Still going strong

I have pursued 3 on / 1 off with great success over here, only taking 1 exra rest day in the last 2 months. This is probably the best progress I have had in some time. Not able to post everyday but I do keep a log book. Most days my internet time is for sending e-mail to loved ones.
;-)
Today, however, I thought I would post, despite the fact that I took another rest day and just did a light 1000m row, a light 1 mile run and a final 1000m row. Not for time, jsut for form, and just to resist the urge to do nothing today.

This isn't gettng easier--I still miss everyone. Most especially you-wonderful you, I hope Notre Dame is fun this weekend.
XOXO
me

Fight Gone Bad

We did FG today, three of us in the FLP gym. No rower, cause it was too damnblocked in to move out to the open area. So we subbed double unders. Figured the 10-15 we'd get per minute would exchange well for the rowing calories earned per minute. Good sub.

I raised my score 56 points from the last as RXed FGB I did.

We're thinking about making some t-shirts for the CrossFit crowd deployed out here (I'll make sure I bring home an XXS for the love o'my life ;-) )

4 consecutive muscle ups

I hit that yesterday, two witnesses.

The 3 day on, 1 day off has been going strong for some time. I feel it all over, but I mostly manage breif, intense work-outs due to long days at work.

Miss everyone back home, most importantly my wife.

I love you honey...

Nice tear to the blisters

Did "Murph" today, the one with the 1 mile run, 100 pull ups, 200 push ups, 300 squats.
Dropped over 13 minutes off my time.
40:43
Tore the $h!t out of one of the blisters on my palm.

Where the hell did that come from?

"Lola" from bullfit.typepad.com
As many rounds in 20 minutes of:
5 L pull ups
10 Ring Dips
15 Lunges
Did a proud 10 rounds, 5 L pull ups and 3 ring dips
About two years ago I deployed and found myslef working 10-14 hour days too close to a chowhall open too many times a day. I put on an extra 20 lbs or so in a short time and started working hard to take it off.
A year later I was hooked on the CrossFit, but could begin to do an L pull-up.
Yesterday I did the above.
Wish I had found this stuff sooner.
So deployed again, it doesn't get any easier, especially the being away from loved ones part. But I take solace in training and I long for the reunion that gets closer and closer with every workout...
I love and miss you all.

Wednesday the 27th

Lots of great things going on. There are three of us working out from my section, one other Marine and a Soldier. Lots of fun, The Marine is entering his second full cycle of thee/onone/off working out, today we did "Lynne", 5 rounds of max bodyweight bench press and max pull ups. I did ok, as Rx'ed.

I have not had time to keep track of scores, other than as individual bragging rights on that day, or at least until the next workout. Its a good motivator.

But the biggest motivator I have over here is the picture of my wife that I see throughout my day. Her bright smile and warm eyes shine through my day, no matter what is happening. She is the sweetest thing that has ever come my way, without any doubt. I love her with al my heart...

Working out helps deal with the frustrations and stress of work. it is her that keeps me going through the day, no doubt at all about that.

Tomorrow we're going to try "Eva", which looks positively "Evil". Five rounds of 1/2 mile run, 30 KB swings and 30 pull-ups.

And I'll have to admit that before I go, and after I'm done, I'm gonna look at that picture, and miss the love of my life.

Chillin', maxin' and relaxin'.

Except not really at all. I've done two cycles of 3/on 1/off after the week it took me to get here and get acclimatized. Thing is, no time to blog. 14-16 hour days will do that to you.
Doing the 5x400m sprint & 50 squat WOD from the main page manana. One of the guys here is gonna do CF with me too, he lasted 1 cycle so far, and he'll be a beast soon enough.
Did 2 consequtive muscle ups today. Ooorah..
I keep checking Bullfit, Santa Cruz looked like fun. I cannot wait to get back there. The gear heree is very good. KBs up to 20kg, rings, dynamax balls, 2 rowers (broken of course) but all in all a great gym if you force yourself to actually make the time to work out.
Stay strong.
-J

"Fran"

Fran is 3 rounds of 21,15,9 Thruster, Pull-ups combo.
I used 70lbs for thrusters, and did some semi-kipping pull-ups.
7:02

"Randy"

I won't be ble to say much about where I am, but its picturesque to say the least.
No worries, its safe and serene most days. I am hard at work.

Yesterday was the first time I worked out in a week, the gym her is just swell.
Warmed up w/1 round of the CFWU & 500m row.
Randy is 75# power clean, 75 times for time: 6:38
Cooled down w/some practice work on KBs, KTEs and another 500m row.

Miss everyone, my connection here is sporadic and my time is not my own. Despite that and whatever other obstacles, I will try to post.

Semper Fi,
-me

Nuts

I've been doing some mad furious work-outs lately.
Today was 3 rounds of:
15x225lb deadlift
15xhandstand push ups
15xpull-ups
15x95lb thruster

This was horrible, after two rounds I was ready to vomit.
I finished, in shameful time (~24 minutes).
Still feel ill.

Too damn hot for penguins...

I've been on a roll at times, but not posting. Times are on CrossFit BWI when Ryan posts them. Got real muscle ups this week, getting fitter.

Travel & Time, Time/Travel, Time Travel

Time is getting short, traveling is taking longer, we need to develop some technology to fix this for me.
I worked out twice this week--slacker, huh?

Back in the groove this week. I need to work on the diet as well.
Airport food is not Zone friendly and I am tired of beef jerky.

Shoot, Move & Communicate

Spent the week on the range, today did my workout there.
After a morning of rifle shooting & movement with the M-4 carbine.
In boots and utes, five rounds for time of:
5 pull-ups
10 dips
15x 1 pood KB swing

8:15, wow--worn out from yesterday. This was 5 hours ago, neck and arms are still shot.
Shot, get it? SHOT. Ha.

"Lynne"

Five rounds for max reps of:

Body weight bench press (170)
Pull-ups

Post reps for both exercises in all rounds.

Actually did this as prescribed, full bodyweight.

107 reps total:

1) 13/15, 2) 9/13, 3) 7/14, 4) 6/10, 5) 7/10

Finished up with 2x10 KTEs

Thought I would cheese out and be lazy, went to CFBWI and did Ryan's Dumbell complex instead.

WOD

5 Dumbbell Deadlifts
5 Dumbbell Squat Cleans
5 Dumbbell Push Press
5 Dumbbell Squats (hold dumbbells on your shoulders)

Started with moderate weight dumbbells and performed the progression, without setting the dumbbells down between exercises. Add weight and repeat the progression. Keep using heavier dumbbells until you cannot do the progression.

Started at 25's and completed through 50's, attempted 60's and failed after 2 cleans.

Frying pan to fire

Off the cruise, off to the range...
With effort I will continue to train hard, not hardly train.

The cruise went well, two days of good snorkeling, two WODs, sprinkled throughout a week of opulence. For what it is worth a buffet is wasted on me--thank God. The first day we were told the average cruise member gains -14 lbs. I did gain 3, but I blame that more on beer than anything else.

Back to the grind.

Like butter...

Cause I'm on a roll. Or cause I am soft?

Three days on, second time in about a week--awesome.
Max deadlifts yesterday:
135x10, 185, 225, 275, 305 (old PR), 335 (new PR), 340 (fail), 337.5 (fail)
5x3 kettlebell windmills

Now off to the week's cruise.

This week's action

New Year, new routine, same ol' s@!t...

Wednesday: 20 minutes of 5 push-ups/10 sit ups/15 squats: 21 and change...
Thursday: 20 minutes of 20 45lb overhead lunge steps and 10 burpees: 10 + 3 steps...

CF BWI is rocking...

Thanks for asking...

So, I have been going to CrossFit BWI this week.
It rocks.

Today we did:
400m run
21 x push press, KB swing, burpees
400m run
15 x push press, KB swing, burpees
400m run
9 x push press, KB swing, burpees

14:23, not the fastest, I got beat by well over a minute.
I used 74lb push press, 55lb Kettlebell, sub a little bit more than whatever you feel comfortable with and stick to it...

2nd Day

CF BWI again,
For time:
800m run
30 24in Box Jumps
500m row
25 24kg KB swings
3x100ft bear crawls
20x 20lb slamball
400m run
15 Ring Dips

18:19

CF BWI visit

I went to workout w/Ryan at CrossFit BWI today at noon.
Did 2x 400m run, the Burgener Warmup w/PVC, 20 Abmat sit-ups and 10 ring dips for a warm-up.
WOD:
10 rounds of 10 Deadlifts & 10 push-ups
8:36

Worked out some kinds with a Foam roller and 'the stick' after, those are going on my wishlist...

From the main page

From....

Friday 071214

Shoulder press 1-1-1-1-1 reps
Push press 3-3-3-3-3 reps
Push Jerk 5-5-5-5-5 reps

Post loads to comments.

Compare to 070910.

Did the CFWU 1x, then:

SP: 95,105,115,125,130(FLD)
PP: 115,125,135,140(FLD at 3rd),135
PJ: 115,125,130(FLD to lock at 3rd),115(FLD to lock at 5th),95,95

5x5 KTEs
2x100ft Farmers walk w/50lb DBs

WOD from Christmas eve (yes--late)

So I used to work out, so I figured I would try it again after a week of holiday fat-ness....

Warmed up with some medicine ball cleans with my new 10lb Dynamax
(did I mention that, WOOOOOOOOO!!!!)

Then did the Xmas Eve WOD:
150 Burpees, for time.

..in..

17:58

Lather, rinse, repeat...

I did it again, outside (brrrr....) with a 45lb barbell. 20:05
Whole Company participated, with mixedresults.
Form was an issue, as always, but they perservered.

