Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Hero WOD "Erin"

Thursday 10 September 2011
Canadian Army Master Corporal Erin Doyle, 32, was killed in a firefight August 11th, 2008 in the Panjwaii District, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.

He is survived by his wife Nicole and his daughter Zarine.

Weighted Pull up
5/5/5/5/5
  • 25x5
  • 45x5
  • 65x5
  • 80x5
  • 95x5 Pr!

Complete five rounds for time
15 Dumbbell Split clean, M40F/25
21 Pull ups
  • 9:34 Rested a little bit more then needed and I broke for a couple of seconds during my fourth round of pull ups but I'm still pretty happy. Can do better but I am pushing myself harder.

Cash out
One minute aggregate Planche progression
  • 6x10 seconds of advanced tuck planche

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Tuesday 30 August 211

Split Jerk
  • 3/3/3/3/3
  • 135x3
  • 155x3
  • 175x3
  • 195x3
  • 215x2 Just barely missed the lockout on the third rep. I almost considered counting it because I guarantee I would have made it if I had bumpers but fear of dropping the weight kept me from fully committing and finishing the lift. Can't wait until the CrossFit room gets finished.

Complete two rounds for time
Run 800m
100 Double unders
50 Sit ups

  • 12:41 not quite as difficult as I had anticipated.

Cash out
 One minute Aggregate front lever progression work
  • Advanced tuck lever, 4x15 seconds
  • Embedded front lever, 1x7 reps
Taking my post on the mental side of training to heart I really proved to myself today how much power your mind has on your workout. I told myself Before every rep that I was going to do it and moved hit a twenty pound pr. True I had a rough time fully committing to the last rep but I feel that equipment had a lot to do with that. If I had bumpers I could have committed to the lift fully with no fear of dropping the bar.

Monday, August 29, 2011

The mental side of training

One of my Crossfit Heroes, Chris Spealler, said that once you get to a certain point, it becomes not about how fast you can move but how much pain you can take.

In my workouts I post a strength movement, a "METCON" or metabolic conditioning workout and often a skill or core based cool down or "cash out". I generally do all three. Since I try to have the strength and conditioning work towards the same goal, you are welcome to welcome to do one or the other depending on your own fitness goals or state of training and recovery. By this I mean that if you are feeling extra tired or over trained you could just do the strength portion and get the hell out of there. If you feel as though you just really need an ass kicking then you can throw everything you have got into the metcon and once again get the hell out.

It is pretty known that a lot of us Crossfit enthusiasts need to do some dedicated work on strength training if we ever want to make our times competitive. That is why I put the strength portion at the start of every workout except on Saturdays. I have spent the past year training myself and I have gotten stronger for hit and have hit some pretty substantial Personal records.

Since early spring, I seem to have stopped hitting personal best times on many of my workouts. Despite getting stronger I seem to have slowed down much of the time. I have found myself resting when it wasn't needed or taking too long to go from one station to another. It has been a source of frustration because though I am capable of moving the weight or myself more times I have chosen to break unnecessarily. Logically thinking, I should be fitter than I was last year yet last summer, I was hitting better times on my METCON even though I am crushing some of my old strength numbers. Why is that?

Then it dawned on me. I have always had a headspace when working out that I haven't hit in months. My wife calls it the "Joe Zone". When the workout would get tough, I would get a distant look in my eyes and just push through it. When things got really painful I would transcend and speed up. This hasn't happened since early spring and I can tell you why.

In my need to get stronger I seem to have forgotten the basic philosophy upon which Crossfit has been founded. "To increase work capacity across broad time and modal domains".  I pushed this aside and became obsessed with strength training to the point that my metcon training has become something of an afterthought. If my times went down I figured that I just needed to work strength more. Yet there were times when I couldn't lift anything close to what I can lift now but had the mental drive to keep going long after things got really painful.

Damn I can get long winded!

Yes I put the strength portion in to help us all lift heavier weights. But we need to remember that I put the METCON in to make us stronger mentally as well as physically.  It is what keeps us moving when our bodies want to give out and we are gasping for air. METCON training reminds us that just because it hurts, is no reason to stop. We are capable of so much more that we think. We just have to refuse to stop. I have spent hours lying awake at night rehearsing the next days METCON in my head just so I would be prepared mentally for how much it would hurt. I'd get up in the morning and right away start telling myself that I was going to rock the workout. If I had to put the weight down I would tell myself "you've got this!" pick it up and get moving again.

