Ice Climb PA

Even though I just got back from NY after a great weekend of ice climbing with some old and new friends in the Catskills during IceFest, I want to talk a bit about the more 'local' ice. When I lived in Philly, we always went straight to the Cats or Daks for ice. After all, it was more reliably cold with thick ice, the conditions reports on NEIce.com were always more up-to-date, and the proximity to NYC meant there were lots of potential partners. My brother got me Griz's PA Guide to Ice climbs three Christmas's ago and I frequently check out the updates on the Central PA ice pages at HikeBikeClimb, but because the last two ice seasons got cut short because of injuries I never once made it out in PA.

I finally fixed this a few weeks ago. A friend who is relatively new to ice (he'd been out once before with a guide in NH) and to climbing in general headed up to the closest reliable ice: Lock Haven.

Roadside Gully: We put in an all-day, full-on mountaineering practice effort on Roadside Gully that was made much more difficult because we only had one set of ice tools. The ice was wet and thin in the middle of the easy stuff headed up to the ampitheater and required the leader to somehow pass the tools from a belay set up in a tangle of brush and mountain laurel, down a low angle gully, to another belay set up in a tangle of brush. We tried such esoteric techniques as Tyrolean Tool Transfers, but ended up fixing lines and ascending and descending on prussiks to transfer the tools. Good practice, but this makes for extremely slow going. The ampitheater itself is has three tiers. Only the first one - a broad low angle WI2 - was reasonably formed for hacks like ourselves. The others were thin clusters of curtains and long icicles that could have been strung together by someone with some talent and little need for protection, but not us. We took turns leading the first tier, then made five rope-stretching raps in the dark to get back to the road. I think we spent about 7 or 8 hours messing around on a 'roadside gully' and couldn't have been happier.

Tom even got his first ever lead over with (that's him seconding in the big photo, he's right about at the crux (I took this pic after we rapped after climbing it once and I took my turn leading it)). He had never led a single pitch of rock or ice before this and did a great job. He really had to work through some mental issues just before the crux and held it all together to pull the bulge even with a thin-ice top-out. A little bit of steeper ice, lots of multipitch practice, some rope tricks like prussiking fixed lines, a first ever lead... all in all it was a great refresher for the first climb of the winter season.

We hit Fox's Market House restaurant in Lock Haven for dinner that night. What we really needed was a bar, but we ended up here on the basis of a single review in Yelp. It was brightly lit, quiet, with a moderate selection of bottled beers and friendly service. Odd, mish-mash crowd of teenagers on dates, old couples (on dates?), kids and families, couples and two kinda loud guys by the pig statue that you can pet. We got great burgers though and beers at a good price from a crazy-happy waitress, so it was a good spot.

Spent the night sleeping out (which is like camping out except with no fires, no tents and a bit of whiskey) on the snow under the bright stars in Sproul State Forest.

Hidden Ampitheater: The next morning we woke up shortly after dawn, ran into town for some coffee and hit up Hidden Ampitheater. No low-angle ramp approach here, just a jumble of talus. The ampitheater itself is three-tiered like Roadside but here the first two pitches were thin icicles and still forming curtains. Definitely climb-able for some folks, but there was no way either of use were gonna lead that unprotectable horror show. I would've like to give them a go on toprope but would have done more damage than it was worth on pitches that fragile. The third pitch is the longest and it was well formed so we angled our way left and up around to the top of the third pitch where a few giant trees gave us bomber toprope anchors. This approach is not risk-free but it's fine if you're comfortable front-pointing up frozen turf (with one tool each). We took turns lapping that pitch for some good vertical ice practice. I even managed to try a few strenuous lie-backs and Tom got a little bloody from some falling ice, so, again we were happy as pigs in shit. Rapped off shortly after noon and beat it back to State College in about an hour (including a quick stop at Sheetz where you can top off your frozen nalgene with hot water). Damn fine weekend.

