Clogged sinuses, BS & press, yoga, K2E

When I brought up my blog, I thought, "I must've done something between Murph and today??"

I looked back at the blog for our gym, and yes, I did. :)

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Wednesday, June 1
First day of our strength cycle, which I'm co-programming with my boss. Has been interesting so far, we'll see what everybody thinks when we get to the end of 5 weeks. :)

Back squat
3-3-3-3-3, working up to 90% 1RM
125-135-145-145-150(f)

No reps on that last set, I just went down, stopped, and bailed the bar behind me. Ugh, my ability to back squat heavy weights SUCKS. I wish I was as good at that as I am at weightlifting movements. The slow lifts just don't seem to make as much sense to me, maybe I have too much time to overthink it?

Press
3-3-3-3-3, working up to 90% 1RM
65-75-80-80-82

Had to go for 82 just to have the highest female numbers on the board for that one. Come one, I need one thing I can brag about. :)

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After that workout, I pretty much succumbed to a horrible sinus infection / cold. It's actually still hanging on, though I'm at the point where working out is something I need to do to drive the bad stuff out of my body.

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Monday, June 6
Yesterday night I went to heated power yoga, and it was great, as usual. I'm going to miss this studio and the husband-wife team that owns it and teaches the classes I take. They are great. I almost talked myself out of going, and I'm glad I just did it. It was annoying to have my nose clogged up a lot of the time, but oh well. :)

I'd like to attend this Monday night class regularly, and also Friday afternoon. I think yoga twice a week would be a great addition to the work I'm doing with my chiropractor. Gotta get myself all fixed up before I have to move away from him, too.

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Today's workout was pretty interesting. It was an AMRAP, and the time actually went by pretty quickly, which is always a good thing. I hate WODs where the time just seems to drag on and on.

WOD:

How high up the ladder can you climb in 20 mins:

200 m Run
 1 Knees-to-elbows
200 m Run
 2 Knees-to-elbows
200 m Run
 3 Knees-to-elbows
...

Record highest set of knees to elbows completed.

 Results: 7 + 6 K2Es of my 8th round

Wow, I was really running slow for this one. And I need to get faster at knees to elbows.

I kept having these little glimmers of insight into how to string them together, without an extra kipping swing in the middle, but then I would suddenly find myself wildly swinging on the pullup bar with no clue what I was doing. I'll have to search out some videos on that, though maybe I'm on the right track and just not executing properly. I'm trying to bring my knees down as I push forward to start a new swing, and then pop out of that swing into another K2E.

Any tips from anyone reading would be appreciated! :)

Filthy Fifty

Hit this WOD on a whim Sunday night. Husband has a weird issue going on with his shin, so I took him over to the "satellite" gym to use the rower for his running substitute. He's addicted to running, so complete rest is not an option for him.

Filthy Fifty was on the board for Friday, and some other peeps had come in and done it on Sunday. So we modified it for him, and I did it "regular".

Filthy Fifty
50 box jumps (20'')
50 jumping pullups
50 kettlebell swings (1/2 pood - 16kg)
50 walking lunge steps
50 knees to elbows
50 push press (35#)
50 back extensions (did supermans, no GHD for me yet)
50 wall ball shots (14#)
50 burpees
50 double unders

Results: 45:29 (includes a potty break during DUs :-p)

This WOD and I just do not get along. Especially the part where I'm supposed to do 50 K2Es. I think I spent about 15 minutes doing K2Es, and 30 minutes doing everything else. Seriously.

Low points:
 - K2Es were not only agonizingly slow with small sets of 2s, 3s and 4s, but there weren't even close to Rx with my knees touching triceps most of the time; I have a lot practice to get "Rx" on this WOD...
 - Back extensions -- still afraid of getting on the GHD for fear of triggering renewed back/hip pain...

