New Year's Murph

For weeks, I'd been looking forward to revisiting Murph, the CrossFit "Hero" WOD named for a Navy lieutenant killed in Afghanistan. I've done Murph twice before -- on New Year's Day and Memorial Day this year -- and developed a special love for this grinder of a WOD:

For time:

• 1 mile run
• 100 pull-ups
• 200 push-ups
• 300 squats
• 1 mile run

The one-mile runs must bookend the workout, but the pull-ups, push-ups, and squats can be broken up in whatever manner you choose. I've typically done 20 rounds of Cindy -- 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 squats -- and intended to do the same today.

CrossFit Palo Alto was packed this morning for New Year's Murph -- so much so that the 9 a.m. session had to be split into two heats so that there'd be enough pull-up bar space for everyone. I was in the second heat, and paced impatiently while the first wave took off running.

When I finally got going, I took off on a dead sprint. The first mile felt great; I hadn't exercised in a few days, and I enjoyed stretching my legs. Likewise, my six or seven rounds of Cindy flew by without any problems. My pull-ups and push-ups were fast and fluid, and I was cranking out air squats as fast as I could.

My pull-ups and squats remained strong throughout the workout, but my push-ups broke down sooner than expected. I'm used to being able to get through a good 10 to 12 rounds of Cindy before my arms turn to jelly, but before I was halfway through the WOD, I hit a wall. Suddenly, I couldn't perform more than a handful of push-ups at a time, so I ended up changing my approach. Instead of doing 10 consecutive push-ups in Cindy-like fashion, I started breaking them up: 5 push-ups, then 15 air squats, then back on the ground to finish the push-ups.

I need to be more like this little guy:



When I got back on my feet to complete my final one-mile run, my dead arms dangled loosely at my sides. The last half-mile was painful -- I had a side stitch (which I never, ever get), and stopped to double over a few times. Ugh.

Result: 41:30 as RXed -- three minutes slower than my previous effort. I still love Murph for its bodyweight-focused movements, and I had a fantastic time working out with some of my favorite people at CrossFit Palo Alto -- but I'm a bit disappointed in my time.

Thankfully, there's always next year. And next year starts tomorrow.

Wednesday's Workout

Another fun one today.

Strength Skill:

• Overhead Squats (3-3-3-1-1)

I missed last week's OHS practice, so I was looking forward to today's session. Overhead squats are quickly becoming one of my favorite full-body movements -- it demands flexibility, strength, and stability, and forces me to stay mindful of proper posture. And although we don't do overhead squats very often, I've seen progress every time we revisit them, which makes me want to come back for more.

Plus: I got to wear my new Reebok Olys today while squatting -- and it's all about the shoes. (By the way, they actually felt a bit too spongy for my taste; I think I'm going to remove the inserts to see if that helps.)

Before today, I think my heaviest overhead squat was 105 pounds. But I was feeling pretty good this morning at the gym, and ended up with a new PR of 125 pounds. It was on my last set, and there wasn't enough time to shoot for more. Still, I felt like there was still a little left in the tank, and I really wanted to try overhead squatting my bodyweight. After class (and CoffeeWOD), I came home and did it in my garage, cranking out a 135 pound OHS. Yay for me.

Metcon:

• 20 Russian (chest-high) kettlebell swings (32kg / 24kg)
• 20 knees-to-elbows
• 1 lap of badger crawls
• 15 Russian (chest-high) kettlebell swings (32kg / 24kg)
• 15 knees-to-elbows
• 1 lap of badger crawls
• 10 Russian (chest-high) kettlebell swings (32kg / 24kg)
• 10 knees-to-elbows
• 1 lap of badger crawls
• 5 Russian (chest-high) kettlebell swings (32kg / 24kg)
• 5 knees-to-elbows
• 1 lap of badger crawls

In CrossFit Palo Alto parlance, a badger crawl is a modified bear crawl using bent (rather than straight) legs and arms. (I know some folks do bear crawls with bent legs and arms already -- if that's the case with you, then badger crawls are synonymous with your version of bear crawls.) For today's WOD, each lap of badger crawls consisted of going down the length of the gym and back.

