CrossFit - Week 7 - Day 13!

Warm-Up:

400m run
Foam roll/stretch
Front rack/hip MWOD
10 samson stretches
10 shoulder pass thrus

Strength:

A1. Thrusters (from 5RM): 5-7x3, 30s rest
**15lb bar with 10lb & 2 1/2 lb weights on each side - total 25lbs +
15lb bar**

A2. Box Jumps (higher box): 5-7x5, 60s rest
**I started with a 12inch box then added a 35lb weight**

WOD: (for time)

21MB push ups (15lb)
42MB squats (15lb)
15MB push ups
30MB squats
9MB push ups
18MB squats

Time: 6:58

CrossFit - Day 12!!!

Warm-Up:

The Medley
Foam Roll/stretch
Hip MWOD
10 shoulder pass thru lunges
10 OH Squats (3s hold) with 15lb bar
10 supine scorpions

SKILL:
A1. Turkish Get Ups (Introduce Movement for Newbies): 3 x 3ea (7-10 High Bridge Raises, Adv. Only), 30s rest (with 15lb KB)

A2. Pistols (Introduce Movement for Newbies): 1 x 10ea warm-up; (To Low Target: 3 x 7e), 30s rest

WOD: For Time
20 Pull Ups (ring rows for women)
200m Run
20 Wall Ball Shots (KB squats with 35lb KB)
400m Run
20 Wall Ball Shots
200m Run
20 Pull Ups

Time: 9:50

CrossFit Day 11!

Warm-Up:

Pole shuffle
Foam roll/stretch
Shoulder MWOD
10 hindu push ups
10 prone scorpions

SKILL:
A1. KB Swings: 3×12 (Russian), 3×8 (American), 15s rest (with 12kg KB)
A2. Double Unders: 6 x 15-20, 45s rest

WOD: AMRAP in 5 Minutes
400m Run
KB Cleans (20kg, 32kg)

Our WOD today consisted of running the 400m run and then coming in with the remainder of the 5 minutes to see how many KB Cleans we could do. My total was 17.

State Fair of Texas Celebrating 125 Years!!!

This year unlike other years, I did not take Sydney to the State Fair during the off days from school which usually fall on Monday & Tuesday. Instead, we decided to make the trek down to Fair Park this afternoon.

As soon as we got off of the car, I thought we would soon be getting back on it and heading back home. You see, the $1 sandals I had bought Sydney at the $.99 cent store last week, decided its dollar's worth was over right in the parking lot and her left flip flop died.

The next 30-45 minutes would prove to be trying of all three of our patience. Frank decided to put Sydney on his shoulders while we made the trek through the fair grounds in search of some replacement flip flops for Sydney. We made a pit stop to see a Ronald McDonald magic show of sorts and Sydney decided to throw a temper tantrum there that quickly got us moving back on track in search of some shoes before calling it a quick day at the fair.

We walked into one show room and had no luck there so on went Sydney on Frank's shoulders again, then we caught sight of another showroom and headed in there. We thought we had struck gold when we spotted a little stand with collegiate slippers only to discover that they were only in adult size...we continued with hopes still high and right on the left hand corner was a stand of Justin products, yes, the cowboy gear Justin boots stuff that had a $20 sale of flip flops. I quickly started trying on the different sizes to see if we would find one that fit for Sydney and luckily the medium size one ended up being the perfect cinderella fit. I handed the cashier my debit card and off we went after $22.00 with a star-studded brown Justin pair of flip flops.

Thanks to the life saver of that corner Justin brand store shop and the sweet & very happy cashier, the rest of our visit to the fair went off without a hitch. We enjoyed a corny dog, a turkey leg, some lemonade, a coke and to finish off the day and our tickets, a funnel cake.

Pictures will come tomorrow as I forgot my external memory drive at work.

Commitment Challenge - 30 Day WOD OFF!!!

I scheduled my appointment to meet with Mr. Selders to do my 30 day measurements and WOD since I won't be able to go tomorrow morning as scheduled.

