New Year: Review & Staring Ahead with Excitement

Welcome back, athletes, bloggers, readers, and wonderful subscribers to this meandering blog. I hope you had a superb New Year and are primed for the greatness that 2018 will undoubtedly bring. 2017 was a bit rubbish for many, although having just read my post from this time last year, apparently not as bad as 2016 was! So it’s all been upwards. And so I expect 2018 to be…upwards yet further.

Sitting here watching Scarlets vs Dragons rugby, in my cousin’s house in South Wales (although I’m an Ospreys fan), I’ve got about an hour to sit and reflect on my CrossFit successes of 2017 and look to what I seek to achieve in 2018.

So, what were my 2017 Goals?

1. Achieve a top 25% in CF Open 2017
2. Look and Feel Healthier
3. Complete 2 x Obstacle Races
4. Significantly Improve in Strength / Olympic Lifting

And, how have I done?

1. CF Open 2017. I smashed this goal with my best ever position – top 17% of individual males and top 14% of Masters Men (35-39), taking in to account all competitors, Rx and Scaled, who recorded all 5 workouts.
2. Look & Feel Healthier. Yes. For the first time on this CF journey, I feel like a credible CrossFitter. Through good nutrition, and plenty of hard work, I actually believe I look and compete like I belong there. It’s vain, I know, but it’s a motivating factor – we all want to look good for the effort we put in. The biggest difference has been nutrition which must continue in to 2018.
3. Events. I signed up for 2 events, as planned, but the first was cancelled on the day; the Swim/Run event had to be postponed due to weather. We’ve been promised that we can reattend in 2018 though and so that’ll be on my list. The second event, “Mission: Unbreakable”, a 10km OCR in North Devon was a huge amount of fun and really motivated me to get in another one this year.
4. Strength. Perhaps my biggest success of this year. As soon as the Open finished, I began on the AMRAP Plus One Advanced Weightlifting programme. Beginning with a 102.5kg Clean & Jerk, and a 72.5kg Snatch, I concluded 2018 with a 112.5kg Clean & Jerk, and an 80kg Snatch. oh, and a destroyed barbell 😉
5. CF Level 2 Trainer. Not a goal that I set out to achieve at the beginning of the year but an opportunity that was too good to miss. Thank you to CF Watford for giving me the space (and money) to do this; I’ve really grown as a coach over the last few years at CF Plymouth and CF Watford but this course gave me so much more too.

So, going in to 2018, what do I want to see? Well, more of the same, to be honest. Keeping the same themes, my goals are:

1. CF Open 2018. Achieve top 15% individual male finish in CF Open 2018. I never thought I’d be in this space, if I’m honest and it’s exciting me.
2. Look & Feel Healthy. Christmas put a bit of a dent in to the good work but it’ll come back by the end of Jan. Having recently had a DNAFit Fitness Diet Pro test, I also know a few changes that I need to make to achieve greater success with my nutrition. It’s critical that I maintain the good standards that I set in 2017.
3. Events. More events. I want to compete; I’m looking for some midweek CF events, should they exist. If not, I might sign up for the Battle of Britain Qualifiers or something like that. I’m reattempting the Swim/Run event in Devon, if it comes off, and I would like to run the Cardiff half-marathon with other family members. There’s also a “Stand Up 2 Cancer” CF event in October that I’m determined to compete in.
4. Strength. I’m going to consolidate on this for a few months while the Open takes place. I want to get to the stage where 100kg Clean & Jerk is ‘comfortable’ and can be done under pressure in a WOD; I’d like 115kg as a new 2RM but that is a longer term, year long goal.

I think it should be reflected upon too that even though I am that enthusiastic, motivating coach in front of the outstanding athletes in CF Watford, I didn’t find this easy. Especially 2 and 4. There were some pretty dark moments where I just kept thinking, “what’s the point?” When those moments came up, I turned to the likes of Mrs Nomad and my coaches (Charlie, Hat, Tash, Roly – you rock) and took their advice and guidance. I repeatedly referred back to my notebook to see just how far I’d come along the trail. I should note too that while Strength was my goal, my MetCon scores have rapidly and steeply improved too, across shorter power workouts and the longer endurance ones too.

So, what lessons have I learned in 2017?

