“Annie”

50-40-30-20 & 10 rep rounds for time of:

Double unders
Sit-ups

My time: 11:57 Rx - PR by almost a minute!

Went into this thinking my PR was around 16 minutes, but I had just set a new PR if 12:49 back in October and forgot about it. How could I forget that?! Ha ha. Anyway, I was super stoked about this PR today. Double-unders, though far from perfect, are coming along nicely. I had several sets of 5+. One of these days I'll be getting sets of 10 consistently.

Strength today was 1 Snatch (Power or Squat) + 3 OHS every 2 minutes for 20 minutes
I did squat snatch on the first five, then power snatch on the last five.
My loads: 45-55-60-65-70-75-75-75-75-75

I'm giving myself the option of taking a rest day tomorrow. I have been feeling like I need to give my body a break. But, I also know I'll have four rest days, Friday through Monday for our trip to Houston. We have tentative plans to do a run down along the seawall in Galveston, but that is "hangover dependent". In other words, the likelyhood of it happening is not very strong. So, we'll see what the workout is tomorrow, and how I feel at 4:30 a.m. I know I should work out, and I probably will...but I'll see.

Diane

21-15-9 reps of:

Deadlift (Men 225 lbs, Women 155 lbs)
Handstand push ups

My time: 9:56, Rx weight, head to 2 abmats on HSPU

I haven't done this workout in over a year. Wow. This was the last workout I did over at HZ before moving to CFJ. That day I did 135 lbs on the deadlifts and the HSPU were like 1" depth at most, and my time was over 10 min. So...I have improved somewhat, though still not fully Rx yet.

The warmup today included tabata bottom-to-bottom OH squats (with PVC). My score was 5 (the lowest round). This killed my hips. Ouch!

Then we did 20 minutes of pull ups & dips, starting with 1 plu on minute 1, 1 dip minute 2, etc. all the way through 10 pull ups and 10 dips. My dead hang pull ups felt good this morning, though I still can't string together very many, I love that I can do them at all!

Need to work on my attitude...I was feeling pretty negative this morning, and I'm sure it affected my performance. I need a bit of a break, and I'll be taking 4 days off this weekend. That should help!

I'm behind...

I didn't keep up with my exercise blog over Christmas break. This doesn't mean I skipped Crossfit, though.

Let's see, Thursday, Dec 23 we did this:

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
10 Ring dips
20 Overhead walking lunge steps (Men 45 lb bumper plate, Women 35 lb bumper plate)
30 Lateral jumps over bumper plate

I scared the Hell out of 5 rounds: 4 rounds + 5 lateral jumps

Then on Christmas Eve, we did The Bear Complex. This is one of my favorite workouts, but I went light. Still some low back issues from last Friday's deadlifts, and what felt like a sinus infection...not excuses, just reasons. ;-)

My loads were: 55-55-65-70-70

After a good Christmas and a nice weekend where I mainly behaved myself and didn't overindulge much, I was ready to get back to the gym. (It helped that I "primalized" two yummy holiday recipes, which I'll share maybe later in the day when I get bored today.)

Today was FRAN

21-15-9
Thrusters (men 95 lbs, women 65 lbs)
Pull-ups

My time: 9:49 Rx

This is not a PR for me, but I was pleased with being under 10 minutes today. I have GOT to get that set of 21 thrusters unbroken next time. I am convinced this is the key to what is slowing me down. (Sounds good sitting here in my cushy office chair, anyway!)

Our strength component today was Split Jerks
Rep scheme: 1-1-1-1-1-1-1
My loads: 85-95-100-105-110-115-120

Pull ups, and stuff...

50-30 & 20 rep rounds for time of:

Double unders
Push-ups
Pull-ups

My time: 28:53 Rx

Holy crap! This workout took me nearly forever. When I read the workout on my iphone this morning I failed to read the "pull-ups" portion, and thought, "Oh, this won't be so bad". Ha ha. Yeah. Never should I allow myself to think that, ever, ever, ever. CrossFit is never "not so bad". But, it's so good for me, I don't mind at all.

Strength today was a set of 20 back squats
My load was 125. I have previoulsy done 135 on this one, but still a bit tight in the low back from deadlifts last Friday. So, I was being safe today.

“Mike T.”

For time:

40 Deadlifts (Men 95 lbs, Women 65 lbs)
40 Hang power cleans (Men 95 lbs, Women 65 lbs)
40 Front squats (Men 95 lbs, Women 65 lbs)
40 Push press (Men 95 lbs, Women 65 lbs)

Your choice on how you split the reps up. For example: 4 Rounds of 10 D.L., 10 HPC, 10 FS, 10 PP.

My time: 13:32, Rx
split into 4 rounds, 10 reps each lift

LOVED this workout! The push press was the hardest part for me, and the most broken up, but all in all, thoroughly enjoyed the whole workout.

Yesterday evening was my husband's company Christmas party and we didn't get home until 10, so I decided to sleep an extra hour and hit the 6 am class. I haven't drank any considerable amount of beer on a week night in ages, but last night I had 6 Newcastle's and I'm pretty sure I was sweating beer this morning. Gosh, I remember when drinking beer every night was normal...

Strength component today was hang power cleans
3 reps every 3 minutes for 15 minutes

My loads:
70-75-80-85-95

Kelly

Dear Kelly:

It's been a while. Guess what? You are still a bitch and I still hate your guts. Maybe even a little bit more than I did before.

Sincerely,
Angie


“Kelly”
5 Rounds for time of:

400 Meter run
30 Box jumps (Men 24” box, Women 20” box)
30 Wall ball shots (Men 20 lb ball, Women 14 lb ball)

My time: 40:10 Rx

Not the workout I was hoping for today. Not sure what I was hoping for, other than NOT Kelly. I thoroughly hate this workout with every fiber of my being. I surprised everyone (myself included) by just showing up today. I have said countless times how much I hate this WOD and that I wouldn't ever do it again.

But as my husband was sweet-talking me into staying in our nice warm bed this morning, something happened. I recalled a blog I wrote earlier this year about people picking and choosing workouts, and not showing up because they didn't like a certain WOD, and how I didn't do that, or wouldn't do that, or something to that effect. I laid there for about 30 seconds feeling like a huge hypocrite, so I got my butt out of bed and went to face down Kelly.

I didn't set a PR today. I didn't even get close. But I finished the WOD, and I believe this is the first time I've done it with a 14 lb ball. I'm not overly proud of my time today, but I am proud that I pushed myself to (a) get out of bed and make an attempt and (b) finish strong.

Still, I don't care if I ever see this workout again. Wouldn't miss it one little bit if it never showed up again!

“Dr. Feelgood”

Another birthday WOD. This time for Brian D. Good one - love the deadlifts!!

3 Rounds for time of:

12 Deadlifts (Men 275 lbs, Women 185 lbs)
18 Lateral jumps over barbell
37 Double unders

My time: 15:10, Rx

Loved the deadlifts, but the double unders slowed me down a bit. I did have several good sets ranging from 7 to 10, but I was so winded during this whole WOD, I did a lot of resting. Felt good to do some heavy deadlifts. Tried to keep my eyes on the ceiling after reading that tip on Melli's post the other day, however I did notice I have a habit of looking down and to the left (wtf?) when I bring the bar back down to the ground. No idea why, but now that I'm conscious of it, I can change it.

I have a busy weekend ahead. Tonight I'm going to see my son's band, if I can stay awake that long! (They don't go on until like 11:00 pm.) Should be a good time!

TGIF!!

strength component: shoulder press, push press, push jerk 3-3-3 each
sp: 3 ea @ 55-65-75
pp: 3 ea @ 85-90-95
pj: 3ea @ 95-95-95 (stayed light to work on form)

"The Ram"

Birthday WOD for Rayus and Samantha, my sweet Niece. Rayus turned 24 yesterday, and Samantha turns 25 tomorrow.

As many rounds as possible in 12 minutes of:

8 Thrusters (Men 115 lbs, Women 75 lbs)
8 Chest to bar pull-ups
8 Kettlebell swings (Men 70 lbs, Women 45 lbs)

My score: 4 rounds, Rx weights, pull-ups were kipping but not chest to bar

This was a total lung burner. My first two rounds of of thrusters were unbroken, but it was downhill after that. Pull-ups were all broken up. Kettlebells were all unbroken, but man, was I winded afterwards. Then going right back into thrusters was the kicker. A good, short, tough workout!

***
"If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans."

~an excerpt from the Desiderata, by Max Ehrmann


I do quite a bit of "comparing myself with others", when really I know I shouldn't be doing this at all. I mean, it's good to have a point of reference for what a decent time is on a workout or what an appropriate weight is, but actually comparing myself and judging myself based on those comparisons is not a good thing for me, mentally.

It can be discouraging if I let it. For instance, several times in the past month, I have looked at Breck's list of workout times for everyone's workouts at the gym, and have found on some occasions, that I was indeed dead last overall. I actually considered the possibility of quitting CrossFit after seeing that one day.

