I just discovered the “6 Weeks to Superhero” series from T Nation and have really been enjoying them. It features Christian Thibaudeau, who is actually a bodybuilding coach. But, I think some of the lifting tips and training exercises would also work well for someone who just wants to get stronger and better that these 4 critical lifts:
Deadlift
Squat
Bench Press
Overhead Press
My CrossFit workout this morning really hit my overall body with a variety of exercises that worked the core, arms, and legs. I felt it all over! Made me also realize that my forearms were more sore than I anticipated from the 32 Kg kettleball farmers walk and hammers yesterday. I really felt it on the pull-ups and performed a bit weaker than I had hoped. Oh well. Every day can’t be the best day for a given exercise. We did this same workout back in November 2010, so I was able to compare my performance. This is so critical for your motivation!). I took 17 seconds off my time and did much better on my pull-ups this time. Now my goal for the next time I do this WOD is to do everything unbroken. No breaks!
You know it’s going to be a good day at CrossFit when your warmup looks like a full-on conditioning WOD. One of the warmup exercises was a 250 M row on the C2 rower. That was just to get us all warmed up and excited for the 2000 meter row that was coming up. Today ended up being my best row yet for the 2000 and I’ll tell you how I did it.
There are very few things that have the motivational impact of progress. Today in my CrossFit workout I felt stronger and faster than I have in awhile and boy does that feel good! A nice affirmation for choosing this new fitness lifestyle. Pace yourself, stay committed, be consistent, and you will see progress. That progress will drive you on and keep you going! It is probably too early to really attribute this to the Paleo diet that I’ve been following, since I only started it this week. But, I do think that cutting out sugars and simple carbohydrates (e.g., bread) has already made me feel better and improved my energy levels. Simple carbs give you a spike of energy, but it drops off fast and you crash.
Strength training using Olympic-style weightlifting was something I avoided until just a few months ago. For the last 30 years, I have primarily done bodyweight training (e.g., push-ups) and some lighter lifting with dumbbells (e.g., bicep curls). That’s about it. But, when I joined my CrossFit gym a little over 5 months ago, weightlifting was a core component of the training. I dreaded it at first. But, now I have come to realize how much the increases in strength have improved my overall fitness, my cardio performance (e.g., long trail runs), and the muscle tone of my body. It is worth the investment of your time and energy.
We really worked the legs and abs today in CrossFit. The strength training was the Front Squat and the conditioning was a combination of Squat Cleans, Stiff Legged Dead Lifts (SLDL), and Knees-to-Elbows (K2E). I’m really happy with my ab strength progress (been practicing every week), since I was able to knock out 15 K2E with proper form very quickly today. Practice, practice, practice to overcome exercises that challenge you!
Wow. Today in my morning CrossFit class we tried out our new Prowler weighted sled. The Prowler is one of the best ways to develop strength in your legs, hips and arms. You can add weight plates for increased resistance. After today’s workout, I definitely feel it in my glutes, quads, and hamstrings. Nothing quite like it!
Today was fun, since we did rope climbing. I often end up bleeding and bruised, but it is kind of fun to climb like a monkey. I mean, who doesn’t want to be a monkey for a day? 
Great workout day! For some reason, I felt really great and full of energy. So, I kicked it on the conditioning today! Warmup: Quick jog Pull-ups GHD sit-ups (see video below) Stretches Mobility and Stretching: Shoulders and Hips Conditioning: 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 rounds of Wall Balls, Pull-ups, and Burpees So: 10 Wall Balls, 10 Pull-ups, and 10 [...]
CrossFit workout this morning was short, but intense. It allowed time for a lot of mobility stretching work at the end. Warmup: Short run and then 10 push-ups, 10 pull-ups, 10 sit-ups, and 10 squats Strength training: 5.3.1 Bench Press – week 4 deload Conditioning: 7 minutes of as many rounds as possible (AMRAP) 7 [...]