It goes without saying that you have to be careful if you lift or workout barefoot.
Let's start this interesting topic with some photos.




Ok so we know people do it and that it works for some. Are there reasons other than being in a martial arts studio? I have found personal that I like the feel. I can really feel the weight going into my feet.

It's taking me some time to find a well written article on this topic. So if you know of some lead the way.

"Fight Gone Bad," originally designed for a professional fighter, is a combination of five different exercises done in three rounds of one minute each. CrossFit takes basic fitness exercises — squats, push-ups, pull-ups, dips, dead-lifts, medicine ball throws and more — to emphasize a full range of motion and adds short bursts of cardiovascular elements. The mix is different day-to-day and engages every muscle in your body while providing adequate recovery time for growth.




The next video you see of this will be from Crossfit DC's Fight gone bad fundraiser. Please Make a donation at
http://athletes.kintera.org/crossfit07/crossfitdc


Thanks so much for your support!
Jen

Yesterday was my first Soccer game with the FEDs. We won! My feet hurt like hell today. It was so hot my feet were sweating like mad and now I have huge blisters on the balls of my feet! Yikes!
Todays workout 10 rounds of...
3 reps Power Clean with 75#
3 reps Box Jump 20"
3 reps Power Clean 75#
3 reps Box Jump 20"


This workout is curtiosy of Coach Rut! See the links on the right to go to his blog.

Keeping the child within alive.
Watched Bridge to Terabithia tonight and bald my eyes out. I love adventure and creative journeys, going to a place only you can see in your own mind. It's that best place on earth.

Today's Pain


One minuet each 3 rounds one minute rest between each round.
Box Jumps
45# KB swings
Lunges with two 30# DB's


Then Front Squats
5 x 45# bar
5 x 55#
5 x 75#
5 x 95#
5 x 105#


Push Press
5x 45#
5x 65#
5x 75#
Could have done more but stopped do to shoulder. Total weight moved 2800#.

Also, on a personal note. I finished Harry Potter this past week. It was great and I'm so sad the journey is over!
Today I will be at Brew in the Zoo, tasting beers....in moderation! LOL! At lest that's the plan.

Over the last few days I took it easy. Played some soccer on Sunday which was really fun. It's always been my sport of choice since I was 7.
Today I was at Crossfit Challenge with Jerry. So the opener for my day was Tabata. My line up was Swings, Sit-ups, Squats and lunges. Since I'm still keeping away from overhead stuff like pull-ups. Which kills me, I love pull ups and work on the rings!
So anyway it was 8 sets of 20 seconds work 10 seconds rest for each of the four movements. Sweat Jesus! My legs were blowing up!
Then the 6am class showed up and worked it hard. It's great to see people improve and become more aware of there bodies. Jerry had some new people in class, I hope they keep coming so that in a month or so I can see how far they've come! The first day is always a killer!


Then Jerry has his lifting class. Deadlift and Strict press singles. That's a max weight for one rep. On the deadlift I got 235# Whew! My lower back did rounded a bit so I have to watch that. Which is a strength thing but it's also a focus deal for me. My goal has been 270# in December.
update some things I forgot!
Later in the afternoon on my way to Personal Train a client I went to a soccer field and did some sprints and power skips with a few suicides mixed in. To warm up as Mai says I did 100 "rope turns" and then repeated for a cool down.

Deadlift form. The two left photos are of good form and the two right of bad form.

It was a 4am morning. Got out of bed grabbed Sophie and out the door as we headed for Arlington, VA. Handed Sophie over to my senior friend Otto so that they could hang out. Then I was off to Crossfit Challenge. I was feeling lest then motivated to workout this AM. When I got to the parking lot I decided to do some sprints and a run around the block. Jerry told me the distance but I've forgotten now. After a few sprints and some side shuffles we headed in. First I warmed up with some arm bars with the 12k KB 4 each side, same with TGU's but failed with my left arm on the second one. In that time Jerry decided to do some Tabata Muscle ups and squats. Since he had his watch going with the tabata alarm I thought sure do a few KB swings with the 45# KB. I kept it at 10 each time! Nice, I love that 45# KB! Then since I'm weak in the sit-up department I did Tabata sit-ups, I'm sure to feel that for a few days.
Crossfit Challenges second class is a lifting class. Today was Deadlifts and Strict press, 3 reps with max weight. I jumped in to see what I had. With the 205# deadlift I was able to get 3 reps. Sweet! My strict press was a mess. With my shoulder feeling shitty it was just not good, So I dropped it. I'll work on them soon.

A side note about my cycling. I've noticed I never get any better at climbing hills. I'm always last and struggling. Actually I think I'm a bit better than in the past but no huge gains. I wonder why? It's not like I'm racing or anything just seems I'm not a good climber, I just blow up on the climbs.

These Photos are of the 205x3





Here we have my new Friend in competition Keturah


Willie is the only one besides Jerry in class that can add! The rest of us were having a really hard time figuring out how much weight we had on the bar. Willie we sure will miss you!

You gotta love the crew at Crossfit Old Town Challenge! They make me want to work hard when I don't feel like working!

Last but not lest we have Andrea who kicked my ass with the Strict Press. She was build for this lift! Watch out girl...I'm coming up behind you!


I'm learning about short people and squatting their deadlift. I noticed it with Mike from Crossfit DC as well. Being that they have short arms and legs they tend to not go back with there butt on the Deadlift, They simply squat. Maybe by putting a pole behind them that they have to touch with there butt as they go down would help. Next time I see Andrea at CF Challenge I'll give it a go with her.

