Make or miss, Christy P. is the face of intensity.
shoulder press
3-3-3-3-3
Compare results to May 14, 2009.
then, tabata thruster* @ 95/65-lbs.
*One Tabata round is eight rounds of 20 seconds of maximum work, followed by 10 seconds of rest.
This workout is scored by the total repetitions completed.
By the way, not sure if anyone is still thinking about the marathon, but if so, sign up soon – it’s filling up fast. Almost 24,000 people in the first 24 hours!
http://www.marinemarathon.com/Assets/Press+Releases/35th+MCM+registration+-+24+hour+update.pdf
Thanks, Jenny. I can’t believe it—we’re up to 24 racers already. That’s incredible…
John
–Scores–
Antonio G.: 135-145-135-135-135-lbs., 47 (85-lbs.)
Erez Y.: 105-110-115-115-115-lbs., 28 (85-lbs.)
Alex M.: 95-95-95x-90-90-lbs., 40 (75-lbs.)
Mike D.: 95-100x-95-95-95-lbs., 34 (75-lbs.)
Derek B.: 95-100-105-105-105-lbs., 46 (75-lbs.)
Erin K.: 75-80-80-80-80-lbs., 50
Tamra F.: 80-85-85-85-85-lbs., 44
Paul M.: 55-55-55-55-55-lbs., 65 (65-lbs.; sub: tabata front squat)
Kris C.: 60-60-60-60-60-lbs., 56 (45-lbs.)
Kristie K.: 55-55-55-55-55-lbs.
Sara D.: 50-50-50-50-50-lbs., 48 (35-lbs.)
Beth F.: 55-55-55-55-55-lbs., 47 (35-lbs.)
Keena S.: 50-50-50-50-50-lbs., 57 (35-lbs.)
Josh O.: 185-190x-185x-175-x-lbs., 36
Sean M.: 145-150-150x-145-145-lbs., 35
David O.: 115-110-110-115-115-lbs., 44
Scott D.: 125-135-135-135-135x-lbs., 45 (75-lbs.)
Neil A.: 110-110-115-120-125x-lbs., 41
Rob K.: 125-125-125-125-125x-lbs., 37
Josh M.: 95-100x-95-95-95-lbs., 54 (75-lbs.)
Meghan M.: 90-95x-95x-90-90-lbs., 40 (95-lbs.)
Ravi S.: 85-90-95x-90-90-lbs., 31 (65-lbs.)
Sidra C.: 90-95-100x-95x-90-lbs., 35
Jen M.: 65-70-70-70-70-lbs., 36
Jessica H.: 65-70-65-65-65-lbs., 34
Katie M.: 65-65-65-65-65-lbs., 39 (45-lbs.)
Kate S.: 45-45-45-45-45-lbs., 65 (35-lbs.; sub: tabata front squat)
Mike S.: 135-140-145-140-140-lbs., 64 (sub: tabata burpee)
Jeff W.: 105-105-105-105-105-lbs., 32 (75-lbs.)
Bill G.: 115-125x-120-120-120-lbs., 45 (75-lbs.)
David S.: 105-110-115x-110-110x-lbs., 52 (45-lbs.)
Roselena R.: 80-85x-80x-80-80-lbs., 53
Caitlin F.: 80-85x-80-80-80x-lbs., 36
Brian T.: 75-75-75-75-75-lbs., 53 (45-lbs.)
Christine S.: 70-70-70-70-70-lbs., 45 (45-lbs.)
Charles H.: 135-140-140x-135x-125-lbs., 41
Alan N.: 75-75-75-75-75-lbs.
Joe F.: 135x-125-130-130x-125-lbs., 31
Adam C.: 125-135x-130-130-130-lbs., 40
Travis O.: 125-125-125-125-125-lbs., 44 (75-lbs.)
Dave R.: 135-145-145-145x-135-lbs., 41 (135-lbs.)
Matt W.: 125-125-125-125-125-lbs., 26
Linda K.: 45-45-45-45-45-lbs., 40 (35-lbs.; sub: tabata push press)
Marco M.: 75-80-80-80-80-lbs., 48 (65-lbs.)
Great Friday—Erez got his first muscle-up(s), and Jason, after just getting a muscle-up a few days ago, tied the record at eight unbroken repetitions.
Meggers: after Dave heard about your 95-pound effort this morning, he wanted a piece of 135. And, well…see above.
John
Very impressive work, all.
Just signed up for Marine Corps marathon. Damn that voice in my head that wouldn’t go away….Josh M.
Signed up for the marathon….John made it sound so easy, just a couple of short runs a week. Awesome to have such a big group.
