2010 Northwest Regional Event 1

3 Rounds for time of:

10 Overhead squats (Men 135 lbs, Women 95 lbs)
50 Double-unders

My time: 10:37 - scaled to 75 lbs

Not a bad workout considering my double-unders are a mess. In practice I got 18 in a minute so I figured I could get this done in right around 10 minutes and I did!! I contemplated going with the 95 lbs as prescribed, but I wasn't stable at that weight. I wanted my form to be good so I scaled to 75. I love OHS and seems like forever since we've really done very many of them. I enjoyed this workout for the most part...all except my shins killing me after the d/u's.


Wendler Bench Press

5-5-3 @ 35-55-65
3-3-4 @ 75-85-95

Skillz

Today was more of a skill day than anything, but I ended up having a really good time and a really good workout!

For max reps:

4 Minutes of 15’ rope ascents
4 Minute rest
4 Minutes of Muscle ups
4 Minute rest
4 Minutes of Handstand push-ups

Choose the order of the skills.

Post reps for each skill and total reps overall to responses.

So here's what I did:

Rope: stand/recline ascent/descent – 9
HSPU: head to 2 abmats – 30
M/U: subbed dips w/ band – 16 & pull ups – 17

For some reason the WOD wouldn't pull up on my phone this morning. Had I been able to see it, I would have worn long pants and tried to do some actual rope climbs. But I'm not interested in scraping up my legs so I did the standing/reclining thing...straight, rigid body, stiff legs. It's a tough sub for climbs.

Prior to the WOD we had time to work on whatever skill or lift we wanted. I chose Squat Cleans.

I did three reps every 2 minutes at the following weights: 55-60-65-70-75-80-85

Most of the lifts I felt pretty good on form. A few I noticed I wasn't keeping the bar in close enough.


****

voluntary 800m run after WOD – 4:30

“Mrs. Hudson”

“Mrs. Hudson”

3 Rounds for time of:
10 Squat clean and jerk (Men 95 lbs, Women 65 lbs)
25 Kettlebell swings (Men 55 lbs, Women 35 lbs)
36 Box jumps (Men 24” box, Women 20” box)

My time: 18:20, Rx weights, stepped box jumps

I went with stepping the box jumps today in the interest of completing the WOD on time. I am so hesitant with jumping that my time suffers badly and I end up not keeping the intensity level high. I don't always sub steps for jumps, but sometimes it's what I have to do to get through the workout.|

Went light on deadlifts today too.

Gosh...I just sound like a wimp today. Ha ha! I need to find my inner bad-ass again!! Let's see what tomorrow brings.

Burpees on a Monday?

For time:

1 Mile run
20 Burpees
800 Meter run
30 Burpees
400 Meter run
50 Burpees

My time: 32:47 Rx

On a positive note, I loved running this morning. That's not to say I was fast or anything. But, my breathing was great, I didn't get any calf cramps. (Think I'm finally getting accustomed to these barefoot running shoes). No hip pain, no ankle pain, etc. So, running was actually a pleasant part of the morning.

Burpees on the other hand were undoubtedly invented by Satan himself. And 100 of them? Really? 100 burpees on a Monday morning? Yeah, definitely some evil stuff going on here.

Burpees take me forever, even when I feel like I'm really "powering through" them. OK, anyone that goes to CFJ and just read that "powering through" part is probably cracking up right now. We all know I don't power through burpees. I struggle through each and every one of them. I am the bad example for now not to do proper burpees. When Breck does that demo of how not to do burpees, I'm pretty sure he's referring to me and my pathetic excuse for burpees.

I always have good intentions. I start out doing them exactly right and by about 80 or so I'm dragging myself up from the floor, no where near a squat position, and my feet do leave the floor on the jump, but probably just about enough to slide a very thin sheet of paper under them.

Yeah. Burpees are evil. Perfect for a Monday.

Lack of Sleep

...will screw up your mind!

OK, I was so pumped after doing this morning's WOD!! I had a pretty decent time on it...did the Rx weight and really enjoyed it. Squat cleans felt great today. I was thinking "wow, what a positive note to end the week"! And then, I RE-read the WOD as I was copying it to my blog and noticed a ridiculous error I had made.

Here's what's posted:

5 Rounds for time of:
7 Squat cleans (Men 155 lbs, Women 105 lbs) <----See that? SEVEN
14 Kettlebell swings (Men 55 lbs, Women 35 lbs)

Here's what I did:
5 Rounds for time of:
5 Squat cleans (Men 155 lbs, Women 105 lbs) <------See that? FIVE! I did FIVE reps :(
14 Kettlebell swings (Men 55 lbs, Women 35 lbs)

I feel like a total idiot now. What a huge let-down. (Although, I will get over it in a few minutes and move on with my day.) I'm disappointed that I was too tired to pay attention to a small detail, even after (I'm certain) Breck said out loud the number of reps we were to do, and my little pea-brain for some reason had locked down on the number 5 and that was that.

