Espana!!

Well, tomorrow I leave for vacay in Spain, and even though the statement "I'm excited" doesn't even begin to describe how much I'm looking forward to this, I have to admit I feel a little sad/upset that I'm leaving CFOT, even if for only a little while.

I've attended every 5pm class for the past six weeks, and I feel like I've started to become part of the crossfit family, starting to become a regular. On Monday Jerry asked who did Fran. I was one of only two people who had done it, and I have to admit I felt pretty cool.

However, I know that I'll be back, and this time I won't have to start over from scratch again like I did coming back from the rotator cuff tear. After all, it will be for only two weeks, and my physical therapist thinks when I come back my shoulder should be absolutely completely healed. My hip, on the other hand might be a different story.

I haven't talked about my hip because I'm a little tired talking about injuries, but I figure if some one is out there with the same issue this might be informative. Since I was like 20, I've have snapping hip syndrome. When I bring my knee to my chest, and then lower my leg, there's an audible "snap". Occasionally, I've also experienced a throbbing pain in my hip. Since coming here to DC, I've noticed an increase in the pain. Since I was seeing a doc/therapist for the shoulder, I decided to ask about the hip as well. Turns out I have a really tight Iliopsoas tendon, that what I feel snapping. This by itself is harmless, but sometimes repetitive motion can cause inflamation, and that results in tendonitis. This is commonly experience by runners or cyclists. I think mine might be caused by the two miles I walk up/down hill everyday in my commute to work. I'm glad crossfit isn't the source of my pain, but the therapist also says that two weeks off will probably help as well.

I think if I was doing any other type of exercise I would just wait a while when I get back into the states, but the thing I've realized about crossfit is how adaptable it is. Even with tendonitis in the hip, I'm sure there will be reason enough to keep going back to the blue room. I'd like to talk a little more about this, about the injury and what I need to do to recover, but I have to finish packing.

So this may turn into a travel blog for a while. I won't be taking my laptop, but I might use one of the rent-a-computer stations while I'm there.

Moving Mountains

Today is kind of a jumbled mess of ideas. I've tried to assemble them into some sort of coherent order; I hope this offers something worthwhile for the reader.

Before crossfit, I saw molding my body into a Spartan as an obstacle, a very large mountain. Not one that I that I necessarily thought impossible to climb, but one where I had no idea where to start. Now having entered the crossfit world, I think I can handle this mountain.

When I’m in the blue room, I’m experiencing a certain peace. This is tricky, but let me try to explain: I enjoy pushing myself; I enjoy working really, really hard because doing so forces me to live in the now, and I feel like I obtain some sort of truth in the process. I’m not saying that if today I did Fran in 30 min the truth is I’m weak, or if I ended up not finishing the truth is I’m a quitter. What I’m saying is in that crossfit demands so much from me that I have no choice but to focus entirely on the moment, to abandon everything that is weighing on my mind so I can handle the task at hand. Problems at work don’t matter, the upcoming trip doesn’t matter, heck, even the exercise I did five seconds ago doesn’t matter. Nothing matters except the push up, box jump, etc., I have to do right now.

"The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones." ~Confucius

About nine days ago I was talking to Lance (not real name), and when I told him that I thought I could gain entry into the top 5 for 500m row because on 11th I rowed 1:47 he replied with some disbelief, saying something akin to "You do know you would have to drop your time by 12 seconds, right?" I smiled and said I thought I could do it, but truthfully I didn't really know. Well, this Monday I entered the top five with a time of 1:32. Well today I tried it again, and when I was moving that "oar" back and forth I didn't think about Lance, I didn't think about the fact that I've already achieved my goal and entered the top 5, I didn't think about any self-doubt, I didn't think about any of that. It was just me, and that oar. It felt like forever, but it turns out I rowed 500m in 1:28.7, and set a new class record.

I’ve faced and overcome some very large obstacles in my lifetime, and have overcome them by adopting the approach of taking things day by day, constantly asking myself “Regardless of what happened today or what will happen tomorrow, what can I do today?” I've never really been able to apply this to exercise for some odd reason, but now in the crossfit environment I think I've found a way, and it makes me supremely confident that I will transform myself into such a crossfit athlete that even I will be somewhat content. Today, I carried away a medium stone. I fully expect that mountain to be gone before I know it.

