Major

Another Day

Last Saturday's Clean Practice

Saturday May 1st

A1. Front Squat	40X0	5	4-6		30 sec
A2. Strict Chin-ups	31X0	5	amrap		3 min
B. Power Snatch		8	2	65%	1 min
C1. Ext. Rotation	3010	3	8-10		45 sec
C2. Hip Extensions	2022	3	12-14		45 sec
D. Side Plank		2/side	amsap		45 sec/arm

A1: 165(6), 185(6), 205(6), 215(6), 225(5)

A2: 5, 5, 5, 5, 4

B: 135lbs

C1: 15(10), 15(10), 15(10)

C2: 12, 12, 12

D: 65/65 - 50/50

Notes: I am really liking these type of workouts. They are definitely the right approach and are giving me a chance to get my mojo back. I still have a long way to go but everyday I am getting stronger and gaining confidence in my back and capabilities. It felt good to Snatch today, I had to drop the prescribed weight a bit. I have not snatched in a long time and my form sucks along with my lack of confidence in pulling myself under. (video to come later this week) 

Fun One Today

5X

5 Jumping Squats w/25lb DBs at sides

10 Hang Power Clean @ 135lbs

15 Wall Balls @ 20lbs to 10ft

rest 2.5 min

.56, .52, .53, .53, .48

Really enjoyed this one and learned a lot from it. 

Getting Caught up

"From Craig & Jenn's Reception"

Monday

Row 750m @ 85%

rest 5 min

Run 800m @ 85%

rest 5 min

Row 750m @ 85%

rest 5 min

Run 800m @ 85% Row 1 2:36 Run 1  3:30 Row 2 2:37 Run 2 3:36

Tuesday

Rest Day

Wednesday

A1. Stiff Leg Deadlift (use straps)	4020	3	8-10		2 min
A2. Weighted Dips	30X0	3	4-6		2 min
B1. Weighted Chin-ups	40X1	3	4-6		15 sec
B2. Ring Push-ups	2020	3	amrap		2 min
C1. Ring Rows	2020	3	10-15		10 sec
C2. Hip Extensions	2022	3	10-12		45 sec
D. Side Plank		2/side	amsap		45 sec/arm

A1: 115(10) - 135(10) - 155(10)

A2: 30(6) - 30(6) - 35(5)

B1: BW(6) - BW(4) -BW(4)

B2: 11 - 8 - 7

C1: 15 - 13 -15

C2: 10 - 10 - 10

D. 60/60 - 40/40 R/L

Amanda

From the 2009 CrossFit Games “Beauty in Strength”

CrossFit Ventura

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Goodbye Amanda, by Robb Wolf

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"Amanda" Tribute wod by Colin Jenkins

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Tribute Wod At CFV

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For those of us who attended last year’s games, we all remember Guns. None of us actually got to meet her but she immediately struck as “The Tough Chick”; Amanda defined the word competitor. Throughout that weekend in Aromas our eyes were continually drawn to her because of her strength, her agility and determination. She was impossible to forget, and was a frequent topic of conversation at CFV there after.

Last fall when word came that Amanda would be moving out west and joining CFV we were all ecstatic! “Guns is Coming” From there on the standard at CFV had been raised. The women at CFV wanted to compete like her and the men aspired to learn from her.

In her short time at CFV she truly showed us what a CrossFit athlete was suppose to be, she was absolutely fearless, ruthless, and defined strength in every way. The word quit or stop was simply NOT in her vocabulary.

Not all of us had the privilege of working out with her, but for those of us that did, her impact and her words will always be in our heads every time it gets hard. She had the motivation we all want, and the dedication we all aspire to have!

You will be missed, but never forgotten…. We love you Amanda. 

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It's been an emotional weekend, and its taken me until Wednesday to write about it, and won't be much. Before our friends wedding on Saturday I along with another friend wrote this about Amanda who passed away last Friday. A lot has happened since then, including an amazing wedding and some amazingly good times with great friends. The ups and downs were endless and have taught me much. 

