Month: October 2012

I had the lovely experience of making it down to CrossFit Las Vegas today.  And I am just ecstatic that I did.  Hand Stand Push-Ups (HSPU) were part of the WOD.  These are one of the exercises that just amaze me when I see other people do them, and prior to today, I had not had (nor created) an occasion to try them on my own.

So when the instructor went over the WOD, I was filled with a wide mix of emotions ranging from “Oh crap” to “Oh shit”.  One of the many things that sets CrossFit apart are the instructors.  And Vili at CrossFit Las Vegas is no exception.  He could see that I was a bit concerned with the HSPUs and he sprung into action, never once making me feel like I should sit it out or not try it.  He just grabbed a few ab mats and walked me through it step by step, and let me try it.  And I was able to flop myself up and over and before I knew it… I was banging out my HSPUs like the best of ‘em.  Ok, maybe not that great, and with 2 – 3 ab mats, but you get my point.

So HSPU’s aside, here’s the run down on CrossFit Las Vegas (CFLV):

1. Visit their site, and do a little prep-work
   1. www.CrossFitLasVegas.com
   2. Set up a log in
   3. Have your affiliate owner shoot them an email and it’s only $10 for the class!
   4. If you don’t do any of the above, don’t worry, you can just show up for a class, you just need to fill out an extra form when you get there and the regular drop in fee is $20
   5. Getting down there from the Strip is kinda pricey.  The cab ride was $20 each way from Bellagio.
      1. 7540 DEAN MARTIN DR.
         #508
         LAS VEGAS, NV 89139
         (702) 900-2358
      2. Tell the cab driver it’s at W Warm Springs Road and Dean Martin Drive.  It’s just south of W Warm Springs on the East side of Dean Martin Drive.  In a little one story strip building that has several businesses in there.  They are in suite 508 which is on the south end of their building, you’ll see the logo and other CrossFit style decals when you find it.
      3. I just grabbed a random cab from my hotel to get there, and once I told the guy where I was going he got all excited and we talked fitness the whole way…when he started showing me pictures of himself working out on his phone, it got kinda odd, but he was nice enough and came back to pick me up no problem :)  You’ll definitely need to call for a cab to get back.  So get your cabby’s number.  Here’s my guy’s if you need one:  702-332-5116, his name is Gary.
   6. CFLV is a bit more chilled on the start time than my home box.  I showed up at 5:40AM for the 6AM WOD and I ended up sitting in the cab for a bit until folks arrived, about 5:50AM.
   7. The WOD had a flexible start time of about 6:05AM, and that was driven by when the regular athletes trickled in.  Seemed very friendly and comfortable.
   8. The warm ups were done as a group, and had a nice mix of stretching with bands and movements and single unders, which I enjoyed because I really need to work on my jump rope skills.
   9. My classmates were very friendly and welcoming and focused on the WOD.  I thought it was a very well run group, especially for 6AM in Las Vegas.
   10. We did a strength routine of Clean and Jerks that we had 20 minutes to complete on our own and do 5 sets of 3 at 75-85% of PR.  This was a struggle for me as I had a little trouble pacing myself.  I prefer a timer and set intervals, but that’s probably just because that’s what I’m used to.  So I ended up doing 6+ sets ‘cause I kinda burned through it.
   11. We then did the WOD that included the HSPU, dumbbell lunges and Hallow Rocks.  So two out of the three were new to me.  Which is another benefit of CrossFit Tourism, you get to try new things.  And speaking of the Hallow Rocks, holy cow, way more intense than they look!
   12. Last, but certainly not least, I got to give a ton of credit to Vili.  What a great coach!!  He gave very clear and simple instructions, helped everyone with a perfect mix of instruction and motivation.  He’s got a great attitude, and added a ton to the overall experience.

I highly recommend dropping in at CrossFit Las Vegas if you are in town.  Check out their schedule and keep an eye out for Vili’s classes.

Here are a few pix from my trip:

Can you tell it was 5:55AM?

This is a big pile of Atlas Balls:

This is one of my very first Handstand Push-Ups!  I’m probably way more excited about this than I should be:

Amen CFLV:

Getting up early for WODs means you get to take cooler pix from your hotel room:

I’m in Las Vegas today, and I had made plans to make it over to CrossFit Las Vegas for the 8:30 AM WOD, BUT, they were thwarted by an 8AM meeting.  When I discovered this at 7AM today, I immediately put the back up plan into place and did my Hotel WOD.

Even though I’m a little disappointed I didn’t make it over to the local box, I still got a great work out in, and a nice boost from BeyondTheWhiteboard.com when I plugged in my results, and got a PR. It’s the little things.  That makes my third PR this week.  237 reps for the hotel wod, #215 for dead lifts and #100 for overhead squats.

Being flexible, and staying committed to getting in and logging the results of a good work out are another key component to achieving the long run results I’m seeing from CrossFit.  Plus, my bottum is kinda sore, so as I’m sitting in the conference today, I have a nice little reminder that I succeeded this morning…which feels damn good :)

 

I found myself on the road this week, and while I tried to find a good local box, it just didn’t work out.  I was in Cincinnati and Queen City CrossFit was in a great location, but they have smaller classes, and they could not guarantee space for a drop in.  That’s why it’s always good practice to email ahead of your visit.

So I then found myself looking for a good WOD to do in my hotel room.  I also wanted something quick so I could also take advantage of a little extra sleep.  So I came up with the following CrossFit Hotel Room WOD, and it took about 16 minutes.  It was fast, but I felt pretty worked out by the end.  If you wish to log it on BeyondTheWhiteboard.com, I have it set up here.

Warm Up:
Jumping Jacks 15 Seconds
Air Squats  15 Seconds
Mountain Climbers  15 Seconds
Jump Squats 15 Seconds
4 Rounds 

WOD:
TABATA Push-Ups
TABATA Sit-Ups
TABATA Air Squats
Score total reps.

The only equipment you need is you, it would be helpful to have a timer as well.  If you have an iPhone, I HIGHLY recommend Timers Pro
This app works great for intervals with rest or TABATA.  I just mod the TABATA to 15 seconds work and 15 seconds rest to time my warm up.  This app makes it easy since it lets you save multiple set ups.

I’d rather have gone into the local box, but this was a great alternative that made for a good start to the day. 

Never hold back words of encouragement. Never. Whether it be at work or the gym. It’s amazing the impact you can have on someone with something as simple as an old fashioned ‘attaboy.

Last week our benchmark WOD was Badger and during the second set of the 800 meter run, just as I was approaching the first 200 meter mark, I had determined that I would hit the 200 mark and then walk 25 meters and then run again. Running is not my strong suit.

Just as I was turning to walk, literally at that exact moment, a fellow teammate, who I had never spoken to before, and frankly I’m not sure I’d seen before, runs by and says “Keep up that pace, great work.” That’s all it took.

After that I decided not to start mixing in any walking and just push myself to keep running. From there, I made it the whole WOD without walking. First time for that in a WOD with 800 meter runs in it. All because someone decided to give me a little boost.

So this week, there was more running. The benchmark WOD of the week was Abbate which includes a 1 mile run, an 800 meter run and then another 1 mile run. And I ran all three legs without mixing in any walking. I’m pretty sure if I hadn’t done that last week in the 800’s there is no way I would have done it this week.

Because of a mental gain thanks to a teammate, I was able to make a significant physical gain that will stay with me.

Just another reason why CrossFit and HyperFit are the best.