Wednesday, August 31, 2011

08/31 WOD

Repeat of Day 2 workout. Tough day with all the pullups in lieu of the pull down stuff. I kip to make it a little bit easier.

Weights supposed to be at 60%, 3 sets of 12

Wide grip lat pull-down (subbed kipping pullups)
One-arm dumbbell row, 26# kettlebell
Seated cable row (subbed bent over row with hands reversed, close grip), 65#
Underhand cable pulldown (subbed kipping chinups)
Alternating dumbbell curl, 26#, 26#, 26# kettlebell
One-arm preacher curl, 18#, 18#, 18# kettlebell
Standing biceps cable curl (subbed barbell), 45#

Felt a little better this time, upped weights ever so slightly on a couple of exercises. Going to paaaahhhhmped uuuupp!!! :)

Warmup: 500 singleunders, shoulder mobility stuff, CFWU x1 (mods - OHS@65#, ring dips)
C/D: 3x10 GHD situps

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

08/30 WOD

Repeat of day one workout. Upped weights where I could. Stii supposed to bat a 60% workout. Felt tougher this time.

Wide pushups 3x12
Bench press 3x12 @125#
Flat bench cable flyes: 3x12 @12.5# plates (no cables - awkward)
Narrow pushups 3x12
Overhead triceps dumbbell 3x12 @26# kettlebell
Triceps pushdowns 3x12 @green pullup band

Rough time on the last set of 12 bench press... Need to buy some dumbbells as holding combinations of plates and kettlebells pretty much sucks.

Warmup: 500 barefoot single unders, shoulder mobility stuff, CFWUx1 (mods - OHS@65#, ring dips)
C/D: 3x10 GHD sit-ups

Saturday, August 27, 2011

08/27 WOD

Shoulders and abs day. Pretty sore all over from the previous workouts, but that didn't stop me from doing 7 hours of remodeling work and then starting this workout at 10:45pm.

Again 3x12, 60% weight

Seated dumbbell press (subbed barbell), 45-65-65
Front delt raise to a "T", 7.5#
Side lateral raise, 7.5#
Seated bent over rear delt fly, 7.5#
Exercise ball crunches (subbed GHD situps)
Air bike - could've done this forever, laid on bench so feet could go below level

No warmup just blasted it out. Tired and want some sleep. More remodeling work tomorrow!

Friday, August 26, 2011

08/26 WOD

Dang chest is still sore... Biceps a bit tight. But feel fine otherwise. Today was legs and calves.

Again weights supposed to be 60#, rep scheme 3 sets of 12.

Leg press (substituted regular squats A2G), 135#
Leg extensions (kettlebell looped on foot, sat on stool), 18#, 26#, 26#
Sumo barbell squat, 95#
Seated leg curl (subbed GHD reverse hypers assisted and negatives)
Standing calf raises, 95#, 115#, 115#
Seated calf raises, 90#, 115#, 115#

Legs are going to feel that. Curious to see how this working out will impact my performance/metabolic conditioning.

Warmup: 500 singleunders, shoulder mobility stuff, CFWU x1 (mods - OHS@45#, ring dips), squats 10@45#

Thursday, August 25, 2011

08/25 WOD

Little sore from yesterday, not used to all that chest work... Will need the manzere or bro soon... :). Today was back and biceps day. Again, don't have the equipment so had to do some Mikeguyver action.

Weights supposed to be at 60%, 3 sets of 12

Wide grip lat pull-down (subbed kipping pullups)
One-arm dumbbell row, 26#
Seated cable row (subbed bent over row with hands reversed, close grip), 45#
Underhand cable pulldown (subbed kipping chinups)
Alternating dumbbell curl, 26#, 18#, 18#
One-arm preacher curl, 10#, 18#, 18#
Standing biceps cable curl (subbed barbell), 45#

Dang biceps are fried - definitely not used to doing that. Surely will be some DOMS from this one. Did the CFWU x1 felt good for the warmup.

Warmup: 500 singleunders, shoulder mobility stuff, CFWU x1 (mods - OHS@45#, ring dips)

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

08/24 WOD

Okay trying an experiment - my wife was looking for some weight training advice so I showed her a program designed by Jamie Eason (www.bodybuilding.com/livefit). She didn't want to do CrossFit so this looked like something that would fit her needs. I've decided to do the same program for 12-weeks to see what kind of results I get. I will still integrate CrossFit into the workouts when possible and use some of the off days to do some CF stuff too. Can't give up something I've been doing for 2.5+ years cold turkey... :)

First workout was a 60% workout. Weights were 60% of max.