Finding my limits

Today I was exhausted at work, and I almost felt like skipping was a good idea. Thankfully, I did go and I have to say that I feel a hundred times better since working out. Today was exactly what I needed. We worked on deadlifts, and the emphasis was on technique and not weight. Being that my back muscles still haven't recovered from the last time we did them, I was looking forward to learning how to do the deadlift correctly. It also felt good to finally answer one of Jerry's questions, which was "What's your deadlift PR?" Normally, when Jerry asks a question like this, I usually have no answer because, well, I don't know. This is because I've never tried deadlifts before, let alone find my max. I've never tried doing as many pullups or push ups as I can, I've never tried rowing 500 m as fast as I could, you get the idea.

But now, after spending some time in the crossfit world, I'm starting to find my current limits. And as I find my limits, I can then set goals to go beyond those limits. Before crossfit, I don't think I ever knew how to push myself, to find my limit, and that's why I was never really able to progress.

I'd also like to highlight Brenda's workout today, she rocked the blue room by deadlifting... 225! She made it looks easy, and it was inspiring to see her doing such a great job. Also, on Monday she recorded a top 5 500m row time! If you ever read this Debra, congrats!

Anyway, the WOD:
Warm-up
50% of max X 5
60% of max X 5
80% of max X 3
Max X 1

10 rounds or 15 minutes
7 Pull-ups
7 Burpees

Because of the strained back, the max for today was 185. We also worked on ring dips with the deadlifts, and I'm happy to report that I actually did a unassisted ring dip for the first time. I then had to use the floss for sets of five, but I'm more than satisfied with that. Also, I'm happy to say that I got the pull-ups and burpees done in 14:53, just in the nick of time.

Zone Grocery list 2.0

Alright, here is a week's worth of meals if you're on the 4-4-2-4-2 plan.

Breakfast, Oatmeal:
1 cup of oatmeal cooked
1 Tsp of protein powder
.5 cup of grapes
3/4 cup of cottage cheese
2 tsp of Walnuts

Lunch, Deli Sandwich:
2 slices of bread
4.5 Oz. of Deli meat
2 Oz. of cheese
5 Tbs avocado (I use half of an avocado)

Snack:
1 Apple
2 Oz Cheese
12 peanuts

Dinner A, Smoothie:
2 cups of milk
2 Tbs protein powder
1 Cup Frozen Strawberries
.5 Cup Frozen Blueberries
1 Large scoop of Cashews

Dinner B, Chili (3 servings):
Saute:
2/3 Chopped Onion
2 Chopped Green Pepper with Crushed red pepper
Add:
18 Oz ground meat until browned
Add:
2 Cup Tomato Sauce
1 Cup Black Bean
1 Cup Kidney bean
40 Olives

Snack #2 A:
1 Cup Yogurt
sprinkle of pecans

Snack #2 B:
.5 Cup Cottage Cheese
1 Cup Pineapple
12 Peanuts

To avoid boredom I alternate the dinners and the second snacks, except I have the smoothie every Friday and Saturday.

Now the for the grocery list. I've converted the inconvenient measurements (6.75 cups of Cottage Cheese? How much is that?!?!?) to units easier to shop for.

Milk	1/2 gal
Protein	*I buy in bulk
Frozen Strawberries	2.5 bags
Frozen Blueberries	1 bag
cashews	1 can
Oatmeal	1 small container
Grapes	1 bag
Cottage Cheese	2 large containers, 1 small one
Walnuts	1 can
Bread	1 loaf
Apple	7
Deli Meat	order 2 lbs at the counter
Cheese	4 containers of Sargento cheese
Avacado	3 avacados
Ground Meat	1 lb
Onion	1
Olives	1 large can
Pineapple	2 cans
Peanuts	1 container
Yogurt	2 large containers
Pecans	1 can
Green Peppers	2
Tomato Sauce	2 cans
Black Bean	1 can
Kidney Bean	1 can

Hope this helps those looking for a set list, I thought this might be easier than the excel file I made available earlier.

To report in, it's been 15 days since my last non-zone meal and about eight days since I've switched to the 4-4-2-4-2 plan, and I find myself being less and less hungry. And, to answer your question Katie, I've tried on my pair of jeans that have always been borderline tight and I've found them a little looser than ever before. I still haven't lost any weight, but I really don't care since I figure I'm gaining muscle right now. I know I've posted this zone grocery list a couple of times and I apologize if it's gotten repetitive, I think this'll be the last incarnation for a while.
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Rule #76 No excuses, Play like a Champion!

