Crossfit 831 - A New Adventure

Thanks to the magic of Groupon and the amazing generosity of one local gym owner, I was able to afford a membership to my first crossfit gym!  My first class was last Monday.

For the longest time, I have wanted to do crossfit in an official gym with an official coach.  I first started crossfitting about 4-5 years ago with my housemates at 24 hour fitness.  I've done it a lot on my own, but this is a new adventure.  I want the coaching and the community, and it seems like it will deliver both.

 My first class we did this workout:
3×3 Front Squat
First two with a pause and 3rd regular.
WOD:
700m Row
30 Thrusters (75/105)
75 Double unders

I did 145# on the front squats (with pauses).  I've never done pauses like that before, but it was pretty fun, and good on the quads.

When I did the WOD, I accidentally put 115# on the bar to start.  About half way through, I had to drop 20# to 95#.   I finished in about 16:40, I think.

 I got some serious DOMS... mostly in my traps from the heavy thrusters, but also in the quads, calves and maybe a bit all over.

I'm excited about this new adventure, and I'm hereby announcing my new goal:
Cut my Fran time in half by Christmas! (in other words,  under 11:04)

The Numbers Say I'm Straawwng!!

I did it! Three weeks ahead of schedule, I hit the strength standards for the basic lifts.  Also during the five weeks I gained about 2 pounds, and I think it's pretty much all muscle.  I'm starting to look bigger, and lats are looking wing-like.  I will post some update photos probably in a week or so.

Here are the results:

DEADLIFT
293 lb. - July 16  [Intermediate standard  = 280 lb.]

BACK SQUAT
238 lb. - Oct. 8 [standard = 238 lb.]

BENCH PRESS
178 lb. - Oct. 17 [standard = 178 lb.]

OVERHEAD PRESS
120.5 lb. - Oct. 10 [standard = 121]*

*note these are the strength standards at 155 lbs. but my weight has ranged from 151-154 during these last few months.

Now I need to set a new goal.  I just joined a crossfit gym, so I plan on doing crossfit for the next few months.  Stay tuned....

Gunnning For Strength Standards

My new goal is to knock out the "Intermediate" level strength standards listed here: http://www.strstd.com/

Of course, those standards are somewhat arbitrary, but hey... if you don't aim at something when you're pissing, you'll end up splashing pee everywhere. 

I've already surpassed the deadlifts, so now I'm focusing on squats (3x per week) and bench and overhead press (2x per week).  My hope is that within 2 months or so, I can hit those standards and then give myself the prize for "Totally Intermediate Superstar."

I'm still trying to follow the leangains diet, with an average of about 2500 cal per day.  I think this should be a good amount for building muscle.  We'll see how it goes.

Extra Bonus: If I can add 10 lbs. to my deadlift, I'll be doing double my bodyweight.  That will rock!

The Longest Run Of My Life (So Far)

Last Monday (labor day) I completed my first half marathon.  A total of 13.1 miles made this run the longest of my life so far.  I had minimal training, doing a 7.6 mile run one week earlier, and a session of half mile sprints a few days later.  Other than that, I had done a little running a few weeks back, but nothing that even came close to the 13.1 mile mark.

The surprise for me wasn't that I finished, but how fast I was able to run!  The 7.6 mile training run was done at a 11:30 minute/mile pace, and the half marathon I completed at a 10:43 pace (including hills!)  My total time for the race was 2:20:25.

Following my mom's advice, I started slow and tried to just settle in to a comfortable pace for the long haul.  She said it's better to let people pass in the beginning, and then start passing people later in the race.  At the 5 mile mark  I was surprised to be running under a 10 minute mile.  I felt great, not tired at all, and from that point on I didn't let anyone pass me.  On the contrary, I must have passed a dozen or more people before the race finished.  (There were less than 200 people running the half-marathon so they were pretty sparsely distributed on the course).

At the last mile, I crashed.  I felt so hungry and had to start walking.  I think I could've finished 5 minutes faster if I had gotten some more calories at the rest stops.   When I finished, I drank 2 sodas, a Gatorade and a bottle of water.  I ate a ton of potato chips, brownies, m&ms, and some organic berries and cottage cheese (from home.)  Basically, I pigged out.  I learned my lesson for next time.  Although, now I have my sights set on a full marathon ...2013, perhaps?

First Ever Muscle-Up!!!

Oh yeah, baby!  It's been a couple months since I last tried muscle-ups.  At the time, I could do about 8-10 strict pull-ups and 6-8 strict dips.  After the last three months of training, I got up to about 12 pullups and 9 dips max effort.  So, I had a good feeling that I was ready to bust out a legit M.U. 

