Low-key Monday

Picked up a workout from CrossFit Champions for today. Husbeetle was off work, so we went to the Camp Swampy gym together.

Have I mentioned that I hate working out there? I feel like people are constantly staring at me, not to mention I can see them looking at me in the mirror. Plus, I hate the damn Gravitron.

And I can see myself in the mirror. My arms looked freaking huge. Ew. Back to my happy place tomorrow -- no mirrors, no staring, plus free-standing pullup bars. Excellent.

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WOD:

For time. Begin with jump rope, end with run, all the rest in any order.

300 Jump Rope (first)

30 Push Press (m:35s,f:25s)

30 Pull-ups

30 Sit-ups (ab-mat)

30 KB Swings (m:55lb,f:35lb)

30 Push-ups

30 1-Arm DB Snatch (m:30lb,f:20lb) (15 each arm)

Run 400 meters (last)

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Did not do this for time, just did it to get it done. Did 45lb push press, no small bars at the base gym. And 25lb db snatch.

For the run, we went to the track and ran a mile. I was feeling super-pukey after the workout (most likely due to the Chik-Fil-A waffle fries I ate at lunchtime, bad decision) and the run really helped me feel better. It was a good time for me, 8:27 according to my Nike+. My last lap was awesome.

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Wednesday I'll be getting a box with my 3 new resistance bands, plus two jump ropes for LT and I. Now we just need to get to work building our free-standing pullup bar so we can do more stuff at home. Once we have that, I'm definitely getting some rings.

Grace

Knocked out another girl this morning!

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Grace: 30 clean and jerks for time. 135lb/85lb

Results: 4:45

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Spoke to the coach beforehand about seeing the scaled weight as 95 on a few other places online, but she insisted 85 was the "correct" weight, so I just did 85. After more research online, I'm convinced it really is 95, so that's what I'll be doing next time I attempt this WOD.

I taped up my hands, and threw gloves on top of that. It felt weird and tight beforehand, but once I got into it, I felt fine.

I think my time rocked because I had such a great setup. My sister came to the gym to count reps for me, so I didn't have to be thinking about that at all. And also we had our "extra" trainer there this AM, and he stood right by me keeping me moving quick the whole time. He also fixed my clips for me several times, since they were sliding around.

Our female coach only beat me by 20 seconds. :)

AWESOME WORKOUT.

Ripping up my hands with Eva

Well, I have a new girl to add to my list over there in the sidebar. Our after-holiday workout today was "Eva".

5 rounds, for time, of:

• 800m run
• 30 kb swings (32k/24k)
• 30 pullups

Results: 56:16 -- 16k kb, white band for pullups

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This one was fun! I talked my husband into coming with me, and that was definitely motivating. And the CrossFit gods smiled down upon me, and I wasn't the last one to finish! One of the guys finished after me. If I had used a 24k kettlebell, that would've been me...

My runs felt AWESOME. I love to run, and I'm finally getting good at it again. I was very happy we ran out the front door and skipped the god-damn rocky driveway in the back of the building. Nothing pisses me off more than trying to run back there. It just throws off my focus.

My right hand started ripping open around pullup 20 of the 4th set, got worse during the 5th set, and the left hand opened up in the 20's of the 5th set. There are 150 total pullups in this WOD. Tough on the hands. I was pumped that I stuck with the white band the entire time, and didn't have to go down to the blue band. Woot!

Grace tomorrow if I wake up early enough!

Are you being served?

We did "waiter's walk" as part of the WOD this morning, so I felt inspired to make up a fun title for this post. :)

WOD:

For time:

• 25 GHD sit ups
• 150m overhead waiters walk (45lb/25 plate)
• 25 wall ball shots (20lbs/14)
• 150m overhead waiters walk
• 25 box jumps (24")
• 150m overhead waiters walk
• 400m run

Results: 12:14

Totally could've smoked this one harder, though I did beat everybody else by at least 2 minutes. GHD situps are hard to do fast when all you've done to warm up is a 500 meter row. I really need to figure out my own warmup -- I think that's key for getting more out of the WODs, and getting faster times. I also took breaks in the wall balls where I could've pushed through. And I only jogged a little bit with the waiter's walks, though I could've done much more of that. This is one I could alter and then do at the base gym, though, so maybe I'll try it again with Husbeetle one of these days.

