Your Coat of Arms

Thursday, March 8th, 2012

Mobility:
Hip Prep

Warm up:
Jog 800 meters
10 Light deadlifts
Jog, a little faster, 400 meters
10 Hang Power Cleans
Run 200 meters
10 Power Cleans

Load up barbell to a weight heavier than what you will use for the workout.

5 Rounds for time
155/115 lb Power Clean, 5 reps
200 meter sprint
2 minute rest

Record total time minus the last 2 minute rest, to comments.

Cool down:
Quad on the wall, 1 minute per leg
Calf Stretch of choice, 1 minute per calf
Active hang, 1 minute cumulative

Ashkan’s rack position.  Get those elbows up!

Last October, I carpooled to Joshua Tree with CRose and Track Master Frank.  We had several hours to talk and get to know each other, and one of the cool things I remember was part of an interview process Frank had to go through for one of his jobs.  It was, you had to create a Coat of Arms made of 5 drawings/things that describe you.  So some people put happiness, some put sense of humor, or cats, or books.  Because the nature of his prospective job was the outdoors, a lot of the applicants put outdoorsy type stuff.  I found this to be a very insightful and piercing and fun way to get to know someone, not least of all for a job interview.  I remember this taking myself and CRose a while to get, because how could you boil yourself down to 5 things?  Here is what we ended up with.

Frank:
1.  POSE
2.  CrossFit
3.  Trail running
4.  Surfing
5.  Camp Fire

Frank is happy to report that these are the same 5 things he is doing with his life 6 months later.  For CrossFit, he used a picture of a perfect squat, while for POSE he used the POSE diagram.  He illustrated, with remarkable care and precision I might add, the trail running, and surfing, and camp fire.

CRose
1.  The Jesus Fish
2.  The Sun
3.  A Glass of (Red) Wine
4.  A Book
5.  A Barbell

In her own words: 

Jesus Fish
Symbolizes my faith and relationship with Jesus Christ – the foundation of my life

The Sun
Symbolizes my adoration for the outdoors and the simple joy found in time spent basking in the warmth of its rays

A Glass of (Red) Wine
Symbolizes my appreciation for the craft of wine-making, my delight in the hobby of wine tasting, and the nostalgia of calm evenings spent with friends and family enjoying good wine, food, conversation, and company.

A Book
Symbolizes my love for reading, scouring book stores for hours, getting lost in literature, as well as the joy I find in the process of my own creative writing.

A Barbell
Symbolizes the importance CrossFit has had in shaping my life, in just over two years. As something that I am striving to make into a career, but at the very least, is something I will never be able to live without.

Zeb
1.  American Flag
2.  A Samurai Sword
3.  A Back Squat diagram
4.  A slab of uncooked, well marbled, red meat.
5.  A book.

The American Flag symbolizes Freedom and Opportunity, and my love for this country.  The Samurai Sword, Honor, Bravery, and my enduring interest in Warrior cultures.  The Back Squat, Strength, Power, Vitality, CrossFit.  The red meat, protein.  (You know, for strength.  Yeah!)  And finally the book for a hungry mind, which is a happy mind.  Looking back, this has been my Coat of Arms for the last 17 years, with the exception of the Back Squat, which I found, or it found me, around 12 years ago. 

Post your times, and Coat of Arms to comments.