Crossfit Fire Dominates the Midwinter Meltdown Row Competition

Bill, Jennie, Zach, Stephanie, Matt, Brittany, Bender, Deb, Ryan, Jason and I all headed down to Madison Wisconsin on Saturday morning for the Midwinter Meltdown indoor rowing competition.  There were a couple of large rowing clubs in attendance as was evident by the crowds of brightly colored singlets.  These rowers were scrawny!  Somebody should clue them in to the fact that lifting weights would absolutely improve their row performance.

Zach and Bender took a shot at the tandem rowing and made it look easy.  We saw several others give it a try and it's definitely a lot harder than it looks!

Tandem Rowing from Garth Huckabay on Vimeo.

Jennie and Brittany had the first go at the 2000k row.  They both finished within a second of each other.

 Then Bill, Matt, Jason, Ryan and I had our turn at the 2000k row.

I took 2nd place in the Novice Men with a row time of 6:46.7 which was also a new personal record and new Fort record edging out Boyd's old time of 6:46.8 - nice!  Matt finished right behind me and took 3rd.  We both were trumped by an old czechoslovakian guy who didn't seem to speak much english.  He pulled a 6:41 and made it look easy.  After the row, I immediately started to cramp up and took at least 10 minutes to recover.  It just about killed me!

Bill, Zach, Bender and I teamed up for the men's relay race and took first place.

Bill put together a couple of coed teams as well.  Team 1 included Jennie, Brittany, Matt and Zach.  Team 2 included Stephanie, Deb, Ryan and Jason.   Both teams did great and team 1 took first in the coed team relay.

I have to wonder what all those rowers thought of our group.  We cleaned up!  Check out all the medals :)

GYG 1-29-10

I figure Bill had me in mind for this one - OH walking lunge practice was just what I was looking for!

Started with

Thruster 5 - 5 - 5+

Forgot the + again - damn it!  Solid performance at 60 - 70 - 75k but had more in me - should have gotten another 2 or 3 reps on round 3.  Ah well!  Gotta remember the extra credit next time.

The WOD was interesting

500m Row and then


3 rounds of
Overhead Walking Lunges from the bar to the door and back (20/15)
Broad Jumps fromt he bar to the door and back
and then another 500m Row

Finished 8:46

My rows were a bit disappointing during the WOD.  I pulled a 1:29 on the first row and 1:48 on the 2nd - slow!   I only took a couple of rests during the walking lunges - out of necessity when I couldn't stand up out of the lunge.  Otherwise, I was a lot stronger with these.  I've typically tried to control the lunge to touch my knee to the ground but that takes a whole lot of effort.  This go around, I figured what the hell and bounced my knee of the ground.  It would have really hurt on concrete but wasn't too bad on the rubber mats.  Whatever gets it done!

GYG 1-27-10

Feeling pretty good today - Monday off - Tuesday CrossFit total - minimal aches and pains. 

Started with the Jerk   3 - 3 - 3+ at 70% - 80% - 90% of single rep max

My single rep max is currently 95k but I know I've got more than that - just haven't taken the opportunity to go after it recently.  So I upped the loads just a bit and rounded up the weight - didn't say anything to Zach because I knew it would stress him out.  He might even make me do burpees!  :)

70k - 80k - 90k x 3

I was planning on repping out 5 at 90k but catching that weight on my chest was brutal and on the 3rd rep, I lost my balance bringing it down out of the press and dropped it to the floor.  Regardless, 90k wasn't too bad - I figure I have a 105/110 jerk easy!   I suspect we'll see a max effort in the very near future.

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
SDHP @ 50k
PushUps
Box Jumps 24"

I was a little worried about the pushups since they've been my achilles heel of late but the WOD went well.  I was able to rep out all the movements more or less unbroken.  I lost my rythm a couple of times on the sumos and box jumps but never really stopped moving.

Finished 5:53 - Pete finished later in the day at 4:55.  Thought I might have had him on this one - no such luck.  I expect maybe he transitioned between movements faster - that could have made the difference.  I usually spent a few extra seconds setting up on the sumos.  I'll be curious to see how Matt finished.  

CrossFit Total 1/26/10

3 single rep attempts each of
Back Squat
Press
Deadlift

2 x PRs in one day - exciting!  I probably should have gone heavier on the back squat.  I've lost my log book and didn't have my previous PR with me.  If I'd known it was 130, I would have been more aggressive.

Back Squat 135k PR - easy!

Press - 64.5k - disappointing - didn't have it this morning when it came to the press.

Deadlift - 200k PR - easy!  I thought I had more in me but when I added 10k, I couldn't move the bar.  I stepped it back to 205k and failed again.  It seems that those heavy deadlifts take just about every ounce of strength out of me on the first go around.  I'll go heavier on the first attempt next time - 210k!

