The ABC of deadlifts!

Lately I have shared a bunch of deep thoughts on different subjects relating to CrossFit, and if you want get philosofical about it, life in general! So today I have decide to go the the other side of the house and get into some observations on the deadlift! If you are a monster deadlifter and you have some thoughts you feel like you would like to share with the world- please do share them also!

For those of you who do not know yet, I have a love affair with the deadlift, and most offspring from the deadlift! This also means that I have had a tendency to really geek out and dig into all the different schools of thought on how to execute the deadlift! Lately however I have come to a realization that I would like to share!



A deadlift is basically just the process of bending down and picking something of the ground. However, in order to be able to do so more than once and with a slightly heavy load there are some considerations to be made! If you decide to neglect these completely there are pretty fair odds that you will get into a world of trouble with your back, and the only one you will benefit will be your osteopath, chiropracter, napapat etc. who will have a field day trying to reassemble the debris that was once your spine!

These considerations are:
- Weight on your heels!
- Lumbar curve maintained!
- Shoulders above or slightly in front of the bar!
- Symetrical grip just outside of shoulder width!
- Arms straight!
- Bar in contact with you shins!

You all know these and I am sure that you have heard them all a million times before, at least if you have had the "pleassure" of having me around when you do your deadlifts!

So far so good, this is the part that most can agree on?? But what happens when you begin to move? This is where the differences begin to show. Or is it?

What I have found to be fantastic points of performance is to stay on your heels, raise your butt to where your lumbar curve is picture perfect, and you begin to feel tension building in your hamstrings. You tighten your grip and secure your midline, and lift! You raise your hips and shoulders in the same speed until the bar passes your knees, after that you open your hip completely, and voilà you are in the top position of the deadlift!

The actual lifting of the bar is less controversial, but the starting point is where tempers begin to flare! All I intend to do with the athletes I coach, is to try to build up tention in their hamstrings, glutes and erectors before they even attempt to lift the bar, thus ensuring that the midline is never compromised! This approach also has the advantage that every inch of movement produced by their hamstrings, glutes and erectors translates into movement on the bar! Aha! That is exactly what I want since these are the primal movers in this lift. So where would the point be in letting them move without getting any elevation on the bar?
So where the starting point will be will differ from athlete to athlete depending on their levers and flexibility? Yes sir! The basics need to be in place, but where that leaves the individual is different from athlete to athlete! Beautiful is it not? we are all built differently, which means that there are basic universal rules for safety, but where that leaves the individual is..... that is right- different from person to person!

So now.. please do share what do you think is a good deadlift? What needs to be taken into consideration? How do you teach it? How were you taught? Did it work?

Much love

Sectionals 2011!

Let me just begin by saying that I know as little and as much as the next guy! The information I have is from what has been posted on the journal, so things can still change, or I could have gotten something completely wrong!



Here is my take on what is going to happen, and how I feel about it?

The setup!
It appears that the sectionals 2011, will be a six week deal where workouts will be released, and the athletes who feel like giving it a try can simply do the workouts, at either an approved affiliate or anywhere else! All they have to do is video tape the effort and submit it to Crossfit! Could it be any easier?
I am sure more information on the standards will be published as we get closer!

How do I feel about that?
To me it is a simple matter really! Last year athletes who could not make it to the sectionals were more or less S#*T out of luck! If they were not there they could not qualify- This year anyone anywhere can compete, and try to make it to the Regionals!
This also means that all the people who spent a fortune on travelling to the sectionals, can save their money and spend it on grass fed protein sources and skins!
The cost of competing has gone down by 90-95%!! Once again that just means that more people will be able to compete, without having to wonder if they can afford to do so!
So basically all you need this year is a camera and internet access and you are good to go (provided you have the equipment needed to do the WoDs) could it be any easier?



The criticism has been that the fantastic atmosphere and cameradery that we experienced at last years sectionals will be lost, and since we dont all have to get together to compete the community as such will suffer!
I hear you! I have to admit however that I dont think the sectionals built anything that was not there already! The cameradery I felt was there long before I walked into the sectionals, and if you show me a video of someone fighting as hard as these athletes di I will feel the exact same way again- the community and the bond between crossfitters worldwide is there already, that is not something that will go away because of one less competition!

I am stoked about this years setup! More people get to compete, at a lesser price, with a lot less paperwork! Any affiliate who wants to set up a sectional can do so, and if you are far off in the boondocks or down range, you can still submit your workouts and make it to the next cut! I just dont see what is not to like about this?

How do you feel? Thoughts, ladies and gentlemen please do share!

Much love

How do YOU coach an athlete?

Before we get into the deep end of the pool and begin discussing how you coach an athlete, and how you like to be coached, I would like to define what I mean by athlete, and what I mean by coaching?

In this context I will consider an athlete pretty much anyone you will find in your box. Whether the athlete is at a level where he/she wants to compete in the Games, or if he/she is on route to performing their first air squat without looking like a train wreck, really does not matter here today- they are all athletes!
So whether you are about to call Dave Castro to give him an inside tip on the next years winner of the Games, or if you are about to call a medic to pick up the human debris that is left after this person has performed the simplest movements- it really does not matter- they are both athletes in this context!

Coaching! When talking about coaching I am simply referring to the process of guiding and giving advice to any given athlete on how to perform better! I am not talking about making up ellaborate plans for future goals! I am talking about how you coach right now!

So lets get started!

I have had the pleassure of meeting a lot of very gifted CrossFit coaches, and been blessed with the opportunity to be trained by them in all kinds of enviroments. There have been 1 on 1 sessions, classes, and workshops, there have been competition like situations and just playing around trying to work on things that would probably never be used again!
What I have found however is that there is a certain kind of coach that always seems to give me sense that I am taking a little extra something with me from the workout. It can be a technical pinpoint that has made me move better! An insigt into the complexity of a movement that has helped me understand said movement better! Or just a comment that has helped me push through the WoD when I was about to fold and call it a day! Whatever it may be there is always that sense of having been a part of something bigger than a workout!


A couple of examples of coaches like that are inevidable, so here comes the ass kissing:

Karl Steadman- This man has a way of seeing/understanding movements better than anyone I have ever had the pleassure of training with! He knows immidiately where the problem in the movement is, and with very subtle instructions he makes me move better just like that! He never brings out the sledge hammer and shreds everything I do to pieces! Instead he makes me move better in degrees, beginning with the obvious, and then moving down the line, leaving the detail work until all the gross mechanics are in place!
He is a wizard and if you ever get the chance to watch him work, or be coached by him- do yourself a favor and take it!


