Gettcha mind right!

This morning I glanced at my calendar and had to do a double take. I remember the New Year’s celebration as if it was just the other day, yet March is just around the corner, yikes! How easily I get swept up in the whirlwind of life and completely lose my concept of time. Where have the past 8 weeks gone? Sometimes I feel as though living one day at a time can be somewhat of an uphill battle.

To kick off the beginning of the 2ND quarter of 2008, I’ve decided to reflect upon this year’s goals. In doing so, I hope to regain some focus and like my good friend Angela always says, “get my mind right”.

1) 1 Muscle up: Still have a ways to go, but I've been practicing like crazy.
2) 10 consecutive Kipping Pull-ups: I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I think I have about 3-5.
3) 1 Ring Dip: I am happy to report that I finally got a dip on the rings! I can do about 4. One step closer to that muscle-up!
*I also want to commit to really focusing on lifts that I am exceptionally weak in: OH Squat, Snatch and Shoulder Press.

8:30AM
3oz Chicken
1.5 cups steamed Chard in tomato sauce
.5 Apple w/ peanut butter
Coffee w/ cream
=3 Zone blocks+1.5 fat blocks

When Eva Strikes

Yesterday’s wod on the CrossFit national site was named “Eva” but I think they may have left out an “L” at the end of that name; it was down right ugly. Although my body may have been ready for her after having taken Saturday off, I’m not so sure anything could've really prepared for this one. It can best be described as Cracked-out Helen, as it resembles Helen in movements but at a far greater volume, making it physically demanding in addition to being incredibly challenging mentally.

"Eva"

Five rounds for time of:
Run 800 meters
2 pood Kettlebell swing, 30 reps (I used 1 pood)
30 Pull-ups

55:19 (i was trying to finish in sub 1 hr)

Named after Crossfit superstar and athelete Eva T, the wod is a brand new addition to the Crossfit black box. Eva, who recently said in an interview that she's a fan of Helen because its her mother’s name, shows us just how much she loves her mom in this grueling workout. Congrats to Eva for her namesake wod and a big high 5 to all of those who survived yesterday's workout!

8:45am
4.5oz Ground beef w/ marinara sauce
1 Blood orange
6 Almonds
2 Tbls. cream in Coffee
=3 blocks+1 fat block

1:15pm
4.5oz Ground beef w/ marinara sauce
1.5 cups raw Spinach w/ dressing
1 Tangerine
.25 cups Blueberries
.75 Tbls. peanut butter
=3 blocks+1 fat block

Catch up time

Now that I have fully recovered from my cold, it's back to the training floor for me.

This week at Crossfit Oakland:
Tuesday:
1) Bench Press 5x5 - 82 lbs
2) 3 sets of max # of Dead Hang pull-ups: 4/3/3

Yesterday:
1) Hang Squat Clean 3x4- Loads= 45/55/65/75
2) Complete as many rounds in 20 min of:
8 pull-ups, 8 push-ups, 4 Handstand push-ups, 8 Kettlebell swings (16kg)
= 5 + 8 pull-ups

I did this second workout with Max Lewin at Berkeley Ironworks. A huge thanks to Max for letting me join in on the fun!

Today's Wod:

4 rounds of:

Run 400meters followed by 50 Squats
=12:57

8:15am
1 Chicken Sausage
1.5 cups Berries w/ 1/3 cup Almond meal & Flaxseed meal (mixed)
3 Almonds
= 3 Zone blocks+1 fat block

Ode to Journals

I began recording my Crossfit workouts a little over a year ago and have recently discovered a new appreciation for my journal. Aside from being a useful tool for tracking daily wods, it is a constant reminder of the progress I've made and speaks to the power of Crossfit. The crinkled, scribbled on pages of my journal are a testament of my hard work, dedication and love of the sport.

As I flip through the pages of my coveted journal, memories of wods that made me scream and cuss or left me floored in a pool of sweat and tears spring up and I can't help but shake my head and smile. There is a strong sense of accomplishment that I get each time I open up journal and read old entries. These pages provide me with the confidence and motivation to challenge myself further and strive for elite fitness.

Today's Workout @ Crossfit Oakland: Front Squat 1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1
65-75-85-95-105-115-115-110-110-100
(loads in Red represent failed attempts)

I visted the Farmer's Market last weekend and was delighted to see an array of this season's fruits and vegetables. Even during this chilly time of the year, loyal nature continues to provide us with a bountiful supply of her delicious treasures.

To find a Farmer's Market near you visit: http://www.localharvest.org/

WINTER GREENS
Artichokes

Avocado

Bok Choy

Broccoli

Brussels Sprouts

Cabbage

Cauliflower
Celery Root

Chestnuts

Jerusalem Artichokes

Kale

Radishes

Snow Peas

Squash (Winter)

Sweet Potatoes

WINTER FRUIT

Blood Oranges

Clementines

Cranberries

Grapes (Red)

Grapefruits

Kiwi
Kumquat

Oranges

Passion Fruit

Pears

Persimmons

Pomegranates

Pummelo
Rhubarb

Tangelo

Tangerine

Click on any of these to learn how to store and prepare them.