1. Surround yourself with Talent. I’ve made it a point to learn from success in every aspect of my life this (last) year. This has hopefully paid off in my professional life (find out in March) but it definitely paid off in CrossFit. Watching the higher levels athletes in our box, learned from those with injuries, chatting to everyone about their motivations…it’s all benefited me immensely and I have to thank them all. I’m sure it’s been infuriating having to put up with some of my inane WhatsApp messages but thank you all.
2. Recovery. I’m getting (a little) older and am definitely not the 18 year old that could play a rugby match on a Saturday, get smashed in the evening, and do a 5 mile run on the Sunday. Alcohol definitely affects me more than it ever has although I’m not much of a drinker anyway. I also need the odd day off 😉 While I’ve trained twice a day for 3 days a week for quite a bit of this period, and have seen immense changes, I have also taken weekends off, by and large. Without intending it, it’s been just the right amount of rest and recovery.
3. Write Shit Down! I can’t express this enough to athletes. WRITE DOWN YOUR SCORES! I’ve written about this one before but here’s another angle to it: there are days when you don’t feel like you can lift heavy, or run fast, or jump high. It’s so easy to let your body match your mental state. But, if you look at your notebook and see that just the previous week you put in a 115kg Jerk, then you know that you can do it and that you probably will today too. So many times this year, especially at 0600hrs, I could have just knocked 5kg off the bar because I wasn’t feeling it. Each time, I reviewed my previous lifts and set the targets accordingly.
4. Have a Laugh. You know what? It’s only exercise. Sure, we have goals and we want to succeed. But not every day is a PR day. Not every day needs that steely-eyed focus. Enjoy it for what it is – it’s time with friends doing something you enjoy that isn’t work.

Greatness comes from Joy…and a truck load of Hard Graft.

If you can’t find Joy in the path you are on and what you are working toward now,

how do you expect to find Joy when you get there?

I experienced 2 great lessons this weekend. Ones that we all ‘know’, that we’re all told over and over yet few truly believe or adhere to.

While at Wookey Hole Caves on Saturday, I was aggressively reminded that Greatness takes time. In our modern, consumerist, “now” society I think that many of us (certainly, not all) have collectively forgotten just what is required for true success to be achieved. There is a sense of entitlement pervading society; there is the belief that we somehow deserve success without having to put the true effort in to achieve it – we look at the cover models of Mens Health, or at Olympians, or CrossFit Games athletes and think, “I should be be there”. Yet, when you look around a cave formed over 10s of 1000s of years, and wonder at the splendid magnificence of it, you see that genuine greatness really does take time. When it was explained to us how the larger, 73 foot high caverns were formed, some beginning with nothing more than dripping water, you can’t help but make a comparison with modern life. I have my goals and I regularly get upset and frustrated that I have yet to achieve them. I often decry the length of time this process takes, missing the small gains along the way, focusing on the distance yet to travel. And I get upset because I feel that I deserve to be there by now. I put the effort in, I believe, and I am entitled to see the success NOW.

But life isn’t like that. Success takes time. Not only that, the successes along the way need celebrating too. I have no idea just how big that cavern is going to be in another 100, 1000, 10000 years but it’s pretty goddamn amazing now. I don’t know how strong, fast, flexible, powerful I will be next year, in 5 years, or in 10 years time, but I have put a lot of effort in and I am in a pretty outstanding place now. As long as I keep chipping away at it, one drop at a time, the only way is success.

The other lesson – Joy enables that Greatness. We were treated to a circus display from the Wookey Hole Circus School. These children and teenagers train 3 times per week and the ages seem to range from about 7 years to 17 years old. They showed off juggling, trapeze skills, strength, rope work, incredible balance & acrobatics, high unicycles, etc….it was clearly a physically and mentally tough performance for them all. There were some minor errors in the latter, and more complicated, stages but there was one thing that stood out throughout, especially during the minor mistakes – the sheer joy on the faces of those taking part. It  was amazing and incredibly uplifting. They were laughing at each other, constantly smiling, helping each other, and willing each other on through every moment. It looked like the world’s most fun ever and they were right in the centre of it. Sure, they had to demonstrate intense concentration to achieve some remarkable feats but never once did it look like pressure. At all times, it just looked like they were messing about with friends.

This is such a key lesson in life. When we look back, do we want to focus on the minor mistakes, the what-ifs, the could-have-beens, the oh-so-closes…..or do we want to look back on those moments of sheer joy and success with friends and family? Those fun-filled events where you achieved so much with a grin on your face, no matter what the adversity in front of you. I took a lot from this, especially as a parent to the Warrior Princesses.

