Conditioning. Risk.

"If you are never scared, embarrassed or hurt, it means you never take chances" - Julia Soul

George and Cory, the last two remaining High Schoolers came in today to share this one with me:

10 x 25 meter sled push w/ 150# (30 seconds rest between rounds)

rest 5 minutes

250 double unders w/ 5 squat snatches at the top of each minute (75#)

The first was an absolute quad killer!  The sleds, being of the home-made brand, are seeing their last days with the ski's that are on them now.  This proved to make the pushing a LOT harder then expected.  But the 25 meters was not too long, and the 30 second recovery was just enough.  We all made it through in one piece (although the sleds will have a nice makeover once out West).  The double under workout was taken from a workout I did a while ago called "The Lullaby", taken from Blair Morrison of Anywherefit.  This was a bit modified, but, after the sled, and the crazy shoulder workout yesterday, I knew it would be sneaky exhausting.  And it did not disappoint!  I finished in 7:53 and had nothing, and I mean nothing left in the tank.  In rare form, I had to walk across the street to some shade and sit down for a minute or two until I caught my breath.  George tore up his version of it (65# power snatches and 400 single jumps), and Cory (having not really done anything like this in... his life), struggled through, but got through.

The rest of the day was dedicated to packing and organizing.  As I packed, and searched for promising gym locations, I got to thinking about just how big a change this is in my life.  I guess it is safe to admit that I am a bit scared.  Of plenty of things with this whole moving across the country thing, but what I want to touch on here is the part of leaving what I have built, to go out to nothing.  I have heard the words "big risk" being thrown my way for a while now, and interestingly enough, I have never really thought of what I am doing as being one of those.  And after a long talk with my good buddy JP, I realized something about myself: I rarely factor the actual risk of a situation into what I do.  I love attempting new things, seeing what is out there to try, challenging myself to succeed through as many situations as I can come up with.  But, while I know what I do would commonly be defined as Risk, I define it as opportunity.  A chance to grow, to learn, and to share with others so that they might grow and learn as well.

The greatest pieces of my heaven: Lindsey and Nature.

This does not mean that I do not get nervous, worried, or scared.  Hell, when I am looking up at a cliff with the desire to climb it, sure I realize that I could die if I fall, and sure it makes my heart race a little faster.  But it is very rare that I can think of a situation where I would NOT go ahead and do it anyway.  There are so many things that could go wrong with our move to CA: well CA could suck, the city could be harsh, people could not gravitate towards my training, the state could crumble into financial hell and cease to exist, shoot, the chances of an earthquake hitting us and and causing US to cease to exist is pretty great.  And so I am scared, my heart rate elevates, and I become so excited to take on these challenges.  Because what would I be if I turned away every time something scary looked me in the face?  What opportunities would I be passing up if I let my fears define who I am in life?

No man, have faith.  And I don't mean faith in God or anything like that (although, if that works for you, then do that!), I mean faith that no matter how things turn out, they will turn out.  And you will never, and I mean never grow as a human being if you don't just have faith in yourself, and "the system" (I mean life by the way), and just go out and do what feels right.

I have passion for what I do, I believe that it is what I am best at.  I have a girl, a companion that I love even more passionately than what I do, one that I want to personally share everything with.  I have an idea for what I want my life to be like, and I mean that in the most general of ways.  And I have faith.  I have faith that if I am faced with any opportunity that seems intriguing, desirable, exciting and helpful to me and the people around me, I will jump in with a smile on my face.  And I hope that people will jump with me.

Chilling in California

Never Stop, GET FIT.

Josh Courage

Client Shout-Out #3 - The Work-Day Warriors

Today I hit a taxing shoulder workout with Whitey:

6, 6, 6, 6 Push Jerks

3 rounds of 3 Strict Pull Ups w/ 30 sec. Handstand holds

5 rounds for time of: (w/ 95#)
5 power cleans
5 push presses
5 OH squats
200 meter run

Got up to 205# on the jerks, failed on the 3rd rep there and decided to finish with that.  May have been a little too much volume for such a dynamic lift (hey, everyone makes mistakes!).  Everything else went smoothly, got the metcon in 7:43 and feel like it would be a good sub-7 minuter.  I will most likely come back to that one in mid September.

The following clients have been committed to their training with me all for some time now.  While I tend to attract mostly high school and college athletes, I have always had my fair share of "9 to 5ers" as well.  This small group has been so dedicated and so driven, I feel the need to thank them individually for their commitment to change.

Holly Morris - 
Holly came in to train with me through to prepare for a marathon.  Already having run a couple, as well as a 50-miler, she knew te demands of the race, but wanted to better her time.  Being a news anchor/broadcaster, she was on a pretty crazy schedule, one that would send most people slowly shuffling to bed every chance they got.  But not Holly.  She would go out of her way to come in and train, and when she came in, no matter what the day, week, or month had been like for her, she attacked each and every workout with impressive intensity.

