Kiva Beach Chipper

Today in Lake Tahoe the weather is really bizarre. It is the very end of May and it has been snowing for most of the day. This did not stop my friend and I from going back to the beach for a good ol fashion primal workout. The last time I was at the beach doing stone dead lifts I noticed several natural elements laying around on the beach. More than a few stones large and small, a fallen tree, a very very large fallen Sequoia tree, and several handy pieces of drift wood and logs. Plenty of sand to make movement more challenging as well.
In my last visit to the beach my brain started cataloging all of Kiva beach's available resources. The ideas started to pile up. The w.o.d. went like this.
For a time:
200 meters run in the sand carrying a 10 kg stone
100 mountain climbers ( Left/Right=1)
50 Push presses with a fallen tree
25 meter log flip
10 Burpee double box jumps ( Burpee, get a running start jump on a tree stump then jump higher to a fallen Sequoia tree)
25 meter log flip
50 Push presses with a fallen tree
100 mountain climbers ( Left/Right=1)
200 meter run in the sand carrying a 10 kg stone

I was really unsure of myself going into this workout. However I was really excited to do something like this on the beach.
I finished in 20 minutes and 16 seconds. The Burpee double jumps being the most exhausting part of this workout. The altitude is such an issue for me. However I did break sets on the push presses a couple of times as well as with the mountain climbers. The first 200 meters run was difficult but I did not push myself that hard because I didn't want to "Blow my W.O.D." in the first minute. Which is exactly what it took me to run 200 meters carrying the stone. 1 min 7 sec. The second time running 200 meters was pretty hilarious. I started out good because I just wanted to finish under 20 mins. After the 100 meter mark I think I could have walked faster. I was just wasted.
My friend Mike finished in 27 minutes 01 second. Mike was really impressive the whole way through running fast and killing the mountain climbers. He got really hung up with the Push Presses. Chipping away 5 at a time until he finished. With a little more strength training he will be able to cut some serious time off of this work out. Mike had a very impressive showing and I enjoyed being there to help push him the way he pushed me.
Training at the beach in low 40 degree temperatures and snowing like crazy on and off was really inspiring. We even saw a bald eagle today. I will take that over sports center at the gym any day.

Atlas stones

Taking advantage of the what Lake Tahoe has to offer. And that is beaches, steep trails, big cliffs, large rocks, trees to climb or lift and stunning views in every direction. I could be paying $50 a month to go to a gym and lift weights. Honestly I will most likely be a member of said gym in a few weeks. However, right now I am really enjoying getting a workout in the outdoors in one of the most beautiful environments on the planet.
The last time I was training at the beach I noticed a very large stone sitting in the sand. I remember watching a video of Blair Morrison of http://crossfitmobile.blogspot.com/2009/09/morning-and-afternoon-in-sicily.html getting a workout in while he was on vacation in Sicily. Blair found a very large stone and did 30 dead lifts with the stone for a time.
I always thought that looked like so much fun and I have always wanted to try the atlas stones from the Worlds Strongest Man competitions. I am also reading the book Primal Blueprint. So, in a way I was pretty motivated to go Primal.
So I went back to this great beach to lift this rock. I did a pretty solid warm up doing thrusters with smaller stones and push presses with downed trees giving me some pretty good ideas for another workout at the beach.
The first time I lifted the stone I did not think that it was heavy enough. I can only guess that the stone weighed 120 lbs. I am probably way off. My legs and back felt strong when lifting the stone from the sand. However my arms were fatigued really fast. This stone was really awkward and very smooth making it really difficult to get a good purchase with my arms. The more I lifted the stone and dropped it the more of a hole it made in the sand thus forcing me to get farther and farther down in my stance.
So I performed 30 stone dead lifts for a time. I finished in 5 min and 39 secs. This was so much fun. To work out on the beach with stunning mountain views in every direction is very inspiring. In a way I felt like Mariusz Pudzianowski the worlds strongest man. I am really looking forward to the next session on the beach.

