It's been a while since I last posted. Sorry. I have been traveling the last few days. The family christmas present was an all expenses paid trip to the Gator Bowl to cheer on WVU. My girlfriend and I arrived on Tuesday and have been traveling ever since. We have managed to keep up our workouts pretty well. Today is a rest day as we have been on for five days. We found a hotel with free weights and treadmills close enough to do neutral grip, tuck pullups, holding on the safety handles. We did Joshie yesterday. I finished in 21 something.

Cheer on WVU tomorrow, have a great New Years, and I will write again soon.

Various Front Squats

This was the last WOD before a two day holiday break. I was five days on, so two days off is much needed. The Workout:

Front Squat 1-10-1-20-1-30 reps

Weight and Total: 210, 155, 210, 95, 210, 65 (lbs) = 945

I was pretty happy with this. I feel like I could do more weight on my singles, even though that was a PR weight. I am not sure how I felt with the 20 and 30 rep weight. I struggled to get through them, but probably could have squeezed out 10 more lbs.

Daniel

The Mainsite called for a rest day, so I picked Daniel for today. The Workout:

"Daniel"

50 Pull-ups
400m Run
21 Thrusters (95 lbs)
800m Run
21 Thrusters (95 lbs)
400m Run
50 Pull-ups

Time: 18:13 as Rx'ed

That is around 2:08 faster than back in September. I am wrecked, but I love PR'ing.

Oh, side note, I got a raise and more hours today. Hell yeah!!!

Diane

I took on Diane yesterday. I checked the scaling from Brand X, then screwed it up. However, I think my screw up actually worked out better in the end. The Workout:

"Diane"

21-15-9 reps of: (I did 15, 9, 6)
225 pound Deadlift
Handstand push-ups (Barrier)

Time: 5:24

The scaling I wanted to do was 15, 12, 9. I am not sure why I messed this up, but it did not occur to me until I was in the middle of my HSPU's during the last round. Oh well, my Deadlifts were almost unbroken, and I only had to rest two or three times during the HSPU's. I really need to working on those. My form is good, but my strength sucks.

Rope Climb, Ring Dips, Squats

This was today's WOD from the mainsite. I do not have a 15 foot Rope, or Rings, so I had to modify a little. The Workout:

Three rounds for time of: Porch Scaling
3 Ascents of a 15' rope (subbed 5 to 1 neutral grip pullups)
15 Ring dips (Subbed 3 to 1 parallette dips)
35 Squats

Time: 9:40

Just wish I had the right equipments for this one. I need to make some rings.

4719(2)

This was a WOD created by Crossfit Pittsburgh last Spring after three officers were killed in the line of duty while forcing their way into a house where a young man was threatening his mother. I don't remember which of the officers were a member at Crossfit Pittsburgh, but his fiance is a Crossfitter in Philadelphia, and she got together with the owners of Xfit Pitts and created two workouts based on the officer's badge number. I did this yesterday. The Workout:

4179 (2)
9 Rounds for Time

4 Pull-ups
1 Deadlift (275 lbs)
7 Push-ups
9 Double Unders
Sprint 100m

Time: 14: something

Again, I do not have my log book in front of me. I preformed this WOD for the first time last Spring, and finished in 19 something. So, I will take the 5 min difference.

Single Squat Cleans

I have been really behind in my blogging recently. I will blame in on life, but really, I think I just forgot. This was Friday's WOD. The Workout:

Single Squat Cleans
1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1

Weight: 185, 190, 195, 200, 205, 210, 215 lbs. (PR)

I felt good at this weight. I may have been able to push 220, but I felt pretty drained and my forearms were really tired for some reason.

5x3 Back Squats

Not much to say about this one. The Workout:

Back Squat

3, 3, 3, 3, 3

Weight: 230, 235, 240, 245, 250 (PR)

I lost my focus on my last rep of my last round and my form broke down a little. But, I will accept the weight as a PR.

Wall Balls, Pull-ups, Push-ups

I missed yesterday's mainsite WOD as I was resting. However, having never done a Turkish get-up before, I thought it best to practice them during a skills period and pick a different WOD to do today. I searched around and found this WOD of Crossfit WV. The Workout:

21-15-9

Wall Balls (I sub'ed Thrusters)
Pull-ups
Push-ups

Time: 4:34

I thought about just doing Fran, but I wanted to work on my Thruster form at high speeds and wanted to do some push-ups. It was actually a pretty tough WOD.

Xfit Games Chipper

Finished the week with a tough one yesterday. The Workout:

For time:
15 155lb Barbell Cleans
30 Toes to Bar
30 Box Jumps
15 Muscle Ups
30 45 lb. Pushpress
30 Pull-ups
15 135 lb Thrusters
30 Double Unders
30 Burpees
15 Walking Lunges (45 lbs.)

Time: 20:44

This was like 2:12 faster than when I attempted it at the end of the summer while they were performing this WOD at the games. The only thing I screwed up was the Push Press. It occurred to be after that it was supposed to be 45 lb dumbbells, no just the 45 lb bar. I am sure that and the new found ability to do Muscle Ups accounted for the lower time.

Rest day today and tomorrow. Enjoy the weekend.