Her husband Thomas trained with me for a bit as well, and these are two people I can comfortably say freaking rock!  I am sad to be losing Holly as a client, but I know of so many people, her and Thomas will be two I will be seeing again and again for a very long time.

Mark Whitener - 
The flat out definition of an ideal client, Mark came in to make a change in his life a little after his son Andrew began training with me.  Along with a few of the basic goals, what he really wanted was to be able to comfortably hang with his athletic sons.  So, we began an ever-changing, growth inducing workout program that has seen Mark through some of the most impressive changes I have seen in a client.  I recall one of our first metcons, some body weight triplet that left him about ready to pass right out.  But he stayed on track and slowly but surly, he went from no pull ups, to an easy 5, from struggling with any sort of weight on the major lifts, to an over 350# deadlift and over 250# back squat.

The impressive thing with Mark is how he has allowed fitness to become part of his everyday life.  He runs regularly, gets workouts in on the road, and stays with his programming no matter what.  I will be in constant touch with Mark as he fills his basement with equipment and begins a new chapter of his fitness endeavor by training on his own.  Good things will happen man, I guarantee it!

Andrea Kaufman - 
I began training Andrea and her husband John at their house near Balance Gym and it became clear that Andrea was missing this aspect of her life for a good long time.  I have been through so much with her, and been there to watch as her transform from just an everyday woman, to a strong, healthy, athlete.   Her sleeping and lifestyle habits became healthier and healthier, she moved away from an extremely high-stress job, became so much closer with her two amazing children, inspired me to try a life-changing detox that she found and completed herself.  And, in the end, she signed up for and completed the DC Triathlon.  Besides that countless changes that have taken place in her life, she has always been there to offer help to me as I struggled with the many opportunities and growth I had for my business.

We have had our ups and downs in the gym, but Andrea is someone who I think not only myself, but many people could learn a great amount from.  I am thankful to have had her as a client and friend.  I am sure we will be in touch, and I expect those kids to do great things as they grow (and they better stay in touch with me!!)

Samantha Mazo - 
Samantha came to me pretty early on when I moved from Results, The Gym to balance Gym.  Interestingly enough, she is the sister of a guy I played baseball with from middle school through high school; small world.  She actually had to remind me not too long ago about how much she has changed since she last came in, because she is so incredibly fit now.  She runs, practices yoga, trains with me twice a week (came to the lululemon classes as well when I had them), and is now registered for the Nation's Triathlon.  Put simply, Samantha just comes in and gets to work.  Never complains, never finds excuses, just works hard and reaps the great rewards the body will always receive with that attitude.

She deserves so much credit for the work she puts in, and what's so great, and motivating to me is that it just what she does.  It is part of her life to always be active and to always push her limits.  Absolutely awesome!

Adele Fenwick - 
Hands down one of the most impressive people I have ever had the pleasure of training.  I first met Adele at my once a week lululemon class.  She then joined a smaller group that got together there for training two other times per week.  When TOUGH/Love started, she joined that.  And when I moved to The Garage, she joined Samantha and the two of them pushed each other and tore it up twice a week like clockwork.  I have met a huge amount of fit people in my life so far, but Adele is one of the few that easily out works me in shear volume.  She regularly indulges in 3-a-days, on top of her full time job.  And this passion for fitness shown through when she was invited to be a part of the USA National Duathlon team.  How sweet is that!

I only got to workout with her once, and I know I missed out on some fun, competitive sessions had we riden and ran together more often.  But it's her love for pushing her limits that inspires me the most.  I will be following along all her races and adventures, and I plan to join her (along with Lindsey too!!) for all of our first Ironman Triathlon next fall.  Keep up the absolutely inspiring work Adele, you freaking rock!

A very, very special thanks go to Van, Mark, Dave, Brendan, Trish, David, Abigail, Chris, Rick, Janice, and John.  All clients I have had the pleasure of spending a good amount of time in the gym and out in nature with in the past couple years.  And, of course, to the many, many people who came through my bootcamp classes when I trained at Balance Gym, TOUGH/Love, and clients I had throughout the years in and around DC.  All of you helped form me into the trainer, coach and person I am today, and I thank all of you.   I only hope to find people as driven and dedicated as everyone I had the honor of helping here, out in California.

Never Stop, GET FIT.

Josh Courage

Pulling More Weight

Yesterday was deadlift day for most of The Garage followers, and we had some impressive numbers.  Proving the 5/3/1 program really is effective, Steve was able to pull 325# off the ground 3 times, after struggling for a single with that weight just two months ago!  I got 4 reps at 410# and felt very strong with the form on this one; something I have been paying closer and closer attention to as I get into heavier weights.

The real fun came in with the metcon for the day.  I got out a good sized tire, hooked climbing rope to it and wrote this one up:

3 rounds of (rest 90 seconds between rounds):
25 meter tire pull
50 meter barbell overhead carry

This was an all out effort workout.  Non of the weights were all that heavy (I used 135, most guys used 95, some guys used 75), so the times per round were about 28-38 seconds.  But it was fun.  One of those unconventional enough workouts that leaves everyone gassed, but smiling like crazy afterwards.  Big fan of this one.

