Envisualize

Predicting massive leg fail.

18:43 Rough workout. Killer cool down.

18:48/patty cake cool down with Mere... oh and thanks for the "encouragement" with mu

Yay, Kelly! She makes me proud. The last time (only time) I did this one, it took me over 25 mins!

Now THAT is what Crossfit is about folks. Even when I finish last, those are my favorate kind of workouts! Feelin nice and calm for the rest of the day.

Awww, another WOD I need to make up! Boo! And does anyone else's spine/lower back area hurt from those leg-pushing-over-thingies? Ack!

Pat - Feel free to do both.

17:19 - My first unbroken workout. Dave - all heart baby, nice work!! Lindalicious - Best looking rabbit ive ever seen :) haha Dean - Patty cake B2B, our singing was American Idol worthy Pat - Sorry you have to settle for what the rest of the gym is doing today. This workout was KILLER!!! And yet so much fun, everyone in the Rooster Crew game with their game face on!!

25:52 - super slow, even with subbing 25 reps for the first round and 20 WBs/15 BJs for the others, but these are still my favorite kind of workouts, too. Any WOD that makes you feel like you're going to puke has to be good, right? :) Thanks for all the encouragement, guys! Vic, the 7 a.m. cooldown was 100 two-count mountain climbers.

if i could run a 10k right now i would do it or both wods, but this will be painful enough.

carrie, they're called "floor sweepers". and yea, my lower back is a little sore from banging around.

tonight is going to be rough. wall balls, i shall defeat thee!

Chase- by patty cake do you mean starting in plank on hands and then go to elbows and then back ip on hands? If so I know them as Johnny c's. Thanks for helping me out

Here is the July Challenge from Dutch Lowy's blog:
The challenge this month will be to take your bodyweight from the ground to overhead enough times to total 3000 lbs for men and 2000 lbs for women.
Scaling will be allowed on an individual level based on the coaches prescription however if the weight is scaled the participant must do 3000 lbs regardless of gender.
Here is an example:
Dutch weighs 158 lbs.
3000/158 = 18.xxxx
You will round up regardless of the decimal point. Dutch must perform 19 reps at 158 lbs as fast as possible.

This looks AWESOME -- LET'S DO IT!

22 for me. i'm in. shortened grace for me, almost

Congrats on the unbroken Chase!

ugh ant, 17 clean and jerks at my 1 rep max. might take me a while

My only disappointment in the video was not having Mere's work on there. Dunno why I didn't record that - just was not thinking. Awesome effort Mere.

Sam Z - awesome video, it was like blair witch meets crossfit, you and Sophie are Rock Stars!!

Captain America - just loved how you threw that bar down....nice! The video is courtesy of Sophie's 11th birthday present. The Flip. Not the best video quality but so easy and fun to use. I think Dad needs one. I'll hopefully be filming more from time to time.

awesome video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHuebHTD-lY awesome song, makes me work fast! http://www.last.fm/music/Chromeo/_/Tenderoni+(MSTRKRFT+Remix)

Yesterday post: all at 75# Andrew 31 reps Curt 30 reps Will 42 reps

Wade, God help us if Eric is turned. His hunger now is already bad enough. Last thing we need is a zombie worried about losing muscle mass.

LOL - MERE you really going to borrow track suit??? or is that Dean... HE HE HE

Sam, thanks for the video and thanks to you and Nick for helping me attain my goal.

Dean - I was thinking that Mere was really impressed by herself....funny. Chris - Nice meeting you. Great job yesterday. You really gave it all you had. As Dean says, you PR'd in effort and the video proves it.

Haha, loved your post, Dean/Mere. :)

22:28 I...HATE...THAT...WOD And of course by Hate I mean I am really attracted to it, but never feel like I live up to its expectations. Jacquelyn - Tell them you are an undercover IRS agent trying to prove that KPMG is not cheating on taxes by claiming a nonexistent projector as business personal property. And without the physical proof, they would storm the office and perform a detailed colonoscopy on KPMG and all of its clients.

ANT - Im in for that July challenge. When do you want to do it?

Sam Z. - The jerky is what the French refer to as le'jit.* *Saying borrowed, with express consent given by the great Spencer Nix. This saying is copyrighted by Spencer Nix for the private use of the CFDC audience. Any other use of this saying or any pictures, descriptions, or accounts of this saying without Spencer Nix's consent is prohibited.

