Blood, Sweat and lots of WoDs

Happy Motivation Monday!


Last week was a lot of pain.

To begin with, my shoulders were still aching from the heavy shoulder work we did the previous week, and Monday's skill work was 3 sets of 10 back squats. I got up to 115lbs but my knees were really bothering me so it was a disappointment, since I know I can do better, however I do have to listen to my body first. WoD was a
10min AMRAP
10 Pull-ups
10 Sumo Deadlift High-Pulls, 95

Of course since I don't have pull-ups yet I was forced to scale to jumping pull-ups. I've been working some extra I am getting closer on my kips. The SDHP, I was able to Rx at 95lbs. Crazy that I am able to Rx some parts of the WoDs now. These are so awkward, with the wide stance and narrow grip, it is hard to get used to at first. These deadlifts really didn't help my shoulders, but oddly enough my knees didn't cause me any issues.

Because of REAL LIFE, I ended up having to take another 2 days off in a row. LOL I am ok as long as I don't take off more than two in a row, or I really pay for it, besides starting the week of 4/16 I will be working out everyday except Sundays until 4/26. That's 9 workouts in 10 days. I am off work for 2 weeks because my Wife will be giving birth to our 2nd son on April 12th! I need to get out of the house or I will go stir crazy and drive us both nuts, and what better thing to do than workout.

Omg

Did I actually just say that??? Before I began this journey into fitness, when faced with 2 weeks off, I would've still made sure to go out everyday. Just that it would have a lot of calories involved. Movies (popcorn and $30 worth of snacks and high cal drinks) or lunches with friends, eating enormous amounts of food. When my first son was born, when I wasn't in the room with my Wife, I was eating something. Seriously, I can't believe how much I used to eat and just sit around. I swear, gained 20lbs just in the couple days my Wife was in the hospital.

Ok, that train of thought derailed.

Thursday
The WoD was
5 x AMReps 3mins: Front Squats, Box Jumps, and Row Calories.

This one needs a little translation. It is 5 rounds that are 3 mins in length, with a 3 minute break between rounds. The score is the total number of Calories rowed from each round. The link following this paragraph discussing rowing in more detail. So for weight on the front squat, I used 115lbs. My knees were feeling better and I was confident of them holding out on the same weight I struggled with on Monday. Box Jumps I went at 24 inches, which I am still getting used to. My knees were feeling so good I was able to do the first set of 10 FS without stopping, and I turned and went to my Box Jumps (not going to shorten it to BJ for obvious reasons) and completely biffed it on the very first one, cutting up my shin a good couple inches. So I sucked it up and pushed through. So my rounds below are list in Calorie Score
1: 32
2: 37
3: 31
4: 25
5: 15

Round 2 was the highest score in the gym that day by 2 calories!!! Round 4 you can tell I was tired, and round 5... I managed to get through FS fairly quickly, no pauses in lifting and sped over to my box for box jumps, and about half way through; I stumbled, fell, and landing directly on the shin that was scraped and cut up. Talk about pain, I even left a smallish puddle of blood on the ox after the fall. I didn't land on my ass but I had to stop for a few moments and collect myself (Swearing constantly) I let the trainer know what happened and finished my jumps and got on the rower for a 15 cal finish. I was 10 short of being 1st in the gym for score. I ended up 2nd highest score and was still proud, but hurting. When I got home I realized that the way I landed, impacted my hip in such a way that it hurt. I still had one more workout the next day.

http://www.rowingmachineking.com/calories-burned-on-rowing-machine/

Friday
So right leg feeling all fucked up, with a sore hip. Shoulders at about 90% of normal. I get out my phone and look on my Beyond The WhiteBoard app to see what the Workout today is...
Skill
Run 1 mi TT
Translation - running 1 mile time trail... ummm I haven't ran a mile since high school and even then I wasn't able to finish it 100% nonstop.
WoD
AMRAP 10 mins: Kettlebell Swings + 15 Burpees + GHD Sit-ups

I got to the gym a little early since i know that I was going to need some extra warming up with all my pain. So I was actually able to finish the mile, non stop and wasn't even the slowest person!!! I finished at 9 mins 45 seconds. Another pretty proud showing, even though I know its very slow still. As for the WoD I finished with 123 total reps. I used the purple kettlebell (I don't remember the weight at the moment) and with too many people and self doubt I scaled the GHD sit-ups to using an ab mat. With scaling the sit-ups I had to do more which is good and will help me get there eventually. A solid workout, and I was able to get by without my grips and lifting knee sleeves (just used compression ones).

As for nutrition, I am not a vegetarian. However, lately I have been eating at least 80% of my meals meat-free. I still have eggs and dairy, but even those have been egg whites and just cheese. My protein has been coming from egg whites, soy and beans and I have been feeling satiated. This has been intentional. Going vegetarian for the majority of meals has helped with inflammation of my joints. I've been able to maintain my diet of 1200-1400 Calories a day and keep my protein between 90-120 grams recommend by my doctor and nutritionist. I've never realized how much what you eat affects performance and how a person feels on a day by day basis.

