Jealous; Rrrrrrrrrr...

Me today? Two pianos tuned (thanks, glad to.) Athletically, sod all.

Kirsten, however, had the day off. Here is her tale:

I basically spent the entire day playing in the snow! Starting with a general crossfit warmup of situps, pushups, supermans, squats, pullups and dips, I proceeded to the Tech trails with my skis. I wanted to do some hill work and some of the more technical parts of the trails today. The conditions for me were ideal, I enjoy fresh powder. It was around 20 degrees with 2 inches of fresh powder on the trails. I was out for a little over an hour. Not too many skiers out today, what with the lake effect snow warning; however, I tend to enjoy a little stormy weather. It was beautiful in the woods! Loops covered: Oak to Pine, Core, Skidder, Tanglewood, Ridge, DownUnder, Maple, Balsam, Core. I didn't time it, a little over an hour, I think. Lots of hills to play on, the ones on Maple especially got to me today. The Maple loop would be good for hill practice, doing rounds of it would be challenging. Upon returning home, the driveway had started to fill up, so after a quick bowl of soup, round one of scooping commenced. The snow is still falling, we'll see when round two begins...Happy New Year, everyone! Here's wishing you a healthy lifetstyle!

Progress...

Yesterday, Wednesday, a half an hour at the gym rowing easy. After being used to pushing the tempo it was a challenge to stay slow.

30:05

5050 meters

2:58.6/500m avg.

18 spm

My back is sore, but more functional now. continuing stretching, icing.

Kirsten had the day off, but yesterday she did Hill work on Hairpin.

Ciao,

Charles

Pretty good...

Good. Things worked out good. Today was not 'ooh, all better!,' but neither was it 'ow,ow,ow!'

So, a day of rest? Yeah, I shoulda, but we wanted to go, so to Swedetown we went. Today's goal, an easier skate over a long distance. Kirsten is nervous about being able to cover the distances necessary for a longer race. I'm not worried...yet. An easy loop, the Valley Trail and Greenstone Loops. Here's a map. I'm staying very cautious, so for Kirsten to get a workout, I sent her on the Mama Bear Loop as well. I wish I could have gone with her! I kept going, slow with many stops. I met an older guy trying his first time on skating skis and helped him out with his technique - He looked 100% better in less than 5 minutes! Then, to pass the time and let Kirsten catch up with me, I did 4 easy repeats up a short hill, working on V1 technique. It all felt pretty good.

Data:

CW 6.4k 54:51

KW 9k 54:40

Upon getting home, I found a great email in my inbox from Crossfit Appleton coach Theresa Rosenquist. She's been getting my posts. Summary of a quick reading:

TAKE CARE OF YOUR BACK!

Get it looked at.

Ice it.

Stretch.

Lighter activities, walk or easy rowing.

I iced it tonight and did my usual stretches; I'll get into the info she sent me more in depth tomorrow. Theresa is fabulous! If you're ever in Appleton, bring some gym clothes and get together with her - she knows her Crossfit and lots of other stuff besides. A real stickler for technique and form.

Here's us stopping for milk on the way home:

Ciao,

Charles

Good Idea, or Bad?

So, the back has been bothering me. Lately I've been walking around crooked. Yesterday I saw myself in the bathroom mirror before a shower, sans clothes. Amazing! I was standing 'straight' but my pelvis was cocked to the left. My body above that was straight but the rib cage was offset to the right. Holy cats!

The day we did Angie (3 Bars of Death) my back was feeling better but the next day was nasty. Since then I've only been 1) stretching out, especially legs, 2) tuning pianos, 3) scooping snow or 4)motionless.

Going skiing today was a crazy idea. The 'thinking' behind it was to get active and loosen things up. It seems that some combination of stretching, rest and activity gets my back put together again. Mainly, though, I was getting tired of just sitting around.

It felt too soon to be out on skis. As soon as we pushed off into a warmup, I could hear my back talking about the alternating stress from side to side, "What the heck do you think you are doing?" We did twice around the island, then on the back straight of the Oak Loop, we did drills; free skate emphasizing an ab crunch then sprint, finishing with a couple of short sprints.

The workout was 3 x 1 minute on (85% of max effort,) 1 minute off, for distance. We used the back straight on the Isle Royale Loop. The idea was to skate down for a minute, turn around and skate back the exact distance in the same time, then again for a total of 3 times.

CW 300 meters

KW 320 meters

We did them all the same and a good thing, too. There was a penalty of 2 minutes of max-rep pushups if we failed!

I was going to have Kirsten do another set of 3 intervals, but we both decided to call it there. I went back to the truck and Kirsten did a loop and then to the truck.