Martin Altemark- Unfortunately I dont get to spend as much time with him as I would like to, but I know that if I did, a bunch of my old PB's would be in serious danger. He has a way of always making me work a bit harder than I originally intended, without pushing me into the proverbial wall and into the arms of Pukie! Still, without going that far he always motivates and focusses on taking the WoD on step further! It is a quality lost on many, and I wish he could write a book about what it is he does- I think a lot of us would buy it!

So what is it that makes these guys such excellent coaches? The answer is simply that they make me a better athlete, which is exactly what I am striving to become! I will go as far as to say that that is what we should all strive towards! If it is not your goal, please stop reading and go back to focussing on the latest bicep curl blaster extravaganza in the globo gym magazines!
Sorry got carried away there:-)

But there are other coaches outthere who are the exact opposite, and they too have produced fantastic results with their athletes! How could that possibly be? Could it be that there is more than one way to being a fantastic coach? Could it be that you get your thrills and motivation in the exact opposite way that I do, and still you evolve?

Of course there is more than one side to the coin, and of course different things rock your boat and make you a better athlete! The big question is what we do with that discovery? Do we gravitate towards the coaches whom we feel hit all the right spots and leave the others to themselves, ignoring that they have also reached their goals with their athletes, or do we embrace these coaches as well and pick what we can use and discard what we cant use?


My answer would be to do just that! Find some coaches whom you can relate to, and who give you the sense of always evolving and improving, and spend 95% of your time working with them! But you should also try to train with some coaches whom you find to be the opposite, and maybe not quite your first hand choice- there just may be some really brilliant advice just lying around just begging to be discovered there too!

On the coaches side of the house there is also some soul searching to be done! You need to spend time with other coaches, watching them teach, training with them in order to evolve as a coach. If you dont, you easily fall into the trap of becomming a "one-trick-pony" and when that happens you have limited yourself and virtually every single athlete you work with! Dont be afraid to learn from other coaches! It is the only way to evolve, and who knows- maybe one day you will be able to help all athletes, no matter how they click and what they need to become better athletes- Would'nt that be something!

So my question is this! Who is your favorite coach and why, and what do you do to become a better coach?

Much love

Burn the posers!

Have you ever tried telling a joke to someone who was def, and could only lip read in another language than the one you spoke? Probably not! I think we can all agree that the effort would be wasted, and both parties would be none the richer- so why even try!

Keeping this in mind todays little piece of my mind may come as a bit of a surprise, because the ones who would benifit the most from reading it are the ones who have yet to do their first CrossFit WoD, or have very recently stumbled through the doors of some box, and begun their journey into the light of CrossFit, constantly varied functional movement executed at high intensity, and all that this entails! This is for all of you, even though I doubt that you will find my blog in time to read this!
I actually had my doubts if I should write this, but then I remembered that I told my son that I loved him, long before he was capable of comprehending any kind of language- Sometimes you just have to share the love:-)

It has happened on more than one occation that people have come into our box, and been completely oblivious to the most rudementary components of ie an airsquat, even though they claim have been doing CrossFit for a while! At first I assumed that some kind of misunderstanding had occured and that they had been doing something other than CrossFit, and that they had simply chosen to drink their Kool Aid from another cup- and therefore chosen a generic brand!
Every once in a while this was the case, and of course there is absolutely nothing wrong with having done something else than CrossFit, it could even turn out to be beneficial to you in your endevours into CrossFit!
However! It has hapened more than once and way too often to be a coincidence that people have insisted that they did CrossFit, yet had the skill level of a soccer player ( I know a bunch and they are not apt in much else than soccer- but since they make so much cash I dont think they care- you know who you are) in even the simplest movements! How could this be?

The truth is that there are a bunch of people outthere who claim to be doing CrossFit, but they lack even the simplest understanding of CrossFit and the most common movements! But they have watched the videos and seen a workout of two, and genuinly believe that this qualifies them to teach CrossFit to others!

I am about to work up a serious steem here, so before I go nuts and begin dropping names and websites left and right, allow me to make the obvious even more obvious!

- Would you go to a dentist whose only reference was that he had a few teeth of his own, and a brand new wrench?

- Would you let someone with no understanding of cars, repair your favorite car- just because they had a drivers licence?

- Would you get on a plane flown by someome whose only credentials were that he had 1 000 000 000 frequent flyer miles?

- Would you eat medicine produced by someone whose only qualification was that he had taken Advil at some point?

Needless to say you would never turn to any of these people- so dont turn to someone without proper CrossFit training to train CrossFit! Ask to see the CrossFit certification? Look on CrossFit.com to see if the box/gym is affiliated? Ask where your trainer trains, and with whom... Basically do your background check, to see that you are getting the quality you deserve! It will save you time and money at the same time as it just may save you a bunch of injuries suffered from doing functional movements completely wrong!

I could ramble on forever about why you deserve the best possible introduction into CrossFit, but like with everything else in life- my motives are purely for my own benefit! I just want to be able to sleep at night knowing that no madmen are out there destroying what CrossFit stands for with their incompetence!

Whether you descide to love or hate CrossFit is entirely up to you, but whatever your decision is, you should be given the chance to make that decision based on actual exposure to CrossFit, and not on some lunatics interpretation of what they guess, it could be!

If you are going to do it, do it right!

Much love

You say tomato, I say tomato! Diets in a Nutshell!

This past weekend I had the pleassure of working at the CrossFit Level 1 cert in London! Certs are the best thing in the world! I loved them when I was an attendee, and feel the exact same now that I get to work them! They just make me happy at the same time as I have never been to one of these certs without feeling I was a better athlete when I got back! Certs Rock!

At these certs I sometimes have the pleassure of spending time with some of the best CrossFit athletes in the world. One of the coolest things about CrossFit athletes is that they are easily accessable, and very open about what it is they do, and how they do it! They are the product of a commnity where everyone is equal, and sharing information is the very baseline of their being! It never seizes to amaze me how freely these supernatural people share the secrets of the trade- I hope this open-mindedness and accesability never fades away!

What do you do?

So what do you do when you have some of the worlds most fit athletes there with you? Well, you begin to pick their brain about virtually every subject under the sun, in a permanent pursuit of enlightenment! What better place to turn to?

So I have asked a bunch of these über athletes about their diets, and food habits! What diet do you follow? What do you do on cheat days? Do you zone? Do you eat paleo? Is there a secret that you would like to share when it comes to nutrition?

