Metcon

Friday, October 31, 2025

Westbound CrossFit (Coach Loni)

1200 (9 of us)

Warm Up

Line hops (forward/back)

Run

Calf raises (3 positions)

Box step ups

Explosive box step ups

Hollow raise torso

Hollow raise legs

Dead hang

Kip swings

Kip swings with lat engagement

Knees to elbows

Prep for jump over 

Conditioning

AMRAP 20:00

10 Box step up (50/35lb. Single DB, hold anyway) (24/20”)

10 Knees to elbows

10 *Box jump Overs (24/20’)

*Clear the box is RX’d

Intermediate: 35/20lb. Step up, kipping knees to chest, 20/14” box jump overs

Baseline: Unweighted box step up, lying knees to elbows (holding rig or KB), plate jump overs or line jump overs

I scaled to 20" box step up with 20# dumbbell; 5 K2E per round; 18" bound over foam rollers.  This was a good scale, but I might have been better off doing 8-8-8.  I did not want the volume hanging from the rig, but it was not too bad.  I finished 5 rounds + 23 reps at time and did the last two rounds after time was called.

Conditioning

Wednesday, October 29, 2025

CDOT

1200

Warm Up

500 meter row - 3:22

3:30 walk (2.8 mph; 3% incline)

Conditioning

Every 2:30 for 8 sets

10 walking lunges

5 push-ups

10 med ball sit ups (10# ball)

This was a nice little mover.  I could finish each round in just under 90 seconds and have a minute rest before resetting.  Total volume of 80 walking lunges and 40 push-ups was perfect for today

Metcon

Tuesday, October 28, 2025

Westbound CrossFit (Coach Rachel)

1630 (14 of us)

Warm Up

Shuttle Runs

Rope Skips

Burpee Technique Work

Movement Prep

Conditioning

Every 3:00 x 7 sets

75 Double Unders

15 Lateral DB Burpees 

Max effort single arm farmer carry (50/35lb.) (25ft. out and back segments)

*Every 5ft. covered in the farmer carry is 1 rep! 

*Score is total distance traveled in reps

Intermediate: 35-50 double unders, 35/20lb. 

Baseline: 50 single unders, 10 burpees, 15/10lb. 

This was as bad as advertised.  I scaled to 75 single unders; 10 step over burpees per round; 35 pound dumbbell and could have scaled the reps more on the first two movements.

1. 20
2. 20
3. 10
4. 10
5. 0
6. 0
7. 15

This works out to 75 points.  I slowed on the burpees and started to miss on the rope skips, but it worked out OK.

Iron Man Barbell Co Set

Edgar Chavez listed this on Facebook Marketplace yesterday and I reached out 7 hours after posting around 7:00 PM.  He said we could meet the next day (Saturday) and I got antsy and asked if I could come over that night.  He was not at home and I decided to take my chances.  About 30 minutes later, he marked them as pending, saying that he was getting other inquiries and just wanted to work with me, since I contacted him first.  I originally wanted to stop in at 2 PM, but the comp was running late and I pushed to 3:30 and eventually got to his place at 4 PM.  The plates were exactly as advertised with pairs from 25-15-10-7.5-5-2.5 (130 pounds total) plus a bar with some kind of rotating sleeve and standard collars.  I was thrilled to complete the transaction.

I asked about history and he just picked them up at an auction.  I assume he got a good deal.  He mentioned that he had interested parties from Chicago and other places out of state willing to pay whatever he wanted to package and ship the set.

Iron Man barbell were the first vintage plates I ever purchased in January 2022.  I got the pair of 25s for $60 and was super excited as the swap group had them selling for $4/pound.  I have rarely seen them in the wild since.  I secured a single 15 in June 2024 and a 7.5 in October 2024.  Having a full set is an amazing find for me that I look forward to playing with and displaying.  I expect it is a $500-$800 set in the hands of the right collector.  I will list my spare 15 and 7.5 on the swap page and will hopefully find something interesting that makes it worth shipping these.

Scale Weight

I need scale weights, like I need a hole in the head, but I could not walk away from this for $40 being offered 10 minutes from the house.  I need to do some homework, but have never seen these from the Buffalo Scale Company.

King Kong 2025

Joe, Kevin, Andrew, Mark, Cathy, Herb, Josh, Kim

Curt, Sanjiv, Louis

Marc and Akeem again hosted a King Kong venue.  This time we were at Gym No 5, an amazing strongman facility in north Boulder, Colorado.