Chipper Fun!

Yesterday was a “Rest Day” on the National Crossfit Site, however me and a few other loco Crossfitter that missed Friday’s wod did the following:
For time:

25 Walking lunge steps

20 Pull-ups

50 Box jumps, 20 inch box

20 Double-unders

25 Ring dips (partials)

20 Knees to elbows

30 Kettlebell swings, (45#)

30 Sit-ups

20 Hang squat cleans, (20 pound dumbbells)

25 Back extensions

30 Wall ball shots, 14 pound ball

3 Rope climb ascents
My time: 32:24
(Wieght in Red are my modifications)

I felt pretty good until I got to the ring dips. I still haven’t mastered the full range dip but I did as many as I could as deep as possible. This really slowed me down considering I could only do one at a time. The KB swings were pretty brutal too, it was the most weight I have every swung. And the 3 rope climbs at the end were down right mean! Great to be back in the gym again!

Meals Today:
5:45am
.5 Cliffbar Builder Bar
=1.5 Blocks

7:45am
3oz Extra lean Ground Beef
1 Orange
.75 TBSP Almond Butter
=2 Blocks+1 Block Fat

“Health and sickness are largely externalizations of our dominant mental and a spiritual state…A normal healthy mind reflects itself in the body, and conversely, an abnormal mental state expresses its corresponding condition in some physical condition.”
The Science of Mind-Ernest Holmes

Holmes’ words on the Mind/Body connection really resonate with me right now. With the passing of my grandmother last week, my depleted spiritual and emotional state lead to some physical ramifications. My body felt the effects almost immediately, leaving me exhausted and causing me to sleep 10, 11 even 12 hours/night. Fatigue, coupled with flu-like symptoms has really crippled any effort to “get buff”.

Last week, I took a few days off from x-fitting and simply focused on resting and listening to my body. As you can see, I couldn’t even muster up the energy to do any blogging.
On a brighter note, I woke up today feeling somewhat normal again. This is good considering I agreed to workout with Audra later this evening.

Mission: Get Buff

As I mentioned on the previous post, I will begin to make a serious effort to decrease my bodyfat% from 12% to 10%. This seems to be a much healthier body composition and a realistic goal for myself.

According to the bodyfat test results, I need to lose 2.5lbs of fat to reach my ideal bodyfat%. However, my approach requires me to gain 2-3lbs of mucsle, giving me the same desired results.

My Gameplan:

1. Crossfit 2 days/1 day Rippetoe-style strength training

2. Eat 9 block/day + 1 fat block

3. Limit myself to 1 cheat meal/week

[presently @ 1 cheat day/week]

4. Get plenty of sleep

Meals today:

9:30am

3 Eggs

3 cups Mushrooms

2 cups Chard

9 olives

Coffee w/ cream (extra fat)

=3 Blocks+ 1 fat

1:30pm

4 Eggwhites (hard boiled)

.5 Cucumber

1 cup Celery & chives

mustard, salt, pepper

.5 Orange

9 cashews

=2 Blocks + 1 fat

I Got Tanked!

I know what you’re all thinking, but this isn’t that kind of blog.

Anyway, yesterday was the long awaited and highly anticipated body fat test! Although a bit scary at first, as the test requires you forcefully exhale while you are completely submerged in water (highly counter intuitive), 10 minutes later I was merrily on my way with 4 pages of very useful information on my body composition.

After thoroughly reading and re-reading the results in further detail, I learned that my body is composed of 88% lean body mass and 12% body fat, putting me between the 90%- 95% percentile rating of “Healthy Range” for my age group.

It was delightfully surprised, to say the least! I had some idea of what my body fat percentage may be prior to taking this test, but the number was a bit higher than 12%. This also proves that the zone diet is working! Before I started zoning 7 months ago, I was 12lbs heavier and my body composition was far from being in this healthy range! Thank you Barry Sears!

The 3rd page of the results calculates exactly how many pounds of fat I would have to loose to reach my target fat %. For example, if I want to lower my body fat % to 10% I would need to loose 2.5lbs of fat, or if I want to get it down to 6% I would need to loose 7.1lbs of fat, presuming I don’t loose any muscle in the process. At this point, I am not as concerned about loosing any more weight as I am about gaining more muscle mass, which is a more desirable method of lower my body fat %. Okay, that’s enough about that.

Workout yesterday @ Crossfit Oakland:
3 Rounds of:
185# Deadlifts, 15 Reps. (scaled down to 120#)
15 Handstand Push-ups (to target)
15 Pull-ups
15 Thrusters 65#
=Time: 31.17

This was one of the hardest workouts I’ve done! You know it’s hard when the thrusters are a relief! My handstand push-ups were not as good as they could have been. I think my arms are still recovering from Cindy and Grace. Great workout, thanks to Candace for coaching me through it, it was brutal.