Ouch ... that hurt ... my ego.

Well today Marcy and I went to Knott's Berry Farm ... it was kind of our Anniversary day out (8 glorious years together). It was nice ... but a tad bit humiliating.

Even though I've made great strides in my battle against my weight problem ... there was a roller coaster I couldn't fit on ... because I was too fat.  That was probably one of the most humbling experiences I've ever been through.  Earlier that day I put a shirt on that Marcy had bought me a year back that I couldn't even button ... and it fit me.  Then this happened.  Talk about taking 1 step forward and 20 steps back.

I just didn't know what to think.  Luckily I was able to snap myself out of the funk it put me in and enjoy the rest of the day.

We went shopping after that and it was SOO nice finding clothes that were clearance that actually fit me!  Ask Marcy ... the grumpiest times in my life are when I go shopping for clothes because NOTHING would ever fit me unless I went to the "Big N' Tall" ... and we all know I'm NOT tall.

I can't wait to get my weight down to "normal" levels.  If anything this experience has just made me want to push harder.  These next few weeks are going to be brutal, it's time to put the pedal to the metal.

Day 52 : Push It

This was a fun WOD ...

Do 3 rounds ... 21, 15, 9 reps

Box Steps - 20"
Push Press - 95#
Pushups

I did it in 10:59.  My goal was 12:00 so I'm happy with that.

Day 51 : Annie

I did a modified Annie today with the following:

20 step ups with 15lb (each arm) push press
50 situps
20 step ups with 15lb (each arm) push press
40 situps
15 step ups with 15lb (each arm) push press
30 situps
15 step ups with 15lb (each arm) push press
20 situps
10 step ups with 15lb (each arm) push press
10 situps

I did it in 9:43 ... can't really call it an Annie at all really ... but all I know is I am SORE today.

Day 50 : Barbara

I couldn't make it to the box tonight because of work so I did Barbara @ my house.  Modified it with dips instead of pullups ...

5 Rounds for Time

20 dips

30 pushups

40 situps

50 squats

3mins rest between rounds ... although I only rested 1min the last round because I had to get back to work.

So it took me 26:36 with 10mins of rest ... so not too bad.  We'll see how well I do next time.

Day 49 : Team WOD

Today's workout was fun ... Marcy and I teamed up and came in second place overall in time ... but our score wasn't up to snuff.  Chelsea on Thursday absolutely obliterated my body and I really felt it during this workout.

Here's what we did ...

- Thrusters (45# Joe - 15# Marcy)
- Burpees
- Kettlebell Swings (45# Joe - 20# Marcy)
- Wall Balls (20# Joe - 10# Marcy)

Each person does their round while the other does a 400m run / row.

I did 101 reps and Marcy did 90 and we came in @ 18mins 23secs.

We were VERY happy with the time but not so much with our reps.

Cool ...

Yeah, I train with this guy.

Day 48 : Chelsea

This was an awesome workout!  I really broke through a barrier today in terms of effort.  Here's what I did ...

5 - Ring Rows
10 - Pushups (Knees)
15 - Squats

I did 14 rounds straight ... each within 1min.  Then I did 10 more in the remaining 16mins for a total of 24 rounds.

That means I did a total of 120 ring rows, 240 pushups and 360 squats.  HOLY CRAP!  Thank God it's a rest day tomorrow.

Weight Loss Update

Here's a graph showing my weight trend since 01/11/10.

Day 47 : Dumbbell Complex

This one SUCKED! I did the following:

As Many Rounds As Possible (AMRAP) in 20mins
10 Hang power snatch each arm - 30lbs
15 Dumbbell swings - 30lbs
20 Squats - 30lbs

I did 4 full rounds + 10 HPS (each arm) + 3 Dumbbell Swings.

Then we did Oly Class and I was able to Clean and Push Press 115lbs.

Going to bed. Good night.

Day 46 : Deadlift

Today is normally my Team Overload WOD but I couldn't make it as I had to take care of some things with my grandmother.

Today we did Tabata wall balls and medball cleans, 20 secs on, 10 secs off. 4 rounds of each. Great warmup ... did it with a 20lb medball. I'm making myself use the 20lb anytime we have a workout requiring it from now on. It's the RX weight of CrossFit for men so I want to use it at all times.

As the WOD we did deadlifts today ... this is what I did last time on my 28th workout.

