Went to the CF gym on base with husband today to get a Sunday afternoon workout in.
I made up a WOD that I missed last week.
Deadlift
2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2
Rest 60 seconds between sets.
Results:
115-125-130-135-140-145-150-155-160-165
Not exactly earth-shattering numbers, but I think those loads were appropriate as I'm working on dialing in new form on this lift. The true test of how well I did will be what hurts tomorrow when I wake up. If my hamstrings and glutes are as sore as my back, victory, and I can continue to get heavier. If not, then I go back to lots of reps at a lower weight and take the load up slowly.
I had a couple minutes after finishing before the gym closed, so I did 5 cycles through the bear complex with 55#: power clean, front squat, push press, back squat, push press. Love that one. :)
Showing posts with label deadlift. Show all posts
Showing posts with label deadlift. Show all posts
Sep 18, 2011
Sep 9, 2011
DT
Have been wanting to do this one again (first time) for a while, I was bummed that it came up on a day where I had to play it safe and not get too sore. But I mentioned to another girl after class that we should get together and grind it out at Rx weight (115) so it may still be in my future. :)
"DT"
5 rounds
12 deadlift (155/115)
9 hang power clean (155/115)
6 jerk (155/115)
Results: 8:22, 65#
I put 75# on my bar, then changed my mind and took off 5's and added 10's to go to 85. Which I tried, and realized would mess me up. At which point I was pretty much out of time for messing with my weight, so I pulled off the 10's and went. Definitely too light, but it was still a good workout -- more like a barbell complex.
Jerks were messy. I power jerked (push jerk for you CrossFitters) and was pressing out on a bunch of them. I just get wonky when I don't split jerk. But that takes too long during a CF wod.
"DT"
5 rounds
12 deadlift (155/115)
9 hang power clean (155/115)
6 jerk (155/115)
Results: 8:22, 65#
I put 75# on my bar, then changed my mind and took off 5's and added 10's to go to 85. Which I tried, and realized would mess me up. At which point I was pretty much out of time for messing with my weight, so I pulled off the 10's and went. Definitely too light, but it was still a good workout -- more like a barbell complex.
Jerks were messy. I power jerked (push jerk for you CrossFitters) and was pressing out on a bunch of them. I just get wonky when I don't split jerk. But that takes too long during a CF wod.
Aug 29, 2011
Monday morning intensity
The WOD we did this AM is exactly the kind of stuff that I need. Manageable work periods with some short rests built in to keep intensity high while you're moving.
7 rounds, each for reps, of:
0:30 Deadlifts, 135/95 pounds
0:15 rest
0:30 Push ups
0:15 rest
0:30 KB Swings, 1.5/1 pood
Rest 1:00 between rounds. Post total reps per round to comments.
Results: 236 Rx
Having to use the fat men's bar really made it tough for me to rep out the deadlifts. Mentally I was comparing it to that CF Games Open Sectionals WOD that had ~100# deadlifts in it. There was no chance of using hook grip, and the bar was pretty much in my fingertips the last 5 reps of every round. Didn't even think about using a mixed grip until round 5 or 6 -- duh! Tried to stick with at least 12 reps on this movement.
Pushups... ugh! Managed to bang out 4 or 5 in a row to start, then some 2's in the early rounds, and only singles in the later rounds. Average number per round was around 8.
Love me some kb swings -- but they were tough being so out of breath. Tried to hold myself to a minimum of 10 each round, and managed to get closer to 15 a couple rounds.
May 19, 2011
CrossFit Total
This was only the second time I've done this workout. The first time was way back in January 2010, so about a year and a half ago.
Jan 2010 results:
Squat - 155
Press - 80
Deadlift - 185
Total: 420
Those numbers were after 6 months of training the barbell lifts. Not too bad, when you look at it from that perspective. At that point I was Rx-ing or close to Rx-ing the majority of barbell movements in CrossFit WODs, except those with deadlifts. I was just able to do a few unassisted pullups, but still struggled with other gymnastics / body weight movements.
Fast forward to today. 18 more months of training, so a total of (approximately) 2 years of total barbell training.
May 2011 results:
Squat - 160
Press - 90
Deadlift - 190
Total: 440
--
At first glance when I made the comparison between 2010 and today, I was pretty disappointed. Only 20 pounds more after 18 months?
So I wanted to think about the path my training has taken, and reflect a little bit. Feel free to stop reading now, this is mostly for me. :)
Despite only gaining 10 pounds in the press, my upper body strength has absolutely exploded as a whole. On multiple occasions I've completed 100 pullups or more in a single workout. It may have taken me twice as long as others, but I still completed each one. Pushups have been up and down, but on the whole I'm much stronger. Same story with ring dips.
I've fixed my squat. The butt wink that I got called out on during my Level I cert in March 2010 is now gone. I still struggle a little with keeping hamstrings tight in the bottom, especially switching back and forth between low-bar and Olympic high-bar and front squats. But it's all good. Reading Rip's book "Starting Strength" is helping me even more in this area. Knowledge is power.
The back pain I began suffering from in September 2010 led me to perfect chiropractor for me, and has completely changed the alignment of my legs and hips for the better. My posture from the waist down is completely revamped, and now we're working hard on the mid-back and neck. I know these changes are going to allow me to get even stronger in the end, even though my injury prevented me from lifting anything heavier than ~125# between September 2010 and February 2011.
The time taken off due to my back set me back more mentally than anything - obviously since my squat and deadlift both went up by 5, but didn't go down. The experience of lifting a heavy weight isn't just physical, it's mental. My brain is currently used to moving very manageable loads, and I've lost some ground in dealing with the "holy shit this is crazy heavy" feeling when moving a barbell. But I know it's just a matter of time and commitment to getting back my mental focus so that I can finally start getting stronger. Now that my body is ready, I will make my mind ready, and then shit is gonna take off!
So, I guess what I really proving to myself with all of this is that I didn't "waste" 18 months because my CF Total only went up 20 pounds. I accomplished a lot in that time, and learned a lot of really valuable lessons. And I've been learning to become a better coach, which is a super-high priority goal for me.
I don't want to get sucked into that numbers trap, where my numbers absolutely define me. Or where I am only worthwhile as a person if I have amazing numbers. There's more too me than just simple metrics.
Jan 2010 results:
Squat - 155
Press - 80
Deadlift - 185
Total: 420
Those numbers were after 6 months of training the barbell lifts. Not too bad, when you look at it from that perspective. At that point I was Rx-ing or close to Rx-ing the majority of barbell movements in CrossFit WODs, except those with deadlifts. I was just able to do a few unassisted pullups, but still struggled with other gymnastics / body weight movements.
Fast forward to today. 18 more months of training, so a total of (approximately) 2 years of total barbell training.
May 2011 results:
Squat - 160
Press - 90
Deadlift - 190
Total: 440
--
At first glance when I made the comparison between 2010 and today, I was pretty disappointed. Only 20 pounds more after 18 months?
So I wanted to think about the path my training has taken, and reflect a little bit. Feel free to stop reading now, this is mostly for me. :)
Despite only gaining 10 pounds in the press, my upper body strength has absolutely exploded as a whole. On multiple occasions I've completed 100 pullups or more in a single workout. It may have taken me twice as long as others, but I still completed each one. Pushups have been up and down, but on the whole I'm much stronger. Same story with ring dips.
I've fixed my squat. The butt wink that I got called out on during my Level I cert in March 2010 is now gone. I still struggle a little with keeping hamstrings tight in the bottom, especially switching back and forth between low-bar and Olympic high-bar and front squats. But it's all good. Reading Rip's book "Starting Strength" is helping me even more in this area. Knowledge is power.
The back pain I began suffering from in September 2010 led me to perfect chiropractor for me, and has completely changed the alignment of my legs and hips for the better. My posture from the waist down is completely revamped, and now we're working hard on the mid-back and neck. I know these changes are going to allow me to get even stronger in the end, even though my injury prevented me from lifting anything heavier than ~125# between September 2010 and February 2011.