Ok, update on todays workout. I had all kinds of plans but decided to go easy on my shoulder.
10 Side press with 15# KB
10 side presses with 12k KB
Windmills top 16k bottom 12k 10 each side
Strict press 10 each side with 12k KB
Jerks 5 with 16k on right
3 on left.
Then 5 on left with 12k KB
2 sets of 10 front squats with 45# bar
1 set of 10 back squats with 45# bar
1 set of 10 back squats with 75#
1 set of 7 front squats with #75
2 sets of 5 front squats 75#
1 set of 5 back squats with 75#
My numbers are kinda crazy since I kept losing focus. Louie's ashes got delivered to the house today and it really hit me hard. At lest I did a workout.




Over the last few days I've been out on two short rides. One was at a speedy pace with Di and Ernesto. The ride I did this Am was short and slow. Spinning, no climbing to speak of just recovery. If I felt the L-acid starting to burn in my legs I would back off either in speed or via gears.
I plan on doing another workout today. So I'll have to get back to you on that one. Yesterday I did 30 cleans to Jerks with 65#. My left shoulder is really weak which made this very hard.

It's been almost a week since we put Louie to sleep. I've not made it one day with out crying. Crying really can take it out of you! At lest I made it through CFDC with out bursting out in tears!


On Saturday Di and I took Sophie into rock Creek park for a walk and I put my KB in a back pack to play with it on the rocks. Two miles with a 12k KB hitting me in the back was not the greatest thing for my shoulder and upper back but oh well. It was fun to play out on the rocks and see how hard it is to swing without proper footing!

Some Like it Hot. Yup, that's me. I would rather it be 100* and humid than snowing!

Today I went to Crossfit Old town to continue to learn from Jerry's coaching. Some may call me crazy for doing something I don't get paid for. Look at it this way. Jerry has been coaching for a long ass time. He was coaching when I was playing soccer and hockey. He was looking at sports in a different way. Jerry developed his coaching as an athlete. While I was just in it for me. Now I'm seeing both sides of the field! Which means I have a lot to learn and not of money to pay people to teach me. That's why I go and watch how he handles different situations. Also, it's fun. It's fun to be with his crew of people and to workout with him before class. That's payment in it's self.

It was a tabata day.
Six rounds of 20 seconds work with 10 seconds rest.
Squats
Situps
Pushups
Ring Rows
KB swings
Box Jumps
Lunges
Killer!
The Situps killed me. I hate them! I went for ring rows instead of Pullups do to should pain.

Thought of the day
Why would we cheer or idolize any athlete who we know uses Steroids or we even think uses them? What kind of an athlete are they if they need to use something to make them stronger? That's like saying I can deadlift 500# when your only lifting 150#...it's a lie. You can't do shit if your using Steroids...your not doing it the drug is!


Missing Louie! Feeling like I cut his life short. It's hard to deal with this.

Today:
Angry ride about 15 miles with loud music and sprints
Held a few sprints at 30mphs for about 20 seconds.
I few days ago before Louies passing I did
50 slamballs
50 pushpress
50 swings.
Then the next day was 50 pushpress and 50 slamballs.....really hard!

This above song is for my Louie. Sing it cheer it have a beer with it!

Yesterday I had to put my Dog Louie to sleep. My healthy, young, Fun and devoted dog.
Why, well not because I wanted to. Because he was acting aggressive tord others, more and more. He was very strong and for him to be lunging at people was just not a good thing living in a city area. He found that he could jump fences and chase people away from us. That had not happened in our yard yet. We had been taking him to a playground that was fenced in so he could run. Then while I was at work Di took him and he saw a guy walking passed....off he went. We've seen the symptoms since we got him. I guess at first we just thought he would get over it with training and with being around people. We were wrong it just got worse. His life was coming down to our yard and house. We in good conscious were going to have to avoid people or muzzle him. Not take him any place because he was so cute that people always wanted to pet him. Most of the time he would be alright with others, then there would be that one person that I could tell he did not like. From time to time I would see that look on his face and know that he was near the edge. It only takes one small nip to send someone to the ER for stitches and then it's off to the kennel or be put down.
As for kennels he got sent home the last time I tried to board him. When I left he freaked out and snapped at the worker who was trying to take off his collar.
Louie was scared of people and loud places. When walking him around our area if I went out of my house and headed right down the block he was fine(excerpt if we met people)if I took a left he was a bag of nerves. His head going back and forth, looking behind him making sure no one was coming up on him. It was sad to watch.
That being said, at home he was sweet and loving! He never did anything wrong in the house. He let Sophie our 8 year old boxer rule the house and all the toys. He was kind to the cats from the first day. Louie loved Diane but was my right hand man. At my side for everything. Workouts, sleeping, cooking, he was there with a little kiss. Every time I would leave and come home he would be in the window, I could see his little white face as I pulled into our drive. Yet, he was his own man and would sleep half the nite down stairs and come up in the moring to get me up for a walk.
I was taking Louie for trail runs, He was awesome at it! He never went around the trees the wrong way. Man he could jump and climb fallen trees like a champ. When he would run free his body was all grace, you just had to love it. He looked so happy.
Louie was a what is called a fear biter. We trained him, sit, stay, come, down and hold. He would let me take his toys and toss them and wait to go get them. Awesome dog, just awesome to me.
I miss him and feel bad, really bad. Yet, I know under the pain that we did the right thing. It's just right now I just feel so awful I can't explain it. We gave Louie the best year and 1/2 of his life. Before that he was closed up in a room and not feed.
Anyhow, I love you Louie. Rest in Peace big man!

My Louie. My little wiggle butt man...I will miss you sooooo much!