The 2013 CrossFit Games season kicked off on Wednesday night with the live announcement of Workout 13.1 and a throwdown between two of the top athletes in our sport.
I’ve been chatting with friends back home in MI, a cousin in Texas, and friends at the box here in Phoenix all week. We’re sharing strategies, giving pep talks, and excited for one another.
As of Wednesday, over 120,000 athletes from around the world had registered for the Open, with many more to register before the close of the first workout on Sunday. Registrations should easily double the total of 69,560 in 2012. CrossFitters everywhere are excited for each other. There is no other community like this.
Most of us have no chance at qualifying for Regionals or the Games. However, we will accomplish things we didn’t know we could. We’ll set PRs. We’ll push harder than we have in any other workout. We’ll sweat, cry, yell, and gasp for air; maybe all in the same workout. We’ll have a lot of fun and make new friends.
Many of us loved to play sports in high school. We miss the competition, the adrenaline rushes, and being compared to our peers. The CrossFit Games Open gives us all that and more.
I get to compare myself to CrossFit athletes around the world. I’m not the best athlete in the world or even at my box, but after 5 weeks, I’ll know exactly where I rank in the world and that’s pretty fucking cool. Since I competed last year, I also get to measure my improvement. The registration fee might be the best $20 I spend all year.
Do CrossFit. Prove your fitness. Tomorrow afternoon I’ll try to prove mine in 13.1.
I started doing CrossFit and eating Paleo on October 31, 2011. Today puts me over the 3 month mark, which has been a brick wall for me when I did programs like P90X and 4HB. I’d get close to 3 months and switch off the program for whatever reason. With CrossFit and Paleo I’ve found the magic combination. I love each workout (even when my body hates it) and look forward to going to the gym.
Now that I’ve passed the hump I don’t see an end. I plan to do this for a very long time. Today at the gym I did 3 reps of 260 pounds in the deadlift and it was a great feeling. I’ve never moved that much weight in my life. It was almost easy.
Last week in Sayulita, Mexico I worked out almost every day. One of the workouts I came up with involved box jumps, so I used this, which was a bit less than 2 feet tall. You can workout anywhere with a little creativity. [end]
My hands started to tingle. I pushed with my hamstrings and ass to finish another air squat. Thirteen. I bent over and placed my hands on my knees. I could barely breathe. I was getting light-headed. What was going on? I stood up and did another squat. Fourteen. One more. Fifteen. I dropped to my hands and knees. No more.
A couple of minutes passed. I stood up and attempted to stretch. I felt dizzy and had to sit on the ground for a few minutes. I stood up and walked to the open door for some fresh air. It didn’t help. I sat on the plyo boxes for a minute but quickly moved to laying on the ground. This trainer is either worried about me or holding back a laugh. I’m glad no one else is here, because this is embarrassing.
It was October 31st and I had just completed my first CrossFit mini-session with Matt at Survival Fitness. I think it was about a half hour before I was able to leave the gym. When I got home I spent about an hour laying on the couch. My body was exhausted and I felt terrible. But the only thing I could think about was going back on Wednesday for another workout. It couldn’t come soon enough. I was hooked.
So what did I do in that first workout? It started off with a 5 round Tabata circuit of high knees, butt kicks, and mountain climbers to warm-up. If you’ve never heard of Tabata, it’s a form of high intensity interval training which uses 20 seconds of exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest. The warm-up was a piece of cake.
For the workout of the day (WOD), I was to do a circuit of 5 ring rows (instead of pull-ups), 10 push-ups, and 15 air squats. I’d repeat as many rounds as I could in 20 minutes. It sounded easy enough. In CrossFit, this WOD is well-known. It’s called “Cindy” and is one of the benchmark girls. I was only able to complete a measly 3 rounds and 7 minutes hadn’t even passed on the timer.
