Always Improving.

Highlights; a new record time for a male amputee in the 10K, 38 minutes amazing. All the athletes that participated was phenomenal the biggest year to date. The top runners are always impressive slightly over 2 hours for a marathon and roughly 1:10 for a first place half is amazing. Parker told me that during the wheelchair marathon a female (I think) participant raced to the finish and once she was a few feet away she laboured her way out of her chair and walked across the finish line. That is the definition of inspiration, dedication and determination.

For me Sunday went really well including my time for my first half marathon 1:46:56. I was shooting for 1:45 to 1:50, so I am happy with the outcome and have a time to think about for next year. The atmosphere and race itself is so addicting.

Thinking of 2010 there are things that I have learnt in this year’s attempt that I will apply to my training and race next year. They are the little things that we learn to better us next time...

First major lesson; although I said no some events during my training there were a couple nights that I should have been in bed a little earlier. Although I made sure I had a rest day after those nights, my recovery the week after was hindered. Stricter next year.

Second; overall diet was good but realized that with while burning thousands of calories I sometimes over ate, and some choices were not 100% ideal. Another change for next year.

Third; I weigh 182lbs and am 5’8" not a long distance runner’s build. During training I dropped leg weights other then for injury prevention but maintained heavy and exhausting upper body training. This caused me to be over tired at times plus I was still carrying a decent amount of weight up top. Next year instead of dropping the weight and frequency of upper body training two weeks prior to the race, I will do it at the beginning of the 16 week program. This will result in slimming down by maintaining a crossfit style training for stamina and strength.

Finally; check your time. I started two pace times ahead of mine at the 1:35 pace bunny so when I saw my pace bunny next to me at the 18K I thought all was good and although I sprinted past him I came in at 1:46:56 and he at 146:10. This was a mistake I made as when I crossed the start line I was ahead of my pace bunny. If I had checked my time at the 18km I would have noticed that I was a little over 1:30 by a minute or two and should have started picking it up a little quicker then I did, that is if I would have the energy to.

Overall a great weekend and a lot of fun. I am addicted to the half marathon distance and learnt a great deal as I have stated and will attempt for an even faster time next year. Only 361 days to go!

Be Strong

Just last Saturday I was feeling sorry for myself for not getting off the couch. I spent most of my day watching two movies back to back and then a hockey game later that night, followed by another movie. This was of course due to a relatively late night the night before. It was also my rest day but even on rest days I do something i.e. work around the house, walks, light hike...

But after I thought of that I was reminded of all those times that I may have made excuses to not do something physical or challenging (be it mental, emotional or physical) and I am not proud of those moments. Luckily I don’t make excuses often as I get a great deal of enjoyment from pushing myself to do better, to succeed, to overcome... It is the reason we complete school. Compete for a career or position. Take care of our kids. Train for health. It is why most of us continuously push ourselves to meet all the little and big goals in all realms of life.

But there is a flipside to this, isn’t there? I have talked about it again and again; excuses. The other day when I sat on my couch, and did absolutely nothing, I was thinking of these excuses we create for ourselves and end up believing them, they become a part of our life.

Perfect example I asked a friend if she thought she was addicted to smoking or if she chooses to smoke. She was the first person ever to give me the intelligent and realistic answer without having succumbed to denial: "I suppose everyone who smokes is (addicted), including myself. I know it is gross and terrible for my health, but I make no attempt to quit.

Most people I ask that question usually state: I chose to smoke because I like it. No you chose to smoke because you are addicted to it and the addiction tells you, you like it.

So the point is that when I thought of this in great detail I decided to think of how I inspire myself to stay healthy and active and often it comes from within, or those around me or sometimes I seek the inspirational lives of others. I decided to search for others who have overcome far greater challenges and see what they have accomplished

Thanks to Crossfit CDA I came across the post, aptly titled, No Excuses. It begins with

"I’m tired. I’m getting over a cold. I’m too old. I’m too fat. Working out makes me sweat. It’s too cold. It’s too hot. I’m sore. I don’t have enough time. I have 2 kids. My job is too stressful. The gym is hard.

The blog showcases athlete and author of; No Excuses: The True Story of a Congenital Amputee Who Became a Champion in Wrestling and in Life, Kyle Maynard. Born with congenital amputation of the forearms and lower legs. Kyle has accomplished a great deal and as his autobiography states; "he excels: as a champion athlete, inspirational speaker, college student (who can use a cell phone, type fifty words a minute, and maintain an A average), and male model.

So the next time you start reminding yourself of those excuses take some inspiration from this man;

Waiting.

Of all the things we get annoyed with I would have to say waiting is one of the worst. I have a great deal of patience and can wait for most everything. But when it comes to a test or evaluation, which you are prepared for, waiting can be excruciating.

Mentally it plays on your mind as you go through everything that you must do to complete the task at hand. Go through it to prepare and reduce stress but think about it to much and you begin to over stress yourself or begin thinking about; what if I do this wrong? Or what if I am to slow?

In most cases with exams, or waiting on a decision or results, running, specifically long runs, helped burn some of the energy and on the road for 8, 10 or more kilometres, I was able to clear my head. But in this case I can’t even do that. I need to limit the amount of physical activity I do today to a short run and tomorrow even less with some stretching and long walks, hardly enough to burn the extra energy and clear my head.

So from here on out I will be listening to motivational words, for example, the Inches Speech from Any given Sunday on my iPod helps through training and other times (can’t believe that speech got so popular that some high school and NCAA coaches use it from time to time). Listening to some of my heavier and/or more energetic music (can’t believe it but a few hip hop songs have made it on my iPod for energy during my training sessions).