WOD From 12 Dec 07

1 Round of the warm up at 12 reps each
Stretched
BOOM
Five rounds for time of:
Run 400 meters
75 pound Sumo deadlift high-pull, 21 reps
75 pound Thruster, 21 reps
(Subbed 55lbs, ran on treadmill)
22:43

"Angie"

Did a warm up of 250m row, 10 x pass throughs, dips, 45#OHS & 1/4 mile run, then did:
Angie
For time:
100 Pull-ups
100 Push-ups
100 Sit-ups
100 Squats

10:51

Fran-kenstein

Did a warm up of:
500m row then twice went through..
5x1-hand 12kg KB snatch each hand
10x pass-throughs
10x 10lb bar OHS
10x good mornings
10x CF it up
10x 12kg KB swing
10x dip
10x pull up

I then mixed up some Fran like activity, for time:
1/4 mile sprint
21,15,9 of the triplet--pull ups, 45# thruster, 12kg KB swing
1/4 mile run

time of 14:13

Understanding Crossfit

I don't know that I really do understand it, but I try.
The message is worth the time I spend.
I'll keep posting.


Today I did a CrossFit warmup of 15, 500m row, 5 minute max incline walk.

"Elizabeth"

21-15-9 reps of:
Clean 135 pounds (subbed 80 lbs)
Ring dips
10:06

V did CFWU: 3 rds of 6 and a 5 minute walk followed by

"Nancy"

Five rounds for time of:
400 meter run
95 pound Overhead squat, 15 reps (subbed 10 lb bar)
17:30

When she finished we did about 5 minutes on training mitts with the 12 oz. gloves.

"Helen"

Three rounds for time:
Run 400 meters
1 1/2 pood Kettlebell X 21 swings (subbed a 35 pound dumbbell swing)
12 Pull-ups

For some reason in my small eyes the 5lb DB looked so big that I talked myself into using 35lbs. In hindsight that was dumb, as I did all three rounds unbroken on swings.
11:36 (ran on treadmill)

In the afternoon did about an hour of sustainment toward Brown Belt with the high (possibly unrealistic) goal of actually taking tests this week. We'll see how that goes.

V ran through "Jackie" 100o m row with 50x25lb bar thrusters & 35x15lb DB swing in 11:06. SHe's getting feirce. M starts tomorrow (or so we're told.)

"Nancy"

Five rounds for time of:

400 meter run

95 pound Overhead squat, 15 reps

AS RX'ED!!!!!!!!!!!!

26:30

This was the first time I ever did this at full weight and the first time I ever completely lost a barbell mid overhead squat. I pushed it forward as I fell, dumping the (iron) weight with a gym stopping boom. The little old ladies were not impressed, I was not fazed. I went on to (carefully) finish in 26:30.

Good for you, good for me, PFT

Slightly hassled, I embarked to finish my biannual physical fitness test requirement for the year.

USMC standards:
max dead-hang pull-ups (lame-we should kip!, and it should be max in 2 minutes!)
max crunches (crunches?!?! I know--lame again, right!?) in 2 minutes
3 mile run

Out of 300 points, I scored 282.

20 pull ups, maxed out
100 crunches, maxed out
20:57 run, damn.

Changed over to boots and utes and practiced my Brown Belt for an hour.

From the Main page 11/13/07

Seven rounds for time of:
10 Ring Dips
10 95lb Sumo Deadlift High Pulls
As Rx'ed
16:14

Some reading from 'Best Life'

Not that I am a huge fan, but the current issue of Best Life has a few articles worth the time it will take to read.
Is your workout wasting your time? By: Paul Scott
10 Machines you must avoid. No byline (inset in the print edition)
15 Minutes to Warrior Fit. By: Trevor Thieme

Swim PT (drownproofing)

I really bit off more than I could chew on this one.
16 Marines showed up for company PT at Gaffney pool.
Full cammies--not allowed to wear boots.
As fast as possible:
100m swim any stroke
50 air squats
100m swim any stroke
50 OHS (pvc)
100m swim any stroke
50 thrusters (pvc)
100m swim any stroke
50 USMC push-ups
100m swim any stroke
50 side straddle hops

This had me wrecked.
We then practiced leg sweeps followed by some off balancing with grappling matches.
Posting this a day later. Still wrecked.

Fran: AS RX'ED!!!!

"Fran"

Three rounds, 21-15- and 9 reps, for time of:
95 pound Thruster
Pull-ups

Never did it with full weight, until today. Just got a bug, and thought it was time to try it.

Deep breaths. 3-2-1-GO!

11:43

Thing of beauty, truly.

Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer's take on modern fitness

Tom and Huck lived a life that we now understand as inherently healthy. For example, they understood the folly of footwear and avoided it whenever possible. Shoes were for Sunday, a painful and unpleasant departure from normal living. Unconsciously, they did the right thing. By avoiding footwear, they kept their feet, ankles, knees and hips smart and fast. Tom and Huck’s feet were highly effective sense organs, speaking volumes to their spinal cords and brains. They didn’t look like athletes, but their bodies were highly intelligent, much more so than the typical modern.

Nutrition was never a problem because there really wasn’t much to eat and all of it was organic, genuine food. Meat was good, but so were the vegetables; these kids were hungry because they were in constant motion. No drive-through, no chemically-enhanced speed eating. Do your chores and later, you'll get to eat.

Above all, Tom and Huck lived a play-based, adventure-based lifestyle. Their fantasy lives were rich and they made do with the simplest of toys. There were chores to be done and fences to be whitewashed, but they did their best to avoid it. The mere sight of a steamboat churning up the river could spark an entire afternoon of mimicking and role-playing, entirely without the direction of adults or software programs.

This is an excerpt from 'Animal Times' on Exuberant Animal .com click the link or the title of this post to read it all.

"Linda"

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of the triplet:

Deadlift: 1 1/2 body weight
Bench press: body weight
Clean: 3/4 body weight

Set up three bars and storm through for time.

Did some stretching, walked for ten minutes on an incline, then got right to it.

Deadlift: 250# (used a very silly looking trapezoidal-ish 'deadlift bar' but they just don't have 3 bars at the gym)
Benchpress: 165#
Clean: 105#

37:33

This was a PR in weight and time for me trying my hand at "Linda"
My cleans need work, my deadlift rocks, my bench is adequate I suppose (for now).

Murph

"Murph" is a hero workout from CrossFit, named in memory of Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, N.Y., who was killed in Afghanistan June 28th, 2005. For his actions that day he was awarded the Medal of Honor, our Nation's highest honor for valor.

This workout was one of Mike's favorites and he'd named it 'Body Armor.' From here on it will be referred to as 'Murph' in honor of the focused warrior and great American who wanted nothing more in life than to serve this great country and the beautiful people who make it what it is.

Today I did my first real 'Murph' to honor this hero and the many like him who have lost their lives throughout our Nation's history.

Semper Fi LT Murphy.

For time: Partition the pull-ups, push-ups, and squats as needed. Start and finish with a mile run. If you've got a twenty pound vest or body armor, wear it.

1 mile run
100 pull ups
200 push ups
300 squats
1 mile run

No body armor yet. I used a treadmill for the runs and partitioned the middle work into 4 rounds of 25 pull-ups/50 push-ups/75 squats. It was not easier, in fact it may have made it more difficult, but it sure helped me keep count.

My time: 53:12

Tabata double stuff

Warm-up: Wooden dowel snatch, 1-arm 12KG KB swings

WOD:
Tabata combo of 1 pood KB swing & 12 inch step Incline push-ups. 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off work/rest combo switching exercises for 8 rounds of each and 8 total minutes.

Total number of reps: 183

Finished with holding handstands 3 rounds for as long as I could.

Been awhile again...

Me at the super squad comp hitting an L-sit on some water jugs.

So I tend to go spans of time without posting my efforts, I suppose that lack of records may become the downfall of my blogging logbook. For a few weeks I have been teaching Gray Belt to about 10 Marines and training V & my wife Mon/Tues, Thurs/Fri. Its been tough to keep track of what I'm doing, much less blog it.
So I'll try again to record my workouts. Starting with today:
Boots & utes wearing flak vest
2 rounds warm up: KTEs, Dips, Sit Ups & stretching
50 box jumps, 1/4 mile sprint, 50 squats followed by max dead-hang pull ups
4:10 followed by 10 deadhangs
1 & 1/2 hours of Grey belt instruction
Then changed and hit deadlifts: 5,3,3,2,2,2
195, 225, 255,270,285
Farmers walk 3x100ft w/45lb plate in each hand
waiters walk 100ft in each hand
5x5 knees to elbows
fin

From Valley CrossFit

Today we did some business from an article I read.
I ran while Tiff rowed, so mine was slightly different in feel, but not effect.
Tiff subbed 10 inch box jumps.

For time:
500m row
30 pull ups
1/2 mile run
30 squats
250 m row
30 burpees
1/4 mile run

14:46 for me ~21:00 for Tiff

I ended with 4x5 knees to elbows until inverted
Tiff did 3x max time planks

I have a blog dammit

MCMAP

This AM in boots & utes with flak jackets:

100 box jumps
300m shuttle run (6x50m)
25 push-ups
25 body rows
300m shuttle run
100 box jumps

Me: 10:28
Cut off was supposed to be 10 min, kept the clock running until 1/2 the Marines finished (13:28).

Tan Belt review & a simple four count combo followed by 1 hour of grey belt upper body strikes.

Oct 5th Functional Fitness training

Today it dawned on me that I am due to write an after action report for Friday's afternoon of functional fitness (aka CrossFit) training on Ft Meade. Without a doubt it was a success, although I can't be sure how many of the attendees "got it" or took away the desired message. What I am sure of is that each person who went through the lecture, instruction, demonstrations and work-out on Friday at the very least was exposed to an outstanding alternative view of fitness. I suppose the best way to begin is with how it got started.

The second week in September of 2007 I attended the CrossFit level 1 certification seminar held in Quantico, VA. It was a two day whirlwind of fitness training that challenged the widely held paradigms of modern body building, endurance training, nutrition and fitness at large. Personally I was in awe for the greater part of both days--mainly because I had been following CrossFit Inc's fitness regimen through their website (www.crossfit.com) since the summer of 2005. Until the August it never dawned on me that I would ever attend one of their trainer certification seminars, but right after my birthday the September Quantico Certification showed up on the main page. With some trepidation I clicked until I received my attendance confirmation e-mail.

