WOD 12-30-10

"Dirty Thirty"

30 - Wallball
30 - Knees to Elbows
30 - Walking Lunge
30 - Push Up
30 - 45# Overhead Press
30 - 45# Overhead Squat
30 - Pull Up
30 - 35# Kettlebell Swing
30 - Leg Lever
30 - 20" Box Jump

Jeff 14:18 Adam 15:02 Al 20:15 Wes 24:35

WOD 12-29-10

21-15-9

65# Deadlift
Ring Dip
20" Box Jump

Erin 13:12


21-15-9

155# Back Squat
Ring Dip
Pull Up

25 Double Rope Slams between rounds

Jeff 12:25 Adam 15:28

WOD 12-28-10

2.5 Rounds:

20 - 45# Thruster
15 - Burpee
20 - Pull Up Progression

Erin 19:43, Melissa 19:25 (scaled thruster in round 2)

WOD 12-27-10

3 Rounds:
15 - 95# Thruster
10 - Burpee
15 - 58# KB High Pull
10 - Burpee

Adam - 15:05, Wes 18:12 (2 rounds)

Jeff's Firehouse Workout

4 Rounds:
15 - 165# Deadlift
15 - 95# High Pull
15 - 95# Push Press
15 - 95# Bent over Row

14:28

WOD 12-26-10

Cards

Adam, Jeff, & Al, approximately 20 minutes, stopwatch was frozen....literally.

WOD 12-16-10

Ladder x2 for 12 minutes:
Box Jump 20"
Kettlebell Swing 58#
Burpee
Toes to Bar

Adam 2-4-6-8-10-12(BxJ/KB/Burp)
Wes 2-4-6-8-10-12(BxJ/KB)

WOD 12-15-10

3 Rounds:
20 - Push Press 95#
20 - Pull Up
15 - Deadlift 165#
Run 1/4 mile

Jeff 18:12, Adam 20:56, Stephen & Wes 39:16

WOD 12-13-10

3 Rounds:
15 - 135# Back Squat
20 - Ring Dip
25 - HR Plyo Push up

Adam 18:40, Steve 19+DNF, Al 22:06

WOD 12-12-10

"GI Jane"
(100 Burpee+Pull ups)

Adam 15:02, Jeff 15:11

WOD 12-9-10

15 - 20 - 25
Air Squat
Pull up
KTE

Adam 9:55, Jeff 13:07, Wes 14:16, Al 14:24

12-8-10

Kipping pull-up practice.

WOD 12-6-10

Fran (21-15-9 of Thrusters & Pull ups)

Jeff 5:56
Al 10:00 (21-15)
Wes 10:00 (21-15)
Adam 6:05

"I met a girl whose name was Fran. She let me know just who I am. Squats and thrusters, pull ups too. She made me say I hate you!" - by Al

WOD 12-5-10

Fran (21-15-9 of Thrusters & Pull ups)

Adam 6:01

Nov. 30 - Dec. 5

We have been working on the 9 foundational movements: Air Squat, Front Squat, Overhead Squat, Press, Push Press, Push Jerk, Deadlift, Sumo Deadlift High Pull, and Medicine Ball Clean.
We will also work on learning the kipping pull up. The reason to focus on these nine movements is that they each require a particular aspect of proper form, that when combined, relates to pretty much all of the Crossfit movements that you will encounter down the road.
Now, as of tonight, we will put all of this together in a WOD. You might have heard of her..........her name is Fran.

Back to the basics...

Now the real Crossfit has begun. Until now, TowerGym has been an amateur Crossfit club......no longer. Crossfit 101 class started Monday night. We will begin by learning the 9 foundational movements of Crossfit, then moving on to the pull up, muscle up and snatch. From there we will move back to typical WOD's with the proper Crossfit prescribed programming.

Get ready boys and girls......now the real fun begins!

It's a sign......

The TowerGym logo mysteriously appeared on the driveway when Al stood up.....

WOD 11-23-10

Double Tabata
6 rounds of 40 sec. work / 20 sec. rest

Ropes
Heavy jump rope
Burpee
Flutter kick

WOD 11-22-10

11-22-33

20" Box jump
Superman Push up
Sit up
Palm-in pull up
Lunge

Adam - 19:12, Dalton - 23:54, Wes - 32:18, Trevor - 37:42, Al - 40:48

WOD 11-21-10

First attempt of "Fran" at TowerGym

21-15-9

95# Thruster
Pull up

Adam - 6:03, Jeff - 6:14

WOD 11-18-10

2 Rounds:

1 - 200# tire pull - 50ft
20 - Heavy jump rope
10 - Med ball burpee
15 - Ring dip
20 - Windsheild wiper
15 - Pull up

Adam - 16:22, Jeff - 18:45, Wes - 23:21, Al - 23:58

WOD 11-15-10

AMRAP 15 min

5 Superman Push up
5 Dead hang Pull up
5 Squat Jump

Adam - 17, Jeff - 16, Wes - 11

WOD 11-14-10

Tabata - 8 rounds of 20 sec. work / 10 sec. rest

Push up
Squat
Pull up
SDHP
Ropes

WOD 11-3-10

21-15-9
OH Squat 45# bar
Ring Pull up
24" Box Jump
KTE
30# DB Press
Run 1/4 mile after each round.

