Week 9 was a leg burner all week!

I was surprised with myself for pushing through a front squat workout and hitting my 3 rep max at 225 LBs which was more than I’ve ever done for 1 rep let along 3 in a row.

We also had a workout where I had to do an insane amount of wall balls followed by burpees for 5 rounds squeezed in between two 400-meter runs.

This week flew by but I could tell that my strength is continuing to improve when I powered through a workout with deadlifts doing 10 reps @ 135 LB and didn’t get phased.  Back in week one that might have been a struggle.

I worked out for 4 days this week and decided to take off the weekend to do some extra father/son bonding time while I rested and got ramped up for Week 10.

Going to go hard Week 10!  Check back in for more results next week…

Take care

Week 8 got me back in the swing of things after a light week 7.  5 Days of intensity capped by a brutal but rewarding Saturday workout.

It was also kicked off by the 35th Birthday.

Fitness is one of those things that everybody knows they have to do to stay healthy but most people neglect.  For me, Fitness has meant many different routines over the past 16 years but this CrossFit Journey has been incredible.  The amount of gains in 2 short months and the level of comfort doing movements I’ve never done before has been astounding.

This all goes back to the one word that people that succeed talk about a lot…consistency.

In fitness, it is so important to stay consistent with your workouts as well as your eating to go along with it.  One bad day or week doesn’t ruin it by any means but taking a long layoff or never working out can have compounding effects on your body as you get older.  You don’t always have to go hard each and every day but finding the right mix is something I believe in and the results speak for themselves.

I’m ecstatic with the improvements in 8-weeks and look forward to reporting back even better results in months to come.

Big challenge I crushed this week….First, I battled through a Part C workout on Friday for 3 rounds OTM and ended up improving each round of Burpees and Biking.  Secondly, the next day I did 12 full rope climbs with no leg assist over a 3 RFT team workout.  It ended the week strong and gave me confidence heading into week 9.

Until next time, Keep grindin’!

Week 7 was a short week for me based on travel to Tennessee later in the week. (Unfortunately, I didn’t get to go to Mayhem and workout with Rich Froning.)

One of the cool things we did one of the nights was a team workout that was really fun.

We split up into groups of 5 and did 3 rounds.

AMRAP for the first 5 minutes – Pushups

AMRAP for the next 7 minutes – Wall Balls

AMRAP for the final 5 minutes – Pushups

It was intense but cool to be a part of that.  Here’s why: You get the opportunity to not only meet some new people but compare yourself in how you are doing with the movements and are you doing them properly. Plus, the more experiences CrossFitters are extremely helpful to coach on improving technique so you can continue to grow.

Was only able to do 3 classes from Monday-Wednesday but the 4 day break was actually a good things as my body needed to recover after 7 hard weeks of this new fitness routine.

One of the important lessons I’ve learned over time was that REST is so key.  You have to give your body time to recover.  Remember that as you push through your fitness goals and it will help you actually make gains much quicker and prevent injury.

Excited to get into the grind more next week as I hit my 2 month anniversary!

Happy ‘Fitting!

Brian

Week 6 was a light week for me in regards to number of workouts I was able to attend due to several conflicts especially the start of my son’s soccer season.  But, with only 3 workouts in, I was still able to manage to feel like I was continuing to expand my comfort zone and increase gains in some areas.

This week had a LOT of rowing and I am really noticing my endurance picking up tremendously.  I was always weak in this area so it feels good to be able to stay strong through a workout with a lot of endurance needed.  One thing I have noticed is that being taller helps but also it is important to remember to keep my knees straighter slightly longer when retracting back towards the machine.  Old habits of knee bend try to creep in from time to time!

My deadlift has improved tremendously (from like nothing) to being able to handle 135 lbs 14 times for 4 rounds during one of the workouts and that also included other movements like rowing and pushups.  My movement is getting really precise since I have understood that I need to keep the bar very close to my body and almost touching at points when I get above my knees.

One big moment in understanding where I have improved was doing Hollow holds to V-ups at the end of the Thursday workout.  In the past I’ve had trouble with these and have worked to just do Hollow holds so far.  But, I did 5 rounds of 7 Hollow hold to V-ups per round really solid (besides a couple poor balanced ones).  This has given me confidence that I have to continue to trust this new fitness process, stay focused on upping weight and testing it out, and not worry about how many workouts I do a week but realize I need to put all my effort in on each of them.