The certification was enlightening and felt like somewhat of a homecoming, if you'll pardon the heady reference. It was the first time in two years that I was surrounded by people to whom CrossFit was "it". There have been others whom I exposed to CrossFit who 'got it', there were time when I had visited affiliates, even the CF HQ in Santa Cruz, CA--but this! This was a two day seminar of roughly ~75 individuals who not only follow the program, but who had taken the next step and sought out a higher level of training just like I had. Not only that, but there was the man who'd started it all, Greg Glassman, and his whole crew from Santa Cruz! I was truly blown away.

The stage was now set for me to put in motion the training we eventually conducted Friday October the 5th. In the seminar I picked up as much knowledge as I had picked up trying to train myself for two years via the web and my sporadic visits to affiliates. The real reward, however, was the chance to meet others who trained using the CrossFit methods. All stood out, all impressed me, but I'll highlight two here. One, Nick, turned out to work nearby me in Maryland. Also he was training in the local affiliate, CrossFit Annapolis, that I had at that point still failed to visit. The other, Andrew, was a fellow Marine officer, a Major who runs a like-minded group of individuals in their pursuit of elite fitness on board Quantico. I got contact info for these two and others, and when I got home I sent out a quick e-mail to make contact and express my thanks for their part in my two day experience.

After a few weeks went by and more and more folks sought me out to ask about CrossFit. I was showing people how to do a kettlebell swing or a squat, putting together workouts for Marines, then for my wife's friends and for my Marine Corps Martial Arts classes. It was affirming that people not only came, but came back. Since long before I knew exactly what I was doing (or was in any way qualified to do it) I was trying to spread the word about CrossFit. I toyed with the idea of trying to get a CrossFit seminar for my Marine Corps unit as others have done. After some inital exploration the high price, even with a military discount, was too much to bring up the chain of command without first demonstrating the suces of the program. EVen this seemed so daunting that I shelved the idea. Then I went to train with Dale at CF Annapolis (and experienced firsthand that he was a really good trainer.) For a few weeks I also continued corresponding with Andrew, the Major from Quantico, and he had said to let him know if there was anything he could do to help get my unit's program going. Over the course of a few days an idea formed in my head--this is what my wife would call a dangerous time to be around me.

In the Marine Battalion I am a part of I bear the honor and privilege of leading one of the three companies of Marines. As a company commander I had been slowly gaining ground up to that point by showing the brutal efficiency of CrossFit workouts during my once a week Commander's PT session. My approach was based on my experience with seeing many 'new idea guys' come and go in the Marines. My willingness to finally go out on a limb and introduce my success with CrossFit was due in most part to the new Concept for Functional Fitness. The Marines released this as guidance and a general statement on how/why the Marines need a greater level of all encompassing fitness to support our combat operations. This was the kind of all encompassing fitness I had gained training in the CrossFit methods. With mission type orders to get this level of physical preparednesses for my Marines I now felt armed to go forth and spread this to all who'd listen.

To date I had already found 'allies' among the other companies who saw the need for better fitness training. The training chief and company commander of the largest of our companies knew about CrossFit, and wanted to know more about what I'd learned. This set me up to attempt to give the entire company some training, but I still held back. What tipped me over was about ten minutes of working out with a SSgt during martial arts training. We did 3 rounds of a 400m run, 15 over head squats, 10 dips and 5 pull ups, or some such workout to that effect. So 3, 2, 1--go! And after my old carcass beat him (slightly) and we moved on to our martial arts training he brought up a point worth lingering on: this type of physical training evoked the same physical responses in his body that combat had evoked in Iraq. Stress like that is pretty difficult to prepare for; the fear, the unknown, the adrenaline, the endorphines, it all came about through this type of physical fitness programming. I had read and seen video to this effect, but hearing the SSgt's firt hand experience upon his intro to CrossFit tipped me over the edge, this training needed to happen, and it needed more credibility than just my own.

I put out a call for help to the local CrossFit community, asking Nick, Ryan and Andrew for their assistance in giving a short period of instruction, demonstration and exercise so that I could introduce as many of the leaders of our three companies to CrossFit as I could manage. To keep the training simple I wanted to have 20-25 Marines and limit attendance to those who actually plan and conduct their small unit training--the martial arts instructors, platoon commanders, executive officers, and training chiefs, etc. I wrote up an operations order and then with a bit of good faith and the help of the company training chiefs I locked on training spaces and crossed my fingers.

My requests for helps were answered quickly. Andrew and Ryan were on board, so was Nick who although not an affiliate, was also a CrossFit level 1 trainer and hey--the more the merrier right? Before long we had even more to be merry about, as Jesse from Primal fitness heard about our training from one of my Marines. Each one of these guys volunteered their time, their expertise and brought their equipment to boot! Within the space of a few phone calls and some e-mails all of them eagerly adjusted their own schedules and committed to help me train a group of Marines whom they had never even met. Fortune truly smiled on us, because these guys all really stepped up to the plate.

All four volunteered their time, made the drive in, dealt with my constant communications, endured the security process of getting on base and also brought gear. Our Marines had some weights, some space and a desire to learn. These guys brought rowers, kettlebells, olympic bars, bumper plates, plyometric boxes, rings, chalk, you name it. It was humbling to see just how generous and sharing this part of the larger CrossFit community was willing to be to spread the word.

We started the day meeting up for lunch, where we shared thoughts on life, politics, employment, gyms, and of course--fitness. We quickly sketched out how the day would roll and went back to it. In the Marine Barracks there were 24 Marine leaders waiting for us, the trainers regrouped and after a short intro we kicked off with Andrew giving a three part class to cover 1) What is CrossFit 2) the hierarchy of physical development and 3) the 10 general physical skills defined by Jim Cauley of Dynamax. In about an hour through his lecture and a short question and answer period he put the work of Coach Glassman and the physical skills into a perfect context for the Marines in attendance.

He highlighted where the needs of athletes and the military are linked and where they differ. Whereas the athlete needs to develop their body through nutrition, metabolic conditioning, and strength training ultimately for sport, for the military combat operations is highest order of endeavor. This context really set the stage for the importance of what we were trying to teach in that half day. Second place can mean the loss of life, limb or eyesight for you or your teammates. The value of this training, as the SSgt had pointed out to me, is that it can simulate some of the physical stress of combat, and we in the military should be training like we fight. CrossFit espouses (and proves to me regularly) that men will die for point. History shows us many examples were there honorable men and women of the armed forces have died for one another.

With this in mind we moved with purpose outside for practical hands-on instruction. Ryan and Jesse took turns explaining some basics movements for the planned workout, you may have heard of it: Fight Gone Bad. We went through a progression leading to all exercises needed for that day: the press and the push-press, the squat and front squat, the deadlift and the sumo deadlift high pull, introduced box jumps and ended it with a brief introduction to the rower. Everyone moved through every exercise for a number of repetitions with PVC pipe. The whole time with all the trainers available moving around the crowd and making fault checks and improvements to technique. We were all impressed by their skill and professionalism. I thought this was going to be the best part of the day, but FGB later proved me wrong.

Before we went to the workout we went inside for a short discussion on programming small unit PT. At this point the idea was to emphasize the importance of learning the methods, getting consistent then, and only then, ramping up one's intensity. We walked through this, then launched into a short but intense debate over how to implement an individual motivation based fitness regimen among Marines who at times are less than motivated. My observation was that although this problem will exist, this isn't a functional fitness program problem--its a leadership issue. Nothing is wrong with the leadership, my point is that leadership must address the true causes of the lack of motivation or effort among their Marines. The lack of effort or motivation is an indicator, not a problem. We had to cut the discussion short based on time--we could spend a week long seminar discussing motivation alone.

The problem with shaking up people's beliefs about fitness is its hard to explain why anyone should change what they think they should do to stay fit and healthy. I have always felt it is better to show them. To show them, we set up three gauntlets of 'Fight Gone Bad' at a heavy (CF men's standard), medium (CF women's standard) and light (half the men's standard) sets of weight. For those not familiar with it Fight Gone Bad (FGB) is a workout which is timed to simulate a UFC fight: 3 five minute rounds separated by a minute's rest between the 1st and 2nd rounds, 2nd and 3rd rounds. 17 minutes total, 15 minutes total work. During each 5 minute round there are 5 stations, each of which is executed for 1 straight minute. After each minute every athlete switches immediately to executing the exercise on the next station. Every repetition must meet the standard to count. The athlete's total number of repetitions is what counts as their score.

We set out to do FGB with two heats on all three gauntlets. Of the 24 who attended I believe we had about 90% participation in FGB. I'm just simplifying and sugar-coating it when I say it was INTENSE. To the best of my knowledge we had only one who did not finish (this due a sharp drop in blood sugar that was quickly fixed with some shade, water and a candy bar) but he was on the last exercise of the last round. Although I saw some powerful looks of suffering there was powerful work done by one and all who knocked it out. The best looks were on the faces of the second heat after the first heat was done. If I could read minds I may have been hearing things like "I have to do that now?!" and "oh my Fu&^%$g god!" all around. But they stepped it up.

I collected the sheets from smiling faces coated in sweat, most of whom were laying prostrate on the concrete making sweat angels. People were breathing hard but spirits were high--the braved a challenge and passed through to the other side. Our highest score among the wide range of fitness levels present was a 231, but that was irrelevant. The scores were not my goal, nor was a full FGB as prescribed by the standard my goal. In truth my goal was not to wreck anyone either. What I wanted to do was open a door to everyone who would attend. The Marines gave us their time, we showed them a world of possibility. It will be up to them to take it from there.

We ended the day soon after when everyone caught their breath. For short while I gave the floor to Jesse and Ryan to talk about Primal Fitness and CrossFit Annapolis, respectively. Then we thanked all of them: Nick, Ryan, Jesse and Andrew for their expertise and volunteerism. Without them this could not have been such as successful training evolution. I hope to bring them back, either individually to Ft Meade or to take groups down to their facilities for training. This was a great beginning. There will be more to come.

