Monday Morning!

21-15 & 9 rep rounds for time of:

Squat snatch (Men 95 lbs, Women 65 lbs)
Ring dips

My time: 15:43, Rx weight, Bar Dips

This wasn't a bad start to the week, though I'm tired from the long trip to Dallas over the weekend. My form felt really good on the snatches during the workout. I tried to do minimum sets of 5, but got supremely winded and had to rest more than I really wanted to. I kept trying to push myself and only take a couple breaths in between lifts. I mean, you can only recover so much before it just becomes ridiculous. Feel good about my effort this morning.

Strength today was squat snatch
rep scheme: 1-1-1-1-1-1-1
my loads: 45-50-55-60-65-70-75-85

“Nate”

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

2 Muscle-ups
4 Handstand Push-ups
8 Kettlebell swings (Men 70 lbs, Women 45 lbs)

My rounds: 8 + 1 pull up

Subs: 6 pullups and 6 dips for muscle ups
HSPU: head to 2 abmats

Compare to Aug 19, 2010, when I did 7 rounds + 6 plu and I used 35 lb kettlebell then, so I feel great about a tiny bit of progress here.

In the warmup today we worked on some skills: HSPU, Muscle Ups, L-sits and Rope Climb

HSPU - worked on my hand placement a bit
MU - I just worked false grip ring pullups
Rope - never made it to the rope
L-Sit - I got a 20 second L-sit which is total freaking awesomeness for me. Yay!!!!

Good way to end the week, especially considering how the week started off for me.

Now I"m off to do a bunch of stuff around the house and get ready to head to Dallas to see the Boys hopefully get a win. Either way, I know I'm going to have a blast!!! Look for me on the big screen. :)

“April”

For time:
10 Power cleans (Men 155 lbs, Women 105 lbs)
200 Meter run
9 Power cleans
200 Meter run
8 Power cleans
200 Meter run
7 Power cleans
200 Meter run
6 Power cleans
200 Meter run
5 Power cleans
200 Meter run
4 Power cleans
200 Meter run
3 Power cleans
200 Meter run
2 Power cleans
200 Meter run
1 Power clean
200 Meter run

My time: 26:51 Rx

This workout was for April, one of the interns at the gym. Today is her 23rd birthday. (Thanks to Andy for reminding me how old I am this morning.) Yes, I am old enough to be April's mom. Which, in hindsight, really makes me proud that I actually could finish the workout as prescribed. However, I didn't finish within Breck's time limit of 25 minutes, so I kind of let myself down. I ran as fast as I could - that wasn't a problem today. The brutal north wind and 32° temp was enough to make me move faster out there. Several missed reps cost me some precious time that probably could have got me in under the 25 minute mark. I just have to take everything as a lesson and move on. Maintain good form; create speed & power; get under the bar; don't miss reps; be efficient! Yeah, lots of lessons here.

And, totally unrelated to CrossFit, I just found out I get to go to a Dallas Cowboys game this sunday! I'm totally excited!!!! (though I wish they were having a better season)

Working my way back.

OK, I made it to the gym today and actually stayed for the workout. I did, however, scale everything down because I'm still kinda weak from that awful stomach flu.

Here is the prescribed WOD:

3 Rounds for time of:

45 Double unders
30 Box jumps (Men 24″ box, Women 20″ box)
15 Dumbbell push press (Men 45 lb dumbbells, Women 30 lb dumbells )

Here is what I actually did:

3 Rounds for time of:
45 singles
20 Box jumps - 17" box
15 Dumbbell push press 20 lb dumbells

My time: 12:05

Kind of wimpy, I know, but I promise I got a good workout and I was pretty wiped out afterward. It just felt good to get moving again.

The strength component today was Hang Power Snatch, and of course I went light on those too. I think we were supposed to do 10 single reps, increasing in weight. However, I think I probably managed 8, and maxed out at 65 lbs for the last several reps. No biggie. I'll be 100% next week and hit everything really hard.

Sick...

