Basement WOD

So I spent most of the morning with the kids yesterday. After Playdoh and dinosaurs I was needing a brief break to let off some steam. For some lucky reason, both kids actually decided to sleep during their nap time, so I headed into the basement.

Historically, I haven't been a "workout at home" guy. But lately, I have started doing more at home. I've started doing some grip training to strengthen my forearms and grip, with the goal of closing the IronMind Captains of Crush #3 Gripper. This is no easy task, taking 280lbs of force to close it. It's pretty fun stuff. I've also been getting more into kettlebells, thanks to the amount of work I do with them during my CrossFit WOD's.

I think the kettlebell is a great home gym tool, doesn't take up much space, and you can do a lot of different things with them.

In any event, I started my warm up and after a few minutes figured out what I was going to do.

3 rounds:
50 squats
40 pushups
30 KB swings (1 pood) - that's all I got right not, but just ordered more from Rogue Fitness
20 situps (legs flat, using glutes/hams to press legs onto the floor)
10 sledge hammer swings (had to watch the ceiling!)
5 burpees

It was just what I needed.

Survived..

Ah, well, I survived the Christmas Day chaos with the kids. In reality, it was pretty chill as Ryann is only 3 1/2 and Teagan is 18 months, so, neither really have a full grasp on what's going on. Ryann keeps asking if Santa is coming back? We have to tell her it's another year and she'd better be good!

We still have a few things we haven't put together, but the kids got some pretty good stuff and they've been diving into what's already assembled. I won't be able to hold out too much longer.

Catherine hooked my up with my own copy of The Paleo Diet, and the Paleo Diet for Athletes but by Cordain. I will now have my own copy and won't have to worry about getting it back to the library. I also got some cash, and that's going towards kettlebells for the home gym. I have 1 35lb now, and will get another 35lb, a 53lb, and a big honkin' 70lb. Stoked about that. I am really diggin' kettlebells, they are perfect for at home, small, and you can do a ton of stuff with them.

Anywho, I snuck in a grip WOD today. Did some RT (Ironmind Rolling Thunder) farmer's walks with some extra deadlift reps at the end. And I did some fingerwalks with the 8lb sledgehammer, it was a good solid workout.

Over and out.

Christmas Eve 2009

Ah, it's Christmas Eve, and there's a few more quiet minutes before the little ones get up. I wrapped up my work week yesterday and headed over for a ride at Ray's Mountain Bike Park. Man, what a great place. I am not getting over there as much as years past, but when I do, it's a blast. I figured it would be a bit crowded, it was. It was great to see all types of riders there, from the hipster BMX-icans to Mom's with their kids. It has grown quite a bit, Ray has something great going on. I got a good hour and a half ride in and called it a day...(with a stop at Lilly's on the way home...).

Today should, for the most part, be relaxing. We have everything in order, just need to get all my gifts wrapped, shouldn't take long..bags and tissue paper are your friends.

WOD Methodology and today's WOD

A quick note on how I approach my workout for the day. There's 3 of us that do CrossFit on our own, 2 of us have been doing it for 2 years, and the other one about 8-9 months now. We typically start with the Crossfit mainsite and go from there to pick the WOD. There could be a number of reasons why we might not do that one (equipment and/or physical limitation). So, we might alter it or scale it, or look to another site for inspiration. The other sites would include Crossfit Football (as a former college football player, I am drawn to these dudes..), CrossFit Legacy, or either if the two Cleveland affiliates (CrossFit Cleveland, CrossFit CLE). If none of those are working, we will throw something together from our archives, or, mix and match something on our own (12 Days of Christmas). Myself and one other guy have trained at affiliates, and have learned alot from it. We've got a pretty solid warmup and change it up a bit depending on what we are doing. We'll also add a metabolic piece on the end it needed, just to wrap it up on bang.

In any case, after yesterday's lung ripper, I though I would do something a little more in my wheelhouse. So, today's WOD was pulled from the CrossFit Football archives, and tweaked. We've been doing a bunch of abs, so I swapped dips with the originally prescribed GHD situps.

For time:

10 rounds
3 deadlift 315lbs
5 clapping pushups
7 dips

I came in about 12:30. The pushups and dips were a bear, as the dips made the pushups even harder....but hey, it's all good right?

Ciao.

Tis the [off] Season....

Well...As of last week I finally hung up the commuter shoes. I was able to go pretty deep into December this year, it was warmer than normal. I was able to get a good handle on gear when it got colder, but I just don't have gloves that I like. They're either too bulky or not warm enough, I need so spend some time on that and get something I like. All total, including mileage on both bikes, and some mountain bike rides, I estimate that I got close to 2000 miles in this year, I am pleased with that.

I usually spend the off season cleaning up the bikes and doing any requisite maintenance that should be done, yanking bottom brackets and cleaning and lubing, etc. In most cases I will end up upgrading something, as I get antsy if I'm not changing things around. This year, my main geared commuter (KONA Sutra) will not see any upgrades as I got that thing pretty much where I want it. I am focusing a little bit on my fixed gear (Surly Crosscheck) and my geared Strong hardtail.

Just a few minor changes to the Surly. I am going with a smaller, faster rolling tire. I like the big 32c, but I will go down to a 28c and sacrifice a little girth for a better rolling tire. Gonna try the Panaracer Pasela TG, the gum sidewall should go pretty well with the beef gravy colored frame. In addition, I am gonna get a honey colored Brooks B17 for this bike, I have one on the KONA and really notice a difference when I am not on a Brooks.

As for the geared Strong, I am going over to a full SRAM drivetrain and see how it goes. Looking at an X9 rear derailleur and x9 trigger with a new SRAM cassette and chain.

This year I am also upgrading and changing around my wife's Raleigh hybrid. She's been using that to pull the kids over to my daughters preschool. Now, this is currently a stock hybrid, low end suspension fork, suspension seatpost and the like. I watched her pull the trailer and she was bouncing so much it was working against her and it just didn't look efficient at all. So....She's getting a rigid fork, and really a whole new front end (headset, bar, stem, shifters, brake levers, etc). I had a couple things in inventory, and got some good deals here and there (eBay). Oh, and I am replacing that blasted suspension seatpost...jeez...

I will more than likely throw new tires on the KONA, waiting for the new Schwalbe Marathon Duremes to hit the stores...That pretty much wraps up my off season maintenance/upgrade plan, just waiting for some parts to arrive so I can get started....

WOD for 12/22/2009

So my buddy Mold created this little ditty for today's workout...

The 12 Days of Christmas

For time:
25 pullups
25 box jumps
25 back extensions (25lb plate)
Run/Row - .25 mile
25 kettlebell swings - 1 pood **changed to 1.5 pood
25 double unders
25 GHD situps (or flat on floor if no GHD)
Run/Row - .25 mile
25 push press @ 45lbs **changed to pushups with a 45lb plate on the back
25 steps walking lunge - 25lb dumbbells
25 burpees
Run/Row - .25 mile