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Suck it up, buttercup

I left the WOD today dirty, and soaked.


It was deload week for cycle 2, back squat followed up with a 10 min AMRAP of 100m run and 7 burpees.


I made it through 6 full rounds and probably should have done more. I was bitter though because we weren't allowed to use mats and we did the whole thing outside. After it had rained cats and dogs roughly an hour prior.


The photo of the scene is deceiving because from burpee number 1 I was soaked to the core. Lovely. Oh, and concrete isn't forgiving. Knuckles and knees, oh boy. And to top it all off my last set of burpees I went down on a rock into my left knee that almost had me in tears.

Ah well, no one said Crossfit was glamorous or easy. Of course I will be back for more.

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Sand and Jello

WOOT! Caught up!

Wendler Cycle 2! Week 3
Back Squat - New training max = 98
5 @ 75 - 73
3 @ 85 - 83
1+ @ 95 - 73
* 5 banded pullups after each set

I hit 5 at 95%, I was tired and not feeling incredibly strong but I picked 5 and hit them and was proud.
I used 1 purple and 1 red band for the pullups. They are getting better, for sure.

We followed up with a 12min AMRAP that made me wish we were going Death by Burpees instead.

IT. WAS. AWFUL

12min AMRAP can't be that bad right? think again. It was 100m of walking lunges and 200m run.

I got through 1.5 reps and then is because after my first full repeat, I was gasping for breath and couldn't get my legs to move. But I did complete another 100m of lunges.

This week was a really heavy leg week, At least my butt should be looking nicer :)

I was going to try and hit the 9am WOD this morning but I woke up to my butt and legs feeling like a combination of jello and wet sand. Best to rest. I need to run some errands anyway and have a baby shower to get to this afternoon.

I need to do a Crossfit Eval soon. It's been about 10 weeks now and I should take a look back and see how things have gotten better/worse/easier/harder.

Upside Down

Wed. 5/30
Wendler Cycle 2! Week 2
CG Bench - New training max = 61
3 @ 70 - 43
3 @ 80 - 48
3+ @ 90 - 54
* 10-20 GHDSU after each set

I rocked out 12 reps at 90%. Strength SCORE! but instead of the GHDSU which hurt my back, I chose to do 20 abmat situps after each set instead.

Tabata Handstand Hold
Tabata Squat Hold

Back to Back Tabata wasn't so fun but holy crap, I did handstands! I remember being in high school and getting yelled at for doing them on the big wall in my mom's room because I would leave little sock and feet prints on the wall and now I was allowed to do them! The hardest part for me (other than holding for 20 seconds each time) was kicking hard enough to overextend and get to the wall. I kept trying to balance, which I did pretty well actually. We went straight into the squat holds where I cried for mercy and begged for it to be over. Not really, but that is what I wanted to do. My butt was so sore the next day!

Oh and forgot to mention after the WOD we were to do with 800m or 1600m Cool down run.

I chose 800m.

Duh.

Ropes and boxes

Wendler Cycle 2! Week 2
Deadlift - New training max = 135
3 @ 70 - 94
3 @ 80 - 108
3+ @ 90 - 121
2 rope climbs after each set

I didn't write it down but I think I did 8 at 90%. I also did modified rope climbs (never attempted them before) and used a tall box and pulled from ground to standing. Did quite well on those actually. Better than I would have thought.

Followed by EMOTM - 10 Min
BOX JUMPS.... DUN DUN DUN!

It was mostly mental for me since the last WOD that had box jumps in it sent me to the dr. with my continuous knee pain. I had decided that I would use the 20'' box and do stepups instead. My trainer was fine with it and I was fine with it. Until I stood behind the box and there was no way I couldn't NOT jump! Since the WOD allowed you to pick a number and that was what you would do EMOTM, I chose 4. 2 jumps and 2 step ups. I did it and felt good and oddly enough, the knee was good too!

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Bad Blogger Catch Up- 5/28:6/2

Slowly but surely catching up! Only 2 weeks left!

Mon. 5/28
Wendler Cycle 2! Week 1
Close Grip Bench - New training max = 61
5 @ 65 - 39
5 @ 75 - 45
5+ @ 85 - 51
I pushed out 11! Super proud of that too because you are working such a small muscle group that high numbers are a very good sign that you are getting a lot stronger! Yeah Buddy!

We followed up with 3 rounds for Volume:
10 ring dips
25 hollow rocks
400m Run

I tried using a band for the ring dips and that worked for about 5 seconds before I pulled my knees out of it and the band snapped back and cruched me across the chest. I swear I almost cut them off. At that point I had to settle on doing them with my feet on the ground, knees bent. I am now terrified of banded ring dips. The hollow rocks weren't bad (lay on your back and lift your head/shoulders off the ground and at the same time your legs about 6 inches off the ground, you look kind of like a boat. Then you rock back and forth. I also scaled the running to 300m because of the ole knee giving me trouble.

Wed. 5/30
Wendler Cycle 2! Week 2
Back Squat - New training max = 98
3 @ 70 - 68
3 @ 80 - 78
3+ @ 90 - 88
I stuck with it and hit 5 at 90%.

