Baseball:
2.5 hour practice
20 minutes of toss
Shagged fly balls

Scrimmage:
1 at bat (walked on 5 pitches, advanced on passed ball)
1 at bat BP (couple weakly hit balls)

Quality Over Quanity in Workouts

At work I always try to do less, better. It didn't occur to me until recently to do the same in my workouts. It's easy to get caught up in number chasing. I did it too until my head almost exploded after finishing a personal best Fran. I had a nice score but I wasn't breathing correctly and my thrusters were sloppy.

Instead, try doing every rep for the best form possible. And don't forget that breathing is a vital cog in the wheel. What I learned from the CFDC instructors was that the quality and efficiency of my workouts would improve over time.

Only the best of the best have perfect form. For the rest of us, it's an endless process of improvement.

Baseball:
30 minutes of throwing, long toss
A few catch and throws from the outfield (throws were accurate)
6 x 12 medium cage (worked on swing mechanics)
2 x 20 live BP

Phrase of the day: Load and explode
I heard one of the hitting instructors say this and it all came together. The load starts with raising your foot slightly to cock the energy when the pitch is released. The explode comes as you release that energy by swinging through the hips and core, following through from heel to toe on the back foot. A well hit ball doesn't feel like you hit anything at all. It just keeps going and going.

No one does this better than Manny Ramirez. He has the prettiest swing in baseball.

WOD:
100 Push-ups
20 Squats
80 Overhead squats (broomstick)

Slacking Off on Grease the Groove Makes CrossFit WODs Harder

Don't let your Grease the Groove (GTG) regimen slide as I have since I started working contract in Virginia. Find the time to do easy sets of push-ups, squats, sit-ups, pull-ups, and dips. When I do them regularly, it makes WODs so much less painful at CrossFit DC.

Lead Climbing at Metro Rock

This is an oldie from the old gym in Boston. I've pretty much been stuck at the same level for the three years because of a bad fall I took a few years back. I should just get over it.

I wish my DC lead partner would get her head back in the game. Unfortunately, she's been going through some personal stuff and hasn't been very present. I don't function well when I'm the best climber in the group. I have nothing to chase and nothing to strive for.

WOD: Angie (1/2)
50 Pull-ups
50 Push-ups
50 Sit-ups
50 Squats

Time: 9:41

I had intended to do 10 sets each of 10, but I could tell from the first 10 pull-ups that I was "off." I stopped after only 5 sets. I've only done Angie once but I can tell you that that split time is not good.

I sat outside for a while to get my head back; it was sort of spinning. Maybe it was the heat and humidity. Who knows. 86 degrees in March! This New Englander is not used to such madness. Guys back home are still talking about snow shoeing the Presidential Peaks and skiing in New Hampshire.

WOD: 3 rounds for time

200 meter run (warm-up, 1st round only)
30 Squats
10 dumbbell snatches (each side)*
10 thrusters
20 box jumps
15 pull-ups
5 burpees
200 meter run

Timed: 30 min+ (not a good time)

Practice:
5 x 5 Thrusters (95#)

* Started with 15#, then moved to 25#. Need to use heavier weight and rely on technique over strength.

PM WOD
Light top roping (5, 8, 10)
Tabata Good Mornings (20 sec on, 10 off) - 8 rounds
30 minutes throwing and pitching

CrossFitters Don't Let Other CrossFitters slack

Jen: Hey, Mike, is there a reason why you're stepping up instead of doing the box jumps?
Mike: No reason, because I'm a wuss.
Jen: Oh.

... so I started doing them right.

My partner, Andrea, kept pushing me on the run. The other parts weren't bad because I recover quickly from the strength components, but I really, truly suck at the running piece. I might have walked the last two laps if not for the encouragement.

Also, that cigar last night was, again, a terrible idea.

Choizilla Hits in the Batting Cages

This is my first YouTube. A friend of mine took some video of me to look at and to help me fix my mechanics. I'm hitting in the medium cages where balls come in at around 45-50 mph--about the speed of our league's breaking balls.

That awful ping behind me is the sound of aluminum bats. There's nothing more satisfying than the crack of a well hit ball off a wood bat. With real baseballs, anyway. These are rubber-coated cage balls.

GTG:
6 x 5 Pull-ups
Tabata Good mornings (8 rounds, 20 on - 10 off)

1.5 hours easy toproping

WOD:
21 Dumbbell thrusters (35#)
21 Dips
15 Dumbbell thrusters
15 Dips
9 Dumbbell thrusters
9 Dips

These were not timed. I focused on breathing, came close to getting the dreaded headaches, but made out OK. In retrospect, I would have gotten a better work out if I had staggered the reps to movements.

