Summary, and a look at the horizon!

It is old, it is very old with these geezers who at the end of the year lean back in their chairs and try to sum up the year that has passed, and begin to speculate on what the new year will have in store! Things like that should be done internally, and in a place where noone else can ever begin to grasp what is going through your head!
Why is that? Because it is boring as hell for everyone else to sit there and listen to or read about! That is the first obvious reason to avoid these things. The second is that memory has a way of providing you with only the best or the worst memories of the year that has passed (depending on what mood you find yourself to be in)! The third is that the predictions for the year to come very rarely pan out the way you thought- Tings go to shit, and ou find yourself in places you nver thought you would be in situations you could not have dreamt up in your wildest dreams!

My blog!

However, as most of you have already realized by now, I am not the sharpest tool in the shed, so I will just go ahead and do all of the above anyway! Another thing to consider is that this is my blogg, so if you venture on here you may have just a slight intrest in what I think.. Please remember though that this is my personal blogg, so whatever comes up here is nothing more than a mirror of my thoughts on certain subjects- highly personal and not official in any way shape or form. Can I make it any clearer? If you dont like what you read, please feel free to surt onto another site with more soothing conversation! Dont let my ill temper upset you:-)

2009!

The year that has passed has been a fantastic year, and I will take a second to list some of the things that made the year fantastic. If I leave something out it is very like ly that it is simply a lapse of memory, more than my intention- Please feel free to point it out o me- honestly!

2009- was fantastic year for a number of reasons- here are some:

1- My son grew into an even more fantastic personality, and I just love him to death! The years to come wil be an interesting journey! My sun rises and sets with him!

2- My dear wife and best friend, kept on being just that! The best thing that ever happened to me, and the best friend I could ever have asked for. She makes me a better person on a daily basis, and is the most supportive person I have ever met. I thank God for her patience with me- may I sometime be able to repay the favors! Besides that she is hot as hell!

3- Friends! 2009 was a year where I was blessed with the chance to meet some truly fantastic people who have turned out to be an inspiration, and a support that I could not have dreamt of in my wildest dreams. I am supremely thankful for having had the chance to meet these people, and I am very curious to see where out journey takes us! I thik big things may be in store!

4- HQ staff! being given the chance to travel with HQ staff and teach at certs all over Europe, has been amazing! To be able to hang out with the people at these certs, and just be a spounge, sucking up everything I possibly can from the participants, trainers, locations etc. has been phenomenal! I look forward to the years to come, and CrossFit sweeping all over Europe!

5- Leaving Grand! Getting the chance/ being pushed to jump of the ledge, staying true to the firm beliefs I have about training and personal training, and leaving Grand when the room for training was diminished to being virtually non-existing! Being able to look in the mirror everyday knowing that I did not compromise with what it is I am trying to bring to my clients.. Not everyone else can say the same!

6- Insight! Things happened during 2009! Some good, some bad! Some uncalled for! Some much needed etc. The list goes on and on! Whether these things were good or bad- insight was gained! That has to be good!

The loist could be a lot longer, but I will keep it at that for the time being! If I forgot something please let me know, and I will immidiately put it on the list:-)

2010!

Let us make this easy!

1- I want a box!

2- CrossFit Nordic to grow!

3- Continued succes as a HQ trainer!

4- A fantastic event at the European regional qualifier

5- a sub 3:30 fran on film!

6- a 200kg deadlift on film!

7- a +100kg overhead squat on film!

8- a sub 20 min 5K run!

9- a sub 7 min 2000m row! well documented!

10- a lot of Santa Cruz- you know what I mean!


If you have stuck with it so far and have read all my highly personal and sentimental bollocks- please share what your goals are for the year to come, and what was the high/low in the year that is about to pass!

Much love

I want to kill!

Tuesday was the scene of a disaster, the extent of which can only be understood by a genuine crossfitter!

The first Workout of the day was an attempt to improve my 500m row PB (PR is apparently a medical term in the UK that refers to inserting something Per Rectum- as of now all feats of true greatness are PB's).
So yours truly gets all warmed up, gets the Burg warm up out of the system, and spends some time going through the 9 basic movements. After that he spends some more time dialling in the row stroke. He finally feels ready to get to work, on smashing that 500m row time!
He had decided that he would get 5 attempts, with as much rest as needed in between the attempts! He gets down to business and hauls ass! He rows like his life depends on in. He rows like he was on fire, and nails a 500m row in 1:28 in the third attempt! He get's nowhere near that score in the two remaining attempts!
This dude is a happy camper, and he starts to whistle when he walks to the locker room- only to find that his notebook is nowhere to be found? Some rocket scientist has "cleaned up" the locker room, and along with it has decided to remove the old notebook with the scribbled hand written notes- A bit more than a years training notes are gone.... Now this dude just wants to go "falling down" on virtually the entire world!
I have still not recovered- It was like I imagine it would feel to have your heart removed with a spon.... A very dull spoon! WTF!

The disappointment and complete disbelief transgressed into the second workout of the day, which was suposed to be:

Run 800m
30 Hip/back ext
30 Toes to bar
30 hip ext
30 knees to bar
30 back ext
30 AbMat sit ups

In my battered state of mind I somehow managed to miss the first 30 hip/back ext! So my time is irrelevant, and completely useless!

Yesterday was not the finest of days, and I still pray to the CrossFit God (yes he exists) that my notebok will miraculously appear again.. If you are outthere- please come back to daddy! No harm is done! Daddy is not mad, he just wants you to come back home!

Over and out!

Split jerks!

So the time had come to get back on the horse and start bustin' out some WoD's again! So I began the day with running some 400m intervalls at different inclinations on the treadmill!
I am not the best runner in the world, but I do enjoy these intervalls, at least after they are are over, and it feels like I am improving my capacity over longer distances as well after having done these intervalls! So I think I will just keep on doing things like that- God only knows I need it!

The second workout of the day was the 1- 1- 1- 1- 1- 1- 1 split jerks! I have not done singles in a while, so I had no clue what to expect! All I knew was that I wanted to really own the lift, and get a perfect landing in every single lift!
I worked my way up to 100kg, and nailed that lift with an ease that I had not expected! Still in complete shock after having gotten the 100kg lift, I decided to let it rip and went for 110kg! Needless to say I missed that lift, I was not into it and did not have the required focus, but it feels like it is within reach..
I am going to try to get some more lifts at 100kg, to try to get comfortable with the weight, and then try to move up!

After the lift I felt pretty good, and decided that I needed to do some squat clean and jerks- and worked my way up to 90g.. this is another lift that I have not done for a while, so 90kg felt pretty good, and I decided to leave it at that!

Super stoked with the workouts, and maybe this weekend of complete deacay was just what the doctor ordered!

Much love

I did'nt win!

As you all know my mom was here this weekend, and with her came a solem promise that I would not workout or eat anything that could be mistaken for paleo or the zone.. That part was actually easier than I thought! My mom made it super easy to just get comfortable and heaving down all the white bread and candy I possibly could!

The hard part was that I made a promise to the Bear of Upsala that I would try to make as great a weight gain as I possibly could! I ended up being only 3.6 kilo heavier today, than I was thursday morning!
I am not sure if that is an accomplishment, or a disaster, but I am thinking that the latter is probably the most correct answer! So today I am back in the race, only now I seem to be at least 300000000000 laps behind:-)

Much love

Mads

Denmark calling!

It is almost x-mas which means that my dear mom is coming up to Stockholm to spend some time with us. So here is my solem promise for this weekend!
I will not eat anything that is zone or Paleo inspired!

I will not do any metcons!

I will not do anything that is taxing in any way shape or form!

Here is what I do promise:

I promise that I will spend as much time as I possibly can with my wonderful family, and especially with my mom! I will also do my best to share the complete decay with you over the weekend, before it is time to once again get inte to the proverbial suck again:-)

Mcuh love

One handed pull ups?

Who on earth came up with this devilish exercise? I mean, if you are a bodyweight monster like the Uppsala mob, or David the bad ass, I guess these things are a walk in the park... But..... when you are a fat fart like myself, things like one handed pull ups are a killer!

Todays WoD was:

One handed thrusters using a 60lbs dumbell (I went with 28 kg) then followed by one handed pull ups.. when gripping with your left the right hand could assist by gripping the wrist!

Right handed thrusters
Left handed thrusters
Right hand, one handed pull ups
Left hand, one handed pull ups

15-12-9

My time 16:58

The thrusters went really well, and I managed to hold on to my intended rep scheme, but the pull ups were all singles! Horrible, absolutely horrible! Who came up with this, and what had I done to offfend this person:-)

Gotta go feel sorry for myself!

Much love

Back from Italy!

Once again I have been gone for a while and it seems that it has become a part of my MO to get lost for a while, every once in a while!
I just got back from Italy and a fantastic level 1 cert yesterday! This time we went to Milan to CrossFit Italy. What a fantastic facility they have. It was the kind of place you would love to live at. The ground floor was a box that had everything you could possibly want from a box- every single piece of kit theheeart desires was in that place. Then you could take the stares up to the upper floor where you couls look down onto the box and the people who worked out there, while you elaxed in designer couches and enjoyed an espresso.
CrossFit Italy had also rented another facility that they were in the process of adding as an additional space for their box! It was just around the cornor, and once again it was packed with everything you could ever ask for in a box!