The time taken off due to my back set me back more mentally than anything - obviously since my squat and deadlift both went up by 5, but didn't go down. The experience of lifting a heavy weight isn't just physical, it's mental. My brain is currently used to moving very manageable loads, and I've lost some ground in dealing with the "holy shit this is crazy heavy" feeling when moving a barbell. But I know it's just a matter of time and commitment to getting back my mental focus so that I can finally start getting stronger. Now that my body is ready, I will make my mind ready, and then shit is gonna take off!
So, I guess what I really proving to myself with all of this is that I didn't "waste" 18 months because my CF Total only went up 20 pounds. I accomplished a lot in that time, and learned a lot of really valuable lessons. And I've been learning to become a better coach, which is a super-high priority goal for me.
I don't want to get sucked into that numbers trap, where my numbers absolutely define me. Or where I am only worthwhile as a person if I have amazing numbers. There's more too me than just simple metrics.
Apr 12, 2011
CrossFit Games Open Sectionals 11.2
Ooops, never posted about this WOD. Consider this to be me "catching" up. I haven't really done much outside of the Games WODs in the past 2 weeks.
AMRAP in 15 minutes:
9 deadlifts
12 pushups
15 box jumps
7 rounds + 6 deads
The deads were a lot easier than I thought -- but then again, I have an unnatural fear of them after doing high reps at too high of a weight. This weight was easy, once you got past the first one starting off the next round. All unbroken.
Pushups sucked sucked sucked, as expected. Was down to 1, 2 and 3 at a time by round 3. This was where I took my "rest".
Box jumps -- tried not to pause at all. On the 7th round, my right shoe came untied, so I kicked it off, did 1 or 2 jumps with 1 shoe, then kicked the other one off too. My judge was like "WTF!?" hehehe I'm thinking I could've done all 9 deads without the shoe issue. On a redo I might've been up for 8 rounds. I wasn't willing to try. :-)
AMRAP in 15 minutes:
9 deadlifts
12 pushups
15 box jumps
7 rounds + 6 deads
The deads were a lot easier than I thought -- but then again, I have an unnatural fear of them after doing high reps at too high of a weight. This weight was easy, once you got past the first one starting off the next round. All unbroken.
Pushups sucked sucked sucked, as expected. Was down to 1, 2 and 3 at a time by round 3. This was where I took my "rest".
Box jumps -- tried not to pause at all. On the 7th round, my right shoe came untied, so I kicked it off, did 1 or 2 jumps with 1 shoe, then kicked the other one off too. My judge was like "WTF!?" hehehe I'm thinking I could've done all 9 deads without the shoe issue. On a redo I might've been up for 8 rounds. I wasn't willing to try. :-)
Feb 8, 2011
Move, weightlifting practice and CrossFit barbell triplet
While it wasn't exactly a WOD, we moved over this past weekend, and it wore my ass out! Seriously, by the end of the day on Saturday, I was barely dragging myself along. Other than a short lunch break and afternoon nap, we were constantly on the move from 10am until 10pm.
Monday was my first weekday weightlifting practice in I don't know how long... It was good stuff.
Deadlift: 10-8-6-5-5-5-3-3
55-85-85-85-95-95-105-125
Loads were light, worked a lot on form. My low back issues are kinda complicated to describe -- but it's nice to finally know why I've always sucked at deadlifts, why my squat was broken for so long and why my clean loads plateaued for so long.
Press :5-5-5-3 (power clean bar from ground)
75-75-80-85(2)
Barely got my last two reps up for my set of 5 at 80. Rep 3 of my last set at 85 got stuck in front of my forehead for a few seconds before I gave up. This makes me want to re-test my press 1RM (which had dropped down to 90 in the fall), in light of all my pullup work. I think it's helping, and that's exciting!
Pullups: 3x10
Performed mostly unassisted deadhangs, and a few kipping pullups. I logged this as a day in my Get Strict program.
Abmat situps with medball: 4x15 (14# ball)
--
This morning I attended an 8:30am CrossFit class, which I'll start teaching next Tuesday, along with the 6:30am class. It was the last day for one of our coaches -- he's been splitting his time between the gym he co-owns and our gym, and will be focusing in on his own place from here on. He programmed a fun barbell triplet for us.
5 rounds:
5 squat clean thrusters
10 shoulder to overhead
15 front squat
load: 77#/55#
Results: 15:51
I certainly could've rested a lot less. And I didn't really string together the squat clean thrusters. But I did unbroken sets of ground to overhead and front squats on all 5 rounds. For shoulder to overhead, I did a combo of push presses and power jerks.
I'm happy to report that my back felt a little funky in my warmups, but I didn't feel a single twinge at all during the WOD. Yay!
Monday was my first weekday weightlifting practice in I don't know how long... It was good stuff.
Deadlift: 10-8-6-5-5-5-3-3
55-85-85-85-95-95-105-125
Loads were light, worked a lot on form. My low back issues are kinda complicated to describe -- but it's nice to finally know why I've always sucked at deadlifts, why my squat was broken for so long and why my clean loads plateaued for so long.
Press :5-5-5-3 (power clean bar from ground)
75-75-80-85(2)
Barely got my last two reps up for my set of 5 at 80. Rep 3 of my last set at 85 got stuck in front of my forehead for a few seconds before I gave up. This makes me want to re-test my press 1RM (which had dropped down to 90 in the fall), in light of all my pullup work. I think it's helping, and that's exciting!
Pullups: 3x10
Performed mostly unassisted deadhangs, and a few kipping pullups. I logged this as a day in my Get Strict program.
Abmat situps with medball: 4x15 (14# ball)
--
This morning I attended an 8:30am CrossFit class, which I'll start teaching next Tuesday, along with the 6:30am class. It was the last day for one of our coaches -- he's been splitting his time between the gym he co-owns and our gym, and will be focusing in on his own place from here on. He programmed a fun barbell triplet for us.
5 rounds:
5 squat clean thrusters
10 shoulder to overhead
15 front squat
load: 77#/55#
Results: 15:51
I certainly could've rested a lot less. And I didn't really string together the squat clean thrusters. But I did unbroken sets of ground to overhead and front squats on all 5 rounds. For shoulder to overhead, I did a combo of push presses and power jerks.
I'm happy to report that my back felt a little funky in my warmups, but I didn't feel a single twinge at all during the WOD. Yay!
Feb 2, 2011
Rankel
Hit this one on my own after coaching this morning.
"Rankel"
AMRAP in 20 minutes:
6 deadlifts (225#/155#)
7 burpee pullups
10 kb swings (2 pood / 1.5 pood)
Results: 4 rounds + 3 pullups
Scaled deadlifts down to 125. Originally planned on 135, but it just felt off during the warm-up. 125 started feeling too light by round 4 -- I think I may just have needed more warm-up, or I just haven't deadlifted in so long my form was rusty. I have been avoiding them pretty much altogether since October-ish, so that makes sense.
This was my first attempt at burpee pullups -- as suggested, I jumped up to a bar ~6 inches above my head. I didn't have any failed reps, and I felt really strong on pullups today -- I think it's the work I've been doing on strict pullups. It's nice to see it pay off, because it is really annoying to complete those extra sessions.
Loved swinging the 24kg kettlebell -- need to do that more often. All sets were unbroken, except round 3 -- lost control of the kb on rep 8.
"Rankel"
AMRAP in 20 minutes:
6 deadlifts (225#/155#)
7 burpee pullups
10 kb swings (2 pood / 1.5 pood)
Results: 4 rounds + 3 pullups
Scaled deadlifts down to 125. Originally planned on 135, but it just felt off during the warm-up. 125 started feeling too light by round 4 -- I think I may just have needed more warm-up, or I just haven't deadlifted in so long my form was rusty. I have been avoiding them pretty much altogether since October-ish, so that makes sense.