I did not even bother, trying to make weight as I came in at 95.2 kg (93 kg was not in the cards).

I had a really good session:

• Crusher - 97.1, 112.1, 122.1, 125.1 (56.8 kg), 130.1 pounds.  This is a PR!  I got 55.7 in 2024 and 56.2 in 2023.
• Hub - 31.1, 36.1, 38.6, 41.1, 43.1, 45.1, 47.1, 50.25, 55.35 (25.2 kg), 60.40 pounds.  (10) was a ridiculous number of attempts, but I was lifting much better here than at home in practice.  PR!
• Thumb Blaster - 42.65, 50.20, 52.75, 57.75, 62.90, 65.5 (R, 29.8 kg), 70.5 pounds.  PR! and I felt stronger with my left hand at home
• Little Big Horn - 84.7, 104.6, 114.6 (52.1kg), 124.4 pounds.  I was off of last year's PR of 55.62 kg, but still very happy with this lift and glad I made a 10 pound jump at the end

Very friendly crowd.  Joe was newer to grip.  Kevin helped arrange the venue.  I competed with Andrew, Cathy, Marc and Louis last year.  Kim was there.  Herb was a beast.  Josh was friendly and brought some home made stall mat grip implements to share.  Curt brought stickers that her ordered from Plate Snacks.

It will be interesting to see how I stack up overall when the official results are posted.

It was pretty slow going.  I arrived at 8:45 AM for a scheduled 9:00 AM weigh in.  We got started around 10:00 AM and did not finish until 3:00 PM.  It was a lot of fun and it seems like the Discord group is going to be a good weight to keep up with athletes in the future.

Tips - Bring real food for lunch, smelling salts, hand sanitizer and my own Spider Chalk for grip events.

UPDATE:  Results

278/295 men; 48/52 Men's 105kg; 8/9 Men's Master's 50+, 105kg; 

Jacob 78th

Marc 129th

Joe 189th

Curt 210th

Louis 219th

Joshua 226th

Kevin 252nd

Andrew 289th

Katherine 43rd overall women

Kim 52nd overall women, 2nd Women's Masters (50+; 72kg) (41.77 - 18.66 - 21.61 - 34.99)

My lifts (top lift in my class) - Pound for Pound - =360.55/209.4 = 1.72x (top ten 3.45x

• Crusher - 56.74 (99.78) - elite 120% of bodyweight
• Hub - 25.10 (47.05) - elite 55% of bodyweight
• Thumb Blaster - 29.71 (47.57) - elite 65% of bodyweight
• LBH - 51.98 (97.86) - elite 130% of bodyweight

Carbondale - Jaland (22nd), Steve Millard, Jeremy Everding, Michael Rogowski, Jesse Hagedorn, Sarah Chappelow, Megan Hagedorn, 

Ben Edwards - 225th (Lecompton with Chad Gustin, Ace Gustin, Elle Gustin)

65.55 - 26.18 - 32.27 - 74.73

900 Yard Pool Swim

Thursday, October 23, 2025

Carmody Rec Center

1300

Pool Swim

1x500 FR

1x150 BR

1x150 BA

1x100 FR

--

900 yards (30 minutes)

Although slow, it was really nice to be back in the water.  Looking at my notes, it has been over a month (Sept 12 since my last swim).  

Row - Bike - RKBS

Wednesday, October 22, 2025

Westbound CrossFit (Coach Aaron)

1730 (6 of us)

Warm Up

Row

Bike

KB warm-up

Conditioning

Every 3:00 x 10

12/9 Cal Row

12/9 Cal Bike

15 Russian KB Swing (70/53lb.)

Intermediate: 10/7 Cals, 53/35lb. 

Baseline: 8/5 Cals, 25/15lb. 

I scaled appropriately to 7 cal row, 7 cal bike and 15 RKBS at 26 pounds.  I was moving well and finished the rounds as follows:

1. 1:41
2. 1:43
3. 1:46
4. 1:44
5. 1:47
6. 1:43
7. 1:44
8. 1:50
9. 1:47
10. 1:46

This adds up to 17:31 minutes of work.  The coaching cue that changed my life was pulling on the Echo Bike handles.  I had always pushed before and it felt like the machine was fighting me.  Aaron pointed out that the lats are often larger muscle groups and the pulling motion allows an athlete to get some momentum with the hips.  Absolute game changer.

