I'm Fat

There. 

I said it. 

I'm fat. 

I gained weight on vacation and it's driving me mad!  I know...patience...I'll lose it, but I just went through this after my summer vacation.  Same 8'ish pounds.  You'd think I would learn. I seem to have zero self control on vacation.  Actually, the first two days I was very proud of myself.  I ate salads with grilled chicken or fish.  And then the beer drinking commenced.  And the vodka drinks started flowing.  And then the rum drinks were soon to follow.  And two weeks of that really added up to a lot of drinking and zero self control on food choices. 

The difference between ten years ago and now is incredible.  Ten years ago I could get away with a lot more indiscriminate eating and drinking.  But I'm pushing 50 here, and it seems my metabolism has derailed entirely.  I gain weight just smelling carbs.

I've been eating clean for two weeks and my scales have not yet rewarded me - no, instead I have actually gained a tiny bit more.  So, I'm examining every single item on my food plan.  Do I have enough fat?  Too much fat?  Carbs?  To much or too little?  Plenty of fresh veggies and fish, a few berries and a piece of fruit every day.  It will eventually pay off, but it is absolutely maddening that I find myself right back at square one, where I was in September. Again!! 

CrossFit helps me keep my sanity, however.  I know I'm working out as hard as I possibly can.  I know with diligence and patience I'll drop the weight and not feel like such a total fat-ass in a few months.

But I vow right now, when I hit the beach in Jamaica this June, I will resist all the temptations of the delicious resort food and make way better choices.  I could go the entire week there and stay Primal/Paleo - the healthy choices are there.  I can even request specially prepared meals if I want to.  I just need to show a little restraint and choose one day to cheat, just like I do at home.  I can do this.  I have to do this.  I refuse to be fat!!
 
Okay, enough of that.... 

*********

Today I ran a slow 400 to test and see how my back felt while running.  I need to get out and run a decent 5k this week.  My back is sore from last week, but it won't kill me to run.  I went very light on back squats today, and I'm just babying it until I feel safe about squatting heavy again.

Today's WOD:

As many rounds as possible in 8 minutes of:
7 Chest to bar pull-ups
7 Ring dips

My rounds:  6 even - did kipping plu & bar dips

Back Squats:  5 ea @ 35-45-55-65
 

TGIF!

So glad it's Friday!  I'm ready for a day to sleep in!!

For time:
50 Sit-ups
50 Double-unders
50 Sit-ups
Walking Lunge, 50 steps
50 Sit-ups
50 Burpees
50 Sit-ups

My time: 13:58 (I think...)

Some days it's all I can do to remember my name, let alone my WOD time.  Pretty sure it was 13:58.  Anyway, I am babying my back a little today - strained it on front squats yesterday.  Just a stupid mistake.  It'll be fine, it's just a little sore.  Anyway, I avoided the strength today (clean and jerk) even though it's one of my favorite lifts.  I did some stretching and a few bar dips.  During the WOD I subbed 45# bench press in place of burpees.  Enjoyed doing all the sit-ups.  My abs can always use more work!!


TGIF!

Thursday

As many rounds as possible in 12 minutes of:

10  Pull-ups
5 Handstand push-ups

My rounds:  6 + 6 pull ups


Although I got less reps than last time we did this, I actually felt like my pull ups were better today.  I had one set of 10 unbroken.  Just moving a little slow because I kinda strained my back (I know, right!?) on front squats this morning.

Strength:  front squats
warm up sets:  5-3-2@ 85-105-125
work sets:  10 sets of 3 @ 135 - I stopped after 6 sets because I  was feeling low back strain. Go figure, after my little rant yesterday.  Ha ha!

Fight Gone Bad...Gone Bad

Okay, first the good news - I PR'd my split jerk today.   Woo hoo!!!  That's right, 140 lbs overehead, and it felt awesome, as in I could've maybe gone higher.  It was a confidence booster, let me tell ya!

I was so excited about it I posted it on FB first thing this morning.  And then...my husband's cousin, bless her heart, she always has to tell me things like "you're going to hurt your back", and on and on.  Really?  Way to take my biggest accomplishment of the last few months and chastise me about it.  Thanks.  Geez.  Seriously, people.  She has no idea...just no idea.  So I didn't respond or react.  Let her think she knows it all.  I know I'm using good form and I'm more likely to hurt my wrist than my back on a jerk.  Ah well.  I still set a PR and she didn't.  Ha ha!!

I SET A PR TODAY!   ****happy dance*****


And then we did Fight Gone Bad, and I totally sucked.  Ha ha!

My score was 203.  I started with rowing, which I realize was a mistake.  And I obviously rested way too much.  But I still got a good workout and it was a great morning (see above).

Slow!