Not only do CrossFit Italy have some of the coolest facilities I have seen in a long time they also produce a bunch of very high end equipment themselves- so if you are ever in the market for slush pipes- plyo boxes, rubber bands for pull ups, sand bags, etc you may just want to hit these guys up- they are in the loop, and can supply you with everything:-)

I would just like to thank our hosts for taking such good care of us, it was unreal! Thank you for your hospitality and opening your box to us. It is greatly appreciated!

During the weekend I did get a couple of workouts in, but I felt worn out and somehow managed to mismanage my time to the extent where I had to go without lunch friday, saturday, and sunday- at the same time as I more or les had to live of protein bars, which is not my preferred choise of fuel before workouts. This is all my own fault however, and I will just have to plan better for the next cert!

One workout I did get in that I was happy with when it was over, was a lovely little couplet:

500m row
20 wall balls
3 rounds for time
10:12

I guess it is not the fastest time in he worls, but is sure got the work done. I was on my ass after that one!

Today is a rest day, and I am pondering what to do with my programming! The two workout a day gig is getting hard to keep up, and I have talked to Martin 'Darth Vader' Altemark about changing it up to doing 2 workouts monday, tuesday, wednesday, then rest thursday then do 1 workout friday and saturday, and then rest sunday..
Suggestions are greatly appreciated, so fire away!

Much love

We need a real full time...

... round the clock pure breed CrossFit gym in Stockholm...! I just thought I'd put it out there:-) Just play with the thought:-)
hhhmmmmmmmm!

I am actually a bit more tired than I thought I'd be after todays WoDs so I will keep it short and to the point.

WoD #1 0800
4 Power snatches
8 Chest to bar jumping pull ups
12 Air squats
AMRAP 12 min
Score 10 rounds

It was actually a super funny WoD that was more taxing than I thought it would be- give it a try:-)

WoD #2 1830
Jerk 5 x 3 reps
I worked my way to 90kg and got a pretty solid set of 3- and for some odd reason that was the end of the journey! After that I just could not muster the strength to get a dynamic drive on the bar, and found myself having to press the bar a little to get a fully extended arm, in the landing... Hmmm I guess 90kg will just have to do for now:-)

Until tomorrow

Much love

WoD's at a globo gym....

.... will I ever wisen up?

I am still on the 2 WoD's a day deal, and I have to admit that I really like it! I am beginning to get my diet together, with the added WoD, and I am beginning to get my rest/sleep to add up as well- so it feels like I am beginning to respond rather well to doing two WoD's a day.
For some odd reason it feels like there is a positive tention in my body, and I feel like I am able to push myself a little harder already.. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the feeling stays with me for a while:-)

So todays first WoD was:

3 rounds for time of:
Run 400m
20 double unders
20 back extentions
time 15:32:-(

I am still pissed at that time! I thought I'd be a lot faster! The thing however is that I have decided that I am no longer allowed to do double unders the way I have done them before, now I have to do at least two unbroken in order for them to count. I used to do one, and then a single skip, before I'd do another... There will be no more of that- as of now I am beginning my chase to catch up with Martin Altemark, who is the double under beast!
So the main part of this WoD was spent whipping myself with the jump rope swearing in every single language I know! To add injury to insult, some guy grabbed the back extention bench, and it took some serious persuation before I could get it back. Then a trainer grabbed my jump rope while I was running.. I mean what are the odds?

3 hours later it was time for the next WoD of the day:

Back Squat 5 x 3 rep!

I worked my way up to 125 kg which felt great! The bottom felt solid, and the drive up felt really good- however you are never going to believe this- there were no more weights avaliable! The rest of the weights were taken, and noone felt like sharing the love- So I had to call it a day..
I am pretty happy with the workout, but would have liked to actually go to failure.. Better luck tomorrow I guess!

Much love

Mads

Row like you meant it!

I just can't help loving that comment! I was given by a dear friend of mine when he was coaching a client of his through the last passages of a nasty rowing intervall that I swear I will never try to attempt! But for some odd reason it made sense yesterday in the first workout of the day, which was done at 08.00:

5 rounds of:
500 meter row
Rest 2 min
My times were:
1:40 felt good
1:39 felt good
1:42 felt it getting harder
1:48 disaster struck!
1:46 tried to row like I meant it, but got nowhere!

The beauty of the concept 2 row is that you can set the timer to time your rest intervalls as well, which means you get the perscribed rest, and nothing else.-)
Initially I thought I'd go for a longer rest period, but the point of this particular row was to get it to suck! I would say tht I got what I bargined for. 500 meters is just enough to suck a lot, and 2 min rest is just a little short for a guy with the cardio of a 80 year old chain smoking astmatic woman- read me! So was just what the doctor ordered!

Baby steps!

At 14.00 that afternoon it was time for the second workout of the day- technique work on the snatch! Initially the plan was to do 5 sets of 5 snatches, maintaining focus on hitting that full extention at the top, and then getting into a solid bottom position!
I began with 40 kg, and the worked my way up to 60 kg, which felt like it was where I needed to be if I was supposed to be able to work on my technique. At the end I really felt like I got a good drive through that second lift, and the bottom felt very solid- all in al I would say that I am very happy with that workout!

That was all for yesterday- tomorrow I will share todays fast little sucker, and some more intervall running! I just have to remind everyone that I run like a guy with broken legs, so this should be fun:-)

Much love

Mads

Did it again!

Well yesterday was the first day of my new approach towards becoming a better athlete! It was pretty funny actually, kind of the same feeling I have when I begin following someone elses programming for the first time, and don't really know what to expect!

I began the day with a 3 k run- I did'nt time the effort, I just tried to keep a constant pace, that weas always just a little faster than what I was comfortable with. I felt good after I was done, but it was mentally tough to always stay out of my comfort zone. everytime I would begin to get comfortable wit the speed, and my technique, I would increase my speed! I really need more workouts like this one.

The primary focus of yesterday was the afternoon wortkout with Richard. I was going to work up to the heaviest set of 3 rep front squat that I could do without compromising technique after every squat set we did 12 rep of weighted dips. I wanted to be absolutely certain that I owned the lift all the way. The point was never to go as heavy as possible at all costs, but to own the lift.
I worked my way up to a solid set of 3 rep at 100kg- the ladder there looked like this 3 x 60kg, 70kg, 80kg, 90kg and then 3 sets at 100kg.

The trip up to the heaviest lift was a bit of a deja vú thing all together. Everything felt really good, until I looked at the video that Richard was shooting and discovered that my left knee was collapsing in the botton of the lift. Since I have had that problem for the longest time, and have been fighting it in virtually every squat I have done since I discovered the problem, I decided that I needed to approach the fault in a new way if I was going to fix it.
I decided to change my stance and bring my feet in an inch or two! The reward came immidiately- the next set felt rock solid. I could probably have gone heavier but felt pretty happy that I had gotten what I came for, and wanted to end the workout on a good note!
Another thing that felt really good was that the turn in the bottom felt good! I never felt that I lost my elbows, or had to fight to maintain the posture- could it be that the work I have been doing on the side with my posterior chain is finally beginning to pay of?

Question of the day? have you ever had problems with your squat? What have you done to fix them!

Well, yesterday was day 1, today was day 2- tomorrow I will share what I did today with you!

Much love

Not the smartest cat...

.. in town!
Not the fastest moped on the docks!
Not the sharpest tool in the shed!
Not the fastest kid around the X-mas tree!
I guess what I am trying to sat is that I am not nearly as smart as I would like to think, but sometimes I am smart enough to know that something is a bad idea, even before I get started. What I am about to embark on tomorrow is exactly one of these things! So after you have read the following, please share your thoughts and experiences!

As of tomorrow the plan is to do two workouts a day! One workout will be more of a cardio vascular nature ie running, rowing intervals or distances. Basically I will try to improve my cardio vascular capacity in these workouts!
The second WoD will consist of heavy lifts, or regular WoD's mainly consisting of heavier lifts. The idea is to maintain strength, and put a bit of focus on my olympic lifts!
There is a lot more to be said about the plan behind this regimen, but I'll keep that to myself, and not bore you all to death with it, until I know how this is gong to work out, and what the effects are!

So what do you think? Those of you who have been doing something like this earlier please share your thoughts!

Today I did a workout that was on the main site a while back:

12 Power snatch 30 kg
10 Push ups
AMRAP 20 min

I got 13 rounds!

It was a lot harder than I thought it would be, to get the second pull all the way in the power snatch, after a couple of rounds- but it was a good experience, and I liked the WoD..

Gotta go now, so much love!


Mads

A complete idiot..

is exactly what I felt like after I had completed the WoD I came up with yesterday!