Garage Gym: New Editions

One thing that's nice about a garage gym is that it is always open. Well, not always. Over Christmas and New Years my gym was closed for construction and upgrades including brackets to convert my pull-up bar into a squat and shoulder rack, a 16 foot "plice" wall to practice ice climbing, and some shelves to get more shit out of the way.

Pull-Up Bar to Squat Rack Conversion: Ever since I built the pull-up bar I intended to have brackets made so that I could use it as a squat rack and shoulder rack, too. The design is pretty simple but avoids some potential issues I've seen with others. The weld shop screwed up at first, so these aren't exactly the way I wanted them, but I'll see how they do for awhile and maybe upgrade later if I need to. The high points: 1) there are no inside corners to concentrate stress or provide initiation points for cracks, and 2) made out of 3/8" steel and they bolt to the rack with 3/8" bolts, so they're plenty strong for anything I'll be lifting (or dropping). The toughest part is actually drilling exactly through the center of -- and perpindicular to -- a round pipe. I didn't manage that particularly well, but all-in-all it worked out. About $50 including primer, paint, hardware, drill bit etc.

Plice: I had the ice-jones bad all December. Typically, I take a long weekend climbing trip over New Year's but things didn't work out this year so I used the holidays to finally build the plywood ice ('plice') climbing wall to get my fix. It's pretty straightforward. The most expensive part is the pressure treated plywood. I only took a few laps before my first climbs of the season, but I felt like it helped get me in the groove a bit quicker than usual. Plus, I always need help on my 'hips in, heels low'. This helps me get some mileage and muscle memory. A few tips if you ever want to build your own: buy the straightest 16 foot pcs of 2 x 4 (this is not as easy as it sounds), space the 1x's so that your ice tools grips will rest on the next lower 1x (or at least so the grips don't end up on an edge), and get some help when it's time to raise the damn thing (heavier and more awkward than you expect). I wish I had a big tree to prop it up against, but I don't, so I attached it to the playset I built my daughter this summer. This makes it the first section of the real bouldering wall, with more to come later this year.

Shelves: Among other things, these will give me a place to put my boom box. This should not be underestimated. Seperating my music from the interval timer on my iPhone is a definite upgrade.

Crossfitter's guide to State College: Gyms (addendum 1)

Now that I finally put together my CrossFitter's Guide to State College; I need to correct it. We DO have an affiliate as of JAN 2011: CrossFit Nittany. It's being run by a State High grad who's been CrossFitting for a number of years out in Arizona and California. It's currently associated with the Downtown Athletic Clubs II (which is funny because I ranked that place as 6th worst of the 7 gyms in the area) for now, but I personally would expect that they won't be there too long unless the gym itself changes significantly (which is possible and much needed). It's been my experience that the business model and motivations of the typical gym and gym goer simply don't gel very well with the desires of the CrossFit trainers or the needs of their athletes.

But anyway, Good Luck CrossFit Nittany! I hope it will bring together a community of like-minded athletes right here in Happy Valley.

As an aside, Bryan has the good sense to link to Dave Seasholtz's "Central Pennsylvania Outdoor Sports" page right away. A great resource for all of us here that like to get out in the outdoors and play. I've been checking in there alot lately as I'm headed out to explore some PA ice for the first time this weekend.

SOUNDTRACK: For me, NOFX and iceclimbing are linked. It's probably because NOFX is where a regular ice partner and I first found some common musical ground between techno and punk (I admit I was a little worried when he threw his gear in the truck at a NJ Turnpike rest stop for a planned weekend-long trip up to the Cats and mentioned he mainly listened to techno and used to DJ alot). So you probably think the playlist is a NOFX song, but it's not. Because when I was packing up tonight I was shuffling through the ipod and a great Butt Trumpet song came on and it's been stuck in my head every since. And the reason I bring it up at all is because if you google "NOFX Butt Trumpet" (don't ask WHY anyone would do this) the fourth link or so after the lyrics and a sales offers is a Climbing Magazine story which confirms my thesis that both NOFX AND Butt Trumpet go really well with climbing.

Butt Trumpet's "I've Been so Mad Lately" off the LP Primitive Enema. Umm.... this song is not exactly rated "G".