I hit it on my third try, but check out the video for full dramatic effect.  I bet next time I try, I'll get a set of two.

12 Weeks Complete!

The Results Are In...

I didn't hit all of my goals, but made great progress over the last 12 weeks.  The highlight would have to be the addition of 30 pounds to my max deadlift (while losing 10+ lbs. of body weight!!!)  So, let's crunch the numbers and check out the visuals.

LIFTS:  (weights in pounds)

Deadlift:
Start: 263x1   Finish: 293x1

Squat:
Start: 190x5(?)  Finish: 198x6

Bench:
Start: 138x6    Finish: 153x5

Power Clean:
new 1RM at 148 

BODY WEIGHT:
Goal was to lose about 1 lb. per week, and mostly a success
Start: 163 Finish: 151

VISUALS:
Note, I think it's hard to see much of a difference in the photos, but I also think that when I look in the mirror, I look more fit than I ever have ever before in my life.

REFLECTIONS:



Well, I gained strength and lost weight... and that's pretty cool.  Not only that, but I enjoyed the diet and didn't feel any major difficulties except that it takes time to count calories.   I look great and I'm totally happy with that.  I was aiming to hit the "intermediate" strength standards listed here, and far surpassed it in my deadlift but didn't hit it on any other lifts.  I think I can get those lifts soon after I return from the next month-long break.  Overall, I'm excited to try another round, this time aiming to lose a little more body fat and keep upping the strength numbers.

8 Week Check-In

8 Weeks of leangains, and I'm feeling great.  I did a PR deadlift today 258x4 (compared to 263x1 when I started.)  Body fat is lower, definitely.  It's nothing crazy transformational so far, but I still have 4 weeks left, so we'll see what happens.  Here are the photos:

Before

8 Weeks

Tightening up the Diet

So I was reading about how many people doing leangains overestimate their calorie needs, and one person was suggesting to go as low as calories as you can without sacrificing strength gains.  So, I decided to cut calories again and try this out for the final 5-6 weeks of my 12 week trial.

Now, I'm down to an average of 2000 calories per day with macros like this:
Training day:
fat 37g
carbs 330g
protein 190g

Rest day:
fat 62g
carbs 95g
protein 190g

RPT training has been kicking my ass, so I expect to see some more strength gains over the next few weeks.  If all goes as planned, I think I might hit my goals by the end:
1) Low body fat %
2) Intermediate strength standards

Then, I'll have a little break from all this, before I start bulking on more muscle, yeah!

Injuries and New Plan

Well, on week 5 I blew out my lower back on deadlifts.  I rested for a few days, then came back to strain my shoulders/neck with press on Week 6.  More rest, and now I'm back on Day 7, but I've decided to change my workout schedule.  I think I was just doing too much volume.  So, I'm going to cut back a few lifts and then I might work my way back up again.

So, here's my plan for the next few weeks.  I will follow the typical RPT training protocol for leangains.  I''m going to pretty much stick to the plan here.  (With a few variations.)

Monday
1. Deadlift

• Warm-up sets
• Top Set 4-6reps (max effort)
  3-5 mins rest
• Set 2 (-10-15%) 6-8 (not max effort)
  2-3 mins rest
• Set 3 (-10-15%) 8-10
  5 mins rest

2. Weighted Chin-Ups

• Warm-up sets
• Top Set 6-8reps
  3-5 mins rest
• Set 2 (-10-15%) 8-10

Cooldown 5-10mins cardio, stretch.

Wednesday
1. Bench

• Warm-up sets
• Top Set 4-6reps
  3-5 mins rest
• Set 2 (-10-15%) 6-8
  2-3 mins rest
• Set 3 (-10-15%)8-10
  5 mins rest

2. Dips (2 sets, 3 mins rest.  5+ reps - not going to failure)

Cooldown 5-10mins cardio, stretch.

Friday
1. Squat

• Warm-up sets
• Top Set 4-6reps
  3-5 mins rest
• Set 2 (-10-15%) 6-8
  2-3 mins rest
• Set 3 (-10-15%)8-10

 Cooldown 5-10mins cardio, stretch.


We'll see how it goes.  I might want to substitute overhead press for bench, and I'd like to do some cleans somewhere just to increase explosive power.  But, with 6 weeks left on this initial leangains trial, maybe I'll just stick to the basics.

