kettlebellguy

Archive for February, 2010

I ran across this video that shows some cool knife work. I am starting to touch on some of these techniques in my self defense classes. I knew the instructor in the video and I would be great pals when he demonstrated a take down to the ground but said he might not do that in a real situation because once he was down he needed to “waller my ass of off the ground”. See that at around 3:50 into the video. I can relate to that!

Caution: Adult Language

Whiteboard for 2-26-2010

Felt good and strong this morning. Really debated on the amount of weight for the hang squat snatches. Ended up going with 75lbs. After the WOD was over I think I could have done at least a portion at 95lbs. The OHS went the best they ever have. I used the 15 lb bar. Burpees are burpees, or squat thrusts in my case.

Good way to end the week with two good WOD’s in a row.

No Saturday class tomorrow.

Hard to believe that there are only 2 days left in February and that the CrossFit Sectionals will be the following week, on the 7th of March.

Eating—Came in at 235.0 as I did an OCD Weigh In. All I need to do is stay on track and have a good bowel movement and I am sure to get my 234 or lower on Monday.

What hurts today—Feeling good overall, the best I have for quite a while.

One Year Ago—Lunges

Hopefully this clears up any confusion. I found this on a door while at my self defense class.

This door may only be used as an entry and exit.

This is a 6 minute must view.

Whiteboard 2-25-2010

Steve and I worked on back squats prior to class and Will is still doing burpees.

I was pleased with my WOD this morning, especially after the WOD mess from yesterday. My rowing was good, coming in second to Will on the first round. KB Swings were solid with the 35lb KB. Did jumping pull ups. The pull ups were the weak point this morning. I came in behind Will and Brett which is pretty good.

What hurts today—Right hip was really tight this morning but did not impact the WOD. Ankles much better after being really bad yesterday.

One Year Ago—Rowing PR

Click for full size whiteboard 2-26-2009

Good results this morning. Brian worked with Eric and I individually on the things we suck at which were Ring Dips for Eric and Pull Ups for me. I made my first kipping Pull Up which was a goal that Brian had set for me. Of course now the goal changes to doing more than 1 in a row.

We decided to try setting a new PR for the 2000K Row and both Eric and I set a new one.

Sometimes we think someone might be in trouble but hesitate to take action. Here are some signs that indicate action has to be taken.

Recognizing A Stroke Using The Four Indicators Of A Stroke Or Blood Clot

Here are four easy steps to remember to recognizing a stroke. So, Baby Boomers, read, learn and save lives.

Symptoms of a stroke or blood clot are sometimes difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness can spell disaster.

Anyone can recognize a stroke by asking these four simple questions:

S *Ask the individual to SMILE.

T *Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently) Example: It is sunny out side today?

R *Ask them to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

S *Ask them to STICK OUT THEIR TONGUE. If the tongue is ‘crooked’, goes to one side or the other, that is also an indication of a stroke.

If they have trouble with any of these tasks, call 911 immediately and describe the symptoms to the EMS dispatcher.

The Four Indicators Of A Stroke Or Blood Clot are not hard to follow or remember and the life that you save, could be your own.

terry_2-24-2010

I could hardly move this morning after last nights self defense class which I will talk about later. Dave, Steve and I worked on back squats prior to class while Will continues to work on his 100 days of burpees.

The reasons for not liking this mornings WOD are endless. I can’t do thrusters. Mine are just little knee bends with a push press. Prescribed weight was 2/3 of your body weight. That would have been 155 for me. Are you kidding! I can’t even get my own ass down much less with a bar and weight.

I went with 65lbs for the thrusters and the green band for the pull ups.

Rounds were determined by doing your own individual max reps of thrusters and pull ups. Brian announced that 2 thrusters and 2 pulls did not constitute a round. This totally screwed my entire strategy for the WOD.

I did what I could and felt that I was really behind everyone and just resolved that I would have a low number. I was really surprised to see that I fell in with everyone else but I know my thrusters were not on par with what others were doing.

Mark and I also did some work with knives. Don’t worry, they were plastic.

I felt much more confident and aggressive in this class, more than any class to date. Dave commented that he noticed something had changed and that tracked with how I was feeling about the class. Perhaps it is the helmet!

Worked hard on moving into the attacker and also, out of the way of the stick. I felt much quicker on my feet than in the past.

This morning all that movement was reflected with pain my ankles and heels. Getting things going was a real effort this morning.

I was glad this class went so well. Sunday was really a frustrating class for me so this just proves that you just have to keep trying and things will get better.

Dave C had his weigh in this morning and was down 2 pounds. I know he was a little nervous about the weigh in so we were glad to see a loss.