I know Week 7 will be a limited week as well with a trip at the end of the week scheduled so I’ll have to try and be consistent these first 4 days and grind through.

Will update next week!

Week 5 was one for the ages!  I was gassed most of the week and had to conjure up some extra mojo to get through my 4 workouts.  I’m very much starting to learn where I can push myself and where I still need to be smart about the weights that I am picking but when I do get “in the zone” I am able to impress even myself with some of the work.

A couple of key thoughts from this week:

My wrists were sore from doing the workout a week ago where I had to hold hand stand push-up position for 30 seconds for 4 rounds.  On Saturday, We had more handstand push-ups and I could already recognize that my body had built up a bit of a tolerance to it and didn’t have any pain while going through 4 rounds holding for 30 seconds.

I practiced the “kipping pull up” one night and realized not only is it harder than it appears but that the thought is more of a “C” shape with straight arms as I go into the move vs trying to bend my elbows and pulling.  Something I’ll have to continue to practice and improve.

Rope climbs are extremely difficult but something inside me overcomes that challenge as we had to do 4 rounds with a partner each doing 2 per round.  This is more than I ever have had to do and was pleased that I got through all 8 using no legs and got to the top on every one.  My hands were a bit torn up but I’ll chalk that up to building the strength into my hands.

“If you are comfortable then you are not growing” was something one of the instructors said to the group and it was necessary to hear.  I’m there to workout and improve my overall fitness and If you just half-ass it then your body can’t get the gains you ultimately want.

I’m starting to feel more like I belong and I have to continue to believe in myself and my ability to accomplish some of the more difficult workouts.

Thanks for reading.

Brian

One month down and I am starting to get in the groove…as well as turn up the volume a bit on my workouts!  Another 5 workouts in the books this week and I recognized that I am understanding my weight patterns better and able to challenge myself with different exercises now that I’ve done them a handful of times.

My squat is getting much better and although I am still getting comfortable adding a lot of weight to front squats or doing overhead squats with more than a light bar I can see the incremental changes.  Flexibility is a tough thing for me and in one of the early classes with Lei, the owner of CrossFit RTP, we discovered that I have minimal shoulder mobility and I will have to work hard over time to increase that to be able to perform some more challenging movements like the overhead squat.  Although I am still a long ways away from being where I want with the mobility, I was able to get a handful of overhead squats completed with a bar in the correct position.

Like anything else, it takes practice.  One of the things I am learning is that a lot of this is new to me and that’s okay.  I have to be content with not having it perfected but try to push through each workout and get the most out of it that I can.  In time, I’ll achieve great results.

Final note through Four Weeks…As a literal “gut check” I took a couple pictures to track progress and I must say the results in just 4 weeks have been amazing.  I am noticing a lot more upper body strength in the chest and shoulders but a slimmer oblique area than before.  Legs feel more powerful than they have ever been and I can start to see the gains.

Week 5 starts tomorrow.  Excited to see what is in store!

Week 3 started to get me in my groove.  I attended 5 classes throughout the week and became much more comfortable with the surroundings and working through various exercises.  Going 4 days in a row was certainly a challenge but working out with a group kept me energized.

I remember one moment in particular on Tuesday when we were doing a retched series of Rowing, Burpees, and then Front Squats all in an AMRAP.  It was getting almost near the end and I was on front squats and just toast but with 10 seconds left I could’ve stopped.  At home working out I might of but I heard the instructor call out 10 seconds and I said to myself “2 more…let’s get 2 more”…as the clock struck :00 I exploded up for to hit the “2 more” goal.  It feels great to accomplish the workout but to exceed when I am at the end and burnt out was extra special.

The week ended on a “relaxed” Saturday workout….just kidding!  It was brutal.  Had a chance to partner up with my neighbor on this one and we had fun but boy did it wear us down.  400 m run, 40 front squats, and 40 burpees and then it progressed down from there for 3 rounds.  That was just part one.  In part 2, the mixture of pull ups, hand stand pushups, and double unders was just what I needed to feel like I had an unbelievable week and roll into a nice rest day on Sunday.

