The rest of my PACNORWEST Trip

(4/30)  I headed out to meet my good friend Rick Sinclair, this time I was a bit early or late
depending on how you look at things, but things always happen for a reason. I was
planning to hit CF Tacoma but traffic and a bathroom break slowed me to a crawl. So
I popped on the ole iPhone and found that CF South Tacoma (240) in Tacoma, WA
was having class and I would actually be early. I got off the interstate, made a few
turns and found myself in their parking lot 15min early. Little did I know what I had
in store…12.3 revisited? I can say that I wasn’t thrilled but I would give it my best
again. My best was just that, I gave it 7rd and 14 reps, exactly the same as the open.
Not thrilled, but hey, it’s what I had in my tank. Overall good review of movements by the morning coach. Not a bad place to visit if you’re in the area. Thanks for having me.

Now off to CF Seattle or Level 4 (241) in Seattle, WA. This is the 1st affiliate outside
of HQ and it was big. We had a huge class of about 20 for the noon session. Here I met
up with my good friend and Masters Games competitor, Rick Sinclair and his son Gabe.
Here we met Scott Takenaga, Director or Training, for CFS. He would be our coach for
the day and lead us thru a lil fun. After some a strict press/pull up cycle, we got ready for
the WOD of 70# farmers carry to the end of the building (@300m) and back, 10 rds of
10 pushups and 10 lungs, then a farmers carry again. The KBs got heavy quick, but we
all pushed thru and I made it in just under the 14m mark. Rick was right behind me and
pushing me the whole way. It was great to WOD with my good friend, see his youngin
again and get to see a great box. Thanks again for the hospitality and I can’t wait to visit
again. Your location may be off the beaten path, but it’s so worth the visit!

After lunch with Rick and Gabe I headed off to meet another Masters Games competitor,
this time it was Janice Spray from CF Bellevue (242) in Bellevue, WA. After finally
waiting for her to get there, the next class had started. So we jumped right in on the
warm up. We then hit the strength portion with some heavy deadlifts. The real fun
didn’t take place though until we hit the WOD. TABATA Pull ups. Lateral jumps and
C&J @ 135. It was a race that Janice won easily! Pull ups (5), Lat Jumps (24) and C&J
(2). She’s a monster, a lil monster, but a monster none the less. I did also meet again,
long story, retired SEAL CPO and owner Dan as well. You place is awesome and I’m
glad I could make it out. Good luck to you as well Ms. Spray as CF Lake Hills gets to
open its doors soon. Thanks again CFB family!

(4/31)  On my last day there, I hit up CF 98110 (243) on Bainbridge Island, WA. I walked in
a bit late due to being lost but was greeted right away by Coach Tony. Once again this
is a small world and I ran into a familiar face, owner and trainer Sal D. Sal was one of
the awesome judges at the 2011 CF Games. I would not have known he was there if he
had not looked down and “saw a big dude in Rogue shorts” as he put it. I met one of
their good Oly lifters and friend of a friend XXX. He was super good friends with my 1st
family in New Hampshire/Maine @ the Risto Weightlifting academy. So we helped the
ladies in this workout of three of my favorite things, double unders, snatches and OHS!
So the WOD was a EMOM of sorts doing 15 DU, 1 snatch, 1 OHS, 15/2/2 etc., going up
in weight each round. I started at 75# and made my way up to 195# and then back down
the ladder to 75#. It was fun 13 rounds and I was exhausted by the end. I had a blast and
the ladies were so much fun to work with. They offer a wide variety of programs and
have a very likable crew. Thanks again Sal for your hospitality.

Well time to get back home and then off to regional’s in the DC area. I should really go
home once in a while

Portland, OR

(4/28)  Like many of my random Saturday's I'm up early and on the road.  This time, I'm headed south and taking out a new state on the list.  I headed down to Oregon to visit two boxes.  First stop was to CF Portland (238).  There was a photo shoot going on during our class so we took to the streets.  The 101 and the 201 classes went head to head in a little prowler pushing action.  We made teams of two inside our groups for this game.  So one member pushed the prowler up the hill to the cone and then back down, then passed  the prowler off to their partner for the straight away and back to start. Each set of us had to do 5 sets, so 201 had 15 total runs while 101 were teams of three and did 12 runs total.  We all worked are asses off and finished up with the fastest time of the day with just over 31min.  Everyone was totally cool and we all had a blast together.  I didn't get much time to talk with many of the coaches but I did talk to Xi for a few moments before class.  He was pretty cool and even mailed me back my sun glasses.  Thanks CFPDX for a great time, your people are pretty awesome. 

