Ah, sleep.

I needed a rest day today...

So I took one!

Back at it tomorrow.

Fun Morning.

Today's WOD:

3 Rounds for time of:

21 Toes to bar
21 Kettlebell swings (Men 55 lbs, Women 35 lbs)
21 Wall ball shots (Men 20 lb ball , Women 14 lb ball)

My time: 17:35, Rx

Didn't set any records on this one, but it was fun. I was last to finish, as always. *sigh* But I finished and I did the prescribed weight so I call it a good morning!


The strength today was Wendler Deadlifts. However, my low back was a bit achy and I didn't want to risk it. So, I ran with Andy and Brad. We did four 400m runs with a minute rest between each.

Here are my times:

2:03
2:08
2:13
2:02

Happy Monday!

I actually had a very decent night of sleep last night. It's been a long time since that's happened, and I felt great this morning.

For time:

400 Meter run
21 Front squats (Men 155 lbs, Women 105 lbs)
400 Meter run
15 Front squats
400 Meter run
9 Front squats
400 Meter run

My time: 16:03, scaled to 85#


I enjoyed this workout, but had to bust up the set of 21 a little too much. Just one of those mental things. I'm stronger than that...

Anyway, I wouldn't mind doing this one again, and would probably go with the prescribed weight.

Wendler Shoulder Press

Ugh! I'm not getting anywhere with this. I got to my final work set of 3 @ 75 lbs, and failed on the 2nd rep. I just need to start over, find my one rep max and start from scratch. I want to get stronger on this!

TGIF!

I'm so super glad it's Friday. I need a day to sleep late!! All the workouts this week have been fun and I'm sore all over. I love it!

today's WOD:

5 rounds for time of
30 double unders
200 m run

My time: 13:28 Rx

This one was quick and fun. My double unders have started to improve somewhat, though I'll never be on the level of people like Andy, B, Christina and all you super fast people at CFJ!!!

Strength today was 1 squat snatch every 2 min for 20 min. I stuck with 55 lbs and worked on form.

“Lynne”

5 Rounds for max reps of:
Bench press (Men bodyweight, Women 2/3 bodyweight)
Pull-ups (Immediately followed by bench press)
Rest 5 minutes between rounds.

Post bench press load and total reps to responses.

Bench: 10, 6, 8, 6, 4 - 85 lbs*
Pull-ups: 12,11,11,11,11

*2/3 bodyweight would be 100 lbs for me. I scaled to 85, because 100 is my 1 rep max.

Last time we did this workout I used 65 lbs and got 127 reps. My bench numbers were really lower this time and my pullups higher. So, I guess I improved on something!! :-)

Tabata Bottom To Bottom (don't forget to breathe!)

Tabata “Bottom to Bottom” Squat
Run 1 mile

Clock starts for run on rising from last squat.

My mile time: 10:28
My tabata lowest number: 4


I've only done tabata bottom to bottom one other time and fortunately it was long ago enough that I forgot that miserable burning "OMG I'm gonna die right now" feeling about 8 seconds into the bottom of the rest period. Otherwise I probably would have slept in this morning.

The first work set was not a problem, nor the first rest. Second go around, however, was another story entirely. When I stood up from the 10 second rest, I was seeing stars. Not pretty stars, but those things you see right before you pass out. So, I sucked in some air and squeezed in a few squats. Then, when it was time for the next rest period ("torture period") I lasted about 4 seconds at the bottom and basically failed at the entire workout. I came right back up and tried to stretch out my hips and again, tunnel vision, stars, woozy...haha. I'm not good at this, apparently.

It occurred to me on the next set that I was HOLDING MY BREATH on the rest portion. Duh!! No wonder I was about to pass out. So, I remedied this little problem and managed to make it through the rest of the WOD without losing consciousness. However I did short some of the rest periods, just due to muscle failure.

I have never looked forward to running a mile more in my life!! I was slow on the first half, just from lack of oxygen to my legs during those rest periods. However, I pushed myself on the second half and running felt so awesome today! My time wasn't stellar by any means, but it feels good to feel good!! Not sure how else to say that.

Strength today was 1 squat snatch every minute for 10 minutes.
I stuck with 55 lbs throughout and had zero misses.

Yay - Deadlifts!!

Complete 5 rounds of:

Deadlift, 3 reps
Max rep Handstand push-ups

My loads & Reps:

rd 1 – 205 lbs, 5 hspu (2 abmat)
rd 2 – 205 lbs, 7 hspu
rd 3 – 215 lbs, 7 hspu
rd 4 – 220 lbs, 7 hspu
rd 5 – 225 lbs, 7 hspu

I had fun lifting with Christina today. She's such a good motivator.