I started out last weekend having a great date night with my husband on Friday and then tailgating with friends on Saturday. All the while, unbeknownst to me, a vile, creepy stomach virus was mounting a sneak attack that would hit me about 2 am on Sunday. The next 36 hours were a constant blurr of dragging myself, drooling and moaning, from the bed to the bathroom and back again, only to pass out until the next round. Misery...pure misery.

Yesterday I managed to eat maybe 600 calories worth of food. Thinking I was pretty well rested, I got up and headed to the gym this morning, only to find out how wrong I was. I barely made it through the warm-up, before I realized I was kidding myself by even being there. This was a big disappointment, because both the strength component and the workout looked like an amazingly fun morning. But, it was not to be. I went home and crawled back into bed for an hour and then showered and headed to work.

I'm planning to work half a day, and rest half a day. Definitely going to eat some good meals, and hopefully by tomorrow I'll be ready to work out again. Hopefully. We shall see!

Vacation Day!

I'm taking another vacation day today. I had several unused days that I needed to burn before the end of the year, so I have scheduled almost every Friday off through the remainder of the year. It's nice to sleep in an extra couple of hours before going to the gym.

Todays WOD:

Squat clean and jerk 30 reps for time. (Men 155 lbs, Women 105 lbs)

My time: 16:43, Rx

I loved this workout in concept. Execution was another thing entirely. Clean & Jerk is one of my favorite lifts. Squat clean makes it way more difficult and time consuming. Well, for me anyway. I'm amazed by some of the times posted today. Paige, Jennifer, Loren, Breck...these people are just incredible. Even though it took me forever to finish, I didn't have any missed reps. I had two jerks that I felt my core wasn't tight enough, but other than that, everything felt pretty solid.

Now, if I could just convince my body to not demand so much oxygen. Breathing takes up so much time! ;)

Strength today was, of course, Squat Clean & Jerk:

rep scheme: 5-3-2-1-1-1
my loads: 65-85-95-105-115-125

TGIF!!

Rowing day.

5 Rounds, each for time of:

500 Meter row
Rest 5 minutes between each round.

Compare to July 9, 2010

My times:

1- 2:05.4
2- 2:05.5
3- 2:08.0
4- 2:08.5
5- 2:06.3

I didn't set any records today, but I felt good about my efforts. Most of my times were faster than the July times, but I had some WAY faster times back in April.

I've been thinking about how my performance has these peaks and valleys and how diet has an effect on everything. I've been eating primal for a while now, and the fat content of my overall diet is pretty high. Previous to eating primal I had a fairly healthy diet, but with a lower fat content.

Primal Blueprint encourages fat consumption. - "good fats", meaning animal fat, coconut oil, olive oil, etc., which is what I'm doing. Anyway, I heard about a study a while back that showed decrease in energy levels the morning after consuming high fat meals, but I didn't think much of it at the time. Now, looking at my current and past performance levels, in conjunction with my current and past fat intake, I really think that's what's going on here. I think I need decrease my fat intake and see if my performance gets back to the level of where it was in April & May this year. Which, really leans more towards "paleo", since they advocate the leanest cuts of meat, etc. In any case, I'm going to give it a try...keep eating whole, natural foods and cut back on the fat. We shall see!

Warm-up today included 2 minutes each for max reps:

Sit ups: 60
Push ups: 29
Pull ups: 15 (one max set) And...this is a PR for me. Ha ha. But hey, I'm not ashamed. It's a PR!!!!

Where'd everybody go??

We had a pretty small crew at the 5 am class this morning - B, Natalie, Brad P & myself. I think yesterday's WOD must have worn everyone out! I'll be honest, it was tough to get up and go in this morning. It seems like I'm to the point where I don't know any better, so I just keep going five days a week. ;-)

WOD:

For time:

500 Meter row
50 Jumping pull-ups
40 Box jumps (Men 24″ box, Women 20″ box)
30 Ring dips
20 Toes to bar
10 Burpees

My time: 13:17, sub bar dips for ring dips

Yesterday after work I went in for a massage. I bought a package of 5 a while back and I'm finally finding time to start using them. I had her work on my shoulders and upper back quite a bit, and I think this helped me to not be as sore as I was expecting from yesterday's workout. So, when we had the option of doing a the strength component or working on skills, I chose strength.

Our strength component today was power cleans.