Funnily enough, as I was thinking about this post, Andy Murray (tennis player bloke off the tele) was talking about this year’s Wimbledon prep. He said that in previous years he focused on the process, the preparation for winning-at-all-costs, that he didn’t really enjoy the success when it came. This year, he’s just enjoying his tennis, taking it how it comes and celebrating each little victory with a smile – a perfect case in point. Here’s to you and a third Wimbledon title, Mr Murray!

Strength

5-3-1 Strict Press

62.5kg / 70kg / 80kg / 85kg (F) / 82.5kg PERSONAL BEST!

So, 38 years old and still getting strength personal bests! Smash! It’s a 2.5kg PB over a lift 2 years ago. If I’d had a bit more time, I suspect I would have got the 85kg on another attempt too. BIG SMILES!

MetCon

For Time:

• 50 x Double Unders
• 10 x Clean & Jerk (Power) @ 50kg
• 40 x Double Unders
• 8 x Clean & Jerk @ 60kg
• 30 x Double Unders
• 6 x Clean & Jerk @ 65kg
• 20 x Double Unders
• 4 x Clean & Jerks @ 70kg
• 10 x Double Unders

Time: 8:54 Rx

This would have been even quicker, had I not stopped to put my Vivoactive HR watch on to monitor!! Still, that took less than 5 secs so not exactly a game breaker 😀 😀 The temp here in Devon is peaking at about 28C which added to the spiciness of it all too. When I threw my scores on the the CF Watford Coaches WhatsApp group, I then found out that the head coach had increased the weights on-the-fly as she thought it would be too easy for people. Personally, I think it was absolutely bang on for my own requirements and I went for it. Thoroughly enjoyed it too!

Coming Up Next….. “Don’t let the shit get in the way of Your Time”

 

Sometimes, you just have to get the work done. Just Do it. But prepare for the Zombie.

Fitness.

Because one day the Zombies will come.

A full CrossFit session in the AM, inc. strength and a MetCon, the AMRAP Plus One Strength session in the evening, and then duathlon training. That was my yesterday. My morning today? Zombie. Coffee. Oats. Zombie.

After taking a day off last week mainly through laziness, and with weekends sacrosanct, I played catch-up yesterday, determined to get CF, Strength and the Running & Swimming in there too. I have 2 events on this week which take up space in my calendar where I’d otherwise be improving myself – that said, one of them is at a Steak restaurant so….you know….that might work too 😀

Yesterday AM @ CF Watford

3 x 3 Front Squats – 60/80/100kg. I intentionally kept it light, knowing I had more to come that day.

• 20 Dumbbell Snatches
• 30 Toes To Bar
• 40 Box Jump Overs @ 24″
• 800m Run
• 40 Box Jump Overs
• 30 Toes To Bar
• 20 DB Snatches

Time: 14:56 Rx. This was supposed to be a partner WOD of double the reps but I was the odd man out; I still did the 800m Run though. It seems that it was a pretty fast time by comparison. Only the Toes to Bar were broken, everything else was done in a oner.

Evening AMRAP Plus One Strength, Duathlon Training

• Power Clean 2×3 @ 70%, 3×3 @ 75% – 62.5kg and 67.5kg
• Power Jerk 2 x 3 @ 70%, 3 x 3 @ 75% – 62.5kg and 67.5kg
• Straight Leg Deadlift 3×5 – 67.5kg

All light; I am forcing myself to trust in this programme, despite it having some pretty light stuff in there. I might usually be hammering myself at 85%+ otherwise. However, perhaps the light load was perfectly timed, given that I then had:

• 2.4km Run
• 1km Swim (Pool)
• 2.4km Run

This is a slightly awkward one because I have to run with a rucksack to carry swim gear, water, ID card, wallet, phone, etc. The run was therefore never going to be fast, and it wasn’t. The swim was my first taste of what

(C) http://www.zombie-guide.com

being within a pack will be like – the pool was full, the lanes narrow and there were very different standards trying to train. It made it all extremely difficult to keep any pace or cadence but worthwhile as I ploughed through the 40 lengths. After that, a jog 2.4km back to camp, trying hard to will my body to move a little faster with each stride but feeling like I was pulling against a thousand invisible hands dragging me backwards.

And then Bed.

I find myself in front of the computer now, at 0640, having attempted to head over to the gym for my Strength session but having returned; feeling like a Zombie, hands and legs a little sore, fingers wrapped around my Ospreys RFC coffee mug. There was no way I was getting anything meaningful done this morning. I took a quick look at the CF Watford session tonight and realised that I can fit the two together rather neatly and so can sit here, eat my oats and start the day more sedately.

