Militaristic Stew led today’s session, and the focus was on the rack jerk. Stew led us through a warmup, and I then set up my own rack.
75
95
105
115
125 failed attempt. It was more psychological than physical, so I lowered the weight.
120
125
130
135
Stew observed quite a few of my lifts, and stated that the last was the best. It’s a PR as well.
Tabata bottom to bottom squat for 4 minutes & then 1-mile run. Unlike a typical Tabata, after 20 seconds of squatting we “rested” 10 seconds at the bottom of the squat. This was tough! I did have to shake out my legs a couple of times, but I made sure that I did so during squatting and not while resting. It was also difficult to get the leg speed up after the squatting, so it was a slow mile.
139 squats (may have been 149, as I lost track so I’m being conservative) and 6:17 mile.

Met with Josh @ LFF & worked on OHS & FS form. Josh did his own FS/burpee metcon.
20-min AMRAP: Run (treadmill @ 10.3 mph) .2 mi & 10 double unders.
12 rounds + .1 mi. I think this is correct, but I may have lost track of rounds. While not overly challenging, I did get a good aerobic workout.
Josh & I practiced handstand holds & negatives, and then Josh “challenged” me hold a plank. I mixed it up every 30 seconds: plank, r-leg, l-leg, r-arm, l-arm, r-leg & l-arm, l-leg & r-arm, plank. I stopped @ 5 minutes.

Jack led today’s session, and the focus was on the overhead squat. Eric attended his first 6:15 session, and he and Lori also provided coaching. Talk about getting my money’s worth! As I’ve said repeatedly, attending CrossFit is like getting daily personal training sessions.
Eric was the first to provide direction, and, after watching me attempt using just a 45 lb bar, got a small box and asked me to sit on it. The box was low enough to break parallel. He said, “Now stand up. That’s what is should feel like when you come out of the squat.” He then had me squat to the box holding a PVC pipe and then a 15 lb bar. I gradually worked up to 35 lb. The weights not the issue it’s my form, so I’m focusing on just that.
Lori was working out beside me, and also observing my squats. “Paul, Rippetoe (author of Starting Strength) gave great advice when I attended certification. Women don’t have any problem squatting but many men do. Rippetoe told men to think about putting their junk (not the word he used) between their legs before squatting.” I did just that — and it worked!”
Jack gave great suggestions for keeping my shoulders engaged and chest upright.
My checklist:
DBL and butt back
Active shoulders — feel like I’m pushing the bar in with my hands
Solid core
Bend slightly at waist
Bar moves back (behind head) during squat
I learned MUCH this morning, and am going to practice OHS daily.

Metcon–Bea’s Birthday (in celebration of Bea’s 35th birthday)
35 of the following for time:
Double unders
Ring push-ups
Dus
GHD sit-ups
Dus
Pull-ups
Dus
I used my cable jump rope, and (quite surprisingly) was able to string 35 together for all but the last round. Yay! I credit Jay who made fun of my inability to do dus in succession. Push-ups were no problem. GHDs were challenging, but this was because the rollers are uneven, and I kept feeling unbalanced. I’m getting better at pull-ups, and was able to kip as many as 6 @ a time. For the last 10 or so, I did one @ a time, but I made sure to shoot my head through shoulders and bring chin above bar. Progress.
Time: 7:35

Six-pack Stew led today’s session, and he was kind enough to allow me to work on determining 1RM for deadlift, as I did enough clean & jerks yesterday to last me a while. There were only 3 of us in attendance; yours truly, Kristen, and Renee. This allowed for some much needed quality Stew time.
I warmed up by doing 3 reps of 135, 175, & 225, then did 1 rep of 250 & 275. Stew gave direction on form.
Stew: What weight are you lifting next?
Me: 305, my current 1 rep maximum.
Stew: Put 315 on the bar.
And that’s what I did. While challenging, I thought I could go heavier. My goal, too, is to lift to failure.
Stew: Add 10 to the bar.
I did, and while it was a struggle, I did lift with full range of motion, and I did not drop the bar.
Stew: It wasn’t pretty, but you did it.
Metcon – Every minute on the minute for 15 minutes: 2 power cleans (75% of 1RM but Stew made me lift 105, which IS my 1RM) & 1 as-high-as-you-can-jump box jump. I managed all cleans without decreasing weight, and worked up to jumping an estimated 37″ for last 5 reps. The highest I had jumped prior to today was 30″. Much fun!