What really baffeled me was that virtually every single athlete had a different story to tell! Every athlete had a different approach to diets, and they all followed more or less different diets? They had diffrent approaches to cheat days, and food supplements!
How could that possibly be? Is there not one diet that reins supreme above all others? Is there not one diets that has gotten it all right, and once I get onto the program I will have all the answers?
The answer is no! Every single athlete outthere is different, and we all live different lives, and our days look different from athlete to athlete. This means that you have to find a diet that fits your lifestyle, temper, training regimen, goals, current family situation etc. and for every single solitary one of you the end result will be different!

So what I am trying to say is that if there is one thing I have learned from these rolemodel superstars, it is that you have to gain as much knowledge as humanly possible about nutrition ( and never relent or think that you are done ) and after that you have to find a golden path right down the middle that will be your personal solution to the whole nutrition discussion! You can not just read a book, and follow everything that is in this book, and from there on expect to win the Games, and rule supreme! Guess what, nutrition is just like everything else- dependant on the individual! So go be an individual:-)

This guy obviously did his nutrition homework!


Much love

Have we lost focus or have we found it?

I heard an interesting comment today, from a swedish naprapat who has had the pleassure of treating a fair number of CrossFit athletes from their "battle scars" from encounters with various WoD's! I happen to know a bunch of the people this guy has helped, and they are a mixed lot, representing everyting from the top tier competitors to the complete novices- you could say that the only thing these people have in common is that they have drunk to Kool Aid!

Anyways, this guy was not too impressed with CrossFit! He thought that we had all forgotten to strengthen and condition ourselves for the WoD's we do, before we dwelve into the insanity of high reps and high intensity! The consequence being that we had to compensate for our shortcomings by developing areas that were already strong, while increasing the gap to the muscles that were weak from the beginning? The result being a never ending line of injuries that would just continue to resurface?

What do you think? Is this guy just another hater, or is he actually on to something?



I know that I have had my fair share of injuries, and I bet I still have a lot more to come! However I happen to think that the problems I have had to deal with were more or less my own fault, and caused by pure breed stupidity- how convenient it would have been to be able to blame it on something else:-)

I would like to think that the weaker parts automatically catch up with the rest of the body when you spend a fair amount of time on doing functional movements, and I think that I have seen a couple of briliant examples of that were phenomenon, or have I just been dreaming?

Much love

Programming genius!

Most folks who do CrossFit get to a point where the brilliant idea of doing their own programming pops up on their radar! Usually they will press it to the back of their minds, but then after a while it just becomes too tempting, and they get on with it!
I for one love it when this happens, because it is like watching a child get into puberty! The world is at their feet and with all their wisdom and the revolutionary programming they are about to unleash on themselves they will be the fathers and mothers of a new world order!
When I have the opportunity to watch this process from a front row seat, I usually just lean back and watch the blend of complete disaster with pure genius, and blatant disregard of the experience so freely shared in the CrossFit Journal and online from thousands and thousands who have walked this path before, and maybe there is even one or two brights lights who actually paid attention at the level 1 cert, and remember what was said in the programming lecture! I love and thoroughly enjoy this enhusiastic disregard of knowledge gained, and the courage to dwelve into virtually anything they can come up with! Some really fantastic programming has actually come from this very process- I have nothing whatsoever against people who do this and try it on themselves! More power to you!

What I do have something to say about is the person who begins to program for others! Once you begin to program for someone other than yourself, you have actively taken responsibility for the success of that persons fitness regimen! This is a pretty big responsibility, and if you have not had some seroius thoughts about the depth of your commitment, then you should respectfully decline the opportunity to program for someone else...... If you feel fine about it and feel that you can fill these shoes without problems, then please do program for others!

One thing that I often see that really bothers me, is when the person who does the programming lets his/her own goals poison the programming of others! If you are a oly lifting freak, and find yourself programming for someone else, who ends up doing some sort of oly lift at least 4 days a week, but have never gone unbroken, or had to do a hero WoD! Then something is definately wrong and chances are pretty big that the athletes following this genius programming will never see the shaddow of their goals! The same can be said if your poison is kettlebells, running, gymnastics etc. You get the point!

Another one of the things that really gets me up in a knot is when the programming genius becomes convinved of his/her own genius, and falls into the trap of routine. When the athlete following this bright lights programming, wonders what is in the cards for the day, but already knows what the structure of the WoD will be like. They may not know what the specific details of the WoD but they know more or less what the workout is going to look like! When this happens, you know for a fact that the programming has become more routine than thought!

Author of the any ashole workout? This is the guy who just wants to knock the S%#T out of you and adds up all the worst exercises he can think of, and comes up with an insane rep scheme.... all designed to put you on your ass! There is no rhyme or reason behind the WoD other than making the author feel like a bigger man?? What do you think this ego massage is going to do for your overall fitness??




The list is long, so if you have been programming for others for a while, my advice to you is to seek help!
Let others program for the athlete/athletes you have been programming for, and follow that programming yourself!
Cruise other CrossFit boxes websites and become inspired! Look at other sites and see what they are doing!
Read the CrossFit Journal, and what it has to say on programming!
Do another Level 1 cert and pay attention to the programming lecture! Especially if Karl Steadman is the man in charge of it!
Never think that you have all the answers!

What advice do you have for people who program? What is your experience of people programming you? When programming for yourself, please knock yourself out my friends! When programming for someone else you need to take the responsibility that comes along with it!

Much love

Let there be light!

Lately I have been having all kinds of problems with my lower back, and as a result I have not been able to work out with the intensity that I would like to. This has forced me to spend more time on improving my weaknesses, and since the are a bunch of them, the process of choosing what to spend time on was actually easy! I could choose whatever!

The interesting part was that I had to actually sit down and make a list of things that I suck at and then prioritize! I decided that my mobility or lack thereof was probably the root of all the back pain. So after consulting some of the best sources I could possibly imagine, I ended up with a long list of exercises that would help me on my way to improved mobility! I have been doing these exercises for a while now and my mobility has gotten better... a lot better..... who would have thought that persistance pays of?
My back however is still giving me trouble, granted that it is not the same kind of trouble that I was experiencing before, but I am still inhibited by my lower back! So what could the problem be??
I was in complete darkness until a dear friend and collegue solved the riddle today!

