Saturday, March 31, 2012

You (usually) get what you deserve...

I'll admit it.... I am an incredibly competitive person. I don't let on, but I hate doing badly in things.

I will also admit that no matter what workouts they picked for the Open, I wouldn't have done much better. No matter how much I griped about them putting Karen in 11.4. I wouldn't have done much worse either. I got a fair shake. There's no "if-only"'s for me, because there was no way I could have done much better.

This was clear this week at the box. One met-con was a heavy one--AMRAP in 8 minutes, where a round is 6 155-pound push-jerks (no rack) and then 3 rope climbs. I got through a couple of rounds, but those push-jerks were heavy to me. To a lot of people, they were not. As I am writing this, I'm thinking of a quote by I believe Jim Rohn (which I might be paraphrasing): "Don't wish things were easier, wish you were stronger".

Anyway, I have a long list of things I need to do for next year.

Today we did an 8 minute AMRAP of 3 135-pound snatches and 5 muscle-ups. I insisted on doing my muscle-ups strict and got through almost 3 rounds, but even this I need to get stronger. My snatches were OK according to CrossFit standards, but there was pressing out. I want them clean.

This is by and large true in every area of my life. What I've done well in, I had talent and I also worked very hard in. What I haven't, I did not. Of the relationships I was in and whatever position I held, things didn't work out because they couldn't. It wasn't any one thing someone said or did, it was basic incompatibility. Yes, some of the above things might have turned out differently if I had been more mature or wiser, but I just wasn't there yet.

Realizing how much we are in control of our destiny and how much we get what we really deserve, it's a liberating thought. Yes, life does come down to seizing moments, but if you are ready, you will seize enough of those moments and make the most of them. It comes down to one missed opportunity less than we tend to think it does.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

I'm glad I did it, but I'm glad it's over....

Today was the last day of the Open. I definitely didn't set the world on fire with my performances the past 5 Saturdays, but I am still really glad that I did it.

This morning driving to the Box, I felt uncharacteristically tired. For the life of me I couldn't psyche myself up. I dragged myself out of bed this morning at the last minute and ate some chocolate-covered coffee beans and it didn't work. I got more concerned when I was warming up when I got to the box. Not only was I tired but I was stiff. I wanted to lay down on the mat and take a nap.

The first few workouts for the Open I had so much energy when I arrived that by the time it came for me to work out, my adrenaline felt like it peaked. Not today. I didn't have any adrenaline.

Anyway, today's workout for the Open was a thruster/pull-up ladder: 7 minutes of the following: 3 100-pound thrusters and then 3 chest-to-bar pull-ups, then 6 100-pound thrusters and 6 chest-to-bar pull-ups, and then 9 thrusters (Same weight as before) and 9 CTBs, and so on; get as far along as you can on the ladder in 7 minutes and your score is the number of reps (number of thrusters you do plus the number of CTBs). (A thruster is the following: The barbell starts in rack position resting on your front shoulders. You then front-squat the weight, and then as you are driving up to the top on the squat, you press the weight from off your front shoulders to locked out overhead, so that the barbell goes from on your front shoulders shoulders with you standing to start, to on your front shoulders with you in a full squat, to pressed out overhead with you standing out, in one smooth motion.)

So I did some zombie squats with the 45-pound bar to loosen up. After about 5 reps my knees could flare and I got lower and lower. I then did a couple kettlebell squats and on the bottom, drove my knees out even more with my elbows. I was hoping there would be more than one heat and that I could wait until the second heat to go.

Nope.