The mental side of training can be more powerful than we know. We often guarantee a Pr or defeat ourselves in the moments or hours before a workout even starts. Never forget the power of positive self talk and determination.

"People do not lack strength, they lack will"
                                                                                                            -Hugo

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Go Anderson SIlva!

Just finished watching UFC 134, Anderson Silva is an absolute nightmare. I think he must have a "Mandinga" cast on him by some Brazilian witch doctor because he seems to cast a spell on his opponent every time he fights.
Scary, scary dude

WOD Monday 29 August 2011

Deadlift
5 rep max
  • 315x5
  • 345x5
  • 375x5 Felt really good. 375x5 today felt better than 375x3 on the last 3rep max day.

3 rounds for time
20 Pistols (alternating single leg squats)
20 Dumbbell swings M70/F35
20 Toes to bar

My time: 10:21 I struggled a bit with the swings because the dumbbell I was using had crappy grip that was tearing my hand apart, otherwise everything was unbroken.

Scaling: 
  1. If you can not do full pistols, set a box up behind you as low as you can go and squat to the box. 
  2. Males can scale with 55 or 25lb dumbbell swings females with 25 or 15. 
  3. Toes to bar can be scaled with hanging leg raises, legs as straight as possible.


Friday, August 26, 2011

Saturday 27 August 2011


Today's workout being done by some crazy Asian dudes for your pleasure. If you look closely, you can see what appear to be ab implants under this guy's jiggly belly wtf!

Ten rounds for time
10 thrusters, M96/F65
10 ring push ups

Beginners and intermediate scale the weight as needed. Beginner can do normal push ups if needed

My time was 14:54 40 seconds longer than last summer. I sure can't wait until I start hitting metcon Pr's again.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Friday 26 August 2011




Snatch Balance
3/3/3/3/3
  • 95x3
  • 115x3
  • 135x3
  • 155x3
  • 175x3 Stayed here because I found at this weight I would catch above parallel and sink into the pocket

Front squat
5/5/5/5/5
  • 135x5
  • 155x5
  • 175x5
  • 195x5
  • 225x2
  • 205x5 Should have gone up to 215 instead of jumping right up to 225

Pull up
3 sets for max reps
  • 30 Pr :)
  • 19 :(  I think I may have lost count and actually done 24
  • 20 :)

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Thursday 25 August 2011

Prover overhead position had the arms locked out overhead, weight is in line with the hips and heels. Don't overextend the spine but open up the hips. Finish the lift don't every rep.

Press
5/5/5/5/5
  • 95x5
  • 105x5
  • 115x5
  • 125x5
  • 135x5 PR felt so good I decided to go for more
  • 145x3 this is good because for the longest time I haven't been able to get past 135x2

3 rounds for time
15 Push Jerk @ 65% one rep max
21 Pull ups

  • 5:45 Felt great, did all my pull ups unbroken and did my first round of push jerks unbroken, second round was 10/5 and third round was 7/8 with very little rest between sets and rounds.


Cool off with 5 minutes handstand work. worked on press to handstand, was quite difficult today because my wrists and forearms were tore up from the WOD but still managed to get one up and then worked on balance

Caveman Babies Part two: Delivery day

In the last post on this topic we had a brand new little bundle of joy and I was pretty sleep deprived.
Two months old and already looking at me like I'm crazy

Now Gwendolynn is two months old, we're still sleep deprived but things are beginning to settle into a bit of a rhythm. We're getting to know her, she's getting to know us and we're a happy little family.

I promised that today I would talk a little bit about our experience with the delivery. I remember getting to work and only about an hour later I got a text from Megz asking me to call. I know from the moment I left the apartment that something was going to happen today. The day just felt surreal.

I called in and megz told me she thought her water broke. Needless to say I was shortly on my way back home.

I got home and pretty much as soon as I got in the door Meghan started having contractions. We called my folks and her folks and headed into the hospital. We got to the hospital and were admitted and sat around for a couple of hours waiting for a doctor to show up. During this time Meghan's contractions went from five minutes apart to two. The Doc showed up, check to see if her water broke, told us it hadn't and sent us on our way telling us to come in when it gets to be too much.