Today will be some agility work, then tomorrow is going to be about as innovative as I can get.  I am leaving midday to head to St. Louis for a wedding, so I have to consolidate all my baseball guys from three groups into one.  With 200 square feet of space, having 15+ people at one time is a bit crazy.  So, Friday Fun-day is about to get extremely "fun".  It's about time these younger guys get a feel for the outdoor style of crazy workouts I enjoy so much!

Never Stop, GET FIT.

Josh Courage

The Workouts

Well everyone, it's about that time to announce the workouts for the CrossFit Courage Games 2010!  It's calling for sunny, and hot as hell weather, so hydrate and fuel properly these next couple days.  And come prepared for the heat!

There will be three workouts on this wonderful day, all under a time domain.  What this means is that every workout is "for time".  We will add up your time of all three workouts, and the fastest one wins.  Easy as that.

WOD #1:

"Flip It"

20 Tire flips

Men - around 400#

Women - around 285#

This will be 10 flips in one direction, and 10 flips back.  Besides that, there are no standards to this WOD, just flip the damn thing as fast as you can!

WOD #2:

"Tossing Iron"

100 meter KB throw to an 800 meter KB sprint

Men - 16kg#

Women - 12kg#

Each competitor will begin with the KB at his or her feet, hands off the weight.  There will be a starting line, and 6 foot wide lane you must keep the KB within for the entire 100 meters.  At the "go", time will start and you will proceed to throw/toss/swing/shot-put the thing for 100 meters, throwing it past a finish line.  Your total number of throws will be counted, and 5 seconds will be added to your total time for each throw.  A 15 second penalty will be given if you throw your KB outside of your lane (this will not apply if it takes a weird hop).

Once you throw the KB past the line, you will then pick it up and run a wonderfully rough 800 meter course with the weight (course will be very clearly marked).  Time will stop once you cross the finish line.

The only standard for this WOD is no spinning.  you will not be allowed to spin 360 degrees or more around to generate momentum to throw the KB.

Again, each throw of the KB will be an additional 5 seconds to you overall time (ex: you finish the run in 22 minutes, and it takes you 15 throws.  That is an additional 75 seconds, giving you a finishing time of 23:15)(it better not take anyone that long by the way...).

WOD #3:

"Blacktop Chipper"

50 meter sprint

50 meter weighted sprint 50/20

20 thruster 95/65

50 meter sprint

50 meter weighted sprint 20/10

20 squat cleans 115/75

50 meter sled push 70/30

20 burpees

50 meter sled push 95/55

50 double unders

I recommend you read this a couple times through...

You will start behind a starting line with a standard barbell, jump rope and sled at your station.  At the start, time will begin and you will sprint 50 meters across the blacktop, to your "2nd station" (all plates and following exercises on this side of the blacktop will be within this station), retrieve your first set of bumper plates (25's/10's).  Run back to your start station with them.  You will load your barbell and perform 20 thrusters.

Thruster standards are: crease of hip below knee line, part of ear showing in front of locked arms, and fully extended hips at lock out.

You will then sprint (unweighted) 50 meters to retrieve your second set of plates (10's/5's) and run back to your start station with them.  Load those to your bar and perform 20 squat cleans.

Squat clean standards are: start from ground each rep, crease of hip below knee, full hip extension before releasing the bar (you can dump the weight at any time as long as you reach full hip extension before doing so).

You will then load all plates from your bar, to the sled, which will be pre-loaded with 25# on it (men and women), and PUSH it 50 meters across the blacktop.  There you will perform 20 burpees.

Burpee standards are: chest completely on ground.  Full hip extension, part or all of ears showing in front of arms, hands completely over your head and visibly leaving the ground at the top.

You will then push the weighted sled back to your start station and perform 50 double unders.

Additional notes:  

If you drop your weight(s) at any point while running them 50 meters across the blacktop, you will need to drop and do 5 burpees on the spot.

If you drop the KB during WOD #2, that's fine.  Just pick it up and keep on going.

Scaling will be available for the final WOD (but not recommended...).

A time limit will be issued for each WOD as well (announced before the WOD).

If you need to scale, or if you do not complete a workout in the allotted time, you will not be able to qualify for a 1st, 2nd or 3rd placing.  Also, if you choose to scale, or fail to finish a WOD in time but score an overall time that is better than someone who did everything prescribed, you will be placed behind that person.

We have jump ropes, but they are not the best in the world.  I highly recommend you bring your own if you have one.

A heads up that there are NO shower facilites at the event location.

Work hard!

Please post to comments, or email me at josh@courageperformance.com if you have any questions.

REGISTER HERE

See you all in a couple days!!

Never Stop, GET FIT.

Josh Courage