High points:
 - 50 unbroken kb swings
 - 25-15-10 wall balls; this is an epic improvement for me on those
 - push press felt light, wish I had gone for unbroken
 - double unders -- every minute of practice I did to get these is worth it when I breeze through them in a wod

TGU's are ruining my shoes

Another nice relaxing WOD at the gym on base. I used to hate working out there, but I truly love my AM workouts with friends these last few weeks. Sucks that I'm moving 30 minutes away to be closer to the gym I coach for now.

3 rounds:
15 wall ball shots (used 12#)
10 Turkish get-ups, each side (20# kettlebell)
15 knees to elbows

No timer on this one.

My friend did 10 total the first round, and stuck with that. I did 10 each side, then 8 each side, then 5 each side. Went for 5 in a row each arm, but the left arm was too weak. I think I was doing 3's by the last round on the left.

The part where you "bridge" your hips up, and then sweep your leg through and put your knee down -- well I guess I scraped my shoe on the ground a lot, because I'm missing from rubber. The toe rubber of the Nike's I've been wearing do not hold up well from burpees, pushups or TGUs. Boo.

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After the WOD I did the "B" day from my pullup program.

On the minute for 10 minutes:
6-10 second hold with chin above bar. Used pullup grip.

One the minute for 10 minutes:
6-10 second negative. Had to switch to a station with neutral grip for first 7 sets, then I did a wide-ish pullup grip for the last 3 sets.

Main site chipper

We took on the crazy chipper from the main site at our box, and it was interesting to say the least!

25 Walking lunge steps
20 Pull-ups
50 Box jumps, 20 inch box
20 Double-unders
25 Ring dips
20 Knees to elbows
30 Kettlebell swings, 24k/16
30 Sit-ups
20 Hang squat cleans, 35/20 pound dumbells
25 Back extensions
30 Wall ball shots, 20/14 pound ball
3 Rope climb ascents

Results: 30:50

I completed the pullups without incident, definitely got 5 to kick things off. THANK GOD.

Banged out the box jumps at a good pace.

Thought my 20 DUs were in the bag, but missed #20 and had to do one single DU. Still pleased with that. :)

Skinny band for the ring dips -- need to rededicated myself to getting rid of that soon.

K2Es were fucking beautiful, not to brag. :-D

Swings, situps, hang cleans -- no problemo.

Back extensions -- this is where I wussed out big time. I've learned recently that my back is a very weak area in my body, comparatively. So I have a stronger back than some people, but overall I'm front-dominant to compensate for a weaker back. I knew these back extensions would lock me up, but did them anyway. And then got locked up. Probably wasted 2 minutes afterwards trying to un-fuck myself enough to do the wall balls. I had a Filthy Fifty flashback for sure.

Wall balls were badass, got 15 the first set, not sure if I broke the 2nd half or not. Soooooo glad these don't trip me up so much anymore.

ROPE CLIMBS. Went up with the rope wrapped around, came down with feet in the J-hook. Probably rested a little too long between attempts, but I'm still too freaked out to do these while I'm super-winded or feeling weak in the arms. Since we don't have a crash mat, I'm OK with this.

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The only thing I'm pissed about is the WOD was posted with 24kg/16kg for the kettlebell swings, and Rx on the main site was 2 pood (32kg) -- which means ladies Rx was 24kg. Boooooo. I would've used my 45# kettlebell or maybe even the big one if I had known that.

Plus ladies Rx should really have been 25# dumbbells... Bummah.

But based on what was written on the whiteboard the day I did this, I am happy that I only scaled ring dips. Woot! I will take "nearly Rx" whenever I can get it. :-D

Last day at CFC before VACAY!

Was gonna leave for vacation yesterday, but had a ton of errands to do. So I hit the gym this AM, and I'm gonna leave right after a shower.

Complete for time:
1000m row
30 overhead lunge steps right hand (40lb DB/25)
20 GHD hip extentions
30 OH lunge steps left
20 GHD sit ups
20 OH lunge steps right
20 knees to elbows
20 OH lunge steps left
20 AB mat sit ups
10 OH lunge steps right
20 knees to elbows
10 OH lunge steps left

Results: 26:26 Rx

I used a 12kg kettlebell instead of a dumbbell -- that's about 26 pounds, so still Rx.