We decided to go down to the garden in the front yard of the IWK and have lunch. Both our families were there and we were happy to have everybody together so we hung out and had a picnic all the while Meghan's contractions were back up to five minutes apart.

After about two hours of hanging out in the garden with no major changes Megz figured she wanted to go home to get a bath. My Sister wisely suggested she go back up to get checked first. So we went up, re-admitted ourselves. The nurse showed up into our room and said to us, and I quote "It's your first baby so you'll probably be here a while but I might as well check anyway" and proceeded to check Meghan's cervix to see if she was dilated. Her very next comment was "Oh my, I'm going to break your water now and you can start pushing!" It's a good thing we didn't go home.

Little gwennie only minutes old and mom looking amazing
We went to the delivery room, they were going to find Megz a wheel chair but she insisted on walking down the hall herself. Stopping along the way to have a contraction, which were now one minute apart without complete breaks in between. We got into the delivery room, it was Megz, her mother, me, the doc and a student nurse. I'll never forget how amazing Dr poirer was that day. Meghan's water had not yet broke even though she was fully dilated, so Dr Poirer got out the amino hook broke, her water, sat down in front of her and said "Ok girl, do what feels natural". 15 minutes later we had a beautiful baby girl.

Now on to the Caveman aspect

Meghan became my hero that day...

I am one proud poppa
I knew with our Paleo diet and super fit lifestyle, birth would be easy compared to most, but Meghan really amazed me that day. From the first contraction to full delivery took just under six hours. Meghan pushed for all of fifteen minutes. Afterward, it was less than an hour and Meghan was up and in the shower giving me some time to get to know my little angel.

If you read my last post on the topic you know that Megz continued to go to the gym as per normal. As the pregnancy progressed she stopped pushing all out in her workouts and began more to concentrate on being able to breathe her way through the workout. She claims this was why she did such an amazing job during delivery, She states that doing so allowed he to control her breathing and remain calm in in control during the whole delivery. Only once did she state that she was scared. I gently reminded her that this is exactly what nature intended for us. That was all she needed.

As I stated earlier, she only pushed for fifteen minutes. This I largely attribute to her having a decent squat going in. In fact if anybody were to tell me that they were thinking about getting pregnant I would advise them to learn how to squat properly and as heavy as possible. I have no doubt that all the muscles involved in pushing out a baby are the same as the ones used to move a heavy weight up from the bottom of a deep squat. Once the doc said push, it was only a few pushes and one primal scream later and we had an amazing little girl who is today, at two months old as healthy and as happy as can be. But that's the topic for Part three.

The whole delivery experience was amazing. Megz herself will tell you it was the most incredible thing she has ever experienced. There is much to be said for attempting to live life close to how evolution has intended.
Daddy's little girl for sure

Monday, August 22, 2011

Tuesday 23 August 2011

Hanging squat clean
5/5/5/5/5
  • 95x5
  • 115x5
  • 135x5
  • 155x5
  • 175x5 had to put the bar down at 4 to reset my grip. Picked it back up and finished the set but this is where I stay



3 rounds for time
Advanced: 21 Dumbbell snatch per arm M50/F30lbs
                  21 L-Pull ups
Intermediate: 21 Dumbbell snatch Per Arm M35/F20
                      21 L pull ups
Beginner: Complete as many alternating Dumbbell snatches as possible in 2 minutes, M24/F15lbs
                 15 Pull ups
                 10 Second L-hang or tuck L

Snatches are from the floor and finish in the power position, 3/4 standing

Time 17:15 at advanced  I love WOD's that make me wonder if I'm in over my head once I get started.

Cool Down
Advanced tuck planche 5x5seconds


Sunday, August 21, 2011

Monday 22 August 2011

Lieutenant Andrew Richard Nuttall, 30, from the 1st Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (1 PPCLI), based in Edmonton, Alberta, serving as a member of the 1 PPCLI Battle Group was killed by an improvised explosive device that detonated during a joint foot patrol near the village of Nakhonay in Panjwaii District, about 25 km southwest of Kandahar City on December 23, 2009.

