Heavy Cindy

Hey Y'all. Hope everyone is enjoying hump day before the big Forth of July weekend. I would have to say Forth of July is probably one of my favorite holidays of the year. Well that's enough of that from my personal life, lets get down to business.

Today was a rude awakening for myself of where I'm at strength-wise and where I need to be for the Crossfit competition at the end of the month. Without making excuses my overall strength has diminished significantly since returning home for the summer. I contribute this to losing some weight and also focusing on my endurance and metcon aspects of the sport of Crossfit. But I believe that we cannot be the best at all aspects of Crossfit. I hate to say it someone is either going to be stronger or faster than you at some lift or workout. But if you are a well rounded athlete that's a different story. Its the athlete who are well rounded are the ones who are a top the leader board at the end of the day. I mean you wouldn't see Mark Bell posting a sub 2 minute Fran or run a marathon . (Mark Bell - 2008 Ranked #1 Bench Press in America in 308 lb. category @ 805 lb.) But focusing on one aspect will not make me a better Crossfitter. That's why a lot of the workouts performed from this blog have different aspects whether its work capacity or strength or gymnastics. All of these categories of Crossfit will make you better overall athlete. But today's WOD focused on strength where we, myself, Adam and new addition to the blog, Kurt, all did a modified heavy Cindy. Tony Perkis was also there but did a variation from us and just did Cindy. 


Now the Workout 


WORKOUT 
Skill Work - Dynamic Upper Body 
Band Bench Press (Monster Mini Bands) 10x1 @ 165lbs for 7 sets/ 175lbs for 3 sets


"Modified Heavy Cindy"
Max Time of 20 minutes perform 5 Rounds 
- 185lb Back Squat - 15 reps
- 185lb/165lbs Bench Press - 10 reps
- 185lbs Bent Over Row - 5 reps


NOTE: The bench press went from 185lbs for the first 2 sets then bumped it down for the last 3 sets. The way it was set up was one person would go through 1 full round then go right to jump roping while the second person went. When the third person went was the first person's time to rest before his next round. So there was rest involved with this workout because we were using more weight than used in regular Cindy. All of us were able to finish before the 20 minute cut off time. 


Tony Perkis's Workout
"Cindy"
As Many Rounds as Possible (AMRAP) in 15 Minutes
- 5 Pull-ups
- 10 Push-ups
- 15 Air Squats 


Total Rounds: 15 Rounds
NOTE: He explained this was much easier than the workout from yesterday but I wanted to start him somewhere and not crush him in the first week of training because he won't want to come back. If you run a client into the ground and don't let him up for air they're most likely won't be your client anymore. So allowing him to get some sort of recovery but still getting a pretty good session will keep him coming back for more. 




PERSONAL
WORKOUT #2: 
3 Rounds of 5 
 - Inverted Cross
 - Standing Half Range straight Arm DB Press
Hours of Sleep: 6.5
Nutrition: Excellent, Still doing intermittent fasting. Definitely felt a little lack of energy but hopefully once I get into for a couple of weeks my body will become accustom to it. 
Weight: 183lbs
NOTES: Just disappointed in the lack of strength in the bench press. I couldn't perform one set of bench press unbroken. I have never been good at bench pressing. This is why Crossfit and working out with person who have different strengths then me is great. I'll come to the gym and not want to do a certain workout because I don't like exercises incorporated into them but my lifting partner are always there to tell me you need to work on your weaknesses. But this goes hand in hand with me pushing them where they are weak. Finding not only good Crossfitters to workout with but good people. 
Tomorrow is looking like an active recovery day with a potential of a swimming WOD which I have never done and should be really fun. But Until Then, Cheers!

What We Have been Up To

Once again sorry for the week long absent and not posting everyday. But we have been up to a lot with training and just good ole fun. The past week I decided to take a de-load week and also my nutrition was terrible. Been having pizza to having cake or candy. But I felt like my body need a time to recover itself for the next couple of grueling weeks. But now its time to start getting after it. And DO WORK!