I don't know why, but today I just couldn't get this slogan from wedding crashers out of my head. Rule #76 was pertinent to today's workout because I feel like I did play like a champion, but not before I had to give an excuse and not play.

Confused? Let me explain. Today's workout involved front squats, and although I felt like my legs were definitely strong enough to do the prescribed weight, my shoulder was not up for the challenge. The second time I cleaned 135 lbs, I felt my shoulder scream at me. I think my technique is still imperfect, and my shoulder confirmed this. This is of course bad news, but I'm happy that I had only a little problem telling myself I needed to back off the weight. And when I told Danny, who was helping me with my technique, he was supportive of the decision as well. Upping the reps while lowering the weight allowed me to work out my legs without hurting my shoulder further.

But here's how I ended up playing like a champion: I took the 500 m row challenge. I've used row machines before, and my build lends itself to being a good rower. The other Friday I did 500 m in 1:43, so I figured I could get 1:30. Well, I actually didn't get it down to 1:30, my legs started to give out on me near the end thanks to the squats. Instead I got it in 1:32!!! Very stoked about this, I'm really happy. I figure in a couple of months I'll have it down to 1:26, thinking about making that my 12 week goal.

Today's work out:

5 rounds untimed
Max front squats (prescribed was 135lbs)
Max weighted strict chins

This is how I did:
Round 1- 10 (135)
5 strict chins
Round 2- 10 (135)
5 chins with 12 lbs
Round 3- 15 (95)
4 chins with 20 lbs
Round 4- 15 (95)
3 chins with 20 lbs
Round 5- 15 (95)
3 chins with 20 lbs

500M: 1:32

100 ab mat sit-ups

I've figured out what makes me keep coming back to Crossfit

So I woke up today at 5:00 pm, and let me tell you 14 hours of sleep will cure any muscle soreness.

I have to say what makes crossfit isn't the exercises or diet, it's the people in the community, it really is a brotherhood (btw Katie, Cara, and Adrienne, I use brotherhood to include women, I am think of y'all). One only need to look at the comments to a crossfit blog to see how much crossfitters care for and support each other.

To demonstrate the commodore that is crossfit this blog will give a shoutout to someone in the Old Town community once a week. Who better to start off with than Jerry, who runs the Crossfit Old Town, will be highlighted. Jerry is always pushing us, never letting us give up or take it easy. Yesterday when I was almost done with Fran, when I really wanted to give up I wheezed out that I felt like I was going to throw up, to which Jerry responded, "you can throw up later, after you get these last three chins done." I finished the three chins, and I think I would have felt worse afterwards if I had rested more and hadn't pushed myself to a sub 20 Fran. Jerry expects more out me than sometimes I do, and I think that's a good thing.

The people of crossfit really are what makes it so important to me, and I hope to demonstrate this through this blog.

Just as a heads up, this upcoming week I plan on continue blogging about dealing with the torn rotator cuff (It's still an issue, unfortunately), and rather than post the xls file for Zone groceries I'll just list it here on the blog.

Date with Fran

Well, today was my first meeting with Fran. She was quiet and unassuming, but as soon as you get close to her you realize she'll rock you like a hurricane.

21 Squat Thrusters (95 lbs)
21 pull-ups
15 Thrusters
15 pull-ups
9 Thrusters
9 pull-ups

My game plan was to focus on the fact that I had to leave it all on in the blue room, to never rest and just to push through it. It sucks, but it's not suppose to be enjoyable, right? I was surprised at how exhausting it was, and somewhat ashamed of how much I wanted to give up, to quit. That is something I rarely experience, and something I've always prided myself on never giving up no matter what the challenge. I pushed myself and I did it in 19:43. I'm still not happy finishing last, but I also realize this was my second full week of crossfit, and I just have that much room to improve. There is no reason why I can't get to a sub-ten Fran, or even a sub-six Fran, it's all just a matter of time.

Starving while in a resturant.

Last night I went to the premier of Dark Knight, and I even though I just had my 4 block dinner, I was STARVING. I met up with my friends at a restaurant next to the theater. There I was subjected to the smells of hamburgers and other delicious smelling food.

