Fitness - Max pull ups & WOD - 9/30

Woke up this morning not feeling that great. For whatever reason I had a little bit of a headache. I got the gym and realized I probably should have stayed in bed and taken a rest day. My legs are super fatigued right now and when I saw thrusters on the board I said a little prayer. I decided since I was already at the gym that I might as well give it a shot.

Focus: 1xMax reps, pull ups
1x32

I wasn't too happy with this effort but then again, my lats and shoulders are smoked from those handstand burpees yesterday. Last time we did one set of max rep pull ups I got 38. I was hoping to break the 40 rep barrier this morning but my body said no. Which is fine, I understand you can't hit a home run every at bat, and I know I'll nail it next time.

WOD: 10 rounds of
Thrusters, 40 Kg (88.2#) - 30 seconds
Pull ups - 30 seconds
1 minute rest

Calories burned (Focus & WOD): 546

Simple, do as many thrusters in 30 seconds as you can followed immediately (running clock) by as many pull ups in 30 seconds as you can. Then you are rewarded with a 60 second rest. Repeat 10 times and you've got yourself a mean WOD.

I kept track of my reps for each exercise per round and they looked as follows:

Round 1: 14-13
Round 2: 13-13
Round 3: 12-11
Round 4: 12-11
Round 5: 12-11
Round 6: 11-10
Round 7: 10-10
Round 8: 10-10
Round 9: 10-10
Round 10: 10-10

My goal was to stay in double digits through the entire workout and I actually did it, despite the headache and sore legs & back. I realized at round 6 that if I really pushed myself, 10 reps was about the max I could achieve from then on in the allotted 30 seconds.

Trying to maintain and stay as consistent as possible through all 10 rounds was extremely taxing. I hit the deck as soon as that last pull up was done. I had to lay down for a few minutes to recover from this one. I was sucking wind, hard.

I'm proud of this effort for sure. Through ten rounds my thrusters only dropped 4 reps and my pull ups dropped only 3 reps. Not bad at all.

Nutrition 9/30

1:00 pm (fasted food until this meal)
5 oz. grilled ginger/herb chicken - marinated in grated ginger, evoo, lemon juice, tamari, garlic, red pepper flakes, pepper.
Salad - 3 cups mixed greens (kale, swiss chard, beet greens, arugula), 1 cup cherry toms, 1/2 cup cucumber, 1 mushrooms, 2 radishes.
1 cup strawberries
1/4 cup mixed hazelnuts & pecans

4:15 pm
2 oz. grilled top sirloin with caramelized onion & yellow pepper
1/4 orange honeydew melon
1/4 cup mixed macadamia & brazil nuts
1 celery stalk
1.5 oz. broccoli

7:30 pm
5 oz. wild caught coho salmon - broiled with lemon, , pepper, rosemary & thyme
2 cups roasted eggplant
12 asparagus spears
1/4 cup mixed almonds & walnuts

10:00 pm
2 oz. ground turkey breast
3 prunes
12 almonds

112 oz. water on the day.

Fitness - Dips & WOD - 9/29

I was right, because of yesterday's workout I woke up with my hammies feeling incredibly tight. When I got to the gym I was glad to see we weren't doing any leg intensive exercises.

Focus: 5x3, weighted ring dips
1x3 - 24 Kg kettle bell
4x3 - 32 Kg kettle bell

After warming up my shoulders and a couple light sets with no added weight, I was ready to hit it. I felt strong and was able to lock out on every rep in every set. I was talking with Dave afterwards and he said the ultimate goal for me would be to do sets of three on ring dips with my body weight added on. I'm a long way from that but it's an awesome goal to keep in mind and work towards.

WOD (prescribed): EMOTM (every minute on the minute) for 20 minutes, adding a rep every minute of:
2 handed Kettle bell swing
Burpee

WOD (my variation): EMOTM for 20 minutes, adding a rep every minute of:
Kettle bell snatch each arm - 24 Kg
Hand stand burpee

Calories burned (focus & WOD): 606

Minute 1 - 1 rep each exercise. Minute 2 - 2 reps each exercise. Minute 3 - 3 reps each exercise. And so on until the 20th minute - 20 reps each exercise.

Of course Dave had other plans for me in terms of scaling it up. Instead of normal burpees, I had the choice of muscle ups, handstand push ups or the hand stand burpee. I chose the handstand burpee because I had never done it before and it sounded the most interesting.

A handstand burpee is where you initiate a burpee as usual: squat down, jump your feet back, do a push up and jump feet back up to your hands. But instead of jumping in the air, you keep your hands planted on the ground and kick your legs up in to a handstand position (against a wall). I could only get to round 8 with these then I changed to doing elevated ring push ups. But still, going up a rep each minute, that is 36 handstand burpees, and they are TOUGH!

After round 13 I had to switch to normal kettle bell swings from single arm snatches. Mainly because it was taking too long to do 9, 10, 11. . . etc. snatches on each side. When I switched to 2 hand KB swings I also went up in weight from the 24 Kg bell, to the 32 Kg bell.

All I have to say is, if you hate burpees. . . you haven't tried handstand burpees. Regular burpees are a vacation compared to the handstand variety, for real. My lats are destroyed right now.

Nutrition 9/29

8:00 am (Post WOD)
protein shake - 1 scoop (25g) whey protein isolate, 1 Tbsp organic unsweetened cocoa powder, 24 oz. water

9:45 am
2 hard boiled eggs
2 links Insernio's extra lean chicken sausage
1 cup strawberries
2 cups broccoli
1/8 cup (about 15-18) almonds

1:15 pm
5.5 oz. Top sirloin steak - suate'ed with garlic, evoo, red pepper flakes, paprika, pepper, white onion, yellow bell pepper, lime juice, fresh grated ginger.
Salad - 3 cups spinach, 2 radishes, 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms, 1/2 cup cucumber, 1 cup cherry tomatoes, 1/2 avocado, 1 Tbsp chopped parsley, 1 Tbsp chopped basil, 1 tspn sunflower seeds, 1 tspn pumpkin seeds.

4:30 pm
3 oz. ground beef
2 celery stalks
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup raspberries
1/4 cup walnuts

7:30 pm
5 oz. grilled lemon herb chicken breast - marinated in evoo, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, pepper, garlic, ginger, rosemary & thyme.
3 cups caramelized carrots and cauliflower - caramelized in ghee with garlic, pepper, green onion, turmeric, and parsley.
1/8 cup pecans
3 brazil nuts

132 oz. water on the day.

Fitness - 20 rep back squats & WOD - 9/28

I think we do the 20 rep back squat all too often. This thing is a nightmare, totally painful and unpleasant in every way. But so much good can come from it. Last time we did this I used 110 Kg and got all 20 reps, which isn't really the goal. This time I chose a weight that I expected to fail with, but I guess my body had other plans.

