CrossFit 14.4 - Toes to Bar and Other Random Physical Skills

If there's a kid out there somewhere that is dreaming of becoming a professional wall-baller...

Uh NO.  Pick a sport.

While competing in CrossFit workouts is fun (in a messed up way), the original intent of CrossFit was to make you better at performing in your sport of choice, possibly skiing, MMA, life...  I miss the days where the

Wallballs are simply a means of putting in work (mass x distance) and if you do it fast enough, you'll feel like you've made a terrible life choice.

I have no desire to be good at these random physical skills.  Toes to bar is one of them.  If you watch far enough (god help you) you will see me thrash my feet into the air to narrowly miss crushing my fingers with my shoes.  The concept of toes to bar is rooted in good intention.  Hanging leg raises are what helps build a solid core useful for moving large weight off the ground.  It's an accessory movement.

At no point do I want my accessory movements to be the main stage because I know how much they are not the center of my universe.  But like anything else in life, you get good at what you practice.  I am not good at these.  Should I be, that is the question for me going forward.

My thoughts on the open:  it's definitely a weeding process.  You have to be able to demonstrate you have your lactic acid pathways mastered ( I do not).  You need to have your bodyweight skills mastered (I do not).  Then basic strength lifts (again, I do not).  This year was the first time I've seen rowing in the open.  You can be really inefficient at this a 100 million different ways.

The more I do these kinds of competitions, and still retain a semblance of balance with work and family life, I walk away satisfied that in the context of everything that's going on in life, I'm not losing health and fitness.  In fact, in several ways, things have improved.  Outlook, approach, and options are all there.

There's nothing wrong with competing in CrossFit, there's also nothing wrong for really honing in on the things that matter to you.  I know without a doubt where I stand in the world of conditioning (it's what I view 90% of the CrossFit workouts to be).  I also know where I stand in the strength and endurance worlds.  How cool is that?  Throw yourself into something and come away with more knowledge of where you stand.  Paths to new goals open up as a result, and life can only get more interesting.

CrossFit 14.3 - Practicing, Always Practicing

Gotta say my fashion skills are really strong.

In light of my previous post regarding deadlifts and getting the "stripper pull" out of the movement habit, it seemed timely that I'd get an opportunity to do even more deadlifts.

You can see that the first series were OK, then, by the 20th 225lb deadlift, things got "stripper-ish".

I'm also breaking the rules by not having a person in the shot.  Well, I have my dog.  I didn't do any splicing with the video.

This week I took a break from training.  Not much running, just focusing on getting sleep and surviving without coffee during lent.  It's going just OK.

Can't wait to turn the heat up on the training and really start getting strong in the weak stuff.

Plans for the St. Patricks week:

• More PTP
• 4 runs
• Sleep
• Up the Protein

Rebuilding My Deadlift

The video above is one of me lifting a moderately heavy weight.  Nothing spectacular.  Maybe it's heavy for most runners, I don't know.  All I know is that I lift with OK form.  I don't know if it's my body leverages, or lack of muscle control in say the hip flexors...  but every time I pull weight off the floor my hips go up and THEN the weight goes up.  Drives me crazy that I can't seem to fix this.

Perhaps it's time to do some chair deadlifts...

Stay tuned.

An Oddly Balanced Weekend

Lift Run Lift

Fantastic training this weekend - starting off with Friday’s attempt at CrossFit 14.2, (which I discovered I am terrible at chest to bar pull-ups), to a 14 mile run on Saturday with absolutely zero chaffing, to Strong Sunday where I was able to do a 225lb front squat for a double, a 150lb shoulder press, and a 150lb sandbag carry for 100 yards.  None of it is record breaking, but the combination of it all is what I find fun

It’s being able to do this kind of training that tells me the approach to balancing endurance and strength is working.  I’m not there yet, but it’s good

The key to getting this if you have kids is waking up early.

Controlling Chaffing

This may not seem like a big deal, but let me tell you, over 20 years of training I’ve never had chaffing like I had 2 weeks ago.  Running the same course but with an older pair of lycra shorts, I burned through the layer between my legs like it was match paper.  Not knowing how bad it was, I kept running toward the 7 mile turnaround which was only a mile away.  Didn’t seem like it was going to be bad.

Reached the turnaround no problem, but then needed to use the restroom, that’s when I made the grisly discovery that my inner thigh was producing its own oozing mess of lubricant as that first layer of skin had been rubbed off.  The area around the wound was numb and swollen and I knew I needed to get it some first aid attention immediately.  Three and a half miles away from home, I figured I should be able to do it.  I scrubbed it with soapy water in the park bathroom, then headed out.

Shower time is terrible for chaffing.  It’s that wound sting that is simply incredible.  Then… later in the week, the gauze I put on the wound got fused.  Thinking “it’s just like a band-aid, just rip it off” I ripped off the gauze, not realizing I was tearing more skin off the wound.  Restart the healing process.

Finally, a week later, I am back to normal.

Here’s what I would have done differently:

• ·         Body Glide
• ·         Better Short (2 layers, one lycra/skin tight)
• ·         Stay hydrated and balance electrolytes
• ·         Body Glide
• ·         Possibly more Body Glide

PTP

As for lifting this last week I started up a program I haven’t used in quite a while.  It’s PTP, otherwise known as Power to the People.  A very low volume lifting protocol that I can use while my running miles go up.  Deadlifs and Shoulder Presses!

CrossFit 14.1 - Repping for Histio Awareness

 Like registering for a marathon with 20,000 participants, the CrossFit open can be very similar. Except in this case, if you decide to enter, you can do it on your own (like a garage gym, cellar-dwellar like myself).  Also like the large marathon entry, expecting to be at the top of the heap is not in my current version of reality.

While I have friends who run a local Crossfit gym, I still felt like I needed to do this from my garage.  Video proof and all.

I had no idea that I did double unders so ugly.

My dog hates my double unders too.

Histiocytosis:

As a parent it's tough to see your kids go through the suck of being sick, it's even tougher when you're not sure they're going to make it.

Check out histio.org for more information on this cancer.