Volume WOD - EMOTM - 10 Minutes
Wall Walks
I did a scaled version using a box. I think I'll be able to do them as RXed soon.

Fri. 6/1
Wendler Cycle 2! Week 2
Strict Press - New training max = 48
3 @ 70 - 33
3 @ 80 - 38
3+ @ 90 - 43
Same thing, hit 5. Still don't like strict press. Would much rather push press.

We then wrapped up with the Burpee Ladder, aka Death by Burpees, aka I never want to do this again
Anytime a workout is "Death By ... " it works like this:
Every minute you do the exercise, every following minute you add one more, continue until you can't complete the number in that minute.

Example:
Min 1- 1 burpee
Min 2- 2 burpees
Min 3- 3 burpees
and so on.

the quicker you do then, the more time you have to rest before that next minute comes up. I managed to complete the 9th round but it took the entire minute so going into the 10th round I knew I wouldn't finish. I did get through 6/10 so I was out at that point. (total of 51 burpees) I think I went out 4th. We did have one rock star GIRL who beat all the boys and got to the 18th round!!!

Sat. 6/2
Made it to a 4th WOD this week.

"Nicole" - a Benchmark WOD
20 min AMRAP
Max Pullups
400m Run

Your score is the total pullups you do. Mine was 23.
I used the skinny green, skinny purple, and small red bands for pullups and can't remember if I did 300m or 400m run.

1 week left and I'm all caught up!

Bad Blogger Catch Up - 5/21:5/25

Mon. 5/21
Wendler Cycle 2! Week 1
Back Squat - New training max = 98
5 @ 65 - 63
5 @ 75 - 73
5+ @ 85 - 83
I did 5 because the knee was aching and didn't want to push it.

EMOTM - 10 Minutes, 2 Hang Squat Clean

I used 45 lbs and did every single one of them. I possibly could have gone heavier and got more sweaty, but I really was trying to focus on form and squat to the box each time. Achieved!

Wed. 5/23
Wendler Cycle 2! Week 1
Strict Press- New training max = 48
5 @ 65 - 33
5 @ 75 - 36
5+ @ 85 - 41
Again only did 5 but I think it was because I wasn't feeling strong and likely form was starting to compromise. If you start to push or jerk you aren't doing it right. It's just a press, that's it. Nothing else. oh and did I mention I really hate it? UGH.

Followed up with a Volume WOD
3 x 15 GHDSU * 50 Double Unders after each set

I'd never done GHDSU before (that is Glutes/Ham Developer Situps) and they made me sore the next day! Not too much a fan of them though because there is no support in your back and they made my head hurt from dizziness. Then of course I did singles because I can't do DU's yet. OH WAIT... I DID ONE!!! Only one but holy hell!!! So excited!

Fri. 5/25
Wendler Cycle 2! Week 1
Deadlift - New training max = 135
5 @ 65 - 88
5 @ 75 - 101
5+ @ 85 - 114
I hit 10 at 114 and was super proud. I'm loving the progress that I can feel and this is one that I feel good about. We won't test out true 1RM max for a while but I can't wait to smash my previous 143.

Then we followed up with 20 minutes of establishing our 1RM for Turkish Getups. Your max has to be the same for both arms. I practiced a while with just a PVC to understand the movement and then used a wooden dowel and then a pipe. Someone else was using the training bar so I got that after she was done and made it up to 22lbs on each arm before time was up. I could have probably gone a little bit heavier but I was tired and time was up so yeah. And Brandon decided he didn't need barbells or kettlebells....

Bad Blogger Catchup- 5/16, 5/18

I know I know. Bad Blogger. But seriously, the app was being an ahole and keeps shutting down and then I typed up the whole wrap up on another computer only to have blogger freak out and delete it.

I may not have been blogging but I have been going like the faithful little cult member that I am.

321GoStuff

My routine in the morning has changed though so that is what I attribute the lack of postage to.
I used to get up at 6, leave at 630, crossfit from 7-8 then home to protien shake, blog, shower, work.
Now I have get up at 6, leave at 630, crossfit from 7-8, chiropractor 8-830/45 then home to quickly shower and work. I need to figure out when to post. Maybe lunchtime?

Anywho, here is my wrap up for WODs for the 16/18. I last posted on Tuesday the 15th.

Wed. May 16
Deload week for Wendler! (You drop your weight tremendously and do a set number, no matter what)
Deadlift- Training Max 125
5 @ 40 - 50
5 @ 50 - 63
5 @ 60 - 75 (you only do 5, not + like the other weeks, this is muscle recovery week)

We followed up with a metcon of
3 RFT (Rounds for time)
21 wall balls
14 pullups
I used the 15 lb med ball and did banded pullups with 2 purple and 1 skinny red. My wall balls were so much better than the last time I did them but I still had LOTS of rest stops. and I was last. again. But I finished in 13:52 dripping with sweat and uber glad to be done.