No membership required

We were blessed with a beautiful, sunny day here in Tahoe. My friend Mike was anxious to try out my rope for a workout. So we walked across the street into a beautiful alpine meadow. We quickly found a place to hang the rope from and got to work. The w.o.d. was two parts and went like this The first part I borrowed from an amazing athlete Blair Morrison of http://crossfitmobile.blogspot.com/

Rope progression ladder, Climb 17 ft of rope: Every minute on the minute perform one rope climb. In the first minute climb the rope one time. In the second minute climb the rope two times. The third minute climb the rope three times , the remainder of the minute is your rest. Continue until you are unable to perform the required reps.

I finished with three full rounds plus one full rope climb in the fourth minute. This was so much harder than I had expected. For some reason I thought that I would be able to cruise through five minutes. Ummm No! In the fourth minute I knew I would not be able to finish , so I just tried to steal one more rep before my time ran out.

The second part of this w.o.d. was a great one as well. Three rounds for a time of 50 double unders and 25 overhead lunges with a 15kg log. I finished in 6 min 9 secs. The double unders were kind of an issue. I am still dealing with the altitude. So I got tired really fast. I did the first round unbroken, and the last two rounds only broke set once at the same mark of 28. The lunges were great. My legs are pretty sore from the sprints and bear crawls in the sand. But 25 was just about right. The over head portion of the lunges was a great addition. My shoulders were really getting blasted from the double unders and holding this log over my head.
Over all I had a great time training outside with my friend in this beautiful alpine meadow. The w.o.d. was a good one as well and I expect to be plenty sore in the morning.

Summer in Tahoe

I have been doing so much traveling lately. Now I am finally in one place again. I am really looking forward to getting back into my routine. Summer is not quite here in Sierra's but it is coming and soon. With summer, my priorities will change drastically. I am a rock climber first and foremost and an avid crossfiter second. If you would even consider me a crossfiter. I mean technically I have only trained at a crossfit box a couple of times.
What I mean by my priorities will change is simply that I will prefer to go climbing first and any specific crossfit training will come second if I have any energy left at all. You could argue that I will have more energy if I consistently crossfit, gaining in endurance, strength and recovery. I would agree with you. However, what I enjoy most about climbing is climbing and what is better than climbing? More climbing!
As of lately I have just started to get back into a routine of regularly training. My last couple of workouts have gone something like this

Deadlifts
3 sets of 15 @ 80kgs still focusing on strict technique.

5 rounds for a time of
5 Push Press 154 lbs
30 double unders

I finished in 8 min 56 secs.

I have a close friend that has really dedicated his life to fitness in the last year. I have not seen him in 9 months. I can tell you that his fitness has dramatically improved. This guy is motivated and it is exciting. That is a great help to me. To be around someone who wants to get better in every way of his life. He has drastically changed the way he eats and is eager to learn more ways to improve.
Yesterday the weather was not perfect. A little cold and a little snowy. Like I said , summer is not quite here in the Sierra's yet, but this was my second day in Tahoe and I really wanted to go to the beach to get a workout in. And it was a great one. My friend mike was motivated and wanted to get in on the action.
10 rounds for a time of
10 gassers ( sprint 50 meters in the sand and back, 100 meters total)
50 meter bear crawls

My time was 20 min 32 seconds. Mike finished just behind me with a time of 21min 8 secs.

The major issue here was the altitude. I am now at 6,300 feet above sea level. I was at just a few hundred feet above sea level. This change is no joke. I came out in the beginning going pretty hard. Just the same pace I would give any work out of this kind. I totally gassed out on the fifth round. Literally just sitting in the sand completely finished. Or so I thought. Mike , thank god he was there. He came crawling by me and said to me " Come on man , we need to do 10 rnds". I did not appreciate it then but I do now. So I dragged my but up from the sand and got back to work.
I let this little negative thought creep into my head and it controlled me for a minute. I started to tell myself that this is good enough 5 rounds. Ya , we can call it a day. Like I said Mike is motivated and that helped me out so much. After finishing the w.o.d. I was so much happier and felt great. Like I just climbed this big mountain of defeat in my head. I pushed through it and I am truly greatful to have had a friend there to push me. We even snapped a couple of great photos.
I am really looking forward to tomorrow because we have a good one planned. Going primal!

