Well...the WOD last night destroyed me! 400m run, 50 air squats...4 rounds. Nothing like a mile run with 200 air squats on top, during the week that I decided I was going to run a mile every morning! Came in at 19:05. I was fried. And that was last night.
This morning I'm pretty sure I looked Frankenstein as I literally rolled, it hurt too much to bend my legs, out of bed and put some athletic clothes on. My quads and hamstrings were barking at me the entire time, but I did it. Another mile down. 10:38. Worst time of the week, but I suffered through it.
It feels great to know I'm 3/3 this week with my goal. 3 miles down. And really 4 with the mile in the WOD last night. I just wish I had as much energy as my dog. He is ready to go every morning!
We've reached the tipping point in the week. It's all down hill from here!
-FBC
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Micro-Goal Tuesday: No Pain, No Gain
Without a doubt, waking up early was difficult today. My mid/lower back was thrashed from the WOD the previous night and running was the last thing that I wanted to do. WOD last night was Every Minute on the Minute (EMOM) for 10 minutes, 5 power cleans and 10 double unders. Double unders are still a work in progress, but for the first couple rounds I was able to string all 10 together. Awesome. But I was exhausted.
Then we had 20 minutes left in class to find our 1 rep max deadlift. Brutal. I'm still trying to breathe from getting the WOD done and now I'm finding my max. Previous PR was 405lbs and I was able to match it! Considering I wasn't close to being fresh, it felt good. I jumped to 415 and missed. Still pretty satisfied.
After that the night before and fighting every demon and naysayer in my head, I got my ass up after hitting snooze a couple times. I'm briskly doing my thing, pretty sure I'm personifying the meme below, when all of a sudden a sniper got me on my third lap. A nice little lip in the uneven sidewalk tripped me up. I come crashing down, scaring the hell out of my dog who in his most mans-best-friend-lassie-style-I'm-here-to-protect-you-no-matter-what way decides to take off sprinting down and across the street, leaving me face planted on the ground, glad it's 6:45am and no one in this little neighborhood happens to be outside at that moment.
I ended up getting up, chased down the dog who actually stopped and waited for me down the street, finished the fourth lap and came in at a time of 10:10. All things considered, I'll take it. When I got home, this is what my knee looked like. Not a fun shower.
Definitely hit home on the fact that this whole process and fitness journey that we're on doesn't come without sacrifice. It's not always physical sacrifices, like pretending to be a runner and having the concrete remind you that you're not, but usually the mental and emotional sacrifices. And the coolest part is these initially seem like they are a sacrifice, missing a TV show or staying in to cook dinner, but really they just make up a different way of life that we get to choose.
No pain, go gain.
-FBC
Then we had 20 minutes left in class to find our 1 rep max deadlift. Brutal. I'm still trying to breathe from getting the WOD done and now I'm finding my max. Previous PR was 405lbs and I was able to match it! Considering I wasn't close to being fresh, it felt good. I jumped to 415 and missed. Still pretty satisfied.
After that the night before and fighting every demon and naysayer in my head, I got my ass up after hitting snooze a couple times. I'm briskly doing my thing, pretty sure I'm personifying the meme below, when all of a sudden a sniper got me on my third lap. A nice little lip in the uneven sidewalk tripped me up. I come crashing down, scaring the hell out of my dog who in his most mans-best-friend-lassie-style-I'm-here-to-protect-you-no-matter-what way decides to take off sprinting down and across the street, leaving me face planted on the ground, glad it's 6:45am and no one in this little neighborhood happens to be outside at that moment.
I ended up getting up, chased down the dog who actually stopped and waited for me down the street, finished the fourth lap and came in at a time of 10:10. All things considered, I'll take it. When I got home, this is what my knee looked like. Not a fun shower.
Definitely hit home on the fact that this whole process and fitness journey that we're on doesn't come without sacrifice. It's not always physical sacrifices, like pretending to be a runner and having the concrete remind you that you're not, but usually the mental and emotional sacrifices. And the coolest part is these initially seem like they are a sacrifice, missing a TV show or staying in to cook dinner, but really they just make up a different way of life that we get to choose.
No pain, go gain.
-FBC
Monday, October 1, 2012
October Micro-Goals: Getting Back on Track
For those of you that work in higher education, or education in general, you can attest to what the month of September translates to in the amount of time you dedicate to work. After facilitating a three week training for student leaders and preparing for 350 college students to arrive on campus, it's finally time to get back on track.