Temp was 33F. Snow was groomed, rained on and refrozen crusty. Hard, fast and a little dicey!

It feels great to have gotten out and done a workout! I'll let you know tomorrow whether it was a good or a bad idea...

Ciao,

Charles

Wacky yooper alert

Submitted today by Kirsten!

Today, Charles proclaimed what he calls an "active rest day". For him, it meant sleeping in this morning! For me, it meant getting up and getting some work done before going for a ski. For some reason, my best times out on the ski trail occur during snowstorms. Today was no exception. The forecasters were right on the mark when they said that it would start snowing at 7 AM. At 8:30, I thought, "Now would be the best time to ski today!" As it turned out, the groomer had been there about 15 minutes before I started my skate. The snow was coming down hard by then and there were about two inches of fresh snow on top of the hard pack. The glide was superb. It was exceptionally fun. I did a quick 30 minute swing around the Isle Royale/ Superior Loops. The wind, from the East, really sandblasted my face on the return. I can see why men like their beards in the winter! This afternoon, returning from work, I joined Charles in round 1 of the favorite yooper fitness pastime of scooping snow...the wet, heavy kind...a great total body workout! We'll see how many rounds are called for with this storm...Merry Christmas to all!

Kirsten

Nnngh!

O.k. Now I'm sore.

Ciao,

Charles

Three Bars of Death

This morning at the Aspirus Fitness Center: Linda, aka the Three Bars of Death

In each round:

Deadlifit/bench press/clean

in reps of:

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

for time.

KW

Reps: 10-9-8-7-6-5 (form problems, so we stopped early - stay safe!)

Time: 24:54
Weights: 70 then 45,65,45#

CW

Reps 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

Time: 23:05
Weights: 115,85,75#

Our backs, which have been bugging us, felt just fine!

We'll keep stretching out legs and the back.

Ciao,

Charles

XC Active Rest

Skiing classic for an active rest tonight at the Tech Trails. Those poles seem short after skating!

Some drills: no poles, double poling. Fun!

A short jaunt around the Core Loop

We were both pretty stiff from the butt-whipping we recieved at the hands of Theresa of Crossfit Appleton (it was a fun butt-whipping. Thanks, Theresa!) so just a short ski today. Warmups were around the island of trees behind the wax building.

Warmup drills around the 'Island.' 2 rounds of:

1 lap double pole

1 lap skate V2

1 lap no poles

1 lap skate V2

Then once around the Core Loop.

KW 5:50

CW 6:00

I think that this is the first time that we've done just the Core Loop and nothing else. One corner of it dips down, making for some coasting and some climbing. The phone says 1.17k.

Warmdown up and down the straight away section at the end of Oak Loop. On the way up, alternating 4 each of double pole/skate/no poles/skate. On the way down, it was too much fun not to double pole.

Takeaways:

KW: return your poles out in front of you like you were dumping 2 cups of coffee on the ground in front of you (read that somewhere, the Master Skier I think.)

CW: When double poling, crunch in the abs - yes, but then, instead of bending over at the waist, sink down into the ankles and the knees. Will this compression help get more leg drive into the skating? Stay tuned!

Ciao,

Charles

Another fine day in Appleton

So, Kirsten and I went down to Appleton to pick up a new drill press for the shop (goodie!) Theresa at Crossfit Appleton was gracious to let us in to her Saturday 7am class. We've been at this for a little while, but this was our first class ever. It was good to meet and work out with other enthusiastic athletes; we met Ann, Kathy and Sara (no picture for Sara, she was gone before I could take her picture; she may be in the Witness Protection Program. ;^))

That's Ann in the red shirt, the blur is Theresa (she's always in motion.) Here's Kathy.

One of the things I've learned from Crossfit Appleton, the meaning of 'your workout is our warmup.'

Warmup I:

jumprope 1 min

POSE drills -pony, hop

jumprope (alt legs) 1 min

15 air squats, squat stretch (backend)15 sec, squat hold (knees out) 15 sec

walking lunges, sampson stretch 15 sec

arm circles, chest stretch (against wall).

Warmup II: 2 X 15 of:

Squats - front/overhead

Back extension superman/standing

Abs abmat/KTE

Box jump for height

I got through the box jumps and the overhead squats from the second set and then took refuge in the bathroom. I was back just in time to read the workout, get ready and go.

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes:

5 burpees

10 pullups

15 wallballs

CW: 4 rounds + 2 reps. Jumping pullups, 14# ball, 10' target.

KW: 7 rounds + 5 reps. 14# ball, 8' target. (ooh, those kipping pullups - yummy!)

I was worried about my back not being 100%, but that went great! The thing that got me was simply too much time off. The ladies all left me in the dust. Hopefully next time I'll be in better shape and give a better accounting of myself. I'm still not out of the woods with the back, but I am pleased that I could start moving again. After we shop our way home, maybe tomorrow we can do a little skiing!