Focus: 1x20, back squats
1x20 - 120 Kg (265#)

Ok, so I got all 20 reps again. The goal of 20 rep squat is to pick a weight that is really hard for ten reps. So hard for ten that you wouldn't be able to get 11 reps at that weight. Then try to get 20 reps. It's an awesome way to break down walls in physical strength, but mostly in mental strength. Then you'll get a real idea of what your body can accomplish.

I'm happy with my performance, 10 Kg is a big jump with a 20 rep squat effort. But this only says to me that I didn't go heavy enough. I got to rep 12 when it hit me. It certainly felt like I couldn't do one more rep. But with a lot of focus, I was somehow able to get the last 8. On the final four reps, it probably took me about 4 seconds to do the positive with my legs shaking like crazy. The entire set of 20 took between 3 and 4 minutes to complete. I took 3-5 second mini-breaks at the top to breathe and re-pressurize my core.

I still need to play around and find the right weight. My goal next time is to pick a weight that really is almost impossible to get 10-12 reps with, then have a go at 20. I want to pick a weight where I'll maybe get to 16 reps. But I guess realizing that you're stronger than you think you are is not necessarily a bad thing.

WOD: 4 rounds, un-timed
20 Wall balls - 20#/10'
60m sprint

Calories burned (Focus & WOD): 476

This WOD was done in waves with 4 people going at a time. When we finished our wall balls we sprinted out of the gym and down the driveway/parking lot to the street. Then we took a slow walk back to recover.

The wall balls and sprints were brutal after the squat work we had just done. But having it be like a race against the other three made me want to push myself and finish first in our group every time. Every group cycled through until everyone had done it four times.

My hammies are going to be wrecked tomorrow, but I'm really happy with how my strength and endurance are progressing.

Nutrition 9/28

6:00 pm Fasted food until this meal
6 oz. Chicken breast - saute'ed with yellow onion, purple bell pepper, evoo, garlic, red pepper flakes, lemon juice.
Salad - 1 cup kale, 1 cup swiss chard, 2 cups spinach, 2 radishes, 1 cup grape tomatoes, 1/2 cup mushrooms, 1/2 cup cucumber, chopped parsley and basil.
4 oz. cauliflower
1/4 cup macadamia nuts

9:30 pm
2 oz. ground beef
1 small carrot
2 oz. broccoli
1/8 cup walnuts

146 oz. water on the day

Fitness - Met-Con Madness - 9/25

We hadn't done a long Met-Con style workout in quite a long time. Today's was one of those where you look at the white board and just laugh. And maybe say to the person next to you: "They're kidding, right?"

WOD: 1 round for time of
100 air squats
90 single jump ropes
800m run
70 V-ups
60 Wall balls - 20#/10'
50 push ups
400m run
30 pull ups
20 ankles to bar
10 handstand push ups

Time: 20:32
Calories burned: 489

This was ridiculous, yet fun. Especially so late in the week when my body is sore all over, literally. I don't know from what or why, but even my arm pits are sore. I pushed myself really hard this week with no rest days (bad, I know) and i'm paying the price. I haven't felt complete/comprehensive soreness like this probably since I started CrossFit.

Considering the state of my body this morning, I'm happy with my effort overall. I was aiming for a sub 20 time and just missed it. I was a little disappointed because I really wanted to post a sub 20, but I can't be mad at myself. Every exercise in this WOD hurt and I took several breaks. Plus I still posted the fasted time in the class by a few minutes.

Had this been earlier in the week I would have crushed this time, my guess is by at least 2 minutes (as I said, I took many breaks).

Nutrition - 9/25

8:00 am (post WOD)
protein shake - 1 scoop (25g) whey protein isolate in 24 oz. water.

9:40 am
2 hard boiled eggs
4 oz. grilled chicken breast
1 grapefruit
4.5 oz. carrots
1/4 cup mixed walnuts & hazelnuts

3:30 pm
3 oz. chicken breast - Saute'ed with evoo, pepper, red pepper, onion, black bell pepper, garlic.
2 celery stalks
1/4 cup mixed almonds & pistachios
1 pear

7:30 pm
Taco salad - 5.5 oz. ground beef (browned with evoo, red pepper, pepper, garlic, onion, yellow & red bell peppers), 3 cups spinach, 1 small red bell pepper, 1 cup sun gold cherry toms, 3 mushrooms, 2 Tbsp cilantro, 1 Tbsp chopped basil.
1/2 cup blackberries
1/4 cup mixed macadamia nuts & pecans

11:00 pm
3 oz. yellow fin tuna steak
1 cup broccoli
1 cup cauliflower
6 brazil nuts

118 oz. water on the day

Fitness - Dead lifts - WOD - 9/24

Super busy day, more on this post to come.

Focus: Dead lifts, 5x5
5x5 - 150 Kg

WOD: 3 rounds for time of
400m run
40 dips

Time: 10:20
Calories burned (focus & WOD): 517

Nutrition 9/24

7:00 am (post WOD)

9:00 am
2 hard boiled eggs
2 links Insernio's extra lean chicken sausage
2 celery stalks
1/4 cup almonds
1 Tspn pumpkin seeds
1/3 cup blueberries
1/3 cup raspberries
4 strawberries

1:15 pm
5 oz. grilled lemon herb chicken breast
salad - 3 cups mixed greens (kale, chard, spinach arugula), 6 olives, 2/3 cup cucumber, 2 radishes, 1 cup sun gold cherry toms, chopped parsley & basil
1 nectarine
1/3 cup mixed nuts (walnuts, pecans, macadamia, brazil, almonds, pistachios, hazelnut)

4:30 pm
3 oz. yellow fin tuna steak
1/4 medium cantaloupe
4 oz. carrots
1/4 cup walnuts
1 Tsbp sunflower seeds

7:45 pm
6 oz. Top sirloin steak
1 cup caramelized onions & 2 cups caramelized yellow & red bell peppers - with evoo & garlic
4 oz. broccoli
1/4 cup mixed pecans & macadamia nuts

128 oz. water on the day

Fitness - Strict Press - WOD - 9/23

Today was my second day of getting up early and going to the 6am class instead of my usual 7am class. And to tell you the truth, I felt great this morning. It wasn't bad at all because I went to bed at 10pm, sharp. Once my head hit the pillow I was out like a light. Plenty of rest makes a world of difference.

Focus: 21-15-9 of:
Strict press - 47Kg

I felt good with my presses this morning and i only missed one rep (I only got 14 on the second set). It was the perfect weight. The last 3 reps of each set were brutal, I definitely had the body shakes going on.

