Friday, June 27, 2014

TGIF!

What a crazy week this has been.  I've been scrambling to get everything in place for a new company before today, so I can go on vacation.  The last pieces of all this are falling into place today.  It's like I've been running a marathon at work.  I'm ready to relax on the beach. 

On top of the work stress, somehow I have managed to pinch a nerve in my neck and it is excruciating when I move the wrong way.  It hurt just to pick up a barbell today.  We did some back squats with the bar and I decided it wasn't worth the pain.  So I did a leisurely row while everyone else back squatted.

Instead of the posted WOD I did:

Karen

150 wall ball shots for time

My time:  10:22 - scaled

Yes, I even scaled this!  I used an 8 lb ball and my time still sucked.  The humidity this morning made me feel like I was really working hard, though.  Ha ha!

And with that, I'm off to work, and then off to Jamaica tomorrow to enjoy the sand and the sun and the sea.  Ahh....

TGIF!

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Hump Day!

Seriously wanted to sleep in today.  I'm tired.  But, I'm on the home stretch headed for vacation, so I made myself get up and work out this morning.

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:

10 Toes to bar
10 Box jumps (Men 24” box, Women 20” box)
10 Hang squat snatch (Men 75#, Women 55#)(bar must go below the knee on each rep)

My rounds:  5 + 4 box steps (164 reps)
I stepped the box instead of jumping but all else was Rx.


The complicating factor (there is always one, it seems) in this WOD was the "bar must go below the knee on each rep". Holy cow, what a game changer!  Hang snatches are a piece of cake compared to having to drop below the knee each time.  I was exhausted after the first round!  I split everything up a with lots of rest breaks, and thought somewhere in round 3 I might actually puke.  But I didn't.  :)

Strength today was Squat Snatch - 10 singles

My loads:  40-45-50-55-65-70-75-80-85-90

Monday, June 23, 2014

Pool Party

Pix from the CFJ Pool Party this past weekend.  If you see one you like, you should be able to click on the slide show and go to Picasa and download the pic:

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Not a rest day.

Yeah.  I wanted to sleep in until 6 this morning and do a rowing WOD at home.  But guess what?  I woke up at 3:45 am, and could not for the life of me get back to sleep.  This annoyed me to no end, and I decided I might as well go work out anyway, so off to CFJ.

Once I got there, I actually had a good time.  At one point, I even laughed so hard that I snorted.  Hopefully no one heard me over the fans and music.  Ha!  Anyway, I had a good laugh.

So the warm-up was dumbbells, which I don't mind, but those one arm overhead dumbbell squats are a killer, even with 5 lbs.

Strength today was squat clean & jerk, 1 every 90 sec:

My loads:  65-70-75-80-85-95-105-110-120-130 - PR!

Yes, I actually got a 5 lb pr on this lift today.  I wasn't sure at the time, but looking at my "records" my last recorded clean & jerk PR was 125.   I was a little hesitant in calling it a PR for a couple reasons, though.  First of all, I have squat cleaned 145#, but I didn't jerk it.  Then, I have jerked 140#, but only from a rack, and no clean.  Anyway, after asking a couple of other people, I decide that for the actual combination of a clean & jerk, yes, this is a PR.

I'll take it!  See what I would've missed by sleeping in!?

WOD:
As many reps as possible in 12 minutes of:
1 Dumbbell burpee complex (Push-up, Squat Clean & Thruster)
1 Muscle up
2 Dumbbell burpee complex
2 Muscle ups
3 Dumbbell burpee complex
3 Muscle ups
Continue as long as you can adding a rep each round.
Post total reps and dumbbell load to responses.
Substitute burpee pull-ups for muscle ups.

My total reps:  39, w/ 20# DB's and burpee pull ups

What can I say?  Burpee Hell.  Glad that 12 minutes is over with!

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Kettlebell Annie

Annie was posted today as the WOD, but I'm trying to let my leg heal up and not doing any jumping right now.  So I subbed in KBS for the double unders.  Couple more weeks I'm hoping this thing is well again! 

Kettlebell Annie

50-40-30-20-10
Kettlebell Swings - 35#
Sit ups

My time:  14:50

Whew!  I was slooowwww on this today.  No excuses, just slow.  :)

Strength was 5 deadlifts every even minute, 5 hspu every odd minute for 10 minutes
I chose 185# for my deadlifts. 

Monday, June 16, 2014

Tough Monday!

Let's start with I'm exhausted from laying sod and shoveling dirt ALL DAY Saturday.  Seriously Exhausted, even after a half day of rest.  The weight for the workout didn't seem that daunting at first glance, but that's a whole lot of thrusters, let me tell ya!!

For time:

20 Power snatch (Men 95#, Women 65#)
40 Thrusters
60 Hang power cleans

My time:  12:49, Rx

I did the snatches in two sets of 10.  My intent with the thrusters was to start with a set of 10, but I ended up doing 8 sets of 5.  It was the only way I could mentally get through it without breaking down.  Every time I picked up the bar I thought, "okay, I'll do 8 this time" and every single time I did 5.  Ha ha!!  I did the cleans in sets of 10 and  tried not to rest too much between.  Didn't mind the cleans at all, just got super winded.  All in all, a nice start to the week with just barbell work.  But it was tough!

Strength was the complex of 2 power snatch-4 thrusters-6 hang power cleans - without putting the bar down.

My loads:  45-55-65-70-75

Friday, June 13, 2014

TGIF!

Okay, I'm going to catch up today.  I have been SO swamped since getting back from vacation, I have had zero free time to speak of.

