To the moon!

There was a full moon this morning.  Actually a Blue Moon - the 2nd full moon of the month.  Breck started talking about the anniversary of the first man walking on the moon.  I said, "I remember watching it on TV!", followed by "Shit, I'm old!"  Ha ha!  That first moon walk was in 1969.  Think about that and let it sink in for a minute. 1969.  Most of the people in the 5 am class today weren't even a bad dream in 1969.  I was six years old then!  I've seen a lot of pretty cool stuff happen in my life, and vividly remember watching that moon walk in black and white.  And really, I don't feel that old. 

Anyway, the warmup this morning included a min-WOD:

Attempt to get 20 wall ball shots in 30 seconds
rest 30 seconds
Attempt to get 30 wall ball shots in a minute
rest a minute
Attempt to get 40 wall ball shots in a minute and a half
rest a minute and a half
Attempt to get 50 wall ball shots in two minutes

My total reps:  78
breakdown was 14, 15, 21, 28

Then we warmed up on Hang Power Snatch, and then the WOD:

For time:
750 Meter row
21 Ring dips
500 Meter row
15 Ring dips
250 Meter row
9 Ring dips

My time:  11:12, bar dips

Immediately followed by 5 minutes of time to find your 3 rep max Hang Power Snatch. 

I did three sets:
75
80
85

TGIF!  (Oh wait...it's not really Friday, but I'm taking four days off!!)

2011 CrossFit Games Regional Workout 3

21-15-9 reps for time of:

Deadlift (Men 315 lbs, Women 205 lbs)
Box jump (Men 30″ box, Women 24″ box)

My time:  6:26, scaled to 155# and 20" box

Kept the weight & box same as 5/31/11 for comparison purposes.  My time on that date was 8:22, so I cut off almost two full minutes! Deadlifts felt pretty good and I'm getting faster with box jumps.  Still not ready to go to anything higher than 20" though. 

Warm up this morning included some dead lifts to get to the WOD weight:

15 @ 85
10 @ 135
 5 @ 155
3 @ 155

Previous to that we did "death by pull ups" 1 pull up the first min, 2 the 2nd min, and on and on until you fail.  I alternated pull ups with dips.  Here's what I did:

1 pull up
2 dips
3 pull ups
4 dips
5 pull ups
6 dips
7 pull ups
8 dips
9 pull ups
10 dips
11 pullups - failed to get 11 in the minute of time
practiced dips until everyone else failed (18 minutes)

Yay! Clean & Jerk!

As many rounds as possible in 8 minutes of:

7 Push jerks (Men 135 lbs, Women 95 lbs)
14 Toes to bar

My rounds:  3 + 5 Push Jerk, Rx  (PR by 17 reps)

(Compare to 1/31/12:  2 rds + 7 split jerk + 3 TTB)  Yay!  I was so glad I got another round this time.  Push Jerks are feeling a little better.  I'm starting to feel a little stronger on overhead stuff.  I just kind of let it go for so long, these past few months, not pushing myself.  But today these jerks felt pretty good.  I'm back to doing a split jerk on the heavier loads, because I've finally figured out that's my strongest option, however, during the WOD I just did push jerks, no splits.

Strength today was Squat Clean & Jerk.  Love squat cleans!!!

My loads:  65-75-85-95-100-105-115-115-120-125

No PR's there, but getting back on track!  9 out of 10 of those felt really solid.  Had one that was kind of shaky - at 105#.  

“Tabata Something Else”

“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 comments.

My total reps:  265

I sucked at pull ups and push ups today.  Dismal numbers.  But I was up almost all night with a stomach ache, so the mere fact that I was working out was a small miracle.  I am now taking myself off spicy foods.  One of life's great pleasures gone.  But I can't handle it anymore. Such is life.  

Five minutes rest after WOD and then with 12 minutes on the clock, run 1 mile and find your 1 rep max on snatch. 

I scaled to an 800m run.  Even at that distance my time was awful.  Around 6 minutes for half a mile?  Yikes! 

But then I amazed myself by setting a PR on the snatch at 95 lbs!  Woo hoo!  Made my day!