I discovered that I can scamper pretty quickly when on all fours -- probably because I have short, stubby legs that keep me close to the ground. The badger crawls were also a welcome respite from the forearm-numbing swings and KTEs.

Result: 5:58 as RXed.

Reebok Oly Shoes: First Impression

It's been a few days since my Reebok CrossFit Oly shoes arrived, but I haven't yet worked out in them.

Part of me doesn't want to even put them on -- I'd rather just look at them lovingly, and keep them in mint condition forever. But that's just my inner nerdy baseball card / comic book collector talking. The other part of me can't wait to get these suckers on my feet and into the gym.

This afternoon, I broke the shoes out of the box and gave 'em a good once-over.

The Reebok Oly shoe feels a lot lighter than most other weightlifting shoes, owing largely to a heel made of injected thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) rather than wood. I'm guessing the triangular indentations in the heel cut the shoes' weight even further, though I can't say I'm a huge fan of the resulting zigzag design. (It reminds me too much of the barfy-looking outsoles on the Reebok Zigs.)

That said, the vamp of the shoe is extremely soft and flexible. The tread/score lines on the front of the sole underscore the emphasis on free forefoot movement. Combined with the lightness of the shoe (mine weighed just 13.8 ounces -- yes, I checked), I'm guessing these suckers'll do just fine in a WOD that pairs Oly lifts with box jumps or double-unders.

My pair fit well right out of the box -- and not just because the shoe features a nicely-padded collar and a snug heel counter. Reebok appears to have fixed the sizing problem it had a few months ago. (As you may recall, the yellow Nanos sold at the Games ran about one size too big.)

Another issue I had with the prototype Nanos were that the laces were too short. Reebok appears to have addressed that concern as well:

Actually, this photo shows both pairs of laces -- red and black -- that came with the shoe. The red ones are snazzy, but I think I'm going to stick with the black ones.

And let's not forget about the custom-fitting U-Form shoe lining. As with the Nanos, you can bake the Oly shoes in the oven at 200°F for 3 minutes and then put them on. As they cool, the lining of the shoes will mold to the shape of your feet. This may be the closest thing to a perfect-fitting weightlifting shoe on the market.

Mine are now baked and ready to go. 

By the way, it's a little thing, but I love that the little U-Form tab on the sides turn red when the shoes have been baked. (They turn black again once the shoes cool down.)

I know that not everyone's sold on plastic heels over wood ones, and I'll probably stick with my wooden-heeled Adidas weightlifting shoes when I'm focusing on my lifts. But for CrossFit WODs that combine Olympic lifts with jumping around or hanging off a pull-up bar, this flexible, lightweight shoe certainly looks promising. I'll report back once I've had a chance to test drive them a bit more.

[Previously: My review of the Reebok CrossFit Nanos]

Multitasking

When she wasn't stirring a pot on the stove today, this is what M was up to in the kitchen:

Monday's Workout

It's good to be back in the gym -- even if it was at 5 a.m. the morning after Christmas. But don't look at me like I'm crazy; I wasn't the only nutjob at CrossFit Palo Alto before the crack of dawn despite not having to work today. Four others showed up for class (and for CoffeeWOD afterwards).

Okay, maybe we're all crazy.

Strength Skill:

• Deadlifts (3-3-3-1-1)

I had a shot at matching my previous PR today, but failed to hoist the bar off the ground. I could've given it another yank, but although my back's feeling fine these days, I thought better of it. Good thing, too -- I needed the gas in my tank for today's metcon.

Metcon:

3 rounds for time:

• 50 double-unders
• 30 air squats
• 15 pull-ups

This looked easy when Tim wrote it on the whiteboard, and for the first round, it was. Most of our metcon workouts are designed to be 10 to 15 minutes long, but after flying through the initial round set of double-unders, air squats and pull-ups in 2 minutes, I thought to myself: I have a shot at finishing sub-7.