Jeff 21:31, Adam 23:31, Stephen 28:02, Wes 28:02, Sarah 22:30 (no DB or pull up)

WOD 11-1-10

3 Rounds of:
20 Alt. Sit up
5 Muscle up
20 Back extension
15 Wallball
10 35# KB swing - each arm

Wes 15:00 (practice MU), Adam 15:13

WOD 10-31-10

"Hell's Hill"
4 Rounds of:
25 Push up
Sprint 50 yds
5 Burpee
Run up hill forward
Run up hill backward
5 Burpee
Broad Jump 50 yds

Jeff 11:29, Adam 13:00, Wes 18:30, Stephen 20:28

WOD 10-28-10

8-10-12-10-8
Box Jump
Ring Dip
Thruster 45# bar
KB swing 58/35

Adam 11:43, Wes 12:39, Al 13:05

WOD 10-27-10

20 Burpee Pull up
60 Bicycle Crunch
20 Burpee Pull up
40 KTE
20 Burpee Pull up
40 Sit up
20 Burpee Pull up

Adam 20:40, Wes 30:00 (-20 BPU), Al 32:00 (-20 BPU)

WOD 10-25-10

5k

Wes 29:41, Jonathan (1/2 w/ vest) 33:45, Adam (tire pull) 44:30

WOD 10-21-10

25 - Ring Row
25 - 45# O.H. Squat (13 - Jon)
25 - Tire Sit up
25 - Pull up
25 - 45# O.H. Lunge
25 - Push up

Adam 8:04 (V), Wes 8:26, Jon 12:14

WOD 10-20-10

7-14-21-14-7

Wallball
KTE
86# SDHP
HR Pushup
Tire Flip

Stephen 18:46 (7-14-21), Adam 21:03, Wes 26:47 (7-14-21-14), Jon 27:17P

WOD 10-19-10

Cards - shuffle cards then cut in half
H=Burpee, C=Bicycle Crunch, S=Lunge, D=Pullup/Dip

Adam/Stephen 16:22

WOD 10-18-10

33-22-11

58# Kettlebell Swing
185# Deadlift
24" Box Jump
Plyo Pushup

Adam 26:18

WOD 10-16-10

3 Rounds:
15 - 135# Hang Clean
15 - Burpee

Adam 9:01

First Muscle Up

The first muscle up at Tower Gym was achieved last night. For those of you who don't know, a single muscle up is considered to be equal to 3 pull ups + 3 dips.

Thanks to Wes for the encouragement and support.

WOD 8/2/2010

21-15-9
Burpee Pull Up
45# Thruster

Steven 13:07, Wes 14:11, Erin 14:22, Melissa 14:30
Adam - injured reserve

WOD 8/1/10

A quick one...
4 Rounds:
10 Wallball
10 KTE
10 KB 35#
10 Ring Dip

A 9:03 (WV) S 9:03

WOD 7-28-10

3 Rounds for time:

10 - 95# Thruster
20 - 20# Wall Ball
30 - 35# Kettlebell Swing
40 - Alt. Knees to Elbows

Time: A 27:50 (WV), W 34:26

The Incredible Edible Egg

They refuse to eat them with me, but they love to help peel them...

WOD 7-25-10 from Crossfit.com

"ANGIE"
100 Pull ups
100 Push ups
100 Sit ups
100 Squats

Times: A 27:00, W 31:53, S 32:00

Athletes in arms.....

I have to take a minute to tip my hat to my fellow athletes here at TowerGym. Stephen and Wes have been side by side with me for the past 4 months. It really is a HUGE encouragement to have them training with me, Erin and Melissa are now just as entrenched in this battle as we are. It is awesome that all of us are following this program together. It really is a difficult thing to explain....this lust for something that hurts so bad, it always demands more than we can give, yet we always look forward to the next time...

2011 Crossfit Games

The training has begun as of today. TowerGym is training to compete in the 2011 Crossfit Games. The 2010 Games were just held earlier this month in California, the agenda for the 2011 Games has not yet been announced. I only know that the qualifying sectional will be sometime in February. I have set my training schedule and will be in the best shape I can possibly be.....hopefully that will be good enough to compete. We will see....

WOD 7/21/10

4 rounds:
5 - Barbell Complex 95# (clean+press+OH squat) all three moves = 1 rep
10 - Box Jump Burpee
10 - Walking Pushup (left+middle+right) all three moves = 1 rep
10 - Toes to Bar (hang from overhead bar, raise feet up to touch bar)

Times: A 25:49 (4 rnds) W 27:42 (3 rnds, 45# bb) S 28:50 (3 rnds)

WOD 7-19-2010

Run 1/4 mile
63 sit ups
36 pull ups
Run 1/4 mile
42 sit ups
24 pull ups
Run 1/4 mile w/ hill
21 sit ups
12 pull ups

Times: W 26:04 - S 26:08 - A 26:27

Halfway up the "ramp"...

