What a Journey, My First Year of CrossFit-Constantly Varied and Continually Improving

Hello and welcome back my friends.


One year ago today, I succumbed to my urges, overcame my fear and apprehension and stepped into CrossFitPRx to do a workout that became the catalyst for a lifestyle change that has taken me farther in strength & conditioning than I ever imagined.  More of what led me to CrossFit can be read in my February post, (Time Off The Bike...).
  


In the last 12 months of being a novice CrossFit athlete, I have improved my technique on Olympic lifts, increased my skill in Double Unders, developed a love/hate relationship with Thrusters and Burpees and have a greater understanding of mobility that have improved how I walk, sit and stand that were once thought were pretty well mastered.  The list could go and on as I'm sure it would for anyone that has spent the same amount of time developing new skills and I am not going to go through each and every thing I have learned.  Reflecting on the CrossFit journey, I want to thank everyone that helped along the way to my current level of fitness.

Thank You DK and Wendi for encouragement to try CrossFit and being there as I did my first "fitness test".  Thanks to the CrossFit PRx family for welcoming me in and bringing a level of friendship, competition, and fellowship that is indescribable.  Thanks to the 5AM BeastMode class, back when there were a small handful of us crazy enough to be up at 5AM to workout.  DK, Coop, Dave, Big Dave, and JP are inspiring men that were always willing to help anyone out, push each other harder and made the workouts fun.  Each of you have a drive and focus that always made me want to push harder and look forward to the next day.  My hats off to you gentlemen!

I also want to thank the following people and organizations that I have not met directly, but have benefited greatly from their expertise.  The hilarious men of the Barbell Shrugged podcast and developers of Technique WOD.  Mike, Doug, Chris, and CTP have been my online coaches that have helped fine tune techniques and train with a clearer purpose.  Kelly Starrett and MobilityWOD for helping me to become the Supple Leopard I want to be and to the CrossFit community that share a passion for healthy living and physical fitness.  

I have learned so much and have so much to be thankful for.  Several years ago, I incurred a back injury and was diagnosed with Occulta spina bifida, a malformation of my L-4 vertebrae.  I had no idea of this issue throughout my childhood, but as an overweight young adult, poor posture made the problem worse as I grew older.  After the diagnosis, I was instructed that squatting and lifting were practically eliminated as this could cause more strain and damage to my spine.  Naturally scared of doing something that could re-injure my back or cause more pain, I was very apprehensive to lifting heavy weights.  Through the constantly varied training of CrossFit, learning proper form and understanding technique, I have strengthened my back muscles and have been doing some form of squatting and weight lifting on a consistent basis.  I continue to listen to my body and make sure to keep correct form when lifting weights, knowing that if not mindful of body position, I could easily injure myself.  I may never compete in The CrossFit Games, but through the constantly varied schema of CrossFit, I will continue to improve and be better than I was yesterday.  Here's to the next 12 months where anything is possible.

Until the next time, 

Keep your mind sharp, body fit, and pedal hard 

MB&B

Destination...Bonk City

Hello once again my friends and welcome back.  I hope you all have had a good week and are enjoying some well deserved R&R.  Thanks for checking out the blog and allowing me to share my journey to be a stronger, leaner, faster version of myself.

The best solution I have found to combat a stressful work week has been and continues to be solid, hard workouts.  Now I won't get into the science of the benefits of working out, but I think we can all agree that a person simply feels better and less stressed after exercise.
(See "You Done Been Shrunk Cortisol!! for a previous post regarding relieving stress)

Thursday evening Workout

This week definitely couldn't end fast enough so toward the end of the week, I really hit the weights hard.  Two workouts leading up to my Saturday morning ride may have to led my bonk close to the end of my ride.

Thursday's workout really taxed my shoulders and upper body while working on my lower body.  It's difficult to see in the picture, but it entailed:
A. Strict Press
B. 4 Sets of Snatch Balance
C. Clean and Jerk every minute on the minute (EMOM) for 10 minutes
D. 5 minutes As Many Rounds As Possible (AMRAP) with each round being 15 double under or 45 normal jump ropes and 3 Power Cleans
I increased my normal weight for these exercises which increased the challenge.





Friday's workout was also another challenge that worked both upper and lower body.

Here is a definition of the acronyms:
DU=Double Under Jump Rope
HRPU= Hand Release Push Ups
OH Lunges= Overhead Lunges
OHS=Overhead Squats

All these were done at 115 pounds which is an increase in weight for me.