This took me about 5 minutes longer than everybody else, and it's cause I was dawdling. Guess I started my vacation early? :-p

My reaction to this workout on the board, and my experience with performing it, tells me that I still have a lot to learn about programming. Just like yesterday, it "sounded" a lot harder to me than it actually was to perform. I thought the load on the lunges would be super-heavy, but it was totally do-able. Always learning, learning, learning...

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Speaking of learning, I've got a private session scheduled with Aimee at CrossFit KoP next Monday, and I'm super excited! We're going to go over, snatch (+ snatch balance, muscle snatch, etc), clean (as in, why is my PR stuck at 125?), kettlebell snatch (haven't ever had instruction on these), and HSPU.

Woot woot!

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Also on tap for my trip up north, I'll be participating in Metro Dash Philadelphia! I am so pumped about spending the day with my CF KoP peeps, plus I even got my husband to sign up. Will definitely take the iPod -- maybe Steph and I will collaborate on some awesome video. :-D

Be back soon with some vacation WODs, which will include some hiking! :-D

It feels good to "win"

My back was tight from deadlifts, but I knew the best remedy would be a workout. Today's WOD wasn't going to be hard on my back at all, so it was perfect for getting a good sweat and loosening everything up.

Strength: press
7-6-5-4-3-2-1

Results: 55-60-65-70-75-85-95

 I *really* wanted that 95 at the end, but it got stuck at my forehead. I was basically staring at it, willing it to go up, for about 3 or 4 seconds before I gave up. With 95 being my current 1RM, I'm not surprised at the result. Would've been nice to match that 1RM, but I'm still happy with the work I did today.

metcon:
50 abmat situps
40 double unders
30 box jumps (20'')
20 wall ball shots (20#/14)
10 knees to elbows

Results: 6:26

When I saw today's metcon on the website last night, I thought to myself, "I can smack that bitch down." And when I was starting out the class with some strict press sets, I starting thinking again: "I can WIN."

Every once in a while when I know I'm good at everything in the WOD, my competitive spirit breaks out and I become absolutely determined to finish first.

There were only 4 people in my class this morning, and I finished first by a minute, and I was damn proud!

Best moment of the morning -- I did 23 double unders!!!! It was fucking amazing! I just keep doing them, and doing them, and doing them -- what a great feeling! And then I finished out the rest of the 40 unbroken, so that's 17 unbroken.

Those are basically my #1 and #2 longest sets of double unders I've ever done. Just goes to show what happens when I put on my game face. I need to go to that place more often!

Situps I did unbroken.

Box jumps I took a slow and steady approach. Started not paying close attention and missed one attempt, but focused back in after that and kept the knees high.

Wall balls were also amazing, considering my history with sucking at those- banged them out in 2 solid sets of 10. I used a 14# ball and threw it to the 10 foot line.

Side note on wall balls: I can't accept that women should scale both weight and height on wall balls. Height of the throw should be scaled based on the person's height, not their gender. Like, if you're 5'4'' or shorter, use the 8 foot line. Taller, use the 10 foot line. And those giant people over 6 feet should have an even higher line!

OK, end wall ball rant and ramblings about the metcon. Suffice it to say it was a fun day in the gym, and I enjoyed my little moment of victory. :) (Though I'm thinking somebody probably beat my time in the evening classes)

Later gators. :)

Weighted pullups and two metcons

Gotta post quick, I want to get this up before I have to be at work so I don't slack off and not post it. :)

I went back to the gym this morning even though I'm still not over this virus. I took a whole week off already, so at this point I think working out is going to help me get better and get this shit cleared out of my system.

We did a multi-part workout.

