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Mayo is shaping up
 

Hey guys,

Thought I would post a different style blog.


Me in Taiwan, February 2011

Basically I hated the way I looked, always wanted to be fit and toned but never got around to it.
www.gotgames.com.au started running a 12 week body transformation comp (which I signed up for) and started out doing the regular old lifting weights.

I discovered Crossfit through a friend and haven't looked back since. I am now working out 5 times a week, eating properly and loving it!




Crossfit is all about doing functional strength movements at high intensity.
Often hated by the rest of the fitness scene (namely, those doing body building), I find it extremely fun and uplifting.
You push yourself to the physical limit every workout and feel great about it.

There are Crossfit games (like the Olympics) and to qualify for these, you must do a serious of workouts at your gym/home to qualify for reigonals. here is my gym doing the first workout:

How often do you see people doing a workout with all of their peers (competitors) cheering them on.




Progress so far:
Weight: 100kg (June 2011), 89.6kg (Current)
Motivation: 6/10 to 8/10

Diet:
Examples for this week:
Lunch - Mince, 3 cloves garlic, diced tomato tin, diced: carrot, capsicum, mushroom.
Dinner - Bacon wrapped chicken! Mixed kebab on Friday (after gym) in a contained.

I follow the general principals of the Paleo diet - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleolithic_diet
tl;dr: No wheat, limited dairy, minimal carbs.

Workout:

A lot of the 'benchmark' workouts are lovingly named after women.

I bought a kettlebell on the weekend, so I decided to do Helen last night.

I got 14:40, had to slow down as I was going to vomit (can't vomit in a normal gym!)


The most well known workout and the one to make you most likely throw up:

My Fran time is around 8 minutes. The best in the world get around 2:40.


Some pics from last night:


Boobs replaced by pecs



I've been helping TtPiG with workouts and motivation. If ANYONE wants some help with some simple, body weight Crossfit workouts please come and talk to me. I would love to help some others get the motivation that I have!

A lot of my motivation comes from http://journal.crossfit.com/ and also http://www.youtube.com/user/jayrhodes

Also check out the Crossfit HQ Channel on YouTube for more awesome vids!

Re: Mayo is shaping up
 

very nice mayo . I used to be a fitness freak and even got into MMA a few years back but since I started air traffic control training then earthquake lack of money etc i've lost a lot of muscle mass and put on wieght. I'd love a few workouts to get me going again atm im doing a couple of runs per week and have lost some wieght but really need something more goal orientated .

Re: Mayo is shaping up
 

so0lid effort man!

Re: Mayo is shaping up
 

Easiest one to try is this:

7 rounds for time.
10x Pullup (Can use assist machine, I use a 70lb assist if use lat pull down machine @ like 120lb)
10x Squat (Air squat, no weight)
10x Push-up (Chest touches ground)
10x Sit-up (Chest/arm pits touch knees on the way up and shoulders touch the ground)

Re: Mayo is shaping up
 

Yeah alot of bodybuilders dislike crossfit because there is an amount of sacrificing form for intensity. For a bodybuilder that's a big no-no because they are building huge muscles which look horrible if they aren't built the "right" way through controlled and slow repetitions.

However if you aren't looking to be the next Arnie then I reckon Crossfit is pretty baller I felt like absolute crap last night until I did a bunch of exercises Mayo gave to me and felt bloody amazing afterwards. I'm doing an 8km run once a week, trying to up it to twice as well as getting my crossfit/weights sessions happening every day!

Mayo's a good bit taller then me and we weight the same now! Embarrassing! Good motivation to keep fit!

Re: Mayo is shaping up
 

hmmmm 7 reps of 10 pulls up with this fat level is gona suck but sounds like a plan :P I'll give it a go

Re: Mayo is shaping up
 

so crossfit is essentially high intensity interval training?
I tried that a couple of times and its a bitch to do - could run 5k in 14 minutes and wasn't as worn out as 10-15 minutes of interval training 0.o ^^

Re: Mayo is shaping up
 

Just having a look thru the website, this kind of lingo is confusing me: "7 round for time" "9-6-3 reps for time of:" wtf does that mean? Just do each set 7 times and time yourself? What am i comparing my time to, just the next time i do it? It's got me rather confuseded.

Re: Mayo is shaping up
 

Just use lat pull down machine (last resort), pull-up assist machine or a band to help you!

Band is the best thing, I used a red on the other night, they go from different resistances from high resistance (helps pull you up more) to minimal resistance (Like the red band).

Re: Mayo is shaping up
 

HOLY LARGE IMAGES MAYO

Re: Mayo is shaping up
 

Mostly.
There are Tabata Interval training WOD's (Workout Of the Day).
Tabate Interval = 20 seconds work followed by 8 seconds rest, repeated 8 times.

Most of it is "Do x as fast as possible" or "Complete as many rounds of this as possible in x minutes"


Took me a little to get my head around too.

7 rounds for time = You do the whole workout 7 times. For time = As fast as possible and time it. Lower time = better
You compare the time to yourself. In a competition you compare it to all the others.

I like to keep track of my times and then see how I improve.

EG. The first time I did the 7 rounds of 10 pull-ups, push-ups etc (see above) I got ~15 mins. Second time I did it (not long ago) I got 12 mins.

