Crossfit Girl- 1st weighted STRICT pull up!

OCTOBER 23 WOD

Funny Crossfit Ecard

A. Weighted Pull-Ups 1-1-1

- 8k! This is great because I was struggling with strict pull ups only a few months ago! I can finally add weight to my pull ups and work on getting stronger. Very happy.

Squat Chick

B. 100 Push ups (for time)

- The real workout was 100 pull ups for time but there is a competition on saturday that I am competing in and I don't want to ruin my hands in case there is a lot of pull ups in the wods!
My time for the push ups was 5:10. They were HRPU's which are faster/easier than strict. My goal for next time is 4:30. I was taking a lot of breaks and working on technique during the push ups but next time I'll be more prepared to go faster lol
C. 12 Rounds For Time
     3 Burpees
     6 KBS 2/1.5p
     9 Squats

-  9:21 rx. Tough wod but the KBS felt surprisingly easy and I did them unbroken each round! Great/exhausting workout! 

The Big Bad Wolfe and Little (B)Rad Riding Hood

Paul Wolfe and Brad Keselowski looking a bit stressed during the race weekend at Martinsville. Courtesy of @Nateryan, this guy is full of good information, and a quite massive vocabulary.



Okay, I know my title is corny but I wanted something kind of funny. All my creative juices are running low at the moment, I just spit out a massive amount of b.s. writing a paper for school, plus the beer pong went a little overboard last night, but anyway back to Martinsville.

Bad Brad and Paul Wolfe really did an awesome job with the circumstances they were given in today race. Well not really given, but how Brad qualified anyway. Even though Brad played it extra cool, as he always does through all the interviews, you know that he knew how much of an uphill battle they were going to have today. Anyone who knows the sport knows the contenders at this track. Jimmie Johnson counting his win from today has competed at Martinsville in a Sprint Cup car a total of twenty-one times. Jimmie has amassed six wins, completing 99.5% of his laps ran, and leading 1789 laps. He leads almost 18% of the laps at the track when he shows up to race. That to me is outstanding. You have to lead laps to win, and that guy does it. But let's get back to Brad.

While I was watching the race, trying to recuperate from last night’s shenanigans, I grabbed some pen and paper so I could keep up with the calls that Paul Wolfe made from the pit-box. Usually they are outside the box, but other than the first caution around lap 58 when they took only driver's side tires, and jumped ten spots from 27th to 17th was the only time they did what they do. I was kind of worried for a while, because every time the positions would scroll across the screen, Brad would be stuck back in the late teens, most of the time 20's and up. Brad was saved from being lapped by one caution, and the third caution was when he started to make his move, especially getting off sequence with Gordon, Kyle Busch, and Truex staying out while the rest of the lead lap cars pitted, and Brad took two tires and came back out in 15th. It wasn't until the 7th caution when Brad stays out while some of the others pit, and finally breaks into the top-10 for the first time all day at lap 231. I'm not going to lie; I was relieved to see him in the top-10.

Now when we get to the last caution, and the top five comes in, I find myself sitting there waiting for the call, and I see Keselowski drive past the commit line. I was excited at first, because this is the stuff I like from this group, the chance to try and steal a win. When the dust settles though, it is just Keselowski, and Dale Jr. At that point I was worried, and images from the spring Martinsville race start to play through my head. Keselowski and Dale Jr. played Johnson and Gordon from the spring on old rubber, while the field was on new rubber again. In the spring, once the green flag flew, the chaos ensued. Much to my surprise, Keselowski held off Jimmie for a lot longer than I expected. I don't know why it surprised me honestly; everything he seems to do in a race car has been amazing when it comes to this year, and much more specific to the chase. Even though Brad was relegated to his sixth place finishing position, he was better off for the call since he was able to lead a lap, and get that one extra bonus point. I hate to be like everyone in the media, but I have to now. "Ask Carl about getting that bonus point."

So the Big Bad Wolfe, and Little (B)Rad pulled another one out of their bag of tricks today. It was especially huge because of the electrical problem that halted Denny Hamlin's shot at the Championship, but weirder things have happened I suppose. I am pulling for Brad, but I am all for the thrill of it coming down to Homestead and not knowing who is going to hoist the cup at the end. With that said good luck Brad, Paul, and the whole Penske Racing team in their quest. If you can pull it off, it will be that much sweeter with Jimmie, and Chad being on their game like they have been. I'll leave you with a picture from Dover and Brad celebrating with the guys after winning the AAA 400 for some good karma. Until next time.



