Randy on Friday

Couldn't resist that joke.

Did this WOD by myself after coaching my kids classes. Nearly 3 hours of kids of all ages, and I'm beat, but I needed to work out some frustrations.

"Randy"
75 power snatch @ 55#

10:43

Sooooo slooooow.

Broke this up in 5 sets of 15, mentally. First set of 15 took 1 minute. Obviously the pace slowed dramatically from there...

My snatches felt absolutely crappy. With no one watching, I'm not sure how bad they actually were. Time to get back to weightlifting practice now that I've banished my crazy back pain. I need to regain all the technique I had built up before the back went crazy.

The great thing is, whatever my chiro did, it not only got rid of my "tweak", I also have a lot less low back pain after workouts now. Woot! :)

CrossFit Games Open Sectionals 11.1

I finally did this workout on Friday. The day after I swung the 24kg kettlebell 85 times, plus some other kb fun.

Probably not my best idea...

Results: 2 rounds + 26 DUs


In short, I blew it on the double unders. I did the snatches all 15 in a row both rounds, no problem at all. First round of DUs was pretty smooth -- and why not, they're easy when you're fresh. Starting the 2nd round, I spent minutes doing single DUs, and missing tons of DU attempts. It was as if I regressed back to a time when I couldn't do DUs at all. OMG!

If I can find another coach at my box to judge me, I will attempt a redo on Sunday. I have a mud run to do on Saturday, so hopefully I'm not in the same boat again -- trying to do the WOD while super-sore from the day prior...

Even if I don't get a new score for the "official" CF Games, I will do this again, and DO BETTER!

Weightlifting practice

Went to my first weightlifting practice in a billion years. And I arrived late, per usual -- I just can't be on time for Saturday morning at 10am. heh

With the status of my back*, my plan was just to work my speed and bar path at light weights. Coach approved.

2 front squat + 3 back squat + 1 jerk behind the neck4 sets at 70%

I worked up to 65#. The back definitely got a lil "twingey" when I was squatting. Also, I hate jerking b.t.n. at light weights -- love it at heavy weights, though.

Power snatch - 2 reps
4 sets at 80%

Did full snatch, and slowly lowered the barbell through each of the positions to set back up for the 2nd snatch. Worked at 65#.

Power clean - 2 reps
3 sets at 80%

Full clean. Worked at 85#.

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Get Strict - A
Did 3 sets of 10 strict pullups with the skinny band. They were still broken up: 6-2-2, 7-3, 6-2-2. I was pumped the second set I got 7. Can't wait to get all 10.

I skipped my assistance exercises. Booo on me for that.

I do feel like with these long sets I'm learning the way to fire my muscles at each point in the movement. For me the issue has always been the bottom. I am doing my best to eliminate using any "shoulder pop", and start from a true dead hang. Husband says a tiny pop is OK by Marine Corps standards -- so my ultimate goal will be to do 10 strict with no bands and maybe an itsy bitsy shoulder pop to get out of the hole. :)

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Here's the deal with my back... It's not that I am in pain in my trouble spot. It's just that I can feel when I'm moving that muscle, in a way that's not normal. For example, if you "felt" your bicep flexing as you sipped from a glass of water, that would be weird. Well, I "feel" my Q.L. "flexing" as I squat, or lean over or put on my socks and shoes.

So while I have had any big "tweaks" -- that is my word for super excruciating muscle spasm things that were happening before I took a ton of rest -- after a few good workouts, I can "feel" my trouble spot.

It's so hard to know how to respond when coach is asking me "how's the back feeling".

Oly lift combo

Considering my love of the Olympic lifts, this morning's WOD should've been something I banged through quickly and with enthusiasm.

Instead, it was like freaking pulling teeth.

My intuition is that I ate crap and did 2 WODs yesterday, and that did not do me any favors. Barely any protein, so my recovery was probably sucky. And I didn't sleep well, despite being tired, and that is always a bad sign.

WOD:
Using the same barbell for all movements - 95#/65#
5 rounds for time:
3 power snatch
7 OHS
3 squat clean
7 push press

Results: 11:39

This should've been more in the range of 10 minutes, which is right around where Mandy finished it Rx. No other females did this Rx -- the OHS are the limiting factor.

There was so much resting and pacing and bullshit in my performance of this WOD. If I want to see results, I need to bring more INTENSITY and focus to my WODs. Yes, it's good that I got out there and participated, but to see improvements I need to put the effort in. And improvements are what keeps me motivated to stay on this CF journey.

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Remember Kallista Pappas? I know I definitely remember watching her video from the 30 100# C&J for time event at the 2008 games. Just happened to come across her again in my web travels, and wanted to share. Definitely a badass CrossFit chick. Also, she is a blogger.

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This Rx Skills Checklist is kinda neat. Some of them I know I could definitely do, the heavy lifts, but the body weight stuff I am still lacking. Sadly, I can't currently do 25 chest-to-deck pushups in a row. I am thinking my next set of goals I write down will be body weight focused...

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This post is awesome and epic -- Things I Hate About CrossFit, Part Deux

I am most in agreement about how ridiculous it is when CrossFit HQ de-affiliates / fires people like Robb Wolf and Melissa Urban/Whole 9. So much for inclusiveness!