Early start after a week of lay-ins

No photos today as the Android WordPress App is being crap and refuses to upload anything. Pictures just sit there…..queued…..forever…….like zombie passengers at Heathrow.

The alarm screeched at me at 0520 this morning. After a week of relative lay-ins, this was an unwelcome bitch of a wake-up call. However, knowing I had CF Watford to get to, and willing athletes raring to go (maybe), I dragged my sorry ass out of bed, in to the bathroom and splashed water on my face before hauling my hunched frame to the Tassimo and the glorious Costa Americano that awaited me. A quick swig of the steaming awesomeness and I was already feeling up for it. Grabbing my kit and leaping like a gazelle down to my awaiting chariot (ok, that might be a bit much….I jogged, at best), I was up for the box and well up for the WOD.

Confronted by two newcomers, Ola and Darren, among the regular legends I was immediately struck by their determination to succeed through:

Strength

• 3 x 5 Thrusters
• Superset: 3 x Max Effort Unbroken Push Ups

60/65/70kg – If I’d bothered to check BeyondTheWhiteboard, I would have seen that this was my previous best and I could easily have beaten it with just a few 1.25 or 2.5kg plates! Idiot! 😉

MetCon

18 min AMRAP

• 200m Run
• 5 x Bar Muscle Ups
• 10 x Burpees
• 15 x Wall Balls, 9kg @ 10′

Total: 5 Rounds with 15 secs to spare. I didn’t bother attempting a run at the end. There was significant time spent coaching during this one, as I am there to do. I certainly don’t begrudge it – I only workout when there is capacity and freedom to do so and the athletes always come first. Having said that, I completed all rounds completely unbroken, Muscle Ups included. This is a huge achievement and I have been rocking it all day.

AMRAP Plus One Strength Programme – Day 14

I began this 2 weeks ago and am enjoying the focussed attention on the Snatch and Clean & Jerk. Last week, I spent a great deal of time in my garage working this solely, without any associated metcons. On Saturday, I trotted through a Snatch routine and EASILY moved 70kg above my head. Why I didn’t continue upward, I don’t know. Instead, I moved on to the next part of the programme. I know I’m getting close the most elusive PR of them all though (for me).

Day 14:

On the Minute

• Snatch 5 x 1 @ 73% – 55kg, 5 x 1 @ 78% – 57.5kg, 5 x 1 @ 83% – 62.5kg, 5 x 1 83%+ – 70kg, 75kg Fail, 72.5kg Fail, 72.5kg PASS.
• Snatch Pull 3 x 3 @ 85% – 65kg, 3 x 2 @ 90% – 67.5kg

Further accessory movements.

I am not going to be disappointed for not hitting my PR or getting above it today. I think I put a little too much expectation on myself. My movement is good and I know this programme will get me over the line.

Nutrition

Back in military-world, I am able to control my intake much better than at home. Still, I ate a Cadbury Creme Egg (it fit in my macros though!) pre-WOD. I am keeping to 2300 KCal at the moment and feel good about it. As macros, that equals:

• Carbs: 201g (804 KCal – 35%)
• Protein: 201g (804 KCal – 35%)
• Fat: 77g (693 KCal – 30%)

Other than the wondrous chocolate goodness, I’ve eaten lean beef mince, an avocado, 3 eggs, a truckload of veg, some oats and some whey protein. Oh, and 10 almonds. And 5g Creatine.

Easter Week Training. Open Water Swimming, Long Distance Running. And Weights :D

Easter Week Update

Swimming

What a beautiful scene. Tranquil harbour, blue haze, warm sun.

Utterly ball-freezing British water.

Yes, at only 10.4C, I don’t mind admitting that I was nervous before diving in and shocked to the core once in. It took almost all my reserve to pretend it was fine, look cool, and swim off. For my first open water practice of the season, I’d hoped for 600m but in just a 3mm Shortie I made it a mere 400m before deciding that the shivering was hampering and semblance of style I may have begun with. Besides which, I quickly realised why swimming wetsuits are designed the way they are; attempting front crawl in a suit made for body-boarding / messing about in the surf is really tough, especially in the shoulders. I can’t wait for my new DHB swimming wetsuit to arrive today! Longer distance this weekend. 

