Friday, October 29, 2010

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!

Thursday, October 28, 2010

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

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

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.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

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

Monday, October 25, 2010

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!

Friday, October 22, 2010

“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!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

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!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

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!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

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. ;)



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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!

Monday, October 18, 2010

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!!

Friday, October 15, 2010

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.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

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.

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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.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

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!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

“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

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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?!?

Monday, October 11, 2010

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.

Friday, October 8, 2010

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!!

Thursday, October 7, 2010

“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!!!

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

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!

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

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, October 4, 2010

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!!

Sunday, October 3, 2010

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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Friday, October 1, 2010

"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!!