But then I remembered that quote up there, and thought...how silly of me; how utterly vain and ridiculous to think that way. I get so much enjoyment, and so many benefits from doing CrossFit, how dare I think of quitting just because of the idea that I don't like being last or slower than someone else.

The fact is, many days I am slow, many days I am last, but I am always proud of my efforts and achievements. I always give 100%. It doesn't matter how I compare to others. It only matters that I give my all, every single workout!

Brrr!!

It is COLD! I was dreading the running part of the WOD today because of the cold, and the wind. The temp was just below 32°, and the wind chill was like 20°. Fortunately the runs were just 400's and so not too miserable, but I was slow as death....as usual.

WOD

3 Rounds for time of:

400 Meter run
10 Clean & jerk (Men 135 lbs, Women 95 lbs)

My time: 16:06 Rx

I was really aiming for under 15 minutes on this one. I figured 3 minutes per 400m run, and under 2 minutes on the C&J every round, because my Grace time is like 5 minutes or less, but not sure what went wrong here. Ha ha. The combination of running and C&J is way different than just Grace. Well for me anyway. Some of the guys had really fast times.

Strength today was Squat Clean & Jerk, 1 lift every 2 minutes for 20 minutes
(Or if you're going light, 1 lift every minute for 20 min)

I did: 65-70-75-80-85-95-105-115-125(F)-120

My PR on a jerk is 135. I failed on the 125 because I didn't get under the bar fast enough to lock out properly. C&J is one of my favorite lifts. Need to work on my form and speed!!

Five rounds...

for time of:

20 Pull-ups
30 Push-ups

My time: 26:26, Rx

Slow, but I finished! I had several good sets of pull-ups today. A few 10's, lots of 5's & 6's. Feeling stronger on them but wish I could be more consistent with sets of 10. Getting there. No rips or tears or blisters, amazingly!

We did muscle up progressions in the warm-up, with a little different method than before. I can see where it will help and makes more sense to me physically. We also did tabata double-unders. I got a total of like 45 or 46, which is just ridiculous. But, it got me warmed up. ;)

OHS!

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:

10 Overhead squats
20 Sit-ups

Multiply load by rounds for score. For example: 10 rounds + 10 squats and 5 sit-ups at 95 lbs would be 10.5 x 95 which would equal a score of 997.5.

My score: 8 rounds + 3 OHS x 75 lbs = 607.5

Really fun workout and feels great to be WELL!!! Thank God for good Antibiotics. Life is good!

Bummer!

I hate missing a workout, but I just couldn't drag myself to the gym today. This cold (or whatever it is) has moved into my chest. Attempting a workout would have been ridiculous.

Unfortunately for me, I can't call in sick to work, since December is one of my busiest months. Hopefully the antibiotics I started yesterday will kick in today or tomorrow and I'll be good as new in a few days.

“Cindy”

Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:

5 Pull-ups
10 Push-ups
15 Squats

My total: 11 rds + 7 push ups

Pull-ups felt awesome today, almost effortless. Oh - and I did them all UNBROKEN. Yay! Push-ups kicked my butt. Since mid-summer I have been making a conscious effort to go "chest to the floor" on all my push ups and this really slows me down. But, I think I'm getting better benefit from doing that than just a half-ass push up where you go half way to the ground and push back up. That shouldn't even be considered a legitimate "rx" push-up. So, between having this cold/respiratory problem going on and being on a Nyquil hangover, I'd say I did pretty darn good on Cindy today. I was just off my PR by a round and a half. Yay me. ;)

The strength component today was Awesome Fun!!

One power clean or squat clean (your choice) on the minute, every minute:

Rounds 1 through 5 I did power cleans at 65 lbs each
Rounds 6 - 15 I did squat cleans as follows
85
85
90
95
100
105
110
115
120
125

I nailed the squat clean on the 125 lbs, but lost my balance and fell on my butt. For the record, if this happens to you, there is no need to panic. The bar will clear you completely - well unless you're 6 months pregnant or something. Ha ha. It just rolled right over me, no problem.

I loved this workout, and I want to do it again soon so I can go heavier. I know I could've gone way heavier on the squat cleans...they just felt great this morning.

Sneaky little germs...

Saturday morning I woke up with a sore throat, but it went away as the day wore on. Sunday, same thing, only I started feeling pretty worn out by evening. Monday, sore throat lasted most of the day and I'm feeling really run down. Tuesday morning, didn't sleep well last night, sore throat, annoying drainage, and I'm exhausted.

Went to CF anyway.

Put the sore throat out of my mind and pushed through the strength component and the WOD, but I can tell I am not functioning at full capacity. I cannot afford to get sick. I have meetings the next two days that are not optional. Germs are a complete waste of time!!

WOD:

3 Rounds for time of:

10 Dumbbell power clean & jerk (Men 45 lb dumbbells, Women 30 lb dumbbells)
10 Knees to elbows
10 Dumbbell front squats (Men 45 lb dumbbells, Women 30 lb dumbbells)

My time: 12:40 Rx

Strength Component: shoulder press, push press, push jerk
rep scheme: 3-3-3
my loads:
sp - 55-70-80
pp - 85-90-95
pj - 100-105 (didn't have time for 3rd set)

Mmmm....burpees.

With a 15 minute time limit:

Row 2000 meters
As many reps as possible of burpees
Start with the 2000 meter row and with the remaining time of the 15 minutes perform as many burpees as possible.

Post 2000 meter row time and number of burpees to responses.

My row time: 9:23.1 - PR!
My burpees: 33

I haven't hit a PR on anything lately so I'm happy about my row time today. Yay!

The warm-up today was 75 OHS, 65 lbs for women, 95 lbs for men. 15 minutes to complete all 75, with the goal of as few sets as possible. I opted for breaking them up into small sets.
15-10-10-10-10-10-10

TGIF!

In this workout you will have 4 five minute rounds with a 1 minute break between rounds. Each round consists of a 400 meter run at the start of each round. After you complete the 400 meter run you will have the remainder of the 5 minutes to complete 1 of the following 4 exercises for max reps in each round.

You choose the order of the exercises for each round.

Wall ball shots (Men 20 lb ball, Women 14 lb ball)
Rowing (Calories)
Burpees
Kettlebell swings (Men 55 lbs, Women 35 lbs)

My total reps: 113
Wallball 29
Buprpees 19
Rowing 24 (cal)
KBS 41

Run times: 2:03, 2:17, 2:20, 2:19

We did this in July with pullups in place of KBS, and I had 110 reps. Meh...not much improvement, but still a fun workout!

*****
I have a Primal recipe to share with you today.

Last weekend I was craving some Carne Guisada. What's that? Well, its sort of a Mexican beef stew. There are a million recipes for it, but the recipe I use is from The Spanish Dagger Ranch in Uvalde, Tx, where I used to go quail and pheasant hunting. Dottie, the resident cook, shared the recipe with me years ago and it's one of my favorite winter meals.

But this time I had a dilemma, as the recipe includes potatoes. So, in order to keep it a little more "Primal" I replaced them with rutabaga, and I actually ended up liking it better - they didn't get all mushy like potatoes do! If you're not trying to stay primal or paleo, feel free to add potatoes if you want.

3 lbs Chuck roast, cut into cubes for stew meat
2 tbsp oil (I use coconut oil)
4-8 cloves of garlic, minced (depending on your taste preference)
4 Tbsp ground cumin (again, depending on your taste...I usually add more!)
3 cans of Rotel (I use medium)
3 cans of water
3 beef bullion cubes
1 large rutabage, cut into bite size cubes

Heat oil in stew pan and brown stew meat, with minced garlic. When all meat is seared add spices, rotel, water, and bullion cubes. Reduce heat to low-medium and simmer for several hours. About 1.5 hours before you are ready to serve, add the rutabagas, return to a boil, then reduce to low-medium and simmer until rutabagas are tender. You may want to add more water, depending on how soupy you like your stew.

Enjoy!

“Lynne”

5 Rounds for max reps of:
Bench press (Men bodyweight, Women 2/3 bodyweight)
Pull-ups (Immediately following bench press)

Rest 5 minutes between rounds.

Post bench press load and total reps to responses

My total: 127, used 65 lbs

Bench pull ups
18 10
17 10
15 10
15 10
13 9

This was my first time to do this workout. I didn't do the prescribed weight - would have been just under 100 lbs. I'm not ready for that yet. I've done very little bench pressing and haven't got the form down just yet. Plus last week I could barely do 5 reps at 95 lbs. Fun workout, though, and I'm looking forward to getting stronger on bench presses.

Jump!

4 Rounds for time of:

12 Sumo Deadlift High Pulls (Men 95 lbs, Women 65 lbs)
12 Box Jumps (Men 30″ box, Women 26″ box)

My time: 7:59, w/23" box

Part of the warmup was seeing how high a box jump we could do. Since I am just now somewhat comfortable with 20", I figured 23" was a great acheivement so I stopped there. One of the guys did I think a 43" or 44" jump - like it was nothing! The guys all did a vertical jump test, as well. I opted to just watch this time around.