First:

 Weighted pullups: 5-3-2-1-1-1

My sets went down like this:

• 5: deadhang
• 3: 5# dumbbell
• 2: 8# dumbbell
• 1: 10# dumbbell
• 1: 10# dumbbell
• 1: 10# dumbbell

I was very pleasantly surprised to be able to handle the 10# dumbbell! I did have to kip out of the bottom -- ideally I would like to keep my weighted work strictly deadhang. But for now, I think it works. My work on deadhangs has really paid off, makes me a little bit glad that pullup bar at my workplace is so stinking close to the wall. Scraping your knees on a brick wall is very good incentive to not kip. :-p

Next we did two metcons. I tried to keep moving during these, but honestly I didn't push myself too hard. I just wanted to work and sweat, not kill myself. I'll get back to that in another week or so when all the chest congestion is gone.

AMRAP in 8 min
5 hspu
15 knees to elbows
rest 2 min
AMRAP in 5 min
10 sumo deadlift high pulls (75lbs/55)
15 double unders

1st AMRAP -- 2 rounds + 6 K2E's
2nd AMRAP -- 3 rounds + 5 SDHP's

Double unders were hard because my heart was racing so much. And I totally sucked at K2E's today -- I have good and bad days with those. Honestly, I think I'm better at toes to bar than those, because I practically have to get my feet the height of the bar to touch my knees to my elbows. Time to experiment with form on those, perhaps. For HSPU I used 2 AbMats, and got the input that maybe it's time to drop to 1. I think I agree with that.

Gotta run time to shower for work. Happy Monday, get in the gym!

Quick metcon before work

I made the mistake of trying to do this metcon at the gym on base around 11:00 before I had to work at the pool at 11:30. It's a hassle to try to use a barbell in this gym *at all*, so overlapping with the lunch rush was just a total clusterfuck. Won't make the mistake again.

My time on this one was definitely impacted by having my bar location messed with while I was doing knees to elbows on the pullup bar around the corner. Who knew somebody was going to use that weird looking machine to do some kind of shoulder exercise. Or that there would be a mad rush for all the incline bench stations.

Not to mention I couldn't even do full ROM on the knees to elbows because the pullup bars are all mounted too close to the wall. Grabbing the bar facing away from the wall, when you flex your shoulders as you get your knees high, your upper back / shoulders scrape against the wall. BRILLIANT. This is what happens when you do real workouts at a gym on a Navy base where everybody is, A) on shore duty or B) works on a submarine. The Marines here have their own gym and pullup bars near their offices and barracks. Very smart of them. :)

Also, I had to squeeze myself between two machine-thingys to swing my kettlebell. Though at least they actually *have* those -- that is a plus.

Anyway, enough bitching. Here's the WOD.

3 rounds:
12 thrusters (75lbs/55)
12 kettle swings (24k/16)
12 knees to elbows

Results: 11:23, Rx

Yeah, pitiful. But hey, got my WOD in that day, so I was happy. :)

WOD at the Y

Today I decided to hit the local Y and check out their weight room. It wasn't too bad, actually, so that was a pleasant surprise. (Didn't make the long drive out to CF Pittsburgh since the WOD kinda bored me -- 4 rounds: 400m run, 50 squats. Meh.) The had decent pullup stations on both the squat racks, and they even had a 24'' plyo box for me to jump on. Yay! :)

Here's the WOD I came up with, modified from an old WOD I found on CF Camden website.

21-15-9:
push jerk (95lbs/65)
knees to elbows
overhead squats (95lbs/65)
box jumps 20"

Results: ~30 minutes

I know, LAME on the time, right? But I found that I was having performance anxiety to be doing this stuff in front of people and it was making my heart race. Very weird. Just my social anxiety acting up, I guess...

I put push jerks in there because after reviewing my video from Grace a couple weeks ago, I realized how much my jerks were sucking. I wasn't locking out before sticking the landing, so I ended up pressing the weight a bit at the end to get it fully overhead and locked out. Ewwww. I guess it was good that I was stuck working out in front of a mirror today, because I able to watch my form. At such a light weight it wasn't super challenging, but hopefully it reinforced good movement.

K2Es... Was basically doing 2 at a time for most of them. Eh. I hate those things.

