Yesterday was a good day! I was feeling pretty ambitious. After all it was only about 32 degrees outside and 38 degrees in my box (garage) so pretty much perfect conditions for an endurance workout. LOL! Yup, you guessed it, I had a little bit of aggression to get out of my system and so I created a new WOD for just that - Moose's "Aggro 500"!

Well I was feeling rather ambitious today, so I thought to myself I'd just try something a little more endurance based. And man! I got my heart rate up to 190 beats per minute with this one...

Well its been way too long since my last post and I truly apologize. I could give a handful of excuses, but I'm not one to externalize and well, I don't think anyone would really care. (insert world's smallest violin sound bite here ;-)

Tabata something else or fight gone bad are fairly intense crossfit workouts.  Being that I’ve had limited time to workout some days as of late, I’ve been experimenting with a variety of tabata inspired workouts.
Exert from a previous post: “Complete 20 seconds of each exercise as quickly as you can, followed by 10 seconds of rest, then repeat another 7 times for a total of 8 intervals.  Note, the trick is that you want a high amount of reps per interval because your personal score is the lowest number of completed reps in a single set.”
Workout (total time to complete 29 minutes):

Tabata Squats, 1 minute rest;
Tabata Push-ups, 1 minute rest;
Tabata Pull-ups, 1 minute rest;
Tabata Sit-ups, 1 minute rest;
Tabata Double Unders, 1 minute rest;
Tabata 24″ box jumps with a 20lbs vest on.

Scoring this workout:
Take your lowest amount of reps in each set of 8 intervals and add together for a final total.
My score was 22 + 7 + 6 + 12 + 15 + 8 = total 70!
Give it a shot and post your total to comments.

Posted in Crossfit: My love/hate relationship Tagged: box jumps, crossfit, double unders, fight gone bad, moose, pull ups, push ups, sit ups, squats, tabata

I’ve been preoccupied this past week with putting the final tweaks on my home crossfit gym.  The biggest hurdle I encountered was trying to figure out what kind of pull-up bar I would use.  I had tried a few different free-standing chin up stations but found that I couldn’t do the kipping pull-ups at all.  And to boot, my garage has a very low ceiling height which makes is awkward to do a static pull up let alone a kipping pull-up.   So my dilemma was what kind of bar system could I MacGyver together outside by my patio?  (and to do it in a way that wouldn’t upset my fellow townhouse neighbors?)
I looked at all the bars available (including about 5 of which I sell at my stores, but none of them would do).  So I settled upon a couple of heavy duty barn door handles and some massive 3.5″ wood screws and locking washers to attach them to the underside of my back deck.  And voila!  I’ve got Pull-up handles now.  And believe you-me that I was skeptical at first that they would handle my 215lbs frame.  But here’s the video to prove it worked and they are rock solid.
Now just to install my rings, pickup my ab mat and d-balls and I’m full-time, home crossfitting!

Posted in Crossfit: My love/hate relationship Tagged: ab mat, bar, chin up, crossfit, d-ball, fitness, handle, home gym, kip, kipping pull up, pull up, rings

So here’s the workout:
Complete 20 seconds of squats as quickly as you can, followed by 10 seconds of rest, then repeat another 7 times for a total of 8 intervals/rounds.  Note, the trick is that you want a high amount of reps per interval because your personal score is the lowest number of completed reps in a single set.  This one was way harder than I thought it was going to be and it really kicked my butt!
Warm-up:

2,000 meter row for time (time = 7:29)
Tabata Double unders (my lowest score = 15 reps)

The workout:
Tabata squats with 135lbs…

Remember your score is the lowest amount of reps completed in a single round/interval.  Post your score to comments and good luck!
Posted in Crossfit: My love/hate relationship Tagged: double unders, interval, kicked, reps, row, squats, tabata, wod, workout of the day

Tuesday’s workout entailed us doing 1 rep max squat cleans (I only did 185lbs for 3 reps).  Admittedly, my clavicle which I broke years ago has been preventing me from shelving the bar in the front squat position. This is unfortunately limiting the weight i can move in either front squats or cleans. I think I’m going to break down and either wrap the bar with a towel to reduce the stress or use a bar pad (I hope no one laughs at me).
Below are videos which I’ve found to the best at demonstrating a good, squat clean and the theory behind them. Good luck! Post your 1 rep max results to comments. Happy squatting!