Sports psychology is a huge part of these sorts of events. I am happy knowing that playing on teams and being in competitive situations similar to this in the past helps. A person without an athletic mind is will not have the same advantage. But in times we need that push from an external source. Music is a great place to find this push.

The great thing about music is that it comes down to personal choice and what makes us as individuals move fast or push harder -bottom line what gives us energy? For me it ranges from bands like, Joe satriani, metallica, tool, slipknot, alexisonfire, Dropkick murphys...Sometimes even a few epic songs from the 300 soundtrack will be added to provide energy.

But even at some times someone like eminem or Kid rock will be added to the playlist. It all depends on what you need at that specific moment and/or for the specific task at hand.

For now back to waiting and listening to some more inspiration.

Getting back to Normalcy

-The picture is from a thread I came across. Someone had created but could not find his site. I just had to post it

Short update and will be back to bloggin by the weekend;

I wouldn’t mind getting back to as close to normalcy as possible. The last many months have been, well the first word that comes to; chaotic. And last weekend was the topper. Monday I returned home from a three day road trip to see my first live NFL game where the Bills met the chargers. I was in awe and felt that it was an interesting spectacle and I hadn’t even stepped foot into the building.

Tailgating has become an art form to those who attend games regularly and it showed. Other then car camping I have never seen anyone get a full table, small BBQ, and pot of pulled pork set-up with beer in hand so fast before. It was a great time and the football game made it even better. It was a great game.

The reasons why this weekend was officially the topper are 1. My liver hates me, 2. I need some rest and 3. My fire exams (CPAT) will not be far off now. I am currently back into full training mode and will be continuing to do so up and till and proceeding the exams.

Before I was sick for about a week (last week) and all the weekends of mayhem, my Fran time was actually down to 4:10. I hope that by CPAT time I will have Fran at a sub 3 minute mark. This will not be easy as I saw the guys that did it in Manchester just over 3 minutes and it looks PAINFULLY FUN!

So the goal is there and it relates directly to the CPAT as although I want to pass it, I also wouldn’t mind getting as low a time as possible. A significantly low time will not hurt in the recruiters’ eyes. The passing time is sub 10m20s and there are many varying finishing times but the fastest I have heard of was 6m40s. Not sure where I will be as far as time goes but I will and am doing what it takes to get a respectable time.

That’s all for now and will have more to follow.

Oh Fran.

I did my Fran test on Saturday. My warm-up was too much and really hindered my performance. I wasn’t feeling 100% and it came through in my time. But regardless of that I wanted to know roughly where I stood for this workout.

I started off strong and at just a little over a minute I was dropping from the pull-up bar and getting ready to attempt the 15 thrusters. At about thruster 6 my body started to tell me that I was not going to do these straight through and had to put the bar down.

I couldn’t wait to finish the thrusters so I could save time with pull-ups as I can usually pull them out rather well even while tired. Oh but those training Gods just love to make things interesting just as you think you can save time some where they put their boot on your back. When I got on to the bar I had to stop half way through catch my breath.

Then came the 9’s, my time keeper/coach, Tracy, told me to dig deep, my body said otherwise. But I knew the clock was ticking so I took a few deep breaths, changed the Ipod to something heavier, but to no avail as the time would continue to pass by.

After I fought through that 9 there was no way I was jumping onto that bar. The world was dark and I needed a short walk to get the blood flowing properly. I got back to the bar after a minute or so and pulled the 9 pull-ups out quickly and still finished just shy of 6 minutes with a time of 5:48.

At first I was upset about this time but with the factors involved and when I reminded myself this was merely a benchmark time for the future I was ok with it. I know now what I have to work on and how much I need to concentrate on it. I hope to attempt Fran again in a few weeks for a greatly reduced time.

Only leg work today and will be back to crossfit tomorrow, not sure which one yet.

Music Minute

Can’t say that I am overly surprised but it seems that Wolfmother has possibly relinquished their last howl. Yes the band is disbanding, or at least a few of them are. It seems that during a recent concert fans of the band noticed some weird tension on stage and arguing during the performance.

Immediately after the performance Myles Heskett and Chris Ross stated that they were leaving the band. The official statement revealed that the band members have inconsolable differences i.e. they don’t get along and hate each other.

With the two of them gone unless Andrew Stockdale is good at performing as a one man band, I think he is pretty much done for the time being at least. The reason why I wasn’t overly surprised was simply the fact that their self titled debut album was truly remarkable.

It was a unique sound with influences from the greats of the 70’s and every member of the band performed in what seemed to be flawless unforced harmony. When this hits that hard you have to wonder if a band has the ability to create better or the same in the future.

Even the truly talented bands will have hits and misses; refer to, The Stones and ‘Dirty Work’, oh and ask Neil young what he was thinking when he produced ‘Everybody’s Rocking’. This means that you always have to be weary of a band letting you down with a limited amount of artistic ability and inevitably becoming a one hit wonder, one album wonder in Wolfmother’s case I suppose.

I suppose this is why I ask a great deal from the bands that I love. I want them to perform at the top level of their ability and creativity every single time. You create amazing work for several years but if there is a point where albums are not coming out like they were or coming out just as quick but filled with utter garbage then there is no shame in calling it a day and walking away from the art.

Just adding to this if you can only put out one album of good material and proceed to never produce anything again or the rest of what you attempt to release is crap, I start to wonder if I should even listen to the original (talented) album that I once thought was worthy.

