Doughnuts and PR's

I am so PUMPED!!!

First off,  I got to start off the day with this guy:

Why hello there, beautiful. 

Yes, that right there is a strawberry cheesecake doughnut. With this in my belly, who can have an off day?

Fast forward to the workout. After coaching the beginner's class, I decided to lay out a barbell and see what happens. The result - a 275# clean and jerk, 5# PR! 280# didn't work out, so I kept cleaning. I ended up finally breaking that 300# mark with a 310# power clean!

I'm ecstatic about these improvements for two reasons. One, my right knee hasn't been very cooperative with me in my human juggernaut endeavors and pursuits, and I have only worked out once this week and twice in the last two weeks. Hitting the two PR's is assurance that my knee isn't destined to go under the knife.

Two, I'm still getting stronger despite a lifestyle that should dictate otherwise. I've got a full time job, a baby, and a fiancé that eats up all my time. These things render me to very short workouts, most of them EMOMs, that rarely exceed 12 minutes. All these factors should make me weaker and less fit, and yet all the numbers are going up. Just goes to ahow you that you have to  actively make time when it doesn't simply present itself. Reminds me of a quote from Henry Rollins that has been floating around lately:


Go forth and lift!
~Coach J

Eclectic Strategies for Open 15.5

Okay, so I was half right. Last week I called thrusters and burpees as the final WOD of the 2015 CrossFit Open. Thrusters are the darling movement of CrossFit in general and to get through 5 weeks of programming without it is blasphemy. Here are my tips for survival. 

1.KNOW THY PACE. Thrusters are going to suck regardless of what else is coupled with them. I call them burpees with a barbell - they always produce shot to heck shoulders and jacked up heart rates. Throw rowing for calories on top and you've got a lactic acid inferno waiting to happen. Hit a few thrusters prior to starting so you can get an idea of how fast you can actually go. Side note: I'm normally not really down with preworkout supplements before WOD's anyway, but this is a different kind of beast. 15.5 is a short burst heart pumping massacre.  Taking one will at the very least throw your pace off, and at the most could put you in the hospital.

2. KNOW THY GRIP. This applies specifically to the thrusters. The thruster grip is generally a happy medium between the clean and jerk grips. Find your appropriate width first, then clean your bar and mark it with chalk. This takes the guesswork out of your setup and saves a few seconds.

3. KNOW THY BODY TYPE. 15.5 favors the middle of the road sized athlete - think Rich Froning, Matt Fraser, and my pick to win this workout that will be named later. The taller athlete may dominate the rower, but needs to travel a much longer distance for thrusters. The munchkin athlete that needs to move 3 inches to a CrossFit standard squat will lose out on the long levered advantage of the tall athlete. Know which of the three categories you fit best in and use your dimensions to your advantage. 

4. KNOW THYSELF. To me, this is one of the most mentally challenging WOD's I've seen in the open. It's a closed chain core to extremity pull and a closed chain core to extremity push with no rest in between. This will hurt and there's no way around it. Rowing for calories carries its own monster with it; at some point you will pull as hard as your body physically can and the number won't budge. This WOD will be a quick journey into the dark place that so many athletes mention. If you haven't been there before, I welcome you with open arms, for it is here where better people are made.

Back to my prediction of who will win 15.5. If I were a betting man, I'd put my money on Jason Khalipa. Average height, way above average engine and pain tolerance, and an exceptional rower for his dimensions. Best of luck!

Chalk up, throw down.

~Coach J

Milky Chance, Doughnuts and Deadlifts

Sooooo I finally got around to copping Milky Chance's album Sadnecessary. If you haven't heard of this band yet, you've probably heard their hit single "Stolen Dance" somewhere on TV or while shopping. My first impression of this song is that it's an accurate representation of where indie/alternative music is headed. Cool smooth vocals over mellow rhythms and bass heavy beats have taken over the airwaves and it's absolute earmilk.

Sadnecessary is, in a word, simple. Unfortunately the word "simple" tends to be bedfellows with "stupid," which is far from the case with this album. The lyrics are poetic, eloquent, clever and clearly well thought out. The music itself however is extremely minimalist and dare I say repetitive; almost every song sounds the same and it seems intentional. I imagine the band going to the studio, picking 3-4 song templates and writing all night to them. The end result is a fluid album reminiscent of listening to a new band going through a gig - no changes in guitar or synth effects, no switching pickups. Just raw, wonderful music.

Random side note; Doughnuts and Deadlifts has ruined me. I've always been a proponent of IIFYM but now thanks to Krissy Mae Cagney I have a specific object of my flexible diet affections. Besides, I'm a pretty good deadlifter, 565lbs with no dedicated programming and no time to really work out. ✊ That delicious combination just sort of made sense for me.

And so here I stay, constantly perusing Instagram in search of my first shirt or hoodie that I'm soon to purchase and getting ravenous doughnut cravings at work. (Un)fortunately, I'm also 2 minute drive from Dunkin Donuts so today I picked up these bad boys!

...well, actually I ate them before I got the chance to take a pic . Anyway they were delicious, and I used them as fuel for today's WOD.

7:37 Rx'd, not bad for all the mess ups. Cheers! ✌