The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 22,000 times in 2014. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 8 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

I worked out at 9:30 this morning, and (as the title of this blog states) it was dizzying. Spatial awareness, folks.

Weighted Pull-Up (1 rep every 30 seconds for 10 min)

After doing so many pushups yesterday, I knew that this wasn’t going to be easy. I attempted strict pull-ups with 35# (and increased weight to 37# for 6 reps) and I had four failed attempts. Four! I substituted bodyweight strict pull-up for failed reps. Dammit.

Metcon (Time)

4 RFT
5 forward rolls
25/leg grasshoppers
1-min accumulated plank hold/handstand (alternate rounds)
25 Abmat sit-ups

This was a lot of abs. And arms. And arms and abs. I focused on fast transitions. I only completed the first 2 rounds of grasshoppers in unbroken reps, and completed the last 2 rounds in reps of 10, 10, & 5. I held both planks unbroken and completed handstands in reps of 30 & 30 and 40, 15, & 5. Yup, I fell off of the wall with just 5 seconds of handstand remaining. I was able to quickly and easily complete 25 unbroken sit-ups.

Time = 10:18

I rushed out to visit tattoo artist for consultation about sleeve tattoo. And I left without giving him any sound ideas. I had considered a Where the Wild Things Are tattoo, but my gut is telling me no. I want something very colorful and meaningful. I’m leaning toward kettle bells, running shoes, and flowers. Yes, flowers. I don’t really want words or phrases.

I’m at a loss, and this is very much unlike me.

Short blog today. You’re welcome.

I posted this meme. Ha!

I joined the 8:30 am athletes, led by Coach Jeff.

Metcon (AMRAP – Reps)

Ring pushup ladder

My goal was to make it through round 20, and to complete at least through round 15 in unbroken reps. I made it through round 17 in unbroken reps and competed through round 22. Uhm, that’s 253 reps. That’s a lotta pushups! ‘Twas fun trash talking with Dianne. ‘Twas even more fun crushing her like a teeny, tiny bug. Ha! I kid because I love.

Metcon (AMRAP – Reps)

Front squat ladder @ bodyweight

I rested 5 minutes before beginning FS ladder. My goal was to make it through round 10, as I knew that this was going to be much more challenging than pushups if for no other reason than FS take longer than pushups to perform. I lifted 145, 2 pounds heavier than bodyweight. Nope, i didn’t gain any weight over the holidays. Did you? I made it through round 10 with plenty of time to spare, so I completed round 11. When I finished round 11 I said, “That’s it.” But 10 seconds remained before the start of the next round. Dammit. I completed round 12, but did rack the bar 2 times (after reps 6 & 9) and barely completed last rep before end of minute round. Uhm, that’s 78 reps.

I attended the Barbell Club but sat out during front squats. I’m just that smart.

Friday, December 26

As I coached all of the sessions, I had to work out solo. Dammit. Jeff was kind enough to keep me company.

Power Clean (5-5-4-3-2-2)

I completed sets @ 115, 125, 135, 145, 150, & 155#. As my PC 1RM is 165, I was pleased.

Metcon (Time)

AFAP

Run 200m carrying sandbag (45/25)
10 burpees with sandbag press
Run 400m
20 burpees
Run 200m
10 burpees

I made sure to not look at or try to recall times from previous sessions. Yup, the only person I’m competing with is myself — and we’re both winning. I used the 45# rucksack. This was tough. The first round of 10 burpees was easy, the round of 20 was miserable. I struggled with pressing rucksack overhead using handles or straps, so I mixed it up. My time was 9:20. Yay! I was very proud of Jaclyn, for she was the only athlete to finish in under 9 minutes. Wow.

Saturday, December 27

Metcon (Time)

With 1 partner 

54 medicine ball clean & throws (20#)
54 medicine ball partner Abmat sit-ups
50 per partner KB alternating arm snatches (44#)
50 per leg per partner OH lunges (45#)
54 partner dead-lifts (315#)

I had planned on working out at 8:30. I gave Steve the choice of having Jeff or me as I partner, and I could immediately tell by the look on his face (sheer terror) that he would rather work out with Jeff. Steve said, “I’ve worked out with Paul before, and I know what it’s like.” Ha!

i enjoyed coaching the athletes. I always enjoy coaching the athletes!

Anthony was the only other male who attended the 9:45 session and Jeff suggested that we partner. I didn’t give Anthony the option of partnering with anyone else. Ha!

We quickly and easily completed 54 medicine ball clean and throws and partner Abmat sit-ups. I began alternating arm KB snatches, completing in 5 sets of 10 reps. Uhm, 44# began to feel very heavy.