On the 5 block plan, this would barely phase me. The best part about being on the Zone is you don't crave anything. Before, I would be hungry, even if I was still full. I always felt like I was hungry, not for food in general, but something specific, I felt like my stomach was telling me what I needed, I just couldn't figure out what it is. Now I never experience these feelings of full yet hungry. The Zone leaves me wanting nothing and feeling great throughout the day.

Well, at least it used to. Right now on the 4-4-2-4-2 plan, I experience hunger pangs all the time. Ok, back to the restaurant. So there I was, surrounded by delicious hamburgers and chips and fries, and I wanted to cave and eat so badly. But I want to lower my fat % even more. I just kept picturing me reaching my goal, of me looking like a crossfit athlete. Through focusing on my goal and not on my hunger, I could ignore the temptation. I do have to confess that I did end up ordering a diet and rum (I figure since it has 0 carbs it can't be that bad), but I didn't eat anything until after the movie (which was great, btw) when I got home and had my cup of yogurt mixed with peanuts. I feel like I'm bragging here, that no one cares about this, and I apologize if I'm boring you, but if I don't celebrate these little victories by sharing them here I don't know how long I could do this.

So far the scale hasn't noticed anything different (this morning I weighed 198.2 lbs, the most this week), but I feel like I'm starting to look like I'm losing fat. Monitoring my weight has been kind of confusing for me. I mean, muscle weighs more than fat, and I know I'm gaining muscle and strength. So maybe I'm gaining muscle and losing fat, so my weight is staying about the same while my body composition changes. But with Jerry asking me about how much weight I've lost, and really with no way to measure my body fat, I guess I feel like I should look at my weight.

Fran is on the agenda today, and I think I've figured out a game plan for pushing myself through it. I've never done Fran before, but I'm excited to do a benchmark.

Trying to lose weight with the zone

So I've been on the zone diet since mid May, so that's roughly two months now. At the time I started I weighed about 195-198 lbs. Since then, after strictly following the diet for two months (except for those weddings and that cake) I now weigh... 197.2 lbs. This is really frustrating, it's not like I've been half-assing this, I measure everything and make every meal and snack, and I don't cheat because I don't have anything in the house except the ingredients for my zone meals. Hell, I haven't even gone out to the bars since I went on the zone. I figured I wasn't losing weight because I was inactive with the torn rotator cuff, but I've been cross fitting for 2.5 weeks now and according to Jerry I should be seeing the weight fall off with this diet.

I've been doing the 5 block meal, 2 block snack since I'm 6'2" (and Jerry recommended it). Now I've dropped to the 4 meal, 2 snack, and I've definitely noticed a difference with regard to my sense of hunger. With the 5 block meal, I always felt a little stuffed after eating it. With the 4 block, I feel hungry again after 3 hours. I figure I'll give this 4 block plan a week, but after that if I don't see results I'm not sure what I should do.

Back in the day when I was lifting weights with a trainer I didn't really see any results until I started taking protein shakes. However, the result was gaining weight, and from what I understand in crossfit you first get ripped, then you go for muscle. I have no problem with this, I just want to start seeing some type of change. Has anyone else out there experienced something like this, sticking to the zone but not seeing any results?

Since Friday I've been weighing myself, so here's the results:

11-Jul	196.8
12-Jul	195
13-Jul	(forgot)
14-Jul	197
15-Jul	196.4
16-Jul	197.2

On another note here was the workout today:
2 rounds of 25 of each
jump lunge (30 lbs)
boxjumps
wallball
kb swings (did like 10 on the second set with the shoulder)
Jumping pullups
burpees (my triceps hate me)

did it in 31:25. I know that this should bother me, but I would be lying if I didn't say that I'm getting tired of being one of the last people to finish. I think it really is mental, and as I get used to crossfit I find more and better ways to push myself. Today I thought about how I always seem to have some energy after these workouts, how my inclination is to conserve. I then thought about how that is the wrong way to do this, how I need to have nothing, absolutely nothing, left in the tank by the time I finish. That helped some, and I have to admit, I haven't felt that worn out since I was on the wrestling team. I also need to keep realizing that they have a six week head start on me and I'm still getting the rust off with technique. Just have to keep positive, and focus on my improvements. Now if you excuse me, I have to go make a smoothie :)

Crossfit = Soreness = Getting Stronger

[UPDATE: I've found that foam rolling, stretching, and doing mobility wods to be very, very helpful in treating soreness. Whatever you do, don't take ibuprofen! Shit will leave you weaker than when you started.]