The CrossFit website introduced me not only to a fantastic workout program that changed me, it also introduced me to the CrossFit community. These guys hardly knew me and had no vested interest in coming to the Fort to train these Marines. Yet each one sacrificed their time and made the commitment to pass on part of the excellence they have found in their lives. I'm struck mute by their passion for fitness. All I can say is thank you Ryan, Nick, Jesse and Andrew. And once again I find myself saying thanks CrossFit, thanks Coach and Lauren. The workouts are world class, but the community which they have engendered in us all is truly amazing.

Semper Fi,

John

Booyah

I did the WOD from Tuesday 070925
Five rounds for time of:
65 pound Sumo deadlift high-pull, 15 reps
65 pound Thruster, 15 reps
14:14
They did
Squats 5x5
T: 45,46,50,55,75
V: 45,55,70,80,95
Bottom to Bottom Tabata 8 rounds, everybody lost count...
2x 250m row while the other walked...
5 rounds of 5 second assisted L-holds

Back at at again...

Its a wonderful feeling to get back into the game after not training for awhile. Since injuring my ribs I had to take it easy, and as it still isn't 100% I would say I;m still taking it easy. Yesterday, however, I came back off the bench. I deadlifted from 135# on up, and it felt phenomenal.
When you think you're beaten, that's when you're beaten. When you get beat down you've got to get back in the fight as soon and as hard as you can. Each and every time life beats you down you've got to get right back up.

Deadlift: singles
135,155,175,185,200,210,220,230,240,250,260

Again, not quite 100%, but the pain is still hanging on so I am taking care not to be dumb.

Tiff came out and got some as well. She did a lot of learning, "Fran" scaled with jumping pull-ups and a 9# cardio barbell in 5:02, rowed 250m in 3:52 and walked 1/2 mile for a cooldown. I'm very proud to see her back, she's determined & she's trying.

V pulled off another good 3 mile run, gotta get her off that crack.

From the Heroes season premiere

"In the struggle for survival it is the fittest who will win out at the expense of its rival."
Charles Darwin

Makes sense to do CrossFit then.

V just keeps on truckin'

She's an animal to be, and she knows it.
Two days ago She did Nicole: As many rounds in 20 minutes of 1/4 mile sprints and max pull-ups, She did 5 rounds, with modified pull-ups.
Yesterday she did Cindy and pulled of 11 rounds (slightly modified: 15 squats, 10 sit-ups, 5 push ups).
Today she tackled "Murph", yeah, with gusto too, ya betta' wreck-ognize.
1 mile run, 100 pull-ups (body rows at an incline) 200 push-ups (against the squat rack at an incline) and 300 no shi'ite real deal full squats. Topped off with a 1 mile run to finish.
She rocked it out at 59:11 on her first attempt.
Take it to the bank.

Check out Beautiful Women.

The title suits me

at least I think it does, my wife may not agree.

On the last day of training towards my Brown Belt Instructor certification we sparred, I got dropped by a good takedown and while falling rotated at a bad angle. The result landed a 200 lb Marine Cpl with dangerous intent onto my ribcage directly over my heart.

Bad news.

After crying out like a little girl (which I didn't hear over the crunch/rip sound I was feeling/hearing coming from my chest), I went to the doc to find that they can't really do anything whether your ribs are broekn, muscles torn, whatever. As a matter of fact they don't even tape or wrap ribs anymore.

So I'm forced into another rest phase, which if you know me, you know I do very poorly. This doesn't suit me, but I have a week of no working out and 30 days no contact sports to enjoy.

Enjoy?! M@&^*RF+%$#R!

Brown Belt & some personal training

1430-1630: Counter to Pistol (front/back)
We warmed up with: As many rounds executed as possible in 10 minutes: 5 KB swings, 5 pull-ups, 5 dips.
SSgt G ended in the lead
I pulled through to 9+5KBS+2PUs
Cpl B wasn't far behind, but ahead of SSgt M.
This preceded about 1n hour and a half of good hard training.

I then dashed to Harbor Fitness for a personal training session with V.
She had patiently done 2xCFWU & a 5 min warm up run.
She cruised through her WOD,
"Jackie"
1000m row (as RXd)
50x45# thruster (pvc)
30 pull-ups (45 degree angle body row)
done for time.
She rocked it out at 11:57, outstanding.

Sparring Sessions

After little sleep:
CFWU
Major Outside Reap, Leg Sweep, Hip throw, Shoulder throw.
Brown Belt weapons retention
Brown Belt unarmed versus knife
Hour and a half of sparring, knife vs unarmed, baton vs unarmed.

"Hard as a Rock"

No WOD for me, V did the CFWUx2, learned the three basic presses.
WOD: "Tabata This" 8 rounds 20 seconds on/10 seconds off of pull ups, squats, push ups, sit-ups her grand total of lowest rounds was 25, very good work.
Tried to learn a basic boxing drill as a cool down.

First "client"

Congratulations to V, she has the distinction of being my first non-military voluntary workout disciple, I suppose that could count as my fist client, huh? We're going to workout at Harbor Fitness Center in SoBo.
First workout: Went through the CF warm-up, she has very good form and picked up all exercises quite well. Ran 5 min (while I rowed). The WOD consisted of teaching her what I know about the deadlift, back squat, front squat and over head squat. After that I put her on the rower for 250m to teach her the proper pulling technique.
Great start.
Less than an hour after finishing that another friend of my wife's asked me to train her also. We'll see, maybe this is the start of an affiliate (I wish).

Major Outside Reap

Who ever named the Brown Belt throw is a genius. It is major alright, as in a major pain in my head, hips, neck and ass. After a warm-up and teaching 2 Marines through some ring & kettlebell workouts we did ~2 hours of the major Outside Reap throw.

Semper freaking Fi....

Lots of things going on

Sat & Sun: CF cert-wwooowwwwwwwww! Thank you so much Coach Glassman, you are a good soul.
Monday: Brown belt class (Ground Fighting) rest day for the WOD.
Tuesday: Did a 1/2 Cindy with 5 Marines, bested all wtih 10 & 2 pull-ups.
Wednesday: Brown Belt class, me and another instructor went through 3 rounds of 7 KB swinigs, 10 dips, 15 OHS and 400m run. me-8:39, SSgt G-9:43
A few days, a few lightyears of progress, a few papers not getting written for AMU classes, a few workouts, a few more classes closer to Brown Instructor....
Rampage wins, wow.
Got accepted to an NPS Grad certficate, progress.
Made it through the Quantico CF Cert, wonderful.
Took my spanish DLPT, ouchie.

Started watching how much I eat, portion control is an SOB. Not sure if I'll ever truly 'zone' my diet, but its clean.

More rifle & bayonet

Warm up of CFWU with 50m walking lunge, then CFWU with 100m farmer's walk with 2x40lb sandbags, then CFWU with Suicides on the basketball court.
Brown Belt:
Rifle and Bayonet engagement drills--Two vs one, one vs two rifle and bayonet for about an hour and a half.
Thai pads:
Three different combos for about 15 minutes each then switch.
Combat Readiness discussion:
This is what sets MCMAP apart as a true military combative. We spent time to discuss what it takes to bring yourself and your Marines into the Combat mindset. Personal, administrative and training activities all take a piece of it, but it is truly a mental exercise. Marines are known for their toughness, their discipline under fire. We as Marine leaders must take charge and accept the responsibility of leadership then plan and conduct realistic, tough training to prepare the Marines in our care for combat.

Bayonets & Squats

2 & 1/2 half hours of Brown Belt Instructor training focused on use of the rifle with Bayonet. Combat engagements, warrior mindset, disrupt and thrust while closing with an armed opponent--good times.

After that changed and ran about 1000m around the way to the gym.
CFWU of 10, 1 climb up the bachar ladder.
Squats:
Overhead squats: 3x95, 3x115, 3x125, 3x130
Front Squat: 3x115, 3x140, 3x165
Back Squat: 3x155, 3x185
Deadlift: 3x225

I just missed getting in and training, but I'll probably feel it in the morning.

Rest and Recuperation

I've spent the last three days itching to work out, but forcing sore joints and tired muscles to heal instead. It makes one feel lazy to rest sometimes, I know that is how it makes me feel. I can't help but think that while I rest someone somewhere else trains, and if I were to meet them in a contest of arms or will someday, it will be the one who trained harder, through the most harrowing school which will prevail. You've got to persevere mentally as well as physically in this life. Trials and trivialities will abound, but I must stay focused.

I read an article today about a fellow Marine, who fights for the WEC. His name is Brian Stann and his story is well worth the time to read.

Relaxation

Took the time to go to get a relaxing massage yesterday. Not the best massage I've ever gotten, but relaxing.
Lots of research points to the need for therapeutic massage for proper rest and for the release of toxins from the body. I just like having the massage. Something about having someone work the tension and knots out of the neck and shoulders that no amount of sleep can account for.

Brown Belt underway

Although I had attempted to get this going twice this past year, yesterday I once again started training towards my Brown Belt Instructor certification with the unit MAIT. The applicants are myself and a SSgt I have worked and trained with in the past. So far so good, only time will tell how far this attempt goes.

Today's work:
Stretching and static holds, breakfalls, combo work & the Basic Boxing Drill on pads, hip throw and shoulder throw

Good start.

Boots & Utes: MCMAP

Boots & Utes: MCMAP

PT this WEDNESDAY morning will be at Quick Hall sand pit in boots and Utes at 0615.
The work out will be a routine known simply as:
"Fight Gone Bad"
In this workout you move from each of five stations after a minute. This is a five-minute round from which a one-minute break is taken before repeating for round two, then another one minute break, then the third and final round.
We'll complete 3 rounds of the following five stations on this iteration:

1. Wall-ball w/medicine ball, 10 or 8 ft target. (Reps)
2. Deadlift 2x5 gallon water can (Reps)
3. Sand Pit Parapet Jump w/flak jacket or w/out(Reps)
4. Push-press 45 pounds/Rubber Rifle (Reps)
5. Kettlebell Sumo Deadlift High Pull (SDHP) (Reps)

The clock does not reset or stop between exercises. On call of "rotate," each Marine must move to next station immediately for good score. One point is given for each repetition of each exercise.