Link to a great video here too.
Posted in Crossfit: My love/hate relationship Tagged: bar pad, crossfit, demonstration, front squat, guide, how to, shelfing, shelving, squat clean, theory, video

“Fight gone bad” a la Kermit style!  This workout was a serious burner.  By the end I was completely spent.  My endurance, or lack of, was clearly brought to front of mind for me after this one as I saw a significant decline in my total amount of reps from round 1 to round 3.  My score for round 1 was 114; round 2 was 84; and round 3 was 76 for a total of 274.  Not bad, but certainly not my best.  Check out the club leaderboard website here for updates on your favorite workouts of the day.
Workout Description:
3 rounds, 1 min per station with 1 minute between rounds - (think the original WOD, Fight Gone Bad)

KB bear crawl - 10 m lengths (25 lbs for ladies/45 lbs for gentlemen)
Burpees
Glute-ham situps
Pullups
D-ball slams (12 lbs/20 lbs - ladies/gentlemen)
Double unders

The workout is scored by 1 point per rep, final score is the cumulative amount of reps completed within the 3 rounds of the WOD.
Video of Fight Gone Bad with explanation:

Posted in Crossfit: My love/hate relationship Tagged: bear crawl, burpee, crossfit, d-ball slams, double unders, fight gone bad, glute ham situps, pullups, wod

My first attempt at widowmaker squats was back on January 15th.  At that point Crossfit, Vancouver initiated the experiment which would involve everyone at the gym doing the widowmaker workout 2 to 3 times per week over a 6 or 7 week period.  Unfortunately I missed the majority of these workouts due to injury, but it would appear that yoga didn’t slow me down at all.
Today, however, I decided to just give it a rip and up my weight from 210 lbs to 225lbs.  And I nailed it!  I honestly wasn’t planning to be able to complete the 20 but was doing it for more my own interest sake to see if after 4 weeks I had lost a lot of strength.  I can tell you that isn’t the case, and I’m in fact hitting some new personal bests already.  Thank you YOGA!
Here’s a video of Joel from Cross-Fit Vancouver doing 300lbs for 20 reps!  Joel is a machine…

Posted in Crossfit: My love/hate relationship Tagged: 20 rep, crossfit, max, personal best, squat, strength, vancouver, widowmaker, yoga

Well, after almost a month off from any Cross-fit or weight training I’m back at it with a vengeance.   Tuesday’s night WOD, “Annie with a twist“, was a good one to come back to.  The workout consists of doing 15 rounds of 10 Double-unders and 10 ab-mat sit ups for time. I banged it off in 9:02!  Honestly, I did not expect to do so well after a 4 week hiatus.
I attribute my speed to the fact that I have lost 13 pounds of fat doing yoga.  Not to mention my core muscles, especially my abs have increased in endurance and strength from all the static poses that yoga has to offer.  Long and short of it all, I thank Bikram’s for keeping me fit while I rehabbed my back and tennis-elbow.
Here’s my 4 week off play-by-play:
Week 1:

3 days of laser therapy on my back and elbow (check out Laser Health Solutions and ask for Dr. Rob)
2 chiropractor adjustments on my S.I. joint
5 days of Bikram’s Hot Yoga

Week 2:

3 days of laser therapy
4 days of Bikram’s hot yoga

Week 3:

3 days of laser therapy
1 adjustment on my S.I. Joint
5 days of Birkam’s hot yoga

Week 4:

2 days of laser therapy
3 days of hot yoga

Just for fun, here’s a YouTube video of the traditional “Annie” workout:

Posted in Crossfit: My love/hate relationship Tagged: abmat, annie, bikram, core, crossfit, double, health, jump rope, laser, si joint, situps, solutions, twist, unders, wod, yoga

Well today is the day that I thought would never come - I did Yoga!  You heard me right, I, of all people did Yoga.  And all I can say is “wow!”
Who came up with the idea of stretching and holding poses in an insulated room with temperatures at 105* F (40*C)?  Hot YOGA it is!  It not only sounds crazy, but it IS crazy!  But you know what?  I feel phenomenal.  My lower back especially feels looser and the nagging pain in my S.I. Joint is feeling somewhat relieved.  I’m not gonna go as far as to say I’m cured, but I swear that my body feels quite a bit better after my first class.
The people at Bikram Yoga, Whiterock are extremely warm and welcoming.  I think they could tell I was somewhat nervous being my first class and all.  I would recommend visiting them in a heartbeat if you are keen to try your first yoga experience.  They made is somewhat pain free, at least until I had to try and touch my toes. 
During the 90 minute class we completed the following postures:

Standing Deep Breathing
Half Moon/Hands to Feet Pose
Awkward Pose
Eagle Pose
Standing Head to Knee Pose
Standing Bow Pulling Pose
Balancing Stick Pose
Standing Separate Leg Stretching Pose
Triangle Pose
Standing Separate Leg Head to Knee Pose
Tree Pose
Toe Stand Pose
Dead Body Pose
Wind Removing Pose
Sit-up
Cobra Series
Fixed Firm Pose
Half Tortoise Pose
Camel Pose
Rabbit Pose
Head to Knee with Stretching Pose
Spine Twisting Pose
Blowing in Firm

I have signed up for a week and a half of classes and will let you know how things are progressing throughout.
Posted in Health & Wellness Tagged: bikram, hot, moose, postures, stretching, studio, whiterock, yoga

For this workout of the day, you need to rep off 20 back squats with your maximum weight.  However, take note that you have to complete the 20 reps in a single go.  You rack the bar and the set doesn’t count - make sure you are executing proper back squats for each and every rep and that you’re getting down to the seated position (legs at a right angle).
The Widow Maker - 20 rep max squat
Take your time warming up you legs, but don’t overdue it as you want to make sure you have enough gas in your tank to grit through your 20 reps.  As a rule of thumb, you may want to try just 65% of your 1-rep max your first go around at this WOD.
Our warm up was an easy 1 mile run (my time was 7:02 - at least I’m consistent).
Workout:  20 reps of back squat max (I used 210lbs today based on 315lbs being my 1-rep max).  I have to say I felt pretty strong still at the end so plan to up it to 225lbs next time.
We’re going to be running this workout 2 to 3 times per week for the next 6 weeks.  The theory is that by the end of 6 weeks you should be able to rep out 20 squats of your starting 1-rep max.  20 reps at 315lbs?  I have to execute it to believe it… I’ll keep you posted.
Great video on the Geometry of the Back Squat:

Posted in Crossfit: My love/hate relationship Tagged: back squat, crossfit, mile, of the day, rep, warmup, workout

This one is a total pump!  For time, complete the following set of exercises for this succession of reps of 21, 15, 12, 9, 6, and 3:

Back Squat (95lbs for the boys/55lbs for the girls)
Shoulder Press (95lbs for the boys/55lbs for the girls)
Pull ups
Sit ups

i.e. 21 x Back Squat, 21 x Shoulder Press, 21 x Pull Ups, and then 21 x Sit ups… next progress to 15 x each, etc, etc… progress as per above - I think you get the idea.
I really pushed it today and banged off the workout in 12:51!
#2 baby!!
I’m so fired up as this is a new personal best for me.  Its crazy but in the past month my progress has been jumping in leaps and bounds.  I think that diet has a huge amount to do with this.   If I get enough interest, next week I will do a series of posts based on my diet and daily caloric intake.
Give “Wendy” a go and post your results to comments.  Good luck!
Here’s a video of some of the characters of Crossfit Vancouver… check out this motley crew!

Posted in Crossfit: My love/hate relationship Tagged: back squat, crossfit, pullups, shoulder press, situps, wendy, wod, workout of the day

Monday’s Workout - “3 Burner Progression”
Leave it to Patty to kick me in the ass after a lazy weekend.  Today was actually 3 short, hard and fast workouts, each a little longer than the one before it.
Warm-up: 60 second progression
1 Burpee followed by 1 pull-up, then 2 burpees and 2 pull-ups, etc… go for as long as you can in 60 seconds  (I got to 5… and my heart rate must have been about 170)
Workout 1:  50 D-Ball slams (20lbs for the boys and 12lbs for the girls), then rest for 5 to 7 minutes
Workout 2:  75 Wall balls, then rest for 5 to 7 minutes
Workout 3:  Navy Seal  - 1,000 m row, then 50 thrusters (45 lbs for the boys and 35lbs for the girls), then followed by 30 pull-ups
Scoring:  Add up all 3 times together for your overall time
How did I do?  Not bad considering that my shoulders were still shot from Saturday’s WOD.  But I scored 1:03 on my D-ball slams, then 2:57 on my wall balls, and 8:58 on my Navy Seal.  Total time was 12:58!
#6 on the board!
I have to say that I haven’t felt this beat up for a long, long time.  Reminded me of my first “assesment” workout.  I had to run outside after the Navy Seal workout becuase I was sure I was going to hurl.  Lucky for me the cool air subdued my nausea.
Give this one a go, I know you won’t be disappointed.  Good luck.
Here’s a video from YouTube on the Navy Seal WOD:

