Tuesday, August 26, 2014

5,000 swings later...

So I'm halfway through the 10,000 Kb challenge, and at this point I'm bored.  I'm pretty sure that it has a lot to do with my personality.  I get easily distracted by shiny objects.  One thing I will say about the program is that my grip strength has improved vastly and my posterior chain does not fatigue nearly as quickly as when I first started.  I haven't done any running (my plantar fasciitis is killing me right now and I'm giving it a rest) but I feel like my cardio has definitely improved.

The first workout I did went on for nearly thirty minutes.  The last workout I completed was near twenty one and a half minutes.  So, I'm definitely getting stronger and I feel like it's doing the job that T-nation touts.

A few tips for these workouts- Do some PVC twists, good mornings, shoulder pass throughs and some over head squats to warm your body up.  I usually started each workout with four rounds of the above for 10-15 reps each.  Depending on how much of a rush I was in.  (I'm a family man and like a quick workout).  Warming up is key for me these days.  I'm not the twenty something that I used to be and find that loosening up and getting warm has definitely decreased my incidence of injuries since starting Crossfit or "functional training"

The KB challenge recipe calls for a five rep max load to be placed on the bar.  To be safe for the first few workouts, I'd recommend dropping that weight by about 20% and make sure your form is locked in.  You'd be surprised at how quickly your posterior chain will be crushed and you'll be tempted to get sloppy on form.  Sloppy form = injuries.  Count on it.

The workout called for Press, Dips, Chin ups, and Goblet squats to be performed.  I tweaked this a little bit and used the Weighted chins and Front Squat or Back squats (alternating) in lieu of the associated movements.  I think it's a good sub, especially if you're looking to continue to make some sort of strength gains.

Mental toughness- this workout calls for a lot of it.  It's hard to keep swinging a KB for 500 reps per workout.  Almost mind numbing.  However the workout really tests you in this area.  It's testing me... I start to drift mentally in the middle of the workouts and frequently lose count.  My punishment for this is starting back at zero.  It's also tempting to drop the KB in the middle of your set of 50 and just convince yourself to take a breath and rest for a few seconds... don't do it.  Like I mentioned on a previous post, give yourself micro-goals to keep yourself going.

Personal thought of the day- I said "freaking" the other day and my seven year old called me out on it.  She said I said a bad word and that I was an example for her and should stop.  She was right.  I generally do my best to not cuss and be an example of the man I want her to marry when she gets older.  Be an example for your children.  Teach them consequence, teach them patience, teach them respect.  The world is falling short in many of these areas.

Happy lifting and until next time!

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

The Kettlebell and the Front squat

As I said before, I'm doing this KB challenge on T-nation.  It's a really good workout, but if you're prone to being distracted by shiny objects, it's probably not the right workout for you.  The reason I chose it is that there is a goal in mind.  TEN THOUSAND SWINGS with a 53lb. KB.  That's a lot of work over the course of four weeks.

Today I decided to sub the goblet squat with the front squat.  I used 135, because I was unsure of how I would tolerate the rep scheme between KB swings and I guessed wrong.  I should have used a heavier weight.  I did manage to go unbroken (no missed reps) but I practiced a little mantra to keep me going.  Chris Spealler of CF fame talked about it on his blog... it's just a little motivation to keep you going.  Tonight for me the mantra was "It doesn't own me".  Sounds lame, but it worked.  I gave myself micro-goals when I was getting tired, too.  Spealler also mentions this in a mental toughness blog he did.  Just tell yourself, "three more reps... ok another three... ok two more..." so on and so forth.  The mental trick is actually handy.

A few random thoughts throughout the day-

Nutrition is key.  I ordinarily eat like crap, but I've got an amazing wife who cooks dinner nightly, which affords me the opportunity to take leftovers to work.  Healthy meals give me fuel.  Water- I've been drinking about 160 oz. of water a day.  I think that's a little over a gallon a day.  That's just what I monitor.  I have a few glasses at night and in the morning, as well.

Be patient and use kind words.  I'm in a business of directing people, giving orders and just being militant, in general.  It's hard to turn that off at home.  I've been working on this because I have a young girl at home that looks up to me and a loving wife that supports me.  I have a long commute home and it helps with the process.  I'm not perfect, but I'm working on it.  Just be nice.  It pays back in the end and makes your life easier.

Monday, August 18, 2014

Random Thoughts

I'm taking this blog on a different kind of turn.  I'm also going to add some new items here and there. For those that were following, this blog started as a journal of sorts.  It was a journal of my fitness adventure with CF.  I still CF... at least I like to call it that.  I don't stick to the same stuff.  I avoid globogyms unless they have a piece of equipment I don't already own in my garage.  I still practice "functional movements across broad domains".  I still agree with randomization.  I still all those principles that make Crossfit what it is.

However, I'll start posting about other things.  Medicine.  Family.  Life.  Adventures.  Academia.  Parenting.  It's sort of a vomitus of my brain and what's on my mind.  It's cheap therapy and it puts my thoughts out there for anyone to comment, or who feels like suffering through my attempts at blogging.  I might start adding tabs to make it more coherent.  We'll see how it goes.

Thanks for continuing to follow.  I appreciate the support.  

Side note- I started the 10,000 KB swing challenge on T-Nation. - http://www.t-nation.com/workouts/10000-swing-kettlebell-workout - It's killing my hands, but I like the challenge.  Just gonna do this as a quick break from CF.  After that, I'll be at CF with a strength bias again.

Cheers!