4 Week Check-in

So, 4 weeks finished and wouldn't you know it, but I hurt my back!   On Monday, I woke up feeling tired and sore, but I decided to push through it.  I did my deadlifts and after the second work set, I was feeling pain in my lower back.  But, I thought to myself, "it's all mental, I can do this."  I pushed through it and did a set of 5 at 238#, and it felt ok (technique-wise) but after I was done, I couldn't bend over anymore.  If I bent over, I couldn't stand up.  This was weird, I thought.  Soon, I couldn't even get out of bed.  So, I spent about 24 hours in bed, and still have some pain today.  Anyway, I hope it heals soon so I can get back to working out.  I want to be able to do more work and make more gains, but I gotta be patient.  At any rate, I've lost 6 pounds so far from 163 down to 157.  I feel great, and I'm willing to say that it was all fat.  I'm not sure if I've gained much muscle, maybe 1-2 pounds.  Definitely lower body fat.  I'm happy with the results.  I don't want to lose fat too fast, because my real goal is to gain muscle.  I can see a small difference in the mirror and in the photos.  But, I suppose it'll take 12 weeks to see a real significant change.    Anyway, here are some photos 4-weeks in...

Before Shot

4 weeks

Workout Schedule

Here's my schedule:

Monday:
Deadlift
80% x 5reps
90% x 5 reps
100% x 5+ reps (as many as possible, without reaching failure)
(increase weight 5 lbs. per week)
Weighted Chinups
80% x 5reps
90% x 5 reps
100% x 5+ reps
(increase weight by 2.5 lbs. per week)

Wednesday:
Overhead Press
80% x 5reps
90% x 5 reps
100% x 5+ reps
(increase weight 1.875 lbs. per week)
Power Cleans
80% x 5reps
90% x 5 reps
100% x 5+ reps
(increase weight by 2.5 lbs. per week)



Friday:
Back Squat

80% x 5reps
90% x 5 reps
100% x 5+ reps
(increase weight 5 lbs. per week)
Bench Press

80% x 5reps
90% x 5 reps
100% x 5+ reps
(increase weight by 2.5 lbs. per week)

Goals after 12 weeks:

Deadlift	292
Squat	248
Press	126
Power Clean	180
Bench	186

This week, I also played some sports on Monday, and did 75 kettlebell swings (35#) on Friday. 

Terrain Racing - San Jose - April 2012

 I got some photos from the race I did, right before starting this new leangains approach.  I loved the race, so I think I might try to do Tough Mudder in fall.
More photos here.

Fine Tuning the Diet

I'm trying to go leangains by the book, so to speak.  Unfortunately, I don't know exactly what my "maintenance" level of calories would be.  So, I'm just starting somewhere and making some small adjustments as I go. 

Here is where I started (bodyweight 163 lb., aprox. 12-15% fat)

Exercise Days (3 days per week):
40g fat
350g carbs
195g protein

Rest Days (4 days per week):
65g fat
80g carbs
195g protein

This averaged out to just about 2000 cal per day.

I shaved off about 10g of carbs from the workout days, because it just seemed a little carb heavy to me.

After about 2 weeks, I'm down to 160.5 lbs, so that's an average loss of 1.25 lb per week.  Of course, it can fluctuate daily, so I can't be that specific.  At any rate, I started thinking that 2000 cal was just too low for maintenance.  I'm trying to go just a little under maintenance because my plan is to lean out a bit before trying to bulk (as suggested in leangains)

So, about 2.5 weeks in, I've upped the calories to an average of about 2100 per day, as follows:
Exercise Days (3 days per week):
40g fat

340g carbs

200g protein


Rest Days (4 days per week):
65g fat

100g carbs

200g protein

I'm tracking calories pretty tight right now, just to keep good records.  I'm eating pretty much like paleo + dairy on rest days, and on exercise days, I supplement that with some oatmeal, beans, or pasta to up the carb intake.

It's been tough doing such a low fat diet, as I enjoy things like coconut milk or almonds, or fried food, or ice cream.  I've been a little hungry on the low-cal days, but I think that's the point right now.  I'm ok with being a little under on calories until I get to about maybe 155lbs, or maybe around 10% body fat.  Then, I might be a little more careful not to go overboard with weight loss.  My goal with this, after all, is to gain as much muscle as possible.  I'm not too concerned with the "leaning out" thing, except that according to the leangains strategy, it's easier to gain muscle when lean, so I'll try that method.

First Photos - May 2012

I'm going to start following the leangains program for the next 12 weeks.  I expect some pretty incredible results.  Here are my "before" photos.  I will post more soon.