Fight Gone Bad

First of all I would like to thank all of my generous donors.  I want to give you all a big hug, and high five for your generosity, because with your help I was able to raise, $2,810.00, which made me the 5^th highest fundraiser at Potomac Crossfit.  Further I want to thank George Wahl for pushing me into something that I probably would have skipped this year, and then felt like shit for an entire year for the opportunity to do it next year. 

So thank you to the following people:

Tracy Weber Tierney, My Parents, Lora Scarsella, Alexander Clifford, Anne Kline, Gustavo Hernandez, Tara Lagu, Angela Cress, Mike McMullan, Neil Lindley, John Pignone, Liz Powell VA, Nancy Kim, Sean Casey, Brendan Hartnett, Sharon Barrett, Andy Fuentes, Eric Zvonkovich, Dong Kim DC, Kristi Mathews (Surprised the shit out of me as I have not seen her since the last day of 8^th grade…really), Lisa Giacobbi, Anthony Mendoza, Kent McDuffie (My Hiking Poo Bear), Martin McNutt, Thomas Bozzo, Timothy Hogan, Juliana Sharp, Benjamin Boyer, Michael Anderson, Nancy Kim, Christina Kim (my sister), Sherri Underwood (Fellow Ass Kicker), Mary Murphy (Woman who willed me up Zuma Ridge), Ryan Powell, Ian Bradley, Robert Madrid, Stephany Bushweller, Dwayne Phillips, Stephanie Fleming, Michael Tomai, Patrick Hogan (thanks for being the first to donate).

I also want to thank my brother for his efforts in being my donation Pimp and contacting some of his close friends who were a huge help, especially Sean Casey who surprised the hell out of me and was the largest donor outside of my family. 

Thanks everyone!

Now to the meat of the matter…

Fight Gone Bad is an ass kicker of a workout, and is a bigger test of ones mental fortitude then physical ability.  To review the workout it is the following five exercises, each done for one minute each, with a one minute of rest between rounds, and a total of 3 rounds, so in terms of time the workout only lasts 17 minutes.

1.      Wall Ball 10’ target with 20 lbs ball

2.      Sumo Dead lift High Pull 75 lbs

3.      Box Jumps 20” height

4.      Push Presses 75 lbs

5.      Row

Within each minute the number of reps you count equals one point, and with the row each calorie you burn is one point. 

I also want to give a special thank you to Ryan Powell for filming, and editing this awesome video.  Thank you Mr. Shady, he’s available for video work, and his website can be accessed by clicking the following, “Mr. Shady Lives Here”, www.ryanjpowell.com.  I also have to thank Antwone Walters for cheering me on, and taking that awesome photo which embodies how you feel during FGB.

Round One

I started the workout with the Sumo Dead Lift High Pull, this exercise is apparently one during FGB which wears out your legs, as it was the starting point for me I was pumped up, and attempted to just keep a steady pace.  I think I finished somewhere in the neighborhood of 32 reps.  This would catch up with me on the wall ball, which was still 4 minutes away.

As I transitioned to Box Jumps my legs felt okay, but after a couple of box jumps I realize the Sumo’s had done their damage, in fact I lost balance on one of the jumps and almost fell flat on my face.  The first round of Push Presses turned out to be harder than anticipated, and it was the first place I felt fatigue, you will see in the video I lose my balance a bit and stumble forward.

I used my first round of rowing to catch my breath, slow my heart rate down, and try to be ready for the wall ball.  Wall Ball I have to say suck, because there are two crucial sticking points that you have meet or it doesn’t count.  First the depth of your squat has to be at or just past parallel and the ball has to not only reach the height of 10’, but has to touch the wall.  You will see in the video I wasted quite a bit of energy because the ball doesn’t touch the wall, dagger.

Surprisingly by the end of the first round I felt good, better than I had anticipated.

Round Two

At the start of round two, I still felt strong with my Sumo Dead Lift High Pulls, until about the 20^th rep, it’s here I started to feel like I was losing my strength.  In moving to the box jumps my legs were starting to get shaky.  You will see me wiggle my right leg like I have to pee; I did that to shake out the tightness that was starting to build up.  At this point with my Box Jumps I also started to step down instead of jump back down, I could feel that my legs were losing the strength to handle the impact of jumping back down. 

The Push Presses in round two is the point where life started to close in on me, the bar which only weighed 75 lbs might as well have been 200 lbs.  Towards the end of the minute I had to give everything I had to just get the bar up, my legs now toasted were not helping, and I could feel the weight bearing down on my arms, and chest. 

At the row, I was happy just to sit down on something.  I took a pace again to catch my breath, and slow my heart rate down.  Back at the Wall Ball, I mentally buckled down to make sure I would hit the wall, I think in this round there may have only been one or two times when I didn’t hit the target. 

When round two ended, I felt awful; I had nothing left in the tank physically.  The minute of rest felt at most like a 15 second break, there was barely enough time to get my breathing regulated. 

Round Three

Sumo Dead Lift High Pulls, I tried to give everything I could, my right shoulder was getting weaker, and barely able to pull the bar up, in my mind I just wanted to keep moving and not take breaks.  I got into my head that pushing through was the only way to finish this workout.  When the minute was over, my legs were toast.

Starting the Box Jumps, I went for it, I knew this was the last round, and all I wanted to do was not take a break.  At the top of the box I found myself using my hands to push me knees straight to lock them out before I went back down.  I again tripped, and this time almost landed on my head.

The Push Presses in the third round was like pushing a car above my head.  I realize in watching the video that my hands were too close together which caused a lot of the issues I had here with balance and the ability to press it.  My mind at this point was the only thing moving me forward.  I had to just grind thru to the end. 

In the final round of rowing, I gave everything I had, no more recovery time; I started to think I can rest when I’m dead.

My final round of Wall Ball was about concentration, I made sure that every one would count, so I took an extra second to reset before I squatted and pressed the ball.

When it was all said and done, I laid down on the ground, because I did feel like death was upon me.  I learned later that my first round was the highest in reps which is normal, but that with four of the five exercises I had a higher third round then second round.  I guess the attitude I’ve taken which always tells me to finish strong is starting to become innate. 

My total score was 252 reps, which I am told is a good score especially for the first time.  The high score of the day was done by a guy who set the gym record that day of 420 reps.  A couple of other guys hit 400 reps, with several reaching 300 reps. 

After it’s all said and done, I’m extremely happy with having done the work, and proud of the results.  I look forward to cracking 300 next year.

I’ve learned that our fears are always bigger in our own heads than the reality of what they actually are; it took an e-mail from a former high school classmate for me to challenge my fear.  I have been selling myself short for a while, and having been a fat guy for such a long time I’ve forgotten that when you make progress you have to find ways that prove your progress to yourself. 

Thanks to everyone for your contributions, and being the inspiration that got me past a large mental milestone.  

BTW more photos from the even taken by Nicole Bedard.  At the following link. https://picasaweb.google.com/101683568200217367956/FGB62011 .

Her website is here: http://www.nicolebedardphotography.com/