"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

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

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. :)

“Little C”

As many rounds as possible in 17 minutes of:

50 Meter run
3 Squat clean & jerk (Men 135 lbs, Women 85 lbs)
4 Burpees

My rounds: 9 "Rx" - uh, not so fast there missy...

I was super excited that I got 9 rounds today, compared to 8 rounds in March when we first did this WOD. Yay me! I improved! Or not.

I went through the whole workout doing squat cleans, but not one jerk! Why? Oh, I don't know. Perhaps because I'm getting old and forgetful? Because we did squat cleans for our strength component today? Because I saw other people just doing squat cleans? How did I get it in my head that we were doing just squat cleans?? WTF?

I couldn't begin to tell you why I did the wrong thing, and how disappointed I am that I didn't really improve by one round. Bummer. But what are ya gonna do, eh?

I'm gonna take four days off and go have fun with some friends in Knoxville. That's what!

****EDIT**** OK, Breck clarified that he did write "squat cleans" on the white board. I don't feel quite so senile now. Whew!:-)

Strength Component today was squat cleans:

5 @ 65
3 @ 75
2 @ 85
1 @ 95
1 @ 105
1 @ 115

The Best Days...

are the days when I feel like giving up, but I don't! I love knowing I pushed myself to do something that seemed almost impossible at the start. I love that there is a part of me that refuses to take a DNF.

Today's WOD:

5 Rounds for time of:

15 Dumbbell push press (Men 45 lb dumbbells, Women 25 lb dumbbells)
50 Double unders

My time: 23:52 Rx

Fear and dread...that's what I feel when I see double unders posted in a WOD. This morning, a few new pointers from Breck seemed plausible and helpful, but somewhere between my brain and my body they got lost in translation. Well, most of it anyway. I actually managed to string together a set of 10 double unders in the third round, which I'm sure is some kind of world record. *snicker*

I had several sets of 5, and a lot of one-at-a-time double unders, but they all added up to 250! I was briefly tempted to just go to singles, or to scale down and only do 25 per round, but I am never going to get better if I just keep babying myself like that, so pushing through to the end was something I just had to do. I feel victorious today! Yay!!

How many box jumps?!

Yikes! That's a lot of box jumps.

3 Rounds for time of:

400 Meter run
50 Box Jumps (Men 24″ box, Women 20″ box)

My time: 19:00 Rx

Box jumps are not one of my favorite elements, but I did okay. I stopped for a short 'three deep breaths' at 25 jumps on each round, but other than that I kept a steady pace and managed to get in just under the 20 minute time limit that Breck set for this WOD. I had three jumps where I fell/tripped. Those are so unnerving, but I just had to suck it up and keep going or I wouldn't have made the cut off time.

Strength Component today was back squats:

5 @ 85
5 @ 105
5 @ 125
10 @ 135
10 @ 135
10 @ 135

I love back squats! And whatever was going on with my back a few weeks ago, it's feeling much better now. I'm concentrating on maintaining good form/posture when racking the weights and not having any pain. So...yay!

****
I'm scoping out CF affiliates in Knoxville, TN today. I'll be in Knoxville at the end of the week visiting a friend and would like to drop in for a WOD. I'm hoping to get my friend to try it as well. We shall see.

“Nasty Girls”

3 rounds for time of:

50 Squats
7 Muscle-ups
10 Hang power cleans (Men 135 lbs, Women 95 lbs)

My time: 18:43 - modified
(scaled to 75 lbs for cleans, subbed 14/14 dips/pull ups for muscle ups)

This was my first time ever with this WOD. Really wanted to do the Rx weight, but during the warmup as we were building up toward the weight for the WOD, I was having issues with 5 reps at 85 lbs, so I decided to scale down. I needed to end the week on a positive note, and struggling with a bar and getting frustrated with bad form because of a too-heavy load would not have been a positive note. So, even though I scaled, I still got a good workout, and I'm happy with my efforts for the week.

TGIF!!

“The Bear Complex”

7 Sets of the sequence:
Power clean
Front squat
Push press
Back Squat
Push press

5 Rounds
Rest as needed between rounds.

My rounds/loads:
1 - 55 lbs
2 - 65 lbs
3 - 75 lbs
4 - 85 lbs
5 - 95 lbs - failed after the 4th set

I was so wanting a new PR on this WOD today but it just wasn't in the cards. This is one of my most absolutely favorite workouts in all of CrossFit. I was telling B this morning, I recall the very first time we ever did The Bear, I thought the coaches were insane and I was just in disbelief of all that was required of me - obviously I was still pretty new to CF back then. Now I wouldn't be shocked at just about anything.

So, I'm three sets shy of that damn 95 lb PR. And I'll get it next time - no maybes. I will do it!

However, I think I more than redeemed myself this morning with an amazing feat of strength. I opened a brand new jar of Almond Butter and stared in fear at the chore ahead of me. See, almond butter has a nasty habit of separating, and stirring the oil back into the almond paste is no easy task. Anyone who has ever done this knows what I'm talking about. It's like stirring water into clay. You have to start out very slowly so as not to spill the oil, and then get more aggressive as you go along. So after about 4 full minutes of patiently, diligently stirring, with my arm about to fall off, I was rewarded with some nice creamy, yummy, healthy, delicious almond butter!

I think I'll call that Wod #2 today. ;)

Lots of Work!

When I pulled up the WOD on my phone this morning, I hoped it was just a nightmare. That many burpees is never a good sign for me. But...I went and got them done! It just took me a while...

