
4 person team, 2 members working at one time

Our team was named the “Flooring” team since Jerry Wilson and I were both part of the team. Jerry’s daughter Nicole and Kara made up the balance of our team. We worked hard on planning a strategy. Being organized really helped us through the WOD.

We went in the first heat which is something I always recommend you do.

Carl Sandridge from CrossFit CLE coached our team. I knew I was going to be in trouble before we even started and that was confirmed when I heard the words “get lower” come out of his mouth on my very first squat. Like I had never heard that before. That was a theme that would be repeated throughout the squats. I am sure Carl was feeling the same sense of futility as Captain Edward John Smith of the Titantic when he stood on the deck and said “Don’t sink”. Even as you say the words you know it is not going to happen.

Thanks for sticking with our team and keeping us focused Carl.

Our entire team really pushed and I was pleased with our finish. Anytime I finish and I am sill alive is a good workout. I can always tell when I have pushed a little too hard because people will come up and instead of saying “great job” they will say “are you OK?”. It’s a subtle difference.

I know that some of you had to leave prior to doing the WOD and had very good reasons for doing so but I just have to say “You Suck”.

The team I projected to win (Charlie, Joe, Sepi and Doug) did with an amazing time of 9:50. This really put the pressure on the other team composed of CrossFit Legacy guys (Will, Eric, Justin and Chris). They came in with 10:21, more than 2 minutes ahead of the next closest Rx’d team.

This was a once in a lifetime event for CrossFit Legacy and one that we will remember for a long time.

Here are some pictures from the event.

For CrossFit Legacy the only question left is “What’s Next?”

112709 – Overhead Squats and Burpees

November 27th, 2009 | Author: trboh

CrossFit at 7AM. Cold, rain/snow shower.

Noreen
Mike
Wanda
Will
Dave
Brandon M (first time)
Vinny
Laura
Michelle
Joe
Terry
Brandon S
Wayne
Brian coaching

Today’s WOD
Click for larger image

Not a big fan of the WOD today. Why can’t we just do deadlifts or back squats everyday? I did not have a chance with the Over Head Squats and did front squats (or what some might call shallow knee bends). About half way through the WOD I finally loosened up enough that I could actually do a couple Burpees (Squat Thrusts) in a row. I did not stop but I sure would have liked to.

Some comments were made about the puddle of sweat I left after the WOD. I let them think it was sweat. They don’t need to know my Depends shifted on me and the puddle was just piss leaking down my leg.

After the WOD we did a cleaning/moving WOD, getting the box ready for the CrossFit 101 tomorrow. Things have come together well and looks like we are ready.

Eating—Having Thanksgiving dinner at Mom’s this afternoon rather than yesterday.

What hurts today—Really hard time getting moving this morning. Very frustrating.

One Year Ago Several inches of snow on the ground this time last year. We did Barbara for our WOD.

20 Pull ups
30 Push ups
40 Set ups
50 Air Squats

5 sets (3 minutes rest between sets)
The goal was 5 sets but we only did 3

Results (Total time)

Matt–22:52
Eric–22:56
Kelly–23:00
Ted–26:45
Terry–28:14

Smarter than the average turkey

CrossFit at 6AM. 50 degrees, light rain.

Terry
Eric
Steve
Will
Joe C
Vinny (Joe’s brother, first timer)
Wayne
Dave
Tom
Kelly
Miranda
Brian coaching

Joe’s brother Vinny joined us for his first WOD this morning.

The fast repetitive moves of this mornings WOD were a strain on my back. Trying to work through the pain was my limiting factor, not the weight. I made myself get at least 15 KB swings each round but lost reps with the SDLHP. I used a 35lb KB but my results would have been much the same if I was using a 5 lb KB.

I charted out the results. Is it just coincidental that the three most chronologically challenged men were at one end of the chart and the two women were at the other end with the rest of the guys falling in the middle?

Another reason I avoid machines

Eating—Ready for Thanksgiving to be over.

What hurts today—Back pain during WOD but that left as soon as the WOD was over.

One Year Ago—Eleven people in class today. One year ago it was just Eric and I with Brian and Jerry coaching. The WOD was “Diane”.

No WOD on Thansgiving. 7AM WOD on Friday. After the WOD we will be working on the box, getting it ready for CrossFit 101 on Saturday. Need to do a final clean, move equipment out to make extra room and get all the chairs set up for Saturday morning.

CrossFit at 6AM. 47 degrees.

Joe H.
Will
Eric
Terry
Steve
Tom
Joe C.
Brandon
Miranda
Stacia
Brian coaching
(What has happened to Tomas?)

Will got Steve to start working on climbing the rope this morning. This is really bad for me. The more people that do it the less successful I will be in avoiding it.