Fri. May 18
Deload week for Wendler!
CG Bench- Training Max 56
5 @ 40 - 22
5 @ 50 - 28
5 @ 60 - 33

Followed up with 6 x 3 of overhead squats which were a total fail for me. I did as many as I could, not sure since I didn't write it down, and then foam rolled my leg and practiced squats to the gray box. Overall pretty crappy today.

WOD Wrapup

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Get Up... Turkish that is

Wrapped up the week with some old and some new.

The old was Wendler Week 1 Cycle 2 for Deadlift. My training max has increased by 10.

5 @ 65%
5 @ 75%
5+ @ 85%

I hit 10 reps at 85% (114 lbs)

The new (to me) was 20 minutes of Turkish Get Up (we used Barbells instead of Kettlebells)

Barbells add another factor into the mix because not only are you lifting the heavy weight, but you also have to balance it since the weight isn't concentrated in the middle like with the KB. We were working to find our 1RM (had to be the same for both arms). Since I was new to this, I worked on getting form down with a PVC pipe, then a wooden dowl, then a metal bar, then finally the training bar with 10 pounds on it. I managed to get 22 lbs with both arms and could have gone more but I was getting tired and needed to foam roll my legs and get over to Baker for my Chiropractor appt.

Brandon (ony of my trainers) gave it a whirl with an alternative to barbells and kettlebells... a human :)

Hope you all have a great long weekend!

Whip it Good

Today was quite a busy day for me with work and meetings and an important lunch followed by more work and back to Dr. Ryan for another adjustment. Fortunately, I had Crossfit to start me off right.

Strength: Strict Press - Week 1, Cycle 2
5 @ 65% 33
5 @ 75% 36
5 @ 85% 41

I suck at strict press. It's just one of those things where the movement is so isolated, all I want to do is add a push in to make it a bit easier. Alas, no push or jerk. Just press. and feel the burn.

For Volume we did something new to me today:

3 x 15 GHDSU (Glute, Hamstring Developer Situps)
* 50 double unders after each set

I of course did the singles but then became hellbent on trying to hit a double under. Thank goodness for my Trainer Brandon. He stood there with me and coached me through it, adjusting my rope and giving me tips and encouraging me along the way. He didn't give up on me and oh yeah, I HIT ONE!!!!! I could have cried I was so excited. Now that I've hit one, I am determined to nail them. Soon! I'm going to pick up my own rope soon so I don't have to keep trying to find the right one at the box, and I'll probably need to invest in some arm guards or wear long sleeves. My forearms look like I had it out with a weed whacker. It's all good though- because I WON :)

12 hours after the workout and my core is letting me know that it worked hard this morning.

Bazinga!

Fail Blog

My new shirt bought at Regionals. It makes me happy :)


Oof, I'm a bad blogger.

I did go back to the Chiropractor last week. And we didn't go through my stays just yet. There is a Separate appointment for that scheduled this week. I did, however, get my first adjustment. I was a bit of a pansy thinking it was going to hurt but it really didn't at all. The noises that my bones made was loud and cringe-worthy. I actually can't wait to go back on Wednesday. I felt so much relief for a few days but I can feel my neck and shoulders tensing up again.

Crossfit on Friday was the last day of reload for cycle 1 of Wendler.
Close Grip Bench
5 @ 40% 22
5 @ 50% 28
5 @ 60% 33

Then we had a second strength session practicing our overhead squats. We were supposed to hit 6 sets of 3. I was a big fat fail and just practiced squatting, no overhead, no bar, nothing. Then my IT band and right hip were bugging me so I foam rolled till I couldn't take it anymore. Foam rolling is one of the worst and most painful things to do in the entire world. But yet Dr. Ryan tells me I've got to do it pretty much daily to get my muscles to loosen up!

Took the weekend off and headed back to Crossfit on Monday morning. We started cycle 2 for Wendler with Back Squats. My 1rm was 98 and I used 90% of that as my training max for cycle 1. As we move into cycle 2, you add 10 lbs to you training max for legs and 5 lbs for arms and that becomes your new base number. So my new training max is what my 1rm used to be!

Back Squat
5 @ 65% 63
5 @ 75% 73
5+ @ 85% 83

Rather than doing as many as I could, I did my last 5 and stopped. I wasn't feeling very strong and although I could have done more I didn't want to tempt fate while working through injury.

Part 2 of Mondays workout was EMOTM (every minute on the minute) of 2 hang squat cleans for 10 minutes. I loaded up my bar to 45lbs. And set to work. I didn't want to compromise form for weight and still got a good workout with the 45s.

The whole30 challenge started yesterday and I'm not in. I'll clean up my eating but I won't go that strict. I'm sure it works but it's just not for me.

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Paleo for the first time

Today was a day of firsts.

Dr. Ryan (who owns Crossfit Cornerstone) is also a kick ass chiropractor. I've talked with him a couple of times before and this week we got to talking about my knee which lead to my hips and my posture and so on. I decided to go ahead and schedule an appt and get checked out today. As we thought, it appears that my hips are misaligned and could potentially be causing some of my knee and back pain. We took some xrays of my hips, neck, and spine and I go back tomorrow to see how the xrays looked. Before I left though, I got hooked up to a machine that pulsed electricity through my knee and stimulated my sciatic nerve. Also an ultrasound on the inside of my knee to hopefully help out with the inflamation and swellling. I'm excited to learn more about what is going on with my body and how everything is connected.

