Posts Tagged ‘gymnastics’

Monthly Recap: April 2018

Posted: April 30, 2018 in CrossFit, Training
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How has it been another month already?!

April 2018

Fitness- April was a whirlwind of a month in the gym for me. In 4 short weeks I had one week that was so busy I barely had time to work out at all, another where I tweaked my back and took nearly 7 days off, then during the final week I had some of the best lifting I’ve done in a very long time. Even though I’m still bummed when I can’t work out, I realize that I’m working out to #BeLessFat and that the gym doesn’t rule my life. When I tweaked my back, I just took time off, stretched and recovered. A few years ago I would have rushed to come back and potentially hurt myself more. Instead, I recovered, and now I feel fine again!

It took a very long time to get to that point of not rushing, but when I did, I stopped being so hard on myself. Yes, the gym is very important to me, but I am not my 1RM Clean and Jerk PR. If you don’t already, you should train yourself to have that mentality. After all… it’s just fitness!

My goal going into the month was to be more consistent with training, and as you just read, life got in the way a little bit. That didn’t stop me from having some really strong moments, though. Hitting a 240lb. snatch for the first time in 3+ years, and then split jerking 310lbs for the first time in over a year felt great. And I’m back to hitting 400+lbs for reps on deadlift, which makes me happy.

My “First Ever” class this month was my favorite! The first time I worked with the i99fit team was over 3 years ago, and I’ve known about their Sunday Open Gym for a long time. Last weekend, I decided it was time to head down there. Why? To learn something I’ve always wanted to do… a backflip! When I showed up, I was the only athlete there. That means I had Coach Anthony (who they call the backflip whisperer) all to myself! After a great progression of drills and skills, and in LESS THAN 45 minutes, I did my first unassisted back flip! I’m so excited!

 

House- No major house updates this month. Other than the garage gym coming along more and more each month, it was a fairly slow month in regards to major projects. I’m kind of glad, too. I’m sure the next project will be a big one, so some down time was nice.

Other- I turned 34 last week. Starting to get pretttty old, huh? As I reflect on 33, it’s amazing how many major changes happened in the last year. Yet, as I sit and look forwards into the rest of 2018, this is potentially going to be the busiest year of my life! Lots and lots and lots of work…. but also lots of play. That’s what it’s all about, right?

My goal for 34 is to get better at balance. If I’m working hard, that’s fine, but there needs to be a goal in sight. Working harder is NOT necessarily working smarter!

What’s going on with all of you? I’d love to hear some of your accomplishments in April, or goals for May!

Sunday Status Update 4/22/18

Posted: April 22, 2018 in CrossFit, Training
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Here’s last week’s recap and my goals for the upcoming week.

Last week:

  • Fitness
    • After tweaking my back last week, the last thing I wanted to do was make it worse. With the craziest schedule I’ve had in months, I essentially took the week off from training. While it didn’t feel good to not work out as much as I would have liked, I am glad that I’m feeling so much better.
    • The one day I played around in the gym a little bit was really fun! I practiced one-footed box jumps (got up to 30″ on each foot), did some sled pushes and pulls, linked two strict muscle-ups for the first time ever, and did a silly handstand walk sled pull for the first time. Playing and having fun is so important, so I’m really glad I did that! Here’s a video of some of my silliness!
  • Other
    • Plenty of grilled meats for food, protein pancakes for snacks, and salads prepped for the week! Even though I didn’t work out much, nutrition was better. It’s true that failing to prepare is preparing to fail.
    • Did a little more studying for my nutrition certification. As I said above, it was an absolutely insane week, but I at least made some progress.

This week:

  • Back to the regular grind this week, less one-off appointments, which means it should be easier to plan for meals and training.
  • Another full week of training again. My goal is to hit it 5 days this week!
  • Finish a chapter in my nutrition book.
  • Mow the lawn for the first time this year! After some snow tomorrow, it’ll just get warmer for the rest of the week. That makes me happy!

Alright, your turn. What’s going on with all of you?

Pic of the week comes from the Red Rocks Beer Garden. A friend of a friend opened this awesome spot, which is just minutes from Red Rocks Amphitheater. All Colorado beers, wines, and ciders! I’ll definitely be going to before concerts this summer. You should definitely check it out!

RedRocksBeerGarden

Smashby’s Tip of the Week 4/20/18

Posted: April 20, 2018 in CrossFit, Training
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CrossFit athletes are often required to perform fairly advanced exercises and high repetitions of movements during their training. By simply improving one’s technique, it can lead to movement patterns that are safer, faster, and more efficient. I’ve heard a lot of different cues as a trainer and athlete, and sometimes it just takes a slightly different way of explaining the same thing for something to click. My goal with the “Smashby’s Tip of the Week” series is to offer my own two cents on ways to move better, and provide a new cue that helps some of you!

Since the thought of going upside down can be scary for a lot of people, handstand push-ups are one of the most intimidating movements for athletes. When I teach them, I tend to follow a fairly basic progression:

  • Can the athlete support their own body weight with their arms?
  • If no, there are a number of exercises and modifications I prescribe (which I can explain in more detail if my readers are interested) to get to that point.
  • If yes, how can we build strength and confidence in that inverted position?
  • Once they’re confident upside down, the work can begin to teach the actual handstand push-up.

Today’s video will focus on my preferred method of getting upside down safely, and increase stability in that position. In my next video I’ll talk more about proper positioning (such as being in a hollow body, active shoulders, etc), but for today we’ll just talk about how to get inverted!

I hope you find this information beneficial.

If you do, please share it with someone else you think it could help!

Moment of Awesomeness: 5/15/12

Posted: May 15, 2012 in CrossFit, Media, Training
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The video below features one of the world’s top “Parkour” free-runners, Red Bull’s Ryan Doyle. While it’s not the coolest video I’ve ever seen, at the end he discusses the MENTAL PREPARATION required for him to perfect his art form.

Think about that, and think about how you prepare for a workout, a job presentation… life. There’s a quote that says life is about more than just showing up. I agree with that quote. We need to prepare for our experiences. Even in CrossFit, where we prepare for the “Unknown and Unknowable”, there are still opportunities all around us to make ourselves mentally tougher and more mentally stable.

Your thoughts?

Beastmode of the Day: 12/8/11

Posted: December 8, 2011 in CrossFit, Media, Training
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I kept trying to think of a clever little paragraph to write about this video, but I got nothin’….

This man is INCREDIBLE.

(Thanks to Keith Wittenstein, from CrossFit Virtuosity, for this link!)