[UPDATE #2: If you're experiencing extreme soreness, you may have Rhabdomyolysis, where your muscle fibers have been broken down and have entered the bloodstream. If it seems like you're experiencing symptoms of rhabdo as mentioned in the wiki link, go get checked out immediately because may cause kidney damage, which can be fatal.]

Monday Chris made the comment that doing crossfit means being sore. We laughed and I didn't give it much thought. Today I woke up and was surprised I didn't feel any soreness.

That changed as the day progressed.

My legs and abs are fine, it's my freaking chest, back, and triceps (told you push ups were horrible for me). It got me to thinking about what Chris had said, and I've come to realize that since I've gotten back into crossfit, I don't think I've really had a day where I haven't felt sore. But the great thing about being sore is that it means that you're getting stronger, and I like getting stronger.

Did a little research on the soreness, and I found this little excerpt on medicinenet.com:

"Don't Get in a Rut

It's also a process of muscle conditioning. Torgan says delayed onset muscle soreness also has a "repeated bouts" effect.

"If someone does an activity, they will be inoculated for a few weeks to a few months -- the next time they do the activity, there will be less muscle tissue damage, less soreness, and a faster strength recovery."

This is why athletes often cross-train and vary their routines to continue to challenge and develop their muscle strength."

Sounds pretty much like crossfit, huh? Always fun to find reports that back up the principals of crossfit.

I also tried to find ways to help relieve the soreness, and according to about.com yoga might help, and there was a CNN report that vitamin E may help as well. Think I might try out the vitamin E, but I'm not sure I'll find the time for yoga. I even found a patent for a piece of cloth that helps treat soreness (remember I'm a patent examiner after all).

I'm also wondering when I should start doing crossfit more than three days a week. Seems like everyone else in the 5pm class is also in the martial arts classes, but I'm not and have nothing else. I've thought about running, especially since it seems the rest of my body is catching up to the strength of my legs. Any suggestions?

Tried out Grindy

Did Grindy yesterday in 37:40.

3 sets of:
10 power clean push jerk (first was 135, other two were 115)
4 rounds per set of:
5 chin ups
10 push ups
15 air squats

The power clean push jerk (or whatever it's called) was very difficult for me, especially with 145 lbs. I thought I had injured my shoulder on some other exercise, but this was the exercise I hurt myself on. My technique still needs a lot of work, being only the second time I've ever tried it. Jerry was happy to see me go for 145 (it was the standard, right?), but after the first 10 I just didn't have enough strength to do it again. When I was working with 115 I was still having trouble getting under the bar for the second movement, and I felt my spine do some funny bending when I went under the bar to catch it. After that sensation, I thought it might have been a better idea to try lighter weight to get the technique right, but Chris convinced me otherwise.

The chin-ups were no problem, I feel like I've really improved my kip and have great form now.

Push ups are still the bane of my existence. I've always had a much stronger back and legs then chest, and push-ups were really slowing me down

Air squats were the easiest, even my very last set was done quickly and smoothly, got a lot of comments on it. Never thought I'd see the day were air squats were something I looked forward to, but that's what happened.

I was so tired I thought I had one more round left, when Chris reminded me I had already done one set of 145, and two sets of 115. At first I didn't believe him, but I was happy to be done so I caved pretty quick. I'm still a little unsure of how many sets I did, but if I was as exhausted as I was after doing two sets, (I foresaw the next set easily taking another 20 minutes) then I have a long way to go.

Why Crossfit caught my attention

Even though I've attended many crossfit classes, this past week is the first time I've attended Monday through Friday due to holidays and injury (mostly the injury). To commemorate this small achievement, I'm posting the email I sent to Jerry explaining why I wanted to join crossfit. I had sent an email expressing interest in the opening 5p class, and Jerry had responded asking for my exercise background. I kind of felt like I was being interviewed, so I gave an in-depth response explaining why I thought crossfit would be good for me. It might have been overkill, but looking back at it now it's interesting to see. So without further ado, here's a passage of that email I sent Jerry almost three months ago:

I've faithfully attended a gym 3-5 days a week since Junior year of college, but I've never had a goal in mind. That is, until a few months ago. I realized my problem was a lack of focus, lack of a goal. I always waffled between bulking up and slimming down, so neither happened. A few weeks later, I heard about the movie 300, and how all the actors were required to work out together so they all looked alike. I realized that would be my new goal: to look like that. My research led me to finding the now infamous 300 video diary. I thought to myself, "Man, that looks like it would be best/worst thing ever. I want to do that!" I was actually going to contact a trainer at the gym I attend this week about setting up a workout schedule, but yesterday my roommate showed me CrossFit.com. This is exactly what I'm looking for.