I had just finished the WoD and was more or less lying on the floor trying to recooperate after what had turned out to be a much harder WoD than I had anticipated! So after the initial discomfort had gone by, I asked Richard if the work I had done was legit? He very respectfully informed me that approximately the last 3-4 reps of the HSPU, of the last 3 rounds, were short by something like 4-5cm!
Now it is not like that has never happened to me before, or that I have gone delusional, and think that I could never do anything wrong, or perform reps that were not legit. The problem this time was that I was absolutely, 100%, completely sure that I had been head to ground on every rep!
Somewhere in the mist of fatigue my brain had played a trick on me, and I could have sworn that I hit the ground, when in reality I was still missing a couple of cm. This just goes to show how importatnt it is to have someone to work out with, so that you can get an honest picture of how your workout really went!

I have seen some very impressive stats posted by athletes, who have later not been able to come close to performing the effort that would actually give them scores like that! It may very well be that these athletes are not trying to decieve anyone, but have been working with noone around to tell them when their brain has played tricks on them, the way my brain played tricks on me yesterday!
Have you had the same experience? What happened? Please share!

The WoD?

5 rounds of
5 thrusters 60kg
10 HSPU
15 pull ups

The rule was that the sets had to be unbroken, it you broke a set you would have to do the set from the begining again! The problem however was that after two full unbroken rounds- I had to admit that we would never get out of the gym if the HSPU had to be unbroken! So I decided that if I broke the HSPU I had to do two burpees for every break! Otherwise the sets had to be unbroken!
I dont know what I was thinking, but We got tyhrough it, and I will definately be doing it again:-)

That is it for now

Much love

Do you stretch?

I know that there are as many theories about the use of stretching as there are theories about who shot Kennedy, but I just wanted to raise the question again, and hear what you all have to say?

I have not done any organized stretching and would not recommend it to anyone who is not notoriously short in ie the pectorial area etc. Instead I would recommend a thorough warm up that takes your entire body through some moves that will move you through the entire ROM of all the larger muscle groups! Doing this has allowed me to maintain a flexibility that I am almost happy with, and when I have not done it, I have been punished with all kinds of troublesome soreness!
To be honest with you- I have often figured that all the rules that apply to my clients probably did not apply to me, and skipped the warm up all together, and I have gotten my ass kicked by reality more times than I care to remember- so these days I warm up the way I always should have!

But I know that a lot of folks are almost religious about their stretch! So what do you do/recommend and why??

I am still in the process of getting back on track, so yesterdays WoD was:

10 deads 60kg
10 push ups
10 rounds
I have not been timing my work this week, since I am still trying to get a clear picture of where I am at, but it felt pretty good!

Then I did:

10 toes to bar
10 kb swings with a 42kg kettlebell
3 rounds
That also felt pretty good, even if I have to admit that my swings leave a lot to be desired!

That will be all for now, I have to go to the gym with my good friend Richard Sandberg now:-)

Until tomorrow

Much love

Post Scandinavian Challenge...

it's a tuesday morning and I have finally gotten a few hours off to sit down and evaluate the event we had in Halmstad this weekend ie the Scandinavian Challenge!

The first thing that comes to mind is that- it would not have been possible to host this event if it had not been for the good folk from Ekeiko! They let us use their facility, their website, their weightbars and weights, and basically everything else that you could possibly ask for! At our disposal we had the entire Eleiko sport center and everything in it! How could you possibly ask for more than that?
I hope that Eleiko feel like they gained as much from this event as we did, and that this is merely the begining of a very long love story between Eleiko and Crossfitters from all over the world!

The participants- where do I start? I am still touched by the way everyone cheered for everyone else, the way everybody stood up for each other and helped each other through the events! Noone seemed to care that this was actually a competition when someone needed a little support, it was just always there. This in its turn meant that everyone really got the chance to shine. A couple of guys had driven all the way from Germany, and had never had 60kg overhead, and they fought their way through the double under Grace workout, while the crowd went through the roof cheering them on! I don't think anyone was untouched by their effort!
In the other end of the spectrum you had people like Mikael Dahlin who tore off an impressive 901 meters in the tabata row! Or how about Blair Morrisons double under grace time of 3:46!!! Or Charlie who deadlifted 170 kg with a bodyweight of 68 kg! How about Amy Parchall from Ramstein who deadlifted 140kg to grab the last vacant spot for the final!
The athletes were amazing and really gave it their all this weekend! For that I am super grateful! Thank you for cmpeting and being so awesome!

The referees! I can honestly say that I think we had the pleassure of having the most qualified referees you could possibly assemble in Europe ( a couple were missing but they will be there next year)! Not one single solitary time during the competition was there any doubt on whether a rep was legit or not, and the fact that all referees were as qualified as they are, and that they had great communication with the athletes all the way through the events- really eliminated all doubts.. A huge thanks to all the referees!

The last one to thank will never accept the thanks irl, so I guess I'll just have to thank him this way! Martin Altemark is the proverbial wizard when it comes to organisation! He made everything run super smoothly all through the weekend, and I honestly dont see how any of this would have been possible without him! thank you Martin!

So now it is back to everyday life again, fighting the residue of a cold, and getting back into the world of eternal misery and bad ass metcons!
I decided to take it easy this week, so yesterday I worked my way through 15 reps of OHS with 40kg/ 50kg/ 55kg/ 60kg/ 65kg/ 70kg/ 75kg.. that last one was heavy! Something happens to my midline after 10 reps??

Thats is for today

Much love

Ps grattis älskling till segern i helgen- du är helt makalös!

CrossFit Greyskull resignation!

Before I go any further I would like to once again point out that these are my own personal opinions, and they do not in any way shape or form represent any kind of official opinion on the matter from CrossFit! This is a personal blog, and these are my personal opinions..

The last week or so I have been asked by a couple of people to comment on the article that John Sheaffer of (former) CrossFit Greyskull has written, on why he has chosen to resign his affiliation from CrossFit.
At first I wrote e-mails to the people who wondered what I thought about the matter, and his reasoning for stepping out of the CrossFit community. Now however there are now so many to answer that I have decided to answer where I stand in the matter on my blog.
For those of you who have not read the article, please google CrossFit Greyskull, and you should find the article right away! So as of now I will assume that you have read the article or at east know what the matter is all about!

The first thing that seems to be bothering mr Sheaffer, is that anyone who has attended a level 1 cert can become an affiliate. This does not in any way ensure that these people are "good enough" at programming, to ensure a good training enviroment, where the needs of every individual client is met! They will preach the same kind of mindless met-com bad ass WoD's to anyone who walks through the door!
To be honest I don't think I understand mr Sheaffers problem? I don't know of any other gym that requires that you become certified in order to be able to open up for business! I know of lots of olympic weight lifting clubs that have begun because of peoples burning intrest in the sport, but no license was required! The same for gyms that cater to body builders.. the story continues, I think you get my drift!
At CrossFit you are provided with an introduction to the standards we live by, and train by before you are allowed to start your CrossFit gym!
The fact that not everyone is molded in the same mold is a part of the success behind CrossFit! You are introduced to the standards and given a permit to venture into the world of training to make your own experiences within a given set of parameters! Had everyone been molded in the same mold and guided in what to do and when, we would have never evolved to the place we are today. Needles to say mistakes have been made by affiliates all over the world! The question is what they have done with these experiences?
The ones that learn from it and grow will eventually become infinately successful, and the others will soon disappear from the CrossFit scene!
To bitch and moan about the affiliates that do mind-less WoD's and preach a uniform training regimen for everyone- is just down right stupid! With CrossFit we scale loads and intensity and in that way we make sure that everyone gets exactly what they need. If mr Sheaffer has forgotten that already, then maybe he should have been paying more attention to what is being said at the certs!
The affiliates who do not scale to meet individual needs- will very soon run out of business...... hmmmmm!

Mr Shaeffer is upset that there is no test at the end of a level 1 cert, so that we can ensure that the participants who have completed a level 1 cert, are actually worth calling themselves level 1 trainers!
I could argue that he has a point, and the arguments are easy to find! However..
The way it is schemed today- the person who has attended a level 1 has been introduced to the standards that we live by, and if you want to continue developing as a trainer you immiately begin striving towards improving your skills so that you will eventually pass your level 2.. For expert expertise you attend the specialist certs, but the level 1 is merely an introduction!
Much like a driving license is a confirmation that you have the skills to venture into traffic, but you are by no means an expert driver yet!

Mr sheaffer is also very upset that PVC pipe is being used instead of real barbells at the certs, and his argument is that you can't teach the proper technique with a piece of PVC!
I comletely disagree! The fantastic thing about PVC is that it allows everyone work the same movements under no load! Issues like flexibility become obvious at once.. There is no hiding inflexibility in ie. your lats,triceps and forearms when you are working with a piece of PVC.
The argument is kind of like saying that pro MMA fighters should always do all their boxing with MMA gloves, and never go lighter with boxing gloves in order to get the technique right! Let's see how many MMA fighters stay at your gym with a policy like that- now lets see how many actually become successful fighters?
The PVC provides a very safe enviroment to introduce he olympic lifts, to people who may not have done them before!
If you want the hard core lifting practice, all you have to do is attend the olympic lifting certs!