The day after the wedding I woke up slightly drunk and performed surprisingly well during our 2nd CFV team wod the "C-Note Chipper" (below). Both teams competed well. 

1.    Complete 400m Team Lunge Walk 

M: 45# Plate W: 25

•    Within in each team the teams each male will pair up and each female will pair up and will be given a plate for each pairing. 

•    Each pairing must complete a 200m lunge walk and may switch the plate as needed.  

•    The plate must never touch the ground and must never rise over shoulder height. 

THEN

2.    Complete 100 Team Pull-Ups

•    Teams may accumulate reps with 1 male/female participating at a time. 

•    Each athlete must complete a minimum of 15 pull-ups.

•    Chin must clear the vertical plane of the bar.

THEN

3.    Complete 100 Kettle Bell Swings

M: 53# W: 35#

•    Teams may accumulate reps with 1 male/female participating at a time.

•    Each athlete must complete a minimum of 15 swings.

•    Athlete must show ear at the top of each swing and forearms must touch thigh. 

THEN

4.    Complete 100 Squat Clean Thrusters

M: 95# W: 65#

•    Teams may accumulate reps with ONLY 1 athlete at a time. 

•    Athlete must perform a squat clean and then stand up and perform a thruster. 

•    Athlete must have hip crease go below the bottom of the knee on the squat and show the ear at the top of the thruster.  

THEN

5.    Complete 100 Push Ups

•    Each athlete must complete 25 reps and reps may be completed at the same time

THEN 

6.    Complete 100 Double Unders

•    Each athlete must complete 25 reps and reps may be completed at the same time.

THEN

7.    Complete100 Partner Wall Ball Throws @15’

M: 20# W: 14#

•    50 Reps Men/ 50 Reps Women

•    Will explain/demo

THEN

8.    Complete 100 Toes To Bar

•    Each athlete must complete 25 reps.

•    Reps may be done at the same time

THEN

9.    Complete 100 Deadlifts

M: 225# W: 135#

•    Each athlete must complete at least 1 rep.

•    One Male & one female may complete reps together. 

THEN

10.    100 Meter Sprint

•    Athletes must all complete the sprint. The clock stops when the last member finishes. 

Team A 22:??

Team B 25:??

Feels Good to Front Squat & Clean... NOT Rope Climb!

Pre Epic Bachelor Party Hike in Ojai!

Shawn is still learning how to use his camera... 

Post Hike... Beer is Good!  

Today my good friends Craig & Jenn get married on the beach! Although, my day will start early by doing the wod below, I can assure you that it will end very well! Congrats my friends, we love you and are honored to share this day with you!

A1. Front Squat	40X0	5	4-6		15 sec
A2. Rope Climb w/feet		5	1		3 min
B. Power Clean		8	2	65%	1 min
C1. Ext. Rotation	3010	3	10-12		45 sec
C2. Hip Extensions	2022	3	6-10		45 sec
D. Side Plank		2/side	amsap		45sec/arm

notes: don't worry about weight so much with front squats yet…ensure your chest is up tall and stomach tight.

A1: 155(6) - 175(6) - 185(6) - 205(5) - 215(4)

A2: Ropes were all easy and done quickly

B. Sets were performed at 205lbs and were all easy with good form

C1:12/12(10#) - 12/12(15#) - 8/12(15#)

C2: 10 - 8 - 8

D. 55/55 - 45/45 R/L

Starting Over...

"28 Seconds In-CFV Affiliate Cup"

Prop 65 (If You Take Fish Oil...Read This!) 

fishoilsafety.com

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Rest Day

I feel like a new crossfit'er again. This injury has been a horrible thing to deal with, however, I am starting to get the feeling that it was the best thing that could have happened to me. 

For starters it has allowed me to focus and invest more time in becoming a better coach, which has proven to be invaluable for my development. As far as my own training goes though, it has allowed me to really take a step back and evaluate what kind of athlete I am now, and what kind of athlete I hope to become; by looking at my strengths and my many, many weaknesses. These weaknesses and imbalances are without doubt the direct cause of my injury and the cause of those that came before. 