I skipped the cool down and recovery flow

Overhead Pressing

Tuesday, October 21, 2025

Westbound CrossFit (Coach Bryn)

1200 (3 of us)

Warm Up

Jumping jacks

Mountain climbers

Dead bugs

PVC movements

Barbell warm-up

Heavy Day

1x Strict press

2x Push Press

3x Push Jerk

Every 2:00 x 7 sets

I used 85-85-85-85-90-90-90.  I did a warm-up set at 95 and it felt rough.  I was hoping to build up to it, but not today.

Finisher

:30 max effort banded push up

:30 max effort alternating V-up

1:00 Rest

X 3 sets

*Score is total reps

This was tricky:

11 push-up (no band) + 13 jack knife

9 push-up + 12 jack knife

10 push-up + 11 jack knife

--

66 total reps

Front Squat - Pulling

Monday, October 20, 2025

Westbound CrossFit - (Coach Loni)

1200 - (7 of us)

Warm Up

Run

Banded shoulder mobility

Wrist stretches

Staggered stance air squat

Toes out air squat

Toes in air squat

Barbell warm-up

Kipping warm-up

Conditioning

Front Squat (185/125lb.)

Bar muscle up

9-6-3

2:00 Rest

Front Squat (135/95lb.)

Chest to bar pull up

12-9-6-3

2:00 Rest

Front Squat (95/65lb.)

Pull Up

15-12-9-6-3

*Includes rest

Goal: Sub 16:00

Cap: 21:00

Intermediate: 135/95, 95/65, 75/55lb……..Banded/ jumping BMU, Banded chest to bar, Banded pull up

Baseline: 45/35lb. Barbell across all rounds or light, Push Up + banded pull up, Banded C2B Pull Up, Inverted Row (barbell in rig or rings)

For as bad as this could have been, I scaled it really well and got a good stimulus.

9-6-3 Front Squat (65 lb) - Jumping BMU 0-3:35

12-9-6-3 Front Squat (45 lb) - Jumping C2B - 5:35-10:25

15-12-9-6-3 Front Squat (15 lb) - Jumping PU - 12:25-18:51

The transitions between movements were slow by design.  The Front Squats were unbroken, but with pauses at the top.  The pulling movements were around sets of 3 across the board.

Hang Power Clean - Metcon

Friday, October 17, 2025

Westbound CrossFit (Coach Loni)

1200 (9 of us)

Warm Up

Run

Hamstring sweeps

Walk on toes

Walk on heels

Jump rope

Speed steps

Hang clean pull

Hang muscle clean

Hang power clean

Strength/Skill

Every minute on the minute x 8

3 Hang Power Clean

Building each minute to moderately heavy load.

I worked up from 95-100-105-110-115-115-115-115.  On the minute felt fast and I was not recovered for the next set.

Conditioning

Hang power clean

21-15-9-15-21

(95/65lb.)

Double Under

42-30-18-30-42

For time. 

Goal: Sub 9

Cap: 12 minutes 

Intermediate: 75/55lb., 1/2 double unders

Baseline: 45/35lb., single unders

I scaled to 45 pounds and did 1.5x single unders (63-45-27-45-63) and finished in 6:50.  I would have struggled with a heavier load (my forearms are still shot), but I could have done 2x single unders

Cool Down

Single leg calf raises

Wall leaning toe raises

Alamosa Rec Center

Thursday, October 16, 2025

Alamosa Family Recreation Center

0730

Warm Up

5 laps (~0.5 miles) on indoor track

Hip Hammy Flow

General Strength

Back Squat on Hoist Machine

Dumbbell Incline Bench Press

Assisted Dips

Sit-ups

45 minutes total workout

The Alamosa Rec Center is a nice facility with an indoor track, cardio machines, heavy bags, mats, and a reasonable strength area with mostly machines and very few free weights.  They do have a couple of barbells and bumper plates along with dumbbells that go up to 100 pounds.  The $5 daily drop in rate is a great deal.  They also seem to have a lot of seasonal programs.

