Pride of 5:30 AM

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

EIE Challenge Tip of the Day 17:  Many times people cannot fall asleep at night because they have too much stimulation throughout the day and the only quiet time they get is when they first lay their head down at night.  If you have trouble falling asleep, find 10 minutes in your day in which you can turn off the outside world and meditate.  If you take time during the day to think about all the things going on in your life then you can spend more time sleeping at night.    

Mobility:

-Posterior Chain Floss
-Super Rack
-Keg Drill

Classic Strength:

7 x 1 3 position snatch high to low
*Rest 60 sec

Note: Focus on getting the bar to your hips from all three positions. These efforts are complexes that should be performed unbroken. Focus on a good receiving position and prioritize form over going heavy. 

Classic Conditioning:

7 Rounds
2 minutes to complete 
-15 KB swings (24kg/16kg)
-12 lateral box jumps (20”) *make sure your feet touch the top of the box
-ME push-ups

*Rest 1 minute

Notes: You can rest at the top, locked out position of the pushup, not on the floor. Make sure you are getting full range of motion (chest to deck, arms fully locked out). This might require you to use a band. Do not let your elbows flare out. 

Advanced Strength:

7 x 2 First Pull + Hang Snatch
*Rest 60 sec

Notes: This movement should be performed from the ground with a 3 second pause at the knees, followed by  a Snatch from the low hang position (at the knees).

Conditioning:

7 Rounds of two minutes to complete for total handstand pushups
-20 Calorie Row
-12 lateral box jumps (20”) *Feet touch the top of the box
-ME Handstand Pushups

*Rest 1 minute between rounds

Notes: The feet must make contact with the top of the box on every jump. Every pass over the top of the box counts one rep. Also note that at the end of two minutes you can no longer perform more handstand pushups until the next round.

Cool Down:

-30 GHD Sit ups
-Calf Stretch
-Active Bar Hang

living the life!

I have never seen a group of people come together quite like the 5:30am crew at PCF Venice; and their ring leader, Chris De Los Santos, would like to tell you his story on life and experiences with CrossFit.

“We all have a crossfit story; here’s mine;

I have moved twelve times over the past two decades. Consequently, I have few constants in life. I’ve lost track of houses, cars, telephone numbers, kid’s schools and a whole bunch more. However, I caught the running bug in my early twenties and it stuck. 5ks soon became marathons and eventually Ironman traiathlons. Training is where I went to sort out life’s trials. All was humming along until a freak injury, stressful job, and the realities of parenthood led to sitting out 2011.

Taking a break made me appreciate how out of balance my life was. First of all, I realized how much time I wasn’t spending with my family because, if I wasn’t working, I was always training. Being a cardio junkie also offered an excuse to eat like crap. After all, I needed lots of carbs (aka pizza, burgers, chips, etc.) to fuel long workouts; or so I thought. No longer exercising, I spared little time in adding 20 lbs to the extra 15 I was already carrying. 

Interestingly, it was ill fitting pants that presented the proverbial fork in the road. At 42 years old, I could simply buy new slacks and settle into middle age or make a change. Not ready to throw in the towel, I tried going back to triathlon, but just couldn’t make it work. Long distance running would require surgery and my work schedule was relentless. About to reach for bigger trousers, a good friend staged an intervention of sorts. He asked me what I missed most about triathlon. I told him I missed the comraderie, hard work, and conquering new challenges. He explained that he was getting all that and ripped in an hour per day at a Crossfit box in San Antonio, TX. For a dude that’s never seen his abs (i.e. me), crossfit seemed too good to be true; especially when there was a box two blocks away from my house.

Curiosity got the best of me, so I stopped in for a free intro class. Olympic lifting, gymnastics, and shirtless dudes were almost enough to turn me away. Yet, I was fascinated as much as I was intimidated; enough to give it a shot. The first few months were damn humbling as I had to face the fact that I was fat, weak, stiff and my diet absolutely sucked. Yet, I was drawn by how encouraging and supportive everyone was. Unlike globo gym, no one commented on how much weight I could (or couldn’t) lift. Instead, the focus was on form and level of effort. 

Four months into Crossfit and twenty pounds down, I visited my buddy in San Antonio. We did “Murph” together on Memorial Day and had so much fun we decided to make it an annual tradition (he’ll be flying out to LA for it this May). Soon after, it was time to move again. This time from DC to LA. I saw the move as an opportunity to go “all in” on the paleo diet. Determined not to lose focus, I dropped in at a different box every other day as we drove across country. In addition, I did plenty of homework on boxes in LA and settled on PCF. If the box in DC was intimidating, you can only imagine what stepping into a new box in “the land of beautiful people” was like. Yet, I found the same welcoming community at PCF that I’d come to enjoy in DC. In addition, the PCF coaching staff rocks! They walk the walk, talk the talk, and are absolute zealots when it comes to helping others grow. PCF is like a family, in no small part, because of the example the coaches set. Two things I truly love about PCF are that the coaches encourage members to tackle thier weaknesses and the fact that the PCF family celebrates one another’s accomplishments. First pull muscle ups and hand stand push ups are met with applause and words of encouragement. I have enjoyed checking those off at PCF, along with a few others.

With 2012 in the rear view mirror, I’m incredibly grateful that I found Crossfit. At 43, I’m in the best shape of my life; I’m better informed on what “healthy” means; and I have better balance across family, work, and play. I owe a big shout out to y’all (that’s Texan for “you guys”) for sharing your passion, knowledge, strengths and fears. In being so damn “real,” you inspire me to come back day after day and cheer you on. I feel incredibly fortunate to have found the little warehouse on Rewood Ave. Can’t wait to jump higher, lift heavier, and run faster alongside you in 2013!”

DLS