Crossfit Morristown, New Jersey
Well, it’s not Zurich. Or even Nairobi for that matter. But, it is Crossfit, and it’s right smack dab in the state that gave this great nation…ummm…oh yes: Glue. And B-Kay. And, by golly, how bout’ Bon Jovi?
Aside from contributions, there is a deep-rooted character of honesty in the people of New Jersey that I have always admired. Why bother with formalities and chit-chat when what you really want to do is whack someone? New Jersey gets to the point. Which could in fact be the state motto. Which is far more appropriate than the actual motto of “Liberty and Prosperity.”
So, if this review were written by a straight-talking New Jerseyite (what the hell do you call someone from New Jersey anyway?) it might read as follows: “The screen door slams, Mary’s dressed waiting, like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays, I went to Crossfit Morristown, kicked some ass and flirted with hot girls, whacked the coach and ate a pie at the Avalon Pier.” See, it’s to the point, no extraneous information, with the exception of the Bruce Springsteen reference. Which is far better than the only other local reference available, that of Grover Cleveland.
-The box is located in downtown Morristown, a place George Washington slept for a few nights; a notoriety that the residents here have been milking for over two hundred years. They even have a restaurant in town called “Martha and George.” My god, Angelina Jolie’s slept in my bed a few times but you don’t hear me harping on about it…or building statues (or dining establishments) to honor the occasion. Anyway, the gym sits directly downtown, in a converted old glue factory. The Bada Bing Bar is conveniently located nearby.
-I introduced myself to Coach Leonardo, a name that does not conjure up much confidence, especially as I imagined an AMRAP that involved doing pull-ups off the side of the GW bridge whilst wearing cement shoes and a weighted vest. He was very sweet however, and was quite excited to meet me as he had just done the running seminar with John in Miami and was quite taken by his passion and spirit; couldn’t stop talking about him as a matter of fact. I milked this association for everything I could, told him that I was John’s rising star, his Crossfit prodigy, and that we were in fact the best of friends. He looked intensely jealous when I added that John was also the best man at my wedding and that we recently named our first-born daughter “John.”
-There was only one evening WOD offered. This seemed odd, as I could not imagine how a box could recruit/survive on one evening class. Further, the evening session was listed at 45 minutes long. I mean, c’mon, my Filthy-Fifty is longer than that! Nonetheless, there you have it, a one-WOD-wonder at 45 minutes. Alas, perhaps the once-an-evening formula is working
in a sense – at least for the owners, given that around 40 people showed up that evening. So, it appears that recruiting is not a problem, and survival would be clearly on the shoulders of the athletes.
-The space was well equipped. All the bells and whistles. They even had monogrammed boxes for box-jumps. Each one had a little red-cross logo with Crossfit Morristown stamped on the side. They were quite snazzy and I was feeling rather stylish just looking at them. God only knows how I would have felt if I had actually jumped on one. There were, as well, four large truck tires by the entrance that I found rather suspicious, as there was a disabled truck a block away that was sitting on blocks. I also checked out the Glute/Hamstring thingy that is not a part of our repertoire at MPH in hope that I might one-day understand what it is that we are supposed to do with these contraptions. I decided that New Jersey was not the place that I wanted to make a first-go at figuring it out.
-I decided to use the bathroom. Which was a mistake. First, they were unisex, which is always disturbing to me as I find that women leave strange messes in public bathrooms, messes that challenge the common sense of our thinking ladies to be “neat and tidy.” In this case the nightmare was even more than I could imagine, not that it was messy, but for some other little surprise. Sitting on the mantle by the toilet was a lovely weaved basket containing a vast array of complimentary feminine products. Further, I noticed the scent of floral-laden Potpourri. At this point I began to hyperventilate thinking that the bathrooms were not actually unisex and I had done the Crossfit unthinkable…used the “Women’s.” So, upon a quick escape I checked. Yes, Unisex. Curious indeed. I peered into the other bathroom and lo (or Loo in this case)- and – behold the other bathroom also offered this amenity. Huh? Sure, Karianne, the owner – is a woman – but this can’t be a common Crossfit offering. Needless to say I was not looking forward to seeing the ladies squatting that evening.
– People were pouring in. And I mean a lot of people. Poor Leonardo. One coach, 40 people, and two distinct WODS that were offered depending on the levels. Everyone was gossiping, doing warm-ups before the warm-ups, bench-pressing (why were two guys were max bench-pressing in the corner?), and otherwise waiting for the WOD, which finally did occur 20 minutes after the designated start-time. I did my Mel prescribed stretching, practiced double-unders, showed off my kip, pretended I could muscle-up, and read a lengthy novel as I waited for this damn thing to start.
