The Future of the Reebok CrossFit Games, from a Notso-CrossFitter

I likely could have made this blog longer, but I'm not one for typing, and I'm supposed to be packing....shit.

The 2012 CrossFit Games season has come to a close.  Froning and Thorisdotter stand victorious once again in a memorable double-repeat as the fittest man and woman on Earth.

I spent the entire weekend watching the Spectator Stream live from my work computer, with an few hours of training and Post Checks here and there.  It was an awesome thing to watch.  The contestants have unbelievable stamina and strength.  PRs were being set left and right.  Everything was as intense and electric as you would imagine.

Attendance in the Home Depot Center set records.  Not CF Games records, but HDC records for any event held at the center.  If you started following CF back when I did (2008) its was nearly unfathomable how far this sport has come.  Rags to riches, more or less.

CrossFit is growing fast and isn't showing any signs of slowing down soon.  So we have to ask ourselves, what next?  The HDC can't hold it forever.  Hell, I don't think they can seriously consider using the HDC in 2013.  2012 tickets sold out completely in a matter of days!  There are a few viable options that I think CrossFit HQ and Reebok should consider as ways-ahead for the CFG that will allow the sport to continue its growth, provide more unpredictability, and allow more spectators to visit the games.

The biggest option that is probably the favorite of mine is treating the CFG the same as the Superbowl, World Cup, World Series and countless other major, worldwide sporting events.  Move the venue every year to a new location.  There are multiple venues that can hold more spectators and still have the facilities needed for unpredictable workouts.  Many major cites have held Olympic Games over the years and still have those facilities that can be used for track workouts, swimming, weightlifting etc.  Additionally, you throw in environmental factors that people must plan for.  CFG in Denver this year?  Better plan for high altitudes.  You see where I'm going with this?  Atlanta, LA, Denver, Dallas, Columbus (Rogue would love that, right?), all of these places fit the bill.  Why leave it in America?  We are searching for the Fittest in the World, right?  How about the CFG in Berlin, or Barcelona, or Sydney.  

One thing I heard repeated again and again is CrossFit in the Olympics.  This is where I think we may be getting a little ahead of ourselves.  Lets look at this realistically.  The IOC isn't going to allow Dave Castro to show up and drop a bunch of random workouts, with sketchy programming, standards, and safety considerations.  If it was ever even allowed to be in the Olympics it would be so over-regulated it would basically end up being a decathlon with weightlifting thrown in.  Anyway, why would CrossFitters even want to be in the Olympics?  That shit is mainstream.  I thought we were the rebels.  The fitness outcasts gathering on a dusty ranch for the "Woodstock of Fitness".   The Reebok partnership stirred shit up enough, and it was much more of a blessing than initially thought.  Initially, people were jumping ship like the Titanic was goin down!

Its hard to say what next year will bring.  But I hope it keeps up the trend.  Keep growing, keep moving forward, but don't forget where it came from.  "We are the Underground", keep it that way.

CFG Atlanta 2013!!  At least I'd think it was cool.

Deuces.

No Barbell for awhile...maybe

Had to get in the last workout today, tomorrow I'm flying to Atlanta to visit family.  Not sure what the gym scene is in Hiram, GA but I wasn't really given a warm fuzzy by Google search.  I imagine there will be a sufficient amount of running, and some playground workouts if I cant find anything else. 


Maybe I'll just grab heavy things from Mom's garage and just run around the yard with them; entertain the neighbors a little, who knows?


Todays workout:


Back Squat 3x5 @ 255#
Dips 3x10
Situps w/med-ball throw 25-20-10


I'm fairly sore from yesterday's tire flipping/sledge hitting shenanigans.  Honestly didn't thing I'd be that sore but I guess I have been neglecting the tire lately, and I paid my dues for it.


My wife managed to gank my last Kill Cliff, which she enjoyed...so now I have to order enough for the both of us...  At least we'll be in the Atlanta area for 10 days and I can get it from a store...boom!

Death by Tire Flips

The stay at home workout today. Recently I had to sell my stands, barbell and weights, but I managed to retain my big ass tire (not that I can really transport the behemoth anywhere), my sledge, sand bag, and various other implements.

I revisited the Death by Tire Flips workout I discovered on StrongmanWOD last year. So with this tire (well over 600#) i can get up to five on each round, which made for a total of 30 flips. After the flips I completed what I will call a medley, for lack of a better word, of sledge hits, 2pood one-arm swings, and parallete pushups for 15 minutes.

 No real rep scheme, just do something until you can't anymore and then do something else. When I was finished I could barely hold on to my cup of water. So my arms are bruised from flips and my shoulders, traps, and forearms are sore as shit!

 I feel fuckin awesome!

Squats and Fish Oil

First day of leave today.  Its always a good feeling knowing that you're not at work when you should be and still getting paid for it.  Especially when you have to wake up at 3am to go to work...I can feel my Test level increasing already.