A little side note; Just started working with some of my friends with training so I will be posting their times and workouts as well as mine. I want to first explain one the benefits of this time of training. The biggest benefits is that workouts can be scaled to anyone. Whether its a strength deficit or an endurance deficit or the work capacity isn't what it use to be. Correct lifting technique as well as range motion can be other limiting factors to an athlete or the weekend warrior.

After you read this, I want to introduce you to my friend Tony Perkis. And yes this is the character from the movie "Heavyweights." This will be my summer project or more like a case study. Updates will be provided not only for me but for Tony as well  This person wants to remain nameless for the time being which I have to respect but hopefully by the end of the summer we will reveal this person and show you the benefits of high intensity constantly varied functional training. I have another friend, Adam also training with us and has been performing this type of training for a while and will be scaling his workouts due to  thumb injury suffered 4 days ago. this shouldn't be a problem and we'll work with it. But the mission for both these individuals is to get them into the best shape of their lives using the methods of high intensity constantly varied functional movements (Crossfit)\, also changing their diets slightly in order to help increase their progress in the weight room. This should be pretty exciting to see what happens. I will have more data on these individuals in later posts with will allow you to see the constant change and growth these guys have. 


So lets get to the good stuff. 


WOD 
12, 15, 21, 15, 12 as Fast as Possible:
- Box jumps - 24"
- Push Press  - 95lbs (Me & Adam), 65lbs (Tony Perkis)
- Dead-lift @ 185lbs


NOTE: Tony Perkis's only did 12, 15, 21, 15 which was plenty of work for him for the day. He did really well but there is always room for important from technique and overall work capacity. But he stuck with it which is always nice to see from a trainer's point of view, meaning he's willing to put forth the work and work his ass off no matter how hard the workout is. 


Times: Me - 8.45 Adam - 9.07, Tony Perkis - 13.36




Personal 
Workout #2 
Power Snatch with OHS - 1+3 for 5sets @ 135lbs
Hours of Sleep: 9 
Nutrition: Started intermittent fasting for the past 2 days. has been going OK. Just lack of energy throughout the day is the only effect I'm having but I'm gunna stick with and see how I feel at the end of the week. I'll keep you posted. 
NOTE: Did the snatch workout before the WOD which didn't really have any effect to the timing of the WOD. Body feels really good and ready for more. But Until then, Cheers!

Super Fran

Today pretty much just crushed myself in the weight room. Started working out at a different gym today which was a nice change in pace because this gym allows me to drop the weight on the floor and has pretty of bumper plates for me to lift. And lift heavy I did.

WORKOUT
Power Clean - 10, 8, 6, 4, 3, 3, 2, 1 - 135, 155, 175, 185, 195, 205, 215x1, 215x1

Super Fran - 9 - 15- 21- 15- 9
- 95lb Thrusters
- Pull-ups

10 minute rest

Chipper - 15 reps @ 75% PC, 75 reps of push press at 95lbs, 400m farmer carries @ 55lbs

PERSONAL
Weight: haven't weighed in in a while I will update you tomorrow
Hours of Sleep: 6.5
NOTE: I felt good after taking a full rest day on absolutely nothing. Hopefully my shoulder won't be too sore tomorrow. My quads started getting fatigued by the end out the workout but I did expect it so no biggy. Really disappointed in my nutrition today. I ate a bunch of pizza and had an energy drink right before my workout but I will make that up and not take a cheat day on my normal cheat day which is Thursday. But Tomorrow is another day and another time to lift heavy.

I leave you with this quote which is how I train:


"Your man, pick up heavy things all the time and you will get stronger"
-Rob Orlando

Rebel Race

On Saturday 6/ 11/2011 I competed in the Rebel Race in Modena, NY. It was a great time. I ended up coming in second place in my heat about 20 seconds behind the guy who got first. There were a lot great obstacles and there was a lot more water obstacles compared to the last race I did last weekend.

It was also fun because I was able to run the race with my friend, Kurt, and my two sister, Emily and Sam. I was really proud of my 2 sisters. Sam ended up being the first girl to finish in our heat and my other sister was right behind her ad finished second girl in our heat. I thought it was pretty cool and definitely a great family time. I would do it again in a heart beat with friends and family. 

Check out the Rebel Race Website

http://www.rebelrace.com/event.php?id=35

I ended up doing the race in 28 minutes 5K with 22 obstacles which was way faster than the Spartan Race. 

