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Friday, May 1, 2009

"WOD non-existent"

The Triple Threat Abmat Challenge
Day 47 = 141
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Posted by Higher Order Living at 12:27 AM

9 comments:

pcleary said...

Happy Days!

I hit a huge milestone yesterday, figured I would share Here is a brief background.

I have alternated between 3 - 4 month bouts of weight lifting, followed by 2 months of cardio training, on and off without a lot of consistency for about 5 years. Yes, I am a former member of LA Fitness.

Last summer I was 200lbs with a 40+ inch waste. I finally got tired of switching between weight lifting and cardio, and shed this idea that somehow I would wind up huge. I am 33 years old now, I have had heart problems in the past (a long time ago now, no problems in about 7 or 8 years), and my goal has become longevity as opposed to being 'huge'. I now want to make sure I am around long enough to give my daughter away on her wedding day, after that, it's all gravy.

I decided to change the way I was working out and eating. Previously, I would resort to severe calorie restriction combined with tons of cardio to lose weight. I found though that when I lost the weight, I lost a lot of muscle and strength in the process. The resulting thinner me didn't look all that good, plus I wound up feeling like sh*t.

I know that I don't eat all that clean (I love beer, burgers, chicken wings, and pizza), and I didn't want to crazy change my diet. I thought severely changing my diet would ultimately lead to another failure. So, I set a realistic goal of being 170 with a 34 inch waste by the end of April 2009 (that was yesterday). That would mean I would have to lose 3 - 4 pounds a month. Next, I needed a program.

I first looked into performance / functional training in September 08, and stuck with it for about 2 months before I fell off the wagon. Too much routine, not enough cardio. I was back over 190 when I read about Crossfit, and while it looked scary, I figured it was a great combination of functional movements, cardio, and strength training. My first month of Crossfit was at OTG in December of 08. I still remember my first workout, the mini-cindy. I got 4 rounds in that day, and I think I almost died in the process. That first month was very very tough, mentally and physically.

Anyway, I stuck with it, and 5 months of Crossfit later I weighed in yesterday at 170lbs with a 33.5 inch waste, beating my goal of 34. I've lost 30 lbs and over 7 inches off my waste since changing things up, over 20 of that doing Crossfit. While the weight and the waste loss are the visible indicators of getting more fit, I can't even describe in one blog entry how much better my performance / stamina / strength are.

Thanks a lot to Mark and Nick and the OTG crew. You guys definitely helped me pull through.

I...LOVE...THIS...SH*T

May 01, 2009 9:21 AM
Atlee said...

way to go Paul! Congrats.

May 01, 2009 12:20 PM
brett said...

Congrats Paul! Way to go on achieving your goal.
Whats next for ya?

May 01, 2009 12:32 PM
Teen Wolf said...

Well done Paul, only 4 months man thats awesome. I'm gonna hit an old mainsite wod today, 3 round 50 DU/ 75 Sq workout, need some work on the DU so we'll see how it goes. Only 3 more days of witnessing everyone in my gym go for the Guinness world record for most mirror glances in a single hour.

May 01, 2009 2:08 PM
pcleary said...

REVENGE!! That So. Cal qualifier left a bad taste in my mouth last week. Joe, I used the strategy of easing up on the Row, and it made a HUGE difference.

16:19. That's a 2+ minute improvement from last week. Remember when I said I never use strategy in my workouts, well this one needed it.

Thanks for the comments guys.

B, I don't know what is next. I have a big old bottle of Duvel waiting for me tonite.

For weight / waist, I think I can still lose another 5 - 10 and another inch or so, so I'll keep that in the back of my mind. That kind of goal, while superficial, keeps my eating cleaner and my fire a little hotter.

I want to get some certs this year, level 1 and oly at least. I like the gymnastics part of Crossfit, I definitely would like to program more gymnastics movements into what I do. Maybe OTG will have something.

L8

May 01, 2009 2:29 PM
Jim Longo said...

Hey Paul great job! Funny, sounds exactly where I am at currently. I started this whole thing 2 weeks ago with the mini Cindy, and weighing 197lbs. I finished with 4 rds + 5 pull ups. My goal is also to get back down to 170 but with a 32 in waist. I'll be there by the end of August 09. Strangely enough that would be just about 4 months as well. So there you have it I'm the shorter you...and older, I'll be 39 on 5/5/09.

Not sure what I'll be doing tonight but when I figure that out I'll be posting it. I'm thinking the filthy fifty maybe.

Jim

May 01, 2009 5:38 PM
pcleary said...

Thanks Jim. The first month is killer, I still remember how sore I was. Make sure you try a Mini-Murph at the end of the month. That was the last workout I did at OTG in December, and it made a huge difference in how I think about Crossfit. I didn't think I would finish, but I did, and that was game changing for me.

May 01, 2009 5:48 PM
Teen Wolf said...

3 rounds..50 DU/75 Squats. Probably not the best workout to do after doing legs all week, as after the first round i could barely stand. DU getting much better though, finally stringing 25-30 in a row now. 15:11. i guess i'm indifferent with the time, but 225 squats really burned me out, then having to jump up for the DU after was killer

May 01, 2009 6:03 PM
Leanna said...

Hey Paul, Great Job!! It's always amazing to hear everyone's crossfit stories/milestones. I hope to see you more at OTG. Finally I was saved from the "gym" today and worked out at CF Alexandria. We did Helen and I PR'd it at 10:40. It's good to be back at a CF:-)!

May 01, 2009 7:38 PM

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