CrossFitters Guide to State College: Gyms

OK, so, for now, State College does not have a CrossFit box. So if you're visiting the area or you're transfering to Penn State next semester or you're New Year's resolution is to focus a bit more on your general physical conditioning, then you have three choices: 1) work out outside (for me, winter temps in the 20's and 30's are just too damn cold to consistently do hard metcons outside (it just gives me bronchitis) but there are alot of nice parks and public mountain lands to enjoy if you're just passing through), 2) build your own garage gym (long a staple of CrossFitters. My garage works fine... although I do miss the competitive cameraderie of other CrossFitters), or 3) go to a commercial gym. If you're headed to a commercial gym, let this be your guide.

A few comments before the rankings and comments: First, I visited these gyms, talked to the front desk, took a tour, but I haven't actually done a wod in all of them. Some are more likely than others to frown hard or throw you out for whipping out a few handstand pushups against the mirrors or skinning the cat on their squat racks, but let's face it; disapproving looks, shaking heads and disbelieving trainers can be motivating. I know, I did it for three years at L.A. Fitness. Second, I checked these out in the fall of 2010, but gyms change, move, and update equipment, etc. so you might find conditions better or worse than I suggest.

Ranked from most- to least-CrossFit friendly:

#1) VICTORY TOTAL PERFORMANCE, 178 Rolling Ridge Drive (in the Hills Plaza by the Weis): FOUR of FIVE STARS. This is a great place, another CFer turned me on to it as soon as I moved up here. It's almost CF ready and it has alot of toys and even some open space. It also has TWO Olympic platforms with bumper plates and a management and staff that seems performance-oriented (all I got for rocking the cable crossover HARD during some bar muscle-ups was a chuckle and a smile and a 'that's interesting' from Tim the manager). It's not perfect. For instance, the best pull-up bar is on the cable crossover machine so it's prone to being stolen for some front double bicep curls while you're off on the rower and I'm not sure that dozens of drops from overhead on the Oly platforms (like during, say, Grace's 30 clean and jerks) would go over very well, but this is an easy place to get in a great workout. The stats: 1 rower, plenty of k-bells, 2 oly stations, some open space, pull-ups on a cable crossover, plenty of plyo boxes, lots of other toys (weighted vests, chains, vertical leap 'gauge', big timer clock, ghd, no rings though... too bad), not much nearby but there's a liquor store in the adjacent plaza, that's a another plus. $40/month or $10 drop-in fee.

#2) DOWNTOWN ATHLETIC CLUB I (formerly LIONHEART FITNESS AND TANNING), 127 Sowers Street (the east end of downtown, between College and Beaver): THREE of FIVE STARS. This is one of three local gyms owned by the same person/people/company and has undergone changes in the last year. Of the three, this is where they train MMA. That is both it's advantage and disadvantage. The MMA guys have fun equipment and open space, and I was told that if there is not an MMA class going on you can work out in the MMA room and use their toys (excluding the octagon and boxing ring). However, most evenings they have classes scheduled in there. Keep that in mind when you look at the toys below, most of that stuff is in the MMA area and is off limits when there is a class. If you can work around the MMA schedule this place could work out for you for a day or two, but it has one giant glaring flaw: there is not a single freakin' place to do a good kipping pull-up in the whole damn place. Not one. You're in even worse shape if you wanted to do a butterfly kip or, a bar muscle-up. They have a few cable crossover machines with pull-up bars on them but they all have hammer grip extensions in the middle, or worse, these giant, crazy, angled grip things that are guaranteed to bash you in the throat or face as you go for the last few reps. So this is your standard equipment-packed globogym (with tanning salon... YIKES! That's never a good sign!) with two exceptions: 1) It does have an Oly station with bumper plates, and 2) the MMA room has open space, mats on the floor, plyo boxes, rings from the ceiling, a tire for flipping, a rope for climbing, etc. The stats: 1 rower, no kettlebells, 1 Oly station, no free space unless the MMA room is open, no decent place for pullups, 1 or 2 plyo boxes, some other toys (a climbing rope, rings, tire), regular downtown college-town stuff nearby. $19/month. $12 drop-in.