Go climb a rope!

A fellow Crossfit enthusiast and unsurpassed fitness guru Blair Morrison of Anywherefit, http://crossfitmobile.blogspot.com, has used a rope in his training for as long as I have been following him. I have always been amazed at how simple but effective this skill can be for developing a upper body strength and endurance. I have not however had access to such a tool. Until now!
A couple of days ago I made a trip to a local farm supply store and purchased about 30 ft of 1 1/2 inch rope. So I put together a little routine for this morning. The wod went something like this
5 rounds for a time of
Run 500 meters
15' rope climb
25 sit ups

I finished in 20 min and 47 seconds.

Originally I had thought I would do a 20 min amrap of the same cycle. So I set the clock up for 20 min and went to work. So technically I finished with four rounds plus a 500 m run and one rope climb just as time ran out. But I sat down and busted out the 25 sit ups to make it a five round workout. Honestly my intentions were just a 20 min workout. I thought that 5 rounds was possible in the beginning. And I still think that I should have finished with five rounds in under 20 min. But climbing the rope was more of a mental challenge than I had anticipated. So every time I finished the running I would stand under the rope procrastinating on the climb. Grip strength was an issue for me mentally. I lost precious time in the amrap by letting this mental doubt creep into my head.
Climbing the rope was way more taxing on my core than I would have ever guessed. Coupled with the sit ups I definitely felt the fatigue in my abs on the last rope climb. Overall I had a great time with this wod. I am really excited about the rope and I am really looking forward to adding this new skill to my training.

Traveling

I have been traveling allot lately and with that I have not had the Internet available to me. That is the main reason I have not been posting in the last couple weeks. I am back in the States now and I am in my home town of Carthage MO. I will be using some of the resources that were available to me when I was younger and training for wrestling. In addition I will be using many of the tools I have learned from Crossfit.
The last couple of training sessions have been really great. They went something like this.
10 gassers ( Sprint 50 meters one way and 50 meters back)
10 push ups
X 10
I had a very long travel day returning from Europe the previous day. Something like 17 hours of logged travel time. My body was in for a bit of shock when I attempted this workout. I just made sure that I spent a full 20 minutes getting a good warm up prior to this wod. This was just about enough for the day.

The following day I felt great and decided to get a little more in. I packed my rings and some water into a day bag and ran down to the high school football stadium to do some work in the bleachers. The wod went like this
2,000 meter run
12 minute amrap
broad jumps up the bleachers( skipping every other)
bear crawl down the bleachers

I finished with something like 13 rounds plus a full round of broad jumps

2,000 meter run home

While I was at the stadium I was planning on doing some work with my rings after the amrap. Then I noticed a large tractor tire sitting on the practice field. Obviously a tool the high school coaches use for their athletes. I decided I would save this for another day.
Going back to the high school I wanted to get some work done with that tractor tire. I brought my rings with me again and got to work. The wod looked something like this.

5 rounds for a time of
5 muscle ups
10 tire flips
I finished in just under 12 minutes.
During the muscle ups, the first three sets went unbroken. I was so happy with that. It wasnt until the fourth set on the 5th rep that I failed the muscle up. I was devastated. I really thought that I would be able to get 5 rounds unbroken. The fifth round wound up with me doing 3 and then 2.
I am progressively getting better and better at this skill. Which is strange to me considering I do not work on it as much as I really want to. Either way I was happy with this wod for sure. Everything felt great.

I feel really sore today and decided to take the day off and rest. I went down to a local farm supply store and purchased some really thick rope. About 15 meters. This gage of rope is a quite a bit more expensive than I had imagined. So I plan to put this to work in the next couple days. Really excited about it. Rope climbing is a fantastic upper body exercise.