The whole purpose of paying the 1-day entrance to the Y was to work on some barbell stuff, especially OHS. I just felt like doing them, and then I read this article by Dan John that convinced me I needed some OHS this week. It was a little bit of a bummer not to snatch the weight off the ground. Honestly I feel more stable in the overhead lockout when I've snatched the bar into overhead. But taking the bar off the rack seemed more prudent considering the environment.

Cool down was 15 pullups, max handstand hold (45 seconds-ish), 5 pullups, max handstand hold (30 seconds-ish).  I also did a couple pullups in my warmup, which was the 2nd reason for paying to get into the Y. Surprisingly the outdoor track I used for my "altered" Eva did not have a pullup bar. So strange. Or maybe I am just used to working out on military bases?

OMG, I have no idea why this is so long, sorry to anyone who actually read the whole thing. :)

Oh yeah, one more thing -- I'm now on beyond the whiteboard, so if any of you know how we can be friends on there, or see each other's WODs there, let me know. :)

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

WOD:

7 rounds for time:
21 deadlifts (155#/115)
150m waiters walk (45#/25#)
9 knees to elbows

Results: 45:22 Rx

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:

1. 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.
2. Grip the bar outside your knees -- but don't roll it toward you!
3. Bend your knees until your shins touch the bar
4. Raise your chest high while pressing the bar into your shins
5. Viola, you are ready to deadlift!

Major victory for today -- K2E's didn't make me want to cry, even though the WOD as a whole made me feel like I was going to hurl. Hollah!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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. :)

Filthy Fifty - the rematch

So, back in October, during a trip up north to visit family, I DNF'd on Filthy Fifty at CrossFit KoP.

The posted WOD for 3/14 is again Filthy Fifty, with a reminder link to compare back to October.

In a wonderful turn of events, the WOD my box schedule for today was Filthy Fifty, so I was able to finally make an attempt to finish this WOD and get a baseline time.

It turned out pretty ugly. But I got it done.

I probably wouldn't have felt so beat down if I hadn't attended a 1 hour swimming class just prior to doing this WOD. And also if it wasn't my first time back in the pool in about 6-7 months.

Oh well, that's definitely a "varied stimulus" that should produce some bad ass adaptations! :-D (Yes, I have been studying my CrossFit manual for the cert this weekend.)

"Filthy Fifty"

50 reps of each movement, for time:
Box jump, 24 inch box
Jumping pull-ups
Kettlebell swings (24kg/16)
Walking Lunges (50 total steps)
Knees to elbows
Push press, (45lbs/25)
GHD Back extensions
Wall ball shots (20/14)
Burpees
Double unders

Results:  41:25, Rx'd

I definitely dawdled a good bit during this WOD. Probably enough to take off 5 minutes. I was feeling decidedly beat down and wussy.

In bullets:

• Box jumps: It felt good to jump the 24'' box -- seems like all I've been doing lately is the 20''. I like the big one better. 
• Jumping pullups: felt weird! I haven't done one of those in a very long time. 
• KB swings: 2 sets of 25. Cake.
• Lunges: Could've been a lot faster, and in larger sets. 
• Knees to elbows: Done in sets of 5. I'm still using a good bit of kipping at the bottom to get my knees up. But I do try to engage the shoulders and get my back parallel to the ground when I get to the top. These really hurt my hands!
• Push press: Sets of 25, 15, 10. 25# felt super light after the 55# for Fight Gone Bad.
• Back ext: Started with 25 straight, not sure of the rest of the breakdown. Felt fine doing them, but OWWWWWW, my back was one big ass spasm when I was finished. I could barely climb off the GHD.
• Burpees: When I got in my groove, I was pumping these out. Tried to do sets of 10. The last 10 were really brutal... I actually took some pointers from that video of the Guvernator at the CF Games Ohio Sectionals, where he's watching a deadlift-burpee WOD. The girl doing burpees in that video had a great technique.
• Double unders: THANK GOD I can do these now. Got the first 40 in sets of 10-ish. Last 10 were ridiculous. My shoe came untied and that laces were getting caught in my jump rope, so I just ripped it off so I could do the last one. That got a laugh out of my spectators. My anger amuses them. :-p

Final thought of the recap -- tired. I am beat. Gotta hit the rack early tonight, because tomorrow at 8:30am we're doing the main site WOD from a few days ago. Gotta love 10 rounds of anything. :-p

Restarting PTP

Today I restarted the Whole9 / CF 603 PTP program.