I began walking OH lunges and Anthony and I both completed in 10 sets of 10 (5 per leg) reps. Uhm, I completed 10 reps rather quickly, and that meant that Anthony didn’t have much time to rest. Anthony sometimes struggled but certainly pulled his own weight.

And then we deadlifted. We completed 10 unbroken reps, and then began to break into smaller sets. I honestly felt somewhat (but not too terribly) bad for Anthony. I kept telling myself, “Don’t be a dick. Let Anthony set the pace.” But I did push him. I would often step up to the bar, set my hands and feet, and wait for him to join me. If that’s not a subtle hint than I don’t know what is. Ha!

We completed the workout in 20:36.

I had taken pictures of partner deadlifts and had asked Jeff to do the same. He forgot. Anthony was sprawled on the floor. Here’s the picture Jeff took:

I posted the picture on Facebook. Thom created the following meme:

It was fun working out with Anthony. Again, I tried not to be too much of a dick. I tried.

Jeff was kind enough to coach at 6 so that I could join the early-morning athletes. And Steve Dodge.

‘Twas a main site workout. And it was a doozy.

Metcon (Time)

Row 1,000 meters
30 dips
30 SDHPs (75/53)
30 handstand pushups
30 power snatches
30 burpees
30 Pendlay rows
30 thrusters

Uhm, this was a very rude wake up call. Uhm, I didn’t know until just before 6 that I’d be working out. Uhm, I had forgotten to eat. Uhm, it sounds like I’m making excuses. Uhm, I am.

I rowed an easy 1,000m in 4 minutes flat. I completed ring dips and SDHPs in reps of 15, 10, & 5. Handstand pushups slooooowwwwwed me down considerably. I completed the last 10 reps one at a time. One. At. A. Time.

Power snatches went just okay. I knew that I just needed to get through them.

I would’ve gladly done 300 burpees. My back began to seize up when doing rows, and I could only complete in reps of 5. Dammit. Thrusters were almost a welcome relief, and I completed faster than expected, even doing a dozen thrusters out of the gate.

Time = 23:19

It’s no secret that, while I enjoy completing, I don’t frequently program chippers. When athletes are focused on merely getting through one activity and onto the next, form goes to shit. Most Surmounties have chosen to complete 2 rounds of half the reps, i.e, begin with 500m row and end with 15 thrusters.

Uhm, and I still see form to go shit. Form, consistency, and then intensity.

I’ve been watching “Glee’ and finished the 1st season last night. I had forgotten how original, touching, and awesome the show was. Was, that is, until the 4th season. The 2nd season is particularly good. Grilled Cheesus! Chord Overstreet! 

Having coached the 6, 7, and 8:30 am sessions, i knew what to expect. I wasn’t disappointed. 

Metcon (Weight)

EMOTM for 12 minutes

Press + push press + power jerk
Work up to your heaviest set

I began at 70# and worked up to 125, just under 90% of 1RM. Presses, push press, and even (and perhaps even more so) power jerks felt very good today. No shoulder pain. Yay! The last press was tough, and I really had to fight for it. You try pressing almost 90% of your bodyweight overhead and let me know how easy it is to do so. 

Metcon (Weight)

EMOTM for 12 minutes

2 lunges/leg
Work up to the heaviest set

I began at 115 and worked up to 170. I mixed up front and reverse lunges, but always held barbell on back. This was tough, and I was swearing like a solider as the workout progressed. I attempted to ensure that my knees was over my ankle, and that I pushed off of toes (reverse) or heel (forward). 

Metcon (AMRAP – Reps)

5-min AMRAP
5 American KB swings
5 goblet squats

I chose a 53# KB. Gah! This was very tough. I placed my KB in 7303, as I didn’t want to distract others with my sweating and swearing. Lauren and Ashlee joined me, although my back was to them so I was unaware of them most of the time. Kelly-May set up her KB to my left. Little did I know that she was determining her pace by my pace. She’s as smart as I am good-looking. Almost. I completed 11 rounds at 7 reps, just 1 more than Kelly-May. 

In the past it has taken me 17:10 to complete The Grinch as prescribed and it took me 16:58 to complete the workout Rx+ (having opted for heavier deadlift) last year. I chose to complete as prescribed to see just how fast I could do the work. Seventy-eight reps of three activities isn’t a walk in the park. Or is it? I joined the small group of athletes who got their lazy asses out of bed and attended the 8:30 session.

“The Grinch”
12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 of the following for time:
Deadlifts (225)
Ring dips
Wall ball shots (20 & 10)

I set up my workstation near the front of the box and completed deadlifts with my back to the other athletes. I could nonetheless hear the dead-lift reps. As always, my goal was to complete all rounds of reps unbroken. I missed a wall ball shot during the very first round. Dammit. I completed deadlifts. ring dips, and remaining rounds of wall ball shots unbroken.