Picture from the Chicagotribune.com

Panthers should trade DeAngelo Williams

It’s time for the Panthers to trade running back DeAngelo Williams if they can get a decent price for him.

The NFL trade deadline is 4 p.m. Thursday (it was extended from Tuesday due to Hurricane Sandy complications), and Williams is on the market. The way things are going now, the Panthers have way too much invested in a trio of running backs – Jonathan Stewart, Williams and Mike Tolbert – and are not getting nearly enough out of them in an NFL that is, after all, a pass-first league.

Getting a third-round pick for Williams doesn’t sound like much, but that’s probably about the right price. It’s what Greg Olsen cost the Panthers, after all.

What would help the Panthers more is they could get Williams’ contract off the books and spend that money elsewhere – like on another offensive lineman. But finding a suitor at the correct price will be difficult, since it will need to have cap room and an immediate running-back need.

I doubt the trade will ultimately happen. In the NFL, trades are rarer than in most pro leagues. But the Panthers should pull the trigger on this one if they can. And given how little Williams has been used this season -- he again hardly made a dent in the Panthers' 23-22 loss to Chicago Sunday -- I doubt if he would mind a bit. (UPDATE: A team source told The Observer that at least one playoff contender has inquired about Williams, but head coach Ron Rivera said he doesn't anticipate any Panther trades before Thursday's deadline.)

Major coaching mistakes contribute heavily to Panther loss

CHICAGO -- The Carolina Panthers lost to Chicago, 23-22, on Sunday, and there is plenty of blame to go around as the team threw away a 19-7 lead entering the fourth quarter.

But let’s concentrate a minute on the coaching. Head coach Ron Rivera and his staff made two awful decisions in this game that helped the Bears to a win – and sent Carolina (1-6) reeling to its fifth straight loss.

Decision 1: With Carolina ahead 13-7 and three seconds to go before halftime, the Panthers had the ball at the Chicago 33. Justin Medlock – who already had made two field goals and won the field-goal competition in the preseason primarily because he has such a strong leg -- had a chance at a 50- or 51-yard field goal.

Instead, Rivera skipped the field goal and decided to try a desperation heave into the end zone. Cam Newton then threw the ball almost through the goalposts. No points for Carolina – in a game decided by one point.

What was the downside of going for the field goal? Practically zero. If Medlock misses, so what? The half’s over.

Only a block and a return for a touchdown could have hurt Carolina. Rivera’s reasoning on why not to go for the field goal, taken from the transcript of his postgame press conference: “Well, because of the cross wind and stuff like that, that ball comes out at that point. It’s getting pushed. That was one of the concerns. We thought our best bet was to throw it into the end zone and see what happens. In hindsight, you can say that maybe we should have gone ahead and tried it…. It’s easy to second-guess at this point.”

Decision 2: With the Panthers ahead 22-20 and Chicago needing a field goal to win, the Bears start at their own 22 and with 2:20 on the clock. Carolina goes into a soft zone defense, keeping all the Bears’ receivers in front of them. The problem: there’s way too much time left for this strategy. The Bears basically run the same play all the way down the field – a 10-12 yard pass to Jay Cutler’s left, in front of cornerback Josh Norman, usually to Brandon Marshall – and finish the game with a field goal at the final gun.

Panther players were careful not to criticize their coaches directly after the game, but several did point out the Bears ran the same play over and over against the same coverage.

Rivera’s reasoning: “We were trying to keep the ball in front of us. It’s one of those things where if you jump it and they double move you, now all of a sudden it’s a touchdown or the ball is in field goal range. We were trying to make them systematically beat us. They got in field-goal position, and you take your chances at that point.”

The part that sticks out to me in that quote? “We were trying to make them systematically beat us.”

Well, if that was the goal, the Panthers certainly succeeded.

Now the work Rivera and his team did Sunday – a lot of it was good. Although the “kick-it-away-from-Devin-Hester” strategy was ugly at times, it was pretty effective. Taking the zone-read out of the running game was a positive. The defensive front four played really well.

But you lose a game like this – one the Panthers really should have won, as they outgained the Bears almost 2-to-1 in yardage – it is the kind of game that haunts people and gets them fired.

“I don't know what to say,” cornerback Josh Norman said. “We just get our hearts ripped out every week.”

Panthers lose 23-22 on Chicago field goal on final play -- blow 12-point fourth-quarter lead

The Carolina Panthers certainly made some changes this week – they fired their general manager and significantly changed their running game. But the ultimate result was the same, as the Panthers lost 23-22 to the Chicago Bears on a 41-yard field goal from Chicago’s Robbie Gould on the game’s last play.