This was my first attempt at burpee pullups -- as suggested, I jumped up to a bar ~6 inches above my head. I didn't have any failed reps, and I felt really strong on pullups today -- I think it's the work I've been doing on strict pullups. It's nice to see it pay off, because it is really annoying to complete those extra sessions.
Loved swinging the 24kg kettlebell -- need to do that more often. All sets were unbroken, except round 3 -- lost control of the kb on rep 8.
Dec 26, 2010
12 Days of Christmas
Hit this one up with my CF KoP peeps while visiting husband's family. (Check the link for a hilarious picture of me doing DB snatches)
12 Days of Christmas at CrossFit KoP
1 Deadlift (185/275)
2 Wall Ascents (6ft/8ft)
3 Ring Dips
4 Box Jumps (21"/25")
5 Med Ball Clean (14/20)
6 Clean and Jerk (75/115)
7 Toes to Bar
8 Burpees
9 Sumo Deadlift High Pull (55/75)
10 Wall Balls (14/20) to (9ft/10ft)
11 Thrusters (75/115)
12 DB Snatch 12L/12R 25/40
Results: 70:28
Deadlifts, clean and jerk, burpees and thrusters were all scaled due to my continuing (nagging) back injury. Everything else was Rx'd.
Weird about the burpees, right? Something about the part where you jump your feet back aggravates my QL muscle, so for many of them I stepped my feet back. Once I was nice and warm, in the middle and later days, I did jump my feet back on some of them.
I felt like I got hit by a truck after this. My core was wrecked, I think from the wall climbs and toes to bar -- don't do either of those with any regularity.
Best part of the WOD - watching a CF KoP superstar female athlete scaling the 8 foot wall. BAD. ASS. And her nickname is "Grans" -- love it.
12 Days of Christmas at CrossFit KoP
1 Deadlift (185/275)
2 Wall Ascents (6ft/8ft)
3 Ring Dips
4 Box Jumps (21"/25")
5 Med Ball Clean (14/20)
6 Clean and Jerk (75/115)
7 Toes to Bar
8 Burpees
9 Sumo Deadlift High Pull (55/75)
10 Wall Balls (14/20) to (9ft/10ft)
11 Thrusters (75/115)
12 DB Snatch 12L/12R 25/40
Results: 70:28
Deadlifts, clean and jerk, burpees and thrusters were all scaled due to my continuing (nagging) back injury. Everything else was Rx'd.
Weird about the burpees, right? Something about the part where you jump your feet back aggravates my QL muscle, so for many of them I stepped my feet back. Once I was nice and warm, in the middle and later days, I did jump my feet back on some of them.
I felt like I got hit by a truck after this. My core was wrecked, I think from the wall climbs and toes to bar -- don't do either of those with any regularity.
Best part of the WOD - watching a CF KoP superstar female athlete scaling the 8 foot wall. BAD. ASS. And her nickname is "Grans" -- love it.
Sep 27, 2010
Deadlift by threes
It was a strength plus metcon day, so you know I enjoyed it. :-D
No more deadlifting for me in the foreseeable future.
--
My pushups were sloppy on this one, I think if I had better form (tigher core and posterior chain) I would've moved faster and possibly squeezed in one more round.
But I only came in 2 short of tying up with my girl Jess, who was a beast on this one, so I'm happy. :)
DeadliftRan out of time, due to watching/helping others, so I only did 4. But that was plenty -- even though I escaped any low back pain that day, I'm still in a little bit of pain nearly a week later.
3-3-3-3-3
Results: 165-170-175-175
No more deadlifting for me in the foreseeable future.
--
Metcon:Again, looking back these dumbbells should've been 25's to be 70% of men's Rx. But oh well. :)
AMRAP 10 min
5 man-makers (35lb DB/20)
10 box jumps 20"
Results: 5 rounds + 1 MM
My pushups were sloppy on this one, I think if I had better form (tigher core and posterior chain) I would've moved faster and possibly squeezed in one more round.
But I only came in 2 short of tying up with my girl Jess, who was a beast on this one, so I'm happy. :)
Aug 5, 2010
Scaling deadlifts
Sooooo, yesterday I broke the rules of scaling, and used a load because I wanted to be closer to Rx. Please note -- DO NOT DO THIS.
Before I talk about deads, let me just say that I forgot how to kip AGAIN. Note to self -- you must never go more than 1 week without practicing high rep kipping pullups (minimum of 25 reps). I've been doing deadhangs at the pool for so many weeks that I lost my kipping mojo again -- and no I won't bother linking to my early summer posts where I rip on myself for "losing" my pullups. Ick. No one wants to revisit that.
I was doing my sets of 21 and 15 in onsie-twosie fashion, then on the set of 9, BAM, I was kipping and did 3 sets of 3. Good thing I was working out alone between coaching the 0630 and 0830 classes because I was certainly yelling the F word during those first two sets of pullups. :-p
So, deadlifts... I took forever to get setup for this WOD, and had two bars loaded with various weights to try, even though I knew what load I should use. 135 - 145 -- no brainer. 175 was out of the question, since my 1RM is still right around 200. But because I'm stubborn I still messed around with a bar at 165, and then decided to do 155. My 3RM is 170. So it didn't take long for me to be doing 2 reps at a time on my set of 21. Not exactly what you're going for on a couplet like this. It should be hard and fast like Fran. Things stayed onsie-twosie pretty much the whole WOD.
Anyway, by the last set, the pulls were getting ugly, but my time was so awful I just kept pounding through. And so my back is tight today. Not in an "I tweaked it" sort of way, but more than an "I challenged myself."
Though I don't know... Sometimes I wonder where the line is? I tend to shrink back from heavier deadlifts in WODs, but with other lifts (cleans, snatches, OHS) I am more willing to just go for it and see what happens. And maybe that is why my deadlift numbers are so low in comparison to my other lifts?
Ideally I would like to try to do PTP again... I really think the short time I did it helped tremendously, and at least from that I have my form locked in enough to help my athletes perform the movement correctly.
--
Great list of frequently asked questions from CrossFit Park City.
21-15-9Results: 17:15 @155
Deadlift (275/175)
Pullups
Before I talk about deads, let me just say that I forgot how to kip AGAIN. Note to self -- you must never go more than 1 week without practicing high rep kipping pullups (minimum of 25 reps). I've been doing deadhangs at the pool for so many weeks that I lost my kipping mojo again -- and no I won't bother linking to my early summer posts where I rip on myself for "losing" my pullups. Ick. No one wants to revisit that.
I was doing my sets of 21 and 15 in onsie-twosie fashion, then on the set of 9, BAM, I was kipping and did 3 sets of 3. Good thing I was working out alone between coaching the 0630 and 0830 classes because I was certainly yelling the F word during those first two sets of pullups. :-p
So, deadlifts... I took forever to get setup for this WOD, and had two bars loaded with various weights to try, even though I knew what load I should use. 135 - 145 -- no brainer. 175 was out of the question, since my 1RM is still right around 200. But because I'm stubborn I still messed around with a bar at 165, and then decided to do 155. My 3RM is 170. So it didn't take long for me to be doing 2 reps at a time on my set of 21. Not exactly what you're going for on a couplet like this. It should be hard and fast like Fran. Things stayed onsie-twosie pretty much the whole WOD.
Anyway, by the last set, the pulls were getting ugly, but my time was so awful I just kept pounding through. And so my back is tight today. Not in an "I tweaked it" sort of way, but more than an "I challenged myself."
Though I don't know... Sometimes I wonder where the line is? I tend to shrink back from heavier deadlifts in WODs, but with other lifts (cleans, snatches, OHS) I am more willing to just go for it and see what happens. And maybe that is why my deadlift numbers are so low in comparison to my other lifts?