WOD: AMRAP in 15 minutes of:
5 dumb bell dead lifts - 45# dumb bells
5 dumb bell hang cleans - 45# dumb bells
5 dumb bell front squats - 45# dumb bells
5 dumb bell push press - 45# dumb bells
5 dumb bell bent-over-row - 45# dumb bells

Score: 10 rounds even
Calories burned (focus & WOD): 476

Today's WOD was done with a partner, sort of. One person did the dumb bell complex while the partner rested, then we switched. You could only start the complex again once your partner had completely finished.

This WOD was tough, especially after all the press work. My shoulders were pretty smoked at the end of this one. I never really slowed down though, I was facing the clock the whole time keeping track of my splits. They were always in the 35 to 40 second range. Watching the clock was actually a great motivator. It pushed me to keep my splits as low and consistent as possible.

I was completely spent at the end of this dumb bell complex. Lots of shoulder work today and I expect to be pretty sore tomorrow. YES!

Nutrition 9/23

7:00 am (post WOD)
Protein shake - 2 scoop (25g) whey protein isolate, 1 Tbsp organic unsweetened cocoa powder, 1/4 cup full fat organic unsweetened coconut milk.

9:40 am
2 hard boiled eggs
2 links Insernio's extra lean chicken sausage
4 oz. carrots
1 cup strawberries
1/2 cup blackberries
1/4 cup macadamia nuts

1:20 pm
Taco salad - 5.5 oz ground beef (saute'ed with yellow & red bell peppers, onion, garlic, evoo, paprika, pepper, red pepper flakes), 3 cups spinach, 1 1/4 cup tomatoes, 3 mushrooms, 1/2 avacado, 1 Tbsp chopped basil, 1 Tbsp shopped cilantro.
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast (topping for salad)
1 Tspn sunflower seeds
1 Tspn pumpkin seeds
1 Kiwi

4:30 pm
2 oz. grilled chicken breast
1 1/2 cup cauliflower
1/4 cup pecans
1/4 medium cantaloupe

7:30 pm
5 oz. Coho salmon. broiled with lemon, rosemary, thyme, lemon juice & pepper
Broccoli & cabbage salad - 2 cups broccoli & 2 cups red cabbage saute'ed with evoo, pepper, garlic, turmeric, cumin & coriander.
1/4 cup crushed walnuts as topping for broccoli & cabbage

122 oz. water on the day

Fitness - Pull Ups - Tabata Tuesday - 9/22

I was excited for today's WOD because a good friend of mine has just joined our CrossFit family at Level 4. I've been talking with him about it for a couple weeks and he's extremely excited about taking his fitness to the next level. Welcome Cameron!

Today's focus was weighted dead hang pull ups and as you could have guessed today's fitness title, the WOD was all about Tabata's. Tabata's is where you do 8 rounds of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest of any exercise (rowing, thrusters, KB swings, etc), amounting to 4 minutes total. Recording the lowest amount of reps in any one round per exercise to get the score for that exercise.

Focus: 5x3, weighted strict pull ups
2x3 - 16Kg (35.3#)
3x3 - 24Kg (53#)

I felt strong with my pull ups today. After my sets I hopped on the rings and banged out 4 unbroken muscle ups.

WOD: Tabata Mash Up
Tabata push ups
Score: 8

Tabata air squats
Score: 18

Tabata kettle bell swings - 32Kg (70.5#)
Score: 13

Tabata sit ups
Score: 12

Calories burned (warm up, focus & WOD): 712

Man, It had been a while since we did a Tabata Tuesday WOD and I forgot how much they hurt. A big part of success with Tabata's is winning the mental battle. It's all about digging in for each 20 second interval and ignoring the burn, which is hard.

Well, push ups can't really be helped because that really is a strength thing. But with the air squats, KB swings and sit ups, you gotta push through the pain and take it rep by rep.

I was surprised at today's calorie burn. I know Tabata's are designed burn calories and keep your heart rate up for longer post workout. But I tracked mine and even 12-15 minutes after I left the gym, my heart rate was still fluttering around 95, crazy.

Nutrition 9/22

7:00 am (post WOD)
protein shake - 1 scoop (25g) whey protein isolate in 24 oz. water

9:30 am
2 hard boiled eggs
2 links Insernio's extra lean chicken sausage
1 1/2 cup broccoli
1 medium honey crisp apple
4 Brazil nuts
1 Tbsp pistachio's

1:10 pm5 oz. grilled chicken breast - Marinated with lemon juice, garlic, cilantro, basil, red pepper flakes, evoo, black pepper.
Salad - 3 cups mixed greens (kale, rainbow chard, spinach, arugula), 1 cup gold grape toms, 2 radishes, 1/2 cup cucumber, 3 mushrooms, chopped basil & parsley
1/4 cup walnuts

4:15 pm
3 oz. top sirloin - saute'ed with shallots, red onion, fennel, evoo, black pepper & basil
2 celery stalks
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup raspberries
15 almonds

7:30 pm
7 oz. grilled yellow fin tuna steak - marinated with ginger, lime juice, red pepper flakes, cilantro
Roasted egg plant & asparagus - 1/2 egg plant cubed, 12 asparagus spears brushed with evoo, rosemary and pepper.
1 fig
1 Tbsp hazelnuts

132 oz. water on the day

Fitness - WOD - 9/21

Again, I noticed a huge change in my level of energy and overall feeling of recovery after getting 8 full hours of sleep last night. I've got today off so I slept in a little bit and attended a later class. We started the class with a really long warm up session and lots of stretching witch felt great. After that we went straight into the WOD, no focus today.

WOD: 5 rounds for time
6 Thrusters, 3/4 body weight - 60Kg (132.3#)
12 burpees
18 Kettle bell swings - 32Kg (70.5#)

Time: 14:41
Calories burned (WOD only): 512

Today's WOD was done with a partner and each had to cycle through the exercises 5 times until out time could be recorded. This one was a lot of work, we used more then the prescribed weight. I started on Thrusters and my partner started on the KB swings. I caught up to him by the 3rd round and spent some time waiting for him to finish the thrusters (since we could do the burpees and swings separately). But to be fair, he told me 60Kg was the most he's ever tried with Thrusters and he should have probably used a lighter weight. He did a good job pushing through it though. And I can't lie, it was nice to have a little built in rest.

The burpees are the only thing that slowed me down on this one. After round 2 I had to break them up into mini sets. I was stoked though because I got through all 5 rounds without breaking on the thrusters and I used the 32Kg bell for the swings without breaking on those either. Usually I would have gone with the 24Kg bell but some of the coaches have approached me and said it was time to start working in the 32Kg beast. I used to have a lot of trouble with my kettle bell form but I've grown in leaps and bounds in that area. It's amazing how once you get your form dialed in, how fast you're able go up in weight.

