Rest Day

Tabata Farmers Carries

Workout of the Day

WOD 1 – in the morning…

Back Lever Practice 20 minutes

WOD 2 – in the afternoon…

Snatch 2, 2, 2, 2, 2

3 Back Squats every minute on the minute until failure to complete @ 80% 1RM. 10 minute cap.

Eccentric parallette HSPU 3 x 5

Abmat situps 3 x 20

WOD 3 – in the evening…

Tabata farmers carry for distance (53# kbs)

Low volume day today, but high intensity. The back lever is a skill I am only able to stick intermittently, so today was an attempt to solidify and improve that ability. Most of my reps were done with bent knees just so I could get more of them done. I also didn’t want to be so spent that it affected the afternoon lifting. I managed to hit 215# for a double, then 225# for a single. Missed the second but felt good about how the weight felt. Next week I’m expecting a PR on my singles.

The conditioning session was short and sharp… 4 minutes of tabata farmers carries with 53# kbs. This was great and simple. Because you get to set the weight down every 20 seconds, your grip recovers enough to never have to drop the kbs during the runs. My legs and heartrate were as taxed as my grip and that’s rarely the case with this exercise. My total distance covered was 482 meters.

Run the Mountain

Workout of the Day

Hill Run.

After spending the holiday with my family up in North Tahoe, I took this morning to try and burn off a bit of the decadence we’d indulged in the past few days. From highway 267 to the gates of the new Ritz Carlton atop the Northstar gondola is a no joke climb that was close to 3 miles. The challenge on this run was all about getting enough air. The elevation was way above 6000 feet so every bit of the hill made it hard to breath and get oxygen to the muscles. And not having done a big hill in a while, I could feel the difference. It took me 24:26 to finish the climb.

Rest Day

Back in Action

Workout of the Day

WOD 1 – in the morning…

3 position isometric handstand holds

WOD 2 – in the afternoon…

Snatch 2, 2, 2, 2, 2

5 Back Squats every minute on the minute @ 70% 1RM for 10 minutes or failure to complete

WOD 3 – in the evening…

1:00 max double unders 1:00 max pullups

2:00 rest

Repeat 3x for max repetitions

So it’s been a full 2 weeks since the last time I trained seriously… I was all set to come back a week ago Friday in preparation for the Level 10 throwdown this past weekend when I pulled a muscle in my back doing pistol squats, of all things. I’ve since been told that this was most likely the result of an overly tight psoas being forced into flexion. All I know is that I heard the thing pop and I was on my back immobilized. This remained the case for most of the next two days as I iced and pounded anti-inflammatories. Finally things began to relax and they’ve been getting steadily better ever since. Needless to say I missed the throwdown and have been twittling my thumbs trying not to do anything stupid. That all ended today.

I felt my way through the snatches to make sure everything was moving correctly. It was. I wore a belt to be safe and actually snatched really well. My top set of triples went up clean at 215#, giving me a big burst of confidence going into the squat sequence. This I approached a little more cautiously, using 65% rather than 70% of my 1RM. I made all the lifts easily, but my legs felt the effects nonetheless. Even after an immediate ice bath I expect major soreness from this protocol yet again.

The evening conditioning WOD offered a return to interval training. Max double unders followed by max pullups, each within a 1 minute cap. The doubles felt amazing, scoring 107, 108, and 107 respectively for each round. The pullups weren’t quite so consistent, as the cumulative pump from the early sets took their toll by the end: 34, 33, and 24.

All in all, very satisfied with today and can’t wait til my next session Wednesday. Reminder for everyone interested in the Wales weekend next month: your contact is Ross Coughlan

Spontaneous Anywherefit Event!

It's in the UK and happening in less than a month. If you're in the neighborhood, come out and join the party...

Anywherefit Iceland 2012 Announcement

Here it is... the dates and preliminary information for Anywherefit Iceland 2012. To reserve a place, contact me at morrison.blair@gmail.com

Run the Mountain

A few of us headed up to South Lake Tahoe for a trail run Saturday... turned out to be a little snowier than expected!!! 2 miles uphill in 6 inches of snow is a different type of run, let me tell you. Totally cool experience and a beautiful view at the top though.