Your score will fall into one of three categories:

Big Dogs: Use 10ft target for wall-ball, wear flak jacket during jumps, 45 lb bar for push-press and 20KG kettlebell for SDHP

Pack: 8ft target, no flak jacket, rubber rifle for push press, 16 KG kettlebell SDHP

Puppies: best effort on wall-ball, no flak jacket & step up vice jumps, rubber rifle for push press and 12 KG kettlebell for SDHP

All exercises will be demo'ed and fault checked for all hands prior to starting.

Hydrate and bring water.
!@#$%^&*()! 124
I got beat, fair and square.
All but two Marines used the Big Dogs scaling, I'll adjust next time since we're tougher than I thought, kudos.
The common CrossFit standard for FGB.
Fight Gone Bad used by Athletes for a Cure.

Push it real good

One run through the warm up.
Five rounds of:
3x shoulder press
3x push press
3x push jerk
Not putting the bar down the whole time

Me, a few warm ups w/45#: 55,65,75,85,100
Sgt V: 50,55,65,70,75

Some sticking points to work on, mainly involved the rack position and the push jerk. Its a jump under the bar that requires work and practice for the pay off.

Taxed

Didn't work out this weekend, paying for that this AM.
0600
Following this rep scheme, counting down:
20 KB Swings / 1 Burpee / 20 Dips
18 KB Swings / 2 Burpees / 18 Dips
16 KB Swings / 3 Burpees / 16 Dips
continueing until the count is...
2 KB Swings / 10 Burpees / 2 Dips
Me: 18:14
Sgt V: 38:10

For cool down did 5 rounds of handstand practice, holding as long as possible, trying to get off the wall as much as I could. Mostly doing 10-20 second HS's, 1-2 seconds away from wall at a time.

Rise and shine, early morning mountain PT

CFWU (minus dips/pull-ups)
For time:
10x12KG Kettlebell snatch (each hand)
2x16KG Two handed KB swing
8x12KG Kettlebell snatch
4x16KG Two handed KB swing
6x12KG Kettlebell snatch
6x16KG Two handed KB swing
4x12KG Kettlebell snatch
8x16KG Two handed KB swing
2x12KG Kettlebell snatch
10x16KG Two handed KB swing
50 Honest push-ups

Finished in 9:28, followed with 5 minute walk with Jelly Bean
and about a 1/2 hour later by about 1/2 hour on the paddleboat with Tiffany

Happy Anniversary

Celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary yesterday. Spent two hours hiking through PA's Thunder Swamp Trail State Park with my wife, my brother, his wife and all four of our dogs. Great way to spend time, people (and dogs) you love, and a nice day walking through the woods.

This day also makes me reflect on us, and how I love her.

Sprints, agility runs, waiter's walk, & tabatas, oh my...

Me, my brother and my nephew, caught in some rain in the Poconos.
stretch & warm-up
5rounds of 10x deadlift + Burgener agility drills max efforts each round, resting while the others go through the drill.
2x 50m waiter's walk, drop weight sprint to start, turn and sprint to weight
Finished up with
Tabata lite:
20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest
3 rounds each jumping pull ups, push ups, squats
Good times.

Quickie

Monsoon rains, PA style.
Five times:
5x 12KG KB swing L-Handed
5x 12KG KB swing R-Handed
5x 16KG KB swing 2-Handed

100ft waiter's walk 12KG KB (each hand)
100ft farmer's walk 16KG KB (each hand)
100ft CrossFit walk 12KG up/16KG down switch & repeat

Poconos Workout #1

After a 1 mile warm up run with the Jelly Bean,
Wife & Sister in law joined in...
They did 5x 25m run w/10,9,8,7,6 & 5 burpees
I did 10x:
25m farmers carry of 12 & 16 kg kettlebell, immediately dropping the weight sprint back to start then back to KBs, drop for 10 burpees, each round dropping 1 burpee for 10 rounds
9:34
Cool down: ran three 1/2 mile stretches, one with all three dogs...

So long, and thanks for all the squats!

After a CFWU of 2x15
With a continuously running clock, and a 45# barbell, do 1 squat the 1st minute, 2 the 2nd and so on, until you can no longer do the required # during that number round.
Me: 20 rounds +14 singles
Sgt V: 12 rounds +7
Sgt K (used the smith machine, added 2x10# plates to make it seem as difficult, and later took it off): 14 rounds flat
After we ran a treadmill mile at own best paces and found that all of our legs were toasted.

Late post from Wednesday

Boots & Utes Company PT

Late Post from Tuesday

CFWU 2x10
Press 1,1,1,1,1
Push-press 3,3,3,3,3
Push-jerk 1,1,1,1,1

Maxed press at 115
Maxed push-press at 135
Maxed push-jerk at 150

KTE 5x5

Deadlifts

3,3,3,3,3,3,3
CFWU & a few @45# to show proper form
Watash: 95, 135, 155, 185, 225, 245, 275
Sgt V: 45, 95, 135, 145, 155, 165, 170
Showed the OHS, did 5x95, Sgt V did 3x45

5 man FGB

Five of us this AM, so I went for "Fight Gone Bad"
Exercises are executed on five stations, one minute per station, after each minute participants immediately switch to the next exercise until completing all 5 stations. This equals one round.
FGB= Three rounds, one minute break between rounds.
Exercises stations:
Deadlift with 2x 2/3 full 5 gallon water jugs
8lb rubber rifle thruster
Sumo Deadlift High Pull w/ makeshift cement and steel rod bars (~25#)
Ground Elbows mounted on a punch/kick shield
Box jumps onto 15inch sandbag parapet

No one to keep score, just went at it. This was the first FGB for all four of them.
It was a wrecking ball on my system. I am ready to fall down and nap, have been all day, and it will probably be an early night.

You've got to love it.

Morning remedials?!

I have not run Marines through remedial PT since I was a Sgt in 1999. But life is cyclical.
Me and two others, one by request, one by popular demand:

CFWU 3x 5-10
Five rounds for time of a circuit:
100m sprint
20 Body rows
10 Over Head Squats
5 KB swings (varying weights)

9:04 for me
14:34 for them, neck in neck at the end.

Well done.

Grown men cry, and there's not an ounce of shame in it.

OMFG this sucked!

I had to change company PT time from 0615 to 0715 due to pool availability. So I went in at 0615 anyway, because I knew, and I was right, that at least 1 Marine would not get the message. So I did 20 minutes of punches, kicks, and combos on the heavy bag. Sat on a bike and read a book for 10 minutes, Walked for about 15 minutes, then some Marines started showing up.
Explained the WOD and the warm-up. After 3x5-15 of the CFWU ( I did 3x10) and 5 minutes of cardio machines (I ran at 5.5/10) to break a sweat we did the following:

100 Squats
500m swim (10 laps)
100 Squats

Squats were to have been air squats, with full range of motion, many lacked the full ROM. Good efforts, but we need to work on this. When you cheat the full range of motion, you cheat yourself. Integrity is something you can lose quickly, and never earn back.
I heard times from ~19:00 to ~28:00, still not keeping for records, but that grace period is winding down.
Good work done by all who showed.

Oh yeah, my time was 19:14, I beat my partner--he did 19:34.

Ranting & Raving

Love this guy. He read my mind.
Check it.

1stPlt WOD, track game

2 warm up laps at a brisk pace.
1 lap sprinting the strait-aways.
1 lap running backwards.
1 lap in quarters, high knees/butt kickers.
1 lap cut in 8ths, side stepping inboard/outboard/karaoke inboard/outboard
1 lap sprint.
2 lap cool down at a brisk pace.

50m bear crawl.
50m crab walk.
50 m of forward shoulder rolls.

"old crusty bucket!"

Yep, that's me.

I'm warming up for the WOD at Federal Hill park and some kids, two boys and a girl, probably 12-14 years old, approach me in the aprk while I'm doing ring pull ups.
Here goes the rest:
1st kid: "YO Man! Let me play with those things!"
me: "no." (mid pull up with accompanying death stare)
1st kid: "You old crusty bucket!, I hope you fall!"
All three walked off and proceeded to cat call and sling both racial and age related epitaphs at me--harassing several couples swinging their young children on the nearby swing-set enough to make them all leave. While they were quite busy yelling racial slurs at me, they were also energetically applying themselves and their youthful talent to winding the swings violently around the set until they were too high for kids to play on. They soon tired of this sport and moved on, probably on to rob a liquor store or trip old ladies as they cross the street.
Who says's there's no hope for today's youth? Not me.

Anyway, I did manage to do the CFWU 2 of 15 then WOD from Wednesday:
For time:
50 Ring Dips
Run 400 meters
50 Push-ups
Run 400 meters
50 Handstand push-ups
Run 400 meters

Push-ups are honest push-ups. Handstand push-ups are "nose to floor".

25:55, Nearly as RX'd: I split the ring dips into sets, around 25 they were sets of 2 and 3, at 37 they were singles until 50, during HSPUs I had to switch to Incline push-ups after 12, as they were absolutely impossible (and my form sucked it after 9).

As a cool down I went over to the swingset and un-wound all the swings the shithead kids had wound-up. This was a great way to unleash the pent-up rage without taking it home with me.

Packed it in and came home, grabbed a 20kg BK and did 10 swings, then did 10x 1 handed cleans with each arm with a 16kg KB.

Way too long

I used to go down the list of affiliates of www.crossfit.com just to see what each had going on that day/week since I had last read up on them, that was more than a year ago when I first started doing CrossFit. I learned a lot.
Remembering all I learned from that when I was looking for a WOD today I thought about going through all the affiliates, but OMFG, the list (below) is just too damn long...