I met with Matt two more times for mini-sessions. During the second week I went to my first CrossFit class, which only had 2 other people attend. When I looked at the WOD on the whiteboard, I wished I was in another 1-on-1 session with Matt. We were going to do “Murph” which is a one mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 air squats, and another one mile run. The nice thing about this WOD is you are allowed break up the pull-ups (ring rows as a modification), push-ups, and squats however you like. Yep, you guessed it, breaking them up Cindy-style is usually the way to go. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit terrified.
For the warm-up we did eight Tabata rounds of our choice. I think I switched between high knees, but kicks, and jumping jacks. I felt ok during the run considering I hadn’t run anywhere other than after my hat on the golf course since spring. I finished the mile in 8:20. I wasn’t really worried about that though. I was worried about the middle of the WOD. When the timer hit 45:00 I had completed 13 rounds! I didn’t get to 20 or even start the second mile run, but I couldn’t have been happier. In 7 days my body had made an incredible improvement. I was getting fit and having a blast doing it.
Part of yesterday’s workout (shown to the right) included a mile run as part of the warm-up. I finished in 7:47 today and it was a brutal 45° outside! In 2 weeks I knocked 33 seconds off my time. Each day my endurance is getting better and I’m getting stronger. I feel great!
I’ve run and rode a bike for exercise many times. I’ve done P90X and Insanity. I’ve always gotten bored after a few months and stopped working out. I’m confident I’ve found the holy grail of exercise programs with CrossFit. Each workout is different so I shouldn’t get bored with the repetition found in other programs.
CrossFit in unique in the way it defines fitness (PDF download). It’s all about using functional movements to prepare trainees not only for the unknown but for the unknowable. This type of fitness can prepare an individual for any type of sport. CrossFit is actually known as the sport of fitness.
I’m also enjoying CrossFit so much because it has similarities with other big parts of my life. CrossFit shares some similarities with WordPress, especially with the online community. Some people outside the community actually call it a cult! Each day on crossfit.com you can get the community WOD and share your results in the comments with other athletes around the world. The site shares videos with instructions on how to do all the movements. There’s a wealth of information on the web site and nearly everything is free. The part that’s not free is in the CrossFit Journal which costs $25 a year. Everything is very similar to the open source foundation WordPress is built on.
…de-centralized approach shares some common features with open source software projects and allows best practices to emerge from a variety of approaches… CrossFit on Wikipedia
CrossFit is also similar to golf because it’s all about improving and beating yourself. All of the WODs are based on completing a workout as fast as possible, doing as many rounds as possible in a period of time, or lifting heavier weights. Everything is measured. In golf, any Joe Nobody can compete in local qualifiers, maybe the sectional qualifier, and have a chance to play in the US Open. The CrossFit Games, which determine the “fittest on Earth”, use a similar system. You can start doing workouts in your garage and end up competing against a world champion. In the 2011 CrossFit Games, the individual male and female winners were awarded $250,000 each! It’s no joke.
When you get down to the roots of CrossFit, it’s all about improving yourself. Working out to get in the best shape possible. Practicing functional fitness to be prepared for anything. Eating right to promote a healthy life and get the most out of each WOD. Helping others in the community.
I’ve been doing CrossFit for 3 weeks now. I’ve read more articles and watched more videos than I can count, attempting to absorb as much as I can. Hopefully I’m still doing a WOD three months from now and three months after that. Follow my workouts at crossfit.nickmomrik.com and let me know if you have any questions. If you’ve been struggling with your exercise routine, look into in. Survive the first workout and you might be hooked like me.
Here are some pictures from Survival Fitness where I’m a member:
I started doing the Insanity workout program on January 11th. Today, day 15, was a day to test progress with the fit test. I’m feeling good and making improvements.
Move
Day 1*
Day 15
Switch Kicks
124
134
Power Jacks
55
64
Power Knees
80
94
Power Jumps
40
48
Globe Jumps
11
12
Suicide Jumps
10
16
Push-Up Jacks
15
24
Low Plank Obliques
36
46
* Some of the numbers for day 1 are too high because I was so tired I lost count a few times.