Josh, Iz, & I met @ Apex LFF. Both are showing much improvement, and Iz successfully touched knees to elbows. More later.
Every minute on the minute for 21 minutes:
5 skin the cats (Josh & Iz did pull-ups)
10 cheek to floor push-ups
15 air squats
This was challenging, as skinning the cat made me a little dizzy.
We practiced handstand holds & negative HSPUs, then did a team WOD of 50 body blasters. Josh went first, then Iz, then I went. We finished in 6:45. Iz shocked me by how quickly he mastered this difficult skill!

CrossFit Very, Very, Very Best Friend Forever (if you were wondering) workout, as I met with Michael at Cary LFF. It was at Michael’s insistence, and he bribed me with a CrossFit Charlotte shirt. How could I resist? Michael says he prefers working out with someone else, as he lacks the motivation to work out by himself. After completing today’s lifting, I can understand why.
Back Squat:
135 X 3
145 X 3
150 X 3
155 X 3 X 7 sets
As we were to do 10 sets of 3 reps, I honestly thought that I’d have to go with a lighter weight. 155 lb was doable, and I made sure to focus on form. There were a few times when I could’ve squatted a little lower, but at least my knees don’t turn in. You know who I’m talking about, Michael.
Clean & Jerk:
70 X 1
80 X 1
90 X 1 X 5 sets
Michael did provide vocal cue to ensure that I didn’t lift too soon.
Push Press
70 X 7
90 X 5 X 5 sets
I was exhausted by this time, and did struggle through the clean before the push press.
I’m considering focusing even more on strength in the coming months…

I went to LFF today, and focused on cardio. I practiced double unders, stretched, and then jumped right in.
Rowed 5K in 20:10, then did 3 rounds of 10 body blasters (dead hang pull-up chest to bar & dead hang KTE) and 1 mile run on treadmill @ 6:18 mpm pace. It was fun to watch a group of teenage boys attempt to do body blasters. Ha! I finished the day by practicing handstand holds.

Paul led today’s session, and he’s the best coach ever! NC is experiencing a true winter storm, and CFD is justifiably closed today. I completed today’s posted WOD at home, and Jeff took video as proof.

1 – 50 m farmer’s walk, 30 lb db each hand
2 – cheek to floor push ups
3 – air squats, 30 lb db each hand
4 – dead hang pull-ups
5 – ring dips
6 – 20 lb wall ball 10′ target
7 – burpees
8 – 18″ box jump
9 – knees to elbows
10 – double unders (with new rope!)
11 – sit-ups
12 – walking lunges (12 each leg)
Time: 26:54
I had to improvise, as I completed at Lifestyle Family Fitness and NOT CrossFit Durham.

Ryan, who pushes a sled like he’s Santa, led today’s session. My very good friend, Jay, was in attendance, and I can unequivocally state that he no longer causes me to feel shame in knowing him. More in a moment.
50 reps for time: 1 clean, 1 lunge (r leg), 1 lunge (l left), push press.
The Rx weight was 95; I lifted 85 lb. I broke the reps into 10 sets of 5, making sure to recover, grab a drink of water, and re-chalk between sets. I also managed to have a negative split, albeit by a mere 20 or so seconds. Time: 21:27. This complex was actually quite fun, if that’s the correct word.
I coached Jay through his last 10 reps, and again I’ll say I was very impressed with him form for cleans and push presses. (Not so much for lunges, Jay. Keep your elbows up!)
This highlight of my morning, however, was when Stew called me from CrossFit Charlotte. He’s abulous.