From Powerlifter to CrossFit Athlete

Well, it’s all come down to this. Hello, T-Nation family, friends, and maybe some enemies. My name is Luke and I am 18 years old. Recently, I have made the switch from a competitive powerlifter to a military athlete. Here are some things to know about me:

Age: 18
Height: 5’6.5"
Weight: 188 lbs.
Body fat % ~14%

I used to train at Quads Gym under the guidance of Ed Coan and competed once in the USPF. Best raw competition lifts were:

Squat: 363 lbs.
Bench: 281 lbs.
Deadlift: 419 lbs.

My best raw gym lifts were:

Squat: 385 lbs. X 2
Bench: 310 lbs. X 2
Deadlift 400 lbs. X 2

Now that I have made the decision to fully commit myself to becoming an officer in the U.S. Army, it has come to my attention that my current training style won’t help me. I’ve decided to run 5/3/1 and put an emphasis on conditioning.

I leave for college (The University of North Georgia) and ROTC on 10 August, which leaves me exactly 16 weeks to train. On my second day at school, I have to take the APFT (Army Physical Fitness Test), which consists of a 2 minute push-up test, 2 minute sit-up test, and a timed 2-mile run. The best score possible for each are 71 push-ups, 78 sit-ups, and a 13:00 2-mile run. My goals for the APFT are:

Push-ups: 80
Sit-ups: 80
2-mile run 14:24

These scores would give me a projected 280 out of 300 possible points. By the end of my freshman year at college, I would like to have a perfect 300. After my first semester or freshman year, I plan on leaving school and enlisting in the Georgia National Guard. Once I have completed BCT (Basic Combat Training) and AIT (Advanced Individual Training), I will return to college and complete my degree and earn my commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Once I receive my commission, I will be honorably discharged (barring any screw-ups) from the Georgia National Guard and begin my career as an officer.

Well, now you know what to expect in this log. I hope y’all enjoy the ride with me.

CS

A.M. 21 April 2013 - Ruck Marching & PT

Time: 30 minutes
Distance: 1.78 miles
Weight added: 20 lbs.

Push-ups: 4 X 22
Sit-ups: 4 X 22

Summary: First time I’ve marched in a week. My distance improved by 0.06 miles over last Sunday’s march. Any progress, no matter how minuscule it may seem, is progress, and I’m happy with it.

CS

P.M. 22 April 2013

“Cindy”
5 pull-ups
10 push-ups
15 body weight squats

As many rounds as possible in 10 minutes.

[i]Summary: I did 8 rounds in 10 minutes. I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to do 40 pull-ups in 10 minutes. It was not an easy workout, especially coming from someone who was a powerlifter for more than a year before attempting to make the transition.

I liked the gym that I went to, but the only issue is the price. It’s $100/month for unlimited classes. There’s another CrossFit gym that’s the same distance away from me, but they offer a 25% discount to students, military, fire, police, teachers, and nurses. So if I were to sign up there, it’d be only $75/month. I’m going to try and check them out during the week and see if that place is better.[/i]

CS

Are you going to try to maintain your lifts?

[quote]MaazerSmiit wrote:
Are you going to try to maintain your lifts?[/quote]

For now, no. I don’t really care about how much I’m lifting. I’m just trying to focus on how much I can improve my conditioning. Once I get settled in during college I’ll put a little more effort into lifting and worrying about the weights that I’m moving, but until then, it’s all about conditioning.

CS

A.M. 23 April 2013 - Ruck Marching & PT

Time: 30 minutes
Distance: 2.06 miles
Weight added: 20 lbs.

Push-ups: 4 X 22
Sit-ups: 4 X 22

Summary: Good day of ruck marching today. I was very happy that I was able to cover more than 2 miles in 30 minutes with 20 lbs. on my back. I kept my head up, put the world behind me, and kept marching. For some reason this morning, I was more motivated than usual. I’m hoping that this continues and I can maintain progress like this.