Mere/Dean - thanks for the tips...I'll put those into action Ant-I'm definitely in!

Welcome to Earf!

Erica: the comet cleaners on forest right west of 75 right next to the starbucks. pretty affordable and quick. plus, i think one of the workers has a crush on me.

just saw gerald green at the car wash on forest. for those of you who don't know: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1Th0ASIr1Q&feature=fvw

Dean, Nice!

Jer- That's funny Eric as a zombie. "How much brain makes one Zone block?"

I will now have nightmares bc of that clown. Thanks Bobby!!!!

I don't get nsfw... someone elighten me

but it is funny

just ate some cake. about to eat some more

Actual question that seems apropos given that today's WOD has my least favorite exercise - the wall ball.

I will say honestly that while I feel much stronger and tougher after three and a half months of crossfit, one area that I need to develop a LOT more is my mental toughness. I have never quit on a WOD and never plan to, but there are many times when I hear Coach Sammy or Koy or SP say, "It's all mental at this point!" or "Forget what your mind is telling you...just get the reps" or something similar.

I'd like to set some mental toughness PR's this year and was hoping the coaches and other members (who by the way are collectively the toughest group of people I've ever been around) of CFDC would offer some tips on getting stronger and tougher mentally.

I shall open it up to the peanut gallery......
thanks
PAF

Scaled back - 400m run, 20 WB, 20 BJumps. DNF 25 min cut off. Completed run and 4 wall balls on 5th round. Good news: 1. Hamstring felt good. I did not sprint but ran pretty hard that first round and it felt good. Of course the subsequent rounds were much slower. 2. i did not quit. Rus helped me get that last run done. Thanks bud. Bad news: I did not finish. Even scaled. Areas to work on: well...there are many but I will join everyone on the mental toughness. How do you get better at that? Just tell yourself to suck it up? I agree with Mark...my HR is thru the roof. What do you do when you are about to puke? Also need to work on my potty mouth...only at Crossfit during the intensity of the workout does my body natural respond with perspiration, pain and profanity. :) I think i learned that from Bo.

Casey - it totally depends on the person and how well you know your own mind, some people go for the acceptance tactic or being at peace with your workout (Yoga inspired), where you don't fight but embrace it, know you're doing it becasue you want to and that if you accept the task and discomfort at hand, it's not hard, it just is, it's simply another feeling but it's just a feeling with no other consequence, if you get to this point you'll experience 3rd, 4th, 5th winds etc, for me it was explained by holding a yoga position, it's easy for a little bit but if you don't move it hurts so bad you feel like your gonna cry or break, but if you hold through that and don't break, eventually it stops hurting and you realize it's fun and exploring the differnt abilites your body has becomes really excitiing and encouraging There are so many other mental tools or methodologies out there but the good ones center around the fact that a great athlete is a mental athlete, my high school mid distance coach (who was an olympic long jumper) always said the best ahtletes were never the most gifted but the ones who were able to let their minds control their bodies instead of letting their bodies control their mind, a lot of mental strength comes from experience and understanding IMO

Casey, you pose a great question. Today marks the beginning of my 3rd month. Let me be clear.... I have zero expertise, but I can at least share with you some of my thinking / limited experience up to this point. Beyond my spastic mind and inability to grasp moves quickly, I suffer greatly from the mental toughness aspect. I can't begin to tell you the # of times I have broke sets, taken elongated rests, and done reps with less than optimal integrity because I could not get my mind to force the body through what it defined as "hurt". I don't know about others (and I'm at the risk of exposing myself a bit here) but I can get really down when I have to rest, can't fight through the pain, and the seeming exhaustion. It tends to stay with me for a while. It sucks on 2 fronts - the physical ('cos you are gassed) and the mental (b/c you are frustrated, feeling incapable, etc.) I'll let you know months down the road if it works, but here's what I am working on. I am focusing on just being patient and doing my absolute very best each day. I am focusing on recognizing that my best may be defined differently each day. I am also putting faith in the process and trusting the incredible education we are provided by the instructors and fellow athletes. Lastly, I am trying to take mental notes of every WOD. I'm of the belief that alot of my mental weakness just comes from being scared from the infamilairity I have with new WODs and routines. My sense is that if you remember well some of the trouble mental spots you experienced in a WOD from 30 days ago, you would probably avoid them if you did it today. Why? Because you are experienced and prepared. Great question indeed and I look forward to other athletes' thoughts.

sam z - you can go ahead and tell casey how to be more tough menatally, you already know.