On days I've had BBQ, I've found that my knees don't last as long and my elbows and shoulders start to get sore and ache. Compared to days I've had tofu, beans and protein bars (whey protein), knees last significantly longer, and rarely do elbows and shoulders ache (the exception is if I am recovering). Some recommendations that I have are to replace meat in foods like curry and other ethnic cuisines with tofu, since tofu has a mild flavor that is overwhelmed by spices. My Wife and I have been grilling Morning Star Spicy Black Bean Burgers, with a lettuce bun. I slightly burn them to give a smokey flavor and texture. Another find, which is my go to when eating out at lunch from work is the Impossible Burger. You can get these at Greens and Proteins in Las Vegas or Fatburger everywhere else. I get these also with a lettuce bun instead of bread.

This week is a super exciting week, as I said my Wife and I are welcoming our newest edition on Thursday.

Jeremy Olson

jeremy@mintygreenproductions.com

www.mintygreenproductions.com

Podcaster, Producer, Blogger, and now Crossfitter!

LLAP

Follow me on Twitter and instagram 

Twitter @FewMasterJay

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/fmjay1077/

Looking Forward, New Goals, and 1st Rx

Happy Easter Monday

So Crossfit open is over and done for this broken down old guy lol. I am proud of what I accomplished and made it through every workout.

Now it's time to start planning and working towards my next goals. It's beneficial (for me at least) to shoot for something other than a vague "in shape" type goal. I've never been able to do a pull-up in my life, so that's what I am going to shoot for by the end of the year.
Eek!
That's a huge thing for me, being a large guy even at my new lowest weight (Did I say I'm down to 218?) and being 6'4" I won't be losing much more weight and now starting to add some back as muscle. This goal I think is very feasible and the trainers at Crossfit Las Vegas agree that I will hit this goal. The goal is achievable which is important for a short term goal, its also hard enough that I have to keep consistent with my routine of diet lifestyle, and keep exercising regularly 3-4 times a week.
I do have longer term goals. These will come into play after I accomplish my pull-up. The first on the list is to be able to run a 5k, the whole time, no walking. After this I want to start participating in more events, such as terrain racing and tough mudder. Those I should be able to start by the end of 2019. Of course, I am always going to strive to be better than I was yesterday.

Now for the workouts from last week.

Monday I had my last Hockey Game for the season (GoKnightsGo), so my first WoD of the week was Tuesday night. The WoD was
7 RTF (Rounds for Time)
7 Muscle Snatches 75lbs
7 Overhead Squats 75lbs
7 Burpees over Bars
There was a 15 minute time limit enforced due to the Challenge class starting after us. I was cut off by the time limit at 5 rounds plus 9 reps, however this wasn't the most exciting part... It was my Fisrt WoD Rx!!!!
Rx means doing the WoD as prescribed by the trainers, 100% of the last 5 months of Crossfit, I've been forced to scale back. Totally pumped after being able to Rx.

Since I had to move my workouts to accommodate the Hockey Game, I ended up with two days in a row and my next workout was Wednesday. Sorry no two in a row Rx'ing.
The skill exercise was a complex
2 Push Jerk + Split Jerk 1-1-1-1-1
Followed by the WoD
AMRAP 7mins
Strict Pull-ups and Strict Ring Dips

I got up to a max Push Jerk and Split Jerk at 110lbs, I felt this was a solid improvement still, but my shoulders were beginning to feel odd. During the AMRAP, when I was a the bottom of the ring rows (the scale for pull-ups) the joints themselves began to become inflamed,  and this carried over into the the dips (also scaled). By the end of the workout, my shoulders hurt so bad and the next day I was on the immobile said. The pain on Thursday I would rate at a 7-8. By the time of the workout on Friday the pain was gone except they still felt a little funny.

Friday's Workout
Skill
Snatch Balance 1-1-1-1-1

The Wod
AMRAP 10mins
5 Power Snatches
10 Overhead Walking Lunges
1 Rope Climb

After warmups, I was still having discomfort in my shoulders. Also I was called out by Brendan, because my hip speed wasn't fast enough and I wasn't getting low enough for the Snatch Balance. My shoulders start hurting right away whenever I would reset the barbell on to my shoulders. I ended up, after getting up to speed and comfortable with the skill to do it correctly, going lighter than I knew I could due to the shoulder pain. I didn't mind getting called out, I was messing up and would've probably hurt myself a lot worse than I was already hurting with improper technique. Also I needed that fire lit under my ass to do it right. When the workout itself rolled out, I was more than a little afraid. Afraid because I didn't want to aggravate my shoulders and knees more. Yes I included knees, because lunges are my mortal enemy because of my bad knees.

I also had to scale back the rope climb to 10 jumping pull-ups (so happy I didn't do ring rows because of shoulders) they still hurt. I was able to get 4 + 9reps. Omg talk about pain all weekend. Today feels better with the right aching.

Weight news, I hit a new low of 218.4lbs

Prepping for the new baby, should be here in 10 days!!!!

Jeremy Olson

jeremy@mintygreenproductions.com

www.mintygreenproductions.com

Podcaster, Producer, Blogger, and now Crossfitter!

LLAP

Follow me on Twitter and instagram 

Twitter @FewMasterJay

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/fmjay1077/

18.5, End of my 1st Open, bottom 10%

Happy Monday,

So lets jump right into the Open stuff; last Friday was the last workout of the 2018 Crossfit Open for me, since I didn't have a chance to retest. It was described as the hardest 7 minutes of your life, and boy was that a correct statement. Here is the scaled version
Complete as many reps as possible in 7 minutes of:
3 thrusters
3 jumping chin-over-bar pull-ups
6 thrusters
6 jumping chin-over-bar pull-ups
9 thrusters
9 jumping chin-over-bar pull-ups
12 thrusters
12 jumping chin-over-bar pull-ups
15 thrusters
15 jumping chin-over-bar pull-ups
18 thrusters
18 jumping chin-over-bar pull-ups

This is a timed workout. If you complete the round of 18, go on to 21. If you complete 21, go on to 24, etc.