And it's not just because I want to be transformed into a Spartan. I feel like the curriculum is more in tune with the nature of the Human body and mind. The body wasn't designed for isolation exercises, it was designed to run and lug large objects around. There are so many muscles that go un-stressed in the gym, and I want to work out my entire body.

As for the mind, it wasn't meant to be worked in isolation either. Some of my fondest memories were with people while exercising. Whether it was with one of my wrestling teammates, a personal trainer, the occasional fraternity brother I'd convince to work out with me, or a classmate, I always enjoyed working out with other people. Although the regularity of a working schedule allows me to attend the gym 5 days a week, I work at the Patent and Trademark Office and it's been impossible to find a work out partner, and I'm finding the gym to be less fun then it used to be. The impression that I get is people in CrossFit develop those friendships, and I want that. I want the total fitness, the focus, and the camaraderie that CrossFit seems to provide.


I have to say, so far crossfit has really lived up to my expectations, and I'm really looking forward to doing this for years to come.

A good day today

Got a PR for dead lift: 265 lbs

Then did this:

500m row (1:47)
40 wall balls
30 Kettlebells
20 Burpees
10 Chin-ups

1 round for time

My time was 10:42, but the thing that made my day is that I'm starting to get used to pushing myself. Since coming back, I've been having problems pushing myself when I hit that wall. It's not a lack of will, I think, but it just a sensation I'm not used to and couldn't figure out how to push myself.

Well, I was doing burpees, first going for sets of five, when suddenly I realized I was capable of doing more, that standing up and "resting" was when I felt the worst. When I was doing chip ups, after doing 5 I suddenly realized that I only had 5 more to go, and hammered them out quick. I feel like now I can start to really improve.

On a separate note, I think I might go from a 5-5-2-5-2 block schedule to a 4-4-2-4-2 block schedule. Jerry told me to go for the 5-2, but sometimes it's a little hard to finish a meal being it's so much food, although sometimes it's no problem polishing off a 5 block meal. On a related note, every time I talk to people about how much I should eat they're really surprised I'm 6'2". I'm not sure why, but people always think I'm shorter, like 5'10".

Deep Thoughts and a goal has been set.

One of Cara's blog entries reminds me of a few conversations I've had with people regarding exercise.

A few years ago one of my classmates, who I'll call Diane, asked my how I lost weight some weight. Now Diane is not a lazy person, she's extremely intense and competitive and is into sports, but she also wanted to lose some weight. When I talked about how I did a different routine everyday in order to prevent the body from acclimating she made a bit of a grimace and talked about how she liked her routine and didn't want to change it.

One of my roommates, who pitched in college and is very athletic, has been trying to fight his plateaus for over a month now, but says he doesn't want to try crossfit because it is so different.

One of my coworkers (a very athletic/large man) was complaining about not seeing any recent gains. When I suggested crossfit he responded with a smile and "yeah, but I like lifting my weights."

These little stories point out one of the bigger obstacles people face in improving themselves physically. People aren't always lazy, they're can also be afraid of change. Change is scary, change is hard. And that's why there's so many lose-weight-fast schemes that try to make it less scary, less of a change. My experience with Crossfit so far is another example. Currently I'm really sore and I'm kind of afraid of what Jerry will have in store for team 5pm. And there are usually groans in the class when we learn what we're going to do. Even one of the actors in the movie 300 points this out.

But the only way to grow, physically, mentally, etc., is to step outside of our comfort zone. I think Crossfit forces us to do this everyday, and that's at least one reason why it is so wonderful. After a period of constantly stepping outside our exercise comfort zone, we see challenges not as a barrier or a possibility of failure but as a good thing, something to overcome, a possibility of success.

In this manner, crossfit can be life changing. You become more apt to try new things out, to enjoy more of the wonderful experiences this world has to offer, and to become a better person. Crossfit can change lives, and not just because of the physical change, but it can change one's outlook on life as well, and all for the better.