Up to 20 on the 100 days of burpees. I keep waiting for everyone else to drop out so I can say I quit just because everyone else did. I hope my plan kicks in soon.

Enjoyed Back Squat Max this morning. I can’t find my records for previous attempts. I need to be more careful in naming and tagging blog entries to find these types of things in the future. I know I could have gone heavier. I need to start off heavier on the first lift.

Eating—Vacation + Thanksgiving week is a challenge to eating plan.

What hurts today—Not bad today. Just the usual stuff.

Last year on 11-24-08 we did Fran.
Matt–6:39/65lbs
David–7:45/65lbs
Terry–7:49/65lbs
Kelly–8:12/65lbs
Ted–10:15/65lbs
Eric–11:32/95lbs as Rx’ed

The giant leaf sucker came during the night and collected all the raked leaves. Just need to do some final stray leaf cleanup today.

Yesterday I took Sable to the Dog Wash. Lost several pounds in dog fur during the process.

Found this ad on Craigslist. I have purchased KB’s from World of Weights in Akron. This sounds like a good deal. Good price and no shipping. World of Weights is about 7 miles from the CrossFit Legacy box.

Kettlebell sale this coming weekend, this Friday & Saturday, all kettlebells will be priced at $1 per pound! For more information email WorldofWeights@aol.com

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CrossFit at 6AM. 41 degrees.

Terry
Wayne
Dave
Connor
Kelly
Miranda
Alex
Brett
Will
Steve
Stacia
Wanda
Eric
Caryn
Brian coaching

14 people in class. That is the biggest Monday class I can remember.

The time before class was spent with the new rope. Some people, like Will, Brett and Conner spent their time climbing the rope. For myself, I just spent time watching the rope. It’s a nice rope.

I still have to work on getting down into the squat for the snatch. That is a really difficult movement for me.

Eating—Working on it.

What hurts today—-Feeling better than usual. Still pain in the right heel. The back pain I had last week has passed.

Debbie got back from her weekend in Columbus and her sister has been moved to a nursing home. Hopefully she will continue to improve but she will have to want to get better. My prediction is that she will soon be back in the hospital.

Coach Glassman will be here on Saturday. The following information is from Wikipedia

Greg Glassman, a former gymnast[citation needed], created the CrossFit training methodology in the 1980s. The program gained the attention of various military and law enforcement agencies. In 1995, Glassman was hired to train the Santa Cruz, CA police department. The first CrossFit gym opened in Santa Cruz in 1995. The CrossFit website, launched in 2001, now includes an extensive video library of exercise demonstrations and a very active discussion forum.

The number of CrossFit-affiliated gyms has grown from 18 in 2005 to over 1,500 in 2009, with 500 more affiliation requests pending. According to Canada’s Business News Network, CrossFit is “one of the fastest growing fitness movements on the planet.”[5] The privately-held company was described as “hugely profitable” in a CrossFit Journal article that estimated annual revenue from just one of CrossFit’s three revenue streams at $6.48 million [1].

CrossFit’s affiliate model rejects franchising and requires few start up expenditures. CrossFit headquarters certifies CrossFit trainers, approves applications for gyms to become affiliates and publishes “The CrossFit Journal”, but does not share in revenue from membership fees. Affiliate owners pay either $500, $1,000 or $2,000 annually for affiliation and are then free to develop their own programming, instructional methods and membership fee structure. CrossFit says this de-centralized model, which shares some common features with open source and crowdsourcing projects, allows best practices to emerge from a diversity of collaboative approaches.[5] Monthly membership fees generally range from $85 to $300, with $150 a fee often charged. Many affiliates feature small group classes that allow for individual coaching. Classes often include a warm up, a skill development segment, and a high-intensity timed workout that lasts 10 to 20 minutes.

Some Crossfit athletes perform the “Workout of the Day” posted at the CrossFit website and never visit a CrossFit gym. Others formulate their own workouts based on CrossFit’s principles.[citation needed]

In 2007, the United States Marine Corps began a shift in its physical training program. The emphasis is moving away from aerobic training and toward more combat-oriented “functional fitness training” [6] by incorporating CrossFit principles. Many U.S. and Canadian police and fire departments, U.S. Army Special Forces and the Canadian Forces now base some of their physical training on CrossFit principles.[7][8]

CrossFit is also being adopted by a growing number of high school physical education teachers and by teams at both the high school and college level.[9]

CrossFit at 9AM. No sun but still in the 40s.

Nice size class, no women this morning. That is a rare thing.
Doug
Justin
Chris
Brett
Terry
Joe
Brandon (sons Luke and Andrew)
Charles (first timer)
Dave (first timer)
Brian and Charlie coaching

Based on the WOD I would have almost bet money that Chris and Brett would beat out Doug and Justin but I would have lost. Doug and Justin were able to get Chris and Brett by 3 seconds. Joe and I fought through to come out ahead of Tom and Brandon/Andrew (sorry guys). Charles and Dave did a great job on their first WOD and no one even puked.