Men use 65 lb.

As previous blog indicated I tend to get knee pain after workouts that have a of pressure on the knees. Thrusters are definitely on that list. A way around this for me is to warm them up (A Lot) before the workouts, since the pain doesn't normally set in until afterwards and I cool down. The was no different, but I was able push through it and pretty happy with my score of 94 reps. The last two workouts of the Open I felt were my strongest and felt the most accomplished afterwards. 

I know my workouts have been scaled and the scores are low. Heck, when I use the Crossfit Games app and look at my gym, I am the lowest score for my gym of the men that have added at least 1 score for any of the WoDs. In both the Worldwide (40-44) and South West (40-44), I am in the 9th and 8th percentile respectively. Does this disappoint me or get me down, no it doesn't. I take a couple factors into account.
1 - This was my first Open
2 - 15 months ago I was well over 400lbs
3 - I've only been doing Crossfit for 5 months
4 - I am doing something to set a bar for next year's Open

Yes it was hard and at times I really felt intimidated by everyone else that was doing it. Knowing that I was the lowest in the room can be hard. There were people not in the open that were doing the WoD as their Friday WoD that scored higher than me. The week was especially hard with some bad personal news that had me depressed all week, but this is a journey to fitness blog so I won't go into it here. It would've been so easy to give up and it was difficult to accept the congratulations from people I know had higher scores than me. At the same time, those same congrats, helped me and really inspired me to push myself. The judges and trainers that were there cheering me on and prompting me to never give up or pushing me to the next level were also a huge help and I say Thank You to them.

The other WoDs this week were not easy and Mr Negative was there on Wed again. I really need to be able to ignore him, but with the week I was having, it wasn't possible. Here are both WoDs.

Monday
Power Snatch + Overhead Squats 2+2+2+2+2
AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) 7mins
10 Wall Balls
10 Pull-ups

I could've snatched much heavier, however the added Overhead squat forced me to scale back to 65lbs. When I tried to go heavier, I got unsteady and it started some sharp pains in my right knee. Normally its my left that starts hurting, so I dropped the weight back down to a good working weight. Of course with Wall Balls, I still had to scale, but even my PR (Personal Record) improved and I was able to use a 20lb Wall Ball. See the image below for how this exercise is done.

The Pull-ups were of course jumping Pull-ups since I still have never in my life done a strict or kipping pull-up. Amazingly I was actually able to score 104 reps in the 7 mins. On the way home from the gym was when knee pains started settling in pretty strongly. Rested and I was back to normal for Wednesday.

Wednesday
Push Press 3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3
AMRAP 7mins
10 Toe to Bars
10 Kettlebell Swings

My previous PR for the push press was 95lbs back in January. My weight on the press fluctuated, because I was attempting a new PR, like most of the people that were around me for the workout. First one was 95lbs, which actually felt somewhat easy so on the next one I added 10lbs. Again I felt like I could do more so on next 3 rounds (Each round was 3 lifts) I was able to hit 120lbs NEW PR!!! After I was able to do that for 3 lifts at that weight, I couldn't increase it anymore and dropped back down to 110lbs. Of course it was over 100lbs below Mr Negative (I think I had mentioned he was there) who complained the WHOLE TIME about the group warm up not being effective for this lift. I swear if he wasn't happy if he wasn't complaining, however there were super positive guys also next to me that their excitement that they were able to get new PRs like myself that it was infectious. I was again lower by over 100lbs to most of them, but it didn't matter because they were excited that I was PR-ing also!

For the AMRAP part, I ended up right next Mr N, but it didn't matter he was quiet the whole time (First for everything) and I was able to keep at the exercise. My scaling was a hanging knee raises and a 25lb Kettlebell. I was able to lose myself in the WoD and almost didn't hear when the workout was over. I love it when that happens, usually I get the best workouts during that. Being able to focus and block out everything is so relaxing.

Yes I said Relaxing.

To me, the WoDs are a way to get rid of stress. Especially able to let everything go and lose yourself in your focus is the best. Using the irritants from the week, I expunged ($20 word of the day) with lifting heavy and pushing myself. The best part is the good feeling when the workout is over. The accomplishment and exhaustion go hand in hand to make that awesome feeling.

Now in addition to my normal diet, I also take some supplements.

Rhodiola Rosea - I take this to help reduce body stress and improve circulation
Turmeric Curcumin with Bioprene

• Relieve joint & back pain
• Reduce inflammation & skin dryness
• Boost brain function & memory
• Improve digestion
• Promote cardiovascular health & normal blood pressure
• Enhance immune & nervous systems
• Support healthy eyes, skin, hair
• Boost your energy & mood

And the standards
Multi-vitamin
Fiber
Omega-3
Calcium with D3

In weight news, I dropped again! I hit 222.4 this morning. My Highest was 496.6 so if my math is right I am down 274.2lbs. I've lost 2 small/medium sized people!!! This totally made my morning. 

Even with the Open being over, I plan on continuing this weekly blog. I hope people are enjoying and hope that some find motivation and inspiration. I am available and pretty responsive to questions and comments.