I have spent countless hours on improving my posture, arching my lower back in the squats, maintaining the stabile midline through virtually every lift you can imagine. I have worked hard to be able to do this, and complemented with various exercises such as back extentions, hip extentions, box squats, good mornings and the list goes on and on! But how often have I actually spend time on my abs? The answer is never!
I have never spent any significant time on my abs, compared to how much time I have spent on my lower back! The truth is that if there was not an ab exercise in the WoD of the day I did'nt do ab work!
I did one single workout today with focus on midline stability, primarily through the abs, and tonight I am pain free... completely pain free for the first time in weeks!

So I am sitting at home wondering if I am the only one who has made the mistake of never putting the same amount of emphasis on my abs as I have done on my lower back, and as a consequence gotten far stronger in my lower back than in my abs?
I am not saying that I just found the holy grail to cure all back pain! But continuing on yesterdays topic, I think it is fair to claim that I had not found the best possible balance in my workout regimen, and as a result I have been having all kinds of trouble and have had to modify my training and cancel teaching at certs (one of my favorite things in the world).... Are you on your way to ending up in the same dead end, or have you been there?

I am thinking this guy does'nt have my problems due to weak abs!


Supremely happy that I am better, and may have found a way back into the light!

Much love

Oly lifting.. the bane of CrossFit?

I know it has been a while since I last felt like I had something to share with anybody on this blog, and so I have been quit for a while.. Someone taught me the lesson the hard way that silence is golden, and for once I guess I decided to listen!

But hey, guess what? I guess I'll just never learn! So here I go again!

Lately I have met a bunch of people who have all decided that the way to become better CrossFit athletes, is to spend more time, a lot more time, on oly lifling!
These are without exception all athletes who already have some capacity in oly lifting! However these are also athletes who will tell you that they still do not master pistols, buterfly pull ups, or a substantional amount of regular kipping pull ups, HSPU, front levers, MU and the list goes on. They are also athletes who will without blinking tell you that they still have a long way to go before they would even begin to consider themselves and their mobility to be up to par!

Those of you who were raised on the early CrossFit videos from the old Santa Cruz HQ, and the early CrossFit Journal articles. Those of you who read everything you could get your hands on, because the articles were still so few and far between, may just remember that there were 10 basic skills, that we were all attempting to improve! Do you also remember that the theory was that you were only as strong as your weakest link, and so we should always try to improve the things we dreaded the most and were least capable in! The theory was that raising the lowest markers would do more for our overall fitness, then becomming marginally better at the things we already good at!
Those of you who have done a level 1 cert should be nodding now, remembering that your flowmaster drilled this point pretty hard..... right!?


So if we have bought into the CrossFit theory, and truly believe that what we are being taught at the certs is more than just words to fill in the time before the group photo and the WoD- then why have we not embraced this fact? Why is it that more and more athletes are spending more and more time on the bar, and less and less time on making simple exercises a part of their exercise base?
What do you think would benifit these athletes more? Adding 5kg to their Squat clean, or snatch, or actually being able to do pistols?? I know where I'd put my money.. Where would you put yours?


Much love

Why do a level 1 cert?

It actually does happen that I get online, not to share some crazy rant about things that seem more or less obvious to the rest of the world, or to share some of my medioker traning results, but because I have something I just want to get of my chest! Today is one of those rare instances, so please bare with me.-)

If you are new to CrossFit the reasons to do a level 1 cert are more or less obvious- you want to learn more about the new love of your life, and you want to find out how to speed up the results that are already flowing like a river! You are learning new skills, and improving the ones you already have, at the same time as a sensation is dawning on you- With constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity, you are actually coming closer to your goals, at the same time as you are having fun with your workouts- all you want now is a thumbs up that you are actually doing things the right way! So attending a cert feels like the best way to do so!

The challenge however is to get the ones who have done CrossFit for a longer period of time, and feel like everything is going according to plan, to attend a level 1 cert! I often hear these people say that they dont feel like they need the cert, what could they possibly get out of a level 1 cert? They are already more than proficient at CrossFit and dont need to spend a large amount of money, and time on going over the basics they already master!
I will not pass any kind of judgement on these people, but I will share why I think everybody should do at least one cert!

What is CrossFit?
This could be one of the best lectures at a CrossFit cert! How often have you gotten the question: " Dude, what is CrossFit?" "Why do you do what you do?"
This is where you get the answer to the question! After you have had the pleassure of hearing for example Pat Sherwood dissect what CrossFit really is, this question will be a pleassure to answer!

Technique vs intensity!
How often have you heard that crossfitters dont care about technique, and that all we do is rush through our workouts, with no concern whatsoever to the execution of the movements we perform? It is like banging your head against the wall trying to explain that this is not the case at all, unless you have had a very thorough breakdown of the issue, by someone like Adrian Bosman. After having had the plaassure of listening to a bunch of these lectures I just love that question! I cant wait to get to explain just why it is that we try to press to the very borders of our capacity at all times, in pursuit of optimized athletic capacity

Programming!
Who does not want to know about the programming of CrossFit? At some point of your CrossFit career you will begin to program for yourself or for others. When you do so, it is a great idea to know how to avoid being the one who came up with WoD's that effectively broke down yourself and the athletes you programmed for, instead of taking them one step closer to becomming better athletes! If the above is not enough, then just wait until you have the pleassure of listening to Karl Steadman go through the basics of programming, and you will also be a believer!

The movements!
The more you talk to the superstars of CrossFit and the complete beginners, you find that they all have one thing in comon- the quest to master the basic moves!
No matter where you are at, there is still something to improve on your air squat, your push press, your med ball clean, your deadlift etc. No matter who you are these basic techniques are just never mastered!
Going over these movements at a cert will not just cast light on what you need to work on, but also give you some tools to work with when you begin to work with others!

The community!
If none of the above has gotten you hooked, this should be reason enough to do a least one cert!
When you go do a cert you will meet a bunch of other people from all over the world, and you will have no shortage of topics to discuss! we all share the same passion, and have the same intrest in CrossFit. So when you are done with the cert you will have found new friend from all over the world! I know it sounds corny and lame, but it is just the way it works! You exchange mail adresses, add each other on facebook, and suddenly the world just go a little smaller- so the next time you go to Iceland you wont just look at vulcanos and warm springs, you will go meet up with your new friends and get a couple of WoD's in..

we all have our own reasons for attending certs, or not atending certs, but if you have the chance to do a cert, dont hesitate- you will never regret it!

Why did you d a cert? Why have you not done a cert? Please do share!

Until next time

Much love

Regionals and Power Walks?

So a little more than a week has passed since the European Regional Qualifier in Halmstad, and I feel like it is time to give props to the ones who truly deserve it, and to share some thoughts about the event! I am aware that this may sound like the Oscars but please take a second to read about the reasons why this all went as smoothly as it did, and give props to the people who made i possible!