This morning's warmup was a little bit different. It was a 10 minute Cindy with overhead squats using a bar. I got 3 rounds plus 2 push ups. It was a good warm up, but I sincerely need some extra work on my push ups.

“The CrossFit Jenks Warm-up”

3 Rounds for time of:

15 Overhead squats (Men 45 lb barbell, Women 35 lb barbell)
15 Push-ups
15 Ab mat military sit-ups
15 Ring dips or bar dips
15 Pull-ups


My time: 16:13 Rx
(slower than the June 28 time by about 30 seconds)

Today I was slow on my push-ups and dips. It's always something. I know back in June when we did this, I was not going all the way to the floor on my push ups. Now I am and it makes a huge difference in my time. My upper body strength is still lacking incredibly these days. But I know I'm stronger than I was a year ago.

Today's strength component was front squats

Rep scheme: 10-10-10-10-10
My loads: 65-75-85-105-115

Last time we did 10 rep sets, my max was 85, so this is a THIRTY pound PR for me. Yay - something to celebrate on a Monday!!

Fun Friday!

***EDIT***

I actually did 145 lbs on the deadlifts. My math skills are totally lacking. ;)

*************

7 rounds for time of:

5 Handstand push-ups
10 Deadlifts (Men 185 lbs, Women 125 lbs)
10 Chest to bar pull-ups
20 Double-unders

My Time: 32:18
2 abmats for HSPU
pullups not chest to bar (regular kipping)
scaled up to 135 lbs on Deadlifts


Since I had to modify the HSPU and I've yet to get a chest-to-bar pullup, I decided to scale up on the deadlifts, since it's something I enjoy and something I'm actually good at! I managed to do all of the deadlifts unbroken too!! So, even though I didn't do everything "as rx'd" I feel awesome about my effort on the deadlifts.

It's always fun to work out with different people that I don't see at the 5 am class. Shanna was next to me during the workout and I tried to keep up with her, but that only lasted about 2 rounds. Good job Shanna! :) Some of the guys chose to run 400m in place of the double-unders. Way too cold for me! I had a few good sets of double-unders, but by the end it was one, then stop, one, then stop. Ugh.

The surprising thing for me was how winded I was after the deadlifts, going into the pull ups. I managed one good set of 6 and the rest pretty broken up, mainly sets of 4 or 3.

I still thought this was a fun workout...when it was over, of course!!

“Jackie”

1000 meter row
50 Thrusters (Men 45 lbs, Women 35 lbs)
30 pull-ups

My time: 12:13 Rx

I was way off my PR today...by a minute and 11 seconds. I know I broke up the thrusters too much. I have got to "regroup" and get my head straight. I haven't been pushing myself hard enough and it's showing up in every single workout. I shouldn't have to break up pullups as much as I've been doing lately either. Again, it's all in my head. I just need to get re-motivated, and I will.

Breck just got in a bunch of benches for bench press. The gym has really changed over the year I've been there. So much new equipment - it's really looking great and so much more efficient for lifting.

The strength today was Bench Press, which I haven't done since probably the first month I started CF way back when. My form needs a ton of work. B, on the other hand, was amazing as usual!

rep scheme: 5-3-2-5-5-5
my loads: 55-65-75-85-90-95 (F)

Failed at 95 on the 3rd rep. Tried a few more times. B helped me with some pointers but I still didn't "get it", I don't think. This will be a lift I enjoy once I get the technique down.

Bear Claws?

No...?! Bear CRAWLS! I'd rather have a bear claw. Ha ha. Really, I never even liked those things. But this morning it sounded way better than bear crawls. I will admit, however, that this was a fun workout, even if it wasn't deep fried and sugar-coated.

For time:
500 Meter row
100′ Bear crawl
400 Meter run
100 Double unders
400 Meter run
100′ Bear crawl
500 Meter row

My time: 19:46 Rx

So, I started out pretty strong and even did ok on the dreaded bear crawls. I figured out if I just almost let myself fall on my face, and throw my hand down at the last second, I can go further, faster, but after a while it just starts burning everywhere, quads, hamstrings...it burns.

The double-unders are what killed me on this WOD. I did manage to have several sets of 10 or 12 unbroken, but I'm working way too hard at them still. When I get fatigued they seem to come a lot easier. I just need to relax.

The warm up today included a few rounds of the Bear Complex. First with a bar, then with a weight of our choosing, as a group, then with a weight of our choosing on our own. I chose 95 lbs for my weight and had major issues with the push press. For some reason I couldn't lock out. When I started doing more of a push jerk, I had better luck, but honesty I don't think my heart was in it. I failed at 4 sets on the first try and failed at 3 sets on the second try. So, I got in 7 sets, but...can't really count it. (Try telling my muscles it doesn't count!)

Monday Morning!

21-15 & 9 rep rounds for time of:

Squat snatch (Men 95 lbs, Women 65 lbs)
Ring dips

My time: 15:43, Rx weight, Bar Dips

This wasn't a bad start to the week, though I'm tired from the long trip to Dallas over the weekend. My form felt really good on the snatches during the workout. I tried to do minimum sets of 5, but got supremely winded and had to rest more than I really wanted to. I kept trying to push myself and only take a couple breaths in between lifts. I mean, you can only recover so much before it just becomes ridiculous. Feel good about my effort this morning.

Strength today was squat snatch
rep scheme: 1-1-1-1-1-1-1
my loads: 45-50-55-60-65-70-75-85

“Nate”

Complete as many rounds in twenty minutes as you can of:

2 Muscle-ups
4 Handstand Push-ups
8 Kettlebell swings (Men 70 lbs, Women 45 lbs)

My rounds: 8 + 1 pull up

Subs: 6 pullups and 6 dips for muscle ups
HSPU: head to 2 abmats

Compare to Aug 19, 2010, when I did 7 rounds + 6 plu and I used 35 lb kettlebell then, so I feel great about a tiny bit of progress here.

In the warmup today we worked on some skills: HSPU, Muscle Ups, L-sits and Rope Climb

HSPU - worked on my hand placement a bit
MU - I just worked false grip ring pullups
Rope - never made it to the rope
L-Sit - I got a 20 second L-sit which is total freaking awesomeness for me. Yay!!!!

Good way to end the week, especially considering how the week started off for me.

Now I"m off to do a bunch of stuff around the house and get ready to head to Dallas to see the Boys hopefully get a win. Either way, I know I'm going to have a blast!!! Look for me on the big screen. :)

“April”

For time:
10 Power cleans (Men 155 lbs, Women 105 lbs)
200 Meter run
9 Power cleans
200 Meter run
8 Power cleans
200 Meter run
7 Power cleans
200 Meter run
6 Power cleans
200 Meter run
5 Power cleans
200 Meter run
4 Power cleans
200 Meter run
3 Power cleans
200 Meter run
2 Power cleans
200 Meter run
1 Power clean
200 Meter run

My time: 26:51 Rx

This workout was for April, one of the interns at the gym. Today is her 23rd birthday. (Thanks to Andy for reminding me how old I am this morning.) Yes, I am old enough to be April's mom. Which, in hindsight, really makes me proud that I actually could finish the workout as prescribed. However, I didn't finish within Breck's time limit of 25 minutes, so I kind of let myself down. I ran as fast as I could - that wasn't a problem today. The brutal north wind and 32° temp was enough to make me move faster out there. Several missed reps cost me some precious time that probably could have got me in under the 25 minute mark. I just have to take everything as a lesson and move on. Maintain good form; create speed & power; get under the bar; don't miss reps; be efficient! Yeah, lots of lessons here.

And, totally unrelated to CrossFit, I just found out I get to go to a Dallas Cowboys game this sunday! I'm totally excited!!!! (though I wish they were having a better season)

Working my way back.

OK, I made it to the gym today and actually stayed for the workout. I did, however, scale everything down because I'm still kinda weak from that awful stomach flu.

Here is the prescribed WOD:

3 Rounds for time of:

45 Double unders
30 Box jumps (Men 24″ box, Women 20″ box)
15 Dumbbell push press (Men 45 lb dumbbells, Women 30 lb dumbells )

Here is what I actually did:

3 Rounds for time of:
45 singles
20 Box jumps - 17" box
15 Dumbbell push press 20 lb dumbells

My time: 12:05

Kind of wimpy, I know, but I promise I got a good workout and I was pretty wiped out afterward. It just felt good to get moving again.

The strength component today was Hang Power Snatch, and of course I went light on those too. I think we were supposed to do 10 single reps, increasing in weight. However, I think I probably managed 8, and maxed out at 65 lbs for the last several reps. No biggie. I'll be 100% next week and hit everything really hard.

Sick...