But in the second round, I had to take breaks after every dozen double-unders or so, and my pull-ups weren't unbroken. It took 3 minutes to finish that round.

Still, it was the last set of double-unders that did me in. My forearms felt numb from the one-two punch of pull-ups and rope-flinging, and my feet began snagging on the slowing rope. It took a whopping FOUR minutes to complete the final round.

Result: 9:14 as RXed.

A-Team Oly Shoes

Look what came in the mail while we were in Mexico:

Reebok CrossFit Oly Shoes!

I'm going to have a hard time wearing these without this running through my head.

Thursday's Workout: Family WOD

On this warm Mexican morning, "Death by Burpees" sounded like a good idea.

Here's how it works: Start a timer, and with a continuously running clock, perform one burpee at the start of the first minute, two burpees at the start of the second, three burpees at the start of the third minute, and so on. You're done when you can't finish your required number of burpees in a minute's time.

Once again, the kids decided to work out with us. Big-O went full-on beast mode...

...as did Lil-O.

M got through 10 solid rounds of burpees before tapping out.

I managed to eke out 15 rounds before collapsing.

The last time I did "Death by Burpees," I failed to complete fourteen rounds, so I was pretty happy about today's PR.

So happy, in fact, that I decided to indulge in some heavy-duty taco consumption.

Mmm...tacos...

Link Dump

I was going to post about my workout today, but that would require that I actually work out.



Instead, I've just been hanging out with the family and eating insane amounts of meat while on vacation here in Cabo (and plugging along on some extracurricular homework for Nom Nom Paleo). I did, however, gather a bunch of interesting reads for you to chew on:

• This op-ed piece in The Atlantic's been making the rounds. Three longtime vegetarians and vegans discuss how they came to understand that eating meat and other animal products is not only healthful, but also ethically and environmentally sound. Read it here.

• According to the New York Times, coffee can boost your athletic performance by "enabl[ing] more forceful muscular contractions and delay[ing] fatigue.” CoffeeWOD, anyone?

• You should already be reading all of the sites featured in Outside Magazine's list of the blogosphere's top ten fitness blogs -- especially MobilityWOD, Conditioning Research, and RunBlogger.

• Is Bob Harper really going to be putting his "Biggest Loser" team on a CrossFit-focused training regimen next season? I might actually have to start watching the show again.

• Serious Eats recently posted Pat LaFrieda's video responses to readers' meat-related questions. Good stuff -- especially if you're interested in butchery.

• I enjoyed the crap out of this post on Lift Big Eat Big: "10 Excuses For Not Exercising & Why They Are Horsesh*t."

• Health Tip of the Day: Do not eat cocaine out of your brother's butt.

Bye for now.

Monday's Workout: Cabo San Lucas

We're in Cabo San Lucas for the week, and we're planning on eating like rabid wolves this week, so to kick things off right, the entire family decided to work out on the balcony this morning (minus the three-year-old, who was wandering around somewhere, munching on a scrambled egg and playing with his LEGOs). 

 M got cranking on her double-unders... 

...and air squats... 

...while Big-O got his mobility on. 

I wish I could squat as comfortably as he can. 

I decided to dash off a quick home-brewed WOD: 

50 double-unders, and then 5 rounds for time of: 

5 handstand push-ups... 

 (Whoops -- nip slip.) 

10 pistols... 

...and 15 sit-ups. 

As you can see, Big-O decided to go rip off his shirt and join in the fun.

Result: 9:13. I cooled down with another 50 double-unders.

And then we proceeded to eat, swim, and do a whole lotta nothin'. (We did eat some worms, though. M'll do all the food-related play-by-play over at Nom Nom Paleo.)

Don't you love it when people bore you to death with their vacation photos?

Friday's Workout

I know you've been waiting with bated breath, so before I conk out, here's a quick recap of today's WOD.

