Mission Possible: Rebirth of Fledgling MMA Fighter

[Jonathan Brody]

Well, as the title states I'm an aspiring MMA fighter; I have a relatively strong backround in boxing and kickboxing, and recently have begun BJJ, muay-thai, and MMA w/ the aim of having a series of amateur fights leading up to an actual "cage fight".

Stats:

21, M, 205 screaming-pounds/~15% BF (as of 10/10/08)

As of the 10th I began SS-like training, and incorporated some workouts from RossTraining, which I had a fling w/ when I was competitively boxing. Ultimately, I herniated a disc in my neck, which led me to have a ~1year recovery process which I never fully recovered from: health-wise, performance-wise, "mind-wise". That is, until I finally recovered from my injury to the point where I was able to join a bangin' MMA center. This leads me to 10/10/08 where I found CrossFit.

I live <5minutes from CrossFit Milford (Connecticut), and this past Monday I began my first week of training. I'll be abiding by a 3:1 ratio of active days to rest days, complimenting MMA training 6x/week. This is my ideal and I will stick to it as best I can; in actuality, sh*t happens, and the occasional workout will have to be nixed.

~185 is what I want to weigh, and it is what I will weigh. I began a 19-block (with fatX2) Zone yesterday and will stick to that. "Unfortunately", my newfound circle of friends aren't maniacal like I am about fitness, so I might succumb to the occasional few rounds of drink or "cheat meal". My guess is that between my workload and inherent "athleticism" I can get to where I want to be with the sporadic "cheat", but, if I ever lag for w/e reason I'll just grind my teeth and do what it takes to get to where I need to be and then work on "maintenance".

So, without further ado, I will posit that my first 3 CF workouts have been incredibly humbling, and that my secondary goal is to qualify for the 09' CF Games. But, with stats like this I need to shed a lot of blood, sweat, and tears!

Monday, 10/13, Morning:

Deadlifts, 5x3 -- 250, 275, 320, 360, 385 *the 385 number I remember w/ certainty, the rest are guesstimations. First time deadlifting. I was happy with my performance and feel I could have gone heavier. That I didn't, as I soon discovered, was a blessing. :stir:

Monday, 10/13, Evening:


Muay-Thai, light combination work

Tuesday, 10/14, Morning:

Fran -- 20m20s, w/ band assists on pullups *horrible, HORRIBLE, but enlightening experience; I woke up drowsy and thought "*@)@ I'm pretty sore; that evening I couldn't bend...at all....and had to move like a semi-crippled geriatric...no joke....

Tuesday, 10/14, Evening:

Training skipped; infinitely too sore.

Wednesday, 10/15, Morning:

This is recollection, which I will pinpoint ASAP -- 15pound medball deadlift/shrug/clean/squat-movement, 15reps followed by 10 burpeeps.....7 rounds......I don't recall my time but I'll search for it....was equally pitiful as my Fran, though, generally speaking.

Wednesday, 10/15, Evening:

Muay-Thai, light combination work *still incredibly sore, w/ newfound soreness in neck, shoulders, and entire leg-region.

Thursday, 10/16, Morning:

Rest

Thursday, 10/16, Evening:

Muay-Thai, pad work moderate intensity

Friday, 10/17, Morning:

Cindy -- 12 rounds + 5pullups *felt sorta rundown initially, finished strong, however, and made headway on kipping pullups and generally explosiveness through movements; have now begun to increase fat blocks to help performance levels.

Friday, 10/17, Evening:

Rest, Mom's Birthday!

Weekly Summary:

First week in the books, and I just finished my 3-pack of 1-1 workouts. Simply put, CrossFit rocks, is the Cat's Meow (w/e the hell that means), and is a dynamic program of fitness geared towards multi-faceted performance like I've never seen. I'm hooked. Also, the owner/trainer Jason is very impressive as a trainer and all-around guy.

A humorous irony wafted through my woozy head after finishing Cindy, and it's something which I emotionally felt after finishing Fran: the notion of a rebirth, at least a physical one. Starting CrossFit is humbling; it's like being in an infantile state. And, like a baby, you often find yourself curled up in a fetal-esque position!

Can't wait for the coming week, weeks, month, months, etc. Man, my enthusiasm for CF right now is right up there w/ my MMA itself.....just love the concept and program....

[Jonathan Brody]

Saturday/Sunday 18th/19th

I slept through my alarm for Saturday's WOD, despite being awoken for it w/ ~9hours of sleep. I tried later in the day to do a WOD but felt far too enervated; instead, I did a modest core routine, and, later in the day, did a solid session of muay-thai.

Saturday night my Zone fell apart when I met up with some new friends and a girl I was getting "set up with" -- I'm smitten. That said, I ate a truckload of sushi (not brown rice ) and drank a good deal. Sunday I had a subdued hangover and didn't eat much, but had a couple 3-Block shakes, a good amount of nuts, and two ~300cal Kashi microwaveable meals.