If you want a workout that you won't feel like throwing up in and dieing (a good beginners workout) try the 7 rounds above. Last time I did it and finished, I felt amazing.

Re: Mayo is shaping up
 

I disagree a little on that my.
My brother is a Crossfit personal trainer and he's skin you alive for saying that.
All crossfit exercises are to be performed with 100% form - the intensity comes from the style of exercise rather than the speed at which it is done.
Crossfit aims to utilise all of a muscle group when exercising rather than isolating a certain muscle. Best example of this is the use of kettlebells - a simulation of a real world activity (lifting, swinging, etc.) that requires use of the core stabilisers in order to perform correctly. When performing isolation exercises in bodybuilding, such as preacher curls or just about any machine exercise, you are only working that particular muscle group.
Overall, this ends with a bodybuilder increasing the volume of muscle without increasing the muscle density. Long story short you end up with bigger muscles but not denser muscle.
Finally, by working out using functional fitness (real life examples) you end up with a very balanced form that builds legs, back and shoulder a LOT more than most rookie gym-goers. Anyone who knows a little about bodybuilding knows that legs and back are absolutely PIVOTAL to your muscluar hypertrophy, yet by combining all of these into the one workout you ensure they aren't neglected by a 15 year old who is convinced they'll be built like a tank by doing bicep curls and bench press.

Re: Mayo is shaping up
 

I think maybe you are interpreting what PiG is saying differently to what he means.

Body builders believe in 100% range of movement, I was watching a bodybuilding video the other day explaining how they fully extend on a curl, curl up to the top, hold and squeeze for a second, then release back down slowly for a full and burning range of movement.

Sure you get the bar up there in crossfit, but you aren't going to hold or squeeze, it's a completely different mentality. Finding ways to get the car up there faster and more efficiently etc. You definitely don't do much slow (unless you are doing a 1RM check)

The form is still correct, just a different way of doing it (like kipping pull-ups)

Re: Mayo is shaping up
 

this is great!

What is your target weight?

This also explains why pig has been all gym lingoing it up recently. didnt understand half the work outs he mentioned

Re: Mayo is shaping up
 

Don't really have a goal weight, Crossfit is about improving your times and weight (heavier lifting) whilst having fun.

I just want to look good in the process

My original goal was <90kg and 'toned/muscly'.

Re: Mayo is shaping up
 

MY EYES

ZE GOGGLES DO NUTHINGGGG

Re: Mayo is shaping up
 

Funny i should read this, i am actually trying to gain healthy weight at the gym, with my goal being about 90 kilos. i have put on 18 odd kilos since i started and i feel much better than i have lately, My diet is completely different to yours as i should optimally be eating 6 meals a day with a decent about of complex carbs and protein. Its interesting to hear how different workouts and diet can effect the body.

Re: Mayo is shaping up
 

The most important question : Did all those efforts get you that nice girl in the first picture ? After all, you did all that because of her apparently ...

Re: Mayo is shaping up
 

Yeah I agree with you to some degree.

Basically I was reading the thread on TL about crossfit a while back and everyone was having a go at crossfit for the lack of form in most of the exercises, now that I think about it most gym junkies tend to be incredibly anal about "their way" of doing it, which is usually just the first way they were taught and love to tell anyone else they're wrong.

I think there were a few reasons they were all anti-crossfit: There is an undeniable loss of form when you reach a certain intensity. Most crossfit people are incredibly good at minimising it but it's still there. I remember someone quoted the founder of crossfit saying you can't build intensity without sacrificing some amount of form.

Does this mean he thinks crossfit is not as good for your muscles but better for fitness through intensity?

I don't think so. I think the fact you're working a whole range of muscles with each exercise means that losing a bit of form in some areas is ok as it will build the other muscles to help accomodate future buildup of that exercises. Also as you're building denser muscles rather then bigger muscles any loss of symmetry or slight focus on some muscles more than others won't create a noticeable effect. Also humans aren't meant to be symmetrical so its only normal for some muscles to bigger then others, you know, as long as you don't get the tennis player effect where 1 arm is massively larger than the other or such.

So I guess what I'm saying can be summarised as:

1. I think there is definitely a loss of form with crossfit (minimised by the more experienced im sure)
2. I don't think it matters very much because of the nature of the exercise
3. I 100% agree about the balance and functionality that the workouts provide and am so happy I found these rather then my old slow repetitious sets where I'd always neglect a few muscle groups and build size... after which my mates with arms a third the size of mine (but way more toned) could still go toe-to-toe in an arm wrestle >.<

Re: Mayo is shaping up
 

Sorry

Re: Mayo is shaping up
 

haha nah man, taken and happy. Coming on 5 years this year I think


(She hates this photo but meh, don't feel the need to 'show off')

Re: Mayo is shaping up
 

Oh, nice catch ! Grats !

You are both cute on this picture.

Re: Mayo is shaping up
 

haha thanks man!

Just went into Myer and decided to model some hats/beanies for lols

Re: Mayo is shaping up
 

88.8kg this morning F- yeah!

Can't wait for tonight's workout. Been a few days off due to being busy and feeling unwell, going to de_stroy myself