I was actually at the 6:30 class, and it was enjoyable. The gym owners' pastor comes in at that time, and an awesome outspoken running grandma too. They rock. There was a younger woman there this morning as well who I think has just started coming -- she seemed nice, though she did the iPod with headphones thing during the workout. Will have to get her name next time I see her. I overheard a conversation she had with the trainer about no kids, a husband and a dog, so it sounds like we have some things in common. :)

She's got legs, and she knows how to use them

I predict this will be the week of sore legs. Which is a good thing! That's where I need the most work right now. I've got a pretty nice burn going from my run last night and then back squats this morning. Hopefully the workouts on Tuesday and Wednesday keep the momentum going.

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WOD:

AMRAP* in 20 minutes:

• 25 burpees
• 15 backsquats (bodyweight)

Results: 4 rounds + 3 burpees (75lb backsquats)

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I did this workout in my socks.

This is my 3rd time doing back squats in a workout -- I enjoy them more each time I try them. I'm getting much more stable and comfortable in holding the bar in that position. And today I dumped weight for the first time while doing one -- I just let it roll down my back at the bottom of the squat. Wasn't that bad. I'm going to go for it next we go for a 1RM on this one.

Interesting observation -- it was my arm strength that seemed to be the point of failure, especially since the burpees were killing my arms.

After we finished the WOD, I did sets of 3 reps at 85-90-95-100. Wow, 100 felt so damn HEAVY! Hopefully I can keep losing some weight so that it will be easier for me to achieve a bodyweight back squat. :)

Thoughts on burpees -- I have a new approach for these. One, keep the head up and looking forward. This seems to help me stay tense and focused. Two, when bringing the feet back in, get the back straight, and then jump up. I noticed that I was bringing my feet in far enough to be on all fours, but with my back kind of parallel to the ground. This made it harder to jump up. I think now my back and legs are strong enough to get back into a "tuck" position after the pushup. Getting back into "tuck" position really helped me do the burpees faster and more efficiently. Third, stay focused during the jump. I tend to just flail into the jump and clap. I think I lose a lot of energy and focus when I do that. (burpee video if you have no idea what i'm talking about)

I'm happy with 4 rounds -- my goal was at least 3 complete rounds. I'd like to repeat this one in the future and see how I do with heavier back squats. I'd love to stay at 4 rounds but squat something massive, like over 100. That would rock.

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*AMRAP = as many rounds as possible

Sunday Run-day

Husbeetle and I went running this afternoon for our PT.

If I am to believe my Nike+, my stats were:

• 4.25 miles
• 38 minutes
• 8:57 min/mile pace

Not too bad, I was happy. Per usual, my shoulder felt fine during the run, but is aching a little now that I'm sitting at the computer. I don't get this.

Tomorrow we're doing the main site WOD from Saturday. Get ready for some PAIN in the legs!

Garage gym

We both needed to PT really badly, so we did a simple workout in the garage.

WOD: For time, 10-9-8 . . . 3-2-1-2-3 . . . 8-9-10

• Squats
• Pushups
• Situps

Results: 18: 26

My shoulder felt fine... Which is so frustrating. It gets to hurting so badly when I'm laying down, or moving my chin to my chest, yet I did that whole workout without feeling so much as a twinge. Well, until I lay down flat on the mat to do my stretches, then it was killing me.

I'm starting to think it's a freaking internal injury or something! WTF?

Since rest hasn't made it go away, fuck it, I'm done resting, I'm just going to do a run and pushups tomorrow, and then Monday it's back to regularly scheduled CrossFit. Though I may lay off the kipping pullups and go back to working on deadhangs with the blue band. Next goal is deadhangs with the white band, and then of course deadhangs without any bands. Then I'll start thinking about working on the kip again.

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Husbeetle did a slight variation on what I did.