I must admit I was very nervous about the whole thing and that is probably because I am my own worst critic. I made a huge mistake which was not bringing my journal to the class but luckily he forgave me and did not make me do burpees. This is what he designated as our WOD (for time, of course) for today.

3 Rounds for time:

200m Sprint
30 Sit Ups
15 Deadlifts (modified version using the 16kg (35lb) kettlebells)

I swear this took everything out of me but I pushed myself until I finished and well, because I did not know my time from the previous workout, I had no clue how well I did but I quickly found out.

We did this very exact workout on the first day of class exactly 1 month ago on September 14th and my time that day was 14:20.

My awesome time today ended up being 10:26!!!!!! I am so happy at the results of my workout - obviously something is being done right.

Here are the rest of my measurements. I was not to thrilled that I lost 1 lb of lean mass but I'll just have to figure that out and go from here.

These are my numbers from before (8-25-11) to after (10-14-11).

Weight:
149.5lbs - 146.5lbs

Body Fat:
31.1% - 30.4%

Fat Mass:
46.5 - 44.5

Lean Mass:
103 - 102

Measurements:

Chest:
39 - 38

Right Arm:
11.5 - 11.5

Waist:
37.75 - 34.5

Hips:
40.5 - 40

Right Thigh:
21 - 22.

I know the next 30 days of CrossFit will be just as fun but probably more intense and demanding, but regardless, I am looking forward to it.

CrossFit - Day 10! Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.

Warm-Up

400m run
Foam roll/stretch
Hip/shoulder MWOD
10 samson stretch
10 shoulder pass thrus

Strength:

A1. OH Squats (6s hold): 3-4x5-7, 30s rest
A2. Kipping (butterfly): swings: 3-4x10-15, 30s rest

WOD:

400m run
45 thrusters (15# bar)
15 burpees
45 thrusters
400m run

Time: 16:11

CrossFit - Day 9...different hour...same commitment!!!

Warm-up

Pole shuffle
Foam roll/stretch
Shoulder MWOD
10 shoulder press thrus
10 OH squats (3s hold)

STRENGTH:
A1. Standing Press (60% 1RM): 3-4 x 10-12 (2 Warm-Up Sets, then Touch and Go), 30s Rest
A2. Planks, 4 x 60s Holds, 45s Rest

WOD: “Stan” 21-15-9
Pull Ups
KB Swings (16kg)
Double Unders (5:1)
**Modified version of single jump rope**
105-75-45

The Tyler Rose 5K-Half Marathon-Marathon

Isaiah's 1st Birthday!!!

Pre-Game Pep Rally (TX-OU Red River Rivalry)

For the last couple of years I have been going to Richardson High School on the Friday before the TX-OU game to watch the Longhorn band practice for their half-time show at the game.

This year thanks to Facebook and subscribing to the Co-Op store's FB page, I found out that they would be hosting a mini pep-rally with the Longhorn Band and even Bevo.

I decided to request half a day off from work and headed out to NorthPark mall right as soon as noon came around.

The Pep Rally was a total success...there is nothing like the Longhorn Band to get a crowd in the spirit.

CrossFit - Day 8...and still going strong!!!

Warm-up

200m run
Foam/roll stretch
Shoulder MWOD
10 hand walkouts & push ups
10 prone scorpions

SKILL:
A1. Parallette Work: Tuck, L-Sits, 20s Holds x 5, 10s Rest
A2. Hollow Holds/Rocks, 20s Holds (or 30 Rocks) x 5, 30s Rest

WOD: For Time
400m Run
50 DB Floor Presses (25#, 45#)
40 AbMat Situps
30 Squats
20 Renegade Rows (25#, 45#)
10 Burpees
400m Run

Time: 18:53

Crossfit - Day 7!