Last night I got in my workout late due to me not having scheduled day care this week and not being able to take my kid to the gym with me.  There was definitely something wrong with my leg yesterday.  My knee was hurting all day for no damn reason and by the end of the day there was some serious pain in my tibialis anterior, or just below that.  Couldn't tell why, wasn't really injured, just really sore.  It probably should have prevented me from squatting, but I'm a little hard-headed so when its time to squat, well.... that's what the hell I'm gonna do.

Workout:

3-3-3-3-3 Power Cleans
125#(4)-135#-145#-155#-165#

3-3-3-3-3 Back Squat
225#-245#-255#-265#-270#

100# per hand Farmers Carry (100ft x 5-6)

I got home and took like 4 grams of Fish Oil, 10,000iu of Vitamin D3 and went to bed.  This morning I didnt have any leg pain, so hopefully it wont be coming back.

In the words of Lift Big Eat Big - "If you can't fix it with Squats or Fish Oil, you're probably going to die"

Gettin it in On-the-Job

This last three days were LONG!  It was my last cycle before taking leave in Georgia.  On the last day I spent a little time in the gym. (we have one in the area where we work)

Granted, lifting heavy things while having less than 10 hrs sleep over three nights isnt the most productive thing in the world, neither is not doing shit in the gym for three days.

Worked up to heavy singles on deadlift at 385#.  After that I threw 115# and the bar and did sets of 5 on strict press until it became impossible (with pullups x 3 in between), the did sets of 5 push-press.  Really trying to get my overhead strength way up.  Finished up trying out the Klokov Press with an empty bar for a couple reps...That one could get ugly down the road, its brutal!

Klokov press is essentially a wide snatch-grip, behind the neck, strict press, or SGBTNSP if you're an acronym loving crossfitter.  It was made popular by the Russian weightlifting phenom/psychopath for which it is named.

Here is a video of the beast from Lift-Run-Bang doing it at 185# for 9 reps.

In other news, Kill Cliff hit a deal with GNC, that means you can get that shizz anywhere soon!

Georgia on My Mind

So in about a week, I'll be hopping on a plane to GA and visiting family for about 10 days, including a trip to Water World, and hopefully, Falcons Training Camp.  Otherwise this has been a fairly normal off cycle.

I made an attempt to hit up my (sort-of) college gym, unfortunately they wont let you in if your not registered for classes.  So I turned around and headed to Midtown Sports and Wellness for a little workout:

Back Squat 3x5 @ 250#
Press 3x5 @ 120#
Seated Dumbell Press 2x5 @ 50# each

First time ever doing dumbell presses but I think I need to incorporate more overhead shoulder stuff, seeing as how its my weakest point.

BTW, that was yesterday.

Today was spent at the base gym for deadlifts (only place I can use chalk...).  So today's workout went a little like this:

Deadlift 5-5-5 (315#-335#-335#)
Bench Press 3x5 @ 185#

I didn't feel very sore.  This may be due to the fact my Kill Cliff came in a couple days ago and I've been drinking the shit out of it.

If you've never heard of (or tried) Kill Cliff its the first "recovery drink" on the market. (that's not a protein shake) It is very refreshing and the ingredients have anti-inflammatory properties as well as some other benefits.  Its also not LOADED WITH CRAP like Red Bull, Monster and the ton of other gut bombs available in your local truck stop.

I drink the hell out of it regardless of the fact I can only get it online for now.  If you want to try it, click on any where in this post that says Kill Cliff and order a case, you WONT be disappointed.

My Neck, My Back! My Neck and My Back!

Friday was fairly heavy.  Once again I took advantage of an opportunity to use a local gym instead of the base gym, Midtown Sports and Wellness.  I like to go here because its clean, they have decent equipment, the rowers WORK, and they have a pool and Jacuzzi. (for recovery, of course)

After doing some rower warm-up, I hit the squat rack and worked up to heavy doubles.

Then I was interpreted.

I HATE being interrupted in a workout, however, its the nature of being a Husband, Father and Active Duty Serviceman...so be it.

Anyway, after a 45 minute rest, I hit up some bench press, working up to a heavy single (210#) and then proceeded back to the rack for heavy rack pulls (below the knee), working up to a single at 455#.

Finished up with "assistance work", which is a fancy powerlifters way of saying isolation without sounding like a body builder.  Basically 3x10 shrugs @ 315# and 3x10 elevated/weighted(25#) situps.

So you're thinking, that sounds like a lot of volume.  Well seeing as I'm not really a elite level lifter, yea, it was a shitload of volume.  Come Saturday morning I felt like a steamroller had plowed over my Traps, spinal erectors, and whatever's in between.  Even contrast baths after the workout Friday were of no help.  Needless to say, Saturday was rest.

Sunday, as I was prepping to head to the base gym for a workout, the Wife got called into work.  So what was prepping to be a little "Grace" and running, turned out to be a quick little garage burner:

70# KB Swing x 25
80# Sandbag Clean/Press x 30 (about 12 min w/time to re-tie the sand bag 3x)
70# KB Swing x 25

KB Swings were unBroken

Back feels a little tight, time to roll...