Today's workout was a doozie!  I told myself I'd scale it to 15 burpees per round, but when I got to 15 on the first round, I felt guilty for being a slacker so I convinced myself to do 21 reps and just scale to 3 rounds.  And, of course, when round 3 started coming to an end, I figured, what the heck, why not just finish the whole damn thing?!  So I did!  105 burpees in all.  Ugh.  But I did it.  And now I'll feel justified in having a couple of beers this weekend.

5 Rounds for time of:

Overhead walking lunges, 50 feet (Men 45# barbell, Women 35# barbell)
21 Burpees
Let trailing knee gently kiss the ground on each lunge.

My time:  21:42, Rx

Thanks to Jeremy and Jennifer for sticking around to push me through those last 7 burpees. Holy cow.  Oh, and this "knee gently kiss" the ground stuff...that only happens in the first round.  Gentle goes out the window pretty quickly.  I put my knee down on those teeny-tiny pebbles several times.  Not so gentle.

Our strength was bench press.  50 reps was the goal, but I only got 40.  So be it.  Bench Press and I are not all that in love.

We also started off the morning with the Jenks Mile.  My stress fractured leg didn't like this very much, but I haven't actually "confirmed" that it's a stress fracture, so I keep running.  I guess when there's bone poking out, I'll deal with it.

Jenks Mile
400 – 2:05
200 – 1:02
400 – 2:08
200 – 1:00
400 – 2:11
Total time: 12:26

TGIF y'all!

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

New PR!

I think I need to go away and drink and eat too much more often.  I managed to get a 10 lb PR on Hang Squat Clean this morning!  And my nutrition has been crap.  Hmm...

Strength:  Hang Squat Clean
Rep Scheme:  5-3-2-2-1-1-1\
My Loads:  65-785-85-100-115-130 (PR) -135 (PR)

My old PR was 125, but I didn't know that while I was lifting.  I was guessing somewhere around that, but was unsure.  Anyway, felt great to start the day off with a PR.

WOD:

As many rounds as possible in 15 minutes of:
10 Hang power clean (Men 115#, Women 75#)
20 Push-ups
30 Double unders

My score:  4 rds + 2 hang cleans, Rx

The push ups killed my time on this one.  And my double unders were going great until I saw Breck with his camera pointed at me.  For some reason that made me all nervous and I kept screwing up.  The next round, after he moved on, my double unders were just fine again.  Go figure!  

Monday, June 9, 2014

Back from the Bahamas

Spent a few days with the family down in the Bahamas.  We had a great time; ate too much, drank too much, and spent a day at Atlantis enjoying all the water slides.  I skipped the workout today because I was super tired.  Just got in a 20 minute row before work. 

Anyway, just a few pics from the trip.  I'll have a slideshow up over on my other blog soon.

Me and my son, Austin
Allan and me at the hotel
Atlantis Marina

Allan's girls and grandkids.








Spencer and me on shopping day.

Jessica and Austin

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Dumbbell Hell

Every minute on the minute for 20 minutes:

5 Dumbbell deadlifts
5 Dumbbell hang power cleans
5 Dumbbell thrusters
The rx’d dumbbell weight is 45% bodyweight for men and 30% bodyweight for women (that is
both dumbbells combined).

Post dumbbell weight used, total minutes completed and total rounds completed thereafter.


My weights - 20's, finished all 20 rounds!


Oh, the love/hate relationship with this one continues.  I love dumbbell workouts in general.  This one forces you to step back and do a gut check. Rather than be creative and come up with a whole new blog, I'm going to reprise my blog from last time this one came around.  And without further ado....


Rounds 1-5:  I feel like a total bad ass, raring to go, finishing the rounds in about 21-25 seconds. I love this. 

Rounds 6-10: Reality sets in that I'm in for a long, grueling workout, but I'm still somehow finishing about 25 seconds in.  Starting to gasp for air like the fat kid on the playground and wishing for a longer recovery period.  Thrusters are starting to burn like Hell, but otherwise feeling pretty good.

Rounds 10-12: The mental battle begins.  Really,  I want to quit.  I want to puke.  I don't need CrossFit!  This is insane!  I am going to lay these dumbbells down and just leave!  Or puke.  Or maybe just lay down on this nice rubber mat for a few minutes, because no way can I walk out of here on so little oxygen.

Rounds 13-15:  Somehow I'm still finishing in under 30 seconds.  But I'm wheezing like an asthmatic kid sneaking a cigar.  I'm going to pass out.  I'm not sure how everyone else is still standing - are they even human? Some of these people don't even look like they're sweating!  They're walking around, talking, getting drinks of water like it's a damn picnic!  I vaguely hear, through the madness in my mind, "only five more rounds".  Since I can hear, I must still be alive. And if I'm alive, I have to keep moving!

Rounds 16-20:  Nothing is left in me except the sheer will to finish this bitch of a workout, and thankfully a little bit of muscle memory from having done these moves so many times.  I'm on some sort of oxygen-deprived, exercise induced high that feels like an out of body experience and the only coherent thought I can form is "please let this end".  I'm on auto-pilot.

Mercifully, the workout ended, and I made it through all 20 rounds.  I spent a good 3-5 minutes just laid out on the floor gasping for air, writhing in misery.

After a little recovery time, I felt like a total bad ass all over again.

“Jackie”


For time:

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

My time:  12:06, Rx

Some day I'd like to get this one back around 11 minutes.  But today wasn't that day.  I split up the thrusters way too much like always, and my pull ups...bleh.  I started with a set of 5 I think, and then it was 3's and 2's all the way to the end.  Not sure why I cannot mentally just hang onto that bar for 5 reps.  Anyway, it's a good workout.

Strength was 5 sets of 3 push press - 2 push jerk - 1 split jerk

My loads:  55-65-75-85-95