Between the altitude and the snow I think this type of thing is incredible training. Those of you out there complaining about cold weather climates... come off it and take advantage!!

Front Rack Carries

Workout of the Day

WOD 1 – in the morning…

Isometric handstand holds

5 minute alternating Turkish Getups (35#)

WOD 2 – in the afternoon…

Split Jerks 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1

3 rounds for time:

20 meter front rack carry (315#)

60 foot pulley hoist (105#)

WOD 3 – in the evening…

“Death by ball slams” @ 40#

Awesome training day. Hit 305# on the jerks and made 23 rounds + 18 reps on the ball slams with a 40# ball. Exhausted but stoked about how the body is feeling overall. Travis from East Sac came over to do the strength session--been really awesome training with him these past 6 weeks. We both felt that walking with heavy weight in a racked position would be a great assistance exercise for jerks. It was. Don't think I've seen this done before, but it's very similar to a yoke carry. I like this version personally because the object I want to feel lighter when I'm squatting or jerking is a barbell. Finding a way to balance it and keep it secure while moving was a challenge in itself. Then backing it up with pulley hoists mad things even more saucy because your grip gets shot. Check the video below.

Hope Valley

This Saturday I'm heading to Hope Valley in Northern California. Just East of South Lake Tahoe, Hope Valley offers some of the best Autumn foliage in this area. The WOD is a trail run from bottom to top --approximately 2 miles of steady grade terrain through an alpine forest of aspens and firs that I will run for time. Anybody who lives in this area is welcome to join. The plan is to meet at CF Anywhere in Folsom at 9 am and carpool up together. If you're coming from somewhere else, that should put us near the trail head around 11:00. Shoot me an email at morrison.blair@gmail.com if you'd like to join.

100# Tabata Sled Pulls

Workout of the Day

WOD 1 – in the morning…

Unbroken double under ladder 10, 20, 30… etc

WOD 2 – in the afternoon…

1 Squat Clean every minute on the minute @ 95% 1RM until failure to complete. 20 minute cap.

10 minute AMRAP: 10 x 1 arm sled row 10 ring dips

WOD 3 – in the evening…

In a 5 level parking garage do the following until reaching the top:

100 lb sled drag, 10 seconds Pushups, 10 seconds

Rest, 10 seconds

The body is still pretty beat up from Saturday’s activities, the most destructive of which were the GHD situps. My hip flexors and abs are absolutely shredded, leading me to two conclusions. 1) I overdid it doing 100 repetitions. 2) I don’t do this exercise enough if I am this sore from it. Local muscular endurance is something that doesn’t get trained specifically in crossfit, but inadvertently gets covered for the most part. This part of my body has obviously slipped through the cracks.

In spite of my soreness, however, I had a hell of a training day. I made it 8 double unders shy of the round of 80 this morning, resting less than 10 seconds between. The goal here is to get to 100 in less than 5 minutes. Great way to practice this skill if you’re one of those athletes who struggles with the jump rope.

This afternoon I hit 275# for all 20 minutes on squat cleans. Ecstatic with this showing. The weight felt lighter than it ever has, to the point where no rep was really in question. This is proof positive in my eyes that the every minute on the minute stuff works. Following up the squat cycles with a clean cycle only consolidated the gains previously made.

Finally, the evening conditioning offered one of those rare trips into hazy-ville that crossfitters so often muse about. I was a pile of shit at the end of this thing, no joke. Dragging a sled is hard enough… put it on an incline and add pushups and you’re entering a whole new world of pain. It took me 6:40 to get to the top of the 5 story parking structure in old Folsom, or 13 Tabata rounds. Max heart rate? Check. Muscle failure? Check. Mental toughness? Check. All around kick ass WOD, definitely recommend trying it.