WOD:

10, 25 & 40 rep rounds for time of:
Burpees
Pull-ups

My time: 22:06

This morning's warm-up was a workout in itself, but I really didn't mind it. I need to run. I need to run more often, and I need to run faster. I wasn't fast today, but I did feel good while I was running, and enjoyed the morning air. I guess that's the one good thing about the seasons changing - the weather will be nice after work so I can get out and do some extra running.

warm up:
run 1 mile - my time: 10:23
row 2K - my time: 9:59

****

I've been trying to find more CF women in my age group for reference on where I might rank on my WOD times, loads, etc. I know it's not all about comparing myself to others, and I have my own set of personal goals, but I think it's the nature of CrossFitters everywhere to want to see where we rank - it's just part of the competitive spirit we all share. At CFJ, to my knowledge, there are not a lot of females in my age group. At least none that are posting times/loads on a regular basis. So, I'm on a quest to find other women my age who either blog about their CF experiences or post to a website regularly. If you know of someone, please point me in their direction. Thanks!

Front Squats

21-15 & 9 rep rounds for time of:

Front Squat (Men 135 lbs, Women 85 lbs)
Toes to bar

My time: 11:15 Rx

This was a fun workout. I haven't done much with front squats before, don't recall having them in a workout very often either. I was surprised by how winded I got on the toes to bar, but I kept moving as much as possible, and made sure all my squats were deep, and my toes touched the bar on every rep. All in all I felt good about my time.

Strength Component today was front squats. Again, I haven't had much experience with them, so I didn't have a great idea of where to start. In hindsight, I could have probably gone to 115 or 120 today. But, here's what I did:

5 @ 65
3 @ 85
2 @ 95
3 x 5 @ 105

I'll look forward to doing these again to see if I can increase.

What a Great Morning!

I took the day off work today and slept until almost 9 am. What a great way to start the day! We have had a change in our weather and it's a lot cooler than I prefer, but I'm not complaining - there's plenty of sunshine, and I'll get plenty of pool time in the next 4 days.

After sleeping in, I went to the 9:30 am class. The few times I've done this, I've always enjoyed it. It is always nice to put faces with names and the best part is seeing all those cute little kids in the daycare. You CF Jenks couples sure do make pretty babies!!

WOD:

For time:

Run 800 meters
20 One arm dumbbell power snatches, alternating arms (Men 45 lb dumbbells, Women 25 lb dumbbells)
20 Dumbbell squat cleans (Men 45 lb dumbbells, Women 25 lb dumbbells)
100 Sit-ups
20 Dumbbell squat cleans (Men 45 lb dumbbells, Women 25 lb dumbbells)
20 One arm dumbbell power snatches, alternating arms (Men 45 lb dumbbells, Women 25 lb dumbbells)
Run 800 meters

My time: 30:12, as Rx'd

I really liked this workout, despite being abysmally slow. Some days I'm just slow, and that's the way it is. I know I'm strong, I can do whatever comes along weight wise, but it's going to take me a while and I'm ok with that. I can get faster, and I know I'm faster than I was a few years ago, so I'm not just resigned to being slow forever. Just acknowledging my weakness. ;)

Strength Component today was Dumbbell Snatch
1 ea arm @ 25, 30, 35, 40, 45

(not sure if this is a PR or not...I know we've done them before but I'm too lazy to go look it up right now)

Bombs Away!

♫ Well I guess I'm back in love again, hey now, and around we go. ♫
~ Bombs Away by The Grateful Dead

So, yeah. I am back in love with CrossFit...again. I go through these peaks and valleys where I get disgusted with myself, thinking I'm too slow or waiting impatiently for an injury to heal, and then suddenly a week of WOD's come along that I just love, and it gets me excited about CF all over again, and I just love, love, love the feeling I get when I am finished with a WOD or a set of lifts. I know. I'm a geek. But I love Crossfit. You know you do too!!! ☺

WOD

21-18-15-12-9-6 and 3 rep rounds of:
Sumo deadlift high-pull (Men 75 lbs, Women 55 lbs)
Push jerk (Men 75 lbs, Women 55 lbs)

My time: 11:13, Rx

SDHP's felt good. I was slow on them for some reason. I usually just tear right through them, but I guess I was mentally trying to pace myself. And I was trying to be ultra-conscious of not bending my arms early. I gave 100% effort and I'm proud of my time!

*******

Strength Component today was Split Jerk - one of my faves, and I managed to hit a new PR. Yay!!

1 ea @
85
95
105
115
125
130
135 (PR!)
140 (failed attempt)

Variety.

Guess this goes along with the "constantly varied" theme today.

With a 20 minute time limit:

1 Strict pull-up (No kipping)
1 Push-up (Hands come off the floor at the bottom of the push-up)
1 Military ab mat sit-up (Hands interlaced behind the head with feet unanchored)

Add one rep to each exercise after each round completed.

My rounds: 11 + 5 pull ups
only 3 rounds strict pull ups, kipping for remainder

This was a bit tougher than it sounded, and oddly enough it was the sit-ups that seemed to slow me down. Not sure why. Anyway, my pullups felt pretty good today. Although it's obvious that I need to improve on strict pull ups.

Today in the warm up we worked on:

Rope climbs - I need to try and get enthused about this one. I'm just not, for some reason.

Muscle ups (progressions) - I just worked on ring dips, which is an important prerequisite. I'm getting a little bit better at ring dips, but far from full range of motion.

Hand Stand Push Ups - I'm getting really a lot deeper on these and feeling stronger. I need to commit some time at home to working on these if I want to get one by the end of the year!