Chilly Tuesday morning, fitness education update

I was feeling stiff and sore when I woke up, but husband is off work early this afternoon, so I needed to get a WOD in for my 3rd day. Did this WOD at the 0830 with two of my fav CF peeps -- Allie and Paul, so that made it better. :)

WOD:
3 rounds for time:
400m run
20 power snatch (70/50)
15 ring dips

Results:  22:?? -- can't remember my exact time

Didn't have as much intensity today as I did yesterday -- I think I used it all up on Fran. :) However, I do think my runs were decent. I still need to hit up the track for some legit 400m sprints. Note to self -- go on a day it's not super-windy and 30 degrees. :)

Rings dips were frustrating... I couldn't even do 5 in-a-row to start like I usually can... But my shoulder is a bit tweaked from the 10 minutes of HSPU the other day, so that might be affecting me. On Sunday I tried to do tabata pushups after my tabata squats, and just collapsed after 2 rounds. Seems like it's a tiny bit of tendonitis. Time to go heavy on the ibuprofen, and lay off the shoulder exercises for the rest of the week. Thrusters and pulups last night didn't feel bad, but they probably didn't help...

Snatches felt solid. I'd like to try some heavy snatches and snatch balances soon -- I haven't ever done those, so I'd just like to get a feel for them.

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Blogger totally lost my update I just typed up... Argh! Here's a quicker and shorter version.

Since I'm already helping to coach at CF Camden, and I'm scheduled to get my CF Level I Trainer certification in March (1 month to go, woot!), I decided that I need to get moving fully in the direction of learning to be the best trainer that I can.

As of yesterday, I am officially enrolled in 3 certification classes through ISSA (International Sports Sciences Association).

1. Personal Trainer Certification
2. Fitness / Exercise Therapist Certification
3. Senior Fitness Certification

I'm really, really lucky because as a military spouse I have access to a tuition reimbursement program for training in portable career fields, which includes fitness careers. That's what is making it possible for me to take these classes, and I am so grateful that I have the time to devote to completing them right now. 

In addition to taking those courses, I'm also signed up for a Lifeguard Training course at our local rec center. That will include training in first aid, CPR and AED. I think it will just help me be a more well-rounded coach, and also give me confidence that I can deal with any health/safety issues that might arise. I'd also like to look into teaching a water aerobics course on base, since that is something they don't have right now. And hopefully I can make some money lifeguarding if I can't find any paying gigs for training. :)

The next year is looking super-bright, I'm so excited to be learning and trying so many new things. :)

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Great "what is CrossFit" summary to give your friends and family, from CrossFit Coastal, whose box I would love to visit someday, so I can meet TStorm, a fellow badass military spouse. :-D

Back squats and metcon

WOD:

Back squat -- 5-5-5-5-5 working sets

Metcon: 4 rounds for time

• 6 handstand push ups
• 8 power snatch (95lbs/65)
• 12 star jumps

Results:

Back squat: 55-65-70-75-80

Metcon: 13:09 (55lb power snatch)

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I took it easy on the back squats for two reasons. One, I haven't actually done that movement in a workout before. And two, it was sets of five. The method of holding the bar felt very awkward to me. I will be doing some research into proper form for that movement.

Side note: I would really like to take an Olympic lifting certification.

Metcon was kind of a grinder. The star jumps killed me, my quads were just giving out as I squatted down to do the next jump. Ack. I rested a little bit too much on the power snatches as well, even though I scaled the weight down a bit so I could get the heart racing with a faster pace.

But I hate to rush myself when I'm doing Oly movements. I don't like to just throw the bar around in a rush to get done, I feel like I'm gonna hurt my back and develop bad habits.

I applied a lot of what I learned my second night at Crossfit KoP, and I was once again glad I had the chance to train with Aimee there. A "tune-up" session, or sessions, with her is definitely on my Christmas list. Side note: It's fun to feel the bar fly up when you get all the little things right on an attempt. :)

Popped out a few pullups post-workout, but not a whole bunch because I was running out of time. Next week I need to get more squeezed in to prep for the Jackie re-test coming up in Nov.

Performance anxiety?

So, right after announcing I will be tracking my workouts here, I took an entire week off. Whaaaaa?

It was pretty much caused by the husbeetle going to another base to shoot for the week, and my schedule/attitude being shot to hell due to being home alone. But still, kind of interesting timing in terms of starting up the new blog.

In any case, I did a quick run on Saturday night (3.3 miles, 32 minutes) to get my body moving, and then was back in the gym at 8:30 this morning.

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WOD:

Complete the following for time:

4 clean & jerks (155lbs/95)

4 power snatch (135lbs/85)

20 GHD sit ups

3 clean & jerks

3 power snatch

15 GHD sit ups

2 clean & jerks

2 power snatch

10 GHD sit ups

1 clean & jerk

1 power snatch

5 GHD sit ups

Results: 13:36 (95 C&J, 65 power snatch)

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My biggest weakness right now is how out of breath I get. I have to rest and slow my breathing to be able to get the weight up. If I try a lift while I'm still huffing and puffing, I end up doing half the motion and then dumping the bar.

The power snatches were annoying. But that is the nature of the snatch. I much prefer one armed dumbbell snatches, I kick ass at those. The wide grip on the bar from the ground is just so damned awkward.

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For cool down, we were supposed to work on something we suck at. I stuck with my usual routine of doing pull-ups. I'm kipping with the beige band right now. I've attempted to do an unassisted kipping pull-up, but no success yet. Maybe another month more.

Something I'd like to work on next, once I get pullups down, is band-assisted hand-stand pushups. This video takes a while to get to the band-assisted demo, but overall it has a ton of great info. I'm really weak on exercises that utilize the shoulder (overhead press, heavy push presses, overhead squats) and I think I would really benefit from working on the hand-stand pushups since they use those same muscles.