Sirkis - I thought you were a dead lock to make fun of me for the line about exposing myself, not my lack of mental toughness. I have you so wrong.

i have an attention span that rivals most 2 year olds. so i didn't make it past the first paragraph

Ant - I have to one up you on the bball http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MF3efh2IasU&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S32iG1A9o3I&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2aQizDxsKQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kPyjOjsnxU He is the definition of mental toughness

Vic - u make a great point there about over-thinking. Sometimes it's good to just chill and let it happen. How many pizzas have you eaten today? At least 2 okay and wash them down with a 2L Coca-Cola. Remember day off tomorrow. :-)

On Mental Toughness - Consider, truthfully, why you take those breaks...I think one of two reasons: 1. You literally panic because the movement is difficult, your heartrate is jacked, and your breathing seems out of control. You stop because your mind has to reassess the situation and get you out of panic mode. 2. You think to yourself, "Taking a break here will allow me to finish the WOD/next round/next exercise in a respectable time." I do that a lot, no good reason to rest except for some reason I think I will be able to complete the workout faster/better if I take a little rest here and there, maybe it works, maybe not. I think that true (ungamed) Tabata is the best way to address both. In a true tabata, you go ballz out for the entire 20 seconds rather than picking a manageable number and trying to get that each time. Most people can keep their breathing in check for 20 seconds at a time so you wont likely go into panic mode. The only thing stopping you will be that your muscles literally cant do any more work until you clear a little lactic acid. Try squats or push ups and let muscle failure control, each time you do the tabata for that exercise, the lowest number should come up 1 or 2 reps, and the highest number will likely stay the same. Take that mindset into a workout. Pick a relatively safe movement (i.e. wallball) and tell yourself you will not stop unless your body fails, in which case you get hit in the face with a medball (worst case). You'll notice that your body does not do much recovering in that 10 or 20 seconds that you would've rested, and your recovery time before you start box jumps is about the same. Pick something in each workout that you will do unbroken (unless your body fails). Your overall time may suffer a little, but you'd be surprised at how little. BREATHE

Victoria - I love the Hoyt story, the first time I saw a film on it I cried, beautiful stuff!

On Mental Toughness: I usually break down mental toughness into two varieties. The first is the sort of toughness you need to control your body when you hit physical failure. This is what Travis is talking about when your body goes into panic mode. You begin hyperventilating, your muscles fail, your body literally quits on you. This takes time to conquer. As Chase noted before, you have to push yourself to get that extra rep, every time, no matter what. However, when your body is quite literally failing to function, that last rep is going to be coming out on adrenaline. You have to find a thought that will maintain your focus, that will raise your adrenaline levels, and propel you through the wall. Thats what people are talking about when they talk about athletes who have that "switch." Those are the athletes who are able to focus all their mental faculties on that last rep or last 100m. To get there, you have to push yourself to the breaking point every day, and when you get there, you have to tell your body to STFU and go. That being said, it's almost impossible to bring that level of intensity to the box every day. Everybody has days where they come in and, for whatever reason, they are not prepared to push themselves to the edge. That's where the second variety of mental toughness comes in. Call it desire; call it drive, call it heart. It's all of these things. It's why you come to the gym in the first place. When you get out of bed in the morning and you say to yourself "I just don't feel good today", that's when you have to have that sense of purpose that compels you forward. Ask yourself: "What do I want?" "How bad to I want it?" and "What am I willing to sacrifice to get it?" Then have the honesty to answer those questions truthfully. You will either have it, or you won't. You can't train this part. This part of toughness is about your Will. If you don't have the desire, you will never have the ability to push yourself to the limit. Your mind will quit on you before your body does. If you do have the desire, then you have to impose discipline on your mental habits. Left to its own devices, the mind becomes lazy and weak. You must constantly remind yourself of your goal. You must drill it into to your head that it will never be easy, it will never be comfortable. Learn to thrive from that pain and discomfort. The more you are able to do this, the more you will be able to push to the limits of your potential. Just remember, without that driving purpose, all your work will be for naught.

22:46, scaled 15 WB, 15 bj on the small box. I think I got a sunburn from running outside today, or my face got so hot during the workout it still hasn't cooled down.