I felt good this morning and was happy with my performance. Although slow with the sit ups I was able to keep going at a consistent pace with very little rest.

Charles, Dave and Andrew all got to sample the kool aid on their first wod this morning.

The Fight Gone Bad T-Shirts came in. Mine fits fine.

One week from today Coach Glassman will be doing his CrossFit 101 at the box. Excitement is building.

Eating—Working on it.

What hurts today—Feeling good today. That has not happened for awhile. I am going to enjoy it.

One year ago—One year ago was my first full 5 day CrossFit week. It was snowing. Eric, Kelly and Dave were in class.

After class Charlie and Doug got into it. No actual video of the takedown but this video is a close representation of what went on.

CrossFit at 6AM. Temp in the low 40′s. Looks like we may be a little sun today.

Will
Brett
Dave
Kelly
Noreen
Conner
Joe
Eric
Steve
Wanda
Laura
Terry
Brian coaching

I did my day 17 for burpees first thing. I was on about number 9 when Will came over beside me and started his set. I was up to about 15 by the time he was done.

Once I saw deadlifts I knew I was going to enjoy at least a portion of the WOD. I pulled 23 each time. I could not have gone faster and I was really disappointed that I did not increase on my second round like everyone else did. I felt like I was going really fast and was surprised I did not get a higher count.

I found the results for the four guys on our team really interesting. I was going full blast for those 30 seconds and I was not getting tired and the weight was not that heavy. I could tell everyone was going as hard as possible. All four of us are fit for our ages and this short burst with 135 lbs was not an overwhelming strain for any of us.

From my viewpoint the only real difference between the four of us (Joe, Eric, Steve, Terry) in this particular situation was age and the results are a direct reflection of our chronological ages. It makes me wonder that if I really worked harder on doing fast deadlifts would I ever be able to beat Joe and Eric? Part of me wants to say we can do anything we set our minds to but another part tells me that there are physical differences inherent to our age that training will not be able to overcome.

Joe, 57 reps = 7,695 pounds moved in 1 minute
Eric, 52 reps = 7,020 pounds moved in 1 minute
Terry, 46 reps = 6,210 pounds moved in 1 minute
Steve, 37 reps = 4,995 pounds moved in 1 minute

The deadlift workout brought to mind something I read in a Coach Glassman interview, “functional dominance vs functional competency.” I clearly demonstrated functional competency with fast deadlifts but I am not able to demonstrate functional dominance over the younger guys.

domi·nance (däm′ə nəns)

noun
a dominating, or being dominant; control; authority
also dominancy dom′i·nancy

com·pe·tence (käm′pə təns)

noun

1. sufficient means for one’s needs
2. condition or quality of being competent; ability; fitness; specif., legal capability, power, or jurisdiction

Etymology: Fr compétence < L competentia, a meeting, agreement < competens, prp. of competere: see compete
Also competency com′·pe·tency (-tən sē)

Regardless of the results I enjoyed this part of the WOD.

A bit disappointed in my speed on the sledge hits to the tire. Of course, being vertically endowed means that I have to move the hammer much, much further than some of my other team members. That’s the best explanation for the slow speed I can come up with.

I really lost time on the burpees and GHD sit ups during the second part of the WOD which was just a general suckfest.

We have a free Saturday Class tomorrow morning.

Eating—I think I am back on track. I really felt bad the last few days and I know it is my diet. Also, the stress level has been through the roof with issues related to Debbie’s sister and I think that is contributing to my eating issues. I am going to eat good for today and let tomorrow take care of itself.

What hurts today—Really stiff this morning so I just kept pushing.

One Year Ago—My ganglion cyst was in it’s full glory this time last year. The WOD was 7 snatches and 10 squats, AMRAP. That sounds simple now. Also, check out the video Brian had made that day.

Ohio Star Ball—Debbie is trying to get ready for the trip to Columbus this afternoon for the Ohio Star Ball. She goes every year with her girlfriend Chris. It has been really stressful because yesterday we were trying to make arrangements for her sister to be moved from the hospital to a nursing home today. Debbie had to go pay money and get clothes together and get them to the nursing home for her sisters arrival. All of that while trying to get ready for her trip.

As we have come to expect, nothing is as you think it will be. Got the word this morning that she is not going to be released from the hospital today. All of our frantic work and worry yesterday was for nothing.

At this point we have just shifted back to taking things one hour at a time while the rest of the world attempts to figure out what is going to happen next. Hopefully Debbie will be able to enjoy her weekend trip and be ready to face this all again when she gets back.

I am on vacation until after Thanksgiving. Hope I can get a few things done around the house.

Dangerous Dancing