Finding balance during these busy times has still eluded me. But that's not the point here, the point is that every one is going to stray away from their routine at some point and time for whatever reason. The difference is in the past you slipped and didn't get back on track. That's not what is going to happen here. I think back to the Sickness, Wellness and Fitness continuum. Every decision we make either moves us closer to Fitness or moves us to Sickness. The goal is to create the biggest buffer possible between the two. This buffer allows us to have a cheat meal...or day, or take a week off or become consumed with work and fail to stick to your normal regime. The buffer means that we aren't going to get sick after the holidays because the buffer is the hard work and blood and sweat and tears that moved you towards Fitness. But the buffer only lasts for so long before we are back to square one.
Finding balance during these busy times has still eluded me. But that's not the point here, the point is that every one is going to stray away from their routine at some point and time for whatever reason. The difference is in the past you slipped and didn't get back on track. That's not what is going to happen here. I think back to the Sickness, Wellness and Fitness continuum. Every decision we make either moves us closer to Fitness or moves us to Sickness. The goal is to create the biggest buffer possible between the two. This buffer allows us to have a cheat meal...or day, or take a week off or become consumed with work and fail to stick to your normal regime. The buffer means that we aren't going to get sick after the holidays because the buffer is the hard work and blood and sweat and tears that moved you towards Fitness. But the buffer only lasts for so long before we are back to square one.
I decided I was going to start setting small "micro-goals" to help get me back on track towards my fitness goals. These goals are only for a week and will be small victories that are so powerfully motivating when facing adversity. It coincidentally worked out that Monday in October 1st. A new month, a new week, a fresh start. I love it.
This week I'm going to work on a weakness that typically holds me back in WODs. Running. My goal is to wake up at 6am (and that obviously means 6:15ish) and run a mile. This is challenging for a couple reasons. 1) I am not a morning person. Waking up at 6am is challenge enough. But I have also been envious of early risers and I hope this will create a new routine to get up earlier and enjoy the day. 2) I am not a runner. I never have been. A mile isn't much, but it's a start. The feeling that I can envision having Friday morning, knowing that I ran 5 miles this week, in addition to CrossFit classes tastes like euphoria right now. I will have to keep this in mind Tuesday morning when my alarm goes off.
The other goal that I am setting is to simply drink more water. The ideal amount of water is to take your weight (in lbs) and divide by 2. That's how many ounces you should be shooting for. It is clear how much better I feel when I'm hydrated. Listen to your body and drink water.
How do you set goals for fitness? Have you ever tried micro-goal setting? If you're interested in setting your own, let me know, we can all share our successes together.
FBC
P.S. This morning's mile time was 9:19. Not a PR by a long shot, but give me a break, it was early!
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Why Do You CrossFit?
I sent out a couple tweets asking folks why they CrossFit. I got a few responses that I thought were pretty cool and insightful into the many reasons people walk into a box to kick the crap out of themselves multiple times a week.
Here are a few responses that I received:
Sometimes I feel that the innate pressure that CrossFit creates to compete with yourself and others, to get that PR, to push your body to its limits in the gym, allows for the purpose behind the journey outside the gym to get lost.
Why is it exactly that we do this week in and week out? Why is tooling around on the elliptical not good enough anymore? Why do we pay money to do what can only be described as torture at times?
The short answer?
Because it works.
But it only works if you know what you are working for. What are your goals? To lose weight? To get into shape? To be a better parent/spouse/sibling/son/daughter/co-worker/person? To get strong?
But what does it all mean?
So you want to lose weight. Join the club. But what is the purpose of wanting to lose that weight?
What do you want to do with your body and mind that you couldn't do before?
That is the ultimate question that only you can answer for yourself. And it needs to be answered.
I had a vision of myself and my body that became disproportional to reality. CrossFit has allowed me to change the reality, but I've found that my vision has changed as well. I have higher expectations for what I can do and more importantly what I want to do.
This weekend I went on a hike that I haven't done for a couple years. I remember being self-conscious and embarrassed about how tired and out of shape I was the last time. I remember it being a beautiful day, with great people, on a medium grade hike, and I had an absolutely horrible time.
My vision of my abilities collided abruptly with reality.
This weekend was different. I felt great. I had fun. I enjoyed being surrounded by nature, with the bustle of the city far removed from a beautiful backdrop. I had great conversation. I smiled. I laughed.
I paused for a minute and silently reflected, "this is why I CrossFit."
The feeling was better than any PR that I could have hit; than shooting for a sub-(you pick a number) Fran time.
I push myself to the limit inside the gym so that I can push my limits outside of the gym. This is the secret that CrossFit doesn't tell you. That you have to find out for yourself. That an hour a day can significantly upgrade the other 23.
The mental euphoria of those endorphins flowing through your body transfer to reality. And when your reality changes, your vision changes.
CrossFit is simply a tool to get you to where you want to go. In my opinion, it happens to be one of the most effective tools to get you there. But you ultimately decide the destination.
And while you're getting to where you're going, don't forget to stop and enjoy the journey every once and awhile.