Ring Muscle Up - Deadlift

Tuesday, October 14, 2025

Westbound CrossFit (Coach Bryn)

1200 (8 of us)

Warm Up

Run

Jumping jack

Seal jack

Ground to overhead (no weight)

Inchworm

Step back lunge

Prong A, Y, snow angel

Ring muscle up warm-up

Deadlift - build to starting weight

Ring Muscle Up Technique

Tip from Julio - Rock forward rock back, raise legs and look up and then pop hips to ultimately transition onto rings.

Metcon 

5-4-3-2-1-2-3-4-5

Ring muscle up

Deadlift (365/255lb.)

For time. 

Goal: Sub 8:00

Cap: 15:00

Intermediate: 225/155lb., 3 Ring muscle ups each round or jumping ring muscle ups

Baseline: 95/65lb., 5 push up + 5 ring row each round. 

I scaled to RMU transitions and 275 pound deadlifts.  I finished in 13:54.  The deadlifts were a real grind and a lot of volume with 29 reps at 80% of 1RM.  The RMU were kind of useless as my form really broke down when fatigued.

Chipper

Monday, October 13, 2025

Westbound CrossFit (Coach Loni)

1200 (8 of us)

Warm Up

Row

Inch worm

Hollow rock

Step up

Kettlebell swings

Conditioning

1k Row

________

100 Burpee

100 KB Swing (American) (53/35lb.)

100 V Up

100 Step up (24/20’)

For time. 

Goal: Sub 22:00

Cap: 30:00

Intermediate: 35/30lb. KB, Lower box. Consider reduction in volume from 100 to 75 of each.

Baseline: 50 reps of each movement prescribed as well as 500m Row. 25/15lb. KB, Beginner Jack knife for V-Up

I scaled to 26# KB, Jack knifes (back on ground v-up with one leg) and 20" step ups.  I treated this as an AMRAP 30 and was thrilled to finish 70 reps of each movement in 31:04.

The row took me 5 minutes and then each round of 10 was taking me around 3:30.

King Kong Grip Session

Sunday, October 12, 2025

Basement Gym

1700

2.25" Crusher

85

110

115 (L)

117.5 (L)

Hub

25

30

32.5

35 (R)

1-5/8" Thumb Blaster

40

50

55 (L)

57.5 (L)

Little Big Horn

85

95

100 (L)

102.5

100 (L)

Massenomics Stall mat

95 (2H)

3.5" Dumbbell Handle

Photo pending

Chalk this up to the ultimate uni-tasker.  However, I wanted to treat myself after IAWA Worlds and this is one of the few all-round weightlifting items I can buy off the shelf that I do not have.

Once it arrives, I will be able to execute the dumbbell walk.

L-sit - Metcon

Friday, October 10, 2025

Westbound CrossFit (Coach Ryley)

1730 (3 of us)

Warm Up

200 meter run

Superman hold

Hollow rocks

Strict sit - feet raises

Dead hang

Kip Swings

Kip + Hip Drive

Jumping muscle ups

Core Work

Accumulate 1:30 of L-Sit on paralletes (box, floor, DB’s, KB’s)

3x5-10 Back extensions on GHD

*Break up the L-sit for quality development and between sets work in on GHD. 

On the 12 minute clock, I accumulated a little over 60 seconds on a tuck hold from 30 inch box.  I would do 2x5 second holds, then 3-4 back extensions, rest and repeat.

Conditioning

10-8-6-4-2

Bar muscle up

20-16-12-8-4

Box jump over (30/24’)

V-Up

For Time.

Goal Time: Sub 10

Time Cap: 12:00

Intermediate: Reduced reps of BMU/ Banded or jumping BMU, 24/20’ box

Baseline: Banded pull up + Push Up, plate jumps, Beginner jack knife

This was actually the most fun I have had with the programming in quite some time.

Jumping bar muscle ups are typically done from head height, but I had to be elevated to nipple height, but I was then able to execute them.  I scaled the reps to 5-4-3-2-1.

Box jump overs were great at 24".  I scaled the reps to 10-8-6-4-2 and was able to keep a steady pace.

V-ups kind of sucked.  I went with single leg raises and kept the 20-16-12-8-4 rep scheme.