Ideally I would like to try to do PTP again... I really think the short time I did it helped tremendously, and at least from that I have my form locked in enough to help my athletes perform the movement correctly.
--
Great list of frequently asked questions from CrossFit Park City.
Jul 28, 2010
Ooops, I did it again
Couldn't resist the Britney lyrics for a blog title, since yet again I have slacked on posting my WODs the day I do them. :-p
--
Tuesday's WOD was honestly just sad. I thought my head was in the game starting out, but then my focus just kind of whithered away, and I ended up performing really poorly. Well, you win some, you lose some. At least I had two very fast people to chase on the runs, reminding me I really need to work on my SPEED.
See? Sad.
Deadlifts I pushed it -- probably should've made it to 20, but I am a form nazi on those and take my time on getting set up. Thrusters I just went into la-la land. I came in from the 400m run, and just dicked around instead of jumping on the bar. Booo to that. That's just a symptom that my head is not in the game. For toes to bar, I only did 3 before coming off the bar. My grip is stronger than that, I need to do at least 5 (minimum) before coming off.
All in all, I came to the box, did some running, got a good sweat, and left determined to do better the next day.
--
The best part of Tuesday is what happened after the WOD. One of our newer members, Kamie, said she'd like to try the Rx weight of 205 at least once, just to see if she could do it. So I was like, hell yes, let's do it!
There ended up being 4 of us who stuck around for about 20 minutes taking turns on the bar. We started at 155 and worked our way up from there. I was able to share some of my knowledge about deadlift form -- including my absolute favorite setup technique from Rippetoe. Helped Jess with her "shoot up butt", Kamie with pulling the bar along her shins, and Melissa with her form on return (I feel her pain on that one, I still struggle on my return).
In the end Kamie was able to pull 195, and after she did, she did an awesome happy dance and took a little victory lap around the box. She is my kind of chick, I love her energy. :-D
Typing up this story, it sounds so mundane. Four chicks in a gym just screwing around with deadlifts. But what made me so excited about it was that there were 4 of us bad ass CrossFit ladies hanging out, getting our strong on.
So many days I've seen the guys hang around to play with the barbells after the WOD. When the ladies stick around, they are usually chatting or maybe working on their kipping swing. Both of which are great -- I love days when people hang out to talk, and I love seeing everybody working towards getting their pullups.
Those 20 minutes yesterday morning were special because the universe was telling me, yes, you DO have a tribe here. Yes, there are other chicks who get excited about testing the limits of their strength and learning how to get even stronger. It's something I've experienced in other places, but it hadn't really happened here. I can't wait to see what happens next. :)
--
This morning I dialed in my focus and pushed myself, so I was happy about that.
My first row was 2:01, the second row was approaching 2:20 -- I was too gassed to even look at the final time, but my pace on the rower display was up in the 2:20's for more pulls than I was happy with.
The burpees were just S-L-O-W. Holy cow. I was crawling up and down for some of them. But I didn't take any extended breaks, just slowed down the pace here and there to quasi-rest, so I'm happy with my effort overall.
After class I got a few of the ladies (all chicks today, woot!) to try the single-band muscle up progression setup. It really helped them to be able to focus on the skill of the transition -- both up and down -- by eliminating some of the weight in the movement. Even using a band to assist, the muscle up is still a really challenging movement, especially in terms of learning to support yourself up on the rings, and keeping the rings close to the body. Good stuff! Next time we'll set up the squat rack progression and see how people like that.
--
Time to get back to an attempt to be productive on my day off. I am super sleepy so I'm not sure how that's going to turn out. :)
--
Tuesday's WOD was honestly just sad. I thought my head was in the game starting out, but then my focus just kind of whithered away, and I ended up performing really poorly. Well, you win some, you lose some. At least I had two very fast people to chase on the runs, reminding me I really need to work on my SPEED.
In 7 min: Run 800m then AMRAP deadlifts (315lbs/205)Results: 18 deadlifts (@ 135#), 23 thrusters, 6 toes to bar
Rest 1 min.
In 4 min: Run 400m then AMRAP thrusters (45lbs/25)
Rest 1 min.
In 2 min: Run 150m then AMRAP toes to bar
See? Sad.
Deadlifts I pushed it -- probably should've made it to 20, but I am a form nazi on those and take my time on getting set up. Thrusters I just went into la-la land. I came in from the 400m run, and just dicked around instead of jumping on the bar. Booo to that. That's just a symptom that my head is not in the game. For toes to bar, I only did 3 before coming off the bar. My grip is stronger than that, I need to do at least 5 (minimum) before coming off.
All in all, I came to the box, did some running, got a good sweat, and left determined to do better the next day.
--
The best part of Tuesday is what happened after the WOD. One of our newer members, Kamie, said she'd like to try the Rx weight of 205 at least once, just to see if she could do it. So I was like, hell yes, let's do it!
There ended up being 4 of us who stuck around for about 20 minutes taking turns on the bar. We started at 155 and worked our way up from there. I was able to share some of my knowledge about deadlift form -- including my absolute favorite setup technique from Rippetoe. Helped Jess with her "shoot up butt", Kamie with pulling the bar along her shins, and Melissa with her form on return (I feel her pain on that one, I still struggle on my return).
In the end Kamie was able to pull 195, and after she did, she did an awesome happy dance and took a little victory lap around the box. She is my kind of chick, I love her energy. :-D
Typing up this story, it sounds so mundane. Four chicks in a gym just screwing around with deadlifts. But what made me so excited about it was that there were 4 of us bad ass CrossFit ladies hanging out, getting our strong on.
So many days I've seen the guys hang around to play with the barbells after the WOD. When the ladies stick around, they are usually chatting or maybe working on their kipping swing. Both of which are great -- I love days when people hang out to talk, and I love seeing everybody working towards getting their pullups.
Those 20 minutes yesterday morning were special because the universe was telling me, yes, you DO have a tribe here. Yes, there are other chicks who get excited about testing the limits of their strength and learning how to get even stronger. It's something I've experienced in other places, but it hadn't really happened here. I can't wait to see what happens next. :)
--
This morning I dialed in my focus and pushed myself, so I was happy about that.
2 rounds:
Row 500m
21 burpees
Results: 9:20-ishMy girl Melissa rolled in at just over 7 minutes, she freakin' rocks my socks!
My first row was 2:01, the second row was approaching 2:20 -- I was too gassed to even look at the final time, but my pace on the rower display was up in the 2:20's for more pulls than I was happy with.
The burpees were just S-L-O-W. Holy cow. I was crawling up and down for some of them. But I didn't take any extended breaks, just slowed down the pace here and there to quasi-rest, so I'm happy with my effort overall.
After class I got a few of the ladies (all chicks today, woot!) to try the single-band muscle up progression setup. It really helped them to be able to focus on the skill of the transition -- both up and down -- by eliminating some of the weight in the movement. Even using a band to assist, the muscle up is still a really challenging movement, especially in terms of learning to support yourself up on the rings, and keeping the rings close to the body. Good stuff! Next time we'll set up the squat rack progression and see how people like that.
--
Time to get back to an attempt to be productive on my day off. I am super sleepy so I'm not sure how that's going to turn out. :)
Jun 23, 2010
Chipper WOD on a Wednesday
For time:Results: 13:18, scaled up weight to 105#
- Front plank hold - 2 min
- 500m row
- 50 lunge steps
- 10 hang power cleans (155/95)
- 8 L-pullups
- 21 deadlifts (155/95)
This WOD was my first attempt at L-pullups, and I was pretty happy that I was able to crank them out. Did a little kip as I swung my legs up into place to get started, not sure if that's "Rx" or not? Hit chin above bar, then controlled the legs while I lowered back down -- I know that part was right, at least on the last 5-6. Was working on figuring it out the first 2-3 reps. Have been practicing those since this WOD.
