08/15/2011 Daily Recap

I went to Crossfit this morning expecting to do what looked like an ass kicker of a WoD.  The metcon for the day was to do 40 wall balls, 40 sit ups, 80 jump ropes, then 30 wall balls, 30 sit ups, 60 jump ropes, and 20 wall balls, 20 sit ups, 40 jump ropes. 

When I got to the 9:30 AM session of Crossfit I felt like a death row inmate getting his pardon, anyone who hadn’t don the Crosffit Total, or CFT would have to make it up from the weekend.  The CFT is a program designed to find out your one rep maximum for Squats, Presses, and Dead lifts.  It appears as Potomac Crossfit moves forward it will use the CFT numbers to determine the weights you should be working at in a given lift or Workout of the Day.

I was happy to oblige, I quickly went from dread to excitement.

In doing squats I knew that the previous week I had done 4 reps of 225 lbs so I felt this would probably be a good starting point. 

I then did 1 rep at 245 lbs.  I could feel the weight was considerably heavier but I managed it.

My final rep was done at 265 lbs, in this particular rep I struggled a bit.  Coach Alison told me that I’m about an inch away from being in the correct position at the bottom, which is a vast improvement from my first time squatting at Crossfit.   I ended up doing one more set of 1 rep with 265 lbs this time I opened my stance a bit to see if I could get my big ass in the right position. 

I was able to do it, but I don’t think I got much further in depth, in fact I struggled a bit getting back up, and I really had to concentrate and focus to get erect again.

When doing the presses I had a rough idea as to how much I could press, so I started with 95 lbs to warm-up.

I then moved up to 105 lbs to do my first 1 rep max.

I then moved to 125 lbs to do my second 1 rep max.  The weight was heavier but still manageable.

My final set was done at 135 lbs to do my 1 rep max, and the 10 lbs of additional weight proved to be substantially harder. 

The final exercise was to do dead lifts.  I have actually been dying to do dead lifts, talk about drinking the fucking kool-aid, I just wrote I have been dying to get a chance to take a heavy weight and lift it vertically using my legs, back, and hips.  Next I’m going to tell you that my idea of a vacation is climbing a mountain, like McKinley. 

I did a quick warm-up at 225 lbs doing 5 reps.  I was really focusing on getting my shoulder back into the correct position, so that entire motion starts with my lower body.

My first maximum rep was done at 275 lbs.  It was done without question.

My second maximum rep was done at 315 lbs. 

My final maximum rep, I decided I would try it again, to work on the technique.  I did it, but was told by Alison I still need to work on getting my back into the correct start position at the bottom of the dead lift.

The way the Crossfit Total is scored is take your highest weight of each exercise and add all the weights together, so my final score was squat 265 lbs, press 135 lbs, dead lift 315 lbs, which brings my CFT to 715.  Not a bad number considering that I’ve only been at this for a couple of months, and that 4 months ago I was a bigger fatter load.

In the evening when I got home for work I sat on the couch to decompress a bit, and passed out.  I fell asleep in the seated position and didn’t wake up until well past midnight.  This caused me to neglect my duties as a dog owner, but I said screw it clearly the heavy lifting in the morning took more out of me then I anticipated. 

I did not end up doing any extra cardio, and got more than enough sleep, as my body clearly needed it.  I’m maintaining my Sunday morning weight of 280 lbs, and happy to say that 250 lbs is right around the corner. 

Two months ago I would watch the videos on Potomac Crossfits website and sit in awe of the things people were doing.  I was inspired by the dedication and determination that the athletes showed, in particular the women, to now be a part of this culture I’m getting excited and long for the day that I am doing the WoD’s as prescribed and performing at physical levels that tax me, and inspire others to work harder.

It’s time to end the pity party that I’ve been wrapped up in over the last couple of weeks, and realize it’s time to get moving, so as my Malibu Homeboy Sam would say… 

“Let’s Go!”