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:  19:21, Rx

This morning I had almost no energy to speak of.  I did push myself, although my time doesn't seem to reflect that. I was almost two full minutes behind my previous time on this WOD (I'm almost two years older...does that count?).  Toes to bar started off okay and in the second round my left shoulder started hurting pretty badly so I could do only a few reps in succession and then had to rest. 

Some days are just this way, and I have to look at it like this or I'll drive myself crazy.  I gave all I had and finished.  Tomorrow will be another day (fight gone bad...yikes) and I'll get through it!  Positive thinking makes a difference, especially on these slow days. 

Strength today was bench press

5 sets of 10

my loads:  35-55-65-75-80

Busy Monday!

Swamped at work this morning and just now getting to this.  I'm sure the world kept turning, however.

As many rounds as possible in 10 minutes of:

1 Rope climb
50 Meter dumbbell or kettlebell farmers carry

My rounds:  5 even

I did two partial rope climbs each round rather than going all the way up.  Just a little fearful of getting up that high and falling, and I need to wear thicker shoes next time.  Minimal shoes are thin and started to really hurt my feet after about two trips.  But, I'm proud of my progress on rope climbs.  A year ago I wouldn't  even try to climb a rope.

Strength today was Back Squats

warm up sets:
5-3-2 @ 85-115-135

work sets
10 sets of 3 @ 150#

  

Run

Got out for a 5k run this afternoon.  The weather was absolutely perfect.  I was super slow, and sluggish, but it felt good to just get out there and get after it.  I haven't run since November.  That's wayyyyy too long to go without running a decent distance.  I actually felt like I could've run a couple more miles, but I didn't want to kill myself.  I'll try and hit another 5k this coming week if there is a warm afternoon.

34:56

TGIF!

I'm sore all over. And I love it!  Feels good to have five workouts under my belt for the week. Eating clean and staying motivated - that's what it's all about for now. 

I'm ready for the weekend, for sure.  We are supposed to have 60° temps on Saturday and I'm planning on going out for a run.  It's been way too long since I've done any running, and something I can always improve on.  Plus it helps me drop extra pounds quicker than just about anything.

WOD

For time:
5 Snatches (Men 135 lbs, Women 95 lbs)
15 Handstand push-ups
4 Snatches
12 Handstand push-ups
3 Snatches
9 Handstand push-ups
2 Snatches
6 Handstand push-ups
1 Snatch
3 Handstand push-ups

My time:  8:33, scaled to 75# and used 2 abmats for HSPU

Strength today was Squat Snatch -

Rep scheme:  ten singles
My loads:  40-45-50-55-60-65-70-75-80-85

After the 10, I decided to try for 90 and I wasn't getting under the bar, so failed twice.  Had a couple that felt a little iffy, but most of them felt pretty solid. 

TGIF!

I'm getting tired!!

Going for two weeks with very little exercise, certainly no weight lifting and then coming back to CrossFit is a killer!  I'm exhausted.  I'm getting roughly 7 hours of sleep per night, which is good.  I'll get back into the routine and be fine, but for now, I'm just super tired.  And I'm almost as sore as I was after my first week of CF.  Well, okay, honestly not that sore, but enough to get my attention when I sit and stand or pretty much any movement that doesn't involve sitting still.

WOD:

As many rounds as possible in 12 minutes of:

5 Burpees
10 Pull-ups
15 Kettlebell swings (Men 55 lbs, Women 35 lbs)
20 Double unders

My rounds:  2 + 12 KBS

Today's WOD was tough for me.  For starters, I'm hauling around an extra few pounds, courtesy of vacation food and excessive beer consumption.  And any extra weight makes pull-ups even more difficult than they already are.  However, I had a couple sets of 5 today (that's big for me).  Kettlebell swings were my favorite element - one thing I'm consistently good at.  Double unders eluded me today.  I could get a set of ten, and then I just fell to pieces, with ones and twos. And burpees are what they are.  Ya know? 

Strength today was Front Squats

5-3-2 for warm ups
85-105-125

Then 10 sets of 3 at 83% of 1RM

B was aiming for 135 based on her 1RM.  I have no idea what mine is, so decided to go along with her.  After one set at 135 (which was a struggle) I decided to do 125 and she stayed at 135.  Or so we thought...

Yeah, after five sets, we discovered that we had added it up wrong and she had actually been using 145, and I had been using 135.  Holy cow!  We each dropped to our intended weight and continued.

So it went like this for me:

3 @ 145
4 x 3 @ 135
5 x 3 @ 125

Of course, doing extra work didn't hurt me, but I was sure exhausted by the time we got to the WOD.  Whew!

