It was a busy month. We went to Belize for our good friend’s wedding. It was a great trip. Definitely had fun.

On to March. We are doing the open which is a great learning experience. Originally I didn’t want to do it, but Kylie talked me into it. Luckily the burpees and snatches are over. Sounds like a dive bar, doesn’t. Welcome to Burpees and Snatches…sweet.

Spring appears to be coming, and it is very welcome. Done with the cold. Where’s the sunshine!

It is hard to believe January is already over. It seems like Christmas and New Years Eve were only a few days ago. 2012 is rolling by.

We have gotten through the first month of almost Paleo. We were 80% Paleo, 100% of the time and it worked every time. It requires a lot of food prep time and it can be a pain to find something when traveling. Paleo packs have been a savior for Kylie.

Yesterday’s WOD:

In group of four

200 pull ups

300 goblet squats 1.5/1 pood; bell can not be put down or team does 10 burpees

4000m row; partition as needed. One person rowing, two people holding plank.

It was Kylie, myself, Clarissa, and DJ. We each did 50 pull ups, 75 goblet squats and then rowed and planked as needed. It took us 33 minutes. Times for other teams ranged between 30 -33 so overall I was happy with our performance. We all hate pull ups and that was our worst part.

The goblet squats were challenging and my legs are paying the price today. Getting ready to spend some quality time with a Field Hockey ball and a roller. Great Mobility WOD for those of us who hear “Fight for that depth” from the trainers: http://www.mobilitywod.com/2012/01/episode-363365-pre-squat-hip-opener-mob-rx.html It helped me considerably. I highly recommend it.

Superbowl tonight. Go Giants! I really don’t want the Cheatriots to win another ring.

Knock it out of the box this week.

Thanks for reading.

I had a good week last week. I made some improvements and felt good for all of the WODs. Almost got a kipping pull up, which is good. I will get them.

Great dinner last night with Kylie, Jason, and Jeannell at Stanford Grill. Great food

Rough weekend courtesy of a great friend’s bachelor party. Typical fun man weekend. Beer, guns, hunting, beer, bonfire, beer, and grilled meat galore. Paid the price Sunday. Got home, took a shower, and a two hour nap and felt much better.

Today’s WOD was good. Snatches followed by four rounds of narrow grip bench press for five, and dead lifts for ten.

NGBP: 185 205 225 235

Dead Lifts: 225 235 255 275

I should have gone heavier on both, of course, I always say that. Don’t pay dues to lay up.

Tweaked my back a little, which is getting to be a more common occurrence. Need to keep an eye on that.

Good Paleo day today. Cooking the breakfast hash now. Steaks with chimmichurri sauce last night. Coconut shrimp tonight. Paleo is great, it just takes a lot longer to make food.

Looking forward to a good night’s sleep, and a great class tomorrow morning.

We had a great weekend and stayed mostly paleo. We ate some pasta on Saturday and Sunday, and had a few cocktails. It was right back on the wagon starting Monday. We both feel better and notice a difference from eating paleo. Sunday has become the food prep day which can be annoying however it is worth it.

Monday’s WOD was probably my best ever.

Press 1.1.1.1.1 x 4 sets (95, 115, 145, 150)
+
25 Push press 95/65
25 Kb swings 1.5 pood
25 T2B (subbed v Sit ups)
25 Kb swings 1.5 pood
25 Push press 95/65

8:06

I still need to get toes to bar. It will happen soon I am sure.

Today’s WOD looks pretty ridiculous. We have been doing a lot of these “Two WOD in One Days”, which is good. Definitely feel whipped afterwards.

Back Squat @30×1; 5 sets x 3 reps
rest 20 sec
Weighted Pull Ups @31x(A)2 x 3-5 reps
A:assisted with a partner. Get chest all the way up to the bar and hold for two seconds

+

15-12-9
Overhead squat 135/95
Pull Ups
400m run

Courtesy of http://www.crossfitbwi.com/index.php?1&ts=1326171600

I read the following blog entry from Courage Performance, and thought it was worth sharing.

http://www.courageperformance.com/the-blog.html

It was nice to get back to our normal routine this week. We are both creatures of habit and tend to like the same schedule. The holidays are a great time of year, and we love seeing our family. The final bit of Christmas decorations are gone. I finally got rid of our Christmas tree which had taken up residence on our back patio for a few days.