It is also time to give air to another one of these crazy rants that have become the signature mark for blog.-)

Props first!

Eleiko!
I would like to thank Eleiko for letting us use their facility, and their equipment for the event. It is a blessing to be able to provide the absolute best equipment in the world, to the athletes who compete in an event that will eventually send the top european athletes to what is essentially the Crossfit World Championships. Eleiko were kind enough to let us man-handle their equipment in ways I am not entirely sure they thought possible, at the same time as they made us all feel at home at the Eleiko Sport Center! I hope Eleiko were as pleased to have us there as we were to be there, and I hope that the future will hold a close friendship between CrossFit and Eleiko.

Athletes!
It is not often that I have had the pleassure of meeting as many fantastic athletes as I did during the weekend in Halmstad! There was a possitive air about every single athlete that I met during the weekend, that I dont think I have ever encountered outside the CrossFit community! Everyone gave their absolute best at every single challenge, and once they had finished their challenge, they immidiately began cheering for the other athletes, making sure that everyone felt equally important, and that no effort was ignored, or concieved as less important! Those of you who saw the place go crazy when Erla fought it out on the last challenge, or when Jane struggled with the double unders, or when Sam busted out the clean and jerks, or when Blair stepped on the gas in the 3rd challenge, the list goes on- but those of you who saw that know exactly what I mean! Every single athlete gave their all, and everyone cheered for their nearest competitors and for every effort they saw!
It is a pleassure to witness this kind of sportmanship, and this kind of caring- I would like to thank every single one of you for this- from the bottom of my heart - Thank you!

Judges/officials!
I have had the pleassure of browsing on the internet after the event, and even recieved a couple of emails from participants, and spectators, who all thought the event was fantastic! My name has been mentioned on a couple of occations, and I am thankful for that. The truth however is that the success of the event lies entirely with the judges and the officials who made the event possible. Without these firebreathers who stood out in the rain, who kept the standards high, and spent every second of the entire weekend on making everything go as smoothly as possible, this would not have been possible! They were focused and did a tremendous job! They are the true heroes behind the success of the Qualifier!
It is easy to make all the best plans in the world but to take these plans from paper to reality is the true challenge! Without you, that simply would not have been possible.
I would like to give a special thank you to Martin Altemark who was the man behind making sure the whole thing went according to CrossFit standards at the same time as making sure that the schedule behind every single heat was kept. I would also like to give special thanks to Erik, Rickard and Einar who were the on site judges responsible for the organization in every heat, making sure that the right equipment was in the right spots, and that the judges were where they were supposed to be- thank you!

All in all!
The event was a success and we will see if we will get the chance to do it all over again? I truly hope so, but only time will tell! I honestly think that the athletes who will be going to the Games to represent Europe are the best athletes we had at the qualifier! The athletes who made it to the podium are well rounded athletes capable of performing well no matter what the challenge put in front of them will be. I honestly look forward to seeing how they do at the Games, and promise to keep my fingers crossed for them every step of the way, as I am sure everyone else on this side of the pond will:-)

Now for the promised rant- it is a lighter version of whay you may have read in the past, but I guess I am getting soft!

The sun has come out in Stockholm, and reminded us all that summer is just around the cornor! For some of us, all this means is that we can begin to do our runs outdoors, and that we now have spectators following athletes into the box after they return from the run on "Helen" or "Murph" etc.
To others this means that it is time to go to their favorite sports apparel supplier and stock up on some very expensive running shoes, skins, wristbands, camel backs, etc. and begin to power walk!
I see these people every day walking around looking like they are on their way to the olympics, super focused and a constant eye on the pluse clock (that is a must to the power walker) at speeds that are virtually non existant! I am baffeled at this complete lack of understanding of intensity, and complete waste of time! The energy spend on hours worth of power walking is easily less than what is expended during the warm-up at our box! So what is it these people want to achieve? fat loss? increased cardio vascular capacity? you tell me!
The truth is that all the god stuff comes with intensity (thank you mr Sherwood/Coach) and since intensity is nowhere to be found in a power walk, what is it these people think they are going to get?

A point could be made that is is better that they power walk than do nothing at all, and I agree with that to some degree. I mean if you have decided to care for your health and take active meassures towards increassing your quality of life and health, is this really the best you could come up with? Why not immidiately go for an activity that will actually work and pay dividends within a foreseeable future?
What would you say to a doctor who decided to give you a medication that was going to stop the illness, when you knew that the cure was lying in his other pocket and all you had to to was reach for it?

I dont know, I may be wrong, it has happened before- but please do share your thoughts!

Until next time

Much love

Northern European Sectional in Stockholm!

So a couple of days have past since the Northern European Sectional in Stockholm, and it is time to gather thoughts and impressions from the event! So here we go!

Programming:
This had me wondering at first! Where were the chest to bar pull ups for women? They were right there for the taking from the mens WoDs? Why were there less HSPU for the women than for the men? There were a couple of questions like that, but they were put shame once the event got on the way!
The programming was briliant, and everyone had to fight to get through the WoDs! Noone got an easy day at the office in any WoD, or were presented a task virtually impossible to overcome! In the cases where where athletes fell at the hands of the time limit- I feel sure the reasons have to be found somewhere else than in the programming!
Double unders combined with Kettlebell thrusters and HSPU- I bet that one just creeped up under the skin of the athletes! Target burpees after box jumps and lunges- I bet that one just bit you in the proverbial ass:-)
All together very happy with the programming!

The event:
You just have to love the spectators at these events! They gave their all cheering on every single athlet outthere! Whether he/she was from their box or not. Whether he/she was goiong to make it or not? Whether they were winning or not? Nothing like that seemed to matter to the spectators who show up at these events! Everyone was cheered on from the begining to the very end with the same enthusiasm and deep felt respect! It warms my heart to see this and I just hope that it will always be like this at CrossFit events!
The event itself was as always very well organized, and went down like I would imagine CrossFit Sthlm wanted it to. It is often forgotten how hard it is to make these things work-and when you dont think about it, then that is because everything went the way it was supposed to!
Fighter Centre and CrossFit Sthlm have hosted certs, workshops, tournaments etc for years, and the experience gained from these events was displayed in all its might this weekend- everything went like clockwork.......swiss clockwork!