TGIF!

2 Rounds for time of:

10 Handstand push-ups
200 Meter run
30 Ring dips
400 Meter run

....immediately followed by 2 minutes to complete max reps of Dead Lift at 155#

My time:  12:43*
My max dead lifts in 2 min:  23

*Modified by using 2 abmats for HSPU, and doing bar dips on parallel bars.  Head touched abmat every time, dips were as deep as I could get, although not too deep at the end!  

Running hurt like hell because I have shin splints from yesterday's double-unders and haven't taken time to foam roll lately.  It helps tremendously, but you have to actually take the time to do it...not just own a foam roller.  Need to get back to that being part of my daily routine.

Strength today was dead lifts to work your way up to the weight for the 2 min max.
My warm up sets:

5 @ 85
5 @ 105
5 @ 125
5 @ 155

TGIF!!

Ouch!

Double Unders kill my shins!  Seriously they hurt so bad today I could barely jump.  Took me forever to get to 30.  

As many rounds as possible in 15 minutes of:

5 Overhead squats (Men 135 lbs, Women 95 lbs)
15 Kettlebell swings (Men 55 lbs, Women 35 lbs)
30 Double unders

My total:  4 rounds, even  - scaled OHS to 85#

The Rx weight of 95 was a bit much, but in hindsight I could've just split snatched it, which is exactly what I ended up doing with 85# anyway.  Ah well, live and learn.  The doubles are what really ate up the clock on this one.  My shins were killing me and it was hard to make myself jump.  But I got through it, and even got more rounds than I expected. 

Hump Day 5K

I had planned a rest day today.  I've not been sleeping well for a while, and thought I could use an extra hour and a half.  I was right - it helped tremendously.  But when the alarm went off, I remembered I had invited my sister to lunch today for her birthday, and she wants Mexican food.  I can't go eat like that without working out!  So, I did what any obsessive compulsive person would do, I decided I'd get my butt up out of bed and go run a 5K. 

The weather was beautiful and perfect for running.  I got on the trail about 20 minutes before official sunrise, and enjoyed the cool temp and lack of wind.  My runmeter kept calling out my splits and my pace and I was amazed at how well I was doing.  Normally I run with the speed and grace of a slug.  It wasn't my fastest 5K ever, but it was one of my best!  What a great morning!  Now I just need to see if I can make a healthy choice at a Mexican restaurant!  *ha*

5K time:  32:30

Happy Tuesday!

For time:

1000 Meter row
800 Meter run
500 Meter row
400 Meter run
250 Meter row
200 Meter run

My time:  18:00, Rx

I predicted my time exactly!  I figured about how long each element takes me and added in for transition times, and BOOM!  Eighteen minutes on the dot!!   I would have like to have surprised myself by being faster, but it didn't happen.  I was pushing myself on the last 200 meters!  It was a fun workout.  Didn't mind it at all. 

Strength today was 5 rounds of:  3 shoulder press into 3 push press into 3 push jerk, with 3 weighted pull ups in between sets.

I did:  55-60-65-70-70
used 5# for weighted pull ups

I know!!  Weak, right?  Ha ha.  Well, it is what it is!

21-15-9 Rep rounds for time of:

Power snatch (Men 95 lbs, Women 65 lbs)
Toes to bar

My time:  11:34, Rx

I really wanted to be fast on this, and I thought I could.  <==== Delusional is what they call that.  I know I've been faster on 65# power snatches before.  I know I have.  But I got so winded after the first 11, I had to drop the bar.   Anyway, it was a really good workout, even if I was kinda slow.

Strength today was 5 sets of 10 back squats, alternating with 20 push ups.  I scaled push ups to 10, and even that was tough. 

My loads:
85-105-115-115-115

Saturday

Today was a great day for a run.  I took my dog to the groomer and hit the trail.  I ran a 5k in 34:20.  Could've been faster, but I had this weird thing happen, where my foot goes numb, so I had to stop for about 20 seconds and stretch and wake it up. 

I wonder what causes that?  It's so annoying!!