Next came my Saturday morning ride, which you can view through my Strava link below.  I actually rode 22 miles, but Strava shows only 18. I am getting better at tackling the rollers and actually got a third place achievement for a Strava segment.  I'm pretty stoked about it since I was certain that wasn't going to happen this ride.  I pushed hard on nearly every climb and kicked in the high cadence pedaling on several sections.

My legs were cooking.  At mile 10,  legs were feeling like jello and a few times I started to get that throbbing in my head, by the peak of the climb at mile 16, I had to stop.  I was cooked.  My legs were done, I was pedaling squares and I feel like I was starting to get a little tunnel vision.  I got off the bike in a shady spot, began to eat and take on additional fluid.  Never had I recalled the feeling I was experiencing at that moment.  Spending 10-15 minutes off the bike trying to recover was not only needed for me to finish the ride, but a time to remember this mistake.  Eat and drink often, exhale fully to expel as much CO2 out for the body as effectively as possible and to listen to the body more closely. The last two miles back to my starting point were less filled with aggressiveness and fire and more about keeping enough energy in the tank to keep from going to the red line again.  The positive note to this experience was that I pushed my body slightly past its limit and survived.  I look forward to pushing this hard again with a better nutritional plan to see how far I can push my body to the next level.

I hope you find this helpful and somewhat entertaining.  Have a great week and get out and push beyond your limits.










Until the next time, Keep your mind sharp, body fit, and pedal hard MB&B

Time off the bike...reveals new passion

Well, where shall I begin...  I've been out of pocket for quite a long time and although most of you probably weren't sending out a search party to find me, I'm sure some may have been wondering where I've been and what's been going on in my neck of the woods.  My family and I have relocated to a new state for work, prepped a home for sale, located and moved into a new home all while trying to keep sane with so many things changing.

First and foremost, thanks for checking out the blog where I have made an effort to make things fun, educational (sort of), and entertaining.  Up until mid to late November, I had been spending lots and lots and lots of time focused on the bike.  I was engrossed in it, couldn't get enough of it and was always on it whenever I had a free moment right up until the excitement dropped off like going over a cliff.  

It was my own fault for putting in so much time on the trainer, focused solely on being faster, stronger, leaner on the bike that I rode the fun right out of it.  Have you been there? Become so short sighted on one thing that you lost or forgot the whole reason you were doing it in the first place?  That was me.  I wasn't sick of the bike, but I just didn't have the passion to saddle up and pedal with energy and excitement, so I stepped away from it altogether.

Some weeks passed by where I was looking and trying different things to ignite that spark that I found when I first got on my road bike.  I started running more, lifting weights, pilates, yoga, etc. in search for that magical sensation until I finally gave in to something that was taboo, unknown, and from the articles I read, potentially dangerous.  CROSSFIT.  

At the invitation of some friends that own and operate a crossfit gym affiliate, Crossfit PRx, I decided to give it a try and to my relief and amazement, it was not what I thought it was and at the same time it was more than I thought it was.  In my mind, I pictured arrogant meatheads lifting an insane amount of weight and judging those that couldn't match their strength, similar to my past experiences in a gym.  This was something completely different.  The group of men and women that suffered through daily workouts in this "box", as its called, were down to earth, friendly, supportive, and highly encouraging.  The first week was physically brutal.  I considered myself to be fairly fit, but quickly realized I was not as well rounded as I assumed. 

My body was sore everyday from the previous workout and just when the soreness was passing, another workout would make my muscles scream even more.  The workouts consisted of a warm up that prepares the targeted muscle group, followed by a routine that further fatigues that muscle group, and finished up by a WOD (Workout Of the Day) which is usually timed or set up as a high paced circuit that usually thrashes my body.  By definition, Crossfit optimizes fitness through constantly varied functional movements  performed at relatively high intensity and I definitely did not personify any portion of that!  As the weeks went by, I quickly realized the only person I need to compete with is myself.  Can I do better than I did a moment ago, a day ago, a week ago?  Can I push harder, do one more rep, make my mind tougher and think past the pain?  It was this mentality and the encouragement of my fellow athletes, which goes hand in hand with crossfit, that I was able to build more confidence in my abilities and see past my prior limitations.

Even though I was moving slowly due to muscle soreness and I could fall asleep in a matter of seconds the moment I stopped moving, I kept thinking about what challenges we were going to face the next day.  I could feel that burning sensation in my core...other than muscle soreness.  I started to feel that fire inside ignite and like a phoenix from the ashes, a new passion revealed itself because I was able to get out of my own way, try something new and truly allow myself to be humbled by what can be accomplished by stepping out of the comfort zone.