Anyway, at 3-2-1 Go I do the first 3 thrusters. Honestly things felt a little foggy, like I suddenly was on adrenaline that wasn't there before. The weight felt light. Then the 3 chest-to-bar pull-ups. I was concerned--I wasn't kipping, but I was slamming my chest against the bar. Maybe it was the adrenaline, but adrenaline doesn't last long--so I also was thinking I was going to soon hit the wall. Then it was onto the set of 6 100-pound thrusters. I get through those easily but I really had to remind myself to breathe during the set. Then 6 more chest-to-bar pull-ups. I take a break, and then go onto the 9 thrusters and then 9 CTBs. Only a few minutes in and I did 36 reps total by this point. I tried this workout once last year and I got 39 reps total. By 4 minutes in I did the set of 12 thrusters and now had 48 reps. I then get the 12 chest-to-bar pull-ups and get to 60 reps. I then start the set of 15 thrusters--now the weight is feeling pretty heavy to me--and only get 4 more reps for 64 reps total.

I really learned a lot these past 5 weeks. I know that if I work on some things, I will do much better next year. My list so far:

--Wall-balls. They are a little tougher for those of us shorter people with shorter arms because we have to throw the ball higher to reach the target because the target is that much higher than the top of our (shorter) reach. The ball also comes down a little harder on us, because it has a little longer to travel to our reach. And the 20-pound ball's weight is a higher percentage of our body weight. But still, that's absolutely no excuse. Lots of short people are good at wall-balls. Also, tall people have to do a lot more work to do a squat (longer legs so they move the weight a longer distance per rep) and especially pull-ups (longer arms AND more body-weight). And they don't gripe. Anyway, getting good at those will increase cardiovascular capacity for other movements.

--Snatches. They came up big-time this year, and even though I don't think they will come up like that again next year, getting good at that olympic lift should translate well to a powerful clean. Getting the weight from the thighs to overhead with arms locked out in one smooth motion is definitely easier than getting weight to the front of the shoulders. Besides, I'm pretty close to a body weight snatch. That's just something cool to have for bragging rights.

--Squats. I need to get stronger, and the squat is a big part of where it all begins. I will work on overhead squats when I do snatches, but I also need to do back squats and front squats.

--Strongman stuff. We did Zercher carries and Atlas stone squats, and I love those movements. They challenge you and build you up in ways that barbell movements cannot.

--Double-unders.

--Muscle-ups. I just feel so much stronger in my upper-body thanks to these. Even those I have good muscle-ups, I can get better.

This sounds like a lot, but I think it is doable. A couple times a week, I will do a set of 30 wall-balls after class. Shouldn't take more than a minute and a half, literally, of work. I can also do a set of muscle-ups right before/during the warm-ups. Depending on the workout scheduled, I can also do snatches, squats, and maybe some strongman stuff before class. Double-unders I can work on at home on my patio.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Hold on a second, I say to her....

I was on a first date with someone last Wednesday night. Around 8:15 (5:15 PDT for those of you on the West Coast) I break a cardinal rule of first dates and interrupt her to check my phone. "Hold on a second. I really need to check this..." She then hears me blast out some expletives. I just saw WOD 12.4.

So I didn't come across as a weirdo, I explained to her what I was checking out. We had a conversation about CrossFit, wall-balls (I hate 'em and I suck at 'em), double-unders, and muscle-ups (my chance to brag--I'm pretty good at these).

I met this girl online. Which is what I really want to talk about this time--online dating. I got into it because ultimately I am looking for one the right person for me.  I haven't found her yet, but I have amassed some interesting stories. None of them horror stories--I would actually say that for every person I met, there was something good about them that made seeing them--even if it was only that one time--worthwhile. Anyway, this is my perspective on it, as a single guy. I'm going to try to say some things that are useful to people of both genders.

The pros of online dating: You get to meet a lot of different people of the opposite gender. If you're smart you'll "get better at" dating. (I put this in quotes because I'm not entirely positive about what it means. I have an idea though.) Your social skills will become sharper. You'll get lots of practice in dealing with the following scenario: You have someone in front of you whom you've never met, and the idea is to let a connection happen between you and the other person. You'll become better at asking questions to draw them out, and at telling stories about your life that the other person can relate to. If you are smart that is.