CrossFit HQ-Santa Cruz, CA
Crossfit Seattle-Seattle, WA
CrossFit East-Jacksonville, FL
CrossFit Kansas City-Kansas City, KS
Brand X Martial Arts -Ramona, CA
Rocky Mountain CrossFit-Golden, CO
Rainier CrossFit-Puyallup, WA
CrossFit-Mike's Gym-Vista, CA
CrossFit Los Angeles-Santa Monica, CA
CrossFit Milwaukee-Milwaukee, WI
CrossFit Austin-Austin, TX
CrossFit Ann Arbor-Ann Arbor, MI
CrossFit Santa Cruz-Santa Cruz, CA
CrossFit Vancouver-Vancouver, BC
The Pit-Arroyo Grande, CA
CrossFit HB-Huntington Beach, CA
Sports Specific Training-Rocklin, CA
CrossFit PR-San Juan, Puerto Rico
CrossFit Southwest-Tempe, AZ
CrossFit NYC-New York, NY
CrossFit London -London England
Elite Fitness Bootcamp-Monrovia, CA
CrossFit Chicago-Chicago, IL
CrossFit Nederland-Nederland
CrossFit Boston-Boston, MA
CrossFit Philly-Philadelphia, PA
Valley CrossFit-Los Angeles, CA
CrossFit Toronto-Toronto, Ontario
CrossFit Rockford-Rockford, IL
CrossFit Portland-Portland, OR
CrossFit Boulder Creek-Boulder Creek, CA
CrossFit Atlanta-Atlanta, GA
CrossFit Oakland-Oakland, CA
CrossFit North Carolina-Raleigh, NC
CrossFit Oklahoma-McAlester, OK
CrossFit San Diego-San Diego, CA
CrossFit Sedona-Sedona, AZ
CrossFit Pierce County-Tacoma, WA
CrossFit Plano-Plano, TX
CrossFit Torii Beach-Okinawa, Japan
San Francisco CrossFit-San Francisco, CA
CrossFit Gulf Coast-Sarasota, FL
CrossFit Central-Austin, TX
CrossFit Eastside-Redmond, WA
CrossFit DC -Washington, DC
CrossFit Chula Vista-Chula Vista, CA
CrossFit Connecticut-Glastonbury, CT
San Diego CrossFit Weekend Warriors-San Diego, CA
CrossFit Ohio-Dayton, OH
CrossFit San Jose-San Jose, CA
CrossFit Denver-Denver, CO
CrossFit Long Beach-Long Beach, CA
CrossFit Maine-Portland, ME
CrossFit Central Scotland -Motherwell, Scotland
Peninsula CrossFit -Redwood City, CA
CrossFit Wichita Falls-Wichita Falls, TX
CrossFit Arizona-Casa Grande, AZ
Mt. Baker CrossFit-Mount Vernon, WA
CrossFit Cape Fear-Fayetteville, NC
CrossFit DPL Vancouver Island -Victoria, BC
CrossFit Montreal-Montreal, Quebec
CrossFit Stamford-Stamford, CT
CrossFit Fort Collins-Fort Collins, CO
CrossFit Missoula-Missoula, MT
CrossFit Los Altos-Los Altos, CA
CrossFit Marina-Huntington Beach, CA
CrossFit Oahu-Oahu, HI
Crossfit Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh, PA
Front Range CrossFit-Denver, CO
CrossFit SoCal-San Diego, CA
North Shore CrossFit-Topsfield, MA
CrossFit North Queensland -Townsville, NQ, Australia
Hybrid CrossFit-Virginia Beach, VA
CrossFit Santiago-Santiago, Chile
CrossFit Sydney-Sydney Australia
CrossFit NCR -Greely, ON, Canada
CrossFit Edna Valley-San Luis Obispo, CA
CrossFit Foster City-Foster City, CA
CrossFit Metro West -Natick, MA
CrossFit Fairfax-Fairfax, VA
CrossFit HEL -Portland, OR
CrossFit Buena Park -Buena Park, CA
Buckeye CrossFit -Canton, OH
CrossFit New Hampshire -Manchester, NH
Central Florida CrossFit -Lake County, FL
CrossFit Orange County -Dana Point, CA
CrossFit Westside -Vancouver, BC
CrossFit 24/7 -Winston-Salem, NC
CrossFit Michiana -South Bend, IN
CrossFit Mobile -Ottawa, ON, Canada
Progression Fitness -Reno, NV
CrossFit Champions -Houston, TX
CrossFit Ocean City MD -Ocean City, MD
CrossFit Sacramento -Sacramento, CA
CrossFit Flagstaff -Flagstaff, AZ
CrossFit Space Coast -Melbourne Beach, FL
CrossFit Victoria -Melbourne, Vic, Australia
Diablo CrossFit -Walnut Creek, CA
CrossFit Erie -Erie, PA
CrossFit One World -Union City, CA
CrossFit Calgary -Calgary, AB, Canada
Again Faster -Boston, MA
CrossFit Albuquerque -Albuquerque, NM
CrossFit St. John's -St Johns, NL, Canada
CrossFit A & M -College Station, TX
CrossFit Surf City -Fountain Valley, CA
CrossFit Vermont -Burlington, VT
CrossFit Whistler -Whistler, BC, Canada
CrossFit Las Vegas -Las Vegas, NV
CrossFit Newcastle -Newcastle, NSW, Australia
CrossFit Valencia -Valencia, CA
CrossFit Mebane -Mebane, NC
CrossFit St. Louis -St. Louis, MO
CrossFit South Surrey - South Surrey, BC Canada
CrossFit Parker Fire - Parker, CO
CrossFit swift.FIT -Brisbane, Australia
CrossFit Jersey Shore - Avon by the Sea, NJ
American Parkour -Washington DC
CrossFit Inland Empire -Redlands, CA
Primal Fitness -Washington DC
CrossFit Edmonton -Edmonton, AB, Canada
CrossFit Columbus -Columbus, OH
CrossFit Toledo -Toledo, OH
Steel City CrossFit -Hamilton, ON, Canada
SouthCoast Crossfit - Capistrano Beach, CA
CrossFit Tulsa -Tulsa, OK
Schwartz's CrossFit Melbourne -Melbourne, Australia
CrossFit NE Georgia -Gainesville, GA
CrossFit Dover -Dover, DE
CrossFit Rochester -Rochester, NY
CrossFit Manchester - Manchester, England
CrossFit Thousand Oaks -Thousand Oaks, CA
CrossFit Napa -Napa, CA
CrossFit Spokane -Spokane, WA
Sonz Jupiter -Jupiter, FL
CrossFit Houston -Houston, TX
CrossFit Port St. Lucie -Port St. Lucie, FL
CrossFit Central Connecticut -New Britain, CT
Capital CrossFit -Ottawa, ON, Canada
Indy CrossFit -Indianapolis, IN
CrossFit Minnesota -Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
CrossFit OKC -Oklahoma City, OK
CrossFit Norfolk -Norfolk, VA
CrossFit Corona -Corona, CA
CrossFit IOWA -Des Moines, IA
CrossFit Newcastle UK - Newcastle, UK
CrossFit RSM -Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
CrossFit RVA -Richmond, VA
CrossFit Flathead -Bigfork, MT
CrossFit Valdosta -Valdosta, GA
CrossFit Nashville -Nashville, TN
CrossFit Challenge-Alexandria, VA
Live Long CrossFit -Ocean City, MD
CrossFit Charlotte -Charlotte, NC
CrossFit Marin - Novato, CA
CrossFit Hickory -Hickory, NC
CrossFit Fairfield County -Bridgeport, CT
CrossFit Tyson's Corner -Fairfax, VA
CrossFit Evolution -Longwood, FL
Revolution Fitness -Boston, MA
CossFit West Virginia -Elk Garden, West Virginia
Crossfit Morris County -Denville, NJ
goCrossFit -Nashville, TN
CrossFit NorthWest -Seattle, WA
CrossFit 5280 -Castle Rock, CO
CrossFit Clarksville -Clarksville, TN
CrossFit Alexandria -Alexandria, VA
CrossFit Amelia Island -Fernandina Beach, FL
CrossFit Honolulu -Honolulu, HI
CrossFit Thoroughbreds -Ft. Myers, FL
CrossFit South Jersey -Tabernacle, NJ
CrossFit El Paso -El Paso, TX
Crossfit Omaha -Omaha, NE
CrossFit Flood -San Diego, CA
CrossFit CNY -Syracuse, NY
CrossFit Springhill -Mobile, AL
CrossFit Strong Medicine -Anthem, AZ
Cleveland Crossfit -Cleveland, OH
BTB CrossFit ATL -Atlanta, GA
CrossFit Cleveland - Cleveland, OH
Boyce's Martial Arts -Winchester, VA
CrossFit Legacy -Barberton, OH
Reviveyourlife Health & Fitness Systems -Worongary, QLD, Australia
Oceanside CrossFit -Oceanside, CA
CrossFit Park City -Park City, UT
Power Barn -Cheshire, CT
Crossfit Virginia Beach -Virginia Beach, VA
CrossFit Cincinnati -Cincinnati, OH
CrossFit Molokai -Kaunakakai, HI
Crossfit Montgomery -Montgomery, AL
CrossFit Langley -Langley, BC, Canada
CrossFit West Chester -Cincinnati, OH
Crossfit Henderson -Henderson, NC
Crossfit Sparta -Tampa, FL
Everyday Athlete -Portland, OR
CrossFit Delaware Valley - Springfield, PA
CrossFit Murrieta -Murrieta, CA
Jab Boxing Club -Westminster, CO
CrossFit Budapest -Budapest, Hungary
CrossFit Annapolis -Annapolis, MD
CrossFit Regina -Regina, SK, Canada
CrossFit San Antonio -San Antonio, TX
Sparta Performance Training -Longmont, CO
CrossFit South Bay -Torrance, CA
Mid Ohio CrossFit -Ashland, OH
North County CrossFit -Oceanside, CA
Boulder CrossFit -Boulder, CO
CrossFit Little Rock -Little Rock, AR
CrossFit South Bay -Long Beach, CA
CrossFit WFN - Kaysville, UT
Kentuckiana CrossFit -Louisville, KY
CrossFit Hardcore -Boca Raton, FL
CrossFit Performance Zone -Westlake Village, CA
Idaho Falls YMCA -Idaho Falls, ID
C.C. CrossFit -Corpus Christi, TX
CrossFit Agoge -Montrose, CO
CrossFit Simcoe County -Barrie, ON, Canada
CrossFit Northeast England -Chester-le-Street, UK
CrossFit Buffalo -Tonawanda, NY
Jeannie's Beach CrossFit -Virginia Beach, VA
CrossFit Rockwall -Rockwall, TX
CrossFit Generation -Hatboro-Horsham, PA
CrossFit Fredericton -Fredericton, NB, Canada
Core Elements -Grand Junction, CO

Video now, workout later...