Started a new workout routine today. Took me nearly an hour before I could stand up or walk around without feeling sick. I should have jumped in a little slower since it’s been a couple of months without workouts.
A few months ago Jason Calacanis started a flatblogging revolution. He challenged bloggers to work on their health and fitness, writing about it along the way. Well, I’ve been working out consistently for over a year now and haven written about it in awhile. Back on February of last year, I wrote about my weight nearly hitting 200. Today I’m just shy of 175 and have been there consistently for the past 4-6 months.
Getting fit has made me a lot healthier in many areas of life. My total cholesterol was 191 and my HDL was 39 a year ago. At my last check 2 weeks ago, those numbers were at 154 and 48. On Friday I had my body fat tested with the caliper pinch things. They took a measurement from my chest, abs, and thigh. I only have 8.5% body fat which was pretty surprised to find out. My mom bought me a new scale for Christmas which tests body fat and that thing is constantly giving me numbers in the 18% range, which just goes to show how horrible they are.
So how have I dropped over 20 pounds and turned to a healthy life style? What does my routine incorporate?
Probably the biggest factor has been the change in what I eat. I used to eat out all the time. Two double cheeseburgers, a small fry, and a 6 piece nugget from McDonald’s? Sure, that sounded like a good lunch to me.
Breakfast
I will usually have one (or a combination) of the following:
Bowl of some type of whole-grain cereal.
Waffles with low fat syrup.
Bagel with cream cheese.
Oatmeal
Morning Snack
Almost always some type of fruit. Either 2 bananas, a couple of apples, pineapple. or cantelope.
Lunch
Either a turkey sandwich, leftovers from a previous dinner, or breakfast style burritos that I make on my own.
Afternoon Snack
Usuualy trail mix, granola, almonds, or walnuts.
Dinner
I eat a lot of chicken and fish these days. I cook it several different ways to keep it from getting old. Once in awhile I’ll whip up some pork chops, steak, or some other type of beef meal.
Night snack
This is usually where I cheat and eat something bad for me. Although I do try to eat some fruit at night as well.
Eating breakfast every morning and spreading food out throughout the day helps a lot. I try not to stuff myself during any one meal. You don’t have to be religious in your eating habits, you just have to realize what you are putting in your body. Eat something “fatty” once in awhile to keep yourself sane. I also use whey protein to get some of that extra muscle building power. I use it in smoothies (which I always have after weight lifting), milk, and oatmeal.
Workouts
Two or three times a week I lift weights which usually includes bench press, curls, triceps skulls, close handed bench press, and dips. Sometimes I’ll do a few other movements. Ab work is done three times a week for about 10 minutes each time. You don’t need to kill yourself doing thousands of sit ups a day. Make sure to use good form in your movements and target all areas of your abs. Keep rest periods short and crank out the workout to get it over with.
I do cardio 5 or 6 times a week with one of two of those days being some type of high intensity interval training (HIIT). I run, bike, and use my elliptical machine. I’ve also started to do a little swimming in preparation for a couple of summer triathlons I’d like to do this year. I bought Total Immersion after several recommendations and reviews, so I’ve been slowing going through the drills learning correct form and how to swim. I’m not so good at the whole head under water and breathing part.
So there you have it…this is how I do it. What type of workouts do you like? Any tips you’ve found useful in your own quest to become healthy?
Speaking of getting things done…I just got back from working out. That’s been on my to-do list before I even had to-do lists. Spent some quality time on the bike and step machine, but had to get off the stepper during my cool down because my hammy wasn’t feeling too good. I think I might […]
The 2013 CrossFit Games season kicked off on Wednesday night with the live announcement of Workout 13.1 and a throwdown between two of the top athletes in our sport.
Nick Momrik 