Christmas Eve - Buckeye and Conjugate

(12/24/12)  Like always, I can never just go straight home. So I made my usual stop in Columbus, this time at Buckeye CF (307) in Columbus, OH. Here I met John Lovins & Jason Merrick, owners and trainers at BCF.  After some intros and stretching we started on finding a split jerk number.  Being pretty early and after driving 3 hours, I stopped at 245#.  From this number we took a percentage for use in our WOD.  50 air squats, 10 G2OH 155#, 10 Bar Facing Burpees, 40/8/10. 30/6/10, 20/4/10, 10/2/10.  This was very taxing, 14 min of fun taxing!  John and Jason were always walking the room and being very encouraging to everyone.  BCF had a great atmosphere and everyone I talked to loved to be there.  I had a great time at Buckeye and I would go back without a doubt.  Thanks for having me guys, totally a class act.

Back in the car……Fueled up the body…..where should I go…..home…..

 

Of course not, I headed over to see my good friends Shane and Laura Sweatt and get a sneak peak at CF Conjugate (308) in Blue Ash, OH.  They were awesome and let me have the whole room to myself while the big boys lifted in the main Sweatt Shop area.  I got to work with some 5-5-3-3-1-1 front squats with a muscle up between each set.  It was fun; I worked up to around 305#. Not a max, but was still good to squat.  The big guys were intrigued with what I was doing; either that or they wanted to look at the idiot on the rings.  I did get one of them to hit their muscle up though.  Laura said they try often but never hit them.  CFC is gonna be awesome! Shane and Laura have made a major investment into the fitness community and I can only see them growing and expanding in no time.  Thanks for always being so nice and generous when I roll in. Love you both!

 

 

Christmas time and Rest day….back at it on 12/26!  Hope everyone had happy holidaze!

Cranberry CrossFit #306

(12/14/12) I took a rest day and ventured somewhere I have only gone once before in my three years of living in Pittsburgh…..Cranberry!  If you know the ‘Burgh, Cranberry is a world away. Here I met Randy, head trainer of CranberryCrossFit (306) in Freedom, PA. After a quick waiver and a stretch, I got to work on a little jerk practice.  The only problem was super low overheads!  I was afraid I was going to hit the ceiling on every jerk!  I worked up to a 245 C&J but then it was time to WOD.  There were only two of us in class, so it made it easy in the small space.  200 double unders then 9-6-3 C2B pull ups and 2p KB swings, then 200 double unders. The C2B was rough due to not having a real spot to use.  I made due and finished in 11:30.  I had a good time and even teased Randy, in good fun, cuz I beat his time.  If you are in the Cranberry area, it is a great place to start your CrossFit experience.  Thanks for the fun!

CrossFit Invigorate #305

(11/24) I took another random Saturday and head a few minutes south to check out a new box in the area.  CrossFit Invigorate (305) in Canonsburg, PA was where I met Lindsey and Mike Hanlon, owners of CFI.  The space was small but had great potential.  We hit a pretty fun workout titled the “Dirty Dozen” which consisted of 25 walking lunges & good mornings, 20 pull ups, box jumps, double unders, pushups, kettle bell swings, ab mat sit ups, air squats, wall balls and 3 rope climbs. We all had a blast and no one quit fighting till they were totally exhausted.  Most of the class actually stayed for the next class and did a 10m AMRAP of 5 pull ups, 10 burpees, and 20 squats.  I had a blast and actually got a chance to know Steve Ringer, a volunteer fireman and potential air force member.  He has big goals and CrossFit is helping him reach them.  Take a chance and visit CFI.  Their energy is infectious and there is a very enjoyable atmosphere.  Thanks for having me. 

TeamBSS, 724, & Morgantown

I know it’s been a while a while but life, school, career, and the holidays all have seemed to get in the way of my blogging.  Quick update, I am getting transferred to Hawaii in a few days, I did move all my thing from Pittsburgh already, got another tattoo, and graduated Columbia Southern University, Cum Laude, since my last blog.  So now I’m gonna do my best to catch up on the 22 boxes I’ve visited since then and do it rather quickly. Here we go!!!