Squat Cleans

2009 South Central Regional WOD# 1

3 Rounds for time of:
10 Squat clean & jerk (Men 155 lbs, Women 105 lbs)
500 Meter row

My time: 16:26  w/75#

I'm not certain on my time - I forget so easily these days.  Anyway, this was a good workout, even scaled as severely as I scaled it.  I really should have taken a rest day today, but I need to burn off some of this vacation fat!  I could have done the 105, but it would've taken me a good half hour.  As it was, I got a decent workout and enjoyed the squat clean part of it.

Strength today was Squat Clean & Jerk

rep scheme:  5-3-2-2-1-1-1
my loads:  65-75-85-95-100-105-110

I love squat cleans.  I am feeling weak after two weeks of zero exercise, but I'm trying to push myself to get back to 100% as fast as possible.  I'm sore all over, and the first set of 5 cleans left me feeling worn out.  I was tempted to not even go up in weight, but managed to use some positive thinking and made it up to 110.  I'll call that a victory for today.

Cruel and Unusual

3 Rounds for time of:

50 Lateral jumps over plate
40 Overhead walking lunge steps (Men 45 lb plate, Women 25  lb plate)
30 Push-ups with feet on plate

My time:  21:58, Rx

OMG!  This workout was a killer.  I mean it was complete torture!  About 10 push ups into the first round, I convinced myself that I could scale rounds 2 & 3 to half the prescribed reps.  But, of course, when I got up to do the second round, I convinced myself to do all the reps.  By the third round I was cursing my decision to go all the way.  Those last push ups were agony!!  Anyhow - I finished...last again.  But I finished!  


Strength:

behind the head SP x 3 ea 55-65-70
behind the head PP x 2 ea 75-80-85
behind the head PJ x 1 ea 95-105-125(f x 2)

For some reason on the push jerks when it got heavy, my right arm just didn't have the strength to lock out.  My left arm was fine.  Hmm.  Maybe my right arm has an overuse injury from lifting so many beers & rum drinks on vacation.  Ha!  I'm sure that's what it is!

Trip Pix

If you're interested in seeing my Grenada trip photos...they are located on this new blog: Pieces of Paradise Feel free to stop by and take a look! ~Angie

She's Back!!

What a great vacation!  I'll be putting up a blog with tons of pix and a sort of trip review. It'll be on a different blog, but I'll link to it from here if anyone is interested.    Just for a teaser, here is one of the awesome beaches on which I planted my chubby self for an afternoon of leisure:

I did little to no exercise on this trip.  We did walk to some restaurants for our meals while land-based (a mile each way) several times.  On the sailing days I did a few squats and push ups but nothing really to compensate for the vast amount of beer and carbs being served.  Two vigorous days of snorkeling counted for exercise (following sea turtles is hard work!!)  Other than that...I was a slug.  And now I'm a chubby, bordering on fat, slug.  It's all good though - I'm motivated and eating clean already!

Today's WOD

7 Rounds for time of:

10 Sumo Deadlift High Pull (Men 95 lbs, Women 65 lbs)
10 Ring dips Post time to responses.

My time:  9:29 w/bar dips 

Strength today was Back Squats

warm up:
5-3-2 @ 85-115-135

work sets
10 sets of 3 @ 145

Sore!

 I am pretty sore from yesterday's WOD, but this helped work some of it out. 

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
50 Double unders
40 Walking lunge steps
30 Hand release push-ups
20 Pull-ups
10 Handstand push-ups

My rounds:  2 + 6 double unders

Double unders just come and go as they please.  Warm up I couldn't string together more than three.  When the WOD started, I missed the first one and then hit a set of 20 with no problem.  WTF?  Hmm...?  Anyway, this was kind of a fun body weight workout, including all skills I need work on so I enjoyed it.  I pushed to get two rounds and managed just a tiny bit more.  My pull-ups were the big hang up on this one - no surprise there. 


Strength today was back squats

rep scheme:  5-3-2-2-1-1-1
my loads:  85-95-115-135-145-170

One more workout and I'm out of here for a couple weeks. I'm planning to be at the 9 am Monday workout and then done for a while.   No workout facilities where I'm going, to speak of. Will do some basic stuff like push ups, sit ups, squats every other day and call it good.

Yay - weights

3 Rounds for time of:

21 Deadlifts (135 lbs, 95 lbs)
15 Front squats
9 Push jerk

My time:  16:02, Rx

This took me forever, and surprisingly the horrible part was the front squats.  Well, I wasn't super fast on the jerks either, but I was stunned by how hard those front squats felt.  And the second round of deadlifts felt super heavy.  But I managed to get through it with some encouragement from B.  I wanted to scale, but in the end I'm glad I didn't.  Just wish I was faster!!