Scaled up hang power cleans and deadlifts -- for me, if the male load is 155, the female load should be 75% of that, or 115. The power clean was the limiting factor for me, so I had to stick with about 70% of the male load at 105. Just a difference in opinion between me and the owner of my box. I was glad that I chose a more challenging weight for my cleans and deads.
Really worked my good form on these cleans. Doing Grace twice in the last couple months, I noticed myself getting really sloppy on landing power cleans. Instead of dropping under the bar more as it lessened in upward momentum, I was landing my feed waaaaaaay wide and letting my knees cave in. No good. So for these 10 reps I popped the bar as high as possible, but still dropped under with good solid form to land it solid on the shoulder.
I think I made it through 15-16 of the deadlifts before my grip gave out. Using mixed grip I may have made it all the way to 21 without stopping. I'm still happy with that split though -- only 1 re-grip in a set of 21 is a great improvement for me on deadlifts.
May 26, 2010
Three days at CF KoP
For some reason I've been lazy about posting my WODs this week. Time to catch up. :)
But first, shoutout to Donkey -- if you're reading, leave me a comment! Profanity welcomed! :-p
--
Monday morning I drove to Philly (this week of my trip I'm staying with my in-laws) and hit up CF KoP for the 6:30 WOD. It was fun to be back and see lots of familiar faces. As a bonus Aimee was even teaching the 6:30 class -- I didn't get to see her over Christmas, as she was taking a well-deserved vacation.
We did 4 mini workouts, each 3 minutes long.
Got some good feedback on row from Aimee -- only go back to 11 o'clock on the pull. I will give that a shot next time I'm rowing.
--
Tuesday was a benchmark WOD, which made me nervous all day, but I was excited to WOD with Steph and Cindy.
If anyone heard a sound during my first round of pullups, that was the sound of me blowing my own mind. I did 6 freaking pullups in a row! Then squeezed out 2 more before I dropped off the bar. Holy hell!
Proof of two things. I perform better when I feel like I'm working out in a supportive environment. And I perform SO MUCH BETTER when I'm eating food that is good for me. I've been focusing on cutting out sugar and dairy for the past few days, and upping the protein, and I'm back to feeling normal, instead of feeling like shit. I love Paleo. Hoping to dial back into being grain free very soon, but I'm just taking baby steps back into it at the moment.
I wish I had written down the rounds, but I think they played out something like this: 8-7-7-6-5-3
After the amazing first round of pullups, I was sooooo wanting to get to 40, but it just didn't happen. I would've been 2 closer, but 2 of my attempts on round 6 didn't quite get chin over the bar. I'm just happy I gutted out 3 good ones that round.
PS - This is another Rx'd benchmark WOD to check off the list! Woot! :-D
--
Tonight (Wednesday) was a strength day, which I was soooooooooo ready for. Haven't had a good strength day in what feels like forever.
Front squat: 3-3-3-3-3
Weighted ring dips: 1-1-1-1-1-1-1
Front squats were a bit challenging because of my aforementioned Atlas stone clavicle bruising. Owie! I got somebody's old tshirt out of the lost and found to pad my shoulder, and that really helped for my last three sets. Set #2 was almost a train wreck because I was so distracted by my shoulder hurting.
Results: 95-105-115-125-135
I am happy to report a new PR! My old 1RM was 125, and tonight I did 135 for 3. It was definitely a *struggle* on the way back up for each of the 3 reps, but I made it! What a great feeling! And it was cool to have a little cheering section right there with me, I felt a little bit like a CF rockstar. :-p
Next, it was on to dips. I just worked body weight dips since I can barely do a single body weight ring dip right now. First attempt I missed, then I got the next two. Then the ladies decided I needed to try a muscle up, which I totally wussed out on. My kip was just weak and I know I wasn't focused enough to do it. But I got some good feedback from Jason, and I have some things to practice.
Fourth attempt was a jumping muscle up, I went through transition by jumping and then pressed out of the bottom to do my dip. Fifth attempt was the end of another assisted muscle up, with my feet on a box in front of me. Got the sixth just on the rings, and failed on the seventh.
--
All in all, fun times, and a great three days of CrossFit. Tomorrow might be a rest day -- my dog seems to have ripped off part of her dew claw, so I have to get her to the vet. Poor girl. On a happier note, SHOPPING! It's so nice to be near stores I like, even if it's only temporary. :-D
But first, shoutout to Donkey -- if you're reading, leave me a comment! Profanity welcomed! :-p
--
Monday morning I drove to Philly (this week of my trip I'm staying with my in-laws) and hit up CF KoP for the 6:30 WOD. It was fun to be back and see lots of familiar faces. As a bonus Aimee was even teaching the 6:30 class -- I didn't get to see her over Christmas, as she was taking a well-deserved vacation.
We did 4 mini workouts, each 3 minutes long.
- Wall ball - as many shots as possible above 10 foot line in 3 mins
- Deadlift - as many reps as possible in 3 mins
- Row - as many calories as possible in 3 mins
- Atlas stone - as many ground to shoulder as possible in 3 mins
- Wall ball - 32 @ 14#
- Deadlift - 40 @ 95#
- Row - 47 w/ regular damper (noticed some people were putting theirs on 10)
- Atlas stones - 12 @ 60#
Got some good feedback on row from Aimee -- only go back to 11 o'clock on the pull. I will give that a shot next time I'm rowing.
--
Tuesday was a benchmark WOD, which made me nervous all day, but I was excited to WOD with Steph and Cindy.
"Nicole"Results: 36
As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
400m run
Max pullups
Score is total number of pullups.
If anyone heard a sound during my first round of pullups, that was the sound of me blowing my own mind. I did 6 freaking pullups in a row! Then squeezed out 2 more before I dropped off the bar. Holy hell!
Proof of two things. I perform better when I feel like I'm working out in a supportive environment. And I perform SO MUCH BETTER when I'm eating food that is good for me. I've been focusing on cutting out sugar and dairy for the past few days, and upping the protein, and I'm back to feeling normal, instead of feeling like shit. I love Paleo. Hoping to dial back into being grain free very soon, but I'm just taking baby steps back into it at the moment.
I wish I had written down the rounds, but I think they played out something like this: 8-7-7-6-5-3
After the amazing first round of pullups, I was sooooo wanting to get to 40, but it just didn't happen. I would've been 2 closer, but 2 of my attempts on round 6 didn't quite get chin over the bar. I'm just happy I gutted out 3 good ones that round.
PS - This is another Rx'd benchmark WOD to check off the list! Woot! :-D
--
Tonight (Wednesday) was a strength day, which I was soooooooooo ready for. Haven't had a good strength day in what feels like forever.
Front squat: 3-3-3-3-3
Weighted ring dips: 1-1-1-1-1-1-1
Front squats were a bit challenging because of my aforementioned Atlas stone clavicle bruising. Owie! I got somebody's old tshirt out of the lost and found to pad my shoulder, and that really helped for my last three sets. Set #2 was almost a train wreck because I was so distracted by my shoulder hurting.
Results: 95-105-115-125-135
I am happy to report a new PR! My old 1RM was 125, and tonight I did 135 for 3. It was definitely a *struggle* on the way back up for each of the 3 reps, but I made it! What a great feeling! And it was cool to have a little cheering section right there with me, I felt a little bit like a CF rockstar. :-p
Next, it was on to dips. I just worked body weight dips since I can barely do a single body weight ring dip right now. First attempt I missed, then I got the next two. Then the ladies decided I needed to try a muscle up, which I totally wussed out on. My kip was just weak and I know I wasn't focused enough to do it. But I got some good feedback from Jason, and I have some things to practice.
Fourth attempt was a jumping muscle up, I went through transition by jumping and then pressed out of the bottom to do my dip. Fifth attempt was the end of another assisted muscle up, with my feet on a box in front of me. Got the sixth just on the rings, and failed on the seventh.
