Merry Christmas Training

Merry Christmas to all of you. I am so grateful to have all of you involved in my life. You may not know it but I wouldn't be in the position today without the lot of you. I've been blessed this year not only with good looks, an awesome beard, and incredible gains, but most importantly the community that I am apart of. I do focus alot on my own training, but I get more satisfaction from the progress of you all. When you get PR's or you kill a workout I feel like a parent watching their kid score their first goal! I may have had a tear in my eyes a few times, but you'll never see that!

Anyways, back to training...

Today was CRAZY!!!

Back squats: Max effort @ 315 (11 reps)


Power clean + Power jerk: 75%, 80%, 80%+x3 (195, 215, 215, 215, 225 but failed the jerk)

Power snatch + Snatch: Same percentages (165, 180, 180, 180, 190 Failed)

The gym did this crazy workout called "12 days of Christmas". GTS (Google that S#@T!) or check out www.crossfitbarracks.com. After watching 5 different classes suffer through this workout, I'm not going to lie, no part of me wanted to do this.... sooo... I didn't. Truthfully, I ran out of time. But, I sincerely applaud all of you who suffered through that crazy WOD!

The new year is coming up so I want you all to make sure you are setting those NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS!! We are going to work hard to knock those out so you better get ready!

Enjoy your family and friends and be nice to others! We'll check back in after Christmas, so be Merry and Smile! I love you all!

#shoutouttomywifebecausewithoutheriwouldbelost

12/23/13 Training

Holy moly... Today was a good one:

Back squat: 5x3 (225, 225, 245, 245, 265)
Snatch: 5x1@195
Snatch pulls: 4x2 (225)

Metcon: 12rds + 8
(4 rounds)
In 4 mins row 300m then in the remaining time complete AMRAP of:
3 Deadlits @ 225
5 HSPU
7 OH medball situps 20lbs

After spending the weekend in Big Bear, everything felt very heavy today.

Is it too early to start freaking out about the Open yet?!?

Two more weeks on this "Oly" cycle and then its time for some serious heavy endurance programming. Last year was the first year I did the open and it definitely opened my eyes to all sorts of weaknesses. I'm pretty sure we did every open workout at least 3x's. Ridiculous... no! I found that my conditioning was not where it needed to be and technique plays an important role in becoming efficient and conserving energy. I also learned that approaching the workouts with a game plan definitely plays to my favor. Now whether I stick to that game plan or not is a totally different story.

On a different note...

I've started to notice that a lot of the athletes at the gym have been doing extra work either before or after the regular scheduled classes. I highly encourage you to keep it up! If it's that strict pullup, kipping pullup, muscle up, double unders, Snatch, Clean & Jerk, basic strength gains, mobility, or whatever... just keep on truckin' on!! Hard work pays off in the long run.

If you are interested in doing a little extra and need some guidance or you are currently doing a little extra and want some guidance, don't be afraid to check out what your coaches can do for you 1-on-1 or with small group personal training. Our goal is to get the best out of you and then make you better!!

12/20/13 Training

First of all, check this out...

The strongest Hawaiian I know, Keith Fernandez, strict presses 235lbs. 235lbs is heavy enough picking it up off the ground so why not press it overhead!!




Next time you're in the gym hopefully you can witness these crazy feats of strength and skill in person.

Jared San Nicolas snatches 285 after we hid the camera from him.



piece of cake....

Today's scheduled programming:

Snatch - 3@60%, 2@70%, 2@75%, 2@80%, 1@85%, 1@90% (135, 155, 165, 180, 190, 205)
Clean & Jerk - Same reps and percentages (155, 185, 200, 215, 225, 240)
Front Squat - Heavy singles, 2@90% (285)

Lifts are coming together nicely and confidence just continues to grow!

No time for a METCON because I happen to talk to much and BS when I should be getting down to business. But you know what?!? It's Friday and there was just too much awesomeness that couldn't be ignored!

Check out this article on 3 of the most widely known styles of Olympic Weightlifting
http://gentlemanandmeathead.com/2013/12/20/pendlay-vs-north-vs-klokov/

I can't wait to attend these seminars. I believe that working technique and percentages has really helped me with my lifts, but damn those Russians are strong. Jon North's catapult system is my favorite, but I believe I incorporate a lesser version of this and more of Pendlay's style of lifting. Mostly, I really dig Jon North and The Attitude Nation's intensity they bring to the sport. Whatever you choose to practice you is up to you, but I do know that in order to be good you need to be fast, strong, and consistent.

We will touch on these a lot in the future so get familiar with them!


#gooutanddosomethingniceforsomebodytoday

Overhead Squats are killing me!

Knees caving in... back rounded... falling forward on your toes... shoulders feel like they are going to dislocate any second now... must be overhead squats in the workouts!!!