 

(11/10/12) My bestest friend Ms Susan Mopper decided to pay me a visit before the start of her 2^nd year of med school.  I decided to have some fun and show her some boxes she or I had never been too.  First stop was TeamBSS CrossFit (302) in New Middletown, OH. Here I met Shaun and Brandy Schumaker, owners and trainers at TeamBSS.  TeamBSS was more than a CrossFit box, they had a crew that loved “HEAVY” and I was just in time for the strongman intro class.  Actually, I was the only one in the class. Having a little bit of experience, we got right to work “playing” with kegs, axel bars, and log bars. Then we hit some front and back loaded yoke work.  This was all super fun for me.  I did get to stay and help some of their new crossfitters who were transitioning from the power world.  We even did a 440 farmers carry, which just looked bad ass! I have to say that TeamBSS was a great place to “play” and work hard.  There was a totally great atmosphere, awesome people, and a great attitude.  To visit TeamBSS is something you have to mean to do and I recommend meaning to do it with them.  Take a chance, get off the beaten path and have a ball (atlas stone) with them.  Thanks for having me, you guys and girls were awesome!

 

(11/11/12) Now that Mopper is here, we headed over to see my buddy Dia and her new baby CrossFit 724 (303) in Greensburg, PA.  It was grand opening day and there was a party going on.  Lots of people hitting demo WODs and trial WODs and people just getting work done, it was awesome! The WOD we tackled was a 15m AMRAP of (5) pull ups, (10) 24” Box Jumps, (15) 20# Wall Balls and (20) 70# Kettlebell High Pulls.  It was a lung and shoulder burner but it was more fun encouraging those new athletes taking on these skills for the first time.  Mopper and I both hit around 4 rounds but it really was not about the score.  We had a blast and hope that 724 does well in the community.  Congrats on the new venture!

 

(11/12/12) From one new box to another, we headed south for Mopper’s first time in the great state of West “BY GOD” Virginia.  My good friend Johnny Layne, opened up his second venture in the CrossFit world, CrossFit Morgantown (304) in Morgantown, WV.   What was super cool is that it was Columbus Day and my favorite WV girl, Meghan E., could join us in the fun.  Johnny had a fun WOD in store for me, hoping that I would have my way with it.  50 Wall Ball buy in and then 3 rounds of 30 double unders, 15 toes 2 bar, and 10 front squats @ 135.  He was correct in his assumption and I finished in just under 8 minutes.   I had a blast cheering on everyone until the last person was complete.  CFM has a great space and some cool people.  Congrats on the new place, I’m super excited for you brother!  This is the new hot spot in Morgantown, if you are close by, it is worth the visit. 

 

Well that’s 3 of 22.  Here comes some more!  I’m glad I have lots of free time at work now that I am on my way out the door!  Sorry again that it took so long. 

CF Cabarrus #301

 

 (10/21)  So now that 300 has been hit, I figured I'll slow down a bit work on my own training.......Yeah Right!  So I got up early and headed over to CrossFit Cabarrus (301) in Concord, NC. Here I met Coach Jaimie and the rest of the Saturday morning crew.  It was a small bunch, but fun.  They are located inside the Sportcenter there in Concord.  After a nice trail run around the facility, we warm up a bit more and then had the WOD explained to us.  This was a 2-person team Double WOD.  I was paired with Steve who was relatively new, but a hard worker.  WOD 1: 4min Cal Row followed by a 90sec transition to a 4min AMRAP of 5 pull ups, 10 PVC overhead squats, & 20 Double unders.  It was a fun 1st WOD, hitting over 120cal and 7 plus rounds. After a few minutes of rest, we hit WOD 2 of 8min of Burpee box jumps (24"), 6min of Push Press (65#),  4min of ball pass sit ups, and 2min of ball slams (25#).  Totally a great way to end these workout.   Overall, CFC was a fun place with great people, a very welcoming crew, and plenty of space to grow.  Good Luck in the future CFC, thanks for having me, and keep getting after it!