Rep scheme: 5-3-2 5-5-5
My loads: 55-65-76 85-95-105

Had a couple where my form was off, but all in all, these felt pretty good today. I need to push myself to go heavier on these.

“The Rice Man”

A birthday workout for Greg, who is 43. These birthday workouts are usually fun. The length of this one is a bit daunting, but aside from the running, I loved it!! Well, and the thrusters...what's not to hate about a thruster, eh? But, still, it was a super fun workout, and I feel really great and energetic today!

As many rounds as possible in 43 minutes of:

200 Meter run
5 Hang power snatches (Men 75 lbs, Women 55 lbs)
5 Overhead squats (Men 75 lbs, Women 55 lbs)
5 Back squats (Men 75 lbs, Women 55 lbs)
5 Thrusters (Men 75 lbs, Women 55 lbs)

My rounds: 11 + 2 back squats , all unbroken

And, I just have to brag on my friend B again. This girl is incredible!! She beat me by one back squat today and she is 5 months pregnant. She's going to give birth to a super-human child who will probably come out doing double-unders and deadlifts, and I doubt she'll even need anything for the pain. Amazing...she's just amazing!

“Helen”

3 Rounds for time of:

400 Meter run
21 Kettlebell swings (Men 55 lbs, Women 35 lbs)
12 Pull-ups

My time: 15:23 Rx
(2:01 slower than my PR...bah!)

Sluggish running again, not sure why. I could have a million excuses, but I'm just slow, no excuses. It was cold out this morning. I finally gave in and wore long pants because of the cold today. Maybe if I wore shorts that would be incentive to run faster? ha ha..doubt it. I grossed myself out this morning, coming back from running, I had snot running out my nose, but I couldn't do anything about it because I had to get right on the kettle bells. So it was just hanging there...grossing me out the whole time I was doing my kettle bells. That was all the encouragement I needed to do the KBS unbroken, and thankfully I had my towel nearby! Yeah, I know, TMI.

Strength today was Overhead Squats

Rep scheme: 3-3-3-3-3
My loads: 55-65-85-105-115

Failed on my first attempt at 115, then tried again. Got all 3 reps but only one of them was truly deep enough to count. So, I can't really count it as a legit PR. But...I was close!

Primalish Brownies

When I'm home alone, I can't seem to stay out of the kitchen, simply because I love to cook. I would cook all day long if someone would clean up after me and eat all the food. :)

Today I wanted something sweet, but it had to fit in with the Primal Blueprint, so I decided to try this almond butter brownie recipe from Elena's Pantry. She uses Agave Syrup, which I replaced with honey, and I went with an 85% cocao chocolate chips due to the lower sugar content. It is not a 100% primal recipe because of that, but the minimal sugar content makes them close enough to fit the 80/20 principle. And they are delicious!



The cool thing about these brownies is they actually look and taste like there is flour in them, but there is no flour! The main ingredient is almond butter. They turned out pretty good, though next time I think I'd cook them just a little while longer. But if you like your brownies kind of gooey, then the timing recommended in the recipe is perfect.

Fun Friday!

3 Rounds for time of:

30 Box jumps (Men 24″ box, Women 20″ box)
20 Wall ball shots (Men 20 lb ball, Women 14 lb ball)
10 Hang power snatches (Men 95 lbs, Women 65 lbs)

My time: 17:50 Rx

I'm off work today but I had intended to get up as usual and hit the 5 am class. However, my husband persuaded me to sleep in. (It didn't take much effort, I promise!) Anyway, I had the luxury of sleeping past 8 am, and then hitting the 9:30 am class.

It's nice to go to the gym at a different time occasionally and see some of the other members. And at the 9:30 class, you get to see some really cute babies in the daycare. There were only two this morning, and they were both adorable!

Seems like it's been a while since we worked on power snatches, and my shoulders kind of protested during the warm-up. For some reason, though, during the workout they felt fine. It was the box jumps that slowed me down, as usual. I was happy with my time, and the fact that I didn't fall on the box jumps. It's a good day!

One from the main site!