I started out last weekend having a great date night with my husband on Friday and then tailgating with friends on Saturday. All the while, unbeknownst to me, a vile, creepy stomach virus was mounting a sneak attack that would hit me about 2 am on Sunday. The next 36 hours were a constant blurr of dragging myself, drooling and moaning, from the bed to the bathroom and back again, only to pass out until the next round. Misery...pure misery.

Yesterday I managed to eat maybe 600 calories worth of food. Thinking I was pretty well rested, I got up and headed to the gym this morning, only to find out how wrong I was. I barely made it through the warm-up, before I realized I was kidding myself by even being there. This was a big disappointment, because both the strength component and the workout looked like an amazingly fun morning. But, it was not to be. I went home and crawled back into bed for an hour and then showered and headed to work.

I'm planning to work half a day, and rest half a day. Definitely going to eat some good meals, and hopefully by tomorrow I'll be ready to work out again. Hopefully. We shall see!

Vacation Day!

I'm taking another vacation day today. I had several unused days that I needed to burn before the end of the year, so I have scheduled almost every Friday off through the remainder of the year. It's nice to sleep in an extra couple of hours before going to the gym.

Todays WOD:

Squat clean and jerk 30 reps for time. (Men 155 lbs, Women 105 lbs)

My time: 16:43, Rx

I loved this workout in concept. Execution was another thing entirely. Clean & Jerk is one of my favorite lifts. Squat clean makes it way more difficult and time consuming. Well, for me anyway. I'm amazed by some of the times posted today. Paige, Jennifer, Loren, Breck...these people are just incredible. Even though it took me forever to finish, I didn't have any missed reps. I had two jerks that I felt my core wasn't tight enough, but other than that, everything felt pretty solid.

Now, if I could just convince my body to not demand so much oxygen. Breathing takes up so much time! ;)

Strength today was, of course, Squat Clean & Jerk:

rep scheme: 5-3-2-1-1-1
my loads: 65-85-95-105-115-125

TGIF!!

Rowing day.

5 Rounds, each for time of:

500 Meter row
Rest 5 minutes between each round.

Compare to July 9, 2010

My times:

1- 2:05.4
2- 2:05.5
3- 2:08.0
4- 2:08.5
5- 2:06.3

I didn't set any records today, but I felt good about my efforts. Most of my times were faster than the July times, but I had some WAY faster times back in April.

I've been thinking about how my performance has these peaks and valleys and how diet has an effect on everything. I've been eating primal for a while now, and the fat content of my overall diet is pretty high. Previous to eating primal I had a fairly healthy diet, but with a lower fat content.

Primal Blueprint encourages fat consumption. - "good fats", meaning animal fat, coconut oil, olive oil, etc., which is what I'm doing. Anyway, I heard about a study a while back that showed decrease in energy levels the morning after consuming high fat meals, but I didn't think much of it at the time. Now, looking at my current and past performance levels, in conjunction with my current and past fat intake, I really think that's what's going on here. I think I need decrease my fat intake and see if my performance gets back to the level of where it was in April & May this year. Which, really leans more towards "paleo", since they advocate the leanest cuts of meat, etc. In any case, I'm going to give it a try...keep eating whole, natural foods and cut back on the fat. We shall see!

Warm-up today included 2 minutes each for max reps:

Sit ups: 60
Push ups: 29
Pull ups: 15 (one max set) And...this is a PR for me. Ha ha. But hey, I'm not ashamed. It's a PR!!!!

Where'd everybody go??

We had a pretty small crew at the 5 am class this morning - B, Natalie, Brad P & myself. I think yesterday's WOD must have worn everyone out! I'll be honest, it was tough to get up and go in this morning. It seems like I'm to the point where I don't know any better, so I just keep going five days a week. ;-)

WOD:

For time:

500 Meter row
50 Jumping pull-ups
40 Box jumps (Men 24″ box, Women 20″ box)
30 Ring dips
20 Toes to bar
10 Burpees

My time: 13:17, sub bar dips for ring dips

Yesterday after work I went in for a massage. I bought a package of 5 a while back and I'm finally finding time to start using them. I had her work on my shoulders and upper back quite a bit, and I think this helped me to not be as sore as I was expecting from yesterday's workout. So, when we had the option of doing a the strength component or working on skills, I chose strength.

Our strength component today was power cleans.

Rep scheme: 5-3-2 5-5-5
My loads: 55-65-76 85-95-105

Had a couple where my form was off, but all in all, these felt pretty good today. I need to push myself to go heavier on these.

“The Rice Man”

A birthday workout for Greg, who is 43. These birthday workouts are usually fun. The length of this one is a bit daunting, but aside from the running, I loved it!! Well, and the thrusters...what's not to hate about a thruster, eh? But, still, it was a super fun workout, and I feel really great and energetic today!

As many rounds as possible in 43 minutes of:

200 Meter run
5 Hang power snatches (Men 75 lbs, Women 55 lbs)
5 Overhead squats (Men 75 lbs, Women 55 lbs)
5 Back squats (Men 75 lbs, Women 55 lbs)
5 Thrusters (Men 75 lbs, Women 55 lbs)

My rounds: 11 + 2 back squats , all unbroken

And, I just have to brag on my friend B again. This girl is incredible!! She beat me by one back squat today and she is 5 months pregnant. She's going to give birth to a super-human child who will probably come out doing double-unders and deadlifts, and I doubt she'll even need anything for the pain. Amazing...she's just amazing!

“Helen”

3 Rounds for time of:

400 Meter run
21 Kettlebell swings (Men 55 lbs, Women 35 lbs)
12 Pull-ups

My time: 15:23 Rx
(2:01 slower than my PR...bah!)

Sluggish running again, not sure why. I could have a million excuses, but I'm just slow, no excuses. It was cold out this morning. I finally gave in and wore long pants because of the cold today. Maybe if I wore shorts that would be incentive to run faster? ha ha..doubt it. I grossed myself out this morning, coming back from running, I had snot running out my nose, but I couldn't do anything about it because I had to get right on the kettle bells. So it was just hanging there...grossing me out the whole time I was doing my kettle bells. That was all the encouragement I needed to do the KBS unbroken, and thankfully I had my towel nearby! Yeah, I know, TMI.

Strength today was Overhead Squats

Rep scheme: 3-3-3-3-3
My loads: 55-65-85-105-115

Failed on my first attempt at 115, then tried again. Got all 3 reps but only one of them was truly deep enough to count. So, I can't really count it as a legit PR. But...I was close!

Primalish Brownies

When I'm home alone, I can't seem to stay out of the kitchen, simply because I love to cook. I would cook all day long if someone would clean up after me and eat all the food. :)

Today I wanted something sweet, but it had to fit in with the Primal Blueprint, so I decided to try this almond butter brownie recipe from Elena's Pantry. She uses Agave Syrup, which I replaced with honey, and I went with an 85% cocao chocolate chips due to the lower sugar content. It is not a 100% primal recipe because of that, but the minimal sugar content makes them close enough to fit the 80/20 principle. And they are delicious!



The cool thing about these brownies is they actually look and taste like there is flour in them, but there is no flour! The main ingredient is almond butter. They turned out pretty good, though next time I think I'd cook them just a little while longer. But if you like your brownies kind of gooey, then the timing recommended in the recipe is perfect.

Fun Friday!

3 Rounds for time of:

30 Box jumps (Men 24″ box, Women 20″ box)
20 Wall ball shots (Men 20 lb ball, Women 14 lb ball)
10 Hang power snatches (Men 95 lbs, Women 65 lbs)

My time: 17:50 Rx

I'm off work today but I had intended to get up as usual and hit the 5 am class. However, my husband persuaded me to sleep in. (It didn't take much effort, I promise!) Anyway, I had the luxury of sleeping past 8 am, and then hitting the 9:30 am class.

It's nice to go to the gym at a different time occasionally and see some of the other members. And at the 9:30 class, you get to see some really cute babies in the daycare. There were only two this morning, and they were both adorable!

Seems like it's been a while since we worked on power snatches, and my shoulders kind of protested during the warm-up. For some reason, though, during the workout they felt fine. It was the box jumps that slowed me down, as usual. I was happy with my time, and the fact that I didn't fall on the box jumps. It's a good day!

One from the main site!

I saw this posted on the main site last week sometime and thought, "I'd love to try that one!", so I was glad to see it posted this morning. The C&J turned out to be the easy part of the WOD, and in hindsight, I should have listened to B and gone a bit heavier than I did. But, I felt strong throughout the workout, and really had a better morning than I did yesterday. Life is good!

WOD:

10 Rounds for load and time of:

1 Clean and Jerk
5 Pull-ups
10 Push-ups
15 Squats

My time: 22:39
My load: 105 lbs

The strength component today was Clean & Jerk

Rep scheme: 5-3-2-1-1-1
My loads: 65-75-95-105-115 (and I didn't do the last single).

I've historically preferred doing a Split Jerk, but lately my form has felt funny using the split, and was just throwing me off on the whole lift. So, after the first couple of lifts, I went to just a push jerk, and it felt way more solid to me, so I went with that for the remainder.