Ah well, I'll do this one again sometime. And I'll do it RIGHT. ;-)

****
Wendler Back Squats
5-5-3 @ 85-105-115
5-5-5 @ 120-135-155

TGIF!!!

First Frost!

Our overnight low was somewhere around 30°, so a very chilly morning going to the gym. It was decently warm inside though. So...that leaves me wondering where everyone was this morning!! There were three of us that showed up for this fun little WOD.

5 Rounds for time of:

40 Double unders
30 Sit-ups (anchored with fingers interlaced behind the head)
20 Med ball cleans (Men 20 lb ball, Women 14 lb ball)
10 Handstand push-ups

My time: 29:40, mod hspu w/2 abmats

Breck set a 30 minute time limit on this one, so I had to really push myself to get through in time. The double unders ate up the bulk of my time, and the sit-ups were tough again because of this new standard. But I will say I like it and I'm getting better at it. I actually feel like it's more work, and that's a good thing. Did pretty decent on the HSPU and think I seriously just need to suck it up and go to one abmat.

bench press:
5-5-2 @ 40-55-60
5-5-7 @ 65-75-85

Yikes!

Imagine you are warm and cozy in a nice plush king size bed with the person you love most, on a chilly 42° fall morning, and you roll over to see this as the posted WOD:

For time:
1000 Meter row
then
5 rounds of:
25 Pull-ups
7 Push jerk (Men 135 lbs, Women 95 lbs)

Would you find difficulty in convincing yourself to get out of bed? Well I did. I calculated about how long this workout would take me. Probably 35 minutes, minimum. I'm being honest. So, I thought to myself, "ah...it's cold out...I'm tired...I'll take the day off".

And then, like an alcoholic craving that next drink, I convinced myself I needed to get up and attempt the WOD, that I would regret the lost opportunity later in the day. "You can always scale", I told myself. And so, I made my way to CrossFit once again to get my daily dose of pushing myself to the limit.

This was one of the 2007 Games WOD's. Breck said it took him about 18 minutes at the games, but his strategy was all wrong and should have been much faster. I told him I planned to scale it and he actually set some "Masters" scaling plans out for us. Nice! Thanks, Breck!

So it became a 20 minute AMRAP

With 20 minutes on the clock:
Row 1000 m
then
as many reps/rounds as possible in the remainder of the 20 minutes of:

20 pull ups
7 Push Jerks - 135# male, 95# female (this scaling is for 45-49)

My reps/rounds: 3 rounds + 13 pull ups = 94 reps

Deadlifts

Trying not to get an attitude about deadlifts. I'm still a little mystified as to why I couldn't hit 240 last week. I should be well on my way to 275 by now. In my mind. Anyway...today we started a new cycle of Wendler and I went with 235 as my training weight, which is my one rep max still.

Warm up sets:
5 @ 95
5 @ 125
5 @ 140

Work sets:
5 @ 155
5 @ 175
5 @ 200

Then we got to do some more deadlifts in the WOD. I didn't mind, really. I was able to do them unbroken at this weight. It's the box jumps that sucked the life out of me and killed my time. Ha ha. Still, I have to say this was an enjoyable workout.

3 Rounds for time of:

400 Meter run
15 Deadlifts (Men bodyweight, Women 3/4 bodyweight)
30 Box Jumps (Men 24” box, Women 20” box)

My time: 18:39, Rx (115 lbs)

Good Morning!

5 Rounds for max reps of:

1 Minute of dumbbell hang squat cleans (Men 45# dumbbells, Women 30# dumbbells)
1 Minute of burpees
1 Minute rest

My total reps: 90

11 hang squat cleans and 7 burpees each round

TOUGH workout! But fun. I always enjoy dumbbells. I started losing my grip about 40 seconds into each round. And of course, the burpees are always a time killer for me. Some people were getting 16+ burpees in. Amazing!!

Started a new cycle of Wendler this morning. I went to Push Press instead of Shoulder Press.
Set my 1 rep max at 115 which I don't know if that was accurate or not, but oh well.

Warm up sets:
5 @ 40
5 @ 55
3 @ 65

Work sets:
5 @ 70
5 @ 80
5 @ 90

90 was a struggle, but I managed. ;)

****

Took measurements and forced myself to get on the scale this morning. I've been feeling chubby and been really down on myself about it. But too scared to gut up and find out the ugly truth. Well, the truth wasn't nearly as ugly as I had imagined.