Ciao,

Charles

The Kirsten Ski Report...

I've been pretty laid up since my back went out last Sunday; missed some work, couldn't do more than scoop a little snow! Back at work tuning pianos today, felt better. I hope I have something to show by Saturday - we're visiting Crossfit Appleton in - you guessed it - Appleton!

I've been encouraging Kirsten to get out and do stuff, even (sniff) without me. She's doing great. Here's her report from this week:

I will go backward, from most the most recent to the most previous...

Tonight I did:
Crossfit warmup: 2X10 reps each of 6 excercises, pushup, situp, superman, air squats, pullups, dips.
Then, a short run down to the ski shop and back, nice and relaxed, paying attention to technique and footing. The good news: My knee feels strong again!


On Tuesday night:
Crossfit warmup as above. Then skiing:
The wind was blowing, it was a blustery 10 degrees, and lots of fresh snow. A double-pole interval workout. Warmup, crunch technique, paying attention to using the abs, and not overusing the arms.
Two times double-poling up the Oak Loop straightaway, for four lightpoles. One minute off, double-poling down the straightaway, then turn around, rinse and repeat. Remembered the water bottle, yay!
Warm down with skate technique, no poles.

On Monday night:
The snow was fresh, about 2" of new fluff, and it was coolish, around 18 degrees. I skated the "Dog" loop, Superior loop, Pine loop, Core to Portage loop and then Core again back to the parking lot. Forgot my water bottle, won't do that again, the air is dry!

There, now we are up to date!

Great work, baby! I am pleased and also jealous. I'll have to remember to start from where I am an progress from there.

Ciao,

Charles

XC skiing up and running!

12/9/09

Night XC ski. Kirsten's been out several times already. This night was a blizzard. Hello powder skating! It's funny when you look down and all you can see is your boots cruising through the snow.

Drill - 3 times up the wax hill.

12/12/09 2nd day of XC skiing. Rolled, tilled and tracked! 22F, Snow medium speed - it makes that crunching sound under your skis.

Time trial; Dog Loop 2.14k in 11:35. That includes putting my iPhone away (it was my timer,) putting on my glove and ski-pole. That means I can cut down my time just by getting a watch!

I have no timing data from last season, but my performance felt better than the same loop at the end of last year. Not as much improvement as I wanted, but this is after about 2 weeks of no training. First it was a couple of extra days off, then it was my back, then came the concerts; throw a bit of just plain laziness in there and you've got a full-blown hiatus! At least this last week I was scooping the snow out of the driveway a couple of times a day.

Where we've been and what's happened since

Those last three WODS really toasted us. Then our backs were sore. Add to that a busy schedule (I'm singing the tenor solos in the MTU concert of Handel's Messiah,) and we haven't done any workouts. Finally the snow arrives, and we're both out scooping out the driveway. Like magic, the backaches disappear! I had rehearsal tonight, but Kirsten got out XC skiing. Crossfit and our dryland workouts really helped her be in shape on her first day out. After tomorrow's concert, I'll get back to doing stuff.

I hope you're working out!

Ciao,

Charles

Fran PR party!

At my mom's gym we did Fran today.

Reps as Rx'd 21 - 15 - 9

Pullups assisted CW green, KW blue band.

Weight CW 1st set 65#, then 55#; KW 37#.

PR times!

CW 7:09

KW 5:35

Woohoo!

For the warmup, jumprope, then

3 x 5 squat, pushup, supermans, situps, pullups, dips.

Our Death By 10 Meters

The gauntlet is thrown down!

C2 rower
Last round meters:
CW 230m
KW 210m

Good luck on Sunday.

Ciao,

Charles

Do it yourself Sunday WOD

Pick a sport; run, bike, swim, row. You will need a way of measuring
distance in 10 meter intervals.
Running you can go progressively farther or just back and forth
between markers set 10 meters apart.

DEATH BY 10 METERS

10 meters on the min.
Every minute, add 10 meters.
This can be done 2 ways. 1) either measured on a watch/computer (i.e.,
Garmin, Polar, bike computer, compu trainer or pool markers) and
stopping each successive 10 meters. This is the way that it should be
done for cycling or swimming.
Or 2) set up 2 cones 10 meters a part, and add one return trip each
minute on the minute... Either way, you are to add 10 meters each
round until you can no longer continue. Post rounds.

So the first minute, do 10 meters with a lot of rest time.
2nd minute, do 20 meters
3rd minute, do 30 meters
etc... until you can't get them all into a minute.

If you do this, send me rounds you did.