Running

In training for the South Milton Sands Swim/Trail Run, I’ve also started pushing my running figures up too. Yesterday saw 5 miles in 38:45, the furthest and fastest I’ve run in a very long time. Indeed, according to Beyond the Whiteboard, it’s a pretty good time for a CrossFitter. I don’t mind admitting that I’m going to aim for faster than that, with an average pace of 7:30 per mile by the time of the race. I think that this will allow me to keep under 8:00 per mile after a 1km Sea Swim. I hope. Maybe.

Strength

And, not to rest on the simple monostructural events, I’ve been digging in to the AMRAP Plus One Strength Programme too. On day 10 now, I still feel like it’s a bit of a transition phase, having not lifted beyond 80% of 1RM in either Clean or Snatch. I see that from next week this starts to increase though and so am very much looking forward to that. I did love getting my improvised squat rack out too!

Nutrition 

Despite it being Easter hols, I’ve been pretty good and have logged everything still. Ok, sure, the macros have become a bit unbalanced in favour of carbs but that’s a function of modern family intake, especially at Easter time, and a demonstration of me not being in overall control. Overall KCal have remained pretty steady at 2300-2500 though and so I’m happy for this week. Besides, it’s a holiday period and you can’t take these things too seriously when at parties/picnics/beach/cinema.

Miscounting.

I’m Sorry if you don’t like my Honesty.

To be fair, I don’t like your…miscounting.

Trump Fact

I left the gym yesterday morning feeling pretty pleased with my workout. After a chipper containing heavy power cleans, muscle ups, lots of wall balls, double unders, push ups and running, I was content with my performance. Sure, I need to work on barbell cycling (recurring theme), and I should tidy up Muscle Ups before the Open (easily done) but overall, it was a steady and strong performance. There were also only 3 of us who managed it Rx.

But when we see scores on the board that are obviously too quick then we know one of two things:

• The athlete scaled too much.
• The athlete ‘can’t count’.

To address the first, there are correct times and places to scale, of course there are. You cannot and should not be conducting high intensity movements until you have Mechanics and Consistency nailed. Shit bust. No arguments there. However, if you’ve been languishing in your comfort zone, scaling movements or weights, because it gets you a faster time on the board then you are not progressing and we need to re-evaluate you. We are there to push ourselves and develop, not race to top the whiteboard. “Leave the Ego at the Door” – sound familiar?

To address the second, we have all been there: you’re halfway through a WOD, you zone out for a microsecond and then recover, thinking, “ah, crap, what number was I on??”. Typically, you make a decent guess and end up 2 or 3 above or below what you were aiming for. A good coach will laugh about it with you because we have all been there. But 20 is not a mistake. 20 is a calculation where you have decided to ‘miscount’. A good coach will not laugh about this with you. For the person next to you who was aiming to beat you today, you have denied them that right. They will either decide to cheat next time because it is ‘normalised’ and seen as acceptable, or a schism will develop in your box and negativity towards those ‘miscounters’ will occur; this is inevitable in a competitive, community-based, developmental fitness programme such as CrossFit.

Luckily, the Open is coming up. Each athlete will have a judge focused on them at all times; miscounts won’t occur because counting is taken out of the athlete’s hands for the duration of the WOD.

So you could say I was a little upset to see my score as the slowest on a long list yesterday; but, I wasn’t upset at my score because I know it was honest, true and that I have developed incredibly within this box over the last year. I was upset, and I see it as a failing on my part, that a very small minority appear to believe that repeated miscounting is acceptable. As a coach, I have failed to engage those particular athletes correctly and I will readjust my techniques accordingly. I will learn from this. 😉

And with that, today’s workout!

CrossFit WatFord AM Session

I was coaching today but with a new assistant coach in, and a small class of experienced warriors, it was a chance for me to do the WOD too.

16 min AMRAP

• 10 x Pull Ups
• 20 x Pistols
• 30 x Burpees
• 40 x Sit Ups
• 50 x Squats

Total: 2 rounds plus 45 reps

3 rounds of Pull Ups, unbroken. 3 rounds of Pistols, steady, a bit staccato but happy with where I’ve come with these in the last few weeks. Burpees, well paced and very consistent 🙂 Sit Ups, all unbroken. Air Squats, only broken once in the first round to nudge someone else in to getting decent depth in theirs. In the second round, I stopped very briefly at 40 in order to slow down and rest slightly before taking on the Pistols again. This was intentional and I’m happy with then getting through the 3rd round of Pistols.