I worked at a steady pace and only rested between activities. I need to rest less between activities. I truly do. I marked off completed rounds through 6, knowing that I could keep track of rounds 5 through 1.

I determined that once I began round 5 that I would not rest between activities. And that’s what I did, i.e., I worked and didn’t rest. My heart rate skyrocketed!

I finished in a time of 13:51 — and was quite surprised by and pleased with my time!

Brad thought that there was a workout at 9:45. Silly Brad! As Barbell Club was held yesterday so that Coach James could travel to NY today, ’twas just Jeff and I — and then Brad — at the box. Brad decided to complete “The Grinch” and I decided to join him so that he wouldn’t have to workout alone. I didn’t, however, complete with prescribed activities.

“Max”
12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 of the following for time:
Box Jumps (24″)
Russian KB swings (60)
GHD sit-ups

I chose these activities to work legs, arms, and (of course!) core. I also knew that the time domain would be similar, so I set goal to complete unbroken reps and in a time of 13:51 or less.

This wasn’t easy, as my legs were very tired. I didn’t miss a rep, worked at a steady pace, and finished in 13:16.

I coached the 11 am session, and it was a full house! We also had two visitors, and both enjoyed the workout and were complimentary of my coaching. Yay! Jeff and I then treated Evelyn to lunch. And Thom. But mostly Evelyn. I need to purchase new cupcake trays, and I’m not sure of the best way to purchase. Online? Department store? Craig’s list? Yard sale? I guess you could say that I’m buy-curious.

I coached from 8:30 until 11:45 and then attended Barbell Club. As always, ’twas fun!

Coach James had a spill on his mountain bike. Ouch. “Evelyn,” I said, “I am interested in many different types of bikes. Street bikes, mountain bikes, even motorcycles. You could say that I’m ‘bike curious.'”

Hang Snatch (In 8-10 sets work to moderate dbl hang snatch)

I didn’t complete even 8 sets, but did work up to a set of 2 reps at 90, completing sets @ 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, &, 90. I do believe that the hang snatch is my least favorite lift.

James asked Evelyn what she did for a living. Evelyn said, “I’m a buyer for Stock Supplies.” I said, “Evelyn, I’d like to know all about your job as a buyer, like what you buy and what you do on a daily basis. You could say that I’m ‘buyer curious.'”

What an awesome week of PRs it’s been at CrossFit Surmount!

After Dianne completed her 4th or 5th PR (and made it look far too easy) she said, “That was hard.” I replied, “I know what hard looks like. That would be a great tagline for Viagra.”

I joined the 9:30 athletes for today’s posted workout.

Establish deadlift 1RM

I was able to successfully dl 365, 5# shy or lifetime PR. I attempted 375# twice, and I only got the barbell off of the floor the first attempt. Given that just a few weeks ago I couldn’t deadlift at all because of sore hamstring, I was nonetheless pleased.

Metcon (AMRAP – Reps)

Min 0, 2, 4, & 6
Pistols (alternating legs)

I completed 8, 8, 8, & 10 for a total of 34 reps. Whilst I’m unable to keep my extended leg straight, I am still able to keep my foot from touching the leg.

Metcon (4 Rounds for time)

Min 1, 3, 5, & 7
Max L-sit (parallettes or rings)
You MUST begin L-sit at top of min and have only 1 attempt per round.

I held L-sit on parallettes for 20, 21, 21, & 31 seconds for total of 1:33. My abs were on fire!

I returned at 4 to complete tomorrow’s programmed metcon, as I’ll be attending Barbell Club and won’t be able to complete.

This was challenging, and time seemed to come to pass by very slowly. I was also somewhat self conscious as I was completing workout whilst 4 pm athletes were deadlifting.

I completed all rounds of chest to bar pull-ups and double unders unbroken (although I missed 2nd du of 2 sets and had to restart). I completed all rounds of BS and FS without dropping the bar to the ground and even completed the first 2 sets of BS and FS unbroken. For the remaining rounds I often had to rest the bar on my shoulders and shake out my legs. Handstands were particularly challenging.

For whatever reason I allowed ring and pinky fingers to not remain under barbell during first round. Not a good idea. For remaining rounds I only allowed pinky fingers to rise like I was drinking a cup o’ tea.

Score = 7 rounds + 6 reps

40 chest to bar pull-ups
36 HSPUs
80 BS
60 FS
210 dus

I had a cup of cream of broccoli soup from Panera and then got sick to my stomach. Blech.