Wide pushups 3x12
Bench press 3x12 @115#
Flat bench cable flyes: 3x12 @11# plates (no cables - awkward right shoulder felt funky)
Narrow pushups 3x12
Overhead triceps dumbbell 3x12 @26#
Triceps pushdowns 3x12 @green pullup band

I don't have a lot of the equipment used so I had to improvise. A bit strange doing the classic style workouts. Narrow pushups were the toughest. Flyes who knows... Not a ton of functional movement on that lift. But I'm going to do the best I can to follow this.

Warmup: 500 single unders, shoulder mobility stuff (next time CFWU!!!)

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Mt. Whitney 8/12/2011 Trip Report

I think this trip started last November, when in conversation I brought it up with co-workers. People were excited and expressed interested in going on this trip. They probably figured I'd forget and nothing would ever become of this. Little do they know that when a seed is planted in this brain it can grow out of control... :)

Shortly thereafter my neighbor walked by my house and we talked about hiking Mt. Whitney. He mentioned to me the whole permit process - permit process? Huh? Thankfully he did otherwise I would've missed it totally. After that I spoke with many people who wanted in and settled in on 13 total hikers. Permit application and money sent in and the wait was on.

We got the notification in the mail that our application was selected and we got our one day permit for 8/12/2011 (right near a full moon). So stoked to get that permit. Not that many are issued annually so we were happy to have gotten ours. Now the training was to begin. In addition to my regular CrossFit workouts, I added in a few hikes. Three long days with progressive difficulty on Mt. Diablo would be the extent of the hiking training. Good times with my neighbor and it gave us a good sense of being on our feet for a long time and gaining significant elevation.

So during the last couple of months before the hike people dropped out and new people entered and this repeated a few times... The final number was whittled down to eight. We were known as the Gin Tonics. The eight included (in alphabetical order):

Eric "Top Ramen" Benz
Mike "Heavy Breather" Gin
Quinn "Don't Need No Stinkin' Donuts" Hollaway
Steve "Summit Sleeper" Marx
Kerry "Snickers Satisfies" Paige (better nickname available however trying to keep this rated PG)
Karyn "Bit o' Honey" Salerno
Jim "Fourteeny" Sapia
Brian "Excuse Me One Sec While I Puke" Stansell

So enough of the little details, let's cut to the chase. We all arrived in Lone Pine, CA on Thursday 8/11/2011. Had some grub and then sat at the pool strategizing. The entire group was there and got a chance to chit chat. Then it was off to bed and hopefully get a few hours of sleep (I got three hours). Eric and Steve camped so they had the luxury of sleeping in an extra few minutes (and get a night at altitude which might have been helpful in this process).

The target was to leave the motel at 2:30am and be on the trail by 3am. We were right on time but then dilly-dallied for a few minutes at the trailhead and hit the trail at 3:15am. So off to a good start! We were climbing at a furious pace in the dark and gained a ton of elevation in a pretty short period of time. Things were looking good for our group and we were definitely on pace for a sub-8 hour summit pace. However things slowed a bit (okay a lot) during the hike. More on that later...

Hard to describe the feeling of seeing the mountains illuminated by the sunrise - INCREDIBLE just doesn't do it justice. MAJESTIC maybe. It is a sight that I will remember forever! Truly an amazing sight. Unfortunately photos can't do it justice. A remarkable experience.


The terrain was rugged but the trail was pretty well defined. We all made it to Trail Camp - 12,000' and the last reliable source of water before the summit. Here we took a little break, filled hyrdration bladders, watched the fat marmots, and tried to see people on the infamous 99 switchbacks that loomed ahead.

Jim blasted off and we lost track of him - he had a goal to get to the summit by noon. Didn't see him at all on the switchbacks - he was setting a blistering pace up them. These things were a serious grind. As bad as everyone described. Took awhile to gain that 1,600' to Trail Crest. Appreciated the longer switchbacks since they were less steep and gave an opportunity to keep the heart rate in check. I found for me to just keep grinding away and not stopping was the key. I was trying to stay ahead of this guy who was moving up pretty quickly, but finally he caught me. Casey was his name and he ended up playing a huge role in the hike. We talked about Mt. Muir and he said that was the reason he was up there since he hadn't done it the last time he summitted Whitney. He dropped me and I wished him luck on Muir.

I made it to Trail Crest (13,600') and this is where I let my guard down a bit. Figured I was really close now so took a break, took photos, and figured, sweet, I'm just about there. Big mistake.

Jim was nowhere in site, Steve was gone, and then Eric took off too. I waited until Brian got there and then decided to head to the summit. Didn't realize it was another 1.9 miles on some really rugged trail (rock hopping for a lot of it). Brian needed a pit stop so I left him to give him some privacy. I hiked for a bit but then realized I was feeling like crap. At 13,800' I was losing my balance and if I wasn't careful I could throw up. I'd walk ten feet and then stop and take a break. My summit hopes were looking very grim at this point. The balance issue was making me nervous... That couldn't have been a good sign.