On a separate, less deep note...
A lot of people here at CFOT are making 12 week goals, Again, Cara talks about it here. Right now I have a 3 week goal: lose 5 pounds, improving my physique so I can feel comfortable enough to wear European swim wear while in Marbella (my lack of modesty will not be a problem). …Just for the record I'm not talking about a Speedo, but something akin to drag shorts, like what Daniel Craig wore in Casino Royale (Modesty: no, pride: yes). I would partake in the 12 week challenge, but I don't know how my vacation is going to work into Funishments and I don't want to handicap a group.

A really hard decision made today.

Exhausted, today's workout thankfully didn't have anything approximating squats. This is what was on the board:

800 m run
30 clean and press (95 lbs)
30 chin ups
800 m run
25 clean and press
25 chin ups
800 m run
20 clean and press
20 chin ups

This is what I ended up doing:

800 m
30 clean and press (20 lb dumbells)
30 chin ups
800 m
25 cleans (95 lbs)
12 chin ups
800 m
20 cleans
10 chin ups

I did it in 49:50

I really really really hate the fact that I had to stop the press element in the clean and press, but on three different reps I felt/herd my shoulder "click", which means there's still an impingement in my shoulder. Because of the muscle tear, when I move my arm above my head there's still a danger of something catching, thus the clicking. I know that it might not hurt at that moment, but I will feel it later. So I had to stop, and that took all of my will power.

Chin ups were also really, really hard. The last set I could only do them one or two at a time. Good news is I got my form back, I felt like my kip is really getting good. Bad news is that my forearms are my weak link. Like I did one or two straight pull-ups, so my lats (which are still sore) were strong enough, I just couldn't hold onto the bar. Thankfully, that will improve, and soon I'll be pounding out the chin-ups. Strangely, I'm looking forward to Friday, wonder what Jerry will have in store!

Trying to stay in the zone

I have found that sticking to the zone diet is easy given some planning and preparation (which in itself may or may not be easy). As I've talked about before, I've made a grocery list for 6 days worth of zone meals using the crossfit journal as a guide. So all I do is buy the food on the list, nothing more, nothing less. If I don't have the food around the house, then I have no choice but to eat it. After a couple of weeks, the recipes are so ingrained into your memory that it doesn't take long to prepare. Every morning I pack the deli sandwich and first snack, while eating my oatmeal. I have the most energy in the morning, before work and crossfit wears me out, so I try to make dinner the easiest to make. I come home after a hard day of crossfitting, and I make the easiest meal, the smoothie. It also feels like one of those protein shakes that one takes after workouts, so that's a nice effect. If it's not a crossfit day, I then eat a serving of chili. Since the recipe makes three servings I make it on Sunday, and I'm set for the week (Sun, Tue, Thur). I'm still working on meals for the seventh day; usually I just go to the grocery store and then treat Saturday as Sunday, Sunday as Monday, etc. This was ok since I was injured and not in crossfit. However, now that I'm back to working out, a plan for the seventh day is needed. I'm probably going to just make it another oatmeal/sandwich/smoothie day (adjusting the grocery list is easy with the excel sheet), but I would like to expand my zone culinary repertoire a little bit, any suggestions?

I would also like to note that I understand this is a fairly unforgiving structure, and that rigidity has caused me problems, but it has also had many benefits. In the first three weeks of being in the zone, I didn't have any distractions to cause me to stray, and it was great. I think in that three week span I had only two or three non-zone meals. As expected, however, normalcy called and I had to go be social on the weekends, attending a wedding in Chicago on the on the 21st, a wedding in Bloomington IN on the 28th, and celebrate the fourth in Chicago and attend another wedding in Detroit on the 6th. These trips/weddings have not been very zone-friendly, what with being in airports, away from home, and the presence wedding cake (of course).

Now, you might think that I was totally screwed and just went buck-wild on the weekends. Well, with the exception of wedding cake I was able to estimate my meals to somewhat zone-friendly portions. Because I couldn't know what exactly went into every meal (e.g. how much butter was used in steaming vegetables), I couldn't be as zone friendly as I wanted to be, but I just tried to listen to my body and selected portions of meats and veggies that I felt fit the 40-30-30 ratio. Whether these meals were 5 blocks or not I have no idea, but my point is after getting used to zone-foods, you start to be able to "speak zone", and you look for foods that make you feel good, like the ideal zone meals. I think the body has an amazing ability to tell you what it wants/needs, you just have to understand what it's telling you. After being in the zone for a while, you start to understand what works and what doesn't. I find myself constantly talking about "listening to my body", so I think tomorrow I'll write about it, hope it will prove useful.