Ciao,

Charles

Angie's New Shoes

Angie x .5

50 each - pullups, pushups, situps, squats.

CW 27:38 my first ripped callous.

KW 25:22 another blood blister.

Thanks Theresa at Crossfit Appleton for helping me improve my kip!

And the shoes: Kirsten found hers in Appleton; after not finding a good fit in any DCs in Appleton or Green Bay, I found these sweet WOD shoes at the Rhythm skate shop in downtown

Houghton!

Happy Thanksgiving! Remember to get after it!

Ciao,

Charles

Over the river & through the WOD

While travelling to my Mom's, Houghton to Mt. Pleasant: 15 burpees for time at each rest stop.

Marquette
CW 1:13
KW 1:03
A shock!
A lady said her dog wanted to get us.

Seney
Cw 1:17
Kw 1:03
Refreshing!

Naubinway
Cw 1:10
Kw 1:00
Getting faster. Notorious Charles is recognized by fellow rest-stoppers.

Vanderbilt
CW 1:07
KW1:01
15 minutes after dinner puts the burp in burpees! In the dark now. Kirsten starts napping in between...

Gaylord
CW 0:59
KW 0:52
Are we getting faster, or miscounting?Wet. starting to feel it in the stomach...charles says our form is improving...however, we are in the dark...

Houghton Lake
Cw 1:00
Kw 0:53
Kw wants to know why the lights keep going out wherever we go...she just said, "I have dirt in my mouth!" Only one more set...

Clare
Cw 0:53
Kw 0.53
Woo hoo from a passing car!
Yay hooray we are done!

Ciao,

Charles

Over the river & through the WOD

CFE Hill Repeats / Dryland Training

Today was the Sunday WOD - Congratulations to Kari Lyle for working out with us!

We headed out to the trails at Michigan Tech, for a hill workout on the 'Hairpin Loop.' Skiing for several years, I've always viewed this sign as the equivalent to the Enchanted Forest 'I'd turn back if I were you' sign from the Wizard of Oz.

It goes pretty straight out and almost all down, then a banked turn and almost all straight back up. It's not quite as bad as it sounds, on the way down. It is all of that climbing back up, though.

We warmed up and did XC drills working our way to the bottom, then set up to climb the hill twice. Here's the Crossfit Endurance Workout, scaled:

Run: 2 x .5km hill repeats holding fastest possible pace without deviating more then 1 minute and recovering 1 min before descending hill easy. Repeat after 1 min recovery at bottom of hill... (orig .75 - 1 mile)

Foul: If you deviate more than the specified time.

Foul: 50 alternating "aka Random hand" push ups (orig. 75)

Here's the times over .54km:

CW: 5:15, 4:51

KW: 4:59, 4:51

KL: 5:06, 5:08

CW: working with POSE technique (see posetech.com) and with ski poles, a strain in my right calf about 3/4 of the way uphill. The idea is to immediately pull up the landing foot. I just could not pull it. I worried that I was pushing off, keeping the ball of my foot buried in the ground much too long. I had to stop and walk the last steep section. Endurance was not a problem, though. Second time, I thought I'd try, probably end up walking and doing the penalty. I still could not pull the foot up. Then, I tried it without using the poles. Bingo! My cadence picked up and foot pulls started happening much quicker. The calves, though already strained felt fine! I think that the long time the poles were in the ground held my foot there as well. I felt like the POSE technique was working. I ran all the way up the hill, no stops or slowing. The takeaway for me was: because of no glide, just do the dryland XC drills at steady pace for technique. Fast trail running, forget the poles.

KW: For me, the poles helped. I used them in much the same way as I would have if I were classic skiing. Because I am still rehabbing my knee, I felt that this would take some of the pressure off of the knee, and so would be the way to go. I actually could run for the whole workout. This is the first time back running since my injury. I am pumped! Perhaps I can start running again now. It helps me to always concentrate on relaxing the achilles and calves. I surprised myself, I didn't know how well my leg would cope, but it is getting stronger and stronger now.

CW: So, is one of us wrong? Our conclusions were based on our reasoning of cause and effect. Even though it worked for me, I know that I'm not aware enough of what's going on to accurately judge. It would be nice to get POSE coaching. Perhaps if we got video we could record ourselves and get somebody to take a look at us. Hmm, new gadget lust. ;^)

Kari said she had the strength for the hills, next comes the cardiovascular endurance. Great job and extremely consistent!

Next week we'll be over the river and through the woods, to Mommie's house we go. I'll post a Sunday WOD you can do anywhere on your own for next week.

Ciao,

Charles

Sunday WOD

I just remembered to get this out before tomorrow. Sorry it's so late.