--
All in all, fun times, and a great three days of CrossFit. Tomorrow might be a rest day -- my dog seems to have ripped off part of her dew claw, so I have to get her to the vet. Poor girl. On a happier note, SHOPPING! It's so nice to be near stores I like, even if it's only temporary. :-D
May 7, 2010
Cindy and Diane
I meant to blog yesterday, but just didn't get around to it.
On Thursday we did Cindy.
I think I did one set of 2 pullups. The rest were singles. And despite my practice session on Tuesday where I kipped over the bar, probably only 20% of the pullups I did for Cindy were "one pull". The rest were those really slow, tortured, double-pull trainwrecks.
Back in early March I did a partner version of Cindy, and did 5 or 6 rounds where I did all 5 pullups in a row. Depressing.
Though I guess I should remind myself that I had to first progress in order to regress... And maybe I'm learning something that will help me coach others through this kind of thing...
If anyone puts 7 rounds up on our PR board, I'm going to erase it. It's fucking embarrassing...
--
Today's WOD was Diane.
Did HSPU with 2 AbMats. That feels a little shallow, even though I go to failure so quickly. It will be time to drop down to 1 mat soon.
I am really proud of how far I've come with handstands. I can kick up into one with no problem now, and it definitely used to be a skill where I was a total disaster. I'd like to learn how to kip, because I think I would need that in order to get my head to the ground, or to do them on plates or paralettes like in competition.
I considered doing 155 deadlifts, but could barely do 145, so I left it alone. My back tightened up a tiny bit on these -- my form wasn't as good as it could have been. And my deadlift return is still a total trainwreck. At least the setup seems to be solid now, and the pull.
--
Video from CrossFit Portland. I feel like I've put this one in a post before, but it's all good, cause it's worth watching again.
A tribute to women of CrossFit Portland from CrossFit Portland on Vimeo.
On Thursday we did Cindy.
"Cindy"Results: 7 rounds + 5 pullups
As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
5 pullups
10 pushups
15 squats
I think I did one set of 2 pullups. The rest were singles. And despite my practice session on Tuesday where I kipped over the bar, probably only 20% of the pullups I did for Cindy were "one pull". The rest were those really slow, tortured, double-pull trainwrecks.
Back in early March I did a partner version of Cindy, and did 5 or 6 rounds where I did all 5 pullups in a row. Depressing.
Though I guess I should remind myself that I had to first progress in order to regress... And maybe I'm learning something that will help me coach others through this kind of thing...
If anyone puts 7 rounds up on our PR board, I'm going to erase it. It's fucking embarrassing...
--
Today's WOD was Diane.
"Diane"Results: 20:22
21-15-9
Deadlift (225/145)
Handstand pushups
Did HSPU with 2 AbMats. That feels a little shallow, even though I go to failure so quickly. It will be time to drop down to 1 mat soon.
I am really proud of how far I've come with handstands. I can kick up into one with no problem now, and it definitely used to be a skill where I was a total disaster. I'd like to learn how to kip, because I think I would need that in order to get my head to the ground, or to do them on plates or paralettes like in competition.
I considered doing 155 deadlifts, but could barely do 145, so I left it alone. My back tightened up a tiny bit on these -- my form wasn't as good as it could have been. And my deadlift return is still a total trainwreck. At least the setup seems to be solid now, and the pull.
--
Video from CrossFit Portland. I feel like I've put this one in a post before, but it's all good, cause it's worth watching again.
A tribute to women of CrossFit Portland from CrossFit Portland on Vimeo.
Apr 15, 2010
Grinder, but not the yummy kind
In my opinion, anything over 25-30 minutes is automatically a "grinder" or a "grind-fest". I have such a hard time keeping up a steady intensity for long WODs, so I just try to get into a decent rhythm and let it roll.
Tonight was a grinder, and I probably could've finished a bit faster, but what the hell, I still did all the damn work so I'm OK. :-p
There was a 45 minutes cut-off, so I guess technically you could say I DNF'd, but 22 seconds over wasn't horrible so I think I'm OK. :-D
Deadlifts felt decent. I wish I had on long socks, because I didn't keep the bar in contact with my shins as much as I should have. Something sent me to this video yesterday (maybe Twitter?), and I used the really straightforward advice Rip gives on setup a lot today -- I think it really really helped me. It made me realize I roll the bar towards me alot when I get setup. Which is OK for cleans, but not cool for deads. It's good to recognize bad habits in myself, I like to find 'em and kill 'em.
Rip's deadlift setup:
--
I am extremely aggravated that I wasn't given the chance to take the new exam at my Level I certification, because they just published some guidelines on testing requirements on the affiliate blog, and "take the exam only" spots at upcoming LI certs near me are already full. BRILLIANT, RIGHT?!?! Um... NOT.
Honestly, I am just going to let this one settle before I worry about it. I am not going to spend a ton of time and money driving somewhere far away to take this test. Two of the Level II trainers that taught at my cert run their own affiliates in the big town an hour south of here -- I feel certain that once there's enough of a system backlog they'll institute some kind of local testing, which those guys will be qualified to sponsor, and I will be able to pop down there on a Saturday, easy peasy.
So annoying that I couldn't get this taken care of just because my cert was 3-4 weeks too soon.... gah.
--
Best quote from this article: Why We Like Olympic Lifts
--
Jen Sinkler tweeted the link to this video about Gwyneth Paltrow's workout routine and trainer. The trainer actually says "women shouldn't lift more than 3 pounds." OMG!
This reminds me that I need to finish the post I started writing in response to my friend Kate's post about chicks being afraid of lifting heavy weights.
--
Britney's Unretouched Photos from Candie's Ads
What pissed me off most here was the second picture, where the completely removed her quad!! I love that Britney has muscles and an overall strong and athletic body for a "Hollywood starlet", so these retouches that eliminate those "real" elements just anger me.
Good for her for releasing the un-retouched photos, though. That I love. :)
Tonight was a grinder, and I probably could've finished a bit faster, but what the hell, I still did all the damn work so I'm OK. :-p
WOD:
7 rounds for time:Results: 45:22 Rx
21 deadlifts (155#/115)
150m waiters walk (45#/25#)
9 knees to elbows
There was a 45 minutes cut-off, so I guess technically you could say I DNF'd, but 22 seconds over wasn't horrible so I think I'm OK. :-D
Deadlifts felt decent. I wish I had on long socks, because I didn't keep the bar in contact with my shins as much as I should have. Something sent me to this video yesterday (maybe Twitter?), and I used the really straightforward advice Rip gives on setup a lot today -- I think it really really helped me. It made me realize I roll the bar towards me alot when I get setup. Which is OK for cleans, but not cool for deads. It's good to recognize bad habits in myself, I like to find 'em and kill 'em.
Rip's deadlift setup:
- With feet below hips, move feet under the bar so the bar cuts your foot in half. Your *whole* foot in half, not just the part in front of your ankle.
- Grip the bar outside your knees -- but don't roll it toward you!
- Bend your knees until your shins touch the bar
- Raise your chest high while pressing the bar into your shins
- Viola, you are ready to deadlift!
--
I am extremely aggravated that I wasn't given the chance to take the new exam at my Level I certification, because they just published some guidelines on testing requirements on the affiliate blog, and "take the exam only" spots at upcoming LI certs near me are already full. BRILLIANT, RIGHT?!?! Um... NOT.
Honestly, I am just going to let this one settle before I worry about it. I am not going to spend a ton of time and money driving somewhere far away to take this test. Two of the Level II trainers that taught at my cert run their own affiliates in the big town an hour south of here -- I feel certain that once there's enough of a system backlog they'll institute some kind of local testing, which those guys will be qualified to sponsor, and I will be able to pop down there on a Saturday, easy peasy.
So annoying that I couldn't get this taken care of just because my cert was 3-4 weeks too soon.... gah.