The Zone diet gets a kick in the head from mr Sheaffer as well!
Had he taken the time to read the book with no pictures, he would have known that the Zone is all about tweaking the diet until you get the block compilation you are most comfortable with and that gives you the best results... But I guess you only know that if you actually read the book!

One of the things that I have always enjoyed about CrossFit and the community in general, is that it allows anyone to speak, and it allows anyone to test their theories. Coach has always called himself a fitness whore, always seeking new ways to shorten the way to athletic epiphany!
Whenever you can come up with something that is better than what I do, and you can prove your results, I will begin doing it in an instant- because we share the same goal for improved fitness! But if we do not allow the affiliates, that are not brought up the same way we are or can show us miles and miles of certificates to prove their excellence, to make these experiences, then we will never develop! There has to be room under the CrossFit umbrella to do really stupid any-asshole WoD's every once in a while!
Just a thought- What would mr Sheaffer say to Mikko Salo who won the Games this year? What he does and his approach to training is so far from what we do, and what mr Sheaffer advocates that he would have fallen into the idiot box created by mr Sheaffer! Sometimes you need someone who will stir it all up!

I have read the article a bunch of times the last couple of days, and a couple of things just bug me!

1- If you are better and have a better product than the box down the street, then you have nothing to fear! It will be obvious to everyone. Don't underestimate the intelligence of people!

2- When is it bad programming? When mr Sheaffer does not like what he sees, or when people do not reach their goals? If they do not reach their goals- please see point 1!

3- A well respected member of the community, near and dear to HQ said this and that! If that person can't say this openly then I cant be bothered caring what they think. And when they decide to come forth- let them do so themselves! I don't think mr Sheaffer has to speak for that one person!
This is why Rip left HQ! Let Rip talk for himself, until Rip says this is what happened, you are just running with rumors!

4- If a guy cant press this and that then he has no say? Since when does physical ability build a basis for your right to an opinion?

5- They wore this and that shirt, that said this and that about someones mother! mr Sheaffer has fun at the expense of Dutch Lowy, and later Michael Jackson- but wen someone wears a shirt with a text like that it automatically gives him the right to discard the humor! mr Sheaffer you are the humor magistrate as well?

Altogether mr Sheaffer comes across as a very bitter guy, and I am sorry that he felt he had to resign his affiliation instead of staying and working for a change! But that is the fantastic part having no backbone whatsoever! You don't have to stay and stand up for your opinions, all you do is throw the bag of crap, then turn your back and run, leaving it to everyone else to do the cleaning up!

This whole thing about hybarnation is just not working out all that well for me!

Much love

Share the joy!

I guess I was supposed to be in hypernation i my cave. playing with evil schemes for the Scandinavian Challenge! I honestly had plans made to do just that, only to come out to share some grunts of discontent whenever something outrageous caught my attention!
Well, plans are made to be broken, and today I would like to share a fantastic feat with you!

I have had the pleassure of working with a very determined client for a while now. When we met, he had all the 9 basic moves to legit standards in his "toolbox", and he was determinaed that the sky was the limit of where he could go! He is in his late 40's and he has no prior history of athletic performance!

This gentleman now does 15 kipping pull ups, a "fran" as rxd in 11 min, and yesterday he did strings of 3 rep deadlifts at 100kg! The man is a beast:-)

What I am trying to say is that it is never to late to make a commitment to where you want to take your physical fitness, and the sky truly is the limit.
It would have been fantastic if I could have claimed that these success were all because of the fantastic coaching I had provided him with, but the truth is that anyone could have coached this man to success! He decided where he wanted to go, and with the determination he put into his training he has now reached goals- he could have only dreamed about a year ago!
I look forward to seing where this athlete will go from here, and hope to be a part of the journey for a long time to come!
Stellar effort bro!

One again no names are mentioned- you know who you are!

back to the bat-cave!

Much love

Back in charge!

I'd love to think that I am back in charge, however there is a slight chance that I a still a couple of yards behind the game, even if I am now the confused owner of an IMac... If nothing else this means that I now should have unlimited access to the internet!

Today I finally got the rings installed at Metropolis Gym in Kungliga tennis hallen. This meant that I could actually do a WoD I have been avoiding lately, manly because I have had nowhere to do it.. Needless to say the WoD is 30 muscle ups fort time.
I a still a bit heavy for this WoD but I feel like I am getting progressibly better at it, and today was no exception... 8.04 was the result of todays effort.
I am pretty happy with this, and feel like there is actually a chance I might actually get to he level of muscle up madness that has been displayed by the Uppsala mob and the body weight monster David... Just give me a few years!

I often get the question of what to do with a client who can not get to the bottom of the squat? I know that I have touched on this a couple of times before, but it simply cannot be done enough!
The answer is as simple as it is hard- you continue to work on the airsquat until your client can achieve full depth with good form, and do not relent! You may even go as far as t moderatly load the squat- but still work towards perfection of the squat! The only way to get better at the squat, is to practice the squat, and as a consequence your client will also achieve the flexibility to actually get to the bottom of the squat!
The problem is often that you have to get your client to understand the need to do somewhere in the neighborhood of a trillion squats before you can begin to actually really load the squat!

Well- I have to get back to learning how to operate a Mac, after a life spent with PC..

Much love

Mads

Metropolis medley!

My computer is still acting up, letting me know who is really in charge, so I have to keep me entries short, before it all crashes again..

Today I was at Metropolis, and the got the briliant idea that I should come up with my own little WoD just for the fun of it, and as you all know that is usually a bad idea! Since I am old and have a tendency to forget how these fantastic ideas usually pan out, I went for the following:

800m run as fast as possible just to get the pulse up
Dead hang "cindy" 10 min amrap
800m run as fast as possible

You only count the rounds on the dead hang cindy! result 9 rounds!

As most of you know I am as over the hil as you can possible get when it comes to a very distant MMA career, but it has left me with some fantastic friends who still compete and do ery well in cages all over the world- what I would like to share with you is a bad ass knock out by my friend Nicholas Musoke from Sthlm Shoot.. check this out!

"Fast Helen" and a goodbye to Grand Fitness!

Fast 'Helen'..?

I have come to terms with the fact that I am not the fastest animal in the jungle, and not the badest bike on the road, a long tima ago! This is also the reason why I have not had all that many dreams about achieving greatness on WoD's like 'Helen'. But today something must have happened, cause I got the fastest time I have ever gotten on a 'Helen', and I am super stoked-
09:02!
I have to admit that I did it on a treadmill where I had to start the little beast from zero each time I got on there, but it still the fastest I have ever gone, so I am pretty happy with that!

Goodbye Grand Fitness!

Today was my last day at Grand Fitness- Sturebadet's spa/gym under Grand Hotel in Stockholm, where I have been working the last 5 years.
The gym will be closed so that Grand can open their own gym a couple of floors up, and I decided that it was time to leave the spa/gym! So today I trained my last client there, packed my things and moved on.

I have to admit that it feels strange to walk out the door after that long time in the gym, but I think the move is for the better. I was already in a position where I had to comprmise with a lot of workouts in order to get to do the CrossFit WoD's I wanted to do- both with my clients and on my own (no more Grace without dropping the weight on the floor). So instead of bringing these problems with me to another facility that is even more proned towards the spa part of the concept, I decided to move on!
So as of tomorrow I will be working at Metropolis and at KLTK which will be a bunch of fun. I look forward to the new challenges, and the possibility to offer even better training to my clients, and possibly even kill a couple of my bad excuses for underachieving in my WoD's- it is so to speak a new day:-)

But who knows, maybe there is something else in the making??????

Much love

Ireland and a Scandinavian challenge...

I just got back from the level 1 cert in Northern Ireland, and once again it was a great experience, and a bunch of fun!

What never seizes to amaze me is how well the people who show up for the level 1 cert move! As soon as we got to do the squats it was obvious that most of the participants already knew their way around the squats. This is fantastic because it gives everyone the chance to clean up their squats and after that start putting some real focus on how to teach others, and how to identify the things that will potentially mess up your front squat/ overhead squat etc.

This time I had the pleassure of getting gto work with Rob Miller who is just an absolute blast, as well as a great lecturer! He has a way of getting the point across in a way that is easy to digest, and remember- I am not sure if he really knows how good a lecturer he really is, and that just might be his trick!

Pat Barber came over as well! The guy is an absolute blast- 23 years old and on fire:-) He is an amazing athlete and I think I picked up some pointers that will help better my performance. We were both part of a one-arm-snatch contest that Sevan set up, and he beat me brutally!

As always Courtney did a fantastic job demo-ing! I am just happy I dont have to hold on to these positions as long as she has to! I mean who would want to spend as much time in the bottom af the squat as she does?

Mike and Lisa Ray.... What do you say? They are worth travelling quite a bit to get to listen to, and thave their trained eye help you inprove your movements.. I hope to get to work with them a lot in the future!