Example Bush, or Bushx as the were known until the Canadian band, Bush, signed to allow them to use the name, produced a decent first album that was well received in the 90’s during the grunge phase. When we waited in anticipation for their second what did we get? Actual a not that band album but not great as it was merely a watered down version of their first album with some synthetics thrown in.

Then came the most insulting thing a fan can receive from a band. Something that screamed; WE HAVE NO TALENT WHATSOEVER BUT WE WANT YOUR MONEY JUST THE SAME! This was of course Deconstructed and Bush thought the idea of taking their greatest hits from their DEBUT album and re-mastered them. You can not do that unless you have pumped out at least half a dozen amazing albums and do a greatest hits.

At least the way I see it, and I have never listened to their first album ever again The End. Fuck can’t believe I just wasted that much time talking about a crappy untalented tit like Gavin Rossdale. Back to the music tomorrow, an update on my Fran benchmark time and here is the WOD I made up today after a arm warm-up. I really liked it and will be playing with it some more over time.

5 rounds for time; 25:44
20 Pull-ups
20 Abmat sit-ups
15 Deadlifts 65lbs
15 DB swings 35lbs
10 24" box jumps
10 KTE

Where’s Karl and Fran’s not easy, take that back.

*The Karls. Karl Meltzer and his dad look at the map before Karl Jr. begins his quest.

UPDATE: In June I wrote a little blog about ultramarathoner, Karl Meltzer, and his quest. Meltzer is attempting to break the Appalachian Trail record and cover 2174 miles (3478km) in 47 days. I have been following the coverage at one of his websites, Where’s Karl. With the use of Spot, powered by Google, you can track Karl’s daily performances. it is now day four and everything is looking good.

Although it is in the early going he has hit his daily goals for distance and is a little bit slower then who usually predicts but only by about 40 minutes and that isn’t bad considering that he is running anywhere from 40 to 50 miles a day. With that kind of distance it is hard to estimate an accurate finish time day in and day out.

One of the most grueling being 38 miles with 8000+ feet of elevation gain and lose in 11h and 48m. Or like today’s 50 mile gauntlet that is 80 kms, and still leaving him with approximately 2052 miles and roughly 42 days to go. Just another tidbit he is also burning ~6200 calories a day. The words determination and mental preparation does not even apply. This is a completely different from of drive that very few people can achieve.

Regardless setting these can be accomplished by most if we apply ourselves properly and do not limit ourselves in our individual pursuits.

Alright the title above also relates to Fran and some of you probably know what I am talking about. I completed Fran as a warm up from getting back after a very tiring 5 or 6 days of moving, unpacking and hosting guests. My time really wasn't that important to me that day as I was tired and just wanted to grease the joints sort a speak.

Then the next day I completed Grindy. I wasn’t sure what a decent time was for it as I had not done it before and had seen many varying times on other crossfit site and really had no clue how I would do. But when I grabed my stop watch from the bar it was hanging from I was amazed to see a 12:13 finsih. I couldn't believe that I completely tore the grinder up.

The other thing that I realized was that I have been getting faster and stronger over the past couple weeks in preparation for the upcoming firefighting physical times trials that will start at the end of September, and the actual test in October/November. When I posted my time on the Crossfit Regina site I noticed a link to a video showcasing the record breaking completion of Fran by Josh Bridges.

Bridges was given his Nave Seal Trident on June 20/08 and only a few days later on the 24th decided to attempt a new record for Fran. This video showcases Bridges elite physical conditioning as he destroys Fran with a 2:02. Now he uses kind of a kipping pull-up for some but for the most part is right to form.

Besides are you going to tell a Seal that completed Fran in just over two minutes that his pull-ups weren’t clean? God you wouldn’t get the words out before you would be swallowing your own blood and teeth. Just kidding I am sure he is a nice guy. Here is the video its worth the inspiration and in the least to watch a great accomplishment.

With the aforementioned improved training I have done I also decided to set a new goal for myself. While training I will attempt to get faster and faster at Fran and hope to get to an extremely respectable time. I am not going to state my goal time or when I plan to go for my best time until after I do Fran for a second time on Monday or Tuesday of next week.

I want to try it again with more vigor along with the idea of trying to go faster and faster. Once I get that time in mind I should be able to set the goal for the very near future. Not saying I will be able to come close to a 2:02 but anything around 3 would be nice, but we will soon see.

Man can be a Sick Beast.

Warning: Although I will not go into detail the following blog will discuss savage, incomprehensible acts that will disgust most and will even turn the stomach of those who can handle some of the more gruesome things in life. I know because I am one who can handle almost anything and the second story actually left me feeling somewhat queasy.

Over last few days I have been keeping up with the story of the Greyhound murder, where Vincent Li, viciously attacked a sleeping passenger for no reason as the two had no previous connection. Li stabbed the victim, McLean, roughly forty times as passengers watched. The bus driver was able to pull the vehicle over to let everyone off while locking the Li and the murdered victim on the bus.

As police arrived it was made apparent that Li had decapitated McLean as he was taunting the officers with the severed head. During the standoff, Li was seen cutting other parts off of the victim and eating them. While on the bus he told the officers "I have to stay on this bus forever."

Obviously Li is an extremely sick individual that was looking to die and wanted to take someone, anyone for that matter, with him.

This is literally one the most gruesome episodes that I have ever heard. But it reminds me of one slightly worse that happened only a few years ago in Europe. It too would sound like something from the latest Eli Roth film but it wasn’t, it too was true.