Nutrition 9/21

10:00 am (post workout)
protein shake - 1 scoop (25g) whey protein isolate, 1 Tbsp organic unsweetened organic cocoa powder in 24 oz. water.

12:00 pm (fasted food until this meal)
Scrambled eggs - 3 eggs, 2 links Insernio's extra lean chicken sausage, 1/4 cup coconut milk, 1/2 Tbsp pumpkin seeds, 1/4 cup salsa, garlic, pepper
1 cup strawberries
1/2 cup blackberries

4:00 pm
2 oz. Yellow fin tuna steak - grilled with lime juice, garlic, cilantro, red pepper flakes, pepper
2 cups cauliflower
1 cup cucumber
1 Tbsp almonds

7:30 pm
Taco salad - 5 oz. organic grass fed ground beef (saute'ed with lime juice, 1 cup mixed yellow and red bell peppers, yellow onion, garlic, 1 glug evoo, red pepper flakes), 3 cups spinach, 1 cup gold grape tomatoes, 1/4 cup salsa, chopped basil & cilantro, 1/2 avocado.
1/4 cup walnuts

132 oz. water on the day

Nutrition 9/20

9:00 am
Scrambled eggs - 3 eggs, 2 oz. ground turkey, 2 cups spinach, 1/4 cup salsa, pepper.
1 medium green apple
1/4 cup mixed almonds & cashews

11:00 am
Snacked on some samples at the Ballard Farmer's Market
honeydew - 3 pieces
apples - 3 pieces (3 different kinds of apples)
peaches - 1 piece
berries - blackberries
smoked salmon - AMAZING!

1:30 pm
5 oz. saute'ed top sirloin - saute'ed with 1 shallot, 1/2 red onion, evoo, garlic, pepper, red pepper flakes, chopped basil and cilantro
1 link Insernio's extra lean chicken sausage
1/2 cup cauliflower
1/2 cup broccoli
1 radish
1 fig
1/2 cup red grapes
7 brazil nuts

4:30 pm
2 oz. chicken breast - saute'ed with black bell pepper, onion, lemon juice, rosemary, thyme and pepper.
2 celery stalks
3.5 oz. carrots
1/4 cup mixed macadamia nuts & pecans

7:30 pm
5 oz. Sockeye salmon - broiled with lemon, rosemary, thyme and pepper
12 asparagus spears
1/4 cup walnuts

Fitness - WOD - 9/19

Focus: Kettle bell work - static stretching/movements
Windmill's - worked up in weight to 32 Kg bell
Turkish get ups - worked up in weight to 24 Kg bell

The two links above are excellent video examples of these two exercises. Each is about 3 minutes long and done by the same instructor.

WOD: Circuit training

3 stations, 3 exercises each station. 20 seconds on each exercise, 20 seconds rest between exercises. Once through each exercise then move to next station.

3 times through the circuit (all three stations)

Station one:
medicine ball cleans - 20# ball
burpees
sit ups

Station two:
ab roller
pull ups
hanging ankles to bar

Station three:
Kettle bell squat cleans right side
Kettle bell squat cleans left side
Two handed kettle bell swings

Calories burned (WOD only): 486

Nutrition 9/19

9:00 am (post workout)
Protein shake - 1 scoop (25g) whey protein isolate, 1/4 cup full fat organic unsweetened coconut milk, 24 oz. water.
3 prunes
1/4 cup raisins
1 fig

12:00 pm
4 oz. ground beef with yellow & red bell peppers, onion, garlic, evoo
1 link Insernio's extra lean chicken sausage
1 cup red cabbage
3 celery stalks
1 cup red grapes
1 cup mixed cashews, hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, pistachios, walnuts & pecans.

3:45 pm
3 eggs over easy
1 cup spinach
1 cup saute'ed zucchini & yellow squash
1/4 cup coconut milk

7:30 pm
5 oz. chicken breast - Saute'ed with evoo, pepper, 1 black bell pepper, 1/2 yellow onion, garlic, rosmary, thyme.
salad - 3 cups mixed kale, swiss chard & spinach, 3 mushrooms, 6 olives, 1/2 lemon cucumber, 1 Tbsp basil, 1 Tbsp parsley
1/4 cup almond slivers as topping on salad
5 strawberries
1 cup mixed raspberries, blueberries & black berries

Fitness - Back Squats - WOD - 9/18

Last night was the second night in a row I got more than 7 hours of sleep and I woke up feeling amazing. Really, I didn't feel groggy at all and my body felt super responsive and ready to rock. 7 hours of sleep for me is rare but I've noticed a HUGE difference in the way I feel after only 2 nights. The change in the way I feel in the morning after a full night's sleep is too big to ignore.

Today's was back squats and I'm not kidding, the rest I've gotten over the last two nights coupled with my rest day yesterday, had a drastic effect on my muscles. I went into the back squats feeling stronger than ever. My sets looked as follows:

Focus: 5x5, max effort back squats
1x5 - 120 Kg (264.5#)
3x5 - 140 Kg (308.6#)
1x5 - 150 Kg (330.7#)

150 Kg is the most I've ever put on the bar, even for sets of three. 140 was heavy but I knew I was capable of more. I kept a full range of motion with my butt almost touching my heels and the last two reps took everything I had. But with the support of fellow CrossFitters and a pressurized core, I was able to get them. The last rep almost got me, I stalled halfway up and it took me 2 or 3 seconds to push through that point. I felt a little dizzy/light headed after that last set.

WOD: 15-12-9-6-3 of:
Dumbbell cleans/Renegade row - 45# dumb bell each arm
Double unders (singles x3 if you can't do double unders)

Time: 8:43
Calories burned (focus & WOD): 450
Calories burned (bike to gym, focus & WOD, bike to work): 996

To get a picture of what the dumbbell complex looked like, picture a weighted burpee (holding one dumbbell in each hand). Except when the weights hit the floor and your at the bottom of the burpee, instead of doing a push up, we did one renegade row on each side. Jumped our feet back up to our hands (still holding dumbbells) and instead of just jumping, we did dumbbell cleans.

I've attached a great link above if you're not familiar with renegade rows. It explains the benefits and technique and there's also a video demonstration. They are an unbelievable core strengthening exercise and this guys' form is top notch. They also are a great back exercise. However, we did them much quicker without as much attention to form. Once fatigue sets in it's hard not to twist your torso or shift your weight from side to side a little bit.

This one smoked my shoulders. It was incredibly hard to do the dumbbell cleans and then go right into jumping rope. I can't do double unders with a jump rope so I had to scale down to singles. I was still feeling the burn like crazy though.

All in all, a great day at the gym with some big gains being made. Stoked!

