The Audacity of Dope

Even though it was a holiday, this was one of the busiest weekends I’ve had in a minute.  Thanks to the fine folks over at Foundation Crossfit, I was able to squeeze in two bad ass workouts.  First up, from Saturday:

Tabata bottom to bottom squats (8 rounds of 20 secs on, 10 off, hold for the ‘rest’)

then as far as you can go in 20 minutes, in order:
100m sprint
25 burpees
30 pull ups
40 sit ups
50 kettlebell swings
60 second L-sit
70 push ups
800m run
90 second active hang
100 box jumps

I got through 700m of the 800m run before time expired.  I love these kind of “checklist” workouts because you get a real sense of accomplishment as you’re flying through the exercises.  Next up, tonight’s workout was “Tabata Fight Gone Bad” (see the video above):

8 rounds of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off, with 1 minute rest in between exercises.  Take your lowest score in each round and that’s your score for the exercise:

Sumo Deadlift High Pull (75lbs)
Box Jumps
Push Press (75lbs)
Wall Ball
Row (count calories burned)

I finished with 38 (in order: 10, 8, 6, 9, 5).  Probably could have bumped that up by one or two, but this is a hard workout.  Very fun though.  Try it, or if you need some help getting started, hit up the Foundation fam!

There isn’t a Seattle Nike+ Human Race event, but I may have to get out there and do some running on Sunday.  Anyone up for “Murph” after the Keyshia Cole/T.I. show at Bumbershoot?

This one doesn’t have a snazzy name, just the workout of the day posted on the official crossfit site.  For time:

30 handstand push ups
40 pull ups
50 kettlebell swings, 1.5 poods (~52 lbs)
60 sit ups
70 burpees

Aight, this one was a bit more than I could chew.  I’ve never done handstands in my life, so I just did 30 ten second stands against a wall to get used to being upside down.  I was able to knock out a few push ups like that too, but I’ll need to practice a LOT to be able to do that freestanding.  That would be bad ass though, so that’s the ultimate goal.

After the handstands, I did the last 4 exercises for time and subbed a 35 lbs dumbbell for the swings.  Pull ups, swings, sit ups = fairly easy.  70 burpees = a bitch.  Finished in 16:43.  Try this one.

Shout to Foundation.

As many rounds as possible in 25 minutes:

400m run
30 kettlebell swings
15 dive bomber pushups

I got 5 rounds even.  That was my first time doing dive bomber pushups, they’re no joke.  If you don’t have kettlebells handy at your gym, you can use dumbbells.  This is a good workout, it’ll drop you.  Shout to Dru and the Foundation Crossfit fam!

Seattle people remember, you can join us for these free workouts every Saturday at noon.  The details are on their site and it’s a great way to break into crossfit.

Fireworks over the Bird’s Nest during the Closing Ceremonies

The Big Picture followed up their excellent shots of the Opening Ceremonies with a set of wrap up pictures from the Olympics.  Here are a few of my favorites:

The star of the Games, Usain Bolt, dusting the field in the 200m.

Lolo Jones after her heartbreaking loss in the 100m hurdles.

Australia’s Matthew Mitcham still can’t believe he won gold with a flawless final dive in the 10m platform.

Inside the Bird’s Nest during the Closing Ceremonies.

You can see the rest of the pictures in high quality here.

No, your eyes do not deceive you.  That is indeed Pharrell running on Manchester United‘s legendary Old Trafford pitch, attempting to abscond with last year’s Champion’s League trophy.  Hilarious hahahah.

Skateboard and Shae stopped by MUFC while in Manchester for a show and they just posted pics on the BBC blog.  Err…not that BBC.  Check ’em out here.

Just when the Olympics end, the EPL season starts to pick up…chyea.

Well, I guess that would technically be at the same time.  Tried my first “Barbara” last night:

20 pull ups, 30 push ups, 40 sit ups, 50 squats

5 rounds for time

Finished in 25:33, though I think I can definitely shed a few minutes off that the next time I do it.  I kinda paced myself a bit too much in the early rounds, rather than going all out from the start.  I thought it would be easier than “Angie” (100 reps of each, straight through), but the advantage gained from splitting up the exercises goes out the window with the additional reps.

Today’s WOD on Crossfit.com turned out to be “Angie,” so I knocked that out again and finished in 18:49, three seconds slower than last time.  Until I start doing these on a bar where I can kip, I’m thinking I might be nearing my top time.  Hmm, we’ll see.  Foundation Crossfit RAINSTORM (free workout) at 100th & Lake City Way on Saturday at 12PM for all my Seattle people!  Be there.

swagged.

