Alberto J Simon

Ok I am back

Hi :) I stopped posting again. Never fails.

Well I am back and let us see, what is new in the life of Alberto.

Nothing much really. Since last time I posted I have started going to Olympic lifting class to improve my lifts for crossfit. It has been a great experience with a great coach!

Her name is Anna Martin and she really has a great method of training and I am loving it so far.

This past weekend I participated in my first Crossfit Competition and the results I got were pretty good! It was a hell of a competition with 3 grueling events.

Besides that, my life has been pretty chill. I am still not married haha. I have been having a good time though and no complaints.

Thanks for all the magic Steve

January 9th, 2007 

The day that Steve had me. He could sell me anything and everything from that day on. More importantly he inspired me to be a better person in everything I do.

I have been a fan of Apple and technology for many years but it was that day when Steve convinced me that buying this device would change my life.

The first moment after the iPhone booted, it was magic. Everything about it was beyond its time. 

I can without a doubt say that the iPhone is the best tech gadget that I have ever had a chance to use period. 

That day also changed the way I approached my own challenges and life. His stage presence and the way he commanded a room mesmerized me. I aim to achieve 0.05% of that with everything I do. 

Everything I take on I always think about how attention to detail matters.

Thanks Steve, not only for bringing products that improve my life, my family’s life but also for inspiring me to be a better person at everything I do.

Crossfit - You always keep me humble

Today’s workout was another fine example of why I love Crossfit.

It keeps me humble and always working harder to improve.

The workout seemed to have all the ingredients that suit my strengths. It had double unders which I am pretty great at, pushups, situps, kettlebell swings all movements I am fairly efficient at.

The only unknown was the kettlebell halos and the fact that it was 3 rounds. Boy was I going to learn how big of a difference one exercise can make on a workout.

WOD:

50 double unders

40 situps (abmat)

30 push-ups

20 kettlebell swings @ 53lbs

10 kb halos @53lbs each side. 

x 3 Rounds 

Results:

I got started in a great manner by going unbroken on all the double unders and quickly knocking out the first set of situps. The pushups were slightly harder but not by much and I was making sure to pace myself by doing sets of 10 with a slight pause in between of 1-2 seconds. Smooth sailing so far. Kettlebell swings came next and I was determined to go unbroken on those and managed to accomplish it but at a cost! I tried to go right into the kettle bell halos and boy was I in for a rude surprise on the difficulty I had with those at the weight I chose. They were the toughest exercise on this whole workout by FAR. I slowed to a crawl as I tried to push through the first set of them. 

As the second round began my double unders were considerably harder to do as I felt the fatigue on my shoulders from the halos and pushups. I still managed to go unbroken and pushed through the situps in short order. I again setted the pushups into 10s and it was still pretty good. This time remembering how I felt going into the halo set made me balk at trying to go unbroken on the kettlebell swings so I broke it out into sets of 10. I cannot tell if it actually helped as I got to the halos and still was laboring through them. My reps were slow and seemingly endless. 

Third round began and now I pretty much knew I could not manage unbroken on the double unders. I went 30 then 20 which was still to my pleasing. As Ronnie pushed and urged me on once I got to the situps, I really slowed on the sit ups as I felt them to be super difficult. After finishing those I broke the pushups out into sets of 5s which worked out really well. I was determined to finish strong and went unbroken on the kettlebell swings as I had not really seen any benefit from setting them the previous round. Finishing with the halos was tough and I had to dig deep for any semblance of speed through them.

17:05 - hell of a workout and I was wasted and laid on the mat recovering for at least 2 minutes.

Another great WOD and yet another reason why Crossfit fits my never satisfied personality so magnificently. 

Backsquat Day - New PR for 3 Rep Max :D

Today for strength we had Backsquats. Ronnie gave us 15 minutes to find our 3 rep max.

I started with 185lbs and it was fairly simple. I then moved up to 210 as my previous best was 205. I was able to fairly easily accomplish that and so Ronnie our coach encouraged me to go big and go for 225. I was pretty intimidated as that would be 20lbs heavier than my last max. He also suggested I try the lifting belt. 