Pity Party

I'm having a pity party. Come on in. ;)

Today's workout was probably one of the easiest workouts I've ever seen posted for CrossFit. So why, then was I so freaking slow and once again, dead last to finish? I was so mad at myself by the end of the workout; disgusted, discouraged, embarrassed, mad, and defeated! Yes, "she who never gives up" felt completely, utterly defeated.

I don't understand what happened today. I pushed myself as hard as I could, but I couldn't physically make my legs run any faster. Some days I don't know why this happens. I truly don't know - it's like trying to run in a nightmare and my legs just won't cooperate. *sigh*

But once again, I didn't give up.

I finished the workout, gathered up my stuff, passed on the opportunity to do overhead squats, for which I am now kicking myself. I could have ended on a positive note. But instead, I wrote down my time in my WOD book, had a short conversation with Jim and headed to my car, where I promptly burst into tears and cried all the way home like a spoiled six year old. Ugh! Am I wasting my time with CrossFit? Am I just delusional to think I can keep doing this day after day and never getting any faster? I love feeling so healthy and strong, but on days like this when I disappoint myself so badly, I wonder if I'm doing myself any good at all.

I know...I know...tomorrow's another day and another chance to do better. I'll move on and get over my stupid dsappointment at today's piss poor performance. But, man, some days it's hard to convince myself I'm making any progress at all.

WOD:

3 Rounds for time of:

800 Meter run
50 Sit-ups (un-anchored, abmat)
50 Walking lunge steps

My time: 29:30 Rx

Good Morning!

For time:

1000 Meter row

then

21-15 & 9 reps of:

Sumo Deadlift High Pull (Men 95 lbs, Women 65 lbs)
Push press (Men 95 lbs, Women 65 lbs)

My time: 14:06 Rx
(row time 4:31.6)

Fun workout this morning. Wish I was faster, but I don't see that happening any time soon. Still enjoy SDHP, but not very fast at them. Push presses were the easy part of the WOD at such a light weight.

Strength today was Split Jerk

rep scheme: 5-3-2-1-1-1
my loads: 85-105-115-125-135 (fail)- 130 (fail)

Form was off on the heavier loads. I could feel my back arching, rather than remaining straight up and down. Need to remember to tighten my core and be FAST getting under the bar. This is one of my favorite lifts and 135 is my last PR on it, so I was disappointed I couldn't get weight this today.

"Mary"

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:

5 Handstand Push Ups
10 one-legged squats
15 pull ups

My rounds: 6 + 2 HSPU
Modified, of course: 2 abmats for HSPU, and pistols done on a box, holding onto a pole for support/balance. Yeah...

Really a fun morning at CFJ. I am continually reminded of my age and lack of coordination. This morning we did wheelbarrow's...yes, where someone holds up your legs and you walk on your hands. I think half my trouble was I couldn't quit laughing, but seriously it's probably been close to 40 years since I did those. Too funny!

********************

My husband and I attended a Halloween wedding yesterday. The bride & groom wanted everyone in costume, so we complied. I was dressed as a Go-Go dancer and my husband was dressed as Cheech from the "Up In Smoke" movie. We had a blast!

Here we are with our friends, Gary and Tina. Gary is a minister and performed the ceremony. Tina is the mother of the Groom, then there's me, and then my husband, Allan.


The Bride & Goom

Good times!

TGIF!

Not a horrible workout for a Friday. That's what I was thinking when I first saw it. But, as usual, I think I finished dead last. And to top it off, I have that stupid, horrible cough like you get when you do Fran. Ugh. After almost 2 hours, it's starting to subside a bit. I think I just need to drink lots of beer this weekend. That should cure me! :-)

WOD

7 rounds for time of:

10 Wallball shots (Men 20 lbs, Women 14 lbs)
10 Pull-ups

My time: 14:23 Rx

The strength component today was one of my faves: Back Squats! One set of 20 reps.

I warmed up with several reps at 85 & 115.
Work set: 20 @ 135

A nice end to the week. I love back squats!

And I thought I was gonna die...

Seriously, I do not understand how it is physically possible for someone to do this workout as fast as some of the times posted on the main CF site. Chris Spealler 2:48, Graham Holmbert 3:02, Stacie Kroon 3:32, Mary Lampas 4:02. Are these people even HUMAN? I stand in awe of their abilities. And I know there will be people at CFJ today whose times are equally impressive. Amazing...simply amazing.

Me? I was just trying like hell to get in under 15 minutes. As you can see below...I failed myself by ONE second. Ugh! But, I still feel great that I finished it with the prescribed weight. And, I have bruises on my thighs to remind me of this WOD for the next several days. ;)

3 rounds for time of:

15 Hang Power Cleans (Men 135 lbs, Women 95 lbs)
15 burpees

My time: 15:01 Rx


The warm-up today was running. It's one we've done before, and I don't think I set any PR's today. But it felt good to run. We had a 1 minute rest between each run.

400m 1:54
200m 0:54
400m 2:10
200m 0:55
400m 2:04

B

This morning, I'm going to talk a little bit about my friend B. Her name is Bershunda, but she actually prefers to be called "B". She and I met at a CrossFit bootcamp, two and a half years ago. We have continued to do CrossFit together and just about a year ago we both made the decision to move to CrossFit Jenks.

B is one of the kindest, sweetest people I have ever met. She is an amazing athlete - one of the strongest CrossFitters I know. B is about 20 years younger than me, but encourages me and pushes me (especially with lifting) as if I were her age. I can honestly say I have advanced quite a bit because of her encouragement.

I had the honor of attending her wedding last summer and have enjoyed hearing her occasional stories of being married, and how she and her husband Anthony are getting along.

Early this summer, B found out she is expecting her first child, and I couldn't be more thrilled for her and Anthony. This is where B becomes even more amazing to me. Here she is about five months pregnant, still showing up for CrossFit and still just killing the workouts! She is such an inspiration to me. She never gives up, and still pushes herself to do the best and the most she can do. Some days she doesn't even look tired during the workouts (compared to my frantic gasping for air)!

One of the best parts of CrossFit is the "family" of people you work out with every day, and B is one of my favorite CF family members. B, if you are reading this, you are one of my biggest heroes in life! Thanks for being such an inspiration to me.

WOD:

3 Rounds for time of:

400 Meter run
15 Handstand push-ups
30 Kettlebell swings (Men 55 lbs, Women 35 lbs)

My time: 19:08, 2 abmats for HSPU

Strength: Shoulder press, Push press, Push Jerk

Rep Scheme 3-3-3

SP: 55-70-80
PP: 85-95-105
PJ: 110, form breaking down...ugh

I unloaded the bar and just did several reps of split jerk with the bar. I know I have gone much heavier on a jerk before, but not sure what is going on with my form. Just feels horribly awkward the last two times we have done these.

Dirty Little Secrets

Everyone has secrets, right? Well, here's one of mine...a dirty little secret that somewhat taints my otherwise "primal" lifestyle. I drink Diet Mountain Dew every day. I'm not talking about just a sip here or there, I'm talking lots of it. Like a whole 6 pack.

Recently Melli posted a video about why diet pop makes you fat. And I was horrified. I'm trying hard to give it up. I'm down to 1 diet pop per day now...hoping to completely be done with it next week. Ugh. It's hard admitting you're addicted to something.

Want to know another secret? Well, it's no secret that I love Crossfit. But here's the part I hate saying out loud. I do not love everything about CrossFit. *shock and horror* I do not love Double-Unders. They make me want to cry like a little girl and throw down my rope and walk away. When I see them in a workout, I just want to give up and go back to the elliptical and watch trash TV for an hour an convince myself I'm getting a workout. You know, like I did for years and years before I found CrossFit and changed my entire life.

But, the thing I love/hate about myself so much is that I will not give up. I keep showing up at CFJ even when double unders are posted and I keep trying, despite my obvious lack of coordination and lung capacity. My shins and knees are killing me. But today I actually had a set of 12 consecutive double unders. Mind you, the remainder of the workout was pretty busted up and pathetic looking, but I did every single one of the 250 double unders prescribed. And I still don't love them, but I got a damn good workout this morning!

So...I feel like I've been to confession now. So much better.

WOD:

5 Rounds for time of:

5 Muscle ups
50 Double unders

My time: 29:18
subbed 10 pull ups & 10 dips for muscle ups

Starting the week off right!

One of my girlfriends got married this weekend and along with the festivities, I ate lots of stuff I normally wouldn't eat. Cake, pasta, bread, whatever was put in front of me...you name it, I ate it. And, of course, plenty of beer. And it was all worth it - it was a celebration!

Did a little damage to my back this weekend. I promise I was having fun when it happened, and it was totally worth it. :)

WOD:

As many rounds as possible in 10 minutes of:

5 Back squats (Men bodyweight, Women 3/4 bodyweight)
10 Deadlifts (Men bodyweight, Women 3/4 bodyweight)
15 Push-ups

My total: 4 rounds + 3 DL, 105#

Strength component today was Back Squats. I was a little hesitant due to my lower back aching a bit, but after the first few reps at 85#, it loosened up and I felt fine.

rep scheme: 5-3-2 5-5-5
my loads: 85-105-135 155-155-155

A great start to the week, and I'm feeling good!

