This past week was a short week due to Hurricane Florence ripping through North Carolina and that brought about cancelled/postponed classes.  However, it did teach me an important lesson about overexerting yourself.

On Saturday, they had an open gym as the weather was starting to clear up but there was still a threat of bad storms.  I went in for a short period of time and did the prescribed WOD.

The first part was to do a 5 Rep Max of Deadlifts.  This was another milestone day for me with Deadlifts as my 1 Rep Max 10 weeks ago was 300 LBS and on Saturday I did 5 Reps at 295 LBS.  I felt good and was pumped that I was able to push that out.

However, here was my mistake I learned from.

The next series of exercises were Over the Shoulder Stone throws followed by Pull ups in a 15 x 12 x 9 breakdown.  I’ve always had problems with the Over The Shoulder Stone Throws because of my height and I tend to not always get into a full squat but cheat as I get tired by using more upper body/back.  And, I am trying to go from the 70 LBS weight to 100 LBS.  Well, I sure did something to my back after completing this because when I got home my lower back was really sore and couldn’t move it for most of the rest of the day.  Luckily, I iced it and stretched it out and by Sunday night I felt pretty good again.

Lesson learned: Proper form is the most important.  Don’t try to be a hero and lift heavy weights just because you have confidence.  Your form might suffer and that might knock you out for several days or longer if you get injured.  You can have great gains even with a lower weight and still get a tremendous workout it.  Be smart!

Until next time, keep grinding!

Brian

Well, this weeks post spilled over by a day as I wanted to share a quick story that was a big accomplishment for me.

It was only 6 weeks ago when I stopped doing squat therapy (normally squatting with plates under my feet) and was able to move to no plates and doing a normal squat.  The squat was tough for me and my 1 Rep Max for the Back Squat (with plates) was 170 LBS.

But, with continued practice AND now having the proper nutrition I have been able to crush numbers especially my squat.

Tonight we were working on Back Squats and I just went for it because I felt good and energized.  Not only did I beat my PR but crushed it by 15 LBS from 170 to 185 and with no plates to support the squat.

If you couldn’t tell I was ecstatic over the result but more importantly it gave me confidence to know that I am continuing to make smart choices outside of the gym as it relates to my overall health including sleep and nutrition.

Moral of the story: Don’t be settled with status quo and the way you have always done things.  If you feel your energy is low, for example, investigate and try to A/B test how you can improve it with changing up your routines or habits.  It will only help you in the long run and the gains you might have could be incredible to your performance and your lifestyle.

Keep grindin’!

Brian

Anyone that strives for anything needs motivation.  That is certainly a blanket statement but it is important to remember.  Motivation, the cousin of Momentum, can help you excel to another level and improve your performance beyond your current capabilities.

The reason I bring this up this week is a conversation I had with a fellow CrossFitter this week.  She had been away all summer in NYC but has now returned to town to go back to school and, of course, get back into the CrossFit RTP scene again.  I had been very confident this summer with my change in nutrition and gains I knew I had but it was a simple kind gesture and comment by her that helped keep me motivated.  She said something along the lines of “You’ve really improved this summer…your deadlift has gotten much better…”.  We all strive for our own internal motivation and “chip on the shoulder” mentality but often times, if we aren’t afraid to admit it, it is the compliments of our peers that can bring about additional motivation and that extra to reinforce all of the great work we’ve been doing.

I think many of us are capable of much more but it is generally the “negative talk” that we listen to and often follow…the “You can’t do this” or “You’ll never make it” appears to have a much greater impact on us than the positive reinforcement.  What I have found through many years of listening to this negativity, often by others and my own internal doubts, is that there is no place for it.  No need for it at all.

We need to focus on the positives and present an attitude that is positive to combat the negative but also fuel the motivation that we might be given by others to ultimately help us to that next level.

To end on a funny note, a classic scene that often gets lost in a classic movie, -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAs2PBL1RsA

Keep grinding!

Brian

Over the last several weeks I have started to think about different aspects of fitness and how they all work together and will certainly get back to the training aspect in upcoming weeks but I did want to layer in on the topic of consistency.

My schedule has been a bear and very weird.  Somedays I was going to CrossFit at 5:30am while others I had to make it to the 6:30pm class.  The word “consistency” comes up time and time again when you are looking at successful individuals and that “success” can be a number of things.  What rarely happens is someone try something for a short period of time and think all of a sudden they will see a huge leap.  It never happens.

This is why diets don’t work.

But, anyways, the reason I thought this post was relevant was that whatever you are doing you must stay consistent with it even through the tough times especially if other competing priorities come into play.  You need to be looking at the long game and understand that some sacrifices will have to be made or changes may have to happen but you need to stack rank what are MOST important and what can be brushed aside even if it feels like you are giving up something really cool.