The cons of online dating: You will have a lot of people cycle in and out of your life. As in, you notice them online, you write them, and they write you back! Then you exchange a couple emails on each end where you put in effort to come across as witty, interested, and interesting... and then you finally meet and go out, and for all the built-up anticipation, that's it. The first date was "nice" but there is no second date. If you are a guy, you will find this out because she won't return your phone calls or texts, and if you are a girl, he will never call or text you, your great email exchange notwithstanding. Who knows quite what is going on at their end or yours. BUT for all that energy on your end, it was still a no-rep.

For all this, you do end up making friends with some of the people you meet. I have at least.

Anyway, you may go through something like this a bunch of times in a year. Can you handle that? I accepted that as it is what it is, but I don't like that aspect of it.

I will give you an example from my own life that made me realize I needed to slow my roll. One point in the past I wrote 7 women online in a couple of days. As maybe 15--20% write me back (I hear that is actually a decent ratio for a guy), I expect that this will lead to one girl I'd be communicating with. Well, three of them wrote me back. I ended up with three first dates the next week. I ended up keeping them all straight from each other by using a notebook. All three first dates were "nice" and ended with a kiss. By the end of the week my head was spinning. Some guys are wired to be players. I apparently am not.

It ended up working out not so bad though. Two of the three didn't return my phone calls anyway.

I want to emphasize that this is definitely NOT the way I want to be dating. I am really looking for that one special girl. If I end up being friends with someone it's fine, but I'm just not wired to be having all of these people come in and out of my life. That said, online dating is what it is. These are my suggestions, from what I've observed...

Guys, the ideal first dates are the ones where you are active and doing something you like. I stress this for guys because it is on us to plan the date. (Do I even need to mention to have a specific plan ready when you call the girl?) It also should be something she might like too. The main reason is that if you are having fun and you are conveying that to her, she will be more likely to be enjoying herself too.

Every girl I dated for any length of time ended up becoming into at least some of what I was into. That's true for you too, right?

Finding something like that hopefully isn't that hard. You wrote her because you could see her fitting into your life, right? You show consideration by making the logistics easy for her--semi-public so she feels safe, and easy for her to get to if she doesn't feel comfortable wit you picking her up, and give her your last name.

Example: I like hiking. So now that the weather has gotten nice that is my first choice for a first date. And I'm finding that the girls who go along with that are just cooler and lower-maintenance. (I assume that the girl isn't some psycho or anything. To assure the girl I'm sane myself, I will give the girl my last name in my first text to her.)

At any rate, the first date needs to be something where you are NOT spending too much money. Why would you be spending a lot of money anyway? What are you trying to do? Do you think that will impress her or make her feel special? The two of you don't know each other yet! I would say that if she expects that of a guy she hasn't met before, then...

As a backup plan, find a few fun bars or coffee shops in different areas and a place where you can walk around if things are going really well.


Girls, say a bit more in your profile. Women complain about the bad emails they get from guys online. But what is a guy supposed to write you, when so many of you put the usual cliches in your profile. "Duh, your friends and family are really important to you?? And you love going out one night and staying in the next night?? You love to laugh and travel too? How rare!"

When you write your profile, I would advise: think of what you would want a guy to ask you or comment on. Then drop in a hook.

And in your pictures, why do so many of you have shots of you getting too palsy-walsy with other guys? We get that you are popular and that guys find you attractive. As someone who has female friends and a couple close ones, I think it's cool if a girl has male friends. But no guy wants to get involved with a girl who has guy friends she is "too close" with. Do I really need to explain why?

As for myself personally, there just aren't that many women I decide to write. Nothing to connect to in their profiles. That's the main reason for me. The few that I do decide to write, it was because I saw something that they wrote or something in their pictures that I could connect with.

I didn't say much about how to act on the first date. That is kind of telling. Truthfully, if the date doesn't go well, many of us guys actually will blame ourselves. You might be surprised. BUT be aware, a big reason why we guys don't call you for Date #2 is because you just didn't seem that into us. We have our pride too....