I also made a trip to Jungle Jims and completed the healthiest shopping trip I've ever gone on. I bought a metric ton of produce and picked up some paleo supplies so that I could cook tonight. On the menu was Paleo Orange Chicken and Fried Rice from Health-bent.com

I was worried that I wouldn't like it and would need to finish off the bag of Doritos afterwards but surprisingly enough, it was pretty good! I made a huge mess in the kitchen but it cleaned up easily and I have leftovers for probably 2-3 more meals. I think I may have liked it better had I used chicken breast instead of thighs. The chili-garlic sauce was spicy but super delicious! My oranges unfortunately weren't that sweet so I added a little bit of honey to the sauce. It was still good but I feel like it could have been more "orange-y." Overall it was a success.



The box is hosting a challenge that starts on Monday. It's 30 days of eating using the whole30 plan. I don't think I'm quite down for that to go cold turkey, but I'm definitely up for cleaning up my eating. All the hard work just to fuel myself with crap is starting to get to me and I know that is the missing piece. I'm not sure that Paleo is for me and likely not whole30 because that is even more strict. I'll find the right balance for me.

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Make-up and De-load

I headed back to Crossfit last night to make up Week 3 of Wendler for Close Grip Bench and Deadlift. I didn't do the WOD, which I wasn't all that dissapointed about. Burpee Box Jumps, T2B, Hang Snatches, and Running? No thanks. I thought I would just do my warmup and Wendler and be done. (rowed my fastest 1200m in warmup ever! 5:42- I was super stoked.)

Seneca had other plans for me though and my own WOD was 2000m row for time. Not bad, not great. I was tired!

I can't even imagine doing thrusters and cleans after that! (AKA WOD 2 from Regionals)

Today was deload for Deadlift- a much appreciated decrease in weight. I was really tired last night. Like in bed at 9:30 tired. Getting out of bed was rough but I was awake and just needed to peel myself out from under the covers. I will be curious to see my improvement when we retest for 1 rep max. I'm hopeful to see a good number!

The Metcon made me hate life. Nothing like a good wall ball to make you feel unfit. I used the 15lb wall ball and did banded pullups. I was the last one to finish- 13:52. I rested. a lot. and had to do an extra 3 pullups at the end because I wasn't getting my chin up to the bar. UGH. No reps are the worst!

Oh yeah, over the weekend while Jen (in the middle) was repping Cornerstone at Regionals- 2 walls were torn down at the box... Looks super spacious now!

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VooDoo Band it!

I returned to the gym today after 3 days off ready to work. Seneca was back and ready to "voodoo" my knee. I warmed up and then headed over ready for the pain.

Flossing, or Voodoo banding, or whatever you want to call it, is wrapping a tight band around whatever limb (elbow, knee, shoulder, etc.) and then performing some full range reps, and then testing again after removing the band.

I'm sure I'm making a ton of sense. Here is a video of Kelly Starett doing it:

Please note, my legs are neither as large, or as white as his.

Seneca wrapped below my knee, and then above.
It. was. tight.
and painful.

One of the other people in the gym were like.... um you're cutting off her circulation???

But amazingly enough, my crunchy knee was no longer crunchy after we took the band off. I'll see how I feel throughout the day, I can feel my heartbeat above my knee sometimes- ha. But I'm pretty sure we will  be doing it again and on both knees. The pain was worth it from what I can tell.

I didn't take a snapshot of the WOD but it was
Strength: deload week for Back Squats and Strict Press. 5 reps of each at 40%, 50% and 60%
Metcon: 7 Min AMRAP- 30 Kettlebell Swings and 15 burpees

I only managed to get 1 full round and then made it to 3 burpees when the timer went off. I was spent and crashed to the floor.

All in all a great Monday workout and I look forward to feeling improvement in my knee!

Tabata and Birthdays

I went to the Thursday workout last week because I knew I would be missing Friday because I went to the Crossfit Regionals instead. For skill work, I went ahead and made up my back squat week 3 and then was ready for the rest of the WOD- Tabata situps and jumping lunges. Instead of lunges, I did more squats. Only Jen had me do them West Side instead. Wider stance, driving knees out and then engaging the hammies more instead of the quads. Reminder- Tabata is 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds rest. Repeat 8 times. So 4 minutes of abmat situps and then 4 minutes of squats. Your score was the total number you did. I came in with a 134. Last of course.

The weekend was filled with all things Twins. I can't believe the littles are 5 this year! Here are a couple of my favorite shots from Saturday:

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Crossfit regionals - central east

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Partner up WOD

Wendler Deadlift- Went back to week 2 since I was behind.
Warmup: 2x5 @ 68, 1x3 @ 83
Work: 3 @ 70% (88), 3 @ 80% (100), 3+ @90% (112)

I completed 10 reps at 90%. I don't mind deadlift. I feel stronger and like lower body workouts. The worst part about deadlifts for me is the hook grip. You hook your thumb around the bar and wrap your fingers over it. It just feels weird to me.