CS

Instead of CrossFit, you should just go on H4MFit: i.e., figure out how he trains, replicate it, ???, profit.

[quote]The3Commandments wrote:
Instead of CrossFit, you should just go on H4MFit: i.e., figure out how he trains, replicate it, ???, profit.[/quote]

I like the idea of CrossFit instead. I need some variety for now. Once I’m in college, I’ll start back up again with 5/3/1 and just follow that for as long as I feel.

CS

Kid with powerlifting potential trains with Ed Coan.

Leaves Quads Gym to do Crossfit.

In any other circumstance I would probably literally vomit in disgust, but you’re doing it to train for the military. That’s pretty much the only thing I can think of that could justify such heresy!

Good luck soldier.

As a Vet, just wanted to express my thanks to you for joining the Army and I wish you all the best.

I was enlisted, so being able to pass my PT Test before basic training (took it with my recruiter’s station commander) got me promoted from PV1 to PV2. Believe it, or not, a lot of recruits showed up for basic not being able to run a single mile or do more than 10 pushups.

Just a little tip on ruck marching. Putting weight in the pack is definitely the right idea. But, even better, carry a mock rifle. Maybe you can fill a PVC pipe up with sand or something? On those long 10-mile marches, carrying a rifle at the ready for hours at a time got to be really tiring as well as distracting.

[quote]csulli wrote:
Kid with powerlifting potential trains with Ed Coan.

Leaves Quads Gym to do Crossfit.

In any other circumstance I would probably literally vomit in disgust, but you’re doing it to train for the military. That’s pretty much the only thing I can think of that could justify such heresy!

Good luck soldier.[/quote]

Haha thanks, dude. If I wasn’t going to join the military, then trust me, I wouldn’t be doing CrossFit. I’d still be at Quads Gym and I’d be competing in the USPF Nationals this year, but things change. I’m definitely going to try and compete again when I’m in college; probably during my sophomore year.

CS

[quote]anothrjrzmike wrote:
As a Vet, just wanted to express my thanks to you for joining the Army and I wish you all the best.

I was enlisted, so being able to pass my PT Test before basic training (took it with my recruiter’s station commander) got me promoted from PV1 to PV2. Believe it, or not, a lot of recruits showed up for basic not being able to run a single mile or do more than 10 pushups.

Just a little tip on ruck marching. Putting weight in the pack is definitely the right idea. But, even better, carry a mock rifle. Maybe you can fill a PVC pipe up with sand or something? On those long 10-mile marches, carrying a rifle at the ready for hours at a time got to be really tiring as well as distracting. [/quote]

First off, thank you for serving - it means a lot to be able to connect with vets and hear what they have to say as I undertake my journey to where they once were. Second, thanks for the tip. I’ll see what my dad can fashion for me. How much does a fully-loaded M16 weigh, about?

CS

P.M. 24 April 2013 - W.O.D.

Warm-up

  1. Walking high-knees X 40 yards
  2. Bear crawl X 40 yards
  3. Glute bridges X 20

Deadlift
1 X 3 X 225
1 X 2 X 275
1 X 2 X 315
1 X 2 X 335
1 X 1 X 355
1 X 1 X 375
1 X 1 X 385
1 X 1 X 405

Notes: After not deadlifting for almost a month, I managed to pull 405 for a pretty easy single.

16-Minute Ladder

Round 1:

5 box jumps
10 calorie row
15 alternating kettle bell swings

Round 2:

10 box jumps
15 calorie row
20 alternating kettle bell swings

Round 3:

15 box jumps
20 calorie row
25 alternating kettle bell swings

Round 4:

20 box jumps
25 calorie row
30 alternating kettle bell swings

[i]Summary: About half-way through the second round was when it began to get hard, even though I managed to finish before most of the class. I wasn’t sure if I made the 16-minute cutoff, but I’m pretty sure that I did. By the end of the last round, I was ready to collapse. During the last round, I kept contemplating whether or not to cut it short, but I just reassured myself that cheating wouldn’t help my PT scores, and then I wouldn’t get to join the Ranger Challenge Team, or go to Airborne School, or Air Assault School during college, so that kind of gave me the extra boost that I needed to finish the workout.

