Litter Box...Me?!

Joe's cat, Sabina, was slightly confused. She has beautiful eyes though.

CrossFit - 24Dec08

"Grace"

For Time:
30 reps, Clean & Jerk - 135 lbs

Time: 6:29 (PR!!!)

I'm still shocked at how much the Catalyst Athletics programming has improved my CrossFitting in just a few months. I have a long way to go before my cardiovascular system has caught back up to where it used to be, but the extra strength and proficiency in the C&J still pushed me to a new PR.

DE Lower - 23Dec08

Dynamic Effort Squats

Box Squats - 8 x 2 x 135 + Blue Bands
Glute-Ham Raises - 3 x 10 w/ Blue Band
Pull Through - 3 x 10 w/ Blue Band

The Goal - The 2009 CrossFit Games

My goal for the New Year is to qualify to compete in the 2009 CrossFit Games which will be held July 11-13 in Aromas, California. The number, type, and duration of the events are unknown and will probably not be revealed until a week prior to the Games commencing (as was the protocol last year). Last year, registration for the Games was first-come first-serve, but this year they will be holding regional qualifiers around the globe. The details for the qualifiers are as of yet, unknown, but I will most certainly be following the website for updates.

Cracked Up

This is the bottom of a door frame at a friend's house. Although, I think I focused a bit too much on the foreground.

CrossFit - 21Dec08

"Mary"

Max rounds in 20-minutes:
- 5 Handstand Push-ups
- 10 One legged squats, alternating legs
- 15 Pull-ups

Total: 9 Rounds in 18:30

I ended up stopping because my hands were on the verge of tearing. I've got some small blisters, but the skin didn't tear open. I guess that's what I get for doing 130 pull-ups without my hands getting acclimated to CrossFit again.

Celebrity Engagement

Here we see Ellen Degeneres proposing to her life-partner Portia de Rossi (aka Joe and Sarah). My friends are too funny!

CrossFit - 20Dec08

2 Rounds for Time:

- 50 Box Jumps, 24"
- 21 Deadlifts, 185-lbs
- 30 Pull-ups

Time: 19:24

This one was rough, box jumps suck!

ME Upper - 19Dec08

Incline Bench - Blue Bands + 175-lbs
Ring Dips - 20, 12, 10

Standing Watch

My Life in 365

Sorry for the lack of posting, I've been swamped at work and on travel, but I'm back on track now.

Here is a customs card from my flight to Saudi Arabia, they clearly don't mess around!

CrossFit - 17Dec08

Complete as many rounds in twenty minutes as you can of:
- Run 400 meters
- 15 L-Pull-ups
- 15 Back Extensions

Total: 5 Rounds

L-pull-ups were tough after yesterday's TSE. The running wasn't as bad as I expected, but it definitely needs some work. Overall, I'm not too upset with my performance considering how long I've gone without doing any major MetCon work.

CrossFit - 16Dec08

"Tabata Something Else"

Pull-ups: 9, 9, 9, 9, 9, 10, 10, 10 = 75 (PR!)
Push-ups: 13, 13, 10, 10, 10, 10, 12, 11 = 89 (PR!)
Sit-ups: 16, 16, 13, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14 = 115 (PR!)
Squats: 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20 = 160 (PR!)

Total = 439 (PR!)

First full MetCon in 4 months, and I felt absolutely terrible after it was over. It took about 25 minutes to start feeling normal again and not wanting to throw up. What's crazy is that I still PR'd on each exercise and significantly on the total. Fun times.

ME Lower - 15Dec08

Max Effort Squat/Deadlift

Good Mornings - Worked up to 195 x 3

CA WOD - 9Dec08

Snatch - 155 x 1 x 4
Clean & Jerk - 190 x 1 x 4
Back Squat - 265 x 2 x 3

Haven't had much sleep over the last few days, didn't have alot of speed today.

My Life in 365

Continuing the holiday theme, here is one of several fountains around Manama.

My Life in 365

This is the Riffa Clock Tower in Bahrain, decorated for Eid al-Adha which is the Festival of Sacrifice.

My Life in 365

This picture was taken from the top of my apartment building. It was a 30 second exposure so you can see the light trails from the vehicles that passed by during that time.

My Life in 365

Today marks the first day of my new pet project: My Life in 365 (Days). As the name implies, I intend to post at least one picture per day that represents something in my life. So to start this off with some holiday cheer, here is a picture of me posing with Mr. and Mrs. Claus. (The full sized version can be found in the link to "My Flickr" on the right-hand side of the page)

CA WOD - 2Dec08

Muscle Snatch - 155, 160 (Fail)
Snatch - 135 x 1, 150 x 1, 135 x 1, 150 x 1 x 2
Power Clean & Jerk - 165 x 1 x 4

For Time:
20-15-10
- Jumping Sit-ups
- Kipping Pull-ups
Time: 5:05