As for the bike, I haven't given up on it.  We will meet again soon and venture out on some new terrain.  It's still a passion I love and will continue to make time for, but my plans now are to incorporate my two fitness passions together that will not only make me a stronger cyclist, but a stronger overall athlete.  My specialty, will not be specialized.



This was my first Workout:

Be mindful that you do the following at your own risk and to listen to your body to reduce the chance for injury.

Warm up: 5 Sets
5 Barbell Squats (dumbbell or bands can be used)-push hips back, keep chest and chin up

Workout 1: 3 Sets
20 Wall Balls
10 Squat Cleans-(modify with a Catch Squat)
10 Dumbbell Snatches

WOD
Pistol Squat (one legged squat, left leg then right leg)-1 minute 
Rest-1 minute
Burpee-1 minute
Rest-1 minute
Jumprope-1 minute

Until the next time, 

Keep your mind sharp, body fit, and pedal hard

MB&B

You Done Been Shrunk Cortisol!!

Hello My Friends,

Sooooo Stressed Out!! I'll Fight Myself!

As everyday athletes, we all have to deal with normal stresses such as work, family, deadlines, etc. and there is that constant search to find time to unwind and relax so our bodies can decompress to some state of normalcy.  In my case, there is no such thing as "Normal". 

There came a point over the weekend when the stress level was too much for me.  I'm usually an easy going guy and am pretty good at rolling with the punches.  I could feel my mood changing, tension building in my neck and shoulders and my mind weighed heavy on far too many issues that I couldn't sort out.  Cortisol, one of the "stress hormones" in the body, had been apparently working overtime in mine.  My wife could even see it taking its toll on me and how rapidly my cortisol levels were preparing me for the "flight or fight" response. 

In the past, the natural tendency was to look for carbs to ingest to prepare my body for flight, a response I had grown accustomed to since childhood, but this time was particularly different. 

"When cortisol spikes, it tells the body to eat something with a lot of calories--a great survival tactic if you need energy to flee a predator but not if you're fretting over how to pay bills," says nutritional biochemist Shawn Talbott, PhD, author of The Cortisol Connection.

Read more: prevention.com

I WAS READY TO FIGHT!

More specifically, I was looking for a fight, even if it was with myself.  Instead of going toe-to-toe in front of a mirror, I suited up, prepped the bike and struck out on a ride determined to flush out every bit of worry, anger, irritation, and negativity in my body that resulted in a 24 mile trail of emotional carnage laid out on the road for no one to see, aside from the grimace on my face and anger in my eyes. 

As the miles and time ticked by, I could feel my mood change, shoulders loosen and head clear.  Endorphins were building in my body and I welcomed every drop of it as it put the smack down on the cortisol.  Every now and then one of those "things" would pop back in my head and I would increase leg speed and hammer on the pedals to either ride away from it or to simulate stomping it to the ground with every pedal stroke. I like to think it was the latter, but was probably a combination of the two. 

In the words of Vector from Despicable Me, "You Done Been Shrunk!" 

Throughout the ride, I found myself practicing techniques that had me pushing harder on the climbs and pedaling faster on the descents.  Now being a flat lander in East Texas, we don't have many real "climbs", but it just doesn't sound as cool to say that I rolled over a gopher mound in my hardest gear.  We do have our share of false flats and gentle hills, but for the sake of this post, these were climbs of the grandest nature. 

The techniques I'm learning are from a video training program that are teaching me ride stronger, faster and more efficient.  It's in the similar styling of P90X and Insanity in that it's a 90 day program with short specific training goals in mind.  I'm starting my 5th week and have already seen improvements in my cycling strength and ability.  It's challenging, tough and rewarding.  Graeme Street is the owner/operator/founder of Cyclo-Club and developer of the Cyclo-Core workout programs.  I've been listening to his podcasts for years and have learned a great deal from him.  If you'd like to check out the workout plan that I am using, click the link below the video.  You can also follow him on twitter @Cycloclub.

Cyclo90H.I.T - 90 Day High Intensity Training System

I hope you've found my lesson in cortisol management helpful, if not enjoyable to read and look forward to your comments and feedback.  Check out the training plan if you're into cycling and want to be stronger on the climbs and faster on the flats.  I definitely notice a huge difference in my abilities on the road and cannot wait to see what I'll achieve at the end of the program. 

  

Until the next time,

Keep your mind sharp, body fit, and pedal hard

MB&B