Single Split Jerks

Single Split Jerks tonight. The Workout:

Single Split Jerks:
1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1

Weight: 185, 190, 195, 200, 205, 210, 215 lbs (PR)

I attempted this WOD in my toe shoes. I think it limited me a little because it hurt my feet when I drove them down as I jerked the weight overhead. Still I will take 215.

Elizabeth

Decided to do Elizabeth yesterday. A favorite of mine. The Workout:

Elizabeth
For Time:
21, 15, 9

135 lbs. Cleans (115 lbs)
Ring Dips (2x Parallete dips)

Time: 8:41

I was not too happy with this time as it was about a minute slower than last time. I guess it was because I started with full squat cleans which burned out my quads pretty quickly.

Back and abs Variations

Hey, I am actually finding the time to post on the day I performed the WOD. The Workout:

For time:
Run 800 meters
30 Hip/Back Extensions
30 GHD Sit-ups (only went to parallel)
30 Hip Extensions
30 Knees to Elbows
30 Back Extensions
30 AbMat Sit-ups

Time: 10:46

I felt really good today after the Lumberjack workout last night. I guess there is something to be said for working out so hard your body becomes inhabitable to foreign viruses. That is may theory anyway. And clean eating. A recipe for health.

Pa DUI Law

I followed my boss to court this morning to observe a Non-jury trial for which I drafted a motion challenging the constitutionality of 75 Pa.C.S. 3802(d)(2). Basically, 3802(d)(2) says that it is unlawful for someone to drive who is under the influence of a drug or a combination of drugs to the point of unsafe impairment. On its face, this statute appears to be a good law. It will keep drug users who are high off any narcotic off the roads. However, as applied it presents a real problem.

Take for example our client (some facts are changed for obvious reasons). Single mother who suffers from a mental illness. Her doctor prescribes her medications that she takes on a daily basis. For three days, her medications have stopped working and she is suffering from an episode caused by her mental illness (call it a depressive episode, manic episode, whatever). However, her children, who play little league baseball, have a tournament on day three. Unable to get a hold of her doctor, the woman decides to take her children to their baseball game b/c she is feeling better and took her medications that morning. While driving, she is pulled over and charged under 3802(d)(2). She legally took her medically prescribed medication, she drove with a legal license, yet she is being charged as a criminal.

Anyone else see a problem with this? Post your thoughts to comments.

Lumberjack 20

After a nice weekend of rest, I hit it hard last night. I missed this WOD on Saturday and wanted to give it a shot in honor of the fallen. The Workout:

Lumberjack 20 (Porch Scaling, so 15 reps of each)
20 Deadlifts (275lbs)
Run 400m
20 KB swings (2pood)
Run 400m
20 Overhead Squats (115lbs) (had to drop the weight to 95 lbs)
Run 400m
20 Burpees
Run 400m
20 Pullups (Chest to Bar)
Run 400m
20 Box jumps (24")
Run 400m
20 DB Squat Cleans (45lbs each)
Run 400m

Time: 24:14 (or somewhere close to that, don't have my book at work)

Felt good doing this wod. It was the first metcon I attempted in my Fivefinger shoes and loved it. The running will take a little getting used to. While warming up, the 115 ohs felt really unstable, so I dropped to 95. When I performed the lift while in the wod, I felt really strong at 95, so I probably should have done 115. Oh well. I am also fighting a cold, so nothing but clean eating, exercise, and rest for me for the next few days.

Row,GHD,Back Extensions

I was relieved to see this WOD after a tough week on the old hands. The Workout:

Row 1000 meters
Then three rounds, 21, 15, and 9 reps of: (I did Pack Scaling at 15,12,9)
GHD Situps
Back Extensions

Time: 7:14

I was aiming around 7 or 8, so I am happy with this time. I had to run about 75m from the row machine to the exercise ball and squat rack I was using for the GHD's and Back extensions. I am unable to do full GHD's and on developer because my body is not used to them. However, my body is able to handle the extension I get from a ball.

15, 12, 9 one-arm thrusters/one-arm Pull-ups

When I saw this WOD, I had no idea what to think. The thrusters did not bother me, but I had no idea what to think of the pull-ups. Then when I saw that HG amended the WOD to include 60 lbs being used for the pull-ups, and I started to get scared. The Workout:

Using a single 60lb dumbbell for both thrusters and pull-ups, 3 rounds, 15-12-9 reps of:
Thrusters right arm
Thrusters left arm
"One-hand" pull-up right arm (left hand grabs the right wrist)
"One-hand" pull-up left arm (right hand grabs the left wrist)

Time: 11:20

I scaled the weight to 45 lbs as I would scale regular Fran to 65 lbs. I did body weight pull-ups. When I started the pull-ups, I was not getting a full ROM, but once I became comfortable holding my wrists and got into a rhythm, that ROM came a little easier.

5x3 Front Squat

I know this is a day late, but I got home late last night and was really busy today attempting to draft a motion challenging the constitutionality of a Pennsylvania law. The Workout:

Front Squat

3, 3, 3, 3, 3

Weight: 175, 185, 185, 195, 205

This was not a PR exactly, but I moved my hands from a limiting "underhand cross" type grip, to a more functional high rack with my elbows parallel to the floor. I felt a little unstable because my shoulders were getting tired and I wanted to make sure I kept my back upright. I will move up to a new PR next time.