Being patient for the last few months and then finally pulling the trigger and asking Colin to do my programming again was the correct play. This week is my first week back and after 3 workouts I already feel better and have already learned a great deal about myself. Enough to know that I am now starting over, both mentally and physically, and thats the way it should be. 

Having a coach and a trained eye on you is priceless. Colin has asked me to film certain workouts and yesterday was not one of them, however I chose to do it anyways, and it was a good thing as it turns out. I have always been a pretty strong rower, and I would have never thought that my rowing had deteriorated in the way that it has. Colin immediately saw it and shared his thoughts with me this morning and we made the proper adjustments. I am trying to find some old footage of me rowing to see, but my guess is that it wasn't perfect before, but I know that it was much better. After making the adjustments this morning I realized that a month ago maybe even two weeks ago it would have been impossible for me to even perform this rowing technique correctly due to my injury. 

Creating good habits is essential, losing them sucks. 

Day Two

"Final Snatch attempt of 3 at the 2010 CrossFit Ventura Affiliate Cup. Pretty thankful that I didn't have to go heavy on this last wod"

10 Minutes of Single-Under, Alternating Feet, and Double Under Work

+

3X:

10 Box Jumps @20"

20 Air Squats

Row 500m @80%

Rest 3 mins between sets

notes: Work really hard here on developing efficiency with your double unders. Focus on making your jumps small and making your wrists quicker. Make your feet quiet. Practicing without shoes on may help.

2:36 : 2:39 : 2:46

Double Unders Felt good today. First time trying it without shoes and it wasn't too bad. Still have a long ways to go but they are getting better...again!

The wod kicked my ass and I ate shit on my very last box jump. Looks a lot worse than it was. Makes for good video! (check out the video, the good part is about 5 minutes or so in) Feelin' great today! 

Day One

 2010 CFV Affiliate Cup "The PowerHouse"

A1: Stiff Leg Deadlifts (use strap when needed) 

    Tempo 4020; 3x10-12 (rest 20 secs)

95#/12 : 115#/12 : 135#/12

A2: DB Shoulder Press

    Tempo 21x2; 3x10-12 (rest 3 mins)

25#/12 : 25#/10 : 25#/10

+

B1: Weighted Chin-ups

    Tempo 40x1; 3x6-8 (rest 15 secs)

BW/8 : 10#/6 : 10#/4

B2: Ring Dips

    Tempo 31x1; 3x amarap(-2) (rest 2 mins)

6 : 4 : 2

+

C1: Ring Rows

    Tempo 2020; 3x15-18 (rest 10 secs)

16 : 14 : 14

C2: Perfect Push-ups

    Tempo 2020; 3x amrap(-2) (rest 1 min)

15 : 14 : 13

+

D: Side Plank L/R

    2/side amsap 45 sec/arm

45/35 : 35/35

Today felt really good. The intensity was low but the focus was there and this kind of workout is exactly what I need in order to take myself to the next level. 

As I said in my previous post, I have been a bit lost since getting hurt and have really not accomplished to much in the last few months. My confidence levels are low along with my intensity. Now that I feel healthy enough to to start training (but still rehabbing) I felt like it was time to turn my programming over to Colin. 

Over the last few weeks I have realized that I have become a very different type of athlete than I was even 5 months ago. I am much lighter, much quicker and much more efficient at body weight movements. That said, I have gotten a lot weaker, mostly due to my injury but also do to this change in body shape. 

With these things in mind I have decided that the smart decision is to look long term and train for next year. Basically I need to rebuild myself both mentally and physically from scratch, I am not who I was when I started CrossFit.  I will be focusing a lot of time developing muscle stabilization & endurance, especially in my posterior chain and shoulders. I will work hard at making sure each rep is done correctly and strict. I will put a greater emphasis on developing solid gymnastic movements and especially on tightening up my form on the Oly lifts. You will not see me doing to many benchmarks in the coming months, nor moving anything too heavy. 