Annie - that is wind burn from running so fast. It's a common problem at CFDC. Just wait 'til the first time your feet catch on fire. Dean - Word. Like a speech from a movie.

Travis, Dean, Chase, and everyone else....great commentary. I appreciate it. Very helpful stuff. Tonight, I'm coming with the thunder.

I felt like I just did Kelly in 106 degrees of heat at 5pm... Enough said... Didn't make the cutt of time, but finished all 5 rounds rx.

Mental Game - Def have to work on this one myself. I love all the motivation everyone posted... Great Job!

Sam Z - You killed it tonight and you didn't stop - you even finished the last 5 box jumps with pure adrenaline.

Blood work results came back: Total cholesterol: 173 (same as last year) HDL: 80 LDL: 82 (up from last year, was 64!) Trigs: 54 (don't know what they were last year) Glucose: 98 (eep, up from 85) I'm happy about my trigs, but I'm not sure how I feel about my LDLs being so much higher. Remind me again if this is good or not, coaches? I suppose what I should really pay attention to is the fact that I can do at least five unbroken kipping pullups after just two and half months of CF, and I keep making steady progress with my lifts. Next on the agenda? Work on ring dips, handstands, etc.

I finished just past the 25min cutoff in DFL... scaled wall-balls down to 25, everything else rx'd. I gotta get some WIN, I seem to be fresh out...

This really made me laugh, and I thought you guys would appreciate it. I got this email from a friend of a friend that Carrie and I had talked to about trying Crossfit. She regularly runs and trains for marathons, but has a break right now and was looking for something new to keep her going on her off time... Sandy, That crossfit class nearly killed me last week. By Saturday night I had this headache out of the world. Then Sunday morning I was stiff. I did a little yoga but that did not help. On Monday it was worse, I ran a mile, stretch and iced and still I hurt. Tuesday morning I still hurt, my quads were so tight getting up and down was really painful. So I decided to make an appointment with my deep tissue massage therapist. He saw me Tuesday evening and had to pull out the power tools when hand manipulation did not work. It hurt less running a marathon than your class. I don't know how you do it! My hats off to you!!! I think I am going to to follow Diane's advice and take a little break from intense exercise. I will probably do a little yoga and maybe swim. Thanks for the invite to the class but I don't think I can handle another week like the last. P.S Diane I see why you did not take the class.

TWINJ!!! Finished all 5 rounds in 30min flat. More step ups than jumps. I'm pleased with my time, considering last time I did this work out my time was either 36 or 38 minutes. Great coaching Chase and Russell!! You both are naturals!!

Nice work Night Owls (i propose this be the new nickname for the 7pm crew). I got 3 1/2 rounds in 25 minutes but my wall balls were 10X better. I was much more focused mentally and wasn't scared of them like I normally am.

I also saw Sam Z. nail his FIRST MUSCLE-UP! Well done, SZ.

Hehe, if that's not a morale booster, Sandy, then I don't know what is!!

on business tolbert??? really??? we all know you are part of a special ops team being deployed to oust terrorists and threats to freedom wherever they hide. special agent tolbert. grant - you'll get it tomorrow..."like a boss"

Man-o-man....I know I have said this so much in the past couple of months, but you are all amazing, amazing people. You inspire me to get up in the morning and look at the day's WOD and push me to want to be a better athlete but more importantly a better person. I will keep it simple. One athlete posts his frustrations about mental toughness and scores of folks take the time to write, intelligent, well-crafted, heart felt responses. Never in a self serving manner but only to share experiences to help a friend get better. There is a such an incredible dynamic at CFDC and I am so blessed to experience it with you all. Great seeing you guys at the Kozy tonight. Linda, I want to let you know that I was bragging on my friends about how amazing you are. My muscle up today was pretty much a fluke. I can't tell you what I did. But I know that once you get one, your rate of advancement will be amazing. Casey - thanks for the kind words and I am grateful that you weren't afraid to talk about a tough topic. We are all better as a result. PS. Kelly was a flying circus for me. 30 minutes Sets 3.5 thru 5 just steps I did 5 rounds at Rx. Thanks Mel and Chase for the encouragement. Russell, you and Chase did a great job tonight.

Leaving work = WIN Leaving work at midnight = FTMFL Dont think I'll see the roosters tomorrow, but if I finish up work I will try to make it to the Night Owls.

Uuhhgg... 28:??, scaled back the last 3 rounds to 400/20/20. FTMFL... Great workout.