Posted in Crossfit: My love/hate relationship Tagged: burpees, chin ups, crossfit, d-ball slams, navy seal, row, thrusters, wallballs, wod, workout of the day

Thursday is traditionally the ” Big man night” at Crossfit, so on those days we lift heavy.  And as Popeye says, “the week wouldn’t be complete without some deadlifts”.   In this workout, our goal was to strengthen our posterior chains and train the anterior side with ab mat sit ups.
Warm up:  1 mile run for time (had a PB of 7:02 for my mile… mental note to self, should have pushed it a bit harder, I had a lot of gas left in the tank)
Workout:  The rep range for the deadlifts was 3-2-1-1-2-3 ; then immediately following the deadlift set, have your partner run a timer for 30 seconds and go for max rep ab mat sits ups.  Note:  bottoms of feet together heels pulled in towards butt, arms straight out in front not overhead.  Do the same for each deadlift set, while taking about 3 minutes between sets.
To score, you take your total deadlift weight and divide by the total rounds (6) and get the average of your combined lifts then combine that average to the lowest number in any round of ab mat sit ups.
My score was 417 = (2400lbs / 6 sets) + 17 ab mat sit-ups.  Breakdown below:

Set 1 - Deadlift 3 reps x 365lbs followed by 17 ab-mat situps, then 3 minute rest;
Set 2 - Deadlift 2 reps x 385lbs followed by 17 ab-mat situps, then 3 minute rest;
Set 3 - Deadlift 1 rep x 405lbs followed by 17 ab-mat situps, then 3 minute rest;
Set 4 - Deadlift 1 rep x 415lbs followed by 17 ab-mat situps, then 3 minute rest;
Set 5 - Deadlift 2 reps x 415lbs followed by 17 ab-mat situps, then 3 minute rest;
Set 6 - Deadlift 3 reps x 415lbs followed by 17 ab-mat situps, then 3 minute rest.

#4 on the board! Sweet
If you are not sure of how to do a proper deadlift, below is a good little video explaining proper technique.

Posted in Crossfit: My love/hate relationship Tagged: 1 mile run, ab mat, chain, crossfit, deadlift, posterior, situp, vancouver, wod, workout

Wednesday’s at Crossfit, Vancouver traditionally consist of gymnastics and body weight movements.  So of course, Popeye kept with tradition and had us do the following workout…
Workout A:  With a running clock.
1 push up 1 box jump… 1st minute
2 push ups 2 box jumps… 2nd minute
3 push ups 3 box jumps… 3rd minute….. as high up the ladder you can go.
perform all the push ups first before starting the box jumps. Chest to ground on the push ups.
Next we rested for 3 minutes exactly.  Then on to workout B
Work out B
Complete as many sets of 5 chest to bar pull ups (for the men); regular style pull ups (for ladies); and exactly 10 breaths between sets and thne on to the next set of 5.  Continue on for as many rounds as possible.  Once we failed we were out.
Total the rounds you scored from Workout A and the number of sets of 5 chest to bar pull ups/regular pull ups from Workout B …
My totals were:
Workout A = 15 rounds
Workout B = 2 sets (I slipped off the bar and fell — lame!)
Total Score was 17.
Needless to say, I was a little peeved at myself but that’s okay — I will kill it next time!
For those of you unfamiliar with Mitch Gaylord, here’s a video of him from the 1984 Olympics.