Overall, I really liked the gym (or “box” as they call it in the CrossFit world) that I went to today. The training staff was very friendly, motivating, and helpful. They played good music and also had some good-looking females in there, too, which is always a plus. But anyways, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience and I look forward to training there for the rest of the time that I’m at home.[/i]

CS

[quote]CSEagles1694 wrote:

[quote]anothrjrzmike wrote:
As a Vet, just wanted to express my thanks to you for joining the Army and I wish you all the best.

I was enlisted, so being able to pass my PT Test before basic training (took it with my recruiter’s station commander) got me promoted from PV1 to PV2. Believe it, or not, a lot of recruits showed up for basic not being able to run a single mile or do more than 10 pushups.

Just a little tip on ruck marching. Putting weight in the pack is definitely the right idea. But, even better, carry a mock rifle. Maybe you can fill a PVC pipe up with sand or something? On those long 10-mile marches, carrying a rifle at the ready for hours at a time got to be really tiring as well as distracting. [/quote]

First off, thank you for serving - it means a lot to be able to connect with vets and hear what they have to say as I undertake my journey to where they once were. Second, thanks for the tip. I’ll see what my dad can fashion for me. How much does a fully-loaded M16 weigh, about?

CS
[/quote]

I think it weighs about 7-8 pounds (add another pound or so for a full mag) and it is roughly 40 inches long. Doesn’t seem like much, but trust me when I say it will quickly become an awkward and cumbersome load.

[quote]anothrjrzmike wrote:

[quote]CSEagles1694 wrote:

[quote]anothrjrzmike wrote:
As a Vet, just wanted to express my thanks to you for joining the Army and I wish you all the best.

I was enlisted, so being able to pass my PT Test before basic training (took it with my recruiter’s station commander) got me promoted from PV1 to PV2. Believe it, or not, a lot of recruits showed up for basic not being able to run a single mile or do more than 10 pushups.

Just a little tip on ruck marching. Putting weight in the pack is definitely the right idea. But, even better, carry a mock rifle. Maybe you can fill a PVC pipe up with sand or something? On those long 10-mile marches, carrying a rifle at the ready for hours at a time got to be really tiring as well as distracting. [/quote]

First off, thank you for serving - it means a lot to be able to connect with vets and hear what they have to say as I undertake my journey to where they once were. Second, thanks for the tip. I’ll see what my dad can fashion for me. How much does a fully-loaded M16 weigh, about?

CS
[/quote]

I think it weighs about 7-8 pounds (add another pound or so for a full mag) and it is roughly 40 inches long. Doesn’t seem like much, but trust me when I say it will quickly become an awkward and cumbersome load.[/quote]

Okay, thanks a lot!

CS

Well, tonight is the big night - prom lol. I’ve got pictures at 4 and then it’s an hour drive to downtown Chicago. Dance goes from 7-11 and I’m not doing anything after or going anywhere for the weekend. I’ve got better things to do then get drunk for the next two days in a row.

CS

P.M. 27 April 2013 - W.O.D.

Warm-up

  1. PVC roll
  2. Stretching

Thrusters
1 X 2 X 95
1 X 2 X 115
1 X 2 X 135
1 X 2 X 155
1 X 2 X 175

Circuit
500m row
20 over-the-rower burpees
100 jump rope touches
20 over-the-rower burpees
500m row

Time: 8:20

Summary: The circuit is what killed me. After that, I just laid on the floor for a while and tried to regain myself; pretty tiring.

CS

I got this weird voice in my head and it said, “Fuck it, go back to what you know works.” This is why I’m saying “fuck you, CrossFit.” I’m going to run 5/3/1 and place a heavy emphasis on conditioning and body weight exercises. I start Monday. That is all.

CS