The metcon was a partner WOD. Fran and I partnered up and set to work. It was a 10 min AMRAP. Alternating 400m Run (300m for me to scale for the knee) and Burpees. While your partner does one, you do the other. Keep switching for 10 minutes. Your score was the total number of burpees that you did between the 2 of you. I started with the Burpees so that I would be fresh since I'm much worse at them than Fran. My first set was 25, then headed out to run and came back to 57 from Fran, I brought us up to 78, then Fran rocked out to 114 while I ran, We finished with 122 total. I felt good during the WOD. The endurance ones are always a challenge for me but I felt like I held my own pretty well and contributed to the team.

I'll need to hit up the WOD tomorrow too since I've got Fri-Sat-Sun off for travelling north to celebrate my lovelies fifth birthday! Expect lots and lots of pictures. My camera is charged and ready!!!

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Monday WOD and weekend wrapup

Today's WOD was week 3 of Wendler- Strict Press. Rest for the legs. Good.

Working from my training max of 43, I set to work. Ended with 8 reps of 40. I'll take it. Part 2 of the workout was pullups. (banded for me) Your score was your highest reps you could do out of five times, resting in between. My highest ended up being my first go. 10.

I didn't feel strong today, could have been because of the long long weekend of fun. After the WOD on Friday, I rushed home and got ready, packed up my stuff and headed to the office. The CEO was making a visit and I wanted to sit in on a business update. Then later had a leadership webinar to attend. Rounding out the day was driving up north to see the family and then a little further north on Saturday for a housewarming/cinco de mayo/derby party. The Mr. had been in NYC all week for work... again. So I made the drive solo. Seeing the fam was great, the kids are awesome (and having a bday party- 5!- next week) We hung out Friday night and then Saturday morning post golf, we went to lunch before heading to Cleveland.

My boys, aren't they cute?!

After lunch we drove up to Avon to see our friend's new house and party. Unfortunately I didn't pick the winning horse from the hat (Go Hansen!) but still had a good time during the most exciting 2 minutes in sports. Got to see good friends, saw the super!moon and ate way too much taco dip. Fortunately for me I didn't drink much (hooray for no hangover sunday!) but was super tired since we bought the Mayweather/Cotto fight and stayed up to watch. Then the 4.5 hour drive home, grocery shopping, and getting ready for the week.

I may be tired but my WOD is done and now it's time to work.

Happy Monday everyone!

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Flight Simulator... CRASH AND BURN

I decided to go see the doctor on Thursday after work. My knee had been still really bothering me enough that I was convinced it wasn't soreness after 10 days and the junky feeling and tenderness made me feel bad enough to go ge it looked at. (Sidenote: I don't think I'll ever go back to that practice again. I had an awful customer service experience with the on call doc. Rude. Rude. Rude.) They took some xrays and worked on my knee for a little bit. I do have a slight flare up of bursitis again. Similar to when I started running 2 years ago and went too hard too fast. Luckily fixable but not so good that apparently having the same thing happen with similar but different activities means I'm likely prone to it. After the doc looked at my scans, he told me that I have patellafemoral syndrome. Basically, my kneecap is tilted and it's just the way that I'm made. Also means that the grinding that I feel and the pressure with steps and movements is because the tilt causes the kneecap to grind a bit more than free-float like it should. I got some meds and more flector patches and I don't know that I'll keep taking them. Fish oil and mobility WODs are in my future. I did go back to the WOD on Friday anyway because everything can be scaled and I still felt like I could go.

Then I told my trainer I hated him after we got finished with the WOD :) (Joking! sort of.)



Strength was the back squat. Now with my knee, we used a talled box (the gray one) for me to squat to so that I wasn't going deeper than 90* and I scaled back to week 2 instead of week 3 and tried to hit the minimum but no more. Max-39 x 3. Good enough.

Then the reason for the hate. We did a "flight simulator."

Continuous double unders (or continuous single unders)
10-20-30-40-50-40-30-20-10 (30-60-90-120-150-120-90-60-30)

You had to complete each set of continuous jumps before you could move on, once you finished a number, you didn't have to revisit but you had to be continous. Meaning if you were on your 150 set and you did 147 and slipped up, congrats on your 147 but start back over at 1.  It turned out to be quite mental. I lost completely. That's why you see the big fat DNF listed. There was a 20 minute cap and no matter what I did, I could not get past 60. It was an off day. Plus at this point, my knee was really bothering me so I kept trying for 14 minutes before I got pissed and threw in the towel. I don't like that I didn't finish a WOD but I knew that I still had 90-120-150-120-90-60-30 to go and wouldn't finish and I really didn't want to jack my knee up any more with the jumping. Call it a day and move on.

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Cool as ice

Back to the box today. As much as I wanted to stay cuddled in bed under the covers, I didn't want to regret not going like I did earlier this week.

Working our way through Wendler week 2, today was close grip bench.

Warmup 2x5, 1x3 (33lb)
Work Sets:
3 @ 70% - 39
3 @ 80% - 44
3+ @ 90% - 50

I did 10. probably only 9 because my second to last one was barely completed.