Nutrition 9/18

8:00 am (post workout)
protein shake - 2 scoops (50g) whey protein isolate, 1 Tbsp organic unsweetened cocoa powder, 24 oz. water

9:45 am
2 oz. lime/herb grilled top sirloin
1 hard boiled egg
2 celery stalks
3 oz. cauliflower
1/2 small cantaloupe
1/b cup (about 15) almonds

1:00 pm
5 oz. grilled lemon/herb chicken breast
salad - 3 cups spinach, 1 Tbsp basil, 1 1/4 cup yellow cherry toms, 1/2 large lemon cucumber, 6 olives, 3 sliced mushrooms, 1 Tbsp parsley.
4 brazil nuts

4:15 pm
2 links Insernio's extra lean chicken sausage
1 hard boiled egg
1 cup strawberries
1/2 cup blackberries
1/4 cup walnuts
4 oz. carrots

7:30 pm
5.5 oz. grilled salmon
saute'ed asparagus & beet salad - 12 asparagus spears, evoo, garlic, pepper, lemon juice. 1 large roasted beet peeled and sliced. Topped with chopped parsley & 1/4 cup almond slivers.
1 kiwi
1/4 cup macadamia nuts

136 oz. water on the day

Fitness - Rest Day - 9/17

Wow, I woke up this morning sore as hell. I knew yesterday that I would probably need to take today off, and I was right. My legs and back are incredibly sore from yesterday and my shoulders are still pretty wrecked from our kettle bell WOD.

I got plenty of sleep last night (close to 8 hours) which also felt great. I NEED to start getting more sleep. Lately I've been feeling tired in the afternoon and evening and I know it's because a lack of sleep. I've probably been getting about 6 to 6.5 hours a night, which is horrible considering what I put my body through on a daily basis. I've got to commit to more sleep because it all stems from that.

I'm happy I took today off and actually kind of proud that I didn't go in, even to work on the skills chart. It's hard to resist a CrossFit WOD but rest is so necessary for improvement.

Nutrition 9/17

9:00 am
2 links Insernio's extra lean chicken sausage
2 hard boiled eggs
1 cup cauliflower
1/4 cup mixed hazelnuts & pecans
1 nectarine
1 small banana

1:00 pm
4 oz. white albacore prime fillet
salad - 1 cup kale, 1 cup swiss chard, 1 cup spinach, 1 cup red cabbage, 1 cup lemon cucumber, 6 olives, 3 mushrooms, 1 Tbsp chopped parsley, 1 Tbsp pine nuts.

4:15 pm
2.5 oz ground turkey breast
1/2 cup raspberries
1/2 cup blueberries
1/4 cup mixed walnuts & almonds
1 cup left-over mixed saute'ed yellow squash, zucchini, leeks & garlic

7:00 pm
Taco salad - 5.5 oz ground beef (saute'ed with 1 cup yellow & red bell peppers, onion, garlic, evoo, paprika, pepper, red pepper flakes), 3 cups spinach, 1 cup cherry toms, 1/4 cup salsa.
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast sprinkled over top
3 brazil nuts
1/4 cup macadamia nuts

120 oz. water on the day

Fitness - Dead Lifts & "Christine" - 9/16

I was thinking on my bike ride into the gym this morning that it had been a few days since we did a WOD that had any type of running or rowing. This is no joke, I knew in my gut that today's WOD would have one or the other. Unfortunately, I was right. Today's WOD was killer "Christine", a CrossFit benchmark.

Focus: 5x3, dead lifts
1x3 120 Kg
2x3 140 Kg
2x3 160 Kg

I felt really good on my dead lifts this morning. My one rep max a few weeks ago was 184 Kg and today I did 2 sets of 3 at 160 Kg. Which makes me think I could get up to the 190 Kg (or a little more) range for a one rep max. I was pretty pumped up and ready to take on Christine.

WOD: "Christine" is 3 rounds for time of:
500m row
12 deadlifts (body weight) - 86 Kg
21 box jumps - 20"

Time: 9:48
Calories burned (focus and WOD only): 488
Calories burned (bike to gym, focus & WOD, bike to work): 1012

I'm happy with this WOD only in that I was shooting for a sub 10 minute time and I got it. I know I can get this one closer to the 9 minute mark. As hard as I pushed myself it just was not going to happen for me today.

This WOD was brutal. It's probably one of my least favorite benchmark WOD's that I've done for two reasons. The first, I really do not like rowing. The second is that we had just finished 5 sets of really heavy dead lifts and now we had to row, do more dead lifts and box jumps. All of which are guaranteed to turn your legs into Jello.

All I tried to focus on was keeping my 500m splits under 2 minutes and I was able to do that. First 500m - 1:43, second - 1:52, third - 1:58. After doing such heavy deads in our focus the body weight felt like nothing and I was able to keep a rhythm through those. Believe it or not, the box jumps are the hardest part of this WOD. And going straight from box jumps back to rowing is not fun either.

I'm planning on taking tomorrow off and giving my legs some much needed rest. I may go into the gym and work on the skill chart but I'll try hard to not participate in tomorrow's WOD.

Nutrition 9/16

8:00 am (post workout)
protein shake - 2 scoops (50g) whey protein isolate, 2 Tbsp organic unsweetened coconut milk (full fat, not the light stuff), 1 Tbsp organic unsweetened cocoa powder, 24 oz. water

10:00 am
2 links Insernio's extra lean chicken sausage
1 hard boiled egg
4 oz. carrots
1 pear
1/4 cup walnuts

1:20 pm
Taco salad - 5 oz. ground turkey, 3 cups spinach, 1/2 cup cherry toms, 1/2 red bell pepper, 1/2 avocado, 1/3 cup salsa, 1 Tbsp basil, 1 green onion.

4:30 pm
2 oz. grilled lemon/herb chicken breast
2 celery stalks
1 cup strawberries
1/2 cup blackberries
4 brazil nuts

7:30 pm
5 oz. lime/herb grilled top sirloin steak
grilled asparagus & beet salad - 12 asparagus spears tossed in evoo, garlic, pepper, lemon juice. 1 large roasted beet peeled and sliced. Topped with chopped parsley & 1/4 cup almond slivers.
1/2 small cantaloupe

134 oz water on the day.

Fitness - Military Press - Kettle Bell Work - 9/15

My glutes were pretty sore this morning from all of yesterday's front squats. I expected my traps, shoulders and upper back to be sore from the cleans but they felt fine. Which was good because today was a ton of shoulder work. We started off with a focus of military (strict) press then hit up the WOD.