PERSONAL

Hours of Sleep: 6

NOTE: Going to start video taping the workout and going to start doing morning workouts before work and then 1 after work. But Until then, Cheers!

Sprints: Easy? I think NOT!

Today was suppose to be light and easy. Not so much. Didn't hit the gym today but got some intense work on the track. To be honest I think that the endurance work is by far the hardest part of my training. But the reason behind extra endurance work is to help increase my stamina in order for me to increase my work capacity during my metcon work. Since I just started incorporating the endurance work so the volume is lower then what I would like to be at but you got to start somewhere.

WORKOUT
Short Intervals
5 - 200m sprints - 2 minute rest between
All the sprint were completed in 30 seconds except the last one which was 3 second slower.


Personal
Hours of Sleep: 6.5
NOTE: Hamstrings were a pretty sore from the speed dead lifts yesterday along with my traps and rhomboids. Nutrition was good for the day. tomorrow's schedule is looking like some mobility work and some gymnastic skill work. Mostly working on muscle ups. Tomorrow is a travel day for the race on Saturday and I'm looking forward to it. Its always nice to compete and with me being a competitive individual I love these events. I'll keep updated on the race. But Until then, Cheers!

P.S. Starting Monday I will be posting videos of the workouts on the page.

Speed Day

Today was a speed dead lift day. This is where I would focus on dead lifting percentage of my max dead lift off the ground at maximal speed possible. This allows me to train my speed strength as well as work on my technique. I added bands into the movement to allow me to work on locking out because I have trouble about mid thigh when I do dead lift heavy.

WORKOUT
Speed Band Dead Lifts - 10x1 - 305lbs for 6 sets, 315lbs for 4 sets, 335lbs for 2 sets

METCON
- 400m
- 100 Double Unders
- 50 GHD Sit-ups
- 30 Kettle Swings @ 70lbs
- 20 Box Jumps


Hollow Rocking for 2 Minutes not continuous

Personal
Hours of Sleep: 8
NOTE: Today my nutrition slipped a little when I got home from the gym. I guess I'll use that as my cheat day and not cheat tomorrow as Thursday are normally a cheat day for me but no harm done and I'll get back on it. So a little look down the road and tomorrow I probably will only do an endurance workout and a lot of mobility and recovery work. Friday will be a rest day with some mobility work maybe do some skill work nothing crazy. Saturday is race day. After Saturday I don't have a competition for a while, July 29th is the next one so I'll have a little time to ramp up the volume and then taper off as I get closer to the competition. But Until Then, Cheers!

Squat Cleans

Day was focused on squat cleans and catching the clean in a low catch position. This will allow me to get under more weight in the future when cleaning or clean and jerk. Started following Mike's gym WOD for my O-lifting and just started a stretch cycle which hopefully start seeing some increases in my Olympic lifting soon. 


WORKOUT
Clean and Jerk wave training for speed and technique: work up to 155lbs x3, 165lbs x2, 175lbs x1, 165lbs x3, 175lbs x2, 185lbs x1, 175lbs x3, 185lbs x2, 195lbs x1


Metcon
6 Rounds 
- 3 Squat Cleans @ 185lbs
- 6 Wt. Pull-up @ 35lbs






Personal
Weight - 179lbs
Hours of Sleep - 7 
NOTE: Squat Cleans felt really good definitely able to work on my technique with the lighter weight and also worked on the speed of the lift. Upper back was sore from the snatches yesterday but nothing too bad. Quads were a little fatigued from all the running from yesterday as well. Going to spend some time with mobility work before I get after it tomorrow and open up my hips and anterior shoulder. 4 Days until my next race. Should be great fun. But Until Then, Cheers!