Post strength was a metcon.
For time:
9-6-3
Clean & Jerk
Front Squats

I used a 33lb bar and a med ball to squat to. 3:42 later I was soaking wet and glad to be done. It still amazes me that short workouts can get that much out of you.

Came home for the post workout protein and ice.



Luckily it is like a million degrees outside so having half my body covered in ice and gel packs wasn't such an awful idea.

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Nancy

I did make it to the WOD on Saturday prior to heading out for the wedding. Nancy visited us today and she totally kicked my ass.

5 Rounds for time
400m Run
15 Overhead Squats (guys at 95, girls at 65)

I knew I would be scaling the weight and attempted a few with the 33 bar only to almost fall over a lose my balance. I dropped to the 15 bar and should have added some weight to it but kept on. I also scaled the running at the last minute to 300m runs instead of the 400. I was completely spent afterwards so I was happy about that. less than 20 minutes to completely exert yourself and get a great workout. I'll take it.

Unfortunately, I think my knee would like to give it back. I swear I am falling apart. Between the wrist and the knee it's like my right side is going on strike. I rounded out Saturday with dancing my heart out instead of resting and then took Sunday and yesterday off. I may go to the late WOD today (Tuesday) but I'm icing my knee and checked the WOD which includes more box jumps. I may go and just work on Wendler if I can. I need to make up some of my lifts and take it easy on the pounding. We shall see.

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Back to WOD

I ALMOST didn't go to the WOD this morning. Since I flew out of Columbus and had to drive home last night, I was beat and just wanted to sleep in. I snoozed twice and was calling it a day with the option to go to the open gym at 12 today but when the Mr. got up 10 minutes after my last snooze I figured why the heck not, got dressed and away I went.

The WOD wasn't posted before I left and I was dissapointed to see Strict Press instead of Deadlift. (I missed back squat on Wed so I hopefully will be able to make that up tomorrow after the WOD during open gym.

Working off of my 1 rep max that I found last week, I was working with a Training Max of 43 pounds.

Warmup: 2x5, 1x3 (15lbs, 25 lbs, 27 lbs)
Work:
3 @ 70% - 30
3 @ 80% - 35
3+ @ 90% - 38  (8)

I had to use the 15lb training bar since my % are less than the chick bar. Good news is that the warmup and first work set were... dare I say, easy? 35 was challenging and the 38 felt great for the first couple lifts and then at 8 I barely completed and was almost to failure so I stopped. I can tell I'm slowly getting stronger. Even my warmup pushups are getting better. I'm still dropping to my knees from the plan start and stop but in general I can tell a difference in the way they feel. Same thing with squats. I'm consistently dropping my depth so now I need to focus on keeping my chest and head up.

After the weights there was a small Metcon - 5min AMRAP of double unders. I knew I wasn't there so I scaled to singles and busted them out. I started with a huge run of 85 before I tripped on the rope. I'm good about staying on my toes but need to work on power so I get higher off the ground. Rope whip still hurts but at least I wore long pants and only whipped myself twice on the arm.

We have a wedding tomorrow but I'm still hoping to make the 10am WOD and my back squats before coming home and getting ready. Rest on Sunday.

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Home again

A work meeting required me to be in Chicago for roughly 28 hours. I missed Wednesday/Thursday  Crossfit and didn't go Tuesday before I left because my knees were bugging me still from the Saturday boxjumps. Unfortunately I didn't get to sightsee (though our office is a building away from the Sears Tower so I can check that off the list) and it was pretty chilly and rainy.

I'll need to plan another trip there soon!

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Monday

Today brings week 2 of Wendler for me. Last of the big lifts is the CG Bench. Luckily I had my max from a workout a few weeks ago so I was set to work.

1RM = 63, TM=56

WOD:
Warmup: 2x5 (40%, 50%), 1x3 (60% - 33)
Work Sets:
5 @ 65% - 36
5 @ 75% - 43
5+ @ 85% - 48

I did all sets of the warmup with the 33lb bar since 40% and 50% are only 22 and 28 lbs.

After each work set, you also had to do 5 weighted pullups (or scaled for me to banded pullups. I'm still using the 3 bands, but they are getting a little bit easier and I'm able to hit chin over bar every time) For my last set I managed to hit 12 of the 48#. I may have been able to do a couple more, but I could feel my back getting out of wack and didn't want to go to failure and compromise my form. 12 it is.

Then part 2 of the WOD was 50 wall balls for time. Never done a wall ball before and it shows. I got smacked in the head so many times I forgot my name. Not really, but that is what it felt like. After what felt like an hour, I was done. It was actually 4:12. Slowest in the class. S'okay though... gotta start somewhere.

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Countdown

I woke up sore from yesterday but decided to go to the WOD since I wasn't in pain just a good sore. I'm so glad I did. The WOD today wasn't enjoyable by any means but I actually had a good time and felt great about what I did.

It was a countdown from 10-1 where you did a round of each thing 10 times, then 9 times, and so on until you do one of everything. For time of course. To scale for me I did Ring Rows, Box jumps on the 20'' box (holy scary the first few times you do it!) and then sit ups. I finished in 12:17 completely drenched in sweat and out of breath. It was awesome.