In regards to CrossFit, being consistent with 4-5 days a week always me some flexibility where I am not going all 7 but also keeps pushing me later in the week if I have new things pop up on my schedule.  I wouldn’t have near the gains I’ve had in 6 months had I not been committed and stay consistent with my schedule.  I’d encourage everyone to take a look at their day or week outlook at what things will set you up for long term success and which ones are merely “time robbers” in the short term.

More to come on this in the future but certainly relevant at this point as Football is starting back up, kids are back to school, and holidays are right around the corner.

Stay focused!

Brian

This week was a big learning week for me and it made me reflect on the last 6 months and this CrossFit journey I am on.

I look at my progress and where I came from and it again reinforces that old Tony Horton saying “Rome wasn’t built in a day, neither was your body”.  The commitments I make each and every week to get to classes and my increased focus on nutrition has allowed me to accomplish many new goals that I never thought possible.

From squatting heavy weights to my endurance, I’ve been able to get in the best shape of my life and do it by learning a tremendous amount about proper technique, work ethic, nutrition and having a lot of fun doing it.

Short post this week but one of the cool things was I did get to talk with Dr. Zach Long from the industry leading fitness website, BarbellPhysio.com as I had him as a guest on my Just Get Started Podcast.  Check out the episode here -> https://brianondrako.com/podcast/drzachlong

Keep grinding!

Brian

Week 27 of my journey saw me only hit 2 days at the gym (Monday and Sunday) due to a work event most of the week and wanting to get a round of golf in on Saturday.   But…some of that was intentional and used to give myself a little rest before I go straight for about 2 weeks.

I’m continually coming back to the notion that you must listen to your body and not try to overwork it when you feel a bit off.  I had a sore left should/neck area going into this past week and after the workout Monday I felt that the few days I thought I’d miss might end up being good and not to stress it.

Additionally, I was jacked up to get back there today so it put a little pep in my step as i’d been missing it.

Crushing workouts and feeling fit is always great but it can’t be done if your mind and body are not healthy and recovered.

Sometimes a little rest goes a long way to making your progress even that much more.

Make sure you audit yourself and listen to that internal dialogue.

Keep grinding!

I cannot believe 6 months of CrossFit is already in the books.  Incredible!

Each week has been it’s own special challenge but I wanted to piggy back this weeks post off of one from a few weeks ago and just confirm that proper nutrition, along with proper sleep, are so important to training.  Maybe more important that I’ve ever realized.  Earlier in the summer and, in fact, in workouts well prior too I definitely didn’t put a lot of thought into how much eating the right amount of calories and proportions of Carbs, Protein, and Fat were to reaching my fitness goals.

Long story short, after tracking my calories for 3 weeks and really focusing on hitting 3,000 calories a day I have absolutely been crushing my workouts and having so much energy to stay powered all the way through.  I’m noticing that I am now starting to keep up with some of the CrossFit veterans in our class (although sometimes I’m doing a much different weight) but it’s still in comparison to my strength.

If you’re reading this and confused on why you are sluggish during the day, always hungry and different points, or just feel like you don’t have the energy to workout then it may be time to consult a nutritionist and put some effort into what and when you put stuff into your body.

I can speak from experience of how it was before and now seeing the after and what it can do for you.

Keep listening to your body and doing the right thing!

Had some great workouts this past week but thought I’d take an opportunity just to mention the importance of listening to your body, especially when it comes to injury.  I’m not a doctor but I’ve found that logical diagnosis often times wins the day.

During Tuesdays workout I was pushing hard through this RFT workout of 70 cal row, 50 pushups, and 40 wall balls.  I must have tweaked something with my bicep because on Wednesday it didn’t feel all that great.  I had a little soreness but my arm felt weak.

My self diagnosis was “bicep tendinitis” which I realized last in the week.

So, I decided to workout on Wednesday to “test” it out and it was semi-painful to the extent that I couldn’t put 100% into the workout.

With that, I got smart.  I decided to rest for a couple of days and put minimal movement into the arm.

I decided to test it again on Saturday and everything seemed great until we got into some rope climbs late in the workout which ended up tweaking it slightly.

Had a great chat with one of the coaches there and was encouraged to do some maintenance on the arm (ice, massage, etc) whichever I felt I should do as well as stay away from doing major pulling movements for a week or two or at least to resist doing them.

All in all, I iced my arm through the weekend and feel like it will take some time to fully heal but I’m not focused on not overworking the arm and being smart about my level of effort with it.

Moral of the story: Listen to your body because taking a few days off to recover and heal is much better than tearing something more and having to sit out months.  Egos get in the way a lot so being smart about those type of decisions could lead to better results down the road.

Keep grinding!

Brian