Sunday WOD. Dryland training; meet at Tech Trails, 1:00 pm

Bring:
Trail running shoes
Stopwatch
XC ski poles (classical length) if you have them.

See you Sunday!

Ciao,

Charles

Max Deadlift WOD

2009-11-21

7 deadlifts

1-1-1-1-1-1-1 Deadlift
Score: 205-220-230-240-250-252.5-265

Comments: PR +10#. Rep 6 was supposed to be PR by 5#, but I screwed up. First I loaded up wrong, off on one side. It felt lopsided when I started to lift. When I reloaded, I still left a 10# plate off of one side, and added a 5# plate instead of a 2.5# plate. I didn't notice the imbalance, it just seemed heavy. Went for the planned 265 anyway. Woohoo!

KW not feeling as strong today. By the end she felt the legs getting back into it. 155-(155)-135-135-135-135-155 For warmup, KW did 2 sets of 10 of squats, supermans, situps, pushups,pullup and ring dips. I did more skill stuff - single and double unders (I got 3 singles, 1 double, 3 singles!)(I'm having more success modeling the jumping first, then adding the rope), then 1 set of Kirsten's warmup (scaled.)

Then I coached Kirsten on butterfly pullups, based on this tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEUxEo5_7hY Very cool!

Ciao,

Charles

Tommy V

Tommy V: Thrusters 15-12-9 'rope climbs' 8-4-2 Jumping towel pullups x 10 for each rope ascent. (80,40,20)

I have rubber arms :o CW 11:36 KW 12:39

Tabata Something Else (1/2)

2009-11-15 1/2 tabata something else

Tabatas are intervals, usually 8, of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off.

Pull-up (jumping) (4 rounds) Tabata Push-up (honest) (4 rounds) Tabata Sit-up (floor) (4 rounds) Tabata Air Squat (honest) (4 rounds) Total reps: 130

CW: with jumping pullups

pullups 11+11+10+8=40

pushups 5+5+4+4=18

situps 8+8+8+8=32

squat 11+11+10+11=43

Total 40+18+32+43=130

KW: with kipping pullups

pullups 8+6+4+4=24

pushups 6+6+6+6=24

situps 8+8+8+8=32

squats 9+9+9+9=36

Total 24+24+32+36=116

Another one of those workouts where you learn a lot about doing it the first time.

Ciao,

Charles

Workout at Crossfit Appleton

Theresa Rosenquist, MSc. was our trainer. We learned that we're doing pretty good studying and working out on our own. Even better, she had great ideas to improve every movement we were doing. Then she got us but good. Here's the workout:

2009-11-13 5 rounds of: Clean (hang power) x 10 Reps @ 35 Pounds Front Squat x 10 Reps @ 35 Pounds Jerk (push) x 10 Reps @ 35 Pounds Row x 250 Meters

Time: 18:32

Comments: Warmup 2 X15 each squat (air, pvc overhead,) situps back ext/good mornings, Pullups, ring dips. KW 17:42 25# without the jumping parts of the movements. All done at Crossfit Appleton. Thanks, Theresa!

I think that's the first time I've done a full 5 rounds. Near the end of the 3rd I said "I don't think I can do more." Theresa said, "just slow down." It worked, and I put in a good 250m on the last row. Theresa said that's the first time she's seen a 1:30 split on the rower! Here's what I looked like after:

You can tell what a good time we had!

If you get down to Appleton, get with these guys, they're great! Real close to the Fox Valley Mall, too. Everything you need to know is at http://www.appletoncrossfit.com/index.html

Do it yourself Sunday WOD

I'm attending a piano recital that some of my students are in, so if you want the Sunday WOD, just crank it out yourself!

Here's the workout.

Sunday

Sunday WOD "Tabata Something Else"

20 sec on, 10 sec off 

3-4 intervals of

pull-ups (sub jumping)

push-ups (sub wall/bench)

sit-ups

squats. 

Post total reps from all intervals.

If you don't have a way of doing pullups, skip them for now.

Warm up, including 8 of each exercise.

Take the first exercise and go hard for 20 seconds, then write down your reps and rest for 10 seconds.

Do that 3 times in a row without any extra rest, then right into 3 intervals of the next exercise, and so on.

By the end, you will have done 12 intervals total.  

Pick a pace you think you can maintain throughout, fighting for good technique even when you get tired.

If you are looking for a bigger challenge, do 4 rounds of each.

Email me your results, like this:

pullups 5,6,4,4

pushups 10,8,6,7

situps 5,6,6,7

squats 8,8,7,9

total reps (add them up)

Good luck!

Ciao,

Charles

I found my notes for 11/6!