 

After the fun runs and dropping off the other Drop In and my partner for the day off at her temp residence.  Then headed south to CF Woodstock (239).  This wasn't a pretty box by any means, but could they move weight!  The class was packed with all skill levels and we all had the same goal in mind.  There was also a lifting class going on at the same time, which I kinda wanted to be part of.  I helped a few of the girls with a little technique but all in all they were pretty solid.  Back to class though, we had a beast in front of us.  5 rounds of 400m farmers carry with 1.5p, 20 V-ups, and 3 rope climbs.  I was a bit trashed in the legs, so I knocked it down to 4 rounds and finished up in around 25min or so.  I had a good time and people here were very supportive of one another.  Thanks CFW for a good time and fun WOD.

Rest, recovery and sightseeing day tomorrow.  Back at it on Moday.  Take care allz!

The beginning of my PACNORWEST trip

(4/26)  So after 2 flight delays and an extra 8 hours, I finally made it to Seattle.  I was a little behind schedule from my original plan so I got a good night's sleep and hit it hard and fast in the morning.

(4/27)  I got up early and headed out to my first box of the day.  Once again, I walked into a box where I just happened to know the owner, L2 staff trainer Jesse Ward. Lynnwood CF (234) in Lynnwood, WA. and Local's gym was where I made my first stop.  I didn't email him so I could surprise him, too bad for me that there really wasn't a class at the time I showed up.  Jeremy was teaching a 1 on 1, so he told me to pick one of the weeks WODs since I did the day's WOD earlier in the week.  The WOD I chose was 4rds of 7 SDHP, 7 Push Ups, & 7 Bent over rows, both at 75#, 3min rest, 3rds/2min rest, 2rds/1min rest, 1rd.  Every set was super intense sets with an almost deceiving rest. All in all I finished up in 10:54.  It was super cool to hang out with Jesse again and his box was super cool.  Thanks for being super inviting and letting me get work done.....

and being "hood" with me!!

I asked a few questions and Jesse pointed me in the way of CF Snomish (235) in Snohomish, WA.  Now this place was very much a family.  They were super friendly from hello and very welcoming.  We all introduced ourselves to one another as the warm up progressed and then reviewed the moves for the WOD.  25m AMRAP of (1) 800m run, 25 deadlifts @ 225, & 20 ring rows.  Looks easy, NO WAY.  We all pushed and cheered one another on till the buzzer went off and time was called.  Finished up with 3 rounds Rx and I felt beat!  Everyone helped each other immensely and no one was left behind.  Friendship and family rang out here at CFS.  Thanks for having me you all were amazing.  Sorry I didn't get to meet Jeff and Charity though, I've heard they were two awesome owners. 

Back to the house for a quick nap and then off to CF Mukilteo (236) in Mukilteo, WA.  They were actually just moving into their new space this past weekend, so I was lucky to find them, hell I was the first drop in to the new facility. Here I met Josh and a small piece of his crew.  After a quick tour, we got down to work.  4rds of 50' walking lunges with a 45# plate overhead and 25 HR push ups.  This was a short burner but it was fun with the 3 other students that day.  Finished up in 6:38, with most everyone else close behind. Their wasn't much coaching needed here, just good solid encouragement.  I had fun at MUK and am looking forward to seeing how the new place goes.  Good Luck and thanks for having me. 

 

For the last WOD of the night, I headed off down the road to CF Advantage (237) in Mukilteo, WA. There I met up with my good friend Molly Moore, her coach Cody, and I whole mess of good athletes who were ready to get down to work.  We warmed up with some junkyard dogs and a bit of stretching and then headed into our movement review for the WOD ahead of us.  "Amanda", the 1st female hero WOD, was in store for us and there is "no whining" about hero WODs.  Amanda consists of 9-7-5 Muscle ups and 135/95# squat snatches.  We all took off like bats outta hell and went non stop till we were done.  I finished up with a PR of 9:23, not bad for my 4th WOD today.  I really liked how you guys went over the movements and the scaling so that everyone did their own version of this WOD.  I had a great time and it was definitely worth it the visit.  Thanks for having me.  Your guys and girls were great!