A classified ad was placed on an internet forum site of some sort. The ad was a wanted advertisement but the purchaser was not seeking a used table, or BBQ. Nope this individual was seeking a human being. For what reason you ask? To murder and cannibalize.

This would almost seem like a sick joke, or at the very least some person who got in over their head into films and thought that they would see how far someone would go and even if they would answer.
It would seem that there was no joke here. No farce. No Prank. No no! This was a real ad from a person looking for an individual to fill it. Guess what? Someone did. The person placing the ad was obviously a complete mad man with a completely cluster fucked mind. But to be honest I am not sure what is scarier the person wanting to kill someone? Or the person wanting to be killed?

To be fair I will not mention any of the details other then the fact that there was a video made of this murder and of the man consuming the body. This was helpful to the investigation after the man was arrested. I believe he was put to death shortly there after. After studying serial killers before I have said it in the past and I say it again; Man can be a sick beast in many forms even to its own. Hope I hear a good story tomorrow as reality needs an uplifting moment.

After some chest/calve work today I did WOD;

"Grindy"
10 Clean and Jerks (135)

5 Rounds of Cindy

10 Clean and Jerks

5 rounds of Cindy

10 Clean and Jerks

My first time attempting it and am really happy with a 12:13 as Rx’d.

Back to it! Thank the Training Gods

Well I am now back to my first day after the extra long weekend and the move into the new house that went rather well. Thanks to the help from the Muscle Juice crew -stupid inside joke that is not even worth explaining. We were all moved in Wednesday night by about 830 and were even able to enjoy some pizza and beers on the deck for about an hour before it started to pour.

The house was pretty much set up by Thursday afternoon for our first guests, my parents, and after some further work over the weekend was completely set up including paintings on the walls and my garage almost in ordering including tool organization. A major upside with the new house is the garage. There will be a great deal of room for a home crossfit gym. I will begin work on it immediately and will have pics once it is started.

We have had several guests stop in for supper and/or drinks and look forward to hosting many more, and yes BP that includes a poker game in the very near future. We were also pleased to have a visit from the Stanford’s and Paul the new addition to the fam. He is a real cutie and it was nice to meet him and to have a chance to play with Finn.

The only downside to this whole week (which I can not complain as it has been fun) that training was impossible on the days during the move. Between aches and pains, staying up late while enjoying beverages with guests and early mornings, there was no training that could be done. It would have been stupid to do as it could have ended in injury.

So Monday morning we decided to do a short hike that is 2.5k up the Eardley escarpment in Luskville, and 2.5 straight back down. Although it had been many days off and we were stiff we moved and completed the short, but elevated distance in just over an hour.

Back into training weights and crossfit today, with hopefully a long slow run tonight, I have really missed it. Today I did some arm work and then had a run in with Fran. First time I met her actually and must say after the long week, consisting of everything I already mentioned above, I was pleased with my effort. As crossfitter’s know this is Fran;

Fran (for time)
21 Squat Thrusters (95 lbs)

21 pull-ups

15 Thrusters

15 pull-ups

9 Thrusters

9 pull-ups

I completed her as Rx’d and even though I took some time I completed Fran in 8:13. I was happy with this an liked the workout so much I have rescheduled a meeting for Fran on Sunday or Monday, depending on how grueling the hikes are this weekend, and will bring that time down for sure.

It was a great way to get back into the swing of things and I can not wait till tomorrow to through another new one in the mix, not sure which yet.

Back to Basics and Lesson Learned

Don’t you love learning? I know I do. Finding out something that you never knew before can be rewarding. But there are also those lessons that you should have known and when they are reintroduced in a humiliating and somewhat painful matter it leaves you embarrassed and frustrated.

Ok so this pertains to training. I have been training for over 15 years now and know that even the simplest lesson can not be ignored. One lesson to never forget is getting proper rest. When your body says rest, you rest. But the point is I was not ignoring it and had thought I took care of it. But the rest I had was not good enough.

Friday night I was exhausted from an extremely busy and difficult work week, add to that preparing for the move into our new house, which is this Wednesday, and moreover I was training like a mad man with crossfit, hikes, running and regular weights. Friday night we had our second last hike of the week and after had a few drinks. Although it was not a late night, with the long week and a few drinks I was beat and did not get the hydration I required.

So Saturday morning came and I couldn’t help but feel a little groggy. So after some breakfast I made my way to the gym and proceeded to warm-up. Oh did I mention this was the morning I was to attempt, The Lion of Fallujah? This little beauty was what the training gods decided to use as a lesson in humility. The workout looks like this;

Repeat for 4 rounds (or as many rounds as you have time for)

25X Jumping pullups

25X Walking lunges (each leg)

25X Knees to elbows

25X Thrusters(15 lbs)*forgot my book and used 45 BB didn’t help

25X Push press (15 lbs) *same as above.

25X Kettlebell swings (35 lbs)

25X Burpees

This on a normal day would have been difficult but this day I was still really tired. By the time I got to the KB swings in the FIRST round there were so many expletives being thrown around you would have thought an entire platoon was in the gym struggling through a training session. When I got to the burpees I was so mad at myself for not getting the proper rest that I abandoned the workout and decided to do only two rounds but at a very slow pace to get accustomed to it.

Once it was over I decided that in one week, after some restl and we are moved in, I will revisit the Lion, complete it in an honorable time that will do it justice.