Jeremy Olson

jeremy@mintygreenproductions.com

www.mintygreenproductions.com

Podcaster, Producer, Blogger, and now Crossfitter!

LLAP

Follow me on Twitter and instagram 

Twitter @FewMasterJay

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/fmjay1077/

Keeping Motivation, 18.4

Happy Monday Everyone,

I'm not sure if I have any regular readers or not, but I plan to keep on trucking. So last week was a toughie, it can be hard to stay motivated when you hear negativity or are around negative people. If you've read my previous entries, you know that I can be very self conscience and still occasionally have issues with my self esteem. Last week, I happened to be on the low end of my usual spectrum and with a busy week on my schedule I didn't have much time to lean on my support structure (see Family) so I struggled to maintain my diet and routine. I ended up having to workout Monday, Tuesday and Friday(Open Testing 18.3) due to Golden Knights tickets I had on Wednesday, work was hectic with having to put on a huge presentation and tons of meetings.
To put it simply I got depressed.
Monday's Wod actually helped me regain a lot of confidence. I increased my thruster max from 95 to 130lbs! and I managed a good score with the jumping back squats and knee raise Tabata.

(Tabata training is one of the most popular forms of high-intensity interval training (HIIT). It consists of eight rounds of ultra-high-intensity exercises in a specific 20-seconds-on, 10-seconds-off interval. )

It was Tuesday's that crushed me. Got to the gym, did warm up and saw a little bit of the negativity start with someone wanted to do the workout Rx++. This means that the individual wanted to do more that what was prescribed in the Wod. In this wod, pull-ups were scheduled to be part of the Rx and the person wanted to do muscle ups as part of the Rx, making it +.  I was learning to kip

(kipping - A form of doing pull-ups, whereby and individual struggling to do another abruptly jerks the knees upward to provide extra lift and remove the weight of said body parts from the lift equation.)

and felt a bit (only a bit at this point) ashamed that I couldn't even get close and needed to scale back to ring rows. 

I also had to scale the kettlebell swings from the Rx 1.5 pood to 1 pood. (a pood is a scale of measurement 1 pood = 36lbs) This was also an increase for me. The wod begins with a 400m run. It was here that the same person suddenly started being super negative and began insulting the wod, the gym and the trainers. Even going so far as to say another gym was better. 

This pissed me off.

Like really pissed me off.

Then I felt my motivation completely evaporate. I pretty much just went through the motions the rest of the time. I'm still not certain what really happened. I love my gym, its my refuge. The trainers are some of the most helpful, supportive people I have ever met, and the wods are tough. I mean tough and I know its not "lazy" planning like the person individual implied. It's probably due to the first time hearing anything negative about the gym and trainers added with having a shitty week. 

Well being me, I posted about it on Facebook and also being me didn't word it right and made the post sound like someone insulted me. A ton of people responded and messaged me, including one of the gym owners, in an attempt to cheer me up. It worked, but I also deleted the post due the miss wording of it. I appreciated everyone's support, but I felt the post wasn't appropriate. 

Wednesday, my Golden Knights lost to the Jersey Devils. LOL this isn't a Hockey blog or I'd go into it more. 

Friday was the 18.4 testing, can't believe that the Open is almost over. I feel like I had my best showing in it ever.  Here is the Wod

21 deadlifts 135lb

21 hand-release push-ups

15 deadlifts 135lb

15 hand-release push-ups

9 deadlifts 135lb

9 hand-release push-ups

21 deadlifts 185lb

50-ft. bear crawl

15 deadlifts 185lb

50-ft. bear crawl

9 deadlifts 185lb

50-ft. bear crawl

Time cap: 9 minutes

Of course this is the scaled version since I cannot do handstand push-ups or Handstand walks. Scoring is 1 rep and with the bear crawls, every 5ft=1 rep. I scored a 134, for the first time I don't think I was the worst score in the gym, we will see later this week but I am confident. I worked out with a guy that was new to the gym, but already in good shape and he wasn't that much ahead of me. This helped restore my confidence in myself a bit. Spending the weekend with my family completed that job. 

Things I do to succeed-

I track my food

I listen to my nutritionist

I listen to my trainers

I wake up and tell myself what I plan to do each morning.

Its nothing difficult, the hardest thing is to push through when you hurt or have lost your motivation. As someone who's almost always hurting (knees) and tends to suffer from losing motivation, the best thing you can do is just listen to those around you, they should give you good motivation, don't listen to any negativity. My Wife and Family, My Friends, My Trainers and My Doctors are always there to support me and I will always support them. 

Until Next Monday

Jeremy Olson

jeremy@mintygreenproductions.com

www.mintygreenproductions.com

Podcaster, Producer, Blogger, and now Crossfitter!

LLAP

Follow me on Twitter and instagram 

Twitter @FewMasterJay

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/fmjay1077/

18.3, jump rope hate, kryptonite

Happy Monday,

The last week has probably been one of the tougher weeks I've had since I started Crossfit.  All it does is make me more determined to work at getting fit even harder. So lets get the two workouts and the 18.3 wod out of the way first.