He is survived by his parents, Richard and Ethel Jane Nuttall.
Squat
225x5
255x5
275x5 PR

Complete for time
10 Handstand push ups
15 Deadlifts, M250/F165lbs
25 box jumps, M30/F20
50 Pull ups
100 wall ball
200 Double unders
400m run with a plate, M45/F25

25:11 By the time I got to the Wall ball my hips were toast. Holy moly this was much tougher than I was anticipating.


Saturday, August 20, 2011

Saturday 20 August 2011

Today I chose the three types of pull ups WOD

For time:
45lb weighted pull up, 3 reps
5 strict pull ups
7 kipping pull ups

Time: 12:56 not my best time but pretty close. I'm still happy as I was very strict with my form and was still within a minute of my best

Also this was my first fasted workout since dealing with sleep problems. I have to say that I truly feel much better when working out fasted. I have much more energy and can push harder. Possible topic for a future blog post.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Choices choices...

You get to pick from two different ones today.

Death by pull up
with a continuously running clock, perform one muscle up the first minute, two the second minute, three the third until you are no longer able to complete the required number of reps within that minute.


Or

10 rounds for time
3 weighted pull ups M45/F24
5 strict pull ups
7 Kipping pull ups

I wish I had a video for this one but I couldn't find it

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Friday 19 August 2011

Hanging Squat Snatch
5/5/5/5/5
95x5
105x5
115x5
125x5
135x5 Felt very good about this all reps were pretty solid


21-15-9 rep rounds for time of:
kettlebell swings M70/F35lbs
muscle ups

12:00 even not sure if I'm happy about this or not I definitely could have done better on my muscle ups, something that was previously one of my best skills which now seems to be eluding me.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Thursday 18 August 2011

I had to take a couple of days off for a bit of an emergency. Don't worry thing are fine. I'm back I hope you fared well without me

Weighted Pull up
70x5
80x5
90x5 I tend to rest too long at the bottom. sets are easier when I don't rest as long

Push up
70 reps
40 reps
50 reps


4 Rounds for time
run 400m
50 Squats

11:11 for some reason the squats felt brutal.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Saturday 13 August 2011

Sprint 1 mile, rest as needed and repeat

or

Bike 5k rest as needed and repeat

or

Swim 200m, rest as needed and repeat

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Friday 12 August 2011

Power Snatch
5/5/5/5/5

Complete as many rounds in three minutes as possible
5 power snatch @ 85% of your 5 rep max
10 Box jumps, M24/F20"
rest 90seconds and repeat for a total of 3 intervals

Cool down with one minute aggregate front lever work

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Thursday 11 August 2011


 
Bench 
5/5/5

Push Jerk 
5/5/5

Pull up
3 sets for max reps you decide if you do kipping or strict

Monday, August 8, 2011

Tuesday 09 August 2011


This guy is just plain nuts

Power Clean
175x1185x1
195x1
205x1 feet went a little wide
205x2 better but still a little bit wide so going to stick here until my for is solid


4 Rounds for time
21 Burpees
Run 400m   

12:34 Happy, pushed hard, slowed down a little bit on my later runs  but really pushed  through my burpees.

Advanced tuck planche, 5x5 seconds

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Monday 08 August 2011



Squat
one rep max


Complete 5 rounds for time
5 Back Squats
5 Pull ups

Loading
Squat: Advanced, M225/F145
            Intermediate, M185/F115
            Beginner, M135/F85
Pull up: Advanced, M50/F25
              Intemediate, M25/F15
              Beginner do strict or horizontal row

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Thursday, August 4, 2011

WOD Friday 05 August 2011

Note the starting position of this lifter, low hips and vertical torso. This allows for much better hip extension during the "Jumping" phase of the second pull

Front Squat
3/3/3/3/3

Complete one snatch on the minute every minute for ten minutes
Try and raise the weight each round, this is essentially a 1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1 but you are on the clock.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Thursday 04 August 2011

Weighted Pull up
one rep max

Push up
3 sets for max reps

Complete as many rounds in 15 minutes as possible
7 Muscle ups
run 400m

If you don't have muscle ups yet then do 10 pull ups, 10 push ups

Monday, August 1, 2011

WOD Tuesday 02 August 2011


Clean and Jerk
one rep max, warm up as you feel you need to and take up to three attempts at setting a new 1rm


For time:
100 double unders
50 burpees
30 kettlebell swings
rest 3 minutes
30 Kettlebell swings
50 Burpees
100 Double unders
Caveman2.0