The athletes:
You have to love an event that is won by a swedish judoka- chased by some seriously dangerous danes, followed by a finish athlete who used to compete in aerobics, and competes in Superman briefs!
I wish I could tell you that the crowd that competed at the sectional were all hard core crossfitters, but the truth is that they came from all walks of life, and the only thing they shared was their love for CrossFit, and their desire to compete! They did a fantastic job displaying their athleticism and what CrossFit truly is- fighting hard, and cheering on their closest competitors! I have a feeling that even the ones that bet the dust felt like they had succeded!

Impressions:
Where did they ever find the Danish crowd? Fantastic Athletes and some of the most devoted crossfitters I have ever met! They cheered one everyone and made everyone feel equally wellcome- thank you, from the bottom of my heart!

Where does "Sasha" get his stubbornes and power from! Any and every regular spine should have broken from the reps he performed this weekend- still he tossed the weight around like it was paper wheights! He got a "no go" on probably a million reps, but still just kept going until victory was his... It is like looking at robocop! WOW!

What is the substance in the water in Finland? Somewhere outhere in the woods there is a source of -never say die attitude- and athletic ability, that I would just love to find! Every athlete from Finland had it in abundance this weekend!

I know I am not the neutral observer I pretend to be- but where does Jenny Jacobsen get it from? She was truly impressive during the entire event! Not only did she win in a very convincing fashion in every event- she is graceful in doing so! Immidiately after finishing her WoD she is cheering on her competitors. Not once did I hear her complain about a decision made by a judge, or a score calculation.. She embodies what this is all about, and I hope she makes it to the Games- CrossFit needs more people like her!
Be sure to buy her T-shirt coming out in April, and support her way to the Games:-)





All in all it was a great event with some very impressive feats from the athletes... I look forward to seeing as lot of these faces in Halmstad at the regionals:-)

Much love

Mads

A new box and some OPT!

There has been a buzz about it for a while, and a few initiated individuals have been in the loop about it- still noone has been really sure, or known 100%.... So let me be the one to bust the bubble, or at least let a little air out of it!

We will be opening a box virtually on Odenplan in Stockholm!

Within a very near future the doors will open to Stockholms first pure bred CrossFit box. The final details are being put in place and I promise to return as soon as I know more- But for now let us just conclude that we will be able to work out at our box very soon! We are talking weeks!

The second part of todays entry does'nt really feel as important after the above, but it still needs to be reported! After getting back from the cert in Basel, it was time to get back to working out! Everyone else had had a monstreous weekend, with near death experiences perscribed by OPT! So I was happy to see that OPT had decided to take it resonably easy, for the workout that turned out the be my first post cert experience!


A. Back Squat @ 30X0; 1,1,1,1; rest 240 sec
B. Tabata Push Ups - low score - 4 sets only
C. AMRAP Double Unders in 2 min
D. GHD Sit Ups - 20 x 2

post loads and notes to comments
back squat is not for 1RM, just challenging but confident 1's
make push ups reps extra perfect

A- 140kg. performed in sneakers but still felt solid. Could I be getting stronger?
B- 13- I was aiming for 20, but had to fight to get 13 on the last set!
C- 20.. Ugly as hell! I will never be teh double under master, but this needs to get better:-)
D- check! Jocke from CrossFit Uppsala helped me MacGyver a great GHD contraption!

It was not the hardest WoD in the world but it felt good to get back in this fashion, and I know that is is only a matter of time before the MAN begins to bully my poor body again:-)

Until next time

Much love

Level 1 in Basel and a workout!

It has been a jumbled weekend, and I am not sure where to begin?

The cert in basel was an asolute blast! Even though we had the bad fortune of loosing the miracle men from Denmark on the finish line. Klaus got injured and Oliver got ill just before the cert, and had to stay at home- I hope they both get well in a hurry, since the certs are always a lot more fun when these two gentlemen are there! They are fantastic trainers, and truly inspirational to be around. They really are some of the best CrossFit have to offer! Guys get well!

The crew consisted of Courtney, Karl, EC, Chuck, Sebastian, Big E and yours truly! It is always a pleassure to get to hang out with Karl and Courtney, and this cert was no exception to the rule! Chuck and EC came over the pond, to make sure it all went down right! Chuck is pretty much the mayor of CrossFit (according to EC) and working with him gives everyone a sense of calm that is hard to explain! Everything just comes together, at the same time as we have a lot of fun. I have not had the pleassure of working with EC before, but I hope we will see a lot more of her in Europe- She is an absolute blast to be around, and needless to say a fantastic trainer! Xena rules!
Sebastian and Big E, were interns for the first time, and I just hope they had a great time, and felt welcome- they truly are!

The crew at CrossFit Basel had really gone to great lengths to make sure that this cert would be the best it could be for the participants and trainers! They had gotten a great building that we used for the lectures! The place was very large and gave everyone the best possible chans to get the most out of the lectures!
For the practical part of the cert they had gotten a hold of a huge gymnasium/gym that looked like it could host a premier league soccer match, along with all the equipment you could ever ask for! As if this was not enough they had gotten a bunch of people to help out at the cert- and these people were magical- they made virtually anything happen!
Our hosts had also gotten a hold of Paleo kits, which coiuld be bought at very favorable prices! Heaven here we come! Could it get any better than that!
CrossFit Basel, my hat is of to you for making this cert very memorable! "Like clockwork.... swiss clockwork!" "These people dont mess around.. they get the job done:-)".. Just some of the quotes I heard this weekend!

Of course we also had to work out while we were there, and we always try to use the equipment that we do not have access to in our boxes at home! This time it was ropes! I dont have access to ropes at the box at home, and since they had some very long ropes, we just had to use them!
So someone came up with the following workout:

5 rounds of
10 40kg OHS
2 rope climbs

I have no clue what time I got, but it was a grueling WoD! My grip absolutely left me after the first couple of rounds! The rope was a lot longer than I am used to so I had to spend more time on the rope than I usually do.. Good times! At least I ended up without burns on hands and feet! I cant help wondering how Karl is doing today?

Now I am back in town, back to the OPT programming, and working on the thing that will rock Stockholm within a very near future......? What could it possibly be:-)

Much love

another two days!