2009-11-6 1 rounds of: 1 minute 30seconds of Row for Meters 1 minute 30seconds of Row for Meters 1 minute 30seconds of Row for Meters 1 minute 30seconds of Row for Meters 1 minute 30seconds of Row for Meters 1 minute 30seconds of Row for Meters Total meters: 2407 Comments: CFE 90 seconds on / 60 seconds off, 6 rounds All stroke rates 29 spm. splits: 1:53.9 1:53.6 1:53.3 1:52.7 1:52.5 1:50.8

Ciao,

Charles

Scaled Tyler

2009-11-11 tyler 3 rounds of: Muscle-up (scaled) x 4 Reps Sumo Deadlift High Pull x 15 Reps @ 55 Pounds Time: 3:30 Comments: Scaled. I don't really have a ring dip. The assist was squat through and jump. Not great. Next time, 65# SDLHP. KW 5:48, 26# KB Tucker progressions on muscleups. I think once she adds the kip, Kirsten will have a muscle up! Ciao, Charles

Crossfit Endurance Time Trial

Crossfit Endurance is a different thing from Crossfit. It uses
crossfit workouts as the fitness base. Then it adds a few days a week
of your particular endurance sport, covering running, biking, swimming
and erg rowing. It promises good results with less mileage per week.
a typical three day endurance cycle contains two interval workouts and
one time trial or tempo workout.

Today was supposed to be a 2k time trial. I did one of those not too
long ago and wanted to try something different, so I did a 'distance
trial.' I set the timer to countdown 7:30, then rowed as far as I
could in that time. My February goal is 2k in 7:30.

I was not used to judging my effort this way; I hadn't realized how
dependent I was on the 2k race format. Not only that, but I didn't
feel me
ntally up to the job; I wanted to give it up about 1/2 way through.
Perhaps a lack of mental toughness is a disadvantage of the lower
mileage plan?

The final result was 1952 meters. That gives an average 500 split of
1:55.3. My goal is 1:52.5. Extrapolating that out would give a 2k
time of 7:41.

That's not bad; not yet to February's goal, but still ahead of last
year's PR!

Kirsten is working on the new ski-erg. Her goal is this Sunday's time
trial at the Aspirus Fitness Center - 1K in 5:10.
Her time trial today was 5:22. Great! She was trying for 5:30.

Here's the data:
11/11/09 TT
Cw row 7:30 for distance
Wmup 2575m 1:52.2 27

TT 1952m. Splits every 1:50:
Meters, split/500, spm
512 1:49.3 28
501 1.51.7 27
478 1:57.1 27
452 2:03.8 26
9 1:51.1 30

KW 1k for time
5:22.9 2:41.4 41
Splits by 200s spm
2:38 38
2:45 37
2:36 41
2:44 43
2:35 47

Ciao,

Charles

A saturday morning WOD at our house, guest starring the ever popular David Dixon!

3 rounds of:

10 Hang Squat Cleans

15 or 20 pushups

CW: 8:15. 45# bar, 15 pushups per round. Rounds 2 & 3 pushups on a bench.

KW: 6:45. 14# medball hang squat cleans, starting from squat footing; the knee rehab continues!

DD: 5:52. 35# bar. Yay, David!

See you tomorrow at 1pm for the Sunday WOD!

Ciao,

Charles

Sunday WOD

Workout this Sunday at my house, 1pm.

All bodyweight exercises this week.

If you want to prepare ahead, work on your air squat:

Air Squat Demo w/explanations..mov, wmv.

Ciao,

Charles

Lizzie

2009-11-5 lizzie 15-12-9 rep rounds of: Clean (squat) 45 Pounds Dip (scaled) Time: 7:51 Dips off a bench, heels on a 16" box. KW time: 7:20 35# hang power cleans, 7 ring dips (ain't she something!) bench dips with feet on a 16" box for the rest. Last time was 35# with a time of 4:32. I'm not sure aobut the difference. Today was pretty much all out, I heard Pukie calling my name. I'm guessing that last time my cleans did not have a squat in them. Form was good but not great. I still need to improve my receiving position.

Ciao,

Charles

Baby's first Fran...

The way to rate any Crossfitter is to ask what their Fran time is.  It's the most well-known of the benchmark workouts.

Ours were scaled both in weight and reps.  Here's the data:

• Thruster x 12 Reps @ 65 Pounds
• Pull-up (assisted) x 21 Reps
• Thruster x 9 Reps @ 65 Pounds
• Pull-up (assisted) x 15 Reps
• Thruster x 6 Reps @ 65 Pounds
• Pull-up (assisted) x 9 Reps

CW time: 7:21

Thrusters scaled weight and reps. 

Pullups w/green band. 

KW time: 10:01 

Subbed 35# push presses followed by air squats, scaled reps. 