After all his breathtaking performances so far, there was never a doubt that Usain Bolt would win the 200m sprint.  The only question was would he be able to break Michael Johnson’s legendary record?  Well, after smashing the competition yet again, the answer was an emphatic yes.  Bolt ran a 19.30, edging Johnson’s 19.32, and cemented himself as the premier sprinter in the world…and perhaps all-time.

As usual, NBC’s lockdown on the video is obnoxious, but you can watch it on their site here.  International people can check out this bootleg while it’s still up.

O.O.O. (other Olympic observations) from the last few days:

• They did Spearmon and Martina dirty by disqualifying them in that 200m sprint for stepping on the lane lines.  Rules are rules I guess, but Walter Dix summed it up when his private comments got picked up by the cameras after he was awarded a medal…”I still lost.”  What a conflicted feeling.
• Taylor, Clement, and Jackson sweeping the 400m hurdles for America was a great moment.
• Heartbreak for Liu Xiang.  Even more for Lolo Jones.
• I’m glad Shawn Johnson managed to snag a gold on the balance beam.  She deserved one and it would have been a shame if she finished without the top prize.
• Why are you supposed to be 16 in gymnastics, but there are 14 and 15 year old divers?
• Did CBC really tell me that Wang Xin is 4’6″ and weighs 62 pounds?  No wonder she’s a good diver…it’s impossible for her to make a splash.
• Speaking of tiny divers, Haley Ishimatsu missing on her last attempt and failing to qualify for the finals was real sad.  Watching her try to fight tears (at the end of this clip) was damn near heartbreaking.  Andrea Kramer’s interview was cold too…very unfair to put a 15 year old through that.
• He Chong and Alexandre Despatie killed it in diving.  These Chinese gymnasts and divers are unbelievable.
• I respect water polo players, but that sport is awful to watch.  Just brutal.
• Two other sports that absolutely suck are synchronized swimming and speedwalking.  Yeah, those speedwalkers go pretty fast, but you know how they could go even faster?  By running.  GTFOH.  And these events get to stay in the Games while baseball and softball are ending after this year?  Blasphemy.
• The “Redeem Team” is playing better than I expected.  Let’s do this fellas.
• Hey, 2 days since a racist picture has surfaced.  We’re on a roll!
• Misty May-Treanor is a beast and Walsh ain’t so bad herself.  That final was intense.
• LOL @ having whitewater and flatwater rafting be broadcast next to each other.  One looks bad ass, the other looks boring as hell.
• I thought ‘table tennis’ players got all defensive when you called it ‘ping pong’?
• Matthias Steiner winning a gold for his late wife was the most tearjerking moment of the Games so far.  Well done, big man.
• Natalie du Toit competing as an amputee is incredibly inspirational.
• The man appointed the “world’s greatest athlete” by the Wall Street Journal, Roman Sebrle, is struggling in the decathlon.  I guess that title could go to your head kinda easily.  Bryan Clay from the US is killing after 3 events, but we have a ways to go.  Besides, the world’s greatest athlete is Lebron, hands down.
• One more time, say it with me people: “bei” – “jing”

Members of Argentina’s women’s soccer team have become the latest group of athletes to be caught striking this racist pose. The picture, apparently taken in preparation for the Beijing Games, just leaked and you can read the details here. It’s not even surprising at this point, just disappointing that ignorance is so common. Luckily, this team lost all their games and crashed out of the tournament quickly. Hopefully they’ll learn a lesson from the off the field controversy too.

Ever since I took up crossfit, I’ve had a new found respect for gymnastics.  Growing up, I always played every team sport out there and, quite frankly, made fun of those dudes jumping around in tights during the Olympics.  While I still think the men’s floor exercise is a biiiit strange (bad ass triple flip combo…followed by an effeminate prance and leap?  umm, ok), I’ve been in awe of the bar and rings routines at the Games.

Yesterday, Chen Yibing won gold on the rings, beating out his teammate Yang Wei by a slim margin.  Both their routines were incredible, but Chen’s was on another level.  He just looked effortless out there.  I highly suggest you watch it here (apologies if you’re outside of the States…NBC hates y’all).

My crossfit inspired goal is to be able to hold an iron cross for 5 seconds someday.  Dru, let’s get it.