It is day number three of Paleo which has gone pretty well. The biggest downside of Paleo is the amount of time required to prepare meals. Nothing processes, so you start from scratch every time. We did quite of prep work during the beginning of the week which helps.

Today’s WOD is a combination of high hang snatches, step ups, and Pendlay rows.

High Hang Snatch
2,2,2,2,2; rest 3 min
+
4 sets
KB Racked Russian Step Ups; same leg up as down; 10 rep total; alternate legs
rest 20 sec
Pendlay Row 12-15 reps
rest 3 min

Should be fun!

2011 is gone. It was a very typical year, with some bad things and some good things. Time to roll with 2012. Paleo begins in full force today. Our fridge is filled with meat, vegetables, fruit, etc. We cleaned out the fridge and pantry yesterday of all non paleo friendly foods, and it was quite a bit of food. Time to get on the straight and narrow!

2012 Goals:

Staying Paleo for at least thirty days, then forty five days, then sixty days. At that point, it should be second nature, and no looking back.

Master Double Unders

10 kipping pull ups in a row

One mile open swim

Snatch 225

Squat 405

Deadlift 500

Expect more frequent blog entries. Look forward to hitting these goals.

It’s official, Christmas is here, whether we are ready or not. My parents are visiting, and we are going to my in law’s today and tomorrow. My wife has wrapped everything in the house. The dog has hidden for fear she is next. Our fridge is covered with Christmas cards from our friends. My wife and I are both off for the rest of the year. I figure we’ll relax for about two days but will then need something to do.

No Crossfit today or tomorrow. I went every day this week, and am ready for a break. Thursday was probably the best I had ever done, which was nice. Friday was horrible, mainly because Thursday night was spent at a local watering hole with some friends….and IPA’s.

Today’s WOD is the filthy fifty, which I am glad I am missing. I am sure it will be crowded as it is the only class today. We are going on Monday as I am sure we will have plenty of holiday food and cocktails to work off.

Time to start thinking a little more deliberately about 2012. Need to set some realistic goals. No, Fran in 2:30 is not a realistic goal!

This mornings WOD was interesting, to say the least. A mixture of push presses and overhead squats, which suck. This was followed by a ladder or thrusters and pull ups. Other people were smarter, and stayed in bed and went back to sleep. Only five of us attended today’s session.

I think there is a lot of truth in “it just sucks less”. I don’t really get better. I am able to do more, and faster which is improvement however it’s not what I expected. It’s more like I just don’t feel as bad afterwards.

I am doing better on getting rest. I took off Wednesday and Sunday last week. This week I’ll take off Saturday and Sunday.

Good blog entry here: http://www.courageperformance.com/the-blog.html

Can’t push all of the time and expect to not break down.

Just finished today’s WOD, and Yoga. If you think Yoga is easy and you wonder why your girlfriend or wife does it, try a session. It’s hard as hell, but it does feel great and stretches out your muscles.

WOD:

Partner Strongman
1 Yoke, 1 Pair of Kbs and two rowers per team of 3
Total time minus meters rowed
3 cycles
Zercher Yoke Carries Down and Back
20 Racked Kb Front Squats
Partner(s) Row While Moving Yoke

Definitely challenging and fun.

I bailed on the KB front squats. Started with 1.5’s and should have started lighter. I stuck with DB’s.

Ready for a nap. Not happening, but that would be nice right now.

Dumb News Stories:

Kids got suspended for Teabowing. My bad. I thought this was America and we had certain freedom’s and were able to do what we wanted as long as it didn’t break the law. Obviously I was wrong. The school said the kids had been told not to earlier in the week, and were causing hallway backups and kids couldn’t get to class.

Barry Bonds sentenced to 30 days house arrest and two years probation. Eight years, and how many millions of dollars were spent to get absolutely nothing. What a waste of resources!