For reference:

• post comments on doing PTP here, thread will be monitored
• view entire program here 

Yep, I tried this back in January, and didn't carry through with it. I probably should have tried to get a partner to do it with me, so there was extra motivation to continue with it... Though I do have some virtual partner motivation, since 21st Century Amazon is also doing PTP right now.

Day 1:

• Deadlift: 5 reps at 110 and 105 (was supposed to be 100, but I screwed up my plates)
• Press: 5 reps at 50 and 45 (yay starting from new 1RM of 85 on press)
• Cash-out: 3rds, 30 DUs, 15 K2Es -- 11:45

Some thoughts, as usual.

Keeping my shoulders relaxed at the start of a K2E, when I'm just hanging from the bar, helps A LOT. I am kipping / swinging a bit to start the motion, but to make up for that I am making sure to engage my shoulders and really get up into a good final position before coming back down. I need to take some more video to make sure my back is getting close to parallel to the ground.

I would've done the cash out faster if I didn't have to pee in the middle of my 2nd set of DU's.

Press felt soooooo easy. Deadlift too. I think sticking to this program will be an exercise in patience, and will also teach me a lot about working with future clients who want to get stronger. Since one of my interests is training the older crowd, I think first-hand experience in a gradual strength-building progression will be invaluable. For someone who is older and worried about losing strength, strength gains seem like they would trump metcon / aerobic conditioning in importance.

25's Chipper

WOD:

Complete the following for time:

25 GHD hip extentions
400m run
25 double unders
25 suitcase deadlift left (40lb/25 dumbbell)
150m run
25 suitcase deadlift right (40lb/25 dumbbell)
25 knees to elbows
25 ring dips
25 ball slams 
25 kettle bell sumo deadlift high pull (24k/16)
25 ab mat sit ups

Results:  19:59 -- skinny band for ring dips

I can't say I really put "all out" effort into this one... Honestly, chipper-style WODs with a gazillion exercises kind of annoy me, I would rather focus on 2 or 3 movements.

K2Es weren't that bad -- but I allowed myself to use some momentum to get started so I could get my legs the whole way up. My sumo deadlift highpulls with the KB felt odd -- like I just wasn't doing it right? Had fun with knocking out my double unders nice and quick. :-D

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Words of wisdom from Lisbeth Darsh of CF Waterton: Listening Ears. Something I am working on, and need to do better with.

Blah to K2Es

That would knees to elbows.

They are my new nemesis. The thing that makes me cry. Lovely.

Finished today's workout in 18 minutes and change. Horrible. I was half-way there to full-out crying from the first set of K2E's til the end. I have just been overwhelmed by the crappy state of my life today, and it bled over into my workout. I hate when that happens...


3 rounds for time:

• 30 wall ball shots (20lbs/14)
• 30 sit ups
• 15 kettle swings (24k/16)
• 15 knees to elbows

Bad attitude at the base gym

Something about working out at the base gym just throws me off my game... I don't know what it is.

Today I was able to do most of my stuff away from mirrors, and we were the only 2 people in the weight room area for most of the time, so it was something other than mirrors and crowds tonight...

The lack of a simple free-standing pullup bar and a few boxes to step on is one big frustration. Having to jump up to grab the two-handle grip thingy on a cable-crossover machine/rack to do knees to elbows was very fucking annoying.

And as I was struggling to do them, after feeling like I was really getting better at them on Tuesday in Charlotte, I just felt like a failure. I was thinking to myself how much I still suck at some of the movements that I practice.

I had some tears of frustration welling up in my eyes.

I know by now that the first thing that brings on those tears is a bad fucking attitude. A "can't do" attitude. Hate talk directed at myself.

STOP.

Instead, be aggressive. Focus. Attack. CONQUER.