Then after the WOD was open gym. I've never gone to open gym before but Mama and Papa York showed up so I decided to stay and time them for their workout. They both did awesome then M.Y asked if I wanted to stay and work with them. Sure, why not. I ended up agreeing to do 100 KB swings. (WHAT?!) I may regret that later as my upper back and shoulders are screaming. and then more box jumps. I was bound and determined to hit the 24'' box. It was all mind over matter for me at that point. I psyched myself up and DID IT! FIVE TIMES!

Called it a day after that but damn! I'm so proud of myself. As I sit here typing this out, drinking my protien recovery drink, my shoulders and back are already letting me know I worked hard. Hopefully just the right amount of hard but we will see later.

Have a great weekend!

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Get ripped

Today wraps up my first week of 5-3-1 WODs. I'm glad we ended on something that I know I don't completely suck ass at. Deadlifts.

Since we did deadlifts a week or so ago, I knew what my max was and could actually do the workout using my training max to base it off of. 

1RM (One Rep Max) = 143
Training Max = 125 (this is 90% of 1RM)

Warmup:
1x5 @ 40% (50lbs)
1x5 @ 50% (60lbs- rounded)
1x3 @ 60% (75lbs)

Work:
5 @ 65% (80lbs)
5 @ 75% (95lbs)
5+ @ 85% (105lbs)

The last rep for 5+ is to do at minimum 5 lifts at that weight but to keep going for as many as you can do. But not to go all the way to failure because that could compromise your form and you could hurt yourself. Last time I did deadlifts I wasn't gripping the bar correctly so I actually did the hook grip this time. (your thumb is underneath your fingers around the bar) It kind of freaked me out because it's somewhat uncomfortable and when you finish, the blood goes rushing back into your thumb and it feels weird. Plus I think I need to cut my nails, they definitely felt like they were in the way. Anyways, I did my 5 and kept going. I probably could have gone for a couple more but after those 15 my legs were shaking and I felt like I could be stradling that line where my form would go to hell. At that point I think my back was still good though- neither trainer stopped me which they would do if I was falling apart.

Then onto part 2 of the workout. This is what I felt was missing the first 2 days when we were learning the program. Now our M-W-F will be 2 parts with the 5-3-1 and a metcon or tabata of some kind. Today was tabata burpees followed by tabata squats. Tabata is essentially 8 rounds of 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest. Repeat until you are done. So 4 minutes total of each- burpees and squats. The score was based on your LOWEST number for any round. So if you do 20 burpees in 20 seconds and then 5 burpees in 20 seconds, good job but your score would be 5. So the total for your burpees and squats added together and that is what's on the board. I started out actually doing decent burpees. I think I hit 4 or 5 that were legit with jumping and squating and all that jaxx. But then it was just trying to keep moving. My rounds ended up being about 3 burpees every 20 seconds and then 6 squats. So my total was a whopping 9, but I was dripping, legs shaking, and out of breath by the end so I'm happy happy about it.

No more baby hands.

They have started to callous up nicely- not too bad though.

 

BUMMER

As big of a high that I was on after hitting my 98# back squat on Monday, I left the box today on as equally a low. The WOD today was a continuation of the 5-3-1 but with Strict Press. I knew my wrist was going to be an issue and it proved me right. Plus I have the upper body strength of an 8 year old... actually maybe a 5 year old. Since the program is based off your max and training max, I again needed to find mine.

One positive was that the bar itself was doable, dare I say easy?, which I think I had the hardest time with that the first week when I started so that has to be an improvement. I went from 33 to 48 and thats where I fell apart. I attempted 53 with a big FAIL, 50 with a big FAIL, and 49 with still a BIG FAIL. So my max for the program right now is 48. I've decided to start taking some small amounts of ibuprofen to see if that helps the inflamation, icing a few times a day at least, and minimal knitting. I only knit 2 rows on Monday and thats it for the week. Sad but true.

I also think I'm going to up my workouts during the week. Since the first few weeks the WODs are not going to be the combo 5-3-1 and Metcon, I feel like I need some endurance WODs to supplement. Depending on how I feel I might go tomorrow and then Friday too. Possibly Friday and Saturday. Either way, I can't sit on my butt all day like I did yesterday. I heard the WOD yesterday was a killer too! Bummed I missed it.


I did come home today and made a spinach, tomato, and cheddar omelette for lunch before work started. It was tasty. But I felt like I could have eaten 4 of them.

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POP a squat

No extended warmup- we are starting a new program. Called the Wendler Method- will explain more in a detailed post to come. But basically it is designed to make you stronger and focuses on the "big lifts" (squats, press, deadlift, CG Bench)

We started today with back squats. We all know how much I loathe the squat because my depth sucks. Surprise surprise, today I actually did pretty well! The program is based off of your training max (which is 90% of your 1 rep max) so I worked today to find my 1 rep max. And that stupid medicine ball was under me the whole time and I tapped my hiney on it almost every time- PROGRESS! I worked my way up from the 33lb bar all the way up to 98lbs.