So as I sat there and watched a bunch of people pass me by, I was thinking my hike was just about over. It wasn't going to get any better (and likely was going to get worse). Jim was heading back - he said he got to 14,000' and needed to turn back. Great, it took down one of our team members who I thought was already at the summit. Things were not looking good. And then, out of nowhere Casey stops and says he successfully summitted Mt. Muir. I congratulated him and then he asked how I was doing. I said I felt like crap. He asked how my breathing was. I said, short little breathes. He said to start taking deep breathes and to follow him that we were going to make the summit as long as I wasn't having a hard to staying upright. I didn't mention to him the couple of times I almost tipped over. I figured I'll give it this one last shot and see what happens....

Well, this is the small miracle that occurred for me. All of a sudden I felt so much better and we were flying up the trail. We passed a ton of people and I could not believe just minutes ago I was about ready to turn around. The deep breathes worked!!! Casey had a ton of experience in mountaineering and saved my summit. It was great having him pace me.

We were in view of the building on the summit and I could not believe the hop in my step at this point. I felt like I could've run there I was so excited. Unbelievable! I felt so much joy seeing that building. I still couldn't believe how incredible I felt (physically and mentally). I thanked Casey profusely and signed the summit registry and took some photos. Casey, best of luck to you and I hope that you realize your dream of becoming a guide. I'll be your first customer on Rainier... :)

So while I was on the summit I radioed to Steve and Eric but got no reply. I didn't see them come back on the trail so I couldn't figure out where they were. Did they take a wrong turn? Headed down the mountaineer's route? Turns out they were there but Steve fell asleep and Eric put on a jacket so I didn't recognize him. And their radio battery died. Crazy. I ended up only spending about 15 minutes up there because I thought at this point everyone would be waiting for me. Saw the rescue helicopter take off while I was there - turns out a guy broke his ankle - but he managed to hop a quarter mile up to the summit. Amazing. He seemed in good spirits when I spoke with him. I wish I could've hitched a ride down.

With the summit bagged, I knew that I needed to get down and in a hurry because there was no telling when the altitude was going to finally catch up with me. I set a blistering pace and was feeling pretty good. Then around the 13,800' mark I started feeling the balance thing again. Slowed it down some and caught my breath. Moved forward and came around a corner to hear, "hey look who it is!" I had no idea who said that but it turns out it was Karyn, Kerry, and Quinn. Didn't even recognize Karyn and didn't see Kerry and Quinn. Man I was back in that rough patch again.

Sat there for a bit talking with Karyn - she told me that Brian had gotten sick and had to turn around. Bummer. She said she was tired and decided that the summit was out. Kerry and Quinn had taken off and headed back down. So we took off as well. Back up to Trail Crest and then down the switchbacks. I was going as fast as I could on the switchbacks (practically running). I knew I needed to get down to lower elevations. I made it to Trail Camp (12,000'), refilled my bladder (completely empty), and then laid down. I still felt like crap. I think I fell asleep for a bit and then the rest of the group made it down. People put their feet in the 35 degree water which they said felt great on tired feet. Me? I didn't have the energy and still felt crappy. I was hungry but nauseas which is a really sucky thing. After our break there we were off.

I was again going as fast as possible without running - once I got to 11,000' I started to feel better. And things kept getting better from there. Was able to eat something and just kept motoring. Steve was on my tail the whole way down. We caught up with Jim and then Eric caught up with us. It was the never ending trail - this was the part of the trail we did in the dark. Steve and I put it into turbo mode and raced down the last couple of miles. The trailhead was in sight. It was such a great thing to see. I was done and happy to be done. What an adventure!!!

15.5 hours later and we were D-U-N. What a long a$$ day. But an amazing day. The group was great - some good synergy there which made the trip even more enjoyable. This truly was an epic time. I'm so glad that people were able to experience this with me as well. Everyone said it was a great trip and most said it was the toughest thing they'd ever done. We got everyone up to the Trail Crest which is no small feat (13,600'). I was very impressed! Three of us summitted which is very cool. But more importantly, the journey was remarkable. An unforgettable experience, something that will take a prominent chapter in my brain and heart's memory book... :)

Saturday, August 6, 2011

08/06 WOD

Stole this from Rob Orlando of Hybrid Athletics:

50 reps unpartitioned (all at bodyweight except deadlifts 1.5x BW):

Bench press
Back squat
Deadlift
Push jerk
Hang clean

No way in hell was I trying this at rx'd. Too much volume at that weight. But wanting to get stronger so will integrate some of these WOD's into my training. Scaled to 75% of BW (120#) for first two, then went BW (160#) for the deadlifts, but then dropped to 60% (95#) for the last two. Last two were pretty decent so I probably should've just suffered through the 75% BW on them. Last "big" workout before the Mt. Whitney hike. Will taper off some to ensure the body is 100%.