I decided to go for it and the belt really helped stabilize my mid section and I was able to lift 225 x 3. I am pretty excited to see these types of gains and it is yet another reason that Crossfit is something I love so much. Progress, progress and progress. I think everyone should try Crossfit for at least a month in their life and if you are not addicted then I will buy you lunch :)

WOD:  10 minutes AMRAP: 3 Deadlifts (75% of 1 Rep Max), 6 handstand push-ups, 50 feet Lunge Walk

Results: 7 rounds + 2/3rd

I ended up doing 225lbs for the deadlifts and I do believe it was too light as I could have done 245lbs. I should have but hey no big deal since the HSPU more than gave me my share of trouble :) I am pretty good at handstand push-ups now and so I was able to go unbroken on all 7+ rounds. Albeit the last 2 rounds I probably did not go down as far as I should have but close enough!

Fun little wod and it was great to do some deadlifts with much better form.

I also recently bought some rogue clamps and they are amazing, the weights did not move a bit. They really lock in nicely.

Clean and Jerk Day

Another fine workout courtesy of Sky’s Limit Crossfit at 6am :)

Strength: Clean and Jerk 5 x 2. 2 every minute on the minute for 5 minutes. Last round is max reps.

I have been working on my clean and jerk for a while now and I still have yet to perfect that explosion of the hips that I need to get into the shrug and then elbows under the bar. Today I continued that work. I tried 150lbs at first and while I could get it up, it was not very pretty nor efficient. Ronnie my coach suggested I bring it down to 140lbs to work on form and it made a world of difference. I was able to explode my hips out a whole lot better and hence my elbows were much faster. I like clean and jerks now and they used to be one of my least favorite things. 

Work will continue until morale improves :D

WOD: 

21-15-9 of Kettlebell Swings, Knees-to-elbows, double unders x 2

This was a quick but grueling little wod. I was feeling pretty badass this morning and decided that I was going to do 2 pood kettlebell swing. I was also feeling confident on the knees to elbows after having watched some good instructional videos by Jon Gilson from Again Faster. 

Result: 6:54

I am very pleased with my results. The kettlebell swing was by far the toughest part of this and I even felt light headed after the 15 set of this. I kept it efficient by tightening my core and keeping my arms straight. I made good use of the instruction on the knees to elbows and they felt pretty solid. 

Lastly on the double unders, I made a concerted effort to keep my hands in closer to my body. I tend to let them come way out as I get tired but this time I did not let that happen and in return I was much more efficient and went unbroken on all sets of double unders. 

I felt awesome after, well after 15 seconds of laying on the ground :)

Another great CF workout to start my day!

Turkish Get Ups are fun

Skill Work: Today I rolled into Crossfit and on our menu were turkish get ups. These are really challenging and going up 5lbs can make a world of difference.

Ronnie gave us all the good tips on technique and that made a big difference. 

I was able to do the 35lb one without much issue. Left hand was by far the hardest. Keeping it steady was tough.

WOD: 3 rounds:

21 dumbbell snatches 35lbs right hand

75lb heavy object carry 100ft

21 dumbbell snatches 35lbs left hand

21 pull-ups

15 dumbbell snatches 35lbs right hand

75lb heavy object carry 100ft

15 dumbbell snatches 35lbs left hand

9 dumbbell snatches 35lbs right hand

75lb heavy object carry 100ft

9 dumbbell snatches 35lbs left hand

Result: 10:27

Ronnie gave me a great tip on my pull-ups that made a world of difference. He told me to keep my feet together and follow through on my hips for the kipping butterfly motion. It really made them much more efficient.

Nice tough wod to begin my morning!

Deadlift Max Day!

Another Deadlift Max effort. My last one was 2 months ago and I managed to do 335lbs. This morning I managed to lift 340lbs.

I did it twice because the first lift was just bad form :) I am happy with the result but I think I am reaching the zone where going up is becoming more difficult. I weight about 135lbs so this is well over 2x my body weight. Watching Chris Spealler lift 315 multiple reps and rounds as if its not a thing keeps me motivated.

I still need to work on my form as I d not think I am efficiently lifting the weight. I need to sync my hips pushing up and maximize how I get up to the bar.

WOD: 3 rounds for time of 15 knees to elbows, 40 double unders with a finisher of 10 tire flips after the 3 rounds.

Result: 5:10

Double unders were harder than expected after brutal knees to elbows. I need to get the motion correct on knees to elbow as its pretty hard to do them after 15.