Solidarity & Countdown

2/24 – So as I made my way home I found a Sunday WOD at Solidarity CF http://solidaritycrossfit.com/ (345) in Charlottesville, VA.  The group was small, 2 regulars and 1 other drop in.  We tackled a fun leg killer in 21-15-9 Cal Row, Thrusters (65#), Med Ball Cleans (20), SDHP (65#), Wall Balls (20) and Burpees!  This lil bad boy took 21:37 to complete and was no where near as easy it looked.  It was really cool to meet Coach Jasonn, Sorry I didn’t get to meet the rest of the crew but I’m sure they are a great addition to C-Ville!  Thanks for the Hospitality and the break in my long drive to Cincinnati. 

 

After I left the ‘ville, I headed west thru the rest of Virginia and then West Virginia until I found myself in Ashland, KY, the home of Countdown CF (346) http://crossfitcountdown.com Here I met Coach Jerry and Coach Cynthia.  After this drive, I wasn’t looking for what they had in store…..(5) 800m repeats and (5) 100m repeats.  I didn’t need want to do it, but I got thru it and it sucked.  Thanks for a much needed break in this long trip.  I wish I coulda met Ger but I’m sure he’s leading the way to a great life of fitness in Eastern KY. Keep doing great things!

 

Well I made it home. Let’s see how these next 20+ days are gonna go….

Annapolis, Nation, Bio, & Southern Maryland

(2/22)  It’s looking like another fast paced day, with lots of ground to cover.  Our first stop was to be at CF Annapolis (341) in Annapolis, MD.  Unfortunately, I misread the time and showed up for the very end of class.  Here I met, Ryan Thompson, he is also a trainer at CF BWI, which I will get to in a few days.  Since there was no class, he let me hit a quick 10m AMRAP of 10KB Snatches @ 2p and 5 MU.  This was tough but it’s what we were doing back at IF and I would be doing it anyways.  After the workout, we sat around and BS’d for a few.  Cool dude, nice place to WOD.  Definitely a fun visit!

  Now I headed about an hour south to meet up with my good friend Leah and see her box, CF Nation (342) in Easton, MD .  It may be a tad out of the way, but definitely the best place in town!  With a little persuasion, I had convinced Leah to do “Grace” with the class.  I even upped the ante and did it at 75#, one handed.  It was a fun race and all the ladies that morning were amazing.  All in all it was great to see my friend, meet her crew and even score some breakfast to catch up with her.  Look forward to seeing you in Feb…with your partner in crime….in Hawaii! 

Continuing on this long day, I found myself in King George County, VA and at BIO CF (343).  Here I met Max, owner of the newly opened box.  Pretty cool place, with some great members.  After a warm up and a movement review we hit the strength portion 3x5 front squats with a 3 sec hold at bottom.  Stayed strong hitting 255 on the last set, then prepped for the WOD.  4rds of (10) 4” deficit pushups, 20 overhead lunges with a 45# plate, and 10 deadlifts at 155 is what we tackled, finishing in 6:35.  BIO was a pretty cool little place with tons of potential.  Keep it up Max

 

 



(2/23)  Now I knew this was going to be outta the way but I took my friend Katie up to CF Southern MD (344) in Waldorf, MD .  We didn’t have much of a WOD but had snatches.  Today was just 20m to 1RM Snatch then 20m to 1 RM C&J.  Katie worked with one of the trainers, while I hit 185 and failed 195 on the snatch and hit 255 and failed 275 on the jerk.  Thanks for letting us hop into your Saturday morning fun and I will always remember that if I drop the bar, everyone else has to do burpees!

 



Next stop Cincinnati....maybe!

Push 511 - A CF Life & Federal Hill

(2/21)  Push 511, ACrossFit Life (339) in Baltimore, MD was a bit hard to find if you were a drop in or new, but it was great time once I found it.  Here I met Anne Marie, owner of 511.  She was a super nice lady and very smart.  After the warm up, we practiced our skill set needed for the WOD then got right after it:  3 rounds of 10 Overhead Squats @ 135 and 50 Double Unders.  This was right up my alley and I smashed it in 4:55.  Overall, I had fun, parking may be an issued depending on the time you are there. Thanks for the fun and enjoy the Kill Cliff!

 

 

Still in the mood for a challenge I headed over to the newest box in town, CF Federal Hill (340).  Owner Geo was my friend Christina’s old trainer out in San Diego at CF Mission Gorge, which I hope to hit later this year.  After our warm up, we got into strength portion of 3x5 snatch grip deadlifts.  Starting a bit light, I finished at 225.  Our WOD that was looming was a modification from the 2012 CF open but none the less fun.  15m AMRAP of 150 squats, 90 double unders, and 30 pull ups.  Taking charge of this was one was tough, though 3 people got thru the 30 pull ups and back thru most of the squats (130 for me).  Federal Hill was a great addition to the CF family and should be around in B-more for a long time.

 

 

Sorry this is taking so long, I got back to being a real sailor again and I had to do deployments and other "Navy" things like that. More to come, I'm only 69 boxes, and 2 countries behind!

Ephrate, Pneuma, & Duration

                Sometimes life gets crazy and things speed up.  Sometimes it hits the beach and takes a break.  Well mine has been a lot of both.  Now that my ship has settled, I can get back to blogging and a steady ship. 

                (2/19) The trip has officially started and I am on 30 days of transfer leave before heading to my new home in Honolulu, HI.  My first stop had me spending two days with my really good friend Lanita in central PA.  The first box to be visited on the trip was CF Ephrata (336) in Ephrata, PA.  This was a very new box but looked like it had a lot of potential.  We started off going for a deadlift 3RM. Working fairly quickly, I hit a 136(6), 225, 315, 405, 455 for 3 and 495 for 1. After everyone put their weights away we hit a fun workout of the descending ladder type (10-9..3-2-1) with thrusters, pull ups, and dips.  Racing through this I knock it out in 9:18.  Coach Chad was a lil guy but seemed to love what he was doing.  I did get to meet owner Tyler as he was getting the next class ready, he seemed very eager and excited about his venture.  Good Luck to you and your crew Tyler and thanks for everything.   