I have improved my habits outside of the gym a lot this last year, but I still have a long ways to go, and I really need to focus on tightening up this part of my life if I want accomplish my goals. 

A lot learned, A lot left to accomplish

First pull of Wod #1 "The Powerhouse" during CFV's Affiliate Cup

Are you ready to face your fears?

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This is the 4th time in my life that my life has be seriously interrupted by a serious injury. Each time has been more mentally draining than anything, and this time around it is truly testing my patience. I am not one to voice or show my pain, so when I do, it means that mentally I am just done dealing with it! I go from ecstatic to frustrated to pissed off, all in the course of a wod...

I have no problem playing through pain, in fact sometimes I like it, helps me get into the zone, however crossfit is very different than lets say football... Crossfit isn't just one movement or one game, its every day! During the course of a football season if you come in prepared you can not train and still be at the top of your game. In CrossFit, if you stop training for more than a week, then your fitness begins to decline and your fucked.

Some days I'm fine, and some days I don't want to get out of bed. Yes, the majority of the pain is gone, but when I push it, and I haven't pushed hard at all, even last weekend, I pay for it later.  I will be getting my second epidural on May 3rd. The sectionals and affiliate cup was a real eye opener for me. I am in horrible shape right now and lacking the confidence and mental strength to get back on the horse. I truly thought that I could do it by myself but I can't,  I need help. 

Crossfit has taught me so much, and one of those things is that being a 'smart' crossfit'er is perhaps the most important thing to be mindful of. At times I have unintentionally been reckless in my training, and in not doing the little things that are essential to determining the quality of my health, and the amount of success I am able to find. 

A valuable lesson to be learned, and one that I wish more people would be mindful of. 

Conclusions... 

I will no longer be doing my own programming. My workouts will be very specific and will start with a focus on rebuilding my posterior chain, a renewed focus on body awareness, flexibility, nutrition & sleep. I will also use this time to really focus on building strength properly and becoming the kind of endurance athlete that I know I can be. I need to rebuild myself and work towards becoming the crossfit'er I know I can become. 

CFV Affiliate Cup

Some pictures from the day. Feel free to download any that you like!

Yesterday CFV hosted its second annual Affiliate Cup where 6 athletes earn the right to be a part of the affiliate team and represent CFV at this years regional qualifier held next month. I could not be more proud of everyone at CFV who gave it everything yesterday. These days are truly special and I feel very blessed to have found and be a part of this amazing community! As for my fellow teammates, it was truly special to watch you all compete yesterday and earn your spot on the team! Being a part of the team last year was truly an amazing experience and it changed my life! 

The work starts now! 

"The Power House"; for time:

600m Row
24 Burpees
12 Clean & Jerks (M: 135lbs, W: 85lbs)

rest 2 hours

"The Engine"; for time:
400m Run
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21-15-9:
Wall Ball to 10 ft target
Kettlebell Swings (M: 53lbs, W: 35lbs)
Pull-ups
Box Jumps (M: 24", W: 20")
+
400m Run

rest 2 hours

"The Athlete"

within 12 minutes, find both your 1-Rep Max Snatch, and Max Unbroken Double Unders.

The Powerhouse 4:37

The Engine 12:52

The Athlete 185/37

While I am extremely happy that I was able to compete and make the time as a first place qualifier. The road back from an injury is quite frustrating. Knowing what your capable of and not having the ability to do it yet is extremely frustrating and really fucked with me yesterday. Specifically I just don't have any explosion or power right now. There was no excuse for me to not complete that first wod in sub 4 minutes. 135 felt heavy and that really pissed me off. 

I think that 2nd wod is one of the best programmed wods I have done. While it could be considered a long wod, it felt quick and there was no time to rest. When I get back into shape (get my engine back) I would love to do this one again. Sub 11 is definitely possible for me. The box jumps were all broken and slow for me and my pullups are horrible. That was my first time doing box jumps since December and it showed me just how much explosiveness that I have lost. I guard a lot on the pullups and can not do them fast as it hurts still. 

Truly an epic day... Life is good!