Pullups full on (go, grrrrrrrl!) PR alert: KW got 10 kipping pullups in a row! 

Worked on double-unders. CW goals: pullups - improve power to weight ratio; move down to blue band. Double unders -single-double-single, consecutive doubles. 

KW goals:1st muscle-up, 20 consecutive kipping pullups.

Ciao,

Charles

CF "Twisted" Total

I think I lead a charmed life.  Not always, but many times my mistakes turn out to have silver linings.  Take today; The Sunday WOD was the Crossfit Total - three max powerlifting moves, the score being the total max weight lifted.  The workout mirrors a powerlifitng meet, best out of three tries.  The exercises are supposed to be back squat, shoulder press and deadlift.  I remembered two out of the three, but I programmed bench presses instead of back squats.  Oops!

And now, the silver lining.  The bench press was in itself a worthwhile exercise, though I admit not as much as the squat.  We did work on air squats in the warmup, but due to form issues learning the air squat and also injury rehab issues, I was the only one who would have been able to do the squat.  The bench press was fun.  I promise to squat next time. 

Here's the data:

11/1/09 Crossfit Twisted Total: Deadlift/Bench Press/Shoulder Press. (I'll do squats next time, I promise.) CW: 255+105+150=510 KW: 55+100+65=220 Kari Lyle: 95+75+55=225

Congratulations to Kari on her first bar workout! : )

Charles PRs: deadlifts +15, shoulder press +10 Hooray! 8^)

Ciao,

Charles

Tabata rowing workout

What I remember is early splits of 1:38, later 1:40, then finally 1:46. I didn't notice stoke rates.
Kirsten's display worked fine, though. Here's her stats:
Meters Split Stroke Rate
87 1:54.9 42,
85 1:57.6 42,
80 2:05.0 36,
80 2:05.0 39,
79 2.06.0 39,
80 2:05.0 39,
79 2:06.5 39,
78 2:08.2 36,
(76 2:11.5 39) an extra credit interval! (I was gasping on the floor. : b)
Rest meters 259

2.1. What's a Tabata?

Sunday WOD

The workout is this Sunday at 1pm (mind the time change; Fall back 1 hour)

My house 404 Frue Ave, Houghton:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=404+Frue+Ave,+Houghton,+MI+49931&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=53.696917,39.375&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=404+Frue+St,+Houghton,+Michigan+49931&z=16

This week we work on raw strength with the Crossfit Total:

best of 3 reps:

Deadlift

Bench press

Shoulder press

The most technical lift is the deadlift.  A little study ahead of time would be a good idea.

Deadlift Setup, Mark Rippetoe ...[wmv][mov]

For more deadllift info, or if the above video links don't work, go to crossfit.com and on the left nav bar, click on 'exercises & demos.' There are several videos under 'powerlifting.'

Don't worry too much about not being strong enough.  If you can pick up something off the ground, if you can put your arms over your head, you can learn these.  We've got lightweight PVC pipe and olympic bars starting at 35#.  Come try it!

Ciao,

Charles

2009-10-25 Dryland Nordic Run with poles x 730 Meters Time: 7:09 Comments: Sunday WOD - Dryland nordic skiing. We started with dryland drills, then 3 times up the test hill. We were going to go once around the core loop (1.3km) but got cut off by construction barriers. The detour shortened our course considerably, and a good thing, too. My heels started speaking up near the end. We had a great time, though, out in the woods! KW time: 7:26.


Ciao,

Charles

Row , weights & pullup WOD

2009-10-24 As many rounds as possible in 10:00 of: Row x 250 Meters Sumo Deadlift High Pull x 15 Reps @ 45 Pounds Pull-up (assisted) x 10 Reps Score: 2 rounds + 15 reps Comments: I got in 3 rows, each around 1:50/500m 28spm. 15 high-pulls in the thid set and ran out of time before the pullups. We used a gravitron, 1st set 80# assist, 2nd set 90# assist. Pullups sets spit 6-4 and 5-3-2. Kirsten got 3 rounds. row around 2:10/500m, 28spm. 25# db high-pulls no squat. Gravitron 40# assist.

Ciao,

Charles

Sunday WOD

This Sunday at 1:00pm meet at the Tech Trails big building (waxing
center?) West end.
We'll be working on dryland training. Useful wether or not you plan
on XC skiing this winter.

Besides dressing to workout in the weather, bring:
- Trail running shoes
- Stopwatch
- Ski poles if you have them, classical length or slightly shorter.

If the weather is not cooperating, we can do a plan B workout at my
house, 404 Frue Ave. I'll post a sign on the community waxing center
door. (West end of the big building.)
If you need my cell phone number, it is (906) 483-0204.

See you Sunday at 1pm!