Barcelona Archive

Swim WOD with Team

Workout of the Day

WOD 1 – in the morning…

Deadlift 5, 5, 5

10 minute AMRAP:

10 pullups

10 GHD situps

WOD 2 – in the afternoon…

In a team of 3 do the following for time:

3 x 100 yard swim relay

3 x 50 kb swing relay

3 x 40 abmat situp relay

3 x 30 burpee relay

3 x 100 yard swim relay

Got a good size group together this afternoon for an awesome team WOD at Lembi Aquatic Center. Swimming, kettlebells, abmats, and grass. Representatives from CF East Sac, CF West Sac, CF Davis, CF Adventure, CF Centurion, and CF Anywhere were all in attendance to take part. Thanks to everyone for making the trip and enjoying the weather. The video is below.

2 squat clean every minute on the minute

Workout of the Day

WOD 1 – in the morning…

Press handstands with band assistance

WOD 2 – in the afternoon…

2 Squat Cleans every minute on the minute @ 85% 1RM until failure to complete

3 x 10 strict toes to bar

2 x 100 feet pulley hoist (85#)

WOD 3 – in the evening…

5 km row for time

Super productive day at the office. From a new gymnastics progression in the morning to an absolutely brutal 18:24 on the rower in the evening, today offered a little bit of everything a solid program should. I didn’t get outside at all, but after the constant met con madness in Barcelona some old fashioned gym time felt like the right call.

For the 85% squat cleans I used 245# and got through all 20 rounds. This protocol is proving VERY effective. My technique was actually improving as the sets wore on. I could feel the necessity for maximizing the third pull as I started to fatigue, and the constant repetitions gave me the opportunity to make the adjustment. Said it before and will say it again. High volume Olympic lifting with moderate to heavy load is the best way to improve technical proficiency. When you’re too tired to muscle the movement, your body has to be efficient or the weight’s not coming up.

As a short post script, I HATE 5 km rows. This fucking sucks. That’s all I have to say heading into a rest day.

Montjuic

Days 2 and 3 haven’t been as eventful as Day 1, unfortunately. We’ve been bogged down with shooting the scenes for the commercial (read: waiting around doing mostly nothing) for the better part of two days. In a stray bit of spare time a group of us managed to make it to the top of Montjuic, the mountain overlooking Barcelona. At the top there is an ancient fortress that used to protect the city, still intact and beautifully historic. From it’s top deck you can see out across the Mediterranean Ocean to the east and over the entire metropolis to the west. Seemed like a suitable place for a WOD, so we did 5 minutes AMRAP of 5 handstand pushups and 10 ledge jumps. I managed just short of 9 rounds and felt good.

This was quite the scene amongst the myriad tourists and patrons taking pictures, but as usual they were more curious than anything else. Although it was only a small slice of exploratory freedom, it was certainly memorable. This is a city I will absolutely return to with more time and less obligation.

Barcelona Day 1

Workout of the Day

WOD 1 – in the afternoon…

3 rounds for completion:

400 meter sand run 5 stone ground to overhead

Finish with stone carry for max distance

WOD 2 – in the evening…

With a partner:

100 meter wheelbarrow relay

4 rounds of

600 meter sand run & amrap net climbs (done simultaneously, then switch roles)

50 meter burpee broad jump

First day in Barcelona was a blast. In total there are 16 athletes here from Reebok doing a commercial and print ad shoot for the CrossFit brand. In addition to the pure coolness of being in Spain, this is a really fun chance to reunite with some of the people I competed with at the Games and meet some new faces in the process.

Today was more about staging than anything else, so there was a fair bit of free time to get some training in. I did the first WOD by myself using a stone pulled from the levee. The weight had to be close to 100# if not more, and it was tough to maneuver. I really liked the stone carry at the end actually. Because it’s so awkward and abrasive, carrying an object like that demands a lot more of your energy than you might think.

Later in the evening the lot of us went to a different beach and partnered up to run/climb/get sandy. Total blast. No watch, no clock, just pushing hard and shaking through the jet lag. Hope to get a video of this up soon to do it justice.