“The Adam Bomb”

10 Rounds for time of:
15 Kettlebell swings (Men 55 lbs, Women 35 lbs)
9 Toes to bar
5 Burpees

My time: 28:40 Rx

Wow! This was a tough one for a Friday. Before we got started, I kept thinking, "how in the world am I going to get through this one?!" The answer: one rep at a time.

Andy was estimating around 17-18 minutes so I was thinking it would take me at least 30. After the third round I was thinking, "I'll just do five rounds and take a DNF". But, as it always goes when I start thinking that way, once I hit that half way point I'm thinking, "why in the world would I quit now?"

I've only had two DNF's in my whole CrossFit career, one when I nearly passed out because I had the flu, and the other was after 4 rounds of Eva and the next class was starting. So, even though I pretend to give myself the option of quitting sometimes, it's never really an option for me. I would be so disappointed in myself.

So the end result ended up being better than I expected. I came in under 30 minutes, and now I'm all jazzed up for the day with a lot of energy! And I'm ready for the weekend!!

TGIF!

Squat Cleans

Today's WOD was the workout from the recent Crossfit/USAW competition.

As many rounds as possible in 10 minutes of:

6 Squat cleans (Men 125 lbs, Women 70 lbs)
12 Pull-ups
24 Double unders

My total: 2 rounds + 2 Plu

Bleh...double unders just suck. Last time we did them I felt pretty good about them, getting better and more consistent. Well, kiss all that progress goodbye. I know I was trying too hard or something. It was just a freakin' mess, and took me a ridiculously long time to do a set of 24.

But the good part of the WOD was that my form on the squat cleans felt pretty decent. So, I left the gym proud of my effort, despite my lack of big numbers on the WOD.

Strength today was Squat Cleans:

Rep scheme: 5-3-2-1-1-1
My lifts: 65-85-105-115-125 - didn't get in the last lift - ran out of time

I need to learn to release the grip on the bar and get my elbows around faster. The last lift felt a little rough, simply because I still had a tight grip on the bar. Just need to trust my form and not be afraid of releasing the bar as I receive it, because I can go a lot heavier on this lift if I just let go!

Busy morning!

I don't think there was one wasted second at the gym this morning! We did 2 rounds of the warm-up, which we haven't done in a long time. Then the WOD:

4 Rounds for time of:

400 Meter run
50 Squats

My time: 17:30

My legs felt like they were made of lead today. Bah!

After the WOD, we had a limited amount of time to do the following:

Row 2000m
Find your max Deadlift with only 3 lifts.

So, this time limit thing...first I heard 15 minutes, then 20. I don't know. Confusion seems to be my constant companion. Anyway, I mis-managed my time and ended up going over on the row time.

I did DL first, and it took me forever to load my bar.
My lifts were 215, 235 & 240.
I failed on 240, so my max was 235.

Then off to the rower where I apparently had only 7.5 minutes left to row a 2k, which would be fine if I were some super hero like Kristin Clever. But as it turns out, I'm not!

Anyway, at my cut-off time I still had 500m left to go. My total 2k row time ended up being 9:51.1 (yes, I did finish it...just not in the alotted time).

I'm not complaining at all. I'm just a little mad at myself for not handling the time limit correctly. I should have rowed first.

Bottom line, I had a great workout, and that's what I'm after!

Fun New Stuff!

Finally - I got my new weightlifting shoes yesterday. And, *bonus* they came in the most awesome pink bag, perfect for carrying to the gym! And as luck would have it, my latest CF tank top arrived yesterday too! There are so many shirts that say "Fran is my homegirl", but honestly, Fran and I aren't that tight. Grace, she's my fave! So, I had to have this shirt. Yes, I know, I am a total geek. ;)



***************

WOD:

5 Rounds for time of:
15 Sumo Deadlift High Pull (Men 95 lbs, Women 65 lbs)
15 Ring dips

My time: 15:51 - band assisted ring dips

Strength today was shoulder press, push press and push jerk, 3-3-3 of each.

My loads:
shoulder press: 55, 65, 75
push press: 85, 95, 105
push jerk: 110, 110, 110

That 110 got heavy really fast with 3 reps. Whew! There is a world of difference between a 1 rep max and a 3 rep max. Though my form needs improvement, the jerk is still one of my favorites!

A New Back Squat PR!

For max reps:

Box jump (Men 24″ box, Women 20″ box)/Push-up ladder
Do one box jump and one push-up the first minute, do two box jumps and two push-ups the second minute, do three box jumps and three push-ups the third minute, ……………continuing until you can no longer complete the number of reps required in the minute.

Post minute completed and total reps.

Total minutes: 10 as Rx'd
(I continued for 3 more rounds in the next 5 minutes at my own pace)

This WOD went just about like I expected it. I started out trying to jump down, rather than my usual "jump up, step down", and did okay until I fell a few times. I hate falling - it scares the hell out of me. Anyway, I kept up for 10 rounds and that was it. I kept going until the 15 minute mark, though, just to get in a good workout. Got in full 13 rounds (91 reps of each exercise).

Today's strength component was one of my favorites!! Yay!

Back Squats:

Warm up set: 10 at 105

Work set -
Rep scheme: 1-1-1-1-1-1-1
My loads: 140-155-170-180-190(PR) - 200 (PR!!) - 205 (f x2)

My previous PR on a 1 rep max was 185, so I'm feeling pretty good about this new PR today!!

TGIF!

I've had two near-disasters this morning. First, I almost hit a pretty good size deer on my way to the gym. In any vehicle that would be a mess...in a tiny sports car, it would be pretty gruesome. But thanks to my cat-like reflexes, I managed to avoid certain death. *giggle*

Then, on my way to work, I almost got run off the road by a little blue-haired old lady in a mini van who needs to give up her right to drive. She appeared surprised that there were other people on the road. But, she was so old I couldn't even be mad at her, honestly. She's probably shaken up for the entire day...poor thing.

Me? I'm fine.

Why?

Because I've got 5 days of CrossFit behind me this week, and even though I had to scale down the weight, and it took me longer than everyone else, I actually enjoyed the workout today and I'm feeling strong and happy! Can't beat that!

WOD:

15-10 & 5 rep rounds for time of:

Hang power clean (Men 135 lbs, Women 95 lbs)
Thruster (Men 135 lbs, Women 95 lbs)

My time: 11:26, scaled to 85lbs

Ten pounds doesn't sound like a whole lot when you are just looking at it in writing, but put it on a barbell and it makes all the difference in the world. I tested 95 lbs on both lifts and in the interest of actually finishing the workout with decent form, decided 85 was the weight to go with.

Strength today was thrusters, from a rack.
Rep scheme: 1-1-1-1-1-1-1
My loads: 65, 70, 75, 85, 90, 95, 100

We also ran a 400m for time (level testing). My time was 1:41, not a PR, but fast for me.

Ouch!

1-2-3-4-5-5-4-3-2 & 1 rep rounds for time of:

Muscle up
Burpees (multiply each round x 3) (For example: the 3 rep round would be 9 burpees, 4 rep round would be 12 burpees)

My time: 26:55, modified as follows:

2-4-6-8-10-10-8-6-4-2 Pull ups and assisted ring dips in place of muscle ups; burpees as Rx.

There was nothing good or fun or easy about this workout. It was misery from start to finish. The recommended sub for muscle ups was 3 times the number of pull ups and dips, but I would still be there if I had attempted that. Every muscle from the middle of my ribcage, all the way up to my neck and shoulders is killing me at this moment, almost 2 hours after I finished the workout. Mainly my shoulders and neck, but wow...what a workout! And I don't mean "wow, what a good workout", I mean, "holy shit, I hate that workout and never want to do it again". Yeah, truly it was awful. If you're thinking of skipping a WOD this week, today would be a good time.

************

So, in the warm up we had a choice of working push press or muscle up progressions. I chose muscle up progressions because I really need to at least attempt to make some progress in this area.

The first order of business is going to be for me to get my ring dips in working order. So, today instead of doing bar dips in the workout, I chose to do band-assisted ring dips. With the band I can get some depth. I suppose the same would hold true on the bar dips, but I figure by working with the rings, I can gain the ability to stabilize the rings and keep them close in to my body while I'm using the band to assist me. We shall see.

Dear Wallball, I have not missed you!

3 Rounds for time of:

25 Wall ball shots (Men 20 lb ball, Women 14 lb ball)
20 Sumo Deadlift High Pulls (Men 95 lbs, Women 65 lbs
15 Kettlebell swings (Men 70 lbs, Women 45 lbs)

My time: 15:47 Rx

It's been a good long while since I've done a WOD with wallball shots, and I have honestly not missed them. But they felt okay-ish today. I did pretty well on the first round of 25 and after that they were all broken up.