Focus: 5x3, cross sets military press
1x3 - 60 Kg (132.3#)
4x3 - 75 Kg (165.3#)

This is an improvement for me. Last time we did strict press I used 70 Kg and it was a battle. I chose this weight today expecting to fail on the last rep for sets 4 and 5. But my shoulders felt really strong this morning and i pushed through all sets. Next time I still want to chose a weight I know I'll fail at so I think I'll give 80 Kg a try.

WOD: 10 reps down to 1 rep, 24 Kg kettle bell
10 Kettle bell snatches/goblet squats
9 Kettle bell snatches/goblet squats
8 Kettle bell snatches/goblet squats
Etc. down to 1

Time: 8:11
Calories burned (Focus & WOD only): 390
Calories burned (bike to gym, focus & WOD, bike to work): 996

I must first say that this was not 10, 9, 8, etc. each arm. It was just total. So to think about it a little differently, 55 reps. You could break it up between each side however you wanted to.

I chose to not see it as sets of 10 down to 1 and took it as 55 reps, switching arms every 5 reps. I got to 20 (2 sets of 5 each arm) before I had to set it down and take a break. Then I could only get one set of five each arm before having to take another quick breather. I found that if i tried to go beyond 5 reps, my form completely broke down.

Not only the KB snatch but the goblet squat was the killer. After each KB snatch we to perform a goblet squat. Which is pretty much a squat while holding the KB in front of your chest (like you're about to chest pass it). To do this you after the snatch you let the KB come back down, go into the back swing and one the upswing pop your hips and shrug up (like the first half of a clean) and then just catch it in front of your chest with the other hand.

This WOD although done relatively fast, felt like a ton of work. I could feel that when I got tired I wasted a lot of time and energy recovering or stabilizing from KB snatches that got away from me a little bit. Also controlling it on the way down to bring back up for the goblet squat got increasingly difficult. The kettle bell snatch is kind of an awkward move anyway. It takes a lot of practice to get fluid with kettle bells and I'm a ways away from that point. But, it gives me something to look forward to improving upon. I would say the most important thing when doing KB snatches is to get a good solid jump. It's something I routinely forget about doing which also causes me to waste a lot of energy.

Needless to say, I was glad when this one was over.

Nutrition 9/15

8:00 am (post workout)
protein shake - 2 scoops (50g) whey protein isolate in 24 oz. water.

9:45 am
2 links Insernio's extra lean chicken sausage
1 hard boiled egg
3 oz. broccoli
1/2 cup raspberries
1/2 cup blueberries
9 almonds

1:15 pm
5 oz. lemon/herb grilled chicken breast (marinated in evoo, lemon juice, cracked black pepper, red pepper flakes, rosemary, thyme, basil and garlic)
Salad - 3 cups mixed greens (kale, swiss chard, arugula), 3 mushrooms, 1 1/4 cup yellow cherry toms, 1/2 lemon cucumber, 3 radishes, 3 olives, 1 Tbsp pine nuts

4:30 pm
2 oz. grilled lemon/herb top loin steak (made same as chicken above but with lime juice)
4 oz. cauliflower
1/4 cup walnuts
1 kiwi

7:00 pm
5.5 oz. organic/grass fed ground beef - cooked with evoo, chopped red and yellow bell peppers, yellow onion, garlic (lots), paprika, red pepper flakes.
squash/zucchini stir fry - 1 cup yellow crookneck, 1 cup zucchini, 1 leek, evoo, garlic, cracked black pepper, 1 Tbsp Tamari, parsley.
1 Tbsp sesame seeds sprinkled over fish and stir fry
3 brazil nuts

10:30 pm
1/4 cup macadamia nuts
1 plum

124 oz. water on the day so far.

Fitness - Front Squats - Squat Cleans - 9/14

I felt great this morning after taking Sunday as a rest day. My legs felt fresh and recovered, and they certainly needed to be for this today's workout. Our focus was front squats then we shifted gears and partnered up for this mornings "AMRAP" (as many rounds as possible) WOD.

Focus: 5x5, max effort front squats:
2x5 - 80 Kg (176.4#)
1x5 - 90 Kg (198.4#)
2x5 - 110 Kg (242#)

Our WOD of full squat cleans was done with partners and we alternated 1 for 1 with them to equal one round. I would do a rep, then my partner would do a rep, and that equalled one round.

WOD: AMRAP in 15 minutes of
Full squat cleans - 70 Kg (154.3#)

Score: 47 rounds
Calories burned (Focus and WOD): 421

I'm pretty happy with front squat effort this morning. I could have gone a little heavier but I don't have that much experience with heavy front squats and 110 certainly felt heavy. Especially on the bottom. I really had to focus on driving my elbows up and keeping my core pressurized . I kept a really good range of motion though. My can was touching my ankles almost every rep.

Nutrition 9/14

8:00 am (post workout)
protein shake - 2 scoops (50g) whey protein isolate, 1 Tbsp organic unsweetened cocoa powder

10:00 am
1 cup strawberries
2 hard boiled eggs
2 Tbsp organic unsweetened coconut milk

1:30 pm
4 oz. chicken
1 oz. smoked salmon
salad - 3 cups lettuce, tomato, lemon cucumber, goat cheese, almonds, 1 Tbsp TJ's sesame vinaigrette

4:00 pm
1 apple
2 Tbsp almond butter (for apple dipping)
3 prunes
3 oz. tri tip steak

7:30 pm
5 oz. ground turkey cooked with garlic, red onion, green onion, evoo, cilantro & basil (mixture scooped into cabbage leaves)
3 large red cabbage leaves
Juice of 1/2 lime squeezed over turkey and cabbage wraps
1 Tbsp sesame seeds sprinkled over turkey cabbage wraps
2 radishes, 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks
1/2 cup mixed pistachios, macadamia nuts, brazil nuts

100 oz water on the day

Fitness - Best of FGB - "Eva Light" - 9/12

I have to start this post with some pretty sick news that I got this morning. Dave informed me that my score of 343 in yesterday's Fight Gone Bad WOD was THE TOP SCORE of the entire day! I got the best score out of everybody who did FGB at CrossFit Seattle. And let me tell you, well over 100 people participated and there is some serious competition at my gym. There's a lot of big/super fit guys. I was super amped when heard this news. It pretty much made my weekend.

Today's WOD was pretty hard considering FGB yesterday. It was a benchmark WOD that they allowed to scale down because EVERYBODY was still wrecked from FGB.

The prescribed WOD was "Eva" which is: 5 rounds for time of
800m run
30 Kettle bell swings - 32 Kg
30 pullups

We cut this in half to create our WOD. There were a few people that did "Eva" as prescribed, they were also the ones that didn't do FGB the day before.