Rest Day... Heading to Barcelona!

Heading to Barcelona for a long weekend. If anybody out there reading is a Spanish local, drop me a line at morrison.blair@gmail.com and lets get together to train. Would love to link up with some friendly crossfitters while over there :-)

Squat Cleans E.M.O.T.M

Workout of the Day

WOD 1 – in the morning…

Muscle up to Ring HSPU practice

WOD 2 – in the afternoon…

3 squat cleans every minute on them minute @ 70% 1RM until failure to complete

Slosh pipe lateral tips 3 x 10

10 cargo net climbs

WOD 3 – in the evening…

4.5 mile trail run

Back in business after a great week of rest and feeling solid. Moving towards a more Olympic focus the next 3 weeks, looking to parlay the improvements in squatting strength and endurance into gains on my squat cleans. I did this workout at 205# and it honestly was a little too light. It felt nice to crush through it every set, but I think 215# was probably a more appropriate weight. These felt different than the every minute squats for a couple reasons. 1) You can’t waste a lot of time resetting between each lift-something that most of us tend to do to gain rest subconsciously. Because of this fact, your heart gets jacked quickly. 2) Muscle fatigue wasn’t a factor. In the squat protocol it’s mostly the burning and pumped out feeling in the legs that stops you. For the cleans it’s more the ability to keep resetting your focus and your deteriorating speed that becomes limiting. Very different but great all the same. I loved the way this made me feel.

I got back on the trail in the evening and could tell it’d been too long. I still managed a 31 minute time on a moderately difficult route, but it felt harder than it should’ve. Gotta do this more.

I’ve received a lot of interest from many of you out there regarding the Anywherefit 2012 trip to central Europe. Have no fear, I will write you all a response with instructions on how to proceed as soon as I have more concrete pricing details.

Anywherefit 2012 Announcement

In 2012 we will be running not one, but two Anywherefit adventures. The first will be a return to the land of fire and ice, following up this summer's incredible success with yet another epic adventure on one of the world's most beautiful natural landscapes. For those of you who missed it, this is your opportunity for redemption. The dates for this trip are not yet finalized, so stay tuned on that.

The highly anticipated second installment of this series will be taking place in Central Europe, but until now the details have been only vaguely alluded to. Without further ado, here it is... the official announcement for Anywherefit 2012: Munich-Vienna-Prague.

Slosh Pipe Returns!

Workout of the Day

WOD 1 – in the morning…

Press handstands, handstand holds, & handstand walks

WOD 2 – in the afternoon…

Clean Pulls 3, 3, 3, 3, 3

18 foot speed climbs (legless)

Slosh Pipe good mornings 10, 10

Slosh Pipe lateral tips 10, 10, 10

WOD 3 – in the evening…

100 burpees for time

Today was the final day of my current training cycle and my body felt great. Fully recovered from the heavy front squats finally and only feeling mild soreness from the weighted lunges in Wednesday’s WOD. Travis coached me up on some core stabilization techniques (mostly the order of operations in approaching the bar) that really helped me feel solid on the pulls. This could mean something for deadlifting and squatting as well so I’m looking forward to practicing it.

The bully of the day was definitely the slosh pipe. I’ve had ‘em chilling in the gym for awhile and keep neglecting to implement them in workouts. The lateral tips are LEGIT. The water sloshes all the way to the end touching the ground and forces you to overcome all that awkward weight in order to regain balance at the top. Expecting major stiffness through my obliques and erectors tomorrow.

When the evening rolled around, I wasn’t too excited about doing 100 burpees for time. It’d been about 2 years since the last time I attempted this back in Leiden) time was 4:48), and I really never enjoy burpees. But who does, right? I took the approach that this was not a WOD to be gamed: You can always do one more burpee so just keep doing them until you’re done. Wound up being an on the money plan because even though I was sucking hard I was able to keep moving at a fairly steady pace. My final time was 4:34.