The surprisingly difficult part of this WOD was the SDHP. I usually excel at those, and can usually make up time in a WOD by flying through them. But today, I think the most 'unbroken' I got was a set of 8. Wow!

Still, as much as it pains me to admit this...it was a fun workout. Sometimes I need reminded of the variety of elements available in CF and how good it is to keep things switched up. So, wallball, even though I haven't missed you, apparently I still need you. :-)

Strength today was Front Squats.
Rep scheme: 1-1-1-1-1-1-1
My loads: 85, 105, 115, 125, 135, 145, 155

Still trying to feel my way into where I should be on front squats, as I haven't done a whole lot of them. Today I hit 5 lbs over my body weight, and felt like I could have gone heavier after that last lift, but was out of time and had done my 7 lifts. So, next time I will aim higher!

“Nicole”

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
400 Meter run
Max rep pull-ups


My total: 5 rounds, 48 pull ups

Ok. I just totally sucked this morning. I had absolutely zero energy when it came time for the workout. My running was horribly slow, and my highest round of pull ups was 11. That's truly pathetic.


I think part of the problem has to do with my nutrition. Yesterday I loaded up on protein and fat and had hardly any carbs. I notice when I don't have a lot of carbs, my energy level the next morning is awful. So, I need to add in some more carbs today. Good, primal, healthy carbs, of course.

Strength Component today was Snatch Balance. Not my fave, but I did okay.

rep scheme: 1-1-1-1-1-1-1
my loads: 55-60-65-70-70-75-80

************************************

And in other news...I'm ordering these beauties today:



I figure, even if I'm truly delusional about my ability to improve, and the shoes don't help my lifting at all, at least they're cute, right?!?

Isabel

“Isabel”
30 Squat snatches for time (Men 135 lbs, Women 95 lbs)

My time: 11:26 - using 75#

I was horribly slow today and my form was awful. Seems like last time we did this, I was feeling better about my form, but I kept trying to do a power snatch instead of a squat snatch. Just awful...bleh. I had to repeat several lifts, and I managed to fall in my ass once. Kind of comical now that I think about it.

Another Fun Friday.

4 rounds for time of:

15 dumbbell push press (men 45 lbs, women 25 lbs)
25 box jumps (men 24" box, women 20" box

My time: 11:05 Rx

The warm-up this morning was fun. We worked just with a bar on the 9 standard lifts for crossfit: front, back & overhead squat; deadlift, SDHP & squat clean; shoulder press, push press and push jerk.

In between sets of lifts we did 1 minute handstand holds. I made the full minute on the first two, but the third one I only lasted 45 seconds. And, much to my horror when I got home, I have major damage around my eyes from these! It has happened before with HSPU, but this is the worst ever! My entire eyelids and the area beneath my lower eyelid are covered with broken blood vessels. I look like I lost a fight! The solution to this is to spend more time inverted, and get accustomed to it, but for now, the solution is lots of makeup.

TGIF!!

“Tabata Something Else”

Complete 32 intervals of 20 seconds of work followed by ten seconds of rest where
the first 8 intervals are pull-ups,
the second 8 are push-ups,
the third 8 intervals are sit-ups, and finally,
the last 8 intervals are squats.
There is no rest between exercises.

Post total reps from all 32 intervals to responses.

My total: 262 (I think...)

Certainly not my best effort on Tabata.

However...I did enjoy the strength component today: Deadlifts!

At first I was not looking forward to them at all, because my lower back was a bit sore, but after a warmup set of 10, I felt pretty good so I went for it! I haven't successfully lifted 225 or anything beyond that since back in February sometime, so I wanted to get past that number today and get it out of my head.

rep scheme was 5-3-2-1-1-1

175, 195, 205, 215, 225, 235

235 is a previous PR, and I'm glad to be back at that level. I could have and should have gone for 240, but didn't have time, or the desire. I was just overjoyed to get that 235 off the ground without any trouble whatsoever!! Yeah!!!

More Running!

Each for time of:

1600 Meter run
1200 Meter run
800 Meter run
400 Meter run

Rest exactly 4 minutes between each run.

My Times:
1600 = 9:42
1200 = 7:45
800 = 4:59
400 = 1:59

Neither my fastest times nor my slowest!

This morning was a bit chilly - 48°! I warmed up after the first half mile, but kept my jacket on the entire WOD.

Running felt pretty good this morning; much better than running hills like yesterday afternoon. It's been a while since I've run hills and they kicked my butt yesterday! Plus, I had to contend with DOGS chasing me yesterday. Stupid dogs. If you are a dog owner, please keep your dogs locked up. My heart rate is high enough from running - I don't need any extra excitement of being chased by dogs!

RUN

My GPS was messing up - elevations and distances are off a bit. Frustrating! Oh well, I had a nice run! :)





Started: Oct 5, 2010 4:22:39 PM
Run Time: 27:28
Stopped Time: 0:00
Distance: 2.04 miles
Average: 13:26 /mile
Fastest Pace: 10:13 /mile
Climb: 33 feet
Calories: 190
Official Route: No

Another Fun Day!

5 Rounds for time of:

200 Meter run with bumper plate (Men 45 lb plate, Women 25 lb plate)
10 Handstand push-ups
15 Toes to bar

My time: 22:53 - mod HSPU (head to 2 abmats)

This was a fun workout, once I figured out a decent way to carry the plate. Started out holding it in my arms, close to my chest. No good. Tried on top of my head. No good. Tried holding with a single arm for 100m then switching to the other for 100m. That was "ok". But the best way I found was to put it on my back, up high, like where you would put a bar for back squats. This way I could keep (sort of) running rather than a walk.

HSPU still need some depth. I need to give up 1 of the abmats and get more depth. I'm still hoping to be able to do a real one by the end of the year.

Toes to bar are always a good ab workout.

Warm up included 1000m row 5:09 (slow), and no lifting today.

Very fun morning!!!

Monday Madness

21-15 & 9 rep rounds for time of:

Thrusters (Men 95 lbs, Women 65 lbs)
Kettlebell swings (Men 55 lbs, Women 35 lbs)
Burpees

My time: 15:42 Rx

Two things I really don't like to see on a Monday morning - thrusters and burpees. But I DID THEM, and I actually finished the WOD faster than I thought I would. There was a 20 minute time limit and I was guessing it would take me 22. I obviously underestimate myself sometimes. ;)

We did our strength component after the WOD again. I'm not sure if this arrangement helps or hurts. I mean, I'm already warmed up, but I'm also pretty wiped out. I guess it's all the same?

Back Squats
10 @ 135
10 @ 145
10 @ 145


Planning to get in a few 2-mile runs this week after work - the weather is perfect!!

run

Started: Oct 3, 2010 1:49:05 PM
Run Time: 22:56
Stopped Time: 0:00
Distance: 2.06 miles
Average: 11:08 /mile
Fastest Pace: 9:45 /mile
Climb: 108 feet
Calories: 244
Official Route: No


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"Annie"

“Annie”
50-40-30-20 & 10 rep rounds for time of:
Double unders
Sit-ups (abmat, unanchored)

My time: 12:49 Rx - major PR!

This is the first time ever I didn't absolutely hate Annie. Double Unders are finally starting to click - Yay!! I still look ridiculous jumping around all over the place - I know I'm jumping too high and working way too hard, BUT, I'm getting better at them, and actually had several big sets today. This makes Annie less of a battle with the rope and more of a decent workout for me. Still haven't gotten used to the feel of the abmat, but it makes a huge difference in my abs.

When I got to the 20 rep round, I was smiling because I knew I was going to hit a nice PR today - what a great feeling! I think that thought alone was motivation to do even better with my double unders. The last 10 I had intentions of doing unbroken, but I missed the last one. Bummer. So I did a single and went on my way. I'm all smiles this morning. What a great way to end the week!

The strength component today was power cleans. I'm having some form issues with this lift. Sometimes I think I have it down, and sometimes it just looks like a big bad ugly mess. So, today after trying to add some weight (I only got up to 85 lbs), I dropped back down to 55 and just worked on form for a while.

TGIF!!

"Nancy"

5 rounds for time of:

400 meter run
15 overhead squats (Men 95 lbs, Women 65 lbs)

My time: 18:49 Rx, unbroken

I was a bit off my PR this morning (36 seconds), but I knew I would be. I woke up this morning feeling very sluggish. My running felt like when you're running in a nightmare and you're using every ounce of your strength, but not getting anywhere at all.

The overhead squats felt really great today (after the warmup - for some reason those felt awfully heavy!). I concentrated on making sure my form was great on every single rep during the workout. If only I could've run just a bit faster. Oh well...next time, eh?

********
Every week I like to try something new in the kitchen. I love cooking, and with trying to eat primal, I've been adventurous in trying new things.