Monday-
For Time
10 Thrusters (I did these at 95lbs!)
50 Double Unders (I had to scale to x3 single unders)
8 Thrusters
40 DU
6 Thrusters
30 DU
4 Thrusters
20 DU
2 Thrusters
10 DU

My time - 13mins 15seconds

Another improvement!!! I increased my thruster weight to 95lbs, my previous working weight was 75. Of course thrusters are hell on my knees and I was pretty sore that evening and the next day, the second part of the workout was pretty tough for me. I've never been good at jumping rope, even as a kid I was not the most coordinated, so I would always get myself tangled up in the rope and when gym class stopped doing jump rope sometime in elementary school I smiled and never looked back. When I first started Crossfit it was a couple weeks before it came up on the wods. I was embarrassed and couldn't do more than a couple in a row. I did do a double under once, and that was on accident and have not been able to do another since. I get frustrated at myself and it throws me off even more, what's worse is I start to get tired and that causes me to mess up, which causes me to get frustrated and the cycle continues. As an incentive to improve, Brendan scaled my double unders to single unders, but to do 3 times as many. For example the 50 double unders was replaced with 150 single unders. I am now able to get 15-30 in a row, until I get tired, then I mess up, then frustrated, then angry when I can't get my rhythm back. Once I get it back, the cycle happens again.  I understand how good of an exercise it is and how good it is for conditioning, and that's why I power through it. Loose skin bouncing and getting painful, along with it completely gassing me out, I still push and power through it.

Wednesday
5 RFT (Rounds for Time)

Kettlebell Overhead Walking Lunge 50ft (I scaled to 2-15lbs dumbbells)
17 Burpees

If you've read my previous blog entries, you know that I have knee problems so walking lunges are totally my kryptonite. My knees were still a little sore from Monday and I was able to stretch them out so they no longer hurt. Then I saw this wod. I nearly cried. Walking knee lunges AND burpees, both are heavy knees and did not look like a good time. Granted my burpees have gotten a lot better and I don't need to modify as much as I used too. My new knee sleeves happen to be 7mm neoprene and that was intentional for situations like this. That little bit of extra padding saves on the pain if I make contact with the ground, and enabled me to touch my knees during the lunges for awhile at first (IMPROVEMENT). I didn't complain, because I subscribe to the saying "Nut Up and Shut Up". I finished with a time of 15:38!!! I didn't die, but felt like I was trying to walk on wet noodles.

Friday
18.3

2 rounds for time of:
100 double-unders
20 overhead squats
100 double-unders
12 ring muscle-ups
100 double-unders
20 dumbbell snatches
100 double-unders
12 bar muscle-ups
Time cap: 14 minutes

Scaled: (Ages 16-54) Men perform single-unders, 45-lb. OHS, chin-over-bar pull-ups (for both MU sets), 35-lb. DB snatches Women perform single-unders, 35-lb. OH

Well fuck...

At least the scaled is single unders, but there is a caveat... I can't do pull-ups. I've never in my life been able to. In fact my goal this year is to be able to do 1. This means that my score has a max of 220 reps. I still get a tie break time of 4:56 for the SUs and OHS. but everything after doesn't count. Being me, I still scaled the MUs down to jumping pull-ups and was actually able to finish a full round and got 5 SUs into the 2nd round. I'm pretty proud of that and will keep competing.

According to the Crossfit Open App, 

Worldwide Men (40-44) I am number 25,876/28,357 and in the 8th percentile

South West Men (40-44) I am 1,261/1,380 and in the 8th percentile

Crossfit Las Vegas I am last of everyone who's submitted for every wod. There are even people that have missed submission of 1 wod that are doing better than I am. Does this disappoint me, depress me, or feeling defeated?

Hell No

4 months ago, I wasn't even able to do a push-up without scaling a lot, and now I am doing the Open! 4 years ago I was almost 500lbs and 14 months ago I was 400lbs, and now I am doing the Open! This year will also be the 9th Anniversary of my quitting smoking, I was almost 2 packs a day, and now I am doing the Open! Do I wish I had a better score or ranking? Sure I do, but this Open is setting a baseline for myself and to compare myself in a year. I doubt I will be Rx'ing but I sure won't be in the 8th percentile, with most of those I am beating not having a score or have quit because its hard. 

I like that Crossfit is hard. With something being hard and being being able to accomplish it, is a huge reward and has more value than if something was easy or given to me. I've been called an inspiration more than once, but all I do is keep getting up, putting my knee sleeves on and making ever rep count. I know its cliche, but it's really all about just doing it. 

Keeping at the nutrition, lots of protein and good fats, low in the carbs and sugar. At about 1200 calories a day on non-crossfit days.  Crossfit days I add 2-300 more, nothing super human, just using the MyfitnessPal app and smart snacking and eating. Talking to my wife whenever I feel my will power weakening and thinking about being here in the future for my sons is my motivation.

Cliches and other motivational drivel used to annoy me, but you know what, it really does work once you buy into it. You have to want it, as well as, have something to work towards is what everything boils down to. I thank the trainers and people I work out with for helping me keep going while I am working out, I thank my friends and family for helping out when I am not working out. 

Until Next Monday

Jeremy Olson

jeremy@mintygreenproductions.com

www.mintygreenproductions.com

Podcaster, Producer, Blogger, and now Crossfitter!

LLAP

Follow me on Twitter and instagram 

Twitter @FewMasterJay

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/fmjay1077/

HUGE, Bruised and 18.2

Welcome once again to my fitness journey blog.