For time, 10 to 1 to 10 of:

• pullups
• pushups
• squats
• knees to elbows

Jackie - 2nd round

WOD:

For time:

• 1000m row
• 50 thrusters (45/25)
• 30 pullups

Results: 10:19

Previous results: 14:14 according to the spreadsheet in the gym, 14:21 according to what I wrote down

It looks like I brought my time down quite a bit, but a big part of my first time was switching from one band to the other in the middle of everything. I thought I could use the white band, but couldn't get any pullups with it, so I had to switch to the blue. I had the blue set up and ready to go this time.

That said, I know my row was faster. Also, I was able to do big sets of thrusters: 25-10-15. I was pretty freaking proud of those, let me tell you.

Gross moment of the day: I spit into the front of my sports bra 3 times. I just had to spit! And I had nowhere else to do it! This is why I have to go to a CrossFit gym where no one cares instead of a "nice" gym. :-D

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I worked on my headstands after the WOD. Right now I start off in "tripod" position, with hands and forehead on the mat, and knees balanced on my elbows. Then I work on slowly raising my legs and keeping balanced. I got up into a full headstand today, with my legs straight, which rocked. I'm doing a ton better with these. I did a few self-spotted handstand pushups after that. And finally I did 3 kipping pullup attempts, and on my last one I just about got chin up to the bar in one fluid motion! Woot! I need to start attempting dead hangs as well -- I'm good on the 2nd half of the motion, but not sure I can get started from a hang with just my arms and shoulders.

Sqauttin' on Sunday

I wanted to try out the "cheesy" barbell we got from LT's mom's garage, so I looked up a workout with overhead squats for today.

WOD: Nancy

Five rounds for time.

• Run 400m
• 15 overhead squats (95/65)

Results: 18:24, 35lb OHS

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My run might not have been 400m. It was more than 200m, at the least. I need to measure out a route of 400m from the bottom of my driveway.

The floor of my garage isn't quite flat, so I did the squats at the bottom of my driveway. Hope the neighbors were amused! I'm very glad that I live on a cul-de-sac. :)

Unfortunately I mentioned to my husband that today he could finish that workout he couldn't complete two weeks ago. He's still sick, and shouldn't be doing a grinder type of WOD like that. ::facepalm::

Back in the saddle on Saturday

Back from my day off, and feeling good. :)

Since Husbeetle had to go in to work this morning, I went to the 9:30am workout at the gym. Normally on the weekends I do something with him in the afternoon, but he ran before going to work.

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WOD:

Complete the following exercises using a deck of cards. For aces, do double the number of the exercise you just completed.

• Spades = Squats
• Hearts = star jumps
• Diamonds = Push Ups
• Clubs = Sit Ups

This was pretty fun, we didn't do it for time, just did it as a group. I wanted to do all the pushups on my toes, but we got several diamonds in a row, and I had to drop to my knees or everybody would've had to wait for me to do them one at a time. The star jumps are freakin' killer! Those things make my quads burn. They're like a cruel variant of jump squats...

Should definitely add a deck of cards to my little "travel WOD" kit. I think Husbeetle would enjoy going all-out on this for time.

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Today was pretty memorable because after my warm up, I jumped on the bar to work on my kipping swing, and got my first kipping pullup! After that first one, I immediately did another just to see if I really could do it. Woot!

I'm so happy that I still had one more left in me for Husbeetle to catch on video this afternoon at the pullup bars outside his office. Here's the kind of poor quality video

It looks pretty sloppy, I don't achieve chin-over-bar in one fluid motion, but I yank it up!

I still haven't achieved "do a dead hang pullup". I'm making it my goal to do that by Christmas. I think one month of working my kips without the band, and working my dead hangs with the band, along with all the other WODs I'll be doing, should get me there.

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A few more thoughts on achieving goals...

I tend to build my goals up in my head, and make them into these monsters that only a Herculean effort could attain.

But the truth is, most of my goals follow naturally from very simple things, like getting my butt to the gym every day, and giving it my best.