3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3
155, 175, 195, 205, 230

Here is what I did today on my 45th workout:

4 - 4 - 4 - 4 - 4 - 4
205, 225, 235, 245, 275, 305

Holy crap I think that's a pretty big improvement. It's literally 100% improvement or at least doubled my strength. I lifted more than 2 times the weight. w00t!

Day 45 : Griff and Oly Class

This was the WOD ...

- 800m Row
- 50x Wall Ball (20#)
- 800m Row
- 50x Wall Ball (20#)

18:23

This one sucked! But I can't get over how quick my recovery is. I didn't feel as though I was going to die. But I finished it.

THe Oly Class was the Hang Power Clean. Wasn't really weight based ... more form. But I think I did well.

Did well with the Zone today. Very satisfied ...

Weight Loss Update

As of today I've hit 40lbs of weight loss. I lost 8lbs total this week and it's all due to The Zone. I went 3 straight weeks with no weight movement even though I was eating "healthy". Since I've converted to strict 3x 4 block meals and 2x 2 block snacks the weight seems to be melting off now.

Awesome!

Can't wait to get back to the gym!

Cheat Day on The Zone

Well last night after my workout we went to Barons ... it's a new highend super market that specializes in yummy "healthy" food. After being there I told Marcy "I have to have a cheat night." ... and cheat I did. But what's funny is that even though I "cheated" I still eat SOOOO much less then I normally would. So here is what I had.

- 2 Small Egg / Bacon Breakfast Burritos - NWC (Not worth the calories)
- 10 bites of Blood Orange Sorbet - This stuff was awesome!
- 1/4lb of Milk Chocolate Covered Almonds - So addictive, but I bought a 1/2 pound and only ate half.
- 10 Macadamia Nuts w/ this odd but good flavoring. (Apricots, Lemongrass, etc.)

So even though I "cheated" I still don't feel guilty ... this morning I still have weight movement down. I think I'm going to hit my goal (and surpass it) of being under 300lbs by the time I go back to NY.

Today I started right where I left off. Ate my typical breakfast but I'm going to attempt to do a Zone lunch out today. We'll see how that works out.

Day 44 : Randy

Today we did the workout known as "Randy".

Randy Simmons, 51, a 27 year LAPD veteran and SWAT team member was killed February 6 in the line of duty. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Officer Simmons' wife and two children.

75 Snatches @ 45lbs For Time

Did it in 8:05

My shins are ripped up. Ouch!

Did well on the Zone today. I've been carrying a protein bar in case of emergency and I needed it today on the way home. I'll just eat a late dinner tonight and skip snack.

Day 43 : Back Squat and Oly Class

I really feel like I did the best I could tonight with Back Squats. I didn't walk away thinking I could have done more.

Here's what I did:

135 x 3
165 x 3
185 x 3
205 x 3
135 x 4 (working on form)
225 x 3
255 x 3

I'm happy with the end result.

In Oly Class Adam had us go through the "Burgener Warm Up" 4 times. Here's what that consists of:

1. Down and up
2. Elbows high and outside
3. Muscle snatch
4. Snatch land
5. Snatch drop
6. Hang power snatch

It's a routine to help you prep for an actual Snatch. Today I did an 85lb snatch 4x. I attempted a 105lb snatch but was VERY unsuccessful.

The Zone is going VERY well. I'm starting to get over the hunger pains now that I'm doing my carbs in mass quantities of veggies instead of only a little grains. Weight is still heading in a downward trend as I'm the lightest I've been since I've started this.

Day 42 : Team Overload WOD and The Zone

I can't say much about our Team Overload WOD because we don't want others knowing how we are training ... but this one was an eye-opener. It was tough and no team finished it in the time allotted. But, one of the movements, Wall Balls, were MUCH easier than usual. I could really feel an improvement with them.

The Zone is going VERY well. I continue to see a downward trend in weight and definitely saw an increase in performance last night at the WOD.

I spoke with Kat and Mouse (the resident Zone experts) and they were happy with my meal plan. I just tweaked it a bit and instead of the pita I'm going to get my carbs from more quantity of vegetables.

Tonights WOD should be fun ... it's Back Squat night!

Day 41 : Detox, Oly Class and Zone Update

Today's class was a detox from all the crap we all ate for the Superbowl.

3 rounds for time:
- 21 Power Cleans (75#)
- 12 Handstand Pushups (20" Box)
- 400m Row

I did it in 12:10 which is a pretty good time I think.

I also participated in an Oly Lifting class in which I did a PR weight (125#) in the Clean Press and I did that weight 4 times! w00t!