Sevan and Carey- who are the official film crew for CrossFit were there to follow Mikko Salo who was doing his level 1 cert.. These guys are hillarious- and I think they found a soul mate at the local pub. A guy maned Joe took a fancy to the two guys from San Francisco, whom he insisted had to be gay if they were really from San Francisco... gay as in happy or? That never became quite clear.. Please help us out here guys!

I also had the chance to get to hang out with Mikko and his friends Juha and Jami as well! They are a great bunch and we talked about coming over to Finland and train with them! Even if I realize that it would be a long line of defeats- these guys mean business!

We all had a blast trying to interpret the local dialect! Driving in the "wrong side of the street! Pondering the contents of black pudding! If Mads' intake of coffee really was as zone as he said it was? If Pat is really 'that guy'? If Rob really knows every 80s song there is?

The list is long but I will keep it to myself for the time being, and just conclude that it was a blast!

Scandinavian Challenge!

Enough about me now- let's talk about the Scandinavian Challenge!

The event will begin on saturday morning, and have 3 events during the day- we should be done around 17:00-17:30 on the first day- the competition will then continue sunday and should be done around lunch! Since some contestants have long travels home we hope to be done with the entire thing around lunch!

Hmmmmm- log onto the facebook group and the Eleiko site for more information, such as what clothes we recommend? - it should be forth comming tomorrow or the next day:-)

Much love

Sign up motherf*****r

The Gods have allowed me to continue my insane rant on the fitness industri, at least for the time being!
But instead of actually doing what I said I would do yesterday and thrash the misguided and mislead aerobics instructors, to the point where you would have to watch your step in order to avoid stepping on the bodies of aerobic instructors who have chosen to put themselves out of their misssery by jumping of a very tall building.... I will not be doing that- instead I thought I'd ask a question:-)

Why have you not signed up?

I just happened to look at the list of athletes who have signed up for the Scandinavian CrossFit Challenge, and I was shocked to find that there are more foreign athletes who have signed up than Swedish!
There are more athletes from Denmark, Germany, and a couple of American bases who have signed up for the challenge than there are Swedish athletes?? Why is this? Don't the swedish athletes believe that they have a chance in the competition? Don't they believe in their own abilities? What on God's green earth is the reason?

I believe that there is a reason why the winner of the Games this year was scandinavian. I honestly believe that we have more athletes who are more well rounded over broad time and modal domain than anywhere else in the world! I believe that we have more athletes that are better suited mentally than anywhere else in the world..
If you happen to feel the same way then sign up! I you would like to help propel the Scandinavian CrossFit community into a better understanding of each other, and a better knit community, then sign up... Or if you just feel that there needs to be more someone who can hold the Swedish flag high, then sign up...

Basically- sign up motherf****r!

Now I am of to Ireland for the cert this weekend- I hope you all have a fantastic weekend:-)

much love

What are the odds?

I promised Martin Altemark aka Obi Wan Kenobi, that I would get off my ass and get back to blogging. I made this promise yesterday, and had every intention of going straight home and letting the random rants of madness spill onto the internet.

I get home after spending a lot of time with Rasmus (my son) climbing, running, looking for treassures, playing basketball (I lift him up and he dunks the ball, I run and get it back and he dunks again) and chasing dragons! I sit down in front of the computer and search my twisted and contorted mind for matters I would like to share, or dwelve into- I decide that the paradox of aerobic instructors and their lack of intrest in the pursuit of fitness would be a great subject to blow of steam on, and a smile immidiately appears on my lips- I'll tear these little suckers apart!

God's intervention?

Suddenly I realize that I can not get online! Is this God telling me to let these littlle mislead suckers of the proverbial hook? Is it Buddda telling me to be a better man, and choose the high road? Is it some other unnamed God telling me that they are already in the s**t and will suffer for their waste of time without apparent gains into eternity??
Whatever it is- it prohibited me from going online and fulfill my promise to Martin yesterday- I am sorry for the delay!

I also did deadlifts yesterday and worked up to 180kg- which is kind of cool since it is the first time I have gone that heavy, while weighing as little as I do now... Pretty sweet:-)
Not close to the earth shatttering achievements of the Uppsala Mobsters, or the body weight monster, who only eats every second day, and jerks above body weight in contests.. But for an over the hill fat guy, this is pretty decent:-)

Until tomorrow, or whenever the Gods will allow me back online:-)


Much love

A fine piece of advice!

Every once in a while you will be surpriced to find that your on duty dane does not have some insane rant to rattle off, while letting the chips fall where ever they may, but instead he will actually have some good advice to share with you- this is one of these days!

For those of you who have been to a level 1 cert this will not come as a surprise, since the flowmaster of the level 1 will most definately have told you this on more than one occation. For some of you who have not been to a level 1 cert, this will be pure logic, and you will have done this all time because it just made sense! However there will be some of you who have never heard this before, and some that have just forgotten, in the everlasting pursuit of elite fitness!

Improving your weakest points of performance will do more for your overall fitness than improving your strongest points of performance!

Does that make sense?
What it means is that if you are freakishky strong, but have the cardio vascular performance level of an elite bodybuilder- you will gain more from improving your cardio vascular performance level than adding another 5kg to your max deadlift! It sounds perfectly logical, and most of us will nod our heads and comply when presented with it this way, but what happens when we wake up in the morning and log onto the motherload and see that the WoD of the day is "Diane"? Well, needless to say we hit it with everything we have got, in order to do better than we did the last time. So the next day we log on again and find that the WoD is seven singles of push press! Do we hit that WoD with the same enthusiasm as the WoD the day before? Most of us do not, and that is where I would like you to think about the good advice above.
If you are not hitting the days with your least favorite WoD's as hard as you are hitting your favorites, chances are that there is something you would benefit from improving- and the result couls be the boost you have been looking for!

So my question to you is:
"Are you hitting your least favorite WoD as hard as your favorite?" "What is your favorite vs your least favorite?"
Please do share:-)

Until next time

Much love

Swedish Crossfit Championships!

On saturday this weekend CrossFit Nordic hosted the first ever Swedish CrossFit Championships. It was an extraordinary success!
Some truly fantastic athletes from all over Sweden had shown up to find out who was the best athlet over broad time and modal domain! And after the 3 events had been overcome there was no doubt that the winner would be the one with least specific skills, but an overall physique best suited for the unknown and the unknowable!

I would have loved to compete but since I am and old fart with no physical skills worth noting, my role during the day was reduced to being a judge- the family honor was defended by Jenny, who is every bit the athlete I wish I could have been, and a fantastic competitor! Remember, when reading the following that I am tainted by that fact that we are married, and I still have not quite recovered from the fact the SHE WON!

The workouts of the day were the following:

WoD 1
500m run
50 dead lifts 90/60kg
50 burpees
250m farmerswalk with kettlebells 24/16kg
50 kb swings
50 sit ups
500m run

WoD 2
3000m row for time

WoD 3
5 clean and jerk (ground to overhead anyhow) 70/40kg
10 pull ups (guys did ctb)
20 squats
5 rounds for time!

There were some stellar efforts on display during the day, and every athlete really gave it their all, leaving nothing on the mat.

The funny thing to watch was the ones who have been doing CrossFit for a while, and know exactly what is going to be the asskicker and their personal nemesis in every WoD. Compared with the people who have not been CrossFitting very long who just charged it with everything they had, and let the Gods decide when they would hit the proverbial wall! Both categories fought valiently!
I am not going to get into detail about any particular athletes performances during the day, because there are too many to be mentioned. Chances are that I might forgt one- which would be completely unacceptable, considering the heart everyone put into this!

I would like to give props to Erik and Richard of CrossFit for making this event possible! They had done an epic effort in getting this whole thing put together, and their planning and all the hard work they had put into this became more and more evident as the day progressed. Everything went really smooth, everyone knwe where to go- there was a bare minimum of confusion- the event was scheduled to end at 16:30, and the last participant finished his last rep on the last WoD at 16:20- how wellorganized is that?
I personally thought that the programming they had done was fantastic and it gave everyone a chance to shine, no matter what your strength/weakness!
Fantastic job guys- I hope to be asked to judge at your next event as well? It would be a pleassure!

F***ing up a competition!

Please remember when reading the following that I absolutely loved the event, and intend to let no amount of shadow fall over the participants, winners, or the hosts. This little rant is dedicated to some of the judges who signed up to help out at the event, and had it not been for the good spirit of the participants, could just as well have f**ked upp the entire thing!