Warm-up
20 Overhead squats (PVC)
5 Dive bombers
20 Overhead squats
5 Dive bombers

WOD: Catharsis
15 Kettlebell swings (18 KB)
25 Push-ups
35 Squats

Rounds in 20 min: 5

Tabata walking lunges (body weight only)
20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest
8 rounds

Climbing
Easy toproping

WOD 2
Pull-ups: 6 x 5
Rotator cuff work
Wood choppers: 1 each high and low
Chin-ups: 6 x 5 (dead hang)

Baseball:
Hit in the slow and medium cages for a bit, then threw in the 70' cage. It's ego-crushing to pitch next to someone who's throws 10-15 mph faster than you and locating pitches. This guy was the first person ever that I've seen, besides me, to drop down and throw submarine style. He had a nice slider and curve ball. He also threw a tailing fastball from the three-quarter slot.

I had to give up after throwing like 20 pitches; ill effects from yesterday's marathon throwing session.

It's 38 and rainy today. Looks like no outside workouts for a few days.

Baseball:
Threw for 1.5 hours
Ate dinner
Threw for 1.5 hours

Warm-ups, pitches, long toss, and outfield work. It took me a long time to get warmed up, but I still had velocity on my throws at the end of the 3 hours. I guess at this point in the season, I'm just glad that I have the juice to keep going.

I hope to work on hitting mechanics tomorrow.

GTG: 10 x 5 Pull-ups (8 sets of dead hang)

WOD:
2 x 10 inverted sit-ups with 8# ball (alternating sides in circle pattern)
10 x Dumbbell swings (30 sec - 1 min, 1-2 minutes rest)

Climbing:
First day back lead climbing in a month. Did 4 easy climbs (5.7, 8+, 8, 9) over 1.5 hours. Very casual.

Correct kipping pull-up form

I checked with Tom B. and less a minor form tweak, everything looks to be in order. With a straight body, I arch forward (belly out) and then explode backwards while throwing my arms downward for the pull-up movement. At the top, I push out hard, falling back into the arch-forward position and setting myself up for the next pull-up.

The whole thing reminds me of a marionette puppet. When done correctly, you exert relatively little energy to a dead hang pull-up, but you reap the benefits of a well-rounded compound movement. On the CrossFit website, you'll see a lot of people bending their legs, but I like to keep mine totally straight like on high bar, keeping form, with toes pointed. Just like the old days.

Got ruined today at CrossFit DC

WOD: On a basketball court

This was my first CF after a week of being sick, which resulted in a fairly precipitous fall in performance.

3 Shuttle run (1/2 court, back, full court, back)

20 dumbbell C&J each side

20 burpees

50 sit-ups

1 Overhead walking lunge (20#) - 2 lengths of court

2 Shuttle run

20 dumbbell C&J each side

20 burpees

50 sit-ups

1 overhead dumbbell walking lunges (20#)

1 Shuttle run

20 C&J (both at same time)

50 sit-ups

20 thrusters

1 overhead dumbbell walking lunges (20#)

20 dumbbell burpees (20#)

Time: 52 minutes, dead last (best time in group: 31 min)

Baseball:

3 hours of baseball after at Laurel Hill field. Shagged fly balls, ground balls, pitched off the mound, and took live BP. Hit a few long shots to deep center field. You feel like a total rockstar when you do that.

Unscheduled Rest Day -- friggin' headaches
2 climbs only
2 x 25 push-ups

For my headache woes, Jen suggests breathing ladders. I'll try this and report back.

Exertional Headaches

About two weeks ago, I scored a personal best 4:47 on Fran (25# dumbbells). Afterwards I sat there speechless for about 20 minutes. I had a throbbing headache and it hurt to do anything but sit motionlessly. At the time, I thought it was just a depletion of salt and electrolytes. I drank some water and ate Shot Bloks. But, I had a dull headache for two days afterwards.

The headaches went away until I started doing full weight thrusters a few days later. I thought I had popped some blood vessels in my head or something, and it had me a little scared.

I can't be sure, but it seems to be an exertional headache--one created from simultaneously trying to breath hard while unintentionally holding my breath. This phenomenon also happens when you sneeze or cough really hard. The effects are usually a sharp pain in the head followed by a dull pain in the occipital area that can last from a few minutes up to 48-hours.

There's nothing I can do about it for the moment. I'll just take it easy and not lift heavy things. I'm just getting over a cold anyway. Once I start back up, I'll try exaggerating my breathing to get out of the habit of holding my breath.

These headaches are brutal.

GTG: 6 x 5 Pull-ups

2 hours of easy top roping: 5.7, 8, 9 , 10

Max Pull-ups: 30 (PR)
This does not seem right. The kipping motion seems like cheating. I need to check this with one of the CFDC instructors.

Rest:
I'm only just now feeling better. I've been pretty sick since Friday. Climbing tomorrow, though I'd rather go to CrossFit DC. In any case, tomorrow's going to hurt after this much time off.

Baseball: Cut out of work at 3:30 to meet the fellas for baseball practice.

* Tossed
* Took infield
* Threw batting practice

GTG: 6 x 5 kipping pull-ups

4 x 5 dumbbell cleans (15#, 30, 40, 40)
3 x 10 push-ups w/ med ball
3 x 10 sit-ups swinging side to side (8#)

2 hours of easy top roping: 5.7, 8, 9, 10