Snatch Accessory PM Session

20 min EMOM

3 x Snatch Hi Pulls

• 5 sets of 50
• 5 sets of 60
• 5 sets of 65
• 3 sets of 70
• 2 set of 72.5kg

If nothing else, I’m far more comfortable on the bar than I have been in a very long time. There is nothing wrong with 3 reps at 72.5kg at all, getting the bar almost to chin height each time.

Nutrition

Due to a ‘working lunch’ yesterday, a lot of “biege” was consumed (1/4 sandwiches, half wraps, vol au vents, etc). However, today it is back on track. I do have to increase my protein intake and reduce fat, so I’ll be amending my shopping soon:

• Pre-WOD: 15g Mixed Nuts
• Breakfast: 35g Porridge Oats, 200ml Whole Milk, 25g Whey Protein, 1 Raw Egg
• Snack: 15g Mixed Nuts
• Lunch: 100g Tuna, 3 Scrambled Eggs, 100ml Whole Milk, lots of Leaves
• Snack: 15g Mixed Nuts
• Dinner: 300g homemade Beef Chilli, lots of Leaves, Veg.
• Post-WOD: 25g Whey Protein, 200ml Whole Milk

I’ll be reducing to semi-skimmed milk for a while in order to bring fat content down a little. I need to find a better, natural higher protein snack instead of nuts too. Suggestions?

Pre-Open Confidence, More Travel Training

A Tiger doesn’t lose Sleep

Over the opinions of Sheep.

Strength. My Weakness. Despite significantly increasing my engine over the last year, my overall strength and heavy barbell cycling have plateaued, nae, reduced. It’s been a goal of mine for a few years to increase my strength but I have categorically failed at each attempt. My Snatch 1RM remains 75kg, with my Clean & Jerk at 102.5kg. 

It’s too late to make strength gains now but going in to this Open, I do have more confidence that I’m going to improve my global ranking with the improved engine and gymnastic skills. However, I have been worrying about Snatch specifically. I needed to prove to myself that I can at least match last year’s abilities.

I wasn’t going to train today, after training and coaching twice yesterday, and with travel today. But then, CF Open WOD 13.1 showed up on the programming.

17min AMRAP

• 40 Burpees 
• 30 Snatch @ 35kg
• 30 Burpees
• 30 Snatch @ 60kg
• 20 Burpees
• 30 Snatch @75kg
• 10 Burpees
• Max Effort Snatch @ 95kg

What an opportunity!!My best at this, during Open 13, was 14 Reps of the 60kg Snatch. I attempted it a year later and scored only 9 at 60kg. I’ve not tried it since, until today.

Total: 12 Reps @ 60kg 

While not a match for my best, I take a lot of confidence from this. In competition mode, I’ll add a few more reps to this, I have no doubt. Most of the Snatches were of good form although I acknowledge that some were indeed shitty. I REALLY need to get stronger but right now I know I can cope with 60kg (135lb) work in Open 17.

Travel

Once again, I find myself on a plane. Again, disrupted training. Again, an opportunity to work other aspects of my fitness portfolio. In this case, I’ll be working on Pistols and Handstand Push Ups. After a few years of increased gymnastic work in the Open WODs, I am expecting to see Pistols coming up this year. It pays to refresh certain skills and they are both easily dealt with while in unfamiliar surrounds and with no equipment.

Your kids have to be useful for something…as free weights! (and, the Bean Game)

Just a quick one today as I’m out and about other places. I am unable to train today and so did a workout with the children yesterday instead of resting.  Whenever I get home and ask our 3 what they would like to do with daddy, the first answer is ALWAYS, “Exercises!” For whatever reason, my passion for fitness is rubbing off on them and they love taking part in whatever workout I have planned as well as then showing off their own awesome physical gymnastic attributes. Our eldest is 7 1/2, while the twins are almost 5 – all girls – all action princesses.

And who am I to disappoint them 😉

So, for a warm up, the Bean Game.

Over 5 mins, call out from a range of ‘Beans’:

• Runner – Run around the room.
• Jumping – Two-footed jumping around the room.
• Broad – Jump in to a wide arm, wide legged stance.
• String – Stand straight and tall, arms straight up above you.
• Kidney –  Like String but then bend over to the left and right.
• Jelly – Start shaking and wobbling like a plate of jelly.
• Baked – Curl up on the floor in a ball.
• Beans on Toast – Lay flat on the floor with arms stretched out wide.
• French (Stop and cry out, “ooh, la la!”)

