Credo
"Sign on, young man, and sail with me. The stature of our homeland is no more than the measure of ourselves. Our job is to keep her free. Our will is to keep the torch of freedom burning for all. To this solemn purpose we call on the young, the brave, the strong, and the free. Heed my call, Come to the sea. Come Sail with me." -- John Paul Jones
"Pardon him, Theodotus; he is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature" --George Bernard Shaw, "Caesar and Cleopatra"
"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music."--Friedrich Nietzsche
"A kind Providence has placed in our breasts a hatred of the unjust and cruel, in order that we may preserve ourselves from cruelty and injustice. They who bear cruelty, are accomplices in it. The pretended gentleness which excludes that charitable rancour, produces an indifference which is half an approbation. They never will love where they ought to love, who do not hate where they ought to hate."--Edmund Burke
“You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours.”--General Sir Charles Napier
"Μολὼν λαβέ" -- Leonidas
"Blogito Ergo Sum" -- Neptunus Lex
Having read about crossfit here-I have been trying it, but not at the levels the daily post calls for. I give it about as much as I can. The weightlifting in particular kicks my butt.
Of course when I travel and am faced with a choice of working out or going to the bar…Cross Fit always loses.
No wonder I’m always tired……..
I’ve been doing pretty well with the WODs, although I need to gravitron up the pull-up workouts – there are so very many pull-up workouts – but have added some long bike rides on the weekends for cardio. Stronger, faster, fitter and so on. But the weight loss program, she has stalled.
Might have something to do with my diet: equal parts Atkins, South Beach, and pure grain alcohol.
What? You want to live forever?
I’m shocked that the 2 of you would do workouts that the Navy hasn’t vetted and considers disparaging to women.
Well, not really. Seems like an even better reason for Skippy to do them
I like the upside-down pushups. I’m not sure why, but they’re really easy for me and impossible for my husband (well, now he flounders around and is able to do a couple, with help). Other than that, I don’t do cross-fit. But i do enjoy doing those pushups on occasion at the gym next to the warriors trying to do them (usually in vain).
Silly male species.
upside-down pushups???
I think they’re actually called handstand pushups. Here’s a video link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTyT8y57ef0
Handstand pushups are the devil.
That’s one exercise I always sub. And I feel no need to surrender any man cards for it.
Now, doing the Murph with my flak on. . .that’s one we’re actively pursuing.
Then again, this Glenmorangie does need drinking. . .
Liz,
Your husband must not be a U.S. Ranger.
Lex ~ do you have a CF gym nearby? Or are you doing this on your own? If so, what equipment do you have?
I was supposed to start the beginner’s workout last week but life got in the way so I am starting this week. I have the bar but nothing else at this point. My hope is to eventually work up to doing the WOD but I wasn’t sure what I would need to have on hand in order to do so.
I LOVE the handstand push ups. Can’t do many but I’m thrilled that I can do ANY.
Thanks. “Handstand Push-ups,” I knew, but I was having a terrible time trying to understand how one could “invert a push-up” rather than “pushup while inverted.”
*wanders off to land of literalists*
HFS, there are several CrossFit gyms in the area, but for the now I’ve maintained my membership in a local athletic club. It’s a all a bit much compared to the Spartan ideal, but I do enjoy the non-gym amenities. The only thing they don’t have are rings, so I’ve got to substitute pull ups and dips for muscle ups. Which is probably just as well.
Not sure I could get a muscle up.
You should be able to use the base gym to get most of what you need – a rack for squats, thrusters, etc.
Base gyms are notoriously lacking. Try to find a real pull-up bar or dip station, good luck. I got spoiled in Balad where they knew about all this stuff first. And thankfully my local MWR gym is going to convert a racquetball court to a Crossfit room, they’ve been very supportive. One problem–Crossfit has jumped so much in popularity over the last six months that bumper plates are out-of-stock all over, suppliers can’t keep up.
Skippy, go to the Crossfit main page, and follow that link that says “Start Here,” then BrandX Scaled Workouts. Nobody starts on the real WODs, not with hopes of finishing them or performing well, start with the scaled versions and work up.
As for rings, go to www. gymnasticbodies.com (yes,work safe) and buy a pair, $63 delivered to me, less to you. They arrived yesterday, and I’m feeling it today (well, that and the back squats). Last night, I loaded tabata music (has the intervals marked with bells, etc) on the ipod, so will inflict yesterday’s WOD, today.
On the CrossFit main site, you can go over to the Forums – to search requires registration (and you have to use your name, not an alias – how honest!). However, some of us are already registered …
http://board.crossfit.com/showthread.php?t=13564
Beautiful. Functional. And, if you have any woodworking tools on hand because you do that for fun, cheap.
Then there was this in Navy Times about a former sailor suing a gym where he says a Crossfit workout left him with a permanent disability.
I will have to wait until my Achilles is fully healed to join the fun…
Lex ~ thanks! I might try try the gym on post at a later date but for now, I’ll stick with the “at home” version. Part of that is due to the tricycle motors that demand so much attention and refuse to be left alone at home while I go to the gym. Maybe by the time I get through the beginner workout, I’ll be able to get to the gym on post.
I’d love to get to the one CF gym on the island but it’s way downtown and cost is a prohibition at this point. I’ll make it work though.
I was wondering when someone was going to mention the navy times article. I was surprised Lex hadn’t mentioned it already, being a CrossFit kinda guy and all.
Fast Nav/bullnav, why mention it? Rhabdo is well known in the military, although given the general lack of exertion, maybe not so well in the Navy. Guy was “former Navy,” not active duty, and the trainer was not a Crossfit trainer, nor is Crossfit named in the action. In that light, kinda hard to see why it was even mentioned in the Navy Times, unless some whiny CAPT somewhere made phone calls. The suit has been discussed to death in the Crossfit forums, plenty to read about over there.
I found the crossfit thanks to your post last month. I was (thought so any way) in pretty good shape for a 42 yo ectomorph. I was lifting and swimming regularly. In two weeks on crossfit I added five lbs of muscle. My wife is astonished by the quick change. Yes, it is easy to overdo, especially considering the age on my license. I have to graviton the second half of pullup work ups and ususally run between Puppy and Pack on the brandx scaling. Somedays I am just darn proud to be a puppy. Anyway thanks.
Bruce: “Your husband must not be a U.S. Ranger.”
Indeed, no. But he’s in pretty good shape. And honestly, no wife wants a husband to be in Ranger shape. Sure, lapdancers and “escorts” appreciate those body types (as they usually have to service some real dough boys), but a wife wants a husband who is in shape and healthy, but not so built that his shoulder is too rock-hard to lay on at night.
Since about three months after starting crossfit, I can’t lie on my husband’s shoulder. It’s too damned uncomfortable. I’ve told him to stop (but it’s somewhat of an obsession now).
But, yeah, I can still do more handstand pushups. (almost twenty…I’m not sure why those are easy for me as I’m no Ranger either)
Liz,
No worries; I was making a Con Air reference. Nick Cage’s character was a Ranger doing handstand pushups in an early scene.
Don’t mind me; I’m just miffed ‘cuz XBradTC beat me to the punch with the popcorn-cooking laser.
Is there any crossfit exercise involving lifting a glass of rum filled with ice? I might try it.