All the summer beer drinking did catch up with me though, and I need to drop about 5 lbs and a couple inches. I have 72 days until I'll be laying on the beach in the Virgin Islands, and I'm going to be ready!!

Slow, but fun!

For time:

400 Meter run
50 Sit-ups (Fingers interlaced behind the head with feet anchored)
30 Kettlebell swings (Men 55 lbs, Women 35 lbs)
15 Deadlifts (Men 225 lbs, Women 155 lbs)
800 Meter run
15 Deadlifts
30 Kettlebell swings
50 Sit-ups
400 Meter run

I woke up and looked at the posted WOD on my phone and I was so excited about doing this one. I love kettlebells, deadlifts and sit-ups, and lately I have enjoyed running. What's not to love about this WOD?

I should have been able to do this entire thing unbroken. However, it was so broken up it was ridiculous. WTF? Really I just felt weak today, much to my own surprise. A 155 lb deadlift is not heavy and I was breaking those up! Yeah...weak.

One other thing that made it more difficult was the sit-up standard for today. Fingers interlocked behind the head, elbows out at the top, not reaching them in to touch the knees was the rule. This sounds like no big deal, but I promise, it makes a huge difference! I can usually fly through sit-ups and strategically in a WOD like this, they are my saving grace. Not so today!!

Ah well, the bottom line is I got a nice workout and I did it as prescribed, so no complaints. But I'd love another shot at this one some day.

I did manage to set a small PR on Bench Press today!! Yay! My new one-rep max is now 105 lbs!!

"Camille"

As many rounds as possible in 8 minutes of:

3 Snatch complexes (Men 125 lbs, Women 85 lbs)
3 Wall climbs

Snatch Complex: Power Snatch, Hang Power Snatch, Hang Squat Snatch. Once each complex starts, athlete must finish the hang squat snatch. If any segment of the complex is failed, the athlete starts that rep over again from the power snatch. Squat snatch can be caught high and ridden down to depth, as long as it’s not distinctly a power snatch into an OHS.
Wall Climb: Starts in pushup position, ends with full locked out arms and legs, with sternum making contact with wall. Can not go crawl back to all fours, then kick legs up onto wall. Descend any way you like, as long as you start each rep in that pushup position.

My rounds: 3 + 1 snatch complex - used 55 lbs and my wall climbs were not legit

Aside from the wall climbs, I loved this workout. I guess I should say I loved the snatch complex. And in hindsight (as usual) I could've gone heavier. I would love to see this complex paired with another skill in maybe a 15 or 20 minute AMRAP. Maybe 3 snatch complexes and a 400 m run, or something like that.

Ran an 800 m after the WOD: 4:33

“Cindy”

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

5 Pull-ups
10 Push-ups
15 Squats

My rounds: 10 + 9 push ups

Cindy is always a good workout. I was a few rounds off my PR today, but I still got a great workout. The push-ups killed today for some reason. Pull ups felt good, even though I was jumping up to the bar (which I dislike).

Deadlifts were a huge disappointment for me today. I had high hopes of setting a new PR, but I really don't think the rep scheme had me warmed up enough. My mind was right, I was focused, my form felt awesome, and I got the bar off the ground three times with 240 lbs, but could not finish the lift past knee level. I was pissed about it for over an hour, but I can't dwell on it. I'll get it next time!!!! There has to be something I was doing at the point of failure that I can correct.

Good Monday!

As many rounds as possible in 15 minutes of:

5 Thrusters (Men 95 lbs, Women 65 lbs)
7 Hang power cleans
10 Sumo Deadlift High Pulls

My rounds: 5 + 4 SDHP, as Rx'd

I liked this WOD, but I have really lost the ability to do SDHP in rapid succession. I got so winded on them. They used to be one of my favorites. Still enjoy them but I really had to split them up this morning.

Today's warm up included a "tabata mashup" of pull ups, sit ups, push ups and squats. Here are my numbers from that:

pull ups: 7-6-6-6
sit ups: 10-10-10-10
push ups: 7-7-7-7
squats: 11-10-10-10

And, after 6 cycles of Wendler, we got to go for a new one rep max on Shoulder Press. My original 1 rep max at the beginning was 80. Today I set a new PR of 90 lbs!