The Zone is going very well ... Marcy made a wonderful soup. I was surprised at how flavorful it was even with all natural seasonings. I am currently the lowest weight I've been since I've started. There is nearly a 2 pound drop from my weight yesterday morning to the same time today. That could be mostly water weight but it's the first weight movement I've had in nearly 3 weeks so I am stoked!

Tonight is the Team Overload workout ... which is EXTREME! Hopefully I can do better this week.

The Zone Diet

Today's I've started a strict 4 block Zone Diet plan ... here will be my daily meal plan for the next week. I've plateaued in terms of weight loss, but I know I am losing fat. I want the fat to come off faster and the proper way to do that is fuel my body correctly. Here's the breakdown of my daily menu for the next week.

5:30AM
Olive oil spray
1/2 cup egg substitute
3 turkey bacon strips
1 cup grapes
1 orange
~or~
1 cup cooked oatmeal
1oz protein powder
3 almonds

10:30AM
4oz tuna / deli turkey meat
Lettuce or spinach
4 small whole wheat pitas
1 tsp mayo

2:30PM
2 hard boiled eggs whites
1/4 cup hummus

4:30PM
Chicken Barley Soup

8:30PM
2 hard boiled eggs whites
1/4 cup hummus

I'm looking forward to seeing the effects of sticking to a strict diet. I plan on not structuring it so much in the future but for now I think this is what I need to be successful.

Day 39 & 40 : Skill Work / Pull Ups & "Sweaty Balls"

Day 39 :

This was a relatively easy day overall.  We did 3 rounds of drills for the following movements:

Back Squat, 9 reps
Front Squat, 9 reps
OH Squat, 9 reps
Press, 9 reps
Push Press, 9 reps
Push Jerk, 9 reps
Deadlift, 9 reps
SDHP, 9 reps
Clean, 9 reps

Then I did low angle ring rows to max reps for 7 rounds:
5,4,8,7,9,8,10 = 51

I was happy with those results.

Day 40 :

I can't believe this is my 40th workout! (If you haven't noticed, I only blog my workout days ... so I've really been doing this for 8 weeks now or 56 days. So that means I'm at the gym 3 out of 4 days! WHAT!)

This was a fun one! Here's the breakdown:

Each exercise will be performed with a Med ball. You must carry your med ball with you to each station and perform the given exercise with your med ball. Each station is 1 min with a 15 sec travel interval. We will perform two rounds of the following:

- Deadlift
- Push-Press
- Lunges
- Lateral Jumps
- Front Squats
- Push-ups
- Wall Balls
- Sit-ups
- Broad Jumps
- 50m sprint

This was SOOO much fun! I did 207 reps in the first round and 257 in the second! I was stoked. Although I did this only with a 10lb med ball because there wasn't any others available.

We also did some very creative musical chairs for warmup ... too hard to explain. If you want to know more then ask.

Until next time ...

Day 38 : First RX! w00t!

So today we did the following workout ...

4 rounds for time:
500m Row
Med Ball Clean - 20lbs.

Finished it in 17:30

And I RX'd it! I did the fully prescribed workout without having to scale! I am stoked! I want to try to RX at least 1 WOD per week ... we'll see if that happens.

Day 37 : Team Overload Workout

I can't really get into the specifics of this WOD ... but all I can say is that it was complete chaos. Hated and loved every minute.

Thanks to everyone that motivates me ... even though I might not snap right back into the workout (just from total exhaustion) please know it really helps me to keep going!

Day 35 & 36 : Nancy, Ouchie and Oly Lifting

Day 35 : Nancy

This was a good WOD. This is what I did ...
5 Rounds for Time:
400m Row
15 x 45lbs Overhead Squat

15:03

Day 36 : Ouchie and Oly

I haven't had a total buttkicking WOD in awhile but today was TOUGH. Had to do 5 rounds for time and I truly didn't think I could go on even after the 1st round. Box steps just KILL me because of my extra body weight.

Here's what I did:

5 Rounds for Time:
400m Row
15 x 55lbs Push Press
25 x Box Steps (18")

I did it in 24:16 ... it was awesome to finish this one out.

After my 5:30 class I did a 6:30 Oly (short for Olympic) Lifting class. Worked on the Snatch which is a pretty cool movement. Started out with PVC pipes and worked to 85lbs, could have done a ton more but this was for skill work.

Today I am starting the "Team Overload" workouts ... they are once a week on Tuesday night @ 6:30PM. They are going to be insane! Hopefully I don't die. :-)