Strength Skill:

• Strict Pull-ups (5-5-5)
• Kipping Pull-ups (10-10-10)

I enjoy pull-ups, so this was a pleasant way to start the morning. At Tim's suggestion, I finished by practicing some chest-to-bar pull-ups. They felt a little awkward at first, but got a lot easier once I wrapped my thumbs around the top of the bar.

Metcon:

2 rounds for time:

• 22 see-saw presses (45lbs / 30lbs)
• Run 400 meters
• 22 box jumps (24" / 20")
• Run 400 meters

Back when we last did this workout in August, I wrote that 35-pound dumbbells were too light for me. So today, I hoisted a pair of 40-pound dumbbells -- and ended up finishing almost two minutes slower than I did a few months ago.

Ugh.

Result: 13:06.

Wednesday's Workout: Balls to the Wall

Medicine balls. Why'd it have to be medicine balls?

But first:

• Overhead Squats (5-5-5-3-3)

These felt great this morning. It's been a few months since we last practiced overhead squats, but I felt strong and stable through my midline. I kept it light and easy today, but I'm hoping to establish a new PR later in this cycle.

Metcon:

• 50 double unders
• 21 wallball shots
• 21 medicine ball cleans
• 21 medicine ball sit-ups
• 15 wallball shots
• 15 medicine ball cleans
• 15 medicine ball sit-ups
• 9 wallball shots
• 9 medicine ball cleans
• 9 medicine ball sit-ups
• 50 double unders

The first set of double-unders flew by. The final set? Not so much. And in between, the wallballs kicked the snot out of me. I wasn't bothered by the med ball sit-ups, but the cleans were tougher than I expected -- probably because I was still reeling from the wallballs.

It's a good reminder that something as simple as a stuffed ball can be a brutally effective training tool.

Result: 11:42 as RXed.

Reebok's E-Commerce DNF

Say what you will about Reebok, but you can't say it doesn't own up to its mistakes.

The Reebok CrossFit Facebook page lit up this morning with complaints from folks who tried desperately to buy the newly-offered Oly shoes before they sell out, but failed due to system issues on Reebok's end. Some apparently spent hours on Reebok's site, trying in vain to purchase the shoes. (I was able to get through without any problems, but it looks I was one of the lucky ones.)

The silver lining for Reebok? The demand for its CrossFit shoes is off the charts. Clearly, there are plenty of us who need shoes to match our Kool-Aid mustaches.

Monday's Workout

I'm a little exhausted. Work has been crazy, and the holidays (and multiple birthdays in our family) have ratcheted up my stress levels. Vacation's still a week away, and my to-do list is as long as my arm. To top it off, M and I have been insanely busy cooking up some Nom Nom Paleo-related stuff. But I'm keeping my priorities straight: Come Monday morning, I'm at CrossFit Palo Alto.

Strength Skill:

• Deadlifts (5-5-5-3-3)

My back's feeling fine, but given how I felt just a few weeks ago, I was much more tentative than usual. Rather than shooting aggressively for a new PR, I started light and stayed light, lifting just a fraction of my personal best. I'll eventually work my way back up, but for now, I'm going to play it safe, and settle for watching my classmates set new benchmarks. (Jake's new deadlift PR: 405 pounds!)

Metcon:

• Row 500 meters
• 50 air squats
• 40 Games standard push-ups
• 30 overhead kettlebell swings (24kg / 16kg)
• 20 pull-ups
• 10 toes-to-bar

Despite my antipathy for the erg, the 500-meter row wasn't too bad. I quickly settled into a steady rhythm, and finished with enough pep in my step to get through the air squats unbroken. (High five!) The push-ups proved to be a bigger challenge; try as I might, I couldn't string together all 40 in a row. I had to break the last 15 or so into mini-sets of a few at a time.

The kettlebell swings weren't any easier, but I was determined to blaze through 'em. After 20 or so, I desperately wanted to drop the kettlebell, but didn't. I hit my goal of 30 swings in a row -- but as I grabbed the pull-up bar, fully intending to crank out the last two exercises, I realized that MY GRIP STRENGTH WAS GONE.