--
Best quote from this article: Why We Like Olympic Lifts
"Oh come on, it’s not that weird to practice at home with a broomstick, you wear toe shoes for God’s sake."In general a decent writeup on how C&J and snatch embody all 10 of the general physical skills that define fitness.
--
Jen Sinkler tweeted the link to this video about Gwyneth Paltrow's workout routine and trainer. The trainer actually says "women shouldn't lift more than 3 pounds." OMG!
This reminds me that I need to finish the post I started writing in response to my friend Kate's post about chicks being afraid of lifting heavy weights.
--
Britney's Unretouched Photos from Candie's Ads
What pissed me off most here was the second picture, where the completely removed her quad!! I love that Britney has muscles and an overall strong and athletic body for a "Hollywood starlet", so these retouches that eliminate those "real" elements just anger me.
Good for her for releasing the un-retouched photos, though. That I love. :)
Apr 7, 2010
WOD at Ultimate
On my way home from visiting my sister, I joined in on a noon WOD at Ultimate CrossFit. It was good to be back! Especially since I got to catch up with Mie on her new endeavors in Oly lifting.
Deadlift 3-3-3
145 - 175 x2 - 170
My low back is aching, so I'm thinking I didn't do so well on form... Seems like if I go a week without doing longer sets of deads, I go back to being really really shaky on form. Yikes. Time to incorporate into a weekly post WOD cool down...
Metcon
21-15-9
Sumo Deadlift High Pull (95/65)
Box Jump (24/20)
Kettlebell Swings (1.5/1)
Results: 8:13
Not too bad, considering the crap I've been putting into my mouth. Yikes.
Coaching tomorrow and Friday, we'll see what I get in for WODs. I'm thinking I should get back in the pool tomorrow or Friday, so I don't lose the conditioning that I built up over my 3 weeks of swim and lifeguarding classes.
--
I've been reading Katie's blog for a while, and you should all head over to her place and read this post.
War on fat needs to be turned into a war on carbohydrates. Let's see what the 2010 nutrition guidelines do to help our country get healthier -- if anything...
--
Are you giving it your all?
Includes this classic Glassman quote: "Optimizing fitness is a product of regular workouts whose intensity is only briefly sustainable."
I'm wondering if a statement like this is too harsh to throw up on our box's whiteboard: "If you are not progressing at a fairly substantial clip month over month, it’s most likely the intensity that you are bringing day after day that is to blame. Up the intensity and the results will come."
--
HSPU tips -- I'll definitely be implementing several things from this article.
Deadlift 3-3-3
145 - 175 x2 - 170
My low back is aching, so I'm thinking I didn't do so well on form... Seems like if I go a week without doing longer sets of deads, I go back to being really really shaky on form. Yikes. Time to incorporate into a weekly post WOD cool down...
Metcon
21-15-9
Sumo Deadlift High Pull (95/65)
Box Jump (24/20)
Kettlebell Swings (1.5/1)
Results: 8:13
Not too bad, considering the crap I've been putting into my mouth. Yikes.
Coaching tomorrow and Friday, we'll see what I get in for WODs. I'm thinking I should get back in the pool tomorrow or Friday, so I don't lose the conditioning that I built up over my 3 weeks of swim and lifeguarding classes.
--
I've been reading Katie's blog for a while, and you should all head over to her place and read this post.
And for the first time in my life, I am SURE that I am made of pretty tough stuff and I already KNOW that my team is. For the girl who two years ago was overweight and couldn't do a pull-up or a push-up to get 18th place in the DC/WVA/VA sectionals shows just how powerful CrossFit (and this community) is... and to that I can really only say one thing.... Hooah!--
War on fat needs to be turned into a war on carbohydrates. Let's see what the 2010 nutrition guidelines do to help our country get healthier -- if anything...
--
Are you giving it your all?
Includes this classic Glassman quote: "Optimizing fitness is a product of regular workouts whose intensity is only briefly sustainable."
I'm wondering if a statement like this is too harsh to throw up on our box's whiteboard: "If you are not progressing at a fairly substantial clip month over month, it’s most likely the intensity that you are bringing day after day that is to blame. Up the intensity and the results will come."
--
HSPU tips -- I'll definitely be implementing several things from this article.
Apr 1, 2010
Deadlifts and officially a lifeguard
Well, today was a good day for two reasons!
One, I officially passed my lifeguard training class, so I'm now Red Cross certified in lifeguarding, first aid, CPR and AED. Woot!
The down side to that is I'm sunburnt on my face, despite my best efforts to reapply sunscreen like crazy. I'm also sunburnt on my feet, but that is my own dumb fault for not putting sunscreen on them today. :-p
Two, I hit the gym right after class to test out of my biggest 1st quarter 2010 goal -- the 200# deadlift. I did a standard 7 sets of 1 rep each.
115-135-145-155-165-185-200
Hollah! I would've taken a video, but I didn't have my iPod with me. :)
So since it's April 1st, it's time to reassess the first quarter goal list, complete a couple more items, and roll the rest into a 2nd quarter goal list, or put them on hold. Will post about all that soon.
And yes, I'm still gonna post about my cert. Sister visiting and lifeguard class have left me with almost 0 blogging time.
One, I officially passed my lifeguard training class, so I'm now Red Cross certified in lifeguarding, first aid, CPR and AED. Woot!
The down side to that is I'm sunburnt on my face, despite my best efforts to reapply sunscreen like crazy. I'm also sunburnt on my feet, but that is my own dumb fault for not putting sunscreen on them today. :-p
Two, I hit the gym right after class to test out of my biggest 1st quarter 2010 goal -- the 200# deadlift. I did a standard 7 sets of 1 rep each.
115-135-145-155-165-185-200
Hollah! I would've taken a video, but I didn't have my iPod with me. :)
So since it's April 1st, it's time to reassess the first quarter goal list, complete a couple more items, and roll the rest into a 2nd quarter goal list, or put them on hold. Will post about all that soon.
And yes, I'm still gonna post about my cert. Sister visiting and lifeguard class have left me with almost 0 blogging time.
Mar 24, 2010
"DT" and catch-up
Yes, I am going to post about the cert. But my sister is here visiting (an unexpected, yet delightful surprise!) so that may take a few more days. I have some notes written down about my thoughts, and I'll add some more to that as well.
Monday I just did swim class, since I was still feeling a bit sore from the cert. Tuesday I took a total rest day, and skipped swim and CrossFit. Tonight it was back in the pool, with a WOD afterwards with the CF Camden trainers.
"DT"
Five rounds for time of:
155 pound Deadlift, 12 reps
155 pound Hang power clean, 9 reps
155 pound Push jerk, 6 reps
Results: 15:36 @ 85#
Deads were unbroken all 5 rounds. Cleans were in random sets. Did a few rounds of unbroken push jerks, maybe 3 of the 5. Cleans were definitely the limiting factor in this WOD.
The "traditional" women's scale would be 105#, Dave prescribed 95#. After finishing the WOD, I was left wondering if I should've done 95... I always feel that way after I scale. But after an hour in the pool, I didn't think I could handle the 95# hang power cleans.
Good WOD overall.
Monday I just did swim class, since I was still feeling a bit sore from the cert. Tuesday I took a total rest day, and skipped swim and CrossFit. Tonight it was back in the pool, with a WOD afterwards with the CF Camden trainers.
"DT"
Five rounds for time of:
155 pound Deadlift, 12 reps
155 pound Hang power clean, 9 reps
155 pound Push jerk, 6 reps
Results: 15:36 @ 85#
Deads were unbroken all 5 rounds. Cleans were in random sets. Did a few rounds of unbroken push jerks, maybe 3 of the 5. Cleans were definitely the limiting factor in this WOD.
The "traditional" women's scale would be 105#, Dave prescribed 95#. After finishing the WOD, I was left wondering if I should've done 95... I always feel that way after I scale. But after an hour in the pool, I didn't think I could handle the 95# hang power cleans.