More to come in a future blog....

Saturday, March 3, 2012

The Open and getting on it...

I still snicker whenever I say I did some heavy snatches. But I am going to use versions of that phrase a lot this post...

My performance in Workout 12.2 can be summed up in one number: 41. As in, I did 41 reps; 30 snatches at 75 pounds, and then 11 snatches at 135 pounds, in 10 minutes. [Background: Workout 12.2 was a snatch ladder. First do as many 75-pound snatches as you can, up to 30, in 10 minutes, and then if you get 30 75-pound snatches, then do as many 135-pound snatches, up to 30, at 135 pounds in the remaining time, and then if you get 30 135-pound snatches, do as many 165-pound snatches as you can, up to 30, in the remaining time, and then finally, if you get 30 165-pound snatches (!), do as many 210-pound snatches as you can in the remaining time. So do as many snatches as you can in 10 minutes, the first 30 done at 75 pounds, the next 30 at 135 pounds, the next 30 after that done at 165 pounds, and all the others after that done at 210 pounds.] I didn't set any records. I aint going to Regionals. But I am happy with how things went.

See 135 pounds is 80% of my body weight for one thing. I also set out to do what I intended: Get into the 40s.

The Open was one of the smartest concepts to come out of CrossFit. The idea of involving into competition everyone who wants to get involved was genius. It really increases the motivation of well, basically the entire community. Wait.... open athletic competitions aren't a new concept by any means... Aren't many triathlons and marathons open competitions? They are, but what if you find running or "long cardio" boring? What about recreational soccer/baseball/basketball leagues? Well, maybe, but do you ever get to start the season knowing that LeBron James is playing in in the very same league you are, and that if you happen to do good enough, that you'll be able to go up against LeBron James head-to-head yourself? And to "do good enough", you won't have to compete against your teammates or lobby for them to give you the ball more. The weight doesn't care who you are. And what's more, you can track "how good you can do" in your workouts throughout the year. You can set concrete goals, and check to see how you are achieving them. There is a clear path to "doing better". You might not ever be as good as Richard Froning in CrossFit, but there is still a clear and well-lit path to your "doing better" than you have been doing.

There's something about this that just lights a fire underneath you. And makes you want to keep getting on it. At least it has for me anyway.

Take today. I got 41 reps. Not a great score, but still decent, and in a movement that I've spent little time on. I know that if I were to work on my snatch [I still snicker every time I say that phrase too] as diligently as I worked on my muscle-up this past year, I would do much *much* better on Workout 12.2 if it ever were to come up again. A year ago I had NO muscle-up. Even after I got one I still sucked at them for a good 5 months after. And then it came together for me, and now I can bust out several of them strict in a set. Diligence and effort can make up for average talent, especially in CrossFit. Now surely a workout like 12.2 will not come up again, but surely heavy snatches will come up again. And in the meanwhile, there is a lot of carry-over. It's hard to imagine being strong in one lift and totally sucking in another that's anything like it.

And working on my lifts is what I plan to do. There is something about the snatch that is so appealing--done right it is such a beautiful lift. It's technical but the technical is what makes it great. Coordinate the different muscles in your body right and you'll quickly get a heavy weight overhead in one elegant motion.

In general, I really feel that if I were to work hard on certain things, next year I could do much better. And it is an adrenaline rush. Right now I am so amped. I want to deadlift an Excursion. Even though I did a lot today [I stayed after and worked on muscle-ups] I am motivated to go in tomorrow. [At least now that is. We'll see how I actually feel tomorrow morning and whether DOMS kicks in.] I'm hoping tomorrow is a crazy smoker with wall-balls, rowing, and maybe some double-unders.

I have never felt this way after a typical Saturday morning class.... as great as they are.

I'm even considering giving up my cherry-picking ways for good and embrace the long cardio-style workouts. Considering. I might be amped up, but I'm not crazy or anything!