Doubling up

Been working out at Spark and Power Plus doing Olympic lifting. Trying to find a pace that won't burn me out while working. Tough going doing two heavy workouts a day. Feels good but I have had some stomach issues. On a cheat day I ate some cips with MSG in them and it has sent me for an intestinal loop. Low energy and that is no good. I have gained three pounds in the last two and a half weeks and it is not fat.

Whew. When to take a time out.

Hard week. Work got extremely busy and I think I may have overdone it on Sunday and Monday at the gym. Took Tuesday off and went for a benchmark on Wednesday and I just had no juice in the tank. Also, one of my guys called in sick so I was stuck doing two jobs. Started at 8:00 am and didn't leave the second site until 11:00 pm. All hands and knees. I was wrecked Thursday and still had lots to do. So I'd say I had overdone it a bit.
When even the warm up starts getting the warning bells pinging as your muscles don't seem to be cooperating and the pain is not letting up, then you know it is time to schedule in some active recovery. It is not a bad thing to take time out and focus on getting the energy levels back up and let the body have some time to recuperate. When you first start Crossfit, it is very important to give your body that rest. As you become more accustomed to the demands, it is good to ramp up the number of workouts per week, the weight, and the intensity. But you need to listen to your body otherwise it is easy to start tweaking muscles and connective tissue. So the mental learning curve has to include self awareness and patience. The self awareness is to know when something in your body needs to be nursed and catered to. The patience is the skill to give yourself the time to let that happen. It is easy to get frustrated or rush back to do a WOD before you are ready and that can set you back even further.
Before Christmas, I was injured at work and developed a serious abdominal tear. Right before my affiliates Fight Gone Bad fundraiser. I was very upset. It took three months to get back on track. At that point, I started pushing to hard and injured myself again. So for another three weeks, I was sidelined with a back injury. Therefore, patience is a virtue...not easily learned.
Take time for yourself outside of training and work. read some books, watch a cool show, hang out with friends. Rest in a positive environment. Also, you can include somatic, physio, chiro, and massage/acupuncture visits as well. All these treatments can help you get over acute injuries faster, and nurse chronic issues back to health.

InterCity Challenge: 1-2-3 GO!

Wow. That was a hell of a lot of fun. Five heats, a ton of great people giving their all and lots of supporters. Kudos to Crossfit Edmonton for putting on a great event.
The workout was 10 push ups and 15 power cleans at 95 lbs, AMRAP 15 minutes. The last two heats were Rx'd mens and the steel was flying. Winner got something like 12 sets and 5 reps, runner up was 11 sets, 21 reps, third place was 11 sets, 16 reps. I finished with 11 sets and 5 reps.
I didn't want to burn out so I broke the power cleans into triplets of fives with three deep breaths between each. I had been told the sets to beat was 10 sets, 21 reps so I was shooting for 11 +. The way I went at it was a good pace and there is room for improvement. I was doing the actual reps really fast so next time I would string more like 7 and 8 together. But that is hard.
Overall, I felt really good with my performance and it did nothing but stoke the fires. I really want to keep training and get better, faster, and stronger.
My lovely wife and daughters were there to support me and I had a few great folks from Spark cheering me on. I really enjoyed cheering on the other competitors as well. It is a great community spirit and it feels good to connect with people who have shared the experience. Although we all experience the pain differently, we all experience the pain but get swept along with the endorphins that come with it. Can't wait for the next challenge!!!

Rest Day

Rest day today. Tomorrow is the Intercity Challenge. Had a lot of work to do today so it was good to take a break physically.
Lots to say tomorrow.

Deadlift your way to happiness

Yesterday was a great day. Fun work out in the morning then I went to the gym in the evening at the same facility where my little girls go for their performance classes. It is a small facility, with the main weight room being no larger then 400 sq.ft. It is the only location around here that has a bonafide Olympic platform and weights. I have to laugh a little every time I go there because of all the young guys doing their workouts. There is a bunch of guys who are obviously high school or team mates of some sort and they are all well muscled. But they do their ten reps and then stand around talking for 5 minutes about whatever then go back to their ten reps. No sweat, no hair out of place, no intensity. I don't mean to call into question their commitment to their bodies, at least how good they look. But if you train without "balls out" intensity, in a way you are wasting your time. So there they are doing their seated dumbbell shoulder press, and I launch into 115lb thruster/push up/power clean/ clean and jerk series that I felt like doing and for fifteen minutes, I am going as hard as I can, as many reps as possible. Breathing hard, sweating like a who knows what, and intense. It was fun to see the guys reaction. Needless to say, I got some respect when I was done and walked out of the room.