Good WOD overall.
Mar 16, 2010
Deadlifts and pushups - mainsite WOD
Today we did the mainsite WOD from March 10.
This was my second day of doing the 6pm class after my 1 hour swim class from 4-5. My arms / shoulders were already tired before attempting this!
But at the same time it feels good to do my own little version of "two-a-days". :)
All my pushups were on the toes, and I am feeling stronger with them every day. I did the first set unbroken, and then started off each subsequent round with at least 5 in a row. This was a great prep WOD for my first attempt at Cindy, which I am planning on undertaking sometime before the end of March.
Deadlifts felt great. At this weight, it wasn't my legs that gave out, it was my grip / forearms. My back also felt great, so I know that means I've improved a lot on form. Even just that short time that I worked on PTP really really helped improve my form.
10 rounds for time:Result: 20:15
15 deadlift (135/85)
15 pushups
This was my second day of doing the 6pm class after my 1 hour swim class from 4-5. My arms / shoulders were already tired before attempting this!
But at the same time it feels good to do my own little version of "two-a-days". :)
All my pushups were on the toes, and I am feeling stronger with them every day. I did the first set unbroken, and then started off each subsequent round with at least 5 in a row. This was a great prep WOD for my first attempt at Cindy, which I am planning on undertaking sometime before the end of March.
Deadlifts felt great. At this weight, it wasn't my legs that gave out, it was my grip / forearms. My back also felt great, so I know that means I've improved a lot on form. Even just that short time that I worked on PTP really really helped improve my form.
Mar 6, 2010
PTP Days 5 & 6
I highly recommend starting the PTP program on the 1st day of the month. It makes it easy when the date and the day of the program are synched up. :-D
No time to blog yesterday, I was running all over the place.
I was working with a milspouse friend at the base gym on CrossFit basics, so I did my deadlift and press there. I actually had a conversation with the on-base firemen about kipping pullups, which I was doing during my warm up on one of the squat racks. They are kind of attention grabbing in a "regular" gym. Of course I took a moment to try to sell CrossFit, we'll see what comes of it. :) I also had a fun conversation with a 65-year-old guy who competes in bench press competitions -- it's some variant of powerlifting where you can compete in a single event. He was cool, and I might swing back to the base gym next week to get some pointers from him and his lifting partner.
At our box we sign up for 5Ks and running events, but to keep it inclusive, I think we need to branch out and see if we can participate in things like powerlifting meets or Olympic weightlifting meets. One of my best friends at the box Allie is still working on her body comp, so her running is still really slow. But she out-lifts the rest of the ladies in the box by 30, 40, 50 pounds. A big part of me just wants to put her in the spotlight and let her beat us all soundly. :) She totally deserves it because she works her ass off, and never gets upset or frustrated, just keeps on plugging away.
Hopefully I will be posting more about that idea soon!
Anyway, back to the PTP stuff.
PTP Day 5:
So I went to the box and did Fight Gone Bad. I'll make up those sprints soon, though.
Here's the breakdown for my FGB, though I know no one cares about the rep breakdown other than me. :)
Wall ball: 11, 12, 12
Box jump: 28, 23, 19
Push press: 18, 14, 11
SDHP: 20, 16, 16
Row: 11, 11, 10
Total reps: 232
At first I felt good about those numbers, but after we all finished, I realized that I was in 3rd place, and had only been beaten by 4 and 7 reps. WTF???? Makes me think to myself I could've pushed out a few more reps here and there if I had know I could've pumped out the highest female score at my box.
So, as far as I'm concerned, Fight Gone Bad and I have a rematch sometime SOON.
--
This morning I coached the 0930 class, and we did "Team Cindy". In pairs, only one partner works at a time, and whole rounds must be completed before switching off.
There was some debate before we started about how much "waiting around" would have to be done, but I enjoyed doing the WOD that way. I think it is a perfect way to prep to do Cindy, which I would like to do sometime soon (afterall, it is in my 1st quarter goals). By having a break while your partner works, you can not only cheer them on, you can also move a lot faster each time it's your turn.
I starting losing my pushups on about the 5th of 6th round that I completed... That sucked. But I'm happy to say that I only had 1 really awful round for pullups. I pretty much was able to complete 5 in a row on 6 or 7 of the 9 total rounds that I did. Being able to do pullups is freaking wonderful. Now to get those dead hangs...
Squats were cake, makes me happy I've been working on them a lot. :-D
--
In two weeks I will be at my cert -- yikes! I need to re-read the study guide. I wish they provided some practice questions or something, I just feel like I don't know what to concentrate on since there are about 90 pages of material!
I also need to visit a copy shop and have them print and bind it for me, with extra pages added for notes. They provide some notes areas in the PDF file, but not enough for me.
No time to blog yesterday, I was running all over the place.
I was working with a milspouse friend at the base gym on CrossFit basics, so I did my deadlift and press there. I actually had a conversation with the on-base firemen about kipping pullups, which I was doing during my warm up on one of the squat racks. They are kind of attention grabbing in a "regular" gym. Of course I took a moment to try to sell CrossFit, we'll see what comes of it. :) I also had a fun conversation with a 65-year-old guy who competes in bench press competitions -- it's some variant of powerlifting where you can compete in a single event. He was cool, and I might swing back to the base gym next week to get some pointers from him and his lifting partner.
At our box we sign up for 5Ks and running events, but to keep it inclusive, I think we need to branch out and see if we can participate in things like powerlifting meets or Olympic weightlifting meets. One of my best friends at the box Allie is still working on her body comp, so her running is still really slow. But she out-lifts the rest of the ladies in the box by 30, 40, 50 pounds. A big part of me just wants to put her in the spotlight and let her beat us all soundly. :) She totally deserves it because she works her ass off, and never gets upset or frustrated, just keeps on plugging away.
Hopefully I will be posting more about that idea soon!
Anyway, back to the PTP stuff.
PTP Day 5:
- Deadlift: 115, 105
- Press: 55, 50
So I went to the box and did Fight Gone Bad. I'll make up those sprints soon, though.
Here's the breakdown for my FGB, though I know no one cares about the rep breakdown other than me. :)
Wall ball: 11, 12, 12
Box jump: 28, 23, 19
Push press: 18, 14, 11
SDHP: 20, 16, 16
Row: 11, 11, 10
Total reps: 232
At first I felt good about those numbers, but after we all finished, I realized that I was in 3rd place, and had only been beaten by 4 and 7 reps. WTF???? Makes me think to myself I could've pushed out a few more reps here and there if I had know I could've pumped out the highest female score at my box.
So, as far as I'm concerned, Fight Gone Bad and I have a rematch sometime SOON.
--
This morning I coached the 0930 class, and we did "Team Cindy". In pairs, only one partner works at a time, and whole rounds must be completed before switching off.
There was some debate before we started about how much "waiting around" would have to be done, but I enjoyed doing the WOD that way. I think it is a perfect way to prep to do Cindy, which I would like to do sometime soon (afterall, it is in my 1st quarter goals). By having a break while your partner works, you can not only cheer them on, you can also move a lot faster each time it's your turn.
I starting losing my pushups on about the 5th of 6th round that I completed... That sucked. But I'm happy to say that I only had 1 really awful round for pullups. I pretty much was able to complete 5 in a row on 6 or 7 of the 9 total rounds that I did. Being able to do pullups is freaking wonderful. Now to get those dead hangs...
Squats were cake, makes me happy I've been working on them a lot. :-D
--
In two weeks I will be at my cert -- yikes! I need to re-read the study guide. I wish they provided some practice questions or something, I just feel like I don't know what to concentrate on since there are about 90 pages of material!
I also need to visit a copy shop and have them print and bind it for me, with extra pages added for notes. They provide some notes areas in the PDF file, but not enough for me.
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