I finished the scaled load in 9:58, but then tacked on another "round" at 2-2-4 reps to finish in 11:29

IAWA World Championship

Banner

Meeting Jack Shanks

Clean & Push Press

Pullover & Press

Straddle Deadlift

One Arm Clean & Jerk

Clean & Push Press

2" Vertical Bar

Zercher

Fun in the Stones "Garden"

Very Impressive Team Lift (Dolores and June)

I had the opportunity to travel to Belfast for the 2025 IAWA World Championship.  It was well attended:

1. Ruby Meakin - NI - Junior
2. Leo Moss - ENG - Junior
3. Emily Haydock - ENG - Junior
4. George Dutton - ENG - Junior
5. Beata Banas - ENG (attended last year)
6. Paul Barette - ENG (attended last year)
7. Chloe Brennan - ENG (attended last year)
8. Steve Sherwood - ENG (attended last year)
9. Brandon Hazell-Hyland - ENG (attended last year)
10. Denny Habecker - USA (attended last year)
11. Natalie Voce - ENG (attended last year)
12. David Angove - ENG (attended last year)
13. Dolores McGuckin - NI - Incredibly strong powerlifter
14. Sam Bonar - ENG (attended last year)
15. Stanley Hamilton - NI - Grip sport athlete
16. Joshua Davidson - ENG (attended last year)
17. Sanjiv Gupta - USA (attended last year) 17th/22
18. Steve Moss - ENG - Nice guy, did not talk to much
19. Amy Robertson - ENG - Fun lifter, new to all-round
20. Paul Hallam - ENG (attended last year)
21. Mark Haydock - ENG (attended last year)
22. Matt Jones - ENG (attended last year)

14 of 22 were return lifters, 8 were new.  31 had originally signed up, but could not attend for various reasons.

Resurgence Training Center was a first class facility and an excellent host.  I actually bought a sweatshirt just to throw them some business.  They support everyone from Strongman, Powerlifters, Olympic Lifters and Bodybuilders.

Day 1 - weighed in at 94 kg - milled about chatting with other athletes, lunch at food truck (Chicken and Pork Gyro)

One Hand C&J (Right) - 3 for 3 (30, 32.5, 35kg) - PR, beat my existing record by 2 pounds, National Record

Clean & Push Press - 3 for 3 (50, 55, 62.5kg)

Pullover & Press - 3 for 3 (50, 60, 70kg) - PR, crushed my existing record of 115 pounds, National Record

Straddle DL - 3 for 3 (135, 150, 155kg) - PR

Day 2 - did not weigh in, snacks (Clif Bars and Larabar)

Continental Snatch - 2 for 3 (45, 47.5, 55kg), called for press out

Vertical Bar 2 Inch (Left) - 2 for 3 (60, 70, 80kg) - PR!, National Record, but not done with USAWA specific 18 inch length, did not hold until down command

Zercher - 3 for 3 (90, 100, 110kg)

On both days I officiated during session 1 (women), chatted and warmed up during session 2 (lower bodyweight men) and lifted in session 3 (higher bodyweight men).  I forgot my officials shirt, but was otherwise well prepared.  I was comfortable and warmed up well.  I was warming up too early and would have benefited by starting to warm up during the 15 minutes between sessions.  Competition moved fast with 2 platforms and a generous warm up area.  We started at 10 AM both days and were finished by 4:30 PM day 1 and 3 PM day 2.  This included not only competition lifts, but also 4th attempts for records and record sessions both days.

Stevie Shanks and his family were great hosts.  Simon Truesdale and Michael Wilson did a great job loading.

Net Costs

• $200 - Flights (plus points)
• $500 - Ground transportation (rental car, gas, taxi)
• $700 - Lodging (Moxy, Lurgan, Metro)
• $300 - Dining (including banquet)
• $50 - Meet Entry
• $1,100 - Site-Seeing / Misc

Reviewing my travel costs the past three years:

2023 Nationals, Columbia - $560 (drove)

2024 Nationals, Columbia - $1000 (flight, rental car)

2024 Worlds, Eastbourne - $1250

2025 Nationals, Albany - $1800 (Sanjiv, Diya, Nisha)

2025 Worlds, Belfast - $2,850 (Sanjiv, Ratna)

Row - Push-ups

Tuesday, September 30, 2025

Basement Gym

1800

Conditioning

10 Rounds for Time:

250 meter row

5 push-ups

This turned out to be a perfect quick hit that I finished in 17:02.  Considering changes for the future, I might opt for every 2 minutes:  250 meter row; max unbroken push-ups; rest in remaining time.