You can see that with a little imagination you can have your family (and you, because you HAVE to join in) doing burpees, running, stretches, jumping, star jumps….it’s brilliant!

Then we had a little race that they like to do around the house, for time. 7 x 10 sec sprint around a course in the house gets them going!

And on to the “workout”:

5 x For Good Form

• 5 x Push Ups
• 5 x Squats
• 5 x Sit Ups
• 5 x Lunges

We went through the first 2 rounds as a warm up, practicing the movements – obviously, they’re squatting is much better than mine although I’m happy to say that I’m pretty close these days! For the final 3 rounds, I used 1 child as a weight for each movement, either on my back or in my arms (including the situps), while the other 2 children completed 2 more rounds each. The twins were testing enough at about 16kg while the eldest’s 26kg was a step up!

They all absolutely loved it and we had great fun messing about with exercises; I’m so proud of their enjoyment of it.

Snatch Increase (not PR), Weighing My Food

Train Hard.

Eat Well.

Rest.

The reason for Fitness: to be able to explore and enjoy as much of the world as possible, for as long as possible.

After a long and tortuous journey on Friday, it was a relief to get home for a weekend of just ‘family time’. Since early Dec, we have been with friends or family every weekend; this was the first opportunity in what felt like ages to just do our own thing. What a superb weekend it was too! From walking around Burrator Reservoir, to Scratch coding with our eldest, doing colouring-in (DC Super Heros colouring book for Christmas 😉 ), to an awesome family Sunday lunch (with leftovers today, thanks Mrs Nomad!!), it was excellent. I just had to get that in there 😀

Batman rest on Sunday with a Superman mug of coffee.

One thing I noticed over the weekend was that I am starting to get my abs back. Now, I’ve never had a six-pack and am unlikely to but I’m getting back in to the shape I was in during last Summer. I had set that target for the start of the CF Open in late Feb but I’m there now after 3 weeks of disciplined eating (for the most part anyway).  I’m now going to take this further and see how I pan out over the next few weeks. With that in mind, I’ve taken Mrs Nomad’s kitchen scales and will spend this week weighing my food so that I can actually see what I am eating – I’ve already noticed that some of my estimates over the last few weeks have been well off. By creating a little notebook of quantities, I’ll be able to gauge my intake better in future as I tweet my training and nutrition.

But on to this morning….

-4C

…it was COLD! It hit -4C as I was driving back last night and no doubt a little further down the slide over night. Walking to the gym for the morning Snatch session was not a pleasant stroll.

Morning Snatch Session

Chatting through my Friday frustrations with one of the CF Watford Coaches (Hat, cheers for the logic!), I decided to switch my programme around slightly so that my Snatch 1RM work is done on a Monday, leaving Wed and Fri for the technique / accessory work. This way, I am rested and more likely to get in to the 85% bracket.

And that’s what happened today. Despite struggling and failing to get beyond 60kg on Friday, I achieved 67.5kg today (90%). Ok, there were a few fails in there but that’s because I’ve been messing with my technique a little as I seek to keep that bar as close to the hips as possible without actually smacking it forward and away.

Evening CF Watford Session

Strength

3 x 5 Strict Press

60 / 65 / 67.5kg

My record is 70kg but I wasn’t able to get to that in the time this evening. It’s fine, I’m confident with upper body strength.

MetCon

30min Partner WOD – one completes entire round while other rests.

• 15 Cal Row
• 12 x Clean & Jerk @ 42.5kg
• 12 x Wall Balls @ 9kg
• 12 x Toes to Bar

Total: 9 rounds + 28 reps. Between Tom and I, we completed 9 rounds. I completed 5 of those but only because I started first. Had  Tom started, I doubt I would have done so well; while I completed each set of 15 cals in under 40 secs, the C&Js slowed me down – first round unbroken, others were 6+3+3. Wall Balls were unbroken and TTB were 6+3+3 or 6+6. My grip strength really struggled but it wasn’t just that. My head wasn’t in it but I’m actually not too fussed by it at the moment. I know I’m in a strong place overall.

Nutrition

MyFitnessPal: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/nomadcelt

Having listened to the very excellent “Eating for Strength” from Barbell Shrugged, I’ve tweaked my requirements a little to support strength and recovery.

• 182g Carbs – green leafy vegetable carbs, on the whole.
• 180g Protein – Lean Meat, Nuts, Seeds, Whey Powder to supplement.
• 70-90g Fat – keeping it closer to the 70g mark while I lean down a little.