Now not all of us fall under this category but there is a high percentage of you that do.

Don't worry... I am here to provide some relief.

Overhead lunges can provide the same benefit as squats but allow you to maintain proper form throughout the workout. Overhead lunges will allow your body to maintain a better stacked position from the bar all the way down to your hip. It allows your knees to maintain a path over your toes as you lunge forward and reach that full range of motion we all desperately strive for. It will also help alleviate that shoulder stress we all come to dread when preparing for overhead squats.

Now don't get me wrong, this is not a quick fix to an obvious mobility issue. You still need to keep on those mobility drills every day to help improve your position.

Being strong in the overhead squat can carry over very well when performing a Snatch. If you don't know what a snatch is then stop reading now and visit your local YouTube video and educate yourself fool!
Now that you're back...
STOP... GET THIS... THERE IS SUCH A THING AS SPLIT  SNATCHES!!! Many elite athletes perform split snatches and have had great success in all their Olympic movements. No, this isn't a "scaled" movement for those of you "Rx" guys and gals out there. It is a movement that allows you to throw that weight up over your head and feel comfortable doing it. Still don't believe me... check out this video and come back to me.



If you are interested in learning the split snatch then just ask your Coach! Any CrossFit Coach that has attended the CrossFit Olympic lifting Cert should have been taught how to teach the split snatch. You never know, some of them (Jane) prefer the split snatch and can move some serious weight with it!

I could go on and on for days how much the split snatch can benefit your Olympic Lifts, but I am more of a "do-er" than "see-er" so how about you do the same and give it a shot.


#pocketmuffin

Peer Pressure and Rest Days

Rest days are a pain in the arse... Everyone else is going crazy and throwing some serious weight around and you are there playing the "active recovery" card or even worse sitting at home catching up on your favorite TV program.

Peer pressure can be a B' (cough**Mike**cough), but don't let it get the best of you. Turn away from the dark side and let your body recover so that it can perform at its true potential during your normal training sessions.

But look who's calling the kettle black! Our normally scheduled rest day is Thursday, but since we will be out of town this weekend I decided to jump ahead a day on our programming:

Below the knee hang snatch: 3x2@75% 2x2@80%
Below the knee hang clean:   3x2@75% 2x2@80%
Heaving snatch balance:        4x2 (adding weight from last week)

Why no numbers posted?!?

So... downed the Preworkout! Got good and warm! Picked up the bar and immediately regretted this decision! Did you know that 135lbs can weigh 300lbs? It happened today... I swear. Since I was the only one there and had no one to impress, it was much easier to pack it up and live to lift another day.

If today isn't your rest day then go out and kill it!

I will kill it tomorrow!!!

Dec 18, 2013 (Randy got a PR)

We are in the middle of the second week of our Catalyst Athletic "Quick and Classic" Programming.

Today's work:
Clean and jerk: 5x2 @ 75-80% (195, 205, 205, 205, 225)
Clean pull: 4x3 (275)
Front squats: 4x2 (225)

Also started with a new warm up routine. It's better to prepare your body for the punishment it is about to receive than jump right into it cold. Tackle some serious mobility post WOD while enjoying a delicious protein shake!

Warm up:
Bike or row - 3 mins
Foam Roll everything
Doorway stretch - 2 mins
Hang from Pullup bar - 2 mins
Squat with Barbell on knees - 2 mins
Unweighted Barbell work

Along with the OLY work, there was other craziness being thrown down...


Randy Hill w/ 520lbs Deadlift PR!!



520 POUNDS FOLKS!!!

AND.... Jared San Nicolas w/ 315 bear complex... no video, but if you know Jared like we all do then you know it was impressive, and pretty!!





#hailLucasParker

Let's get it started!!!

ALOT ALOT ALOT to cover...

Slam bars, kill PR's, HAM, drink PBR, gummy bears, obsessive amounts of supplements, CrossFit, CrossFRAT, Dimitry, 'Merica, OLYALLDAYEVERYDAY... It doesn't matter what you enjoy, it doesn't matter what you do or how you do it, if you ain't having fun then what's the purpose?

We all have different goals in life, we all have that person we want to "one up", and we all have different ways to get there. If you want to lift big weight and you want to look good doing it, then there is just a few things you need:

DEDICATION: Get your A$$ in the gym!
COMMITMENT: Keep going to the gym!
INTENSITY: Get pissed off every once in a while!
COMMUNITY: It's not all about you... the greatest gift is a fist bump and a high five!

Why do I care? Why should you care?

We are going to keep up with the latest and greatest progress, goals, programming, and different Mumbo Jumbo that drives us to greatness and keeps us looking sexy day in and day out. Be part of something incredible!

Stay tuned for more....
#crossfitbarracks #barracksbarbellclub #dohashtagsevenwork