So where are you going? Where is the byproduct of all your hard work going to guide you? What do you want to do with your body that you couldn't do before?
-FBC
Here are a few responses that I received:
@_Erin807_ "to be stronger than yesterday; and to be even stronger tomorrow"
@Johnarmstrong "Feel good, be healthy, maintain good blood sugar/cholesterol, weight loss. So many more..."
@tickenz "to get in shape, get stronger, and to get motivated by a great community of athletes!"
@thehoss2555 "to be better than the person who doesn't!!"
Sometimes I feel that the innate pressure that CrossFit creates to compete with yourself and others, to get that PR, to push your body to its limits in the gym, allows for the purpose behind the journey outside the gym to get lost.
Why is it exactly that we do this week in and week out? Why is tooling around on the elliptical not good enough anymore? Why do we pay money to do what can only be described as torture at times?
The short answer?
Because it works.
But it only works if you know what you are working for. What are your goals? To lose weight? To get into shape? To be a better parent/spouse/sibling/son/daughter/co-worker/person? To get strong?
But what does it all mean?
So you want to lose weight. Join the club. But what is the purpose of wanting to lose that weight?
What do you want to do with your body and mind that you couldn't do before?
That is the ultimate question that only you can answer for yourself. And it needs to be answered.
I had a vision of myself and my body that became disproportional to reality. CrossFit has allowed me to change the reality, but I've found that my vision has changed as well. I have higher expectations for what I can do and more importantly what I want to do.
This weekend I went on a hike that I haven't done for a couple years. I remember being self-conscious and embarrassed about how tired and out of shape I was the last time. I remember it being a beautiful day, with great people, on a medium grade hike, and I had an absolutely horrible time.
My vision of my abilities collided abruptly with reality.
This weekend was different. I felt great. I had fun. I enjoyed being surrounded by nature, with the bustle of the city far removed from a beautiful backdrop. I had great conversation. I smiled. I laughed.
I paused for a minute and silently reflected, "this is why I CrossFit."
The feeling was better than any PR that I could have hit; than shooting for a sub-(you pick a number) Fran time.
I push myself to the limit inside the gym so that I can push my limits outside of the gym. This is the secret that CrossFit doesn't tell you. That you have to find out for yourself. That an hour a day can significantly upgrade the other 23.
The mental euphoria of those endorphins flowing through your body transfer to reality. And when your reality changes, your vision changes.
CrossFit is simply a tool to get you to where you want to go. In my opinion, it happens to be one of the most effective tools to get you there. But you ultimately decide the destination.
And while you're getting to where you're going, don't forget to stop and enjoy the journey every once and awhile.
So where are you going? Where is the byproduct of all your hard work going to guide you? What do you want to do with your body that you couldn't do before?
-FBC
Beautiful day and view of the falls.
The pup not used to 90 degree weather.
He slept well that night!
Monday, August 6, 2012
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Monday, July 23, 2012
Mobility
Especially as a bigger guy, mobility restrictions can hold me back from a lot of optimal movement and full range of motion. I had rotator cuff surgery 8 years ago and Crossfit very quickly exposed my range of motion...or lack there of.
The two movements that seem to bless me with the most issues are the over head and front rack positions. Definitely not great for my Fran time. My always encouraging coach described my shoulders as that of an 80 year old last week. Ouch. Literally and figuratively.
I stumbled upon KStar and his amazing site, Mobility WOD, as a "homework" assignment from my coach during On-Ramp when I first got introduced to Crossfit. I have dabbled a little bit with the site and mobility suggestions, but after an incredibly frustrating session with over head squats last week, I decided I need to be more committed to mobility in my training.
Here's an example of the information and videos that KStar posts on his site. I like his videos because they are short and simple. Like a WOD, right?
Have a specific mobility issue that you're dealing with? Check out the search box on his site. His tags are solid and you can pull up amazing information with one search.
How much time do you dedicate to mobility when you go to the gym? I see a lot of folks head out as soon as the WOD is over. Do you prefer to work on mobility before your workout or after...or both? Should coaches and trainers build this into your WOD or should it be up the individual to work on in their own time?
P.S. I made the little gem KStar likes to call the dual lacrosse ball "peanut" this weekend...brutal. But it hurts so good!
-FBC
The two movements that seem to bless me with the most issues are the over head and front rack positions. Definitely not great for my Fran time. My always encouraging coach described my shoulders as that of an 80 year old last week. Ouch. Literally and figuratively.
I stumbled upon KStar and his amazing site, Mobility WOD, as a "homework" assignment from my coach during On-Ramp when I first got introduced to Crossfit. I have dabbled a little bit with the site and mobility suggestions, but after an incredibly frustrating session with over head squats last week, I decided I need to be more committed to mobility in my training.
Here's an example of the information and videos that KStar posts on his site. I like his videos because they are short and simple. Like a WOD, right?
