Summer is Over…..

Goodbye Summer

 

Seems like the Summer flew by faster than usual. Actually, the past year has flown by faster than usual. Fall is here which means football, bonfires, pumpkins, and cooler weather. We just finished our summer vacation, which was a little later than normal, however it was a blast. There were several boxes close by, however we decided to take the whole week off and rest up. Definitely looking forward to getting back to the grind and getting back in a routine. For those who are interested, Charleston South Carolina is a great area to visit. The foodie scene blows Baltimore out of the water. Beach is 20 minutes away. Golf courses galore. And of course there is a plethora of historical stuff if you are into that as well. All of the Westbrook brews were excellent.

Charleston Food

Beer

 

August was a great month with four PR’s. Clean, Front Squat, Back Squat, and Dead Lift.  I’ll take those any day of the week. So what did I learn over the past few months? Still having issues doing the WOD’s Rx, and the reason is because of the inability to complete the BW exercises like Pull UPs, HSPU, DU’s, etc. Really thought my recent purchases of Nano 4.0’s, Junk headbands, and Progenex would have changed all that. I was wrong. Obviously, I’m joking. I don’t like those movements, I don’t practice those movements, and have gotten very good at scaling those movements. I can rip off 100 singles without missing a beat. Ring rows are no problem. I scaled and got great at scaling. Whoops. So how do we combat this issue? Easy, buy more gear. No, of course not.

Yep. Time for a detox. the past six to eight months have been filled with great food and craft brews. These do not match well with performing well however it is what it is and that’s that. We signed up for the Whole Life Challenge which is always a good way to recharge and get back on track. It’s also about personal accountability, planning, dedication, and not bargaining with yourself. So much easier to put in a blog than to actually practice. If it was easy there wouldn’t be a billion dollar quick fix weight loss industry. Write that down. Watching the Steelers now, and if they keep this up, sobriety will be a pipe dream.

Dead Lift

Practice makes perfect. Or in the world of CrossFit, bloody shins, whip marked legs, torn hands, and bruised egos. Remember, we pay good money for this stuff! You can’t dead lift your way out of a poor diet. Trust me, I’ve tried. Cardio is simply dead lifting faster so that is automatically ruled out. Just need to practice more, focus on the nutrition and mobility. Looking forward to a great September.

 

 

First Week Back

This week was my first week back and the kickoff of Whole Life Challenge, so it was a double whammy!

For those of you who are not familiar with WLC, it’s well worth it. It is an eight week program where exercise, mobility work, and perfect nutrition are the goals. It can be challenging, however it is well worth it. I lost about 10 lbs the last time, unfortunately I found it again. These things happen.

Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, vegetables, nuts, seeds, some fruit, and good fats like coconut and avocado.

None of this:

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Lots of This:

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I published a blog not too long ago about Paleo. It can be expensive, time consuming, and frustrating, however if it was easy, it wouldn’t be any fun! Work with me people.

The first couple of days are the hardest because your body is clearing itself of a drug. It it is similar to other withdrawals. Speaking of which, please watch Flight if you have not already. Wow. Your body is addicted to sugar and when you take it away, your body wants it again. You will survive. You will get through it. You will feel better and perform better.

It was great to get back to CrossFit this week. Working out in a regular gym is fine but it’s not the same. I definitely pushed myself harder and got a much higher caliber of a workout. As proof, I am having a tough time walking today. Quality time with the roller is needed.

First Wod:
Nicole
20 min AMRAP
500 M Row
AMRAP pull ups

I subbed rowing for running and got six rounds and forty two pull ups. I was pretty beat afterwards. It felt great.

Second WOD:
Six Rounds
10 BW Bench Press
30 Slam Balls
100 ft BW stone carry

I scaled this down and kept the bench press weights between 185 and 205. Subbed 20 squats for slam balls and used a 115 lb. stone. I didn’t record the time. I was just glad to be done!

Third WOD:
Five Rounds
10 reps of 185 lb dead lift
15 Wall Balls

I subbed 135lbs and did the wall balls. TIme was 9:50.