I have to say, I am continually amazed at some of the athletes at our box. Anthony is just crazy fit...crazy!! He had a one rep max shoulder press of 225 lbs and from where I was standing, he made it look easy. Then there's Christina. I kept up with her for 5 reps and then she was finishing round 2 before I finished round one. Incredible! There are so many more people that are amazingly strong and fast...really encourages me to try harder seeing them doing so well.

TGIF!

“Karen”

For time:
150 Wallball shots (Men 20 lb ball, Women 14 lb ball)

My time: a pathetic 14:29, as Rx'd

What a busy morning! We started with the regular warm up, then went into Tabata Double-Unders which really for me was more of a fight with the rope than anything. My lowest round was 5 double unders, so that was my score. I had one round of 12. It was a fun change to the warm up.

Then we did the "CFJ Mile" as people are calling it. I like that name.

400m 1:55
200m 0:52
400m 1:52
200m 0:50
400m 1:50

total time with 1 min rest breaks: 11:19

Running felt awesome this morning. I really should've taken a day off CrossFit and just run a 5k. Anyway, I really thought I had hit a PR on this running WOD this morning, but looking back on my notes, I was TWO seconds off my PR of 11:17.

Wendler Back Squats - just really goofed around. I did 3 sets of 5 @ 85. It's Friday, I'm tired, and I still had Karen to look forward to!! And you can see how that turned out. Ha! Not my best effort on Karen. But I had a good week at CFJ and I have lots of sore muscles to show for it.

I'm looking forward to a couple of rest days. Might throw in a run on Sunday if the weather is nice.


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

I took the day off work to "rest" and ended up with a list of errands that will probably take me all day:

-Take the dog to the groomer
-Pick the dog up
-Go to the AT&T store and continue the saga of the iphone (long story short, I lost my phone at the fair, bought the iphone 4, then they come out with the 4s which can be pre-oredered today)
-Pick up some packages from my office
-Go to the mall to pick up something I ordered
-Drug store for miscellaneous items
-Pet store for supplies
-Shoe shopping - yay!
-Take a nap. (Somehow I doubt this will happen!)
-Get ready for Date Night with the hubster. :)

So, maybe my next "day off" will really be a day off!

~TGIF!~

Thursday

21-15-9 rep rounds for time of:

Box jumps (Men 24” box, Women 20” box)
Dumbbell ground to overhead (Men 45 lb dumbbells, Women 30 lb dumbbells)
Toes to bar

My time: 15:32, scaled to 25 lb DB's

I really thought I'd be faster on this one. I actually jumped down from the majority of the box jumps rather than stepping down like I normally do. I'm trying to improve on this. It was the toes to bar that got me today. I don't know why. I'm usually pretty decent at these. Oh well, it was a good workout, right?

In hindsight I could've done the 30 lb DB's because I was doing snatches with these 25's and not having a lot of trouble. I rested too much on the set of 21 though.

Looking forward to Friday!!

“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 loads: 55, 65, 75, 85, 95 (failed on 95)

I am a little ticked at myself for not making it through 95 lbs this time, but it was a simple mistake. I came back up from the back squat on the 2nd set and tried to go right into a thruster instead of resting and then push pressing, and I failed to lock out...had the bar too far back and then I lost it and I foolishly tried to let it go to my back again to rest, but it rolled right down my back. I went forward trying to get out of the way, so no damage from the bar - just my ego.

But, as with every day in CrossFit, tomorrow is another day, and I'm looking forward to whatever challenge comes up!

Whew!

For time:
Row 500 meters
150 Double-unders
50 Burpees

My time: 19:30*, Rx

I called time, Breck didn't hear me. Samantha gave me this time after I called the 2nd time. So I'm thinking I might have been 19:28 in reality, which would have been a PR by 2 seconds. But I'll go with this for now.

Double unders just ate me up today . Couldn't get a rhythm going and then when I did I was out of breath. Still it was a good cardio workout. I'll take it.

Deadlifts were nice today. Wendler...of course...

5-5-3 @ 105-125-150
5-3 @ 150-175
5 @ 225 (yay!)

We are going to find new one rep max next week. Looking forward to that!!

The warm-up today included a "tabata mashup". It was overhead squats and double unders. My total doubles were 35 and my total overheads were 28. Fun.

“Nicole”

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

Run 400 meters
Max rep Pull-ups

My rounds/reps: 5 rounds, 54 pull-ups

Just 2 reps shy of my PR. Not a bad start to the week. I'm having a cramping problem in my right calf though and it's annoying. I need a long, slow run/jog to work it out. I'm going to get one or two runs in this week after work. Time to slim down for the beach...86 days away!!

Wendler Shoulder Press
5-5-3 @ 35-40-45
5-3-1 @ 55-65-75 - got 4 reps at 75