36:41

Warmup: late into the gym, did 100 jumping jacks and some shoulder stuff and went for it.

Friday, August 5, 2011

08/05 WOD

CrossFit Games Event 9

Complete as many reps as possible in 6 minutes of:
20 calorie Row
30 Wallball Shots, 20 pound ball
20 Toes to bar
30 Box jumps, 24" box
20 Sumo-deadlit high-pull, 108 pound kettlebell
30 Burpees
20 Shoulder to overhead, 135 pounds
120 foot Sled pull, sled plus 165 pounds


Definitely liked the 3 min version better. This one sucked - my pace was slower by 10 toes to bars at the 3 minute mark. Might have overdone it on the warmup a bit with the heavier overhead squats and shoulder press work. Good gasser, not looking forward to doing the entire thing for time tomorrow... Got through 4 SDHP's, total 104.

Warmup: 1,000 barefoot single unders, shoulder mobility stuff, CFWUx2 (mods OHS@95#, shoulder press@95#, ring dips, strict pullups/chinups)

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

08/03 WOD

Perform the following tests:

L-sit for time.
Handstand walk for distance.
Chest to bar weighted pull-up for load.
Snatch 1 rep for load.

CrossFit Games Event 8

Complete as many reps as possible in 3 minutes of:
20 calorie Row
30 Wallball Shots, 20 pound ball
20 Toes to bar
30 Box jumps, 24" box
20 Sumo-deadlit high-pull, 108 pound kettlebell
30 Burpees
20 Shoulder to overhead, 135 pounds
120 foot Sled pull, sled plus 165 pounds


Okay got into the gym late, tired, and cranky. Perfect, let's do two WOD's then. Yes I'm an idiot. Oh well. Figured the skills one wouldn't kill me and the other was 3 minutes long. I'm not wasted but overall a fair amount of effort.

*L-sit - did it earlier in the day for :41 but this time only :32. I put two 45# bumper plates beneath my feet so that made me keep my legs higher. Might have let them dip some for that :41 time.
*Handstand walk - big fat zero. Practiced my handstands for several minutes.
*Chest to bar pullups - warmed up with 35# (2 pullups/2 chinups). Then did 45 - 55 - 60 (last two chinups)
*1RM snatch - warmed up 4@65#, 2@95#. 115 - 135F - 135 - 145F (so close on 145 - got under it but shoulders failed)

Okay for the AMRAP 3 minute WOD figured if I got through the wall balls I'd be happy. I didn't even bother to get my box jump box out. Happy that I made I through 15 toes to bar. Total reps 65

Warmup: 500 barefoot singleunders, shoulder mobility stuff, CFWUx1 (mods OHS@95#, shoulder press 10@95#, ring dips, strict pullups)

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

08/02 WOD

Squats 3x5

Okay, continuing on the strength stuff (well at least for me). Core was pretty tired from deadlifts yesterday - made squats interesting. Was going to do 5x5 but decided 3x5 was good for tonight.

205 - 225 - 235

Glutes will feel that one tomorrow. My squat is pretty sorry so I hope to get that number up too. Did 5x3 squats on 6-17-11 with the following weights:

205 - 225 - 235 - 245 - 255

Warmup: 500 single unders, double under practice, shoulder mobility stuff, CFWUx2 (mods - OHS@65#/95#, shoulder press 65#/95#, ring dips, strict pullups/chinups), squats 10@135#, 8@185#

C/D: 12 GHD sit-ups with 12# med ball tossed into air, some rotational stuff with same med ball while on GHD

Monday, August 1, 2011

08/01 WOD

Deadlifts 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

Got some weird bug over the weekend which wiped me out. Still feel a little weak but much better. Decided to skip the crazy a$$ CrossFit Games WODs and decided to do some strength work. Figured deadlifts today and some squatting tomorrow would be helpful in climbing Mt. Whitney in ELEVEN DAYS!!!

255 - 275 - 285 - 295 - 300

Could've gone heavier but it has been some time since I pulled some heavy deads so was happy with stopping there.

Chased down the deadlifts with some bench press for good measure. After watching the games I've decided I need to get stronger. Two more years before the Masters category... :) 10 reps@135#, 6 reps 185#, 3 reps@205# (with a spotter definitely 1 more and possibly 2)

Warmup: 500 barefoot singleunders, shoulder mobility stuff, CFWUx2 (OHS@45/65, ring dips, strict pullups/chinups), shoulder press 10@65#, 10@75#, deadlifts 10@135#, 8@185#, 6@205#