TGIF

Okay, I admit...I did not want to do bear crawls today.  I did sleep in on purpose.  I know...wimpy.  But whatever.  Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.

I got up and in the minimal amount of time I had left from my luxurious extra sleep (ahhh!), I ran a mile and then did 100 air squats outside by the pool, where it was nice and cool and quiet.  Quiet, that is, except for the snap-crackle-pop of my knees.  The sound was disgusting.  It almost made me want to quit.  Why do I never hear this at the gym?  Hmm...anyway, I tried some squats later in the day to see if my knees still sounded like that, and they didn't.  So I guess it's just a morning thing. 

I have a secret.

Shhh...don't tell anyone, but I actually liked this workout!  I know, right?  I hate wall balls and double unders, but for some reason this challenged me just enough to feel good, and I had some success with my doubles today, so I really liked it!

For time:

20 Double unders
2 Wall ball shots (Men 20 lb ball, Women 14 lb ball)
18 Double unders
4 Wall ball shots
16 Double unders
6 Wall ball shots
14 Double unders
8 Wall ball shots
12 Double unders
10 Wall ball shots
10 Double unders
12 Wall ball shots
8 Double unders
14 Wall ball shots
6 Double unders
16 Wall ball shots
4 Double unders
18 Wall ball shots
2 Double unders
20 Wall ball shots


My time:  16:11, Rx

Now, this is not to say I want to do wall ball or double unders all the time, but I really felt like I pushed myself hard in this workout.  Never mind that I was dead last.  I didn't even care.  My sets of 18, 16 & 14 double unders were unbroken.  Huge for me.  And I pushed myself on the wallball more than I have in the past.  When I would get a number in my head, like I normally do, I would force myself to pass that number.  If I picked it up thinking "I'll do five", I forced myself to do 7. Not rocket science...I should be doing this more often. 

Strength today was a snatch complex:  hang power snatch, to power snatch, to squat snatch.  

My loads:  45-55-65-70-75

Oddly it is usually the power snatch I am better at, but today the squat snatch felt amazingly right. I made sure I was fast under the bar and got deep in the squat.  Now if I could just perfect that with some actual weight on the bar...

Deadlifts!

3 Rounds for time of:

400 Meter run
15 Deadlifts (Men bodyweight, Women 2/3 bodyweight)
20 Box jumps (Men 24” box, Women 20” box)

My time:  14:34, Rx

I really liked this workout.  I was slow on the run, but I think that's a given on any day.  Now that we are running through this driveway that has gravel, I'm even more cautious = slower.  The deadlifts were easy for me at 100lbs.  All of them were unbroken.  The last round of box jumps I started hustling because I realized I actually had a chance of not coming in dead last today!  And I also wanted to get in under 15 minutes.  Mission accomplished on both!

Strength today was 5 sets of 5 deadlifts, alternating with 10 dips.  Most of my sets of dips were 8 rather than 10.  Trying to get deep.

DL warm up sets: 5/3/2 @ 85-105-125
DL work sets:  145, 155, 165, 175, 185

Tuesday

3 Rounds for time of:

800 Meter run
20 Alternating one legged squats
5 Muscle ups

My time:  22:56, modified

I modified by using the pull up bar pole and a box jump to hold myself up on the pistols.  Then instead of M/U I did 3 wall climbs.  Those things kill my shoulders.  Good workout though!

Strength today 2 push press every min for 10 minutes.

Did some warm up sets and then settled on 85# for the work sets.  It really became more of a push jerk the last three sets.

It's So Complicated

As many reps as possible in 3 minutes of:

1 Pull-up
1 Push-up
2 Pull-ups
2 Push-ups
Continue adding a rep each round.
2 Minute rest

Then
As many reps as possible in 3 minutes of:
1 Thruster (Men 95 lbs, Women 65 lbs)
1 Sumo Deadlift High Pull (Men 95 lbs, Women 65 lbs)
2 Thrusters
2 Sumo Deadlift High Pulls
Continue adding a rep each round.
2 Minute rest

Then
As many reps as possible in 3 minutes of:
1 Bear crawl (30’)
1 Burpee
2 Bear crawls
2 Burpees

Continue adding a rep each round.

