Deep Blue Sea

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Only 11 Athletes Registered for the CrossFit Games Sectionals!  Check out the upcoming events area for more details and why you should sign up!

Mobility:
Wrist Mobility, 1 minute each
Hip Mobility with Band, 90 seconds each

Warm up:
10 Pushups
10 Wide Grip Strict Pullups
10 Light Kettlebell Swings
10 Abmat Situps
10 “Perfect” Burpees
Sampson Stretch, 30 seconds each
10 Strict Handstand Pushups or Progessions
10 Kipping Pullups
Sampson Stretch, 30 seconds each

Skill:
Kicking up to Handstand

Workout of the Day:
For time:
30 Handstand push-ups
40 Pull-ups
50 Kettlebell swings, 1.5 poods
60 Sit-ups
70 Burpees

Cool Down:
3 sets Max Lsit
Rest in the bottom of the squat for 60 seconds between sets

The above video was from our First Annual Beach Cruiser Triathalon back around Thanksgiving!  Braving the cold and rain, these members swam, biked and ran their way to glory!  Check out the participants and final stats from the race here.

Speaking of running off into the ocean and to honor our week of outside the gym events, we have our first ever post from Martina!  Enjoy…

So that happened. As some of you may know, I completed the GoRuck Challenge about a month ago and I figured this would be a perfect topic for my first ever pcf blog post.

I had no clue what it entailed when I signed up, other than it was inspired by the most elite training offered to Special Forces soldiers, starts at 1am, lasts 8 – 10 hours, travelling 15 – 20 miles, with teams of 20 people you don’t know, while carrying bricks in your pack, and doing some push ups along the way kinda thing.  Sitting at my buddy Tanner’s bar one night, listening to him about how he’s signed up and excited, I go ‘I’ll do it with you!’ two glasses of wine deep.  Right up my alley, yet another perfect way to put crossfit to test.

My GoRuck training outside of 2 – 3 WODs per week consisted of – one 5 mile run with a 6 brick pack, and two additional wods where I did the running portion with a weighted pack.

  How hard could it be?  Fast forward to the night of, our team (another person I knew was Bill from the box) met up couple of hours before the start time, at the Whaler in Venice for some ‘advanced cellular repair’.  We knew by now from reading on the GoRuck web site that since the start was at the Venice Pier, the first place we’re going is into the ocean.  My teammates are talking stories about how they’ve been running uphill with heavy packs for months to prepare.  I figured I better have two beers real fast.

Our cadre Beaux rolls up, we sign death waivers and get started with a little jog in formation. We’re told that the theme is Zombie Apocalypse, probably so it’s easier to keep our eyes on the prize for the next 8 to 10 hrs – save the human kind.  Some people were moved around and to my excitement there now was another woman on my team, bringing us to the total of two.  Shit got real immediately as the next hour and a half was spent in the parking lot face down or on our backs. Push ups, flutter kicks, bear crawls, centipedes, you name it.  Our packs on of course, mine was about 35lbs.  We sucked at moving ‘as one’ so our cadre was extra generous with some ‘good livin’ as they call it.  Off to the ocean we go, more flutter kicks and push ups in the surf. Not awesome at about 3am on January 7^th.  I was immediately grateful I live in LA as there are some poor bastards doing this challenge on the east coast.  This was the first time I thought some people might tap out.  The next 8 hrs or so was spent marching to UCLA, through Santa Monica Pier, wet and covered in sand like proper sugar cookies, carrying a bunch of extra heavy shit aside from our packs, doing our best to stay in formation.

Team work was essential, we all kept checking on each other, taking turns in carrying water jugs and heavy ammo cans with serum (wet sand) to fight off zombie infection, encouraging pep talks here and there. We couldn’t speak for a big chunk of it, so it was you, your own head, and annoyingly heavy ammo cans.  Couple of hiccups later (fist pumping Jersey style at 26^th St Gas Station aka military pressing our ammo cans for separating at a crosswalk, getting hosed down and yelled at after some smart person on the team tried to cheat) we finally get there.  We scarf down some protein bars, take off our nasty wet clothes, as it’s around noon now and we don’t need head lamps and wind breakers anymore, we’re told our next mission is Runyon Canyon.  I’m thinking there is no way I’m doing another freaking 7 miles.

Before I have a chance to think about it, we’re off.  It should take us no more than 4 hours. I resort to thinking it’s just like doing Murph, or Fran. Just keep going.  C’mon, I can do another mile, I can do another rep. Indian running down Sunset, people think we’re insane. “When I say Go you say Ruck, Go Ruck Go Ruck!”  Exhausted, hungry, some with pissed pants, some with bad attitude, most sleep deprived, we make for a final push up Runyon. Nobody quit. Our team remained intact, our souls not so much. It is about 14 hours later, more than 20 miles covered and we’re finally holding our GoRuck Tough patch.  Take that world, what else you got for me?

..Here are a couple of words from Bill on the experience:

I’ve been very fortunate to know three Navy SEALS, who proselytize the mindset of the Special Forces community. It was in one of my various forced conversations to learn more about their culture of excellence, a system that only rewards those with an unwavering belief that they have what it takes, that I learned about the GoRuck Challenge. A 17-hour, soul shellacking beat down that introduces you to yourself every three feet. Basically, it’s a fringe “sport” where the object is to win as a team, not as an individual.

All while digging deep within. An odd pairing, for sure. The prize? A 4×3 patch and a glimpse into your true character. It seemed like a welcome antidote to the cheese ball Tough Mudders and Spartan Races that pretend to be hard. Think of it this way: Those races are borrowed interest in terms of “adopting methodology” from the Special Forces. GoRuck is borrowed intent. There’s a big difference. GoRuck is as close as most of us will ever get to that elite world. And why few dare to enter.

So I signed up and trained like crazy. Workouts included 500 Air Squats with the #50 pack. 250 push-ups every day with the pack (not all at once). 12-mile trail runs/scrambles with the pack in Topanga and the Sierras. I trained at midnight. I trained in the freezing cold in shorts and a t-shirt. I trained at work. I trained under sleep deprivation. Basically, I tried to mimic being uncomfortable as long as possible under load, in as many scenarios as possible.

It still didn’t prepare me for the event….

Next Goruck LA is in November and you sick bastards know you want some good livin’. Sign up.