Something that also helps learning to improvise zone meals is varying the ingredients of recipes. For example, what if you're tired of eating grapes with your oatmeal (they're not that zone friendly anyway)? Well, the cup of grapes listed in the recipe is 2 blocks of carbs, so I look to the journal's list of carbs and find out that 1 1/3 cup of raspberries would work as well, and Dr. Spears ranks raspberries higher than grapes. You could do the same thing for the cottage cheese or protein powder. Substitutions cause you to learn how much of what is a block of carb/protien/fat, and pretty soon you can just use whatever is around you to create a zone-meal. Hope this helps.

Intro to Ladders and dealing with a shoulder injury

Today was ladders, and they really made me feel out of shape. It can be frustrating to see how I have stayed or even gone backwards from where I was before the injury, but I try to take inspiration in seeing how others in team 5pm have progressed, and it gives me comfort to realize that I will improve as well.

Jump Squats: 17
Chin-Ups: 7
Burpees: 8
Ab mat sit-ups: 100

With the injury report, the shoulder is feeling much, much better. With my four-day weekend I did very little physical exertion, except on Saturday I worked out in a Chicago gym. I had two choices, physical therapy or crossfit. For the first time, in a long time, I wasn't feeling any pain in my shoulder. None at all, not even any discomfort. I decided to put down the barbell and pick up the power band. Performing the exercises was a little tedious, but in the end I felt good.

When coming back from an injury, you have to park your ego at the door. You can't push your self, because you will push your body past its breaking point. Now, how do you know the breaking point? Just start slow, and just add a little bit each day/week. When it hurts, just back off again and wait some more.

It can be maddening, but ask anyone who's had an injury: ignore it and it will only worsen. Push too hard and you'll be out longer. Everyone will tell you (and you to back me up here Forts), impatience will lead you to a possibly permanent injury.

I've noticed I talk a lot about "listening to the shoulder". I've realized I'm not even sure how to define what that means, but I'd like to try to explain. I've got a little bit of martial arts background, and my first style that I learned was wu-style tai chi at a very, very good school in Dallas back in high school. The style involves listening to the body, and really focusing on what goes on in the body. In about two months tai chi healed my carpal tunnel syndrome, so I highly recommend taking tai chi. It doesn't mesh well with the mentality of crossfit, but at least in my opinion, that's what makes it so beneficial. So that's what I am trying to do when I exercise, I focus on the shoulder and really, really try to hear what's going on in there.

The key to the men's sucess?

Katie claims in her comment to my last post that the men's victory was luck, plain and simple. Being as close as the score was I have a tendency to believe her. But, I would like to share my game plane that might have helped (or hurt) the men's score, now that I'm back from Detroit/Chicago and can use my laptop.

In the last ten minutes we could partner up, so I thought it would be a good idea to partner up for the 6 point farmer walk. That would get the most points in the least amount of time. So for the last 6-7 min, I split 3 farmer walks.

So in that last 6-7 min, we earned 18 points total. That means I earned 9 points in 6-7 minutes, that's about 1.5 points per minute. So if I had kept up that pace for the entire 40 min, I would have had a score of around 60. Considering that my score was half that, I guess it really helped my score.

So I think my plan, to game the system and go for the big point award with teamwork, might have had helped out, but there might be a better way. While I still believe the secret to really succeeding in these competitions is teamwork, I think my implementation of it wasn't the best. Next time, I think someone sounding off and doing something like burbees as a group would work better. Perhaps the next team competition will reveal a better team strategy...

Battle of the sexes...

Well, today Jerry pitted the men against the women, and it was a close one, but the men of 5p pulled out a huge victory. Here's my contribution, at least what I can remember (it was a long 40 min):
1.5k row (6 pts)
80 sit-ups (2 pts)
40 burpees (2 pts)
1000m run (5 pts)
400m farmers walk with 45lb kettle bells (6 pts)
and did 3 more with help (9 pts?)

So that's 30 pts, glad the other guys were in better shape to get the win :)

I'd like to write a little more about crossfitting with a shoulder injury, but right now I've got to get back to work, gonna be a 11 hour work day today.