-Finally, it did. The warm-up was a mish-mash of 10 jump-squats, 5-push-ups (which Leonardo asked us to “count out loud”), some arm circles, and goose-stepping. Yes, goose-stepping. This was rather ironic given my recent concern that Herr Furrer at Crossfit Zurich would demand this same thing. Nonetheless, and coincidence aside, we goose-stepped in rows of eight across the floor, toes lifted to outstretched hands. Alas, no burpees, which was disappointing, as I wanted to introduce the BK Burpee to her homeland.
– The WOD was a choice. I am not accustomed to choices and I really do not take well to the aspect of making decisions when it comes to Crossfit. Yet, at nearly every box visited it seems that I am handed a menu. But, nothing like this night. I was presented with the option of one of two WODS for time: 10,8,6,4,2 of 155lb (or scaled where I like) front-squats and 20,30,40,50,60 of double-unders (or scaled as triple the number of singles), OR…20,18,16,14,12 of Wall-balls and 60,90,120,150,180 of singles. I felt like I was at Old Country Buffet. Should I pile on the roast-beef or ham?
-I chose the front-squats as it seemed more MPHish. Also, wall-balls meant having my back to the door, which is a position I try to avoid In New Jersey. I scaled the squats to 135lbs and tripled the double-under reps as singles (even though my double-unders are getting better). This was, by the way, one of the sectional WODS for the New Jersey/NY games this past weekend. My total time was 14:10…a time that would have put me in first place in the honorary “Martha and George” geriatric category of the sectionals. In all fairness, I might have finished at 14:09 if Leonardo had not tripped over my jump-rope at one point; the poor guy single-handedly running in circles trying to manage the cluster of people that were all over the place in skills and form.
-After the squat group was done the rest of the population of Morristown did the “other” WOD, which occurred some one hour after the start time and 15-minutes past the posted end. Clearly, time-management is not an easy task with 40 people, two WODS, and one Coach.
-On a final note I do have to say this: Of all the affiliates I have been to, with the exception of our own MPH, the girls here were especially lovely; so much so that I felt the need to slip into a corner and spray on a little LuLu Lemon Eau de Toilette. I am not sure what the deal is but these girls looked spectacular. I found myself in a continuous pattern of a “wink and a coo” as I did every rep – working that room in a way that only StuLu can. However, I quickly lost my zest for flirtatiousness when the girls all surrounded me – fighting over who could stroke my pecs –and, began to talk. Why did they have to talk? New Jersey accents ruin everything.
StuLu’s Rating: 5 Kettlebells. A well equipped box – but too many people, too many choices, and only one coach. But, I assume this is not the norm as I received a heartfelt e-mail today from Karianne, who also knows John (did he warn her that I write reviews or something?), explaining that this was not usual and really hoping I will come back on a normal night to better see what they are doing. It appears now that I will need to go to future gyms under a pseudonym, and in disguise, as I fear that we may have a mole at MPH who is blowing my cover.
Outstanding write-up, StuLu—as always. Great stuff. I’m not going to lie, though: it makes me a little nervous when you go to places where I know people, or in this case, all the people. But, you made it work (thank (MPH) god).
I think I’m going to have new t-shirts made: “MPH sent StuLu and all I/we got was this t-shirt.” Do they make chest-less t-shirts? Because that’s what I’d want it printed on.
Also, Jersey gave us Dave R., in case you were wondering.
John
… and Jersey Boys.
Erez,
I still have no idea who you are. Yet, you still keep stalking me with show tunes. Now Jersey Boys. Is their no end? I keep seeing you in my dreams singing “Life is a Cabaret…old boy” as I slip into something LuLu Lemonish. Really, this is all very disturbing.
And, whoever you are Erez, .congrats on your muscle-ups. Rogers and Hammerstein would be proud.
StuLu-The Stalked
I spent 5 or 6 of my most formative years in Morristown, NJ (1986-1991).
Reading Stu’s post, perhaps I should not admit to that.
M
Stu,
Another classic post. Thank you. I spent a week in Morristown one night.
Truth be told, my family moved from the mid-west to Westfield, NJ when I was 9-10 years old. We moved to Oakton, Va after two years. It was all a blur.
Dave O
StuLu, while we certainly miss you when you’re gone, these posts are such a treat to read!
Coach- you mentioned a page for saving StuLu’s travel commentaries at one point. I hope you make one under the Nutrition and Enrichment tab, “StuLu’s Travelog,” or some other snazzy title.