CrossFit Total = 399.5

Saturday Triple WOD Extravaganza - 01/23/10

I was a little nervous Friday night not knowing what the workouts would look like the following day. I figured they would be short and that was good. I got to bed early, about 9:30, but was wide awake at 5am. Sleeping in wasn't an option.

I was the first one at the gym. Took care of business, got the blood pumping and I was primed and ready to go. The first workout was right up my alley!

500m row - 440m run

The row went well - pulled a 126.4 - which is my PR 500m row. Matt wasn't too far behind me. I took a couple of seconds to unstrap and stand up. The first 15 strides felt clumsy. Matt popped off his rower like a jack in the box.

The run didn't feel strong. Matt passed me in the last 50m which was disappointing. I didn't seem to have a whole lot of strength in my hamstrings to push faster and couldn't quite find my stride. I would have been better off running a slow 800m warm up before the WOD. I'll have to remember that next go around when running is involved.

Matt 3:13
Garth 3:18
Pete 3:25
Tom 3:36
Brit 3:57

WDO #2 didn't play to my strengths but I feel like I did ok considering the previous week of workouts.

:90 Clean and Jerks
:30 Rest
:90 Ring Dips
:30 Rest
:90 Front Squats
:30 Rest
:90 Burpees

I put my hands on the bar and never let go on the clean and jerks for a total of 23. I figured out how to speed up at about 10 reps by thrusting out of a moderate squat after the clean. If I'd figured out the movement earlier, I could have squeezed in a few more reps! This is going to come into play next time I do Grace. Sub 3 minutes easy :)

The ring dips were really disappointing - burned out early. I tried going too long too fast - right out of the gate. If I'd broken it up into sets of 3 with short rests, I would have been able to do more. After 17, I couldn't quite get my arms straight and after 2 failed attempts, I gave it up and moved on.

I cranked out 25 front squats but dropped the bar with 10 seconds left on the clock. That was stupid! I thought I'd save it for the burpees but that was a very bad idea. I should have held onto the bar and cranked out another 5 front squats. In a WOD like this, I'll absolutely remember that on the next go around.

Burpees were horrible - don't know that I could have sped these up. I was having one hell of a time getting back up after hitting the ground. Finished 22 burpees.

Pete 118
Tom 101
Matt 96
Garth 87
Brit 65

So if I could have come up with 3 more clusters, 5 more front squats and 5 more ring dips, I would have hit that hundred mark. Tough WOD!

The last WOD was the most disappointing for me. I knew it was going to be tough and was dreading the overhead walking lunges but really had no idea how bad those would get me. I should have known based on the last WOD that included that movement. Definitely not a strong point for me.

440m Run
10 Deadlifts (100/60)
20 Box Jumps 24"
30 KB Swings (24/16)
40 Wall Ball Shots (20/14)
50m Overhead Walking Lunges (20/10)
400m Run

I knew this was going to be a grind so I didn't go balls out on the first run. Matt got an early lead and I just settled in behind him.

10 deadlifts were no problem - never let go of the bar and bounced it hard on the ground each time, remembering to set my back.

The first 5 box jumps were a bit clumsy but then I found a rythm and cranked them out fast.

Matt was about 3 swings ahead of me at the kettle bells but I grabbed onto the bell and never let go - cranked thru 30. I never even thought about setting it down - figured it would be more work than to simply keep going.

I started to come apart on the wall balls - should have repped out 4 sets of 10 but got lazy and kept putting the ball down at 5. It was especially frustrating when a rep didn't count - got called out for not hitting the height on 3 reps - once for not getting depth in the squat. The height call was obvious but losing a rep to squat depth was demoralizing and I stepped back for a 5 second rest at that point which wasn't really needed. 4 sets of 10 next time! Suck it up.

My overhead walking lunges need work. Not at all sure what I'm doing wrong but something is going on there. I lose balance, it kills my back and I can't seem to string many together before everything seems to come apart. I think it likely plays into the same difficulty I have with OHS and setting my core - sucking in the gut. I'm definitely going to practice these in the coming week. Surprisingly, I was out ahead of everybody on these by a solid 20 seconds but by 30m, everybody had passed me up and it was all I could do to finish, let alone speed up. The final run was a misery. My legs felt like jello and I was dizzy - seeing stars. It wasn't until the last 20m that I was able to start speeding up - thought we had to run all the way into the gym? That last bit was amusing :)

Pete 12:37
Matt 12:43
Tom 12:49
Brit 12:52
Garth 13:27

Ah well! Next time. If it had been 50 pullups instead of 50 overhead walking lunges, I probably would have done better.

Gotta find time to work on the video - have some great footage. It'll be good :)

GYG 1-22-10

Push Jerk 5-5-5+ 65%-75%-85% of 1RM

Some of Gattone's cues really are paying off - have the bar higher on my chest and elbows a bit forward of the bar - take a deep breath and use that shelf I've created to push the bar into the air. Solid performance today - should have stuck it out and got 7 on the 85k!