This past weekend, I made some coconut flour, cheddar biscuits. They turned out great! They are not as big and puffy as a normal wheat flour biscuit, but I'll definitely be making them again. They are great for a breakfast sandwich. My son came over to visit a couple of days ago, and went right to the fridge to graze, as he always does. He found the cheddar biscuits and ate one, commenting how good they were "like Red Lobster's biscuits".

I had also purchased a rutabaga during my weekly grocery shopping. I've never eaten nor prepared one of these before. Yesterday evening I peeled it, cubed it up and boiled it, and then pureed it with a bit of butter and cream. It was delicious with our grilled chicken and grilled eggplant! So, it will be included in my regular selection of veggies from now on.

Next time, I think I'll throw in a couple cloves of garlic for extra flavor. The rutabaga had just a tiny hint of flavor somewhat similar to broccoli, though very understated, and was very slightly sweet. I'm thinking it would also be great in a stew, or maybe even shredded like hash browns. I'll have to experiment.

“Jack”

It's always a little sad to me that there is a new Hero workout. I always try to remind myself of their sacrifice during the workout, and how insignificant my 20 minutes of pain and suffering is in comparison.

Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:

10 Push press (Men 115 lbs, Women 75 lbs)
10 KB Swings, (Men 55 lbs, Women 35 lbs)
10 Box jumps, (Men 24″ box, Women 20″box)

My rounds: 7, as Rx'd

Strength component today was push press. I always find it difficult not to push jerk when the weight gets heavy.

5 @ 45
3 @ 55
2 @ 65
5 @ 75
5 @ 80
5 @ 85

Yay - Deadlifts!!

As many rounds as possible in 12 minutes of:

7 Deadlifts (Men 250 lbs, Women 165 lbs)
14 Push-ups
21 Double unders

My rounds: 3 + 7 DL & 8 PU

Deadlifts felt a bit heavy during the warm up but once I got to the workout they felt great. That was the only part the WOD that was unbroken for me - 4 sets of deadlifts. Seems like it's been a while since I've done any substantial deadlifts.

The warm-up today included 3 minutes of singles and 2 minutes of double-unders, with a 3 toes-to-bar pentalty for any "misses" during the singles. Well I thought that meant legitimate misses, not rest stops. Ha ha. I didn't count my rest stops, an only had one legit miss, so I just did 6 toes-to-bar. I know...I'm a total slacker.

Then we did an 800m "sprint" for the CF Levels testing. Just to be clear here, I don't sprint unless it's like maybe 50 m, maybe 100 or 200m, but 800?! Uh, no. I honestly felt like I was pushing myself to run fast, but still I was slow as death: 4:33 - yuck! I guess that's "room for improvement".

Anyway, I'm happy I got to do some decent deadlifts today. Good workout!

Chilly!

Our weather has turned - it was about 50° this morning. Not quite ready for it, but it felt okay during the running portion of the WOD.

For time:

50 Pull-ups
800 Meter run
30 Pull-ups
400 Meter run
20 Pull-ups
200 Meter run

My time: 23:55 Rx

Whew! 100 Pull ups is always a tough workout for me. I started off strong, but quickly broke down into sets of 4 or less. Had a couple of 6's in the second round, but it was pretty time consuming doing this with short sets. Still, my pull ups all felt good and I didn't get any blisters or tears - yay! And I made it in the 25 minute time limit. Double yay!

Strength component today was back squats, which I've been wanting to do! Breck switched it up a little and had us do them after the WOD. Didn't think I'd want to do them at all, but I actually enjoyed them and made some progress. Got advice on proper breathing (when to inhale, when to exhale) for the lift and it helped a lot.

Did a warm up set of 5 at 85 lbs

Work sets:
3 @ 105
3 @ 125
3 @ 145
3 @ 165
3 @ 170

All my lifts felt good and I believe I could go higher on a 3 rep...possibly 180.

“The Nurse”

A birthday WOD for Karin at CFJ

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:

43 Kettlebell swings (Men 55 lbs, Women 35 lbs)
24 Burpee box jumps (Men 24″ box, Women 20″ box)
9 Handstand push-ups

My rounds: 2 even
with the most raggedy, poor-depth modified (2 abmats) HSPU ever

Tough workout. Man! Those burpee box jumps were ridiculous!

I'm so glad it's Friday. My body is tired, and I've been weak in the workouts all week long. Going to do some running this weekend and plan my meals more carefully for next week. I ate good this week, but I think the cumulative effect of last week and several long 3 or 4 day weekends eating poorly have caught up with me. So, back on track...

During the warm up we worked on skills from the "level testing" section of our spiffy new WOD books. I've done some of these in the past and will transcribe them into my new book, as well as my PR's and named wods, etc., today.

TGIF!!

“DT”

5 rounds for time of:
12 Deadlifts (Men 155 lbs, Women 100 lbs)
9 Hang power cleans, (Men 155 lbs, Women 100 lbs)
6 Push jerks, (Men 155 lbs, Women 100 lbs)

My time: 18:10 - scaled to 85 lbs

Compare to 4/8/10: 13:07 @ 85 lbs

Well, some days are great and some days are good. Today was good. Just not great.

I started the workout with 100 lbs as prescribed. I got through 4 of the hang power cleans and decided I'd never make a 25 minute cut-off that was set for the wod. And, like Breck said, if you go over 25 minutes on this one it just becomes a strength workout - you lose the intensity. And I needed the intensity. So, I stopped and dropped weight. Cost me a little time, but not five full minutes. Holy cow!

Not sure what the deal was, but everything felt heavy today. I mean, 85 lb deadlifts should not feel heavy at all, and for sure an 85 lb jerk is not heavy. I think I'll blame it on poor nutrition last weekend. I'm still feeling the effects of that. Is that possible? Hmm...Well that's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

Tomorrow I'll be back for more! :)

"Cindy"

Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:

5 Pull-ups
10 Push-ups
15 Squats

My rounds: 10 + 5 plu

Not a PR, but a decent workout still. All my pullups felt good, and although 5 pull ups in a row isn't a big deal to a lot of people, I did all sets of 5. See, sometimes I have to break up sets of 5 into 3 and 2. Uh yeah....so, having all my pullups "unbroken" was a big deal for me. And oddly enough it was the "easy" part of the WOD for me. For some reason the push ups just eat me up lately. We did some (72) on Monday and I was sore from that already. But what I noticed today was that my hips kept dropping, which means I need to tighten my core more. So, I concentrated on trying to do that after I noticed it. Definitely need work on my push up form. I guess everything is a work in progress.

In the warm up we worked on snatches, just with the bar. Not my favorite lift, but I'm getting better at the technique/form. The few snatch balances we did were horrible and ugly and painful. I do not like those at all!

We also ran a mile in the warm up and about the half way point I got that damn cramp in my right calf again. I swear...it's always something! I think I have figured out the problem, however. When I bought new running shoes, I neglected to put my orthotic inserts into them, and they are still sitting in the old running shoes. Smart, huh? I'll slip them in there tomorrow morning and hope it makes a difference.

All in all, a good morning. It's always a good morning with CrossFit!!!

Good Morning!

For time:

Row 500m
30 Burpees
10 Shoulder-to-Overhead Presses (Men: 165 lbs, Women: 95 lbs)

My time: 7:20 Rx
This is a PR compared to 2/8/10 @ 7:31 - yay!

Strength today was clean & jerk - your choice if you want to squat clean, power clean or hang clean. 10 min to warm up/practice, then 3 lifts for a max.

warm ups:
several at 85, 95, & 105

Three lifts:
115
125 (f)
125 (f)

I got the squat clean on the first attempt at 125 but couldn't lock out on the jerk, which just kinda ticked me off - I've done 135 on a split jerk before. So, I made another attempt and couldn't get my elbows turned out and release the bar quick enough and failed on the clean. I'm trying to receive it too high, rather than getting down under it. Probably I'd be better off doing a power clean, but I want to get that squat clean technique dialed in because I know with that I can achieve heavier loads.

In spite of those failed attempts, lifting felt great this morning!

If you're gonna play...

Ya gotta pay! This workout was just as hard as I expected it to be after four days of eating totally non-primal (pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers, fries, baked potatoes, etc.,) & loads of really good local brew.

3 Rounds for time of:

200 Meter run
12 Dumbbell squat cleans (Men 45 lbs, Women 25 lbs)
24 Push-ups


My time: 15:59 Rx

Front Squats: 5 @ 55, 5 @ 65, 5 @ 75
3 x 10 @ 85

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Just so you know, I was not a total slug the entire time I was gone. I did some hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains with some friends.


Me, Allan (my husband), Barb & Randy, and Amanda before we started up the trail.

Amanda and me goofing around with a really weird tree.

Half way!

... and still smilin'. :)

Making may way to the top...well almost the top.




I stopped just short of the summit. No desire to drop off the edge of the earth. I was close enough!

Beautiful view!

Couldn't resist putting my feet in this cold mountain stream on the way down.

I sure had a great time, but it's good to be home where I can get my nutrition back in line and detox from all the great beers I had. :)