Well Day 1 in the books.  To bed early, then off to Portland, OR for state number 41!

A Rainy Day in the 'Burgh

4/21  So I was finally home on a Saturday and decided to checkout a new, old, box in town.  CF Shadyside (233) here in Pittsburgh, PA.  I took my good buddy Liz along with me, I figured since she's always in the area with her boyfriend, Jack, it'd be good for her to check out the box.  After the basics and meeting Dave, again, we stretched out and went over the WOD, "Jack".  Quite fitting for Liz, but "Jack" was a 20m AMRAP of 10 Push Press @ 115, 10 Box Jumps @ 24" and 10 KB Swings at 1.5p.  Finished up 9rds and 2 Push Press.  Not a bad way to start a Saturday morning, if I say so morning if I say so myself. 

I also met Mike, one of the other trainers at CFS.  We actually got to talk a bit after my class and Mike apologized for me not being able to do this earlier.  I had stopped in before and met Dave, due to the rebirth of CFS, there was no great time to get in there.  CF Shadyside is up and coming and looks to be a force in the near future. Knowledgeable trainers and a great crew are a keys to success and they found it there at CFS.  Keep up the great work and I look forward to seeing you guys again soon. 

Driving home from Easter

(4/9)  Well as life would have it, I would have another day off to turn a 5 hour drive into a almost 16 hour trip.  First stop along the way was Practice CF (230) in Troy, OH.  I was a little confused due the crazy green door but I found my way and met Coach Ryan and the ladies of the 0900 class.  Here waiting for us was "Zimmerman" a 25min AMRAP of 11 C2B Pull Ups, 2 deadlifts @ 315, and 10 HSPU.  Needless to say, we were all gonna pay for any self imposed damages done at Easter dinner. I think I got thru just over 9 or so rounds of this beast, which was way more than I thought I would get in the beginning.  Everyone here was super cool and they even went and played on the wall afterwards.  Definitely a great place to "play" and learn with at least one super cool coach. 

 

I left Practice CF and headed north for an open gym session at CF Findlay (231) in Findlay, OH.  I got there to a descent space and the ability to do my own training from home.  There weren't many people there, maybe 3, but we all were getting work done.  One guy one some power lifting stuff, 2 girls on the days metcon and I was hitting heavy front squats, GHD sit-ups, and some pressing.  After I was done with my work, I helped out member Dustin to refine his muscle ups.  I say refine, but I basically tweaked one piece of it and moments later, he smashed through and hit not only one, but came back for another right after.  I had a good time here and would have love to have met owner and firefighter, John Robb.  Next time sir and thank you for letting me do work!  You have a great space. 

Now off toward home, but first a quick stop on to Comet CF (232) in Elyria, OH.  I was a bit early, so I got to hangout with Dan and Randy White, owners of CCF.  When class finally got started we wasted no time getting into our WOD of 5rd of 10 HSPU, 20 Burpees and a 400m run.  After the morning that I had at Practice, I scaled back to 3rds alternating each round with either 10 HSPU, 10 Chest clap and 10 clapping push ups.  My arms were shot and I'm sure I was low on anything resembling energy, but I popped tall and cheered on the rest of the members of the class.  I even hung around and helped out with the next class.  Momma White even fell victim to my tricks and PR'd a 5 rep deadlift at 150#,  Oh yeah, she is 50 years young!  The video is on my facebook page, BTW.  All in all Comet CF is a great place to go with really awesome members and cool trainers.  They even had a giant playpen area with kiddie weights.  Thanks for having me and I hope you get that new trainer soon.  You guys rocked!

I left and head over to Progressive field to watch the Indians get beat by the White Sox. Took off during the 7th inning stretch and got home only, 16ish hours after I left.

Well I'm home for a few weeks and then I'm off to the west coast to visit Seattle and Portland.  Then Baltimore for the Mid Atlantic regional and Toronto for the Canada East regional.  I'm gonna be a busy boy!