Push ups/pull ups = 6 rounds = 42 points
Thruster/sumos = 5 rounds = 30 points
Bear crawl/burpee = 3 rounds = 12 points

total 84 points

This hurt my brain at 4:30 am, just trying to comprehend it all before getting out of bed.  But it really wasn't so complicated after all.  And, honestly I did way better at it than I assumed I would with another of my Monday morning "just one more beer" hangovers.  Yeah.  That again.  I think I need to check in to The Betty!   *kidding*  Summer time is beer drinking time for me, and I don't let myself off the hook just for a little bitty hangover.  No rest for the weary!

Strength today was back squats, 2 reps every minute for 10 minutes. 

Warm up sets of 5-3-2 @ 85-115-145
Work sets at 145#

TGIF!

10 Push-ups
15 Box jumps (Men 24″ box, Women 20″ box)
20 Sit-ups

My rounds:  9 - PR!!

Woo hoo!!  Okay, so I think I have successfully fought through my most recent bout of "I don't think I love you anymore, CrossFit".  I honestly think it was the super, extremely hot weather we had been having. It was just wearing me down!  Anyway, some cooler mornings have brought a better attitude, and in turn, I've managed three PR's this week.  Small ones, but PR's none the less!!  I'll take it! 

Not much to say about this workout - it's just go, go go!  I know there's always room for improvement, and in this one it would have to be the box jumps, though they are getting better/easier for me! 

Strength today was Bench Press 5 sets of 5

my loads:  55-65-75-80-85

Part of the warmup was a double-unders drill.  Five minutes to see how far you can get with the following rep scheme.  Each set must be unbroken.  If you break you have to start that set again. 

10-20-30-40-50-40-30-20-10

First set...I got 3.  Ha ha.  Then 9.  Then I had to pee. 
Came back and got 10.  No problem.
On to the 20's.  I've done 20 before.  Shouldn't be an issue.  I got to 16. 
Start over.  9.
Start over.  11
Again and again and again, and never got to 20.  I got close several times but never to 20.  I did work up a good sweat though, which is what the warm-up is all about, right?

TGIF people!  Have a great weekend!

Clean & Jerk

3 Rounds for time of:

400 Meter run
10 Clean & jerk (Men 135 lbs, Women 85 lbs)

My time:  14:50, Rx - PR

Last time I did this WOD my time was 16 something.  So it felt nice to get a PR.  If my running was a bit faster, I could've done way, way better.  But I'll take it!

Strength today was squat clean & jerk every 2 min for 20 min:

my loads: 35-45-55-65-75-85-95-115-125(f)-125(f)

Frustrating!  The squat cleans at 125# are no problem for me.  But couldn't make the jerk on either attempt.  I've  jerked 135 before so I know I can do it.  It's just been a while.  I know my mistakes:  letting the bar dip down below my shoulders when I dip & drive, and not getting under the bar fast enough.  So, I just need practice, practice, practice.  And patience.  ;)

Rest.

Needed a rest day. 

Took one. 

The end.

Wod B from 2008 CF Games

5 rounds for time of:

5 Deadlifts (Men 275 lbs, Women 185 lbs)
10 Burpees (with clap overhead while airborne)

My time: 8:59, Rx - PR

This was only my second time to do this as prescribed.  Last time I actually did this one was June of 2009.  Long time ago!  I improved my time by 38 seconds this time, setting a new PR.  I haven't had a PR on anything in forever.  It helps keep me encouraged when I improve on something and lately I've needed the encouragement to keep my head in the game with CrossFit.  So, it was a great morning!

The strength today was 5 deadlifts/10 dips.  Still working on my dips, though I think they are getting a little bit better/deeper. 

My loads:  85-115-135-145-175

Again, I started to go run this morning.  But passed up the turn again and headed for CF.  I guess I'm afraid of the dark.  Ha ha!  What I'm really afraid of is getting attacked by some random person who might have decided 5 am would be a good time to rape/mug/rob/slash/mutilate someone and I'm wouldn't be fast enough to outrun them.  I guess I need to buy a tazer or something because I do need to run!