We had one hike left on that Saturday and I contemplated not going because of the outcome with the ‘Lion’. It was to be roughly a two hour hike in easy to moderate terrain. All went well until I bonked near the peak. Again refueled for the rest of the way back and drank a ton of water and was able to pull out a great hike to add to the training. Needless to say Sunday was a complete rest day, other then taking things apart and packing all day in the apartment. Today more of the same no weights and possibly a light hike or run after work we will see.

With the move being this Wednesday I will probably not be posting much until some time later next week. Take care all and will be back soon.

Animal or Not They Don't DESEARVE it.

I was going to write a blog not long ago where I would make you imagine yourself as a gorilla from the Congo. All 600lbs of you crossing that awe inspiring landscape, looking for food, searching for a mate, tending to your young and whatever other things massive primates do. But then I decided to go against that. After watching an episode of the Fifth Estate last night I decided to tell you another story to make my point and to be brutally honest.

The show last night was about animal cruelty and specifically that of animals in the entertainment business as well as that of animals confined to zoos. They were speaking about Roy Perkins (animal kingdom, movies and cheesy shows that have titles like "When animals Attack."

A law student pretending to be a animal trainer so that she could gain access and do in depth investigations on animal training centers that focus on training animals for movies or entertainment. Now we have all heard that the animals can and have been treated poorly but we often forget or are not exposed to it enough to think of it.

Think of this for one 30 second commercial a chimps ‘trainer’ hit and forcefully clenched the animals mouth and head time and time again while barking orders at the terrified animal. The whines the animal let out were all for nothing.

At the training facility the law student noted constant hitting and threatening. The punishment was usually done with a foot or hand but there was also broom handles used as a means to enforce severe punishments. She went one to say that they would also hit the animals for no reason just as they were passing by to always ensure a submissive and attentive animal. Essentially they are merely breaking down their spirit and instinct.

And why are they removing these animals from their mother at 6 months to 2 years old and treating them horribly? Come on you know what it is, it is so obvious. Yes MONEY. The next time you watch a commercial and see the chimp dressed up as a human using a phone, typing or maybe driving a car, just think about how many times that animal was beat for our ‘entertainment.’

Part 2 tomorrow.

Tracy has been doing great work on her WODs. She seems stronger on each workout and her pull-ups look powerful and clean. Although she has always trained hard and harder then most she has admitted that crossift provides fast and, more importantly, effective results.

Lately, until her knee is better, it has been a mix of as many rounds in 10 or 20mins or 5 or 7 rounds of;

clean and press, KTE – Ball, Dumbell pushups, Pull-ups, Chins, Floor wipers, DB swings, DB snatches.

This weekend will be a little more strenuous and we might test to see her max Chins. I will also be attempting the "Lion of fallujah" or "Warriors Never Die" workout from CFOT, which is dedicated in memory of Major Doug Zembiec. I will be sure to discuss more on this and the Hero it is named after, the day that I attempt the task.

Today was back; Pull-up work, rows and flys. Followed by;

WOD; I wanted to do a great deal of core work today and from the gruelling hikes and running I decided again to avoid to much leg play. I tried a modified* Cora from Crossfit Regina. It has been a tiring week and can not wait for my rest day tomorrow as this laid into me rather well especially round 2.

Cora 3rds for time;

"Cora"3 rounds for time:

400m Run *I didn’t do the run only b/c the gym was so busy I would have lost my rack.

20 Floor Wipers - 20/45lbs *used 95lbs

20 Good Mornings - 20/45lbs *used 75

20 Hanging Knee Raises

20 Abmat Situps

Rd 1; 5:15, Rd 2; 6:15, new that was not good slowing that much and it was the KTEs that did it so I dug deep for Rd 3, 4:16. for a total time of 15:48. I shaved 2 mins off of rd 2 by forcing myself to just not stop and move faster.

LION!

Lots to write about lately with many big and little stories in the news and been very busy at home with the move to our first house next week, the up coming trip to Europe and with training. I have a couple things that will be posted over the next couple of days. For now here is my WOD.

It was a great workout today much better then yesterday and I think b/c I was a little disappointed with my training yesterday I pushed myself extra hard today.

Warm-up - leg press, Squat work and Arnold press.

Then WOD – Lion – with one alternate on the back squat and 95lbs instead of 75 as I wanted to punish myself just a little more. As Crossfit Regina states "This is similar to the Tiger, but with less reps, meaning we'll be getting more rounds! BRING IT ON!"

AMRAP in 20mins;
1 Power clean 95lbs
2 Front Squat 95lbs
3 Push Jerk 95lbs
4 Dead lifts 95lbs *instead of squats as I had already done them.

Very happy with this as I did 20 rds + 1 Power clean and 2 Front S.

Then 3 rounds of (increasing weight each rd)
Lateral shoulder raises 10, 8, 8.
DB Narrow dead lifts 10, 8, 8.
Rope Crunches 15, 10, 10.

Tired but ready for a hike tonight if the weather holds out, as a little rain wouldn’t be too bad but torrential downpour would not be great

S.O.S.

I can not remember which site I took this from I believe it was crossfit Regina. It is the Military S.O.S. (Suffer On Saturday) workout they posted. Although it is obviously not Saturday it just seemed like an appropriate workout as I am running back to back days and hiking ever other day this week so the legs don’t need any real intense weight work this week. I will simply do one day of light leg work this week to help with maintenance and injury prevention.

So the Military S.O.S. looks like this;
Exercise - Rd1 - Rd2 - Rd3

Pull-up - 10 20 40

Swings - 10 20 40

Push-up - 15 30 60

Run - 200m 400m 800m,

*b/c of the running and hiking I decided to skip the run and do another round of 10, 10, 15. I also timed it and although I had a decent time of 19:23 I was tired and struggled through the pull-ups. I normally don’t struggle through them as much but I believe it was b/c I was a little tired today and had done some chest work before the S.O.S.