#3) STATE COLLEGE AREA YMCA, 677 W. Whitehall Rd. (let's call it the Southwestern Suburbs, if there is such a thing). THREE STARS of FIVE. This is what you'd expect from a YMCA gym. It's a basic but workable collection of cardio machines, weight machines, and free weights. I work out here occasionally since it is also has the only place that even approximates a rock-climbing gym in the county. The equipment is in good shape and there is a little free space if you insist on it. There's only about 4 feet of wall space that is suitable for handstand pushups, but I use that spot frequently. Also, the best pull-up bars (and some metal rings!) are OUTSIDE past the parking lot by a corner intersection with a red-light. If you are a workout exhibitionist and like drivers-by to shake their heads (out-of-shape middle-aged guys), scoff (male high school athletes), yell obscenities (college age males), or completely ignore you (everyone else, including any reasonably attractive and slightly younger person of the opposite sex), then this might be the corner for you. I know this, because I've twice picked my 4yo daughter up from swim lessons and let her "workout" with me by sprinting back and forth between the pull-up bars on the corner and the rings/pistols station down by the entrance. It's pretty fun and and a good wod if you're in the area. Even a 4yo thinks it's fun! The thin, slick metal rings are hell for muscle-ups but fine for dips. I doubt you'd have to pay to use this stuff, since it's outside by the street and I'm the only one I've ever seen within 30 feet of it. The stats: 2 rowers, plenty of k-bells (they just added a bunch in the last few months, along with a strap-and-handle approximation of a ring hanging from the ceiling), no oly station or bumper plates, just a little free space, pullups on two cable crossovers (or outside, which isn't convenient if you also have to lift anything inside), 2-3 plyo boxes, no other toys, next door there is a playground, a grassy field and you could run on an adjacent bike path to downtown, and there's a pool and basketball courts at the Y itself. $37/month. No drop-in provision, but if you've never been there before you're entitled to a free one-day pass.

#4) EAST COAST HEALTH AND FITNESS, 250 West Hamilton Avenue (just off Fraser, about 8 blocks south of downtown). TWO STARS of FIVE. From here on down it's all globogym nonsense. This place is typical: pretty crowded with machines and equipment, pull-ups on cable crossovers, little -- if any -- toys, typical trainers. The stats: one rower (and apparently, it's usually available!), no kettle-bells, they actually did have two (and only two!) 45-lb bumper plates sitting forlornly in the far corner which (along with the proximity to beer and liquor) gives this place the edge over the rest of the also-rans, a tiny bit of free space, pulll-ups on cable crossovers, no other toys (no plyo boxes, rings, etc.), a liquor store and beer distributor in the same plaza. $35/month, $8 drop-in.

#5) NORTH CLUB (1510 Martin Street, across the street and down a bit from the bowling alley a block or so off of N. Atherton). TWO STARS of FIVE. This is the second of three local gyms with the same owners. I think they think this is their "premier" location. It's a regular globogym. One that is packed (PACKED!) with equipment and broken up into several rooms with relatively low ceilings. The trainer stuck at the front desk the day I was there was friendly, though, and seemed knowledgeable. Apparently, there are at least two CrossFitters who work out regularly there. They were getting certed at the box I used to go to the weekend that I visisted North Club so I didn't get to meet them. Too bad. They must be dedicated, because there is very, very little moving room and the only rack that seemed like a reasonable place to clean or deadlift is back in one corner of the free weight room which is down a hall and around three corners from a room STUFFED with treadmills and ellipticals where I assume they would be sprinting which is, if I remember correctly, up a short flight of stairs from the cable crossovers for pull-ups. I'm glad to hear somebody is pushing hard at that place, though, and making it work. They're the only reason this place isn't just a single star. The stats: one rower, a few kettlebells, no oly equipment, no space, pullups on cable crossovers, no plyo boxes, no toys, Tudek Memorial Park is a few hundred yards back the road (that's probably too far to be much use for metcons with a sprint component but at least there's open space there). $30/month, $12 drop-in.