Haven't worked out yet, but this guy's video is awesome, watch THIS.

Twenty minutes and a swim

Ran 1 mile on treadmill, CFWU 3 rds of 7.
As many rounds as possible in twenty minutes of:
5 L pull-ups
15 Back Extensions
results:
12 rds + 1 L p/u
Swim cool down,
5 laps
did 10 pull ups on the dive platform on 1 end,
10 dips on the pool's edge on the other.
Good stuff.

Check out the G4 tv Ninja Warrior contest's CrossFitter entry HERE:

Getting it in when I can

Had 55 minutes during lunch.
No warm-up, light stretching, and launched directly into this:
For time--21,15,9, & 3 rep rounds of...
Jumping pull-ups
25# DB swing
45# bar thruster
45# plate sumo deadlift high pull
for 8:28
Made it back to work w/ a few minutes to get a snack.

Little to no tiempo

CFWU 3of5

"Karen"
150 wallball shots for time

10' target, 5kg ball
7:29

Workout and back to work in under an hour...

Mullins Track- Broomstick Mile

Slightly different Broomstick Mile
Ran in boots and utilities or "Boots and Utes",
Some used 5 ft of PVC, some used an 8 lb rubber rifle.
I wore a flak jacket, to make it fair.
For time:
25 Overhead Squats
25 Front Squats
25 Deadlifts
400m run
25 Overhead Squats
25 Shoulder Press
25 Push-press
400m run
50 Squats
400m run
25 Thrusters
400m run

Need to stress the basics.
My personal was 14:43, slowest Marine was 17:45
All finished, no pukers.
Skill-based cool down:
MCMAP breakfalls
10 back breakfalls
10 front break falls
5 right breakfalls
5 left breakfalls
everyone demonstrated the ability to do at elast 2-3 forward shoulder rolls.

strong Push Press work

Push Press max effort
5,3,3,2,2,2,1,1,1,1,1
Did 10 min on elliptical and CFWU of 15 (minus pull ups)
95,115,135,145,155 (PR, but didn't lock out 2nd),135, then did 5 singles at 135 to finish.
After a respite and some water knocked out 5x5 knees to elbows.

Frelen-stein's Monster

Fran + Helen + Rifle Thrusters + Flak Jacket = pain, and lots of it...
12:00 noon-ish, max heat of the day.
5 rounds, for time of the following:
600m Run
5 pull ups
25 Rifle Thrusters
All wearing Flak Jacket
Running done while carrying rifle

25:24

After a spell in the shade, managed to get off 3 bar muscle-ups.

Friday's run

Ran from home to Fort McHenry.
Intent was for a 3 miler, but since I forgot my watch and didn't realize it until I had stretched and gotten about 2 blocks--how's that for meatheaded--I kept on going.
My response was to keep running until I had done the loop on Ft McHenry National Park for a totoal of ~6.5 miles. Sometimes my meatheadedness knows no bounds.
Due to that and my attendance of a motivating Battalion Messnight immediately following the run I didn't work out either Saturday or Sunday.
Oooo-stinking-rah!

CF Swimming

In the interest of making life interesting, switched it up and had a swim workout today.

Explained the CFWU, taught a rudimentary level front squat, deadlift and overhead squat w/PVC.

3 rounds for time of
50m swim
10 Deadlift
10 Front Squats
10 Over Head Squats

All finished, not for time just yet, paired up and went all out.

Later in the day gave a class to explain the Concept for Functional Fitness.

10 minutes is enough sometimes, if you make it count.

10 minutes in the dreaded room of cardio...
CFWU of 20
As many rounds in 10 minutes as possible of:
5 weighted dips w/15#
5 weighted pull-ups w/10#
5 Over Head Squats w/45# bar

Managed 6 rounds, 5 dips and 1 pull-up

Executed a 50 ft 50# farmers walk w/each hand solo, and a 2x30# DB famers walk for 50ft.

"Diane"

CFWU 2x12
"Diane" is three rounds of Deadlifts/Hand Stand Push-ups done in a 21,15,9 rep scheme for time.
Maniacal--right?
I scaled to 185# from the Rx of 225, I'm just not crazy about herniated discs.
Time= 6:56
Some extreme difficulty getting through this one. Scary gasping for oxygen moments, fun.
Afterwards did 7 reps of the following with the mighty broomstick:
Overhead Squat
Front Squat
Back Squat
Deadlift
Snatch-Balance
Snatch

Scaled from the hooper WOD of the CF Games...

My version, for time, was:
100 35# Sumo dead lift high pulls (a sub for the 1000m row)
followed immediately by 5 rounds of...
25 Jumping pull ups
7 x 95# push presses
15:35

Ran 2/3 of a mile to Pull up bars
3x5 of:
pull to inverted hang
full body row from parallel bars
dips

At which point I spent about an hour discussing functional fitness and CrossFit with some Marines...

Locked-out Work-out

By necessity my wife and I ran from Federal Hill to Mount Vernon when we locked out keys in the house.
Ran 1 minute, walked 3. Her pace, great efforts.
6 rounds to get there.
7 rounds to get back.

Second Intro to Combat Conditioning

Did a round of stretching exercises for ~5 minutes.
Explained the good Doctor Tabata's protocol and the devilishly delightful ideas of high intensity interval training.
Executed 5 rounds 20 seconds work/10 seconds rest of: (my lowest)
Squats (16)
Overhead rifle press (22)
Sit-ups (17)
Explained further the need for full body metabolic conditioning due to the three fuel pathways of the body.
Explained thrusters, and demonstrated using an 8 lb rubber M16 rifle.
Explained the differneces between kipping and deadhang pull-ups, demo'ed kips, then assisted, then jumping pull-ups. Showed the relative work values of moving the body up and down in a full range of motion regardless of method.
Went through a modified "Fran"
21, 15,9 rep rounds of pull-ups (how ever one can get over the bar as demo'ed) and thrusters with the rubber M16.
5:11 to just over 12 minutes was the range.
Cool down, went over the need to hydrate, and released.
57 minutes total for the entire training session for 11 Marines.

"Marines go to the Mat"

By Daniel Rosenbaum
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published December 18, 2005
Advertisement
QUANTICO, Va.
Lt. Col. Joseph C. Shusko tempers his fighting instruction with character-building lessons as he forges a new breed of warrior at the Marine Corps Martial Arts Center of Excellence here.
The 49-year-old native of Long Branch, N.J. -- known as "Cyborg" -- demonstrates the effectiveness of the Corps' new fighting style as he throws a trainee to the grass, climbs over him and clamps a chokehold during a drill.
Three seconds pass. Four seconds. Five.
The black-belt trainee -- a staff sergeant 14 years Cyborg's junior -- struggles, pulls, scrapes. His face turns red, then purple.
He sputters and spits and finally taps his opponent's arm. The hold is released. The trainee coughs and sucks in a deep breath.
He and Cyborg smile and shake hands.
Then it's someone else's turn.
If Col. Shusko has his way, every Marine -- and everyone near them -- will benefit from the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP). Unlike men and women in the other branches of the armed forces, every Marine is taught how to fight hand-to-hand, up close and personal.
"Every Marine is a rifleman. Every Marine is a martial artist," Col. Shusko says.
For the first time in the U.S. military, an effort has been made to combine the most effective techniques of martial-arts disciplines from around the world into a single course of study -- MCMAP.
Among the fighting styles appropriated for MCMAP, Col. Shusko demonstrates the grappling techniques of Brazilian jujitsu, which mostly consists of ground-fighting submission holds and joint locks that he likes to call "wristy twisties."
These techniques are designed to control the enemy, to break bones and, if necessary, to kill.
Col. Shusko also teaches throwing techniques according to the Japanese art of judo and kicking skills from the Korean style of self-defense known as tae kwon do.
In addition, Thai boxing -- with its emphasis on elbow and knee strikes to inflict damage -- figures into the MCMAP curriculum.
"We did not invent anything," Col. Shusko says, "Just took the best and put it into our program."
Since lethal force is not always needed in defensive situations, the colonel schools his trainees in techniques similar to those used by U.S. police officers to make arrests or subdue suspects.
But MCMAP training involves more than merely learning how to fight. It's about learning how to be a modern-day warrior -- tough, confident and able without the ego-gratifying need to prove it.
It's about entering a bar and knowing you can handle any situation that may occur, not sizing up the competition and picking a fight, Col. Shusko says.
He and his staff recently trained a seasoned group of Marines aiming to become black-belt instructors. The instructors' course is one of the most grueling regimens in the military, and this class, which started with 34 trainees, has been reduced to 28.

Seven grueling weeks
For seven weeks, beginning at 6:30 every morning, they are put through their paces on obstacle courses and forced marches, in the swimming pool and in the classroom, on wrestling mats and in trenches.
Trainees must employ teamwork to help each other through the grueling course work -- sometimes carrying, pushing and pulling each other -- to make sure no one is left behind. Together, they often tote a 10-foot-long, 400-pound tree trunk on their shoulders throughout their training.
In classroom instruction, they learn about risk management, decision making, tactics and Marine Corps history.
Lugging 60-pound packs on their backs, they negotiate an obstacle course by climbing up 20-foot ropes and fording muddy ditches. Confidence and endurance come through tackling the 100-yard-long course five times without rest.
Through adversity, his students build character, Col. Shusko says, and MCMAP takes them to the point where their bodies do not have time to recover and heal before they are up and at it again.
"We push them just past their limit," says Staff Sgt. Richard Torrez, a MCMAP staffer, "and then that maximum becomes their minimum."
"We like it tough," Col. John W. Ripley, who has been on active duty for 35 years, explains to a group of MCMAP students training in the woods. "Mother's milk, value of mental and physical toughness.
"I've been starving, sleep deprived, biting cold, and began to love it," he says. "This attitude will serve you: I may not be the smartest, fastest or biggest, but I'm the toughest."

