Back in January, I started the I Am CrossFit Challenge at CrossFit Central: an 8-week program designed to force clients to focus on some short-term goals of fitness and nutrition. From my original post, I set some goals for my time in the program:
- Log every day of eating. Every day. (This is actually a requirement of the program, but I’m going to make it a goal of my own, because as you can see from this blog, I suck at it)
- Improve my overhead squat so I can reliably put 95 lb overhead.
- Improve my pull-ups: I want butterfly pull-ups in 8 weeks.
- Incorporate CrossFit Endurance into my training schedule.
- Test my nutrition and CrossFit training twice: at the 3M and AT&T half marathons, where I want to PR on each. My current PR is 1:45:51. This is in addition to benchmark workouts we do as part of our regular CF workouts.
So how did I do? Here’s the lowdown:
Over the last 8 weeks:
- I lost about 5 lbs in weight and 4.5% body fat. I’m down to 174 lb and 10% body fat! check
- I logged just about every day of eating. This is a tough one, because it’s hard to write things down that you don’t want the world to see… but accountability is a big part of food logging. we’ll say check, because whileI definitely missed some days, I did way better at this attempt than I have in the past.
- Overhead squat: haven’t had a chance to try this out, and I’d like to see if I’ve gotten anywhere with it. fail.
- Butterfly pullups: I haven’t gotten there just yet, but I’m close… I’m definitely way faster on pullups than I used to be. check-minus.
- CrossFit Endurance: I’m have a CFE cert now, and I’m practicing my Pose running. I’ve incorporated CFE elements into my spin classes and have done several workouts on my own. resounding check.
- Races: I had 2 half-marathons since we started. I ran 3M in 1:43:16, which is a PR. I ran the Austin Half in 1:4511. Both races were below my previous half-marathon PR, and the Austin Half was about 20 minutes faster than the same race last year! resounding check.
Now that the challenge is over, there’s no reason to stop the momentum. This feeds perfectly into my race training for this year, and I’ve learned so much about what people can achieve in such a short time.
As a result, I’m now committed for my race season to the following:
- Crossfit 4-5x per week.
- Crossfit Endurance 2x per week per sport.
- Continue Advocare Supplements.
- Continue food logging.
- Building a community in Austin around Crossfit Endurance training for duathlon and triathlon events.
I’m excited about this… I’m getting close to turning 30, and I’m in the best shape of my life, surrounded by a ton of motivated and positive people, and I can only imagine getting better.
A couple pictures from the final I Am CrossFit WOD…
3 rounds of 400m run, 15 pullups, 7 hang cleans @ 135lb. 9:53. In January I did the workout with 95lb in 9:50… huge improvement!
Posted in logs on 05. Feb, 2009
woke up at 5:50am.
6:00am: spark and arganine extreme into water. muscle strength.
6:40am: I Am CrossFit workout.
9:15am: eggs, migas, chicken apple breakfast sausage, salsa, mixed berries, water.
10:15am: 1 cup black coffee, 2 girl scout shortbread cookies, catalyst.
10:45am: beef jerky and water.
12:00pm: chicken waldorf salad with avocado, balsamic dressing, from CPK. iced tea.
3:00pm: 1 zone bar, 1 cup black coffee.
5:15pm: spark and arganine extreme into water.
8:00pm: dinner @ galaxy: skirt steak with chimichurri sauce, steamed vegetables, mashed sweet potatoes, 1 glass red wine, water.
9:15pm: 1 glass red wine.
Today’s WOD
- I Am CrossFit week 5: 3 rounds of renegade row, 50 sit-ups, 50 lunges. only had 15-lb dumbbells, and one round did rows on a parallel bar instead of the dumbbells since we were staggering. 11:40.
- teach spin @ pure.
Posted in life on 22. Jan, 2009
Yesterday was a trying day at work, and days like that really make you think about what you’d do if you were in the same spot. Would you switch careers? Would you try to find another of the same job? Would you take whatever you can get and look in the meantime?
I think I’d look for a similar job, and start something else on the side. The more I get into CrossFit and the more I teach at various gyms, I notice that there’s tremendous opportunity for technology to enhance the lives of us weekend athletes.
How many gym websites just suck? Why shouldn’t you be able to comment on a class you took? Why can’t the gym help you keep track of your workouts? The list can go on forever…
There’s already a great social experience at many gyms, and I’ve noticed that those people tend to connect on places like Facebook, creating social networks of athletes. Sites like Dailymile are great for tracking your workouts and creating a Facebook-like social network, but they lack the close-knit community that you see when you actually go to the gym.
Just some thoughts… obesity is a huge problem in the US, and health in general is a worldwide issue. Technology can bring people together in the battle. Quality content and great user experiences are few and far between on the subject of fitness, and often times the two are never seen together.
Why not?
Today’s food log
woke up at 6am, the soreness is starting to go away, and i think i’m getting over the allergies, for now (pollen count is way down, but still high).
6:00am: spark and arganine extreme into water, muscle strength.
6:20am: 3 catalyst.
6:45am: light crossfit at UT Clark Field.
7:50am: bowl of eggs, potatoes, sausage, pico. mixed berries and kiwi. chocolate milk.
10:30am: buffalo jerky, macadamia nuts, water.
12:30pm: buffalo wings, iced tea, fries.
3:30pm: beef jerky, macadamia nuts, water.
5:15pm: 3 catalyst.
5:50pm: 1 twinlab energy drink.
6:15pm: teach spin @ pure.
8:30pm: burger, fries, beer, and molten chocolate cake @ alamo.
11:00pm: feel like crap from 8:30pm meal. move writstband to the left.
Today’s WOD
- CrossFit @ UT Clark Field: 10 shoulder press @ 25lb, 15 vertical jumps, 20 walking lunges; 9:26. scaled for tapering purposes.
- teach spin @ pure austin
Posted in logs on 20. Jan, 2009
Sam, Lauren, Brian, and I met to do one of the I Am CrossFit Challenge workouts this morning. Same place… Clark Field. Sam brought a 45-lb oly bar, 30lb dumbbells, and 25lb dumbbells.
After the full CrossFit Central warmup, we did some shoulder warmups with a broomstick (also courtesy of Sam), and then we did:
4 rounds for time
15 thrusters (Eric and Sam, 30lb dumbbells; Brian and Lauren, 45-lb oly bar)
20 pull ups
25 sit ups
30 supermans
Lauren: 17:02
Eric: 20:04
Brian: 21:08
Sam: 21:46
Posted in logs on 19. Jan, 2009
Sam, Lauren, Mandy and I met at Clark Field Saturday morning to do one of the IAC workouts. Sam brought a set of 10 and 30 lb dumbbells, which enabled us to do the workout we wanted.
5 rounds for time
10 pull up
10 plyo push up
10 shoulder press (guys 30lb, girls 10)
400m run
Clark field has a 448 yard track, so our runs were a little long. And the 30lb dummbells was over the rx weight, while the 10 were under the rx weight. We still made it happen.
Mandy: 16:26
Lauren: 17:05
Eric: 20:02
Sam: 22:11
We’ve been doing well getting together and completing these workouts, so I’m looking forward to the next one!
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