When I completed my first sprint triathlon, which was a "big deal" goal for me, it was actually a huge let down. I guess I thought I would have some kind of epiphany just by swimming, biking and running in succession for 2 hours on a Sunday morning? I was also bummed to be there alone with no one to share the experience with.

Today when I kipped 3/4 of the way to the bar, and than "spasmed" myself up the last 1/4 (watch the video, you'll see what I mean :-p), I was totally stoked! And I was also totally stoked that everybody else seemed to just be doing their own thing, talking, warming up, whatever -- not even paying a bit of attention to me.

I enjoyed my little private triumph, giggled at how awkward it must've looked, and then jumped back up to try again. No fanfare needed.

I'm over having epiphanies, or getting attention, or whatever, for achieving my goals. It should just make you feel good inside, not let down.

I know I'm kind of contradicting myself by posting this, and saying "yay me, look at my video". But hey, it's my blog, and I am the embodiment of contradictions, so you'll just have to deal with it. :-p

PS - Sorry for the closeup of my boob at the end of the video! I guess that's what you get when you make my husband the camera man. :-p

Needed a rest day, worked out anyway...

Ugh, I wish I had taken a day off today... It was my fourth day in a row, and I'm beat down.

WOD:

Row 2000m for time

rest, then...

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 for time of:

• power clean (95lbs/65)
• ohs (95lbs/65)

Results:

Row: 8:51

PC & OHS: 17:37 (65, 45)

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I didn't PR on the row today. Boo. I need to row "fresh" one of these days, and see how it goes. My PR was after a hang power snatch session at CrossfitKoP. I think I didn't go into this with quite the right attitude -- a little more "OMG I'm dying" was probably in order. I know I will get less than 1/2 that in my 1000k for Jackie next week.

I'm happy with how I did in the 2nd part of the workout. I thought 45 was a good weight since 55 is my PR 1RM. Cleans were cake. I had to put down the bar during the long sets of OHS's, but by 7 I was able to do them straight through.

Gotta go shower, movie at 7:05 with hubby. :)

Running in the rain

WOD:

400m run

50 push ups

400m run

50 squats

400m run

25 burpees

400m run

Results: 20:03

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Why the fuck was this so slow??? Seriously... Sometimes I just don't get my results from these workouts. I was way slower than a bunch of the other ladies at my gym. So disappointing.

Did 25 pushups on my feet, did 25 on my knees. Squats were steady, maybe 2-3 pauses. Burpees were steady-ish, made it 8 or 9 on my toes before I started hitting the deck on the pushups.

Didn't want to go today, since I was feeling shitty earlier, and Husbeetle has some kind of cold/flu, but I did so that I could take tomorrow off "legit" -- three days on, one day off.

SO DONE for today. Out.

Crossfit is better after naps

Husbeetle was off work early today, so we napped. Well-deserved since we woke up at 3:30 to get him out the door by 4 for his hike at 5. I even stayed awake after making him his eggs. Craziness!

WOD:

Push jerk: 3-3-3-3-3 75% of max

Metcon: 5 rounds

• 10 kettle swings (24k/16)
• 7 tire jumps (jump in/jump out)
• 5 pull ups

Results:

Push jerk: 65-85-95-95-105m-95-100m

Metcon: 9:43

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OK, for the record, I know I did way to many sets of push jerks, plus I didn't do what I was supposed to do, with sticking with 75% of max. Oh well. :) Looks like 95 is definitely my 3RM on that movement, though, considering I missed 105 and 100.

I totally jacked up the metcon. I did 10 jumps in the tire instead of 7 - DOH! Up until round 5 when the guys that were finished started counting for me. When they yelled "2 more" after I finished 5, I realized what happened. Hilarious. :)

Pullups on the white band are awesome, I am flying up over the bar. But when I tried a "naked" kipping pullup during my warmup, I couldn't get up. I think it's time to get back into those dead hangs -- I haven't been strict about doing them recently. And also I should work on just my kipping swing without any bands -- I know the band inhibits the forward movement at the bottom of the kip.

Off to walk the dog for my final cooldown.