Wendler Deadlift - deloading week:
5-5-3 @ 105-125-175
*these are higher than my normal numbers but we were working up to the weight for the WOD.


The warmup today included skills work. There were several options, or you could choose something to work on.


I did 5 pull ups every other minute and max L-sit every other min for 20 min. Made it to 10 rounds on pull ups and 9 rounds on L-sits.


My L-sit times were : 11-10-12-10-10-10-9-9-5

Courage and Grace

Courage is grace under pressure. ~Ernest Hemingway

"Grace"

30 Reps for time of:
Clean & jerk (Men 135 lbs, Women 95 lbs)

My time: 9:35 Rx

Not a PR by any means, but I truly felt solid form on 29 of these 30 lifts today. I concentrated on form, took my time, and although I was somewhat disappointed with my slow time, I finished the workout. I had one clean that I let the bar get too far out from my body and one jerk where I felt like I finished poorly, not getting my head through. Grace is still my all-time favorite, and I shall one day have a new, much faster PR. It will happen!!

I've been quite a mess lately. My nutrition is horrible. My sleep patterns are all messed up. But today all that changes. I cannot continue this way. Nutrition is an easy fix, so it's fixed. Clean meals are lined up for the entire week. Sleep patterns will follow because I intend to add some evening exercise to my routine. That usually helps me sleep.

Wendler Shoulder Press - deloading week. 5 ea @ 35-40-45

“Annie”

50-40-30-20 and 10 rep rounds of:
Double-unders
Sit-ups

My time: 13:07 Rx
(way off my PR)

We did the WOD first today which is different from our usual order. I wasn't looking forward to Annie, but I did ok. My double unders have gotten so bad lately that I was afraid to even try. However, I had several good sets and managed to finish under 15 minutes (a self-imposed time limit).

Then came the strength WOD - Wendler Back Squats

I debated on even doing squats. But I felt like I should use my hour up. So, I started in with my warm up sets. 5-5-3 @ 75-95-110 Then on to the work sets. Got the first set of 5 at 140. Then moved up to 160. And all the emotion of the last week of so stared to hit me. I could feel tears coming to my eyes but I just pushed it back. Did my 3 reps at 160 and loaded up for the 1 rep at 175. Nearly crying by this point, I just focused all my emotions into doing perfect squats and I hit 4 reps at 175 (this is a PR!!). I felt awesome!!! But I had to get the heck out of there, because I was just about to lose it.

I sat and wrote a few things down, said a few words to some people around me, and quickly got to my car. As soon as I put it in reverse, I just lost it - I cried all the way home, and prayed. Honestly, it was just what I needed to do!! I'm so bad at holding my emotions in.

I feel incredibly uplifted and happy today.

TGIF!!

Farmer's Hell

For time:

2 Laps around retention pond farmers carry (Men 45 lb dumbbells, Women 35 lb dumbbells)
10 Handstand push-ups with dumbbells
20 Box steps with dumbbells (Men 24” box, Women 20” box)
1 Lap around retention pond with dumbbells overhead
20 Box steps with dumbbells
10 Handstand push-ups with dumbbells
2 Laps around retention pond farmers carry

My time: 23:47 - modified
(hspu w/2 abmats no db, 1st walk with 30#, remainder with 20#)

OK, so, this was posted as 35 lbs on the website. Breck wrote 30lbs on the white board, so I started out with 30 lb dumbbells. I did the first 2 laps of farmer carry with the 30 lbs and immediately scaled down to 20 lbs.

I will just say this: I never worked on a farm, but I seriously doubt a bucket of feed or a bucket of milk would weigh 30 lbs!! Only in CrossFit...Ha ha!

Anyway, it was a fun workout, despite my grip failing and my forearms being almost too sore to type now.

Wendler Bench Press
5-5-3 @ 40-55-65
5-3-1 @ 85-90-100

Busy!

For total reps:
Complete 2 minutes of each exercise followed by one minute of rest in between each exercise for a total of 29 minutes. Choose any order you prefer to complete the exercises.