I am sorry that I have been really bad at keeping everyone posted on my poor results, it is not because I have not been training, I have just been VERY busy with a bunch of other things that have taken virtually all my time.. I will be able to tell you more about it later!
So this will be another one of these short recaps;

Jan 10th 2010
Training:
A. Clean Grip Power Snatch @ 12X1; 2-3 x 5; rest 180 sec
B1. Snatch Grip Dead Lift @ 30X0; 4-6 x 3; rest 10 sec
B2. KBS @ 1010; 10-15 x 3; rest 10 sec
B3. GHD Back Extensions @ 2010; 12-20 x 3; rest 180 sec
C. Tabata Push Ups - low score


A- 40kg- 50kg- 50kg- 50g- 50kg
B1- used 80kg, a bit on the light side, but I had no time to change the weight in the 10 sec rest! poor exuse but true!
B2- KBS 32kg 12 straight through, broke the last set, since my grip was killing me:-)
B3- What do you say- these sucked:-)
C- 7...... I was aiming for 11, and just died on the last two sets!

I just love OPT, even if I am fully aware that this is just the strength part before he unleashes the metcon hounds of hell on us!

I just thought I'd share a picture I got from my friends at Cross Gym in Milan Italy! It is taken at the lunch time workout I did at the cert there! CrossGym Milan is a fantastic gym , and the guys who run it are the nicest people ever- so if you are ever in Milan make sure to drop by and get a workout out with them!
Just make sure to bring the big wallet! Once you see the gear they have you are going to go crazy on a shoping spree-)

Just to answer eventual questions right of the bat-- Th epicture is not taken in the bottom of the squat, I am on my way up:-)

Much love!

Torn up hands!! and some numbers!

Yesterday was a very special day, because it was the first time I'd ever get to do two OPT workouts in one day! I have heard horrible stories about how this man messes you up on these two workout days- so I was looking forward to seeing what the workouts would be, and how it would feel!
I was going into this little adventure with a small handicap though- a couple of days when we did the pull up ladder, I tore up my hands a bit. I have been nursing them in every way imaginable sine then, but they are not really ok yet.. hmmm!

The first workout of he dday was:

Training:
part 1:
A. as many 1-5 ladders in 10 min - 225#/155# back squat; rest 5 min
B. BB jump squats - 30% of 1RM back squat; 6 sets of 6 reps; rest 60 sec b/t sets
C. GHD Sit ups - 5 sets of 20 reps; rest 45 sec b/t sets
rest 8+ hours

Results:

A- 3 ladders + 1
B- 42,5 kg
C- first two set un broken, after that I broke the sets into 10+10!

I was actually pretty happy with this! I have not done back squats in a while, so I had no clue what to expect! But this is where the fun stopped for the day! I was supposed to rest 8+ hours, but there was no way I could get back to the gym later, or get that kind of intervall! So I rested 20 min and got back to work!
The second workout was a double under/ pull up combo! So during the rest I began warming up! The problem was that after a couple of pull ups my hands tore again, and I fould myself slipping in blood on the bar.. Hmm what do I do now! I then decided that I should row as far as I could in the 45 sec intervalls, and then do double unders! The same thing happened there though. My hands bled and I had a hard time getting a decent grip- now what do I do?
Since I am hopeless at double unders I decided that I should do 5 sets of 10 unbroken double unders for time. This is a horrible task for someone as inproficient at double unders as I am, here is how that went:

First 10 done at 2:45
second done at 3:48
third done at 5:49
fourth done at 11:52- imagine the frustration!
fifth done at 15:00

It was a workout of mixed emotions! I was a good workout altoghther, and the first part felt great, the second however was nothing like what I would have liked it to be, but I sure got to work on my weak sides!

Just really looking forward to getting back to the gym today!

Much love

What the...! How on earth...! Don't they???

Let me just begin by admitting that this entry is not about training! I'll get back to you with today training tomorrow, just as I always do:-)
I just thought I'd share a picture from when Sweden was a bit warmer! I just had to remember what it felt like:-)

Last night I had the "pleassure" of working as a bouncer, smack in the middle of Stockholm, at a very nice restaurant/bar! I do this every once in a while, and more often than I would like to. But the collegues are fantastic, and we have an absolute blast! Besides this the place is not the kind of place that really needs us to be bouncers! We are more like a bunch of older farts standing around drinking coffee really- fantastic arrangement! I do the coffee part very well by now!

However last night the cold weather had Stockholm by the balls, and sometime during the night the temperature actually dropped to below -20!! Yepp you read that right! Some super cheerful chap came up with his Iphone and showed us on the screen that the temp was -20? "are'nt you guys cold??" NASA really have to stop letting their scientists into general population!

The thing that stunned me the most though was that even though it was -20 there were still bunches of girls/women walking around with what is essentially just high heeled sandels" a pair of heels and a couple of straps! No socks, no outer layer! No nothing, just straps!! How is it possible to walk around in something like that when it is this cold? It's not like it takes half an hour for the cold weather to embrace your feet, and let them know that it is cold as hell, and you discover that you are half a mile from your house, and it is too late to turn back to get some decent footwear! Trust me when I say that stepping outside in virtually bare feet in temperatures like that is painful immidiately! What kind of friends do you have that let you out in wheather like that without shoes? Let's all try to solve this! What? How? Please submit your thoughts!

Tonight is supposed to be even colder, and for reason I no longer remember I am actually working again tonight again- what will they wear as it gets colder? Bare feet??

Just a thought!

Much love

Two workouts..

I am sorry to have to rapport that I was so tied up with work yesterday that I did not hav etime to write on my blog, so threrefore it will contain two WoD's today! I did not however do them on the same day- these are consequetive days! Sorry about that!

Training jan 06 2010

7 sets;
1 strict chin up
2 L Pull ups
3 butterfly kip chin ups
4 chin break vertical chin ups
5 chest to bar chin ups
rest 2 minutes
+
For total time;
AMSAP L-Sit - 3 attempts; 60 sec b/t attempts
+
For total reps;
30 sec high speed double unders, 30 sec rest x 10

post notes for chin up work, total time for L sits and total reps for DU's to comments
skill and perfection of movement, not time is paramount on chin up work
L sit is knees COMPLETELY straight for entire movement, and ankles above hips

All I have to say about this workout, is that it went really well, until it was time to do the double unders! I absolutely suck at double unders, and the 30 sec of "fast double unders" was more like punishing myself with a steel core rope! While Jenny was setting some kind of world record next to me- which only added to the fury! Double unders are the bane of CrossFit!
With that said moving on:-)

Training: jan 07 2010
A1. HSPU @ 2010 - amrap (-1) x 3 sets; rest 60 sec
A2. Semi Stiff Legged DL @ 4011; 6-8 x 3; rest 60 sec
B1. Ring Push Ups @ 2010 - amrap (-1) x 3 sets; rest 45 sec
B2. KBS - 15 unbroken x 3; rest 45 sec
C1. Dips @ 2010 - amrap (-1) x 3 sets; rest 30 sec
C2. GHD Raises @ 2010; 15 x 3; rest 30 sec

post loads, notes and reps to comments
amrap (-1) means you attempt a max rep set but stop approximately 1 rep short of failure on speed
swings to just inches above forehead

This workout went really well- I actually felt really strong, and managed to get through it and feeling pretty good about myself, which is more than I could have hoped for before I began!
I did the GHD raises on some sort of contraption that I built in the gym! I bet real GHD raises hurt a lot mote than mine did, but I doubt that I could have done real GHD raises today??