WOD: Eva light is 5 rounds for time of
400m run
15 Kettle Bell swings - 24 Kg
15 pull ups

Time: 16:00
Calories burned (WOD only): 489

Considering how tight I was this morning, I'm super happy with this performance. I don't think I could have gone any faster. My legs were jello after the 2nd 400m run and my shoulders and back were already feeling it after the second round as well. I just seemed to power through it all.

To be honest, I was riding pretty high after hearing I got the best FGB score and I think that excitement is what helped me through today.

Fitness - Fight Gone Bad!!! - 9/11

Well, here it is. One of the most gnarly benchmark CrossFit workouts. Fight gone bad is as much a test of mental strength as it is of physical strength. You just have to believe that you can do anything for 60 seconds and know that the pain/suffering and that pit in your chest will be over soon.

"Fight Gone Bad" is 3 rounds of 5 exercises. Each round lasting 5 minutes and each exercise performed for 1 minute. At the end of the 5 minute round, a 1 minute break is given and at the end of this break, the next 5 minute round begins. The clock continues to run between exercises and it is the job of the exerciser to get quickly to the next station at the end of each minute. At the completion of round 3, all the reps completed and the amount of calories burned on the rower, are added up for one total score. (Thanks for the great description Brad)

The exercises are:
Wall ball - 20#/10ft
SDHP (Sumo Dead lift High Pulls) - 75#
Box jumps - 20"
Push press - 75#
Row (for calories)

Score: 343!!!
Calories burned (WOD only): 589

I'm extremely happy with my performance on this WOD. Last time I did FGB my score was only 289. This is a HUGE improvement on that score. I felt like my endurance was top notch and my strength had improved dramatically. I had to take way fewer breaks and they were much shorter as well.

Words cannot do justice to how intense this workout is. As I said earlier it's a mental fight. You have to try to push trough the pain, dig in and keep cranking out reps.

I said a few weeks ago when we did an abbreviated version of this WOD that my goal for the next time I did FGB was 350. I was pretty much dead on with that estimate. I just barely missed my goal but am not upset at all. I pushed myself to the limit today and not sure if I could have completed a combined 7 more reps.

I'm going to see if I can try to beat today's score in 2 weeks when we have the actual FGB competition on September 26th. My goal for the next time we do FGB after the 26th is 380 or above.

This is just a testament to how well CrossFit works. A few months ago I was gasping for breath with my hands on my knees through FGB. My level of fitness just keeps rising. Needless to say, I'm very pleased with my the work I did this morning.

Nutrition 9/11

8:00 am (immediately post workout)
protein shake - 2 scoops (50g) whey protein isolate in 24 oz. water.

8:30 am (post workout meal)
1 1/2 links TJ's lean tomato basil chicken sausage
2 oz. grilled top sirloin
2/3 cup blackberries
1/3 cup blueberries
3.5 oz. broccoli
2 prunes
3 dried apricots
15 almonds

1:00 pm
4 oz. premium white albacore tuna fillet (canned)
1 hard boiled egg
Salad - 3 cups spinach, 2 radishes, 1 1/4 cup cherry toms, 1 cup cucumber, 3 mushrooms.
1 pear
1/4 cup mixed nuts - pecans, walnuts, cashews, hazelnuts (3 of each)

4:00 pm
2 oz. grilled lemon/herb chicken breast
4.5 oz. cauliflower
1 apple
1 1/2 Tbsp almond butter (for dipping apple)

7:00 pm - this was so good last night I'm having it again tonight. Yay left-overs!
5 oz. ground turkey cooked with garlic, red onion, green onion, evoo and cilantro (scooped into cabbage leaves)
3 large red cabbage leaves
Juice of 1 lime squeezed over turkey and cabbage wraps
1 Tbsp TJ's bbq sauce mixed tossed with ground turkey mixture
1 Tbsp sesame seeds sprinkled over turkey cabbage wraps
1/2 yellow pepper

66 oz water on the day so far.

Fitness 9/10

Today's WOD was super fun, well maybe not super fun. I'd say it was brutally fun. First we had a focus of back squats which I took super light in hopes of saving my legs for our Fight Gone Bad WOD tomorrow. We're doing it as a precursor to the actual FGB4 competition on September 26th, I guess just so people know what to expect.

My back squats looked as follows:

Focus: 4x8, straight sets - back squats
4x8 - 60Kg (132.3#)

Now to the fun stuff. This mornings WOD was pretty hardcore. We had to choose a set amount of reps for push ups between 50, 100, 150, 200 & 300. The goal was to do max sets to fail and then sprint 200 meters, come back into the gym and do another set to fail, then sprint another 200 meters. Rinse and repeat until you reach your rep goal.

I chose the 200 mark and was amped for this one. Two things I'm great at, push ups and sprints.

WOD:
200 push ups (max rep sets to fail)
200m run

Time: 18:00
Calories burned (Focus & WOD): 540
Calories burned (bike to gym, focus, WOD, bike to work): 1169

I started off super strong and ripped off about 45 push ups until I failed and took of my first 200. I sprinted my 200's at about 80%. I got back into the gym and tore off about 30 more before I did my next 200. And after that It was an absolute grind.

My shoulders, chest and back were already extremely fatigued but and I got through 3 or 4 200's going pretty fast. After those first few I felt like I was going at 100% but moving half as fast. At about the 110 mark on my push ups I was trying to get through 20 at a time before running again. this proved to be a pretty good method. I sometimes had to break them into smaller sets to achieve 20 reps but at that point I did the 200m run only after I completed 20 reps.

There wasn't really any rest built into this one. It isn't until you go hard on push ups then try to sprint when you realize how much of your shoulders, chest and back is used to drive you forward while sprinting.

Overall I'm happy with my time and effort. It was the fasted time posted on the white board so far and 200 push ups is tough, no matter how you slice it. I have a feeling my shoulders will be extremely sore tomorrow though. It's funny, I went light on the back squats to save my legs for FGB, but now my shoulders are super sore. So, we'll see how they hold up tomorrow.

Nutrition 9/10

8:00 am (post workout)
protein shake - 2 scoops (50g) whey protein isolate, 1/2 cup coconut milk, 1 Tbsp organic unsweetened cocoa powder

10:00 am
3 hard boiled eggs (2 yokes)
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup blackberries
1/8 cup walnuts

1:10 pm
5 oz. grilled lemon herb chicken
salad - 3 cups spinach, 1 cup cherry tomatoes, 2/3 cup mushrooms, 1 Tbsp chopped mint, 2/3 cup cucumber, 1 Tbsp pine nuts
1 small apple
2 tbsp almond butter (for apple dipping)

4:00 pm
2 oz. ground turkey
2 celery stalks
1 large peach
1/8 cup cashews

7:20 pm
5 oz. ground turkey cooked with garlic, red onion, green onion, evoo and cilantro (scooped into cabbage leaves)
3 large red cabbage leaves
2 small carrots (about 4 oz.)
3 radishes
Juice of 1 lime squeezed over turkey and cabbage wraps
1 Tbsp TJ's bbq sauce mixed tossed with ground turkey mixture
1 Tbsp sesame seeds sprinkled over turkey cabbage wraps

130 oz. water on the day.