Skill Work

Today just messed around with the snatch. Did some light technique work with the snatch balance and the snatch dead-lift pause for 3 reps then on the 3rd pause exploded into a snatch working on not using my arms as much in the lift. But the really workout was

WORKOUT
Overhead Squat - 5x5 @ 155lbs

50 Reps of each exercise for Time
- 135lb Dead-lift
-Lateral jumps over the bar
- 35lbs Kettlebell single arm snatch - 25 each arm
- Dips
TIME: 5:45

Endurance work
- 3 x 800M All out sprints with 3 minutes rest
 - Times were all under 3 minutes

Personal
Weight:
Hours of Sleep: 7
NOTE: during the metcon the hardest part was the dips right after the snatches. if I was able to do the dips first I think I would have been able to go a lot faster. Because to be honest I just suck at dips. The 800M Sprints sucked too because I had just eaten like a half hour before and I definitely ate way too much but it was my first endurance workout and it was a lesson well learned. Eat smaller meals before endurance workouts or let your food digest longer before. Going to start incorporating endurance workouts more so I can increase my stamina more than what it already is. But Until Then, Cheers!

SPARTAN RACE

On June 4, 2011 I took on one of the hardest events I have ever participated in. This wasn't just an ordinary 5K and mere morals do. This was the Spartan Race. Not only was there rough terrain and drastic elevation changes but there was also obstacles and events that you had to complete in order to continue. From jumping over pits of fire to carrying a home depot bucket up a very very steep hill to crawling in mud with barb wire overhead for 100 yards wasn't enough I also had to throw spears and run to 3 Spartan warriors in order to finish the race.
Well, the hardest part of the race was definitely going up all the hills there were some points where I was walking in order o catch my breath and be able to continue. Another difficult part was the pentaly for missing the spear throw which was 30 burpees and right after those having to crawl 100 yards through mud. Ended up finishing with a time of 56 minutes which was 23 minutes behind the winner. I cannot complain about the time with the amount of walking I did but definitely want to try it again and try and do better but I was satisfy with the performance knowing I didn't not what I was getting into.

ALWAYS A GOOD LEARNING EXPERIENCE

Today, I just went into the gym for a recovery workout focusing on low intensity and hip opening movement. Just didn't want to sit around all day, I wanted to get the blood flowing. So I did:

WORKOUT
Warmed up with a 2 minute row at a leisurely pace
The exercise I did were done 3 sets of 15 at my own pace, nothing timed
- pull-ups
- 45lb kettlebell swings
- GHD sit ups
- Glute Ham Raise
- Push-ups

PERSONAL
Weight: haven't weighed myself this weekend have to wait and see tomorrow
Hours of Sleep: 8 + 1.5 hour nap
NOTE: Getting ready for my next race which is next weekend. this race is very similar to the Spartan Race but I dont think the difficult with be as hard but I won't know until I finish it on Saturday. Still going to workout this week and continue my training for the Beast of the East. But Until Then, Cheers!

O-Lifting Skill Work

Decided to take it easy today because I have the Spartan Race coming up on Saturday but I didn't just want to take the next 2 days off so I decided to work on some O-lifting.

WORKOUT
Front Squats - 10x3 @ 175lbs
Clean Pulls - 225lbs x 3, 235lbs x 3
Clean Dead-lifts -  2x3 @ 240lbs
Push Press - 135x5, 155x4, 160x3

Personal
Weight: 181lbs
Hours of Sleep 8.5 but was woke up a few times during the night so the quality wasn't that great.
NOTE: On the clean dead-lifts I was going to do more but thats all the weight I currently have in my garage gym. Definitely need to think about getting more weight and maybe getting a tire which would be pretty sweet to start incorporating into my workouts. But Until Then, Cheers!

Strongman Day 6/1/2011

Yesterday I busted out the yoke, wheel barrel, and a sledgehammer and got after it.

WORKOUT
3 Rounds
- 360lb Yoke Walk for 25yards
- Wheel Barrel Push at 150lbs - 25yards
- 20 Lunges with 45lb Overhead
- 10 two hand sledgehammer hits
- Wheel  Barrel Push at 150lbs - 25yards
- 20 Lunges with 45lbs Overhead

After all the round were completed did 50 sit-ups on the ab-mat

Total Time: 14:25

Personal on June 1, 2011
Weight - 179lbs
Hours of Sleep: 7
NOTE: First time using the yoke and I thought it was a nice new implement to add into a workout. Its really  difficult to carry up a slight incline which I ended up picking it up and dragging it across the ground kinda like a sled. But I was still gassed after the workout.