#6) DOWNTOWN ATHLETIC CLUB II (formerly TITAN FITNESS, 412 W. College Avenue, in the basement/back of a restaurant, the one with the big white pillars out front... go in on the side nearest Atherton) ONE STAR of FIVE. This is the third of the three local gyms with the same owners. For years (apparently), this was the boxing/MMA place, but all that stuff is down at Club I so now II's the aerobic class place. I think. Who cares. There's plenty of open space because it's mainly for aerobic kickboxing classes and such now. Don't plan on parking anywhere but on the street. All the parking that you think would be for the gym is for the restaurant or the insurance agency or the spots are rented out to PSU employees and cars get towed. The cranky old woman (actually a pretty nice old woman, after you talk to her for a few minutes) was yelling at me and freaking out when I apparently parked the Sportster in a rented space on a sunny sunday afternoon. It didn't matter anyway, the gym was closed. Admittedly, I only looked through the windows but I wasn't impresssed. The stats: might have been a rower lurking in a corner but I doubt it, might have been a kettlebell in a corner but I doubt it, no oly equipment, maybe pull-ups off the rafters on one side, no useful toys that I could see. Whatever they're charging, if you want to CrossFit, this isn't the place. $19/month. $12 drop-in.

#7) SPRING FITNESS (outside Bellefonte, along Benner Pike on the left on the hill coming out of town toward State College) ONE STAR of FIVE. A pretty small, regular globogym. The day I was there I walked around the entire interior (which is at the end of a weird village-like mall with faux-town storefronts... odd.) and finally had to speak up and ask if any of the two or three people that I could see actually worked there. Some guy came out from the back and then walked behind the front desk. He didn't know shit, but gave me a flyer. The stats: no rowers, plenty of kettlebells, no oly equipment, no space, pullups on cable crossovers, no plyo boxes, no other toys, nothing nearby. $50/month.

unranked. THE FITNESS CIRCUIT (2301 Commercial Blvd., up on the hill behind College Gardens if you're headed out of town toward the mall) UNRANKED. I'm leaving this one unranked because it's a gym for bootcamp style workouts and although I've never been inside because of my own funky hours, I really like what I see when I look inside. You can't just go in and do a wod whenever you wanted anyway, so what's the point of ranking it. You show up and do their group workout and the utility isn't in the facilities they provide but in the expertise of the trainers. In that way it's similar to the way most CF boxes are run. Even more, it LOOKS like a CrossFit box through the window. There's no cardio equipment or weight machines (that right there would probably give it at least THREE STARS of FIVE) just a long row of actual honest-to-goodness pull-up bars (NOT cable crossovers) with rings (actual RINGS!) hanging off of them on the far side of big, square open space. I haven't had a chance to go there and workout, but I know one lady who does and they have helped her lose 20-30 lbs over the last year or so. She says the workouts are hard, they are never the same, and the trainers push the clients to keep increasing the weights they use for common movements. Plus they have her doing burpees and wall-balls. All that is positive in my book, so if you're into this sort of thing, this might be a good place to check out. I don't think they do olympic lifts or heavy, low rep max efforts. Right next door and across the street is Nature's Pantry health-food store and Nittany Gymnastics... so it's in a good neighborhood, too! Approximately $132/month (3-month unlimited membership). $20 drop-in.

CrossFit Sectional

Last weekend I had the opportunity to be a judge at the CrossFit Games PA-MD-DE Sectional. This is the first CrossFit competition I've attended. Typically, I only compete in one 'race' a year and it's usually some sort of outdoor triathlon or mini-adventure race. I'm never in the hunt, but it's usually fun and done with friends, but I'm always thinking in the back of my mind "this is great but what it needs is some deadlifts for time or a 20 minute AMRAP in the transition area."



Anyway, what did I learn?