Squats
Sit-ups
Pull-ups
Push-ups
Double unders
Back extensions
Box jumps (Men 20″ box, Women 17″ box)
Row (calories)
Ring dips
Burpees

My total: 332

squats – 70
sit ups – 55
pull ups – 22
push ups- 24
doubles – 34
back ext – 28
box jump – 34
row – 24
ring dips (band) – 20
burpees – 21

Searching for Normal

Last week on Wednesday, my mom passed away. I managed somehow to get up every morning and hit a CrossFit class to keep some sense of normalcy and control. But the stress and grief take a toll on your body, so I've just been exhausted.

Yesterday I enjoyed a nice bike ride with my husband, and it felt good to get out in the beautiful weather.

Back at CF this morning, I loved deadlifting again. The lifts felt good and I felt strong. I think I set a 5 rep max! :) So, I'm hoping to start sleeping better, and feeling some sort of "normal"
again soon.

Wendler Deadlift:
warm up sets: 5-5-3 @ 100, 125, 150
work sets: 5 @ 175, 3 @ 200, 5 @ 225

WOD:

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
15 Back squats (Men bodyweight, Women 2/3 bodyweight)
25 Burpees

My rounds: 3 + 15 squats and 1 burpee
2/3 should have been 100 lbs, but I was going from the rack so I scaled up to 105

Crazy Workout!!

3 Rounds for time of:

10 Dumbbell squat cleans (Men 45 lb dumbbells, Women 30 lb dumbbells)
20 Dumbbell push press
30 Lateral jumps over bench

My time: 13:48, not rx at all

I started out thinking I would do this as Rx'd. Then I realized that doing squat cleans with those heavy DB's, there was no way I'd be doing lateral jumps over the bench when my legs start to fatigue. I was able to do them in the warm up, but it was a close call a few times and I wasn't even exhausted yet. So...I decided to jump over a barbell, and still do the Rx weights.

Well, well, well. I got into the workout, did 10 squat cleans, and then struggled to lock out on the second push press, so I scaled to 20# weights. Still a tough WOD and still kicked my butt! Whew!!!

Wendler Shoulder Press
warm up sets: 5-5-3 @ 35-40-45
work sets: 3-3-3 @ 60-70-80

Had to fight for that third rep at 80. Wow!!!

TGIF!!

Fun Friday again! Finally a WOD that was right up my alley. Oh, I wasn't lightning fast or anything, but I felt like I had a pretty respectable time on it. It helps that I love deadlifts and I don't mind toes-to-bar. :)

5 Rounds for time of:

15 Deadlifts (Men 185 lbs, Women 125 lbs)
15 Toes to bar

My time: 13:57, Rx

First round of deadlifts unbroken, the rest were broken 10/5. Not a bad ending to a week where I started out feeling like I should quit. I love CrossFit so much, I really don't think I'll ever quit.

Wendler Back Squats
warm up sets: 5 ea @ 75, 95, 110
work sets: 5 ea @ 115, 135, 155

No scaling today!

3 Rounds for time of:

400 Meter run (2 laps around retention pond)
15 Dumbbell ground to overhead (Men 45 lb dumbbells, Women 30 lb dumbbells)
15 Burpees (jump onto bumper plate)

My time: 24:32, Rx!

When we started out this morning choosing our dumbbells for the WOD, I picked up the 30's and did the 5 reps to test them out. All I could think was, "These are sooo heavy!! (<----in my best whiner-crybaby voice). So I put them away and got 25's. I'm scaling. Well, about half way through the strength workout (which we do before the WOD), I started feeling like a slacker about my plan to scale. What was I thinking? Why would I scale? I can do 30 lb dumbbells! I love dumbbell workouts!! And just like that, I talked myself back into doing the prescribed weight.

Sometimes the mental gymnastics I do are more taxing than the actual workouts. It's tough to be me some days. ;)

I ended up actually loving the workout, and managed to finish under the 25 minute mark.

Wendler Bench Press
warm ups: 5 ea @ 40, 50, 60
work sets: 5 ea @ 65, 75, 80 (should have been 85)

Ok, that's better.

For time:

50 Wall-ball shots (Men 20 lb ball, Women 14 lb ball)
50 Pull-ups
35 Wall-ball shots
35 Pull-ups
20 Wall-ball shots
20 Pull-ups

I scaled this one today so I could push myself and not feel so defeated. It really made a difference. Here's what I did:

30 Wall-ball shots (14 lb ball)
30 Pull-ups
20 Wall-ball shots
20 Pull-ups
10 Wall-ball shots
10 Pull-ups

My time: 13:57

I think I had more fun watching Anthony and Andy competing to finish first. I actually only paid attention to their last set of pullups. It was so close. But Anthony was keeping a close eye on Andy and staying a rep or two ahead of him. Every time Andy would drop from the bar, Anthony did too, but he always made sure to get back on it before Andy did. I think they ended up with like a 3 second difference - Anthony won it. Pretty entertaining. ;)

*****

Today's strength component was Snatch Balance. And I actually set a new PR! Yay!