Happy Monday!

21-18-15-12-9-6 and 3 rep rounds for time of:

Med ball overhead walking lunge steps (Men 20 lb ball, Women 14 lb ball)
Wall ball shots (Men 20 lb ball, Women 14 lb ball)

My time:  15:18, Rx

My head was telling me to go run this morning instead of doing wall balls and walking lunges.  But when I got to the turn off at Aquarium Drive, I decided it was too dark.  The chicken in me decided to suck it up and go do wall ball.  I ended up not doing as horribly as I figured I would.  Still, I was probably the slowest person of the entire day but what the heck...I finished.

Strength today was Overhead Walking Lunges with a barbell, alternating with 10 pull ups.   I've never done these before so I went light, and I opted for 5 pull ups.

my loads:  35-45-50-55-60

TGIF!

3 Rounds for time of:

200 Meter run
15 Kettlebell swings (Men 70 lbs, Women 55 lbs)
10 Box jumps (Men 30” box, Women 24” box)
5 Handstand push-ups (nose to floor)

My time: 10:33, scaled

I used a 45 lb kettlebell, and a 20" box, and 2 abmats for the HSPU.  This wasn't that bad of a WOD but mentally getting past the kettlebell swings was the hardest part.  15 you can do unbroken, and perhaps I should have gone with 55 lbs, but the 45 will leave me sore, and I was able to keep my intensity level up.

The most exciting thing about the wod?  I RAN!  I haven't run since I had my little calf injury a while back, so I was hesitant.  But it felt awesome.  So awesome, I think I'm going to do some running next week instead of CF.  We shall see.

Today's strength was Squat Clean or Power Clean 5-3-2-2-2-2-2

I chose my fave:  squat cleans
my loads:  65-85-95-100-105-115-125

Almost the weekend!

I'm so ready for a day to sleep in without any obligation to go anywhere or do anything for anybody else.  I know that sounds supremely selfish.  But we all need some down time, and it's my turn!  Maybe a good, restful weekend will help me get over this "CrossFit burnout" I'm currently experiencing.  Maybe.  Really I'm not sure if I'm just burned out or if the incessant heat is getting to me.  Probably the heat. 

For time:

1000 Meter row
100 Double unders
10 Muscle ups

My time:  13:43, modified*

*Subbed 10 wall climbs for muscle ups.

So, my row time was 4:58, not stellar, but not horrible.  For me.  I know it's slow, and I was last off the rower, but I celebrate my own small victories when I can.   Then my double unders felt really pretty good today.  In the warm up today I stumbled on two, but then got twenty in a row.  Nice - for me!  In the WOD I started off rough, but then had three sets of 20, intermingled with some smaller sets.  It didn't take me forever to get to 100, thankfully.  And the wall-climbs are still not 100% legit.  I'm still afraid of something...falling?  I don't know but I know I didn't do them 100% correctly.  Anyway, I'm glad I pushed through and got it done.  I feel better now! 

Hump Day

For time:

50 Wall ball shots (Men 20 lb ball, Women 14 lb ball)
40 Kettlebell swings (Men 55 lbs, Women 35 lbs)
30 Toes toe bar
20 Back squats (Men 135 lbs, Women 95 lbs)
10 Handstand push-ups

My time:  15:43

I did the back squats from the rack on this one, rather than cleaning the bar and getting it to my back.  Also, the HSPU were to two abmats.  Aside from my miserable wall ball performance (think whiplash from the ball hitting my face at least twice) this was a pretty fun workout.  I'm not accustomed to the new, higher wall ball target yet.

Strength today was 5 sequences of the bear complex, with an optional 5 dips or something in between sets.  Obviously I didn't do the optional part.

Bear Complex – 1 set each at 55-65-75-85-95

I am reaching a point of burnout again with CrossFit.  Maybe it's the heat.  I still love CF, and the feeling I get after a good WOD, but it is taking every ounce of strength I have just to make myself get out of bed and go in the mornings.  I'm blaming the heat.  I'm also considering a week off soon.