A date with Cindy.

Actually that is rather creepy as my sister-in-law’s name is Cindy. But the last day I was at the gym was last week before my birthday weekend. I was able to golf on Saturday and it was a perfect day, the golfing was off but the weather and company (my wife and in-laws) made up for it.

Any way here was my first time taking Cindy on;

Complete AMRAP in 20 minutes:

5 Pull-ups

10 Push-ups

15 Squats (45lbs bar)

I did 19 and 5 pull-ups. It was a good workout as it is not overly challenging and it is rather fast so it is up to you to get out of it what you put in. I pushed hard and am sure I will squeeze out more next time we meet.

Today I wanted to ease back into the training hoping wanting to loosen things up before working overly hard just to be sure injuries could be avoided. At the same time I need to focus on training hard for firefighting physical exam coming in the near future. I need to find out what is the preferred time that they are looking for as the CPAT (candidate physical ability test) has a time limit of 1o minutes and 20 seconds. I hope to come in as fast as possible.

Today included a 7.5K run on lunch and it felt rather good nice easy pace to warm up with a little quicker on the turn back and finished in 37mins. Maybe a hike tonight as the training for the Alps and Europe trip needs to be stepped up -no pun intended.

Firefighter Recruitment; Anatomy of a PROCESS!

This year the City of Ottawa is holding their first recruitment in over 3 years. The number of recruits is not known but with many retirees’ and the long gap between hiring the number is said to be high. This is also the first year I apply since before I went to university.

The process is designed to weed through high numbers of applicants. Stage 1; application process requiring a $175 admin fee and the following documents; CPR/first-aid, high school and the one that removes many people (b/c it is a $1200 course and exam) a D/Z driver’s license.

In Ottawa there were 1200 individuals that made it through the first stage and were asked to attend Stage 2 in May; the written exams. The first exam in the morning is;

The Cooperative Personnel Services; complete with 4 sections:
1).Written and oral comprehension 2). Mechanical aptitude 3). Mathematical reasoning 4). Interpersonal relations in a community living situation. Afternoon exam; The Occupational Specific Firefighter; does the candidate have the ability to; 1). Work within a team 2).Work within a command structure 3). Cope with stress 4).Work under stress

Once these exams are completed you wait two month to find out if you passed and are moving to Stage 3; The Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT). This is the fun part. You make it here and you are more then half way to being a fireman/woman. CPAT has 8 stages while wearing a 25lbs vest to simulate bunker gear;

Event #1 - Stair Climb - Maintain 60 steps/min for 3mins. Off to;
Event #2 - Hose Drag – 22m(75ft) of hose to a pre-positioned point, and continue for 7m(25ft). The candidate will then take a knee and pull 15m(50ft) of hose to the finish line. Off too;
Event #3 - Equipment Carry - 2 saws, one in each hand, and carry them 22m(75ft) and then back to the starting point. Off too;
Event #4 - Ladder Raise and Extension – Raise 72m (24ft) aluminium extension ladder, hand over hand on each rung. Then extend it to its full length. Then lower. Off too;
Event #5 - Forcible Entry - use a 4.5kilo (10lbs) sledgehammer to strike a metal device along a track hitting the target until the signal is activated. Off too;
Event #6 - Search – You have to crawl through a narrow tunnel that continues to narrow as you go along the 150ft. I like to call it the claustrophobia test. During college a buddy of mine got me pinned between the floor, the air pack on my back and the victim below me. I yelling to him that I needed to push the victim forward to keep going and in his nervous state and wanting to just get out he pushed my feet thus wedging me in the tight barrel with nothing I could do. Luckily my friend directly in front of me in the barrel realized what was going on and crawled back enough to pull me lose. This is done in a completely dark room with our masks blacked out with tape? A feeling that took some getting use to. Many people stop here as they can’t go the full length.

Event #7 - Rescue - Drag a 74kilo, 165lbs mannequin 70ft. Then finish with
Event #8 - Ceiling Breach and Pull – With a pike pole push a simulated ceiling up 3 times and pull down 5 times by 5 rounds.

That is it. You pass this successfully and get one of the top times you move on to stage 4, the Interview which includes; Police Records Check, Driver Profile / Abstract, Reference Check, and Medical Assessment.

The interview is a panel consisting of the Chief, Deputy, Fire admin and HR rep. If they like what they see in the panel interview then you are as good as in. Unless they have more then they require at the time then you go on the "go to list" to wait until a position opens. This was definitely designed to weed through to find what they consider to be the best candidates.

WOD Arm and tri work then limited time and a little tired from yesterday;
As many rounds in 10mins
10 chins
20 wipers 10/side @ 95lbs
20 Snatches 10/side @ 20lbs
Total of 6 rounds

Filthy Fifty

Today I completed the Filthy Fifty for the fist time. I guess the masochist in me shines through on these workouts as I loved it and the harder it got the more determined I was to keep going and keep my time low. Although I needed rest here and there I was very particular with form on every movement and was really happy with my time;

For time:

50 Box jump, 24 inch box

50 Jumping pull-ups

50 Kettlebell swings, 1 pood

Walking Lunge, 50 steps

50 Knees to elbows

50 Push press, 45 pounds

50 Back extensions

50 Wall ball shots, 12lbs

50 Burpees *

50 Double unders

Time: 35:33

The knees to elbows I struggled and then the burpees were brutal. I got the first 20 in a row and then it was sets of 10 and 5 till I was done. Wanted to die when Tracy asked "how many left" and I replied "19!" The next time Tracy asked how many left I replied by holding up 4 up four fingers as I could not speak. She replied "then do them!" Have to love it when your wife tells you to work harder, thanks Tray.