Strength today was

SP 3-3-3
PP 3-3-3
PJ 3-3-3

My loads:
55-60-65
70-75-80
85-90-95

Not the End of the World

Mayans...what did they know?  Ha!

So, I woke up this morning and found I was still alive, and the world had not ended.  AND there was an awesome workout posted for today!  I smiled before I even got out of bed - I do love me some back squats! 

For time:

30 Back squats (Men 225 lbs, Women 155 lbs)
1000 Meter row

My time:  9:10, Rx

I loved this workout from start to finish.  Okay, well, the rowing actually sucked about 700m in, but other than that, I loved it.  I started out with a set of 10, then a set of 5, then sets of 3 to the finish.  I had in my head that I wanted to do sets of 5, but my body had other ideas.  I still pushed not to rest too much and I was super excited to finish the WOD in under 10 minutes.  Great way to end the week!!

We did back squats to warm up before the workout...these were my sets

5 @ 85
5 @ 115
4 @ 135
3 @ 155

So a total of 47 back squats...I will be sore by the end of the day!

PR!

Today's strength was power cleans.  And I managed to set a 5lb PR without even knowing it!!  Yay! 

rep scheme:  5-3-2-2-1-1-1
My loads:  85-105-115-255-130(PR)-140(f)

B did 140 after my 130, and I decided to go for it and try 140.  I was "this" close!  I had the height but didn't get my elbows around fast enough and didn't drop under the bar enough.  But I know I can do it next time!!  I needed a PR - it has been a while!

The WOD was fun, but man I was slow compared to everyone else.  Lots of people hit 11+ rounds...not me.  But still, I felt good about my effort and had a positive attitude throughout.  Can't ask for more, some days.


As many rounds as possible in 15 minutes of:

5 Deadlifts (Men 225 lbs, Women 155 lbs)
7 Pull-ups
9 Push-ups

My score:  7 rounds + 5 deadlifts, Rx

Flannel Sheets are the Devil!

We put flannel sheets on our bed this week and let me tell you, they are awesome.  They are awesome until the alarm goes off at 4:30 a.m., and then they are the devil incarnate.  I do not want to get out of bed when I have flannel sheets keeping me all cozy and warm.  It is torture getting out of bed in the winter anyway. 

Since I have a vacation coming up, during which I will practically live in a bikini every day, I can't afford much sleeping in.  So, I dragged my tail out of bed and went to work out, despite the temptation to stay swaddled in flannel for another hour or two.

For time:
400 Meter run
50 Pull-ups
400 Meter run
50 Wall ball shots (Men 20 lb ball, Women 14 lb ball)
400 Meter run
50 Med ball cleans

My time:  16:27 - scaled to 25 reps on everything

Yeah, I scaled.  Pull ups and wall ball take me forever.  I should've done 50 cleans - those are easy enough.  Oh well.  I just wanted to try and match the time of the faster people, so this scaled version got me close...still slower than the Rx group.  I blame the flannel sheets - they make me sleepy.


Strength today was Front Squats

rep scheme:  5-3-2-2-1-1-1
my loads:  85-105-115-125-135-145-150

Tuesday...

With a 7 minute time limit:

1000 Meter row
Max rep shoulder press (Men 115 lbs, Women 75 lbs)
rest 3 minutes
With a 7 minute time limit:
1000 Meter row
Max rep push press (Men 165 lbs, Women 115 lbs)
rest 3 minutes
With a 7 minute time limit:
1000 Meter row
Max rep push or split jerk (Men 205 lbs, Women 135 lbs)

Total SP @ 55# = 21
Total PP @ 75# = 21
Total PJ @ 95# = 11

Total + 53

This was a pretty fun workout.  I still need some improvement on rowing, or I just need to suck it up and quit being a wuss.  Not sure which it is.  I am pulling hard, or what seems hard to me, and not getting there any quicker.  Ah well, at least I'm working out, right?  Some days that's enough...just being there.

Vacation Countdown...

I've got 14 more days before I head out for a new adventure. 

First we'll spend a few days here at the Grenada Grand Beach Resort:

Then, we'll be sailing on this beauty for a week:

...stopping at places that look like this every day:
 

But for now I'm working my tail off, trying to get things wrapped up for the year at work, and still hitting the gym Monday through Friday. And trying to stay focused when thinking about lounging around in the islands is a tall order for me!!

Today was a decent workout, even with a three day migraine going on.

WOD:  
As many rounds as possible in 6 minutes of:
3 Snatches (Men 145 lbs, Women 95 lbs)
6 Overhead Squats
9 Bar facing burpees

My rounds:  3 + 1 snatch, scaled to 75#

Strength today was a complex of 1 snatch + 2 overhead squats, with 3 bar dips in between lifts

My loads:  60-65-70-75-85