Overcome.

Remember why you do this.

--
Courtesy of Crossfit Ballantyne.

WOD: For time. 2 rounds.

• 20 KB Swings (1.5/1)
• 20 Knees to Elbows
• 20 Wall Balls (20/14)
• 20 Box Jumps (24"/20")
• 50 Double Unders skipped these, forgot my rope at home, the ones at the gym suck
• 250m Row

Results:  who knows, I didn't end up timing myself

Wouldn't you know that the 1 other person in the gym working out, and not playing basketball, was on the 1 available rowing machine for 30 minutes, right while I was trying to do this WOD? Seriously, it was just a bad night like that. I did a 500m row at the end instead.

Cheered myself up when it was all over by doing an awesome frog stand to hand stand in the stretching area. Booyeah. I intend to impress my family with those once I get home for Christmas. :-p

Ultimate CrossFit

Today I took my second CrossFit "field trip" with a drop-in visit to Ultimate CrossFit, located in Charlotte, NC.

The facility was awesome, tons of pullup stations, barbells and plates. And they had a mural of Kool-Aid Man busting through the wall holding a kettlebell overhead with one arm. Awesome!

All the CrossFitters in attendance were totally welcoming and friendly, as were the coaches. I love a gym with a good positive attitude. I was also digging the hip-hop vibe of the music. It was the first time I got to hear one of the songs on my own CrossFit playlist in the gym -- "Tambourine", Eve.

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Strength:

Back squat 3-3-1-1

85-95-115-135-145 (did 1 extra 1rep)

WOD:

AMRAP in 15 minutes:

• 10 box jumps (24/20)
• 10 DB walking lunges (35/25 db in each hand)
• 10 knees to elbows

Results: 5 rounds

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Is it OK that I am still squee-ing a little from getting compliments on my squats? I love hearing that I am a "strong squatter". :-p

That was  PR on back squats, again. I seem to PR each time I try them. I think it's just a matter of the fact that this is only the 4th time I've done back squats. Now that I see my potential, next time I'm supposed to go heavy I will really go for it. Kind wish I would've gone for 1 rep at my body weight (155), but it's all good. My legs were plenty tired after the metcon!

Ah, the metcon. As requested, I tried to do the "quicker" version of the box jump where you jump down rather than step down. And as I kind of expected, I got a bit uncoordinated in my quest for speed, and totally smashed my shin. Doh. Oh well, it isn't really that bad, and I think it made me look like a badass. heh

Filthy Fifty - DNF

*wham*

That was the sound of me hitting the floor during my workout yesterday, in the midst of a set of 50 walking lunges.

The coach took one look at me, and made me lay down on the ground with a cold bottle of water behind my neck. It seems my crappy diet (and resulting digestive mayhem) had come back to bite me in the butt -- I was definitely dehydrated. Instead of being bright pink, my face was pale. And I could feel my heart beating way too hard. Yuck.

I started back up at a slower pace after my rest, but unfortunately I had quite a bit of the WOD left to complete, and I ended up not finishing. But it's all good. I'm still glad that I made the effort to go to the gym on my way out of town. It's going to be a challenge to get any workouts in while I'm visiting my parents this weekend.

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WOD: Filthy Fifty

• 50 Box jump, 25/21 inch box
• 50 Jumping pull-ups
• 50 Kettlebell swings, 1 pood/1/2pood
• Walking Lunge, 50 steps
• 50 Knees to elbows
• 50 Push press, 45/35 pounds
• 50 Back extensions
• 50 Wall ball shots, 20/14 pound ball
• 50 Burpees
• 50 Double unders

Results: DNF

In other words -- Did Not Finish. Specifically, I stopped at about 35 wall balls, and the clock was pretty close to 40 minutes. Still a good workout, my legs (and especially calves) are sore today.

My setup: 21 inch box, 35lb KB, 35lb for push press, 14lb med ball

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They posted a pic of me on the CFKoP site, and it's totally unflattering. But I have so few CF pics of myself that I'm posting it any way. :)