As a result, the pull-ups took a bit longer than usual, and so did the toes-to-bar. My forearms were on fire by the end of the WOD.

Result: 9:07 as RXed.

Later in the day, I popped into a local health center for a much-needed massage. My masseuse spent a good chunk of time on my forearms, kneading them with her (insanely strong) hands and knuckles.

"Your hands and wrists and forearms are all knotted up," she said. "You're spending too much time at the computer. Try doing some exercise -- it might help."

Haw, haw.

The Single Best Thing We Can Do For Our Health?

A fun and engaging video about the benefits of exercise:



Still, I'd argue that sleep is paramount...

[Source]

Friday's Workout

Ouch.

For time:

• 30 thrusters (135lbs / 95lbs)
• Run 1 mile

"Go heavier than your Fran weight," Tim called out as we got ready. "Challenge yourself. These should be heavy enough that you can't go unbroken for more than five reps."

So I did as he said -- but just barely. Instead of my Fran weight of 95 pounds, I threw two teeny-tiny change plates on the bar and went all the way up to 105. Hey, as far as I'm concerned, Fran is enough of an asskicker.

I got through the first eight thrusters just fine, but as expected, the rest came in sputtering mini-sets of just a few reps at a time. And certainly, I wouldn't have won any points for style or technique. But I got through 'em, and the run in the frigid morning darkness was almost an afterthought.

Result: 13:52.

Wednesday's Workout

It was freezing at 5 a.m. -- at least by Northern Californian standards -- but it didn't take long for us to get warm.

AMRAP in 20 minutes:

• 15 pull-ups
• 20 kettlebell walking lunges (24kg / 16kg)
• 25 Abmat sit-ups
• 200-meter row

Before we started, I was convinced the row would be my undoing. Although 200 meters ain't much, I harbor an almost irrational hatred for the erg, and figured the rowing would destroy my legs and leave me gasping for breath. 

Wrong. The kettlebell walking lunges -- something I dismissed as a cakewalk -- was what made my thighs feel like they were going to explode.

We were instructed to carry the kettlebell in whatever position we wanted, so I tried a one-handed farmer's walk grip and a goblet grip, but neither felt comfortable, and I felt off-balance the whole time. Next time, I'm going to experiment with hoisting it on my shoulder. And if all else fails, I'm sticking the damned thing in a backpack and wearing it.

Still, this WOD flew by. I love Abmat sit-ups (especially when my ass crack doesn't split open and bleed). And despite my less-than-fresh grip, I got through the pull-ups quickly enough. (They weren't very pretty, though. Afterwards, Tim coached me to try keeping a level gaze next time to keep from giving myself whiplash.) I treated the rowing as "active rest," so it was surprisingly bearable.

Result: 5 rounds + 7 reps as RXed.

At the end of the 20 minutes, I was on the floor, rolling around and feeling my heart try to pound its way out of my chest.

It felt great.

Smoking Can Make Your Nipples Fall Off

Need one more reason to stop smoking cigarettes?

From Dr. Anthony Youn's recent post on CNN Health:

In my memoir “In Stitches,” I told the story of a smoker whose nipples turned purple while undergoing a breast lift surgery. Purple is the precursor to black. Black is the precursor to falling off. To save the patient -- and her nipples -- we turned to the only treatment available. 

We went medieval. 

We used leeches.

[Source]

Monday's Workout

For a good ten minutes after I woke up yesterday morning, I lay snug under the covers, contemplating whether to play hooky. But after missing Friday's class, there was no way I was going to skip another workout -- especially now that the fog of the past couple of weeks is finally starting to lift from my head.

By the time I pulled into CrossFit Palo Alto's parking lot, I was ready to dive into whatever WOD awaited us. The bracing chill of the pre-dawn air made me want to move. After our warmup, Tim wrote the workout on the board.