The Panthers (1-6) wasted a lot of good work and a 19-7 lead entering the fourth quarter. They are now 1-10 in games decided by seven points or less under coach Ron Rivera. Chicago is 6-1 this season.

Justin Medlock made five field goals for Carolina – including a 45-yarder that banged off the right upright and in with 2:27 to go – to give the Panthers a 22-20 lead. That field goal followed the Bears taking a 20-19 lead.

Chicago then got the ball down 22-20 for a final drive, needing a field goal to win. With the Panthers playing soft zone coverage, Chicago easily completed several short passes in a row. That set up Gould’s 41-yard field-goal attempt, which he banged home after missing another shorter field goal earlier in the quarter.

The game really changed, however, when the Bears scored two touchdowns in a span of eight seconds in the fourth quarter Sunday, erasing a 19-7 Carolina lead in stunning fashion.

Down 19-7 to begin the fourth quarter, the Bears missed a field goal but finally got to the end zone on a Cutler TD pass to Kellen Davis. That cut the Carolina lead to 19-14 with 6:52 to go.

The Bears then kicked the kickoff into the end zone. On the first play from his own 20, Cam Newton threw a sideline pass toward Steve Smith. But Smith slipped on the route and cornerback Tim Jennings caught the ball and danced 25 yards down the sideline for a startling TD. Chicago missed the two-point conversion when Josh Norman intercepted the pass, but the Bears still led 20-19 with 6:44 to go.

The Panthers promised changes in the wake of general manager Marty Hurney’s firing, and there certainly were some. The zone-read option – the slow-developing play where Newton sticks the ball into the running back’s stomach and then decides whether or not to pull it away – was abolished. The Panthers ran a much more traditional running game, although it was really no more effective.

But the Panthers’ defense was very good – until the fourth quarter and especially on the final drive, when they played way too soft and couldn’t get to Cutler at all.

In the first half, Carolina sacked Chicago quarterback Jay Cutler six times (three by Greg Hardy) and rattled him into three turnovers (two lost fumbles and an interception). The Bears left the field at halftime down 13-7 and to a chorus of boos, and Cutler appeared to be caught on TV cameras angrily mouthing something about those boos.

The Panthers gained far more yardage than Chicago (416-210) but couldn’t score TDs. Their only one came on Louis Murphy’s fortunate and alert fumble recovery of Newton’s fumble at the Chicago 1 in the second quarter. But Medlock had a huge day after only kicking two field goals all season prior to Sunday. But Chicago had the last-minute answer as the Panthers found a way to lose – again – after playing one of their best games of the season.

Midgame report: Panthers D playing like Monsters of Midway

Who knows if this will last, but at this writing the Carolina Panthers' defense is playing a stunning game. I am watching it at Soldier Field and am amazed.

The Panthers lead 16-7 in the third quarter, and it's mostly because of defense. The Panthers have sacked Chicago quarterback Jay Cutler six times and forced him into three turnovers and he looks totally lost out there at the moment.

The Panthers have gotten a career-high three sacks from Greg Hardy, and their defensive secondary is playing so well Cutler can hardly find an open receiver. The Panthers' offense has been pretty decent as well, although it has had to settle for three short field goals and its only TD was on an alert recovery by wide receiver Louis Murphy on a Cam Newton fumble in the end zone.

Bottom line: Upset brewing. But whether the Panthers can hold Chicago off in the final quarter will be the true test. The way the Panther defense is playing, though, anything is possible on this Sunday in Chicago.

Full body

Miranda

Personal training with Paul

I don't know much, but I know one thing: tomorrow morning, I'm going to hurt like a bitch.

Sumo deadlifts for time
185 x 10 - 19 sec
225 x 10 - 21
255 x 10 - 30
275 x 10 - 3:20 (!)
225 x 10 - 32

Both my quads and hamstrings gave out on me at the same time during the 275lb round. Shee-it.

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Bench press for time
95 x 10 - 14 sec
105 x 10 - 18
115 x 10 - 1:02
120 x 10 - 3:02
105 x 10 - 59

With both the deadlifts and the bench presses, as soon as I needed to take a break my time dropped like a lead balloon.

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10-8-6-4-2 rft
Dips
Neutral grip pull-ups
Time = 9:31

Sub-5 minutes my ass.

Because it was raining, Cher told me to call her when I finished training so she could pick me up. I swear, my neck and shoulders were so sore, it hurt to hold the phone to my ear.