The job of being a judge is actually quite simple when you think about it. You monitor the movements, count the reps that are legit- discard the ones that are not, and in the end you submit the time it took to do the work to the scoreboard! How could you possible get that wrong?
Well, if for some odd reason you do not have the knowledge to know what the bottom of a squat looks like, or that you need to fully extend your hip at the top of the squat in order to get a legit rep. If you have somehow not quite understood that the burpee ends with a overhead clap and a small jump. If the fact that a chest to bar pull up includes a a touch on the bar with the chest, has eluded you or that a kettlebell swing ends overhead with some part of the ear being visible, while your body is completely extended!
If for some reason these things have escaped your attention, and you did not reflect over them when your got the very explicit directions emailed to you. and ignored them when they were passed out on the day of the event-my contention is that you should not be a judge!
You will f**k up the event if you can not count legit reps! How can the winner ever feel that he truly won if you counted reps that were not up to par- how can the runners up ever let go of the thought that they could have won if they too had been blessed with a blind morron that could not differentiate between good and bad movement.
How will we ever be able to rise above the athletic fitness, bodybuilding bull s**t if we make the same mistakes and let there be an ounce of doubt as to whether the winner really was the best athlete?
There will always be someone who feels like they were short changed in some way shape or form- it is inevitable in all competition when humans parttake. However this should not be because the judges did not do their job!

The winners this weekend were fantastic athletes and they deserve to win! The participants were amazing and made the event one to remember, the audience were fantastic, and the hosts made a great event, with everything I could ever desire- all in all this was better than x-mas! But for future references the judges need to harden the f**k up and take a long hard look in the mirror before they deside that they are capable of the relatively easy task of judging- cause you really are not helping anyone with a half ass effort, and poor understanding of the movements you are supposed to judge!

That is it for now- until next time

Much love

Nasty little sucker...

.. Needless to say I am referring to the row, thruster, pull up fran-ish kind of hell that was posted on the main site a couple of days ago- I did it yesterday!
Some workouts have a tendency to just hit you in the head out of nowhere, and this was just that kind of WoD!

I have been going on for a while about the importance of being able to pace yourself through 85% of your workout, and then just let it go during the last 15%- bury your chin in your chest, and suck it up all the way to the finish line.
To be honest with you I thought I had done just that- when an immidiate need for oxygen, which was nowhere to be found, hit me in the gut! The result was that I had to wait an eternity before I could get back on the bar and whip out some more thrusters! I wish I had an excuse or explanation that would make sence, but the truth is probably more along the lines of having an ego that allows me to think more of my capacity than I can actually fullfil! The price I have to pay for that is the "boinking" I experienced yesterday!

So what to do about that? Suck it up, work through it and keep fighting until my fitness catches up with my ego! I am acutely aware that this may never happen, but I'll go out trying!

By the way- my time for the WoD: 17:22!


Stop feeling sorry for yourself!

At the same time as facebook is a fantastic tool to keep in touch with people and remember birthdays, it is also an incrediable medium for showing the world your CrossFit workouts! However this also allows the rest of us to comment on your performance, your form and your attitude:-) So here we go!
I am tired of seeing people during their WoD's who drop the bar and walk around looking at the mirror, yelling out their frustration, chalking up their hands, looking in the camera, making facial expressions etc. before they then get back to the bar and continue the workout.
Stop feeling sorry for yourself during the workouts. If you want the easy workouts then go back to body building, CrossFit is all about intensity, and walking around cursing your WoD, and what not not is not intensity! Needless to say you are more than welcome to rest, breath out the uglies, but then you have to get back to the WoD- you will find that it will do miracles to your workouts, and your fitness..

So please before you post your next video- look through it again, and if a kind remark is actually what you want, more than an honest no shit assesment of your effort, then send it to your best friend, but dont post it on the internet/facebook, myspace etc... Cause you just might get to hear the truth!

Another rant from the insane dane:-)

Much love

Mads

Where did my double unders go?

Yesterday was a rest day, which I guess means that I should have been on the couch taking it easy, and meditating on the WoD's to come- however I have a slightly different approach towards rest days! In my perfect little world rest days, are days where I can spend time on things I have not done in a while, or better yet things I need to improve!
Yesterday it was double unders!

Where did they go?

I realized that it had been a while since I did double unders and decided to do double unders and muscle ups.
Lets just be clear about my history when it comes to double unders. At first I could not do a single one, and was the laughing stock of everyone I knew- then somehow it dawned on me what I had to do- and I suddenly owned them- I tore these suckers apart- I loved them..... Those days are obviously over!
Yesterday I spent more time whipping my legs and arms than actually doing double unders! I need to get them back, so I guess I have to go back to square 1, and learn them all over again!
What happened? suggestions?

Warm up!

I have to ask what you do for warm ups? I have begun doing the Burgner warm up that I always do, and the after that I'll do 25 snake rolls, and 25 ab mat situps. After I have done the above I'll start doing the exercises that the WoD of the day requires.. I have found that this additional warm up, really fires up the posterior chain, which in turn makes the rest to the work out a lot more enjoyable- My question is what do you do?

Swedish Championships!

Surf onto www.crossfitnordic.com and look at the event they have planned for this wekend! It will be a kick ass event and I look forward to seing some stellar performances, from some awesome athetes!
Any thoughts on the programming?

For now that will have to do, so much love!

Out of the woods?

I was talking to a friend of mine who had just gotten a cold, the other day. He shared a bit of wisdom with me, that I have decided to share with you!
He's argument was that women may go through pregnancy and giving birth, and that may all be really hard/painful/ taxing etc. but then again they have never felt the pain men go through when they get a cold!
I am not sure that I want to take the equation quite that far, but I do know that the regular cold is a lot harder on men than on women- we get a lot sicker- and therefore need more care!

As I am sure you have already figured out I have been down with a cold for a coulpe of days, and am steadily finding my way back. I have decided not to rush it, knowing that this kind oof foolishness more often than not results in another week in bed!
That is why I have not been blogging- who wants to hear the continuing story of cough and a sore throught?

So now I am back in the saddle and celebrated with doing a 3 rep 95kg OHS! After that my ego went on a rampage and led me to believe that I was once again invincible- so I did 40 pull ups! After that I went crazy and began havin g thoughts of greatness and that I ws going too kill the power snatch 400m run WoD..
That is where reality caught up with me a a 22 min WoD flanked by a complete loss of bodily functions was the end result- hence the caption- not out of the woods! I still have a ways to go!

CrossFit Challenge!

Have you signed up yet for the challenge in Halmstad? If not the get of you ass and get going! It looks like the good folks of CrossFit Ramstein are sending up some fierce competitors, and a verry enthustastic crowd- they are the hallmark of good spirits!
So lets give them a run for their money and sign up for a very funny competition!

I am also sure that we will all meet this weekend at the Swedish Championships in Solna- if you are not competing you had better be there to support the athletes!

Until tomorrow


Much love

Get some help!

I bet you are all sitting at home now wondering what kind of crazy rant is about to follow that heading? Who has managged to piss of the crazy dane, and what is he going to do about it?
The truth however, is a bit more subtle than that today.

What I am getting at with the heading is that, every once in a while we all need some help if we wnat to evolve as athletes, or as trainers!
I often meet people who work as trainers, but they don't have a trainer themselves. They don't have anyone who looks at their workouts and gives them feedback. They don't have a collegue look at them while they are working with their clients- and then afterwards share the debrief their effort with them! This is really a shame, because it really does make a difference- not only do you become a better athlete when your work ethic and your technique is constantly evaluated/scrutinized, you also become a better trainer when the same tools are applied to your teaching skills!
A bunch of years ago I worked as a trainer at Sturebadet, and all the trainers there were really good at keeping each other in check, and letting one another know if something was not up to par, or if there was any room for improvement! The fact that we did this made us all (most of us) better trainers, and our clients benefitted heavily from this- as did we!
Since I stopped working there noone has really done any evaluation of me as a trainer on a day to day basis, and I never realized how much I missed it until I began working the certs!
On the certs we get continous feedback from the other head trainers, and we get a debrief after the certs from the flowmaster- and I just absolutely love it! It is the only way I can ever evole beyond my own limitations, and to get imput from these people really is a blessing..

So my challenge to you is to sit down and come up with a at least person, whom you would like to have evaluate you, as a trainer/athlete. Then set up an appointment with that person to do just that- make sure it actually happens! Doing so on a regular basis will work miracles for your game!

Needless to say I have also worked out- so yesterday I did:

5 Shoulderpress
10 Push press
15 Push jerk
weight 42,5 kg- 5 rounds for time- 18:43

All I have to say about this one is- that is sucked exactly the way Pat Sherwood said it would!

That is is for now, so until tomorrow

Much love

Blogging for time...

... I stole the heading from the Bear- it is without a doubt one of the funniest things I have heard in a while- blogging about your feats for time! Is it an AMRAP- task priority- deal, or how would it work best? What do you think?

I have just gotten back from the level 1 certification at Chievres air base in belgium. Once again it was an absolute blast, and I think it is safe to say that I had as much fun as the participants at the cert.
It all began really well, after karl and I had met up with Courtney at the airport in Brussels. we went and got the rented car, and made our way towards Chievres- or at least so we thought! The sat nav gave up as soon as we left the parking garage, and left us guessing which way we were supposed to go- that basically meant that for a while we were just driving around in circles with no clue where we were going. Courtney then made a call to the base and asked what way we should go- and they told us to take the E19, so we did, and now we were on our way- the only problem was that we were going the wrong way- so after a while when the sat nav kicked in again and we realized that we were going the opposite way from what we were supposed to- what a fantastic start:-) Im just happy karl was the one driving!