This leads me to todays question: What is the strangest contraption you have ever used to substitute an exercise?

Looking forward to seeing what OPT has in store for us this weekend?

Much love

Mads

How about some HSC?

Once again it was time to go into the world of OPT, and obviously get my ass kicked! It is not intentionally, it is just a fact that I have had to get used to when it comes to the workouts this genius throws at us- so today it was all about Hang Squat Cleans:-) The workout was:

A. Hang Squat Clean - build to a tough but not 1RM; take no more than 7 minutes; rest 2 minutes
B. 10-1 135#/95# hang squat clean ladder; rest 5 minutes
C. 3 sets of 30 GHD sit ups; rest as needed b/t sets

post highest load for A, time for B and notes for C to comments
ladder is unbroken, if bar rests on floor in set, start again
no pause is needed at hang in A

The first part actually went pretty well, I worked up to a pretty heavy weight, and managed it without too much trouble, and decided to call that a day, and move on to part two!
I have been working a lot an getting better at using my hip to drive the weight up, and not pull too much with my arms, and I have gotten better, no doubt about that. But to be honest my technique still leaves a lot to be desired! I just have to stick to my guns and try to get better.

So the first part of the ladder went really well, and I felt like I could actually get a pretty decent result on this part of the days workout. That was until I was on the round of 5! Something began feeling strange in my right leg, and shortly after that I began to get the same sensation in my left leg?? Once I put down the bar and began getting ready for the set of 4 the cramp caught up with me! Both legs cramped up at the same time, and the pain was like nothing I have felt in a while! Needless to say the last sets were hell, and since OPT had dictated that I could not put the bar down between reps, and there was to be no rest in the bottom position of the HSC- this was hell! But I got the job done, and was over the moon about it, when I stumbled to the improvised GHD bench!

I was working out with Jenny who is an absolute monster, and the inspiration was desperately needed! I got through the first GHD set unbroken, after that I had to break the two remaining sets...

I have not felt like that for a while, and today my legs feel like I imagine they would feel if some bad ass Thai boxer had had his way with them through a sparring session!

I guess I just have to get comfortable with uncomfortable! The part about being uncomfortable is done, now I just have to get used to it, and get comfortable with it:-)

Until tomorrow, much love!

Still owned by OPT!

I just love the way this guy thinks! There is no doubt in your mind what it is he was gunning for after you have completed one of his workouts!
Yesterday he came after my posterior chain with a blast of a workout! Remember that I am still one day late in my blogging. This gives me the chance to fully evaluate the effects of the WoD, and how it felt. Yesterday there was no doubt how it would feel, and today I can only nod my head and admit that I was right. My posterior chain is smoked... I absolutely love it! The workout was:

Training:
A1. HSPU @ 2010 - amrap (-2) x 3 sets; rest 60 sec
A2. Semi Stiff Legged DL @ 4011; 8-10 x 3; rest 60 sec
B1. Ring Push Ups @ 2010 - amrap (-2) x 3 sets; rest 45 sec
B2. KBS - 25 unbroken x 3; rest 45 sec
C1. Dips @ 2010 - amrap (-2) x 3 sets; rest 30 sec
C2. GHD Raises @ 2010; 10-15 x 3; rest 30 sec

post loads, notes and reps to comments
amrap (-2) means you attempt a max rep set but stop approximately 2 reps short of failure on speed
swings to just inches above forehead

Mental notes to self:

I could have gone a bit heavier on the deads!
I am happy I took it easy on the push ups and dips, cause my bad shoulder feels ok today!
The swings were a lot harder than I thought they would be!
GHD raises must be the worst exercise ever. We had to modify the exercis since we dont have a GHD, and I bet they are a lot harder on the GHD than the exercise we did- but it still sucked the life out of me!

It has been a long time since I felt this excited about training, and just love that fact that we finally followed Martin Altemark into teh wilderness that is OPT's mind! It is a truly inspirational place to be, and it is packed with a bunch of very capable athletes, of which I hope to become one....... in a very distant future:-)

I cant wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Much love

Mads

Going to school..

Do you remember the feeling of going to a new school, or to a new team or something like that, and you walk through the door and you see everybody talking to each other, joking, interacting, and having an all together god time- and there you are the new kid!
Fortunately, in these surroundings you often find your place pretty fast, ans some good spirited person takes it upon themselves to introduce you to the crowd!
I felt a bit like that yesterday when I did my first "OPT workout"! It took a masters degree in dechifering to understand what I was supposed to do, and at what speeds I was supposed to operate! After having looked at the site for a while, I decide to call the local witch doctor (Martin Altemark) and ask him how I was supposed to translate the whole thing:-) He, gracefully as always, helped me out and I was on my way!

So I got on my way to the gym to do the following workout:

Training:
A1. OHS @ 3010 - 10 x 10; 90 sec rest
A2. Supinated Strict Chin Ups @ 3010; 10 x 10; rest 90 sec
+
GHD Sit Ups - 3 sets of 25

That my dear friends is 100 OHS, and 100 supinated pull ups- in a preset tempo with a slower decent than acent, divided into sets of 10- with 90sec rest inbetween efforts..
Please keep in mind that I have not done any meaningful workouts since the beginning of december! So I had a pretty good idea that this was going to put me on my ass:-) and it did.
Jenny had gone to the gym earlier, and said that it was hard as hell- and if she felt like that I knew that I felt that I had my work cut out for me.

I am not going to bore you with the stats, since they are pretty pathetic, and I have decided to give myself a week of getting into the groove, before posting! I will however say taht I used 50 kg on the OHS- and it was a bit on the light side, I should have gone heavier!
The pull ups however were a fight for dear life! the first 4 sets went according to plan, and after that I had to use a rubber band, and I still have to break every set! I wish I was more like David "the BW monster", but I am not!

The conclusion however is that I a super stoked to follow OPT to the best of my abilities, and it will be a bunch of fun to see where this all takes us?

Much love