60 - 70 - 85 x 5

Another sneaky WOD - figured it couldn't be too bad going in? I've done 200 kettle bell swings and I've done 180 pushups so been there done that. The combination of the two turned out to be toxic!

50-40-30-20-10 reps of
KB Swings at 24k
Push Ups

I got thru the first set of KB swings unbroken and the rest looked like 20/20-15/15-11/9 and 10 to finish them off. Grip started to suffer in round 3 big time but sucked it up and kept going - focused on pulling the kettle bell down on each swing.

The pushups were a lost cause - didn't realize kettle bells took so much out of the chest! Pure agony - started with sets of 5 but quickly degraded to 3 then 2 then single reps as I struggled thru each round.

Finished 18:29 - glad that one is over! :)

Overhead Squats are Brutal! 1-20-10

Today's workout was rough. It was just Season and I at the GYG.

Started off with a 1000m row and finished in 3:33 - not a record but not too shabby either!

Power Snatch 2-2-2-2-2

Still figuring out that 2nd knee bend - drilled at 50k and did 4 x 5. It all started to come together - looking good in the 4th round. I was popping the bar up with power, full arm lock out and catching it low in the squat. Exciting stuff!

21-15-9
Overhead Squats at 50k
Burpees

I've done well with workouts that incorporated overhead squats in the past but this one kicked my ass. I did the first 21 overhead squats unbroken but it destroyed my shoulders, wrists and quads. The burpees were pure agony. I failed on a couple of early OHS attempts in round two and had to walk away from the bar for 15-20 seconds to recover. Tough! I got thru it in 8:44 - video to follow.

GYG 01-20-10 from Garth Huckabay on Vimeo.

Isabel 1-19-10

I took Monday as a rest day - worried about a large proposal due the following week and feeling a bit sore all over.

Tuesday morning, I wasn't feeling all that refreshed. I got off to a slow start.

Warmed up with a 1000m row. My legs and ass were aching. So much for rest days! Maybe I need a rest week.

We also had some fun with crab walks, broad jumps and loaded up a bar for some snatch practice.

I considered scaling Isabel. 60k felt really heavy. I popped 4 snatches in a row and figured another 30 shouldn't be too bad. Yeah, right!

Here's the video in all it's ugly glory. Where's the snatch technique? I've still got a lot of work to do!

Garth - Isabel from Garth Huckabay on Vimeo.

Team Saturday 1-16-10

In Teams of 4, complete:

4,000m row
200 dumbbell thrusters
200 pull-ups

I partnered up with Tom, Matt and Ryan. Started out on the rower and ended up on the rower. Matt killed the dumbell thrusters. I found them very challenging and had a hard time keeping on my heels. Tom dominated the pullup bar - cranked out something like 23 to start. Ryan was all over the place doing his part. Personally, I felt like I slacked too much, let the other guys do the majority of the work. I tried to make up for it with a strong 600m row to finish up the WOD.

Sumo Deadlift Highpulls are Hard!

Today's workout was brutal. When I saw it on the board, I was a bit nervous. Zach had us warm up with a 1000m row and my legs, ass and arms were all sore from last night's 2 hour olympic lifting instruction at Gattone's gym in Buffalo Grove. I learned a lot and I'm looking forward to putting some of those refined techniques to good use but no such luck in this WOD!

Started off with Back Squats - 5,5,5+ at 65%, 75% and 85% of your single rep max.

My max is 130k so I went with 85k, 100k and 110k for 7 reps. Felt good - that 7th rep was a near miss but I got it done.

The WOD
500m row
25 pushups
50 sumo dead lift highpulls at 40k
50 pushups
50 sumo dead lift highpulls again
25 pushups again
500m row again

Finished 16:09

Gag! That workout was horrible but in a good way I suppose. My first 500m row was 1:30. I was able to crank out 10 sumos to start but quickly dropped to sets of 5. The sumos were where I was able to make the best time - taking very short rests between each set. My pushup capacity sucks and after that first set of sumos, I couldn't string together more than 3 pushups. The pushups took me a loooonnnnngggg time! My last 500m row was 1:55.

"Grace" land - 1/13/10

Grace - 30 Clean and Jerks for time

Grace 1-13-10 from Garth Huckabay on Vimeo.

Went RX'd at 60k and finished in 3:14

PR'd by 50 seconds since when I last took on this WOD October of 2009.

I was disappointed in my performance. I went into the workout planning to hold onto the bar throughout but lost it at 14 reps - put the bar down and never really got back into a groove. I should have sucked it up and kept going. It was a tough WOD but I didn't feel completely trashed in the end. I still had more gas in the tank. Sub 3 next time for sure!