            (2/20) Up early, we headed over the CF Pneuma (337) in Mechanicsburg, PA.  The studio design had the room split between the rig and the open floor space.  After a good warm up and a little confusion, we discussed the WOD.  A 20m AMRAP of 5 pull ups, 10 hand release push ups and 15 overhead squats with the PVC.  I say confusion because I could not figure out why it was like boot camp all over again and was then told if they were not loud and gave positive responses they would get in trouble.  So as we began the workout, I noticed the pull up bar was super high, even for me.  The women jumping from benches and from lowered J hooks to get to the bar, made me really nervous.  I decided that safety took precedence and did a round helped a few women out and repeated that cycle for the 20m.  It is what it is but I’m glad I chose their safety over me.  I hope they succeed and I hope that they get better as time goes along.  Thanks for having us!

Now it’s time to take a little drive and head out to get a sneak preview of the newest box in the area, CF Duration (338) in Hanover, PA.  Here we met David Stair, head coach and owner of CFD.  Duration was small but very mighty!  Bare bones, no frills, and my kinda place.  After a brief tour and some clowning around with a Kill Cliff 4 pack, we hit the 2012 open WOD 12.5 ascending by threes of thrusters and C2B pull ups.  We had a blast finishing well into the 15rd.  Thanks for letting complete the very 1^st WOD in that space, it was an honor.  Look for big things out of CFD, Good Luck!!!

 

 

 

Well fans, deployment is coming next week, intermittent blogging  but 400 is around the corner!

KSX

(2/15) I had travelled passed this area many times during my transition period and never noticed the Keystone Health Club.  Inside this hidden gem is the home of CF KSX (335) in East Pittsburgh, PA.  Here I met Diane, head coach at KSX.  After some warm up, we did some L sit holds for time and then got ready got the workout.  21-15-9 of walking lunges with a 135# barbell alternated with 3-2-1 of 100' sets of burpee broad jumps.  This was a fun WOD right up my alley.  I finished quick and began to cheer on the others, what I didn't know was the GM of KHC was in the class too.  I don't think she liked me too much since I cheered her on when she didn't want to do the burpees and I was a bit loud when she decided that she had had enough and went back to her lunges.  It happens, sorry.  Thanks for a fun afternoon! 

Acernus & CDI

(2/7) After I left my boys at Big Fish, I headed to south to prepare for a competition in Lancaster PA.  Not too far from there is Amish country and CF Acernus (333) in Lebanon, PA. Here we met one of our really good friends and blog regular, Lanita.  I was her partner for the competition, so we figured we could get a little work in before it went down.  After we met the coach, we warmed up on our own and then went over the WOD.  5 rounds of 10 Burpee pull ups, 9 Clusters @ 95#, & 15 KB swings @ 1.5p.  We both finished pretty well ahead of the class (19:05 & 22:10) but not without feeling a bit off.  They began to give me shit for taking my shirt off, they may have been joking, but I was wasn't too sure. The other thing was they told me to do jumping pull ups mid WOD once he realized that I was making them single kipping pull ups after each burpee.  After we cheer everyone to the end we had talked for a few and he was very proud of the fact the "Lebanon Levi" of TV fame was a member there.  I hope you succeed in the small town, I'm glad Lanita was there to make it fun.

After a fun competition where we came in 24th, we celebrated with a good dinner and lots of sleep!  I could not leave town without seeing our friend Lisa and Darren's newest creation, CF CDI (334) in York, PA.  No class, just four friends squatting it out!  Front Squats & Back Squats 5-5-3-3-1-1, no racks, just boxes stacked on top of one another.  They have already moved to a new location, and growing steadily.  Thanks for a a little Sunday Funday and glad to see Lisa get her butt back in the gym. 

 



Time to get back home before the 30 day road trip begins!

Root 18 & Big Fish

(2/6) I had decided the night before that I was only doing a single today and taking it easy.  So I got up early and headed over to Root 18 CF (331) in Medina, OH.  I got there right on time, filled out my paperwork and got into the warm up with the class.  Root 18 had a split level, so all of our platforms were on a low level and the rig was up on the higher level.  We had a 4x3 back squat on tap to start the morning.  135-225-275-305 were solid numbers for the crack of dawn.  After our strength portion, we hit up the WOD of 21-15-9 back squats @ 165 & T2B.  This was a fun one, finishing in 5:17, especially with the added measure of running up to the rig every time. I had a good workout and I hope they remember what we talked about.  Keep growing and get after guys! 

(2/7) Now I had to start heading out of Ohio and back to PA.  I did make a promise though to see my boys at CF Big Fish (332) in Erie, PA.  Jim has always had an open invite for me to come workout with his coaching staff and I took him up on it.  We thought long and hard and came up with a 3 round, 3 part, 2 sections a part kinda beast.  NO TIME, DO WORK.  We all partnered up and did 300# yoke carries with 135 squat cleans - Cal Rows with 205# deadlifts - box jumps with squats with pull ups. Max out each in a minute, switch with your partner then rotate stations.  After you did them all a 400m run was in order.  After the last runner was done, a one minute break occurred, on the last round, everyone had a 400.  It sounds like a lot, but it was a lot of fun. Thanks for a great time brother!  Your crew is awesome!!!

Now it was time for me and Buddy to get on down the road.  We had some Amish Mafia CF to get to!