Last week was a demanding one. During the Open, I moved to new days and times slots. This is because the Gym does the Open WOD on Fridays. Leaving the basics class is HUGE for me and again I feel like the new guy all over again. I'm nervous and insecure walking into the much larger class, with the Rx'ers. Doing a wod Rx means doing it as prescribed, I am still very much scaled and intimidated by the people that can do them Rx. I know we all start somewhere, and everyone in the gym does make me feel welcome. I'm not shy, but at the same time I am not one that is very approachable either and this also plays into my insecurities and puts me out of my comfort zone going into the new class. I've been in the new class for a week plus now and starting to get more comfortable. It does help that some of the folks did the Saturday morning class with me also, so I am a bit more comfortable, unlike my drop-in at Crossfit Minot.

Dropping In, probably the hardest thing I've ever done, and I did that in January. I was in town for my Father's 60th birthday and I didn't want to miss a session. I'd learned going longer than 2 days without a workout is painful lol. So I found Crossfit Minot on Facebook, sent a message and showed up. Damn hard to do, but again this proves Crossfit people are some of the best and most accepting people I've met.

 I felt accomplished on the normal wods I did Monday and Wednesday and clearly I seem to be improving. Monday was for every 8 mins for 40 mins run 400m, 9 thrusters and 15 chest-to-bars. I was actually able to increase my weight on thrusters to 75lbs, which may not sound like a lot, but its HUGE for me with my bad knees. I also moved up from ring rows, to jumping chest to bars, which is another HUGE improvement for me.

Wednesday's had me feeling great, if not sore lol. It was AMReps (As Many Reps as possible), 12mins. The wod was Box Jumps, Sumo Deadlift High-pulls for 1 min on each, then 2 mins for each and finally 3 mins for each. I still had to scale back, but HUGE improvement for me was instead of a 20in Box I increased to 24in and previously I was only able to 75lbs on SDHP and increased to 115lb!!! Major jump there!!!. Sumo's are an awkward move, especially after doing regular deadlifts. Watch the following video to see how these are done.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6QniJ9FaGA

Friday was the 18.2 wod for the Crossfit Open, it was 1,2,3,4,5.6,7,8,9,10 with dumbbell squats and bar facing burpees. There was a second part if you finished the first in less than 12 mins was to do a clean. I was actually able to finish the 1st part! Although it only left me 5 seconds to do the clean, which I was not able to do. That being said I am so proud of how far I've come so far, 4 months ago I wasn't even able to do a regular push-up or burpee and now I was able to do the whole dumbbell squats/burpee part of 18.2!!! HUGE. I didn't realize until Saturday afternoon, that throwing the 35lb (I scaled the dumbbell squats) onto my shoulders actually bruised them. 55 reps of dumbbells banging against them didn't bother me until like 24 hours later. My adrenaline was still pretty pumped from the workout. I plan to retest tonight to see if I can get that clean in :)

My nutrition has been still pretty good, although I did go over calories on Saturday. My protein and carbs are pretty on par with what my doctor and nutritionist recommend. I am more or less in maintenance mode and keeping  my calories between 1100 and 1400, I do however try to keep them below 1200. I have been keeping within the same 5lbs, 225-230. The exception is always when I do my workouts. I do try to add additional cals on that day. It can be a challenge, because on those days, I do buckle down on eating as clean as possible and keeping the carbs and sodium at a minimum because I don't want to meet "pukie" at the gym. I keep the carbs out to focus the energy being burned from the remaining fat and not on what I had ingested that day, I do keep carbs in general at a minimum since surgery. A typical gym day food intake is like...
Breakfast
- Protein Bar (Quest)
Lunch
- Lean protein (usually chicken or turkey) with roasted spaghetti squash and a green veggie.
Afternoon Snack
- unsalted roasted nuts
Dinner
- Protein bar (Quest)
Post Workout
- 2 Cups Yogurt (Dannon Light and Fit)
- Protein Bar (Quest)

I know it doesn't seem like much, but to a post bariatric surgery patient, its a lot. Yes there are 3 protein bars, and sometimes I will substitute some of them with a protein shake, they are always a different flavor so they don't get old.  The lunch does change, but the basics structure always remains the same.

Got my Rock Tape Knee Sleeves, going to break them in tonight with the redo of 18.2. Damn is I don't have butterflies again as it gets closer. I'm also nervous because the Wife is not feeling well again and had to leave work, hope she will be better by the time I leave for the gym and that our Toddler will behave for her until I get back to put him to bed.

Crossfit to me, has been a life saver. Not just getting in shape to live longer, but as a stress relief and a way for me to workout any anxieties and stress that have built up from the last session. I've spoke to my wife and after the baby arrives, I can attempt everyday until my paternity leave is done. Baby should be here April 12th and I will for the 2 weeks after need to get out for a bit each day. I am worried about the the fact that I will be getting less sleep to recover, I'm not much of a nap taker. Can't fall sleep if the sun is out unless either I am already asleep when it comes up or I'm very sick.

Thank you once again for reading!


Jeremy Olson

jeremy@mintygreenproductions.com

www.mintygreenproductions.com

Podcaster, Producer, Blogger, and now Crossfitter!

LLAP

Follow me on Twitter and instagram 

Twitter @FewMasterJay

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/fmjay1077/

Loose Skin, Knee Sleeves, and 18.1

Hello everyone,

So last Friday was the first wod of the Crossfit Open. It was called 18.1, which of course I have to do scaled. The scaled version is
 20min AMRAP (Crossfit Talk for As Many Rounds As Possible in 20 minutes)
8 Hanging Knee Lifts
10 Dumbbell Hang Clean and Jerks
14 Cal Row.