 

 

 

300 Boxes - CrossFit Voltage!

 

(10/20) After a delayed flight, a terrible rental car experience and a dead cell phone, yes I was late, I finally made it to CrossFit Voltage (300) in Charlotte, NC.  Here I met Donald & Ashley Forbis, owners and head trainers of CFV.  I missed the snatch training, but I did get a couple at 145# just so I wasn't the only guy on the board without a number.  Then for the WOD. We all ran an 800m run then drew a WOD from a hat as we ran back in the building.  Our choices were Fran, Nancy, Helen, ½ Cindy, or Jackie……I drew Jackie!  Jackie is a 1000m row followed by 50 thrusters and 30 pull ups.  Now this is harsh punishment already but the 800 added a new level of difficulty.  There was one Helen, two Jackie’s, and three ½ Cindy’s.  The crew at CFV that night was awesome. I even got to meet one of my Facebook friends, Wendy.  Donald and Ashley were kick ass owners and totally welcoming to me.  I even got to meet their family and talk for like a half hour after. There location was a bit out of the way, but totally worth getting lost for!  I look forward to getting the chance to do it again, Voltage was shocking!!!!

(Please excuse the bad pun)

 

 

 

       Wendy and Me

 

 

UMPH, Y'all, & Polaris

(10/8) So I had a wonderful time at home with my family, it was time to head back home.  As with all my adventures, there are always a few stops along the way. 

First stop was to UMPH CF (297) in Florence, KY.  Here I met Matt Galster for the 0630 WOD.  Little did I know that I would have the whole class all to myself!  With that we got right after it with some down resisted runs and easy jogs back.  Then hit our strength portion of front squats with a 4sec bottom hold.  Our scheme was 10-10-7-5-3-1 with the weights of 135-155-185-205-225-275.  This was fun! Then I got my crack at the days WOD of an 8m AMRAP 200m row, 20WB. I did my best and finished up with 4rds, the row and 8 WB.  Matt was a pretty cool dude and we picked each one another’s brains for a good 20 minutes after.  I do admit that this was my very first old car wash location.  Totally cool and totally original!  I’m glad for this experience I look forward to hearing and seeing the progress of UMPH! 

 

My second stop of the morning would lead me to CF Y’all (298) in Florence, KY.  I walked in to the current class in progress so I had a few minutes to wait.  I did get a sneak preview of what was in store for me.  J.D. Marcum, owner and head trainer, had this little number waiting. A 1 power snatch, 2 overhead squats and 3 squat snatch complex of 75-105-135-165.  It was fun, even though I failed at the 3^rd squat snatch at 165.  After a short rest, I hit one of the most interesting WODs in recent memory:  An 8m AMRAP of 15 double unders & 1 HSPU with your score being only the completed HSPU.  The catch was if you failed at a HSPU, you went back to the doubles and the round was a zero. I finished strong with 11 good rounds and 5 bad ones.  I got to meet a few of the CFY athletes from the first class when I finished up my workout.  J.D. is a very smart trainer and very concerned with the well being of all his clients.  If this morning is any indication, I see even greater things happening just south of the Ohio River.  I had a great time, thanks for the hospitality Y’all!

 

 

Now I guess it’s time for me to head north toward home, but what is a trip home without a stop near the states capitol.  I made in to the 12:15 class at CF Polaris (299) in Westerville, OH.  Here I met Joe Herran, the coach of the day.  My old friend “JClay” and new friend Marcus are also coaches here, while my buddy Jay gets his daily fix here. Up first after the warm up was a 3 rep clean to determine what we were going to use for our WOD: A 10m EMOM 3 Cleans at that weight.  I hit up 205, since I was already 2 workouts deep.  After that we had row Sprints of 250m, 500m, 1000m.  These were brutal since we had to have them all finished in 15m.  I think I had a :44, 1:36, and a 3:32 respectively.  Not bad for being tired.  Polaris was a fun place with plenty of room to get things done.  The trainers and crew were totally helpful and cheered one another on.  CFP is worth a visit and is like 15 minute from Mecca.  Thanks for having me and I look forward to hitting you guys again.

 

 

Now I guess it’s time for me to head north toward home, but what is a trip to Rouge Fitness.  New toys and new shoes are in the car and now back to the ‘Burgh.  Next stop 300!!