Monday, 10/20, Morning:

95 pound Thruster, 5 reps
95 pound Hang Powercleans, 7 reps
95 pound Sumo Deadlift High-pull, 10 reps

6 circuits + 1 thruster. I started off slow, which has been my trend, and had a difficult time with the powerclean movement for my first 4 circuits. That said, I'm pretty happy with my effort and I think that with time the combination of heightened tecnique and increases in various performance modalities will lead me to some beefy #s.

Monday, 10/20, Evening:

Muay-Thai, combination work.

[Jonathan Brody]

Tuesday, 10/21, Morning:

Timed 10 Rounds, 12 Burpees+12 Pullups -- 30min

Brutal workout; I'm not sure if it was particularly difficult for me or if I didn't suck it up enough, but I feel like I shoulda/coulda done better. Maybe a combo.

Tuesday, 10/21, Evening:

Light jitz class, little to no rolling; muay-thai pad work.

[Jonathan Brody]

Wednesday, 10/22, Morning:

3x3, BS, SP, DL -- 225, X, 185; 135*2, 115, 135*2; 275, 325, X

2k Row Race -- 7m28s

Not the prettiest numbers; my first time DLing last week I maxed @ 385 in a 5x3 routine. I was pretty fatigued, especially after a rigorous muay-thai session the night before, and combined w/ my first time BSing and SPing I suppose it was a recipe for ugliness .

Wednesday, 10/22, Evening:

Rest, primarily but I'm meeting up with a couple friends at a "Globo-Gym", so I might futz around with some low-rep movements. What I do tomarrow evening will be interesting as I should prolly take the entire day off from CF & MMA but I know I'm going to want to go train in the evening.....

[Jonathan Brody]

Thursday, 10/23, Morning:

Reeeeeest

Thursday, 10/23, Evening:

Against my better judgement I'm going to a MT-pad class, and prior will futz around with some friends at a GloboGym. My body and senses are telling me to take the *entire* day off, but: I'm hungry to transform myself; intend on drinking if not eating very poorly Friday (kinda contradictory, I suppose); may very well not be able to CF on Saturday due to Friday hijinx. So, I wanna get as much in as I can while I can.

[Jonathan Brody]

Friday, 10/24, Morning:

Night prior I had an impromptu trip to Hooters to inaugurate this girl's shift; it was "all you can eat and drink night". I ended up drinking 1.5 brewskies, and 10 wings w/o breading, but obv still not some boon for my health. Prior I ate some ham w/ low-fat cheese and 6 almonds. Not the worst dinner/"evening meal(s)", but not the best...especially w/ a big party tonight looming.

To compound matters my back is ailing right now and I wasn't able to complete the WOD -- 4x400m, 2m rest I clocked a 1:19 first lap, which included me having to take a turn at almost a walking pace. And that was all she wrote. Dissapointing. But, I look forward to tackling this workout in the future w/ a vengeance.

Tonight I may do some upper-body lifting w/ a friend just to break a sweat. My diet today, carb-wise, is going to be restricted to 2 Zone Shakes, 1 WW tortilla, 1 apple, and 1 orange.

To alcoholic binges and immoral, scantilly clad women!

[Jonathan Brody]

10/27, Monday:

So, the past....2.5 days....haven't been that great....personal-life dilemma + back pain + Halloween parties = 60 Hours of CF'less, Zone'less Limbo.

That said, I'm feeling solid again and will do a light MT session tonight and get back to being full-strength tomarrow. Also, though this was before the weekend, I lost something crazy like ~6 pounds in <2weeks of CF + Zone...and most def it was almost all fat...crazy...can't wait to forge ahead!

[Jonathan Brody]

10/28, Tuesday:

Squat-Clean, 7x1 -- 135, 135, 155*, 155, 155*, 135, 135

Wicked movement; I had some trepidations performing it, which I think killed my ability to harness the necessary power to perform it well. Primarily, I sucked at the squatting portion. I look forward to doing it in the future, though. On a positive, I pumped out 21 toptop kipping pullups after class, and it was my first time nailing the "kipping" part.

Diet is back to being vsolid, though I won't be able to train again this evening. Getting there, though...getting there....

[Jonathan Brody]

10/29, Wednesday:

Missed a sweet CF workout this morning after sleeping through my alarm; I don't even feel that physically drained, but mentally/emotionally I am, and it's taking a toll on me.

That said, I'm going to do a MT session this evening, and will do the 45m "conditioning" class afterwards. I hate piecing together this mishmash of an exercise and diet like I've been doing the past 5 days.

I may as well confess my dietary sins, this is all traceable since past Friday, went through Monday:

Alcohol.....alcohol.....alcohol.....alcohol......s ushi......alcohol....sushi.....and the piece de resistance that was Sunday-- 8 ice cream sandwiches, 4 beers, 12 wings.

I feel somewhat cleansed; spiritually, at least.

[Jonathan Brody]

10/30, Thursday:

My diet continues to suck; but, I feel re-energized, and ready to get back on track and stay there. Didn't do any MMA today, but did the WOD.

Angie -- 21m58s