WOD - Got Abs?

Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:
10 L-pull-ups
15 Glute-ham developer sit-ups

Another one of these WODs where your gym buddies just look at you like you're high. "Oh, no, it's great! By the end of it, your abs are just screaming and it's all you can do to just do three more situps on that thing and..." and they wander off, shaking their heads.

Coach, whatever we did, we're sorry.

I looked at this one, and thought, "Okay, I should be able to get in maybe 10 rounds."

Ha! I was smoking some major crack.

With 5 minutes left, I'd finished four rounds. I managed to pour it on and make it to 6 plus a couple extras, though I had to sub ab-mat style situps for the last round as somebody got on my GHD.

I timed this with the Gymboss timer that I've played with for a couple of weeks, and it's become something I use all the time. It's cheap, and does exactly what it needs to. It's not Patek Phillipe, for sure, but then, you wouldn't wear it on a date, either. And if you're doing something like Crossfit, you're probably used to people staring at you like you're some kinda freak anyway... :)

Retards in iridescent spandex

So I'm driving home the other day on Route 128.
This is a twisty, turny hilly road that sees a fair amount of 50+ MPH traffic. In my youth, this was the road that we all drove like hell on - it's a fun road, but it requires a fair amount of attention to navigate safely.

I come upon a group of three guys on their bikes. They're riding three abreast on this road. Taking up say, 7 or 8 feet of the lane. There's oncoming traffic, so I can't easily go around. When I was about 200 yards away, maybe, I gave a coupla beeps on the horn, just to let 'em know I was coming.

They don't move.

I'm already on the brakes, but now I'm really on them. I figure "Okay, maybe they didn't hear me?" and hit the horn again. Not layin' on it, mind you, just a coupla' beeps, like "Hey, man, I'm comin' up behind you here... 4000 pounds of steel... 50 miles per hour... hellooooooooo?!"

They still don't move.

So now I'm down to maybe 18 or 20 MPH because I can't get around these guys. Now I'm pissed. So I just lay on the horn. Finally, Captain Douchebag and his merry men deign to allow me around and they move into single file. As I drive by, the tailend guy flips me off.

What is it with sanctimonious prick cyclists? Somehow, they inhabit a high moral ground that nobody else can enter. The world is theirs - they are free to ignore traffic signals when it pleases them, but expect to be treated like a car when it's advantageous for them. They're free to ride three abreast on a state highway, and have the gall to get pissy with me when I make it clear that they're not making it easy for me to not kill them. And don't even get me started about the current state of road-geek "cycling fashion".

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm all for save the world organic vegan cyclery with bikes made from recycled compost. I am, on occasion, a cyclist myself. I've played in traffic for years, and I understand the risks and the rewards of riding on the roads.

Have an ounce of brains. Don't ride three abreast on a highway. Don't make it hard for me to not run you over. Oh, and that Selle Italia team jersey, size XXL that you're wearing, fatboy? I'm sure it looks great on Lance, but not so much on you...

Office Noise Control

If, like my office, your office allows dogs, and one of your coworkers decides to bring in his high-strung, stupid, incredibly obnoxious yappy sheltie, I've found that the best way to chase the annoying little fucker back to its office is to chase it back with one of these.

Sadly, I can't chase it back with one of these.

WOD Fun

Today's WOD was "Fight Gone Bad". Three rounds with a minute rest between rounds. A round consists of:

1 minute of 20 pound wallball shots
1 minute of Sumo Deadlift High Pulls, 75 pounds
1 minute of box jumps, any way you like 'em, 20" box
1 minute of push press, 75 pounds
1 minute of rowing

For each exercise, you count the number of reps. In the case of the rower, count the number of calories.

WB: 26,20,18 = 64
SDHP: 15,14,13 = 42
BJ: 18,20,20 = 58
PP: 14,14,15 = 43
Row: 11,11,14 = 36
Total: 243

This thing just about killed me. I think my overall numbers would have been a bit better if settling into the rower wasn't such a chore, but not by a ton. Maybe 10, 15 points more, tops.

On the upside, it's done in 17 minutes. On the downside, that's 17 very, very hard minutes. I did this about 30 minutes ago. It took me 15 minutes to stop breathing hard. My heart rate is still somewhat elevated, and I just barely stopped sweating.

Don't hurt yourself with that jump rope!

No, I'm not kidding - this is a "ropeless jumprope".

www.jumpsnap.com

Okay, now, I'm sure this product was well intentioned, and there might be some folks who could benefit from it. But, really, is it that hard to learn to jump rope? Now, I'm not a physically gifted guy. I never found any athletic undertaking easy. I started jumping rope maybe a month ago, and even I can manage a solid minute or two of miscellaneous skipping, double unders, what have you. Why not learn a skill, fer crissakes? Yes, you'll like an ass the first few times you try it. No, there's no secret to it. Your body needs to learn it, and that takes, god forbid, practice!

Gymboss interval timer

I got my gymboss interval timer today - neat little gizmo! It's cheap, simple, and it does everything you need for timing tabata intervals. I did a tabata interval with it today, and it was nice to not have to watch the clock - you go like hell until it beeps, breathe as much as you can until it beeps again, and repeat. I'll post more on this item as I've spent more time with it.

Yay for botulism!

So I heard about this hot dog chili sauce recall on the radio today - read it here. Now, call me crazy, but as I see it, if you're having hot dogs with this crap on it, you're takin' yer life in your hands anyway, and what's a little botulism on top of that, ya pussies?