The cert was a absolute blast- just as it was supposed to be- there were som super fun characters there, whom I really hope to get to see soon again. Just to mention a few, there were the ZT mma fighters from Brighton- the Ramstein crew who are always in the best possible mood- the crew from the base, who were super enthusiastic and great hosts to us all- the death defying danes (you guys are heroes!)- the dutch athletes who kicked ass- the local talent from Belgium who took no prisoners during the WoD's.. The list is a lot longer and I would like to thank everyone for making this such a fun cert!
Next cert will be in Lurgan Northern Ireland- are you coming? I can't wait!

Now that I am back it is time to get on with the training in order to catch up with my dear wife and the Uppsala Mob. So today I decided to do a WoD that I had come up with on my own:

Boxjumps 100cm
Pull Ups
1-10-1 for time- 19:35

This was a lot harder than I thought- the box jumps had me breathing harder than I would have liked to- just gotta get back into the groove again!

That was it for now so until tomorrow

Much love

Real fast...

.... is what i have to be today!

I am actually on my way out the door to go to the cert in Belgium, but I promised Martin that I would blogg a little today, so here I am speed-blogging!

Yesterday I had to work like mad, and combined with the complete deprivation of sllep that I had experienced the night before, I had to skip working out, so I'll just share the result for the WoD I did the day before that:

5 box jumps 100cm
10 l-sit ring pull ups
400m run
3 rounds for time: 12:46

I was a horrible littel thing to do, but it felt really good- even tholugh I got stuck on the L- pull ups!

Make ke some space in your calenders for the competition in Halmstad 30/10-1/11.. It will be an absolute blast.
I'll share some more infor with you later, for now view this:

http://www.eleikosport.se/education/Course.asp?PageNumber=3&CourseCategory_Id=14&Course_Id=64

gotta go catch a plane..

much love

Functional movement.....

These days everything is functional! If you walk into a gym that has pilates classes, it is functional. If you meet a trainer who has specialized in Olympic lifts, he is functional. You meet someone who works out on balance boards and swiss balls, they are pacticing functional movements- and the list goes on!

So what is functional movements? well, we say that it is movements that are inbedded in our DNA. It is movements you find in everyday life (ie universal motor recruitment patterns) They are compound but irreducible, meaning that they can not be broken down into smaller parts, practiced, and then put back together with an increased functional capability as a result! and the difinition goes on..
I just googled the definition of functional movement and got a staggering 558 000 results! I guess you could say that there are some opinions outthere on the subject!

I am not going to bore you to death with another defination of functional movement, but my question is if the people who do the pilates classes are trained to be functional? Are the people who do the olympic lifts functional? Are the people on the swiss balls functional?
Those of you who know me have probably already figured out where I stand on this, but let me make it even more obvious with these questions:
Is someone who can snatch 120kg, but not run 5k to save his life functional? Is someone who can squat on a swiss ball, but not pull himself above the pull up bar once to get of the ground, functional? Is the guy who dominates the core class at the gym, but can not keep a stabil midline to support 1/2 his body weight in a squat, functional?
I guess you could say that it is pretty obvious where I stand, but I have been known to be wrong! So what do you think? Do we need another defination?

Today was supposed to be a rest day, but since I'll be going away over the weekend, I have had to make some modifications, so today I did 2 WoD's, here is one:

OHS:
5x40kg
5x50kg
5x60kg
5x70kg
5x80kg
3x90 kg

I should have gone for 5 reps on the last one, but for some odd reason I let it go after 3??? However the good news is that my wrist felt good for the first time in ages- supremely happy about that!

That is it for today, more on the other WoD tomorrow!

Much love

Globo gym stupidity....

For those of you who have not notived, CrossFit has gotten pretty popular worldwide lately- a fact that has not gone unnoticed by the genius' at the Globo gyms in Sweden! So what have they decided to do with this revelation?

One could have hoped that they would have sent some people to the certifications, where they would have gotten valuable information on the exercises, but also on what Crossfit is all about. This information could then have been brought back home, and presented to the numbers crunchers and the decision making genius' at the Globo gym HQ. They could then have applied for an affiliation, and opened a small box somewhere and begun offering CrossFit the the hungry masses looking for a place to do CrossFit, the masses who have spawned the intrest in CrossFit and told all their friends and family about this new way of working out and this new way of looking at and avaluating training!

However- the world is not logic, and common sense is often sacrificed at the Globo gyms all over the world, even in beautiful Stockholm! So what have they done?
They have decided that the best thing to do is to look at the website, and then come up with their own interpretations! They have decided that it is better to do something that looks like CrossFit, piggy back on the name, and hope for the best!
This is about as stupid as seeing someone with a drivers license. Asking them for an explanation to how the whole driving thing works, and then deciding that they dont want to go through the whole process of aquiring a license! So they make a drawing themselves and call it a divers license, and then make their way into traffic. As if this is not stupid enough- they decide that money can be made from selling drivers licenses, so they start offering driving lessons to others who are interested in driving!
The example is absurd- but it is exactly what is happening when Planet Fitness begin offering X-fit, och World Class offer X-fit express or how about www.lifeportalen.se who have begun offering lifecross? There are more I just dont have the stomach to keep on going- I am already fighting to keep my delicious paleo meal down!
None of these places are affiliated, and most of the people who lead the classes in these places have never been to a certification, and the ones who have, must have been sleeping through every bit that explaned what it is we do!
Stockholm has turned into the wild west, at the same time as the Globo gym asylom opened their door to the public again!

So my advice to you is to stay clear of any place and any person who say they are doing CrossFit and offering CrossFit classes, unless they can tell you when they did their certification, and when they became affiliated- mainly because these people are by defination frauds, and I would never want to let a fraud be responsible for my fitness! I would'nt even let that person wash my car!

If you have encountered more examples of gyms, trainers etc, please share them here- I have a feeling that there are plenty!

WoD:

Yesterday I did a horrible little thing, that sounded cool form the beginning, but was a lot harder than I thought it would be:

Pull ups
Push ups
1 t0 10 to 1 for time: 09:46

Gotta go for now, but I'll be bac tomorrow!

Much love

Mads

Wow that sucked!

I guess I could be a little more careful with my captions, but I expect parents with young and impressionable kids to monitor what their kids read about on the internet, so they don't get caught up in all this CrossFit jazz!

Let's not pretend it did'nt happen and admit that I did workout yesterday, and got my ass handed to me big time by the Crossfit Bear- who is, as it turns out a pathological liar! Noone cruises around the entire summer doing boathouse WoD's and then comes back and manhandles Martin and I the way the Bear did yesterday! I'm cool with being beaten, as long as it is by someone who has fought to do so:-)
Bear you are a monster, and I am super stoked that you were that fast! I am actually thinking about doing a couple of years of boathouse WoD's to catch up with you:-)

The WoD was:
Powercleans 82,5kg
Ring Dips
12-9-6-3 for time
My time 08:26 ( No! I am not going to let you know what the man beast got! 08:02)

I had some kind of plan to do 3 reps, breathe 3 deep breaths, and then go on, and continue like that all the way to the finish line- that went out the window pretty fast! I usually work out with chalk, but did'nt have any yesterday, so I kept loosing the grip on the bar and actually managed to drop a couple! I need to do more WoD's without chalk and get a stronger grip is the lesson learned from that!
I did kip on the ring dips, and if I remember correctly the Uppsala mob did'nt!!! I would love to do them strickt, but hey! I just want to get the job done, and move some mass fast, said the lazy dane!

Michal the polish predator came along yesterday as well and with a 60kg bar finished the WoD in 08:46.... this is his 3rd real CrossFit workout ever- if he desides to stick with it, he will be kicking ass and taking numbers real soon!

Well today is a rest day, that I am spending with my son, while my beautiful wife is enjoying the sun with some friends.. So the junior don and I are on our way to go get some icecream!

Until tomorrow my dear friends

Much love

Enhance your calm!

This is a kick ass quote from a movie that is otherwise best enjoyed the day after some heavy drinking (I'd imagine) or some other sort of recreational activity that has rendered your brain useless... Maybe I could add puberty to the list? What do you think?

The "enhance your clam!" line- is given to Wesley Snipes, by a police officer of the future, right after he has thrown a guy through a window! My application is far less dramatic, but as opposed to the request made to Wesley Snipes- this one actually worked:-) I did'nt trhow anyone through a window! And the workout went smoother!

Yesterday it was time to do a WoD that could easily have been concived by doctor Evil, Blofeld or why not go big right away and say that it was the master plan of the man himself, Martin Altemark (with some help from the Bear)- while they had your favorite dane in mind:

500m row
21 Burpees
400m run

3 rounds for time!
Time 17:12

I'm actually ok with the row! Burpees however leave me sleepless for weeks, and I just absolutely hate them, primarily because I don't do them very well! That takes us to running which is another one of the avtivities that I hate because I do it so poorly. I think recordings of me runing have actually been used to torture people into admitting stuff they had never done- that is how ugly it is:-)
So needless to say the WoD yesterday was not fun:-) The good part is that the Polish Terminator Michal, came along and raced me to the finishline- had he not ben there I would have gone a lot slower!