Hotel room Crossfit, Monday morning Crossfit

Yes, you can even do CrossFit in a decent-sized hotel room!

I felt like a slug on Friday because I slept in and skipped my normal morning walk and 8:30am Crossfit. The workout looked really crazy, and I wanted to be able to walk in my high heels that night for the ball.

So when I found myself in my hotel room getting ready to take a shower and get ready, I decided to do a little quickie just to get the heart pumping and muscles moving.

WOD: 10-9-8-7-6... of:

• squats
• pushups
• situps

Result: 7:21

Cooldown / Skill Work: Walking around in heels at the ball. :-p

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This morning I was soooooo tired -- we didn't get home from our flight until nearly 1am. And then after my morning walk I had some digestive issues from all the crap that I ate this weekend. Which is why I was such a wuss on the strength part of the workout.

WOD:

Strength: back squat 4-4-4-4-4

Metcon: AMRAP in 10 min

• 12 power snatch (75lbs/45)
• 10 push ups

Results:

Back squat: 45-55-65-75-85

Metcon: 5 rounds

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Obviously I didn't do much with the back squats. I got some better coaching on how to hold the bar than last time, though, and also took off my shoes to improve my heel contact with the ground. I'll go heavier next time.

I think I need to take kd's advice and subscribe to the journal. I need help on squats. When I do heavy loads with the upper body, or with Olympic lifts, I can get into it. But when I squat heavy loads, I feel like I don't know where to concentrate the power, if that makes sense.

The metcon was decent... my heartrate didn't get all that high, even though I kept a pretty steady pace the whole 10 minutes. But my quads were freakin' burning. I think I'm gonna have sore legs tomorrow.

We did knees to elbows for our cooldown, and I was amazed to find out that I can nearly do an actual, honest-to-goodness K2E! Yowzers! I am amazed at how strong my abs and back have gotten in the last 2 months of CrossFitting. Time to get my ass on the track on base and time a mile run...

Pullups

It is very important to me to master this movement, and eliminate my need for bands to assist me. So I did some research, and found there are some ways I can improve my approach.

Right now I have been kipping with a band, but my reading stresses the importance of developing the strength to do a dead-hang pullup before putting a lot of stress on the shoulder by kipping (swinging, using momentum to help propel you up and over the bar).

Some highlights.

Got Pull-Up?

Keep working on your pull-ups, but make any kipping related work secondary to your dead hang efforts.

Got Pull-Up? Part Two

Dial it back and work on dead-hang. Engage the back. Drive elbows down. Look up and over the bar, eyes on target. Chest to bar, get full range of motion.

"Grease the groove" Work on it a little bit all the time, but never work to failure. Commitment to doing this over a long period of time will pay off. As far as negative pullups are concerned (lowering yourself slowly from the bar), the author only did a single negative per workout, on the final rep of the set. These are a high cost and can get you into muscle failure (which should be avoided).

Switch up on grips. Become comfortable in all grips. I've been very overhead-centric. Time to work on mixed-grip and underhand as well.

Somewhat interesting, not my fav of the links I found.

Really interesting comparison of resistance bands and how much they assist pull-ups. Need to measure the bands at my gym to see what a good combo would be.

Discussion of using bands to assist in the Affiliate blog.

Easy day at the gym, thank god

This morning I felt like I got hit by a truck when I got out of bed. Very very sore. I have learned my lesson and will never leave the gym without stretching again. Going shopping at Target and the grocery store in flat flip flops with no support was probably a bad idea as well...

Amazingly someone had a longer time than me yesterday, and they didn't even do the ring dips, just did bench dips! I am shocked.

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Overhead squats -- 5-5-5-5-5 (working sets)

Metcon: 20-15-10-5

• Clapping pushups
• Slam balls
• 20'' box jumps

Results:

OHS -- 25-35-45-50-55

Metcon -- 9:11 ("toes" pushups)

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We weren't supposed to go for a PR on the OHSs, just do working sets and focus on form. My heels were lifting up a little as I came up out of the squat, so I need to work on keeping the bar back until I get more upright.