Ciao,

Charles

WOD 7 x max thrusters

Stand with a bar, do a front squat, come up and do a press overhead - that's a thruster.

The (0) means I missed the attempt at 125#.

2009-10-23 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 Thruster Score: 95-105-115-125(0)-115-115-120 Comments: Previous shoulder press 95#; front squat 75#. My form in the squat was much better this time. KW: shoulder presses: 65-60-60-60-60-60-missed 65

Ciao,

Charles

WOD Muscle-up progression

The original WOD is to do 30 muscle-ups for time.  Here's how we scaled it.

10 muscle-ups Muscle-up (scaled) x 10 Reps CW Time: 3:12 Comments: Ring 42" from bar (part way up the dip) KW 5:03 Ring 32" from bar (very bottom of dip) We used Jeff Tucker's muscle-up progression; kneel under the rings, toes pointed. As you start the muscle-up, push down as hard as you can with your toes.

Ciao,

Charles

Busted at the Sunday WOD

I got busted today at the Sunday WOD.  In case you don't know, each Sunday the workout of the day is open to anyone who wants to come and work out.  Today I thought to myself, no one's going to come, I'm kind of tired, lets just take the day off.

Surprise!  At 11:00, Kari Lyle rings the doorbell all dressed and ready for a workout.  Busted.

We had a good time, working on starting movements (the squat) and shoulder movements.  I even tried the turkish getup!  Here's the data:

2009-10-18 15-12-9-6-3-0--3 rep rounds of: Clean (hang power) 35 Pounds Sit-up (floor) Back Extension Comments: Sunday WOD with special guest Kari Lyle! 9-6-3 squat/situp/good mornings, time: 5:31. Well done! KW Kettlebell hang high pull/situp/supermans, time 7:07. CW Hang power cleans/situps/supermans, time 8:04. New first for CW, turkish getups (one each side) 3/4 pood kettlebell (26#)

Next week, you come too!

Ciao,

Charles

Sunday WOD

11am tomorrow at my house,

404 Frue Ave

Weightlifting and core exercises will make for strength and stability.

See you tomorrow!

Ciao,

Charles

Saturday WOD

2009-10-17 Run x 200 Meters Pistol (scaled) x 9 Reps Pistol (scaled) x 9 Reps Sit-up (floor) x 15 Reps Pistol (scaled) x 6 Reps Pistol (scaled) x 6 Reps Sit-up (floor) x 12 Reps Pistol (scaled) x 3 Reps Pistol (scaled) x 3 Reps Sit-up (floor) x 9 Reps Run x 200 Meters Time: 9:35 Comments: Pistols on 18" box. I'm just starting to get the hang of POSE running - barely. Double under progress: 4 singles, 1 double, 1 single, all without stopping.

Chipper WOD

2009-10-16

• 
  
• 
  
• Lunge x 15 Reps
• Pull-up (assisted) x 20 Reps
• Box Jump (honest) 20 Inches x 20 Reps
• Jump Rope (single under) x 20 Reps
• Dip (scaled) x 15 Reps
• Knees-to-elbows (honest) x 10 Reps
• Kettlebell Swing x 15 Reps @ 26 Pounds
• Sit-up (floor) x 30 Reps
• Clean (hang squat) x 20 Reps @ 35 Pounds
• Back Extension x 20 Reps
• Wall Ball 8 Feet x 20 Reps @ 14 Pounds
• Ring Row x 12 Reps

Time: 22:35

Comments: That took a while! I did have to take breaks here and there.

WOD last Monday

2009-10-12

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15-12-9 rep rounds of:

• Deadlift 100 Pounds
• Handstand Push-up (scaled)

Time: 4:35

Comments: 50# dumbells; Knees on a bench.  I did this in the gym at the Doubletree Hotel in Bay City, Michigan.  I was attending the Michigan Music Teachers Association convention.

Ciao,

Charles

CF WOD HSPU & pullups

2009-10-10


3 rounds of:
Handstand Push-up (scaled) x 10 Reps
Ring Row x 10 Reps

Time: 6:35
Comments: Comments: The tale of my success and failure. Ring rows set up to be able to do 8 reps. HSPU with knees on a 22" box. The first set goes o.k. of course. In trouble and starting to do groups of reps by the second. A little extra oomph and chopping it up into smaller groups was the third. Skill work on double unders starting to show results, but I can't maintain the timing of singles yet. Max reps before hitting the rope with my feet: 35. Ring tuck support, 39 seconds total. Trying for 10s on, 30s off. First 2 rounds o.k. After that only 5s, then at the end only 4s. I was going for 1 minute total, but stopped after 39 seconds. Melio di niente, no? (better than nothing.) Ciao, Charles