Shocked the hell out of me. And I'm only going to get stronger from here.
Hopefully I'll end up with some sweet biceps and definition too like my girl Brit.

All in all it was a nice change of pace for a Monday and definitely not as ridiculously brutal as that Partner WOD from last thursday. We were STILL talking about that one today- so much pain.

Pink Moon

I'm still knitting, even though it only seems like I am doing nothing but Crossfit these days.

To be completely honest though, the wrist pain hasn't gotten much better and it doesn't seem like knitting has been helping. But I'm a trooper and will keep on keepin on. (lots of stretching, but it doesn't really help from what I can tell. Still painful.)

Anyways, Mindy's latest design in the Moon Series for April is the Pink Moon.

From the Farmers Almanac:
• Full Pink Moon – April This name came from the herb moss pink, or wild ground phlox, which is one of the earliest widespread flowers

I finished it a bit late, a couple of days after the full moon, but it has been transformed with the magic of blocking. I chose my favorite-Malabrigo Sock-to knit with in the colors Ochre and Natural.

Before:

After

Pink Moon is available for purchase on Ravelry

(On sale for 50% off until April 16, 2012)

Partner up!

I ended up skipping yesterday because of soreness and Brit convinced me to not overdo it.

I almost wish I would have so that I would not have had to endure the pain of today.

PAIN.

Today's WOD was a partner workout where you have the list of exercises and you work together to chip away at it. The catch it that only one person can work at a time and while they are working, the other person gets to run for 400m. Not one part of this workout was fun.

So between the 2 of us, we needed to complete

200 Kettlebell Swings
150 Thrusters
100 Burpees
50 Toes to Bar

Oh yeah, and there was a time cap of 35 minutes.

Scott started the run first leaving me to start swinging away with the kettlebell. I managed to eek out 40 by the time he got back from his run and I set out for my first of way too many 400m runs. I think it took 2 rotations to complete the KBS and then on to the thrusters. I tried doing them Rx with the 33lb bar but of course the wrist wasn't having it. Since there is only one training bar, Sen took apart another piece of equipment and gave me a bar that was better suited to a backyard brawl than a workout. But it was heavier than PVC and okay on my wrist. Didn't matter much anyway since my goal with any squat exercise is depth. On to burpees. Oh Lord, I hate burpees. I was pretty much a pile of goo trying to do these. Scott was such a trooper though- he was definitely taking a lot of the brunt of the work because I was a slower runner. But getting through them and on to T2B. We scaled it for me to abmat situps. I don't think our final count is right though because I completed 16 before I set out for my last run and I know Scott did some too. So I think our final count is higher than 465 but that's what is on the board. I was still running when time was up so I don't know quite how we ended.

Overall this workout was completely brutal.
A shock to the system and really a push on endurance and strength.

Better luck next time!

Deadlift!

I normally only Crossfit on M-W-F but I looked up the WOD today and it was something I wanted to try!

Ext. warmup was L-Holds.

For me, it just meant heave your butt off the ground and try to pull your feet off the ground too. We did a reverse tabata I think it was called which means hold for 10 seconds, rest for 20, repeat until they say so.

Then the WOD
5-5-3-3-1-1-1
Deadlift

I didn't quite know where I would be for weights so I warmed up with 5 reps of 53# and 63#. Both were pretty easy so I knew I would need to up the weight quite a bit for the workout.

My weights:
5- 83#, 5- 88#, 3-93#, 3-103#, 1-133#, 1-138#, 1-143#

YEAH BUDDY! I DEADLIFTED 143 POUNDS!

My partner Angie also rocked out with 143 lbs and the trainer told her that she can definitely do more. He told me, maybe a little more, but her absolutely! Keeping form was key because this is an exercise that can rock your back. I had him check me on my singles and I maintained good form. If anything I need to work on, it's keeping my shoulders back when I start to lift, but my back looked good so I'm happy!

I'm going to try to make it tomorrow like normal but we will see how I feel. It might be my first 4 WOD week!


 

Whip it

I'm pretty sure the last time I jumproped was in the 3rd grade.

Fortunately for me it came back pretty naturally, except for the double unders. OUCH!

Ext Warmup: 10 min of Skill work (I chose to work on attempting a double under... notsomuch)

WOD:
5 Rounds for Time-
35 Double Unders (100 Singles)
200m Run

I stuck with singles since my shins had already taken a beating from the ext. warmup. I finished in 13:45, 3rd to last. I would get on a run and whip out 45 singles and then my brain stopped functioning and I could barely get 4 in a row. All in all, this WOD wasn't completely awful. Except the running. Man, I really need some endurance.

I'd take a photo of my shins but in all honesty, they were much more impressive right after being whipped, the welts have settled in now so that they look reminiscent of light poison ivy. It's all good though.

Easter Weekend 2012

I took 356 pictures this weekend.
Just what I needed to start learning more about my new camera.
I'm in love and can't wait to capture more beautiful moments!

* All photos shot with Canon T2i DSLR camera, 50mm 1.8 lens
** No editing done, all staight out of the camera