This morning though, we did a thruster (30 sec)/rest/pull up(30 seconds) WOD, 30 seconds AMRAP (As Many rounds As Possible), 30 sec rest, for three rounds. I have a slight twinge in my left shoulder which caused me some grief in the press but it felt good. This was after building up to a 305lb deadlift which matches a personal record (PR). However, the last time I did 305 I was incapacitated as I let my form slip as did a disc in my lower back. That was 6 months ago. I feel confident 320 is well within my abilities.

Had a long day coating floors today so I certainly felt yesterday's and this mornings workout in my back but it's been a great week.

Tomorrow is a rest day and getting ready for the Intercity Challenge on Saturday.

Fight Gone Bad

Get to the gym this morning and boom...Fight Gone Bad.
3 rounds of five minutes each. 1 minute wallball (20lb), 1 minute Sumo Deadlift High Pull (65lbs), 24" Box jumps, Push Press (65 lbs), Row (for calories), 1 minute rest then do it again.
The movements recruit many of the same muscle groups so this routine (based on 3 rounds of five minutes like an MMA fight) can really get you. I finished with 305 reps. I was happy as that is a new PR and I really felt the moments where you make the decision to push or puss out. I pushed and it showed. Plus, I am really struggling with allergies so very difficult to catch my breath as I can't breath properly.
Things are going well other than the allergies.
It is a challenge going to work after a hard workout. Today we prepped over 1300 sq.ft. for stain, all fine sanding. Lots of hands and knees and staying focused on looking for the smallest imperfections. Start to get tired around the mid-afternoon mark. But I keep eating the fats and try to stick to the Zone Diet as much as possible and I'm finding the energy is there when I need it. Particularly once I get home and my ladies need attention.
In terms of the Zone, I have modified the diet so that I eat 6 Protein and 6 Carbs right after a workout, wait two hours and then eat two more protein and about ten fats. This is helping even out the energy over the morning and keeping my cells packed full of nutrients when they need it most, right after the workout. I haven't yet done an accurate BMI (Body Mass Index) but to be honest, I feel that that particular measure is not of much use. Performance during the WODs over a period of time will determine whether my diet is working or not.
In terms of the Zone Diet, I have had to turn to some bread and more fruit in order to get my carbs. I can't stuff myself full of veggies and keep working the way I need to. I prefer to eat small packets of food throughout the day so I am nibbling on my veggie pack, and eating the protein and other carbs and fats at set three hour intervals. So far it is working well.
I do enjoy getting everything ready the night before. I spend time during my prep visualizing the strength and power that the food will generate for me and I appreciate how lucky and blessed I am to have the food, the lifestyle, and the abilities that I do. Being thankful and positive keeps things in perspective.

Balance

Balance. Sometimes before starting a WOD, you have to set a goal that will help your overall game. For example, today's workout involved straight shoulder press, russian kettle bell swings, and ring rows. I know that shoulder strength is a key element in all the primary movements involved in crossfit as well as many life situations so I chose to sacrifice time for weight and made sure I pushed my limits. Although it slowed me down a lot, I beat an old PR by lifting 125lbs 3 times in a straight press. That felt good. The KB swings and the rows were easy but I needed the time to work on shoulder power. Secondly, in the last two weeks my abdominal and core stabilizers have dramatically improved. In plyo play, (4 minutes of plank pose, switching from side to side, lift leg and arm while balancing on the others) there is no strain. And the Glute/Ham machine sit ups, I can now go back all the way and touch my fingers to the ground before blasting back up. This is a great improvement and I hope it translates into a stronger bottom and more drive in the Oly lifts and thrusters.