Warm-up

The Medley
Foam/roll stretch
Shoulder/TSpine MWOD
10 hindu push ups
10 OH Squats

SKILL:
A1. Deadbug Pull Overs: 5 x 10 (4/1/4), 20s Rest
A2. Sky Divers: 5 x 20s, 10s Rest

WOD: 21-15-9 For Time
200m Sprint
Front Squats (Use 5RM)
KTC/KTEs (T2B)
200m Sprint (each round)

Painting With A Twist - Halloween

As a kind of last minute idea, I signed up to take Sydney to Painting With A Twist to see if we could master the painting for the session of Halloween which consisted of a black cat standing on pumpkins.

From pictures I have seen online, it looks like all sorts of normal people young and old can paint just about any drawing, I decided we'd give it a shot.

We showed up 30 minutes early and had a chance to check out the studio and get some pictures of some of the neat paintings they offer. While already there, I was still a bit incredulous that we could make our painting come to life all on our own.

The class promptly began at 3:00 p.m. and the adventure with it. Everything was calculated including breaks to allow the painting to dry before continuing on with the picture.

There was a brief moment right at the start of class that Syndey got a little upset because she did not understand why we had to set our first thick brush down to get the next size brush to continue the artpiece...after that, everything went off without much trouble.

I do think I have found my next favorite thing to do. Here are some pictures of our little artistic adventure.

Our class!

This is what the final painting should look like.

I'm ready to paint.

Blank canvass.

Las reglas!

The colors we used to make our artpiece come alive!

Let the painting begin...here is our first coat of color.

The beginning phase of the pumpkins.

Our black "scary" cat.

And here comes the bats (the hardest to make of the entire painting).

Bringing our cat to life with some yellow outline.

Now the pumpkins start coming alive.

Adding the finishing touches with the black background.

Drying off her artpiece.

My little artist with her work of art!

Sydney & Ms. Kara Jo, our instructor.

So proud of Sydney!

The rest of the class!!!

CrossFit - Day 6

Warm-up

Pole shuffle
Foam roll/stretch
Front rack/hip MWOD
10 samson stretches
10 hand walkouts & push ups

STRENGTH:
A1. Thrusters (from 3RM): 5-7 x 3, 30s-60s Rest
A2. Box Jumps (Higher Box): 5-7 x 7, 60s Rest

WOD: 3 Rounds for time:
25 Shoulder to Overhead (15#, 45#)
20 Wall Ball Shots (15#, 20#)
15 Burpees

CrossFit - Day 5

Warm-up:

400m run
Foam/roll stretch
Hip MWOD
10 sans stretch
15 good mornings

STRENGTH:
A1. Deadlift (60% 1RM): (60% 1RM): 3-4 x 15 (2 Warm-Up Sets, then Touch and Go), 30s Rest

* 15lb bar with 10lb weights on each side *

A2. Handstand Holds: 4 x 30s Holds, 60s (WE DID NOT DO THIS IN CLASS TODAY)

WOD: AMRAP in 9 minutes
250m MB Run (15#, 20#)
25m Walking MB Lunges (15#, 20#)
250m MB Run (15#, 20#)
25m Walking MB Lunges (15#, 20#)
Man Makers (25#, 45#)

The time on this WOD was good for the man makers, so in essence, once you completed the WOD, the important part was to see how many man makers you could do in the time remaining.

If I am not mistaken, we had a little over 2 minutes remaining when I started the man makers and I was able to complete 14!!!! WOO HOO!!!

I really enjoyed this class. :)

CrossFit - Day 4

Warm-up:

Reverse pole shuffle (run to the 4th light pole and back to the 1st, then run to the 3rd light pole and then back to the 1st, run to the 2nd light pole, etc...get it?)

Foam roll/stretch
Shoulder MWOD
10 prone scorpions
10 Hind push-ups

Skill:

A1. Double unders: 3-4 X 20 (we modified this exercise and jumped rope 100 times - double unders is basically jumping twice in one loop around of the jump rope).