What does all this have to do with enchancing ones calm? Well- I tried to take it easier at first (thats right -enhancing my calm) and then progressively going faster through the WoD- ie pacing myself, and it actually worked out really well. It will never be a fun WoD for me, but pacing myself made it bearable...

So today it's time to convince Michal to come along and a nasty little CrossFit Uppsala combo- more on how that goes tomorrow:-)

Much love

Sometimes you do- sometimes you dont..

get it the way you wanted it!

Yesterday the plan was to either hook up with the Crossfit monarch from Uppsala, graciously visiting with the mortals in Stockholm- or to do the chipper from the 2009 CrossFit games! It all depended on how the day would turn out? would I have the time to work out in the afternoon or would I have to work out during the day?

As it turned out I could have done both, if I had not buried myself with the chipper!
In the morning it looked like I would have to pass on the workout with Load, Jling and Martin- so I called another friend and asked if he would like to come along for a workout- being the true Polish terminator that Michal is he took the challenge, and we made our way to Crossfit Haga!
I dont know what on earth made me think that the Chipper would be something right up my alley- but that was the initial thought, and I felt really amped for the workout! I dont know what Michal felt, but he looked very relaxed, which kind of freaked me out!

My result for the games 2009 chipper: 29:52!

Let me just share a few observations with you. The first cleans took their toll! The thrusters were a menace, and took forever to finish! I hate burpees altoghther! What a beast!
I should be able to shave a little time of this one, but it hurt like hell, and I felt really worked after I had done it....... So needles to say I'll do it again, and I look forward to it:-)
Michal battled it out and really great, chasing we all the way through it!

Later that day I found out that some of my clients actually have lives to attend to beside the CrossFit training that we do- so I got the rest of the day of..
I went home, spent some time with Jenny and Rasmus before we all went over to Västberga IP and met up with Load, Jling and Martin!
They were playing around in the rings doing stuff that would cost my battered shoulder several years of rehab- if I ever decided to try to do that!
They are all in super shape, so I tried to talk them into hanging out, eating candy, chips and about a dusin other things that would give me another day to play "catch up with the monsters"-but they declined gracefully and asked if I could recommend a WoD??
I just so happened to have an idea for a classic: 150 push ups, everytime you leave the push up position you pay with a 400m run- this is all done for time!
They batteled it out and really did perform very well- I forget the times, but I was really impressed with their efforts.
It was a pleassure to see Martin again and even if he will never admit I think he may be a force to be reconned with at the competition next month!
I was also a pleassure to meet Load and Jling in person, after having heard so much about them. They are super athletes and very enjoyable to hang out with! I hope to get to spend a lot more time with them in the future.. Even if that means that I will have to come up with a whole new batch of excuses as to why I got my ass kicked in every WoD we do together!

So much for now- today is a horrible little row-burpee- run combo! hmmmm

Much love

Flashdance?

While my better half is watching flashdance, I have decided to get back into the blogg sphere that I have had a tendency to dip in and out of. The ambition however is to become as good at keeping up the reports of battles fought and progress made, as the blogg masters of CrossFit Uppsala, David, Jon etc.
Even if I know that I still have a lot of ground to cover before I get there, I will make an honest attempt!

Today was a rest day and I had planned to reherse the progressions and lectures for the upcoming cert in Belguim, but I decided to actually take the day off. So instead of staying at work going through the papers, I decided to go home!

This bring me to the topic, or rather the question I wanted to ask you today. What do you do on your rest days? Do you rest? Do you spend the day making up a WoD that you have missed? Do you spend the day improving your skill set in moves that you feel you need to improve? Do you just go home spend time with your family, and then do everything you can to avoid having to watch a chick flick like Flashdance?
Please share how you spend your rest days, and why you have chosen to disperse of your rest days the way you have!

Well- tomorrow I was supposed to do fight gone bad, but instead I will either be working out with Martin Altemark, who is making a celebrity visit among us motals in el Stockolmo- or I will do the chipper that was the last workout of the Games this year! I am hoping to workout with Martin, but we will see how that plan works out:-) More on that tomorrow!

Looking forward to hearing how you spend your rest days!

Much love

Keeping it short...

Yesterday it was time to gut it out and get back on the reservation- with Cindy!

I did the workout with Micke Syd and Jenny at Haga, and actually felt really good about the workout. I was looking forward to getting back into the groove of things after having been on the sidelines for a couple of weeks- afterwards I wondered what the hell had happened?

I got 18 rounds 5 pull ups and 8 push ups!

I was on fire the first 10 rounds, and then I just crashed and burned! I dont know what it was that did me in, but I had no power at all! The only thing that really worked was the pull ups, everything else just hurt:-)
So just like I said yesterday- I had to gut it out, and just take one rep after the other until the buzzer went of and I was saved by the bell!

At first I had no clue what had happened, and trying to explain why my effort was that bad, when I had felt so ready for this workout, seemed impossible- until it dawned on me that I have been "cherry picking" for a couple of weeks, and avoided the WoD's that would put me in the places I really dont like to be- and as you know "we fail at the boundries of our comfort zones"! rude awakening! I just have to follow the WoD's religiously and get back into the suck!

jenny absolutely tore it up and did 19 rounds, and looked like she could have gone faster, but she paced herself via me, which was her demise on that one- sorry honey!
Micke got 12 rounds and looked really good doing it- he kept great intensity all the way to the finish line- super proud of his effort!

Well- today is the clean and jerks on the minute- that will be fun!

Much love

Mads

Baby got back!

This will just be a really short entry, since I am just slowly getting back after a long vacation! The vacation however has resulted in a desperate need to go cold turkey, and get back on the waggon- Denmark has a habbit of messing you up, so if you are going down there watch out..

Yesterday was a short workout just to get back in the groove:

C&J 5x40 kg- 10 CTB pull ups
C&J 5x50 kg- 10CTB pull ups
C&J 5x60 kg- 10 CTB pull ups
C&J 5x70kg- 10 CTB pull ups
C&J 5x80 kg- 10CTb pull ups

I tried to do the CTB with the buterfly technique, hoping that it would do less damage to my shoulder, but I was sadly mistaken.... Maybe CTb is just not my thing anymore?

Well, back to following to .com wods- today is Cindy! Gut it out:-)

Much love

Mads

Summer laziness...

... I wish I could have come up with a fantastic excuse as to why I have not been blogging lately, but then again as you all know excuses are like opinions and assholes- everybody has one! So I'll just leave it at that and move on to the good stuff!

I have been following the .com WoDs lately hitting them as hard as I possibly could, which has resulted in some serious ass whopping, and not the kind that leaves me cheering that I am the greatest while the "eye of the tiger" music mysteriously appears from nowhere, nop- it has been the kind that leaves you in a heep on the floor, wondering if anyone caught the number of the truck that just ran over you!

Randy!
That is where it began. I honestly looked at the video of the dear mr Everett doing the Wod, and thought something along the lines of- " add a minut to that and you have my score! I think he did it in like 2:28!
To even think something like that is just downright rude, and I should probably just start by making excusses, but you know how I feel about excuses!
I finished in 6 min flat- and it hurt! I would have never thought that my grip would take such a beating from 75lbs! I almost lost the bar in the transition on more than one occation, and when I finally got to goal- my forearms were shot to pieces...
Hmm lesson number one!

Badger!
This was where I got my second ass whooping! I knew from previous encounters that this little sucker hurts, but I have always been able gut it out and get through it in a decent time- however this was diffferent all together!
I started out hard and felt like I tore through the first round like the beast I would like to think I am (though that little conspiracy theory has been proven wrong more than once, I like to hang on to it), and everything was going fine until I hit the second round of squat cleans! The hearing was first to go, shortly after which my vision started getting blurred, and my balance went to shit- I have no clue what happened, but I started toying with the thought of tapping out, when I remenbered Tony Budding's comment when he challanged Freddie to a shoulder press show down- "Sometimes it's more important to be a man than to be right!"- so I decided to gut it out, which took me all of 43min and some change.... Horrible effort, but I finished, and that has to count for something!

Tabata Row!
Martin and Björn of CrossFit Uppsala began racing each other with tabata rows, and in some strange way I got drawn into this little feud- so yesterday was all about tatata rows for me. All I can say is that it hurt, and it was nowhere as fun as I know you all thought it sounds!
I got 860m, and I hope I don't have to do this again in anytime soon!

Question:
In this years individual games there will be 5 events on the first day! After the first two events the bottom 10 participants will be cut from the competition! Is that fair? Should not someone who has travelled half way around the world to participate in the Games and paid for this themselves, be allowed to articipate in all the WoD's, or do you think it is ok that this person is cut as soon as it is apparent that he/she can not win the competition? Where do you stand?

Untill next time

Much love