Things I learned in 2012, By: Hunter

This post was inspired by Talk To Me Johnnie’s “42 Things I learned in 2012”. 2012 was a pretty dramatic year for me, and I thought I might share what did and did not work for me, hopefully in an attempt to help some of you avoid making the same mistakes that I did. For some perspective: I began 2012 sitting in the second story of Calpulli Medical center weighing 153 lbs. with a completely over-trained body. How do I know I was over-trained? In order to get to the second story of the building, I attempted to walk up the stairs, in which my quads gave out at the fifth step. I took the elevator instead. I sit here today pounding away at my keyboard weighing 190 lbs., and now capable of ascending multiple flights of stairs. Now that’s what I call fitness. On that note, let’s begin.

1) LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. You know yourself best. You know what does and does not work for your body. If your body is feeling beat, take a rest day. Taking a rest day is far less hindering to your overall progress than taking 3 months off to heal an injury. The same can be said for any day in the gym. If you feel that 1RM deadlift just isn’t going to happen with good form, just set the bar down. Live to fight another day.

2) A POUND GAINED IS A WHOLE LOT EASIER THAN A POUND LOST. If gaining weight is your goal, make sure that you do it within moderation. It is easy to overshoot your weight gain goal, and believe me, losing a pound is a whole different animal than gaining a pound.

3) STRENGTH WILL YIELD ENDURANCE, ENDURANCE WILL NOT YIELD STRENGTH. What I mean here is that being stronger overall will lead to better endurance, not the other way around. If you are struggling to get faster, going out for 13 mile runs will not make you a faster runner. What you are doing is training your body to move slowly by moving slowly. Want to get fast? Do things that make you move fast: 400m repeats, Olympic Lifting, and sled drags are perfect ways of accomplishing this. Note that the CrossFit endurance model is comprised of shorter distance work that is aimed at making you A FASTER PERSON. If that is your goal, you might want to check the CFMG endurance team out on Tuesdays evenings, I’m sure they would love some new faces

4) MODERATION. I could talk all day about moderation. Applying moderation to multiply aspects of your life could be the key to your achieving your training and overall life goals. Moderation, however, is going to look different for each individual aspect of your life. For example, a moderate portion of fruit may be 2-3 servings a day, while a moderate portion of a Snicker’s bar is somewhere between 0 ounces and 0 grams. Click for conversion. Moderation is key to anything: diet, training, relationships, stress, you name it, and I’m sure it applies.  But every now and then, TREAT. YO. SELF.

5) LESS IS MORE. With this one, I’m mostly referring to training volume. It may sound lame, but your goal should be able to do the least amount of work while trying to illicit the greatest amount of stimulus on your body. For example: If I can get a better, if not greater, stimulus to my body by running four 400m sprints instead of running 5 miles at a slow pace, I would, of course, run the 400m sprints because it is not going to beat my body up as much as long distance running. This goes back to Lesson #1, in that you know what does and does not beat up your body, and you should plan accordingly.

6) DON’T HALF-A$* TWO THINGS. WHOLE-A#* ONE THING. That quote comes from the show Parks and Recreation. If I could, I would make another lesson to watch that show, but I know your time is valuable. What I mean here is that by overloading your body with multiple workouts per day, chances are one, if not both, are going to be half-assed. I used to wonder why, after running 6 miles in the morning, a metcon in the afternoon, and another metcon in the evening, I was not improving, considering all my efforts.  If I could, I would go back and slap myself upside the head with how silly I was being. This leads me into my final point for today.

7) TRACK YOUR PROGRESS! Keep a journal! Write down your times! The only way to know if you are getting faster or stronger is to have something to compare it to. A funny story portrayed this during the weekend when I became certified for coaching. The story was told by Josh Everett, in which he told us of an e-mail sent to him that read roughly as follows: “Hey man, I’m really looking to pick up a coach before the Open this year. I don’t like to toot my own horn, but I’m a real fire-breather, I think I may have a legitimate shot at winning the Games this year. Sincerely, xxxxxx” Josh was interested in pursuing this, and asked the guy if he could send him some of his times and numbers. The guy replied, “Oh, well I don’t time myself on anything”. This guy may seem laughable and fairly naïve, yet many people do not write their data down, leaving them with no accurate way to track anything they have done at all. ANYTHING YOU DO THAT IS MEASURABLE AS EXERCISE CAN AND SHOULD BE WRITTEN DOWN AND KEPT FOR FUTURE COMPARISON!