A2. Kipping (butterfly) movement: 3-4 X 10-15

WOD: 10!!!! (10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1) For time (15 minutes)

Thrusters: Squat with 15lb bar and end up with bar overhead
Shout through's: We modified this exercise and actually did a completely different one - we did push ups instead.

So the idea is you start by doing 10 thrusters and drop and do 10 push-ups, then get back up and do 9 thrusters and then do 9 push-ups until you get to 1.

I am convinced there will never be one day where I write on here that I am not beat - this workout YET again kicked my butt.

I know this may sound crazy but it's like I crave getting my butt beat now...it just feels so good afterwards and I'm starting to see the results in my arms..looking just a tad toned.

Let's hope now that I do good throughout the weekend until Tuesday.

CrossFit - Day 3

Warm-Up:

400m run
Foam roll/stretch
Shoulder MWOD
10 OH Squats (3s hold)

There is weight being used in this picture and I did not use weight for my routine.

15 shoulder pass thrus

Skill:

A1. Ring work (work position): 5x30s, 10s rest (Performed with 1 inch band)

A2. Hollow (holds/rocks): 5x20s (or 30 rocks), 60s rest

WOD: 4 rounds for time (15 minute time limit)

200m sprint
15 deadlifts (35lb kettle ball)
15 burpees

**I completed 3 sets and was able to run the 200m sprint to start the 4th set**

This was definitely an INSANE workout...it beat the crap out of me. I have not been feeling too good health wise but I went in and gave it my best. I will more than likely need to "roll out" my soreness in lots of spots come Thursday. :)

**********************************************************************

I went running after work at Holford...ran a little over two miles in 25 minutes, give or take.

CrossFit - Day 2

Warm-up

400m run
Foam roll/stretch
Shoulder MWOD
10 samson stretches

10 hand walkouts

Skill:
A1. Rowing (Technique & Speed), 400m x 2, 10s Rest

Time: (1) 2:05/? (2) 1:55/26

A2. Handstand Holds (modified with box), 30s x 2, 30s Rest

WOD: For Time
21 Dips
400m Run
21 Wall Balls (5lbs)
400m Run
21 Dips

We were given 10 minutes to complete this WOD. My time was 8:10!

Today's class really kicked my butt. I wasn't feeling good to begin with because my allergies have really been acting up horribly...but I still came in with a good attitude. I am not sure if it was all the upper body workout but on my second 400m run for the WOD, I was really struggling.

Hope I feel better for the next class Tuesday.

CrossFit - Day 1

We started the day (Tuesday, September 13th) with what will be our usual warm-up. Today's warm-up consisted of a 400 meter run.

We came back inside and learned a series of foam roll stretches.

Purpose: The foam roller not only stretches muscles and tendons but it also breaks down soft tissue adhesions and scar tissue. By using your own body weight and a cylindrical foam roller you can perform a self-massage or myofascial release, break up trigger points, and soothe tight fascia while increasing blood flow and circulation to the soft tissues.

Next we did a warm-up of sorts for the workout of the day which today would be shoulders.

In order to find tender spots in our upper body, we used a lacrosse ball. Once we located the tender areas we placed the lacrosse ball and rested for about 30 seconds.

To be able to stretch our arms, we used a PVC pipe and positioned our arms as far apart as possible and without bending them, we moved them forward and backward over our head.

The final two things we did were Hindu push ups & Prone scorpions.

Hindu push up

Prone Scorpions

We also did three sets (15) push press'..first with just the 15lb bar and then we added 5lb weights making it a total of 25lb. We did another 3 sets of 25lb push presses.

Lastly, we had to do a series of 60 second planks.

Plank

For the final torture of the day (KIDDING), this is what our WOD (Workout Of the Day) consisted of:

WOD: 3 Rounds For Time
200m Sprint
30 Sit Ups
15 Deadlifts (modified version using the kettlebells)

My total time to complete this was 14:20.

I am probably my worst critic and honestly I was not happy that I struggled so much to do these 3 reps of exercises. I now that the changes I want to happen will not occur overnight so I will just keep trecking along...until the next class.