Scoring consists of counting each rep and cal for a total, for example I complete 8 rounds, 8 knee lifts and 2 dumbbell clean and jerks for total score of 266.

Considering I've only been doing Crossfit since Oct 23, I am very proud of this score and as I am writing this my overall rank in Worldwide Men (40-44) is 15,155/27,582 and in the South West (40-44) 705/1,329 which places me in the 46th percentile.

Sorry, had to get the stats and boring information out of the way. It might seem not the best or even above average, but I am absolutely thrilled! If someone would've have told me 6 months+ ago that I would not be bottom of the leader boards, let alone doing Crossfit, I would've laughed at them and called them crazy. This is a great bench mark for next year and the years after to check my progress. Granted I do use BTWB app to record and track my workouts, but nothing like a little competition and working out with a larger group also competing to get the blood and nerves going!

Shout out to Brendan, Allison and Luke for helping me get this far this fast. Here are their websites for more information on a group of awesome trainers.
http://www.crossfitlasvegas.com/
http://www.6packentrepreneur.com/

A couple things I've learned recently...
1 grip strength needs vast improvement.
2 If considering anything active, knee sleeves are a must.

Back in the dark ages, I played high school football. During the week of our Homecoming game I twisted my right knee, so I sat out a couple of drills and it began feeling up to more exercise (oh to be 17 again physically lol) the very first play, I took a helmet to the outside of my left knee. I couldn't walk for a couple of days. The doctor told me that I had the option of surgery on it, so I asked what were the chances of walking when I was old (40 in my mind at the time lmao) and he said the odds were better without.

If you read my previous blog, I then journeyed to the hefty size of 496 lbs. I recovered better than expected and don't get me wrong I did get knee pain, but it took a lot of it to hurt. So I used it as an excuse to get out of non physical activity. This I feel contributed to my explosion of weight. As I got heavier, my knee pain worsened. As it worsened the more I couldn't do stuff.

Back to the Present.

I do live with knee pain almost daily now.  However, I feel mostly its lessening from making my legs and hips stronger with Crossfit. Once I get them warmed up through various stretches and exercises I am good, but on a ticking clock. The things that affect them the worst are Cleans and Assault Bike. The knee sleeves make them bearable. however I am almost through my 2nd pair since I started Crossfit. Of course they were cheap since I didn't want to over invest if I wasn't going to stick it out, my first pair were $10 from Amazon and some no name brand. The 2nd were $15 and not a name brand, now I am actually looking at $45 knee sleeves from bear Komplex. These ones are highly rated and the grips I bought from the brand are life changers. Still, pulling the trigger for $45 on knee sleeves is a tough thing to do.

Another thing I deal with on a daily basis is Body Dismorphia. The description from Wikipedia is
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), occasionally still called dysmorphophobia, is a mental disorder characterized by the obsessive idea that some aspect of one's own appearance is severely flawed and warrants exceptional measures to hide or fix it.^[1] In BDD's delusional variant, the flaw is imagined.^[2] If the flaw is actual, its importance is severely exaggerated.^[2]Either way, thoughts about it are pervasive and intrusive, occupying up to several hours a day. 

This for me comes from having lost so much weight so fast. I never recognize myself in the mirror and first thing I always notice is the loose skin from where the weight loss happened. I try to conceal it best I can, but I always see the muffin top in my shirt as well as feel the instant one of my shirt sleeves comes up. Ugh having gone from a 5-6xl shirt to L-XL shirt means a lot shorter sleeves too! My waddle on my neck, I've been growing out my beard to camouflage it. Thank god my pant cover the loose skin on my legs and butt. I feel like a melted candle half the time, and the other half is like who the fuck is that in the mirror. Whenever I do a push up and look down I see the blob that used to be my belly pour onto the floor every single push up. I know I am not longer obese, and that I am carrying 7-10 lbs of loose skin and this puts me in a healthy BMI; its just hard to see my changes. I hate the question "You must feel so much better?" Yes I do physically, except when my knees hurt. Self esteem is a little more tricky, I've spent so much time as a morbidly obese man, its hard to accept that I am anything other than that now. My biggest cheerleader is my Wife and I could've never gotten this far without her, she inspires me and supports; even when I wonder how she can find all this loose skin attractive, which is the same feeling I hate when I was 496 lbs.

Even though the following picture is a woman, it still summarizes a lot, and does help me. 

Jeremy Olson

jeremy@mintygreenproductions.com

www.mintygreenproductions.com

Podcaster, Producer, Blogger, and now Crossfitter!

LLAP

500lbs to Crossfit Open

2/23/18

Today is the first day of the 2018 Crossfit Open for me.

This is a major milestone for me in my journey to being physically fit.

First we should do a little background on me. Here are some pictures of me from 2011-2014

As you can see I was quite the heavy fellow, in fact my highest documented documented was was in 2012 and the scale tipped at 496 pounds! I initially started on my own to try and lose some weight, which I kept failing utterly and bouncing between the same 15-20lbs so I made an appointment to see about getting a LapBand procedure done. Keep in mind this was still 2012. I made an appointment at Oband and with my BMI in the 50s I was referred to a bariatric surgeon. First things first I was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea and immediately put on a CPAP. The surgeon at the time advised that I would only lose 50 or so lbs with the LapBand and recommended a Gastric Sleeve procedure and went over the details of it. 

