PR: Murph

Absent records to the contrary, I'm going to treat my Memorial Day performance of Murph (without weight vest) as a PR;  39:11.

PR: 30 Muscle-Ups for Time

My records for my pre-CrossFit-Diesel days are all hand-written and thus not searchable.  I'm not certain of the best time I recorded at home for completing 30 muscle-ups, but I do know that it's easier doing them with the rings hanging only 2 or 3 feet from the ceiling, like they are in my basement, than the 15 they are at Diesel.  Since the CFD setup is closer to the standard of 10 or so, I'm going to use my recent best performance at the gym as my personal record.  Thus, my PR for 30 muscle-ups was set on May 23, and it is 4 minutes, 40 seconds.

PR: Bench Press

As I mentioned before, I don't have good records for the bench press, especially since my best bench performances, until recently, were done in graduate school.  So, I'm treating today's results as personal records, which they likely are:

• 3 reps:  225 lb.
• 5 reps:  220 lb.

Domino, Brett Domino

Do you enjoy unusual musical instruments?  How about nerds who exaggerate their awkwardness?  If so, then Brett Domino and the Brett Domino Trio may be right up your alley.

Domino, twentysomething years old, from Leeds, is the alter ego of Rob J. Madin.  Domino is a musician who, alone or with trio performs covers, medleys, orignal compositions, and semi-original songs using unusual, mostly electronic, instruments, such as the stylophone, keytar, monotron, kaossilator, kazoo, and theremin.  The Domino performance persona is extremely awkward and stilted, sometimes almost lacking in affect.  I suspect this stage persona is an amplified version of Madin's own personality, but my only evidence is that the other members of the group act the same way.  I should point out that the band is now down to two members, but they've kept the Brett Domino Trio name.  Most of Domino's and the band's performances are YouTube videos, but they have also performed live.  Indeed, they appeared on Britain's Got Talent a few years ago and just completed an eBay auction of a live performance in the winner's home.

If you find Brett Domino and company amusing, you might want to subscribe to his YouTube channel.

Made-Up WOD: Angie in 10 Rounds

I enjoy doing the workout known as Angie when that WOD comes up.  Angie looks like this:

For minimum time, complete the following:

• 100 pull-ups
• 100 push-ups
• 100 sit-ups
• 100 squats

Like almost all CrossFit workouts, the athlete must complete the movements in the order listed;  all the pull-ups must be completed before starting the push-ups, and so on.  That's a great challenge to the endurance of the muscles in each exercise, but it's not a serious challenge to metabolic condition, and it can be a little frustrating breaking the first two movements into a large number of sets.  

So, a couple of months ago, I made up a WOD to see how fast I could complete all the movements in Angie if they were broken down according to a different scheme.  I call this workout Angie in 10 Rounds, and it does what it says on the tin: 

For minimum time, complete 10 rounds of the following:

• 10 pull-ups
• 10 push-ups
• 10 sit-ups
• 10 squats

This rep scheme really kept me moving, and I managed to complete the WOD, without trying too hard, in 13:01.  That's almost 4 minutes faster than my best Angie time.  I think I'll keep this workout in my quiver for future use.

Return to the Bike

I took the fixie out for a ride this evening.  It's been at least 8 months since I've been on a bike.  The Michael of 1992-2006 would be surprised and disappointed to know that.

PR: Overhead Squat

I'm just posting to update my personal records for the overhead squat:

• 1 rep:  185 lb, set yesterday, 2012.05.15.
• 2 reps:  175 lb, set 2012.01.19.
• 3 reps:  172.5 lb set 2012.01.19.

Clearly, I should be able to do more than 185 for one rep.  I'll aim for 190 next time.

PR: Double-Unders

Double-unders are an inconsistant skill for me.  I feel as if I sometimes take them into the gym with me and sometimes leave them in the car.  It's not uncommon for me to only manage to connect 2 or 3 together in a set.  Last Friday, I did a number of sets of that size.  I also did several sets of more than 30 and a set of 67.  That 67 was a personal record.  Clearly, I need to practice more.

PR: Weighted Pull-Up

My personal record for weighted pull-ups, 118 lb (plus bodyweight) was set on September 16, 2011.

Recent PR: Bench Press

One thing I don't like about CrossFit is the infrequency with which bench press appears.  I think the bench press is a great exercise, and I'm pretty good at it, at least for someone of my size.  One result of this infrequency is that my bench numbers have dropped off since I began CrossFitting in January of 2007.  I distinctly remember doing 250 lb in the gym at Georgia Tech in my grad-school days, but since I've been following the CrossFit protocol, I've mostly been mired in the 230s.  Last week, however, I managed a bench of 245, which is a PR for me in the CrossFit era.  So, I'll record that number here for future reference.  I hope to be back at 250 on my next bench workout, and then to be in new territory after that.

PR: Annie

My personal record for the WOD known as Annie was set on June 8, 2011.  It was 6 minutes, 49 seconds.

PR: Mary

I set a new personal record for the workout named Mary* last night:  12 rounds plus 25 reps.  That's just over one complete round more than my previous best.  I'll aim for 14 rounds even next time.

* As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of the following:
5 handstand push-ups.
10 pistols (one-legged squats).
15 pull-ups.