I saw this posted on the main site last week sometime and thought, "I'd love to try that one!", so I was glad to see it posted this morning. The C&J turned out to be the easy part of the WOD, and in hindsight, I should have listened to B and gone a bit heavier than I did. But, I felt strong throughout the workout, and really had a better morning than I did yesterday. Life is good!

WOD:

10 Rounds for load and time of:

1 Clean and Jerk
5 Pull-ups
10 Push-ups
15 Squats

My time: 22:39
My load: 105 lbs

The strength component today was Clean & Jerk

Rep scheme: 5-3-2-1-1-1
My loads: 65-75-95-105-115 (and I didn't do the last single).

I've historically preferred doing a Split Jerk, but lately my form has felt funny using the split, and was just throwing me off on the whole lift. So, after the first couple of lifts, I went to just a push jerk, and it felt way more solid to me, so I went with that for the remainder.

Pity Party

I'm having a pity party. Come on in. ;)

Today's workout was probably one of the easiest workouts I've ever seen posted for CrossFit. So why, then was I so freaking slow and once again, dead last to finish? I was so mad at myself by the end of the workout; disgusted, discouraged, embarrassed, mad, and defeated! Yes, "she who never gives up" felt completely, utterly defeated.

I don't understand what happened today. I pushed myself as hard as I could, but I couldn't physically make my legs run any faster. Some days I don't know why this happens. I truly don't know - it's like trying to run in a nightmare and my legs just won't cooperate. *sigh*

But once again, I didn't give up.

I finished the workout, gathered up my stuff, passed on the opportunity to do overhead squats, for which I am now kicking myself. I could have ended on a positive note. But instead, I wrote down my time in my WOD book, had a short conversation with Jim and headed to my car, where I promptly burst into tears and cried all the way home like a spoiled six year old. Ugh! Am I wasting my time with CrossFit? Am I just delusional to think I can keep doing this day after day and never getting any faster? I love feeling so healthy and strong, but on days like this when I disappoint myself so badly, I wonder if I'm doing myself any good at all.

I know...I know...tomorrow's another day and another chance to do better. I'll move on and get over my stupid dsappointment at today's piss poor performance. But, man, some days it's hard to convince myself I'm making any progress at all.

WOD:

3 Rounds for time of:

800 Meter run
50 Sit-ups (un-anchored, abmat)
50 Walking lunge steps

My time: 29:30 Rx

Good Morning!

For time:

1000 Meter row

then

21-15 & 9 reps of:

Sumo Deadlift High Pull (Men 95 lbs, Women 65 lbs)
Push press (Men 95 lbs, Women 65 lbs)

My time: 14:06 Rx
(row time 4:31.6)

Fun workout this morning. Wish I was faster, but I don't see that happening any time soon. Still enjoy SDHP, but not very fast at them. Push presses were the easy part of the WOD at such a light weight.

Strength today was Split Jerk

rep scheme: 5-3-2-1-1-1
my loads: 85-105-115-125-135 (fail)- 130 (fail)

Form was off on the heavier loads. I could feel my back arching, rather than remaining straight up and down. Need to remember to tighten my core and be FAST getting under the bar. This is one of my favorite lifts and 135 is my last PR on it, so I was disappointed I couldn't get weight this today.

"Mary"

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:

5 Handstand Push Ups
10 one-legged squats
15 pull ups

My rounds: 6 + 2 HSPU
Modified, of course: 2 abmats for HSPU, and pistols done on a box, holding onto a pole for support/balance. Yeah...

Really a fun morning at CFJ. I am continually reminded of my age and lack of coordination. This morning we did wheelbarrow's...yes, where someone holds up your legs and you walk on your hands. I think half my trouble was I couldn't quit laughing, but seriously it's probably been close to 40 years since I did those. Too funny!

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

My husband and I attended a Halloween wedding yesterday. The bride & groom wanted everyone in costume, so we complied. I was dressed as a Go-Go dancer and my husband was dressed as Cheech from the "Up In Smoke" movie. We had a blast!

Here we are with our friends, Gary and Tina. Gary is a minister and performed the ceremony. Tina is the mother of the Groom, then there's me, and then my husband, Allan.


The Bride & Goom

Good times!

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!

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

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.

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