Posted in Crossfit: My love/hate relationship Tagged: box, chest, gaylord, jumps, mitch, pullup, pushup, wod, workout

After 2 weeks of nursing my right elbow and my SI joint, I’m starting to feel somewhat back to normal.  Yesterday was my first workout back at the Crossfit, Vancouver gym and man! it was a burner.
For once in a long while I was wishing I weighed less than 225 lbs.  My quads today are feeling it.  This is a fairly quick workout and will take less than 30 minutes to complete.  The best times at the gym were all sub 19 minutes - but not me.  I finished in 22:02.  First day back, I’m letting myself off this time.
For time, we completed the following:

21 bodyweight squats
50 double unders
9 ring dips
15 bodyweight squats
50 double unders
15 ring dips
9 bodyweight squats
50 double unders
21 ring dips

If unfamiliar with double unders, here’s a great video for your review.
Happy 2009!

Posted in Crossfit: My love/hate relationship Tagged: bodyweight, crossfit, double unders, quads, ring dips, squats, vancouver, wod, workout

What is a sacroiliac joint?
The Sacroiliac Joints are located at the bottom of the back. You have one either side of the spine. The Sacroiliac joints help make up the rear part of the pelvic girdle and sit between the sacrum and the ilia.
There are torsional or twisting forces applied to the pelvic girdle when the lower limbs are moved. These limbs act like long levers and without the sacroiliac joints and the pubic symphysis (at the front of the pelvis) which allow movement, the pelvis would very likely be subject to a fracture.
These joints can often get stuck or in some cases one half of the pelvis can glide forwards or backwards, which is often referred to as a twisted pelvis. When this occurs it often irritates the Iliolumbar ligament which results in Inflammation. This is usually indicated by tenderness around the bony lumps which you can feel if you place your thumbs either side of your lower back.
Inflammation of the sacroiliac joints and associated ligaments are very common, especially following pregnancy where the hormone relaxing is released and this results in the relaxation of ligaments in preparation for childbirth. In most cases the causes of sacroiliitis are mechanical, however there may be other medical inflammatory conditions present such as Ankylosing Spondylitis as well as others which will need attention.
Symptoms include:

Pain located either to the left or right of your lower back. The pain can range from an ache to a sharp pain which can restrict movement.
The pain may radiate out into your buttocks and low back and will often radiate to the front into the groin. Occasionally it is responsible for pain in the testicles among males.
Occasionally there may be referred pain into the lower limb which can be mistaken for sciatica.
Classic symptoms are difficulty turning over in bed, struggling to put on shoes and socks and pain getting your legs in and out of the car.
Stiffness in the lower back when getting up after sitting for long periods a

Quarter gone bad…
That’s an understatement.
The workout is 5 rounds of the following:

Thrusters (135lbs for men / 85 lbs for women) - as many reps you can do in 15 seconds
45 second rest
Weighted Pull-ups (50lbs for men / 20 lbs for women) - as many reps you can do in 15 seconds
45 second rest
Burpees - as many as you can do in 15 seconds
45 second rest

Your score is tallied by adding up your total amount of reps for each exercise for all 5 rounds.
i.e. My score for round 1 was 16 (5 thrusters, 3 W.P.Ups, 8 burpees)
My final score for the whole workout was 68.
Give it a go and post your scores to comments.
It was a beauty... the moose is loose!
Video of Quarter Gone Bad:

Posted in Crossfit: My love/hate relationship Tagged: bad, burpees, crossfit, gone, pullups, quarter, thrusters, weighted, wod, workout

First of all, thank you, Kermit!  She created her own rendition of the below workout for CrossFit Vancouver.  The workout is done the same way that the song is sung.  You complete the first exercise, then move on to the 2nd, then back to the first, etc etc
You get the idea, for each round you add an additional exercise that is one more repetition than the previous. So here it is in all its glory.
WOD:  “The 12 Days of Christmas”

1 Burpee
2 Turkish getups (20lbs/35lbs)
3 Cleans (85 lbs/135 lbs)
4 Box Jumps (20”)
5 Push-ups
6 Air squats
7 Sit-ups
8 Wallballs (12lbs/20lbs)
9 Double unders
10 KB swings (red/black)
11 Pull-ups
12 Mountain climbers

The above workout took me 29:11 to complete - I just made the board at #10.
Made the board... #10!
A video of Christmas in July - another rendition of the 12 Days of Christmas.

Posted in Crossfit: My love/hate relationship Tagged: 12 days of christmas, air squats, box jumps, burpee, cleans, crossfit, double unders, kb swings, mountain climbers, pullups, pushups, sit ups, turkish getups, vancouver, wallballs, wod, workout