0 - There are some beasts out there. The fittest people I know from my old CF box placed no higher than 5th and those were the women with a field of around 30. The firebreather guys from that box didn't make the 20-person cut to go to regionals and these guys are seriously bad-ass compared to just about anyone else in any other gym anywhere around. Dedicated, hard-training, hard-thinking, good-eating athletes and they're only top-third at a sectionals competition. Wow. The videos and pics from the last few years of CF games don't do those athletes justice, but go head-to-head and you would be amazed.

1 - I like to suffer. If people are voluntarily suffering, then that's where I want to be. In this case, since I couldn't suffer by competing, I managed to weasel my way out of a nice, warm, cushy, inside judge spot at the 3-minute 185lb-ground-to-overhead-anyway-possible-wod and into the torrential flooding rain and horse-winds of the apocolypse' outside at the kettlebell OHS wod. In shorts. Without a rain jacket. Good times. Bad weather always means good times when you're outside! Floods, blizzards, hurricanes, nor'easters, -20F temps... those are the fondest backpacking and climbing trips in my memories.

2 - There is some horrible form out there. It was hard not to simply keep my mouth shut and judge and not try to coach. Some judges had more success with this, some had less. Some didn't try. Some athletes appreciated the coaching, some didn't. I stuck with simply counting reps and indicating when the athlete missed a rep (or was getting close) because of incomplete ROM (for the k-bell OHS it was constantly "deeper squat" or "fully extend at the top" for the lower-performing athletes). But some folks could have really used some simple cues like "weight on your heels" or "push out with your knees". Bad form is one of the biggest criticisms people levy against CFers pushing hard in time-priority wods. There's probably nothing that can be done in competition, but I hope these folks are getting good instruction on a daily basis from there coaches/trainers/friends/family, and that these coaches/trainers/friends/family have the fortitude to insist on better form.

3 - Appearances are deceiving. There were some big dudes there that were middle-of-the-road in the heavy wods, and there some tiny folks that crushed it. I love that. I mean, I LOVE that. It's like a 100 horsepower Sportster. I love sleepers, whether it's my bike or a friends physical appearance.

4 - The best indicator that I could see on how well a particular athlete was going to do on a particular wod was a combination of: 1) the ease and 2) the form, with which that athlete did any practice reps. Just easily tossing 185 lbs overhead once or twice might make you think that an athlete is going to kill the Clean and Jerk wod, but if they weren't fully extending the hips or they were pulling with the arms early you would see that form only further degrade over the first 10 reps and all that wasted energy would lead to missed reps or long breaks over the next few minutes.

5 - I still hate fashion. CrossFit is developing it's own little fashion culture and it's as silly as any other. Lulu Lemon for the girls. CrossFit T's with crazy graphics and ridiculous tag lines for the guys. Those crazy socks to protect shins during Oly lifts. I could do without any of that. I'm partial to cheap k-mart shorts and A-shirts. But then again, maybe that's why my Fran time sucks.

6 - CF competitions probably need a little mountain biking or kayaking or rapelling to find my sweet spot. Looks like I'm gonna have to start my own competitions. Ones that are perfectly suited to my strengths and address none of my weaknesses!

CREDIT: Obviously that's not my video, it's from the CrossFit Mainsite on March 20th, 2010. It was done by CF Again Faster, who happen to be good people. The guy that started Again Faster (and whose name is escaping me now) was one my Level 1 instructors and a super-friendly and funny guy. Worth checking out if you're looking for CF gear.

Recognizing Excellence

It's been another rough February.

Just like last year I'm looking at a nagging rehab of a herniated disc that has already seriously limited all the good winter fun and is beginning to threaten the shoulder season that allows me to train hard enough for full enjoyment of Spring. The days are getting longer, and warmer, and although my thoughts should be on the condition of the North Face of Gothics, instead I'm thinking about the importance of recognizing competence -- excellence even -- in the people from whom you take advice.

Case in point: my back.

The doctor: Due to similarity of my pain to previous episodes known (by MRI) to be related to a herniated L5-S1 disc, she recommended the standard conservative treatment along with physical therapy (PT). She spent a few minutes with me, most of it typing in a computer. She gave me painkillers to get me through the day and muscle relaxers to reduce the spasms which -- I was told -- was the actual source of pain.