AMRAP in 20 minutes:

• 15 wallballs (20lbs / 14lbs)
• 30 kettlebell snatches (24kg / 16kg)
• 60 double-unders

I can do these movements, and I can handle the RXed weights. So now that I've been injury-free for a few weeks, there's really no reason not to tackle this WOD with gusto, right?

Unfortunately, I hadn't considered:

1. How exhausting it might be to try to string all these gut-busting exercises together for 20 minutes straight;
2. How damned heavy a kettlebell can get after dozens and dozens of snatches; or
3. Whether my back might seize up in the middle of launching a big iron ball above my head.

It took me 10 minutes to get through the first two rounds, but they were decent. I felt fresh at the wallball station, and the double-unders didn't give me too much trouble. The kettlebell snatches were more challenging -- especially when I used my weaker left arm -- and they took forever, but I managed to slog through them. 

The third round, however, was hell. After a sluggish set of wallball shots, I picked up the kettlebell and pounded out more snatches. The reps came slowly, and by the end, I found myself struggling to crank out more than a couple at a time. With four left reps remaining in the set, I decided to push hard and finish them all at once. But as I snatched the kettlebell up and over my head for the last rep, I felt an all-too-familiar twinge in my lower back. 

Did I re-tear my back muscle? Or was it just fatigue?

I shook it off. The double-unders didn't bother me, so I kept going. I started my fourth round at the wallball station, and felt better. But as I finished my wallball reps, the twinge came back. Uh, oh.

Tim saw the concern on my face, and asked what was up. "My back again," I mumbled as I bent down to pick up the kettlebell. 

"Then don't be an idiot," Tim cautioned.

He was right. (Obviously.) After 90 kettlebell snatches, I was done. There was still a minute-and-a-half left on the clock, but I wasn't about to risk re-injuring my back just to post a few more reps, so I stopped. Raising a white flag can be an ego blow, but sometimes, it's the only reasonable thing to do.

Result: 3 rounds + 15 reps as RXed -- but I DNFed.

Today, I feel absolutely fine. My back is sore, but so is the rest of my body -- and there's none of the telltale pain that accompanied my previous injury. Normally, I'm not a big fan of quitting, but there's no doubt in my mind that it was the best thing I could have done for myself.

CrossFit: One of America's 25 Hottest Brands

Yup -- AdAge recently named CrossFit one of America's hottest 25 brands (along with "My Little Pony," pickle juice, and pads for light bladder leakage).

The most eye-opening line in the article: CrossFit expects to grow to "30,000 affiliates in five years."

Yowza.

[Source]

Just So You Know, We Don't All Wear Gas Masks To The Post Office

My pal J-Ho recently circulated the best news article I've read in a long, long time: On Tuesday, Long Hoang, a nursing student here in the San Francisco Bay Area, touched off a full-scale emergency at a busy San Jose post office.

How, you ask?

By wearing what appeared to be a gas mask and body armor, running to the post office, and trying to jam an oversized package down a mailbox.

Not surprisingly, someone called the authorities, and the post office was shut down for four hours while the area was combed by San Jose Police's bomb squad, the Fire Department's hazardous materials unit, and a team from the U.S. Postal Inspector's Office. They even brought in a robot to blow up the package that Hoang was seen stuffing into the mailbox.

Here's the story, as reported by the San Jose Mercury News:

About 12 weeks ago, Hoang became an avid follower of the CrossFit exercise regimen, which he said, exuberantly, combines "this really creative combination of weight lifting, gymnastics and rowing." He wears the mask to simulate high-altitude training. Hoang, who is 5 feet 4 inches, said he's lost at least 20 pounds, and is now 142 pounds. 

Many neighbors in the area frequently spot him running in his gear, doing squats and lunges at corners while he waits for the light to turn green. 

As Hoang tells the story, he mistakenly received a package of calendars at his home, and thought he'd mail them back to the proper recipient while on an exercise run. The package didn't fit the first time in the mail box, he said, so he had to fold it up and try a second time.

I love how the reporter made sure to characterize Hoang's "exuberance" for CrossFit, as if it weren't already obvious from the guy's choice of workout apparel.