This has increased my desire to get some new flat-soled shoes to use for lifting. I did a bunch of reading on the Crossfit boards the other day, and I think I'm sold on getting some indoor soccer shoes, like Addidas Sambas. With less heel cushioning, I should be able to drive my heels down in the ground more on squats, deadlifts, all the Oly lifts that start from the ground. And a soccer shoes should allow me to wear them for shorter running workouts as well.

For the metcon, I decided to skip the claps, and just attempt to do all the pushups on my toes instead of doing clapping pushups on my knees. I did all but 4 of the pushups on my toes, so that rocked. Gotta keep working on those for sure

Worked on double unders after the workout, and actually managed to get a couple. I'm starting to get the hang of how to flip the rope with my wrists, and also keeping my arms at my sides as I jump up. My biggest challenge for these seems like it will be conditioning -- I just get out of breath really fast.

Tomorrow AM will be my last day this week, and then I'm out of town on Saturday and Sunday, so those will be my rest days. But on Sunday I'll do a brisk walk up the giant hill my parents live on -- that's always good for a deep burn in the good old butt. :)

Loooooong time

Um, I think I kinda forgot the "for time" portion while doing today's workout? Maybe because I was the only one in the gym for the 8:30 class? When I got done my time just freaking cracked me up, because both times from the 6:30am class were in the 20's.

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3 rounds for time of:

• 400m run
• 45 deadlifts (135lbs/85)
• 25 ring dips

Results: 42:10 -- 85lb deadlifts, ring dips with smallest assist band

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I took a lot of rest in my first and third set of deadlifts -- I think that killed my time more than having to do a lot of the ring dips in sets of 1.

As I was finishing up my first set of deadlifts, my back was killing me. The second set felt awesome, I got in the zone. Then the third I just felt like my form was all over the place, though my back wasn't as tight as the first set, so I think my form had improved.

But at least I got my wish from yesterday to work on my legs!

This is my second time doing ring dips with the bands (1st time), and I'm definitely getting better.

Glad I banged this thing out in the morning, lots of errands to do today.

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One more thought. I rowed 750m today in my warmup, and kept my pace right around 2:10, which was awesome. I can't wait to see how I can do on the 1000m row on Jackie. I'm also anxious to do another 2k row and improve my time on that benchmark.

Squat C&J plus some tabata

WOD:

squat clean & jerk 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

Tabata:

• pullups
• situps

Results:

55-75-85-90-95-100-105-110m

3 pullups on worst set -- 10 on best

10 situps on worst set -- 14 on best

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Yet again I was left feeling that I need to focus more on leg strength in future workouts. My arms, shoulders, back and core have all been getting better and better. But when I got "stuck" in the squat position on my 110 squat clean & jerk today, I realized my legs are now my sticking point.

A new topic for me to read up about...

Sunday sweat in the garage

Warm-up -- light jog around the neighborhood.

WOD (from main site 091031)

For time:

25 Squats

25 Push-ups

25 Pull-ups

25 Sit-ups

50 Squats

50 Push-ups

50 Pull-ups

50 Sit-ups

75 Squats

75 Push-ups

75 Pull-ups

75 Sit-ups

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Husband picked this one for our at-home Sunday afternoon workout. He wasn't feeling well, threw up after his jog, did his first set of squats and pushups, and then yacked again and was down for the count. I tended to him between sets / during rests, so I didn't record my time for this one. I also had to skip my final set up 75 pullups because he was laying in the hallway where my pullup bar was set up. He's better, just resting now. His stomach has issues with exercise sometimes.

The squats felt better and better as I went on. Makes me think I need to do a lot more air squats in my day-to-day workouts. Now that my arms / upper body has gotten to a decent point in strength, it's time to really challenge myself and get super sore in upper and lower body.

The pushups were a little less horrible than I was expecting. My practice is starting to pay off. Gotta keep at it on my knees and get back to doing them on my toes soon.

I subbed jumping pullups as I don't have any bands at home. But we are talking about building a free-standing pullup bar soon, so hopefully my home gym will be expanding in the near future...