These numbers won’t be hit exactly and will require a little tuning over time. I am including more carbs late in the evening though in order to raise insulin, which leads to a drop and a subsequent drop in cortisol, which aids sleep.

MyFitnessPal Use, Coaching Newbies, Recovery

Don’t think about How Many Reps are Left.

Think about the 1 in Front of You.

And Then The Next One.

Coaching a whole new group. I had the privilege of coaching a group of 6 absolute CF beginners this morning. Run as a trial in our department, they wanted me to ‘thrash them’. Instead, we focused on the squat (as the fundamental to all dynamic movement), a little on overhead range of motion, the Clean & Press (as a demonstration of CF-related activities and because it is often so badly attempted) and then finished with a tasty little 15min AMRAP of: 5 x Kettlebell Swings (Russian), 10 x Push Ups and 15 x Air Squats. By the end, they felt like they’d been put through the mill but in a safe and controlled manner; it’s something they want to repeat next week so perhaps I’ve found some new converts! I genuinely feel honoured to be able to coach people, especially newcomers. To see that initial transformation in the first session, and then be part of genuine change over the longer term is something to feel proud of.

Recovering from over-use. My achilles / calves are extremely painful after a multitude of double unders and box jumps recently. Recovery is critical right now if I am to maintain pace of training in line with the Open. Good food, hot baths and mobility, mobility, mobility (and no double unders or box jumps for a while!).

MyFitness Pal Use. See my poll below. Who else is using MyFitnessPal to track and monitor intake? I have been doing so for quite a while now and find it exceptionally useful if used correctly. The amount of detail held in its vaults is quite staggering. I have set it up to approximate (and it only is an approximation) my daily requirements, based on 30% Protein, 30% Fat and 40% Carbs. It has roughly calculated my daily metabolic needs at 2700+ cals, based on a CrossFit session each day – I think this is an underestimation but I’ve left it so far. I then populate the daily diary with absolute everything that passes my lips; I don’t use scales to measure but I do use the weights / quantities on any original packaging used for ingredients in my recipes. See my log at: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/nomadcelt I’ve been doing pretty well too; my fat loss has been noticeable in just 3 weeks, ensuring that I’m still keeling on top of the good quality food ingredients myself.

Morning Snatch Programme

EMOM 20 – 3 x Heaving Snatch Balance

• 5 x 3 @ 50kg
• 5 x 3 @ 55kg
• 5 x 3 @ 65kg
• 3 x 3 @ 70kg
• 1 x 3 @ 72.5kg
• 1 x 3 @ 75kg

Excitingly, this is a new PR for 3RM Snatch Balance. However, this is entirely to be expected at this stage as I ‘find my feet’ in the overhead work. I should be able to 3RM Snatch Balance more than I can actually Snatch (75kg 1RM) and so this is a good space to be in. I’d eaten well beforehand too, coming in to this an hour later than I usually do.

CrossFit Watford Evening Session

Strength

EMOM 6

6 x Clusters (Clean to Thruster) @ 60% Clean 1RM (60kg)

This was brutal and hit my critical weakness – barbell cycling. I managed 3 rounds of 6 at 60kg and then had to drop to 55kg, only completing 5 and then a 4. Disappointing but I am working on it,

MetCon

EMOM 20

• Evens – 150m Run
• Odds – Max Effort Burpees

Score = Total Burpees = 172

What’s to like about repeating a minute Max Effort Burpees? Answer – nothing whatsoever! Evil, pure evil. However, I am happy with where my burpees are at for now. I completed 20 in the first round, leaving an average of 16-17 for the remainder. This is a good pace.

 

Homemade Mexican Tuna on Spinach, Rocket and Watercress with some Cherry Tomatoes

Nutrition

• Breakfast: 75g Porridge Oats, 25g Whey Protein, 400ml Whole Milk
• Snack: 15g Mixed Nuts
• Lunch: 3 x Scrambled Eggs on Kale, Watercress & Rocket, with some Cherry Tomatoes
• Snack: 15g Mixed Nuts
• Dinner: Homemade Mexican Tuna (145 Tuna, homegrown chillis and 100g Heinz 5 Bean) on a little white rice with 20g Spinach, and a tonne of rocket.
• Post-WOD: 25g Whey Protein, 25g Dried Skimmed Milk Powder

 

Who is using MyFitnessPal?