5 @ 40
3 @ 45
2 @ 55
1 @ 65
1 @ 75
1 @ 85 (pr!)

A much better day today, not so discouraged and I felt like I had a really decent workout.

WTF?

Originally posted as 5 Rounds for time of, but for those of us in the "slow kids" category, it was a 20 min AMRAP.

40 Double-unders
30 Box jumps (Men 24” box, Women 20” box)
20 Kettlebell swings (Men 55 lbs, Women 35 lbs)

My rounds: 5 reps short of 3 rounds, as Rx

Ok, really? Am I that damn slow? What has happened to my double-under skills? I was doing so well, but the last month they're just gone. History. Vanished. It's like I'm starting all over. I'm glad we weren't doing Annie. I would never have finished.

I honestly felt like just giving up today. But I can't do that. I can do all these skills, and I guess I just need to accept that I'm slow some days.

Wendler Deadlift - went to training max of 235, which is my original 1 rep max.

Cant' remember all my lift numbers now. Hmm...

Off Road Running

5 Rounds for time of:

200 Meter run (run around retention pond)
10 Sumo Deadlift High Pull (Men 95 lbs, Women 65 lbs)
10 Thrusters (Men 95 lbs, Women 65 lbs)

My time: 22:28, Rx


I detest running around that damn retention pond. At the beginning of the run, as you leave the pavement, there is a railroad tie buried not quite flush with the ground. Three times I twisted my ankle on it! The last two rounds I walked the grassy portion instead of running - so many places to screw up, and I don't need an injury! I exceeded the 20 min time limit on this one. Bummer, huh? Oh well, I finished the workout and that's all that matters to me. Although I was much slower than I wanted to be, this was still a good workout.

Wendler Shoulder Press

Increased my training max to 85 lbs, which is 5 lbs over my original 1 rep max of 80. So, I guess I'm seeing improvements?

Warm up sets:
5 ea @ 35-40-45

Work Sets:
5 ea @ 55-65-75

New Gear!

Recently realized my running shoes were over a year old, and it was time for a change, so I started looking into the new minimalist running shoes. After a couple weeks of reading reviews and looking at options, I settled on the Merrell Barefoot Pace Glove. I was so excited when they arrived yesterday!




They have the Vibram sole, and are really lightweight.

When I tried them on yesterday, I instantly loved how comfortable they are. During the time I was waiting on them to ship, I started doing the exercises they recommend to get you ready for 'barefoot' running, and studied the different stride, landing position and pace they recommend.

I was excited to try them out this morning put the recommendations into action. I can see where I might improve my running speed a bit by changing to this style of running. It felt a lot more natural to me than my usual struggle with running. I didn't have any foot pain or ankle pain or shin pain, either during or after the workout. I know I'll have some soreness as a result of the different stride and landing position, but that just means I'm strengthening those muscles.

Will this technique and these shoes make me super fast? Nah. But I think if I get it right, I may enjoy running a little bit more.

Posted WOD was:

20 min AMRAP

10 strict pullups
10 handstand push ups

I did this:

20 min AMRAP

5 kipping pullups
200 m run
5 HSPU

My score: 8 rounds + 5 PLU

TGIF!!!

More running (I need!)

Complete as many rounds as possible in 12 minutes of:

400 meter run
5 Deadlifts (used 175 lbs)

My rounds: 3 full rounds + 1 400 m run (total time 12:24)

It was quite evident by the soreness in my ankles, I am in dire need of more running. I mean, to be sore from just yesterday's running of one mile is ridiculous. I need to COMMIT myself to running a minimum of 2 miles at least 3 days a week. After the workout, after work, on the weekend - I must find the time and just do it. There is no reason my ankles should be sore from a mile of running.

Today's workout was fun, and I enjoyed the running, though, as I stated - I need more of it.

the strength today was squat snatch. 1 every 2 min for 20 min. But I was going light and working on form so I did one every minute for 20 minutes.

1-2 @ 35
3-5 @ 45
6-8 @ 55
9-12 @ 60
13-20 @ 65

All but one lift felt spot on, solid with good form. The one bad one I brought the bar out in front, didn't hit my target and therefore was off balance. Good practice.

Oh, and I didn't miss the Wendler deloading at all today. :)