Although that sweat outline is not mine (there is a great one at the Gym Jones site but could not seem to find it), after I was done the Filthy Fifty and was taking some much needed rest on the mats when I finally got up I had left pretty much the perfect impression on the mat. I had debated on taking the camera in this morning to take a few pics and had decided against it. I guess I should have and will next time.

I finshed the day with a gruling 15mins on the step mill for trek training and a relaxed pace 1000m row for a cool-down.

Motivation; “One Inch at a Time.”

"He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else."

Benjamin Franklin once said this and to me it seems extremely appropriate doesn’t it? What are we really as human beings if we continue to make excuses for the things we do, or better yet, don’t do? Essentially to me the only person we are fooling and disappointing with excuses is ourselves. We have to do things for ourselves not for others. Although others might be in our mind when we are reaching our goals, we still need to do things for ourselves to be successful.

"Is that All You’ve Got?" I can not count how many times I have asked myself this very question as a reoccurring chant when I need to dig deep for training or in a race itself. Motivation to do anything has to come from within. Setting up goals is the first step in motivating ones self. The key is to ensure that they are obtainable goals b/c unrealistic goals will almost always lead to failure. Set a major goal ‘A’, and along the path to get to ‘A’ you set obtainable goals. Once each individual ‘mini’ goal is met the bar must be set a little higher toward the next mini goal until A is accomplished.

For example; with physical fire exams coming up I have been concentrating a great deal on crossfit to combine cardio, strength, and power while staying lean. Fire exams consist of many complex movements in a series of timed events; stair climb to hose drag, to equipment carry (farmers walk) to forcible entry (swinging a sledge over head to move a metal block) and so on. With crossfit you pull together the highest intensity to form "the quintessential athlete," through "equal parts gymnast, Olympic weightlifter and sprinter." - Jill Barker, Montreal Gazette.

Although I had an athletic base coming back into this form of training it wasn’t easy by any part, and it shouldn’t be. Every time I get comfortable or beat a time that I had set before, then the next time it better be harder or longer or I will simply not reach that next mini goal thus limiting myself to reach that final goal.

Excuses stunt our growth by allowing us to avoid or push goals back day by day until we are so delusional that we actually believe those phrases of "I will start tomorrow." Today is the start time. I look for motivation many times from those who have accomplished great things through adversity and challenges. In anything we take on it is always 90% mental 10% physical.

Recently one place that I have found some inspirational words is from a very unlikely source for me; a movie, I know it sounds cheesy. Not sure who wrote the ‘Inch by Inch’ speech from Any Given Sunday, but regardless, it is one of the best speeches I have ever heard. Main reason why; it is as close to the truth and bare basics as you can get. It reminds us that there are no quick answers, no magic pills, no room for excuses in life and no machines that will do it for us. It simply outlines that to truly live we need to fight for what we want and fight to keep it.

For me when I think of this speech in relation to a fire exam those inches do add up. If I am to slow to get up those stairs with the extra weight on my back or not strong enough to get that hose across the line or too weak to swing the sledge then it is all over and I fail.

"I'll tell you this in any fight it is the guy who is willing to die who is going to win that inch. And I know if I am going to have any life anymore it is because, I am still willing to fight, and die for that inch because that is what LIVING is. The six inches in front of your face."

We have no do-overs in this life and we only regret the things we did not do. Don’t make excuses for what can be done today because if it was meant to be simple then what is the point?

WOD
DB Press work and incline BB.

Thanks to Katie and CFOT -I believe- I gave this a go and enjoyed it.
5 rounds for time

21 KB swings

15 DB Thrusters

9 Push-ups

Time 6:53

Funishment!

The rosary stop watch something to live by. I am in a much better mood now then I was when I wrote the first blog this morning (Unacceptable). Of course I still believe and stand for everything I said I am just feeling better as I kicked my ass on lunch with some crossfit. It is always there to break me down and from that I always come out stronger and better.

Since I was in a foul mood I thought that I would do a circuit for as many rounds in 20mins. After some warming up with Bis and tris I got in to this little beauty;
15 Chins
20 ab mat sit-ups
10 24" box jumps
10 Push and press @ 85lbs

Now on paper it doesn’t look overly hard but I am not sure if it was a little bit of fatigue I had from not the nest sleep last night or just that it was a good workout I could only get 7 rounds in 20mins. I am still happy with that mind you, but thought I could have squeezed out more. B/c of the lack of sleep and b/c I am in a good mood I will chalk it up to it was all due to the bad nights rest.

Tracy is still getting her knee back to 100% so is slightly limited on movements but this in one WOD that she is enjoying and was what she did today.

After a bi/tri warm-up she completed 5 Rounds of
20 pushups
20 DB snatches (10 each arm) 7.5lbs
5 chins
20 Swiss Ball crunches @ 10lbs

Only after a week and a half of starting crossfit training, she is asking for more and for it to be harder. Guess it is time to turn on the funishment! (Thanks for the great word Katie.)

Tonight will be a long run around 14km as I am still hoping to do that 10k in August and beat my time. My training for that has been less then ideal so we will see.

I'm Back Which Also Means Back to Reality.