Lesson learned this week: Listen to your body!  I almost put myself out of commission with some static presses I did at the end of the workout (in exchange for handstand pushups) and almost tweaked my neck.  Luckily, I was just sore a bit Sunday.  You gotta listen to your body even when your ego gets in the way!

12 workouts down through 3 weeks.  Time to crush week 4!

Week 2 was fun.  For 2 reasons.  First, I now have a firm understanding of many of the moves that I need to be performing and am a lot more comfortable doing them on my own and knowing I am doing them fairly well.  Secondly, now having some confidence, I can push myself a bit further and step it up to another level ultimately helping me get to my goals quicker.

I was only able to go 3 times this past week but that is partially due to trying to figure out the best schedule that works for me and also make sure I can work around family obligations.  With some unknowns (like my son getting sick) the latter half of the week got away from me.

But, this is where the learning comes into play.  I am missing it.  I am excited to get back to it on Monday.  And that…that is what I was looking for when starting this and it makes me stay motivated to show up and dedicate myself to the process. So even though I only got 3 in this week (my goal is 4-5) I was able to use that as a motivator to roll it into the next week.

Interesting learning this week: A move called “Skin the Cat”.  This move required you to use the rings and it was the first time I ever had to use it.  The first time seeing the instructor doing it my jaw dropped and I was like “uh, that’s hard”.  But, after getting some instruction on it and trying it I was pleased with how I could get the move down.  However, I realized how weak my core is and the more I work on it I’ll be able to do this move much better.  For those wondering what this move is I found a video on youtube that explains it – https://youtu.be/4i2_ImaWGzs

Onward to Week 3 and will look to share even more stories and some pictures/videos of the journey

Take care

Brian

One week down!  What an incredible week it was.  A lot of emotions on many ends.  Couple things I learned in my first week.

1. Pace yourself.  Even with a lower weight you can get your butt kicked
2. Challenge yourself.  There were many times I could’ve given up but being in that environment made me push harder
3. Group atmosphere is awesome!  There is a lot of competition as you go through the workouts and you definitely want to keep up with the others that have been doing it longer
4. The people are so friggen nice.  Everyone comes up and introduces themselves and are so helpful to make sure you are comfortable in the setting.

This week I participated in 4 workouts and what I loved was that each and everyone of them were different.  Some days there was more heavy lifting or focus on strength building while others were a lot more endurance based and hit many different exercises throughout.   I think every single body part got hit and boy and I sore.  But it’s that good feeling sore when you know you wrecked it!

How I challenged myself this week:

On our Saturday workout, it was a team competition and Rope Climbs were one of the exercises.  This was a fast-paced routine with each of us having to do 2 per round over 3 rounds.  I had never done a Rope Climb before but with some encouragement and sheer will, I did a “leg free” rope climb ALL 6 Times to the top!  My body hated me after but it was a rush to accomplish that mini-goal.

Rest day tomorrow and then on to week 2.

Stay tuned!

After many years of different fitness routines, working out at gyms and at home, and doing everything from heavy lifting to cardio, I decided to make a commitment to something new.

CrossFit came calling.  I was getting hit from several angles about Crossfit and had thought about doing it in the past put was reluctant to change at that time.  I’m not sure exactly what put me over the edge but I think a key factor was my new outlook on life and approach to trying new things even if they scare me or take me out of my comfort zone.  Starting my Podcast several months back was a recent success of mine to get out of my comfort zone and put myself out there even if I felt I didn’t belong.

It was the first step that was the most important.  And I took it!

Before I get started on week 1, I worked with the owner of CrossFit RTP, Lei Fei, to make sure my mechanics were sound and I had an idea of where I needed to start with some moves.  I was drinking from a firehose in those sessions.  A lot of new terminology and a lot of different moves that were foreign to me.

But, it was a huge help.

1. We realized my squat was being done poorly which could cause knee issues down the road
2. We realized my pushup was slightly off as I had my hands a bit too high across the shoulders and needed them more back in line with my chest.
3. I had zero idea what a snatch, thruster, hollow up, and many other movements were

Now, onto group classes and the beginning of the fitness journey.

Stay tuned…