Dejarte De Amar 2011 Tour - CAMILA!!!!

Ruth & I had a date to see this awesome band Sunday night (9-11-11). We got a bit disoriented getting there but I quickly found my way to the venue (you don't want to get lost in the Fair Park area).

Before CAMILA came on, it was obvious that the concert was not sold out and so we did something illegal (which I don't regret) and moved up closer about 10 rows.

CAMILA played for about an hour and a half. They played a total of 20 songs, two of which were repeated. It was really neat because I got to record 6 of the songs.

Here is the lineup of the concert:

* Mientes
* Dejarte De Amar
* Todo Cambio
* A Cambio Tu
* Entre Tus Alas
* Abrazame
* Besame
* De Que Me Sirve La Vida
* Tocando Fondo (Kalimba)
* Voy De Prisa (Alejandra Guzman)
* Intensamente Triste (Thalia)
* Sexy Baby (?)
* Me Voy
* De Mi (Novela Teresa)
* Vuela (?)
* Alejate De Mi
* Sin Ti
* Coleccionista De Canciones
* Mientes
* Todo Cambio

I thought it was really cool that Mario Domm wrote songs that are now being sang by other artist. He stated before singing a couple of the songs he wrote that before he was blessed with meeting the two other guys in his group, he was blessed to be able to compose these lyrics.

Okay, enough said...here are some pictures for your enjoyment.

Franco De Vita En Primera Fila Tour Mira Mas Alla 2011!!!

So last week Frank mentioned to me that he had heard Franco de Vita was coming to town...the only catch in telling me this was that the locale for his presentation would be at none other than FarWest (ghetto club in Dallas). On top of this, it was his understanding at first, that tickets could only be won to the concert and not purchased.

My reason in pointing out all of these facts is that for one and very important point, I have passed up seeing a number of artist at this club because in my opinion, they kill 2-for-1 and it is ghetto...I have seen clips on tv of local rock, pop, norteno, etc., nights and there is nothing but raunchy girls and undress me with your eyes guys that go there.

Though I really, really like Franco de Vita's music, I was having issues with even contemplating the idea of going. On top of this, I basically threw the option out of the window of seeing him because I hardly ever try to win any tickets on the local radio stations.

Then as if by pure luck, I saw someone post on FB that they wanted to go see him and were probably going to purchase tickets - this idea completely turned things in a different direction.

Next thing I knew, Frank was mentioning to me that Franco de Vita was coming to town and tickets were on sale....he basically overlooked all my worries about FarWest and just told me he was almost certain that because of the artist and type of music, a completely different type of crowd than what normally attends would be there and that I had nothing to worry about.

Still thinking about whether I wanted to purchase tickets or not, Frank surprised me with purchasing a pair as a birthday gift to me....after having seen Franco de Vita in concert last night, I am SO glad that I got to see him.

With this said, I must admit that this will probably be my first and last concert at that venue - here is a brief explanation as to why. The doors didn't open until about 8:30...we arrived and sat in the parking lot at about 6:15 and proceeded to stand in line from about 6:45 to 8:30. When we were finally let in, we approached the very front of the stage so that I could get the best place in the house (for pictures, of course). Low and behold we stood there doing nothing (absolutely nothing) until about 9:30 when a local band, Alebrije, came on to perform before Franco de Vita.

Alebrije played until a little after 11:00 p.m. and we waited about 20 minutes for the stage to be cleared of their equipment and for VDV Crew to finish setting up his stuff. Then finally around 11:30...the man of the hour showed up.

The rest of the concert is history...one for the books, of course....I tell you, it was absolutely an amazing, fun, good music-filled concert. Franco de Vita knows how to put on a show and to top it off, well, his music is just great..very inspiring and very romantic.

The concert ended at 1:30 and we got home at 2:00 a.m. and straight to bed. :)

Frank looking like a stud muffin!

Alebrije!!

This poor guy (Cubano) kept being called Kalimba.