Have a specific mobility issue that you're dealing with? Check out the search box on his site. His tags are solid and you can pull up amazing information with one search.
How much time do you dedicate to mobility when you go to the gym? I see a lot of folks head out as soon as the WOD is over. Do you prefer to work on mobility before your workout or after...or both? Should coaches and trainers build this into your WOD or should it be up the individual to work on in their own time?
P.S. I made the little gem KStar likes to call the dual lacrosse ball "peanut" this weekend...brutal. But it hurts so good!
-FBC
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Lost in Translation
Crossfitters speak a different language. Sometimes I feel like I need a decoder to understand what is being talked about in normal conversations at the box. This is a hilarious video featuring Bob Harper from the Biggest Loser (relatively new to the Crossfit community) helping us decode the Crossfit lingo.
This also makes me wonder, why do we do this to ourselves? It seems like anytime I try to take up a new hobby, I have to learn a new language. Is it to bring ourselves up or to keep others out? Regardless, language can be such a barrier in attracting new folks. How will you ensure that the new face in your box doesn't get lost in translation?
This also makes me wonder, why do we do this to ourselves? It seems like anytime I try to take up a new hobby, I have to learn a new language. Is it to bring ourselves up or to keep others out? Regardless, language can be such a barrier in attracting new folks. How will you ensure that the new face in your box doesn't get lost in translation?
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Why Did I Start Fat Boy Crossfit?
I started this blog for a multitude of reasons. The first of
course is that I have seen amazing results from this sport of fitness in a
relatively short amount of time. I’ve been Crossfitting since January and in
seven short months I am completely addicted to functional movements.
When I first walked into the gym, I weighed in at 275 lbs.
By far the most out-of-shape that I had been in my entire life. I grew up
always involved in organized sports and was for the most part a stand out
athlete amongst my peers. This proceeded through high school and into college
until all of a sudden workouts were not required. Then the slow and slippery
slope to obesity began.
To date, I’m down 30 lbs. and feeling better than ever. My
body composition has changed dramatically and my overall level of fitness has
skyrocketed.
So here I am, seven months into the sport of fitness and I
decided to start a blog. Why? Because the more I have been into this community,
the more I realize how intimidating it is for large folks to get into it. The
folks that need to be here the most.
Perception vs. reality.
Did you watch the CrossFit Games this past weekend? So did
I. An amazing display of fitness from some of the most phenomenal athletes in
the world. But is that the reality? When I look around my box, I see a handful
of athletes that look like the phenoms we saw on TV. I see a lot more athletes
that look like everyday people trying to non-everyday tasks while they kick the
shit out of themselves. Reality.
Put yourself in the perspective of an out-of-shape,
overweight, perhaps obese individual. Can you imagine how intimidating it would
be to step foot into a Crossfit box thinking it’s full of folks you see on TV?
So here I am. Just a fat dude that is a little less fat than
I used to be and hopefully not as fat as I always will be, trying to spread the
word that Crossfit is for us too! Once you do get inside, you’ll realize it for
yourself. But I get it. Taking that first step inside is probably the hardest. I
know I was terrified. My hope is that this can be a dropbox of motivation and a
celebration of victories. When you surround yourself with positive people, it
makes your own mindset all the better. After all, Crossfit is more mental
exercise than physical.
All the best in your own journey. Enjoy it. Share it.
-FBC
CrossFit Victories
I want to hear them! Send them my way and I will publish them on my blog.
As much as I love WODing and eating clean, there are definitely days that I lose motivation. Perhaps you can relate. This can be a place to share information, victories and stories to keep that motivation flowing amongst this amazing community.
DM me on Twitter or send an email: fatboycrossfit at gmail dot com
As much as I love WODing and eating clean, there are definitely days that I lose motivation. Perhaps you can relate. This can be a place to share information, victories and stories to keep that motivation flowing amongst this amazing community.
DM me on Twitter or send an email: fatboycrossfit at gmail dot com
Killing The Fat Man
I absolutely love this video series posted on YouTube.com from CrossFit Headquarters, Killing The Fat Man. It's a great little series of 10 episodes that follows the journey of a fellow #TeamFatty CrossFitter.
Can you relate to the "ah-ha" moments that Gary experiences? I know I can. I can also relate to my significant other getting fed up of me talking about nutrition and CrossFit!
How do you know that someone does CrossFit? Because it's all they talk about!
-FBC
Can you relate to the "ah-ha" moments that Gary experiences? I know I can. I can also relate to my significant other getting fed up of me talking about nutrition and CrossFit!
How do you know that someone does CrossFit? Because it's all they talk about!
-FBC
Fat Boy Crossfit
This is Fat Boy Crossfit. I am fat. I crossfit. One of those things is going to be changing.
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