Fitness - Pull ups - WOD - 9/09

This mornings WOD was pretty brutal but could have been a lot worse had I been able to use my own bar. I wanted to go heavier but there weren't enough bars for me to set up my own station. Before we got into the WOD our focus was on strict pull ups.

Focus: 4x8 strict (no kip) pull ups
1x8 - no added weight
2x8 - 12 Kg added weight
1x8 - no added weight

Today's WOD was done with a partner and as I said, I would have liked to have gone a little heavier. I need to explain one of the movements real quick. I had never heard of it before today but I guess it's a commonly known routine. The "Curtis P." Complex. This combination of movements is done as follows: hang clean, rack lunge (bar racked on shoulders like a front squat) each leg then a split/push jerk. That equals 1 rep of the Curtis P.

WOD: 5 rounds for time of:
P1 - "Curtis P." complex x3 - 40 Kg (88#)
P2 - hanging ankles to bar (or knees to elbows) x10

Time: 8:52
Calories burned (Focus, WOD and finisher): 613

The WOD broke down like this, as one partner was completing the 3 reps of the Curtis P. Complex, the other partner was on the pull up bar doing the ankles to bar. Once each partner was done with we switched and did the other exercise. There was one catch, you couldn't move to the other exercise until your partner was done with his/hers. So If it was taking your partner a while to get through the Curtis P. complex but you were ripping through the ankles to bar, you had to wait and your time suffered.

My partner and I rocked this one and got the fastest time of the class and one of the fastest of the day. Although It was a little light for me, i was still pretty spent after this one. After all those pull ups for the focus i had a hard time keeping my grip for the ankles to bar. My grip strength failed long before my core strength. By the 4th round I had to break up them up into two sets of four and a set of two.

I killed the Curtis P. complex though. I never had to break during all 5 rounds. After the WOD we did a finisher to the tune of tabata sit ups.

Finisher: Tabata sit ups
Lowest reps counted in any round - 11

Nutrition 9/09

8:00 am (post workout)
protein shake - 2 scoops (50g) whey protein isolate in 24 oz. water

10:00 am
1 1/2 links Trader Joe's extra lean tomato basil chicken sausage
3 oz. carrots
1/3 cup blueberries
1/3 cup blackberries
6 pecans

1:15 pm
Taco salad - 5 oz. ground turkey, 3 cups red butter lettuce, 6 olives, 1/2 avocado, 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, 1/4 cup salsa, 1/2 yellow bell pepper.
1 small apple

4:15 pm
2 oz. grilled chicken breast
2 celery stalks
7 hazelnuts
1 kiwi

7:45 pm
5 oz. grilled top sirloin
veggie stir fry - 1 cup broccoli, 1 cup cauliflower, 1 cup chopped red onion, garlic, evoo, 2 Tbsp Tamari (wheat free low sodium) soy sauce.
1 nectarine

10:00 pm
3 oz. dried apricots
1/2 cup mixed almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews
1 hard boiled egg

124 oz. water on the day.

Nutrition 9/2

10:00 am
2 hard boiled eggs
1 apple
1 Tbsp almond butter (for apple dipping)

1:20 pm (post workout)
Protein shake - 2 scoops (50g) whey protein isolate in 24 oz. water.
5.5 oz. salmon - grilled with lemon, pepper, thyme and rosemary
salad - 3 cups red butter lettuce, 1 gold beet, 1 cup mushrooms, 1/2 cup cucumber, 1 cup gold cherry toms, chopped basil/parsley/mint.
1 1/2 cup green grapes
1/8 cup walnuts

4:45 pm
2 oz. ground turkey breast
4 oz. carrots
1 kiwi
1/8 cup cashews

8:00 pm
5 oz. grilled top sirloin
4 cups stir fried veggies - lemon juice & zest, 1 bell pepper, 1 cup broccoli, 2 mushrooms, water chestnuts, 1/4 yellow onion, garlic, evoo, red pepper flakes, 1 Tbsp tahini, 1 Tspn sesame seeds.
1 donut peach

40 oz. water on the day so far.

Fitness - Front Squats - WOD - 9/1

I enjoyed today's WOD. I completed this one un-timed, same as yesterday. But this WOD was a little heavier. First I did a focus which consisted of cross-sets of front squats.

Focus: Cross-sets, 5x5 of front squats
5x5 - 195#

WOD: 5 rounds un-timed of
5 Thrusters - 135#
7 Burpees
9 Pull ups

Calories burned (Focus & WOD): 686

I was comfortable with this WOD. The thrusters got heavy pretty fast but I got through the first four rounds of thrusters unbroken. On the last round i did have to rest the bar on my shoulders for a breath or two.

The burpees drained me as usual. Nothing new there. And I got through all 5 rounds of pull ups unbroken. I felt really strong on the Pull ups. I hardly even slowed down even on rounds 3-5 after all the thrusters and burpees. I love these style of workouts. Short and intense met-cons. Either with heavy or light weight for some reason they are just raw. It challenges me physically and mentally and I like that.

I think I'm going to go light or take the rest of this weeks WOD's un-timed and not go all out. I feel fantastic (not totally ruined like I usually do) and I think it will serve me well to take this week light.

Starting next week I'm going to be changing my routine a little. I'll be going three days on, one day off, NO MATTER WHAT!!!. I need to start breaking up my week and giving my self some rest/recovery time. I'm addicted to CrossFit but it is truly for the best in terms of my body and performance.

Nutrition 9/1

8:30 am
3 hard boiled eggs
2 oz. grilled top sirloin
1 banana
1/2 bell pepper
1/4 cup mixed almonds & walnuts

1:00 pm (post workout meal)
protein shake - 2 scoops (50g) whey protein isolate in 24 oz. water.
7 oz. yellow fin tuna
salad - 3 cups red butter lettuce, 1 gold beet, 1 cup mushrooms, 1 lemon cucumber, 1 1/2 cups gold cherry toms, 1 Tbsp pine nuts, chopped basil/parsley/mint.
1 nectarine

4:30 pm
2 oz. ground turkey breast
2 celery stalks
6.5 oz. strawberries
6 hazelnuts

7:30 pm
5 oz. grilled top sirloin
1 Tbsp TJ's BBQ sauce
2.5 oz. broccoli
1.2 avocado
1 Carrot Cake Caveman Cookie
1/4 cantaloupe

136 oz water on the day.