The beginning of Week 3 for the women. They have done very well for the first two weeks, the complaining of soreness is a strong indicator that they are doing things correctly. Well done ladies!!

Freak Week #2

This month we have added the clean to the regimen. It goes like this...
7/11 - Cleans
7/12 - Push Ups
7/14 - Pull Ups
7/15 - Deadlifts

We do a total of 12 sets going for 3 reps per set, as heavy on the weight as possible. The last set is very light weight for as many reps as possible.

Crossfit.com WOD 7-8-10

Walking Lunge 100 ft
21 Pull Ups
21 Sit Ups
Walking Lunge 100 ft
18 Pull Ups
18 Sit Ups
Walking Lunge 100 ft
15 Pull Ups
15 Sit Ups
Walking Lunge 100 ft
12 Pull Ups
12 Sit Ups
Walking Lunge 100 ft
9 Pull Ups
9 Sit Ups
Walking Lunge 100 ft
6 Pull Ups
6 Sit Ups

WOD 7-7-10

15-15-10-10-5

Push Ups
Thrusters
Sit Ups
Wall Balls
Dips

Times: A-16:16; S-17:17

Enter the women...

Well, after 3 months of dedicated Crossfit by the men, the women have decided to join the club. Having seen the results in their men, these fine women have committed themselves to endure the same punishment. I have given them 1 month to "ramp up" and learn the Crossfit mentality, then they will start following the same workout that we do. Then, the competition is on....

WOD 6/27/2010

"Progressions"
3 rounds for time:
Push ups - 7 high decline, 7 low decline, 7 flat, 7 low incline, 7 medium incline, 7 high incline
Pull ups - dead hang to failure, kipping to failure, 10 jumping
Squats - 10- 45# overhead, 10 squat jumps, 10 bodyweight
Abs - 10 KTE, 10 decline, 10 flat

Welcome to "Freak Week"

We have started a new experiment this week......Freak Week. The second week of every month will be a week that we take four movements and add weight to them. For instance, pull ups, we start with two sets of bodyweight, dead hang pull ups, then start adding weight. We will do sets of three reps with each weight and keep increasing the weight on each set until we can't complete that third rep. Last night we used a backpack to hold the extra plates, I was worried it wasn't going to make it, next month we will have a militay ruck sack, that should do.

Freak Week # 1
6-06 Thruster
6-07 Pull up
6-09 Deadlift
6-10 Push up

The Tower

The tower is about halfway complete. We have the ability to do about 80% of the movements used in the Crossfit workouts. I will soon be cleaning out the upstairs and adding a few more components. We will definitely need more room if we add anyone to our roster.

How effective is it?

Good question. How hard are you willing to push yourself? How much pain can you handle? It's just like the line from Remember the Titans..."What is fatigue?......Army clothes......".

Bottom line: 20-30 minutes of a crossfit workout is all you can handle. It's more effective than a 1 hour treadmill ride...and more painful than maxing out on squats.

You have to be self-motivated. It shouldn't take some oiled up "fitness personality" yelling at you through a Garth Brooks-style headset to make you finish the workout. You have to find it in your gut and keep pushing on, focus on finishing with a faster time than before and immediately start looking forward to what the white board will curse you with tomorrow.

How it all started...

I have been exercising fairly consistently for the past 15 years never going more than a few months between routines. The past few years have been tougher than previous years, not only because of the normal busyness of life but also because of being severly bored with going to the gym. I have always been motivated to stay in shape but never really motivated to the point of actually enjoying the workout itself....until I discovered Crossfit. Crossfit is functional fitness at it's best. Functional fitness is training the muscles in a fashion similar to how they would be used for work or survival, not merely making them bigger. Lots of the movements are used by the military and law enforcement training academies. It develops all of the smaller, stabilizer muscles that would never be stressed in a "bodybuilding" workout. Crossfit focuses on range of motion, explosiveness and muscle control. Boredom is never a problem now, I can always change up the workout or I can follow the WOD (workout of the day) at crossfit.com.

My first crossfit workout was on March 21, 2010, it was "G.I. Jane" from crossfit.com. G.I. Jane consists of starting in a standing position, dropping down to do a push up, jumping up to an overhead bar and doing a pull up.....that's one rep.....do a total of 100 reps. This first attempt took me 20:11. I haven't yet attempted "G.I.Jane" again, but I will soon....I will let you know how it goes.

WOD 6/3/2010

"Angie" from crossfit.com

For time:
100 pull ups
100 push ups
100 sit ups
100 squats

Finish all reps of each movement before going to the next one.

Open for business...

Tower Gym is up and running. Or should I say, running and pulling and pushing and jumping and climbing and lifting and complaining (that's for you, Wes...)