The first Physical Therapist (PT): After a week or so of just being barely mobile, with debilitating pain that would occasionally cause near blackouts when getting out of the truck I got my first PT appointment. He had me stretch what I could (my calves!) and do what little bracing exercises I could do. I would spend an hour at PT. He would be in the room for about 1/3 of that, just long enough to put some ice under my back, or hook up the e-stim (which I LOVE, the best part of this hack was he gave me the controls to the e-stim and let me just crank it up as high as wanted... I'm a sucker for this shock therapy. I'd crank that up to just a little less than would cause a full back arch that would lift me off the table. I loved that!), or put on the ultrasound thing. I got progressively worse under his care. It got to the point that sometime 10-15 steps is all I could manage. He couldn't place his care in context except to say that actual spinal manipulation would be a very bad idea. After two sessions and a degrading condition, I dropped that facility (which I won't name here, I'm sure they're nice people and effective in other cases).

The second PT: During the first appointment at Penn States Sports Medicine, my PT spent over an hour with me. Watching me carefully. Talking with me. Making me move and describe the pain, it's intensity, it's quality, how it changes in different positions and how it had changed since we started the session. When she put me in what I recognized from my own reading to be a "Mckenzie" posture, she described what we were going to do, what the reasoning behind it was. When I asked about McGill's evidence that limited flexibility in the lumbar spine actually helped prevent lumbar injuries and my concern that the end range of motion required by Mckenzie's methods might not be helpful. She discussed it with me. She got down at my level (since I was facedown on the table) and we talked about it and was able to place different methods in context. When I left, she gave me her copy of Mckenzie's "Treat Your Own Back" for further study. A week later, when I had improved greatly but plateaued in my recovery, she admitted she could try only one other technique (lumbar flexion, after fastidiously avoiding any lumbar flexion for weeks priot) before reaching the limit of what she might have to offer me, but suggested others I might see if I wasn't improving when we next met. The lumbar flexion worked, despite being contraindicated by most of my symptons, and I'm on a generally positive slope of improvement again.

The important point is this: When you're dealing with anything important to you (health, life, family, even your job, maybe), you have to recognize what excellence is. What it looks like and sounds, how it behaves. How it fits into your broader understanding of life... And how it doesn't. Sorting the truth from the bullshit can make all the difference. Start by differentiating between students of truth and bullshitters.

CrossFit Level 1 Cert

After four years of CrossFitting, I finally attended a Level 1 Certification. I shouldn't have waited. It was exactly what I expected from CrossFit: comprehensive, authoritative, and thought-provoking.

The first day covered 9 foundational movements (squat, front squat, overhead squat, (shoulder) press, push press, push jerk, deadlift, sumo deadlift high pull, and clean) in exacting detail. For someone who had studied the pre-read material for weeks prior, had been training with a good trainer for months and had practiced the movements for years, you might think that this could be excruciatingly boring. However, the detail, the explanations, the training cues, and the hands-on practice under the careful eye of incredibly experienced trainers could not have been more interesting. As simple as these movements are, being as efficient as possible can be incredibly nuanced. Equally nuanced can be the simple, effective cues and drills to correct major and minor errors in mechanics. I went with lots of questions, most of which were answered in the lectures, but the ones that weren't were answered thoughtfully by the coaches. Some of these I'll have to mull over a bit and I'll comment on them here.


This cert happened to be at my old affiliate, although they've sinced moved into this big new box. It was a chance to see some old friends. People I had sweated and grunted and bled alongside for months. It was also the first time since I moved to State College 6 months earlier that I was working out in a group. A big group. In this case it was 59 other people. It's incredibly hard not to give exactly 100% when everyone around is working so hard. And you don't even have to know these people, but you can see the effort - and typically the pain - in their face and doing less than your best is simply not a possibility.


The weekend really managed to focus and harmonize in my mind how and why CrossFit works. These are things I want to share with State College in several ways. More to come...