Ever need a holiday from your holiday? That was what I felt coming back to Ottawa after being at a friend’s cottage for Canada and several days. Usually a holiday for Tracy and I involves hiking, biking or some form of strenuous activity followed by a few days reward of touring and seeing some of the night life to relax and enjoy a few beverages, but the cottage was not this kind of holiday.

While at the cottage we had a great time as the company and weather could not have been better. It was all toped off with great food and plenty of drink. The days started with champagne and OJ and believe me not in the fancy way as the second last day they were made in pint glasses. The rest of the days were filled with swimming, horseshoe tourneys, and sitting by the water enjoying the company. Nights were filled with great BBQ suppers and games of Cranium lots of laughs and maybe a game of Drinko or two.

All-in-all it was a great few days with good friends we had not seen in a long time. But coming back to reality really hurt especially the recovery time of two days. But b/c of all this self-inflicted punishment and fun, I decided Saturday and Sunday would consist of some training punishment to get back into the groove.

Saturday was hard to get back into it but did so with arms and then
WOD 6 Rounds of
10 chins
20 DB snatches 10/side @ 25lbs
20 Floor wipers 10/side @ 75lbs
10 Power Cleans @ 75lbs
*This was not overly hard but to get back into it it. I was still a little dehydrated and was trying to get on track with my water and did not want to create an injury due to fatigue.

Sunday was DB press work (back to 115lbs DB for 4 to 6 reps) and Incline BB.

WOD – I though it was time to step it up and truly get back into it
For time:
50 25lbs DB swings
200m Row
25 DB Flys @ 25lbs
500m Row
25 DB Flys @ 25lbs
200m Row
50 25lbs DB swings
Time 10:58 * I did the DB flys as a tip from Katie to include what I was working on that day (chest) in my WOD, thanks Katie it worked well.

Plus I followed this immediately with a slow paced 8km to dry out the body. I completed it in 47mins, normally when training for a 10K I am usually doing 8ks under 36mins.

Today was leg work only & followed by a hike tonight. Back to crossfit again tomorrow for the rest of the week. And it seems that there is another crossfit addict in the making; my wife Tracy.

She has always trained hard with weights and running and at one time being a personal trainer she has a vast knowledge of training. But she has asked me to set up some crossfit sessions that will work for her while she is recovering from a knee injury. Not only is she digging deep and pushing hard she is addicted to them and can not wait till her knee is better to do all of the movements and to do crossfit on a regular basis.

There is a great deal of news concerning politics and daily events that I am currently attempting to catch up on as once I am on any extended holiday consisting of 3 days or more, I do not listen to the news, read any newspapers or read my most visited sites like the Huffington Post, BBC, CBC, or CNN. I am sure once I get through the bulk of it I will have several things to write about and of course plenty of opinions to through around.

Love holidays but it is great to be back in the training groove.

This is the picture of the newly adopted Crossfit Inc. mascot, Pukey the Clown. Reason being hard work only makes you better. Of course try not to puke as that isn't the best way to finish a workout.

I have said it time and time again; using drugs to enhance performance, not matter the sport, is cheating and with the horrible and deadly side effects just stupid. And I know that doping has been around for ever. But now that there are so many ways of detecting illegal steroids, athletes need to turn to other forms. With a new drug making it into the enhancement category the drug testers might have to only one place to look, well at least with the male athletes, yes their crotch.

It seems that many pro athletes are turning to Viagra to enhance their performance, and I do not mean in the bedroom. The idea is based on the fact that Viagra increases the amount of nitric oxide in the body, which in turn makes the blood vessels expand. As a result many athletes believe that this will give them more blood flow thus increases normal levels of oxygen.

But Anthony Butch, director of the Olympic Analytical Laboratory at the University of California Los Angeles, has stated that there might not be any real advantage. From a CBC report Butch stated; "Just because you have more nitric oxide doesn't mean that you are going to be a better athlete."

But on the other hand there are some studies that provided some evidence to say the contrary. It seems that in cyclist Viagra improved performance by 40%, found Dr. Andrew McCullough, a sexual health expert at New York University School of Medicine. Doc McCullough also stated that even with an increase of 10% for an elite athlete could help to clinch victory - even though it would be a bullshit victory.

So yet again people are finding interesting ways of cheating and I have to say I am not at all surprised as there is very little pride and nothing pure in our morally defunct society. A society that pays athletes to be the best their drug can make them.

In the case of Viagra I can’t imagine how this would help. To me it would seem like there would be a lack of concentration. First off all the blood from your brain would now be traveling elsewhere. Second wouldn’t you want to be somewhere else at that moment doing something far more interesting then cycling for instance?

Oh well to all of those who do cheat; get a life. To those of you males that wish to use Viagra to enhance athletic ability I hope the only thing you get is what the product was intended for and then have the 4 plus hour side effect of continues ‘enhancement’ that the commercial states and have to drop out of competition and call the Doc or a female companion.

So the next time you see a sprinter, cyclist, weight lifter or whatever, with a bulge in their shorts and a lusting grin on their face you will have proof that they are doping. Well I guess that might make it easier for detection. Or the athlete could be a complete pervert and you should evacuate the area immediately.

WOD – Maintenance. Quick workout today as I am extremely busy with work and getting ready for the cottage. Yup Canada and a few other days to follow will be spent at the cottage with some friends. So knowing I can’t hit the gym till the weekend I did a little bit of everything that I needed.

7 Rounds
10 dead lifts 125lbs
10 DB swings 40lbs
10 Man makers 20lbs DB
15 24" box jumps

Core work and forearms for maintenance.