More Deadlifts - brutal! 1/12/10

push press 3-3-3+ at 70% - 80% - 90%

Garth 60k, 70k, 80k - Single rep max is 95k

4 rounds of
10 Pullups
15 Burpees
20 Deadlifts (80/55 or 50% of single rep max)
25 Double Unders

finished 15:29

I kept up with Tom into round 3 and then fell apart on the burpees and deadlifts. My head started to spin and my only thought was "Let it be over!". That 4th round was a grind. My back started to ache in round 3 and was an agony in round 4.

Kettlebell Swings, Wall Balls and Box Jumps

Started off the morning with front squats. Still a bit sore in the hammies and shoulders from last week's workouts.

Front Squats 1,1,1+ at 85%, 95% and 100% of single rep max.

Front Squats at 110k from Garth Huckabay on Vimeo.

Warmed up with 10 at 20k, 5 at 70k and 3 at 80k. Then I went with 2 at 93.5k (xtra credit), 1 at 103.5k and 2 at 110k. I really wanted to get 3 at 110k but my legs turned to jello on the 3rd attempt and couldn't drive with my elbows. Still fatigued from last week.

After taking a 10 minute break, I stepped up to the kettle bell to kick off the WOD.

3 rounds
20 Kettle Bell Swings at 24k
25 Wall Balls at 20lbs
30 Box Jumps at 24"

Finished 9:47

I figured this WOD wouldn't be too bad going in - seemed like a short one. I was WRONG! After the front squats, kettle bell swings and wall balls, the box jumps were tough. I did all three rounds of kettle bell swings unbroken but fell apart on the wall balls and box jumps in round two and three.

1-11-2010 GYG from Garth Huckabay on Vimeo.

Stayed up too late last night. I'm hoping to have a hearty, meaty dinner tonight and to bed early!

A week of WODs

Stick a fork in me - I'm done! I have the rest of Saturday and all of Sunday before kicking it off again Monday morning. I'm fighting off the urge for a margarita to dull the discomfort.

Finished Saturday team challenge this morning, 1/9/10, partnered up with Pete. It was a perfect end to a brutal week.

7 rounds
7 burpees
7 box jumps 24"
7 dumbell hang squat cleans

We took turns at each round, both completing all 7 rounds in just over 12 minutes. I went RX'd with 35lb dumbells. Pete grabbed 45lb - didn't want to make it too easy for that beast! The cleans were by far the toughest part of the WOD. They would land on the points of my shoulders and I know I'll have visible bruises as a result.

**** Friday 1/8 ****

Hang Power Cleans 2,2,2,2,2 60k, 70k, 80k, 85k, 85k - mostly worked technique

Tabata Deadlift/Burpees
20 seconds of deadlifts at 120k
10 seconds rest
20 seconds of burpees
10 seconds rest

11-9 / 9-7 / 8-7 / 8-8 / 8-7 / 7-7 / 5-6 / 5-7
Repeat 8 times and total your reps - 119 for me

**** Thursday 1/7 ****

Cindy

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of
5 pullups
10 pushups
15 squats

Finished 18 rounds, 5 pullups and 6 pushups

The pullups and squats were easy but the pushups killed me. I kept forgetting to squat and ended up doing 10 extra pullups too - ouch! A bit disappointed but I know that I have 19+ rounds in me on the next go around.

**** Wednesday 1/6 ****

Push Press 5,5,5+ 50k, 60k, 70k x 6 - had a 7th in me but dropped the bar - save strength for the WOD!

50 Hang Power Snatch at 30k
500m Row
50 more Hang Power Snatch

Finished 9:42 - thought my time was good until the evening class came in and crushed me by 2+ minutes across the board. Oh well!

**** Tuesday 1/5 ****

Front Squat 3,3,3 80k, 100k, 2 x 110k - the strength went right out of my legs on that 3rd attempt at 110k.

5 rounds
5 Box Jumps 36"
10 Kettle Bell Swings 24k
15 Sit Ups

Finished 6:01 - the box jumps were intimidating for the first 2 rounds but not so bad there on out. My kettle bell swings and sit ups are SLOW!

Took Mckenzie in after work and drilled muscle ups for a bit while she was hard at it. Got my first official muscle up! Very exciting.

**** Monday 1/4 ****

Power Cleans 5,5,5,3,3,3 50k, 60k, 70k, 80k, 90k, 90k - a few of those 90k power cleans were ugly - working on getting under the bar at heavier weights.

3 rounds
20 double unders
20 thrusters at 30k
20 knees to elbows

Finished 8:57

Double unders were unbroken. The thrusters started to get tough in round 2. The knees to elbows were by far the hardest part of this WOD and my grip started to give out in the third round. I couldn't string together more than 2 knees to elbows for fear of falling off the bar and landing flat on my back.

Kenzie's Winter Guard performance

WinterGuard from Garth Huckabay on Vimeo.