I jumped on the scale and have held onto my 235. If I can hold on to that and get it to 234 or lower by Monday I will consider that a real victory.

We are trying to come up with ways to keep motivated after our 90 days are up. One possibility for me is that if I gain over a certain number of pounds I will be locked inside the Box for 1 hour with the Willinator. I wonder if they can hear you scream on the outside?

Keeping the weight off is just as hard as losing the pounds. We can’t just stop at the end of March.

Eating—On track. What I am doing is working so I am just going to keep doing it and be patient.

What hurts today—This morning was really bad, a direct result of the self defense class. Nothing I can do about that. It just sucks.

One Year Ago—Push Jerk and Jump Rope

Whiteboard 2-23-2010

Steve and I worked on overhead squats prior to class.

Joe C and Tom weighed in this morning. Joe is down one more big one. Does not look like we will make our 65 total pounds this week but hopefully next week we can. We are in week 7 of the 12 week period so we all need to kick it up a bit to have a good finish.

Self defense class tonight.

Eating—On track. Must stay focused on the completion of this 12 weeks. If I just keep going the way I am I should come out the winner but I can’t make any mistakes.

What hurts today—Sleeping really well, in fact my big problem now is getting out of bed in the morning. Slept till the alarm went off again this morning. Some hip and back stiffness this morning along with some heel pain but not near as bad as it had been.

One Year Ago—Just Eric and I this morning with Brian coaching.

Whiteboard 2-22-2010

Brian was back from Miami Beach and had a lot to share about his experience. I don’t have a lot of things on my list of “things I want to do” but I think doing a CrossFit WOD on the beach would be one of them.

Steve, Dave R and I worked on our back squats prior to class. I was really tight in my right lower back but that loosened up. Even my overhead squats looked better than usual this morning.

As I prepared the chart above I suddenly realized why the warm up took me so long. I did 3 rounds, not 2.

I was slow in the WOD this morning. That always happens with sit ups. I was able to knock out the 30 at a time with no stops but it was slow going. Not as slow as when I first started with Dave B as my personal trainer several years ago and could not even do one sit up. I had good form for the shoulder press and was able to to 10 unbroken with the 75 lbs. The wall balls were a total suck. Every time I do wall balls I see myself back at the NEO CrossFit Challenge last June, looking up at that barn wall. I am already nervous about the challenge this year. Hopefully with a large group of guys over 50 I can just blend into the crowd.

Jumped on the scale for Monday morning weigh in and came it at 235. Finally, below that 238. That is 21 pounds total. Steve had a little gain and none of the other guys were in class this morning. Hopefully I can catch them up with a weigh in later in the week.

After class Will, Eric and I were talking and it suddenly clicked for Will that I had lost 21 pounds but still weighed the same I did back in October. Much like Dr. Bruce Banner, when angered, turns into the Hulk, Will morphed into the Willinator as he shared some weight loss motivation tips with me. Seriously, this is another example of how your CrossFit buds can help you with accountability beyond just your WOD. Controlling my weight has been a lifelong battle so I need all the help I can get to stay on track.

Looking back on my weight tracking I was 235 back on 10/2/2009 and then started back up. With this competition between the 6AM guys I know I will be able to make it to 225 and then maybe even lower.

Eating—On track. What I am doing is working so no need to even thing about it. I just have to hold on during those weeks when I don’t lose anything.

What hurts today—Feeling good again. One of the bad things about feeling good is how hard it is to get out of bed. In the past I would be up wandering the hallway at 2 or 3 in the morning. Now I am sleeping until the alarm goes off. Let’s hope this keeps up.

One Year Ago—It was 18 degrees and snowing. This was the day Big Ron and I started last years weight loss challenge. I was 261 then.

Sunday self defense started back up today.

Mark worked with me on sticks and Nasso worked with Cory on training for his upcoming fight.

We kept waiting for Cory to throw up but he never did. Nasso was really working him hard.

Mark had my new helmet which actually fits so our stick practice was more intense but at the same time less painful and bloody. The new helmet is actually a baseball helmet with face guard.

My frustration level did get high a couple of times because getting the coordination between my hands, body and feet was slow to come and quick to leave. I have to be quicker to get in, make my hit and get out. My footwork is there, just a few seconds too late.

Mark and I only worked 1 1/2 hours since we were one on one today. That’s long enough for me when it is just one on one.

I keep waiting for Dave C and Chris to join us on a Sunday afternoon.

I weighed myself on the big gym scale at about 5PM tonight and got 238. I need to come in at 237 or lower in the morning at the box.

Last week as a group we had 59 pounds down. I would love to see us at 65 pounds down this week.