I could sit here atop my soap-box and drop Truth Juice all day, but I know your time is valuable. I hope some of this helps, even a little bit, or maybe causes you reflect on what you learned in 2012. Make mistakes people, it’s the best way to learn and gain knowledge……AND KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!

Mobility:

A1) Wall squat, 2 min x 2 sets

A2) Shoulder distraction, 1 min each arm x 2 sets

WOD:

60 sec. max. Thrusters (95#/65#)

Rest 90 sec.

60 sec. max. Double unders

Rest 90 sec.

60 Sec max. CTB Pull-ups

Rest 90 sec.

-3 rounds for total reps-

CFMG Post-Open Beach WOD/Potluck

CFMG 101: Muscle-ups

Join us on Saturday April 20th, 12:30-3:00, for our next 101 Session. We will be focusing on the muscle up and progressions to get you there.

Our goal is to have you to walk away from each 101 session feeling more confident about attacking these movements with tools you can use to help you improve. We will cover form/positioning, modifications, assistance exercises, and ways to train in order to improve you muscle-up abilities.

This is a two hour long session, but we won't be working out the whole time, and we may end a little early depending on how the day goes. However we may also run a little long depending on the flow of the class. :)

*Class size, for this session is limited to 15 participants

*Cost is $25 per person (first come first serve) Please use our Mind-Body Online Store to sign-up. Go to the Online Store, select Series and Memberships, and then select CFMG 101.

SWOD: Front Squats 5/5/4/4/4

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WOD:

10 Burpee box jumps (24”/20”)

200m run

-5 rounds for time-

Long Live Static Stretching

No Open Gym Today

Happy Easter

The Green Truck and Cavegirl Confections will be joining us today! Come hungry!

WOD 13.4

Complete as many reps as possible in 7 minutes following the rep scheme below:
135/95 pound Clean and jerk, 3 reps
3 Toes-to-bar
135/95 pound Clean and jerk, 6 reps
6 Toes-to-bar
135/95 pound Clean and jerk, 9 reps
9 Toes-to-bar
135/95 pound Clean and jerk, 12 reps
12 Toes-to-bar
135/95 pound Clean and jerk, 15 reps
15 Toes-to-bar
135/95 pound Clean and jerk, 18 reps
18 Toes-to-bar...
This is a timed workout. If you complete the round of 18, go on to 21. If you complete 21, go on to 24, etc.

Read more about WOD 13.4 HERE

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Know the movement standards

WOD:

Buy in: 600m row

-3 rounds-

15 Sumo Deadlifts (155#/105#)

10 Hang cleans (155#/105#)

5 Front squats (155#/105#)

Cash out: 600m run

-For time-

There will be no Open Gym this Sunday

Checkout the next CFMG 101 Session

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Know the movement standards

The Green Truck and Cavegirl Confections will be joining us this Saturday! Come hungry!

SWOD: Push-press or Front squat 6/6/5/5/5

If you push-pressed on Monday you should front squat today

WOD:

45 sec. Max bar dips

15 sec. Rest

45 sec. KB Swings (70#/53#)

15 sec. Rest

45 sec. Max L-sit hold

15 sec. Rest

45 sec. Jumping barbell squats (45#)

15 sec. Rest

-2 Rounds for total reps-

Open WOD 13.4

Complete as many reps as possible in 7 minutes following the rep scheme below:
135/95 pound Clean and jerk, 3 reps
3 Toes-to-bar
135/95 pound Clean and jerk, 6 reps
6 Toes-to-bar
135/95 pound Clean and jerk, 9 reps
9 Toes-to-bar
135/95 pound Clean and jerk, 12 reps
12 Toes-to-bar
135/95 pound Clean and jerk, 15 reps
15 Toes-to-bar
135/95 pound Clean and jerk, 18 reps
18 Toes-to-bar...
This is a timed workout. If you complete the round of 18, go on to 21. If you complete 21, go on to 24, etc.

Read more about WOD 13.4 HERE

Dim lights Embed Embed this video on your site

Know the movement standards

The Green Truck and Cavegirl Confections will be joining us this Saturday! Come hungry!