'One Mind, Any Weapon'
Gen. James L. Jones perceived a problem with Marines' fighting image when he became Marine Corps commandant in 1999.
As a young officer during the Vietnam War, he had heard that the North Vietnamese were more fearful of the Republic of Korea's marines than they were of his U.S. Marines.
A rumor had spread among the communists that all Korean marines knew tae kwon do.
Gen. Jones decided that the Marine Corps would develop its own martial-arts program, in part so that the enemy would know that American Marines are as adept at fighting with their hands and feet as they are with rifles and mortars.
In 1999, he turned to the director of the Marine Corps' training and education division -- Major Gen. Thomas S. Jones (no relation) -- to start a fighting school.
"I thought he was flippin' crazy," the latter Gen. Jones said during a MCMAP graduation ceremony in late October. "With all the things going on in the Marines, why do we need a martial-arts program?"
But in creating the MCMAP curriculum, Gen. Jones quickly realized its value. And as the commanding general of the Training and Education Command, he impresses that value on all who take the course.
"Shame on any of you here if all you care about is the belt you wear," he told the graduating class of black-belt students.

More than belts
"It's not about the belt. It's not about the physical training. We got enough tough guys and gals in the Marine Corps to sustain that.
"What we need to do is put the physical skills together with the mental skills and emotional skills and character development."
Ever since Vietnam, the Pentagon has sought to enhance the image of its enlisted personnel, as perceived inside and outside the military.
Although they lead the world's best-equipped fighting force, senior U.S. commanders have wanted to ensure that underneath the Kevlar and microchips beats the heart of a fighter who can prevail with little more than bare hands.
"I want the Marines who take this course and then return to duty feeling, 'Now people are safer because I'm here,' " Col. Shusko says.
The motto "One Mind, Any Weapon" is emblazoned on the T-shirt of every instructor at MCMAP, which teaches 184 fighting techniques and more than 60 character-building lessons.
Like traditional martial-arts disciplines, MCMAP uses a belt-ranking system: tan, gray, green, brown and black.
Every Marine is required to become a tan belt, and the highest rank is the sixth-degree black belt.
The Corps currently has more than 217,000 active and reserve Marines serving today, and there are 10,000 green-belt instructors, who are qualified to teach and test tan- and gray-belt students.
About 1,300 black-belt instructors are capable of testing students up to black belt.
Col. Shusko, MCMAP's director since 2003, believes his is the largest martial-arts school in the world, with more than 150,000 students across the range of tan through black belts. He personally has seen about 11,000 Marines go though MCMAP training.
Those who graduate then share their expertise with comrades at bases and camps from South Carolina to Okinawa to Djibouti.
Other branches of the armed services recognize what Col. Shusko's school has to offer: The Navy already offers Marine Corps martial-arts classes to midshipmen.

Extreme training
MCMAP training can be as hard on the instructors as it is on the trainees. Col. Shusko makes sure it's that way.
He leads by example, always wearing his camouflage fatigues and bulletproof vest while training or sitting behind his desk -- just to make his body work harder because of the added weight.
When he takes off the 16-pound vest, he feels like a slugger at the plate after swinging three bats in the on-deck circle.
His buddies nicknamed him Cyborg after the nearly indestructible robot portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger in "The Terminator." He's not as big as Arnold, but is just as chiseled.
And Cyborg never asks a trainee to do something he would not do himself.
"If they run the obstacle course five times, I'll run it 12 to 16 times," the graying Marine says. "If you want to work with Marines, you have to do what they do. It motivates them to see the old guy doing it."
As the thump of heavy bass blares from a weight-room stereo, the MCMAP wrestling class in the gym lasts hours.
The mat is shiny and slippery with sweat as the trainees grapple each other on a muggy afternoon.
Half of them are called off the mat to the sauna. Packed together like sardines, they sit in the heat in their thick fatigues until each of them, one at a time, has lifted a 45-pound weight overhead 20 times.
No complaints, then back to the gym for more wrestling as the other half of the class hits the sauna.
Sgt. Torrez nonchalantly rolls a trash can to the edge of the mat. "Puking is fine," he says, "just do it here."
The can goes unused.

Extreme but essential
Out on an obstacle course, a 230-pound trainee has burned his palms sliding down a slippery climbing rope. But he must complete a second climb before he or any of his fellow students can continue on the course.
One trainee braces himself against a support column; another braces himself against the first; a third climbs on top. One by one, the trainees create a human pyramid that allows the large Marine to clamber up and slap the top beam.
MCMAP training is extreme but not unnecessary, staffers and students say. The rigors and realities of being a Marine, especially during war, make valuable assets of preparedness and endurance.
Currently, about 23,000 Marines are on active duty in Iraq.
"Serving in Iraq is mentally, physically and emotionally taxing," says Capt. Jason T. Ford, 28, who served in Iraq from February through October last year. "It does a number on your head, an altered state of reality, an adrenaline spike every day. It's life or death."
A member of the MCMAP staff, Capt. Ford attributes his training for giving him the physical and mental stamina to maintain a grueling pace while patrolling the streets of Fallujah for 12 hours a day and then returning to his camp to write reports all night.
WWII vets awed
Veterans of past wars appreciate the training MCMAP provides.
"We [trained] hand-to-hand, the knife, holds and so forth, but MCMAP far surpasses our training during World War II," Ralph G. Phipps tells a group of trainees he's visiting.
The 80-year-old Marine regales them with his war stories, telling how he enlisted at age 16, landed on Okinawa in 1945, fought for more than 80 consecutive days, and fell wounded two days before the U.S. troops secured the island.
Dressed in his old uniform, Mr. Phipps spreads out his well-maintained combat gear on a table at the head of the class. He scrapes the edge of a shovel to show how he kept it sharp.
"You can read a book all day, but there are things that happen to a person in war that are not in the manuals," he says. "There was shooting, yelling and a lot of confusion, and a Japanese soldier knocked me down and stepped on my chest. I grabbed his ankle and he fell down. I happened to grab my entrenching tool and put his lights out."
Another World War II veteran, Cotton Billingsley, compares the training he received with MCMAP, saying it's "almost like getting into an automobile from the 1940s compared to one built today."

In the 'pit'
Col. Shusko has seen his share of combat operations in Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Beirut and Sarajevo,Bosnia, and his experiences inform his instruction.
On a chilly and damp October day, he sends the trainees out on a forced march -- six hours of trudging over a cold-hardened landscape, wading through dank water and crawling through thick mud.
Shivering in their water-laden fatigues, they arrive at their destination.
The colonel tells them they must go back to the start, retrieve two buddies as though they had been severely wounded, and carry them back across the entire distance they have just covered.
Near the end of their training, he exhausts the would-be black-belt instructors on a forced march and several circuits on the obstacle course, only to prepare them for the "bear pit" -- a large, flooded trench where they must fight each other to prove their new skills.
The rules: Dunk your opponent or remove him from the water. The trainees fight one-on-one, two-on-two -- up to five-on-five.
Cold water splashes and mud flies as they wrestle, kick and throw each other around the pit.
The 230-pound Marine bulldozes his way into the task, dunking or tossing out several combatants.
But even he is bested, and the last one standing is 2nd Lt. Tien Tran, who stands a good head and shoulders shorter than the "bulldozer."
The class nicknames him "the little Tran that could."
But it's not over yet.
Col. Shusko's staff challenges the students to take on anyone who has rivaled them throughout the semester, a tradition known as "calling out" your opponent.
Cold, wet and exhausted, the trainees leap back into the pit to wrestle with their nemeses. They must be aggressive, but cannot lose control. They must follow orders, but also must fight to win.
"It helps keep a level head," says Capt. Nic Wisecarver, 27, a MCMAP trainee from Reno, Nev. "It hones skills. Based on an enemy's action, you control your counteraction, and the transition from control to deadly force."
The standout student of the class, Capt. Wisecarver arrived at Quantico for MCMAP already a veteran of Afghanistan and a two-time national boxing champion at the U.S. Naval Academy. He will deploy to Iraq in mid-February.

http://www.washtimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20051218-013829-7607r

Amazing (if subdued) Grace

CFWU x 2
"GRACE"
30 x 135# clean & jerk, for time.
subbed 75#
7:05
After 3x7 of 45# snatch
3x7 knees to elbows
Clean & jerk felt sloppy, and not deep enough. I need to work on form, hence the snatches.

Intro to Functional Fitness

The Company got their first taste of things to come:
4 rounds
1/3 mile run
5 pull ups
20 Squats or KB SDHP (20,16 & 12 kg available)
I finished in 14:34, first--strange but true.

Tres Tabatas Mas

Amundsen Warm-up/CFWU mixture

Tabata protocol = 20 seconds of exercise immediately followed bby 10 seconds rest, making 1 round

Tabata: 10 rounds each with 1 minute in between of...

1 pood (16kg) KettleBell Sumo Deadlift High Pulls
Over Head Squats using 5 ft PVC pipe filled with sand (~10#)
Push ups

Lowest set in each of the ten rounds is the score.

12+9+5=26

I'm going to do this this year!

Fight Gone Bad, Athletes for a Cure

Holy Crap did this kill me...

5 min on elliptical machine & CFWU of 15 (no pull-ups)

Three rounds for time of:
45 pound Thruster, 50 reps (done as sets of 25-rest, 15-rest, 10-rest)
35 Jumping Pull-ups (partitioned into 7 sets of 5, focus on full extension of the arms)

18:45

10 minute walking cool-down and off to work.