This scared the absolute shit out of me!

For more info on it https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeve_gastrectomy

The reason it scared me so badly was that in 2006 my mother had passed away from complications of a Gastric Bypass. So I went through the motions of the process to get ready for the sleeve, doing the presurgery diet and tests, however after about 4 months of this I had lost 120 lbs on my own. I thought that "Hey I can do this on my own! I don't need surgery!" So I chickened out of my surgery and convinced myself it wasn't fear and that it was confidence that I could do it on my own. 

Fast forward to 2016

At the beginning of the year a friend of my wife began the process herself at Blossom Bariatrics. I checked my own weight and discovered that I was back up to 435lbs, and just could not lose it again. I couldn't keep to any diet or exercise program I tried. My diet was back to eating large amounts of fast food, carbs and sweets. I was easily consuming more than 4,000 calories a day. As for exercise, oh I had a fitbit and tried to get at least 7500 steps a day, but nothing more. Lying to myself about my physical condition had become the norm. So I made the decision to begin the process again and made an appointment at Blossom Bariatrics for June 21. 

My insurance required 6 months from the initial consult to the actual surgery for approval. So I quit soda right away and began working on adjusting my diet. Still had trouble motivating myself for exercise and was not consistent with it. Over this time period I got as low a 427, kept losing and gaining the same 5lbs over and over. My insurance required only that I was below my initial consult weight before getting approval. So with that low of a goal I also really didn't adjust my portion sizes. More importantly I used the time to prepare myself mentally. I researched the surgery constantly include potential complications. My Beautiful and wonderful wife also started the process at the same time. In November 2016 I was approved for surgery by my insurance, got a small boost because of a hiatal hernia. December 1st I weighed in at 427, stopped caffeine and began my presurgery diet of lean proteins and green vegetables. This diet, I learned was to shrink my liver so that the doctor would have a greater chance of success with preforming the procedure.  

My Surgery was scheduled for December 30th 2016. I stepped on the scale at the clinic and weighed in at 401 lbs. I went under and when I awoke, the doctor had advised that 85% of my stomach was removed. The first few days are still a haze, missed New Years Eve, my wife was awesome in supporting me during this time. She had gone through it 3 weeks before me, so that we could take turns caring for our son during recovery. 

Bariatric Surgery is not the easy way out. 

I was on liquids for about a week and then on soft foods like scramble egg (note its not plural) and cottage cheese. I barely got enough water and that was from Beef, Chicken and Bone broth for the most part. I could only sip and take the smallest of bites without major restrictions kicking in. My goals were simple:

In A Day in order of priority

800-1200 calories 

90-120 grams of LEAN Protein 

Avoid carbs

finally good fats (avocado is delish)

In the first few months of surgery it was actually incredibly hard to get calorie and protein goals. I mostly used genepro medical grade protein and mixed it into Protein Hot Chocolate from BariatricPal, Syntax's Nectar Shakes were my primary meals and I would have them several times a day, since the fruit flavored ones were light and thin unlike most protein shakes. After about a month like this I transitioned to including items like tuna salad and protein bars (well chewed). 

I've seen online in a lot of places, especially Facebook groups like RK Living Room and Las Vegas Gastric Sleevers that the first 6 months after the surgery, that the sleeve does all the work for the first 6 months and after that its all on the patient. This is absolutely true! First 6 months, on May 30th I was 300 lbs and loving it, however I noticed that my restriction (Bariatric patient code word for full sooner) was going away. Once again I began to worry and dread gaining weight back. I began walking more and trying to get physically more active. Playing with my son, walking and spending more time outside but without a dedicated fitness routine or program. 

My weight loss slowed and I began encountering several stalls (more bariatric code words, this one meaning plateau or no loss). So in October after discussing it with my, I signed up for a fitness eval at Crossfit Las Vegas, with the owner Brendan Gilliam. My first impressions were...

Omg, this place is huge and I don't belong!

What the fuck do I think I'm doing here?????

Ugh, I am going to embarrass myself so bad among these athletes!

At first meeting I was even more worried when I saw how fit Brendan was! After initial introductions, I changed into my workout clothes and went through the baseline workout. Damn was I exhausted and sore, but the approach Brendan took with introducing me to a wod (Workout of the Day) and scaling back to my fitness level, mixed with more than half the people there coming up to me, encouraging me, chatting with me before and after, and just making me feel comfortable. These factors made me sign up for a basics class for a year long contract. A few more sessions with some gear recommendations from the trainers (which I took and am thankful for!) and I upgraded to the Unlimited Contract, any session and open gym access. No regrets!

3 times a week since October 23rd...

I am down to 225 lbs. and in the best shape of my life. Granted I still get issues with my knees for those nagging football injuries mixed with the damage being morbidly obese causes, but this week I finally decided to take a big leap and I registered for the Crossfit Open! I completely understand that I will still need to scale and I have a long ways to go, but I will update this blog every week for the Open and discuss it, my week in nutrition and fitness subjects for those on a journey to fitness.

Here are some progress pics and recent pics

Jeremy Olson

jeremy@mintygreenproductions.com

www.mintygreenproductions.com

Podcaster, Producer, Blogger, and now Crossfitter

LLAP